[ark_girl]

All these people who borrowed to the gills a couple of years ago and then took out ARM loans or those interest only loans so they could buy more house than they could actually afford are having to start paying the piper.

The loans were predatory, but George Bush didn't tell people to take out loans like that. No reputable financial person out there that I saw encouraged people to take out loans like that...but folks sure enough did.

I feel for those folks, but you could see it coming a mile away. When I was getting my house, I knew people my age taking out those arm loans because they were assuming they'd only live in their house 5 years. They didn't take into account that the low interest rates would drive the housing prices up and sooner or later the interest rates would go, making it harder to upgrade if you were just able to squeeze into your house in the first place.

[ex-Texan]

Ameriquest just settled a predatory lending class action case for about $ 350 million. Just a drop in the bucket. This year foreclosures will probably go up every quarter again. Foreclosed properties impact local property value, increasing downward pressure on the housing market. Good buying opportunities are coming to your neighborhood very soon.

Just resist the temptation to refinance every two years and roll your credit cards and a new SUV into the deal. Yada, yada. It's not Bush's fault. Greenspan did it.

[stuartcr]

Didn't those cheap loans, in part, account for the booming economy?