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don't think many rental apartments today have electric includedin rent if it is any kind of complex---my son lives in one in Carrolton that I think is a little iffy--older, cars parked in the parking lot are older models and not too neat--maintenance does not look that up-to-date--and they pay their electric--and pay a pretty big bill for a small 2 bd apartment...think water comes w/apartment and there is no gas...
That is true that many apt complexes do not cover utilities but there are still a few much older ones that do. That is why I think this may be part of the problem as these developments hardest hit are closest to the older apartment complexes that may have included utilities.
BTW, has your son noticed all of the apartments in Carrollton w/ the signs out saying they welcome illegals? Since the big brou-ha-ha in FB their next door neighbor has opened their arms to them. Many of the apartments in Carrollton are not that old at all yet have not been kept up.
also--regarding builders who get in/get out--my realtor said that tract builders live on the float of their sales that they get from their financing--they always need more sales each month-year to keep up w/Wall Street projections/their board of directors' expectations of earnings---so all they care about is closing the sale---they care NOTHING about what happens afterwards, no matter what kind of lip service they give or do in their ad campaigsn....
so they sold to people who really could not afford to live/pay for the homes but often times the tract builder had a mortgage arm that did the financing and then sold off the mortgages to a secondary mortgage company--so they got paid twice...once for the build price and then the premium for all the fees on the mortgage....cushy....
One thing on property taxes (yes, I say this all the time):
- TX property taxes, based purely as a % of the home value is high.
- TX property taxes used to be 3% of property value. With the full implementation of property tax relief legislation (fully implemented now), that number is 2.3 to 2.5%.
- TX property taxes, based on the size of the home is in-line. Comparing a 1500 sq ft home in TX -vs- CA, you'll see the value of ~$150K in TX; ~$300K in CA. Property taxes are roughly $3K in both locations.
For people to calculate their budgets and avoid these issues, here's some numbers to use as a budgeting tool:
Property Taxes: 2.5% of the sale price of your home (paid yearly)
Insurance: 0.5 to 0.7% of the sale price of your home
Water: on a normal sized lot, expect $50-80 for a family of two
Gas and Electric: Anywhere from $0.90 to $1.60 per sq ft for the whole year (So a 1000 sq ft home would have a total of $900-1600 in energy bills per year, or $75-133/month average - which could mean $60/month during April, but $220 for July or August) - this will vary a LOT depending on the amount of insulation and age of your heating/cooling equipment - a guy I work with rents an 800 sq ft house and just had a $290 electric bill... hit AC unit is well over 20 years old and needs replacing BADLY!!!
Then of course, you need to add phone and TV, but that varies on what packages you get. Hope this helps, and it's by no means scientific, it's based on my experience and conversations with people about utilities and such.
also--regarding builders who get in/get out--my realtor said that tract builders live on the float of their sales that they get from their financing--they always need more sales each month-year to keep up w/Wall Street projections/their board of directors' expectations of earnings---so all they care about is closing the sale---they care NOTHING about what happens afterwards, no matter what kind of lip service they give or do in their ad campaigsn....
so they sold to people who really could not afford to live/pay for the homes but often times the tract builder had a mortgage arm that did the financing and then sold off the mortgages to a secondary mortgage company--so they got paid twice...once for the build price and then the premium for all the fees on the mortgage....cushy....
Yes, that is the case and it is true. The mortgages were more than likely sold off before the ink was even dry.
I'm disheartened to hear the media and individuals in forums totally dumping on the average citizen, basically calling us criminals, deadbeats, financial idiots. The lending institutions cannot survive without the common man - as it is playing out before our very eyes in the media with many lenders going out of business.
Most foreclosures didn't have to happen. Lenders could have simply kept the payments the same or lowered the payments for 2-3 years, putting whatever the person might owe behind the loan. When the housing market bounces back (and it will) the family could sell the house pay off the lender including any money put behind the loan. That would have been a win/win situation for everyone and the country. Corporate bureaucracy and lack of creativity and sheer greed is the primary cause of this foreclosure crisis.
