If the loan sharks did not require them to pay double that in interest.

I was curious about no down payment and the other marketing points at the time so I checked it out. That quote almost nearly states word for word what I said, except I wasn't really a low-wage earner at $21/hr in heavy construction in my neck of the woods. But, I did often get laid off and knew that would make it difficult to pay for a home. They were willing to "take a chance" with me anyway. I walked away. And, I'm glad I did.

And you saved yourself a lot of grief.

First, in two instances that I personally know of, the homebuyers or homeowners seeking to buy or refinance their homes were encouraged by the mortgage lender to obtain the signature of a relative or friend who would guarantee the payment of the mortgage. That was a very troubling practice of the mortgage companies, replacing a reasonable credit and income record with a guarantor. The guarantors and the homebuyers were really naive and foolish about buying the house or helping a neighbor or relative. So, yes, the homebuyers really were taken in.

Second, it was a housing boom. Housing prices were rising and the numbers of homeowners was increasing all in an economy in which wages were not rising. Any banker, mortgage lender, businessman, anyone working in the mortgage lending field should have seen red libhts everywhere. Individual homeowners did not have the business or economic training to assess the impact that the disparity between the incomes of the home buyers and the prices of the houses would necessarily have. But bankers, mortgage lenders, professionals in the field should not have been operating in the field if they couldn't read the warning signs that were practically flashing in your eyes at the time.

I had a friend who had worked for years as a manager in a very well known and successful company who fell for the mortgage company's suggestion that she get a friend to co-sign to refinance her very, very expensive home. Of course, in the end she had to leave house.

Bankers and mortgage lenders were not doing their jobs. They were not watching the economy. They were not acting cautiously enough. They knowingly allowed people, some of whom should have known better but most of whom were ignorant about economic matters to qualify for loans. The mortgage lender is supposed to be the gatekeeper.

When we bought our home many years ago, we were only allowed by the lender to buy a house that we could qualify for. The lenders stopped saying "no" to people and allowed too many people to qualify for loans. The lenders bear 100% of the responsibility for the crisis. They chose to give loans to unqualified borrowers. They did not have to do that.

As to who qualified for a mortgage. They did it out of greed, and richly deserve to be condemned. But the word "no" works both ways.

I.am taking a property law class, and our instructor likes to make up her own packets for her classes. In the packet for this class there is a wonderful little section called "advice to home buyers." Her Brother-in- law wrote it. The gist of it is, you do your homework, and you, not the bank, decide how much home you can afford. Because unlike the old days when you bought your home, the banks will want you to borrow more.