Bitter Renters who refused to gamble and buy overpriced homes with toxic loans, or Bubble Sitters who sold when things got nuts, tell your stories

Some newbies (and Chris Dodd) need to learn some lessons from folks here who made good decisions in their lives, and refused to gamble or buy overpriced homes at the peak...

Too bad couples like the ones in the video in the post below didn't understand. That if you can't afford it, don't buy it. Or don't buy investments that make no economic sense. And above all don't do business with Countrywide.

Check out this classic 2006 Bubble Sitting report (at the peak) from ABC News, with the REIC shill reporter who said renting or bubble sitting back then was a bad idea, because you "feed your dog in your home", and Charlie Gibson saying he was in favor of 'owning' (i.e. paying money to a bank) because of "psychic comfort". Here's the reporter's crib notes if you can't see the video.

OK, even though we're only paying pennies on the dollar and going lower every year, it's still tough dealing with desperate landlords

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

How much do you pay a month for housing?

Do you rent or "own"?

What does that get you, and where?

(Add any other interesting tidbits too - especially Renters - how much a month would you spend if you "bought" your place today? Owners - when did you buy? What would it sell for today? What would it rent out at today?)

A Special HousingPANIC Message for Bubble Sitters and Bitter Renters

If you're renting an apartment, get out.

That's soooooo 1970's.

There's 18 million vacant homes in America today. You have your choice of amazing homes, lofts and condos, for a fraction of the cost of owning. "Owners" are DESPERATE.

To paraphrase the NAR, there's never been a better time to rent.

So get out of your apartment complex, and go find yourself something nice for cheaper.

But hey, maybe I'm wasting my time. Are any of you (not in college or illegals) actually still renting apartments?

A Special HousingPANIC Message to the Toxic Mortgage Gamblers with 3% Teaser Mortgages Resetting to 10% - STOP STRESSING - WALK THE FU*K AWAY AND RENT

Remember in the movie Titanic, when the ship breaks in half and Leo and Kate rush to the top of the boat to give themselves a fighting chance, while others slide down into the cold waters below to their sure deaths?

We're to that point.

It's now every man for himself. Financial survival is the goal. Help the women and children if you can, but if you're dead, you can't be of much help.

And yes, I have a BIG problem with people who sign contracts and walk away from them. Or who borrow money and then don't pay it back. But we're to that point, and I'd rather see banks, hedge funds and corporations screwed over before I see real people take it on the chin. People gotta eat. And when your loan resets from 3% to 10%, you gotta do something.

So if you're a housing gambler or homedebtor who's facing the ARM-reset-disaster, stop stressing, and get ready to walk away if you can't refi. Don't forget to gut the house and put everything on ebay before you move.

And remember HP'ers that it was banker buddies Bush and Greenspan who gave these failed gamblers the green light in the first place.

Thinking of taking some time off and riding out the crash? Here's the top 50 cities in the world for quality of life

After London in the next year or two I'll be taking some time off, doing some travelling (and renting) and riding out the crash. Here's a list I found put together based on "quality of life" metrics like safety, education, health care, travel, etc. And I just love lists.

Unfortunately, "how far your dollar goes" is not one of the criteria evidently! Anyway, enjoy the list, and for those with experience in any of these cities, chime in.

Gee, Detroit didn't make it this year. Oh well, always next year...

The world's top cities offering the best quality of life (in order 1 to 50)

Zurich
Geneva
Vancouver
Vienna
Auckland
Düsseldorf
Frankfurt
Munich
Bern
Sydney
Copenhagen
Wellington
Amsterdam
Brussels
Toronto
Berlin
Melbourne
Luxembourg
Ottawa
Stockholm
Perth
Montreal
Nürnberg
Calgary
Hamburg
Oslo
Dublin
Honolulu
San Francisco
Adelaide
Helsinki
Brisbane
Paris
Singapore
Tokyo
Lyon
Boston
Yokohama
London
Kobe
Barcelona
Madrid
Osaka
Washington DC
Chicago
Portland
Lisbon
New York City
Milan
Seattle