Surprise! Zero-down mortgages are back! Just when you thought we had learned the lessons of the subprime mortgage meltdown nearly a decade ago, along come new twists on an old formula. The recipe is pretty simple, and the inevitable outcomes are fairly predictable, yet that won’t deter some people from making irrational decisions when it comes to the fear of missing out (FOMO).

The latest strategies to put cash-strapped buyers into homes they probably can’t afford are similar to crowdfunding. HomeFundMe is an example of one such program where buyers can solicit donations for a down payment to buy their dream home. HomeFundMe is a service of CMG Financial. Loftium is another startup that offers funding in exchange for part of the Airbnb rental income. What could possibly go wrong with that strategy?

While these types of programs may advertise themselves as offering solutions for buyers with good credit and income, history suggests otherwise. If you can’t scrape two nickels together for a 3 percent down payment, the truth is you are probably not ready for the financial burdens of home ownership. At the end of the day originating a mortgage to a borrower with no skin in the game is still essentially a subprime mortgage with another name. With affordable homes in short supply just about everywhere you look, cash-strapped prospective home buyers are increasingly being targeted for sketchy financing schemes.

These creative programs might put some families into homes, at least temporarily. They could also diminish the current stock of affordable housing by placing families in homes that they really can’t afford. This is kind of ill-guided short-term thinking that brought us the last housing crash, but the FIRE sector will not be deterred. With home prices at record levels, and affordability disappearing the creative financing strategies will likely continue until previous lessons learned will be re-learned once again.