Or for mortgage companies that lent more money that the house was worth to people that couldn't afford the payments.
Bingo. HGTV had a show for awhile about first time home buyers. We were throwing things at the teevee as some of these people who could barely pay their RENT got in debt to their eyeballs to buy a house that in most cases was bigger than what they needed—and cost lots more than what they could afford. They would get what they called “creative” mortgages so they could have a fairly luxurious place to live—and who knows how long before the foreclosure?
What’s with some of these people? There is nothing wrong with renting and saving until you can come up with a decent down payment, then buying something within your means—and moving up as circumstances permit. You don’t have to start at the top—you can start lower and move to the top.