Karen, while some buyers have been duped into signing mortgages with insidious clauses, others have just been lazy about reading what they're signing.  Buyers should READ and UNDERSTAND what they sign.  If they're not able or competent to do that, they should have an advocate (i.e. family member, buyer agent or attorney) make sure that there are no "time bombs" in the terms - BEFORE they sign.

Karen, I hate to think how many papers I have signed without reading them, and I consider myself to be pretty smart about this stuff.  And let's face it.  Most buyers are getting help from professionals they trust.  My title attorney teases me about attracting "readers".  They may not be when they start off, but by the time we hit the settlement table, they have a pretty good idea of what they are getting into.

I think the "who's to blame" game needs to stop and everyone involved with a real estate transaction should insist on more transparency. 

Brian,

I just listed a home that closed Feb 5, 08. The man doesn't know how to write cursively and cannot read.  I read the seller's disclosure statement to him and briefly explained the contract...

Patricia,

I know, I'm like that too. If they don't want to read it, I explain it to them really well!!!

I say it's not just the loans of a few years ago but the whole economy today that is causing the mess the country is in.  I know people who are selling their house for $40K less than what they purchased it for anc can't get it sold.  They are retired now and cannot afford the upkeep and payments and taxes.  Gas is $3.50 a gallon, food is atrocious....prices have skyrocketed on gas, electricity, etc.  What are they to do?  I'm not saying these loans are part of the problem but there are many other things that attribute to the problems too.

Mary,

You are so right about what you post! I don't know how the people retired on a little can afford to live at all...unless they invested wisely...it's terrible.

Karen, I shudder when I receive some contracts from other agents, can't read the writing (just filling the blanks). It doesn't matter which side I am representing, buyer or seller, we take the time to go through the WHOLE CONTRACT, stopping at any point to answer questions. If I don't have the answer, we make a call. If I have the buyer, I also want to see their truth n lending statement from the bank/mortgage lender, as a caution, I don't want surprises at closing. When I was in the title industry, I can't tell you HOW many times, explaining each document...the buyer would say, oh no, this was supposed to be a fixed rate, clearly not understanding what they were getting in a mortgage. We are in a fast moving society, but when it comes to mortgages, contracts, closings...it's time to put on the brakes, slow down and read. That is the time to ask questions. My closings took 1 to 2 hours, not 30 minutes, because I didn't do the pushing of paper saying sign here, sign there, initial here....sure there are a mound of papers to go through, but anyone entering and exiting my door were confident & knew what they had signed. We even had people refuse to go to one title company, and wanted ours, because we took the extra time for them.  -- Carla

Thank you Carla, me too, my closings are at least an hour if not more. Read what you are signing! Please!