Gary of Waterville, ME Delusion of AZ, I half agree with you on that point. Much of this is due to poor judgement and speculation gone wrong. The following clip, from CNN Money, pretty much says it all in a nutshell.

"Trying to get the economy back to full throttle after its last recession in 2001, the Fed ratcheted down its key rate to 1% - the lowest in more than four decades. Then-chairman Alan Greenspan held the rate at that super-low level for a year, before the Fed began to bump it up. That action has since fueled criticism that Greenspan helped to create the very housing boom that has now gone bust, wreaking havoc on the economy. Foreclosures have surged to record highs, financial companies have wracked up multibillion losses and all the fallout has sent the economy reeling."

Pile up on top of that the record high fuel prices and rising food prices that are outpacing inflation. Its is going to be tough times for millions more who unlike unscrupulous investors are trying to hold on to their homes.report abuse

Delusion of Peoria, AZ Interestingly, it is not just those that can't afford their payments that are foreclosing. A house behind me purchased by investors for $800,000. just walked away because they didn't want to put anymore $$ in it. The house across the street was abandoned and stripped of lights, speakers, water heater, water softener system and moved off to Mexico because they didn't want to bear the life of the loan for a house that just went down in value because of a lagging market. For those of us who have ethics and a sense of pride in our homes, as opposed to our investments, it would be unthinkable to just walk away. Keep in mind that many of these foreclosures are investors, mortgage brokers, NOT homeowners like you and I..its tragic, and its wrong. So....although I want no one to lose their homes, how do we bail out some and not all? (Including these unscrupulous investors)report abuse

Rick of Winslow, ME Unfortunately, from all predictions, it's going to get worse before it gets better.report abuse