STUPID MORTGAGE RATES! (not what you think)

[Sharad]

I get so sick of the poor/irresponsible people getting handouts and the hard working middle-class people like myself CONSTANTLY getting the shaft!!! :mad:

When I bought my house three years ago, I had a choice to make... interest rates were at historical lows and were bound to rise any time. Mortgage rates in the early 90s were in the teens, three years ago people were getting 4 and 5% loans!! I knew the low rates wouldn't last so when the mortgage broker asked me if I wanted a fixed or variable rate, I said give me the FIXED RATE MORTGAGE!!! Papa didn't raise no fool!! He's like, "well, you know you could save half a percent if you get a variable rate..." My response? Yeah, for like a YEAR!? Then when the prime rate rises ten percent I'll be bankrupt!

So, I made the right decision! Or did I? You've got all of these people pissing and moaning about how their variable rates have gone up. Houses are getting foreclosed. Half the houses in my neighborhood are for sale because people got variable rate mortgages and they can't afford their houses any more. This is causing the value of my house to take a dump because everyone in my neighborhood is trying to GIVE away new (less than 5 year old) houses!

I tell myself, it's okay, the house values will stabilize and I'll be rockin' the fixed rate for the next 15 or so years until my house is paid off. But then... (here it comes) ... I watch the news.

This fricken' hippie liberal rob-from-the-hard-workers-and-give-to-the-lazy socialist Hillary Clinton is DEMANDING that congress enact laws that would PREVENT the mortgage companies from raising people's adjustable rate mortgages with the prime rate adjustments! This pisses me off to no end!!!

As usual, I work hard and pay my bills, and the only reward I get is the personal satisfaction that comes with working hard to provide for my family. The poor/lazy people on the other hand, get the benefit of paying AT LEAST half a percent less than I did for their mortgage and not paying the consequences in the long run when their rate was SUPPOSED to go up! If I had just been careless when I signed my mortgage, I could have saved half a percent on a 140k mortgage for three years!!! It would not have been my fault that I was too stupid to make the right choice and now I was about to lose my home. It HAS to be someone else's fault! Hey, the government should do something about it. It's just not fair that I'm stupid! I am entitled to goverment help!

Ugh! I can't stand liberals and their entitlements! So now, more of my tax money is going to go to people that can't pay their mortgages because they made bad financial decisions! Just like the liberals to take money from the hard workers and give it to the people that don't deserve it.

[/rant]

[mustangboy]

I agree 100%. I get very tired of seeing people charge the hell out of their credit cards, always have to have brand new cars and live in twice as big as they can afford. I've been saying it for a long time now that it needs to be mandatory for high school and college kids to take financial planning classes that would help them avoid such mistakes. People need to learn to manage their money and live within their means. Sad part is it is only going to get worse. All I can say who gives a fuck what the Jones's have, they probably bought on credit anyway.:rolleyes:

[beefcake]

i agree with you 110% i saw this also,

my rate was a little higher 2 years ago at 7.25, they told me they could get me a variable at 6.75, i got locked into a 3 year 5% prepay,

i told him, 7.25 might be a great rate 3 years from now, i'll take the fixed lol

[CobraDan]

...but if half your neighbors can't afford the increased rates, they'll default and you'll be surrounded by vacant homes for the next few years. Nothing will kill the value of your home more than that. Yes that whole concept stinks and isn't fair, but the best thing for neighborhoods like yours and mine is to keep all the homes occupied with people who have jobs. It looks like the rate freeze would only be for a few years, maybe 5, so it's not permanent.

[Gene]

...but if half your neighbors can't afford the increased rates, they'll default and you'll be surrounded by vacant homes for the next few years. Nothing will kill the value of your home more than that. Yes that whole concept stinks and isn't fair, but the best thing for neighborhoods like yours and mine is to keep all the homes occupied with people who have jobs. It looks like the rate freeze would only be for a few years, maybe 5, so it's not permanent.

Exactly. It's a shitty situation all the way around. I personally don't think that a rate freeze is a good idea (any sort of government intervention into market forces tends to end bad), but I'm not sure if there is a good solution to the problem.

[Dirtyd0g]

There is another variable to consider.
Many many local companies are relocating over seas putting all of their employees out of work. These people have mortgages that they cannot pay.
Locally Senco closed up putting alot of employees out of work, I don't know the exact number,but I know 8 people personally. Thats just a drop in the bucket.
When I bought my house I was employeed and figured I would be there for a while. Thats the way our world works these days. The times of spending 40 years with a company and then retiring from them are over.
I got my mortage in 2002 at 5.5% fixed. Best decision I ever made. The loan was 15 years but the payments are high. I thought about refinancing a few times and decided just to do my best to come up with the money every month. In 10 years I will own this house, if I stay here that long.
Right now is a poor time to sell a house. A great time to buy them. My property value has actually decreased in the last year. When that changes I will likely sell it and move farther in the country because thats how I like it.
Alan

[bestracing]

Not everyone is offered fixed rates. If your a "A" or "B" credit rating then fixed is a good thing to have. Most of the problems are with "C" and lower credit scores in the sub-prime area. Most are only offered varible rates and programs like No Principle only intrest loans, 10 -15 year ballon where the intrest is figured over 30 year playment plan you pay on the loan for 10 or 15 years and the remaining sum of the loan is due and there were 100% and 105% loan programs out there. Plus there was a lot of shady stuff going on in the industry and it's finally come back and bit them on the ass and it making the whole nation suffer.