What about all those loan brokers that mis-informed their clients or omited to inform them of critical information? Many were practicing what we would consider fraud. They were getting paid by the borrower to be an advocate for the borrower, but many didn't rightly represent the borrower in their best interest which is their role, they were operating on greed not in the best interest of their client. If you are a good broker you are not included in this.
Most lenders are not truly working with people like the media says, they have antiquated rules that they are following that don't work in today's market. Lenders are not known and don't have experience creating situations where everyone is the winner.
If you hurt the common man and enough of them then collectively you hurt the entire country. This country's economy was built on the backs of the lower to middle class. Every rich person in this country owes their fortune to the common man. Many, many homes could have been saved from foreclosure, but there is a lack of willingness from lenders to do this. In years past they simple foreclosed to cut their loses, but that type of attitude just doesn't work in the current financial climate. It is better to save the loan.
Everyone deserves to pursue a better quality of life by buying a home, not just the people who can afford BMW's and never had one failed financial situation in life and plenty of resources to bail them out if they did.
For the person that is afraid -- just keep paying your mortgage save for an emergency and hope that you don't lose your job or get sick.
saw program online--clip from some web site--saying that you should make the bank/morgage company produce the ORIGINAL loan document showing what you bought--often --about 40% or more of the time--the mortgage instrument has been sold off and there IS NOT a real mortgage document for the lender to produce--ergo--THAT LENDER is not allowed to sue you for failure to pay your mortgage==
woman in Clearwater Beach fl was one they were interviewing--she had gotten behind onher mortgage when she went to England after a death in her family
came back tried to catch up on back payment--NO WAY--bank/lender wanted her to go into default--they kept adding fees to delinquent amounts--which grew to 21K by time she was interviewed--again with no proof of that the fee was for
it is just business to them--if they can't make money selling the loans they make money by adding fees and making people go into foreclosure so that they gen up their monthly "receivable" and look good on paper--
I'm disheartened to hear the media and individuals in forums totally dumping on the average citizen, basically calling us criminals, deadbeats, financial idiots. The lending institutions cannot survive without the common man - as it is playing out before our very eyes in the media with many lenders going out of business.
Most foreclosures didn't have to happen. Lenders could have simply kept the payments the same or lowered the payments for 2-3 years, putting whatever the person might owe behind the loan. When the housing market bounces back (and it will) the family could sell the house pay off the lender including any money put behind the loan. That would have been a win/win situation for everyone and the country. Corporate bureaucracy and lack of creativity and sheer greed is the primary cause of this foreclosure crisis.
What about all those loan brokers that mis-informed their clients or omited to inform them of critical information? Many were practicing what we would consider fraud. They were getting paid by the borrower to be an advocate for the borrower, but many didn't rightly represent the borrower in their best interest which is their role, they were operating on greed not in the best interest of their client. If you are a good broker you are not included in this.
Most lenders are not truly working with people like the media says, they have antiquated rules that they are following that don't work in today's market. Lenders are not known and don't have experience creating situations where everyone is the winner.
If you hurt the common man and enough of them then collectively you hurt the entire country. This country's economy was built on the backs of the lower to middle class. Every rich person in this country owes their fortune to the common man. Many, many homes could have been saved from foreclosure, but there is a lack of willingness from lenders to do this. In years past they simple foreclosed to cut their loses, but that type of attitude just doesn't work in the current financial climate. It is better to save the loan.
Everyone deserves to pursue a better quality of life by buying a home, not just the people who can afford BMW's and never had one failed financial situation in life and plenty of resources to bail them out if they did.
For the person that is afraid -- just keep paying your mortgage save for an emergency and hope that you don't lose your job or get sick.
