I'm sitting here in my living room watching CNN. They have a young couple on who lost their home and are now living in a trailer park. The wife is comparing her current living conditions to the home she once owned.
The story talked about the equity they once had. It said their home almost doubled from the time they purchased it. He was a casino employee, she an executive assistant. She lost her job and they took out a loan to help cover expenses. Apparently they put their home on the market and received an offer, only to have it fall through. After that they took out another loan. They were foreclosed on and had to move to the trailer park.
The interviewer asked several times if they had read the fine print. They said the person on the phone told them their payments would only go up $100 dollars. They seemed adamant that they were swindled by the lender. Should consumers be liable for their own actions, or should the government bail out all these debts. I still have some questions about this. Did they qualify for the new payment solely on her husbands income? Did they go "stated" and claim they made more money than they did? Is the moral of the story, use a lender you can find if you feel like you were cheated? (no internet loans).
1 comment:
What makes this story different from any other time? Had they considered mortgage insurance in case one of the wage earners lost his job? Did they have any savings to ride them through tough times? Did anyone work an additional job or two to help cover the debt until better employment could be found? Could there have been help from other extended family members or church? Could they have negotiated with the lender? I have lots of questions that would need to be answered before I can express sympathy.
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