Video: Bail me out, Obama!
posted at 1:50 pm on February 23, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Michelle has a clip from CNN that demonstrates the silliness of the mortgage-bailout efforts of the Obama administration. Minta Garcia and her family bought an $800,000 home that they could not afford, using speculative lending as a lever. The value of the house has dropped to $675,000, and now Garcia faces foreclosure. However, the coverage omits a critical piece of the puzzle:
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): School bus driver and mother of two, Minta Garcia got the letter every homeowner dreads, your mortgage is in jeopardy of going into foreclosure.
MINTA GARCIA, DISTRESSED HOMEOWNER: We’re going to be losing the house. We’re going to lose everything.
ACOSTA (on camera): You think you’re going to lose everything?
GARCIA: Yes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Her message to the president…
GARCIA: Stop with the foreclosure.
ACOSTA (on camera): Stop the foreclosures?
GARCIA: Yes. Right now, because if people are losing houses, losing jobs, what are we going to do? …
ACOSTA: Like countless other Americans, Garcia admits she and her husband bought more house than they could afford, but she says the lender made the purchase all too easy. Now her mortgage is worth more than her house.
(on camera): How much was the house when you bought it?
GARCIA: Eight hundred.
ACOSTA: Eight hundred thousand dollars?. And how much is the house worth?
GARCIA: Right now, it’s like $675,000 on the market.
I guess the first question I’d ask is what made a bus driver believe she could afford an $800,000 house. Unless she makes six figures and had a hell of a down payment, the figures themselves seem so far out of whack that one has to wonder how it occurred at all. The lenders certainly deserve blame here, too, but no one forced Minta Garcia into that house and that mortgage.
What has happened in too many cases is that homeowners took a speculative risk on their house, either buying a home they couldn’t afford or emptying the equity in their existing home in anticipation of above-inflation value growth. Once the market reinflated the equity, the owners could refinance with better terms on a fixed-rate mortgage and have a payment they could (barely) afford. Unfortunately, this Ponzi scheme imploded when housing at first failed to increase in value and then began to drop.
In other words, the homeowners took a risk based on market appreciation. Those who completed their refinancing before 2007 managed to avoid losses. Others took a risk and lost out. Let’s remember that Garcia’s home value only matters if she tries to sell the property. Lenders do not foreclose just because the valuation drops; they foreclose when borrowers can’t make the payments. Being under water on a mortgage doesn’t mean one can’t make payments as long as the owner bought a home and a mortgage he or she could afford.
Garcia didn’t do that, and now she wants taxpayers to indemnify her for taking a loss on a risk she assumed on her own. The government doesn’t exist to remove risk from speculative investments, and to the extent that they do so, they only ensure that more speculation rather than less takes place in the future.
Blowback
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Paying bills and living responsibly is so lame.
Hey Ed, didn’t you, like, um, support this concept during the election?
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Acting President Obama wants America’s lowlifes bailed out.
No word on how Acting President Obama wants to happen to the middle class.
tarpon on February 23, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Yes! They included my “Obama’s three-legged stool” monster diagram!
Glenn Jericho on February 23, 2009 at 1:54 PM
“predator borrower” Peter Schiff.
the_nile on February 23, 2009 at 1:54 PM
IDIOT!
I have zero sympathy for her.
OmahaConservative on February 23, 2009 at 1:54 PM
No I didn’t. I supported the idea of the Treasury buying back mortgage-backed securities that Congress had mandated on bad loans they encouraged. That was the original TARP program.
Ed Morrissey on February 23, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Too bad dumb ass but your blatant irresponsibly is not my problem. Use your own initiative and self-determination to work your way out of this self-inflicted problem and stay out of my wallet.
rplat on February 23, 2009 at 1:56 PM
I saw this on MM. Can someone please tell me what alternate universe this woman lives in which allows her to even DREAM of owning a 800,000 dollar home in her lifetime as a BUS DRIVER? unicorns must be involved.
Mommypundit on February 23, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Moral hazard. Plain and simple.
jbh45 on February 23, 2009 at 1:57 PM
You got the 92% and the other 8%.
I believe the 92% that are paying their mortgage, pay the mortgage first. That’s the way is in my house. We pay the mortgage first! Then we decide where the rest of our income will go.
I believe the 8% do just the opposite. Fulfill their other needs, and then pay the evil mortgage lender.
Now of course this is just speculation. But I believe it is by and large, true.
garry on February 23, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Octobama strikes again!
By the way: I’ve been renting for years because I wasn’t making enough to feel comfortable being saddled with a big loan for a house that cost more than I thought it was worth. So, like, gimme a house, Barack-baby! Now! I deserve it!
No, wait, I’m a middle-class honky. Guess I don’t deserve it.
MrScribbler on February 23, 2009 at 1:57 PM
second question: where is the father?
third question: what the h is wrong with renting?
Mommypundit on February 23, 2009 at 1:58 PM
I have much less sympathy for the greedy lenders who instead of doing their due diligence checking the borrower out were all to happy to lend other people’s money and collect their fees.
starfleet_dude on February 23, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Socializing risk is the first step to a centrally controlled economy. In all of the pro-Communist movies, there is always a scene where a man (who is accompanyed by his whole family, kids and all) goes to an employer hoping to get work for the day, only to be left at the locked gate as others win the daily lottery. And this man, who really wants to work for his family, is left to explain to his hugry kids that there will be no work (or food) for the day. If only we could give that man a job, he could feed his family.
Now, any movie that will show the spoils of the greedy free market capitalists will include a scene where a poor women is thrown out of her house because the bank forced her into a house she couldn’t afford.
RedSoxNation on February 23, 2009 at 1:58 PM
This whole thing is really stupid.
Chudi on February 23, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Yeah, bail that moron and every one like her and keep the housing prices up artificially high. Brilliant idea. That’ll never fail. It’s not like markets correct themselves or anything.
oddjob1138 on February 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Perhaps Ernesto will send her a check?
HAHAHA! No! I didn’t think so.
Perhaps she should call this guy!
ACORN to the rescue!
Talon on February 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Thanks for finding this clip. I saw this a couple days ago and I was wondering if I had heard wrong when the school bus driver said she has an $800,000 house.
BohicaTwentyTwo on February 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Absolutely no sympathy for this woman – she bought more house than she could afford. How did she think she was going to make the payments?
katiejane on February 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Boohoohoo! Now she’s going to have to rent . . . Oh, wait, that keeps a roof over her head too and gives her more money to spend in th rest of the economy. Plus, somebody else can buy her house on the cheap at auction and make money. Maybe he or she will even make money on it and pay Obama’s higher capital gains tax . ..
Where’s the downside again . . .?
PastorJon on February 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
People, lots of people, are PISSED about the bailout and spending that’s going on. You know those of us in the Chattering Classes! These voices need to be heard, but the media is ignoring all of it. With grass roots protests having started I think the appropriate place to direct them is to protest outside the local broadcast stations for ABC, then NBC, then CBS. If this can be organized and coordinated to happen across the country then we have a chance to get our Chattering voices heard by that friggin idiot Schumer. Let’s kill two birds with a stone, protest the government spending AND the media bias at one time. I don’t have the voice or reach to get this started…who can help?
timajin on February 23, 2009 at 2:00 PM
School bus driver?????
what kind of school bus driver owns a house like that???
yah the banks are solely to blame on that one…*smacks head*…
alexraye on February 23, 2009 at 2:01 PM
After the second debate (I believe), McCain offered this same program, where the government would renegotiate mortgages for people who were upside down.
Next day, you are all excited about it.
If I remember right, it was part of the original TARP. But what’s the difference? It was in there, now it’s just separate and distinct – which was entirely predictable.
I just want some honesty on these issues from everyone. Some of us here took a lot of crap from people who whined about the apocolypse. Welcome aboard the ship I say, but it’s a little late.
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Geez, I’m a fool. I bought an $85,000 1100sq ft house because that was what I could afford. I should’ve bought a much bigger one that I didn’t need and used some of the mortgage to buy a 56″ plasma tv instead of sticking with my old non HD ready CRT.
