Michelle Malkin » Boo-freaking-hoo: Million-dollar home owner whines about bailout limits

Boo-freaking-hoo: Million-dollar home owner whines about bailout limits

By Michelle Malkin • March 5, 2009 02:19 PM

Sorry, I have no tears for you, Chadi Moussa. You wanna pay my rent? How about some cheese with your whine?

Sob story fit to print in the NYT:

Chadi Moussa lives in a house valued at more than $1 million in Dublin, Calif., in the desirable East Bay area. Unfortunately, he owes nearly twice that much on his mortgage. Mr. Moussa, who runs a used luxury car dealership, is by any definition a troubled homeowner.

But when he looked at President Obama’s housing rescue plan, he saw nothing for him because his mortgage was too high.

“You give $25 billion to a bank, at least they should help people stay in their homes,” Mr. Moussa said. “But once you get to big loans, nobody’s doing anything about it.”

Administration officials say the plan, the details of which were released Wednesday, is intended to help as many homeowners as possible and could prevent three million to four million foreclosures through loan modifications and help four million to five million through low-cost refinancing.

But it does little for borrowers who have had significant jolts to their income, or who owe more than their home’s value on loans that exceed $729,750. In boom-and-bust housing markets like Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix or California, where values have fallen 30 percent to 40 percent, the plan leaves many in homes they cannot afford — some because they borrowed recklessly, others because they were buffeted by the market swings.

About 20 percent of the country’s 50 million mortgage holders owe more than 105 percent of their house’s value, and so do not qualify for refinancing under the plan, according to J.P. Morgan.

“The refinance portion of the plan is set up so it provides the least help for the people who need it most,” said Christopher J. Mayer, a professor of real estate at the Columbia Business School. “We’re missing an opportunity to help many more Americans.”

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Posted in: Subprime crisis

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#101

On March 5th, 2009 at 6:43 pm, yukball said:

I live in Fremont, which was (and probably still is) the bargain-basement among towns in the south-east SF Bay area where you actually feel reasonably safe to live. Go any further down in price and you’re in real trouble. Fremont is a lousy place, but it was affordable. We have a little house, but we make the payments. I could have over-extended and bought in Dublin (which _is_ a nice town) or Pleasanton, or even the nice parts of San Jose; but we did not feel we could afford it without stretching too far.

Moral of this story:

Man, am I a sucker.

I could have got you chumps to pay for a much nicer house with granite and the extra bedroom and bathroom. Rats.

p.s. Fortney “Pete” Stark is my Congressman-for-Life. God, I need to get the f out of here…
#102

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:06 pm, secondsight said:

Choices, choices.

A. crash and burn
B. burn and crash
C. crash then burn
D. cash and spurn
E. vote Demmy for life.
#103

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:13 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

On March 5th, 2009 at 5:23 pm, shooter said:

All you C. Springs folk, didn’t know we had so many from down there.

I’ll be going back down there to run Barr Trail and Garden Of The Gods again this summer. The Springs is one of my top options for places to retire to.

Used to live at Centennial/Fillmore a few years ago.

(Hmm gotta start getting ready so I can go watch Ward Churchhill and Bill Ayers at CU tonight! Maybe I will take some pics too.)
#104

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:26 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

Rock Bottom @ Powers on the 30th? Thats a Monday night. No can do. Now Rock Bottom @ 104th… much more convenient. Of course we could always hit Jackson Hole downtown.

Maybe I will stop by Jon Benets house tonight too…. its always a favorite of mine whenever I am playing tour guide. Co-eds love it, cause its almost like a haunted house these days
#105

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:33 pm, Stillwaiting said:

I’m guilty of…something.

I don’t know why we’re bailing out anyone’s mortgage, but I especially don’t want to bail out some bozo who has a mortgage close to $2 million.
#106

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:46 pm, Random-American said:

Waaaaaaa. Sorry lady…

YOUR mortgage is not MY problem

…especially a $2 million mortgage!
#107

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:47 pm, Random-American said:

Oops, my bad… sorry, GUY..

YOUR mortgage is not MY problem
#108

On March 5th, 2009 at 9:22 pm, Kevin K. said:

On March 5th, 2009 at 2:30 pm, chapoutier said: (#8)

I thought you were a sommelier.

I am trying to shed my elitist reputation and become one of the pleb- I mean people.

Don’t worry, Chapoutier. There are many places for good beer in the DC area. You can both sound like one of the masses and be elitist with your particular choice.
#109

On March 5th, 2009 at 10:15 pm, 24Klady said:

Well, I need a protest march of some kind for all us numbskulls that worked hard, took lunches to work, ate at home most nights, spent vacations working on the house/yard and payed off their homes free and clear only now to find that the market has left us in a deficit as well. Any sympathy from the White House on that one…..nope, they’ll bail out 1st mortgages and now we hear 2nd mortgages as well.

My mea culpa tonight is that I admire anyone that is renting and opting out of home ownership. What fools we’ve all been. No bailouts for us.
#110

On March 5th, 2009 at 10:33 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

OMG I couldnt make myself do it. I went over to CU to see Ward and Bill….. and I just couldnt make myself walk into the ballroom. Couldnt. Do. It.

Well, thats kinda 1/2 the story.

Actually its been like 70 degrees here all week so I didnt dress very warmly for this evening, thinking the speeches would be inside. But the line to get into the ballroom was outside the building and was still about 2-300 people long when I got there. The ballroom only holds 1200 so I didnt want to freeze my canards off with no guarantee I could get in.

Just one guy (that I could see) was quietly protesting by carrying a sign up and down the street.

I think I still need a shower though..
#111

On March 5th, 2009 at 10:36 pm, frontierguy said:

vsatt said:
Mr. Moussa, if you have a $2 million mortgage then you’re apparently one of those evil rich guys the Dems pledge to screw to get elected.

Sad thing is, he is probably one of the limousine and caviar liberals California is full of. The credit crisis is going to hit the California elite especially hard as they realize the vote sure did give them a change, not the one they were expecting though. Wonder if he is scraping the Obama/Biden stickers off his used luxury sedans right now.
#112

On March 6th, 2009 at 12:27 am, OregonGrapeVine said:

On March 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm, chapoutier said:

As in I am a boring conversationalist or I am a boring topic of conversation at a party?

Either way…I already drink alone. Yeah. With nobody else. Yeah know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Anyone that quotes George Thouroughgood cant be all that bad…
#113

On March 6th, 2009 at 12:34 am, happy2behere said:

Dexter – I’m on for the 30th if we can find some more people, just to be safe, you know? Rabid doesn’t seem to want to drive so far, it would be nice if he could join us. Anyone else?
#114

On March 6th, 2009 at 10:19 am, Dexter Alarius said:

Dexter – I’m on for the 30th if we can find some more people, just to be safe, you know? Rabid doesn’t seem to want to drive so far, it would be nice if he could join us. Anyone else?

Sorry about it being a Monday evening, but it was the only hole nail49 and I could find in our schedules. All are welcome! We can consider it a mini tea party.
#115

On March 6th, 2009 at 1:33 pm, gridlock said:

How much you wanna bet this guy took money out of his house to run his business. It is not the government’s job to take away business risk.