I find it saddening and ironic that commenters here are having trouble seeing the problem. The math is right there! The buyers should just stay within their means! However, if we talk about a topic closer to the experience of the HN crowd (say, Facebook's privacy policies), the tune quickly changes. People get up in arms about the privacy policy, or the ad model, or anything else that might affect their own lives.
Have a little empathy. These people sign contracts without understanding what they are agreeing to, and instead of their vacation photos, they're out thousands of dollars - substantial sections of their entire net worth. On the other hand, if that sounds good, there are all sorts of payday loan companies that would love investors for new branches I'm sure.
Edit: I don't mean the buyers don't grasp the full cost, but that they have difficulty projecting their lives 6, 12, 18 months in the future. I'm not under the impression the people in the story are dumb or ignorant.
Have a little empathy. These people sign contracts without understanding what they are agreeing to, and instead of their vacation photos, they're out thousands of dollars - substantial sections of their entire net worth. On the other hand, if that sounds good, there are all sorts of payday loan companies that would love investors for new branches I'm sure.
Edit: I don't mean the buyers don't grasp the full cost, but that they have difficulty projecting their lives 6, 12, 18 months in the future. I'm not under the impression the people in the story are dumb or ignorant.