July 10, 2008

What lessons can kids learn from the Great Housing Bubble and Crash?


Here's a few for starters. And check out this sad article in the USAToday on Foreclosure Kids - "'Mom, why did you get us into this situation?"

1) Never, EVER, trust a realtor, mortgage broker or anyone on commission EVER again

2) Educate yourselves in regards to personal finance, investing, debt and basic economics

3) Live within your means - do not think that you can live a MTV Cribs lifestyle working at Taco Bell

4) Only buy a home if you can rent it out for close to break-even

5) Don't jeopardize your financial safety or that of your family in order to keep up appearances with your friends and neighbors

6) If you see everyone doing one thing, do the opposite

7) Put at least 10% of your income into liquid savings

8) Read the fine print twice before you sign any contract

9) Don't believe what you read in the paper or see on TV is true

10) One more time - NEVER EVER TRUST A REALTOR

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

BE THE MASTER OF YOUR OWN SHIP THIS WAY IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE IT'S YOURS AND YOU CAN'T BLAME ANYONE AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.THIS IS THE WAY TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.IMHO

NEVER LISTEN A REALTOR IF I HAVE I BE BROKE NOW.IMHO

Anonymous said...

There is no work ethic left in this country. Everyone wants a handout or a job where they can work when they want for $100,000 a year. Everyone wants to be their own boss, but remember the old saying, "Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians".

My sister just got hired at the new Honda plant in Indiana. Out of 42,000 applicants they narrowed it down to the best 1,000. Then they picked 400 "Best of the Best" to be hired to open the plant and train as Leaders. Monday was the first day they were to report and out of 400 only 346 showed up for the first day of work! 13% didn't even show up for the first day! I find that unbelieveable.

Anonymous said...

2) Educate yourselves in regards to personal finance, investing, debt and basic economics

UN-AMERICAN

3) Live within your means - do not think that you can live a MTV Cribs lifestyle working at Taco Bell

UN-AMERICAN

4) Only buy a home if you can rent it out for close to break-even

UN-AMERICAN

5) Don't jeopardize your financial safety or that of your family in order to keep up appearances with your friends and neighbors

UN-AMERICAN

6) If you see everyone doing one thing, do the opposite

UN-AMERICAN

7) Put at least 10% of your income into liquid savings

UN-AMERICAN

8) Read the fine print twice before you sign any contract

UN-AMERICAN

9) Don't believe what you read in the paper or see on TV is true

UN-AMERICAN

Anonymous said...

Debt is BAD!!!

Anonymous said...

WE INTERRUPT THE HOUSING CRASH FOR A REIC COMMERCIAL.

-BEGIN COMMERCIAL-

NOW MY HOUSE DOES MORE THAN PUT A ROOF OVER MY HEAD...

IT LETS ME COMMIT MORTGAGE FRAUD TOO!!!


-END COMMERCIAL-

DOPES!!!

SUZANNE!!!

SWAN!!!

ANON!!!

Anonymous said...

11) Houses are perfect durable goods and very poor financial instruments.
12) They aren't making any more land. But they aren't taking away any of it either!

Anonymous said...

Let's try drawing some scary pictures today kids.

Teacher then steps outside the room and locks the door.

And comes smashing his way back thru with an ax like Jack Nicholson in the Shinning.

Childred, I'm home. How those pictures coming along?

Anonymous said...

Fellow HP travelers with children, please sit down and show the kids this video between a divorced, multiple child 10 year REALWHORE veteran, now unemployed/able with a "home" with NO equity, 3 toxic mortgages (1 for a pool)and self-annointed financial 'guru' Suze Orman.

This is a howler and again why you should teach your kids that

ALL REALTORS, MORTGAGE FRAUDSTERS, APPRAISERS AND BANKERS ARE LYING SCUM SHIT AND CAN NVER BE TRUSTED.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1g15SJacxY&feature=related

God Bless Amderica and PS: Nice Obama comments Jesse. A real credit you are. Hypocrite Bastard.

Anonymous said...

11) Greg SWann is a snake

Anonymous said...

