Quote:
Originally Posted by prrriiide
I had an ARM. I was also fortunate enough to get out from under it 3 months after the first rate adjustment and 6 months before the crisis really hit and I could still get top dollar for my previous house. I thought I knew exactly what I was getting into when I signed the papers. But if I hadn't got out when I did, I'd be fucked. But I would have never gotten that loan if I had known a) that the Fed would raise rates as much as they did, b) that housing prices would drop as much as they have, and c) that oil and food prices would rise as sharply as they have. I also wouldn't have done it if the guy at the lender hadn't told me that in his experience, it would be the best deal for me. Live and learn. Not everyone is privvy to your unending wealth of financial acumen.
|
Again, this is all going back to the person who bought into the loan. Did the guy lie to you? No. Nobody can control rate cuts up or down. But if you are buying into something that is tied into rates regardless, you better understand the consequences if they do go up or down. Again, it all goes back to the risk YOU are willing to take.
People get into ARMs everyday and dont have a problem with them b/c they have done the work necessary to know what the risk is. Are we going to start bailing out every single person who loses money on wall street everyday? I am sure some people lose everything they own day in and day out. Why dont we bail them out to for making bad investment decisions?
Quote:
|
You seem to believe that everyone has attained the same level of business expertise that you enjoy, but that is far from the case.
|
I dont have expertise in this. It is just plain common sense if you are going to get a huge loan that you have to pay back, you better look into whether or not you can afford it in the long run and if you can afford rate hikes or drops. It is really not that hard, all it takes is a little discipline to do it. Basically what has happened is the "live now" crowd got in over their collective heads and didnt see the consequences of what could happen down the road.
Quote:
|
People were sold these loans by salespeople working on commission, the most trustworthy people in any situation. [/sarc] So before you start pointing fingers and lambasting, stop and realize that we didn't all have access to LessGovMrPrez The Great and his encyclopedic knowledge of all things financial.
|
Did the salespeople put these people under their magic spell or something? Oh I will point fingers directly at the people who knowingly got in over their heads. Before you walk into an office and sign the dotted line, all yo have to do is talk to people, do just the smallest amount of research, and knwo the basic foundations of what you are getting into and use a CONSERVATIVE GAME PLAN, in the beginning. Good rule of thumb to make sure you are covered is take the current rate and multiply it by 2. If you cant afford that hightened rate, then you dont do it at all. Simple. Best thing to do is not by into anything but a FIXED rate loan. Then you dont have to worry about anything getting hiked on you. This has nothing to do with me b/c I am no expert, but trying to pass this off on a loan company is the coup out people want to use b/c they dont want to take responsibility for their actions.
Quote:
|
Who is more culpable: the person trying to navigate the unknown minefield of the mortgage industry, or the experienced pro leading them?
|
The unknown minefield? Please, it doesnt take a physicist to figure out the difference b/w a fixed rate mortgage or an ARM. It takes about 2 seconds to figure it out. Well again, you can ask more then 1 pro about the same things to get the full monty.
Quote:
|
They are saying nothing of the sort. Like I said, a lot of people are less well-versed in such things and depended on the "experts" at the mortgage companies to guide them. Their mistake was in believing that these sales people had a fiduciary responsibility to them, when they were really only working for their commission on the loan.
|
Again, if you dont know anything about the things you are getting into, then you dont sign it. I dont know anybody who is mesmorized by a salesman to the point of sheer stupidity.
Quote:
|
Incorrect. The government can't tell a company who they can loan to and who they can't any more than they can tell you. They can cap rates to prevent usury, but if you are a lender, caveat emptor. It's your risk, not the government's.
|
Finally!
Quote:
|
So those people shouldn't have tried to buy their own home?
|
Huge difference in trying and actually being able to afford it. In the words of Master Yoda,"Do or do not, there is no try."
When you deal in business, you dont TRY and do anything. If you are trying, then that probably means you shouldnt be doing it.
Quote:
|
The sales people were telling them that the risk could be mitigated or avoided. I assume that instead of listening to the paid advice of your attorney, you pore over 500-page contracts yourself?
|
How can these people afford attorneys, if they cant afford to pay their house notes? Right, and the sales people are right in that risk can be mitigated or avoided if they have the cash on hand to deal with any increases in the rates. Which leads right back to the person getting the loan, do they or do they not have the cash flow to withstand such a thing.
Quote:
|
Did you read every word of the contract on your home, or did you trust that the people that prepared it were working in your favor and not in self-interest?
|
Your damn right I read it. And while I was reading it I was asking questions. Then when I was done asking questions I went and talked to my father who owns a house and got a second opinion on it. Then I went back and questioned them some more on the things I still wasnt sure about.
Quote:
|
People assumed that these sales people had the same responsibility to them that an attorney would have. Those sales people who were depending on these commissions weren't about to tell them any differently.
|
You do realize that sales people are not bad people dont you? You make it sound like they are out to get you or something. Last I checked you have to walk into their office to get these things. They dont come to you unless, you approach them first.
Quote:
|
You would rail against universal higher ed, but when someone gets a lesson at the school of hard knocks, you want to blame them when they are taken advantage of?
|
These people are not being taken advantage of. They choose to walk into the lenders office and get into something they were not prepared to handle. You are doing exactly what the Democrats do, they make it sound like these people were just minding their own business and suddenly were forced into an ARM at gun point.
Quote:
|
The govenment has to get involved at this point. A weak economy combined with the vast sums of money pouring into a key industry for the country from foreign investors is a matter of national security. And that is most definitely a governmental function.
|
No it does not. They can let it fall and let people who can actually afford the houses buy them. What is one persons loss is anothers gain.
What is this talk of foreign investors? Do you know how many foriegn investors there are in this nation throughout every industry? They are all over the place.
Linear Mode