[Gene]

There is another variable to consider.
Many many local companies are relocating over seas putting all of their employees out of work. These people have mortgages that they cannot pay.
Locally Senco closed up putting alot of employees out of work, I don't know the exact number,but I know 8 people personally. Thats just a drop in the bucket.
When I bought my house I was employeed and figured I would be there for a while. Thats the way our world works these days. The times of spending 40 years with a company and then retiring from them are over.
I got my mortage in 2002 at 5.5% fixed. Best decision I ever made. The loan was 15 years but the payments are high. I thought about refinancing a few times and decided just to do my best to come up with the money every month. In 10 years I will own this house, if I stay here that long.
Right now is a poor time to sell a house. A great time to buy them. My property value has actually decreased in the last year. When that changes I will likely sell it and move farther in the country because thats how I like it.
Alan

That's not the government's problem.

You should have an emergency fund of at least six months worth of cash (or in securities that can be readily converted to cash), in case of things like job loss.

People made bad financial decisions and are suffering the consequences. That's life.

[Kevin Doe]

People made bad financial decisions and are suffering the consequences. That's life.

Thats what we're discussing. Its not just the people who made the bad decisions who are suffering the consequences, its everyone who owns a home and more.

[Gene]

Thats what we're discussing. Its not just the people who made the bad decisions who are suffering the consequences, its everyone who owns a home and more.

Yes, but people who bought ARMs that are readjusting and people who have lost their jobs are two separate issues.

1. Unemployment is still low (except in Michigan).

2. If you can't afford your house because you lost your job, that's not related to this issue. The people that are getting burned are the people who's cash flow has gone to hell because their ARM has readjusted to three or four times their original payment.

3. Regardless, government intervention is a bad idea. They will fuck it up more than they will help. Look at government price controls on petroleum in the 1970s, for example.

The question is what is the bigger risk...temporary reduction in housing prices because of a glut of foreclosed properties on the market, or setting yet another precedent for government bailouts and interference in market activities.

Sorry if I don't feel much sympathy for people who are losing their homes because of and ARM reset...you fucked up and bought a house you couldn't afford. Now it's time to pay the piper.

[08 Vette]

My house interest rate is 3.8% fixed.
My car interest rate is 2.9% fixed.
My car payment is highrer than my house payment! :eek:

[Kevin Doe]

Your rates are amazing!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have bought when they weer that low, unfortunately I was either still in highschool, or college at the time.

[08 Vette]

Your rates are amazing!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have bought when they weer that low, unfortunately I was either still in highschool, or college at the time.


What are you trying to say that I'm old? LOL
I just got the car about 2 months ago!

[theyallslow]

you are old, but they are great rates.

[Mista Bone]

Government (HUD) has already proven to me they like to lose paperwork.

All these people that got loans knowing after reset they would be screwed.

Gene, where headed for a big fuckup recession. Whoever becomes the next President will have the same tasks as Jimmy Carter.

With the housing market they way it is, you know how hard it is to find a decent crackerbox?

[RIXXX93GT]

Heard an idiot on WLW the other day saying how he had refi'd his house 4 times in the last three years because he "had" to so he could pay off his credit cards 4 times in the last three years. He currently has 86k in card debt. He now owes over 300k on a 100k house.His house paymebnt is now 2380 dollars/month. Who in their right mind loans people this money with no collateral, who in their right mind gets themselves in these situations, he has ruined his future and will leave any kids zippo.

[08 Vette]

WOW! That's crazy! I have less than a year to pay on my house.

[Holly]

My car payment is higher than my house payment!

:eek: I shouldn't talk though, mine are close. ;)

I have a fixed rate, thanks to Brandon Robertson (fst 5pto), he helped me out a lot when I had to "buy" our home after Vinny passed away. The mortgage was in both of our names, but the deed was in his name solely. We were in the process of refinancing when he passed, our "variable" rate made our house payment go up $200 a month (starting Jan. 2007), we were freaking!

Speaking of (and not to change the subject, but I have been thinking about bringing this up), if you don't have estate planning documents in place (powers of attorney, living wills, HIPAA authorizations, and the most important, LAST WILLS AND TESTAMENTS), that is something you need to think about, no matter how old you are!

We have been bombarded with clients lately (I work for a law firm) putting these documents into place (pretty common for the end of the year). It's easy to do, and God forbid something happen to you or your spouse, it will make everything so much easier for you when you have to face what I did.

