Correct. "Predation" implies unethical or even borderline illegal behavior. Sowell is writing as if there is no such thing. There always has been.
The NYT article describes high interest rates as Predatory Lending.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/opinion/sunday/a-rate-cap-for-all-consumer-loans.html?_r=0
It seems clear that the reason Sowell is using the term that way is because, aside from one brief mention of hidden fees, the NYT uses it that way throughout the article he discusses.
Foreclosure is a messy business and often leads to lenders getting back pennies on the dollar. If there is more money derived than what is owed the bank doesn’t get to keep that, it goes to the seller. There’s no windfall in foreclosure.
I'd be eager to hear your experience.
Not because I doubt you but because of my own involvement in community banking.
Are you perhaps talking about 'mortgage companies,' or 'banks' like J.P. Morgan or AIG (because they aren't really banks at all).
I've had five home/real estate loans, and expect to have more. I did my homework, knew my limits, knew what I was doing, and never had a problem. To the contrary--the lenders went out of their way to accomodate me.
The biggest problem now for smaller community banks is that Dodd-Frank has buried them in such preposterous regulations that they can't really make a home loan except to someone who doesn't need it.