By now almost everyone
knows that for decades mortgage dealers insisted that home buyers
be able to produce a down payment of 10 percent or more, show a
steady income and good credit rating, and possess a real first and
last name. Then, at the dawn of the new millennium, they suddenly
threw all that shit out the window and started writing mortgages on
the backs of napkins to cocktail waitresses and ex-cons carrying
five bucks and a Snickers bar.