Zero downs available for the average person Still, most 100 percent financing programs that were available before last year were aimed at specific areas or customer groups. But conventional customers, by and large, didn't have the same choice. In 1999, though, that's no longer the case. Fifty percent of the lenders probably have some type of zero down product that will accommodate just about anybody. The loan didn't really catch on until this spring, however, when companies that buy loans from mortgage brokers and hold them in their portfolios began pitching it aggressively.
Some programs have even higher thresholds.
At the same time, most cost more than conventional loans. The business cycle is not dead, and be it a year from now or 10 years from now, when there's a little bit of a change in the real estate market, you could see a lot of lenders singing the blues. Power Mortgage Corp. Borrowers who get this type of mortgage could run into other problems, too, because they have no cushion against hard times. If a manufacturing plant were to close in the neighborhood or property values were to decline, somebody could end up owing more than the house is worth. But it would also leave a foreclosure stain on the borrower's credit report.