OK, now all I have to do is figure out who'll loan me $200 million. I got some ammo and old comic books as collateral...
The catch is that your collateral has to have enough value to more than cover the loan. Many people have had houses go the wrong way in market value, and when the bank foreclosed, it got the entire proceeds of the sale, wiping out the homeowner's original downpayment. Buy a house for $200,000, put down $40,000 of your own hard-earned money, market value goes down to $160,000, you can't make payments, bank forecloses, and you're out the house AND your $40,000. If you can play this the right way, you can get plenty rich with other people's money. Buy a house in a rising market with no money down (interest only mortgage), house goes up in value, you sell, and after paying off the mortgage, you have a colossal profit on no investment other than the monthly payments you made while living in the house. Risky game, though.