archer wrote: Yes, people were suckered, my daughter was almost one of them.When she decided to buy a home herself, she went to a very reputable mortgage company to get pre-qualified for a loan so she could seriously house hunt.......they qualified her for a mortgage at $xxx dollars.....she was pretty excited as she thought she would have to buy a home for much less......they ran the numbers for her, showed her how she could pay a mortgage that size, along with taxes etc.......but still, she wasn't sure. She saves lives, but has little head for finances, so she brought the whole package to us for an opinion. Bottom line, if she had taken a mortgage that size she would now be in forclosure.....there was no way she could pay that every month even if nothing ever went wrong, she had no medical bills, nothing ever broke in her house, and her car just kept on running forever. I cut her payments by over 30% and told her to go back to the mortgage company with the new figures.......and they were pissed that she had gone elsewhere for an opinion. She immediately switched mortgage companies.
There are people like her everywhere, who maybe don't have an accountant for a mother, they go to the "experts" for advice and a mortgage....and are qualified for far more then they could ever afford, but they don't understand the finances well enough to know it is going to be a bad mortgage.
Archer, It was good of you to help your daughter. I personally helped someone get a sane mortgage recently too. But are you saying no one has the responsibility to educate themselves and get second financial opinions and decide what they can afford?
I had two mortgages, went through the whole pre-qualifying thing because it was a routine. I also ignored whatever they said, did my own calculations of what I knew I could afford. It was less than I was approved for. So what? Does anyone think for themselves anymore? I also know of people that did wild things financing cars and home construction with multiple 0% interest credit cards and made out ok because they were clever and careful and paid up. Not something I would ever do, but its their call.
Now the pendulum has swung 180 degrees and (almost) nobody is buying homes. Lets just have the government take over everything and we can all sit home dumb and happy and do what we are told.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
I agree with the last two posts...if you are not smart enough to know how much you can afford, you have no business buying anything....you should hire a friend or neighbor who actually passed math to be your consultant.
Personal finance should be a mandatory course in high school....nothing could be more important these days. Then maybe one day our politicians will also have a clue.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Gee bill...thanks for the slam of my daughter ...and the millions across this country who may be just like her. Admittedly she is no financial wizard..so are you saying she either shouldn't buy a house or she is fair game to be taken advantage of and it would be her own fault?
Let's forget she is a gifted 911 paramedic and saves lives every day. This has always been my problem with conservatives...it's all black and white. You either fit their parameters of what a good person should be or they will write you off as worthless.
As I grow older, and I hope wiser, I try to be more tolerant of people who don't fit into neat little boxes and value them for what they are, not what they aren't.
Sorry archer, but life is hard and we need to learn from our MISTAKES. You would want the government to bail us out from our bad decisions where as I think it's best to feel some pain so we don't make the mistake a second time. I made the mistake of buying a building 7 years ago, spent the last two years trying to sell it as prices were free falling and gooing through cancer. So guess what, I couldn't sell it, lost 200k in equity, filing for bankruptcy, and I no longer have a business.
Who do I blame? NOBODY BUT ME
Sh$t happens and life is hard. My wife got a job, we cut our expenses by more than half, sold everything non essential and still life will be hard for quite a while.
I made big mistakes in the past that I'm still paying for but it did make me smarter. I just didn't anticipate cancer or that commercial properties would ever drop so low, especially in this state.
So guess what, I learned another lesson which will not be forgotten. When I start my next business from nothing, I'll be much smarter and much more careful about where I put my profits. Your daughter will also be far better equipt the next time she decides to buy a house or a car...sometimes it takes pain to be wiser and stronger. Fortunately for her, she had you to set her straight, but I would have ZERO sympathy for her had she not come to yoou for help. Personal responsibility is becoming extinct in our country and it's about time the clueless got a wakeup call.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
I was approved for 2 1/2 times the cost of my house- if I had bought that much house I'd be in big trouble now. My realtor even pushed me to buy a more expensive house - and she's my brother's mother-in-law!
Archer- you're an accountant and never bothered to teach your daughter about matters financial?
Sheesh- that must be the bankers fault! Well I hope she can read the voltage settings on the defibrillator.
Every single mortgage issued is required by law to include a sheet of paper that explains in PLAIN language exactly what the borrower is getting into.
It's called a "truth in lending statement". It clearly indicates the amount that is borrowed, the interest rate, the length of the loan and the monthly payment. It dosn't get any clearer than that. No-one has an excuse - they all knew what they were getting into.
They have no excuses and they were not "suckered"- nothing was buried in the fine print- it was clearly outlined on the TIL statement.
Yes bear, actually reading the paperwork for the biggest purchase most will ever make in their lives would be a wise move. You can also go to a car dealership and buy a car at 21% interest for 7 years and end up paying 5 times what a car is worth...they have to show you that information also but that doesn't mean all people take an extra 15 minutes to read it.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Im not at all surprised you conservatives hold bankers, mortgage brokers, RE agents blameless in the mortgage mess. You are quite alright with
scamming others....
Bear...not everyone can be an expert in everything, but I am sure you think you are. I tought my daughter how to handle her own finances and she does well managing their household buget. But to demean both her and me because she isn't a mortgage expert is very petty
Once again a discussion turns into a hate fest as conservatives use personal attacks to make their point.
Cry me a river archer, then think about who pushed for those easy loans and set up the rules...IT WASN"T THE BANKS!!!
And don't play that "hate game"...it doesn't fly around here since you back up the nastiest troll on this board and use your own little snipes whenever possible. I tried playing nice for a long time and got no backing from the likes of you, so take your medicine with a nice warn cup of stfu. Have a nice day.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
I am having a nice day thanks....no amount of conservative spin will change that. You may view yourself as above the fray, but you get just as nasty as the rest of your buddies. And...I have never supported the nastiest troll on here....that would be RT...and he is one of yours. Apparently your idea of playing nice is for everyone to agree with you. Sorry....no can do.
