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By the way, I was projecting the "you're a sucker" comment on to those who criticize people who are struggling on LI, using their own "success" as some indicator of other peoples shortcomings.
Meanwhile the only reason they can live here without struggling is because they bought before 2002.... out of pure dumb luck.
I don't agree with the people that are making the "you're a sucker" type statements towards those that are in dire straits, however, at the same time, I don't agree with the people that are totally absolving many of those people of any responsibility.
I believe in common sense and personal accountability and think there has been far too little of it present in our society and our government. I don't wish bad things to happen to good people, but I think we'll all be better off in the long run if a lesson (albeit a hard-hitting one) has been learned in this process. The sooner we all get back to living within our means, the better.
I don't agree with the people that are making the "you're a sucker" type statements towards those that are in dire straits, however, at the same time, I don't agree with the people that are totally absolving many of those people of any responsibility.
I believe in common sense and personal accountability and think there has been far too little of it present in our society and our government. I don't wish bad things to happen to good people, but I think we'll all be better off in the long run if a lesson (albeit a hard-hitting one) has been learned in this process. The sooner we all get back to living within our means, the better.
P.S. I purchased my house in Jan. 2006.
If you sold in Jan 2006 this info is largely irrelevant... you just swapped the air in the balloon to the next house. If you bought for the first time in Jan 2006 and still doing fine today, that is not your typical story. You're an exception.
If you sold in Jan 2006 this info is largely irrelevant... you just swapped the air in the balloon to the next house. If you bought for the first time in Jan 2006 and still doing fine today, that is not your typical story. You're an exception.
First time buyer at that time and I don't think I'm an exception at all...maybe in the minority, but there are plenty of others that didn't overextend themselves. Being somewhat conservative with your finances may be boring, but it generally allows you to sleep well at night.
First time buyer at that time and I don't think I'm an exception at all...maybe in the minority, but there are plenty of others that didn't overextend themselves. Being somewhat conservative with your finances may be boring, but it generally allows you to sleep well at night.
Seriously, awesome for you... There's hope for the future!
First time buyer at that time and I don't think I'm an exception at all...maybe in the minority, but there are plenty of others that didn't overextend themselves. Being somewhat conservative with your finances may be boring, but it generally allows you to sleep well at night.
I'm in the same exact boat.
Even though I can easily afford my mortgage, it still hurts to know that if I sell today I'm looking at at least a 15% loss. I didn't listen to the Shyster mortgage broker and real estate agents who told us we would be approved for a 600K house, thank goodness, but there was a lot of bs being thrown around back then and it's not hard to see how people were conned.
And again, the constant drumbeat of people not in that situation purely because they bought a house 10 years ago instead of 5..it starts to get annoying.
I am a real estate junkie as well, and I have to say that I have seen big price DECLINES in desirable areas/school, most notably, RVC and Garden City, just to name a few...some houses in these areas have dropped their price 5% - in some cases 20% from their initial asking...so whoever is saying there will be no more price adjustments in these types of areas/schools is just plain wrong..I expect home prices to continue to drop for the next 6 months in all parts of long island....
There are also a number of foreclosures and more "pre-foreclosures" in RVC ... (gasp).
Written by "dman": I expect the usual dose of arrogance from the resident NYers. & Just part of the LI mentality. ha ha you're a sucker I was smart because I bought a house in 1992 and you didn't.
dman, if you don't like LIers and think we're so arrogant, and for some reason we're suckers because we don't do things like buy houses the same year you do, why are you in this forum? Are you just here to put us down, insult us, or make a big attempt at getting our goat. Why don't you just thrash out YOUR arrogance issues with your own locals where you live instead of coming here to insult us?
What are you talking about? Dman's posts have allways been fair, highly relevant, and backed with solid data. He is one of the few on this board who are able to actually examine and debate issues from an unbiased point of view, despite any personal involvement.
It seems that when someone is unable to argue a point with logic and data they resort to emotional, childish, play ground statements, such as yours.
Last edited by jamie1219; 08-31-2010 at 08:45 AM..
Reason: mistake
Even though I can easily afford my mortgage, it still hurts to know that if I sell today I'm looking at at least a 15% loss. I didn't listen to the Shyster mortgage broker and real estate agents who told us we would be approved for a 600K house, thank goodness, but there was a lot of bs being thrown around back then and it's not hard to see how people were conned.
.
What's annoying is the assumption that that is unique to the last 5-7 years. My DH and I began looking for houses in early 1996 and we had people trying to sell us the same bill of goods.
My best friend bought her house in 1993 - same thing. If we'd listened to the RE agents and mortgage brokers we'd have been in over our heads before the first year was out.
The only difference between then and now is that people actually "engaged the cranium" to quote another C-Der and actually took the time to sit down and plan out their finances. Like I said before, plenty of these people who are underwater now in all likelihood had tried and failed to get completely reasonable mortgages at one time, or least crunched the numbers and knew they'd never qualify. I am still not sympathetic to these people who then went out and bought enormously expensive houses with the promise of a quick flip. There's nothing motivating that but greed, greed, greed.
All you hear about these days is "should I buy this house? will I lost money? is it a good investment to buy HERE?" When I bought my house I bought it to live in and raise my family in. Ppeople dont' seem to do that anymore. The whole situation got completely out of control in that respect. Of all my friends who bought houses when I did or before me, I'm the only one who has moved, and that wasn't to "flip" it. The people who bought my house will be the first new family in 10 years on my old block.
If people are having trouble financially because they've lost their job or they've had a salary freeze or some unforeseen expense that was extreme in nature, I really feel for them. I don't feel bad for the greedy people that bought houses that they never should've bought. It's tiresome to hear how they were suckered, that ****e has been going on since my dad bought the house i grew up in back in the early 60s.
You're right that people like me who bought in 1997 have been nothing but lucky. I'll freely admit it. RE is pure luck. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be so rare for people to actually make money in RE. I hoped my house would be worth "x" amount by the time I retired and it turned out to be worth that 5 years after we bought it. All we did was live there. I'm no genius, but you don't have to be to be able to figure out what you can afford, and those are two separate issues.
I'm no genius, but you don't have to be to be able to figure out what you can afford, and those are two separate issues.
That's on the money... the issue of "what will it be worth" and "what you can afford" are separate issues... nobody knows what these houses will be worth.
Buy if you can afford it... to LIVE IN... consider if it will bring you rewards beyond "equity" - because none of us know where values will be in 5 years.
I am the first to agree that if you could not afford a home, you should not have bought it. We sustained from buying and continue to do so as the prices seemed ridiculously out of control, and did/do not match current incomes. We always wondered how and why people who earned significantly less then we do, were purchasing homes as first time home buyers. Their willingness to buy made prices higher for the rest of us. The willingness of our government to continue to keep house prices unaffordable is equally disturbing.
I do find it highly hypocritical that those who sold and made very high profits on their homes during this period, have the nerve to complain about those who bought their homes and then suffered. THose very same people who viewed first time home buyers that questioned the high prices as spoiled with feelings of entitlement.
Last edited by jamie1219; 08-31-2010 at 09:23 AM..
Reason: error
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