Create jobs, not blame
Letter to the Editor
By Inman News, Friday, April 9, 2010.Re: 'The short-sale wrinkle' (April 8)
Dear Editor:
I read this article and it makes a lot of sense about why and how the short-sale process works. I just want to comment: In the times of crisis that our country has been facing, it doesn't look like any of these entities are looking out for "families." So many families are being displaced.
I'm so tired of hearing how "People bought more than what they could afford," "People should have put down more than the minimum 3 percent," "Why couldn't people buy like they used to ... putting down 20 percent or more."
My experience is people are losing their homes because of a combination of the cost of living, gas prices and loss of jobs! Mainly loss of work! America needs jobs! Until we have jobs to pay for the homes we buy, we cannot continue to make American banks more and more wealthy.
(Because of the economy) millions of Americans can't even afford to sell the homes they have been in for up to 10 years. Imagine Americans who are paying one payment at a time on their homes for 10 years or more who then have to face the disgrace of selling their homes for LESS than what they bought them for.
Our community is facing a 43 percent decline in the real estate market. Then we want (homeowners) to sign a note to banks to pay back their losses? Who is losing? Who is LOSING?
Evy Rivera
Real estate agent
Baird & Warner
Libertyville, Ill.
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Submitted by John Rakoci on April 9, 2010 - 6:51am.
Not much "hope" left after the recent "change". Nothing is going to change real fast either.
Submitted by Katie Minkus on April 9, 2010 - 11:50am.
Aloha. Evy has touched a raw nerve for me, as well. I live and practice real estate on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. Our economy started collapsing a good six months before the rest of the country (and the world) for exactly the reasons Evy cites above - first Aloha Airlines went out of business. Then ATA went out of business. Poof, half the airline seats to Hawaii disappeared overnight. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs with the airlines, and then hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and businesses because of the resulting downward impact on tourism, our #1 industry in Hawaii. When you throw in gas prices hovering around $5/gallon and $8/gallon of milk, it's not too difficult to understand why our economy went from bad to worse and has yet to recover.
Here on the Big Island, a vast majority of our population are small business owners who have lost their businesses and their homes because of the economy. Case in point, the owner of Island Chevrolet - the ONLY Chevy dealership on the island had been in operation for nearly 30 years - you'd think that's a stable small business, right? Wrong. Out of business. What did the owner of that business do "wrong" to deserve his fate? Nothing.
If there is anyone to "blame" for this big mess, it's the banks. It infuriates me to read about the bankers and wall street investors making record profits and propping up the Hampton's real estate market once again with their fat year end bonuses while just yesterday a friend lost her job at the local hospital where she's been employed for over 20 years and she called because she needs to sell her house at 60% less than she paid for it 7 years ago because she can no longer afford to pay her mortgage without a job. Where's the "family values" in that real-world scenario? Shall I repeat... that happened YESTERDAY.
Too big to fail? Perhaps we made a mistake and should have allowed the banks to fail. Why should the everyday, ordinary American citizen be allowed to fail instead??? Small businesses are the backbone of America. Where are the loans promised to us by TARP money and the rest of the bailout funds? Oh right, theoretically the money is available, but no small business can qualify to receive a loan in today's strict lending environment. Why? While the W2 worker gets their loan approved on their GROSS income, the small business owner gets a loan approved on their NET income. What a joke.
I think we know who's losing, Evy. All of us. Unless you happen to own a bank, or are currently buying your second home for a cool $20M in the Hamptons...
Katie Minkus, R(B)
Broker-in-Charge
Hawaii Life Real Estate Services, LLC
www.hawaiilife.com
Submitted by Missy Caulk on April 11, 2010 - 5:34am.
I hear that all the time too. In Michigan it is a very small percentage of people overbuying. The downturn in our economy started in 2001 when Ford started restructuring. Now it makes since as they were the only car company not to take a bailout.
Our downtown in Mi is tied to job losses, and not so much the buyers overbuying. When they don't have jobs, they move out of state or if they stay can't make their mortgage payment.
Missy Caulk
Ann Arbor, MI
Missy@MissyCaulk.com
www.AnnArborRealEstateTalk.com
www.SearchAnnArborHouses.com
Submitted by For Sale By Owner Guy on April 27, 2010 - 6:55am.
Katie, great write up :)
"The Book That Real Estate Agents Don't Want You To Read"