The American Dream no longer exists.

[sunshine08]

Well put Jane. If I had "planned" bankruptcy, I would have a lot more to show for it. I guess John 234 can only bite his toenails for so long. (speaking of which, where is BKfiler????)
It is almost hurricane season here again. We have already had some bad weather here, severe lightening, etc. Guess I can exactly plan for that too????

[midleman]

The numbers simply dont jive

Where exactly do you live, Pasadena? If the numbers you quote are accurate there must be some serious predatory lending and whole lot of foreclosures going on in your area.

The American dream does exist if you keep it real. You may have to commute but there are many affordable properties throughout the country and some good loan programs that can make it affordable. You have to crawl before you walk though. In my area for example you can buy a really decent home for between $150k and $200k with an average rate of say 6% on a 30 year loan your payments would be roughly $900 per month plus taxes and insurance. For someone with an income of $50k per year this would be manageable as long as you dont carry a huge debt load. Of course if you live in California or some other state where RE values are outrageous you may not get much for that same $900. You may also buy a bit cheaper by getting a pre-approval for a loan and bid on a foreclosure at sheriff sale or help someone with a bailout from foreclosure prior to the sale. You can sometimes offer less than is owed to someone is in FC and get a short sale on the property. Where there is a will there is a way.

Good luck.

(please excuse the first quote, I didnt verify my info before I submitted)

[SinkingFast]

Where exactly do you live, Pasadena? If the numbers you quote are accurate there must be some serious predatory lending and whole lot of foreclosures going on in your area.

The American dream does exist if you keep it real. You may have to commute but there are many affordable properties throughout the country and some good loan programs that can make it affordable. You have to crawl before you walk though. In my area for example you can buy a really decent home for between $150k and $200k with an average rate of say 6% on a 30 year loan your payments would be roughly $900 per month plus taxes and insurance. For someone with an income of $50k per year this would be manageable as long as you dont carry a huge debt load. Of course if you live in California or some other state where RE values are outrageous you may not get much for that same $900. You may also buy a bit cheaper by getting a pre-approval for a loan and bid on a foreclosure at sheriff sale or help someone with a bailout from foreclosure prior to the sale. You can sometimes offer less than is owed to someone is in FC and get a short sale on the property. Where there is a will there is a way.

Good luck.

(please excuse the first quote, I didnt verify my info before I submitted)

Excuse me, but those comments about getting a steal of a deal from someone who's down by buying the house in Foreclosure hit a little close to home for me.

One house, literally 2 doors down from us sold last summer for $289K. Another house around the corner from us sold this spring for $315K. Both of those houses were less than 5 years old while ours was nearly 20 years old. BUT our house had new appliances in the kitchen, new windows, new tile floors, new carpet, fresh paint, etc, completely market ready, and it was initially priced to reflect the age difference. We started out at $250K. Here we are, a year later, were on the brink of Foreclosure, when a couple steps in and offers to buy our home for $212500. The buyers got a steal and they know it.

While we're thrilled to dodge the Foreclosure Bullet on our Credit Histories, I kinda feel like the dead person who just had the silver dollars stolen off my eyes.

While you may gain, financially speaking, by buying a house in Foreclosure, keep in mind, your gain comes at someone else's very painful expense.

[midleman]

I absolutely agree with you

Although there are situations that can be salvaged in a situation like that many people have been put in situations where they cannot afford there home either through bad decision making or unscrupulous realtors or lenders the fact is that some cannot afford their homes and are in forelcosure. If the owners do not have any equity they may get out from under the debt and stop a foreclosure through a short sale. This is of course a last resort but can be a win win for everyone. If you have equity and are in foreclosure with no where else to go put your home on the market for full value. Dont accept the first offer but reality dictates that as the sheriff sale approaches you have to make a decision, sell or face the possibility of losing everything. It sucks but it is reality. Many investors will make rediculously low offers to people in your situation and being under pressure to do something now, the seller may accept the offer. These situations are not the best options but considering the alternatives it may be the only way out. I detest those who would steal a home out from other those in hardship and warn people about unscrupulous and heartless buyers, but some people have nothing to lose by accepting a short sale offer and may salvage their credit for another day.

What other options do you have when faced with a fast approaching sheriff sale? If you cannot afford the home and bankruptcy is not an option you have to do what you have to do. THis is reality. Again, it sucks but you cant just stand there and do nothing.

[scrapiron]

ohio a little cheaper

built a new house 1250 sq ft. plus full basement 135,000 in 2001 of course i lost it in 2003 thus ohio is affordable for the smaller houses

[pink_amulet]

We WILL live out the dream and buy our house!! So it can be done if you want it bad enough! (Without signing stupidly in to 40-50 yr mortgage)
We are going to be optimistic, and not BASH the fact that EVERYTHING in the world is going up ....its a fact! Nothing we can do about i! ....So why ***** and moan??

[Runnin on empty]

I don't get why owning a home is considered the "American Dream".

I seriously doubt we'll ever purchase another house. EVER!! I've had my fill of being owned by a thing.

Plus, you have no mobility. If you have a life changing event occur, job loss for example, you can't just drop the house and move to another state. You can't just drop the house and move to a place that costs less per month.

Houses are millstones tied around your neck holding you back when you need to move forward.

