The U.S. home mortgage industry first formalized risk criteria in the 1920s and 1930s to determine which applicants should receive funds. Over the past eighty years, these formulae have become more sophisticated. Guy Stuart demonstrates that the very concepts on which lenders base their decisions reflect a set of social and political values about "who deserves what." Stuart examines the fine line between licit choice and illicit discrimination, arguing that lenders, while eradicating blatantly discriminatory practices, have ignored the racial and economic-class biases that remain encoded in their decision processes. He explains why African Americans and Latinos continue to be at a disadvantage in gaining access to loans: discrimination, he finds, results from the interaction between the way lenders make decisions and the way they shape the social structure of the mortgage and housing markets.Mortgage lenders, Stuart contends, are embedded in and shape a social context that can best be understood in terms of rules, networks, and the production of space. Stuart's history of lenders' risk criteria reveals that they were synthesized from rules of thumb, cultural norms, and untested theories. In addition, his interviews with real estate and lending professionals in the Chicago housing market show us how the criteria are implemented today. Drawing on census and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for quantitative support, Stuart concludes with concrete policy proposals that take into account the social structure in which lenders make decisions.

"Evaluates the options open to policymakers as they reassess the federal government's role in the U.S. residential mortgage market and consider a new system that reduces risk in mortgage lending, maintains a limited government role, and gradually removes the government-sponsored enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) from the mortgage market"--Provided by publisher.

Buying a home is the largest, most nerve-wracking purchase most of us ever make. It doesn’t help when choosing a mortgage means entering a maze of unfamiliar words and confusing options that can leave us intimated, frustrated, and afraid we’ve been taken advantage of. That’s why Navigating the Mortgage Maze is a crucial book for consumers—especially if they’re reeling from the current mortgage melt-down and need straightforward, easy-to-understand help from a trusted source. With 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry and a keen understanding of the average reader’s needs in getting a good mortgage, Dale Vermillion is perfectly positioned to be America’s ‘go-to’ expert. In addition to instantaneous help through www.dalevermillion.com and an easy-to-use online mortgage calculator, the book features a clear and compelling presentation of the gospel. It’s one Dale has shared with tens of thousands of mortgage professionals throughout North America—and it will deeply impress the reader that the greatest purchase in history isn’t a good mortgage, but what Jesus Christ purchased for us on the Cross.

Successful home ownership requires the availability of appropriate mortgage products. In the years leading up to the collapse of the housing market, home buyers frequently accepted mortgages that were not only wrong for them but catastrophic for the economy as a whole. When the housing market bubble burst, so did a cornerstone of the American dream for many families. Restoring the promise of this dream requires an unflinching inspection of lending institutions and the right tools to repair the structures that support solid home purchases. The American Mortgage System: Crisis and Reform focuses on the causes of the housing market collapse and proposes solutions to prevent another rash of foreclosures. Edited by two leaders in the field of real estate and finance, Susan M. Wachter and Marvin M. Smith, The American Mortgage System examines key elements of the mortgage meltdown. The volume's contributors address the influence of the Community Reinvestment Act, which is often blamed for the crisis. They uncover how the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac invested outside the housing market with disastrous results. They present surprising information about low-income borrowers and the strengths of local banks. This collection of thoughtful studies includes extensive analysis of loan practices and the creation of unstable mortgage securities, presenting data largely unavailable until now. More than a critique, The American Mortgage System offers solutions to the problems facing the future of American home ownership, including identifying asset price bubbles, calculating risk, and preventing discrimination in lending. Measured yet timely and by turns provocative, The American Mortgage System provides a careful assessment of a troubled but indispensable part of the economic and social structure of the United States. This book is a sound investment for economists, urban planners, and all who shape public policy.