I almost entirely agree with you about the subprime mortgage bust. There's only one situation where I do feel sorry for the "victims" of predatory lenders. Here in the Twin Cities we have two huge immigrant populations, Hmong (from Laos and Vietnam) and Somalians. Most of them, especially the Hmong, lived in refugee camps for years or decades before they came to the US. Immigration laws are such that they open up a certain number of slots and then it's like, "Hey, you're moving to Minnesota in a month!" So they have very little time to learn about the way things are. They just get a few hours of English class and then when they get here, if they're lucky, some community group will show them how the supermarket works
( ... )
I still think that everyone has the choice to not commit themselves to obligations they don't understand, but okay, I can muster up some sympathy for people in the situation you describe.
And I definitely advocate harsh punishment for the predatory lenders who were lying to poor blacks and other minorities by telling them that subprime mortgages were the only mortgages they qualified for. Losing their businesses to bankruptcy wasn't good enough for them - they need some jail.
Yeah, like I said, for the most part I agree. There was some sob story in Newsweek recently about a military family who had lost their home because the dad was getting combat pay in Iraq and they also had some deal where their interest rate wouldn't go up while he was overseas. And he came home and lost his combat pay and lost the interest rate freeze, and there went the house. Sad and all, but just because you're poor doesn't mean you have to be stupid and can't figure out what you're getting into
( ... )
I think the perfect solution for the military family is for George W. Bush to personally pay the man's mortgage. Then everyone's happy. (Or at least everyone who's not an evil bastard is happy.)
Your "editorial" piece made me think of my friend Jan telling me about growing up in communist Czech Republic... you had to pay rent because you couldn't own something like a house and you would get arrested if you didn't have a job and you would stay in jail until they gave one to you. You see, living in a capitalistic society IS all about entitlement, and the whole key to enjoying it is to get in on it and try to make a profit somehow. Don't let it upset you so - just go buy something shiny and new, and you'll feel all better... I think a Honda Civic Si is just what you need.. either that or a trip to Cuba..
I'm not saying people shouldn't be allowed to own houses. I'm saying they shouldn't be allowed to own houses at my expense. Taxpayers don't collectively owe anyone a home.
Capitalism isn't about entitlement, it's about having the freedom to live as well as your abilities and willingness to achieve can take you. It motivates people to demonstrate ability, while socialism motivates people to demonstrate need.
And I'm so over the Civic Si and car ownership in general. I'm glad I don't give into those passing notions.
I have the exact same notions about renting vs. owning in the Bay Area. If I add my disposable income to what I pay in rent, I could manage a $3,000/month mortgage, but I'd only have $200 left over. I'd be the "house poor" businesswoman eating Ramen noodles. I've had a taste of that life these last few months as I force myself to buckle down and pay off my debt, and it gets old very quickly.
Three weeks from today I'll make my last debt payment, and I'm thinking of throwing some serious money into investing. If I do it right, maybe I could generate enough of a downpayment for a home that wouldn't leave me with oppressive payments.
Good for you....I paid off my credit cards 2 years ago and it felt wonderful.
As for me, I pretty much have to wait for my parents to croak if I wanted to entertain any notion of owning property in SF. That may sound morbid, but my parents keep telling me to plan for the day when I inherit their real estate (which is worth well over $1m, even though they are middle class. They bought property in downtown Savannah, GA when the gettin' was good). After that, I'll stuff them in pine boxes and bury them in the cheapest plot available...and then sell their properties and head to an offshore bank with my loot.
When Grandma died in Dec. 2005, she was worth over half a million and left 200K+ to each of her three sons.
Dad tells us not to expect any of the 200K to be leftover when he dies, but he's so frugal that I bet a nice chunk of it will be. Not that I'm counting on it.
And I don't think you have to wait for your parents to croak to amass a fortune. Learning about the stock market (even though it bores me to tears) can pay off big. I have a friend who invested in American Eagle Outfitters years ago when they were new. Their stock increased 8x in value, then split! He sold before all that, but still made a nice chunk from what I infer. And I know of people who are millionaires after decades of investment that began with as little as a couple thousand dollars.
I am especially annoyed by the mortgage bailout because I actually took responsibility for myself and sold a house that I loved because I wasn't sure I'd be able to afford it. The very thought of my tax dollars going to these "victims" makes me want to vomit up my insides, for my own emo reasons as well as many that you state above.
I actually took responsibility for myself and sold a house that I loved because I wasn't sure I'd be able to afford it.
As you might say, "I salute you." That's the proper course of action.
I wonder if this issue would irritate me nearly as much if I still lived in Ohio. California's real estate is just so incredibly expensive that I can't tolerate the notion of me subsidizing home ownership for someone else when I can't even afford it for myself.
Renters already get the shaft when it comes to tax breaks, etc. Having to support stupid homeowners would just be shoving a salt lick in the wound.
Amen. This smacks of the Savings and Loan bailout of the '80s. You make stupid decisions about to whom and under what circumstances you lend money and then when it all goes belly up, start screaming for the gub'ment to cover that bet for you.
