there are, according to this article 25 million Americans who own their homes with no mortgages...
So those people will see the paper value of their assets decline but will not lose their investments
Others who behaved sensibly will see their home values decline but will still be able to make the payments...and again, they will not lose their investment
The ones who “took the candy” and did upside down teaser loans or high LTV “liar loans” will lose whatever equity they put into the deal....after sitting in those homes and making no payments for months, and months....will come out the other side with just enough cash to rent a place before their credit score gets hit with the default...they lose their dreams and are back where they started
Who does lose that did not deserve it?
Retirees or near retirees whose 401k’s are 30 to 50% down...but they also are losing a lot of the paper gains and I guess not much of the actual cash put in....unless they are into Bear Stears or some company that is going bankrupt....and they should have diversified....
We are all taking a “hit.”
We will cope as best we can.
I am sorry for it all. I wish the Government had taken the recession in 2002 when everyone was worshipping Greenspan for the “soft landing” that was actually built on some phoney numbers and an emerging housing bubble.
Your point is well taken...sensible ones will get the taxes and the job losses and the civil unrest along with the fools that bought the bubble...but please, calm down and be thankful you had enough sense to stay out of it...
It will be bad for you, for me, but probably a lot worse for a lot more people...people who did not have the education or the experience or training or values or whatever to keep them clear of this mess.
Who on this Board cannot remember the hundreds of postings by ExTexan warning of a housing collapse? I got tired of them....and the arguements....and the bragging about how much the house had appreciated.
We may actually have more to worry about than a recession, and that is, of course the imposition of Socialism and years of Media hammering on the evils of Capitalism....Stay steady in your understanding, your values, your beliefs...and extend compassion to those less fortunate than yourself...they/we need it.
yitbos
Good point. I remember well, and I read his threads often. Lucky for me, I really haven't made too many foolish mistakes on these matters. Even in a worst case scenario, I believe my mortgage will remain right side up. I believe no matter what I have to do, I'll be able to pay my bills. And I've got cash hoarded away in case of a long term bad season of doom. Meanwhile, I'm taking a small portion of it and buying good stocks on the way down--JNJ, KFT, TCLP. Stuff that people need that will do well on the other side of this mess. I hope to be one of the people they talk about when they say "If you had bought stock after the crash of XX..."
So I figure that's my reward for doing things right. While others are flailing, I'm actually in a position to profit. In some ways, it's a once or twice in a lifetime opportunity. Like Buffett said recently, be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.
But it's still pretty frustrating. I've never bought into the bubble hype. Wasn't surprised when dotcom burst. Not surprised now. The only thing that surprises me is how stupid people are. A fabulous company gets decked in the market, the price drops, and THEN it gets downgraded?? Isn't that exactly backwards?
We may actually have more to worry about than a recession, and that is, of course the imposition of Socialism and years of Media hammering on the evils of Capitalism....Stay steady in your understanding, your values, your beliefs...and extend compassion to those less fortunate than yourself...they/we need it.
Wise words. Thanks for writing.
I remember ExTexan and his warnings. I also remember how he was mercilessly attacked by a couple of people (one in particular, who really seemed to be either totally blind or in the pocket of the mortgage industry). Well, it seems like ExTexan was right, and to be honest the people criticizing him were quite dumb (come on, there was no way flipping houses forever and perpetually climbing housing values were sustainable. It reminds me of that old adage ....when people say ‘this time it’s different .....’). I think there are people on FR who really owe ExTexan an apology.
“Who on this Board cannot remember the hundreds of postings by ExTexan warning of a housing collapse? I got tired of them....and the arguements....and the bragging about how much the house had appreciated.”
I remember them, and agreed with them. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight (although I’m hardly alone in this) to see what the implications of the housing bubble crash would be for the financial sector and, ultimately, the global economy. If I had I would have pulled all my retirement investments out of largely equity-based funds this summer and parked them all in safe investments. Having missed that, at this point I just can’t see joining the rush to the door with the rest of the herd to liquidate all my equity holdings. In fact, the funds I’m in are auto-balancing, meaning they’ll be piling more money into equities now as their values drop. I hope that in the longer term (I’ve still got 20 years at least until retiring) that this strategy will pay off. If not, well I guess I can always work until I die, or move into a cardboard box and live on old pizza crusts and cat food. ;)