Posted on 05/31/2011 7:14:56 PM PDT by vmpolesov
Reporting from North Las Vegas, Nev.— Charles Mills can barely afford to stay here. But he also can't afford to move.
That's why the 44-year-old heavy-equipment operator was preparing to leave his wife and young daughter here and go where he could find work — the Oklahoma oil fields. Mills has a mortgage to pay, even if its size pains him.
He purchased his house in 2006 for $308,500. Current value: $105,797.
"We talked about it: What can we do with the house?" Mills said. "Nobody's going to buy it. Nobody's going to rent it. If we walk away, my credit's shot. We're stuck."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“Good luck trying to get a job to start that new life, when you have a black mark on your credit.”
You are $200,000 in debt. Who would be worried about a credit rating? Going to buy a new car? Doubt it, you buy used. Going to buy a new home? No, you will rent. No way is a tarnished credit rating worth $200,000.
The lender took a risk also, they gambled the value of the house would go up, and the house was their collateral. The risk didn’t workout, if the borrower walks away, they still have the house.
“I understand that there are two (or more) sides to the story. This house is tearing his family apart. And to protect.. what, exactly ? If the place is so expensive, then some other sort of housing should be found. With the whole family.
But all I see being salvaged here is his credit rating. He’s put it above a whole and stable family unit. Giving his kids a father.”
I have a little different perspective, being married to a pilot and having moved often. The children have a home, friends and community ties. Their father will be able to go back and visit. Once the home is given up, it’s gone, along with the children’s sense of security- their home, friends, school, community. The job situation is potentially temporary. Losing a family home is permanent. This is no different from Filippinos, Mexicans, etc. sending money home to their families. I don’t think anyone would dispute keeping a family together is good, but in this case, I think it would be much harder on the family to be up rooted to another state and potentially be in a worse financial situation. Moving has been harder on my daughter than her father being gone. Her father comes back to visit. Once she’s moved, a huge chunk of her life is lost.
In my upbringing, my family moved around (Financial opportunities = Getting evicted because rent couldn’t be paid). Of course my parents were upset about moving me and my sister, from our friends. But in the long run, I made far more friends, more quality friends, and have a lot less regret having adjusted so often during my childhood. I suppose I see an angle of this that few others see.
Good luck finding a halfway decent rental in a livable area with such a major black mark on your credit.
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