The ugliest side of this bubble - immoral realtors and lenders who preyed on the poor (here come the foreclosures)

Excellent (and just awful) series on Foreclosure from the Charlotte Observer.

True, you make your bed you sleep in it. But we all know how some folks preyed on the least economically sound or sophisticated among us during this bubble. "Don't worry - you can afford it! No money down! Pay less than the monthly interest due!

It'll work out fine because housing never goes down!"

No, it won't. Yes, it does.

Foreclosing on the American Dream
Loan defaults a growing burdenfor lower-income neighborhoods

Zero down. No fees. No closing costs. Problem credit? No problem.

Home loan failures have more than quadrupled in Mecklenburg County since 1999. More foreclosures are filed here, per person, than any other county in the state. On average, 11 Mecklenburg houses are sold in foreclosure auctions every business day. The owners are evicted, their credit ruined, and they face thousands in court fees and moving expenses.

Jackie Hendricks wept when a sheriff's deputy came to remove her family from their east Charlotte house in November. "It was terrible," says the 61-year-old. "I hope no one else has to go through it."

How many ways can mortgage go wrong? Plenty
A special committee of the N.C. House received a two-hour education Tuesday on all that can go wrong when a person borrows money to buy a home.

The payments may be more than the borrower can afford, experts told the legislators. The borrower may not even understand the loan terms. The company that collects payments can charge unregulated penalties for late payments, thousands of dollars in some cases, the experts said. And the foreclosure process is streamlined for speed, they said, so borrowers cannot save their home by showing evidence of lender misconduct.

Easy home buy turns risky
Have you considered buying a home?" a stranger asked.

Cassandra Boone had considered it plenty of times. She had hoped for a house, prayed for a house. But it had never seemed possible. At 44, she and her teenage daughter lived on Social Security survivors benefits and her $8.50-an-hour pay as a cashier at a party supply store.
But that day in August 2001, Boone chatted with a customer she'd never met, a woman who was a real estate broker. She invited Boone to a seminar: Buy a home with little or no money down. Free food, games and prizes.