Post by jgaffney on Aug 23, 2010 12:24:20 GMT -5
The PeeDee led this morning with a touching story about a Sebastopol couple who are losing their house to foreclosure:
Most people who lose their homes to a short sale or foreclosure do what they can to conceal that fact, such is their embarrassment.
Not so for one Sebastopol couple, whose highly public protest over their plight reveals a rage that normally remains hidden.
Whether Robert Hynes and his wife, Kim Wardwell-Hynes, are entitled to those feelings is debateable, given their own roles in landing where they are today.
From their perspective, blame for their situation rests with the banks and mortgage lenders that they feel snookered hardworking people like them into getting subprime loans, which have led thousands to walk away from their homes.
This is the same story line that we have been hearing from the progressives that also cry, "It's all George Bush's fault!" However, later in the article, some facts and figures are given:
The couple paid $526,000 for the 2-bedroom, 1-bath house with about 1,100-square feet in 2006, just as the market that had driven housing prices to record levels in Sonoma County and across the country was about to crest.
After putting down $10,000 of their own money, the couple obtained two interest-only loans for the purchase, the first loan for about $422,000 at an interest rate of 6.5 percent, and a second for about $102,000 at an interest rate of 10 percent. Both loans are set to adjust next year.
Wardwell-Hynes said the couple knew it would be a struggle to pay the monthly mortgage payment of $3,700.
But she said their lender told them not to worry and that in five years the couple could refinance the home or sell it.
Let's see here... a $526,000 home with a $10,000 down payment - that works out to a 1.9% down payment. Remember when you were expected to bring 20%, or even 10%, to the table?
If I had a monthly mortgage nut of $3,700, I don't think I could sleep at night. And, that's before the PG&E, water, cable and cell phone bills!
I'm sorry, folks, but I have no sympathy for someone who obviously bought beyond their means because they believed the reassurances of a mortgage broker that the increasing market would increase forever.
On the other hand, it must be comforting to know that nothing is ever your fault.
Most people who lose their homes to a short sale or foreclosure do what they can to conceal that fact, such is their embarrassment.
Not so for one Sebastopol couple, whose highly public protest over their plight reveals a rage that normally remains hidden.
Whether Robert Hynes and his wife, Kim Wardwell-Hynes, are entitled to those feelings is debateable, given their own roles in landing where they are today.
From their perspective, blame for their situation rests with the banks and mortgage lenders that they feel snookered hardworking people like them into getting subprime loans, which have led thousands to walk away from their homes.
This is the same story line that we have been hearing from the progressives that also cry, "It's all George Bush's fault!" However, later in the article, some facts and figures are given:
The couple paid $526,000 for the 2-bedroom, 1-bath house with about 1,100-square feet in 2006, just as the market that had driven housing prices to record levels in Sonoma County and across the country was about to crest.
After putting down $10,000 of their own money, the couple obtained two interest-only loans for the purchase, the first loan for about $422,000 at an interest rate of 6.5 percent, and a second for about $102,000 at an interest rate of 10 percent. Both loans are set to adjust next year.
Wardwell-Hynes said the couple knew it would be a struggle to pay the monthly mortgage payment of $3,700.
But she said their lender told them not to worry and that in five years the couple could refinance the home or sell it.
Let's see here... a $526,000 home with a $10,000 down payment - that works out to a 1.9% down payment. Remember when you were expected to bring 20%, or even 10%, to the table?
If I had a monthly mortgage nut of $3,700, I don't think I could sleep at night. And, that's before the PG&E, water, cable and cell phone bills!
I'm sorry, folks, but I have no sympathy for someone who obviously bought beyond their means because they believed the reassurances of a mortgage broker that the increasing market would increase forever.
On the other hand, it must be comforting to know that nothing is ever your fault.