"Ramona says,'I was really focused on keeping the transition as smooth as possible for the children. We didn't even tell them we were moving until we were really close. We knew it wasn't going to be easy going from a big home with a pool to a smaller home.'"
Reality bites, doesn't it, Ramona? But the reality is - you couldn't AFFORD the big-ass house with the pool, and acquiring one without the necessary STABLE income only sets a family up for certain disappointment. Yeah, living in an apartment - or even a 'smaller home' as you call it - is rough, Toots, but hey, lots of us are doing it. And it beats sleepless nights worrying about how to pay for something we CANNOT AFFORD and having to explain to the kids how we got the family into a huge financial mess. Live it, learn it, know it. Sadly, the kids are learning (albeit the hard way) a good lesson in frugality and reality. We as a country need this reality check. I hope it isn't coming too late.

Anonymous said...

If you want to have a good life, don't look to government to give it to you. Their lives are already good. Look out for yourself first, and if you have extra and a little compassion, THEN help those you feel deserve it.

Oh yeah. Be suspicious of anybody who wants to take your money to help others, but isn't willing to take their own first.

Mammoth said...

In a recent news article about a family whose home was foreclosed after their mortgage adjusted, when asked what the mother would tell her young children, she replied:

"I told tham that we were renting, because in a sense, we really were just renting the house from the bank."

LMAO!!!

-Mammoth

Anonymous said...

11) Debt IS Slavery!!!!

Anonymous said...

that list is too kind:

why not:

1: "all good things die"

2: "since your heart lives in your home, others will try to take it."

3: "a gallon of paint shouldn't be worth $20,000!"

4: "life needs to be lived outside the home, not inside of it."

5: "alway prefer a lower price versesr a lower interest rate because your ability to sell mostly depends on the initial price."

6: "live within your means."

7: "live within your means."

8: "live within your means."

9: "live within your means."

10: "live within your means."

Anonymous said...

Beware anyone who has an interest in getting your money.

Beware of people who tell you what you want to believe.

Anonymous said...

After reading the posts here, does anybody see the irony in all thats happened. Americans more than anybody else are always pissing and moaning about government intervention and how they want to be able to make their own decisions without the government telling them what to do.

Well, guess what, you got your wish. The home mortgage market has been basically unregulated for the past several years, and now many Americans got their themselves into a big financial mess. So what's the lesson to teach your children? Be careful for what you wish for...

Anonymous said...

Number 11 ...Don't trust Congress or the Senate or the Feds to do what is right for the Country verses the fat cats .

Realize that the lawmakers will
change the laws after the fact to suit their crazy ideas and short term bail outs .

Punish Congress and the Senate for their betrayal of the Country and the common citizen, vote them out before they do more damage .

Realize that the Fed Chairman and Paulson are clueless as to how extensive the defaults are going to be ,so their problem solving ability is limited . Also realize that if any of these parties had half a brain they would know that you can't rescue a bunch of investors from a housing mania and the losses are to big to bail out .

Who cares if the investment firms and the Banks don't make a lot of money for a decade or more. Loan them some money to remain in business and get the money back by letting them spread out the losses for a decade and pay interest on what they borrow . To bad if their shareholders don't make a lot of money for a decade or more or lenders have to sell some assets to remain alive .

To bad if the homeowners lose their homes . How dare these jerk homeowners buy a home that cost 100% or more than they could afford

I would like to hear one politician say the problem was a National Housing Bubble Mania that was funded by faulty and fraudulent lending ,which will crash ,and a staggering loss will take place for lending investors and borrowers alike. These investors deserve what happens to them and they will be lucky if they aren't arrested for mortgage fraud .

Get mad and outraged when the government raises taxes to cover the folly of the bubble ,while at the same time Corporations don't give raises and give more and more jobs to foreign countries to cut costs .

When the government and the Corporations and the lenders and realtors and Wall Street destroy this Country ,you won't be able to do anything about it because they are in control .

These gamblers took years from your life or from your off-springs life .They should be punished . They threw you into a environment in which you can't even keep money in a bank without worrying about it . Where is the "How Dare They Go unpunished at the taxpayers expense anger?" Call for the current government to stop obstructing Justice and stealing public funds to bail out gamblers and criminals.

Fine the NAR and the realtors for promoting a National Housing Ponzi Scheme . Go after the money that people obtained by mortgage fraud and throw the bulk of this scum in jail .

Anonymous said...

Don't buy junk you can't afford and don't go into debt to buy junk you can't afford .

Have a balanced budget for your household with no more that 25 to 30% going to housing ,or less .

I agree with the poster that said that we need to get back to a strong work ethic again in America. This get rich quick bullshit was destructive . At the same time Corporations need to provide good jobs for Americans, rather than trying to increase profits by slave labor from other Countries .