Sorry, but no sympathy from me.
rbj on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
If you need to work as a school bus driver, you cannot afford an $800,000 house. I hope every single foreclosed homeowner comes out and begs Obama for a bailout, just so he can see the monster he created.
Grafted on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
So she didn’t even lose her job, just fell behind in mortgage payments? Maybe she should get a second job?
Obama is trying to make this class warfare. “We bailed out Wall Street now why shouldn’t we bailout Main street you greedy rich taxpayers?”
Between that ACORN woman and this example, there hasn’t been one worthy bailout yet!
ctmom on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Yes, at a time when people are upset that we’re footing the bill for irresponsibility, show us more of people like her, who never should have gotten that house to begin with.
Esthier on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Not the greatest sell CNN ever made. They really should have chosen somebody whose kitchen didn’t have granite countertops.
capitalist piglet on February 23, 2009 at 2:02 PM
If this is an investment property, I can see walking. If this is their home, that’s a different story.
The Mintas are victims — of government interference in the mortgage market to the point where prices ballooned up past what anyone could afford. Lots of lenders made use of the fact that Freddie and Fannie were putting the full faith of the Federal Gov’t behind every loan to pull a bunch of shinanigans. People who should not have been eligible for these “jumbo” loans suddenly were.
Now the prices are coming back down to the point where people can afford to buy homes again, but the Garcias are stuck with a house they can’t afford.
The lender should either renegotiate or Minta should walk. She has not said that the Garcias don’t have jobs, so another house is possible in a few years of saving. Walking would hurt, but she has no equity in the house. Alternative is for the lender to absorb some of the loss in the interest of keeping the Garcias in the house and recouping more than $675,000 from the loan.
There isn’t a win-win situation here right now, but there could be.
My bet is that the bank will take the Stimulus and still kick the Garcias out.
unclesmrgol on February 23, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Thought I read/heard somewhere that people who didn’t have a chance of paying their mortgage(like this babe)would not get re-financing? I know, don’t say it, I’m naive and stupid and I’ll slap myself as soon as I finish typing.
jeanie on February 23, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Well lady if you want your own home, come on out to ND.
Rent is cheap while you save up for your down payment to buy another home you can afford.
Meanwhile, you may peruse the available properties.
We in podunk desperately need school bus drivers, so you can find a job here.
If your husband has skills, he can get a job anywhere here.
Even Walmart can’t find employees.
But if you come here for the welfare, just stay away.
Badger40 on February 23, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Absolutely the lenders were shady. No one in their right mind would be honorable and give a woman an $800,000 (I still cannot believe that number) home on a buss driver’s salary. But, hello…
…since when do we not know there are shady folks out there and to watch out for them? Her mistake should be handled by her church and/or family, not remedied by the government. And, it IS her mistake. Shame on her for NOT LIVING WITHIN HER MEANS. Shame on her (if this story is legit and she is the sole income earner) for putting her children at risk and moving into such an extravagant place when she could have rented. It is her fault.
Mommypundit on February 23, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Bed, made, lie.
This isn’t even the cause of an accident; just plain old stupidity on the part of this airheaded twat who is incapable of the grade-school-level math needed to balance one’s budget. There is NO reason for the government to come and rescue her from her idiotic choices at the unwilling expense of others. Quit keeping people like her from suffering the consequences of their own dumb@$$ery. She can serve as an example to others.
Dark-Star on February 23, 2009 at 2:03 PM
“… Garcia admits she and her husband bought more house than they could afford, but she says the lender made the purchase all too easy. Now her mortgage is worth more than her house.”
Yep, put a gun to her head and threatened to kill all her kids right in front of her, if she didn’t sign. Let me guess, Ms Garcia, was that one of those loans with no down and no declaration of income?
And liberals wonder why people ARE PISSED OFF?
HEY! I’m retired on a fixed income. I lost over $9k in the stock market on my 401k. The federal government going to make good on my loss?………crickets chirping…..
