$2k, $2.5k

Amount two New Jersey home builders will pay toward the monthly mortgage of people who lose their jobs. K. Hovnanian Homes will pay up to $2,000 and Toll Brothers up to $2,500 a month for up to six months over a two-year period after someone buys a home from the companies. There are, of course, some restrictions and stipulations, like those from Toll Brothers.

These plans point to just how tough times are for builders—just a few years ago bidding wars broke out for homes, today they're dropping prices, offering attractive financing, and paying mortgages for unfortunate folks who have lost their jobs. "In today's marketplace, if you want to be successful as a builder and seller of homes, you have to eliminate objections. One of the objections is, 'I can't buy today, because I'm concerned I may not have a job tomorrow.' This helps with that fear," Ben Jogodnik, of Toll Brothers City Living in Hoboken, New Jersey, told The Star-Ledger, which first reported this story.

Visit DefendYourDollars.org to read the Consumers Union mortgage platform.