one problem associated with alt-a loans is the lack of necessary proof or documentation needed to be approved for a loan. thus, lenders may be inclined to suggest borrowers skew their incomes or assets in order to qualify for a larger loan; in the long run, the borrowers may turn out to be unable to afford their payments but the lenders still collect a hefty profit. because alt-a loans are also the financing of choice for most non-owner occupied, investment properties, as a class they represent a far greater likelihood of borrower default than conventional, conforming mortgages, since people are more likely to abandon a property in which they do not live than they are to risk losing their primary homes. as of 2008, there was strong evidence of weakness among securities backed by alt-a mortgages for reasons similar to the crisis in those backed by subprime.