Blogger: No victims in this housing bust
Posted
Apr 09 2008, 03:55 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Seb at Pinching Copper apparently said aloud what other people have been thinking when he wrote "There are no victims in the housing bust."
He's tired of all the media stories about "innocent" people who suddenly find out that they can no longer afford their homes.
"So who do you blame in all this?" Seb wrote. "The bank that approved the loan? The TV show that pumped homeownership? The Realtor who sold the house? In the end, the only person to blame is the one who signed the mortgage document.
"The media can portray these people as victims, but the sad truth is that the vast majority of people who are being foreclosed upon could never afford a home to begin with," Seb said.
We don't think Seb is talking about people who are losing their homes because of devastating health problems or job loss, but rather those who took the bait to buy more house than they should.
Most of the readers who left comments at his site agreed with him. Kevin at No Debt Plan wrote, "It really burns me up when it's 'oh, boo hoo, I bought three times more house than I could afford on a 40-year interest-only mortgage that I can't afford to pay now!'"
Reader TC said some buyers were misled by lenders, but that people need to understand what they're signing. He added, "I hate the whole 'bailout' mentality, but it really isn't in anyone's best interest to have whole neighborhoods sitting and literally rotting -- not the populous, the banks, or America as a whole."
"Mom" at Wide Open Wallet added: "That is what is irritating, watching people get rewarded for their stupidity." Jonathan at Master Your Card said taxpayers are the victims because they're paying for the bailouts.
A couple of bloggers noted that renters become victims when their landlords overextend themselves, and that children are victims when they lose their homes. Ginger at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds said finding a new place to live isn't easy. Landlords are tightening credit requirements for new renters, and homeless shelters are overflowing where she lives. "Yes, I know there are people who screwed themselves, but I still have compassion for them," she said.
