Free Republic

Gerard Herard was able to finally purchase a home in 2003 through a $225,070 mortgage from Security Atlantic Mortgage. His payments on the quaint Totowa Avenue house in Paterson were a reasonable $1,300 a month. But Herard's payments have since increased to $2,200 a month and the mortgage has grown, not shrunk, to roughly $300,000. Herard is not entirely sure why his situation changed so dramatically and is struggling to deal with the increase. "I'm trying to climb a steep ladder," said Herard, 53. In recent years, lenders have lured scores of homeowners to untraditional mortgages with changing terms. Many...

As rates creep up, borrowers with interest-only loans face sharply higher mortgage payments: Tina Gren Clarence saves $600 a month with an interest-only loan she took out about a year ago for a Petaluma home, yet already is considering heading off the financial hit when her monthly payments could jump. And Peter Shidler, whose low-payment-option loan could turn from a sweet deal into a potentially bitter one, is refinancing and still will pay $500 more monthly on his Santa Rosa home. Gren Clarence and Shidler, like two out of three Sonoma County home buyers and owners, joined the fast-growing club...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - They are jumping ship or receiving the pink slip. America's real estate agents and mortgage lenders, that is. ADVERTISEMENT Now that the glory days of the most recent U.S. housing market are over, its deterioration is taking a toll on employees who profited from its record-breaking five-year run. With home sales slumping and loan demand diminishing, layoff announcements and resignations have become increasingly common, evidence that the sector's slump is broad. Carmen Cook, a veteran real estate broker, saw the writing on the wall and decided to retire earlier this year. "The market changed and my...