Originally Posted By: Revlgking

Kallog, please back up your opinion--and I respect all opinions, even when I differ--with some evidence.

That interest free means no risk to the borrower? Sure. If you had an interest free loan and you couldn't repay it, you could just wait a few years and hope you got some more money. If not, doesn't matter, your debt doesn't increase.

If, however there are other forms of 'interest' like late payment fees, then it's just as risky as loans with interest.

Lenders lost money in the house price collapse in America? Yea, that's why many banks got into trouble. They were lending to pay for houses that ended up losing value without the debt ever being repayed. The money they used may have come from other investors, then it's those people who lost what they lent.

There's no need to feel sympathy for the home buyers. They were engaging in risky business with the aim of making themselves richer without actually doing anything productive - just buy a house, then wait for it's value to climb till you retire a freehold homeowner able to cash in on it again.