Grim Perspective on Mortgage Crisis in Poor Nabes

Allow prices to adjust to market conditions and it will create more affordable housing than any government program ever will. Homes owned by poor people should not be worth 800K, is this really so complicated?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:28 AM

Compassion would allow you to see that not all of us have a level of sophistication to understand when a scam is being pulled on us. can you not see that a former "dirt farmer" is out of his depth dealing with a slick talking shit merchant of a mortgage broker? Who is protecting the little guys from slime like them? That poor man was ripped off by scumbags after working his entire life to have a home. Medical bills (which we should be ashamed of in the country) forced him to look for money in the only asset he had. Also, why assume that everyone squandered their money, when here we have a story without even a hint of that. In addition, how would that make these loans any better? The money and how it is spent is not the problem.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:52 AM

Well I don't believe it. Mr B talking about the root causes of this Mutant Real Estate Bubble. Good for you!

"I want a story that asks a few hundred people in foreclosure as a result of refinancing what they did with the PROCEEDS from their refi's. And asks how many were laid off or had medical emergencies, etc. versus how many were irresponsible with their finances, took some "easy" money, spent it on stuff and wound up in trouble."

This has kept the American economy propped up. The consumer is running on fumes now. The banks are trying to cover this mess up.
There is NO good news on Real Estate in Main Stream Media. This winds up as a depression.

Here read this story about dumped Mortgage files.

Dumped Mortgage Files Invite Identity Theft
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119309606825767724.html?mod=PageOne_1

The What

Someday this war is gonna end.......

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:56 AM

This is wildly deceptive.
Each dot on this map is almost the size of a city block. Each block of brownstones is roughly 100+ different properties. Assuming a benign rate of 1-2% defaults, the map should be red.

The reason that manhattan and bklyn heights are not red is that most of those properties are commercial properties which don't have mortgages in the same system -- there are very few owner occupied 1-4 family homes in midtown.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:58 AM

ooohhh, heeelp! Somebody protect me from myself!

I just took out a $300,000 ARM Refi and spent it all on a new car and a flat screen TV.

Now they want me to pay it back! Heeelp, it's just not fair.

I need Big Brother Big Government to protect me from myself and tell me how to be responsible.

I need race-baiting NEDAP maps to show how I was exploited. It's not my fault … I'm the VICTIM!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:02 AM

11:02:

No. You're a complete idiot.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:11 AM

While I feel for a lot of these people and many were led down the path by predatory scumbags, they did sign a legal document acknowledging the terms of the agreement. Can't understand how ignorance became a valid defense.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:14 AM

the stats show clearly that immigrants were charged higher rates, sold more risky loans, and screwed over with higher rate increases. We're not talking 2% over the 30 year here, people who can least afford a rate increase are being show rates of 10% or 12% or more!

The reasons are really simple. Mortgages were arranged by people with a financial interest in seeing them signed, but no financial interest in seeing them last. Most of the mortgage brokers just wanted to close the deal at all costs. They therefore preyed on whomever showed the least understanding of the complex products that were available. No surprise the poor and those with poorer language skills get shafted.

Wall street didn't care because they were packaging up these piles of sh*t in gold foil, the rating agencies were compromised and putting AA ratings on them, and they were selling them to funds to foreigners to anyone.

The boom has now turned to bust and the overhang will depress prices for years, and hit consumer spending hard. Unless the foreclose properties are handled with care entire blocks could suffer from empty and run-down properties which will place additional pressure on neighbors with mortgages who discover their loan is now worth more than their property.

