Mortgage protection in case times get tough
Melissa Sparks is a bit nervous about making the biggest investment of her life during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. So she plans to pay a one-time fee of $525 for a security blanket when she buys her first house.
A program offered by her lender, Service First Mortgage, promises to pay up to $1,800 in mortgage payments for six months if Sparks is laid off from her surgical-coordinator job within the first 24 months of the mortgage.
“It’s a small price to pay if something should happen to my job,” said Sparks, 30, of Garland, Texas. “It’s one less thing to worry about.”
Other companies are using innovative marketing to reduce the risk for cash-strapped consumers while boosting sales as customers worry about the recession