Mortgages increase the risk faced by homeowners. a. Explain how. The mortgage is leverage for the homeowner, and leverage increases risk. b. What happens to the homeowner's risk as the down payment on the house rises from 18 percent to 50 percent? With a down payment of 18 percent, the leverage factor is With a down payment of 50 percent, the leverage factor is 2.0. A down payment of 50 percent reduces the leverage ratio by a factor of relative to a down payment of 18 percent