I gotta rant about all this mortgage garbage I am hearing about. I have many friends involved in real estate and mortgages and I own a home, so I have a perspective of my own. It is the media that is driving me nuts. I do not watch TV or read newspapers much, but it is on the radio and a topic discussed often all around me.
I do not like the media, (that is a whole other rant) because they prey upon people's fears to get ratings. I know ratings. The stories I hear about the most, being in California, is the immigrants that are losing their homes. Despite the fact that they do not like to mention if the immigrants, whose story they are telling, are illegally living here or not. A common complaint is that these poor souls did not know their mortgage rates were going to adjust way past their abilities to pay. Some were hoping to flip their homes in a year then run out with a pocket full of cash.
I was speaking to a kid who owns a home, he is in a position that he might lose his home. So he invited his parents to stay with him and his wife to help pay the bills. The mortgage keeps going up and they just cannot generate enough money to pay the bills, he was not expecting this to happen to him So they are "stuck" and going to be losing the home. Okay so do I feel sorry for the guy.
Nope. Let me explain why, I pulled out my mortgage papers that I signed, I do have an adjusting rate mortgage, but the adjustment is under one percent and the the mortgage company can only make an adjustment within a certain time frame. Once they make an adjustment, they have to wait before they can adjust my mortgage again. On top of that, Countrywide (my mortgage company) is working with California and not adjusting any loan in California. This is were the guy and I got into the discussion a bit further and it heated up a bit, mostly because he was not able to dispute the facts.
When a person signs for the mortgage loan, everything is laid out for them. I looked at my paperwork and wouldn't you know it, I initialed right next to the line that states that my mortgage is an adjustable. It explained clearly how much it can adjust at a time, how far total, and its limits. I specifically remember looking at that, doing some math and saying out loud, "I can afford that" and then signing my initials. Within my paperwork, that line stating my rate will adjust how much, and its limits, is all by itself between two large paragraphs. It cannot be mistaken.
Okay, since the media only cares about the health and wellbeing of illegal immigrants, what about those that do not speak English. For one I think it is boneheaded to sign any loan paperwork that is not in the language you naturally speak. I know some speak a little of one language and better of another, logic tells you to go with the paperwork you are comfortable with. You need to be able to properly understand and comprehend the loan. I know that the Notary Public cannot give any advice, they simply are there to witness your signature. My Realtor friends sit with their clients and help them understand what is being signed. The immigrants in this state stick together strongly and the mortgage companies had special loans just for illegals, so why would they not be told they were signing an adjustable rate mortgage?
Should they get a pass now because they can not read English? No! Numbers are the universal language. In all the stories I have read about immigrants and illegal immigrants (depending on the news source) they all mention that the families looked at how much they needed to pay and decide if they could afford it; if not, have all family members working, or bring another family in to help pay the bill. The math was done before the loan was signed for. They all knew the numbers before signing, to say "I didn't know" is not an excuse. It does not mean you should be forgiven because you signed the paperwork but now claim ignorance.
So back to the kid I was speaking to, when I brought up the fact that he signed right were it says his loan would adjust, he admitted he did just that. He is a good kid, but caught up in loans and not working to fix the problem. That seems to be the biggest issue, they are not calling their creditors and working with them. They refuse to look at the situation and figure things out. Many companies offer free advice to get through this. Mortgage companies on a whole are willing to work with people. They understand the situation, they do not want to end up with a home that will not resell for the amount of the debtors loan, they will be lucky to sell it within a year as it is. They will be out more if the person walks away, but the person will not answer their phone or call them.
Thanks for letting me rant and have a long post!
I do not like the media, (that is a whole other rant) because they prey upon people's fears to get ratings. I know ratings. The stories I hear about the most, being in California, is the immigrants that are losing their homes. Despite the fact that they do not like to mention if the immigrants, whose story they are telling, are illegally living here or not. A common complaint is that these poor souls did not know their mortgage rates were going to adjust way past their abilities to pay. Some were hoping to flip their homes in a year then run out with a pocket full of cash.
I was speaking to a kid who owns a home, he is in a position that he might lose his home. So he invited his parents to stay with him and his wife to help pay the bills. The mortgage keeps going up and they just cannot generate enough money to pay the bills, he was not expecting this to happen to him So they are "stuck" and going to be losing the home. Okay so do I feel sorry for the guy.
Nope. Let me explain why, I pulled out my mortgage papers that I signed, I do have an adjusting rate mortgage, but the adjustment is under one percent and the the mortgage company can only make an adjustment within a certain time frame. Once they make an adjustment, they have to wait before they can adjust my mortgage again. On top of that, Countrywide (my mortgage company) is working with California and not adjusting any loan in California. This is were the guy and I got into the discussion a bit further and it heated up a bit, mostly because he was not able to dispute the facts.
When a person signs for the mortgage loan, everything is laid out for them. I looked at my paperwork and wouldn't you know it, I initialed right next to the line that states that my mortgage is an adjustable. It explained clearly how much it can adjust at a time, how far total, and its limits. I specifically remember looking at that, doing some math and saying out loud, "I can afford that" and then signing my initials. Within my paperwork, that line stating my rate will adjust how much, and its limits, is all by itself between two large paragraphs. It cannot be mistaken.
Okay, since the media only cares about the health and wellbeing of illegal immigrants, what about those that do not speak English. For one I think it is boneheaded to sign any loan paperwork that is not in the language you naturally speak. I know some speak a little of one language and better of another, logic tells you to go with the paperwork you are comfortable with. You need to be able to properly understand and comprehend the loan. I know that the Notary Public cannot give any advice, they simply are there to witness your signature. My Realtor friends sit with their clients and help them understand what is being signed. The immigrants in this state stick together strongly and the mortgage companies had special loans just for illegals, so why would they not be told they were signing an adjustable rate mortgage?
Should they get a pass now because they can not read English? No! Numbers are the universal language. In all the stories I have read about immigrants and illegal immigrants (depending on the news source) they all mention that the families looked at how much they needed to pay and decide if they could afford it; if not, have all family members working, or bring another family in to help pay the bill. The math was done before the loan was signed for. They all knew the numbers before signing, to say "I didn't know" is not an excuse. It does not mean you should be forgiven because you signed the paperwork but now claim ignorance.
So back to the kid I was speaking to, when I brought up the fact that he signed right were it says his loan would adjust, he admitted he did just that. He is a good kid, but caught up in loans and not working to fix the problem. That seems to be the biggest issue, they are not calling their creditors and working with them. They refuse to look at the situation and figure things out. Many companies offer free advice to get through this. Mortgage companies on a whole are willing to work with people. They understand the situation, they do not want to end up with a home that will not resell for the amount of the debtors loan, they will be lucky to sell it within a year as it is. They will be out more if the person walks away, but the person will not answer their phone or call them.
Thanks for letting me rant and have a long post!