someone explain this economy shit

[duece212 5,000+ posts]

Indeed.
I am racing against this now.

I have a 3/1 ARM because I didn't want to save for a downpayment. I pay my mortagage bi-weekly and I am treading water with fair value. Fortunately, I have this tax credit money to help push me where I can try to refinance. My mortgage won't increase in 3 years if I can re-fi first. But it is tough spending 50-60% on your income on mortgage to be in a position where you could refinance. If I was some smuck who paid what I was supposed to, I'd be drowning right now.

Obama's housing plan may work in your favor, its stated he is trying to offer credits to lenders for refinancing people's homes who are borderline on equity. I think it was something small like 1k per loan to the lender, will have to see if that helps.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Let me throw this in and see if this makes sense to anyone. I know a guy who hasn't paid his mortgage in 8 months. He is now in foreclosure. He bought a house that was too big for him and he couldn't afford it. He actually still has his job, but just can't make the payments. So now the gov't is going to have him renegotiate his mortgage and he is getting a MUCH lower APR. Now me on the other hand has never missed a payment, almost always pay a few days early and sometimes multi-pay to try to get it paid off sooner. My house doesn't have enough equity to refinance to take part in the new lower rates. So now he is going to be helped for not paying and I am going to get stuck because I did the right thing and didn't just bail.
How the F did this happen?

Me and you = same boat.

My supervisor is on the board of directors at the credit union. I asked about trying to go into default so I can get a bail out. He said they were going to look into something along those lines to prevent people like me from saying to hell with it and trying to get a better mortgage...like fixed at 4.5 or some other sweetheart deal.

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

250,000,000 million people in the usx 7% unemployment rate

___________________________

17,500,000 million unemployed people

x $500 lets just say this is average take home pay for one week

___________________________

8 BILLION,750 MILLION DOLLARS PER WEEK NOW NOT BEING SPENT.

YEAH 7 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT ISN'T BAD.....RIGHT!

ITS ALMOST 10% IN FLORIDA IN SOME PLACES

Absolutely horrendous math there. First of all, there are 300 million people in the US, but how many of those are in the employable range of ~22-70? Definitely not 250 million of them, lets say 220 million. Then, 7% of that is less than what you factored. Also, you calculated what would happen if every single person that was unemployed also owned a home, but when you consider most in that range are married, it may cut the total in half or more considering houses where 3 or 4 available workers live. Overall you way overestimate that number.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Obama's housing plan may work in your favor, its stated he is trying to offer credits to lenders for refinancing people's homes who are borderline on equity. I think it was something small like 1k per loan to the lender, will have to see if that helps.

I am not so certain. I would need my appraiser to lowball me. That is not in the credit union's best interest. If they appraised high, I can get out of the loan....maybe I am in a good spot.

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

Me and you = same boat.
My supervisor is on the board of directors at the credit union. I asked about trying to go into default so I can get a bail out. He said they were going to look into something along those lines to prevent people like me from saying to hell with it and trying to get a better mortgage...like fixed at 4.5 or some other sweetheart deal.

yeah, I just read yours. Very very similar. I'm not asking for something for free. I know people are in bad shape and some people really do need help. I'm just saying that things should be extended to those who have done right just as much as those who were stupid with their money.

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

The free market is an amazing thing when you dont fuck with it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

Yes, just like in the Great Depression //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Also, communism works great for 50-70 years or more too.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Absolutely horrendous math there. First of all, there are 300 million people in the US, but how many of those are in the employable range of ~22-70? Definitely not 250 million of them, lets say 220 million. Then, 7% of that is less than what you factored. Also, you calculated what would happen if every single person that was unemployed also owned a home, but when you consider most in that range are married, it may cut the total in half or more considering houses where 3 or 4 available workers live. Overall you way overestimate that number.

It a capitalistic society, you do not ever have full employment. Most theories consider 4% unemployment to be as good as you can get. So the real unemployment is about 3%.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Why you would secure your unsecured debt by using a home equity loan to payoff credit cards is beyond me....especially when you see tough times on the horizon //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif
If shit hit the fan I'd rather have people coming after my unsecured debt than my house directly for a secured equity loan

Lower payments, lower interest, quicker payoff.

Would you rather pay $500/mos @ an average of 20% interest for 30 years, or $300/mos @ 8% interest for 7 years? (made up #'s for illustration purposes only).

Sure, unsecured debt would be beneficial if "shit hit the fan". But for ordinary, everyday people it can make relative sense.

