Why do homeowners facing foreclosures blame the banks?

[BruSan]

There were many places along the way where I could have acted differently, if I had known better.

My original thought was to hold that property for a few more decades, as a side income for my retirement. It never occurred to me to sell it when the economy was doing good. Again a crystal ball would have been a great asset.[/quote]


I'm back again with an admonishment that is mean't with the best of intentions.

You made many mistakes along the way a more prudent "investor" would not have made. The "crystal ball" reference keeps 'pinging' me as there is absolutely no successful investor in history who had the advantage of a "crystal ball" in the most absolute of terms. They all took risks but mitigated those risks with due diligence when entering the envestment. It really is that simple.

I'm fully sympathetic with your admission on this issue and completely understand how this stuff happens in today's world but here's the bottom line.

You were making nothing more than an investment and as such it's a business deal that requires your full attention to mitigate any potential loss. Your first and biggest mistake was to go in "over-exposed". You could not afford to carry the mortgage payment if your occupancy rate fell markedly as it could for any variety of reasons. During a peak in economic cycle you would have been fairly safe to overlook certain negative indicators but in the 19 years you kept the property there may have been at least two negative downturns that you chose to ignore.

In those same 19 years, there may have been more than one opportunity for you to sell off one of your holdings to pay off some of the principal debt load of this "favoured" holding. I used the word coast in a previous post to indicate my feelings about your chosen method of observing your investment closely. You had exposed your future retirement income to a significant risk factor and chose to coast!

You waited far too long to become pro-active and instead were only reactive in your handling of this whole thing. You have stated many times that you were in arrears before this whole fiasco with bank sub-contractors got out of hand. That is far far too late for you to exercise attempts at control, surely the signs were there, perhaps even a couple of years ahead of that point, for you to start the legal process to unload this money pit.

As any investment, this was a gamble, you chose to keep ante'ing up and doubling down instead of folding, until your entire pot was on the table.

This thread needs to be read by anyone comtemplating a real estate purchase as an investment. It is a textbook case of going in over-exposed and staying in through a few opportunities to realize an equity gain on that risky investment potential until it's too late and the market has collapsed.

A lesson here for many to take to heart.

[oz in SC]

The 'mistake' I see was in using your savings to 'do the right thing' and keep paying...of course we have been brainwashed to think this way,the banksters have no such issues.

We did it ourselves.

[Kracer]

Still in power Barney and friends were the government assigned watchdogs protecting us from financial collapse...

Is it a wonder with Barney and friends still in power that the US is facing economic problems. Better yet ask the folks who continuously vote Barney Frank to consecutive terms.


Barney Frank, 2005: What Housing Bubble? - YouTube