Shoot for the moon ... in SW Florida (Cape Coral, Lee: real estate, foreclosure)

[twobums]

Ever hear the saying 'shoot for the moon, if you miss, you'll land among the stars'? Some posts I have been reading are reminiscent of that saying. An optimistic & uniformed person finds a 3/2/2/ for a wonderfully low price in Cape Coral, GGE, Lehigh or another community and asks the same questions... how is the crime rate, schools, local job market, HOI, taxes etc because the housing price seems to good to be true.

Well, maybe it is too good to be true. There are a myriad of reasons one can purchase a new 2000 sq. foot house for under 100K. Expecting low cost of housing to be bundled with wonderful infrastructure is a pie in the sky dream.

It all comes down to priorities ~ pay a tiny amount for your home, don't expect the moon. And you may not end up in the stars either.

[hiknapster]

Everyone wants something for nothing. It's what got us into this mess to begin with; people looking for the quick buck, the easy way out. That message fell on deaf ears five years ago, and it will be the same now.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by twobums

Well, maybe it is too good to be true.

That's also why people fall for scams. Not to go off topic, but there are so many people who get taken because someone offers them money when common sense should tell them it's too good to be true, like the lottery scams. On another forum, there's a post about an unfortunate woman who was just a victim of a furniture scam. I got the same call when I moved in May and said I only take payment in full in U.S. Dollars, no checks or money orders. A neighbor offered me a "deposit" and then said he was too broke to pay the balance. Not my problem. Glad I didn't let him take the TV.

I have to take exception to Hik's comment, however. You are correct, but you are also generalizing. True, a lot of people wanted a home they couldn't afford, but many people lost their jobs or had high medical bills. I know a man who fell off a roof and couldn't work. A couple of other people I know were making really good money in construction and suddenly were let go. I don't think it's greedy to buy a nice house if you're making a very good income for a few years and saved a downpayment. But if your job disappears and the only job you can find pays less than 1/2, you can't afford to keep up the payments. In the 1980s I was making an excellent income. My PITI was only 25% of my income, about one week's salary. Then my company downsized and my office was shut. After 21 years of working for the same company, it was impossible for me to find a comparable job with benefits. So then someone in this situation is not only making less money, but has to pay for his/her own health insurance which is often double or triple what an employer's group plan costs.

I do agree that many people want something for nothing, however. I also think we're lazy and don't read the fine print. The government is changing some of that fine print, especially with credit cards, but I think it's our responsibility to know what we are getting into from the get-go. Believe me, I've been a fool many times, so I learned the hard way.

[hiknapster]

I wasn't referring to those people.

How many times have I written about my aunt and uncle in Cape Coral who lost their home after they had lived their for years, just because they both became sick?

And if you lose your job, you can't make the payments. No kidding. I know a little about that. We're struggling right now, too.

But those aren't the people that caused this big mess. It was the greedy people. And that's what I said.

Most of the people that I saw in Lee County were practically dancing in the streets because they could take out a second or they could buy a home that they normally couldn't afford because they had an ARM. They thought that prices would keep going up, up, up.

I have a family member that has been in foreclosure so many times that I have lost count. She just keeps refinancing. She even did it two years ago. And she has nothing to show for the $70,000 that she took out in equity. No new vehicle. Nothing. Now she doesn't have a job. She hasn't paid in about a year and the bank hasn't had the time to file court action, yet.

How the heck did these people think that the prices could keep going up? How? It's not like a manufacturing plant was going to open up. It was mass hysteria in many ways. There neighbor, their friend, their boss made money in real estate and they were going to do it, too.

Greed started this whole mess.

And people will get taken for greed. I use to occasionally hear on the news in swFlorida of folks that would be taken in an investment scam. Well, if they didn't think they could make quick money they wouldn't land in that boat.

It's greed.

Originally Posted by justNancy

That's also why people fall for scams. Not to go off topic, but there are so many people who get taken because someone offers them money when common sense should tell them it's too good to be true, like the lottery scams. On another forum, there's a post about an unfortunate woman who was just a victim of a furniture scam. I got the same call when I moved in May and said I only take payment in full in U.S. Dollars, no checks or money orders. A neighbor offered me a "deposit" and then said he was too broke to pay the balance. Not my problem. Glad I didn't let him take the TV.

