New Loan Pitches Demand Old-Fashioned Due Diligence

Low monthly loan payments are one way big banks, mortgage brokers and home builders are trying to drive business, say industry trackers. "Consumers have become more focused on how much they'll pay a month rather than how much they'll pay in interest charges a few years down the line," says Blanche Evans, editor of trade publication Realty Times in Dallas. The subtle shift in the industry from pitching low mortgage rates to low monthly payments has sown confusion among some borrowers like Ms. Hill. "Who ever heard of a mortgage where the amount you owe increases as you pay it?"