Subprime mortgages refer to property loans made to people with tarnished or less than perfect credit. This credit is usually defined as scores below 600. These loans are higher risk than conventional loans and therefore command higher interest rates. Subprime mortgages make the possibility of home ownership possible for many people that could not otherwise qualify to borrow money for a home loan. People with less than good credit can become homeowners and improve their credit by making payments on time. The danger for subprime loan borrowers is the fact that the interest rates are higher and therefore the payments are usually more. Subprime lenders in an effort to sell more mortgages loosened qualifications and used ARMs to get people into subprime loans. This contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. Because many of these loans had rates that adjusted and raised payments years later, the subprime mortgage fiasco will affect the economy for years.