You're not seriously putting the onus on the person and not the lender? You cant possibly be making the argument that lenders did it for charity.
Your seriously not indicating the person borrowing the money is without any blame are you?
I'l give you a some perspective- Back when I purchased my home I took out a loan and which I put down over 15% of the purchase price in cash. GMAC made it clear that if I defaulted on the loan they would own the house and I would lose the house and the 15% of course.
No ifs, ands or buts. Even then I had to provide reams of paperwork to support GMAC loaning me the funds. Proof of employment for the last 5 years, bank records, etc.
Everything was spelled out, black and white. The agent was careful to spell it all out too, even putting up with calls at ungodly hours of the evening. The closing was the most nerve wracking thing I have ever done, I have not signed so much paperwork before or since.
Now 15 years later I own my home- lock, stock and barrel.
I have little patience for people who state "they were taken advantage of" when there is no shortage of people who will walk you through the process while making the largest purchase of your life. While there is crooks in the business, only a fool will look at a 20-50k salary and think they can buy a 250k home.