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To bail or not to bailMonday, September 29, 2008
Apparently fall is just not a good season for Wall Street. If the breaking news reports are any indication, the stock market is imploding. All I know if the microcosmic version as it relates to homeowners I know. (In my own case, I’ve been advised to forget trying to sell my home and, like every other homeowner, hang on through the downtown). The latest story, passed along over the weekend from one sister to another in my family in Michigan, may sound familiar to you. The person in this case is a sibling and here’s the short version: — Bought a house more than 10 years ago. — Refinanced a few years later, getting an adjustable-rate mortgage, with plans to remortgage still later, returning to a standard 30-year, fixed-rate loan. — Tried refinancing recently and learned the house is worth a fraction of what the mortgage is for, and therefore not a candidate for refinancing. — The adjustable rate on the mortgage just got adjusted. The house payment went from the $800 range to $1,100 range. Financial experts are telling people to hang on through the crisis. Are you holding on ... or letting a house go? How. and why? Comments  The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, use the exclamation point icon beside the comment to send a report to the webmaster.
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Cape County Commission action (November 20, 2008) Not quite on holiday (November 19, 2008) What number were you at the polls? (November 4, 2008) I endorse... (November 3, 2008) Hop to it! (November 2, 2008) Wrapping it up (October 30, 2008) In the media pack (October 30, 2008) Watching the detectives, uh, the media (October 30, 2008) Why bother voting? (October 28, 2008) Good riddance to a big mortgage (October 27, 2008) Cape County + budget. An update from the meeting (October 26, 2008) Prop B: home health workers (October 23, 2008) State issues safe drinking water report (October 21, 2008) Lost and found (October 20, 2008) Morley Swingle visits League of Women Voters (October 9, 2008) Fire call (October 9, 2008) Rick Springfield + Sahara (October 4, 2008) Following your tax dollars (October 1, 2008) To bail or not to bail (September 29, 2008) Let's talk about pay raises (September 24, 2008) Ambulance district update (September 23, 2008) Cape Commission live blog (September 22, 2008) advertisement
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Rick.Skaggs, sounds like your plan B is working.
Rerobbed, your situation sounds devastating. I hope there's a good solution in store.
What do either of you (or readers) use as coping methods on the more difficult days?
This is like someone knocking on your front door and when you answer ,they beat and rob you blind- then they go to your back door and ask you for a loan,cause they lost the money they stole from you at the front door !!See the big picture here,we homeowners are not in control of anything anymore,we had to qualify for these loans,thats how we got them, D.T.I. RATIO`S AND OUR CREDIT SCORE,HOW DARE YOU BLAME US !! Now my TRUE STORY,all i did is trust this system,credit bureau`s ,lenders, loan servicers,mortgage brokers,and when they took turns marking me with 12/ 30 day lates, to put me in and keep me in the subprime market so they could steal 10 to 20 k per deal,(i was a real estate investor, buy ,fix and sell homes )i eventually lost everything,my business, my good name and credit, my home,my family,but before i did, i went and filed complaints with the F.T.C., BBB`S,D.F.S., C.P.A., MY CONGRESSWOMAN,ATTY GENERAL,AND NOT 1 OF THEM WOULD DO A THING FOR ME.THEY OWE ME 130K JUST IN FINES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE F.C.R.A.,AND NOT 1 LAWYER WOULD EVEN LOOK AT MY CASE, NO WAY TO COLLECT,THE PERFECT CRIME,THEY CAUSE THE PROBLEM AND PROFIT BIG TIME FROM IT.I NEVER EVEN GOT A DIME FROM THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE? THIS 700 BILL. WILL MAINLY BE USED TO PAY BACK FOREIGN BANKS FOR THE LIES WALL STREET AND THE RATING CO`S TOLD THEMABOUT THE VALUE OF OUR MORTGAGES.THEY JUSY NEED TO FILE BANKRUPCY, WRITE OFF THE LOSES ,THEY HAVE ALL OF OUR STOLEN HOMES STILL,AND LET THE CO`S MOVE ON UNDER NEW OWNERS.THEN OUR GOVT. SHOULD IMMEDIATELY PUT TOGETHER A PACKAGE FOR ALL THE VICTIMS LIKE ME,FINANCED BY ALL THE PEOPLE THAT GOT RICH OVER THE LAST 6 YEARS OR SO BY LYING, CHEATING, LEVERAGING, FUDGING , FORGING, STEALING, FRAUD, NONDISCLOSURE, EXTORSION, COLLUSION, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, AND TREASON ! AND YES I AM STILL LOOKING FOR A GOOD LAWYER !THEY BETTER NOT PASS THIS BAILOUT, YOU DONT REWARD THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BROUGHT THE U.S.A. TO ITS KNEES AND ARE TRYING TO USE PEOPLES 401 K`S AND INVESTMENTS HOSTAGE AND FOR LEVERAGE TO STEAL 700 BILLION MORE.
Ms.McNichol
i was disabled 4 years ago and thought i would
really lose everything , i'd be stuck out in the
streets .
i used the bulk of my 401K to pay off my 30 year
loan on my house and live on bare necessities
now .
the only good thing , IMO , is i beat the bailout to the punch . i know
what it's going to be like for
folks , they can make it if they try .
regarding families living together , we lived with
my grandparents when i was growing up . we didn't
have much but we survived ....
Rh3 -- Frequent refinancing does seem like a poor strategy, especially as a way to pay off credit debt.
I was lucky to have had a grandma who moved in with my family when I was a teenager. She often talked about the Great Depression. It destroyed the family bakery, but not the family.
One point she always made to me was that my grandfather always had a job. Not necessarily a job he loved, but one that helped pay the bills. Their family did something else modern-day families may not consider -- readers, correct me if I'm wrong -- they doubled up households.
My grandparents, who had one child at the time (my dad) moved in with my grandma's brother (aka Uncle Tony). He had three children, but his wife had died. So, the men worked and grandma cared for the four children.
Eventually my grandparents bought their own home and ended up with two more children. They lived happily ever after, more or less.
Here's another question to ponder for readers. Where are the role model CEOs?
I was a fledgling radio producer covering a Chrysler Corp. shareholder meeting when then-CEO Lee Iacocca announced the company would pay back its government loan early ... if you're feeling nostalgic, check out what Time Magazine had to say in 1979 about the plan: http://www.time.com/...
What I remember the most, besides how happy shareholders seemed (except Evelyn Y. Davis http://www.people.com/... ) was Iacocca's agreement to accept a $1-a-year salary and stock options, which were really not worth much at the time. I kind of wish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had had $1-a-year CEOs...
You don't say just when the refi was or what fraction the house is worth. However, in general, it's not a good strategy to refi every few years.
Why did they get an ARM with the intent of getting a fixed loan later? I hope not to take equity out and pay as little as possible for a few years.
What caused the situation we are currently in as a country (I am not saying that is the case in the story here, I have no specific knowledge of it) is that people wanted to buy more house than they could afford and banks were dumb enough to lend the money to them for it. Especially dumb were both sides involved in the loans with 5% and less down.
What do you make of yesterday's outcome on Wall Street, with its biggest-ever drop?
Does anyone reading this recall how their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents (depending on your generation) addressed their financial situation after 1929's market crash?
Ms.McNichol
America has faced tough times before
and i'm sure we'll face tough times again .
now is not the time to panic .
IMHO , ride the storm out....