GarandFan on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
This is a joke, right? A bus driver bought an 800 grand house and wants us to bail her ass out? What’s truly pathetic is it appears CNN is playing this one straight. They really expect the average viewer to feel sorry for this woman. I say let her get foreclosed on. Go back to renting or get a $200,000 mortgage.
Doughboy on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
ROFL a bus driver with an 800k mortgage asking for a bailout to live in a house better than I can afford. Minta, get the hell out of that house.
I have zero sympathy for you.
dogsoldier on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Thank you CNN for showing this story. I am sure it will have the opposite affect that CNN intends. It didn’t but ten seconds of viewing to have a WTF moment.
WashJeff on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Stop making sense. Stop it! That isn’t going to fix anything.
juanito on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Wait. You mean I should’ve bought an $800,000 house a few years back? And stop paying on it? And I get to keep it?
Well, hell. Why didn’t someone tell me in the first place.
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
I don’t give a rats tail about this stupid woman. She should have known better. 800,000.00 home and she is a bus driver? I hope she does lose her home. Not only should the crooked Lenders pay but also most homeowners here in Ca. are illegal aliens. I don’t care what happens to them. They lied, the Lenders lied and we shouldn’t have to pay a cent for their ignorance. I hold them responsible for the jobs that are going out of business. That had a big part in this crap. Look at the people that were able to buy cars and didn’t think ahead about their car payments. I cannot remember how many cars have been repossessed. But was unbelievable.
sheebe on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Yes and no…
A lender likes to have a certain loan-to-value ratio in his loan. If the home value drops precipitously, then depending on how the loan is structured the lender may have the option to call the loan or require cash reserves. This helps insulates the lender from speculative borrowers.
JohnTant on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Wow 800K? Damn. I’m sweating the house we bought for 600k because that seems so high and we make over 250k a year and put 20% down. I mean, we can afford it but now it seems like we could have done with less.
Maybe she’s married and he makes a ton of dough. Doubtful though huh?
Dash on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
A school bus driver bought an $800,000 house???!!! WTF. I’ve worked for 36 years, with a college degree and never made enough money to buy an $800,000 house! The value of my house has declined too. Equity is fast disappearing. Can I get a bailout President Sock Monkey? By the way, I have made all my mortgage payments.
sdd on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Damn him! I’m sure she demanded he make it harder… and I’m sure the government was encouraging the lender to be very careful when selling expensive homes to Hispanic bus drivers.
Why didn’t that lender listen to her and refuse to sell her that home? WHY?
mankai on February 23, 2009 at 2:05 PM
bus. oops.
Mommypundit on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
God I hope some people see how stupid this was.
I remember back at the second debate, the instant McCain suggested his program the whole chat room went “NOOOOOOOOO”
It was hilarious, really.
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
The MSM is complicit in this ponzi scheme.
That lady needs to thrown out on her ass.
It does not matter that her house is worth less.
What were they going to do? Flip the $800,000 house
and buy a Million dollar house? Two kids – WTF??
All she needs is a 1500 sq ft house. The lenders did make
it easy but that bus has left the station.
She should be DENIED, thrown out and get a bad credit
score so she cannot get another loan.
Looks like apartment living is in your future. I did it for 10 years
and saved my money and have bought and sold several homes
that are paid off. What an idiot I am!!!!
izoneguy on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Don’t sign anything you don’t understand.
I’ve done it myself & paid the price.
Consider it a rough lesson to learn.
Then plan better later.
Badger40 on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Hey, I bought a home several years ago that was less home than I can afford. My dad had told me to always buy less than you can afford, “just in case”. So where is the money for those of us responsible home owners??? I would like to pay off my mortgage too!!!
Major Nuisance on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Even scarier is the fact that this idiotic dumbass of a moron is teaching those kids nothing about accountability or living within one’s means.
