Originally Posted By fkurucz <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4228048" target="_blank">http://www.denverpost.com/busi ness/ci_4228048</a> It sounds like banks have been too eager to extend mortgages to people who shouldn't be getting them...
Originally Posted By YourPalEd Nobody wants to talk about this, because it is inevitable. Last night my neighborhood did not look quite as wealthy. Though the restaurants were still fairly crowded, they were locals. I easily crossed the street with my groceries. Incredibly empty of cars for a friday night. The feeling after 9/11 with an added tension of awareness. Well, i didn't buy a house, i wanted to wait and see what was going to happen with the environment first. I still haven't a clue as to the environment, except i love los angeles.
Originally Posted By YourPalEd I think he is telling you, he owns a house, and starts to cry whenever anyone comes up with this analysis.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^But he lives in the UK. The article is about the US market. It doesn't affect him. If anything, it could help him to buy a discounted vacation home in the US in the not too distant future.....
Originally Posted By YourPalEd Well, the brits own a lot of american real estate. If our real estate prices drop so will theirs, won't they?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "^^But he lives in the UK. The article is about the US market. It doesn't affect him. If anything, it could help him to buy a discounted vacation home in the US in the not too distant future....." And I may well do. In fact, I often wonder about returning home - btw ED, I am an American (Californian) living in the UK. And I am davewasbaloo as my addy used to be daveisbaloo and it stopped working. Also, Baloo was my nickname at University many moons ago.
Originally Posted By YourPalEd So you consider yourself a big blue ape, who is missing their link, instead of a missing link?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>If our real estate prices drop so will theirs, won't they?<< Not necessarily. Ours is poised to drop because we went bonkers, over built and financed people with creative mortgages that will bite them in the keister once the teaser interest rates expire. Oue local market has been pretty flat for the past 5 years, with the excetion of "entry level: houses (<200K). Now even that market is drying up (residential building permits issued in out town are down about 40% from last year). The party is over. And this was the one strong segment in the economy. Oh well, look at the bright side: attendance at WDW should be down next year!
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I'm not sure it's the 'fault' of the FHA for gettting people into homes. Reading some of the information on their website, they do have some 'creative financing' which makes it quite risky to try and jump into a home. My parents passed away at the end of '04, and they left me an inheritance -- otherwise, I'd still be renting our cool 3-bedroom apt in Pasadana for $1000.00 a month. Probably more by now. But hear this -- owning a home was not a missing part of my 'American Dream' -- it doesn't make me a better person. I'm hoping that at some point [15 years from now? 30 years from now?] I can sell this house for more than I bought it for. It's a long-term investment for us. But heck, I remember 3-4 years ago, reading about the 'interest only mortgages' and other creative financing ideas for getting into a home. The stories frankly scared me, and I'm glad that I didn't try to do it that way. We went with a fixed rate 30-year mortgage [which we got last Fall just before rates started to rise again], and I'm glad we did. I'm conservative when it comes to matters of finance, and would be stressed beyond belief if I knew my mortgage payment was going to increase by $3-400.00 per month, 6 months from now. I certainly don't begrudge those who want to get into the business of 'flipping' homes every couple of years if they want to. But I do get irritated when those same people lament the fact that there are not more 'neighborhoods' in 2006, and that nobody knows anybody anymore, and that 'kids today' have no sense of community. Well, when you come into a neighborhood of tract homes, buy one, and either let it sit empty, or rent it to a bunch of goofballs who don't take care of the front lawn, you sort of do away with that 'sense of community' don't cha? It's like people having stock in The Walt Disney Company, demanding a fantastic return on their investment this quarter, and then kvetching about the straight-to-DVD release of 'Brother Bear 2' because it's eroding the quality of the Disney name. You can't have both. But I digress...
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I'm not sure it's the 'fault' of the FHA for gettting people into homes.<< I think that the goal of the FHA, to help people buy their first home, is noble. However, I think that the FHA needs better safeguards. For instance, The article describes how illegals use bogus documents (SS #'s, paycheck stubs, etc.) to get loans. In the case of the illegal who had pay stubs that said she worked at a casino making 40K, why didn't anyone call the employer to verify her employment? Of course, the real problem is that banks have tons of money to lend, and are willing to look the other way when things don't add up: inflated appraisals, bogus identities, faked income, etc.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Owning a home is most certainly a necessary part of my version of the American Dream. I am currently in my 5th (and hopefully final) home. I don't know that much about the rest of the country, but here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, we are doing well with our property values. I have only been in my current home since last November and I have seen an increase in value of around 8 %. Of course I guess since this is the last house we hope to own, I should probably wish that proerty values will drop so as to save on the rediculous school taxes I am paying. I think the argument of renting, so as not to take risk on buying for fear of decrease in home value, is a bad argument. Of course this depends on where you buy. But then again 100% of your rent is g-o-n-e forever. On the other hand, it is certainly not the best investment to keep a lot of cash In your home...that is to say, you could buy your home with an interest only loan, deduct 100% of your monthly payment, and invest the difference that you would be paying to the principle. That is actaully pretty smart and is SORT OF like rent in a sense. Anyway, there are a zillion ways to buy a house today. Some are great and just because they are creative, modern, new, or non-traditional doesn't mean they are "bad." Also I think the FHA loan is certainly not to blame for someone owning a home that they cannot pay for. I would argue that the increase in forclosre can be related to the increase in divorce. Its the same ol story over and over.... man and wife buy a house that they both have to pay for. Man cheats, wife finds out, they divorce, she keeps a house that there is no way she can pay for on her income alone. Crazy stuff... Well my post has no real point so I will just end it here.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I don't know that much about the rest of the country, but here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, we are doing well with our property values.<< I recall reading recently that the SE is the only region of the country that is still experiencing appreciation, but that even in the SE it is slowing down. >>I would argue that the increase in forclosre can be related to the increase in divorce.<< That is certainly a factor. Colorado was hit hard by the telecom meltdown. We have lost a lot high paying jobs here during the past 5 years, but Colorado has always been a boom and bust kind of place. Our foreclosure rate is about 3 times the national average. In some market segments my town has a 1 year + supply of houses for sale.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <>>I don't know that much about the rest of the country, but here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, we are doing well with our property values.<< I recall reading recently that the SE is the only region of the country that is still experiencing appreciation, but that even in the SE it is slowing down. < the Chicago area continues to increase also-- I think mainly because these areas did not participate in the insane appreciation boom of the coasts.
