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..in other news..... People who follow the rules and pay thier mortgage on time will still get that sinking feeling of being screwed.

They may feel like they are being screwed, but how quickly can they become one of those who are about to lose their home? Many of those who are facing forclosure were once a member of the crowd you are so fond of that followed the rules and pais their mortgage on time too.

Thats were your wrong, most of these people paid there rent on time because that's all they could afford and did not qualify for a home loan. There was a reason for that, the fact is the politicians removed regulatory rules that allowed the banks to prey on people with bad loans. The federal reserve permitted the interest rates to stay low and it caused a feeding frenzy. The people that took these loans because they chose to not do there research and were ignorent to what the final cost would be for there home. Really folks who did not see the formula for disaster in the housing market? It was a pyramid scam on a huge scale, and people got caught up in it and couldn't cash out. I saw it,and got in bought property and sold in 2006, then waited for all the forclosures to hit the market and bought one for myself. If anybody wants to make a difference start holding your politicians accountable for there closed door deals, every senator and congreessman that was in office from 2001 to to 2006 should be voted out. They have proven that they are not qualified and are not compatent enough to manage this country

I do not recall anyone holding a gun to my head when I was buying my houses and I actually read what my payment was going to be for the whole time. Some people thought I was wierd doing 15 and 30 year FIXED mortgages and not these exotic ARMs......hmmmm......being conservative does make some sense sometimes. Talk to an old timer and they will tell you of the days when putting down 20% was the norm and getting a 12% interest rate was awesome.

But there are problems with what you say. Many borrowers were not as sophisticated as you are. Believe it or not, I still have people come into my office who cannot read, or who cannot read well. To them, a mortgage document might as well be the back of a cereal box. And unless you have dealt with mortgages down on the ground where they get explained and signed, you just cannot believe the level of deception that was prevalent in the industry for years. Yes, it's better now, but the problem is that we have all this wreckage strewn about the economy, and that must be cleaned up. Many homeowners who are now in trouble would never have chosen the products they signed on for if these ARM's and balloon payment loans had not been sold to them. Don't you remember getting calls during supper for years, suggesting that the caller could save you some money if you would only do a refinance with them? Quite simply, many people were fleeced by those with superior information and a ruthless nature. This is all fine, I suppose, if you want to live in a predatory, dog-eat-dog world. I'm still working for something a bit more civilised.