Chart showing how ridiculous the mortgage process is

Check out this Huffington Post for a staggeringly ridiculous chart (trust me, you gotta take a look!).  Originally shown at Zero Hedge, one cannot help but feel that there is something nefarious about all the extended activities connected with the (relatively) simple act of purchasing a home.

Also, if you note on the right side of the chart, there is mention of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS).  I'm no expert, but it looks like MERS, which was created as a convenience to the big lenders, partly to avoid the recording fees charged by counties and states to record the change in ownership, was run so sloppily it caused many problems.  For one, MERS cannot claim to be both the agent for the bank and the actual owner of the mortgage when proceeding upon foreclosures.  I've read horror stories on many blogs about MERS encouraging agents to give themselves titles ("Vice President") and courts have wondered how a single person could be an officer of multiple companies at the same time.