Home Loans — Federal Regulators Warn Lenders to Be More Careful
nearly everyone can qualify for some type of mortgage today. The problem, as regulators point out, is that some of the more popular types of loans are inherently risky. Two such examples are the interest-only loan, and home equity loans that exceed 100% of a home’s value.
The problem with such loans is that they are both issued under the assumption that home prices will continue to rise. Prices may continue to rise, but if they don’t or worse, if they fall, lenders could find themselves in the ugly position of holding liens on property that is worth considerably less than the amount of the loan. As of yet, there’s no sign of a crash in real estate prices, but foreclosures are up in both Texas and Florida, and this could be an indictor of more difficult times ahead for the lending industry. The banking regulators didn’t issue any
