Nonetheless, in 2006, as Bales was in Iraq, his wife used her power of attorney to refinance both houses, into new adjustable rate loans. They soon found they couldn't support the debt.
In August 2009, the lender on the couple's rental home sought to auction the property. The Bales family owed $15,644.19 on the house plus $1,333.46 in trustee's fees, according to the auction notice.
The auction subsequently was canceled without explanation.
Rick Simon, a spokesman for Bank of America Corp., the servicer of the loan, didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Today, the couple's two houses have a combined assessed value of $358,100, 29 percent below the initial loan amounts, county records in Washington state show.
"The tale used to be: We would speak to a family and it seemed like a predatory lending environment," Eastern said. "But it's the American dream, right? Go buy a house and we'll give you the opportunity to do so. And they did."