[piqi]

> ...their house is the single biggest investment

Is it really anyone's fault but their own? I don't recall housing being offered as a low/no-risk investment with guaranteed profits. Financial blogs, podcasts, and Reddit commenters might have shared that view.

Are there any examples of mortgage issuers or home builders advertising housing as an investment?

[yCombLinks]

If most people in the system are making similar mistakes, then the system is directing them there. Saying it's their fault does nothing but ensure it keeps happening.

[piqi]

Whether or not they make the mistake isn't the point. If they were encouraged by a specific entity to treat it as an investment, then the blame should be placed on that entity. Regulations should be put in place to prevent that (I suspect they already are). Otherwise, they have to take the L.

I expect banks and home builders are careful with how they communicate with customers.

It's less about placing fault on the purchaser. It's more that there is no one else to blame. Never-ending bail-outs only hurt future generations. I wish I went into deep debt to buy a house a lot sooner. I didn't because I knew I couldn't afford it.

[riku_iki]

> low/no-risk investment

foreclosure makes it no-risk leveraged investment modulo downpayment.

[NovemberWhiskey]

That depends significantly on state law w.r.t anti-deficiency rules and so on. California is a non-recourse state where a mortgage lender can only repossess the home, but there are other states where the lender can foreclose and then come after you for the difference in case of a short sale.