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| | Author | Messages | |
Reagan
Posts:737
 | | 08/16/2007 10:07 AM |
 Alert | | I would say if you like your home, and plan of living there long term, you are doing everything right. The problems that people are having are those who need to move, what ever the reason. If you are locked on a fixed rate, you should be fine. And paying the extra towards principle is great, but I do agree if you have higher interest debt, i.e. credit cards, pay them off first. By the time you start paying priciple and interest, (10yr maturity of the loan), the housing market won't be so up and down, and you should be able to refi no problem at that time. There will be some bumpy times between now and then with the market, but in 10 years I would bet things will be much better. | |
Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.
Reagan, Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1970 | |
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| | vzuniga
Posts:67
| | 08/16/2007 10:25 AM |
Alert | | I think in the end it's not worth the stress, feeling sick to your stomach about what would be best and who would say what about what you are doing but in the end you need to think about you and your family. Not what the neighbor or any overly rude opinionated person has to say. I have been stressed out about my house for a very long time I started to feel sick about it and couldn't deal with it so we looked into our other options which wasn't much but I do feel 80% better about what we decided. Good Luck in the future and hope that weight is lifted off your shoulder as time goes by. | | | |
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| | OBG II
Posts:553
| | 08/16/2007 10:35 AM |
Alert | The people who do not agree are rude, now? Too bad; reality check;
Rob feels better now that he walked away and figures 10 years of bad credit is all the problems he will have.
Well, guess again. His problems are just beginning. Once the judgement is finalized Rob will have to repay the judgement in full. This stays on your credit much longer than ten years whether paid or not and garnishment is the medium. His strong income is actually his weakness as far a creditors are concerned. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be better for him as he can settle with each creditor for cents on the dollar and pay over time.
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Some people will do anything to get elected!
IMPALIN' THE LEFT | |
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| | Rob
Posts:13
| | 08/16/2007 10:49 AM |
Alert | OK, I lied, that wasn't my last post in this thread. Just got some info I wanted to pass along. I contacted one of those "we buy houses" firms that make offers for less than your house is worth, as investments. Here's one reply I got from a local outfit:
"I'm sorry to hear of your struggles right now. I would love to be able to help but unfortunately we do not buy houses in Maricopa. I don't know of any other investors that buy in Maricopa right now."
Yeah, sounds like we all made dumb decisions buying in Copa. It's pretty bad when the "ugly houses" people don't buy in your town. | | | |
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| | OBG II
Posts:553
| | 08/16/2007 11:15 AM |
Alert | My brother in law just filed bankruptcy and knows a great bk lawyer. PM me for name and phone number
The BK can be filed before the judgement kicks in or garn. takes effect. | |
Some people will do anything to get elected!
IMPALIN' THE LEFT | |
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| | DesertDweller
Posts:2559
| | 08/16/2007 11:21 AM |
Alert | | Rob, part of the reason that ugly houses predators don't buy in Maricopa is because they make their money buying WAY below market value. If the house is a dump that needs a lot of work to get on the market, they stand a chance. For a typical home in Maricopa where the only thing wrong is the owner being upside down on the note, they don't stand much of a chance. | |
Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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|  | vinny
Posts:668
| | 08/16/2007 11:21 AM |
Alert | Posted By Rob on 08/16/2007 10:49 AM
OK, I lied, that wasn't my last post in this thread. Just got some info I wanted to pass along. I contacted one of those "we buy houses" firms that make offers for less than your house is worth, as investments. Here's one reply I got from a local outfit:
"I'm sorry to hear of your struggles right now. I would love to be able to help but unfortunately we do not buy houses in Maricopa. I don't know of any other investors that buy in Maricopa right now."
Yeah, sounds like we all made dumb decisions buying in Copa. It's pretty bad when the "ugly houses" people don't buy in your town.
that only tells me the "professional" investors see the housing prices in maricopa going even lower in the very near future. | |
Follow your bliss. Happiness is a conscious decision | |
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| | leehopper
Posts:120
| | 08/16/2007 1:51 PM |
Alert | and its going to get worse, before it gets better
countrywide mortgage is declaring bankrupcty....so I guess I can not pay anymore | |
There are no real reasons for failure,
only excuses | |
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| | alyssald
Posts:134
| | 08/16/2007 2:09 PM |
Alert | Vinny,
Maybe those people on your street are moving away from your negative attitude. I certainly hope none of my neighbors are like you.
Don't get me wrong, I too am a realist, but that certainly doesn't mean you can't feel for someone else's poor situation.
By the way, why is it that you assume that everyone has adjustable rates? My husband and I have a first and second mortgage and both are 30 yr fixed. I know many, many other people who also have fixed rates....in fact, I know very few people who have adjustable rates or interest only or any of the other non-traditional loans.
