Home-ownership is part of the American dream but after hearing from some upset Countrywide borrowers, many say it is turning into more of a nightmare.

We have been hearing from many Washington state residents that used Countrywide, and they are telling us stories that we think cross the line and violate Washington Consumer Protection laws. So much, in fact, that we recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of these homeowners.

Among other charges we included in the complaint are instances in which we believe home purchasers qualified for low-interest loans, but instead were sold much higher-interest loans. This, of course, costs borrowers much, much more, and in some cases we believe made the difference, tipping some into foreclosure.

Our suit also claims that Countrywide did little to explain the risks of some loans, including adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). We heard, and contend in our suit, that Countrywide's intention was to move highly-lucrative ARMs and other types of loans in an effort to raise company profits.

The plaintiffs we named in the suit - which if approved by the court will represent all the state's residents with similar situations - tell of Countrywide misleading them by not providing documentation that accurately spelled out the terms, misleading them with assurances of inaccuracies regarding interest rates and all sorts of other skullduggery.

Want to see a statistic that made us do a double-take? A recent statement from Countrywide says that a typical borrower owes 20 percent more on their home than when the home loan started. How's that for a telling statistic.

For more on this case please visit www.hbsslaw.com and come back to this blog for updates.