Sign of the times?

[zondo]

2 articles for your perusal....

Extreme Home makeover house (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D927JS2O0&show_article=1)

Shenanigans (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/bennigans.restaurant.shutdown.2.782428.html)

[wetwrks]

Just the tip of the iceberg. You will be seeing lots more just like this.

[Steelrat]

The media shows us what we want to see. Everyone thinks the sky is falling, so that's what is shown to them. It's bad out there, but a lot of this stuff occurs even during the up periods.

[MoeMag]

The media does twist stuff...

But I respectfully disagree… it is very real.
I don’t care what the reason is... no one can dispute that things haven’t been difficult recently.

Gas prices are nuts... look at the airlines.
Housing... well look at the banks and their new non-negotiation rules, not to mention the ones who just called it quits.

Jobs... are horrible. A lot of the guys who graduated from my program still do not have jobs. My brother (who is in architecture) was laid off due to company cut backs... took him 2 months, and an outta state relocation in Seattle to find another job.

and when I had to make the choice between spending 1:15 hours on the city bus one way, over a 15 minute drive, Vs. Eating... yeah. for sure that’s real.

I used to put 30 gallons of gas in my truck every week. I used to go to school every day of the week. I used to only have to work on the weekends and an evening to make things work. I used to switch between shooting and paintball every weekend... not even 2 years ago.

Now... I barely pay bills. I work 4 10's because my company just decided to cut back on people driving every day. and... I am not looking forward to classes starting in fall because it will punch a hole right in middle of ALL the work days. Im looking at a second job.

There is no quick solution. and all I think we can do is complain for now, and hope that something better is on its way... even though it doesn’t look like it.

[sffudapparel]

I have no sympathy for the extreme makeover family. You get a break and get a 450,000 dollar brand new house and you risk the whole thing. That's just a dumb decision on the family's part.

Unfortunately, tough times like this happen. Can't ride the boom train forever, but it will get better eventually.

But maybe this will open some people's eyes that their irrational spending habits and start saving money. Guys who work with my dad are in their late 30s and early 40s and have no savings and still live paycheck to paycheck. Kinda sad..

[zondo]

I have no sympathy for the extreme makeover family. You get a break and get a 450,000 dollar brand new house and you risk the whole thing. That's just a dumb decision on the family's part.

Unfortunately, tough times like this happen. Can't ride the boom train forever, but it will get better eventually.

But maybe this will open some people's eyes that their irrational spending habits and start saving money. Guys who work with my dad are in their late 30s and early 40s and have no savings and still live paycheck to paycheck. Kinda sad..

You know, the extreme makeover people do a phenomenal job with taking care of the family and custom building the home for them. But they're huge! Imagine the drain on families already squeaking by and now they have to pay to heat/cool it!

[Hexis]

You know, the extreme makeover people do a phenomenal job with taking care of the family and custom building the home for them. But they're huge! Imagine the drain on families already squeaking by and now they have to pay to heat/cool it!

Try reading. They setup a fund for house maintenance. If a family is just squeaking by and gets the mortgage removed from the equation, should be just fine.

[sffudapparel]

Imagine the drain on families already squeaking by and now they have to pay to heat/cool it!


The reason they are getting foreclosed is because they put it as collateral on a loan to start a construction business that failed already.

Also, like what has been said, a huge boost aside from a new house would be not having a mortgage to pay every month.

[zondo]

Try reading. They setup a fund for house maintenance. If a family is just squeaking by and gets the mortgage removed from the equation, should be just fine.


The reason they are getting foreclosed is because they put it as collateral on a loan to start a construction business that failed already.

Also, like what has been said, a huge boost aside from a new house would be not having a mortgage to pay every month.

:rofl: True... being a homeowner paying a mortgage for a few years now, I keep forgetting that the money would be available. I keep thinking of that money as already spent. I definitely can think of how I could reallocate those funds if I were relieved of a mortgage.

Nice that ABC advises them to consult a financial advisor... Ricardo's iron law could bite other Extreme Makeover families in the rear :nono: .

[wetwrks]

ABC advises them to consult a financial advisor

And if we were to find that the advisor suggested they try and start this business?

If the economy were better this might have been a good move on their part. And the drop in the economy may not have really begun when they took out the loan.

There is two sides to every story and we really haven't heard that of the family.

[sffudapparel]

And if we were to find that the advisor suggested they try and start this business?


Then that's the worst financial adviser ever. :rofl:

[zondo]

Then that's the worst financial adviser ever. :rofl:

Fannie Mae?

[wetwrks]

Then that's the worst financial adviser ever. :rofl:

If this was before the downturn of the economy then it might not have been bad advice. Things were looking really good in the construction industry (real estate in general) just before and even early on when the foreclosures started.

I got my real estate license just before all this started. I was meeting agents that were making 1M a year. Then everything died. There hasn't been a lot of construction going on as people arn't buying like they were. Additionally the loan industry (because of the foreclosure situation) has become VERY selective as to who they will loan to. I am aware of 2 families who had really good credit ratings (mid 700s) and low debt that were refused home loans.

Anyways, if this family could have gotten this going in about '04 and had any idea about construction and running a business they would have probably done really well. Part of this is probably just timing. Just like my entry into the real estate business has been severely hampered by the economy. Did I make a bad decision? No, I don't think so. Just bad timing.

[sffudapparel]

it very well could have been just bad timing. I'm not trying to bad mouth you or anything of that nature. I'm just saying that if I was handed what was called a mini-mansion, I wouldn't make the same financial decision that now lands this family out of their house in ~3 years.

Also, sorry to hear about your bad luck though man

[wetwrks]

I'm not trying to bad mouth you or anything of that nature. I'm just saying that if I was handed what was called a mini-mansion, I wouldn't make the same financial decision that now lands this family out of their house in ~3 years.

No offense taken, just trying to point out that we arn't hearing all of this story and that at the time it may have been a potentially very profitable deal for them.

It is said that either you are moving forwards or you are moving back. Looks to me like they were trying to better themselves and sadly it didn't work out. I have to respect that they didn't lose it to drugs or neglect, I really expected that to be the reason.

[Hexis]

it very well could have been just bad timing. I'm not trying to bad mouth you or anything of that nature. I'm just saying that if I was handed what was called a mini-mansion, I wouldn't make the same financial decision that now lands this family out of their house in ~3 years.

It's real easy to say that now. At the time the risk may have appeared to be quite reasonable.

[F-Bomber]

The reason they are getting foreclosed is because they put it as collateral on a loan to start a construction business that failed already.

No matter how the industry was when they got the house, it can't have been all that different from when the business failed the first time. Restarting the SAME business in the SAME area when the area obviously didn't need it bad enough to keep it afloat is unwise. :nono: