Posted on 12/11/2006 1:39:38 AM PST by goldstategop
EVERY day, Will Hertzberg owns a little less of his three-bedroom house in Corona.
Like hundreds of thousands of other homeowners around the state, Hertzberg has a mortgage that lets him choose how much he pays each month.
ADVERTISEMENT Like many of them, he always chooses to pay as little as possible.
For the moment, this allows the 56-year-old Hertzberg to continue living in his tract home despite being only marginally employed. But his debt is swelling, and his mortgage company controls his fate.
"I am rather screwed," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Some ARMS are OK....I have two left on some props. One started at 4.25...the other at 5.25. getting the right bank is the key. Look at the caps and PAY them down fast. Credit Unions are very good for this type of loan but run from these so called mortgage companies. It seems waaaay to many people got in over their heads.
Some ARMS are OK....I have two left on some props. One started at 4.25...the other at 5.25. getting the right bank is the key. Look at the caps and PAY them down fast. Credit Unions are very good for this type of loan but run from these so called mortgage companies. It seems waaaay to many people got in over their heads.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Too true..
This guy is a foolish spendthrift who has no one but himself to blame. If he loses his house it will be because he deserves to lose it. Yet he persists in trying to deflect blame on to others who didn't warn him enough to save him from himself. Bah.
EEEK.
Makes me glad that when we bought our home in 2003, we got a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
The housing bubble that is discussed here so often is actually a mortgage bubble IMHO. The demand for housing is strong but phoney and unrealistic home prices are starting to have an affect on market conditions. Parts of Fl are in big trouble with falling home prices.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
According to my realtor and a few others here in NC we are seeing a recent influx of folks from Fl. A lot of folks that have had prop in Fl are selling, taking their profits and headed here.
My mom has what they call a reverse mortgage. No monthly payments for life. They even gave her a big line of credit to use anyway she wants and she can't lose her home till she dies.
Wish all mortgages were like that :-)
Sorry to burst in here on a US story but this kind of situation is now very familiar here in the UK, i.e mortgages can now run for 35 years up from 25, we've always called this living beyond your means. Whatever happened to personal responsibility???
This whole personal debt issue is now looking pretty scary to me, both here and the US, the bubble will burst sooner or later. Are people really dumb enough to believe they can live on credit for the rest of their lives??
Or is there something I'm missing??
The stock market has benefitted from this cash as well but the dollar is showing the strains of too much global liquidity.
The question is how far the Fed will allow the dollar to drop before a downward spiral takes it out of their hands.
BUMP
Here too. Land that was selling for $4,000 an acre has ballooned to $10,000 an acre and more if you sell to Florida people. Wonder what's going on? That makes my 43 acres and house worth around half a million dollars.
Exactly. There was never a "real estate bubble". There was a "lending bubble" and a huge number of sharks showed up to feed.
True, and that mindset seems to extend to other purchases as well. Growing up, I never remember things being advertised on a monthly payment plan the way they are now-- houses are advertised as "live here for $1238 per month," and cars are "own it for $320 per month." When you read the fine print in those ads, it is downright chilling. For so many people today, it seems that their lifestyle is determined not by what they earn, but by how much credit they can get. The other day, I passed one of those rent-to-own places, and saw a big banner that they now rent "wheels and tires." Just when I thought I'd seen everything.
The guy in this article, however, gets little sympathy from me. Nor do I feel sorry for these buyers who are living in near-million dollar homes for $1300 per month or whatever, and then say they had no idea the payments would accrue....
To a Floridian, that's a deal. 43 acres for 1/2 a mil. Most houses in our neighborhood have been selling for 350-500 thousand and they're just on a 100 x 100 lot. Taxes for somebody just buying in will be at least 6,000 a year, and insurance rates (if you can get insurance) is steadily rising.
Still, I read an article that said they expected the growth of population in Florida to skyrocket in the next few years.
Go figure!
Folks that bought years ago, as we did, are okay because our taxes are capped, and we paid very little for our home so our mortgage is paid off. But if we wanted to move and stay in the area, we'd be hit with high taxes on the new home. So many folks that "cash out" choose to move out of state to avoid the higher taxes on a new home.
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