Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jul 28, 2000
ATLANTA (Cox) — Home Depot is catering to do-it-yourselfers who just can’t wait for their savings accounts to catch up with their desire to remodel their kitchens and bathrooms.
The retailer this month began offering home-improvement loans of $3,000 to $30,000.
Customers can apply for the loans at Home Depot stores. For those with good credit and sufficient income, approval comes in less than 10 minutes, said Heather Wilson, credit marketing manager for Atlanta- based Home Depot.
Borrowers get plastic cards — not credit cards — good for six months.
The cards let customers buy products against their credit lines.
The borrower repays the loan over a term as long as 10 years. Interest rates range from 10.99 to 14.99 percent.
The credit lines can be turned into home-equity loans so that the interest is tax-deductible, Wilson said.
Home Depot markets the loans, but financial giant GE Capital is the lender.
Home Depot’s chief rival, North Carolina-based Lowe’s, tried similar loans in 1998 in Indianapolis, but customers weren’t interested, said Lowe’s spokeswoman Jule Eller
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