'Subprime' Aftermath: Losing the Family Home

[cato2]

'Subprime' Aftermath: Losing the Family Home

Mortgages Bolstered
Detroit's Middle Class --
Until Money Ran Out
By MARK WHITEHOUSE

DETROIT -- For decades, the 5100 block of West Outer Drive in Detroit has been a model of middle-class home ownership, part of an urban enclave of well-kept Colonial residences and manicured lawns. But on a recent spring day, locals saw something disturbing: dandelions growing wild on several properties.

"When I see dandelions, I worry," says Sylvia Hollifield, an instructor at Michigan State University who has lived on the block for more than 20 years.

Ms. Hollifield's concern is well-founded. Her neighbors are losing interest in their lawns because they're losing their homes -- a result of the recent boom in "subprime" mortgage lending. Over the past several years, seven of the 26 households on the 5100 block have taken out subprime loans, typically aimed at folks with poor or patchy credit.

Story Link:
Free Article - WSJ.com

[conlor]

It seems they didn't read the small print. Too bad. They should try to sell before losing everything.

[BrianK]

Are these people victims ?

I looked for something describing responsible people caught by high unexpected medical bills using the equity in their homes to pay the debt.

Nothing about that.

Shooterman has been posting some very informative threads about the effect of credit and the Gov. printing money that has no backing.

This excerpt from the article is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to people and credit. What happens when lending institutions begin to fail because people no longer pay their debt?

[One study by the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit that focuses on abusive lending practices, forecasts that the subprime boom will result in a total of 2.4 million foreclosures nationwide.]

Are they victims ?