If you discovered your mortgage is now larger than your property value, say by 20%, would you keep struggling to pay it, and pay rises in the rates, or would you seriously just consider walking off? I'd just walk off. Yeah my credit is burned but who can stand renting your house from a bank at higher than market rates?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:34 AM

Hey Montrose Morris -- Thanks for totally taking the wind out of my sails. I was about to post a dumb-ass rant about how I didn't buy because I couldn't afford it (and still can't) and aren't I responsible and smart for not getting into some cockamamie mortgage and neener neener neener, but you saved me from myself with your compassion and intelligence. I'm a renter, but I refuse to be bitter, because I never had to work a menial job (yeah, my parents paid for me to go to college and study THEATRE of all things) or face racism (white girl from Westchester in the house). Pretty much I've had the luxury of doing whatever I damned well pleased my whole life, and I have enough formal education and resources to keep myself out of trouble with predators. All I don't have is a down payment. There's worse things. So for real, thanks. I was almost an asshole here, but you brought me up short.

copy_gal

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:35 AM

bravo NiaKnowles..I agree with you...The homes in Bed Stuy are BEAUTIFUL...if they were owned by rich non colored folk then I am sure the first poster would think the would be worth more than 800k...

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:49 AM

HI Everyone
I wrote the peice on WNYC this morning and I appreciate all your comments.
I can assure those of you with doubts about he veracity of the data I used, that the numbers of defaults and foreclures have been verified by several independent organisations and are recognised both by national, local and government bodies.
I am especially grateful to Montrose Moris, not just because he/she agrees with me, but because his/her comment elaborates upon and gives great perspective to this widespread and terrible problem that the media simply does not have the time or space to go into in the depth it deserves.
That said, I applaud WNYC for allowing me, a freelance journalist, the time and space to bring this problem to the fore.
Thanks for taking the time to listen
James Doran

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:55 AM

Why does Staten Island have such a high concentration of defaults in areas that are not majority black/hispanic?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 12:05 PM

to answer the Staten island Question:

The heavily red dotted area of Staten Island shown on the map is also at least 50% black or latino, you can see it better on the map posted at WNYC which is reprodced slightly larger with little black diagonal lines clearly visible.
I am told there has been a rapid influx of Latino families into the North Shore of Staten Island.

James D

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 12:15 PM

There is also an important point that many who object to the argument in this piece are glossing over.
This is a generational problem. The areas with large concentrations of foreclosures were also poorly served by big reliable banks. The history of mainstream banks avoiding minority neighborhoods is well documented. Without a reliable bank in your area to turn to for solid financial advice it is easier for the loan sharks and subprime brokers to ply their trade. It's a simple matter of marketing theory. If there is a gap in the market someone will fill it.
Not all of these brokers are fraudulent. Some are entirely straight and do a good business helping out their friends and neighbors through small informal client networks -- they are good local entrepreneurs. But the lack of oversight and regulation for lending businesses, coupled with the ease with which one can apply for and be granted a massive amount of money for property investment in the subprime market, has created a fertile hunting ground for criminals. It is too easy for a "broker" to use a client's name and address -- or prospective address -- to get a few hundred grand in proceeds without the need to prove income or employment. At the very best he will charge you an exorbitant fee, and at the very worst he will keep all of the money and skip town.
I have encountered dozens of examples of the same scam. One of the chief perpetrators of the scam is currently in Rikers, having been found guilty of ripping off more than 200 mortgage holders all over the city -- and that’s just one man.
So, yes, some people are irresponsible with money (a point I also make in the piece) but the MAJORITY of people in this predicament were taken advantage of to some degree. Most of them were equity rich and cash poor, most of them were black or Latino, and most of them were elderly. Those three criteria together make a pretty vulnerable group and an obvious mark for any knowing con-man.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 12:27 PM

"Also, to the extent taxpayers are being asked to fund assistance (to big banks or to individual homeowners in trouble) of course it’s our right and duty to understand the circumstances and context of the situation."

You're joking, right? Not to go too far off topic, but please inform me of the last time taxpayers actually had an 'active' role in 'being allowed' to determine how tax dollars are spent?

You know as well as I do that your power in that department is limited to the point of being non-existent. They'll let you vote on it - - sure. But seriously...

