Is Foreclosure for You?

I think people need a basic math class. The buyer thought they could afford a 2000.00 house payment on 3500.00 income (give me a break). I think the common American needs a match class and not a "flip this house mentality" . When are Americans going to stand up and say they screwed up instead if putting the blame to another. If this is our great country today I feel sorry for my children.

It's time American's wake up and confront their congressional representatives. These same company's holding the subprime mortgages (Citibank, for example) are the same ones chargeing an arm and a leg for their credit cards while paying millions to lobbyists to pass new bankruptcy laws a while back. Greed, Greed, Greed!! Shame on the part of the banks as well as the new home owners who think they should get a mansion for nothing.

Interesting that Daniel "defers" his original two questions to a housing counselor. These two questions are what everyone in this situation needs to know and the housing counselors are about as helpful as a telemarketer pitching another bad loan. The lack of real answers to real questions is what is preventing America from getting out of this mess. Daniel, would you like to know how to write a better article.... well in this case I'm going to defer to Jon Krakauer. Thanks Daniel for posing more questions than answers during these troubling times.

i agree with the person who said if you cant afford it don't buy it. i have no sorrow for the lending banks who backed these loans. it will be like the savings and loans scandal the american taxpayer will be stuck for the greed of banks and realtors and the rest of the shysters. i am writing to my congreswman to let them know i am not in favor of bailing out anyone in this mess. wake up people take responsibility for your own actions.

How about this concept: If you can't afford the house, don't buy it! Truth be told, the mess we're in now is because people are buying more house than they can afford. If you have to take out a subprime ARM just to get into a house, then you've bought too much house. Period. These expert say to look at your expenses and see where a cut can be made, but shouldn't buyers have looked at their expenses BEFORE they bought the house?

I am sick and tired of everyone blaming the mortgage brokers as way out of their problems. This includes borrowers, banks and realestate agents. The truth of the matter is and what you are not being told is that the brokers are only selling programs that the lenders are pushing. The brokers don't invent these schemes they only sell them. Now I am not saying there aren't shady Mortgage Brokers out there because there are, however most of them have since gone out of business. Fact of the matter is Banks cannot sell the amount of mortgages needed in this country alone and over 54% of mortgages written are by brokers, but as I said earlier, the brokers are only selling what the banks have to offer and the programs they have created. Also, as far as I am concerned, the lady in this article brought 40K to the closing table for her down payment not closing costs. She had a 200K+ mortgage and with 20% down that would obviously be 40K in cost at closing. It doesn't sound like she was fleeced to me. Also, if it wasn't for her down payment, and it was for cost, it would be illegal, and no banks would allow that loan to go through. There is a cap on what a mortgage broker/bank can charge, in NJ for example it is 4.00% of the loan amount. If this lady believed she was paying 40K in costs and was being ripped off, why did she close on her loan. Bottom line, most borrwers out there defaulting are simply not taking responsibility for their own actions. As one poster said before the conditions of the loan are in the first two pages of a closing documnet, this is called the NOTE!!!!!! It is the promisary note which couldn't be simpler to read. It flat out tells you the amount you are borrowing and the interest rate and your mothly mortgage payment. Fianlly, who the hell assumes what their payment on a mortgage is going to be. Grow Up!!!!! Take some responsibility and learn how to read people. It Absolutley rediculous that no one in this country can take responsibilty for their own actions and this includes the government as well.....

I am not shocked that the mortgage market is in this mess. As a real estate appraiser I was amazed at home many times I would appraise the same home over a period of two to three years. The borrowers have to share a majority of the blame as owning a home is a complex matter. My wife works at a bank and through credit counseling to help her clients consolidate bills. It was not uncommon to have them back in the same financial quagmire within a year or two. There are unethical people in every profession. When the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act was legislated bail out the savings and loan debacle, it was appraisers who took the heat and were required to get state licensed. Never mind that the lender were the ultimate party to lend money. They were still running without any significant oversight at the mortgage broker level. It was and still is until recently "the fox watching the hen house". At least the appraisers can't be blamed for this one. The sub-prime lenders made their bed as well as the borrower/consumer. Unfortunately, the borrower is the one getting kicked out.

you should ALWAYS ask questions, if you are going to be making payments you should look into every payment and get the best one for you

The Government should be checking these sub prime loans if they were done legitimately
Then you should be held accountable for your actions. if the bank did fancy footwork to get you
This loan (which i think goes on in a lot of these sub prime mortgages) then the bank should
Be held accountable and have to help these people they took advantage of. in any case
It???s not the government???s job to bail out people who make dumb dissuasions

