  Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 1894 Registered: 06-2006 |
Cambrian: Either that, or you can rent until the market returns to normal... | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 660 Registered: 12-2006 |
Agreed LY. And Cambrian, you are only screwed under two circumstances related to house prices and mortgages, and the majority of us aren't in either one of them: 1. Your mortgage payment has gone up to where you can't pay it; 2. You are currently trying to sell your house and you owe more than its current value. Most of us, really the vast majority, have fixed rate mortgages if we have mortgages at all, and are continuing to live in our houses (if for no other reason than it's a lousy time to sell). | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1477 Registered: 08-2006 |
We gotta give the fool hardy their due credit though. Spend thriftyness in itself cannot sustain an economy. I'm sure that Home Depot and the automotives appreciated all those Home Equity Line of Credit purchases. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 293 Registered: 02-2007 |
Its not etched in stone anywhere that says anyone has to buy a house. If the prices were too high, which they were, folks should have waited. That may have slowed the crazy spiral upward. In retrospect, if someone has been kickin their mortgage and paying lots on the premium and not abusing the equity. They are better off than they wouldve been renting for 5 or 6 years. LY, I remember that 70/80's era well. A friend worked for a local bank and people were just walking in with house keys and car keys and turning them in. It sucked big time around here. The unemployment rate in (I think) Woodhaven or Trenton or both was like 43%. Businesses had signs in the windows "We are not hiring, please don't ask" People were walking up and down Telegraph with signs on their backs asking for a job. Very tuff times. Detroit goes through these cycles, it's nothing new. Seems like every 30 years or so, we get nailed. It will come back, like it always does. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3778 Registered: 10-2004 |
Those Carter and early Reagan years were called living in stagflation back then. Double-digit interest and inflation rates. Unemployment rates were double-digits too, in some areas. That time also had a misery index. (Message edited by livernoisyard on August 21, 2007) | ||
Miss_cleo Member Username: Miss_cleo Post Number: 812 Registered: 05-2005 |
Man , we did alot better money wise during the Regan years and the Clinton years. The Bush's screwed things up for us, both times | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1478 Registered: 08-2006 |
I recall the mentality of the day was buy a house now, because if you wait, you'll never afford one. The economists were telling us how rosy things were, and that no down turn was in sight. So unless you happened to be clairvoyant, or over the age of 70, and lived through the depression how could you predict a market collapse? | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1479 Registered: 08-2006 |
I saw a funny bumper sticker on a truck the other day Miss Cleo. "If you want to find a job you have to beat the Bushes" | ||
Spacemonkey Member Username: Spacemonkey Post Number: 217 Registered: 03-2006 |
My house. I bought new construction in Rochester Hills for $328,000 in '04. Today, my realtor says to put it up for sale at $300,000 to $310,000, because it will be worth tens of thousands less than that over the next two years. So, we decided not to sell. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 1355 Registered: 12-2003 |
I remember the '70s/80s bad times too, very well. Not to sound like everybody's Depression-era grandpa, but there are few upsides to living beyond your means. Live within your paycheck and you can build equity and buy what you want later on down the line. Everybody wants to live the high life right out of college. That way, what do you have to look forward to? Maybe our aspirational culture needed a "correction." | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 3069 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: That mentality was even more true on the East Coast. Housing values increased about 100% between 1999 and 2005 here. Of course, one need not have lived through the Depression. You only needed to have lived through the late 1990s stock market fallout to know what was going to happen. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 294 Registered: 02-2007 |
Quote: "we did alot better money wise during the Regan years and the Clinton years." What I recall, things got better when Reagan took office. It was like a valve that had been closed, opened. I didn't follow politics very closely then as now, so I don't know why there was this sudden surge in the economy, but there definitely was one. And many said Clinton just rode the wave of Reaganomics. Who knows.. Cambrian, Yes I recall that mentality too. If you don't buy a house, you'll be sorry sort of things being said. Oh and make sure you get an ARM too. Smart money. Actually some folks did good with the ARM's IF they got rid of it in time. I know a guy, his house payment went up 600 a month when his reset. He's gone out of the state and the house went back last winter. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 1834 Registered: 01-2005 |
