Home-Equity Loans

Genuine concerns for consumer protection were brought out in the excellent article by David W. Myers (March 13) regarding “HELs,” the new home-equity loan product of lending institutions.

The HELs are flourishing with the encouragement of so-called tax simplification, which is employment security for the army of accountants, enrolled agents and CPA’s who have difficulty unraveling those provisions.

The potential for consumers is “hell.” People don’t consider the possibility of the unexpected, and when it is the family home at risk, consumer beware. Depositors of the cash to provide the “product” have every reason to worry about the stability of financial institutions as they relate to lending practices and procedures.

TEDDI ALVES

Huntington Beach