Readers pin the blame for mortgage mess

As part of our ongoing reportage on the problems many Americans are having with subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages, msnbc.com ran the story “How to lose your home in a few easy steps” about a San Diego woman who lost her home in part because of the type of mortgage she took out.

We asked readers to share their thoughts on who should shoulder the blame for this and tens of thousands of similar events occurring throughout the country. More than a thousand readers responded. Here are excerpts from their comments.

Shared blame
While I do not have a personal foreclosure experience, I believe that the responsibility lies primarily with the mortgage industry. The mortgage industry in my opinion wasn't open and upfront with the "interest only" and subprime products that were offered. On the other side of the equation, the buyers didn't do the "due diligence" necessary to get answers to critical questions. A purchase of real estate is a business transaction, and a lot of people don't look at it in that way. Also, buyers are not getting legal representation in the most critical of decisions in their lives. The third culprits are the real estate brokers etc., who push settlement companies. In reality, all a settlement company is a "transfer agent" for the buyer and seller to facilitate the transfer of the property title and necessary collection and disbursement of funds to close the real estate transaction. Hence, no one is there looking out for the buyer.
— Mark, Pennsylvania

Painting a picture
In some instances the home buyer was so anxious to get into a home they accepted any mortgage product given to them without reading the documents or fully understanding the terms of the loan. On the other hand, some lenders were (so) greedy that they used whatever tactics necessary to sell the potential buyer into taking the mortgage loan by painting a picture of continually rising home prices. I see this all the time as an HUD-certified housing counselor in Southern California.
— Max, California

Misplaced trust
If people were all real estate experts, there wouldn't be such a thing as real estate agents! You expect real estate professionals to know things you don't and to give you real advice and truthful information. People who know the ropes and are in a position of power to place the "average" working-class person in a huge investment like a home should be held accountable for misleading people with fast talk to believe that what is an impossible situation will work itself out in a couple of years if they just take the plunge. You trust plumbers, electricians and doctors to give you the right advice and help since you don't know what that is. A real estate professional should have the same expectations placed on them or they shouldn't have a license.
— Dana, Minnesota

Blame buyers
I think the buyers are responsible for the situations they got themselves into. If you really were not sure of something or hadn't been through the process before, you should have been asking more people you know, such as family. I am 24 and am now on my second home that I own with my husband. Never in a million years would I have ever signed for an adjustable-rate mortgage or an interest-only loan. Also, you should never be tied down by your mortgage. I think it is all just common sense.
— Jennifer, Oregon

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