I am an American, I enjoy your post's addressing the Sub Prime problem which has spread around the world. I agree with almost everything that has been said regarding the belief of Americans that they can buy now and pay later, when in fact most homes never get paid off anymore. I purchased one home in my lifetime, I paid 50% down and it took me 20 years to pay it off. Americans who got burned by the sub prime fiasco, forgot one thing, a home is a necessity, it is not an investment. In America homes were promoted as investments when in fact, a home has never been something one could classify as an investment unless you were a real estate speculator. Many of the subprime, and other mortgages were made to speculators in Florida, Arizona, and California hoping to flip the property and make a quick profit; they never expected to be the holder of a house that they could not get rid of. I think that homes are necessities and should not be equated with investments which are bought and sold. Have a great day. I am glad to see that somewhere in the world, common sense still exists. John
