I have purchased two homes in my life

[NNN0LHI]

Had to have a $500.00 non-refundable application fee just to have the bank consider my loan application. Had to have 20% to down upfront. Had to be my own money we had saved up. It could not be not borrowed. Otherwise the bank would have justed laugh at me.

When exactly did these rules change to the current ones?

Anyone know?

Don

[LaurenG]

1. Same here and I think the last five years some mortgage companies

(like Country Wide) have done unimaginable harm by granting arm loans (to my 85 year old mom)to unsuspecting people who have always gotten home loans when they were qualified (diligently so) to afford them.

[Wickerman]

2. In 2002 or 2003 Bush was on TV touting the "ownership society"

and how people needed to get in their own homes. Around the same time, according to my financial planner, the rules of home ownership were relaxed and folks who didn't qualify under the old rules were allowed in and whole bevy of new financial products without backing or security were introduced to the market. And, here we are. :eyes:

[FreakinDJ]

4. Bush's economy was based on Re-Financing

America had no economy because Bush and Wall St shipped it off to China

So they created the Re-Finance Economy, where existing home owners took equity out of their homes, and Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac regulators ignored regulations at all cost

[FreakinDJ]

3. I made a $140,000 down payment on my 2nd home

6% FIX interest with payments that equal less then 25% of my Net Pay

and this Fucking Crisis has me scared I'll Lose my home

A Great Depression is like that

[NNN0LHI]

5. I may be wrong on this but back then if one took out a home improvement re-fi...

...didn't that re-fi money have to go into improving the house?

Or did I imagine this?

Don

[FreakinDJ]

6. Hummer, Harley Davidson, Escalade - sure thing

Lots of people just took the money and ran down to buy toys the 2002 - 2007 economy was fueled by it

Those watching Bob Villa and Flip this House violated so many building codes, or performed such shoddy work trying out for the 1st time functions that skilled craftsmen spend a life time learning, a lot of those homes were lawsuits waiting to happen

[NNN0LHI]

7. But am I wrong? Didn't that money used to have to be put back into the house?

Or am I misremembering?

Help me here.

Don

[TransitJohn]

8. It depends on the loan.

Some refinancing loans are home improvement specific. Others are simple home equity loans that let people treat their houses as ATM machines.

[FreakinDJ]

9. Yes you are correct - John

Actually from my perspective here in California the amount of money being taken out of homes in the form of "Home Equity" fueled the economy. I don't think Detroit could have sold all those gas guzzlers without it.

Basically they Funded the American Economy on speculative home values provided by "Unregulated Banking"

Switch the words "Home" for "Stock Market" and you have the "1929 Stock Market Crash" and the "Great Depression" all over again