patrick.net

"systemic malfeasance"

Ouch!

I'd heard they have already changed the FICO model? No more "piggy backin'" on accts! Hey, it's a step. Since I don't see much of anyone w/ 5% (let alone 25%) down we can safely dismiss that one. On #4 I've never said we should totally do away with the exemption altogether so I'd be open to moving it out to 8-10 years if it means bringing sanity back?

Ooops, sorry. No offense intended.
That's just my oldfartishness coming out. There was a time when those numbers, although high, were the norm. Yes, it was painful for the buyer, but the market seemed to be more stable.
Yeah, we had booms and busts, but the magnitude seemed much more managable. Then again, I guess it's all in it's own context. What we griped about then, that seemed catastrophic, is chump change now.

New thread: Bloomberg to WaMu: “Be careful what you wish for”

Richmond,

None taken. Did any of us ever imagine a time when actually having a down payment for a home would've been a requirement? The fact that we let people w/ "decent" FICO's "pre-raid" their equity and then turn around and buy w/ zip down can't have been a positive.

I just realised that if you scale the Oz govt surplus to the American population, you would have an AUD$1.5 trillion surplus now... and we may as well call dollar parity for all intents and purposes...