Housing Meltdown: Why home prices could drop 25% more on average

Phyllis Gilpatrick was in a nursing home, recuperating from her third hip surgery, on the day she and her husband refinanced their Brighton house.

She was in no condition for an office closing. So a van whisked her home, where she initialed a pile of loan documents while reclining on her back in a wheelchair.

Signing the documents put Phyllis, a disabled truck dispatcher, and her husband, Donald, a retired trucker, into a subprime loan for $301,500 that would soon double their previous payments and leave them on the brink of foreclosure.

I was too much worried about the wife and everything, said Donald. I didn't read the paperwork.

Their story provides a look into the swelling subprime-lending crisis. read more

Consumers, officials seek credit card reform

[Best Syndication] Oprah introduced money advisor Suze Orman with a depressing warning that too many American are in debt than ever before and are only steps away from financial disaster. Suze Orman said that people don't understand interest only loans and adjustable rate mortgages and many are starting to see their monthly payments adjust up.

Erica and her husband have two children and they purchased their first home in 2004 and got payments of $900 but now the payments are $1,600. They signed an adjustable rate mortgage and because of the payments that escalated, her house is in foreclosure and her husband left. She said that she was sad that her children had to be put through this. Suze Orman said that she needs to rise above this and show the children that mommy has what it takes to make it work. read more