I have to agree to an extent. While I live in one of those areas that housing prices are still reasonable (translation - it's cold here and the economy stinks), once we are able to, I'd love nothing more than to move to a warmer climate. I too also agree that we probably will never own another home again. Too many headaches to outweigh the positives. Sure, it is nice to know that your payment goes towards something that is yours, but it will always to a certain extent be that "millstone" (as you put it) around your neck.

There is something to be said about home ownership, but as someone who currently owns their own home (and hates it), I firmly believe that renting will be the way for us to go in the future, unless something changes.

[tradewiz50]

While you may gain, financially speaking, by buying a house in Foreclosure, keep in mind, your gain comes at someone else's very painful expense.

I see nothing wrong with it. You were lucky you did dodge the foreclosure bullet. Your buyers did offer your 212.5K and you took it.

[Credit Hater]

I see nothing wrong with it. You were lucky you did dodge the foreclosure bullet. Your buyers did offer your 212.5K and you took it.

In this world, we have thinkers and feelers. In my opinion, you're a thinker more than a feeler. I'm just voicing an observation.

I don't know your history, but I can say, from my point of view, that I agree 100% with SF. Maybe you haven't poured your heart and soul into a place when times are good, to lose it or have it taken away from you when times are bad.

You see 1+1 = 2. Folks like SF and I see 1+10 = ZERO! All of that time and effort, wasted....and make that "zero" a "minus" for some. I'm sure it won't change your view of seeing nothing wrong with it though....

[HRx]

With the astronomical cost of real estate, and rising fuel prices...the American Dream has become the American Nightmare.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

With the astronomical cost of real estate, and rising fuel prices...the American Dream has become the American Nightmare.

Well said. There are only a couple guarantees in life besides death & taxes. And the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is one of them.

[tofargone]

I think the problem with the American Dream that everybody is talking about is that it can't be an emotional decision anymore. Back in the day Dad went to work, Mom stayed home with the kids and a house was your castle. Now usually both parents work and a home is where you get to sleep at night. When we bought our house we looked for an area that was going to grow in about 5-10 years so that we could get our money plus back out of the house. Now of course I am not one to give financial advise ( otherwise I wouldn't be on this forum ) , but I do know that in about 5 years I can sell my house and make double what I paid for it. For a while I held an emotional tie to my house, until we ran into problems and were close to foreclosure. After that I realized that the bank and everyone else looked at is an asset, so that is how I started to look at it. Now everytime I do any work on the house the first thing I ask is, " will what I am going to do create a profit if I sell". The world is not the place it was even 30 years ago. Loans are not done on a handshake and your local banker could care less who you are. I have decided in the future to keep my financial life and my family life seperate. Financially I may need to be ruthless to survive, as long as I don't carry that over in my personal life I think all will be OK.

[HRx]

The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer...(sigh) A person needs to have mulitple jobs in order to make ends meet without getting themselves deep into debt!!

[Minnymouth]

Amen to that, truer words were never spoken.....

I've taken in 2 rentors to keep from having to work two jobs these days...... only way I can survive, keep my home, and make ends meet.... and sometimes even that is not enough the way things keep going up......

And my lifestyle is VERY CHEAP AND SIMPLE......

I hate to think what the future might hold....

[robivi3]

Min, if we bug out of Fla. early we are thinking of buying a fourplex and living in one unit for awhile. I am shocked at how everything is increasing in price. We are making about 103k together and are tight with one in college and two in HS, and the College and Dorm and Books are all paid by scholarship. I mean you go anyplace like say Office Max or GNC and it's 50 bucks a visit. I am using Big Lots now! The price of meat is unreal. The neighbor now takes in boarders and he is tight. A buddy of mine is a Police Officer and he does ALL of his groceries at Big Lots and discount stores, the damned home payments here with Insurance and Taxes are outrageous. And your neighborhood is not FRIGGIN' STABLE, trash has moved in on either side of us now just because dirtbags can qualify as far no criminal record, and these are trailer types. I could go on and on but I'm living next to Eminem and kim Basinger (they are only renting thank God). The other side I have "reserved white trash" (they are quiet) renting from the original owner who had to move in to her smaller home in Coral Springs because of cutting expenses. She is Jamaican, God Bless Jamaicans, both of my homes here in Sunrise have had Jamaican neighbors, they are so wonderful and they spend money on the property and they never are a problem because the kids are to busy with school and they are busy working and at Christmas and holidays they are the most wonderfully social neighbors and give you lots of warm Ginger Beer and Wondrous Red Velvet and RUM SOAKED CAKE and you love having them next door. I hope she can move back at some point.

Just a rant, I want to live in Fla. for the weather but it is becoming unliveable. I never used to hear ambulances or Sirens in Sunrise. Give me back my old neighbors, the first was Hatian on one side, Jamaican, American, Colombian (we lived in "twin homes"). We had a beautiful little slice of heaven, all got along and that sweet window of time lasted five wonderful years and then Motorola began shipping jobs out of Sunrise, Andrew the Hatian neighbor went to Texas, then the Colombians needed a bigger home and down it went until one renter stabbed his wife. Our little paradise went bye-bye. One day I'll post pics of our Christmas party's from those days.