It is difficult to pinpoint the month, or even year, that the mortgage crisis officially began. In 2005, the real estate industry felt its first hints of a housing-sales slowdown. By 2006, foreclosures were on the rise nationally. In 2007, reports of a subprime meltdown were making news. Late in 2008, Congress passed a controversial bailout package, and hopes rose that the housing crisis would begin to subside. We all know that didn't happen. In fact, the crisis deepened. In 2009, credit tightened, companies cut spending and unemployment soared to more than 10 percent, where it hovers today. Without jobs, homeowners with historically strong credit scores and prime loans increasingly fell behind on their mortgages and suffered or faced the threat of foreclosure.
