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Originally Posted by Robbie I personally never knew anyone who got a second mortgage on their home for a car. Or for anything else EXCEPT home improvement. I had a buddy who did one to get his hands on a quick 30 grand to build a swimming pool. He borrowed on his home for that.

I retired from my construction contracting business in 2003. I dealt with many individuals and businesses that obtained construction financing. Many padded items onto their construction loans like major appliances, general improvement to existing properties like heating and cooling, complete replacement of windows to existing properties, et al. ..

These are major purchases and the are in the scope of the construction spending.

However, I also know people that re-mortgaged their homes to pay for the cost of their children's education and general purchases; autos, living-room furniture and various consumer items.

Many "home equity loans" and refinances were sold on the premise of paying off other loans; credit cards, student loans, medical bills ... This was targeted at middle-class earners, the same ones that cannot afford porn subscriptions today ...

Maybe, the problem is that the higher income folks are few in number and their sales do not compensate ...