Reply #9: So many of them, and no one is talking about it...

[CoffeeCat]

...except you, of course! ;)

I cannot understate enough how "in cahoots" our real-estate agent and our mortgage broker were, when we
purchased our home nearly four years ago.

This was when everyone in our area (suburb) was buying huge homes--and never questioning the long-term
consequences.

We asked to see homes in a certain price range. The realtor would show us homes that were $100k more than
the price range we discussed. She rationalized, "We can always talk them down." She'd get us into these
beautiful homes, and of course you want it! And after you see the higher-end home--it makes the lower
priced homes look worse.

We finally found a house--on our own--in our price range. The realtor strongly encouraged us to "take advantage
of the amazing financing options available!" The realtor and the broker pressured us to take an ARM or an
interest-only loan. They treated us like idiots who didn't understand how great this financing was.

It was all a con! We stuck to our guns and got a fixed-rate, conventional mortgage, btw...

No one talks about this, but the realtors were showing and selling those big houses. The realtors knew that many
had no money down, and they knew what the buyers income was! They knew this wasn't sustainable and that it was
reckless. But they didn't care---because they made more money if they sold bigger houses. What did the realtors
care if the people foreclosed in five years? They still got their commission.

It was all a big shell game brought to you by the lobbyists for the banks and finance companies. They lobbied for
lax regulations on lending--and look what happened.

Twenty-five year olds were starting mortgage-broker shops and becoming millionaires--and so were the real-estate
agents. The banks knew that the real-estate agents would play the game too--because they would make loads of cash.

Meanwhile, the little guy gets screwed...and the people who are foreclosed upon are positioned as irresponsible
low lives who wrecked the country.

No one talks about the real-estate agents or the mortgage brokers and their culpability in this mess.

:eyes: