Generally, subprime mortgages are for borrowers with credit scores under 620. Credit scores range from about 300 to 850, with most consumers landing in the 600s and 700s. Someone who is habitually late in paying bills, and especially someone who falls behind on debts by 30, 60 or 90 days or more, will suffer from a plummeting credit score. If it falls below 620, that consumer is in subprime territory.

Few lenders will use the term "subprime" to describe you or your loan because it's considered bad salesmanship. You might hear the word "non-prime" or, more likely, an adjective won't be used to describe the mortgage at all.

Mortgages for people with excellent credit are somewhat of a commodity, with rates that don't vary much from lender to lender for equivalent loans. That's not the case with subprime mortgages. You might receive widely differing offers from different subprime lenders because they have different ways of weighing the risk of giving you a loan. For that reason, it's important to comparison shop when your credit score is less than 620.

How subprime mortgages differ

A subprime loan also is more likely to have a prepayment penalty, a balloon payment or both. A prepayment penalty is a fee assessed against the borrower for paying off the loan early -- either because the borrower sells the house or refinances the high-rate loan. A mortgage with a balloon payment requires the borrower to pay off the entire outstanding amount in a lump sum after a certain period has passed, often five years. If the borrower can't pay the entire amount when the balloon payment is due, he or she has to refinance the loan or sell the house.

Researchers contend that prepayment penalties and balloon payments are associated with higher foreclosure rates. The subprime mortgage industry contends that borrowers get lower interest rates in exchange for prepayment penalties and balloon payments, but that point is debatable.

Predatory loans

Another predatory tactic is to pressure a homeowner to refinance the mortgage frequently, charging high closing fees each time and rolling the closing costs into the mortgage amount. That goes hand in hand with another predatory tactic: Issuing a loan regardless of the borrower's ability to repay it. When the borrower inevitably defaults, the predatory lender forecloses and sells the property.

An ethical mortgage lender doesn't want to foreclose on a property because it is a money-losing process. An ethical lender makes money by charging interest and loses money by foreclosing. A predatory lender, on the other hand, profits by repeatedly collecting closing fees, then seizing the house.

To defend yourself from predatory lenders, find your credit score before shopping for a mortgage, and ask people whom you trust for referrals to mortgage lenders. And comparison shop by going to at least two mortgage brokers or lenders.

1. Reduced income/same expenses. Too often we delay bringing expenses in line with a reduction in income for a host of good reasons and let debt fill the gap. The sooner you adjust to your new reality, whether it be temporary or permanent, the better off you'll be.

2. Divorce. More than half of us do it, some more than once. I can think of few things more expensive and likely to put you in debt. For those of you who have never done it and would like to get some idea of the impact, sell all your assets and get the money in $50 bills. Go to a hotel on a busy street, and you and your spouse open two windows and see who can throw the most money out the fastest. It can be breathtaking.

3. Poor money management. A monthly spending plan is essential. Without one you have no idea where your money is going. You may be spending hundreds of dollars unnecessarily each month and end up having to charge purchases on which you should have spent that money. Planning is no more difficult than writing down your expenses and income and reconciling the two. You will be surprised at how powerful you'll feel when you are making thoughtful decisions about where and when to spend your money.

4. Underemployment. A close cousin to No. 1, people who experience under employment may continue to think of it as only temporary or if they are coming off unemployment feel a false sense of relief. Yes, you deserve a break, but this is not the time. Get those expenses in line with your current income. Down the road if you increase your income due to more hours, a second job, or a better job, then is the time to start adding in some of the previous spending before you became underemployed.

5. Gambling. Call it America's new entertainment or (considering the boom in tribal casinos) the Indian's revenge. Either way there is a guaranteed exchange of money from you to "the house." It can be addictive, hard to stop and loans are freely available. Gambling establishments may be the only place you can mortgage your house while intoxicated and have it be legal. I'm sorry, I forgot -- this is entertainment!