how sad [?]

[vping]

I have never used government aid of any sort.

This is one of the biggest problems I've seen. So many people loafing and not pulling their own weight. 3 Cheers and thanks to you for making it a point to stay employed. I bust my buns to have a steady job and have so done since I delivered papers at the age of 10. I hate to see people mooch where they should'nt.

I'm off it now!

 

[Guest]

Alana, I have to say I am stunned at this. That's <span style="font-weight: bold">only</span> $60,000 per year
for a house payment? By the financial standard I was brought up to believe;
one week's take home pay equals your maximum realistic house payment..........

Now they are using approx 3x gross salary as the affordability mark, which makes the requirement for that place closer to $180k. For a professional couple, both working, that sounds about right.

Why do you think we all have 2h e/w commutes?

 

[Tinster]

Alana- 3X gross reads to me like a train wreck waiting
to happen.

Nearly 1 in 6 houses in our upscale gated community is
now "for sale by owner" as balloon notes come due,
adjustable loan rates get pumped into the stratasphere
and the local economy dribbles down the toilet.

I have little pity on the lenders or lendees.

d

 

[NutmegCT]

Dale - are they using balloon notes where you live? I thought those disappeared back when Lincoln was president!

Tom

 

[Deleted member 3577]

My Dad's advice to me was...

It isn't necessarily what you make that matters as much as what you get to keep.

And

Interest is a tax on stupid.

I bought my 1st duplex 15 years ago and one side paid my huge mortgage of $155.17 while I lived in the other.

Yea....A weeks work sounds about right for the mortgage.
You shouldn't be over 50% take home for ALL monthly expenses IMNSHO

 

[anthony7777]

Alana, you live close to me one day you have to stop by my place ill take you on a tour of north Stamford, new canaan, darien, there still building new "homes" as big as medium size hotels, somebody still has big, big bucks, of course the people who can "legitamitly" afford the cost of these monster homes will always have the money to afford them, its folks that want to "play the roll" and truly cant afford them that get into huge financial problems.

 

[Guest]

Anthony, I've seen some of them.

We looked in CT - as far out as Wilton - last year when we were looking for a new place. As an example, there was a little place in Darien that we thought was perhaps worth 750k (allowing for the fact that Darien is way pricey) on the market. Under 1800sf, 1/4 acre lot and 1 car garage. We picked up the flyer and saw that it was "priced to sell" at 1.7M.

That was when we realised that we can't even think about affording to live in the sort of house we wanted there. Not even with a "stated income" mortgage.

btw: We bought a repo, so some good has come out of this debacle. Repo'd for fraud, not non-payment, but still a repo, and my payment w/o taxes <span style="font-style: italic">is</span> 1 weeks take home...

 

[Camshaft]

The stupid part of the whole housing mess is that the Japanese went through it about a decade ago (Bubble Economy anyone?), but do you think anyone paid enough attention to learn from their mistakes? At the very least we can see how they got themselves out of that mess, and learn from <span style="font-style: italic">that</span>...