An expose of bad businesses and their unethical practices

As the sub-prime mortgage and foreclosure crisis continues to spiral out of control, it is only natural to look into the issue to see who was at fault. Other columns in this series will look at the culpability of the mortgage lenders and the government agencies responsible for oversight. We should also consider to what degree the borrowers themselves were to blame.

It is probable that most of the borrowers were aware that they might be unable to make the mortgage payments once the variable rate “feature” kicked in. Therefore, they should not have entered into the agreements. They are guilty of trying to get more than they could pay for, which is a form of greed mixed with irresponsibility.

Still, the borrowers were the amateurs in these transactions. They were being pressed by the professionals, the mortgage lenders and the real estate agents, to buy the home of their dreams. It is not hard to believe that very little was said about the downside of these loans by those two groups which had the most to gain by the transaction. It is easy to see, however, how the greed of the lenders and the real estate agents could have driven them to lead the buyers down the path to a certain foreclosure. Let’s not blame the little guy when the big guys had much more to gain.