Who is struggling?
#62
07-07-2008, 06:30 PM
Yep, the wife and I are struggling big time. Almost two years ago we purchased a brand new two bedroom/two bath/two car garage townhome for $400k. We pretty much purchased our home right at the peek of the housing market. The good thing is we were able to get a great first time homebuyer loan with a good fixed rate throughout the loan. Pulte Homes is now selling my exact home for $249k. YIKES!
The problems began when the market crashed and my wife's entire department at Wachovia was laid off. At the time our combined income was around $150k, however when she lost her job, she had to take another job that lowered her income by 50%. We've been able to hold on since October by cutting back, and savings, but it's all dried up now. I've sent a letter of financial hardship to Bank of America to let them know we will not be able to make our July payment. Not sure what's giong to happen, but we are hoping for a short sale or deed in lue so it won't hurt my credit too bad. Whatever happens probably won't be good.
On another front, our house is about 23 mile from my job, and 40 miles from my wifes job. She has a jeep cherokee and litterally spends 20% of her take home income on gas to and from work. That doesn't include any other driving. I got rid of my mach and purchased a Pontiac G6 that gets 30mpg. She drives my car and I drive the jeep since I go a shorter distance.
That's my boooohooooo story.
The problems began when the market crashed and my wife's entire department at Wachovia was laid off. At the time our combined income was around $150k, however when she lost her job, she had to take another job that lowered her income by 50%. We've been able to hold on since October by cutting back, and savings, but it's all dried up now. I've sent a letter of financial hardship to Bank of America to let them know we will not be able to make our July payment. Not sure what's giong to happen, but we are hoping for a short sale or deed in lue so it won't hurt my credit too bad. Whatever happens probably won't be good.
On another front, our house is about 23 mile from my job, and 40 miles from my wifes job. She has a jeep cherokee and litterally spends 20% of her take home income on gas to and from work. That doesn't include any other driving. I got rid of my mach and purchased a Pontiac G6 that gets 30mpg. She drives my car and I drive the jeep since I go a shorter distance.
That's my boooohooooo story.
We bought are house in July of 2006...so we have lost money too, but not so bad....maybe about $30k. I put almost $100k down from equity in our other home and when I got relocated, my employer bought our other house from us and then it sat on the market for 11 months and they took $30k less for it. There loss....not mine. I got REALLY lucky.
I also dumped my Suburban in December. My Mustang and Saab are paid-off but I owe on my Pacifica. We won't be buying a car for a long while....it just makes no sense.
#63
07-07-2008, 06:31 PM
Yup....that is Obama's home land too. You have to have your head examined to live in Chicago now (I grew up there too).
#66
07-07-2008, 11:49 PM
Sales tax in my county went up 4%. But we voted it in, because it lowered property tax by 2%. Not much on the grand scale but now everyone will pay, not just property owners, and my county has more renters than most.. I don't mind paying my fair share in taxes, ( which BTW is way more than your average joe), so if Joe has to pay more for his 40 oz malt licqra, then I don't have a problem with that. It's time for American's to go back to work and stop milking the government for handouts because they didn't utilize the free public education that's offered for everyone.. No education + No skills = low paying job. Too bad so sad.. 
#69
07-08-2008, 09:46 AM
haha its cheaper down here 
. I got out of Chicago just in time. Got away from the massive sales tax, gas prices and no more state income tax
. I got out of Chicago just in time. Got away from the massive sales tax, gas prices and no more state income tax
#70
07-08-2008, 09:58 AM
seriously man, its at least 50-55$ everytime i fill up. ive been driving like a granny, no fun!
#71
07-08-2008, 10:11 AM
Wow! Thanks for your honesty and I am really sorry to hear about your struggles. This is exact situation that is happening to soo many people. Seems like you could hold on to the house if your wife's job stayed the same....just be upside down. One challenge is bad enough, but when they pile on, things get really hard.
We bought are house in July of 2006...so we have lost money too, but not so bad....maybe about $30k. I put almost $100k down from equity in our other home and when I got relocated, my employer bought our other house from us and then it sat on the market for 11 months and they took $30k less for it. There loss....not mine. I got REALLY lucky.
I also dumped my Suburban in December. My Mustang and Saab are paid-off but I owe on my Pacifica. We won't be buying a car for a long while....it just makes no sense.
We bought are house in July of 2006...so we have lost money too, but not so bad....maybe about $30k. I put almost $100k down from equity in our other home and when I got relocated, my employer bought our other house from us and then it sat on the market for 11 months and they took $30k less for it. There loss....not mine. I got REALLY lucky.
