I agree with that statement. People who dont manage thier money only have themselves to blame. Of course there are going to be people out there who are goig to try to sell you 10 times as much as what you need. Its up you as a responsbile human being to say no when you know that you cannot afford it. You are the maker of your salary and you know what you bring in and what goes out in bills. Everything is now, now NOW. I have to own it now and keep up with the Jones. Heaven forbid people save their money up for something when they can just get it on credit and pay it off later...or in many cases never.  It's not the lenders, or the banks or the goverment who makes this housing problems, it is those who went out there and decided that oh well I don't care if the payment is 60% of my monthly budget I'm going to get a house I can't afford. The people in this mess can't blame anyone else for thier problems because it is your responsibility as a responsbile consumer to know what you are getting into when you buy a house. To educate yourself about this tremendous purchase that you are taking on. That you read the fine print and understand all the rules and how payments will be made becuase if you expect banks or lenders to explain this to you then you are a fool and deserve the cardboard box you get.

Thanks for the link love. I hope you come by No Debt Plan and find something else you're interested in sharing with all of your readers!

It really is sad that the most responsible people -- AND bankers -- are going to end up paying for the mistakes and greed of others.

Thanks,

Kevin -- www.nodebtplan.net

Hi Karen, what Kevin said :)

And please feel free drop by the PF Bloggers forum (http://pfbloggers.com/forum/) and say hello!

Kind Regards,

Jonathan

I agree that people made tremendous mistakes in biting off more than they could chew with some of the loans they took out.  But during that time period all of this was going on and home prices were sky-rocketing, everyone was trying to get into the mortgage backed securities and "suckle" on the housing profit teet!!!  Where was the Fed when these things were going on.  Where was congress when these type of mortgages were being signed?  No one stepped in to say "whoa, somethin' ain't right!!??" Everyone just profited and was blinded by dollar signs.  Now people are losing homes, responsible people are making up the mistakes made by big banks and foreclosures, and what is the Fed doing, but bailing out the banking system and eventually sticking the tax payers with the tab...Awesome economic times we live in...I agree that the people who bought these houses hold responsibility, but don't the banks that approved these loans own some of the problem too???

A coworker of mine is facing foreclosure having fallen more than four months behind on his mortgage payments.  He is the nicest guy I know, always willing to lend a hand, no matter what the task.  He would literally give the shirt off his back if he thought it was helpful.  He supports and houses both of his parents, his daughter, and until very recently his late grandmother.  Really, the nicest guy I know.

He took out an ARM with no downpayment, no reserve savings, and even at the teaser rate could barely afford the payment.  As nice a guy as he is though, who can he blame for his predicament?  Whether the broker fully explained the situation is moot - he signed the document and he accepted responsibility.

There are so many people in this situation -- you don't want to blame them, but who else can you?

Jon -- mydebtquest.wordpress.com

Entitlement, entitlement, entitlement.  Because you've been given the breath of life your entitled to "...reap what YOU sow"!

I agree, stupid is as stupid does.  these morons should not have been stupid enough to think they could afford something outside of thier finacial budgets.  MTV, internet and all these bs reality shows(which by the way are far from reality) have the me me me generation believing they can afford anything and everything they want.  Sorry welcome the the REAL WORLD.. now you get just what you derserve, bad credit and the chance to never get ahead in the REAL WORLD.  Let's not bail them out, what happened to pulling your own weight and making it on your own.  Oh they don't know how to do this, they've been living in MTV dreamland..  I feel sorry for all the hardworking, tax paying, making it on our own, not the lazy give me what i deserve because i was born people in a mess they created for themselves.

Thanks for the mention!  I really believe in looking at the other side of things.  I know there are others who overextended themselves and they have their own stuff to deal with ... but for the people who were truly ripped off, my heart goes out to them.  It is an expensive lesson.  

What about the people who were responsible, put money down, had 6 months of reserves but were laid off?  Arm started resetting and depleting their reserves?

Who's to blame then?  Do we not see that there is a larger problem here?  This goes far beyond personal responsibility.  What affects them ultimately affects the rest of us as well.  They foreclose our property values go down.  Jobs are lost, people are laid off and people are besides themselves as to what the next step will be.

Just my thoughts on a different perspective rather than the one that seems to be so shortsighted and rooted in blaming someone else when really, it could be any one of us are MOST are just a few paychecks if not one from being broke and one the street.   Well Im about 9 months but that's another story LOL!

Ginger

www.girlsjustwannahavefunds.com

I know I'm going to get the "wag of the finger, but  I bought my house in 2006 with an 100% mortgage, 30 year fixed, 6.5% interest,  my mortgage company set the purchase price of  no more than 40% of my salary.  It took a lot of patience, but I was able to find a house well within the limit set for me in a nice area and only 10 minutes from work (that was non negotiable).  Since buying the house, I have really built up my savings by cutting back on non-essential shopping and even paid off a couple of credit cards.  I had done my research well before deciding to buy a house and knew this was the best option for me, I knew I didn't want an interest only or ARM  and I went into this with my eyes wide open.  I went on to HUD's website to find a reputable mortgage company and my realtor worked for a well-known national firm.  So there are actually some of us that received "creative financing" in order to buy a home and did not buy more than we could afford.  Yes my house is small (1,100 sq. ft.) but its more than enough for me and 2 dogs.