I just prepared and executed a new Last Will and Testament today, leaving all my "crap" (car payment, house payment, bills - ha ha!) to one person, the person I trust more than anybody else in this world.

Think about it, do it, don't just talk about. Your spouse and/or children will be glad you did. ;)

[Black92LX]

Not everyone is offered fixed rates. If your a "A" or "B" credit rating then fixed is a good thing to have. Most of the problems are with "C" and lower credit scores in the sub-prime area. Most are only offered varible rates and programs like No Principle only intrest loans, 10 -15 year ballon where the intrest is figured over 30 year playment plan you pay on the loan for 10 or 15 years and the remaining sum of the loan is due and there were 100% and 105% loan programs out there. Plus there was a lot of shady stuff going on in the industry and it's finally come back and bit them on the ass and it making the whole nation suffer.

So what??? Your credit rating gets the way it is by your own regards.
If you have screwed up your credit that is your own fault.
When you are a C or lower you are a risk to the loaning body. It's as simple as that.
Why should they be required to take the risk????

Just like insurance rates the larger risk you are the more you cost.
If you can't afford it don't buy it. How hard is that?

[bestracing]

So what??? Your credit rating gets the way it is by your own regards.




Not always. There are things out there that can ruin your credit score thats totally out of your control.

My statement earlier was made to show not everyone is eligble for a fixed rate and people have to settle for an ARM. But I do agree with you, when you enter a loan agreement you should look ahead and make sure you can afford it.

My wife worked in the sub-prime industry for over 12 years and let me tell you there was a lot of crooked crap going on with appraisers inflating property values, brokers falsifying income and people flipping houses illeagly. She caught quite a few on her own.

It's just a few of the many links of the chain that brought down the sub-prime industry.

[Gene]

Not always. There are things out there that can ruin your credit score thats totally out of your control.

With the exception of fraud/identity theft, no there isn't.


My statement earlier was made to show not everyone is eligble for a fixed rate and people have to settle for an ARM. But I do agree with you, when you enter a loan agreement you should look ahead and make sure you can afford it.

No one "settles" for an ARM. If you have to settle for an ARM, you're buying more house than you can afford. Last time I checked, renting is still an option if you can't afford a house.

ARMs have their place. For example, if you know you're only going to be in a house for a couple of years, then an ARM is perfect. But using an ARM to stretch your budget into a bigger house than you can afford is just plain stupid.


My wife worked in the sub-prime industry for over 12 years and let me tell you there was a lot of crooked crap going on with appraisers inflating property values, brokers falsifying income and people flipping houses illeagly. She caught quite a few on her own.

Yes, but that's not what caused the problem. The problem has been caused by banks being too lax in their lending standards.

[Black92LX]

beat me to it Gene!

[Mista Bone]

What is the lowest your credit score can be? I'd like to see if mines that low.

[Black92LX]

What is the lowest your credit score can be? I'd like to see if mines that low.

It can be ZERO

[Mista Bone]

Just printed off my 27 page FREE credit report from Equifax, only one bill on there I dispute, looks like a $53 doctor bill that didn't get paid in 2002.

Long list of charge off that went to collection. Hrm, this will be fun reading tonight.

[Carl]

Just printed off my 27 page FREE credit report from Equifax, only one bill on there I dispute, looks like a $53 doctor bill that didn't get paid in 2002.

Long list of charge off that went to collection. Hrm, this will be fun reading tonight.
You say it like it's something to be proud of....:dummy:

[higgy87]

I've had my house for 2 years last month, have a whopping 4.9% fixed 30-year mortgage. Our payment is pretty low so when we have some extra cash we pay more towards the principle.

And no, I dont feel sorry for people who have defaulted on their loans, 99% of the time its b/c of their own lack of responsibility. And if you're not sure about something...damn't ask someone! My sister is one of these people, I feel bad for her, but I've told her time and time again the "right" path to take and she didnt listen. So now she's about to have a foreclosure in her past.

hig

[95redstang]

That's not the government's problem.

You should have an emergency fund of at least six months worth of cash (or in securities that can be readily converted to cash), in case of things like job loss.

People made bad financial decisions and are suffering the consequences. That's life.

That six months emergency fund is pretty tough these days, almost impossible. It's extremely tough for people with families. With the rising costs of gas and food a lot of families are struggling. All these so called experts are saying that heating bills are going to at least double from last year. That takes a toll on a families budget. Everything that we do and purchase revolves around oil. There are also families like mine where we only have 1 income for the time being. I do make OK money. I pay my bills. I refuse to put my 2 daughters in daycare. The oldest is six and she goes to school all day. My 3 year old goes to preschool twice a week for a couple hours each day. My wife and I have it worked out so that I work for a couple years and she stays with the kids. When they go to school full time she will return to work full time. Now that we have a baby on the way it will change things a bit.
Everybody is not a piece of shit and have $50,000 in credit card bills.When I worked at Coke I seen a bunch of guys get in so much debt from $300,00 homes, brand new cars for thier wife and kids, and boats. They basically lived in that plant. I don't feel sorry for those guys one bit. I am not in the situation that everybody is talking about. I'm just saying that there are a lot of good people out there that are trying to do what they can for their families. All U.S. citizens deserve the opportunity of the so called "American Dream", home ownership. That is what the president has been pushing since he took office. Many fell into that trap. It is unfortunate that families are losing thier homes.

