Subprime mortgage loans: Some help, all hurt - 2004-03-12
Subprime home loans -- loans at higher-than-normal interest rates for borrowers with poor credit history -- are a double-edged sword.

They benefit people who normally wouldn't qualify for a conventional home loan, allowing those borrowers to become homeowners or get a home equity loan.

But they pay dearly for it. A subprime loan can add hundreds of dollars to a monthly mortgage payment and slows the accumulation of equity in a home.
Read the full story at Modesto Bee

Mortgage rates drop - 2004-03-12
Mortgage rates dropped sharply this week, with the rate on benchmark 30-year mortgages going to its lowest level since early July.

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages was 5.41 percent, Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey of mortgage rates.
Read the full story at Oakland Tribune