WaPo: The American Dream shatters-in Prince Georges County (mortgages, how much)

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

They should have walked away or file for bankruptcy. I don't understand holding on to these homes if you can't afford it. They make $100K they can rent a decent townhouse somewhere and call it a day. Who needs the stress?

Yeah, they were not making nearly enough money with their debt to justify buying that home and staying in it. At the time they have sold that place and moved back to their townhouse. At least then they wouldn't have had to worry about re-qualifying.

Let me ask you, are Ghanians typically loyal to one another? To me it seems like they need to move away from that church. There are people there who are taking advantage of them. Do not see this or is this just culturally normal for them to remain?

[justtitans]

The comments on this article are really good. People are seeing right through this. Here's a few:

My wife and I bought our home in 2002 and the mortgage was not ideal. We knew this going in and were told that the payments would jump in a few years if we didn't refinance. We refinanced.

Yes, we made some bad money decisions along the way, but at NO point did we think that buying a $600k house on our income made ANY sense, regardless of what the bankers and brokers were telling us.

A common theme throughout this series is that the folks knew higher payments were comming and that their ARMs could go up, but they thought they would be lucky. Yes, there are predatory lenders, but you don't need an MBA to know that if you "only" make $100K and you have NO savings, buying a $500k house is not a smart move. I'm black and the race angle is not only BS, it's insulting. "Oh, lets protect the dumb negroes from.....the other negroes selling them bad financial products......in the church...that they attend together." SMH

Let me be a little more specific. They'll lose their $60,000 down payment, but they've lived without making mortgage payments for approximately 76 months. So if we consider that $60,000 as their rent on the place, that works out to less than $800 per month. Pretty good for a six-bedroom house in a nice development. We should all have such a plight.

Once again, the Post misses the facts in the third installment.

Between 7/20/04 and 10/25/05, the Boatengs refinanced the Germantown property 3 times. The first on 7/20/04, a principal loan of $189k paid off $141k, and netted roughly $42,000 after settlement costs. Then a line of credit, on 2/1/05 for 83k was taken, finally a 10/25/05 note for $284,000. Adjusting for settlement costs, that appears to be 120k out the Germantown property in 18 months.

On 9/21/06, they refinanced the Fairwood property with a $620k note, netting approximately 60k. In 25 months, that's 180k in equity cashed out.

The best part is that even though they haven't made a mortgage payment since 2008, they put a solar heating system in the house this fall. Solar City recorded a financing statement. See what you can do when you game the system in the US?

[dkf747]

Why the heck was it even possible for them to keep taking out loans and keep refinancing? Why didn't one of the banks say, "I'm sorry. You don't qualify."

Worse, they were up front with Bank of America about what they could afford. Why didn't BOA try to make it work?

Those questions might make you think that I'm solely blaming the banks. I'm not. The Boatengs share at least 50% of the blame, if not more, for being so stupid. Scratch that, maybe more like 66% to 75% of the blame is theirs, but the banks also deserve some of it.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Worse, they were up front with Bank of America about what they could afford. Why didn't BOA try to make it work?

They did. Read this:

As part of the financial rescue, Congress in 2009 created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which provided relief for beleaguered homeowners by allowing them to modify the terms of their loans. Working through a church member who owned a law firm, the Boatengs asked Bank of America for a HAMP modification.


On April 28, 2011, they were told they were not eligible. The bank said the amount of relief the Boatengs needed to achieve an “affordable payment” exceeded the limits allowed by HAMP.
Their monthly loan payments were to go up again in November 2011, rising to about $6,000. On Aug. 16, 2011, the bank warned in a letter: “This could be a significant increase and result in a condition referred to as payment shock.”


Two weeks later, on Aug. 31, 2011, Bank of America sent an unsolicited “short sale agreement” to the Boatengs, which would require the couple to sell their home. The bank offered them $3,000 to assist with moving expenses and told them they had to agree to sell by Christmas Day.
The bank valued the house at $378,216.


Comfort and Kofi sent a letter to the bank on Dec. 16, 2011, pleading for assistance.
“We trust in your organization to work on our behalf in getting this mortgage issue settled so we can avoid foreclosure and start making an affordable payment,” the Boatengs wrote.

In my opinion BoA did more than enough to help them. They have no control over the limitations of the law. Their loan was too large, then the fact that they offered a short sale and to cover their moving expenses seemed to be a clear indication of working with them too.

[Clea6243]

For anyone who is able to listen to WAMU radio either on the radio or on the internet , the Kojo Nnambi show at 1:00 pm today is going to be discussing, "Underwater Mortgages and Vanishing Wealth in Prince George’s County." The show is based on the recent Washington Post articles.