Just to reminisce, when the wife and I got married in 1958 we had an apartment on Schaefer north of Tireman. A year later we had scraped together $1,500 and bought a house at 19940 Lindsay (2-bedroom 1-bath asbestos siding crackerbox with unattached garage) for $12,500. Our mortgage of $11,000 was from First Federal S&L. Payments, as I recall, were $78 a month, which scared the heck out of me. Ate a lot of Rice-A-Roni back then. Sold it 12 years later for $17,500, and our families fondest memories were in that crackerbox. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1480 Registered: 08-2006 |
Too funny! My dad's from Schaeffer north of Plymouth. | ||
Frumoasa Member Username: Frumoasa Post Number: 42 Registered: 03-2007 |
As I see the prices for real estate falling in the area, I am so glad that I bought and repaired my own home using sweat equity. I disagree with the statement that all people that bought their house after 1997 will get screwed. I bought my house at the peak of the market in 2003, but we needed a place and we were financially able to purchase a home and take a mortgage for the cost of the home, which was 60% of the value of the home (which has fallen as of recent, but not precipitously). The sweat equity we put in made it worthwhile for us, as well as my husband having roommates before we got married and moved in together. The rent that the roommates paid for that 2 years actually paid for our remodeling in its entirety. So there is a way to hedge yourself against the real estate market, but it involves hard work and a lot of personal sacrifice (roommates in your newly remodeled house..arghhh). The people that are truly affected by this bought a beautiful, move in condition home and competed with several other buyers. They may have maintained or even improved the property, but it is unlikely that you can sell a property that was purchased for top dollar in 2003 for the same value today. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 3984 Registered: 10-2003 |
I too have done well buying trashed houses and using sweat equity. Buy low, and you won't lose your ass. Since the beginning of the year, I'm living in Los Angeles once again, and I have noticed that in my area, (East LA, just across the river from downtown,) prices are dropping a bit. I live in a new subdivision built in 2004, on the site of a former housing project. The homes are nice and large, 3-4 bedrooms with attached garages and 2.5 baths. Of course, they are made of chipboard with stucco sprayed on. One house around the block sold for 550,000 a few months ago; now a house around the block is listed for 539,000. Zoweee! At this rate, I will be able to afford a house in LA in a few more years! Meanwhile, it seems like a good year to be a renter. | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 2631 Registered: 06-2004 |
The number of foreclosure filings reported in the U.S. last month jumped 93 percent from July of 2006 The national foreclosure rate in July was one filing for every 693 households 43 states experienced year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity just five states -- California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia -- accounted for more than half of the nation's total foreclosure filings Nevada, Georgia and Michigan accounted for the highest foreclosure rates nationwide California, Florida and Ohio were among the states with the highest number of foreclosure filings in July California cities continued to dominate top metropolitan foreclosure rates - The state's foreclosure rate was one filing for every 333 households http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070821 /foreclosure_rates.html?.v=7 California, Florida, Georgia - gonna call them auto industry states, too? | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 665 Registered: 12-2006 |
Lilpup, Cali and FL were among the overvalue kings. Mich and OH are manufacturing-recession states. Georgia I can't explain. Cambrian, I am always amused by the "no down turn is in sight" mentality. A hundred fifty years ago or so, a young man worked as a clerk for Cornelius Vanderbilt, and was hoping to tap his expertise in the markets to make money. He asked the V, "Mr. Vanderbilt, what will the stock market do this year?" Vanderbilt's reply is one for the ages: "it will fluctuate." Scott PS - I agree with the sweat-equity sub-thread. Did that myself a couple times, including the house I'm in now. If you're slightly handy and can find houses owned by clueless people who aren't, you can do OK. Could stand to be closer to the bus line, but am living with it. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 295 Registered: 02-2007 |
