Given all those factors, there are many ways a lender can make a mistake.

Many lenders and investors make judgments about your business based on this section of the plan alone.

The second was that lenders generally preferred to make loans to those who don't need them.

But in recent years lenders have also made it easier to finance vacation homes.

Moreover, lenders rarely make loans that exceed 80 percent of a home's value.

"In fact, no lender is making these kinds of loans anymore," he said.

After a lender makes a mortgage, the loan may change hands, perhaps several times.

In 1992, 42 lenders made 6,429 loans, totaling $44 million.

The lenders themselves have often made it easier for parents to participate.

Many lenders made loans with as little as 5 percent down, say, $2,500 on a $50,000 home.