To think that people believed that going Global regarding the work force was a good idea is pure BS and in part was the reason why people went for the housing bubble scheme to make money.Take away the ability to have a job from a person and you have taken away their life.

edd browne said...

They might learn that we
did not care enough about

ethics/vigilance;
responsible government;
self-restraint;
personal initiative;
schools;
each other;
them.

Anonymous said...

SUZANNE! You researched this! You brainwashed me and my husband into taking out a mortage we could not afford! The schools are great, but we barely manage to pay the school taxes! The kids have been eating ramen ever since we missed our third payment! What use is the big garage when we traded in our suburban and ford explorer for a '95 corolla...
*Sob! Sob! Pop another Prozac! Sob!*

ANGELO!!! Your corrupt toxic mortgage company let us lie about our income!

Waaaaaaaaaaaa! *pulls her hair*

SUZANNE, RESEARCH OUR WAY OUT OF THIS MESS. My husband has diabetes type II and is recovering from his third heart attack. I feel dizzy and groggy from all the Prozac. I cannot even afford my meds anymmoooore *sob*



-----------------------
OK, that's lame. I guess the creative types around here can make a better spoof of that commercial/

AndrewHac said...

Such as sad, tearful, heart rending story for the specie of Americano Australopithecus !

-----

The Piper-Man is coming to knock on the Americano’s door.

Yes, Sir, indeed it is time for retribution, for the final judment of the day.

A mortage broker with a 12th grade education, barely know how to do multiplication, division, or simple mathematic is making well over $200K a year.
An AppleBee restaurant waitress becoming a real estate agent is racking in $300K a year selling over-price P.O.S home to an illegal "Juan Alfonso Rodriguez" strawberry picker.
A 30K annual salary, uneducated, white-trash S.O.B is living the life of a make-believe millionaire.
A fat-ass 40-ish sagging face, ugly like a pug, stay-at-home MOM is driving a space ship Suburban to take the obese, ugly kids to soccer game.
WallStreet brokers are bringing over $1M a year to be a middle man selling worthless stock to stupid-ass investors.
Most of the Americano Autralopithecus have at least experience a divorce once if not twice or thrice in his/her lusty, salty, quarrelsome life.

So what does all of the above tell you: It tells you that this nation and its citizens, dwellers, occupants have no solid foundation of what a good person is within his/her society. There is no morality or sense of self-honor in conducting a business transaction, dealing with people around you. Just because doing something not illegal does not equate it to be something not immoral.

Example: It is not illegal to invade the Iraq nation and causing hundred thousand of meaningless death for the Iraqui citizens. Is it also not immoral in the invader’s conscience to commit that act ???

Thus to conclude this sermon:
Is the Americano toasted yet ? And if not, when do you people, Joe and Jane of the SHRUB's Ass-Head Clan, think the Americano will be toasted ? Will they be toasted lightly as a marshmellow or juicely as a snapper turtle skewered on a stick from head to ass all sizzling nicely, fat popping, juices dripping over a bed of red hot charcoal fire ?

Anonymous said...

REIC JUST WENT 'TILT' TODAY!!

Anonymous said...

Now that the downturn has begun, I think it is time for me to start doing my research to prepare to buy when things do get back in balance.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good study source to prepare you to purchase a home without the use of a buyers agent?

Anonymous said...

But I am a REALTOR do I not trust myuself then?

Anonymous said...

Jesse Jackson's 'Love Child' reporting for duty...

I'M a VIIIICTIIIM.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1g15SJacxY&feature=related

Anonymous said...

"The home mortgage market has been basically unregulated for the past several years, and now many Americans got their themselves into a big financial mess. So what's the lesson to teach your children? Be careful for what you wish for..."

Mortgage and housing markets are heavily regulated every step of the way . . . that's a big reason why it goes through massive cycles like this. Here are some of the most important regulations and government interventions that caused this problem:

(1) The "money" is regulated. The FED sets the interest rate, so when the rate was set artificially low, people bid up house prices like crazy. When rates rose, the market collapsed.

(2) FNM and FRE bought all those securitized mortgage papers, so the loan originators did not scrutinize the borrowers.