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 1:09 PM

Every time an argument like this happens on Brownstoner (or Curbed), I am shocked by the callousness, ignorance, and not so subtle racism exhibited by many posters. I don't know why these comments and sentiments shock me anew each time (by now, I should be accustomed to it, right?), but it does.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 1:11 PM

right, cuz no poor peoples needed funerals before the subprime mess.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 1:22 PM

I just moved to a Brooklyn neighborhood and paid a nice elderly black couple over $1 million dollars for their house they bought in 1973. Where's that story my bleadign heart friends?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 1:25 PM

Thank you Montrose Morris for your well written posts. You saved me the time from writing it myself and I could not have said it better. My parents and grandparents who came up from the South and the West Indies made off good when they sold their homes in BedStuy and Park Slope and then moved back South and to Barbados. But many of their neoghbors who worked just as hard as they did and who they were no smarter than they were didn't. My grandparents were blessed to have children and grandchildren who were there to protect them from fraudulent schemes. Very important point that you made, held true in my family. My grandparents had to buy their house all cash in the 1950's as did most of their neighbors until the mid 1970's because Bed Stuy was redlined. On the other hand the family that my grnadmother worked for in Bay Ridge placed a small down payment on their home and secured a mortgage for the rest.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:05 PM

The real estate industry in New York is corrupt and unusually malevolent. If you can't stand the heat, don't get too close to the AGA.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:15 PM

I think people wont have to worry much longer. Our financial system is in big trouble. The Mutant Real Estate Bubble was set up to bring change.To put people in perpetual debt, which they cant repay. You will NEVER pay off you mortgages, I MEAN EVER! This is not a black or white thing, it's a dumbass thing. Chucky or Joe Six Pack or whatever you call him is FUCKED. You pension plans, 401k's, savings are in big trouble. 4 Trillion dollars of money wasted in Real Estate and when not if it blows up, you will be left penniless and homeless.

BTW Bring it on Grammar Nazis.

The What

Someday this war WILL end.......

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:28 PM

12:27 PM,1:09 PM,copy_gal, Mr. Doran and esp. Montrose Morris,
Finally, more than just your average discussion of “parlor floor kitchen vs. ground floor kitchen”, comments from RE brokers transparently trying to boost their listings or rather incoherent (though not always dismissible) rantings from Monsieur Le What.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Most Sincerely,
FortGreener

PS And here’s something else to chew on:
Where’s mention that a LARGE portion of bankruptcies in the US in recent years have caused by medical bills? [And Congress made it even harder to file for bankruptcy, as you should all know, so let’s not call it “bankruptcy” any longer…maybe just “personal financial failure”.] The actual percentage caused by medical bills is debatable but it is NOT negligible. I lived in a country with national healthcare and never heard of anyone there going into poverty due to the cost (or cost-sharing, co-pays, deductibles or what-have-yous) for their medications, surgeries, or other debatably life-supporting therapies prescribed by docs. Back in the Land of Debt though, many who end up in financial failure or on the brink of it, have probably no other resource of real value to tap into except their home…this often occurring in a time of personal trauma/stress. It has been widely studied that people of color and lower income face major illnesses earlier and die younger than their white and relatively wealthier counterparts. In fact, it is said African American men pay into Social Security but collect very little per capita due to mortality as compared to others. People who may not have health insurance and who fall ill before age 65-Medicare eligibility and even people who do have health insurance but have many out-of-pocket costs (both well- and under-insured people) may very well not have enough savings or other cash-convertible resources at hand. Thus, they turn to mortgage brokers if they own a home in this time of real estate value run-ups. And yes, the ads have been everywhere: “Consolidate your debt…come to us for a new mortgage…pay $500/month for a 200K mortgage” and other such horrors. I speak in “inpersonals” but have first-hand experience.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:34 PM

I never thought i woudl see the day when "The What" makes more sense than Montrose "I have an agenda" Morris

Someday this war will probably end.......

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:36 PM

If you think the What makes more sense than MM, you could consider therapy.

