Now pretend that it is 2005 and you just graduated from college, got married, and landed an entry-level job in one of the booming economies of Southern California, Nevada, or Florida. You like your apartment but keep reading about low interest rate home loans that are available to people who have not saved up the “old-fashioned”

20% down payment. You also vividly remember messages from your childhood telling you that renting is a waste of money because it does not build equity. You also feel that you won’t have really become an independent, mature person until you own your home (or at least your own mortgage). Home prices are skyrocketing, and if you wait until you’ve saved a standard down payment, houses will be much more expensive. You find a house that both you and your partner love. Your banker shows you a way to buy the house at payments you can afford, as long as both of you keep your jobs. You know it’s risky to commit that high a percentage of your income to housing, but you also know that interest rates may never again be this low. Would it be ethical to take the bank’s offer? Will ethical considerations determine what you do? Should they? Why or why not?