I also dumped my Suburban in December. My Mustang and Saab are paid-off but I owe on my Pacifica. We won't be buying a car for a long while....it just makes no sense.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
#72
07-08-2008, 10:52 AM
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, if my wife didn't lose her job we'd be just right now. She actually lost her job last October and we've been able to hang on by cutting back on things and using our reserves, but everything is gone now. We just don't have any choice right now. Also, I haven't mentioned this, but my wife is 18 weeks pregnant with our first child. When the baby is born in December we'd really really be in trouble so I'm hitting the issue head on right now. Even if my wife went back to work the next day after having the baby we'd have to pay for daycare and that is AT LEAST $1,000-1,800 a month in the Bay Area. So essentially my wife would be working to put the baby in day care and gas to get to work. So yeah, we are really hurting.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
#73
07-08-2008, 01:46 PM
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, if my wife didn't lose her job we'd be just right now. She actually lost her job last October and we've been able to hang on by cutting back on things and using our reserves, but everything is gone now. We just don't have any choice right now. Also, I haven't mentioned this, but my wife is 18 weeks pregnant with our first child. When the baby is born in December we'd really really be in trouble so I'm hitting the issue head on right now. Even if my wife went back to work the next day after having the baby we'd have to pay for daycare and that is AT LEAST $1,000-1,800 a month in the Bay Area. So essentially my wife would be working to put the baby in day care and gas to get to work. So yeah, we are really hurting.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
and yes childcare is expencive as hell. You might luck out though, some companys provide free child care for thier employees in the companys day care. I wish my company did that.
Luckily my wife works 9-1pm, and i work 2:30-10:30 so we dont have to worry about daycare.
2,950 holy **** taco batman! Im busting out 1,550 for a 2,300 sqft ranch on 1/3 acre in a nice settled neighborhood.
Get away from an HOA dude. lol. seriously.
Its funny you mention your wife is not on the loan. Once i get things a bit more figured out fincancially for us i plan to have her work on her credit. Right now everything is in our name, so we plan to use her credit as a fallback in case something goes bad and i lose my job, we can at least get an apartment then. lol
#74
07-08-2008, 02:06 PM
Sucks but just try to get rid of the property as you will never have equity on that property. What you are thinking sounds about the best you can do as paying that much for a townhouse is crazy. I had bad credit when I was young but was able to bring it back around within a few years.
I just bought a home and have put off doing alot of things. I pay $8,500 in taxes and $4,000 in insurance. My neighbor pays $3,000 in taxes. That extra $5,500 that I pay is money that I can not use to go on vacation the Hotel will have 1 less customer. The good news is that the government will have more money to waste. Remember if the government does not use all of their budget plus go over they will not have a case to ask for more money next year. I
will vote for someone who will let the government steal less of my money. The government will always have their hand in the cookie jar but the questions remains how many cookies are they taking.
I also will put off painting the car or doing anything else and off course this will mean that someone will have 1 less customer. What I have noticed from personal experience is that giving money to someone does not help. Its better to give a hand up then a hand out.
I have alot more to say but have to run.
I just bought a home and have put off doing alot of things. I pay $8,500 in taxes and $4,000 in insurance. My neighbor pays $3,000 in taxes. That extra $5,500 that I pay is money that I can not use to go on vacation the Hotel will have 1 less customer. The good news is that the government will have more money to waste. Remember if the government does not use all of their budget plus go over they will not have a case to ask for more money next year. I
will vote for someone who will let the government steal less of my money. The government will always have their hand in the cookie jar but the questions remains how many cookies are they taking.
I also will put off painting the car or doing anything else and off course this will mean that someone will have 1 less customer. What I have noticed from personal experience is that giving money to someone does not help. Its better to give a hand up then a hand out.
I have alot more to say but have to run.
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, if my wife didn't lose her job we'd be just right now. She actually lost her job last October and we've been able to hang on by cutting back on things and using our reserves, but everything is gone now. We just don't have any choice right now. Also, I haven't mentioned this, but my wife is 18 weeks pregnant with our first child. When the baby is born in December we'd really really be in trouble so I'm hitting the issue head on right now. Even if my wife went back to work the next day after having the baby we'd have to pay for daycare and that is AT LEAST $1,000-1,800 a month in the Bay Area. So essentially my wife would be working to put the baby in day care and gas to get to work. So yeah, we are really hurting.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
It's so funny cause we paid $400k for our townhome with homeowners dues that are $300 a month---we got the first year for free....our payment is like $2,950 with the mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners. That doesn't include any utilities or insurance....Now, we could buy a 2,200sqft home built in 2005-2006 with a backyard and huge garage in the same neighborhood for $299k and no homeowners. So we are going try to get our debt paid off ASAP and possible try to get another house using my wifes credit since she was not on the loan or title.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated on what happens with the bank.
Last edited by venom; 07-08-2008 at 03:22 PM.
#75
07-08-2008, 07:22 PM
Sucks but just try to get rid of the property as you will never have equity on that property. What you are thinking sounds about the best you can do as paying that much for a townhouse is crazy. I had bad credit when I was young but was able to bring it back around within a few years.
