I agree with you that this is an extreme example and this lady was probably duped into it without full disclosure by a predatory lender. 86 doesn't make someone mentally incapacitated but in her case her age might have played a part, rendering her more vulnerable to a fast talking mortgage broker. (What's with these "reverse mortgages" anyway???)

Your premise is what I agree with. Aside from this extreme example which is an easy one to use as a "for instance", most cases are exactly what you suggest. People got greedy. Banks/lenders/brokers were more than happy to lend whether or not the person could afford it. Home owners did just what you stated: they used their homes as an ATM. Both are at fault.

It just burns me up that the politicians on both sides are crying rivers for the average idiot who got themselves into their own mortgage mess. Whether the lenders were predatory or not, we are presumed to be responsible for ourselves and able to make good decisions. Unfortunately, that is not true for too many people and we wind up with a catastrophe like we have now.

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