More desperate owners are turning to short sales

What do you do if you're a single mother who can't afford your mortgage payments of more than $3,700 a month, but can't sell your house for anywhere near the amount you owe on the mortgage? That's the dilemma ...

[Tired]

Are we supposed to feel sorry for these people? They purposely overextended and now they are in trouble.

Any person with common sense could have seen that coming.

[diochick]

I agree. I recently purchased my first home, and purposely went with a "cheaper" one, just to ensure that if anything were to happen with work, my husband, etc... I would still be able to afford the payments. Lack of common sense strikes people again.

[Observer]

Also, The banks deserve to get burned for making loans that they shold not have touched.

[Will]

These people are idiots. They know eventually they will have to refinance after the interest only loans term is done. What were they thinking. The gov't should bail these people out. If they do, why don't they help pay some of my 30 yr mortgage. I could of done a 5 yr interest only and pay alot less and bought 500-600K home too.
At least there will be good deals on homes.

[too bad]

These people make me look like a genius.
Not feeling sorry for any of these people. Greed!!!!!

[fed-up]

They had to show off their mcmansions now they live in trailer parks and and drive old chevettes.

[Right Wrong]

I agree with the responses so far. The people exampled in this article were greedy liars who got caught and are trying to mostly blame everyone else in the industry. Let them bear the punishment - bad credit, loss of assets - you gambled - you lost.

[Wolf52]

P.T. Barnum said it best; "There's a sucker born every minute." If you think the housing crash is a disaster, wait until the credit card companies start showing record loses. Not everyone can own a home when they want it. Sometimes it takes longer to save the money and get the right loan. All the creative financing that was sold to poorly informed buyers turned their "American Dream" into a nightmare. There's enough blame to go around with crooked realtors, home inspectors, closing attorneys, banks and mortgage companies who conned people into believing they could get a "INTEREST ONLY" Mortgage. There's no such thing as a "free lunch" or a "friendly bank". It's a business and it's too bad they don't teach enough about finances in school these days. We're all the last person responsible for our actions. You wouldn't know it if you looked around. It's a blame game now and people think the government should bail them out. I wouldn't count on it.

[WOW]

I have no sympathy for the borrowers. It is your obligation to know what you can or can't afford.
But even worse are the lenders who encouraged people to go way beyond their means and gave them these awful loans. The lenders aren't stupid! The sure as hell knew that someone earning $80,000 per year was going to be on way over their head with a $600,000 home. So what is the punishment for them??

[Wolf52]

There's enough blame to go around. You are correct WOW. It's your obligation to know what you can and can't afford. But the lenders got screwed too because many of those homes were overvalued. Now even if they are forclosed, the dollar value won't match the amount borrowed. The winners are the realtors who made the big commission and the legal services by the closing attorney. We continue to be plagued with radio & television commercials that still push people to get in over their heads financially. No Credit! No Problem! Yeah, O.K. now let's watch the movie.

[snowman chapman PA]

$400,000+ and no money down? You both should go to blazes. Intelligence doesn't appear to be your strong suit and I don't think we should be responsible for either jerk. Give it up and move on, and remember we have always had people with champagne tastes and beer budgets.

[Bushwacker]

fed-up wrote:

They had to show off their mcmansions now they live in trailer parks and and drive old chevettes.

What wrong with old Chevettes? I love my American made old 4 cylinder car that has excellent gas mileage. Parts are getting harder to come by though

[Amazed]

I really don't feel sorry for anyone that can afford a $3700/month morgage! These people have to start living within their means and look ahead a little. Things can happen as these people are finding out the hard way! What a waste of money $3700/month!!!!

[Amazed]

fed-up wrote:

They had to show off their mcmansions now they live in trailer parks and and drive old chevettes.

And tell me...what is wrong with living in a trailer park? It is better than living on the South Side of Bethlehem or the Arm pit of Allentown? At least it is quiet, peaceful and cheap!

[BOB]

The housing boom was a classic case of proving to your friends and family that my house is bigger and better than yours.

What happen to the rule of thumb that your house should only cost about 3x your yearly salary? That was a reason this was established decades ago.

[youngster]

Wolf52 wrote:

P.T. Barnum said it best; "There's a sucker born every minute." If you think the housing crash is a disaster, wait until the credit card companies start showing record loses. Not everyone can own a home when they want it. Sometimes it takes longer to save the money and get the right loan. All the creative financing that was sold to poorly informed buyers turned their "American Dream" into a nightmare. There's enough blame to go around with crooked realtors, home inspectors, closing attorneys, banks and mortgage companies who conned people into believing they could get a "INTEREST ONLY" Mortgage. There's no such thing as a "free lunch" or a "friendly bank". It's a business and it's too bad they don't teach enough about finances in school these days. We're all the last person responsible for our actions. You wouldn't know it if you looked around. It's a blame game now and people think the government should bail them out. I wouldn't count on it.

You forgot one other area. Wait till all the $ 50k + cars start getting repossessed. Another financial disaster on the horizon for these lending instititions.

[Joneszee]

You know what ? All these get out of paying in a depressed market are all the wrong solutions .

Sit in your home and your new Lexus, don't pay antyhing to anyone. It will take a little while to get to you , maybe about three years and why should you care ? You're at the bottom now and this is America . You'll be taken care of.

[Wolf52]

youngster wrote:

<quoted text> You forgot one other area. Wait till all the $ 50k + cars start getting repossessed. Another financial disaster on the horizon for these lending instititions.

You're right, I overlooked that one...
Then there's student loans, home equity loans, and even most electronic stores sell you a big screen TV set with a whole year to pay for it. If you read the fine print, they get you for a high interest charge if you go beyond the year. Then it wasn't such a bargain. By that time, the model you got is selling for less than half the price.

[speed]

The problem today is that people especially the younger generation have never been taught to live on what they earn. They want to show off with more then their friends have and it is back-firing.

[Dave]

I was in foreclosure and found a great company to help me resolve my financial problems. HomeSmart Realty out of Ridgewood, NJ. I believe their website is www.shortsalenewjersey.us .