More See Walking Away As An Option

Click on the title to link. Although we are not suprised at all to read this, it is a very interesting article about the tough decision many are faced with. We found two things to be most profound:

1. "$300 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages are expected to reset upward over the next 12 to 15 months, adding on average $1,000 to monthly mortgage payments on homes that already are worth 30 percent to 50 percent less than their original sale price."

2. "Roughly 23.2 percent of all single-family homeowners who have a mortgage are underwater on their property, according to third-quarter data from Zillow."

Staggering numbers when you think about it. As we have said many times before, we are far from being out of the woods on all of this.

Home Values Down $9 Trillion Since 2006

Click on the title to link. This is an interesting article. Sucks to read about it, frankly, but you should also keep in mind that home values were inflated due to the bubble. The people this really stinks for are those who bought their homes at the peak of the bubble, or those who refinanced at that same time.

Hidden Victims of the Mortgage Mess

Click on the title to link. I am not sure how "hidden" these folks are, but the article is referencing those who are underwater on their house and are not in foreclosure. This certainly is a huge problem since it may take years for those homes to get back to what they were (depending on many things).

Refinancing Options If Your Under Water

Click on the title to link. We do not do either of these loans; you would have to go through your current mortgage holder. But they are resources for you if it is a last option, and you want to view these as last resorts.

Our Country's Greatest Threat...Debt

Click on the title to link. This is a great article on several levels.

1. It explains in simple terms why our country is facing a potential collapse. We absolutely cannot keep up this spending; it will sink us. This article does a good job of explaing that and shows why it is the biggest security threat to our great nation.
2. It furthur goes on to explain how private resource must be part of the solution. What does that mean? Equity in one's home is private resource, and folks need to be ready to utilize that equity when the government comes out saying they cannot afford all their unsustainable public aid policies.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM, or Reverse Mortgages) are going to become a tremendous key to accomplishing this "unlocking" of one's equity. It cannot be viewed as a last resort but a necessary component to our coming financial mess. Stand by for more info as we continue to discuss HECMs.

Home Value Recovery?

Click on the title to link to an interesting article asking the question whether home values will ever really recover in the US. We would not be suprised if they did not fully, escpecially in places like CA. Let's face it, they were false values. They were so over inflated in some areas that why would we think they return. It is more of a correction in some sense than a decline.

NM Mortgages Are Retaining Equity

We have mentioned this many times before, our local and state economy tends to buck the trend of what is happening nationally. We are typically affected, don't get us wrong. However, usually not close to the extent as the rest of the nation.
Here is another article showing that to be the case.