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Jul 16, 2008 8:43 pm US/Central
Financing For Pools Taking A Big Dip
Reporting
Jack Fink
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The new swimming pool has made a big splash with John Shaw and his family.
"We've been in it everyday," he said. "When I get off work, the first thing I want to do is jump in and cool off."
But before the Shaws went ahead with this project, they were a little concerned about getting financing.
"You always expect the worst," he said. "We didn't know how much equity we had in our home, so that did cross our mind."
As it turned out, the Shaws had no problem securing a loan because of their good credit.
But brokers and lenders say because of the mortgage crisis, it's very difficult to get a second mortgage these days for any home improvement project. That's because investors are no longer willing to buy loans from banks.
Bluehaven Pools, one of the nation's largest companies, says they've seen financing for pools in North Texas take a big dip.
Another pool builder, Pulliam Pools in Fort Worth, also says its sales are down from last year. But they are seeing more people pay for new pools with cash. Some of it because people have profited from the Barnett shale.
Bluehaven says they also work with customers like the Shaws to find financing, but they say they've had to become more creative in locating a loan.
"We consider ourselves lucky," said John. "It was a real easy deal for us."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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