Buying a house isn't really a good financial decision anymore. Maybe if you bought in the 80's or sooner. What do you really get out of it financially. You buy a house for $150,000, take 20-30 years to pay it off. So you actually end up paying what $250,00- $300,000 for a $150,000 home

[2-8-1]

As usual, I work hard and pay my bills, and the only reward I get is the personal satisfaction that comes with working hard to provide for my family.

I see you at "work" all the time foo! You call that hard?

Just kidding of course, I know how hard it is in the "shop" and even dealing with some people.

I feel for you man, but look on the bright side, you could be me, making a $435 a month payment, to live in someone else's house.

Magazine rattles btw, my extended doesnt, just the 10rounder, not the pin block (I think that is what the square thing was that we looked at)

[mach_u]

It's a sad state of affairs. Unfortunately financial common sense doesn't get taught to most kids. Credit companies are targeting people that should not be using them and all these sub prime lenders are finally paying the price for giving mortgages to people that should never have had them in the first place. It's a shame that the only way to learn this stuff for most people is through the school of hard knocks and it's a shame that once again government is having to step in for stupid people's decisions and I'm sure somehow, someway the hardworking middle class individual/family is going to have to pay the price.


That six months emergency fund is pretty tough these days, almost impossible.
For a very few perhaps but the majority people, instead of living on less than they make, spend above their income with money they don't have - that's the problem.

[Mista Bone]

about credit cards.........

look at the kids in college getting flooded with credit cards........doomed by debt. Most have $10K in card debit when the graduate on top of what their parents have paid for tution AND allowances.

[08 Vette]

.


For a very few perhaps but the majority people, instead of living on less than they make, spend above their income with money they don't have - that's the problem.

+1 Sometimes, It's the decissions you make. Some times it's out of your hands.

[Gene]

For a very few perhaps but the majority people, instead of living on less than they make, spend above their income with money they don't have - that's the problem.

Exactly.

There's a reason my car is stock right now, and will be for a while to come...I depleted my cash reserves over last winter (long story) and I'm still in the process of rebuilding them. That's why I got ride of my truck (couldn't afford it at the time) and was driving crappy cars that I paid cash for the majority of the year. By spring everything should be sorted.

It's called tightening the belt when you need to...most Americans don't...they just get another credit card and add their debt.

[bobtsgt]

The one thing my parents taught me was the proper way to use a credit card. Its a very good lesson to learn when your 16.

[mach_u]

Exactly.

There's a reason my car is stock right now, and will be for a while to come..

It's called tightening the belt when you need to...most Americans don't...they just get another credit card and add their debt.
Same here. You don't know how many times I see parts for a good "deal" that I would love to get for the Mach but I am not going into to debt to do so. I love my Mustang and did get a loan on it but I've paid extra on it from day one and it will be paid off in the next couple of months! I'll be the first to admit cars are a bad investment, for the most part anyway, but going in debt to modify them is simply not smart. Unfortunately we live in a here and now society and most people just don't understand the concept of delayed gratification.

The one thing my parents taught me was the proper way to use a credit card. Its a very good lesson to learn when your 16.
Exactly! When we first moved here from New Zealand and for the first few years my parents had zero credit history and couldn't get a loan for anything. I HATED that I had to drive clunkers once I got my license, couldn't take a bunch of vacations, couldn't have the latest and greatest of anything, and my dad drove his 200k mile Mazda MPV into the ground. I now realize it was a great life lesson.

[Holly]

You should have an emergency fund of at least six months worth of cash (or in securities that can be readily converted to cash), in case of things like job loss.



:rolleyes: PLEASE! Yeah, that would be nice, but in all reality, how many people can really afford to do that (NOT ME, I live paycheck to paycheck!)?

[Jeff88coupe]

So basically, the government is going to bail out the financially irresponsible people and delay the inevitable by holding off the housing market crash for 5 years. This essentially is punishment for the people who have been saving and for being smart with their money.:rolleyes:

This is welfare for stupid people.

[Kevin Doe]

about credit cards.........

look at the kids in college getting flooded with credit cards........doomed by debt. Most have $10K in card debit when the graduate on top of what their parents have paid for tution AND allowances.

LOL. I went to college, paid for it out of my own pocket, and have 0 credit card debt, and never carry a balance. Sure, I have a small college loan that I still pay on, and I'll be paying the min on that till the day its gone. 2% interest, hell, I make more money by keeping my money invested than I would by paying the loan off early. Basically I'm making money by not paying it off early, if that makes any sense.

C'mon Bone, that stereotype of college students is long outdated.

