meaning of "lines"

[Eartha]

Dear all,

How should I understand the meaning "lines" in the sentence below?

Besides, what's the meaning of the underlined sentence?

Thanks in advance.

But after the war, consumerism collided with the ascension of credit cards that allowed repayment in installments. In 1978, a U.S. Supreme Court decision made it easier for banks to charge higher interest rates on credit cards and cross state lines in pursuit of customers. In the 1980s, rapidly rising inflation made the use of credit cards an attractive way to buy things before their prices went up. In the 1990s, home equity loans allowed consumers to tap money that they couldn’t otherwise access without selling their houses.

 

[susiedqq]

But after the war, consumerism collided with the ascension of credit cards that allowed repayment in installments. In 1978, a U.S. Supreme Court decision made it easier for banks to charge higher interest rates on credit cards and cross state lines (to do business in other states) with in pursuit of customers. In the 1980s, rapidly rising inflation made the use of credit cards an attractive way to buy things before their prices went up. In the 1990s, home equity loans allowed consumers to tap money that they couldn’t otherwise access (to take out a loan, using your house as equity, (a guarantee) to get the loan. If you owed $20,000 on the house, but it was worth $50,000, you could get a loan for $30,000. However, now the mortgage loan is for $50,000 and the payment would go up. These loans were easy to get in the 1990's.)without selling their houses.

 

[Barb_D]

In the United States, there are things that fall under state regulation instead of federal regulation. Insurance and banking, for example, will be regulated differently, depending on what state you're in. Many banks have their headquarters in the state of Delaware, for example, because their banking laws are favorable to them.

Both federal AND state laws apply to these industries, but there are differences among the states. Apparently, before this, banks weren't supposed to advertise outside of their own state to attract customers. That is how I understand that. "Crossing state lines" means operating outside of their home state.

As for the second, let's say you bought your house for $80,000 and you have paid off half of it, so you only owe $40,000. But the market has gone up, so now your house is worth $150,000 dollars. That means that you have $110,000 of "equity" in your house. A home equity loan lets you borrow against that. You don't have to sell your home for $150,000 to get the money -- you can borrow against it and stay there. If you fail to pay that loan, they can take your house.

 

[Eartha]

But after the war, consumerism collided with the ascension of credit cards that allowed repayment in installments. In 1978, a U.S. Supreme Court decision made it easier for banks to charge higher interest rates on credit cards and cross state lines (to do business in other states) with in pursuit of customers. In the 1980s, rapidly rising inflation made the use of credit cards an attractive way to buy things before their prices went up. In the 1990s, home equity loans allowed consumers to tap money that they couldn’t otherwise access (to take out a loan, using your house as equity, (a guarantee) to get the loan. If you owed $20,000 on the house, but it was worth $50,000, you could get a loan for $30,000. However, now the mortgage loan is for $50,000 and the payment would go up. These loans were easy to get in the 1990's.)without selling their houses.

Thank you, susiedqq.

But I am still a little confused about "However, now the mortgage loan is for $50,000 and the payment would go up."
Do you mean the bank will lend them $50,000 instead of $30,000? And they have the pay off $50,000 with interest in the end?

 

[Barb_D]

It is a second loan. You continue to pay your first mortgage to your mortgage company. You have this second loan with additional payments (with interest), which may be with the first company or another one. Two loans, two payments, both with interest. When you do sell your house, you have to pay off the outstanding balances on both loans before you receive any additional equity in the home.