"Dude, where's my mortgage rate at?"

[LegalSmash]

http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-...-pulse-economy

While this article is not entirely about the issue, I direct your attention to the signs held by the people's concern. So I guess this is kind of an open letter/statement to congress and the people that annoy me so.

Cost of food. Cost of Gas.

For the first time in many years, people are ACTUALLY worried about something of value... you know. Shit we actually need, and not sheepishly running towards

"meh, Iraq is mor 'portan'!"

While I am glad that many of those making under 100K a year finally realize the economy is of importance to THEM as well, I'll follow up that feeling of glad with one of solemn shame, not because I feel bad for them, but because I feel embarrassed at the baby boom, post baby boom, and "millennial" (our 1980-1990) generation.

I feel embarrassment because it was their complete lack of financial sense, or in some cases, willful ignorance of economic realities, that have lead the country's economy to where it is.

I'm not deluded enough to say we arent having "money issues" to not sound like an alarmist prick, but people should realize, especially the number within the greedy, ignorant pricks that are listed above, that it is nearly entirely due to one of two things:
1. their willing speculation of the housing market, especially with their OWN home

2. their unwillingness to even contemplate that PERHAPS a zero down, adjustable ballooning interest rate is NOT a bad idea, especially if you purchase way outside your purchasing power.

3. Their complete lack of grasp, understanding, or even faint awareness that CREDIT is not for purchasing shit COMPLETELY OUTSIDE MAH PRICE RANGE!!!

a family of 4 living on 50K these days has to realize that a 3 bed 2 bathroom house will take a fair bit longer to get on a mortgage on favorable terms... this is why people do things like plan ahead, not have several hideous (enter ethnic joke here) spawn that suck up resources that would otherwise go towards a respectable down payment that leads to a doable mortgage. You decided to fuck like jackrabbits and not get some BC from costco? Live in the duplex a few more years then, chief!

The economy is like this because many Americans that literally do not have the means to purchase that which they financed in their entire lifetime live with dom Perignon dreams on natural light beer pockets.

The sad thing is, they should fucking know better. They HAVE the opportunity to READ the damn loan document, they have the opportunity to come with an attorney... they dont, because they are fucktards... for a 400K dollar purchase, spend the extra 200-500 to have an attorney come with you for an hour to sign the paper to the McMansion you are going to live in for 19 mos before you mail the keys and move to Altoona.

These people's lack of sense, and outright willful ignorance to the terms and conditions of the loans are entirely their own fault. The company is not a "sub prime predator" its literally going on YOUR projected income. Last time a mortgage Co said: well, Cletus here makes 36 K a year a Roscoe's chicken and waffles, he wants to buy a 500K house with Zero down, and a 6 percent that gets to a high of 12 within 3 years.... hmm, he SAYS he "be in medical school".... Hmm I GUESS we can float him.

Thats what it is, a float, a loan, a favor... you dont pay back, you get bent and fucked... No ticky', No shirtee.

Im sorry, Im tired of hearing these lower income and low middle income pricks with escalades, rims, and large homes crying that they are losing these items that they never had the buying power to have in the first place.

Congress should not bail a single one of these pricks or the housing market out. Speculation on homes caused this, don't gamble with the only appreciating value property you have. Stupid financial decision by stupid citizens did this, not the "subprime mortgage industry boogieman".

There are bad mortgage companies out there... not all of them though. Now, the companies that did this shit, that knowingly gave out the mortgages are closing... good. Now the house values can drop back to normal levels and in 2-3 years we are at semi-normalcy again.

I'm just gonna say it: We need another World War to thin some of these retard babies these fucktards have been busily squirting out over the past 8 years. I'm not going to hire a damn one of them.


PS: While you are bailing out the undeserving how about you forgive people's student loans that have masters in engineering, business, law, and medical degrees? We didnt piss away what we borrowed on rims, cars worth our yearly salary, and homes we cant afford... We invested in education. Bail us out instead, We actually have earning potential.

[Dracula]

Legal i have given up reading what you post epsecialy when it takes up half the page i just listen to what the posts after it are.

[Itch]

Legal i have given up reading what you post epsecialy when it takes up half the page i just listen to what the posts after it are.

I think he's saying that for those of us with short attention spans.. Try not to wax verbose.

