Americans owe over $1 trillion in home equity loans — cash borrowed against the roof over their heads. The question is: how much of that money will the banks get back?

The New York Times says home equity loans may become “the next flash point in the mortgage crisis” and reports that:

Many lenders are taking the extraordinary step of preventing some people from selling their homes or refinancing their mortgages unless they pay off all or part of their home equity loans first. In the past, when home prices were not falling, lenders did not resort to these measures.

It is a remarkable turnabout for the many Americans who have come to regard a home as an A.T.M. with three bedrooms and 1.5 baths. When times were good, they borrowed against their homes to pay for all sorts of things, from new cars to college educations to a home theater.

Brian Hunt has discovered a strange twist to the home-sector crisis in the US: the bullish case for homebuilders is getting stronger.

“In the face of the worst credit and housing news in more than a decade, homebuilders have gained 20% this month. Gains come on high volume, price declines come on low volume. Little by little, week by week, the bullish case for homebuilders is getting stronger.”

“Any homeowner will tell you the most important payment every month is the mortgage bill,” says penny stock expert Jim Nelson. “The nearly two million homeowners about to go through these troubled times will have to make some choices.

“Even as bleak as this situation seems, there is hope. There are companies out there willing to help. In fact, there is one penny stock that is set to really take off under these conditions. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too small to mention here.”