Program description (from the Kojo Nnambi Show website):

Kojo talks with one of the reporters behind a recent Washington Post series on black wealth in Prince George's County and examines the lingering impact of the housing crisis in the Washington suburbs.

From the outside, the Fairwood subdivision near Bowie, Maryland appears to be an African-American success story. This decade-old neighborhood is 79 percent black, with a median income of $170,000. But many of the people who live there are deep underwater on their mortgages, part of a legacy of plunging home values and predatory loans that dates back to before the housing bubble popped. Kojo talks with one of the reporters behind a recent Washington Post series on black wealth in Prince George’s County and examines the lingering impact of the housing crisis in the Washington suburbs.

Guests
Michael Fletcher Reporter, Washington Post

Mary Hunter Director, Housing Counseling Program, Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.

Thomas Shapiro Director, Institute on Assets and Social Policy and Professor of Law and Social Policy, Brandeis University

Dorothy Brown Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Clea6243

For anyone who is able to listen to WAMU radio either on the radio or on the internet , the Kojo Nnambi show at 1:00 pm today is going to be discussing, "Underwater Mortgages and Vanishing Wealth in Prince George’s County." The show is based on the recent Washington Post articles.

Program description (from the Kojo Nnambi Show website):

Kojo talks with one of the reporters behind a recent Washington Post series on black wealth in Prince George's County and examines the lingering impact of the housing crisis in the Washington suburbs.

From the outside, the Fairwood subdivision near Bowie, Maryland appears to be an African-American success story. This decade-old neighborhood is 79 percent black, with a median income of $170,000. But many of the people who live there are deep underwater on their mortgages, part of a legacy of plunging home values and predatory loans that dates back to before the housing bubble popped. Kojo talks with one of the reporters behind a recent Washington Post series on black wealth in Prince George’s County and examines the lingering impact of the housing crisis in the Washington suburbs.

Guests
Michael Fletcher Reporter, Washington Post

Mary Hunter Director, Housing Counseling Program, Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.

Thomas Shapiro Director, Institute on Assets and Social Policy and Professor of Law and Social Policy, Brandeis University

Dorothy Brown Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

Thanks I'll listen.

The Washington Post closed down comments to the articles. I suspect they thought they were too racist or something.

[SDonthemind]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

Thanks I'll listen.

The Washington Post closed down comments to the articles. I suspect they thought they were too racist or something.

They didn't like that there were literally 5K comments with 90% seeing right through their BS. To have a 3 part series on stupid people and to blame it on institutional racism is insanity.

[Aimewitue]

There is less demand for homes in black neighborhoods so prices are lower and thats anywhere in the United states.

No sure if there's a solution for that.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by justtitans

They did. Read this:



In my opinion BoA did more than enough to help them. They have no control over the limitations of the law. Their loan was too large, then the fact that they offered a short sale and to cover their moving expenses seemed to be a clear indication of working with them too.

I don't think BOA did enough earlier that the part you quoted, but then again, judging by the couple's continued foolis1h1ness, maybe it was impossible.

[Missingatlanta]

Originally Posted by BubbaSkinner

My point is if I have almost 600k to spend on a home , why spend it in PG when I could spend it in Crofton or Annapolis and get a comparable single family home? Crofton has at least built up Waugh Chapel shops and eateries. Annapolis has the Mall, the water and nice restaurants etc. within the area. If I live in Bowie and want something decent to eat I have to leave the city. Perhaps you view TGI Fridays and Texas Roadhouse as acceptable fine dining, I don't.

Add to the fact that I would most likely have to pay for private school for my kids if I live in PG vs sending to public schools in some other counties that far surpass the PG County school system and the answer is a no brainer.

I'm not the one who is narrow minded and chooses to highlight blacks. Many others on here and articles constantly boast about how PG County is the richest and most affluent county for African Americans. Yes, that's a positive. Now because some objectivity in regards to poor financial decisions are brought to the forefront about a county that is predominately African American, you want to get offended and say "hey, why aren't you guys talking about other races in PG County?"

I never said that Fairwood was dirty, neither did I give a poor perception on the living habits of African Americans.

You dont know anything about me, my race or where I live that's why your reply is comical. You sound like one of those PG County is just as good as other counties supporters however I guarantee you don't even spend your hard earned money in good ole PG, shop or dine in the County and you make the trip to Annapolis Mall to view a movie instead of Bowie or Magic Johnson Theaters. Hypocrite.

I believe PG is still a better commute if you work in DC so that is probably a large part of the draw for some including myself.