And What, a decline in real estate values does not signal the APOCALYPSE. Get a grip.

Whenever What posts, I picture him writhing in some dark cave like Dostoevsky's underground man, except What is writhing over mortgages, rather than existential angst.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:12 PM

This is Dostoevsky's Underground Man.

3:12 is a fool.

Thank you.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:23 PM

"And What, a decline in real estate values does not signal the APOCALYPSE. Get a grip."

No you get one! I know it's hard to reach the brainwashed masses. Financial System is in TROUBLE! Stop watching CSI. Read the Wall Street Journal, they have some great stories on Real Estate.

BTW My cave is paid off, got real cheap. It's even has a built in strip club.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...........

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:27 PM

Greenspan Says `State of Fear' in Credit Markets

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aQshVLZRFeDw&refer=canada

OHHH Doggie!!!!!!
If you chuckle heads think everything is good. Please read this!
It come from you Homeboy Greensperm!

The What

***Laughing his ass off in his cave***

Someday this war is gonna end.......

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:36 PM

"No you get one! I know it's hard to reach the brainwashed masses. Financial System is in TROUBLE! Stop watching CSI. Read the Wall Street Journal, they have some great stories on Real Estate."

NICE paragraph, What! You should have put a comma after "No," and a "The" before "financial system," but for you, this represents serious improvement! Give yourself another pat on the back! Finally there is real hope that you will actually learn to properly use the English language BEFORE the the real estate/credit/bank/climate change apocalypse hits!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:48 PM

"Reverse mortgages are an alternative to a standard refi, and may be a way for someone to get needed money, and not lose their home if they can't pay back. Maybe not so hot for their heirs, but why shouldn't a senior be able to take advantage of the fruits of their labors?"

Did you know if the value of your house goes down, the "Reverse mortgage" RECAST ITSELF!. Then it turns into a full mortgage that has to be paid back. Reverse mortgages are crack for senior citizens! Do you think Mortgage Brokers and Banks have been honest with senior citizens!!!?? Guess what that is???!!!! More ways to fuck over people.

The What

Someday this war will end........

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:55 PM

dude, monty morris has written a fricken' novel on this thread. go get some fresh air and give the other socialist marxists a chance to comment and save the children.

yay Consequentialist Libertarianism!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:00 PM

"Hey What,

If you are soooo convinced of this real estate collapse, and you bought your place and paid it off as you claim, why not sell now and cash in before the coming crash?

If I were in your position, that is what I would do. Then you rent for a while and wait for prices to come down by 50-100% and buy something else....Based on your predictions, maybe the market will come down so much people will actually pay you to take their property!"

This statement shows how clueless people are. Why would i give up my asset for pieces of paper. Money has no intrinsic value! The same price it cost to print a 1 dollar bill is the same cost to print a 100 bill.

Maybe if money was backed by REAL ASSETS like Gold or Silver maybe. But not it's very cheap not and there is no other alternatives I would consider now.

Here read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrinsic_value

The What

Someday this war is gonna end..........

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:10 PM

The way I see it, it's not even a race issue. This is a national issue with great implications of America in a globalized world. This housing bubbles started with Greenspan & Co leveraged by easy Chinese credits. Unfortunately, as net result, we are now as much addicted to Asians & Mid-Eastern credits as we are to Saudi's oil. Of course, Greenspan & Co allowed this to happen and continue, to engender sense of wealth and personal/socioeconomic progress among middle-class Americans despite the fact that avg. American wage haven't kept up with inflation for the past 7 years. Also, as a *winking* gesture to retiring baby-boomers & greying politicians, Greenspan sought to BAILOUT the boomers of their bankrupted retirement funds and what's better vechicle than housing, when most of them are prob. homeowners. This is a race thing now, but in due time, it will be a generational thing and we will hate them for it. If WWII generation is the "greatest", then the baby-boomers will go down as greediest and most wasteful generation ever!!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:10 PM

Amen Amen Amen !!!!!! 4:10 Preach on brother Amen!!!!!!!!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

BTW I thought I was alone is the world.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:15 PM

"The way I see it, it's not even a race issue. This is a national issue with great implications of America in a globalized world. This housing bubbles started with Greenspan & Co leveraged by easy Chinese credits."

