They should have stopped in May 2000. They could have first paid off the cars then worked away at the mortgage.
It’s their own stupidity. Why did they need to move? Why did they need a NEW Altima? They wanted more than they could afford. Stupid is as stupid does.
The kicker is even that the new Nissan wasn’t that big of a deal had they stopped there. Paid on their 1st house, 2 decent cars and they could have been scot-free.