"Subprime mortgages" refers to loans given to people with low credit scores or who may have trouble repaying them. These loans come with higher interest rates and are considered riskier for lenders.
Full definition
At the peak of the housing bubble ten years ago, there was about $ 1.3 trillion worth
of subprime mortgages in the financial system.
Some investors did that and noticed the problem
with subprime mortgages in 2006 and were able to avoid risks and even earn profits from it.
That set off a collapse in the market
for subprime mortgage securities, a crisis that nearly brought down the financial system.
As a result, mortgage rates provided
by subprime mortgage lenders will be much higher than those at standard lenders, all else being equal.
In 2006, approximately 40 percent of interest - only and adjustable loan mortgages were classified
as subprime mortgages.
But other economists say that the very low short - term rates made adjustable -
rate subprime mortgages, those with the worst default rates, more attractive than they otherwise would have been.
The obvious advantage of the expansion of
subprime mortgage credit is the rise in credit opportunities and homeownership.
These days, lenders have started to
offer subprime mortgage loans again, but the process is much longer requiring more documentation and lenders must verify that borrowers can pay off the loan.
Hopefully, we've learned our lessons
about subprime mortgages and snake - oil brokers who promise you can afford a house when you can't.
With some 5 percent of
subprime mortgage borrowers facing trouble and global investors wondering if prime mortgages remain a smart investment, these are indeed challenging times for real estate.
There were prime borrowers who were
sold subprime mortgages simply because there was an incentive for the broker to do so.
If you are, look at secured credit cards, secured loans and
even subprime mortgage lenders to explore the options that are available.
«Millennial» is the greatest insult someone who crashed the modern economy
via subprime mortgages can call another person.
With the rapidly rising home prices,
subprime mortgages became more popular because people wanted to borrow more and more people wanted to borrow.
The problem of
subprime mortgages began in part because the government tried to increase homeownership for poor people and minorities by enabling private entities to offer more mortgages without assuming the risk.
Either way, the increase in
subprime mortgages meant people could borrow a LOT more money to chase homes, if they wanted to anyway.
During the boom, loan officers could make 2 to 3 times more money selling one
subprime mortgage versus one prime mortgage.
Among the industries that bear the greatest regulatory oversight is financials, which has seen a disproportionate amount of scrutiny in recent years, especially following the 9/11 attacks and
subprime mortgage crisis.
In other words, they offered
subprime mortgage loans to subprime borrowers, usually with a much higher interest rate for the borrower... and higher profit for the lender.
The interest rates
for subprime mortgages are higher than for traditional, or prime, mortgages, but how much higher can vary a great deal from lender to lender.
The inherent problem in
offering subprime mortgages is that the very people who need them are the same individuals who will probably have the most trouble making their mortgage payments each month.
There is also more government regulation involved
in subprime mortgages, helping ensure that they're better controlled than they once were.