Quote:
Originally Posted by MAXUM
It's not really a matter of wisdom, it's a matter of common sense! Look I bought my first house at the ripe old age of 25 years old. Now I knew nothing about houses other than building them, I used to work construction... but I digress. The thought of having a house that was all mine did not cloud my judgment as to what I could afford, why you may ask. Simple, I have always been of the thought (mostly gained by simple observation) that improper money management can and does lead to a whole lot of problems, many times failure at an early age can last a lifetime. Look around - it doesn't take long to find folks who are living way above their means and can't get that paycheck fast enough before it's already spent and gone. I never have lived that way and certainly was not about to put myself into a bad situation. I was about to get a piece of the American dream and nobody was going to take it away once I had it. So I did my homework, did tons of research and made a budget to determine what I could afford comfortably per month, not what the bank though I could. Ironically that number was more than double what I calculated. Like everyone a house mortgage is the largest debt you'll probably ever have to pay and therefore it should not be entered into on a whim and a prayer. Anyone who does and actually thinks a lender is looking out for their best interest is foolish. That is what the gentleman in this article did, and there are consequences to his actions. It's not casting stones, it's simply emphasizing that his failure to identify what he can afford lead to this, nobody forced him into this situation, he signed the dotted line willingly. Ignorance is no excuse. What more is there to say?
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You said it perfectly.
I personally know more than a half dozen people that bought homes with Interest only loans, refinanced more than three times in the last 5 years (that took all the money out, rolled the old cars into the loans, then bought new ones).
Casting stones, you bet, I cannot understand this mans situation, because I am not in it, for a good reason. Because in the same time frame I have not doubled my mortgage and have reduced my mortgage payment (standard 30yr fixed) to the point that one bi-weekly paycheck covers it, with escrow. But my family is fortunate enough to have kept both our jobs, but that was not an issue for the man in this story, he was retired.
If you go to work everyday and do not have enough respect for how hard you work or the things you have, that you will take a chance and lose them all, I am not going to feel sorry for you, I have more respect for my money than that.
Life is not about the hand you are dealt, but how you play it.
Note, this is in no way directed at anyone that has lost their job or got sick, that is an entirely different animal and some very hard working and well meaning individuals got screwed out of the life they had.