[06hoss]

So basically, the government is going to bail out the financially irresponsible people and delay the inevitable by holding off the housing market crash for 5 years. This essentially is punishment for the people who have been saving and for being smart with their money.:rolleyes:

This is welfare for stupid people.


I agree 100% that the government shouldn't get involved with this issue, but we should get this issue straight...the government isn't bailing out anyone here. The deal that was just set up is voluntary for these banks and saving and loans to freeze the rates. The banks have to go to the investors of these mortgage funds to get them to agree to the freeze. So, if any relief comes it will be from the investors of the mortgage funds...not the banks and certainly not the government. The investors will probably agree to some of it since some return on their investment is better than nothing if these people default. They're talking that only a small portion of people will be eligible for this freeze so a lot more people will be defaulting before it stops. As far as people crying for relief, I feel for them losing their house, but I also agree that they were either stupid or naive for getting in that ARM. They should have stayed in an apartment is they couldn't afford the high end of the ARM.
They should start making it tougher to get an ARM...like only for higher income people of something since they will be able to pay the hikes when they come.

[bestracing]

With the exception of fraud/identity theft, no there isn't.



No one "settles" for an ARM. If you have to settle for an ARM, you're buying more house than you can afford. Last time I checked, renting is still an option if you can't afford a house.

ARMs have their place. For example, if you know you're only going to be in a house for a couple of years, then an ARM is perfect. But using an ARM to stretch your budget into a bigger house than you can afford is just plain stupid.



Yes, but that's not what caused the problem. The problem has been caused by banks being too lax in their lending standards.
I had a situation that was totally out of my control, too personal and I'm not getting into it on-line. Lets just say someone ruined my score right after I sold my house and it took me awhile to get it fixed.

We bought our house on an ARM because we needed a place to live, I won't move into an appartment ever again and it was going to take a few years to get everything straightend out with the credit scores (they just don't fix themselves overnight). Our ARM didn't adjust until 2 years which was the time we figured it would take to fix our credit scores and then we could refinance. Worked out perfectly for us and now we have a nice fixed loan. Also if it took a little bit longer and the re-fi didn't go through which would have made us pay more we were still able to afford it so it was well worth it for me.

If it wasn't for sub-prime lending we wouldn't have gotten our house when we did.

Also I don't think the govn't should bail anybody out either. This country should not only allow you to be free to succeed but it also should allow you to be free to fail also.

[7upStang]

Would the politcians be considering this if it wasn't a presidential election next year? I do not believe so. The program will probably benefit very few people but be a political feel good issue for canidates to point to next year during the election.

[Mista Bone]

LOL. I went to college, paid for it out of my own pocket, and have 0 credit card debt, and never carry a balance. Sure, I have a small college loan that I still pay on, and I'll be paying the min on that till the day its gone. 2% interest, hell, I make more money by keeping my money invested than I would by paying the loan off early. Basically I'm making money by not paying it off early, if that makes any sense.

C'mon Bone, that stereotype of college students is long outdated.

What I meant is they get flooded with offers......run them up, (pizza dude!) then unable to pay it down, when they do get out of school and in the workforce, already overloaded with debt.

The people that are gonna get bailed out already have high credit cards, likely behind on their car payments. Last I heard a full 12% of those with car loans are behind in Ohio. Locking in the ARM's will be too little, too late. People that refinanced and got low ARM's 5-6 years ago have seen the gas prices jump by 50%, property taxes 40-50% (higher accessed value due to the housing market) along with a general 15-20% infaltion on most general goods. I doubt they got that big of a pay raise in the same amount of time.

If they'd budgeted @ 90% of take home pay 6 years ago, they'd @ 103-105% right now, but most squeezed it tight......and ran up the credit cards also. Those OK cards at 10-15% now being jacked to 20-29%, which means a higher monthly payment just to pay the interest. Its a downward spiral. My credit card rates JUMPED when they found out I'd lost my job, even though I wasn't late on ANY bills, I had abuot a 2.5 month reserve. Once I saw that, knowing I'd need get caught up, I said to hell with the credit card companys.

[Mista Bone]

This ordeal is nothing new......

When I got my mortgage it was thru Midas Mortgage in Blue Ash who then sold the servicing to TrustCorp in Indiana.......



Lender Forced out of business by losses due to Flipping Scheme
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 03:01PM
The Editor - Ian Shuter in General Fraud News and Info, Lenders, Flipping, Ohio
July 22, 2003 — Cincinnati Enquirer

Midas Mortgage was recently forced out of business by a mortgage-flipping scheme. Midas chief executive Michael Bowen said his firm unknowingly approved more than two dozen flipped loans based on phony property appraisals. He said the investors pulled off the trick by cutting and pasting photos of more valuable homes to appraisal reports of junk properties. So his firm thought loans were made on much nicer homes.

