I have been in real estate one form or another for over 30 years....but this is absurd. I have two acquaintances whom I helped and consulted in RE issues for free. I am a broker and still pay for multiple listing but semi. removed from the picture. Both my clients had housing problems. One of the bought in a nice area albeit in different times with different lenders. The one (I call stupid) bought with better timing, but later mindless spending and other issues (like scum RE financiers) talked them into refi, and they did sign what I call a "loan for the stupid". They bought a Mercedes after that and lived on happily after, UNTIL suddenly the house of cards collapsed. Now they got a loan mod, of course we are no longer in speaking terms with them as I told them how dumb they are. The loan mod. by the way is a postponement of the inevitable, their losing the house, as most loan mod. have nasty balloon payments and other "catches" these people are too dumb to comprehend. My other friends bought in the wrong time in an area where it was a non-flood zone, rezoned. The developer paid off the mayor or other powers to be. But after some big storm FEMA overrode the local governments and now it is flood zone again. :eek: Now their WHOLE neighborhood is in shambles and houses lost 50-60% of their values, They also tried a load mod. but the lender turned them down, now they are doing a short sale and will be renting for quite sometime. (short sales are picking up now) This whole thing appears to me upside down...and clearly fostering and helping the fiscally illiterate and irresponsible while punishing the unfortunate.