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" Interesting article, BUT, people seem to do 2 wrong things. Think they can afford more (B-N is horrible at this), and people DO NOT read fine print or ask many questions. "

" is a document that federal law requires lenders to provide to loan applicants which discloses all the costs associated with making and closing the loan. These costs include the annual percentage rate, finance charges, amount financed and total payments the borrower will make over the term of the loan. The lender must give this statement to the borrower within three business days of receiving the loan application. So Harry, you need to leave the realtor, lawyer and banker out of this - many people are in debt because they want what they can't afford. It's really nobody's fault but the borrower. Here's a great idea - if you can't make your house payment . . . sell it and buy a cheaper one. Duh! "

" I live in Normal, and plan to move out of state within the year. I'm looking at houses in metropolitan areas, like Dallas and Phoenix, and I'm noticing something fairly peculiar... It costs less money to live in THOSE AREAS than here. I don't know what has gotten into people here, but The housing market is outrageous. I can move to Phoenix AZ and buy a $100,000 house that HERE would cost $150,000. There is something wrong with that picture... "

" mortgage companies do not explain the small print and people are desperate to find somewhere to live so they sign on. This is sad that this is happening in a country where it is suppose to be so rich and people are dying to get here. Yes, the homeowner is partially to blame, but the lender is the person that is solely responsible to make sure the lendee is aware of everything. Loan companies don't care about the people, it's all about bring on the cash please!! The economy is going into a deep recession and it will collapse like a house of cards. Their is no way I would pay some of these house payments that a lot of people have. I don't know how some of them do it; as we can see most aren't. The houses that are affordable are in the slum area and are dumps. I know I've looked at them. Those are a dime a dozen. This is a sad situation for all concerned. "

" Seriously, why should we feel even one bit sorry for someone who takes on a mortgage without knowing what they're getting into? If people aren't bright enough to know the terms of their mortgage, then they deserve what they get and shouldn't be homeowners to begin with. There's a reason people with bad credit don't get loans - in most cases they've not been responsible enough to handle their finances which is why their credit score sucks. And before you yell at me, yes, I know catastrophes happen, but those are the exceptions, not the norm. "

" Make the list of people that you cannot trust when doing business. This list will include a Realtor also a Lawyer and the Banker. I cant think of three more people to watch unless maybe it would be the poor ole Used Car salesman. Also helps if the buyer is in a hurry..dont care or just plan stupid. "

" If you want to find out wherein lies most of the net growth in debt since 2000, look no further than the Mortgage market. And the fact that Real Estate prices have FAR outpaced national income. Millions of indebted households will be paying interest on mortgages which far exceed the ‘value’ of their homes. Homes which have been sold to them as ‘investments’. The interest on these mortgages will be collected by a new ‘rentier’ class of mortgage holder who are not even capitalists. IF you consider a capitalist as one who creates value or wealth with their capital and knowledge. Those fortunate enough to be able to make payments on their massive high margin ‘investments’ will be considered nothing more or less than a new class of ‘serf ‘, renting the mortgage money on an increasingly negative equity ‘investment’. The conventional music played the tune “get in, borrow against your 'investment', maybe even turn your ‘investment’, and get out.” Now the music is stopping. And piles of ‘creatively financed’ poor devils will be left without a chair. ‘Creative financing’ should be approached like any other Ponzi scheme. If it sounds too good to be true…. "

" 2 of those examples could have been solved if the owners had just hired an attorney when they were buying the home. Everyone is so happy to save $400 while buying a $365,000 home and they do it on their own and then they end up signing the wrong kind of mortgage. But if they are making that sort of an investment then wouldn't it be more prudent to cover ALL of the bases? "

" Welcome to "the ownership society" ..... to those who have deluded themselves that they already live there. "