Did people who bought homes with mortgages they couldn't afford are to blame or is it the banks fault?

I think both are to blame, but the banks less so. They are out to make as much profit as possible, so they will try to lend as much as they possibly can. We each have a responsibility to manage our own finances and shouldn't live beyond our means. People with 100% or 125% mortgages are asking for trouble as we all knew that the housing market could crash at any time.Did people who bought homes with mortgages they couldn't afford are to blame or is it the banks fault?
There is plenty of blame to pass around. But to me, these are/were the big problems:





One, our government, for not having the foresight to regulate the lending industry until the cows were out of the barn.





Two, the lenders driven by greed, to get people that clearly did not qualify into a home they had no hope of affording.





Three, the people that wanted the big house with a picket fence, that did not do the research on their mortgage, just signed and grabbed the keys.





Four, the people that use(d) their house as a giant ATM, taking out the equity to buy the toys or pay off their run up credit card balances. Did people who bought homes with mortgages they couldn't afford are to blame or is it the banks fault?
Banks fault.


The people couldn't get the loans without them giving them to them. After all they didn't ';stick them up';.





If you put a kid in the candy shop, what are they going to do.?





Additional. Remember when they received the mortgages, the interest was at a low where they could afford the payments. The the ';Devil'; was in the details. The buyers, nor the overseers giving the funds knew that it would blow up so bad. They the overseers were not thinking ahead and they didn't know that the head man in charge (no names mention, let's move on in curing wounds).....was a jerk. and working overtime in taking care of his and his buddies like ';Brownie';.





So there you are. My personal educated opinion.
I sit on the fence with this one! First I see it as the mortage company ';ALLOWING'; people to get into homes there was no way that they could afford. No documentation 80% loan with a 20% loan sitting on top!





Then I see it....what were these people thinking! Champagne tastes on a beer budget! The insatiable need for THINGS! Hey look what I got......I guess it doesn't make sense to some people when they open their bank statement and see their money in the bank there pride for all their hard work! But wait....not everyone can see their bank statement so what good is that? The need for us Americans to accumulate THINGS it outrageous!





I would say 75% Banking/Mortgage fault because of greed and 25% consumers fault because of ignorance and stupidity!
its the bank at fault really the reason is they try their level best to get us into debt with either loans or mortgages that basic greed is the reason why they lend it to you at extortionate rates like 18% for overdrafts and up to 15% on loans and up to 12.9% on mortgages


that basic greed to get the interest on people who don't want to rent and get on the property ladder as renting is always not your home its always a tenancy agreement most of which are short hold and only last six months at a time and with no guarantee of renewal so in a sense renting is dead money


but to get a mortgage on a low salary is flipping impossible or they only lend enough for a crappy flat in that case you may as well just rent


its a complete farce


the banks hold the monopoly on mortgages and say who can and cant have a house


its a joke


and the price of houses are ridiculous so the bank says you can have this mortgage knowing all your income and put you on the absolute bread line and if your circumstances change you will never be able to afford repayments the insurance only covers so many months of repayments after that your stuffed


the government made it more accessible and attractive to own your own home and the banks over capitalise on poor families in vulnerable positions and then reposes your home far to quickly there is no rest bite for the poorer working class home own home who wants to climb up the ladder in status so i would say the banks greed is to blame


as they had the power to advise a better more affordable way to own a home
What the banks did could be considered morally / ethically wrong, however that doesn't mean it was illegal. People are ultimately accountable for knowing their own financial situation %26amp; if you're a sucker for a sales pitch, unfortunately you can't blame anyone else..... including the seller.
Both and neither.





The true problem in banking is the fact the bad mortgages were sold as investments all over the world.





But, none of these are the real reasons for our quick descent into hell.





The problem is GOOD JOBS for the MASSES.





We have off shored %26amp; imported our jobs and now that finance %26amp; housing has crashed there is nothing left for 50% of our citizens to do to make a good living.





Until we start addressing the loss of small business employers and jobs, this is just going to continue snowballing.





The experts %26amp; the government will never understand such a simple thing.





Jobs create customers and customers support business that creates jobs.





Good luck to us all.
Both parties are to blame. This problem can be solved in three ways;





1. Better educate the general public on finances





2. Control interest rates / Regulate banks





3. Offer better programs for home ownership
Think Whiskey has it right





The banks are to blame for offering huge mortgages





The mortgagees are also to blame for taking them on!
Both





For the buyers - first time buyers wanted the new built ';dream homes';.
both...everyone was told that people who rent were scum, so everyone bought