It’s no secret that the U.S. housing marketing is having one of its largest slumps since the early 1980s. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the news and you are inundated with a daily report of more foreclosures, people falling further behind on their payments and a general souring of the entire housing and mortgage market. However, even during this downturn there are those who are continuing to buy the home of their dreams and taking out mortgages to help finance that dream.
How can the savvy consumer make sure that they are not caught up in the mortgage crisis and not become just another statistic? By examining the type of house and mortgage you want to take out, as well as doing a little planning before you make the plunge, can mean all the difference in the world between making it or falling into the ever-widening black hole.
One of the reasons the mortgage industry is being hit so hard right now by defaults is that credit standards were relaxed to the point that many people who in a normal marketplace would not qualify for a mortgage were granted the loan. To their credit, some of these people are maintaining a stellar record and are on their way to...