I just bought a home and have put off doing alot of things. I pay $8,500 in taxes and $4,000 in insurance. My neighbor pays $3,000 in taxes. That extra $5,500 that I pay is money that I can not use to go on vacation the Hotel will have 1 less customer. The good news is that the government will have more money to waste. Remember if the government does not use all of their budget plus go over they will not have a case to ask for more money next year. I
will vote for someone who will let the government steal less of my money. The government will always have their hand in the cookie jar but the questions remains how many cookies are they taking.
I also will put off painting the car or doing anything else and off course this will mean that someone will have 1 less customer. What I have noticed from personal experience is that giving money to someone does not help. Its better to give a hand up then a hand out.
I have alot more to say but have to run.
I just bought a home and have put off doing alot of things. I pay $8,500 in taxes and $4,000 in insurance. My neighbor pays $3,000 in taxes. That extra $5,500 that I pay is money that I can not use to go on vacation the Hotel will have 1 less customer. The good news is that the government will have more money to waste. Remember if the government does not use all of their budget plus go over they will not have a case to ask for more money next year. I
will vote for someone who will let the government steal less of my money. The government will always have their hand in the cookie jar but the questions remains how many cookies are they taking.
I also will put off painting the car or doing anything else and off course this will mean that someone will have 1 less customer. What I have noticed from personal experience is that giving money to someone does not help. Its better to give a hand up then a hand out.
I have alot more to say but have to run.
While I'm not happy about the hit we have taken and my wife losing her job due to the housing market I think it's probably a good thing because the market is correting itself. In Pleasanton, CA (25 miles from me) were 00blkstanggt lives houses in their prime were probably appreciating close to 15% per year, while the national everage was somewhere around 2-5% or something like that, and 15% appreciation wasn't uncommon throughout the entire Bay Area.
It just pisses me off sometimes that if my wife and I could keep our current salaries and move to probably 90% of the country we'd live like freaking kings! Someday if we can make that happen we'll do it, but right now we can't.
I will probably vote for someone who will reduce the penalties for people who foreclose on their house! ha ha ha
Last edited by jjtgiants; 07-08-2008 at 07:26 PM.
#76
07-08-2008, 08:09 PM
I have thought about that at times, then decided **** hell, who wants to live in those crap places anyways...
#77
07-09-2008, 09:47 AM
I agree paying 400k is a lot for a townhouse, but don't forget the SF Bay Area is one of the most expensive places in the country to live, and honestly a brand new Pulte Townhouse with stainless steel appliances and all the other bells and whistles including an attached two car garage was a damn good deal at the time in this area....and my place is 25 miles away from the real expensive stuff. When we first started looking closer to the bay (closer to work) the only townhouses we could find for $400k were built in the 1960's and just horrible. So at the time it was a good deal, but I totally agree it's A LOT of money for a townhouse.
While I'm not happy about the hit we have taken and my wife losing her job due to the housing market I think it's probably a good thing because the market is correting itself. In Pleasanton, CA (25 miles from me) were 00blkstanggt lives houses in their prime were probably appreciating close to 15% per year, while the national everage was somewhere around 2-5% or something like that, and 15% appreciation wasn't uncommon throughout the entire Bay Area.
It just pisses me off sometimes that if my wife and I could keep our current salaries and move to probably 90% of the country we'd live like freaking kings! Someday if we can make that happen we'll do it, but right now we can't.
I will probably vote for someone who will reduce the penalties for people who foreclose on their house! ha ha ha
While I'm not happy about the hit we have taken and my wife losing her job due to the housing market I think it's probably a good thing because the market is correting itself. In Pleasanton, CA (25 miles from me) were 00blkstanggt lives houses in their prime were probably appreciating close to 15% per year, while the national everage was somewhere around 2-5% or something like that, and 15% appreciation wasn't uncommon throughout the entire Bay Area.
It just pisses me off sometimes that if my wife and I could keep our current salaries and move to probably 90% of the country we'd live like freaking kings! Someday if we can make that happen we'll do it, but right now we can't.
I will probably vote for someone who will reduce the penalties for people who foreclose on their house! ha ha ha
#78
07-09-2008, 04:14 PM
ha ha ha ha....exactly. When it comes down to it I don't want to deal with snow, humidity, alligators, big bugs, hillbillies, floods, hurricanes, and tornados. I guess I'll just keeping paying up the wazooooo for things and deal with earthquakes, fires, and gay couples
#79
07-10-2008, 09:16 AM
Im lucky I have a company truck so I dont pay for my gas. I put about 30 bucks in the mustang about every month. I only drive the mustang about 2,500 miles a year, it kinda sucks cause I wish I could drive it more.........but I do feel for all the people out there putting 60 bucks in there gas tank every week, thats got to suck, I think I would buy a Mini Cooper!!