As to the post.. You make a very valid point. The mindset of the up and coming generations is "I want it NOW!" My parents generation was of the "I'm saving up for something nice" We see the nice things they have and think we deserve them too. Without thinking of how long it took them to purchase/own a home, cars, boats, etc. It's a problem that is growing. For some reason Zero down is a selling point.. and Buy now pay later is attractive for everyone that is short sighted. Granted I have fallen into that trap before & learned my lesson the hard way as a lot of us do.

If anyone gets something out of this thread let it be that nothing is free that zero down means a lot more out of your pocket in the long term.

And the stupidest thing ever invented is the "Interest Only" home loan. I won't go into too much detail but my sister paid over $1000 a month for 6 years on her house only to owe the exact same amount as she started out owing.

Economy should be the primary focus in the upcoming elections.. but I have little to no faith that it will be.

[Italian Jew]

Its called capitalism. We are not at the top anymore, so people need to deal with it. You can't prevent capitalism from doing what it does, so we just gotta ride it out. Maybe in a few hundred years it will be our show again.

[LegalSmash]

Dracula, I can understand that its hard to get through everything I say sometimes. I do implore that you try though, because its a very pressing issue.
____
Itch, Sadly, I agree.

___

It truly never ceases to amaze me that less than 20-30 percent of our "generation" have ANY savings. WTF man! I consider it a personal affront to have to "ask" for help. Maybe its just stubborn cuban pride, maybe its just stubborn legalsmash pride". I save money, not just because I want something nice like a house one day, but because of what random, fortuitous, but unfortunate event may happen.

How is it that an ENTIRE generation of people can be this dumb.

I especially find myself amazed at those of us that survived hurricane andrew back in 1992, at ground zero in homestead (My whole house was run through, except one bedroom that surprisingly stayed put, with me and 6 other people in a closet).

some of us lost everything, and this wasnt back in the day when Prezeeden' buh, and FEMA gave out trailers for free and fed us at public expense for 3 years. Universities were not coming down to do volunteer work (like mine does) to help. It was basically, did you have insurance, and did you have savings... if you did, you were semi-ok, if you didnt, you were pretty SOL for a while.

Families had to use savings that they had for vacations, camp, etc. to make due.

Nowadays, there is no concept of that apparently, no one saves anything, and god forbid the person decide to work on a "nonworkday" for extra money, they just bitch about "da 'conomee' is bad." and open their hand waiting for someone to give them a grape.

This was as issue in 2004, no one gave a shit, bc we were too busy crying over iraq, a wayward swift boat leader, and abortion/right to die, rather than "no savings, no economic sense, why our house be so 'spenseev' Lucy", and now it is literally pounding us in the pie hole.

I dont think any of these three candidates get that, nor do I think that anything more than scapegoating an industy will come of this. Same as the airline industry, each time its failed.

[Itch]

Its called capitalism. We are not at the top anymore, so people need to deal with it. You can't prevent capitalism from doing what it does, so we just gotta ride it out. Maybe in a few hundred years it will be our show again.

Your right it is how capitalism works.. That doesn't mean we have to be a bunch of lemmings and do whatever they say is the latest thing to do.

My point is that by being smart consumers and not using credit as the short term solution that we can make a difference to the economy. By learning to make smart purchases and not fall into the high interest long term loans that are ever so popular now that we have a better chance of riding out the bad economy that we are currently in.

Save now, buy later.
will always be better than the current mindset of
Buy now, pay later.

[Red Tampon]

I don't touch my credit card.

I don't spend more than I make. Pretty simple rule, which unfortunately, most Americans don't understand.

I've got my retirement accounts set up and am saving for the future.

[Itch]

I don't touch my credit card.

I don't spend more than I make. Pretty simple rule, which unfortunately, most Americans don't understand.

I've got my retirement accounts set up and am saving for the future.

Good to hear Red.

The only thing I've spent more than I had on was my house.. but 5 years ago I put 30% down and with the upgrades & equity is worth much more now than it was. So all in all it was a good investment.

I wonder how many of us purchased our cars without going out to get a loan?

5% maybe.. and of that maybe 1 or 2 were newer cars.

It would be interesting to find out how many of us have at least 3 months wages in savings.

[Red Tampon]

I've only got 2.5 months of savings.

What's the significance of 3 months?

[Itch]

No real significance.

I had just read somewhere awhile back that it was the recommended minimum in case of tragedy, job loss, major health problems etc. 2 1/2 months is still very good. Most people have little to no savings.

I'm currently at just under 3 months myself.