Hard sell by the banks scarred the landscape

It seems that the Government is to make good on its promise to demolish up to 40 so-called ghost estates.
These developments are widely considered to be scars from the Celtic Tiger years and few will bemoan their removal from the landscape. Only properties deemed to be economically unviable will be selected for demolition. In other words, estates that were built outside the commuter belts where there are few employment opportunities and inadequate services or public transport.
There was a time when gullible investors might have been tempted to invest in a three-bed semi in the middle of nowhere to add to their growing portfolio. Irish dinner parties (remember them?) were once dominated by conversations about property values. Those who didn't participate in this modern day gold rush were not just considered to be risk averse - they were nothing short of fools for failing to cash in on the boom.
But as we all know now, the boom was just a credit fuelled illusion. Wealth was judged on how much you were able to borrow, not on your ability to repay it.
I recall being pulled from the queue of a bank by a manager in the midst of all the madness. She wanted to have a quiet word about an apparent financial irregularity. According to their records, I seemed to have a mortgage on just one property (my family home). At the same time, the modest sum in my deposit account was just sitting there, doing nothing really. Clearly, this was a situation that needed to be addressed by the bank.
I was reminded of the bank's willingness to facilitate me should I feel the need to borrow for some sort of investment property.
I remember feeling slightly flattered that I should be considered so credit worthy by the bank, while at the same time a bit uncomfortable with the hard sell approach to lending.
And we all know where that got us.
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