Home loan crisis was preventable

I read your paper every week; it is my favorite paper. I have been waiting to read something about whom to blame for our horrendous real estate market problems.

For the last two years, I have been hearing about how many people were able to refinance their homes for and/or how much they were able to sell them for, like at astronomical profits. I kept thinking to myself, "What's going to happen when that balloon payment is due?" Or, how will they be able to make a mortgage payment that is double what they were used to?

I also heard a lot of remarks like "creative financing."

Now I am hearing about "poor Countrywide." I look at it this way. Those mortgage salesmen took advantage of as many people as possible. They earned their commissions, and I bet went home laughing their heads off since they figured out a way to really increase their income at the disadvantage of the suckers who bought into their sales pitches. "Next year when your house goes up higher, you can refinance again and reduce your house payment."

These mortgage companies really did a disservice to our community. I think it's almost comical how every mortgage company is so uptight about the buyer having a good credit report, but what do we homebuyers have to verify how crooked or dishonest our lenders are? The other winner in this equation is the state and county governments; they received a huge windfall for the huge property tax increase. It just amazes me that no one is complaining about this. Where are our leaders? Did no one see this coming? Does anyone agree with me? It seems like it is just going to get worse. Berne VanDuinwyk Thousand Oaks