Wednesday, September 5, 2007

What is NINJA ?

In financial terms NINJA has nothing to do with the Japanese origin of the name. This is what a type of housing loan has become known as in the USA.

It means No Income, No Job, no Assets.

Unfortunately there were unscrupulous lenders who made the loan application criteria fit and as a result when house prices dropped there were problems - i.e. the sub prime housing market. Sub prime loans are given to those borrowers who do not qualify through mainstream lenders.

In New Zealand we have 'lo doc' (documentation) or 'no doc' mortgages. I would hope that intermediary brokers here would not follow the path of those in the US.

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