We knew shortly after we bought our house that we wouldn't have any equity, but we got a house that we love in a town that we love. We did not buy our home with the intention of selling it and I didn't get the impression that the OP bought his home with the intention of selling it. Life changes. He got divorced and was left to deal with the house on his own. Nobody expects these things to happen. A week after my wedding and one day after moving into our house I got laid off of work. Our two FT incomes became only one. Things happen and you deal with them. That's what the OP did. He had to find a way to move forward in life.
It's not like foreclosing on a property all of a sudden gives you financial freedom. When you and I want to go out and get a new car loan, we can. However the OP won't be able to do that for some time. He's got a long way to go before he can buy another house. I by no means support people running up their credit just so they can walk out on it, but there are some instances in life that can't be avoided.
Nobody can predict the future. Some of us may have been able to predict that the market was going to decline, but I don't think that means that you should fault the people who struggle. If you want to be mad at someone, how about getting mad at all of the investors who buy multiple homes at a time and then rent them to people like you. I think maybe they should start doing personality tests before allowing people to sign rental agreements. | | | |
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| | Rob
Posts:13
| | 08/16/2007 2:46 PM |
Alert | I got another reply:
"Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We are a group of investors
that advertise under the names of HomeVestors, (the "we buy ugly" houses
people), House Buyer Network and Cash Offers.com. Unfortunately, due to the
number of properties on the market, declining prices and time on market, we
have very stringent guidelines for purchasing a home in your area.
Unfortunately, given these conditions, your home does not meet our criteria
at the present time." | | | |
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| | alyssald
Posts:134
| | 08/16/2007 3:13 PM |
Alert | IrishCream,
There's nothing wrong with renting! Seriously, I am all for having someone else be responsible for repairs  That was the hardest part of moving out of an apartment...now we gotta do it all ourselves...good thing my hubby is such a good handyman
I have never viewed rent as throwing away money. If you're happy living somewhere and paying rent then it's justified! I've never been someone who has looked at the housing market as an investment opportunity. My house is my home. If we had been able to find a house that we loved with a landlord that we loved (someone who would let us paint, landscape, etc) we would've rented. | | | |
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| | alyssald
Posts:134
| | 08/16/2007 3:29 PM |
Alert | TortosaGuy,
Did your builder lower your base price? We signed the papers for our house the same time as you and our base price went down by about 20K. Our builder reduced our sale price by that much. The only bad thing is that we got several upgrades so now we don't have any equity...not a big deal to us, we don't plan on selling anytime soon and we LOVE our house. | | | |
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| | GilaGuy
Posts:789
| | 08/16/2007 4:34 PM |
Alert | Posted By Rob on 08/16/2007 10:49 AM
Yeah, sounds like we all made dumb decisions buying in Copa. It's pretty bad when the "ugly houses" people don't buy in your town.
See, here's where I start seeing red.
Rob, though I'm sorry for your misfortune, you're dead wrong here. Not all of us made a dumb decision when buying into Maricopa. Not all of us did not do our homework, or married the wrong people. I know you're having hard times and are bitter, but let's be honest here...how much of what is going on now has to do with anything other than poor and unfortunate decision-making?
I do not mean to be rude, and I'm not trying to pile it on here. But there are a great many of us who are in love with Maricopa, are happy to be here, and are taking our lumps like adults. Sure, we've got problems here. Sure, the market has tanked worse than even some of us economics-minded folk expected. Sure, the city politics have been bizarre of late.
But you need to ratchet it down a bit. Make whatever decision you want, that's fine. Just please don't take your decisions out on the town, it's residents, or the woman you chose to marry who isn't here to defend herself. | | | |
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| | vinny
Posts:668
| | 08/16/2007 4:44 PM |
Alert | yes, alyssald hit the nail on the head. when i signed my rental agreement for this house in copa is when the housing market here took a dump. the residents of maricopa realized someone with a realistic view on housing was moving to the area and had to run for the hills. they couldn't possibly skip through the grassy fields with the butterflies anymore, a realist came to town, and a renting realist at that.....
as far as assuming about the ARM's, have you seen foreclosure rates as the interest rates have risen? take a look around. the house next door to me and accross the street both are bank owned. i bet that wasn't a fixed rate. take off the rosey glasses and look again....
the original poster said in this thread they were planning to use it as a first house and sell it in 5 years, read the entire thread before you spout inaccuracies.
i'm glad to see your in the house you dreamed of and feel you got it for a fair price. that means you are happy, and in the end thats all that matters. you know you won't have equity for quite a while, and that means you probably have some savings in case you get in a jam. thats called being a smart consumer.
why be mad at the investors? think of the big picture, if someone didn't INVEST in the farm land that used to be maricopa you wouldn't be here. if someone didn't INVEST in a construction company no hammers would have been swung to build your house. investors are what makes a city.
and lastly, i do not "feel sorry" for people that get caught up in their own doings. he posted multiple times that he was miserable in his marriage, said his wife forced him into this deal and more. he could have done a lot of things different and not ended where he is today, unfortunatly he realized too late. if his house burned down i would "feel sorry" for him and maybe try to help out, if his house was foreclosed on he is now sleeping in the bed he made.
