Some experts caution, however, that consumers might be better off holding themselves to higher credit and underwriting standards than their mortgage bankers do. Bet with your head, not over it. You could have delinquencies on credit cards or other installment loans and, actually, you can even have a bankruptcy as long as it was three years ago, and qualify for an 'A-' subprime loan. It's something we monitor very closely. The housing landscape at the end of the 20th century is, in some respects, nothing short of spectacular.
Mortgage rates remain near three- decade lows.
Construction of new homes and sales of existing ones have surpassed expectations for months. The homeownership rate touched a record 66.3 percent in 1998, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development . Public figures and industry officials are quick to praise the social stability and revenue boost that comes from a surge in home buying. But consumers who swallow too much debt in this era of easy money may live to regret it later. Ruined credit ratings, calls from collection agencies and even the loss of their piece of the American Dream can lie ahead, depending on the severity of the problem.