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Can't refinance under water


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2007 May 3, 4:35am   24,546 views  283 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (61)   💰tip   ignore  

underwater houses

During the boom, if borrowers asked about the adjustable rates on their mortgages, they were told "oh, you can just refinance and start over".

But no one told them you can't refinance if your house is under water, that is, if the loan amount is more than the value of the house. Banks won't go for that, even in the continuing lax lending environment.

So their rates will adjust upward, and they won't be able to pay the mortgage, or refinance, or sell for what they paid.

Interesting times ahead.

Patrick

#housing

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267   Randy H   2007 May 6, 10:52am  

azrob

Randy the speeder mad at Prius drivers…

Leave early and don’t worry about speeding. Your comment to hybrid drivers that their going to get rear ended for going the speedlimit in the fastlane: Go ahead, assuming you have a job I could use 25% of your income for the rest of my life, I am sure my attorney will get a bunch of laughs when you explain in court that its ok for you to speed and follow too closely, the accident is actually the fault of someone driving a hybrid at the speedlimit! good luck with that one! Your not a master debater, but it sounds close!

a) Often Prius drivers will fall below the speed limit while climbing hills. Technically, that is also illegal. Yes, you can get a ticket for driving too far below the limit, as well you can for unsafe operation impeding traffic.

b) I have liability insurance, as does probably everyone else on this blog. You won't get a penny of my income.

c) If you had bothered to actually read my response you'd have understood my description of a common situation here in the BA where rear-end collisions are a real threat even if everyone is driving at a safe distance. In fact, I never tail gate (and often will get cut off as a result).

And since you've managed to piss me off: my partially disabled mother is partially disabled because she was rear-ended while driving her thunderbird back in Ohio. She will admit she was driving in middle lane (of 3) going very slowly when she got rear ended by a large pickup truck that was driving the limit (as per the report). By the way, *she* was sued by that driver (and her insurance settled, thus no she didn't lose any salary or pension).

But go on breathing your own smugness if it makes you feel better. It'd be a lot easier on everyone if you just drove sensibly instead of persecuting your own self righteous crusade.

268   Malcolm   2007 May 6, 11:26am  

As a Prius owner I just want to correct one thing. They are not underpowered and climb hills just fine. Coming home from downtown today we saw a Prius with a small red heart on the side of it. I don't know any other car that is currently getting the adoration of its owners like this. It is actually a pleasure to cut the check each month on this car.

269   lunarpark   2007 May 6, 11:56am  

I just returned from my vacation to find out that the condo in our building sold after just two weeks on the market (Cupertino). On the other hand, my friend who is trying to sell her townhouse in MV has had no luck. She said a lot of people are looking, but she hasn't received any offers, not even a lowball. Her realtor told her that people are just not buying right now and that they will probably need to lower the price.

270   Michael Holliday   2007 May 6, 12:42pm  

DP Says:

My wife and I make a decent living. We can afford the lower end of the price tag but we’re not smoking crack either. I was especially amused by the one house that was 1 mil and there were no upgrades since early 1970’s. It still had the funkadelic glass walls.
_____

Ha, ha!

That's pretty funny.

I was looking at a house in Phoenix, in a nice area called Moon Valley, a few years ago.

I went into this one house, and the whole damn thing was a perfectly preserved, early '70s masterpiece.

I looks like the kids left home for college in the '70s and the parents just left their rooms untouched, in museum show quality, Tigerbeat posters and all.

It would've taken 50K just to redo the interior and bring it up 21st century interior decorating standards. Better yet, it wouldn't made a good That '70s Show studio setup.

Definitely funka-psychedelic!

271   Randy H   2007 May 6, 1:14pm  

Malcolm

They are not underpowered and climb hills just fine.

That is the point. I have nothing against Priuses. I have something against the drivers who stare at their little computer and slow down to 40 going up the hill to maximize efficiency. I have driven a Prius, and they have plenty of power.

@azrob

What can I say? It's easy for some anonymous blogger to accuse me of bullshitting. She was rear ended, and she was sued successfully. Liability does not always equal true fault in the real world, in which the rest of us live. But no, she wasn't cited, so you can insist it wasn't her fault all you want.

