Posted on 02/24/2010 2:58:14 PM PST by george76
More than 11.3 million homeowners -- nearly one-fourth of all Americans with a mortgage -- owe more on their loan than their home is now worth...
More than 10% of people with mortgages owe 25% more than their home is worth.
The number of underwater mortgages increased by about 620,000 from the third quarter... Another 2.3 million mortgages had less than 5% equity in their home, which could be wiped out if home prices fall further.
Underwater mortgages are concentrated in few states: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Georgia. In Nevada, 70% of mortgages were underwater. In California, more than a third of mortgages were underwater.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Screw them, they made a bad investment and have no one to blame but themselves.
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You don't get it ,, there are always reasons to sell ,, a new job in another city , divorce , roof needs replacement and you're 100k upside down , need bigger house etc. etc. The banks have about 7 years of inventory RIGHT NOW and will have 9 years of inventory at the end of this year ,, prices are going nowhere but down, Orlando pricing dropped 14% in Jan 2010 alone!! try buying anything in that environment when you have to give an otherwise accurate appraisal a 20% haircut just to cover a 45 day period going into closing. Real life example ,, house refi'd at peak with 25% down/equity is negative with mortgage at 155% of current pricing ,, using standard ammort tools I see that it will take 17 years of payments to get down to even money ... will that person walk? You Betcha! Will that affect you? You Betcha! In Florida anyone who is underwater can stiff the bank with jingle mail and rent a bigger house for a MUCH lower payment and have no repair costs or hurricane insurance costs.
The "it doesn't matter" argument is just as stupid as hearing someone holding a worthless stock certificate in a bankrupt company say "It's just a paper loss" DUH! and that paper was a suitcase of $100's .
“Dinks”
I understand your being Pi$$ed off about the BS tax breaks and other credits allowed for “fruit of some ones loins” at your, (and my) expense.
I have also grown to not give a damn about anyone’s children. Go anywhere in public and see the results of folks who should not breed!
I suppose that in some parts of the country prices did go down 50%.Apart from Detroit,those 50% drop areas tended to be the areas that,before,saw 50% (or more) *increases* in value....California...Nevada....Florida...and perhaps other areas as well.I bought at the very top of the (local) market and I figure that my place has dropped by about 25%.
Get rid of that marxist in the WH and things will change rapidly. Probably quick enough for the homeowners to wait it out....with a little cooperation from their lenders.
Screw them, they made a bad investment and have no one to blame but themselves.
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During the boom rental properties were scarce and pricey supporting sales at inflated prices,, bad decision? YES ,, but the blame for the most part goes to the FEDS and Wall Street ,, this was an irresistible avalanche of cash for them while they inflated the bubble.
A boatload of out of state money has been lost in the NC resort market, both mountains and beach. The worst hit were folks who bought vacant lots in gated communities where the developers went tatas-up. One on the coast sold lots for $350K back in 2006-2007. There’s over 50 lot foreclosures in that development for sale now at around $20,000 each.
Bought at the top of the market, it turned out, with minimal down payment. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
People usually buy homes and get a 20/30-year mortgage to pay it off. They hope to live in the house for as much of that time as they can.
So, if the homebuyer *BUYS* the house with a view to the long-term, why aren't they looking ‘long-term’ as the end value of the house 20/30 years into the future?
This idiocy of buying a house for the long-term and then panicking because of short-term loss is ridiculous.
No one put a gun to the homebuyers head and forced them to sign the loan. And no one has a *NEED* for a house, when renting is a viable option.
The buyers knew what they were getting... and if not, a fool and his money are soon parted.
ok... i guess i never knew that stat.
11.3m mortgages == 25% of all mortages?
so there are only 45m mortgages in the US? i knew the 110m household number... i guess the difference are renters??
I DO get it... but would argue that a pretty high percentage of these "underwater" people are only in trouble because they overextended themselves and didn't figure on a market downturn. Yes, I know some folks have to move due to job relocation, divorce, retirement, etc... and I feel for them.
Having to bail out all the speculators on top of the folks who truly are in trouble is a problem in my mind... if you gamble with a variable-rate or interest-only loan then as far as I'm concerned you gambled... shouldn't be the taxpayer's problem.
Easley's going to do time, when it's all said and done. Maybe they'll chopper him off to Butner for old times' sake.
You buy , I’ll watch and laugh ... this isn’t over ,, not by a long shot.
“Well,one thing’s for certain...the days of the 0% down mortgage are over.”
Unfortunately they aren’t. In fact with tax rebates you don’t even have to pay closing costs.
yeah, those homeowners should have known about the corruption taking place in the banks and financial institutions. They should have expected an intentional attack on our economy. Screw them!
wow must be nice to be sooo smart. I bet you’ve never lost a job or suffered a serious medical issue.
a perfect life must be nice.
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