AARGH! Can somebody please explain this to me?

[markpkessinger]

So, my nephew and his wife, back in about 2006-2007, got suckered into taking out a mortgage on a home in Florida worth approximately 125% of the house's (then) value. When the bottom dropped out of the housing market, their mortgage was underwater. I don't know all the details of their mortgage arrangement, other than that it was a variable rate and when the bottom fell out of the market, their rate skyrocketed and they couldn't keep up with the payments. He, a Florida state trooper, and his wife, a dental hygienist, were forced into a very difficult bankruptcy in early 2009.

So what do I see when I sign on to Facebook? He and his wife (and his parents, my sister and her husband) are all supporting Romney -- the very guy who, if he had his way, would further eliminate regulations designed to guard against folks like them getting suckered like this. WTF???

[madaboutharry]

1. The absence of critical thinking skills explains a lot.

[Solomon]

2. This is an easy one. They blame Obama for having to

go bankrupt. See how convenient that is? It's all Obama's fault.

[krispos42]

3. The right-wing line...

...is that the evil, evil Democrats forced the banks to make loans to people who were unable to afford them.

See, the noble Republicans would have not made the banks do that, so that the banks would have been able to refuse your nephew's loan application, thus freeing your nephew from the choice to take a bank loan he felt he could have afforded.


Or something; I don't pretend it makes sense.


Maybe it's the "Obama's gunna git yer gunz" meme they push.

[WinkyDink]

4. People often blame the President in office instead of looking at the root causes.

[winstars]

5. They think they are just one break from being millionaires themselves of course...

I have a BIL and SIL that are basically working poor and they of course supported McGrampy in 2008 and now love them some Mittens. The SIL has 2 kids on her work insurance due to ObamaCare, so WTF right... (I am Obama and I care, he said!!!)

I have given up even thinking why they always vote against their own self interest. I just move on and essentially go with the fact that they are just frigging complete and utter idiots and there is nothing that can be done for them. Maybe if we still taught civics class in school but they ain't that young... I don't get it either I guess.

[99Forever]

6. You know what's really scary about this?

Someone that fucking stupid is a armed state trooper. But then, it is Florida.

[Honeycombe8]

7. My cynical view: They weren't "suckered in," to begin with. They were playing the game....

or so they thought, to get more house than they can afford. It's like how the rich people do it, I think some think.

I have a friend who was going to do a similar thing, but thank goodness, she ended up not buying a house at that time. A rich boss of hers was explaining to her how to get more house than she can afford the regular way. He told her that this is how people with money do it. I cautioned her about it. Told her I don't knkow about how rich people do that, but it's pretty simple math to figure out how much you can afford, and stick to that. It sounded dangerous to me to get fancy with that simple formula. And I knew enuf to know that variable rate was NOT something to do at that time. She reasoned, well I'll be getting raises, the value of the house will go up (etc.). Thank goodness she didn't buy a house at that time.

Your nephew and wife, I'm guessing, are two intelligent people who sound like they were doing something like my friend, knowing that they were gaming the system. They know what they can afford. They know that a variable mtge rate, at times of low rates, will go UP. They know a value was put on the house above its real value...but that allowed them to get more mortgage money. IMO, they knew they were working the system to buy a house that was more than they could really afford. The motge company was guilty, too. Don't get me wrong.

BTW, it doesn't really matter that their house was under water. It was the same house they bought, with the same deal they entered into. No change. As long as they didn't try to sell it, no problem.

The mtge rates also haven't gone up, have they? So the variable rate shouldn't be affecting them at this point.

I do distinguish the trooper and his wife from another type of buyer...say, a poor single working mother or couple, with no business experience, never having bought real estate before, no money so has no experience with interest and mortgage rates. That type of buyer was, IMO, taken advantage of by mortgage companies and banks. She may not have even been told she was getting a variable rate. Even if she had been told, she may not have realized how low the rates were then and so would be going up a LOT as the years passed, in addn to insurance and taxes.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. They signed an underwater mortgage at the git go!

obviously they aren't very bright and need to blame their mistakes on others.