There's something seriously wrong...
...with this picture.
From a New York Times article titled "Housing Slump Pinches States in Pocketbook" I found out this factoid:
"In one hint of how much Floridians were relying on property wealth during the real estate boom, 16 percent of new car purchases here were being made with home equity loans in 2006, compared with 7 percent nationally, according to CNW Marketing Research, an automotive research firm in Bandon, Ore. In California, the percentage was even higher - about 30 percent, said Art Spinella, the firm’s president."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/us/08housing.html
WTF?? Am I the *only* person in the world who thinks that buying something that depreciates in value a few thousand dollars as soon as you purchase it is a wholly inappropriate use of money gained from leveraging the value of the house you live in??
The article goes on to say how people are using home equity to make up for stagnant wages.
This goes back to the whole issue of rampant consumerism and how out-of-hand it's gotten. Then there's the issue of why wages are so stagnant that people are resorting to this. Then there's the idea that people think it's perfectly OK to spend your home equity money on a car instead of something like improving your heating system, or plumbing, or buying something that will be useful and last, nay, even *increase* the value of your home.
These are probably the people who get "surprised" by their home loan's astronomical jump in payment when the introductory rate expires and the "A" (adjustable) portion of their "ARM" starts to adjust. Maybe people shouldn't be buying homes if they don't know what they're doing. I just don't get it.
Yes, I've made (and probably continue to make) really stupid financial decisions. But I know damned well what my home loan is, the terms of it, and don't feel the need to buy a new car with a home equity loan.
Things are going to start to get ugly once more people start losing their homes. It's hard to keep calling yourself "middle class" when your home gets reposessed. On the other hand, you can live in your car - it's paid for.
That's harsh - but people need to wake up and stop doing stupid things with the one thing they should be conservative with - where they live, the roof over their head.
On the other hand, now's the time to buy. I'm actually trying to talk to an actual person at the tax collector's office (in Worcester) and not having much success. My property tax bill says my house is worth 12k more than what I paid for it back in November - strangely enough, I can't get the person responsible for it to call me back.
Funny, that. I think he might be busy.
*sigh*
From a New York Times article titled "Housing Slump Pinches States in Pocketbook" I found out this factoid:
"In one hint of how much Floridians were relying on property wealth during the real estate boom, 16 percent of new car purchases here were being made with home equity loans in 2006, compared with 7 percent nationally, according to CNW Marketing Research, an automotive research firm in Bandon, Ore. In California, the percentage was even higher - about 30 percent, said Art Spinella, the firm’s president."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/us/08housing.html
WTF?? Am I the *only* person in the world who thinks that buying something that depreciates in value a few thousand dollars as soon as you purchase it is a wholly inappropriate use of money gained from leveraging the value of the house you live in??
The article goes on to say how people are using home equity to make up for stagnant wages.
This goes back to the whole issue of rampant consumerism and how out-of-hand it's gotten. Then there's the issue of why wages are so stagnant that people are resorting to this. Then there's the idea that people think it's perfectly OK to spend your home equity money on a car instead of something like improving your heating system, or plumbing, or buying something that will be useful and last, nay, even *increase* the value of your home.
These are probably the people who get "surprised" by their home loan's astronomical jump in payment when the introductory rate expires and the "A" (adjustable) portion of their "ARM" starts to adjust. Maybe people shouldn't be buying homes if they don't know what they're doing. I just don't get it.
Yes, I've made (and probably continue to make) really stupid financial decisions. But I know damned well what my home loan is, the terms of it, and don't feel the need to buy a new car with a home equity loan.
Things are going to start to get ugly once more people start losing their homes. It's hard to keep calling yourself "middle class" when your home gets reposessed. On the other hand, you can live in your car - it's paid for.
That's harsh - but people need to wake up and stop doing stupid things with the one thing they should be conservative with - where they live, the roof over their head.
On the other hand, now's the time to buy. I'm actually trying to talk to an actual person at the tax collector's office (in Worcester) and not having much success. My property tax bill says my house is worth 12k more than what I paid for it back in November - strangely enough, I can't get the person responsible for it to call me back.
Funny, that. I think he might be busy.
*sigh*