What Is A Subprime Mortgage?
To understand what is a subprime mortgage, we need to talk about the subprime definition. Subprime means something that is not in the best conditions and, in this scenario, it refers to a subprime borrower; that is someone who has a complicated financial history and provides too much risk for the lender. These borrowers might have filed for bankruptcy in the last 5 years, defaulted two or more times in the recent past, might have a large pending debt and/or a low credit score – or even no established credit history at all. A subprime mortgage is the type of mortgage offered to that profile of borrower.
But so what; is this subprime mortgage just like regular mortgages? Is the subprime mortgage definition made just to separate bad borrowers from good borrowers?
No, to compensate potential losses from those customers who may run into trouble and default, subprime mortgages have a higher interest rate. Those loans are also usually easy on the way in but become burdensome on the way out – they take advantage of the fact that the person has no other option. Most subprime borrowers that manage to fix their situation try a second mortgage later on to try and soften the weight of the later payments.
Subprime mortgages played a big part in the financial crisis of 2008 when hedge funds noticed they could make a lot of money off the buying and selling of those mortgages. They would buy the mortgage from the Lender and manage it with the borrower and everything went well for them until housing prices started to decay lower than the mortgage itself. That took the refinancing possibility off the table – and you couldn’t sell the home either because there was no one buying – which lead to (too) many owners of these mortgage-backed securities trying to collect their insurance against the mortgage defaults, which, in turn, made it financially overwhelming to powerhouse insurance companies that almost went bankrupt, and so was set the scenario for the period that became known as “The Great Recession”.
Popular Mortgage Questions
Popular Mortgage Glossary Terms
A multi-lender Web site that offered borrowers the capacity to shop among multiple competing lenders. ...
In connection with a home, the value of the home less the balance of outstanding mortgage loans on the home. ...
A sale price below market value, where the difference is a gift from the sellers to the buyers. Such gifts are usually between family members. Lenders will usually allow the gift to count ...
A lender offering loans on the Internet who provides mortgage shoppers with the information they need to make an informed decision before applying for a mortgage and guarantees them ...
A lender that sells the loans it originates, as opposed to a portfolio lender that holds them. ...
The definition of credit risk is at the core of lending. Banks lend money to businesses and individuals and expect to recover the principal and win interest. Banks offer a variety of loans, ...
Rolling short-term debt into a home mortgage loan, either at the time of home purchase or later. The Case for Consolidation: Borrowers consolidate in order to reduce their finance costs. ...
A mortgage on which the interest rate is adjustable based on an interest rate index, and the monthly payment adjusts based on a wage and salary index. Dual index mortgages are not written ...
A mortgage loan transaction in which the lender assumes responsibility for an existing mortgage. A wrap-around can be attractive to home sellers because they may be able to sell their ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.