>>At the heart of the turmoil is the subprime
mortgage market, which developed to give loans to
shaky borrowers or to those with little cash to
put down as collateral. Some 35 percent of all
mortgage securities issued last year were in that
category, up from 13 percent in 2003.
Looking to expand their reach and their profits,
lenders were far too willing to lend, as
evidenced by the creation of new types of
mortgages known as affordability products
that required little or no down payment and
little or no documentation of a borrowers
income. Loans with 40-year or even 50-year terms
were also popular among cash-strapped borrowers
seeking low monthly payments. Exceedingly low
teaser rates that move up rapidly in later
years were another feature of the new loans. <<
[Homestead] Coming good house deals,
Rob, 03/11/2007