I have to take exception to Hik's comment, however. You are correct, but you are also generalizing. True, a lot of people wanted a home they couldn't afford, but many people lost their jobs or had high medical bills. I know a man who fell off a roof and couldn't work. A couple of other people I know were making really good money in construction and suddenly were let go. I don't think it's greedy to buy a nice house if you're making a very good income for a few years and saved a downpayment. But if your job disappears and the only job you can find pays less than 1/2, you can't afford to keep up the payments. In the 1980s I was making an excellent income. My PITI was only 25% of my income, about one week's salary. Then my company downsized and my office was shut. After 21 years of working for the same company, it was impossible for me to find a comparable job with benefits. So then someone in this situation is not only making less money, but has to pay for his/her own health insurance which is often double or triple what an employer's group plan costs.

I do agree that many people want something for nothing, however. I also think we're lazy and don't read the fine print. The government is changing some of that fine print, especially with credit cards, but I think it's our responsibility to know what we are getting into from the get-go. Believe me, I've been a fool many times, so I learned the hard way.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Greed started this whole mess.

Well, I'll agree that greed had something to do with it, but I also blame it on politics and the economy. After all, many areas in FL are experiencing over 13% unemployment.

I'm a Democrat and I've been accused by many of being a bleeding heart liberal, although I'm not. But the government decided that owning a home was the dream of all Americans and they were going to make it a lot easier for working people to fulfill that dream. So it trickled down from there. It started way back when Carter was in office and Bush-43 started his "Everyone should own a home" policy and it backfired. Deregulating the banks didn't help either and people who otherwise would never be able to buy their dream home were given the means to do it. Yes, I do agree people should have realized that "interest only" doesn't last forever and the the "A" in ARM means adjustable, but many mortgage brokers were unscrupulous and took full advantage of the more liberal lending practices.

[tommy-105]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I don't think it's greedy to buy a nice house if you're making a very good income for a few years and saved a downpayment. But if your job disappears and the only job you can find pays less than 1/2, you can't afford to keep up the payments. In the 1980s I was making an excellent income. My PITI was only 25% of my income, about one week's salary. Then my company downsized and my office was shut. After 21 years of working for the same company, it was impossible for me to find a comparable job with benefits. So then someone in this situation is not only making less money, but has to pay for his/her own health insurance which is often double or triple what an employer's group plan costs.

I don't think people can really appreciate this until it happens to them. It's one of those things that you think can only happens to someone else not you.

Someone spends years putting in time with a company, finds themselves in a position with good pay, has money saved up for a down payment, and then one day the good paying job is suddenly gone. Things go downhill fast after that.

[Chicken Wing]

Meh.

We're in the process of buying a 3 BR/2 BA for under 100K and we couldn't be happier. We know that it's not everything we want but that's okay.

Back in souther NJ where we are from, 100K will buy you a shack.

We're grateful.

[hiknapster]

Oh, baloney.

I know what it is like to be homeless.

Once again, I am talking about people that bought homes hoping that their homes would keep on appreciating. When the ARMs reset, that's when the snowball started rolling.

The people that lost jobs during this recession did not start this. Believe me, we are just barely hanging on, too. My husband hasn't worked since March. And he can't collect. He's been trying to fix cars on his own. In the meantime, I got sick.

The greedy people started it.

And no, the Big Bad Government didn't force anyone to buy a home. Nor did Mr. Mean Mortgage Broker. Most of these people knew exactly what they were doing.

These people thought that they were going to have equity:


YouTube - FLORIDA HOUSING CRASH 50% OFF

[tommy-105]

I wasn't referring to you hiknapster, I know you have had it tough.
I was actually referring to myself. My company was replacing people left and right, but I thought I was ok. I was losing sleep over it but still didn't really think it wouldn't happen to me. I got fired once in my life before when I was in my 20s. I just wasn't ready for it.

I also understand the point that you're making, and your right. People are already starting the same thing all over again.
Investors are snatching up properties to flip. I see them on craigslist all the time looking for dirt cheap labor to do half assed repairs.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by tommy-105

I wasn't referring to you hiknapster, I know you have had it tough.
I was actually referring to myself. My company was replacing people left and right, but I thought I was ok. I was losing sleep over it but still didn't really think it wouldn't happen to me. I got fired once in my life before when I was in my 20s. I just wasn't ready for it.

I also understand the point that you're making, and your right. People are already starting the same thing all over again.
Investors are snatching up properties to flip. I see them on craigslist all the time looking for dirt cheap labor to do half assed repairs.

Yeah. Usually you could ignore these losers but this time their greed affected all of us. And at one point it looked like anyone with an ounce of greed was jumping on the bandwagon. And yes, they are at it, again.

The house is only $40,000! Who cares if there has been a little crime. Things will get better soon. Who cares if there are no jobs. I'm sure I'll find one. It's just that those locals don't have a work ethic. And on and on and on.