(3) Government actually went out of its way to encourage banks and lending institutions to make loans to unqualified borrowers in the name of helping minority home ownership! (more like placing a mountain of debt on them)

(4) Local building codes restricted housing supply. So prices went skyward when interest rates were low and loan qualification were lax.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of soft wimps, crying because of financial troubles. Not only that but crying in front of the kids. I can just see some loser bawling uncontrollably and sobbing how its all unfair. Get a backbone, its just money and your family is healthy. There are worse things to cry over

edd browne said...

"…Is it also not immoral in the
invader’s conscience to commit that act ?"
_____________________
Thanks Andy for your kind message, which
echoes in my subconscious to keep me humble.

You raise the real question on Iraq; morality,
not legality. I don't have the answer, but
it's complicated.
It starts with the Iraq-Iran war, where
Saddam killed over a million Iranians,
many with poisons. We were not willing
to die for Iran.

Saddam then crushed Kuwait (and massed his
forces on the Saudi border). Saddam insisted
to Dan Rather that we were not willing to die
for Kuwait.
After the cease-fire he continued his massacres,
obstructions, and whatever. So after 12 years
he was confident that we would not die to
insist on the terms of the cease-fire; even
when BinLaden messed up (emboldened by
several escapes from serious consequences).

After all, DeVillepin and Chirac had the veto,
and though voting for "last chance" 1441,
they said no war "no matter what".

Death in war is only the surface. The real
hell is for those severely wounded for life.
The answer to your question is complicated.
It has been complicated many times in just
the last ten decades.
I don't have an answer for this time.

Miss Goldbug said...

Banks should not give commercial loans to developers without a buyer who signs on the dotted line.

Houses should only be sold for 2x income on strickly a 30 year loan fully fixed loan, including substancial downpayment so buyers dont lose their property in the future.

Everyone needs to understand simple economics and the business cycle, and not depend on someone else to handle their investments for them.

Miss Goldbug said...

"I told tham that we were renting, because in a sense, we really were just renting the house from the bank."


-------

Classic. The sheep are waking up.

Anonymous said...

" REALTOR said...
But I am a REALTOR do I not trust myuself then?

No. Don't. KILL YOURSELF instead.

Just trying to help.

Anonymous said...

The lesson we have learned is that Congress and the Senate are just paid off apes for the rich trade groups,corporations ,and the like .

Write your Senators and Congressman and tell them the gig is up and you do not intend to vote them back into office because of their betrayal to the Country .Tell these politicians that you were blind ,but now you see .

Write a letter to these politicians and tell them that you are not fooled by their Congressional hearings on TV were they never ask the right questions .Tell the politicians that you know they are not operating in the interest of the majority of Americans. Tell them that you want them voted out because they want to bail out gamblers and criminals . Tell the politicians that you want Justice .


Tell the politicians that the Country is going to hell and you want your Country back . Tell the politicians that you want American jobs back . Tell the politicians that giving the Fed Chairman more powers is a grave mistake .

Tell these apes that their days are numbered on their job.......unless.

Anonymous said...

What lessons can be learned .

Same lesson as the Great Depression .
To much leverage is a bad thing .Not enough enforcement of laws is a bad thing .

The greatest lesson is that people are jerks and they don't know what they are doing .People are brainwashed jerks and dangerous because of that .

Anonymous said...

11) Rent

Anonymous said...

> Well, guess what, you got your wish. The home mortgage market has been basically unregulated for the past several years, and now many Americans got their themselves into a big financial mess.

Unregulated that's right, but please don't forget another "regulator" who stood in the background endorsing risky mortgage practices and lending money out of nowhere at 1% p.a. What this means is that some regulation necessitates another regulation, not that unregulated markets necessarily always fail.

Anonymous said...

By Michael Laris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page B01

A consulting company manager left his newly adopted son sitting in a sport-utility vehicle in a Herndon parking lot for much of the day Tuesday, killing the 21-month-old child, police said yesterday.
The boy, Chase, was adopted three months ago from Russia, police said.

Miles Harrison, 49, of Purcellville was charged yesterday with manslaughter. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.


Zorger said Harrison arrived at work at the real estate consulting firm "sometime in the morning," and police said they received an emergency call about 5 p.m. that someone was performing CPR on an unresponsive child.

Unknown said...

Your right if you are a complete idiot, dont trust a realtor, mortgage broker, bank, goverment, politician, or even your wife. But if you have any brains, you will understand that it goes much deeper then the underlings selling the houses, or financing them, look at the Banking industry who allowed these loans, the economist such as "greenspan" touting variable rates, and most of all the politicians running most these firms (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac)