How horrible is this? I’ve refrained from blogging about the whole mortgage/housing mess as we talk about it at work all the time but this has gone too far!
Working in the real estate industry, the section melt down has really had an effect on me. I’m down what seems like thousands of dollars a year. The value of my home has dropped significantly and once the area of town I live in (which I affectionately refer to as Little Puerto Rico or the Barrio) starts getting foreclosed on, the value of my home will plummet even more. Everyone is quick to point fingers and place the blame on someone. I only know it’s not my fault. I’ve done nothing wrong. Dammit!
I understand the American Dream is to own a home. What no one seemed to understand during the high point of the real estate boom is that not every American can own a home. I’ve handled literally hundreds of closings over the past few years and have first hand knowledge that many of the people who purchased homes between 2005 and 2007 are/were foreclosures waiting to happen. Tons of people took out 1st and 2nd mortgages, effectively sucking all of the equity (and then some) out of the property, mainly for the sole purpose of not having to come into closing with money or avoiding a monthly PMI charge. A lot of these loans had Adjustable Rate or No-Interest options, things which can make one’s monthly payments drastically increase. I’ve had closings where buyers have no funds in reserve (i.e. nothing or very, very little in savings) and are surely ill prepared if something goes wrong, with either themselves or the house. I’ve done closings where buyers have only had to come in with $1. A dollar?! Since when did buying a home cost a third of the price of a gallon of gas?
When I purchased I scrimped and I saved and had to cough up over $10k at the time of closing. The (one and only) loan I got required me to have a little somethin' somethin' in savings, just in case. I have a fixed rate mortgage; My payments only change when my taxes and insurance increase, which they do inevitably every year. I didn't buy the house of my dreams because it was out of my price range. Yeah, I could have probably afforded it a few years down the line but opted not to take out an ARM or Interest Only loan, causing me to settle for something more suitable for a 1st time home buyer. This mortgage mess is not my fault, but as an American, I have to pay for the greed of others.
We are a society with champagne tastes living on beer budgets. We believe bigger is better and everything is attainable (with approved credit). I think greed is to blame for the ever falling American dollar, the collapse of the housing marketing, the recession that’s put me into a depression and the absolutely horrible fucking people who abandon their pets.
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My favorite phone calls are the ones from buyers who purchased over 12 months ago - they call to yell at me about their payments going up. One such asshole told me that he could not afford the $300 a month increase (due to taxes) on his....WAIT FOR IT....$500K home in Jax.
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