You're not alone, What, and I'm taking back my earlier compliments. This guy is as semi-literate as you are! Not surprisingly, his message is similar. I find it hard to take you guys very seriously considering you don't have command of your own primary language.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:25 PM

Dr. Ron Paul for President!

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:28 PM

4:00 PM (Consequentialist Libertarianism!):
Don't be so jerky and cockeyed...throwing around big words that don't mean anything in this discussion. Montrose Morris is not writing a novel but an essay.

4:10 PM Thanks for that addition.

Monsieur Le What...yes, please, you really need to write coherently. You don't do your argument(s) any service by writing the way you do. And, BTW, I don't disagree with most of what you write. You know the old addage: more flies with honey...? That might help too. Otherwise, your comments look like so much sputtering to many people (not me...I am just looking at it from the PR side of it) which shuts down their receptiveness...but you probably know this already. ;-)

FortGreener

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:45 PM

Has there been a study nationwide, not just citywide, on foreclosures and age of homeowners of all races? That study would be more revealing to me about who was targeted by these lenders, than just looking at NYC where there may be a concentration of elderly black homeowners. Could be something cultural, like they are more likely to stay in NYC after retirement instead of leave for Florida.

Companies who take advantage of seniors are disgusting. These companies knew full well what could occur.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:50 PM

Montrose Morris is right, if you REALLY care (like The What tries to claim) then you'd make suggestions and brainstorm to help people. Not just try as hard as you can to make people afraid and miserable. It's that very intent that undermines everything you say and do, The What. It shows us you are not a good person.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:52 PM

yah, you be right 4:25.

forget the message, it's all about diction!

thou arst a douchebaggery.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:53 PM

4:53's addition...
This is getting positively hysterically funny.
Laughing through the tears,
FortGreener

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 5:00 PM

I love how the same people that are espousing this "they were illiterate, uneducated poor people and we need to help them" are the SAME ones ripping on some posters' grammar. Oh the liberal hypocrisy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 5:16 PM

Fuck The What.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 5:38 PM

Derrr 5:16,
"Liberal hypocrisy"? Please.
First of all, your quote of "they were illiterate, uneducated poor people and we need to help them" wasn't in this thread until YOU concocted it...And, frankly, those who are thoughtfully discussing the problems of seniors being preyed upon by mortgage reps, such as Montrose Morris, are not the grammar-whippers like me who find slogging through Monsieur Der Vas's posts like reading the hate notes from a psych patient. Monsieur Le What is hardly illiterate...but delivers some real drek...or should I write, some "okay" ideas couched in drek?

And furthermore, when did Monsieur WandenWas become simply "some poster"? I guess you're new to Brownstoner. Le marquis de Vas-am-What is famous here on the blog.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 5:38 PM

Openwide, eh Countrywide wants to help you. Now they want to give you a reach-around. LMMFAO

Countrywide Commits to $16 Billion Home Preservation Program
http://about.countrywide.com/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?rid=1065882

The What

Someday this syntax will end... Get it (syntax) Oh, I crack myself up!
You MoFo's have been great. Thank you. I will be in the Pocono Mountains on 29th.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:06 PM

"yah, you be right 4:25.

forget the message, it's all about diction!"

Actually, it's about spelling and grammar. "Diction" refers to the spoken voice.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:21 PM

Enjoy your trip (all of them) Count What!
BTW, if you get any of those billions, send some to Brownstoner Dude to help with the blog.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:22 PM

To quote 5:38pm, FortGreener:
"And, frankly, those who are thoughtfully discussing the problems of seniors being preyed upon by mortgage reps, such as Montrose Morris..."

