Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We lived in SoCal when we bought our first house. The bank offered to lend us so much that we probably wouldn't have been able to EAT if we had taken out that loan.
But we knew SO MANY folks who looked at houses AT the number they "qualified for" They bit off way more than they could handle.
DH and I back then (late 90s) said this was a disaster waiting to happen and that the banks were idiots for creating this monster in the making.
Hmmmm.....looks like we were right.
Yes, it was still a choice by the people who did it, but most of us were buying a first house at the time and so many really didn't "get" that they were in way over their heads.
We lived in SoCal when we bought our first house. The bank offered to lend us so much that we probably wouldn't have been able to EAT if we had taken out that loan.
But we knew SO MANY folks who looked at houses AT the number they "qualified for" They bit off way more than they could handle.
DH and I back then (late 90s) said this was a disaster waiting to happen and that the banks were idiots for creating this monster in the making.
Hmmmm.....looks like we were right.
Yes, it was still a choice by the people who did it, but most of us were buying a first house at the time and so many really didn't "get" that they were in way over their heads.
Dawn
I agree with the causalities you have laid out. Only problem I have is in excusing home owners or would be home owners from their responsibilities. They had the responsibility to educate themselves about owning a home and how loans work etc. They can not be excused in their share of the blame.
I agree with the causalities you have laid out. Only problem I have is in excusing home owners or would be home owners from their responsibilities. They had the responsibility to educate themselves about owning a home and how loans work etc. They can not be excused in their share of the blame.
Agreed. The same thing happened when we bought our first house. We could have bought a house three times more expensive than what we were paying. We looked at him and said, "Are you crazy?" And if we knew that as first-time home buyers, why didn't the others?
If we had better political leaders in Washington would we have a better economy? Or is the current state of the economy the fault of the business cycle?
The reason I am asking is the various Presidential Candidates say they can make the economy better once they are President, can they? Or is the current recession outside the control of the federal government (Federal Reserve, Congress, Commerce Department, President, etc.)
The economy is cyclical. It always was and always will be. Politicians try to use the cyclical nature of the economy to their advantage if the economy is on a downswing. They'll point the finger at the party in power and say "this cyclical downswing is your fault!"
Think about it this way: economies all over the world are slowing right now. Housing markets all over the world are dropping right now. These countries are run by a diverse set of principles and politicians ranging from liberal to conservative, socialistic to free market.
So for people who believe that politicians are responsible for the current downturn, are the politicians in each one of these countries responsible despite that many of these countries have conflicting governing principles? Or is George Bush responsible for the economy of the entire world?
The economy is cyclical. It always was and always will be. Politicians try to use the cyclical nature of the economy to their advantage if the economy is on a downswing. They'll point the finger at the party in power and say "this cyclical downswing is your fault!"
Think about it this way: economies all over the world are slowing right now. Housing markets all over the world are dropping right now. These countries are run by a diverse set of principles and politicians ranging from liberal to conservative, socialistic to free market.
So for people who believe that politicians are responsible for the current downturn, are the politicians in each one of these countries responsible despite that many of these countries have conflicting governing principles? Or is George Bush responsible for the economy of the entire world?
Nope. But he sure is responsible for not wielding his Veto stamp. He is responsible for the execrable Prescription Act. He is responsible for subsidies and protection to oil, steel, etc. What a complete and absolute betrayal to his voters he was.
Well, I do agree with you, obviously, since we were offered over 500K in no down loans and we bought a house for 140K instead and put down 20%. And that was in SoCal in 1996 or 97 (can't remember now! I think 97).
The thing that angers me the most is that we end up paying for the bad decisions of the banks and home buyers who walked away.
Dawn
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Style
I agree with the causalities you have laid out. Only problem I have is in excusing home owners or would be home owners from their responsibilities. They had the responsibility to educate themselves about owning a home and how loans work etc. They can not be excused in their share of the blame.
To me, the economy is like a ship. There are many factors that are going to affect the potential for storms, wave height, etc. that will impact the ship's performance. These factors could be dot.com booms, high speculation on specific technologies, changing demographics (e.g., an aging population), conflicts with other countries, etc.
But the federal government represents the crew that is steering the ship. A good experienced crew can improve the ship's performance if it knows how to properly deal with storms and giant waves.
Unfortunately, the people who are currently steering our 'ship of state' were not elected or hired for their competence, but rather for their willingness to march in lockstep to a specific political ideology and the 'good old boy' (aka ' person I would most like want to have a beer with') network.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Refugee56
If we had better political leaders in Washington would we have a better economy? Or is the current state of the economy the fault of the business cycle?
The reason I am asking is the various Presidential Candidates say they can make the economy better once they are President, can they? Or is the current recession outside the control of the federal government (Federal Reserve, Congress, Commerce Department, President, etc.)
Agreed. The same thing happened when we bought our first house. We could have bought a house three times more expensive than what we were paying. We looked at him and said, "Are you crazy?" And if we knew that as first-time home buyers, why didn't the others?
I have followed your post on these forums. You seem to be well educated and the type to do research. Unfortunately the average human being is lazy and greedy. With that said, it is still their fault. The only unfortunate thing I am hearing about all this mess is that a lot of families with kids are becoming homeless. I was listening to NPR the other day and the situation is absolutely sad. With that said, those parents can only blame themselves. It is a very hard lesson to learn but one that will not soon be forgotten.
I am so happy this is America and not some 3rd worldish country though. Our people are so silly and complacent that they wont rise up. When something similar happened in Albania those people went ape doo doo and the govt collapsed. I think it was in relation to pyramid schemes and people losing everything. Maybe I am mistaken about the country, if anyone else remembers please correct me if I am wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnW
Well, I do agree with you, obviously, since we were offered over 500K in no down loans and we bought a house for 140K instead and put down 20%. And that was in SoCal in 1996 or 97 (can't remember now! I think 97).
The thing that angers me the most is that we end up paying for the bad decisions of the banks and home buyers who walked away.
Dawn
I think sometimes though. Could we ordinary people who knew better could have done more? Maybe started blogs or community groups to educate people? Maybe this whole thing could ahve been avoided? Meh, I don't know. this situation really sucks. well the good thing is though, there will be a LOT of affordable housing in nice areas in the years to come. Gotta look on the bright side I guess.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
