Originally Posted by
buzzpat
I actually believe that there's plenty of fault all the way around. Freddie and Fannie were/are corrupt, banks knowingly made loans to high risk clients, and the recession put many otherwise responsible homeowners out of work with no way to meet their mortgage obligations. Walking away from a commitment with the ability to still make payments is one thing, losing your job and income and having no way to pay yor mortgage is wholly different. I think we're seeing a combination of both.
I know this is going to sound hardass in this day of undeserved self-affirmation, but none of the financial and investment misjudgment you've stated here
caused the extreme home valuation rise...that was caused by the home buyer who agreed to buy their homes at prices that were almost doubling every two years when inflation was not. When buyers are willing to pay any price for something, a bubble will ensue.
Also, none of the financial and investment misjudgment you've stated
caused home valuations to collapse. That was caused by people walking away from their contractual promises to pay those mortgages when home prices stopped doubling every two years. Mom and pop speculators were buying as many homes as their leverage would allow, betting that prices would continue to skyrocket. When the speculators walked away from their promises to pay, the bubble burst. Now we have websites devoted to teaching you how to walk away from a mortgage you
can afford, but to free yourself from a home you've paid too much for. Its an outrageous example of what happens when too many of us lose our moral compass. And banks have noticed this missing moral compass. Thus loans have dried up. This should come as no surprise to anyone.
Carl