What if a banker or mortgage broker told you he's loan you 25 percent above the value of your home? You might think it sounds great, but I sure hope you'd say no. This is a loan only the most money-hungry and unscrupulous loan officers will sell. Few, if any, banks will do them. There are wholesale lenders, though, who will actually loan 125% of the value of your home.

In other words, if your home is valued at $100,000 and you want to take as much cash as possible, these lenders will actually loan you $125,000. Obviously, this type of loan is for people who are desperate to get cash, usually to pay off high credit cards or other bills. Although it might look attractive, it's actully a Death Loan.

So, why do I call it The Death Loan? Easy. It kills people financially. An honest mortgage professional will never offer this type of loan, and if you ask about it, they should tell you what youre about to read here. When you borrow more than your home is worth, you set yourself up to fail. Remember, you may pay off some debts with that extra money, but your mortgage payment is going to skyrocket. The interest rates on these loans run between 11% and 14% on average.

Now, the average person who takes this loan will pay off 10 or 20 thousand dollars worth of debt and feel great, for a short time. What invariably happens next is this person has cleared credit cards and slowly, or quickly in some cases, begins to run them up again. You see, very few people have the discipline to keep those balances low (remember, were talking about a person who took this loan, because he ran them up in the first place). Here is where the financial death trap occurs.

The person has all that original debt, a huge mortgage payment, and now has a house that is worth $25,000 less than his loan amount. He cant sell, he cant refinance his mortgage, and he cant make his monthly bills; he is probably headed for bankruptcy.

Avoid this loan, at all costs. If a mortgage person suggests it, I would say you didnt do enough homework in selecting this person. Ge yourself a new mortgage professional, fast.

Mark Barnes

Mark Barnes is a novelist, sports writer and NFL radio analyst. He recently completed his first novel, The League, a suspense thriller with a plot based on fantasy football and a conspiracy against professional athletes. Barnes is Suite101's sports columnist.