Negative Simoleons?

Okay, it was my first time seeing this, but I started a new game and replaced the random starter Sim with a family I regularly play from my library. I aged down the kids one stage and clicked the check mark. Then, somehow, the family had assets in the negatives. They could not buy a home even with the free real estate cheat. I started a new game and that random Sim did not have the same problem. Has anyone else seen this before?