NYTimes economic reporter's big credit crisis

[Texas Proud]

WOW.... going from buying a condo for less than $78K and now owing more than $140K.... that takes some doing IMO...

I wonder what she would be thinking if this was CREDIT CARD debt I bet she never would have run up that huge amount of credit card debt since it would have been staring her in the face...


That is why I did not want the Texas to allow home equity loans... it leads to people doing what she is doing and then wants to be bailed out...

SOOO, if we really want to get some reforms.... do not allow home equity loans...

 

[Sarah in SC]

This guy is a d*uchebag who gave into temptation and peer pressure and assumed that even after the good times ended his high school diploma would let him earn 200+k.

I made in the ballpark what he did during the boom timesworking in the NYC area. I worked in an area that was a long commute but was extremely affluent (think top .1% of the country). There was a Bentley dealership down the block from work and most of the merchants looked at me like I was a homeless person coming in for a handout when I went shopping in my middle class mass merchant clothing. It was very, very, VERY tempting to join in with all the idiot consumption. Buit I resisted. Partially it was because I was wary and partially it was because I just don't enjoy consumption that much. But to suggest that some idiot who bought a $1MM (!) co-op deserves sympathy? Please.

I guess what made me like him more than the book deal guy is that he took a host job in a restaurant instead of whining that the mortgage company took advantage of him. Maybe it was the blue collar background, but he seems like he's coming out of this with hard lessons learned that he caused his troubles instead of being a victim.

Not everyone can be as smart as us, and I suspect that temptations to run with the big dogs has bitten many of these former high-flyers in the assets.

 

[FUEGO]

My guess is the former $200k/yr trader would maximize his earnings by going to another firm and working front office or back-office in trade support. He wouldn't earn much more than $50-75k in NYC, or more like $40-50k in lower cost of living areas. But still a decent salary for one with a high school diploma.

This is assuming he can't go back to making $200k as a floor trader.

 

[ERD50]

I actually do feel bad for a lot of the people in these types of articles, despite the bulk resulting from unwise choices as opposed to rotten luck like an injury.

What usually sets me into a dismissive stance is when they point the finger somewhere else instead of taking any slice of the blame.

I can feel sorry for them, right up until the time they ask ME to pay for the choices THEY made.

I don't recall any of these people coming up to me a few years ago and saying " I just refinanced my house and got a ton of cash out of it, can I give you some?".



-ERD50

 

[A854321]

If she is going to get all this national publicity, she had better figure out the story of her credit card debt and how she is going to explain it. Seems like she must have had about $40K as far as I can guess.

 

[clifp]

WOW.... going from buying a condo for less than $78K and now owing more than $140K.... that takes some doing IMO...

I wonder what she would be thinking if this was CREDIT CARD debt I bet she never would have run up that huge amount of credit card debt since it would have been staring her in the face...


That is why I did not want the Texas to allow home equity loans... it leads to people doing what she is doing and then wants to be bailed out...

SOOO, if we really want to get some reforms.... do not allow home equity loans...

I am starting to agree with this. The way I figure she probably borrowed 80%*77,500=62k and now 12 years latter owes $143K or 81K over 12 years is $562/month. So the real story here is that over the last 12 years her budget spreadsheet should show income =2167/month expense = $2728 and now the rest of us are suppose to bail her out.

Unfortunately this happens all to often, I think one of my sister and husband owe 3 as much now on there house as the bought it 25 years ago.

 

[tangomonster]

"
Here's another winner from the NYTimes financial pages - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/bu...gage.html?_r=1

The commentary from Reason pretty much covers my feelings about this one - Hit & Run > Seems like every time you turn around there's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear... - Reason Magazine"

Boo hoo. So a woman nearing retirement age triples the size of her mortgage, using her house to pay for a new car, pay off credit cards, and pay $20k "mostly" for a new roof. Unless she was taken, there is no way a roof for a two-bedroom condo should cost $20k, so I would suspect some whitewashing here.

Agreed! Actually, with a condo, the homeowners' association would take care of the exterior, which would include the roof. Individual condo owners don't/can't do maintenance/repairs on the outside. Possibly the $20,000 was a special assessment that every homeowner had to pay----but that seems unlikely for a condo that was 12 years old. I honestly don't know what roofs cost, but since the cost would be divided among all the homeowners, something smells fishy.....

 

[clifp]

One more think the Az. lady, according to the article she is 63 and refinance in 2007 making her 61 years. WTF was the bank thinking, how does she pay back a 30 year loan she'd have to live 91.

You know maybe it is good thing that it is been so hard for us ER to refi our mortgages.

 

[Texas Proud]

One more think the Az. lady, according to the article she is 63 and refinance in 2007 making her 61 years. WTF was the bank thinking, how does she pay back a 30 year loan she'd have to live 91.

You know maybe it is good thing that it is been so hard for us ER to refi our mortgages.

If you have the income, you can get the loan.... my 89 YO mother was going to get a loan for her new condo... and she had the income etc... but when she heard about all the fees etc... just paid cash...

They do not look at age...