The Standing Dead: 300,000 Homes Are Foreclosed “Zombies,” Fannie Mae Posts Record Profits

Confounded Interest ^ | 040/02/2013 | Anthony B. Sanders

[autumnraine]

When I bought my house in 2000, it was appraised for $55,000. 10 years of mortgage, I owe $47,000 (just got started in on the principle). It was appraised last year for $26,000.

Did you sleep through the housing bubble?

[central_va]

17 factories in Georgia in an industry that had been established since before the civil war went to Brazil

Free traders are happy.

[Gaffer]

And, MY question to you is whether your LOAN was for $55,000 and whether you took any equity out during that 10 years?

Further, besides the fact your current appraisal is half, just exactly what about the house made it unaffordable? Is/was the loan amount still the same? Yes? Then you were not able to afford it because of other reasons, not apparent value. You just couldn’t get out clean, that’s all.

[autumnraine]

Yeah, please let me know too!

[autumnraine]

Nope, not one more dime. My payment was the same when I left as when I bought it.

I couldn’t afford the payment AND the maintenance, triple taxes... did you even read my post? I made this point in it. When BOTH adults lose their income, it’s hard. Got an offer of full time position in Miami and I took it. It’s more expensive down here, but at least (for the time being) I have a job.

[oust the louse]

“Bottom line? IMHO, an affordable house generally is a good investment. But if you can’t afford it, then it’s not.”

I’m seeing many young families with one income or even 2 earning a total of say $60k buying 300k homes. So house rich and penny poor it’s disheartening.

[FreedomPoster]

When we bought our first house, we made about $10k less than that between the two of us, but a nice house in a good neighborhood was less than 30% of the purchase price you mention!

[Nowhere Man]

Yeah, in 2000, a single mom... was so proud to buy my own home! 2012 I owed a little over double what I owed and what it was originally appraised for. Walked away from it.

I couldn’t see sinking money into maintenance, taxes had tripled (Georgia removed homestead exemption and increased millage rate to triple) and pay the mortgage. I now pay rent, but can ‘call the guy’ when the AC goes out.

I think that is a smart move for many people. Many people cannot afford the taxes or even maintenance to a house in today's world, sometimes renting is better.

[TightyRighty]

We bought our house in 2004 for $215,000 - when we walked away from it - it was worth $117,000. It sold for $110,000.

I remember the loan officer who told us, "You guys can go as high as you want." We stayed fairly close to our budget, but the house was a money pit. Taxes were about $2700/year and we idiotically got into a loan that got higher and higher as the years progressed. That house ended up being a huge lesson for us.

[Nowhere Man]

Yep. It’s sometimes frustrating to hear Freepers whine about people who are struggling as if THEIR fortunate situation isn’t a blessing. I made pretty decent money for 20 years, lived off the savings of that or as long as I could with piece meal work here and there. I’m not a bum, but the situation isn’t good. It’s hard enough to find a minimum wage job, much less one that pays enough to raise a family.

Some Freepers are either in a bubble, or willfully ignorant. This country ain’t what it used to be.

I'm in the same boat as you and I'm sure we are not alone here. I consider myself more of a "right leaning libertarian" politically. I was engaged in a discussion similar to this on an Asperger's forum, I most likely have Asperger's, in the work world, it helps at times, other times it hurts. Still I tend to be an independent thinker and I know the left doesn't have the right answers on this, just look at where we are now. Still, sometimes I feel the right's answers tend to fall short at times.

I think we are in a new paradigm. First off, the huge prosperity we've experienced from the end of WWII to 200x was from us being the only major power unscathed from the War. The UK was damaged, the Russians worse and the Axis powers were blown to smithereens. We had no true competition so we were "King of the Hill." However, our allies and former enemies rebuilt and by 1973 or so, started to challenge us in the world so it took a generation for it to catch up with us. Plus if you add in the left's policies, it makes it doubly worse. The rest of the world has grown up. Another thing we will have to face is increasing automation that has been going on in the last 50 years or so. We will have to look for answers and have an open mind as we search for them. I know I'm jonesin' for answer here. I risk the ire of some here but as time, automation and so on keeps going, we might have to give Milton Friedman's "negative income tax" a look where we all get a minimum salary a year. I think the period from 1945 to 200x was an abberation.