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Article Roundup

October 16th, 2007 at 08:51 pm

Oh well it is very busy here.

Speaking of all this baby business, my niece was born yesterday!!!! She waited for my return. But that kind of sucks because it would have been easier to meet her this weekend when I Was in the Bay Area anyway. Planning to go down some evening (sneak out a little early) and drive back in the morning. A Lovely 2 hours but I can't justify MORE time off work. Dh used to work in the Bay though and I did it often. No traffic- a pleasant reverse commute at least. So I may be gone/busy most the week. Plus the fam is preparing for their Florida trip. Feels like a whirlwind over here.

I also got along so well with my sister (how bizarre) and no doubt part of it is her husband is shipped off to the Middle East (military) I was thinking about planning a visit to see her in NC. The airfare is rather cheap. If she could drive and let me stay with her, it might be a nice distraction for her. IT really wouldn't cost me much. But then I think to my vacation situation. I don't know. Maybe I could swing a red-eye on a Thursday and return on a Monday or something... Heck I should consider it while the fam is gone anwyay. Why not just make things CRAZIER? Wink But yes, that relationship was in the toilet and seems to be somewhat on the mend...

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Well some articles I skimmed through from when I Was gone. These caught my eye:

Tax Cuts Increased Income, but Hardly Equally

Text is http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/business/12tax.html and Link is
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/business/12tax.html

Lawmaker targets mortgage tax break for larger homes
Text is http://www.mercurynews.com/realestatenews/ci_7150187 and Link is
http://www.mercurynews.com/realestatenews/ci_7150187

Well, um, you know how I feel about this one - hehe. There may be some merits here to these arguments. But overall I roll my eyes. I personally don't live any further out from the center of town than the older areas (actually live closer) and I tire of hearing about our McMansions ruining the environment. OF course my house is not on par with these so not much to worry about. But I tire of hearing people with regular $500 electric/gas bills complaining about what energy hogs our big/new homes are. Get a grip. They are starting to install solar on many new homes which I think is AWESOME. Anyway, my house is 10 times more energy efficient than most older homes. Tired of hearing it. We will likely move out further and buy a larger home sometime down the road, but we'll probably pay cash so I guess I shouldn't fret. I just roll my eyes at the idea that anyone who wants a big house should be punished I guess, since there seems to be many misconceptions in that area. Plus it doesn't really make sense in an area like California. Of course there is SPRAWL - there are MILLIONS of people living here. We have to sprawl. I guess the idea that people with bigger houses commute more doesn't really mean much in an area like this, so the article annoyed me.

Few lenders are willing to make mortgage modifications, survey says
Text is http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/11/BUBTSL4IL.DTL and Link is
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/11/...

I found this interesting because Suze and Dave keep telling people that their mortgage lenders will work with them, BUT they keep calling and saying they are NOT working with them. Here's the disconnect. I think the lenders are in some big denial stage, for sure. Obviously it is in their better interest to work with those that can handle modifications to their loans (rather than go into foreclosure or short sale). But, um, yeah. They are in DENIAL at this point. I think it may get easier on people who foreclose down the line. For now, the lenders aren't budging. They are taking the foreclosure route first. Just kind of interesting.

FINALLY, I read this article in RD last night.

Text is http://www.rd.com/content/what-to-do-when-foreclosure-hits/ and Link is
http://www.rd.com/content/what-to-do-when-foreclosure-hits/

Not particularly interesting BUT it was the second time I read something along these lines:

"Those with adjustable rate mortgages who want to keep their homes—the majority of the ones being squeezed—will have to make big sacrifices: no new cars or computers, and fewer vacations and meals out (and forget extras like an upgrade to a flat-panel TV). "

Um, they are JOKING, right? These are the big sacrifices???? I Read an article that mentioned something very similar a few weeks back. Gosh, I don't remember, but it mentioned something like these "big sacrifices" and I rolled my eyes.

Like the endless callers to Suze and Dave I keep hearing are really concerned about not being able to buy a new car or a plasma TV. Their mortgages are adjusting to more than their entire income. Now that is quite a sacrifice! I think a lot of these people are worried how they are going to FEED their families. Where they will find shelter...

Secondly, I guess if "less vacation", "Eating out less", & driving older cars are big sacrifices, then we live in absolute depravity. Wink I had no idea!

Blech. People need to get a grip.

I don't know, I grew up very well, very middle class. I didn't grow up with vacations, new cars and eating out. Somehow I survived. Little to complain about. I think that the middle class has really changed. I do know plenty of people who would think that those are HUGE sacrifices. For sure. I think this may lead to a lot of the mortgage mess - the blur between wants and needs. But, yeah, I think people being forclosed on have bigger worries all the same. Kind of an insulting statement. & a sad statement about our society I guess. I should send that little quote off to my depression-era grandma and see what she has to say. Yeesh.

1 Responses to “Article Roundup”

  1. denisentexas Says:
    1192566639

    "Um, they are JOKING, right? These are the big sacrifices?"

    I wonder if the author means big in the sense that the numbers add up to a pretty fair figure. Even $100 spent monthly on eating out could make a decent dent in mortgage payments. And if you add that to spending for vacations and extras it could be a pretty large sum of money. I don't consider not eating out to be a large sacrifice, or even any kind of sacrifice, and haven't been on what most people consider vacation for more than 18 years but those things are just part of my life, such as it is!

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