Well, all those 'gentrifiers' took out interest-only or teaser loans, with the expectation that real-estate prices would only ever rise. When the time came for the re-fi, the market had tanked, so they now had negative equity in their assets, and couldn't refi based on the value of the asset. Hence, default. Many of the so-called 'gentrifiers,' in the true American Spirit, were 'strivers' without the cash reserves to take the loss and keep their homes.