sunday subprime saviour meltdown, page-9

"What is a teasor rate, you have one or two years of 1 or 2% rate and it move up to the market rate.
I also read, and from friends it is very difficult to acquire a basic long term mortage in the states. They are available but in practise not in the interest of the banks to sell them, you aaa plus credit rating to get one. To achieve an aaa plus rating basicly you need assets and no debt."

You are misinformed. I've _had_ a prime 30 year mortgage in the US, when I was living in California during the tech boom. The rates are fixed from day one - no teaser rates. The criteria is a credit score, which requires a credit history, which generally requires some debt. I already had a mortgage on a property in Oz when I got my US 30 year.

I also saw first hand what the predatory lending practices were like. They would simply be illegal in Oz, contravening any number of consumer protection laws. In the US, the philosophy has traditionally been more reliant "caveat emptor".

In short, prime and subprime = chalk and cheese.

If you are going to bet real money, I'd do a little more research yet.

-Mark