When a 50-year anniversary rolls around, it's considered "golden." The 50-year mortgage, however, has been anything but golden for homeowners and Wall Street investors.

In the land of consumption, can too many options be a bad thing? Marketing experts will tell you that too many options tend to confuse people, and make them far less likely to make a decision.

The lack of success for the 50-year mortgage illustrates their point. The loan is part of a myriad of lending products that includes the 15-, 30- and 40- year fixed-rate mortgage, the interest-only loan, and the adjustable-rate mortgage. The 50-year version has only minor differences that distinguish it from the pack-a fact that has contributed to its lack of popularity.

Big term, little difference

People who choose loans with big repayment terms are interested in low monthly payments. That's because a mortgage's monthly loan payment decreases as the term increases. A 15-year mortgage, for example, has the highest payment, a 30-year loan costs a little less, and so on. Naturally, the 50-year mortgage has lower payments than a 40-year mortgage, but the difference is not all that significant.

Homeowners who aren't concerned about paying down principal, and want the lowest monthly payment on the market, will opt for the interest-only mortgage. The difference between its monthly payment and the 40-year mortgage is fairly sizable. The 50-year loan lies somewhere between the two, but the difference seems too incremental to attract borrowers.

Wall Street woes

Another reason the 50-year mortgage has nearly vanished from the marketplace is because Wall Street hasn't found a market willing to buy them. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, big purchasers of pools of mortgages, have shied away from the half-century loans.

That puts the burden on the financial institution issuing the mortgage. Either they must sell the mortgage to investors on their own, or service the loan with their own resources. Both options have little appeal to lenders in today's extremely tight mortgage market. When considered in the context of the subprime mortgage debacle, it's understandable why so many lenders are staying away.

Is there a future?

Don't write off the 50-year mortgage just yet. After all, it's a relative newcomer to the market, and these types of products take time to be accepted by lenders and borrowers alike. Also, lenders are extremely skittish these days. With profit margins razor-thin, taking a chance on a 50-year mortgage is probably an overly-risky move for most financial institutions.

People are more likely to make decisions when there's little ambiguity-it's easier when the choice is black or white. The 50-year mortgage is more a shade of grey, sandwiched between the interest-only mortgage and the 40-year fixed term loan. In a competitive market, it's this lack of distinction that's caused the 50-year mortgage to fade into the woodwork.