[info please]

Well Said Jbravo

[firemed]

Originally Posted by firemed

Property tax and HOI increases were due to the housing bubble. The millage did not change, it went down in most areas. But the value of your home went up so much so fast the taxes went up with it, I feel sorry for people that were stuck in the middle of this. But the people that paid 900K or more for a home and are crying about the taxes. Well you should have bought a house you could afford.

mileage did not change. millage did not change. I need to read my own posts.

[STRANGELOVE]

I currently live in Kansas. I had to move from Florida, because I couldn't find a job that paid the bills. That was ten years ago. I bought a house up here for about $42,000. It was a fixer upper. I Put about ten grand into it. Very cozy. If something were to go wrong, lose my job etc., I wouldn't be out on the street. I live within my means. No credit debt. No fancy cars. Nothing that will sink me. My sister is currently looking for a house in Florida. She has a good job for now. But how long do they last in this economy?
Plus Florida is a right to work state. That translates to crap wages. Not to mention it's a service industry state as well. Not a lot of manufacturing going on there boys and girls. They looked at a house in the crap part of town. I mean drug and crimminal alley! It was for sale for about $175.000. I wouldn't call that a sale. My point is, most people are living beyond their means and are on borrowed time. We all know it, but the truth can be a very scary thing. There are no simple answers. But if things are to change, people have to get off their butts and organize. Quit bringing up excuses why they can't and just do it.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by STRANGELOVE

I currently live in Kansas. I had to move from Florida, because I couldn't find a job that paid the bills. That was ten years ago. I bought a house up here for about $42,000. It was a fixer upper. I Put about ten grand into it. Very cozy. If something were to go wrong, lose my job etc., I wouldn't be out on the street. I live within my means. No credit debt. No fancy cars. Nothing that will sink me. My sister is currently looking for a house in Florida. She has a good job for now. But how long do they last in this economy?
Plus Florida is a right to work state. That translates to crap wages. Not to mention it's a service industry state as well. Not a lot of manufacturing going on there boys and girls. They looked a house in the crap part of town. I mean drug and crimminal alley! It was for sale for about $175.000. I wouldn't call that a sale. My point is, most people are living beyond their means and are on borrowed time. We all know it, but the truth can be a very scary thing. There are no simple answers. But if things are to change, people have to get off their butts and organize. Quit bringing up excuses why they can't and just do it.

Problem is that most Floridians don't have time to organize. It's easier to just talk about how much worse it is in Ca or NYC.

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by STRANGELOVE

I currently live in Kansas. I had to move from Florida, because I couldn't find a job that paid the bills. That was ten years ago. I bought a house up here for about $42,000. It was a fixer upper. I Put about ten grand into it. Very cozy. If something were to go wrong, lose my job etc., I wouldn't be out on the street. I live within my means. No credit debt. No fancy cars. Nothing that will sink me. My sister is currently looking for a house in Florida. She has a good job for now. But how long do they last in this economy?
Plus Florida is a right to work state. That translates to crap wages. Not to mention it's a service industry state as well. Not a lot of manufacturing going on there boys and girls. They looked a house in the crap part of town. I mean drug and crimminal alley! It was for sale for about $175.000. I wouldn't call that a sale. My point is, most people are living beyond their means and are on borrowed time. We all know it, but the truth can be a very scary thing. There are no simple answers. But if things are to change, people have to get off their butts and organize. Quit bringing up excuses why they can't and just do it.

excellent post. And reality. there are still people who think Florida is a palm tree swaying, balmy breeze, perfect, happy state.

It is if you are retired. Otherwise anytime you rent or buy, and hear its a service economy- get ready to move.


sunny

[hiknapster]

I remember when I first got to Florida and co-workers explained "right-to-work" to me. I couldn't believe it. It means there is no labor board to call.

My cousin worked for a company for FIVE years. Then the owner decided to have an affair and put his mistress into the job. My cousin consulted a lawyer. He told her there was nothing they could do. There is no recourse there.

Crazy.

[STRANGELOVE]

Everybody's financial situation is different. The gentleman did have a point. I wouldn't have been too happy if my house depreciated more than what I had paid for it. Boasting of your husbands financial wealth doesn't help your argument. You seem to enjoy other peoples hard luck. Maybe they did make a mistake. That is no reason to kick them when their down. You were wrong when you said that the ones that had 100% financing hadn't lost anything. They lost a lot. I lost everything when I was younger. I ended up on the street. Yes I made a lot of mistakes, and I learned from them. I also learned another thing, it's called humility.

[jbravo]

Originally Posted by sunnyhelena

excellent post. And reality. there are still people who think Florida is a palm tree swaying, balmy breeze, perfect, happy state.

It is if you are retired. Otherwise anytime you rent or buy, and here its a service economy- get ready to move.


sunny

No, not really.
But, if someone works in a service job (Walmart / Publix) and wishes to buy a house then I beleive that the problem is their sense of entitlement that seems to pervade around us.
Tallrick spent 3 years building his house, SKB was saving for 5 years.
Not too long ago the standard was 20% down payment.
You're only a half-back; I know more than one full-back.

[dreamofmonterey]

Jbravo- whatever. I took care of my father on his death- bed and expected nothing- I am a little older than the entitlement generation you speak so derisively of.

Dont assume you know what someone has been through.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by SKB

Wow, I can see your point and you need to perhaps understand my side of the story over here. Let me try to explain.

My husband of now seven years was offered a job promotion back in 2002 to Montreal, Canada after careful consideration we came. We thought we would have a good chance at saving some money to buy a home when we moved back to the US in five years. Our plans were we would work really hard and save as much money to pay as much cash as possible for a home.

My husband works a job with The Department Of Homeland Security and Customs to keep the USA safe from terrorism and guess what else? He was deployed to Iraq for six months last year as he also works a second job as a reservist in the Air Force as a security policeman. He patrolled the highways of Iraq in his Humvee for six months and got shot at on numerous occasions.

I busted my butt working a very stressful difficult job in the collection industry. My real occupation is nothing remotely close, but we took this position in Canada to get ahead financially so, I gladly took any job that I could get in a bilingual Provence that doesn't hire non French speaking people.

Guess what happened while we were here locked into his five year contract? The housing bubble happened. Our dream of buying a moderate priced home of 150,000 died. The home we wanted went from 150,000 to 398,000+++ in the five years we moved here.

I am not happy to see anyone lose their homes, but perhaps some financial fore site on what one can afford and one can not afford would have helped many. A lot of people bought homes they could not afford.

We made plans to save and be responsible, we knew that buying a 398,000 would be something we would not be interested in. Funny even though my husbands salary could afford such a large mortgage it is something WE WOULD NEVER DO.

The foreclosure process will hurt but in the end it will be the best thing to happen to someone that is sitting in a home they can not afford. I can imagine the stress they feel, probably like the stress I felt watching the price of homes going up.
The foreclosure will sit on their credit report for seven years and will be considered a very black mark to lenders. In a couple of years that black mark will mean less and less and they will be able to borrow again.

Most of the people going into foreclosure never invested any of their own money as they had 100% financing, so they are really losing nothing in the end.
They will pick up the pieces of their pride and go and find a nice rental. Perhaps this can be a great learning lesson for many.

Maybe you would like to read some books that I have read that talk about living within your means.

The Millioniare Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

I highly recommend these books.

Best of luck to you and I hope you can now understand why I feel the way I do.

SKB, I want to thank you and your husband for what you've sacrificed for our country. You gave up so much and now you ended up having to give up your dream house for the moment, too. Just know that there are people who appreciate what you've done. I hope that everything turns out alright for you and you still end up with the house of your dreams.