Quote: "gonna call them auto industry states, too?" Every state in the nation and almost every area in North America are intertwined somehow with Detroit and the autmotive industry to some degree. They act like its a Detroit problem only, it's their problem too and they are finding it out. I'm just glad the autos' are closing plants in other states and maintaining their bases in Detroit and hopefully a loyalty as well. It's looking that way. Oh you don't want to buy our cars? See ya.. 93%? Holy crap... (Message edited by sstashmoo on August 22, 2007) | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 2632 Registered: 06-2004 |
quote: This has been my thinking for a long time, but they still aren't making the connection yet. To them it's still all about housing and housing only. They don't see it as a ripple effect from the auto industry and other manufacturing losses. And now job losses in the housing, real estate, and financial sectors are mounting http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070821 /economy_housing_jobs.html?.v= 3 | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 2360 Registered: 07-2004 |
What's going on in Nevada? I thought Las Vegas was a booming city, with new residents arriving daily. I remember seeing Las Vegas listed as number 10 among areas with the most foreclosures. Can anyone explain this one? | ||
Plymouthres Member Username: Plymouthres Post Number: 149 Registered: 02-2007 |
I have not seen one poster allude to the fact that there are approximately 100,000 (all automotive!!) or so less people in the work pool than there were a year ago. I am disappointed that people do not realize this. My drive into work is no longer crowded, and it takes me ten minutes less! Sometimes, I don't even see a car in an area where you were previously putting on the brakes and waiting in line!! Housing prices are the direct result of market demand. Many people who have been looking for work are people who thought that they would never have to look again, and we are paying the price for their overspending, selfish ways. To have assumed lifelong employment and "someone always taking care of you" type attitudes has led to our demise. I would have never, ever gotten as deep as some of the folks that are walking away now have. Also, this idea that you can assume all this debt and just walk away is just plain stupid. This mentality is prevalent all across the land and now the roosters are coming home to roost! The bottom line is, if you can't afford it, don't buy it! How much is enough, already? | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3782 Registered: 10-2004 |
Many in the Y generation have been able to avoid housing costs by literally living at home, even while married in their twenties or thirties because they still live with their parents. That's a fairly recent mode of lifestyle. Their counterparts three or four generations earlier might have emigrated from Europe or wherever while teenagers or young adults. Those still living with their parents while young to middle aged adults are polar opposites of their great grandparents. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1482 Registered: 08-2006 |
Sounds like an indicator of CPI out pacing GDP LY. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3784 Registered: 10-2004 |
Or like overspending on nonessentials, leaving few resources for whatever else... | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1483 Registered: 08-2006 |
No, if you check; We are spending about 5 times more for things then our grand parents were, yet our wages are maybe 1.5 times greater then what they earned. Adjusted for inflation of course | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 2633 Registered: 06-2004 |
quote: Not true - everybody having their own place is something that started occurring in post-WWII days. Three or more generations in a household used to be the norm, not the exception. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3785 Registered: 10-2004 |
quote:Obviously not so for those who emigrated from their homelands and resettled in the US... If it weren't for them, the current demographics of the US would be drastically different. | ||
Buyamerican Member Username: Buyamerican Post Number: 151 Registered: 02-2007 |
Plymouthres stated: "I have not seen one poster allude to the fact that there are approximately 100,000 (all automotive!!) or so less people in the work pool than there were a year ago." Please read my post #150 above. (Message edited by Buyamerican on August 22, 2007) (Message edited by Buyamerican on August 22, 2007) | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 666 Registered: 12-2006 |
Royce: you wrote "I remember seeing Las Vegas listed as number 10 among areas with the most foreclosures. Can anyone explain this one?" I think if you consider what Las Vegas' big tourist draw is - and a lot of the residents patronize those businesses also - that might go a long way toward explaining it. |
