duck and run...

smckaybiz · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:52 pm Post subject: duck and run...

Wow! I just can't believe while reading through the threads how many people are just willing to throw away everything that they've worked so hard for just because the housing markets are down.

I keep seeing many things like: "I owe more on my home than what it's worth, should I just let the bank foreclose?"

It just blows me away how many people are looking to take the quick way out as opposed to trying to ride out the storm. Housing values will eventually start to come back up but by then, most will not be able to buy the home they want because they've already totally destroyed their credit by allowing themselves to just walk away from their financial obligations.

I'm sure that most people who buy vehicles with an auto loan owe more on their car than what it is worth. Should you just let the bank repo your car then???

I know that some people are not in the condition to save their homes but it appears that most are too quick to make that decission without really weighing their options.

Any thoughts on this...

eric1 · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:22 pm Post subject:

Scott, I agree. I have been watching this for months. People thinking they need to walk away from their homes just because they are under water right now. Many of them are able to make their payments and have no reason to sell.

In addition, I have also seen people who intentionally miss payments so their bank would consider a loan modification. They ruin their credit intentionally with the false idea that the bank will reduce the balance. In reality, they MAY only get a rate reduction.

It is this kind of thinking (or lack of thinking) that has gotten people into trouble financially.

gmakerley · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:11 am Post subject:

i third that emotion. i also have been aghast at what i've read and heard from folk who feel that it's not worthwhile to stick it out during difficult times.

scott, i like the car analogy. you're so right with that - virtually all the cars that have been financed in the last several years have been "underwater" as it is known these days. the "old days" when people had a substantial down payment (or paid cash!) are long gone, and now we have 20 year old fools (yes i did say that) buying expensive vehicles and financing them over 6 or 7 years with payments of $400-$500 monthly. five minutes later, they want to turn around and buy a house on their $25K annual salaries.
the feeling of privilege that has overtaken our population is equally as responsible for our economic situation as all the greedy mortgage lenders, stockbrokers, and whoever else we can find to blame.

our legislators have let us down over the years, too; in case nobody's noticed. deregulation of so many of our industries has made business in this country a free-for-all, much to our detriment.

smckaybiz · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:01 pm Post subject:

You know, I may be one of the few people who feel this way but I honestly place most of the blame on our current economic situation on the consumers. I mean come on, we wanted the Government to do more to protect us and we can't stand seeing all these CEOs getting rich but we were the ones who elected all of the official running our government and we were the ones who thought we could afford a home 10X's our annual salary just because we found a wonderful loan that only requires interest-only payments for 7 years.

This may also just be me but i also think that the entertainment industry has warped the minds of many younger consumers to believe that they are nothing unless they have everything. Just a thought...

gmakerley · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:03 am Post subject:

truly, we can lay blame all over the place. elected leaders, we the consumers who believe everything that celebrities say, the devil...the list goes on and on.

i'm not quite sure that the entertainment industry is fully responsible for that, scott; there were many co-conspirators.

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