By Penelope J. Woodle


Rather than attempt to pay cash up front for the purchase of a home, many individuals will seek to borrow a majority of the funds needed through mortgage loans. This enables them to spread the sum over a much longer period of time, usually 15, 20 or 30 years. However, after the money has been borrowed, and although payments are still rendered to the original lender, many mortgages are actually sold off to an organization in the secondary mortgage market.

The primary market consists of the actual lenders and borrowers. It is the bank or lending institution that draws up the contract and terms of the agreement, working out the details with the home purchaser. These organizations decide the amount of principal that will be lent, the interest rate to charge, and how long the loan will be for.

The repetition of this process for individuals and businesses begins to slowly deplete the resources of the bank. Loans can be made for home purchases, or other personal or commercial reasons. As more people are lent money, the reserves of the institution are slowly no longer available for others to use.

One of the primary sources of income for banking institutions is the interest that is paid by borrowers. Therefore, the bank will want to have more capital to give to other people in the form of a loan. In order to do this, they will often sell the mortgages to an organization operating in the secondary market.

Once purchased, the institution will often bundle together similar home loan purchases so as to create a security to be sold on the stock market. Investors can purchase shares of the securities, which the company hopes will help to offset the risk of defaulting on their payments. These types of products are usually called mortgage-backed securities or collateralized debt obligations, plus a few other names.

The offerings in the secondary market, which many people do not even realize exists, do not place the mortgage loans of the initial borrowers at risk for loss of their home. They do however, put the stock market at risk when the borrower defaults on their payments. It is a complicated process to understand and operate.




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