Shut-up! Montrose Morris is a mortgage rep who preyed on seniors?!?!

Oh how the tables have turned. Clauses are a bitch, eh?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:24 PM

um, not it doesn't 6:21pm, you buttplug.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/diction

Main Entry: dic·tion
Function: noun
2: choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

Always remember to consult Merriam-Webster before flaming ... it makes you look stoopid.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:27 PM

sorry friends

not = no

buttplug = pejorative

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:35 PM

With this many people forcasting doom and gloom I have to be the contrarian. Sorry but everyone was saying the worst about the Bush tax cuts and five years later there is still no recession, in fact we've had 5 straight years of GDP growth. Too many people listening to Paul Krugman and the like at the NYTimes waiting for the economy to "finally" collapse so that they can be vindicated in their political views. Sorry but too many were wrong on the idea that we would all be wiped out by a super hurricane season sure to follow katrina. That was two years ago and this season has been quite calm and will be over in a month. Too many were wrong about our certain loss in Iraq when the news I'm hearing is that violence is now down 70% there and people are planning a parade in Ramadi. It seems too convenient that there are too many people in a groupthink mode here. This points not to a lack of earnest intent but to a lack of earnest perspective. The larger economy continues to hum along and if we have one more month of mild weather in the northeast, the oil price scare will drop off nicely into the new year allowing for a controlled deflation of the housing market which had to come down from it's dizzy heights at some point. People will refinance, banks will bend backwards to protect their investments and many will buy in at the right time. Remember the markets going crazy after 9/11? guess what, they went up again.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:44 PM

Yes, 6:24 PM,
I laughed at my clause-and-effect too when I reread my post...once it was already up on the blog...whoops! But thanks for noticing...thank goodness there are still some close readers out there.
FortGreener

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:51 PM

6:44...Simply put: Foreclosures are up. The thread is based on the reports that have recently come out and James Doran's article/transcript. Sure, some of us are still floating along, but for a lot of people, these are really hard times. Things may not be collapsing for you, but they have been for large segments of the population. In fact, an argument could be made that standards of living have been slipping since Reagan came in.

Some of us are aware that most of the US food banks recently celebrated their 25th anniversary...all at the same time. This is because they were all started at the same time thanks to wonderful Reagan social cuts. Now, worse than ever, the stress on these food banks' resources has flown off the charts. So, yes, 6:44, for the bourgeois among us (and I'm a bouge, too, grammar snobbery and all), it's hard to sense what is going on for "the other half".

Not knowing the average age of the readers of this blog, I have a feeling that many were not adults in the 80’s so they may not have been aware/noticed any difference or felt the impact from that huge numbers of residents and patients from long-term care facilities for the mentally and psychologically challenged who were dumped out on the streets as Federal funding was slashed and facilities were forced to close. Homelessness soared. There was a feeling of social tragedy: another run-up in the real estate and stock markets while the poor kept getting poorer and the middle class started on that long slide into night. Nothing much new twenty years later…

Ever wonder why commercial free PBS is chock full of commercials? Thank the beginning of cuts which started in the 80’s. That’s just a light example…worse hit are all the social programs and non-profits that have been hit with a double whammy of government cuts and then private monies trying to fill an ever expanding need. That’s why you can what SUV ads one after the other on PBS. In the 70’s there was NO commercial advertising. Heck, PBS is getting to be like AMC was before it started cutting into movies with commercials…just had them before and after.

Social programs have never made it back to where they were but have only been hacked away at more. Many vibrant aspects and the (apparent) stability of the US I grew up in have disappeared.

Then again, given all the cyclical layoffs, downsizing, etc. all lot of the post-boomer set of bouges like myself and the boomlets are experiencing a more unstable, less well-paid environment as that our parents may have enjoyed. It’s hard to realize that it wasn’t like this for the past generation. The studies are there. Today we can expect to be jostled between many jobs and even fields during our working careers. This does not help with “vesting” in pensions, etc. and when you look at poorer people, they are having even harder times in this current state of job insecurity.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 7:19 PM

6:44,

Fact:
Average American wage has been stagnant for the past 5-8 years, barely keeping up with inflation. Doesn't that count for something?

