Decline in Atlanta home prices worst in recorded history (2013, homes)

[arjay57]

I wonder why the ATL got left out of the mix?

Georgia leaders bypass metro Atlanta with their allocation of $99 million in federal foreclosure funds

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

People just need to take responsibility for their own finances. I do not buy into predatory lending one bit. Just because somebody tells you, you can do it, does not mean you have to do it. You did not have to have an ARM you could chose a fixed rate.

People just want to blame somebody else for their problems... ones they created for themselves. The banks are "evil" now but they were great when they gave them the mortgage.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

People just need to take responsibility for their own finances. I do not buy into predatory lending one bit. Just because somebody tells you, you can do it, does not mean you have to do it. You did not have to have an ARM you could chose a fixed rate.

A lot of it is timing. Some of it is also picking a stupid ARM with issues.

We didn't qualify for a good fixed rate in mid 2005 when we purchased our house because I only had about eight months of work history when we looked into financing (I had gone for almost 16 months since my last contract when we moved down here). So we got what I considered to be a fairly nice 5-1 ARM ... five years fixed at 6.25% and an interest free option, then a variable rate resetting every six months based on 6-month LIBOR + 2.25% rounded up to the nearest quarter point.

Of course, with the housing crisis the various bank interest rates like 6-month LIBOR plummeted, so we'd only be paying 3.00% right now based on the rounding rules (2.25 + 0.74 = 2.99 rounded up to nearest .25 is 3.00). Part of me wishes we would have stuck with that. :-) But I didn't want to play the lottery, so we did a refi into a 4.85% 30-year fixed mortgage almost two years ago.

Not everyone has non-ARM mortgage options available to them (well, maybe at unacceptable rates), but making a stupid decision is still stupid. Was the chance we took worth it? Given our situation, I would say yes. YMMV, of course. But there are ARM terms that are a LOT worse than the ones we decided to work with.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

People just need to take responsibility for their own finances. I do not buy into predatory lending one bit. Just because somebody tells you, you can do it, does not mean you have to do it. You did not have to have an ARM you could chose a fixed rate.

People just want to blame somebody else for their problems... ones they created for themselves. The banks are "evil" now but they were great when they gave them the mortgage.

Yep, blame the victim.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Yep, blame the victim.

How are they the victim? We're they raped, stabbed, etc?

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

How are they the victim? We're they raped, stabbed, etc?

Quite a few of them, duped and robbed. Legally robbed.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Quite a few of them, duped and robbed. Legally robbed.

I love how they are a victim when they can no longer afford a house they took the mortgage out on. Yet they were "homeowners" when they lived in the house.

And they had a choice. People who are able to go to the bank and are able to get a mortgage need to start acting like adults. If you can get a mortgage you are old enough to decide what you can afford. People signed loan documents and provided inflated incomes and that is not the banks fault. It is called personal responsibility.

[back2dc]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

I love how they are a victim when they can no longer afford a house they took the mortgage out on. Yet they were "homeowners" when they lived in the house.

And they had a choice. People who are able to go to the bank and are able to get a mortgage need to start acting like adults. If you can get a mortgage you are old enough to decide what you can afford. People signed loan documents and provided inflated incomes and that is not the banks fault. It is called personal responsibility.

No, I look at it more like entrapment. When the police leave a nice car running in the middle of the street, some idiot (actually many idiots) will be foolish enough to jump in and take it. They made the bad, personal decision to steal, but were set up cunningly by the police.

In reality the situation was a lot more nuanced. Banks offered packages that should have set off red flags to the government (and other banks!) but everyone seemed to be asleep at the switch. You had an uneducated or misinformed public who really didn't understand what they were signing and were promised a dream that was too good to be true. Yet they made a personal choice to sign anyway. Yes, they made a bad decision, but they walked into it without realizing the ramifications of how real estate fluctuates or how ARMs work.

Why can't people see both sides were at fault?

[Craziaskowboi]

Once I get a good job I'm gonna save up $100,000 and then buy a house for about $175,000 or so on a 10-year mortgage.

[livinginbuffalo]

This is a thief not someone set up. If I walked past a nice car sitting in the street running, I would call the police and tell them. I wouldn't steal the car. That's ridiculous.

And, for once, I agree with GeorgiaLakeSearch. Clinton's dream of everyone should own a home was unrealistic.

Originally Posted by back2dc

No, I look at it more like entrapment. When the police leave a nice car running in the middle of the street, some idiot (actually many idiots) will be foolish enough to jump in and take it. They made the bad, personal decision to steal, but were set up cunningly by the police.

In reality the situation was a lot more nuanced. Banks offered packages that should have set off red flags to the government (and other banks!) but everyone seemed to be asleep at the switch. You had an uneducated or misinformed public who really didn't understand what they were signing and were promised a dream that was too good to be true. Yet they made a personal choice to sign anyway. Yes, they made a bad decision, but they walked into it without realizing the ramifications of how real estate fluctuates or how ARMs work.

Why can't people see both sides were at fault?