Kiss your middle-age status goodbye!

no speculation should be allowed in the real estate markets......it is obvious this kind of greed is causing the meltdown.

foreclosure is pervasive economically. Everyone is
thing ,will I be next ? A relatively small % of the
population is financially secure or saavy. We pay
two to three times the value of our homes to have
a mortgage that could be paid off much earlier by
money merge accounts,etc. It is imperative that we
learn from these times and protect ourselves. DMY

foreclosure is pervasive economically. Everyone is
thinking ,will I be next ? A relatively small % of the
population is financially secure or saavy. We pay
two to three times the value of our homes to have
a mortgage that could be paid off much earlier by
money merge accounts,etc. It is imperative that we
learn from these times and protect ourselves. DMY

People in my area mortgaged their houses to buy boats, cars, big screen t.v.s, second homes, etc.. We knew, a few years ago, that the loans were 'bad' as we were offered these types of loans. No one did anything to stop this situation as it made the economy boom. Now people are paying the price. I can't say I feel badly about it. I owned my home but was driving an old car. Another poster said "greed" and I guess that's a pretty good word for what happened. This includes the loan companies.

Thank-you Mr. Bush !!! Who is winning this war ? This is just the beginning...Dick Cheney are you pockets full yet ???

ANOTHER SIGN OF THE END-TIMES
PEOPLE WILL BECOME LOVERS OF MONEY......

Everyone is talking about the foreclosures rates.... no one is talking about the fact that the joblessness rate is raising. This is contributing to the forclosure rate.... the economists will tell you that we haven't lost jobs. but they are not mentioning that although the jobs are there, the wages are not.... Middle class Americans are going from an average of $20 - $30; to earning $8 an hour at the local Walmart! Gas prices are on the rise, heating prices, daycare expensives and food, but income hasn't changed. TELL THE WHOLE STORY!!!!!!! I'm getting fed UP

Respectfully I can't imagine why anyone would take on an adjustable rate mortgage. Isn't that kind of like handing your wallet to the bank and saying "Take whatever you like"?

You said it Mary! I am a realtor and thats just what I see, then they want me to sell there home and don't understand how come there isn't any money left.

This foreclosure mess is very clear to me and I'm not involved in finances or real estate. With the AMR's, it is obvious that realistically if the borrowers cannot afford the adjustable rate that is looming, then they couldn't afford the house. People out of touch with reality. As far as the real estate investors are concerned, they knew what they were getting into, one man even bought 3 homes, now he's stuck. But the Option AMR's are incomprehensible. How can you take out a loan on a house, on average over $200,000, take on that debt, and pay not even the full interest? The principal is increasing, the loan is now worth more than the house, and Doomsday is approaching! I am amazed that people would put themselves in that position. It's bad enough having interest on credit cards if you don't pay them off, worse if you pay the minimum. I just can't imagine the stress involved in knowing your loan is increasing, you can't sell the house, and now the day of paying the piper - interest and principal - is arriving. Unbelievable. I am not criticizing these mortgage holders, and I don't sympathize with them, but their plight baffles me.

Pamela, you ar correct. Add to the woes are the New Bankruptcy law which makes it impossible for a person to get a fresh start....

This has very little to do with wages and people going from $20 + an hour to $8. When you take on a mortgage you look ahead. True, adverse circumstances arise and now the house is at risk, but it is not the story of the foreclosure mess. The fact is, from what I have read, people took these risks relying on, counting on, banking on, their houses increasing in value. There was the assurance (???) that they could sell the house at a profit. Meanwhile, while the housing market was on the up and up, homeowners used their houses as personal ATM's, taking out loans against them, refinancing. So the mess quietly got worse. Now they are faced with loans worth more than the value of their houses and no bright spot in sight. Whatever you want to say about the job market or the lenders who loaned to people with unrealistic expectations, the bottom line is the people holding the mortgages. They thought they had a supply of ready cash when needed and things could only get better. They didn't.

ARMs are not necessarily bad, mine got down to 3.125% during the *good times*. It is a bet that you make. However, being forced into one is a sucker's bet.
I also had a fixed rate that I had to pay 14.25%, but I came out ahead back when the ARMs were 17.25%!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you Pamela! But we're caught in a cycle where we all want to earn American wages but buy stuff at prices that are only possible with the kind of cheap underpaid labor that is illegal here. Seems like everybody wants to make a big paycheck then run over to Wal-Mart and spend it on stuff made by foreign workers who earn 10 cents an hour. If everyone made a point to spend money locally, supporting our neighbors, even if it means having less stuff, we could make life much better for ourselves and each other.

If you ask me, a lot of these foreclosures are due to sub-prime lenders making loans to people who can't possibly pay them back. They use inflated appraisals performed by less than honest appraisers who probably get a kick-back from the lenders.

And to think that during Clinton there was a surplus of cash everywhere and gas at .99 a gallon, The good old days, no wonder everyone hates the republicans

Foreclosures ? why worry at least you live in a expensive houses . we might lost the house we
enjoy a nice house. So now can we blame the third countries who have no Mortgage payments
mostly they squat on government lands and live
free of debt, but they are consider poor. So we are the greatest nation in the world. Why are we so worried about money now? are we not saying those third world countries dont help their people. Now we love to show to the world how rich this America and third world countries are coming here and take jobs we dont like and they dont complain. who is greedy now? ask ourselves .

First it was the stock market, no one could get in fast enough! Then that fell apart, and poof all the money went into sneaky Petes pockets. Now 'oh woe is me', all the greedy "Investors" have caused an avalanche of foreclosures, defaults, etc. I guess that old saying"Common sense is rare" holds true. Everyone wants to be as rich as Donald Trump, they don't do their homework, they assume it will all come together by magic. All success is not LUCK, it is Hard Work! Integrity is an important part of that recipe. Mortgage Loan Officers and their companies are to blame with the "No Dock", lie your head off about your income, your assets, and ability to pay these mortgages we will loan you the MOON! That is what happened, even loan orginators were caught up in this feeding frenzy, buying 6-7-8 homes for their own investment portfolio, and now they are STUCK! It serves them right as they miss lead anyone wanting a home, getting them loans with PMI, Pay-off penalties, and other hidden elements they did not disclose. I know I am a Realtor, I personally saw this happen in Florida.