Comparing Serin to a rodent is not being fair to the rodent, but I get your point. “Back in the day” (five years or more ago) we had to have 20% down, six months of reserves, a year’s worth of paycheck stubs or other verification of income, etc. All this was not to make homebuying impossible, but to see a pattern of financial prudence which would indicate the borrower had shown the ability to save and would be capable to pay back the loan.
This is what happens when lending standards turn into elastic – anyone who “thinks he can” is able to get a loan, and there are no checks and balances to put the brakes on wishful thinking.
This is also the danger behind “it’s all good, take a chance, believe in yourself” BS gurus like Rich Kiyosaki and Tony Robbins. They don’t encourage due diligence, just a wave of the magic wand to make everything happen because you believe it will all turn out well.
Positive thinking is not the same as positive action and being able to take a step back when things don’t turn out as planned – instead of continuing to think “real estate entrepreuner” is still a viable goal.
