Poll Shows That More Borrowers Are Going Non-Traditional

A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal showed that an increased number of borrowers are looking to non-traditional mortgages for their lending needs.

Approximately 9% of those polled took out an option ARM this year -- only 4% did last year.

The use of piggyback second mortgages also saw an increase. Twelve percent of those polled said they piggybacked a second mortgage when they took out their first mortgage. Last year, only 10% piggybacked a second mortgage.

However, fewer homeowners took out interest-only mortgages this year, 14%, down from last year's 17%. But when looking at demographics, there was a 50% increase in homeowners between the ages of 18 and 34 who took out an interest-only loan this year, to about 23% of borrowers in the age group.

Financial advisors have long criticized many non-traditional mortgage programs, such as the interest-only ARM, due to the risk that they bring to the borrower. Once the interest rates reset to normal levels from their inital teaser rates many homeowners are left with "rate shock" and are unable to afford their payments. Many borrowers who use the interest-only mortgages are unable to afford the payments once the principal amount is added to the payments. Those with Option ARMs that allow minimum payments often find they owe more after a year than they did at the time of closing. All of these programs leave borrowers open for default.

Lenders and banking instituations maintain that they simply provide these programs to qualified borrowers. They say they are not responsible for monitoring how a borrower manages their finances.

Non-traditional lending options have been popular during the past five years of strong housing growth. Most economists expect to see a downturn in nontraditonal usage, as well as overall mortgage applications, as the market slows to a normal level of growth.