This is total crap. Everyone does not "deserve" to buy a home. As adults we are responsible for our own decisions. That includes people like me who do not drive BMW's. I do not own a house because I cannot afford one right now. That some lender might be willing to give me a risky loan does not absolve me of the final responsibility for my own decisions. Quit blaming the banks and lendors. Figuring out that one can or cannot afford a house is not rocket science. It's just people being greedy and stupid with their decisions wanting things they cannot afford. It sure as heck is not up to the lenders to then take a financial hit by letting someone slip by on payments they cannot afford when that person should not have taken out a mortgage to begin with.
It is so tiresome to listen to people try to make excuses for those who make stupid decisions in their life, and it is outrageous that the government would swoop in to help these people while smart, responsible people like myself get stuck with the tax bill.
If a person is over there head with a 100k mortgage what type home should they live in. 80k is not going to get you anything in a safe neighborhood anywhere. 100k is just about starter home range and if a person can't afford that they can't afford anything. I am in the real estate business and I see foreclosures in all price ranges. Some folks bought more home than they could afford while others had sometype of financial hardship. You may think you are prepared for anything but one serious medical condition can wipe you out in a matter of months. Even those folks who work at McDonalds or sweep the streets have to have a safe place to live. If everyone went to college your degree would be worth nothing. I never try to compare other people to what I have. I found that many will have more than you while others will fall below you. Bad mouthing those below you is popular until you realize the ones above you are doing the same.
The only place to find a 100K home is if you live in a really crummy part of town or you are willing to drive from Sanger or Gainesville to wherever you want to go. Good luck though with todays gas prices.
I'm disheartened to hear the media and individuals in forums totally dumping on the average citizen, basically calling us criminals, deadbeats, financial idiots. The lending institutions cannot survive without the common man - as it is playing out before our very eyes in the media with many lenders going out of business.
Criminals? No. Deadbeats? No. Financial idiots. That might be a bit strong, but many people got themselves WAY over their head.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaoline
Most foreclosures didn't have to happen. Lenders could have simply kept the payments the same or lowered the payments for 2-3 years, putting whatever the person might owe behind the loan.
So a bank, which actually LOST money during the first few years of an ARM with teaser rates of 1% should continue to lose money so someone that signed a contract could stay in that home... that they really couldn't afford in the first place? I have a question - how many people that are in foreclosure still have cell phones, cable and high speed internet?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaoline
When the housing market bounces back (and it will) the family could sell the house pay off the lender including any money put behind the loan. That would have been a win/win situation for everyone and the country. Corporate bureaucracy and lack of creativity and sheer greed is the primary cause of this foreclosure crisis.
You are asking the banks to take all the risk and essentially let the homeowner "off the hook" for a bad financial choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaoline
What about all those loan brokers that mis-informed their clients or omited to inform them of critical information? Many were practicing what we would consider fraud. They were getting paid by the borrower to be an advocate for the borrower, but many didn't rightly represent the borrower in their best interest which is their role, they were operating on greed not in the best interest of their client. If you are a good broker you are not included in this.
Now we're talking about criminals that broke the law. These borrowers, while I wouldn't consider them to be "savvy" financial folks, have a legitimate beef.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaoline
Everyone deserves to pursue a better quality of life by buying a home, not just the people who can afford BMW's and never had one failed financial situation in life and plenty of resources to bail them out if they did.
Throwing down the B.S. card here. No one DESERVES a home. You EARN a home. Incidentally, there is absolutely nothing wrong with renting. What you DESERVE is the opportunity to make a fair living. That's why we live in the US. Additionally, many people can't AFFORD a BMW, but still have one. Cars get repossessed more often than homes. Should the banks just let people pay less on the car so it doesn't become a repo?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaoline
For the person that is afraid -- just keep paying your mortgage save for an emergency and hope that you don't lose your job or get sick.
Good advice. And if you're in a home that stretches your budget, sell it and move into something less expensive. That will help you save, and if you do lose your job, ensure that savings lasts longer. Pay off your debt. Don't rack up new debt. Our country wouldn't be in this position if everyone listened to this advice...
Brian
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Defending the borrower
