The Housing Market

Let's just say it, the housing market SUCKS!!! When Shawn and I purchased our townhouse in the Bay Area in 2003, we were talked into a variable interest rate. We were assured that refinancing wasn't an issue, and since our plans were to only be in the house 2-3 years, this was our best option. Who, besides Greenspan and a handful of mutli-millionaire executives, knew what was about to hit the United States?

Thankfully we only stayed in the house 18 months, and qualified for a Capital Gains exemption, we made out pretty good. We knew our next house, the one we are currently remodeling, was going to be a house we were going to stay in for 5-7 years. After that time frame, who knows where life is going to lead. We have lots of room in our house, even though we don't like the floor plan so much. We have 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 kitchenette that we are remodeling to be full kitchen ready if we ever needed it, and ahem - no dining rooms. We have converted the front bedroom into a dining room, so it's not too much of an issue right now. Plus, our kitchenette downstairs has room for an eat-in area. That's not the point! The point is, that we are blessed to have more than enough room for the two of us.

Here's the real point to this post: I feel terribly bad for all those folks who were talked into a variable interest rate a few years back, Shawn and I included because our current home is under a variable interest rate. Thankfully ours is fixed for 10 years, but still, that puts a bit of pressure on us to refinance. With the way the current market is going, we need to refinance soon before we too, like many other Americans, are upside down in our mortgage. This is not the case yet.

Now comes the ranting part: Every time I think about the hundreds and thousands of people who are taking advantage of the system I feel sick. I personally know a few people who 'short sold' their house just because they didn't want it anymore (then turned around and bought an even bigger house in one case I know of). My question to them would be this: "Who do you think is paying for your lack of responsibility?" You want to know who? Me! And all of the other taxpayers in the world, and all of the people trying to scrape by because their mortgage amount has doubled in the last year, that's who. It is quite understandable if someone has fallen on hard times, but to blatantly take advantage makes me physically sick.

I'm done ranting. Please resume your normal daily activities now.