It is true that most insurance judgments go in favor of the person rear-ended. But it is not true that they are never at fault. Maybe Prius owners are never at fault. I'll trust your expertise.

272   Malcolm   2007 May 6, 1:30pm  

I'm sorry for your mom, it sounds like a raw deal.

273   Randy H   2007 May 6, 1:40pm  

It was almost 15 years ago and I'm still sore about it. And if I could do anything to help spare others the same fate, I will. This is why I am overly sensitive to road-crusaders. Just drive. It's a form of locomotion. Not a political forum.

274   Malcolm   2007 May 6, 1:41pm  

I'm actually 95% with you on this one Randy.

275   Peter P   2007 May 6, 3:26pm  

But it is not true that they are never at fault.

It is extremely rare. Do you have a quotable court case?

276   Peter P   2007 May 6, 3:38pm  

I was rear-ended once. I had to stop for a highway obstacle. That guy hit me at 50mph+.

The report said that his "reasonable or prudent" speed should have been 0mph, since I was stationary.

277   Randy H   2007 May 6, 3:46pm  

Peter P

I clearly stated that I was not talking about legal judgments. People win judgments in which restaurants are liable because customers spill hot coffee on their own laps, yet I've heard you cite them with being at fault.

278   Peter P   2007 May 6, 4:50pm  

I clearly stated that I was not talking about legal judgments.

Sorry. I misunderestimated you.

279   LowlySmartRenter   2007 May 6, 5:19pm  

I was rear-ended recently on 101 in a crash-a-trois: Car 1 hit Car 2, pushing Car 2 into Car 3 (me). Very slow speed though, as we too were slowing for an ostacle ahead (an accident). Turns out, the guy in Car 1 turned his head for a split second because as people were merging (to avoid the accident), someone honked.

It occured to me that few Bay Aryans honk, at least compared to some of the East Coast cities, where people use the horn as much as they use the brake and accelerator. So when someone does honk around here, it's kinda startling.

We're just not honkers out here.

I'm sorry about your mom Randy. It's the kind of tragedy that just continues, and my heart goes out to you. It's good to tell the story to others. It reminds us to be alert at all times and watch our speed, no matter how late we are running to that next important meeting/party/errand.

280   Vicente   2007 May 6, 6:33pm  

"You can't take out someone with a motorcycle..."

Are motorcycles these days getting down to zero weight with fluffy pillows on the sides? I rather imagine hitting one laying in the road in front of me is going to be as deadly as hitting a washing machine that fell off a MJT.

So someone going under your wheels, or being crunched between you and the 18-wheeler next to you, or a motorcycle cartwheeling through the air, none of those things are likely to cause people to panic and swerve or slam on their brakes? No pileups ever occur because of a motorcycle? This must be a very interesting planet, where only the driver of a motorcycle is ever endangered by their whacky impatient antics.

281   azrob   2007 May 7, 11:34am  

Yeah motorcylists may occassionaly cause an accident.

But what does your liability insurance cost? on my last bike, it was about $100 a year, which is 1/5 of what a honda hybrid costs and its not like hybrid owners are a bunch of dangerous racers either... Gotta figure the insurance companies have an idea about the dangers of injuring others in every vehicle class

282   Jimbo   2007 May 8, 10:12am  

Find me an incident where a motorcyclist hit a car and the car driver was killed as a result of the collision. It may have happened once or twice, but it is exceedingly rare.

Sure, people might swerve to avoid someone and end up dead, but that is not the same thing. Your contention is that motorcyclists need to be more severely regulated because automobile drivers are incompetent and unable to handle being startled by a motorcycle? That is an interesting position to take, but not unusual for your typical self-centered automobile driver.

283   Peter P   2007 May 9, 12:44am  

Find me an incident where a motorcyclist hit a car and the car driver was killed as a result of the collision. It may have happened once or twice, but it is exceedingly rare.

It can happen if the motocycle broadsides the car at very high speed.

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