The Government should be checking these sub prime loans if they were done legitimately
Then you should be held accountable for your actions. if the bank did fancy footwork to get you
This loan (which i think goes on in a lot of these sub prime mortgages) then the bank should
Be held accountable and have to help these people they took advantage of. in any case
It???s not the government???s job to bail out people who make dumb dissuasions

For the last two years they have made home ownership a big to do, and when your income for the entire year is under 8000, a home is out of your league, but for the last two to three years!! Ya some bit off way more than they could chew, and ya some never read or understood a word written in latin!? TODAY the bottom line is if the mort company will not work with you, when your paying more than what you owe and some extra to cover past cost-walk away, as that's what they wanted you to have to do when they knowenly gave you a loan they knew you could not live on!!! Ya that means some of the B.S. belongs right in the lenders lap. If they are willing to work with you, cause they don't really need any more to fall under, then keep and work with the lender! Just remember 5 years ago till now anyone including me at 8000 a year was offered tons-o-money to buy a house, at the time, and all the time, it's more profitable to sell the same property over and over, as long as the ones who tripped and fell walk away, without court cost like today! No i did not buy a home i know on less than 8000 a year you can't even afford to rent and eat in the same week, but like it or not, it's all i'll ever make cause a 2.3% raise don't even pay the extra cost for Medicare part B+ D

She was NOT "fleeced from the beginning". She may have paid a bit more for closing than she should have, but she's a grown up and should have READ the mortgage documents before signing them.

Mortgage brokers are NOT financial advisors, and cannot tell you whether you SHOULD buy a home. They will tell you whether you CAN buy a home. Anyone who doesn't know that ahead of time needs to educate themselves before entering a transaction that can affect the rest of their lives.

People need to take responsibility for getting themselves into situations like this. I was nervous buying a $235,000 condo and my husband and I make over $150,000. I read every document I signed. I refused to enter an ARM that could cripple us financially in the future. Wake up, people, and stop blaming others for your financial irresponsbility.

There used to be a rule of thumb that the sum of mortgage and taxes should not exceed 30% of one's income. Based on a $50K income, this lady should never have exceeded $1250 for mortgage and taxes, yet she took on a $1,669 mortgage and "ASSUMED" that this included taxes. In signing financial contracts, when does anyone "assume" conditions? So she wound up with a $2,000 (approx) monthly payment, when all common sense said she could not afford more than $1,250. No wonder she is in over her head.

It this was a loan shark, with outrageous "vigerish" we could have the person who conned her into taking on this commitment arrested. Yet because this was probably a licensed real estate agent, together with a licensed mortgage broker, they will walk away with bags of money, scott free.

Maybe it is time to start arresting some unscrupulous real estate and mortgage agents and let them do some time in the slammer the same as any other con artist.

ABSOLUTELY ...even on the second time around, you had no idea what your mortgage was all about. That is "sheer stupidity" and you don't deserve to be a home owner. I am sure glad your not the person administering my "pay check" ..!

ABSOLUTELY ..! Even on the second time around, you didn't know what your mortgage was all about. That is "sheer stupidity . I am sure glad your not the person "adminstering my paycheck" ..!

My husband and I decided to File Chapter 13 earlier this year, and the payments on that is as bad as the Mortgage itself. Is there anything we can do, we are not into our Chapter 13 Payment history to try and Refi into a FHA Loan...is there anything else we can do?

I know I am going to come off sounding like Scrooge but she could obviously read and entered into the contract knowing what was coming as far as the $$. She made a bad choice and now wants out. How about the rest of us who made the tough choices, maybe got a little less, got a payment we could afford and looked honestly at the future. She got a break so Chase wouldnt have to foreclose. Lots of others are getting "adjusted" terms despite making a poor choice. This is one reason our economy is in the shape it is in today. Many folks think they are somehow entitled to the biggest and best of everything and then exempt from the consequences of their decisions. I pay my mortgage, taxes, insurance and other bills on time every time and have never bounced a check. No, my family doesnt live like royalty but we also wont worry about ending up like O'Meally. Grow up America.

I am going through this right now and my house will be going up for auction on Dec 15,07. Is it too late hand over the house to them? i am trying to get closer on this. my house is also the market for sale, but with realest being where it is today it is hard to sell. we got put into a house we knew we couldnt offard but the realor we were with at that time we had no problem in living here. This was my first home and i really dont it too be my last. Best regard to all Daphne in IL.