I will now rant, and then I'll put my head down again and go back to work.

[ninevirtues]

You know, I was planning to rant about how I worked six days a week so I could buy a house, I bought less house than I could afford, and I got a THIRTY YEAR FIXED RATE MORTGAGE like a sensible person.... and if I'd waited three months housing prices would have declined, interest rates would be lower, and I'd get an $8000 check from the government that I'd never have to pay back.

But really? Things worked out fine for me personally. If I'd waited to buy, my down payment (which was in stocks) would have lost about half its value and I would not have been able to afford a house anyway.

(I've been listening to conservative commentators complain that the stimulus package doesn't reward responsible homeowners, and I've heard this complaint before: Why bother to be fiscally responsible if the government will just bail you out when things get rough?

And really? Over the last five years or so, friends who've been mortgage shopping tell me that they had to sternly insist on a thirty year fixed rate mortgage rather than the 5-and-1 ARMS that mortgage brokers tried so hard to sell them. (I had one friend tell me that the mortgage broker called her old-fashioned for wanting a thirty-year fixed loan.) 

These same friends have said that the ARMS were described as "and you can refinance later if you know the rate will increase." Well, yeah, but if your home loses a lot of its value... and you don't have a job so you can't come up with cash to pay points.... and you don't have a job... then you are going to have a very tough time refinancing.

So, to sum up: No rant. Things are tough all over.

Comments

[obsqurity.livejournal.com]

Stocks, real estate, buying airline tickets... all of it is essentially just gambling. There's never any real awareness of what prices will do, so you just have to pick a moment and take the plunge.

I really love the condo I ended up with though, so that takes the edge off some of the second guessing.

[sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com]

How ridiculous that lenders are still pushing the very type of mortgage that caused so many problems for people! We insisted on fixed rate when we bought our house because we need the security of knowing what our payments will be. When we refinanced due to the Bush #1 recession's lower interest rates, we again insisted on fixed rate.

You are wise.

Brandon was reading all the trends and predictions last summer when he was looking for his condo. He knew if he waited four to six months that things would improve on house prices but he didn't want to waste money on rent while he waited. I think he's pretty happy in his place.