Point well taken, Justin. Well said. I have spent twenty years in finance. I have seen things that disgusted me and, quite frankly, there is something to be said for "fair" business. As to doing the "right thing" for ones family, I have to ask you this; is it REALLY the right thing to buy something you cannot afford? Where is the responsibility in purchasing a home, that you KNOW is not within your price range, simply because your family wants a house?
I may sound insensitive but I do not subscribe to the notion that "every American deserves to own a home". Wonderful sentiment but the reality is, there are MANY people that simply are NOT financially responsible enough to handle home ownership. To attempt to blame shady business practices for the problem of financial ineptness is just wrong. Get help if you do not understand something. It is incredibly irresponsible to buy something as major as a house when you are not able to understand what you are doing.
I do not support companies that prey on uneducated borrowers. I have long held the position that "stated income" loans and other "creative" financing is not good business. Putting people into mortgages they cannot afford is criminal, to me. This is more of the old American desire to have it all and have the best...NOW. That is a shame, my friend. I am thankful you and your family managed to get a beautiful home at a fair price. That it what it is ALL about. BUT, equally important is understanding that not everyone can handle homeownership and that is NOT the fault of the government, you or me.
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Justin Kenny from Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:59:08 AM)| |  | Justin Kenny wrote: | | My wife and I didn't know a whole helluva lot about the whole home-buying process either. As mercy would have it, the people we bought our home from just so happened to be real-estate attorneys....they knew the business in and out and literally walked us through it each step of the way.
My wife initially tried to score a mortgage lend through an online company....needless to say, we found out toot-sweet that it wasn't the best thing. Thankfully, she had enough tenacity and temerity to eventually tell them to go fuck themselves, and we consulted with the real-estate attorneys who were selling the home in the first place. The one thing we KNEW COLD...was that we wanted to be locked into a FIXED RATE....Don Coyles, one of the real estate attys who was selling the home on behalf of his deceased parents hooked us up big time...along with what I was able to borrow from my 401K, he himself ponied up an extra $1,600--which was broken down and incorporated with our mortgage payment every month so that he would be paid back. Not only did they want to sell the house in an expedient a fashion as possible, he (along with his sister, who works with him) wanted very much for a family to buy the home. They seemed to fall in love with the lot of us upon merely SEEING the house, and for each little failure that occurred before Don thought up a 'plan B,' they felt our pain and frustration. He'd done business with the lender bank we're dealing with (and will be for the next 28 years..LOL), and through his frequent dealings, they helped see everything through. Our rate hasn't changed one iota since, and isn't about to. Were we lucky?? Painfully... sadly, a lot of equally naive people who just want what's best for themselves and their families get taken for a ride because they didn't take appropriate steps/measures. But ...in all fairness, the companies out there who see the possible financial dangers people face once they begin signing their names and don't say a blessed thing about it...that's something I would find issue with. It's one thing to secure a deal...but it's another when that deal can no longer be honored because 3-6 years later, the shit hits the fan and these same companies just sit there shrugging their shoulders--talkin''bout...."...there's nothing we can do."
| | | Deep Freeze wrote: | | OK readers! It is finally time for my first, official rant since my return!
Most of you here in the US are aware of the "financial crisis" we are experiencing. I have ranted in the past on this subject and, LONG before it actually occurred, I said much of what I will say now. ( I mention this only as a foundation for credibility!!) People in this country are screaming about greed and capitalism. Financial turmoil! Government indifference. HOGWASH!! Let us look at the facts, people;
Can ANYONE actually produce the gun that was allegedly held to the temples of the borrowers that put little to NO money down on their homes, took a "teaser" (low) interest rate and then pleaded ignorance or victimhood when the lender- as stipulated in the friggin contract-jacked up their rate??!?!??! These people EXPECTED some kind of government or taxpayer intervention that would shield them from the consequences of their actions. This creates something I was taught in college as "moral hazard", which is behavior based upon the knowledge of protection from bad consequences or irresponsible choices.
Now folks are yelling for more regulation. We already have PLENTY of it! Anyone ever hear of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight???? This agency exisits for ONE reason; to regulate FREDDIE and FANNIE. That's right! Already in place! Wow! Regulation, people! I just do not see this as some kind of "indictment" of capitalism. Sorry. Not there.
What if we all just actually TRY real capitalism for once??? Capitalism has been defined as, "what people do if you leave them alone". Let them make their own mistakes. Suffer consequences. Sink or swim.
In the 1930's, before Roosevelt's New Deal, we paid about 12% of our income to ALL of government (state, local and federal). Today it is about 40%! *ouch* I suppose that in itself does suggest failure but I say it is a failure to practice TRUE capitalism. A failure to accept consequences and believe in real value. A failure to be RESPONSIBLE.
Edited at: Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:17:40 AM |
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