‘Liar loans’ loom large

March 15, 2007 ^ | March 15, 2007 | Scott Van Voorhis

[RockinRight]

All I'm saying is you can't get blood from a stone. They're going to spend thousands on people trying to squeeze money out of folks that just don't have it.

[XR7]

I wonder to what extent the hyperinflation in tuition rates is fueled by the availability of these loans.

All of it.

[from occupied ga]

You forgot the 1/2 pound of grass, you know the medicinal kind that you smoke.

You're right I should add that to the list.

[wgflyer]

"Except for the millions of good, innocent, responsible people who would find their homes worth less than they owe under such a scenario.

Don't take so much pleasure in it."

Please don't misunderstand. I don't take pleasure in good people suffering. But if you're not trying to sell your home it's resale value is irrelevant. You owe what you owe. There are two kinds of homeowners. Those who bought a home and those who made an investment. To the extent that you made an investment you suffer or profit the same as anyone else who invests unwisely or wisely. That is life. The housing market is no different from the stock market and we shouldn't make special considerations for those who invest in it. What would be nice would be to stop the people who prey upon homeowners, backed by, egged on and partaken in by big government. In their misery I take great pleasure. There's a lot of waking up needed out there.

[MarkL]

The first time my wife and I shopped for a house over 20 years ago the rule of thumb was the mortgage couldn't exceed 2 1/2 times income. This was 5 times income.

I'm absolutely thrilled that I "underbought" when I bought this house roughly 15 years ago. I was told by my realtor that I could "afford" a $100,000 home. I told her that the most I was going to buy was $65,000. And having a 20% down payment helped make the monthly payments quite reasonable (less that $400 a month). But even after refinancing at a lower rate (about 2% less), due to increases in the property tax and insurance rate, I'm now paying $650 a month. If I had listened to the realtor, I would probably have had to sell my house. I've known people who over-extended themselves so badly when buying a house, that they haven't been able to furnish it.

Mark

[MarkL]

We work too much,

Huh? Most weeks I'm down to just a bit over 50 hours a week! So much nicer than "the old days" of 70 - 80 hour weeks. Though I did put in nearly 270 hour in February...

drink too much,

I don't drink... Well, maybe a nice stout or porter, once every 2 or 3 months. Unless you're talking about iced tea or Mountain Dew!

drive cars too big....

I barely fit in my 2000 Toyota Corolla! If I got a smaller car, it would look like driving one of those clown cars! Sort of like this!

Mark

[Hatteras]

"Wait until the value of houses owned by those with good credit ratings start sinking like a stone."

The current "value" of the houses owned by those with good credit ratings is over-inflated and based on a market generated by these questionable loans as well as other banking scams (i.e. interest only).

[durasell]

This is true -- but a lot of those folks were counting on those inflated prices.

[Hattie]

Just listen to AM radio on Saturdays, you can buy a house with no job, no income, no history, no papers, on and on. This should not surprise anyone.

[RockinRight]

I would say you're right, but your original post made it sound as if you were happy about it all.

I do mortgages for a living...and my job's a lot harder now even though I don't do the shady stuff. Mostly thanks to the jerks that sold overinflated homes and all that stuff.