This is very true. I'd ask a shit load of questions, I do lend decent amounts of cash to VERY trusted friends, allot of times with no questions because like I said, they're VERY trusted. As an individual I don't make any money off of this, its always a 2 week, maybe a month loan at most. lending institutions make money from foreclosures, they're hoping you pay your loan back so they can make their 9% or whatever it is, but there also to an extent hoping you pay 50-90% of the loan off, then default. Then they get their property, all the money you've paid them, plus what they sell your property for above and beyond the balance you owe. They stand to make out big time if your a decent ways through your term and then default. This is true, and no doubt, with the speed of which houses were bought and sold over the last few years, I'd be willing to bet allot of things were over looked simply to get people into houses, and information wasn't as readily available due to the haste, again IMHO, that comes back to "buyer beware". Dude It's been YEARS since I've been water skiing, I'm a great swimmer, Still wear a vest anytime you get behind a boat, skiing wears you out. never failed, every summer, first time out, couldn't walk the next day! you use muscles water skiing you never knew existed