 

[galacticmonkey 5,000+ posts]

Let me throw this in and see if this makes sense to anyone. I know a guy who hasn't paid his mortgage in 8 months. He is now in foreclosure. He bought a house that was too big for him and he couldn't afford it. He actually still has his job, but just can't make the payments. So now the gov't is going to have him renegotiate his mortgage and he is getting a MUCH lower APR. Now me on the other hand has never missed a payment, almost always pay a few days early and sometimes multi-pay to try to get it paid off sooner. My house doesn't have enough equity to refinance to take part in the new lower rates. So now he is going to be helped for not paying and I am going to get stuck because I did the right thing and didn't just bail.
How the F did this happen?

A hardcore Democrat is in office.... Apparently its good for everyone when we spread the wealth around. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

250,000,000 million people in the usx 7% unemployment rate

___________________________

17,500,000 million unemployed people

x $500 lets just say this is average take home pay for one week

___________________________

8 BILLION,750 MILLION DOLLARS PER WEEK NOW NOT BEING SPENT.

YEAH 7 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT ISN'T BAD.....RIGHT!

ITS ALMOST 10% IN FLORIDA IN SOME PLACES

It's far more complicated than that. There is a natural rate of unemployment that "needs" to be there. If the natural rate of unemployment is 7%, then we are fine. If unemployment were 3% and the natural rate were 7% then we would be setting ourselves up for a recession in the future. Thats basic macro, whether or not it has any real-world relevance to the current situation I don't know.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

yeah, I just read yours. Very very similar. I'm not asking for something for free. I know people are in bad shape and some people really do need help. I'm just saying that things should be extended to those who have done right just as much as those who were stupid with their money.

I don't either. What is killing me is my neighbors getting foreclosed on. Their foreclosures are limiting my ability to refinance. Trillion dollar government spending isn't going to allow me to borrow cheap when I planned to refinance into fixed.

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

It a capitalistic society, you do not ever have full employment. Most theories consider 4% unemployment to be as good as you can get. So the real unemployment is about 3%.

I wasn't really going after that in that post, mostly pointing out how horrendous the poster I quoteds approximation was. And I know that in a capitalistic society there will always be unemployment, but we were under what was sustainable for so long that it had to go up. Most estimates I have heard say that 5-7% is about the lowest sustainable figure but that can dip in the 3.x% range on occasion.

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

I don't either. What is killing me is my neighbors getting foreclosed on. Their foreclosures are limiting my ability to refinance. Trillion dollar government spending isn't going to allow me to borrow cheap when I planned to refinance into fixed.

Yep, its horrible. Punished for success is what it is. My boss most likely makes 85k or so, he has bought the same leased vehicle for the last 3 years. He has a decent credit score (didn't tell me what, but i'm sure its not bad) so this year he turned in his van to get another one, same van, pretty much the same monthly payment (actually 10 bucks cheaper) and now he needs a co-signer! They said because the banks are now looking at people's incomes closer. Ummmm....you guys are a bit late on that one.

Meanwhile his neighbors are a cop and a teacher and they have a house, 2 newer cars and a boat. Our system is messed up.

Maybe it will take 3 years before it all goes totally to hell and we can be in line for 2012 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Andrizzle 10+ year member]

Yep, its horrible. Punished for success is what it is. My boss most likely makes 85k or so, he has bought the same leased vehicle for the last 3 years. He has a decent credit score (didn't tell me what, but i'm sure its not bad) so this year he turned in his van to get another one, same van, pretty much the same monthly payment (actually 10 bucks cheaper) and now he needs a co-signer! They said because the banks are now looking at people's incomes closer. Ummmm....you guys are a bit late on that one.
Meanwhile his neighbors are a cop and a teacher and they have a house, 2 newer cars and a boat. Our system is messed up.

Maybe it will take 3 years before it all goes totally to hell and we can be in line for 2012 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

pretty crazy how its all shaping up like that huh? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif

 

[duece212 5,000+ posts]

Lower payments, lower interest, quicker payoff.
Would you rather pay $500/mos @ an average of 20% interest for 30 years, or $300/mos @ 8% interest for 7 years? (made up #'s for illustration purposes only).

Sure, unsecured debt would be beneficial if "shit hit the fan". But for ordinary, everyday people it can make relative sense.

I definitely understand that angle, the writing was on the wall though, and if you are already living beyond your means you really needed more than just consolidating credit card debt only to run cards up again.

I don't either. What is killing me is my neighbors getting foreclosed on. Their foreclosures are limiting my ability to refinance. Trillion dollar government spending isn't going to allow me to borrow cheap when I planned to refinance into fixed.

Thats why I kind of support paying for my neighbors mortgage via fed bailout of shitty home owners...tired of my home value dropping