If you actually read the article, you'll notice a distinct pattern, including for the headlining gal: 1) Borrower doesn't pay for a year or more. This is what everyone without big government on speed dial calls "theft". 2) There's a loan modification involved. When you go through the paperwork for a loan modification, a lender is going to assess your credit worthiness to see if anything has changed...like you getting divorced and *halving* your income for the McMansion you bought. When someone buys such an expensive house that one year's back payments are $45k, doubling the DTI is a non-starter. 3) This gal lived in Florida. They basically ignored 'rona. She's just a freeloader who didnt want to pay her mortgage.