Why do people complain about a housing "crisis"?

[jeff]

2 years ago I got married and my wife and I really wanted to buy a house. We saw the perfect house for us, but prices were insane and after a lot of talking we decided to continue to rent. It was extremely difficult to let our dream house go. 2 months ago we finally bought a house. It is a bigger, better house than the one we wanted to buy 2 years ago and in a better neighborhood. Also, it's $30k cheaper than what we would have spent 2 years ago on the other house. The house was owned by the bank and I know it was a foreclosure. Why should I feel bad for someone who didn't wait until they had their finances in order before they purchased a house? Sometimes making the tough sacrifices pays off in the end and out of this housing "crisis" a lot of people are being able to buy homes for the first time in neighborhoods that were out of their price range a few years ago. It really bothers me when I hear liberals talking about how the glass isn't even half full...it's totally empty. Grow up!

 

[A Reflection of You]

What about the people who can't afford their house payment because the cost of energy has tripled in the last 4 years................to view your situation as the 'norm' is very ignorant, it is a big picture situation

 

[[email protected]]

The "housing crisis" is another example of people not taking their finances seriously.

Too many people smugly assumed the housing market would just continue to rise every year. A lot of people approached the housing market like it was a get-rich-quick scheme. In particular, people often said they were buying a home because it would increase in value faster than the payments they were making on it, and hence, getting the house was like a guaranteed income-generating device.

Interestingly, the $550k + market was supposedly the best bet, because those houses were appreciating in value faster. Hence, people bought houses that were far too expensive for them.

These people need to learn life lessons. Before buying a house, they should have talked to a reputable financial planner, who would have cautioned them away from having their finances on a shoestring.

It's their own fault, and we shouldn't feel too sorry for them. We should instead praise the people who were responsible enough to not rack up tens of thousands in credit card debt, restrained themselves from buying that "dream house" and bought what they could afford. Those are the people who aren't dragging down our economy with their irresponsibility.

 

[Haywood Jablowme]

because nothing better speaks to the plight of the common man than a scam finally allowing them to own a home backfiring and screwing them.

 

[narcolepzzzz]

it's sad- and such a common occurance in our Country that more people don't put your kind of thought into, what for most, will be the biggest investment of their lives. immediate gratification & keeping up with the jones'es are the norm... long term consequences do not apply....

 

[Yo it's Me]

I don't understand it myself. A lot of speculators ran up the prices to unrealistic levels (I too could not afford a house 2 years ago, last month I settled on a really great beach house that was $85K less than it would have been a year ago). Like you I scrimped and saved over the past 2 years and got my overall debt down. So guess what, I got a great (fixed) interest rate and even with my mortgage (and not changing my with-holdings) I am am going to be able to continue to put money in the bank (and precious metals).

I remember seeing a 2 bedroom condo about 1 mile from the beach going for $800K (Ocean City, NJ), back in 2004, I thought the price was for the whole building. My dad and I were wondering who could afford such a thing. He turned to me and said, "You will own a beach house within 5 years". I just don't understand how people could have seen a price like that as being sane.

I know a couple in the DC area who couldn't wait to sell their $800K house before they bought their $1.2 Million house (about a year and a half ago). So now they have two houses and the two are probably not worth nearly that much (not to mention the hassle and wear and tear of renting the $800K house).

 

[chi_guys_gay_lover]

The crisis is idiots who bought investment homes mostly and are now losing there butts or they bought more house than they can afford and didn't read the fine print.

 

[twisno1]

Because liberals would rather blame the bankers rather than have people take responsibility for their own decisions and actions. I also applaud you and your wife for your smart financial decision.

 

[Dave W]

It is the same old "Help me government. Fix my screw up." mentality. If anyone was stupid to sign an interest only loan, or a variable rate loan, or buy a home that was more than they could afford, they did it to themselves. I get so disgusted to hear people who have bought a 500k dollar home, when they did not even have the income to afford a 300k dollar home, ranting that the government should help them out because they cannot pay their mortgage. If you were too greedy or too stupid, live the results of your decision. Do not make it my problem by demanding the government use my tax money to bail you out.

 

[Maxi Robespierre]

Its silly to think that you "bought" a house. Its really a merry go round. The people who own the money get the house back in the end and its "sold" to someone else. Unless you paid cash for it.

 

[Batgirl08]

I agree a lot of people I know have recently bought homes in some very nice neighborhoods they previously wouldn't have afforded so to some it is a blessing it may seem cruel but that is the way of economics one man downfall is another's saver.
Prices were and I think are still too high, it was about time that bubble burst.

 

[[email protected]]

If the American People ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied. The issuing power of money should be taken from the bankers and restored to Congress and the people to whom it belongs. I sincerely believe the banking institutions having the issuing power of money are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies.
We are completely saddled and bridled, and the bank is so firmly mounted on us that we must go where they ill guide.
The dominion which the banking institutions have obtained over the minds of our citizens...must be broken, or it will break us. Thomas Jefferson
(Letter to James Monroe, January 1, 1815).

 

[Locutus1of1]

The crisis is only for those who build, loan or have borrowed foolishly.


For those who are smart it is now a buyers market. You can get a house at much closer to it's true value.

 

[urob8]

The gov't already pays for my schooling, food stamps, health care and if i get them to pay for my home, then why should i work? it's INSANE! who promotes the gov't paying for everything? in San Francisco, gov't said people can't feed these wild parrots because the parrots were becoming dependant on the people and lost their skills to hunt. they can figure that out but still try to make a welfare state for humans?

 

[Brian]

I think the housing crisis is really a matter of scale. If only a few people lost their homes becuase they mistakenly believed that interest rates would be stable then -- oops, that was a mistake and few people had to foreclose. The "Crisis" really comes in when its literally millions of families that lost their homes which is representative of a larger economic problem and a calls into the question the honesty of the financial institutions and whether they should be regulated more strictly in the future so this doesn't happen again. Should people have bought a home in the first place that they couldn't afford? Of course not, but they were told by the finanical experts that they could afford it. What's more, the experts believed it -- because if the family forecloses, they lose money. So the scale of the misinformed is so great that that creates a crisis.

Why should you feel bad for someone who didn't have their finances in line? I don't know --- your feelings are your business, if you don't feel bad, don't worry about it -- I can definately see the argument.