I don't know who I'm angrier at--the banks that thought they could give free money to any shmuck who walked in off the street, or the people in the video who are whining because they can't afford their homes when they knew full well the risk they were taking.

Yeah, I just about threw my tape dispenser through my laptop screen when the second couple laid out their intent to walk away from their in-the-red home.

I'm thoroughly convinced that both sides shoulder the blame in this fiasco.

As at least one person on the clip indicated, the blame is distributed widely here. All I know is that, as a former Cali resident who sold two houses at the peak of the frenzy and then bought a modest east coast home with a 20% down fixed rate, we were lucky as hell to divest when we did. I had even talked friends into buying places because it seemed banks couldn't throw money at us fast enough. But I also told them to be careful, that even that market would turn. By sheer luck (mostly) We made it work for us -- we paid off student and car loans, built an emergency fund, remodeled our new home, and sunk the remainder into money markets until the stock market crashed -- and here that comes, as if on cue. I still feel badly for the people who bought our places from us. Both sets showed up with 100% financed loans, dumping truckloads of money on us us, well over asking price. We just couldn't imagine it working out for them. Money says it won't.