It's almost frightening to look at. I can't begin to imagine how the banks/mortgage companies did business back in Sun City's real estate heydays. During the 2005-2007 housing market gold rush, these guys were doling out money/loans/reverse mortgages like water. Hell, maybe water, given it's the desert, isn't the right phrase. Maybe more like sand or crushed rock or cacti. I was looking through some of the foreclosures and pre-foreclosures and came across a home right across the street from us on the corner of Desert Rock Drive and Boswell. The owner died a year or so back and we've been waiting for it to go on the market (nope, not buying it). My wife had been in it when they held an estate sale there and let's just say, it's really, really vintage. Knowing that, imagine my surprise as I scrolled through the listing and saw what they had given the previous owner in December of 2012. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you, just click here if you are interested...I suspect you'll be as shocked as I was. What's crazy is, this isn't the only one like this...kind of gives the term "upside down" a whole new meaning.
BP - That's what I have been trying to tell ya'....some of the homes on the market are way overpriced because sellers (owners or their heirs) are trying to recoup what they had paid for the home 8 - 10 years ago. The current market does not warrant the price on these homes. I have total sympathy for the folks who got caught up in this mess/duped by the lenders, however you want to label what happened, I really do. I have no idea what the right answer is on what to do for them, all I know is that we can't/won't afford to pay more than the market demands.
In the case of one of our neighbors it was senior abuse both by the lender and her son. The 80+ year old widowed lady had a 2 bedroom/1 bath home with no real upgrades and valued about $70,000. She had a conventional mortgage which she could afford with just a Social Security income. The son and CA mortgage company talked her into signing a $110,000 refi!!! She couldn't afford the payments, the son took the cash supposedly for school and she eventually died right in her home all alone. The house was foreclosed on but not after the kids came in and really stripped the place right down to fixtures. The amount owed at foreclosure was $167,000. What a sad, sad story and unfortunately just one example of greed and abuse.
I have a beneficiary deed all signed, notarized, and approved by the state. My son gets my house if I die before selling. A form for the Arizona Beneficiary Deed is on the internet. I think it cost 5-10$ to have it registered. A car can also have a beneficiary, but you have to take your vehicle registration to the DMV and you know how much time that takes. If you are in a nursing home, the only way to get Medicaid is to spend down to $4,000. The only way to avoid that is to have a non reversible trust. In that case, you no longer have control over your funds. Something I do not like. Any thoughts on the matter?
It is shameful gang what went on back then, and one has to wonder how many of the CEO's from the banking and mortgage industry went homeless in the crash. We know the housing crisis left lots of everyday men and women on the outside looking in, but in the end, those billion dollars bailouts really helped whom? Alas, that's far too political to banter about while lounging on our community commons. We know click-throughs are always challenging for some, so i thought i'd take the liberty of a couple of photo's of my neighbor's house (he's long gone and the house is in pre-foreclosure). The oustanding debt on this absolutely "vintage" home is $270,000. Truly beyond comprehension. Take a look, front and back shots: In this case, i suspect somewhere up there my neighbor is laughing at the banking industry.
My wife and I both worked in real estate and mortgage here in MN for several years. I always cringe when I hear about mortgage companies being responsible for the real estate melt down of 2008-09. The real culprit is the federal government. I won't go into great detail on this forum but having worked in banking during the early ought years I can tell you there was incredible government pressure on lenders to give loans to less than qualified buyers. It was called the C.R.A., community reinvestment act. The know-it-alls in Washington decided that low income people were victims (Washington's favorite class) of discrimination and that's why they weren't able to buy houses so if any bank wanted to get ahead in this regulated economy they'd better start giving out loans. The halls of banks echoed with the sound of these letters----C.R.A.! Of course, Washington then had to fix the mess they created so they've foisted upon the industry Dodd-Frank which is yet another disaster in the making for the market. Okay, I'll stop the rant but trust me...the blame lies in Washington, not Wall Street.
Hmm, I'll poke that bear. I agree Rusco, the last bubble started in 1999 with pressure from the president to the lending institutions to get everyone into a house. Even if they knew they could not afford it. This time some of the same I think, but banks aren't free of guilt either. Banks got hit hard last time and seem to have a short term memory when it comes to making the almighty dollar. In the recent housing boom, the federal regulators have loosened their grip over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s lending activities, so banks are once again loosening up their lending standards. This ended badly the last time, not likely to end well this time either. How badly, hard to tell. "Expert" guesses are that this bubble will pop in late 2017. I reach full retirement age in 2018, it will be an interesting ride.
Some things are as predictable as rain in Seattle (sorry V). The minute I posted this I knew I would hear it was Washington's (wink, wink, Obama's) fault the bank's would give an 80 year old man $270,000 for a home that was worth no more than $170,000 (value in 2007). It was Washington's fault mortgages were bundled and sold time and time again, with each time those packaging them turned a tidy little profit. There's some (including me) who saw it as nothing more than one giant Ponzi scheme. Not all is lost though, here's the beauty of this thread; it becomes a teachable moment. I was probably more political than most, my job demanded it. I testified in DC during the Enron hearings, appeared at the MN state capital a half a dozen times, and was involved with the Democratic party in ways most folks wouldn't be. It was just part of how I lived. When we moved to Sun City, that all changed. That old adage, all politics is local couldn't have become more true. Sun City didn't have a mayor, or city council. There wasn't a cadre of minions working for any party, there were just people working together to keep Sun City alive and vibrant. Sure we disagreed, but it was never anything like the divide we see across the country. Don't get me wrong, we still watch the nightly news (love to follow how well the Trumpster is doing with his cohorts on the right). As an aside, who living in Minnesota can forget the memorable term served by professional wrestler Jesse "the body" Ventura? Still catch up on the silliness of folks fighting for your vote, all the while courting the big-money players on both sides of the aisle. The reality for me is, I really don't care anymore. I've come to understand how little any of us really matter. Getting elected is all that counts, after that, the moguls that funded the campaigns will be standing there with their hands out. Call me a cynic, and you are right, I am one. In the end, my concern, my efforts are and will be directed into a community where we can make a difference. Sun City is that darned good. By the way BW, did you know the "experts" told Webb not to build Sun City?
I think I read that somewhere. So much for the "expert opinion", right. We will see what happens in the next few years, IMHO I think 2017 is a little soon for the bubble to pop, I'm guessing that the bubble will loose a little air by then, but not pop. And I don't claim to be an expert in anything so I can guess at what ever I want and no one listens, especially my better half. She rolls her eyes and says, "you could be right dear". Of course I know she means, "go ahead and ramble, you have no clue what you are talking about".
Not so predictable - Seattle has had below normal rainfall for the past 4 months. I honestly can't remember the last time it rained here.
I was in Olympia/Seattle over the weekend and everyone has brown grass. It has been very hot there. It was over 90 both days last weekend.