The scam was detected after Midas Mortgage sold the loans to a secondary investor, Indianabased Trustcorp Mortgage, which conducted a routine audit of the loans it bought from Midas. Trustcorp detected fraudulent flipping in at least 27 Midas-approved loans, so it filed a lawsuit with U.S. District Court in South Bend, Ind., seeking repayment of those loans. The two sides settled the suit in June, with Midas Mortgage agreeing to pay Trustcorp $2.6 million for the loans and more than $82,000 in lawyer fees.

Bowen said the court judgment forced him to dissolve Midas Mortgage, which sold its assets to a new entity, Midas Financial Group. Bowen admits that his company should have better scrutinized the appraisals. The unscrupulous investors “managed to drive my company out of business,” Bowen said. “I operated this company for 17 years with an impeccable reputation. Now, I’m losing the company, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”



Because of this, ABN AMRO took over my mortgage from Trustcorp......thats when I started having issues even BEFORE I was behind or lost my job, that was just the icing on the cake. Basically I owed 62,000 on my house while the others just like it were selling for 105-110K, they were like sharks once they smelled blood.

Once HUD failed to help straighten the mess out (paid the PMI, didn't help), ABN AMRO started foreclosure. Once I found out by being served, mom was gonna pay the house off, then I pay her. They wouldn't allow it. Even thought about being it at sheriffs auction, for whatever legal reason, she wasn't allowed. The legal fees to fight for everything would have NOT been cheap, like spending $50 to save $20.

[Mista Bone]

Figure I owe about $20-25K without the house, (about 11K before all the "fees") most of which has been declared charge off, they can get their money out of my life insurance money when I die. Dad helped me set it up when I was 15 for $25K, I bumped it to 100K quite a few years ago. For the past 3 years I've not paid the premium, but the earning are more than enough to cover to without loosing any value.

OK, sober ranting over, time to start drinking!

CHEERS!!!!!!!

[Blackout]

I live in a 250k plus a house subdivision and now because of all the forclosures and the houses for sale the property values have dropped to 150k-190k. I am on a lease purchase and I have to say that I am glad. When my lease time is up I am buying a house with some land and finding a house that the bank owns and getting a decent deal. But I do agree, the mortgage companies are raping the the consumers, but in realisticly the buyers are the ones putting them selves into the situation.

[yellow roush]

I belive a lot of the problems began with people who got in way over there head. alot of people got houses with no money down. with nothing down they are not afraid to walk away from the houses they bought. a few people that did put money down say 20 percent were alot less likely to walk away. Also people who got second mortgages or home equity loans had there houses appraised alot higher than the house was worth. I know alot of people who bought houses then went crazy buying new furnture( with credit cards of course) new cars and other stuff they could not afford. Americans have been brainwashed by banks,lenders and everyone else to buy now save later. now banks and lenders are stuck with the bag and guess who gets really will suffer? not the banks they will pass it on to the average guy or gal thru higher rates on credit cards,loans etc. Any thoughts?

[Mista Bone]

I did none of that. I thought about refinacing, my rate was 6.75% fixed, I was offered 5.5% fixed but after the closing costs, it would have taken 4-5 years to just break even, I said no thanks.

Dad taught me ONE thing, never put your house up as collateral. No second mortgage or equity loan. I didn't know what he meant, but listen. Seems about the same thing happened in the mid to late 70's.....he knew some people that didn't make it.

[mach_u]

Dad taught me ONE thing, never put your house up as collateral. No second mortgage or equity loan. I didn't know what he meant, but listen. Seems about the same thing happened in the mid to late 70's.....he knew some people that didn't make it.
This may be one of the few times your posts have actually made sense but I agree. Usually refinancing doesn't resolve the core issue. People pay off 30k in credit cards - only to have them racked right back up again. Then are still in debt up to their eyeballs and have zero equity in the event of having to sell in a hurry not to mention that their 40k balance will now take them years and years to pay off . The debt fairy didn't just simply turn that $1000 a month credit card payment into $300. :lol: No thanks!

[cstreu1026]

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/11/news/economy/cnn_mortgage_poll/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Sharad]

never thought I'd say this about CNN... interesting article. Wanna bet that the half of people polled that think the gov't should step in are the lazy entitlement types and the half that don't think the gov't should step in are the hard workers?

heheh, j/k

Anyway, I love the Samir and Michael avatar man!!!

[dedpedal]

I just wonder how this will effect me when I try to buy a home in the near future.

[Mista Bone]

Kev, if your credit is good, you should be able to "steal" a house. Find one that is going into foreclosure that need very little rehabing.

Feds dropped the prime another 1/4%, might lower the mortgage rate a bit soon.

[IWRBB]

I get so sick of the poor/irresponsible people getting handouts and the hard working middle-class people like myself CONSTANTLY getting the shaft!!! :mad:

When I bought my house three years ago, I had a choice to make... interest rates were at historical lows and were bound to rise any time. Mortgage rates in the early 90s were in the teens, three years ago people were getting 4 and 5% loans!! I knew the low rates wouldn't last so when the mortgage broker asked me if I wanted a fixed or variable rate, I said give me the FIXED RATE MORTGAGE!!! Papa didn't raise no fool!! He's like, "well, you know you could save half a percent if you get a variable rate..." My response? Yeah, for like a YEAR!? Then when the prime rate rises ten percent I'll be bankrupt!

