Mortgage "crisis" USA TODAY OPINION

[Army_of_One]

I read this today in the U.S.A. today. Someone wrote in with this comment.

No mortgage relief
Ed Skebe - Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Do most homeowners really deserve mortgage relief? How many have put little or no money down and have enjoyed payments less than what rent would have been? How many have refinanced and used the money to live beyond their means ("Bush vows veto of foreclosure prevention bill," USATODAY.com, Tuesday)? Any government assistance to these irresponsible people is a slap in the face to the sensible taxpayers who must incur higher mortgage costs to contribute to loan guarantee programs.

I somewhat agree with this...anyone else?

[Bound]

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Why am I (who makes very little) able to keep up. I gues it's cuz I didn't take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage.

[Tee]

My house is paid off this year; 6 yrs on a 15 yr note. How? By scraping and squeezing every nickel. By living within my means and putting off a new car for awhile. By NOT buying that new TV, new bed or furniture, new clothes, new riding mower and all that other stuff I think I need. By keeping my credit clean and paying lower interest rates. By saving for items that I need and not getting it on credit. By plopping tax refunds and other big checks down on loans instead of buying something I think I need. By working side jobs and plopping that down on debt. I have a very average salary, and after six years, no debt. I have worked very hard at this goal.

I see people all the time driving better cars, having boats, RV's and jet-skis and living high on the hog, yet they cannot pay their mortgage.

After giving up all those frills, why should I pay for those idiots that aren't as frugal as me?

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Tee

After giving up all those frills, why should I pay for those idiots that aren't as frugal as me?

Because Tee....Like Obama says we have to have shared prosperity. LOL

I agree with you wholeheartedly though.

[Made in the USA]

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

I somewhat agree with this...anyone else?

They caused their own problems, now they want someone else to bail them out. I didn't see anyone paying my Mortgage or my Bills. I had to work for the money myself!

[Bandit]

I agree. I see it so much here in Wichita, people who I know make less than my wife and I do yet are driving a Lexus and living in a house twice as expensive as ours. I don't feel a bit sorry for them if they foreclose. When we had our house built a couple years ago, the bank really tried talking me into one of those stylish adjustable rates. I knew better. We could probably afford more than we have, but I'm now discovering that its going to take a lot of saving to put our little girl through college.

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Bandit

its going to take a lot of saving to put our little girl through college.

you're not kidding on that point...lol

[Detector]

Allow me to play the Devil's Advocate

First let me say I agree with whats been posted so far.

Yes we should be responsible for our own decisions, but we are also responsible for our own eating habits, drinking habits, gambling habits, smoking habits, school fees, food to feed our families and the list goes on and on. Yet we don't have a problem bailing these people out because of a lack of frugal'ness.

We have these companies that are more than happy to hand out credit to those they know will struggle and more than likely fail to pay back. These money lender types come to mind. Car dealers at times will drop their qualification standards for the sake of a sales increase. Even though they know chances are the loan will not be payed back.

These people pray on those who don't have the willpower to say "no I can't afford that." It's no different than a person offering a drink to a person they know is an alcoholic for the sake of selling booze. Or offering a drug addict drugs they know they won't refuse.

Hold the dealers responsible as well as the users

One of the things about "bad credit" I've never understood is why those with bad credit pay a higher interest rate than those with good credit. I understand the "higher risk" and "reward for good financial practice" but doesn't this seem a bit like taking advantage of an alcoholic? They should of course limit the amount of credit based on credit rating, but to tack on more interest making it harder to pay back seems a bit whacked.

[wordsmythe]

It's all about greed. The homebuyers wanted nicer things then they could afford and the banks wanted to make loans.

The banks figured these people would either figure out a way to pay for the loans later or they would evict them and sell the houses for more money.

The Bush recession knocked the bottom out of all of that and everyone involved is screwed.

The banks can repo the houses but then they are in the real estate market when the market is down and that's not what they do for a living.

The only real choice is for the baks to get with the borrowers and work something out that keeps them in the home and paying for it.

[Made in the USA]

Originally Posted by Detector

One of the things about "bad credit" I've never understood is why those with bad credit pay a higher interest rate than those with good credit. I understand the "higher risk" and "reward for good financial practice" but doesn't this seem a bit like taking advantage of an alcoholic? They should of course limit the amount of credit based on credit rating, but to tack on more interest making it harder to pay back seems a bit whacked.

For the same reason that the Hospital charges people with no insurance more than they charge people with insurance. Or for that matter, why they can charge $5 for an aspirin that is worth less than a penny.