The public thinks of mortgage fraud usually in extreme terms and mostly pointed at the borrowers running away with the money, leaving the debt to unsuspecting homeowners.

In private mortgages, lending corporations (or occasionally wealthy individuals) will offer to finance a higher risk loan that major banks or credit unions would not. These often include second mortgages on a property (such as for renovations, repairs, or debt consolidation), mortgages for purchasers with unstable income or poor credit, or mortgages for purchasers looking to engage in complex investment transactions that banks are not keen to finance.