We've wanted to buy a new house for a few years now, we're bustin' out of the small house we bought 'lo so many years ago. We decided to wait because the cost of housing in our area was, in our opinion, grossly inflated. We figured the real estate market would eventually make an adjustment and we'd start looking again. It did, we did, and now we're under contract for a "new to us" house that's within our budget. That's called doing your research and making an informed decision. I know *way* too many people that bought way over-prices, and out-of-their league houses 'cause they wanted to keep up with the Jones', and fuck the budget. Don't look to me to bail you out now sucker.
Congrats on the new-to-you house, made all the more awesome by the fact that it's actually affordable.
My own home owning experience greatly influences my opinion. Seven years ago I was a year out of college and looking to buy my first home. I found a condo I was absolutely lusting after, but it was so close to my absolute upper limit that I would've had no disposable income. Also, the community was new, meaning there were a lot of units the builder had yet to sell, and there's no way I could've competed with the builder if I wanted to sell my place in a year or two.
I was so close to saying SCREW IT and buying the place, but reason prevailed, and I settled for something nearby that was 20K less in a more established community. I was there three years. It didn't appreciate much, but at least it wasn't tough to sell, and I didn't have to eat Ramen noodles every night.
As a result of the experience, I'm smarter with housing, and I won't buy again unless I'm convinced it's a good business decision.
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And I definitely advocate harsh punishment for the predatory lenders who were lying to poor blacks and other minorities by telling them that subprime mortgages were the only mortgages they qualified for. Losing their businesses to bankruptcy wasn't good enough for them - they need some jail.
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I think the perfect solution for the military family is for George W. Bush to personally pay the man's mortgage. Then everyone's happy. (Or at least everyone who's not an evil bastard is happy.)
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Capitalism isn't about entitlement, it's about having the freedom to live as well as your abilities and willingness to achieve can take you. It motivates people to demonstrate ability, while socialism motivates people to demonstrate need.
And I'm so over the Civic Si and car ownership in general. I'm glad I don't give into those passing notions.
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Three weeks from today I'll make my last debt payment, and I'm thinking of throwing some serious money into investing. If I do it right, maybe I could generate enough of a downpayment for a home that wouldn't leave me with oppressive payments.
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As for me, I pretty much have to wait for my parents to croak if I wanted to entertain any notion of owning property in SF. That may sound morbid, but my parents keep telling me to plan for the day when I inherit their real estate (which is worth well over $1m, even though they are middle class. They bought property in downtown Savannah, GA when the gettin' was good). After that, I'll stuff them in pine boxes and bury them in the cheapest plot available...and then sell their properties and head to an offshore bank with my loot.
Muahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
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Dad tells us not to expect any of the 200K to be leftover when he dies, but he's so frugal that I bet a nice chunk of it will be. Not that I'm counting on it.
And I don't think you have to wait for your parents to croak to amass a fortune. Learning about the stock market (even though it bores me to tears) can pay off big. I have a friend who invested in American Eagle Outfitters years ago when they were new. Their stock increased 8x in value, then split! He sold before all that, but still made a nice chunk from what I infer. And I know of people who are millionaires after decades of investment that began with as little as a couple thousand dollars.
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Good rant.
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As you might say, "I salute you." That's the proper course of action.
I wonder if this issue would irritate me nearly as much if I still lived in Ohio. California's real estate is just so incredibly expensive that I can't tolerate the notion of me subsidizing home ownership for someone else when I can't even afford it for myself.
Renters already get the shaft when it comes to tax breaks, etc. Having to support stupid homeowners would just be shoving a salt lick in the wound.
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This smacks of the Savings and Loan bailout of the '80s. You make stupid decisions about to whom and under what circumstances you lend money and then when it all goes belly up, start screaming for the gub'ment to cover that bet for you.
We've wanted to buy a new house for a few years now, we're bustin' out of the small house we bought 'lo so many years ago. We decided to wait because the cost of housing in our area was, in our opinion, grossly inflated. We figured the real estate market would eventually make an adjustment and we'd start looking again.
It did, we did, and now we're under contract for a "new to us" house that's within our budget.
That's called doing your research and making an informed decision. I know *way* too many people that bought way over-prices, and out-of-their league houses 'cause they wanted to keep up with the Jones', and fuck the budget.
Don't look to me to bail you out now sucker.
Write your Congressman.
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My own home owning experience greatly influences my opinion. Seven years ago I was a year out of college and looking to buy my first home. I found a condo I was absolutely lusting after, but it was so close to my absolute upper limit that I would've had no disposable income. Also, the community was new, meaning there were a lot of units the builder had yet to sell, and there's no way I could've competed with the builder if I wanted to sell my place in a year or two.
I was so close to saying SCREW IT and buying the place, but reason prevailed, and I settled for something nearby that was 20K less in a more established community. I was there three years. It didn't appreciate much, but at least it wasn't tough to sell, and I didn't have to eat Ramen noodles every night.
As a result of the experience, I'm smarter with housing, and I won't buy again unless I'm convinced it's a good business decision.
I know *way* too many people ( ... )
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