SOmeone explain sub-prime home loans to me

[Doctor_J]

what are they, when did they start, and why are they being blamed for the housing slide?

[Deja Q]

1. Due to the housing boom, loans were given to people who were deemed riskier:

As in people whose incomes normally wouldn't be allowed for a $350k home (that would normally be worth closer to $1750k, if that. IMHO, I am not an expert in this area.)

As such, clauses were added to the homes - if the person couldn't pay, toodles to EVERYTHING.

:(

[Zywiec]

2. They are loans given out to people with a less than stellar credit ratings

They were started to enable people with a riskier credit history to purchase homes at a slightly higher interest rate.

[meegbear]

3. From Mortgage Basics ...

Egregious credit problems, such as a recent foreclosure, will prevent you from getting a mortgage. But lesser credit flaws won't necessarily stop you from getting a home loan. An industry of subprime mortgage lenders has sprung up to serve the vast constituency of Americans who have credit problems.

Subprime defined
Generally, subprime mortgages are for borrowers with credit scores under 620. Credit scores range from about 300 to about 900, with most consumers landing in the 600s and 700s. Someone who is habitually late in paying bills, and especially someone who falls behind on debts by 30 or 60 or 90 days or more, will suffer from a plummeting credit score. If it falls below 620, that consumer is in subprime territory.

Few lenders will use the term "subprime" to describe you or your loan, because it's considered bad salesmanship. You might hear the word "non-prime" or, more likely, an adjective won't be used to describe the mortgage at all.

Mortgages for people with excellent credit are somewhat of a commodity, with rates that don't vary much from lender to lender for equivalent loans. That's not the case with subprime mortgages. You might receive widely differing offers from different subprime lenders because they have different ways of weighing the risk of giving you a loan. For that reason, it's important to comparison-shop when your credit score is less than 620.

How subprime mortgages differ
Subprime loans have higher rates than equivalent prime loans. Lenders consider many factors in a process called "risk-based pricing" when they come up with mortgage rates and terms. This makes it impossible to generalize about subprime rates. They are higher, but how much higher depends on factors such as credit score, size of down payment, and what types of delinquencies the borrower has in the recent past (from a mortgage lender's standpoint, late mortgage or rent payments are worse than late credit card payments).

A subprime loan also is more likely to have a prepayment penalty, a balloon payment, or both. A prepayment penalty is a fee assessed against the borrower for paying off the loan early -- either because the borrower sells the house or refinances the high-rate loan. A mortgage with a balloon payment requires the borrower to pay off the entire outstanding amount in a lump sum after a certain period has passed, often five years. If the borrower can't pay the entire amount when the balloon payment is due, he/she has to refinance the loan or sell the house.

Researchers contend that prepayment penalties and balloon payments are associated with higher foreclosure rates. The subprime mortgage industry contends that borrowers get lower interest rates in exchange for prepayment penalties and balloon payments, but that point is debatable.

<snip>

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/green/mtg/basics2-4a.asp?caret=8