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.
What few people address also is that for those who've made themselves house-poor and finagled homes through Option ARM interest only loans and exotic loans with no money down, is that on top of the fact that they're vulnerable to any loss in home value and rate increases, they also have usually auto loans or high price leases, 3-10 credit cards usually maxed along with Sears credit lines, etc. and carry anywhere from $5000 to $30,000 plus in other credit debt with high interest rates and make minimum payments. So like the Stanley Johnson commercial where the man brags about his 4 bed. house, pool, golf membership, new car, etc....his next comment is: "And how do I do this? I'm in debt up to my eyeballs". Who could sleep at night knowing nothing is truly yours and the surface material wealth is really all show with no substance? Even when my credit card debt was $3000, it ate at me. When I charged something on a bankcard, I recognized I didn't actually own it yet, but that the use of that card symbolized my having taken out a high interest loan to purchase it that must be paid back. Even having a car loan bothered me, though I didn't have a choice when I bought my truck in 98. So, I paid off my cards first- relatively easy to do thank goodness and stopped using them. Then I paid off my truck loan by 2001. I had my mortgage left. I knew that wouldn't be paid until I sold eventually, but I made extra payments against my 30 yr. fixed no-pre-payment penalty loan. I had purchased the house in Nov. 00 with $43,000 down and carried a loan for $162,000 as the house purchase price had been $205K. I used my commissions and bonuses to make extra payments against that loan. When I sold in June of 05, I owed about $145,000 on the house. That left me with a big heap of dough when I sold which enabled me to pay cash for my current home. Discipline is essential and curbing spending and use of credit cards and buying or leasing fancy cars which then carry high insurance rates is crucial. Too many people live on the edge with a mirage of success. That just eats away at one internally and is probably one of the highest causes of stress. Being in such a position means knowing that any mishap or change of fortune can result in complete ruin.
That commercial!! Yes!! I laughed so hard the first time I saw that!!
Anyway here's a good article..it's about time there were more rules for the lenders and help for the naive...
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/061002/pi20061002267050.html?.v=1 (broken link)
Real Estate is still the best place to be. Even when prices come down, people with homes still have equity.
If the market has fallen 5%, but went up 30% in the past four years, you're still ahead 25%
Falling markets only affect people who were not smart enough to realize they were purchasing a home on the cusp of a fall in the market, therby not given a chance to build equity.
They also affect people who took out exotic loans. And many people used their equity like an ATM. The market will fall more than 5% I'm afraid.
This whole "abundant equity" is not the norm. Homes were meant to be purchased as just that a home.....not a ticket to wealth. This will not sustain..it can't!! The fundamentals just aren't there.
What few people address also is that for those who've made themselves house-poor and finagled homes through Option ARM interest only loans and exotic loans with no money down, is that on top of the fact that they're vulnerable to any loss in home value and rate increases, they also have usually auto loans or high price leases, 3-10 credit cards usually maxed along with Sears credit lines, etc. and carry anywhere from $5000 to $30,000 plus in other credit debt with high interest rates and make minimum payments.
Yup, MoMark you are right on.
Ain't all in one mistake, Lord they makes them all. They pays it all.
Your posts are instructive. Own everything, control your destiny.
Forget about posters talking about "Professionals" and how they cut your costs. I ran a number of small businesses. I never made money by adding middle persons. BTW, I still hear there is a theory how that can happen.
Liike them car persons ads say. To have the lowest price, you must have the Lowest Cost.
Just rember one thing and you will be clueless. The Buyer pays for everthing
.
Ain't all in one mistake, Lord they makes them all. They pays it all.
Your posts are instructive. Own everything, control your destiny.
Forget about posters talking about "Professionals" and how they cut your costs. I ran a number of small businesses. I never made money by adding middle persons. BTW, I still hear there is a theory how that can happen.
Liike them car persons ads say. To have the lowest price, you must have the Lowest Cost.
Just rember one thing and you will be clueless. The Buyer pays for everthing
.
I think I was just incredibly lucky to have bought in the SF Bay Area when I did, then take the transfer to Las Vegas when it was still cheap and buy a great home there cosmic. I've always been somewhat of a tightwad, unless I truly want something that cost beaucoup bucks, then I think about it, if I'll still likely want it in the future, and is it worth the expense. If it is, I'll spring for it, but I used those two houses to free myself and now I live mortgage free in a very nice home on acreage. Timing and luck played huge roles and I don't want to ***** it up, so I remain careful. Thanks for the praise!:
I've often had a strange thought if someone got forclosed on and they were angry and attached to a home them snapping and taking it out on the new buyer..a sort of If I can't have it neither can you. There are alot of unstable minds in this world
Or maybe I just read too may news articles that I'm slightly paronoid of people these days.
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.
.....................................
