Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Mortgage & Loan: Million-Dollar Mortgage Meltdown

It would seem that the mania that possessed people to buy homes far beyond their means is indeed not confined to the
"subprime" sector, as this Reuters story indicates:

In Troy, Michigan, Dorothy Guzek, a credit counselor since 1988, has also seen the changing face of foreclosure. Her clients, while predominantly poor and minorities, increasingly are neither. Nowadays, homeowners holding professional careers with six-figure salaries regularly drop by her office. More and more they come from upscale Michigan communities..."Because of the financing that was possible, so many people bought the bigger house, the million-dollar house with the bowling alley or the tennis court outside," says Guzek, who works for GreenPath Debt Solutions, a nonprofit service based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. "People across all income brackets are having financial hardship."

As I've said before, there tends to be very little sympathy for people caught in dire mortgage straits. Indeed, the reaction of many bloggers seems to be open contempt that these people got in so far over their heads. Now, to be fair, many of the people stuck with high mortgage payments are flippers, specuvestors, etc., but not everyone is a Casey Serin.

So, watch this ABC News/BBC clip and judge for yourself: Are these folks guilty of "house gluttony" and rampant consumerism, or did they just get dealt a bad hand?

For me, I say what I've always said: The American Dream of home ownership should not come at such a high cost that any misstep could mean a wreck for life. And the idea that your entire financial history and future should be tied so closely to a stupid three-digit-number is an idea only fit for the nuthouse.

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It would seem that the mania that possessed people to buy homes far beyond their means is indeed not confined to the "subprime" sector, as this Reuters story indicates: In Troy, Michigan, Dorothy Guzek, a credit counselor since 1988, has also seen the changing face of foreclosure. Her clients, while predominantly poor and minorities, increasingly are neither. Nowadays, homeowners holding professional careers with six-figure salaries regularly drop by her office. More and more they come from upscale Michigan communities..."Because of the financing that was possible, so many people bought the bigger house, the million-dollar house with the bowling alley or the tennis court outside," says Guzek, who works for GreenPath Debt Solutions, a nonprofit service based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. "People across all income brackets are having financial hardship." As I've said before, there tends to be very little sympathy for people caught in dire mortgage straits. Indeed, the reaction of many bloggers seems to be open contempt that these people got in so far over their heads. Now, to be fair, many of the people stuck with high mortgage payments are flippers, specuvestors, etc., but not everyone is a Casey Serin. So, watch this ABC News/BBC clip and judge for yourself: Are these folks guilty of "house gluttony" and rampant consumerism, or did they just get dealt a bad hand?