Here is a reader comment from another board about a "smart real estate investor" who happens to be a realt0r.
Regarding "More homeowners are mailing keys to lenders" (Republic, Monday):
The article about "jingle mail" was a perfect example of the Darwin Award.
The article told of a home buyer who put nothing down on the home, took out a negative amortization loan, and now owes $200,000 more than the house is worth.
The buyer now whines that no one told her the market was peaking.
But get this: She is a professional real-estate agent!
The Darwin Awards are given annually to those people who do things so dumb that they deserve to be removed from the gene pool. If this real-estate agent so misread her own industry and lending practices, imagine the buyers she advised to do the same.
- Edward F. Muhlenfeld, Scottsdale
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New York Times: Americans’ confidence in the economy continued to plunge this month as their homes lost value at the fastest rate in two decades, according to reports released on Tuesday.
The data suggested that the housing slump was far from a recovery and the job market might continue to weaken, ratcheting up pressure on the Federal Reserve, which began a two-day meeting on Tuesday, to take steps to stave off a prolonged slowdown.************
CNN Reports: Foreclosures up 112 percent
The latest report shows that foreclosures in the first 3 months of the year have sky rocketed compared to 2007
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The European Press tells it like it really is.18.6 million U.S. homes stood empty in Q1 !!!
Who can possibly claim with a straight face that there's a shortage of houses out there??When prices drop dramatically, so will the tsunami of inventory.
Read all about it this will blow your mind.Now lets give some sympathy...
The homeowners who gambled on double digit price increases are not to blame.
They called me a 'naysayer' in 2005 when we saw the writing on the wall with property values plunging right here on the shore.
Heres your sign.
While I feel the lenders are to blame overall, surely you must know when you can afford a huge dwelling. Some of the blame has to go here as well.
ReplyDeleteAnyone with a head has to know with a floating interest rate, it can go UP as well as down. And who can afford the cost of a "refi" to a fixed rate?
Not many, when you're in over your head to begin with.
I find it difficult to believe that people are either too stupid or niave to know that when you bring in $30k a year you cannot afford a $200k house!! Call me cold but I have little sympathy for these folks. I do however feel for those who are losing homes due to job loss or medical problems.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of blame to go around when considering this fiasco. Greed and ignorance are the biggest offenses. Mostly those who are in a potential foreclosure situation were gambling on the market continuing to go up, even though the cycle was bound to take a downturn, as it always has in the past. What amuses me is hearing that these unfortunate souls are trying to sue someone. Their Realtor? Their lender? Their Uncle Ted who gave them bad advice to buy? They need to buy a mirror.
ReplyDeleteThen they'll see who deserves the blame.