Boston Gal's Open Wallet

I guess I'm just mean. These people make a decent living for their low cost area. They should have never gotten themselves into this mess in the first place. They could have waited to buy or they could have bought a less expensive house (which I'm confident they could have found in a nice neighborhood).

 

I applaude the Walkers. At least they are trying to honor their financila committment unlike the Valdezes in the previous 60 Minutes posting. I think the banks have to start being realistic and offering folks new 30 year fixed mortgages. It is a win all around. Who needs more foreclosured properties?

 

I am so glad that they were able to get some help.

 

See, I don't think these folks really bought beyond their means. They make $80K...bought a $172K house. That's only a bit over 2x their income, which is less than the national average. I do agree that they could have waited and saved, but I also think mortgage lenders need to be realistic here. If the option is a lower, 30-year fixed interest rate or foreclosure, the mortgage lenders should refi the owners. I DON'T want the government to step in here, but the lenders should step up and do this to avoid a bloodbath.

Sounds like this story ended well for all involved. The owners' housing value will probably go down, but they had $0 invested = nothing to lose. If they want to continue living in the house and paying it down, more power to 'em.

 

I TOTALLY disagree (with first anonymous) that these people "got themselves into a mess". I am so tired of people giving "holier than thou" opinions of people in tough situations and almost wishing them ill will. What does anyone know about one's personal situation if they don't walk in the others shoes? Look, the economy sucks, the housing market sucks, the job market sucks, and the cost of living sucks.
I applaud the Walkers too... at least they are trying.
I applaud ABC for pushing the bank to help them.
In an effort to keep the economy rolling forward, I think banks should try and work with people as best they can. I know I must have an "its-a-wonderful-life"-type opinion, but dammit, where has the "pay it forward" mentally gone?
I know it's so Hilary Clinton-esh to say, (ewww, I know) but, for a flourishing economy, it takes a village. Let's all work together. Unless you want to sit back and watch others suffer, in which case, boo to you.

 

It's amazing what power that the media had. $1300 a month fixed--now they can breathe.

Persistance paid off

 

I think I already know how this series will turn out. They'll profile people who are in tough situations only (facing foreclosure, single parent in min. wage job, disabled factory worker who can't pay heating bill) and not people who are actually half way responsible with their money and serve as an example that most people should follow. Distress gets more viewers.

They also won't devote a whole lot of time to the segments either.

 

I wish ABC would have posted the video, I would like to see it.

I am appalled that people making $80,000 a year cannot manage a $2,000 mortgage. From wht I read in the comments, the house was filled with expensive furniture and a pool table. $330 in cell phones per month? $400 for electricity? My electric bill is $100, and I know I could trim that quite a bit.

More interesting than the story itself are the comments. So many people in so much debt. Their grammar and spelling is atrocious. It's no wonder they can't read a contract. If you do not educate yourself you will get taken by unscrupulous people every time.

 

The initial 9% interest rate makes me wonder if there weren't other financial problems with this family that we aren't hearing about. I thought the point of ARMS was to get the introductory, extremely low teaser rate. Why such a high initial rate?

I also think, though difficult, they should have been able to swing the $2k payments... something tells me they don't have much wiggle room in their budget. Again this points to something we aren't hearing about... Expensive cars? Credit card debt? Medical debt?

 

If you pause the video on their budget, it's very interesting...$176 for cable, $880 for car payments, $1000 for food. I don't think the mortgage is really the issue; it's their unwillingness to sacrify anything else.

 

Wow, I didn't watch the video but it sounds as if they're spending way beyond their means. They *should* be able to afford this house based on their combined income.

Like Patricia said, the thing that struck me about this story was the 9% introductory rate at the peak of the housing boom - that sounds really high when people were getting 5-7% 30-year fixed loans. I wonder if their credit is a mess and/or the $0 downpayment caused them to be stuck with such a high introductory rate.

It's not about wishing misfortune on others, but it is frustrating to see people claim they're struggling while splurging on luxuries many of us forgo to pay our debts (eg. cell phones, new furniture, cable TV).

 

I'm the original anonymous. I don't feel mean anymore. $880 for car payments? $176 on cable? $1000for food?

Gimme a flippin' break.

See ... they shouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

Maybe they were looking to MP Dunlavey for financial advice.

 

I wasn't going to point this out, but rewatching the video today I was struck once again by the comments of the 19 year old son.

Brian, 19, said, "Sometimes my mom can't pay 'em and she'll ask me or Alex if we can lend her some money. She comes home stressed a lot."

I have mentioned before in this blog how after my parents divorced my Mom had a tough time financially and how I and my siblings all worked. We also all pitched in as needed. We did not discuss loans or who owes who what - if food needed to be purchased or a bill paid we gave my Mom the money.

Seeing those three grown boys playing pool and seeing the $1,000 monthly food budget - I can guess part of the spending problem is the boys. If your parents are telling you that they need help or the electricity will be shut off - you don't call it a loan! Not when you are living in that house and bringing in a paycheck.

 

Very hard to feel sorry for them. They make plenty of money to afford that house. It was their greed and ignorance that got them into that loan.

They could have gone to a different lender last year and they would not have a problem now. But, I am guessing their FICOs are 500 or lower.

They are not financially mature enough to own a house, and they should be renters. Sorry, the truth hurts. $880 car payments, get real.

 

A couple doesn't get stuck with a 9% adjustable (read: will most like adjust UP!!!) mortgage making $80,000 unless they've got REALLY messed up credit. The fact they put 0 down is another symptom of them not being truly qualified, risk-wise, to buy this house. Perhaps three years ago they might have found a house in the $125,000 range (instead of $170,000) that they could have gotten a better rate on, and a fixed rate, to boot.

Honestly, if I tried to buy a home and was offered such horrible terms, I would NOT take the deal and then hope to get the mortgage lender to reverse the contract later. I would walk away from the deal, realizing that we were not yet, for whatever reason, in a position to purchase. Then I'd work on fixing our credit problems before signing a mortgage.

 

I doubt they'll manage even the lower payments for long. There's always more designer clothing to buy the adult "boys", more tacky nails to get done, and don't they need a 60" HDTV to go nicely with the pool table?

They won't save a penny, and then when one of them gets laid off they'll blame the ensuing bankruptcy on job loss, instead of their total lack of impulse control.