So, I made the right decision! Or did I? You've got all of these people pissing and moaning about how their variable rates have gone up. Houses are getting foreclosed. Half the houses in my neighborhood are for sale because people got variable rate mortgages and they can't afford their houses any more. This is causing the value of my house to take a dump because everyone in my neighborhood is trying to GIVE away new (less than 5 year old) houses!

I tell myself, it's okay, the house values will stabilize and I'll be rockin' the fixed rate for the next 15 or so years until my house is paid off. But then... (here it comes) ... I watch the news.

This fricken' hippie liberal rob-from-the-hard-workers-and-give-to-the-lazy socialist Hillary Clinton is DEMANDING that congress enact laws that would PREVENT the mortgage companies from raising people's adjustable rate mortgages with the prime rate adjustments! This pisses me off to no end!!!

As usual, I work hard and pay my bills, and the only reward I get is the personal satisfaction that comes with working hard to provide for my family. The poor/lazy people on the other hand, get the benefit of paying AT LEAST half a percent less than I did for their mortgage and not paying the consequences in the long run when their rate was SUPPOSED to go up! If I had just been careless when I signed my mortgage, I could have saved half a percent on a 140k mortgage for three years!!! It would not have been my fault that I was too stupid to make the right choice and now I was about to lose my home. It HAS to be someone else's fault! Hey, the government should do something about it. It's just not fair that I'm stupid! I am entitled to goverment help!

Ugh! I can't stand liberals and their entitlements! So now, more of my tax money is going to go to people that can't pay their mortgages because they made bad financial decisions! Just like the liberals to take money from the hard workers and give it to the people that don't deserve it.

[/rant]

SAME HERE!!!! 3 years ago, I got the 30 yr fixed at 5.99%. I listened to the hard sell on the ARM, and laughed at him when he was done.

Stuff like this, DAMN.... Everyone is such an idiot and douchebag anymore, no one takes personal responsibilty for anything and its always somebody elses fault.

You wanna talk stupidty? Have you seen the Quicken Loans commerical? The one with the dumb-ass husband and shit-for-brains wife standing on their lawn, looking at blueprints, then looking at their house? I paused the commerical and read what they were offereing one time. They will take your loan and make it LESS than an interest only loan. You aren't even covering the interest that month, then they take the interest you didn't pay and add it to the principle. They'll let you do this until you run the principle up to 150% of your home's value!!! How fucking stupid do you have to be?

Democrat bitches :punch:

[IWRBB]

Buying a house isn't really a good financial decision anymore. Maybe if you bought in the 80's or sooner. What do you really get out of it financially. You buy a house for $150,000, take 20-30 years to pay it off. So you actually end up paying what $250,00- $300,000 for a $150,000 home

I can't believe you guys just let that one slide. So you paid $300,000 once the loan is paid off, so what? Now you own a house that's worth $250,000. They go up in value after 30 years unless the neighborhood went to hell. If you had rented, you'd have nothing and still have spent $300,000 on rent over 30 years. If buying a home isn't a good financial decision, just what is?

[IWRBB]

I just wonder how this will effect me when I try to buy a home in the near future.

It's a buyers market and the interest rates keep dropping. If you want a deal on a house, look for new houses that are built but haven't been sold. They are dying to unload them. Model homes are really a steal.

[dedpedal]

I have zero interest in a subdivision home. I want a small plot of land far enough away from evreryone else yet close enuff to not be totaly isolated. I know its a pipedream, but Ill look into those first.

[mustang8998]

I have zero interest in a subdivision home. I want a small plot of land far enough away from evreryone else yet close enuff to not be totaly isolated. I know its a pipedream, but Ill look into those first.

Here ya go Kev!

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/7E723

[Waffles]

With the exception of fraud/identity theft, no there isn't.

For the most part you are correct. There are however more exceptions than that. For instance, lets say you take your car to a garage to be repaired and you get it back worse than you left it. You dispute the amount and a court case ensues. You win in that you don't have to pay the FULL amount, but are required to pay some amount. The court issues a judgement. That simple judgemet, even if paid RIGHT AWAY, dropped my scores over 40 points.

Also, creditors that enter eroneous information is nearly impossible to correct. When you contest information on your report, they will remove the information within 30 days if the creditor does not respond. However, the reporting happens automatically from creditors accounting systems. After the information is removed, it's re-added during the very next cycle. There is a JC Penny credit card which defaulted, that was my high school girlfriends card. Somehow, JC Penny had a data entry error which listed her name, aka my name. It showed on my credit and effected my scores. This is supposed to stop reporting after 7 years, however the original creditor sold the debt, so the new creditor reports it as newer. This has happened about 8 times at last check. Now it shows from all 8 of those creditors, on MY credit. I've had them removed DOZENS of times.


