Neither Security Mortgage Broker owner Steve Rosen nor Levin have any recollection of Thomas’ mortgage. In court, however, Thomas and her lawyer from Community Legal Services hope to prove that she was the victim of predatory lending, the practice of deceiving a borrower into accepting a high-cost loan or a loan they can’t afford (legally or illegally), and stave off her foreclosure. Mike Cleveland, a 39-year-old who recently bought a house in Mount Airy, is one of the homeowners stuck with a high-interest loan, only he doesn’t blame a broker or a loan officer for deceiving him. In 2006, Cleveland decided to leave his job as a loan officer and become a broker, attracted by the allure of the new subprime market. While a loan officer works directly for a mortgage company and can often wring only a limited commission from a mortgage, a broker can earn more per deal by adding fees, raising the interest rate and selling certain types of loans. They are currently in the process of appealing the decision, but they also hope that housing groups like the Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP), a local nonprofit, might be able to get them into a fixed-rate mortgage by negotiating with the mortgage company. read more