Dave says:

I refinanced (approx) 10 years ago, rates were much better than when I originally financed about 16 years ago, I decided not to take the adjustable rate as it was only a little less than the fixed rate, and it was ADJUSTABLE, meaning it could go up. I also live in a home I can afford, it is not the Taj mahal, but it is a home I can afford.
I was told, by the banker, a payment you can afford is one weeks (net) pay without overtime. So here I am now drawing unemployment, the wife works but she was never the primary source of our income, we are keeping our heads above water, not planning any big vacations or major purchases but were making the house payment, all utilities, and not missing any meals. My point/question here is; is anybody to blame for all these people losing their homes other than the people who took on more debt than they could handle?

OhForTheLoveOf says:

#4 – She’s somebody’s wife, mother, daughter, aunt, sister, friend, lover, etc… What do you look like, Studmuffin?

MikeN says:

And then Massachusetts is going to fine them for not having health insurance. I think I’ll expect a pickup in the rentals of UHaul out of state.

gquaglia says:

This is nothing then people trying to live beyond their means and a banking industry that was more then happy to accommodate them with risky ARMs. Stop trying to blame Republicans when it was the fault of the people. Maybe schools should be teaching basic finances instead of half the bullshit they do teach.

doug says:

#10. maybe MBA programs should be teaching basic finances to the damn bankers.

but wait! not only do the banks have a mortgage on the house, they also have personal mortgage insurance! so if the sucker who gambled on the ARM cannot pay up, not only does his house get taken away, but his PMI policy pays for any shortfall.

AND the PMI insurer gets to go after him for the payout.

forget it – the MBA guys do not need to know anything about finances, they just need to know how to keep stacking the deck in their favor.

OhForTheLoveOf says:

#9 – #5 oh, snap! sorry for stating the obvious. Maybe you should snap at #3. He’s the one who was hitting on her, you know?

I don’t object to men hitting on women… or women flirting with men… or men hitting on men… or women on women… or two women hitting on me…

But I did mean to, and forgot to add a 🙂

I didn’t mean to be seriously scolding you.

#10 – Stop trying to blame Republicans when it was the fault of the people. Maybe schools should be teaching basic finances instead of half the bullshit they do teach.

It isn’t that Republicans are responsible… it’s that those responsible are overwhelmingly Republicans. And like a good GOP automaton, you characteristically blamed “the people”. You are nothing if not predictable.

Do you understand all the fine print on every complex contract? Do you have a magic crystal ball that shows you whether or not unforeseeable circumstances will make you no longer able to pay these loan shark loans? I surely don’t, and I’m pretty sure I’m smarter than you. When you stack the deck against consumers, its unethical. Plain and simple. These are blue collar people, who are working hard and trying to provide for a family, and they are pitted against contracts and rules and numbers that you’d need a Harvard law degree to understand.

I don’t care if you want to keep being a judgmental son a bitch with a superior attitude. That’s what I expect from the right. But at the very least you could refrain from defending bad behavior.

Joshua says:

This subprime issue is almost identical to the same scam used by credit card companies on college students. Entice them with all the goodies and get their name on the dotted line before they wake up to reality.
At the same time, a lot of these people are also scamming. They know perfectly well they can’t afford the payments, but the bank or lending agency also know they can’t afford them as well. We have ingrained this idea that the American dream is home ownership in people’s minds. Combine that with the idea of easy money and most people will grab it everytime.
I just hope we don’t end up bailing these lenders out for playing fast and loose with their loans.

Patriot says:

Yous-guys are so confused…

Interest rates aren’t the problem — HOUSING PRICES are the problem. It isn’t the building, it’s that Land is entirely over-valued right now. How many people do you recall saying, “WHOA WHOA WHOA, these housing prices are hyper-inflated — a 200+ percent increase in less than 10 years is absolutely wrong!!!!!”

Who do I blame? Banks, mortgage companies, Realtors, realty companies, media outlets and politicians (anybody with a public podium and a mass audience), and last but not least, home buyers. I also blame people who are buying houses as “investments”. Houses aren’t supposed to be investments, they’re supposed to be homes. By making a house an investment, you push your neighbor down to get yourself up. I’ll explain more…

It’s like being an able swimmer (existing home owner) in a pool of drowning (renters & first-time buyers) people. You push them under so you stay afloat — except that analogy is flawed, because we’re not talking about life or death. The ‘swimmer’ already has a house or two. Those of us who were on the verge of buying a house 5-10 years ago, suddenly found we couldn’t afford them. So, we’re ‘drowning’ in rent, and not building equity.

Meanwhile, the investments get foreclosed on, which is screwing the economy up even more. Rent keeps getting jacked up because buying is no longer an alternative. Realty companies aren’t going to say anything because higher property values gives them a bigger check. The gap in haves/have-nots gets wider and wider, and national economic collapse grows closer. Am I wrong?

Another sad thing: I can understand single-family homes appreciating, although not 200% in 10 years. Why the hell have condos and townhouses gone up so much? Same culprits: realty companies, and the people who buy from them.

On property taxes: I’ve noticed many houses on corners for sale. They get assessed twice, once for each street they’re on. Although most blocks have only 4 corners, with many houses in between — you’ll find more corner houses for sale, and less houses for sale in the middle of a block — go figure. Also, notice that property taxes went up with housing prices, but property taxes aren’t being reduced with falling property valuations.

America: Land of the Free, Home of the Growing Homeless.

The Answerq says:

$20 bucks says over 75% of the people there are professional house flippers, and will try to sell the house at actual house price or even more.

#18 is right. And I blame these fly by night house flippers. There the biggest reason for overinflated prices. My parents live by Atlantic City NJ and you just see so many over sized houses built with the quality of a bird house go for 500+ next to a rancher that is worth 200. This with a town who’s biggest joke was about the medical waste that was in the ocean 10 years earlier. In my humble opinion it’s better to rent nowadays.

OhForTheLoveOf says:

#20 – You call it a denial of health care model, and then you want more peeople buying in.

He’s calling the current system a denial of health care system. And it is.

He wants people to pay into an alternate system designed to be responsive to people’s actual needs.

But you knew that.

#18 – So, we’re ‘drowning’ in rent, and not building equity.

Well, I’m lucky that I’m not “drowning” in rent, but I’m not building equity. The tradeoff is that I’m not drowning in liability, insurance, property taxes, repairs, etc. There is nothing about home ownership in the 21st Century that appeals to me anyway.

zzpop says:

Hmm.. I see a lot of people blame the people on this subject. Its not the people fault. its the fault of agents who sold the loan to them. They will lie about their mother to see you a loan.