The Cuban police took an inventory of the family's possessions -- thereby taking ownership of them on paper -- and Bernie and his mom and sister were forced to survive on their own.

CNN: Is Castro Cuban-Americans' Hitler?

"Foreclosure sales, short sales and first-time homebuyers taking advantage of tax credits is purely illusionary and hides the underlying problems of lending and inventory, " says Anthony Sanders, a finance professor at George Mason University's Hall School of Management.

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