Random rant of the day

[mk2tmr2]

Also I agree with Titus... a home shouldn't necessarily be looked at as an investment.... its shelter. A necessity. If you can make the payments it doesn't really if you are upside down.... its when you can't make the payments that it becomes an issue.

I see both sides of the coin here. What you say is definitely one way to look at it. And if I were upside down in my house (which I might actually be - but probably not by much) I'd look at it that way.

However, when you're in the process of finding and buying a home - it's a damned good idea to look at it as an investment. We don't live in a culture (at least not here in North Texas) where people tend to buy a house and live in it for 30 years and then give it to their kids. Most people around here see their house as a stepping-stone to the next one. In that situation, resale value in 5-8 years is a necessary factor to consider.

The problem with all these goofy loan programs is like an onion - it's just wrong on so many levels. My wife worked at a mortgage lender for almost 6 years until we had our kid last August. Believe it or not - that company is doing better in the last year and a half than they have ever done before. Why? Because all along they refused to sell homes to people who realistically could not afford them. They stayed away from the funky loan programs and rejected anyone who was trying to do something risky. So now they can't keep up with the amount of business they have - even in this recession - because all their competition went under and they're the only ones left.

Who does the blame lie with? Anyone who had anything to do with someone signing the paperwork for a home they couldn't afford. It starts with the home owner and their realtor showing them properties that they know the prospective buyer can't afford. It ends with the bank funding the check at closing and it includes every individual in between.

[TexasStig]

The economy is OK now, right? I'm looking for a $600,000 home I can't afford. I'm glad I can count on all y'all to bail be out.

[mtrx804]

When I used to process loan modifications for a big lender and we would have people call in all the time asking us to lower the principal on their house, not because they were behind, because their homes value dropped by 10k and they didn't want to pay for the difference.

I told those people "Well if your house was worth more would you pay us more?" that never went over well :P

[OZMDD]

If someone is $200k/30%+ upside down in a house, I wouldn't blame them for considering creative solutions. Hopefully that involves a frank conversation with the lender, rather than just walking away. Still, that's one option that the lender assumed the risk for. If its not a govt backed loan, there is no way the lender should be getting reimbursed by the govt.

If the homeowner has an income that supports a 600k home purchase (250k/yr+), there isn't any good reason they can't eat the Lois's and hope for better value down the road. If they never had the income or have lost it, then foreclosure or new loan payments (lower payment, longer term) is on the table.



People gotta live within their means, even when it sucks.

[motorollow]

The lenders are to blame. I remember when I bought my house in 2000 that I qualified for a mortgage that was 3 TIMES as much as I was getting. I absolutely had no business getting a mortgage that large. Now that I am at the end of my mortgage the greedy bastards are trying to get me to refinance at 3.5 percent because almost all of my payment is now going to principle. They have actually overnighted letters to me a dozen times trying to get me to refinance. They can kiss my

[TexasStig]

I'm actually not moving or looking to refinance... I just wanted to bring back a thread from 2009 so we can all reminisce about the good ole housing collapse.

[sxk122]

The first collapse? The banks are back at it and I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again in the near future. Perhaps not as spectacularly, but still.....

After my ranting and raving in 2009 over feeling screwed for being responsible I got 're-paid'.

The house my wife and I purchased in the spring of 2011 for a steal due to someone's irresponsibility. The house we purchased was a short sale. The PO paid 35% more for the house at the height of the market than we ended up paying the bank. We were able to purchase the house easily because we live within our means and maintain good credit. We like our house, but the icing on the cake is just 2 year later, the next door neighbor has his house listed at about what our house was sold at in 2006. It will be interesting to see what he gets for his house as his house was remodeled in a similar fashion to ours.......

Added bonus was because of the collapse, more people were forced to rent.... when one's condo won't turn a profit if sold, you rent it!


Karma.