Who’s To Blame for the Foreclosure Epidemic?

Don't be sorry, Amanda. You're right! Rich white men have controlled and caused the social upheavel in the mortgage industry, and will continue to do so as long as it lines their pockets with greenbacks and gold. The good ol' boys club has always lived well off the sorrows of the poor and misfortunate...and laugh about it!

poo!!! we needed non traditional loans and some losened lending practices at 57 and my husband 63 we are sick of being told everything is based on a lending score this is unfair and wrong to do this to someone has worked all their lives! but mortgages are thrown at these people that show no experience in paying mortgages and being responsible when taking such a big adventure on. when my husband started buying homes and reselling and always paying the mortgages off without ever defaulting he carefully thought it out before leaping into something way over his head some risks are necessary but within reason! in alifetime he paid off 1/2 million dollars in mortgage monies never defaulting ever!!!! even if it meant working 2 jobs!!! his credit was triple a when we moved to az we suffered horrid fianancial loss due to no employment for 6 months and we used our savings to keep our heads above water that counted FOR NOTHING!!! NO ONE WOULD GIVE US A MORTGAGE!!! WE WORKED 2 JOBS!!!!

Rich white men. Sorry...did I just say that?

Definitely the mortgage industry, who sold loans to people using deceptive marketing practices—and who KNEW in advance that their clients would not be able to afford their loans. Frankly (as someone who's negotiated at least 5 mortgages) the paperwork and laws are very confusing—and I'm well-educated! We have to take care of people who would be overwhelmed by the very sight of all that paper and legalese. You can't just chalk it up to stupidity and laziness.

After researching the subject, I feel that there was overoptimism and fault on both sides, but mortgage brokers/real estate agents/financial lenders did some very underhanded, questionable practices. People were lied to, houses were appraised for more than they were worth, and fraud was prevalent.

I have to put a lot of the blame on people who bought homes they couldn't afford. Some were manipulated and tricked by their lenders, but many had to have known something was rotten in Denmark. You're buying a $300K home and your mortgage is $700 a month. HELLO, McFly, anybody home??? I am sympathetic to first-time buyers so desperate for the dream they pried their way in any way they could. And of course I blame the mortgage industry for chasing short-term profits at the expense of people just dying to own a home. I think everyone involved was looking for immediate gratification, and that is something ingrained in our culture.

I really think it's both the fault of the borrowers and the mortgage industry. I place more blame with the mortgage industry, however, because their job is to know better. Some borrowers were just enticed by the dream of owning their own home -- something that is understandable and reasonable.