Fact:
Average Chinese income has doubled in the past 5-8 years, adjusted for inflation and expected to double again in the next 5 years.

Dollar has been plunging...meaning avg Americans can afford less and less at Walmart and Target with the same income that they had 5-6 years ago. The Chinese workers are demanding more and more pay each pasting day and, foods, commodities, oil, etc. are all UP like CRAZY! Inflation is coming BIG TIME!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 7:27 PM

Posted by The What:
Did you know if the value of your house goes down, the "Reverse mortgage" RECAST ITSELF!. Then it turns into a full mortgage that has to be paid back. Reverse mortgages are crack for senior citizens! Do you think Mortgage Brokers and Banks have been honest with senior citizens!!!?? Guess what that is???!!!! More ways to fuck over people.

The What

Someday this war will end........

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:55 PM

Dear The What,
This claim of yours about reverse mortgages is absolute bullshit. You clearly know very little, if anything, about reverse mortgages or how they work...

The reality is that Reverse mortgages probably would have helped a huge majority of the people who we're talking about here - those that got fucked over with shitty adjustable refi mortgages sold by cretinous slimy ooze bags...

At this point, having read dozens of your posts, I have to say there is usually very little and often NO credibility in anything you claim. (Other than the government sucks and doesn't care about its citizens and is propping up the economy and wall street to keep the machine humming - I'll agree with your sentiments there. But really, come on now already. Please tell us something we don't know...)

Anyway, you are now officially hereby OUTED from me on your ignorance of reverse mortgages and how they work.

You don't know jack shit about them.

Sorry if that hurts - have a great night...

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:07 PM

Brownstoner is meaningless. You are all losers.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:25 PM

how can someone with "cash in hand" help some these poor victims? I talking buy out not charity.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:26 PM

"Anyway, you are now officially hereby OUTED from me on your ignorance of reverse mortgages and how they work.

You don't know jack shit about them.

Sorry if that hurts - have a great night..."

Go blow a baseball bat!

The What

Someday this baseball bat will end!!!!

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 2:09 AM

"Dear The What,
This claim of yours about reverse mortgages is absolute bullshit. You clearly know very little, if anything, about reverse mortgages or how they work...

The reality is that Reverse mortgages probably would have helped a huge majority of the people who we're talking about here - those that got fucked over with shitty adjustable refi mortgages sold by cretinous slimy ooze bags...

At this point, having read dozens of your posts, I have to say there is usually very little and often NO credibility in anything you claim. (Other than the government sucks and doesn't care about its citizens and is propping up the economy and wall street to keep the machine humming - I'll agree with your sentiments there. But really, come on now already. Please tell us something we don't know...)

Anyway, you are now officially hereby OUTED from me on your ignorance of reverse mortgages and how they work.

You don't know jack shit about them.

Sorry if that hurts - have a great night...

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:07 PM

Brownstoner is meaningless. You are all losers.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 10:25 PM

how can someone with "cash in hand" help some these poor victims? I talking buy out not charity."

If the Reverse Mortgage is more than the value of the house, The loan will recast FUCKTARD!

I bet you done screwed plenty of seniors into this shit. Now go away, never write the words 'The What'. Do some cold blowing er, cold calling.

The What

Someday this war will end...

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 2:13 AM

Dear The What,

Please read this info on reverse mortgages, ignoramus. (There are 9 or 10 separate "Chapters" to go through.) FYI, The loan WON'T recast, at least it won't if its a legitimate reverse mortgage.

And stop calling people "fucktards." It's unbecoming of you.

http://www.aarp.org/learntech/personal_finance/Articles/a2003-05-12-homemademoney.html

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 8:58 AM