Reply #19: This is big out in Cali

[Alcibiades]

Many of the same people who learned how to play the real estate money game when the market was up are looking to play it when it is down. My step brother has done this, and he is exactly as described: sold a house for $700k, bought a bigger one for $900, had it reappraised, took money out to make more improvements. Now he owes $1.6 million on a house NO ONE HAS EVER PAID that kind of money for. He could afford his payments, but he is choosing not to pay, because he owes more than the thing is worth, so he's walking away.

He seems really angry that his god (the real estate boom) is dead.