With all of the talk and concern about predatory lending practices, why is it that Web sites are still covered with ads like this one?
I don’t know what the girls in it have to do with getting a mortgage, but one gets the impression the ad is intended to appeal to non-white customers. I think the use of the term sub-prime should be stopped. The uninformed might get the impression it has something to do with the Prime Rate, and not unqualified borrowers.
The problem isn’t just with those who aren’t credit-worthy. The herd mentality that led to the stock market surge in the late 90’s simply jumped over to real estate. Professionals traded up to a bigger house than they could otherwise afford. The assumption was an $850,000 home would be worth $1m in no time. Combined with the hope, if not expectation, that interest rates wouldn’t go up significantly, some people with healthy incomes are now in trouble because the value of their house is down, and their adjustable mortgage rate is up.