system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[The Goonies]Why were they losing their homes?

OK, so the rich SOB's were going to tear down the homes for a golf course. 

But how could they get the all of the properties? Wouldn't each family have a mortgage with the bank? If they are making payments there is no way someone can swoop in and buy it out from under them. 

Were they all rental properties and the owner was offered a huge amount? 

If the families were bought out then what is the point of the movie? The movie made it sound like it was a shady deal and they were LOSING their homes. But if their parents sold out to a generous offer then it would not be that bad of a thing.
gpt
There is the concept of buying debt.

The various families of the Goon Docks all have mortgages on their homes. The Astoria Country Club somehow bought the debt of those mortgages from the bank making them the organization that the families owe their debt to. They then offer the families to forgive the debt if they sign over the deed to their property, maybe even offer them a small cash settlement. Everyone except the Walshs have done so. All that remains is to get his property so that they can bulldoze the land and expand their golf course/resort. Mr Walsh was offered the same deal as everyone else but was holding out, but he couldn't last for long.

Mikey finding the jewels means that his family can now hold out indefinitely. 

Now that doesn't mean that the Goon Docks will go back to the way it was, remember, the other families have already settled, preparing to move. Walsh was the last hold out. But now that he can keep the property, all the negotiating power is in his hands. Astoria can't build their golf course if there is a house in the middle of it. So maybe now Mr Walsh can negotiate a better deal for himself and maybe even get more money for the other families.

However the more salient point was that the kids were more upset that they were losing their way of life, that they were all going to go their separate ways. But in the end, Mikey at least has come to terms with that. As he said...

>The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the bestest stuff for us. But right now they gotta do what's right for them, 'cause it's their time. Their time, up there. Down here it's our time. It's our time down here.

Maybe they will never live in the Goon Docks again, but with one last adventure, the spirit of the place will live on forever where ever they go. As they say... Goonies never say die.