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Follow your bliss. Happiness is a conscious decision | |
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| | alyssald
Posts:134
| | 08/16/2007 9:35 PM |
Alert | I don't have "rosey" glasses on Vinny. I am well aware of what is going on in the housing market. I also know that a lot of people got fixed rates with ridiculous interest.
My husband and I are extremely smart consumers and are very responsible. I have a friend who has a 30yr fixed for her 1st and 2nd loan, however her rate is so high that my monthly mortgage payment is actually less than hers...and her mortgage is for $50K less than mine! I do agree that there are a lot of people that caught up in the whole "get a $200K house for $700 a month" idea. Unfortunately, I blame the lenders/banks/legislators for not providing/requiring sufficient education. Should people do their homework before buying a house, absolutely.
I'm confused by why you think people frown on renters....that's one housing topic I've never really heard negative comments on. I mean, it's not like Maricopa is being invaded by a bunch of 19 year old college students renting up all the houses for parties or whatever. I fully support renting. Seriously, I would love to call up my landlord and be like "hey, uh, the grass died, can you replace it?". I have never viewed renting as throwing away money....then again, I've never looked at buying a house for investment purposes.
I don't feel bad for everyone who backs out of a loan. I do feel bad for people when unfortunate events like divorce/illness/loss of job occurs.
And...maybe you should go back and read the complete thread. The OP DID say that he did not buy the house as an investment. On average, most people only stay in their first home for 5 years. That was definitely a tactic the lenders tried to use on us..."oh it's not like you're still going to be in that house by the time your rate would change or by the time you'd balloon" uh yeah. We don't have kids yet and aren't planning on having them for a year or two, but we bought a 4 bedroom house so we have room to grow. I loathe moving...probably more than normal people do. So I know we'll be in this house for a while....shoot, we lived in our apartment for four years! Unfortunately, the lenders can be very, very convincing.
I agree with you that people should've been more realistic about the market. We certainly have a number of friends who bought when the market was high and now they're stuck. That is definitely their own fault. We were scared when the market started going up...thought we'd never get a house, but we waited anyway and ended up in a better position. Like I said, nobody can predict the future. Things could've gone the other way and kept going up. The market hasn't dropped everywhere...I have family in several different states and the market in at least two of them just keeps going up and up and up.
As for investors. I don't have a problem with investors in general. I have a problem with people who buy houses and flip them for a lot more money. Not as big of a problem anymore, but when we first started shopping for homes, we drove through several neighborhoods where every house on the street was being rented by investors...I do think there should be more guidelines for investors...as far as pricing goes.
I honestly don't disagree with everything you say. I do think that people who go through these situations deserve a little compassion. Divorce is hard enough on its own.
Oh, and I enjoyed the first paragraph of your response | | | |
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| | vinny
Posts:668
| | 08/16/2007 9:46 PM |
Alert | Posted By alyssald on 08/16/2007 9:35 PM Oh, and I enjoyed the first paragraph of your response
glad i could make you smile. we are on the same level with some things, but i'm the comlete opposite thinking on government regulation.
if the government tells us how to live our lives and how to run our bussinesses we become complacent dumb lab rats for the people we elect.
we as a free people need to be aware of our surroundings, and aware that yes, there are bad people out there that just want to take advantage of you. we should have less government intervention and more consumers that would read their loan agreement as intently as they follow american idol.
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Follow your bliss. Happiness is a conscious decision | |
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| | TortosaGuy
Posts:690
| | 08/16/2007 9:55 PM |
Alert | | alyssa......actually the base price on our home dropped twice....ultimately dropping from 205990 to 152990 when it was all said and done....before that happened we had used the builders 30k in incentives..as well as their 5k towards closing...and the lenders 1k towards closing...and our total purchase price came to about 208311...if i remember correctly....we watched the website as the base price tanked and they took incentives away....and finally told them we were ready to walk if they didnt lower the price for us...they factored in the incentives we used and what they were offering at the time and ended up dropping our price 17k....my wife still wanted to move badly....i went along...though i was still considering walking away and losing nothing but our ernest money....we will stick it out...and refinance before our 10 year interest only portion of our 30 year fixed is up | |
*formerly known as inyrfce2*
Senior Member
Posts: 797
Joined: Dec 2006 | |
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