I wouldn’t have gotten a crappy mortgage, for the record. But I would have gotten a vastly overpriced home for my efforts.

Screw it.

On December 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm, davidleerothmann said:

Well said. There is more cost than just the mortgage. Too many “new” citizens don’t truly understand home ownership costs. They are new to mortgages, even easy credit like in teh US, so they only think of mortgage. Upkeep is expensive but it is nothing compared to the “rent” I pay the gov’t each year (aka property taxes) in Texas. I have a moderate valued home and pay well over $500/month to rent the land I supposedly own. GRRRRRRR. But that is another story.

It’s enough to drive a person to drink (heavily and often).

Would that be in an american built car or a foreign one?

If Congress, the President and Colonel Klink had kept out of it there might be an end in sight by now.

I knew he reminded me of someone!

Homeowners, raise your hands if you ever woke up to an A/C unit that was on the blink. You called “the guy”. He arrived and said “It’ll be about $700 to fix that.”? You either tapped your “rainy day” savings, or pulled out a credit card with sufficient credit limit and got your A/C unit fixed. The lie that home ownership is just as cheap as renting, and the bigger lie that everyone can own a home is sheer idiocy. Most people do not manage money carefully. Most people spend almost every dime they earn on plasma screens, video game systems, home theaters, Iphones, and cars they cannot afford. Go to a “poor” neighborhood and count the Iphones, Blackberries, and other high-end PDA units. Forget the mortgage payment. Forget the taxes and insurance. Half the country will never have an emergency fund to maintain and repair that home. We will drown in this until our leaders have the fortitude to accept this, and act accordingly.

Probably supervising this part of the banking industry:

A financial institution focusing on taking deposits and originating home mortgages. Thrift banks often have access to low-cost funding from Federal Home Loan Banks, which allows for higher savings account yields to customers and increased liquidity for mortgage loans.

Also known as “savings and loan associations”.

Investopedia Says… Thrift Banks tend to be community-focused, and smaller than retail and commercial banks. While the main lines of business continue to be loan origination and savings deposits, many thrifts offer checking accounts and other basic banking services. The thrift banking system was created in an attempt to transition mortgage loan origination away from insurance companies and into banking institutions, as early mortgages were often set up as interest-only loans that often couldn’t be repaid when balloon payments came due.

I’m sure these deadbeats would not default again if their principle was adjusted to oh, say, zero?

These are often the people who borrow, up to 125%, the equity of their house to payoff credit card bill and such. Now that they have those bills under control they do it all over again. In a growing value boom that worked–until.
Many of these people will walk away or sell short–less than the mortgaged value of the house. Nasty surprise when the IRS considers that difference as earned income. Debt is a life destroyer.

If Congress, the President and Colonel Klink had kept out of it there might be an end in sight by now.
JUST STAND THERE, DON’T DO ANYTHING.

On December 9th, 2008 at 11:45 am, John Deaux said:

Exactly!!! For goodness sakes, giving people “temporary” mortgage assistance when their take home is less than or equal to their mortgage has only one ending. When the assitance stops they default. Come on. Is there 1 person in all of DC competent to run the gov’t? My 10 YO could have predicted this.

Anyone?????