No one "settles" for an ARM. If you have to settle for an ARM, you're buying more house than you can afford. Last time I checked, renting is still an option if you can't afford a house.
Yes, but that's not what caused the problem. The problem has been caused by banks being too lax in their lending standards.

You're 100% right on this! I brokered mortgages for 5 years and always discouraged people usig ARMs to fit into a bigger, more expensive, house. They always figure that by the time the rate adjusts they'll be making more money, which isn't always the case. Also, they figure they can just refinance. Well, most people were wanting to pay as little down as possible. When you figure closing costs etc when they've gained very little equity to absorb those in 3 years, sometimes refinancing isn't an option.

[93cobra]

i haven't read many of these previous posts on this....

people are stupid when it comes to buying homes!

the american dream...

go to school, graduate with massive student loans, reward yourself with a house you really can't afford unless you take at least 30 yrs to pay which in the end you pay for it 3 times.

hell, my as well put a boat out in the driveway too!!

these people punch their alarm clock everyday to pay interest to the bank

pretty smart!

[Waffles]

It takes 24 years to pay 1/2 the principle of a 30 year loan.

[Waffles]

these people punch their alarm clock everyday to pay interest to the bank

pretty smart!

What's worse is that Americans work from January until April JUST TO PAY TAXES. At least interest to the bank is a choice.

[93cobra]

What's worse is that Americans work from January until April JUST TO PAY TAXES. At least interest to the bank is a choice.

im obviously not a big fan of taxes by no means but a lot of people do forget that the taxes we do spend provide us all with billions of dollars worth of things easily taken for granted that make our lives convient wether it be roads & hwys, police & fire departments, schools to our military keeping our freedom. think even 100 years ago what it took to travel 25 miles on a horse in the mud & across creeks:eek: what do you think it costs to pave the road you drive from your house to work everyday let alone drive down to florida for vacation

[Waffles]

im obviously not a big fan of taxes by no means but a lot of people do forget that the taxes we do spend provide us all with billions of dollars worth of things easily taken for granted that make our lives convient wether it be roads & hwys, police & fire departments, schools to our military keeping our freedom. think even 100 years ago what it took to travel 25 miles on a horse in the mud & across creeks:eek: what do you think it costs to pave the road you drive from your house to work everyday let alone drive down to florida for vacation

Aren't roads paid for with road taxes added to gas? I love how taxes get passed to pay for one thing or another and then after it's paid for, the tax doesn't go away. I mean come on, even after the Bush tax cuts, the amount of taxes we pay is REDICULOUS. I'm much more okay with local taxes for direct services like police and fire etc than I am with big government federal taxes. That's why I'm a Fredhead. Fred Thompson I think is the only guy that understands Federalism.

[Mista Bone]

exactly the reason the "jail tax" didn't pass.

Hamilton County got burnt by the stadium tax, wasn't about to let it happen again. If the tax was to convert the land at Kahn's into a jail, it would have passed. But in the setup so much other things were to be funded.....I believe only 1/2 of the taxes raise would have went towards the jail.

No jail, now Simon cutting jobs and budgets.....Detroit tried the same thing.....and failed.

[Waffles]

Same thing with Gore's "internet tax." When Congress only gave him 1/2 the money, they had the FCC charge extra fees to telecom companies, which didn't need to be voted on, I guess because it was a fee and not a tax. Either way, the phone companies passed the expense to the customer. Gore got his funding, the project got completed, and the fee increase never went away. Where's all that money going now?

See... the Federal Gov't often times brides the states to impose it's will. They tax the residents of the state, then pass "federal guidelines." Then if the states comply with those guidelines, the federal gov't gives some of it back. Federal child support guidelines a perfect example.

[93cobra]

Aren't roads paid for with road taxes added to gas? I love how taxes get passed to pay for one thing or another and then after it's paid for, the tax doesn't go away. I mean come on, even after the Bush tax cuts, the amount of taxes we pay is REDICULOUS. I'm much more okay with local taxes for direct services like police and fire etc than I am with big government federal taxes. That's why I'm a Fredhead. Fred Thompson I think is the only guy that understands Federalism.

i was talking taxes in general ...yes we get hit with the road tax with gas etc...Say $3500 in the year 2007 came out of your wallet with gas purchases for road tax (a high example being used unless you spend more than $100 yourself a week in gas). Given the choice to have the roads you do for $3500 a year or not be allowed to use them period...what would you decide for 2008;)

i agree there are plenty of shady tax laws that have major gray areas etc..but we need most of them to have democracy vs. socialism ran country

[Waffles]

Actually it's the other way around. Highway taxes are somewhat of a use tax, which I'm more okay with than not. However MOST taxes are exactly opposite or your description, we need them to have socialism vs democracy. When the government takes money away from the person who earned it, and redistributes it to people who did not earn it... that's a socialistic redistribution of wealth. That's why they're called social programs.

Check out this website sometime... Compass of Mind (http://www.compassofmind.com)