The Center for Responsible Lending released a report that predicted that “nearly a fifth of consumers who borrowed money to buy a house in the past two years will default on their mortages and lose their home.”    The CRL is a nonprofit research organization that specifically and aggressively combats what it refers to as “predatory lending practices” that are becoming more and more prevalent with the current sluggish housing market and the relaxed landing standards.

This prediction seems validated with the announcement last week by the Mortgage Bankers Association report that delinquency rates for mortgage loans are up again in the third quarter. 

So, what is a person to do.  Well, first of all, be very aware of the various loan options and why they are structured the way they are.  If you have bruised credit, consider holding off on the purchase and repairing the damage so that you don’t have to settle for subprime lending options that set you up to become one of the statistics.  Some will argue that renting while trying to repair credit is the equivalent of throwing money down the drain.  But really, if you accept a bad mortgage situation and ultimately end up losing your home — is it really any better?