Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Chris — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:23:29 GMT

I don't currently own a home, but watching what is happening to people who made the wrong choice is awful. Imagine explaining your situation to your kids. Sad. On the other hand, I feel that they should have done more research than they did (who knew that ARM ment 'adjustiable' rate morgage? What a kicker! People in these situations (except for their children) do NOT have my sympathy because they should have known better (that's why some of these people have degrees, right?). I learned from my parents (all of their homes are bought and paid for) and my hubby and I are saving upi for a $50k down (almost there), 30 year Fixed morgage. I wsh everyone else the best of luck, but they need to get their financial life in order (as it should have been before hand) and then retry. It's a hard lesson.

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Michelle — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:52:21 GMT

Just because you qualify for a certain amount of mortgage, doesn't mean you should use the top amount as your guide to buying a house! It was no surprise to these people how much their payments or potential payments were going to be. It is also not surprise what their other bills are. A calculator would have enabled then to determine at comfortable payment. Sure stuff like medical emergencies happens, but that's not the type of case we're talking about! I have a comfortable payment right now ,but dallied with the idea of buying a bigger/nicer home now that my income has gone up. I "qualified" for an amount that would have resulted in a payment 3x my current payment. Even though I "qualified" for the obscene amount, I immediately decided that I was not comfortable with the payment as it left me no room for a financial emergency! JUST SAY NO PEOPLE AND STOP PAYING ATTENTION TO THE JONESES!

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Debbie — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:58:21 GMT

I think the lenders are to blame. The lenders made a vast mistake in underwriting these types of loans. I do not blame the consumer. If the lenders had made a fair deal from the start and made sure the loan was within the consumer's budget, none of this would have happened. For instance, if someone has a lower than average credit score, will someone please stand up and tell me how they think that they are going to benefit (the lender or the consumer) by being charged a higher interest rate than "good credit?" Your high interest mortgage companies are now reaping what they sowed. They wanted greed, they got very little in the end,,,unless they really wanted a bunch of homes that they cannot use that have ended up being on the downside of the real estate market. Good job lenders!

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

SKyle — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:52:37 GMT

Given the fact that the banks are whining about how they're in dire straits now, I eagerly await the finger wagging over their stupidity for offering such huge mortgages to people who didn't have a hope in hell of repaying them. My ire at people for being "stupid" only goes so far. It used to be that banks wouldn't offer mortgages to people who were big credit risks. Now they make a ton of money off of these people, and the rest of us suffer when the house of cards falls. In my neighborhood there are a lot of places being foreclosed, and it's had a very negative impact on the quality of life for the rest of us here. And I *do* blame the banks for this--they knowingly lent to people who were bad credit risks, and couldn't care less about the damage they did.

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Jessica — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:01:18 GMT

THANK YOU! Feet Firmly on the Ground! Someone who makes sense. I agree with you Dave in Cali. Those of us who are trying to be smart with our money and save are the ones who will suffer for these mistakes. Who do you think the government will come after with high taxes for all of these bail outs? Not the 'poor pitiful homeowners who borrowed too much and are now in debt' but us hard working Americans who are trying to stay afloat and be responsible. Yes absolutely it sucks to pay off debt. I am doing it now with credit cards from my early twenties. But I am asking no one to help me and my husband because I want to be able to tell my children that 'mom and dad did ourselves'. Being American means pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Feet Firmly on the Ground — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:55:38 GMT

The simple fact of the matter is that EVERYONE can do math. Dave in cali is obviously a fool. Yes, there were some deceptive practices, but everone can read and EVERONE can do math. Take your total number of bill subtract it from your take home pay and that is what you can afford roughly. My wife and I were approved for loan far beyond our mean, but did we accept them. NO. It is time for american to pull their heads out of their rear end and take some responsiblity. If anyone should get any money out of this it should be the people that pay their bills on time and are not part of this housing mess!!

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

M in AZ — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:55:09 GMT

"They just wanted what everybody told them they had to get in order to survive and now you people want to call them "stupid and Morons", say they deserve what they get. You should be ashamed. You make me sick. This is probably the most unAmerican thing I have read in 20 years." - from dave in cali, a victim and an American

How about using your brain and saying no I can't afford it. I did and had no problem saying no. For you, it's all about keeping up with the Jones'...for me, it's listening to my head and thinking into the future.

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

M in AZ — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:49:11 GMT

I can't feel sorry for those who bought beyond their means. There are so many free options to determine what you can and can't afford. Because of the housing mess, I'm 30 in AZ, living with my parents because the investors priced me out of my area. I was smart enough to walk away from ARM, 100% financing, 80/20 financing or as I was told by one broker "you qualify for 150K but we can get you to 250K".

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Jessica — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:04:13 GMT

. I am sick and tired of hearing that we aren't American if expect people to be responsbile for thier actions. No matter who you are, poor, rich, or in between you should educate yourself about what you are buying. Don't always take people's word especially when they are trying to sell you something. Get a second opinion, read a book. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LACK OF EDUCATION!!. Aren't we all tired of people saying "they took advantage of the uneducated and the poor" What crap! They took advantage of those who let themselves be taken advantage of. This wasn't a hospital bill where people paid too much b/c they needed medical help fast or a car repair b/c they needed to get to work the next day. This is a long drawn out process that takes months and that is plenty of time for people to research and make smart decision. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS COUNTRY TODAY IS THAT NO ONE WANTS TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIER ACTIONS ANYMORE! Everyone wants that government hand out b/c it is so easy to let someone else clean up your mess. Don't people realize that if we keep up those process of bailing people out and giving them money then they will never be productive. As Ben Franklin would say we need to make poverty uncomfortable or else people will never leave. The working class will be the one's who suffer because we'll be one's supporting those who won't work because they can get welfare.

re: Blogger: No victims in this housing bust

Raen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:05:25 GMT

I feel the need to point out that millions of people grew up to be happy, healthy, well adjusted adults and they grew up in apartments! Yes. You can be happy in something less than a single family home. You can do your homework on the kitchen table. You can share a room with your sister or brother. The advantages of high density housing are many, environmental, economic, social. The whole home-ownership thing is overblown in my opinion.