OmahaConservative on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Ed, did you see the article about how the mortgage crisis is really only based in 5 states?
juanito on February 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM
You know… more and more this pisses me off. When Mrs. Crazy Legs and I prequalified for a mortgage two years ago we prequalified for significantly more than what we wound up buying. But did we go for that upper limit house? No, because there was no way, once you figured in property taxes, that we would’ve been able to afford the payments. So what did we do? Found a house that was within our real price range and bought that. But because we can afford to pay our bills we get punished.
And where the heck does she get off buying an $800,000 house on a bus driver’s salary?
crazy_legs on February 23, 2009 at 2:07 PM
ahh. No kidding. We make 55K a year, two kids, one income and have a 130K home. I cannot CANNOT believe this woman.
Mommypundit on February 23, 2009 at 2:07 PM
it’s probably a union job
neal7 on February 23, 2009 at 2:07 PM
I bought a house two years ago because I was tired of renting and wanted a place where I could paint the walls and garden. I bought a house I could afford in a neighborhood that I really wanted to live in, despite the property and municipal taxes. I bought what I could afford and I bought what I wanted to live in for a real long time. I didn’t think of it as an financial inestment, I thought of it as an investment in my happiness and that of my family.
But now I am going to be paying for a bus driver who bought a house that costs 8 times what I bought? No way.
myrenovations on February 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Three letters… D – U – M !
(dumb)
Glenn Jericho on February 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Wah…me muero! NOT feeling badly at all about this woman’s so called plight. The only bus drivers that I have heard of making big cash are the ones who drive loads.
nor on February 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
That video was amazing. What a bleeding heart and everyone who refuses to help her is a heartless person who is racist. How the HELL could it even of occurred to her that she could afford an 800,000 house? Using a basic calculator with PERFECT credit and 10% down over a 30 year loan the payment would be $4143/month. Using the responsible method of borrowing that you should only have a house payment that is 1/4 of your gross income she would need to make a whopping 16,000 a month or $192,000/year. If a bus driver makes this much then my ass is in the wrong profession! I don’t wish her ill, but it’s not my job to bail you out because you made a poor decision. I don’t think it is even possible for her to stay in the house because the payment even at 0% interest would be $2000/month.
txaggie on February 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
That doesn’t surprise me. I know we’re not really feeling it in Texas, and my sister in Washington is a real estate agent and says that things are fine there except that people are afraid because of the news and won’t buy just on fear alone.
Esthier on February 23, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Mrs. Garcia, next time you feel like splurging on something really extravagant, do us all a favor and just hit Nordstrom like most American women do from time to time. And just in case something goes wrong, they have an excellent return policy. No blinding or confusing contracts, just a valid receipt.
sherry on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
GarandFan on February 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Know how you feel–so did I. Seems like that’s OK–the only people worth saving are mortgage defaulters, the un-employed, the working poor and the welfare folk. Apparently the rest of us have to re-arrange things so we fall into one of the above categories to get noticed. Make no mistake, there are a lot of us out there and 2010 will prove it.
jeanie on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Go to hell lady.
Someone please mirror this video somewhere else before they take it down when it starts sending people over the edge
Sugarbuzz on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
It is now.
Oldnuke on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
I want a pony. Click your red slippers and step to it Ozbama.
viking01 on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
You just wouldn’t do it because you apparently hate this country. A REAL patriot would borrow the maximum so he could supply jobs for more people.
How is the economy going to work with people trying to live within their means?
mankai on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Wow. I make a lot more than a bus driver but when I was faced with paying 450K for a townhouse, I opted to stay in my 80K condo for fear of anything happening that would hinder my ability make my mortgage. Perhaps I should’ve scored my expensive house and then saddled taxpaying suckers with my mortgage payment.
I can’t even express how much this pisses me off.
CookeyD on February 23, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Total BS!
What does a change in the house’s value have to do with not paying the mortgage.
Did this highly paid professional school bus driver lose her job?
I bought my first house in 1988. It never appreciated until about ’98. I just paid my bills and lived there.
Can’t stand this freak!
JiangxiDad on February 23, 2009 at 2:11 PM
What is the big problem with this? So what if they are foreclosed. If they have a job (and I know that is a big IF), why can’t they move to an apartment. It isn’t like they are going to be living on the streets. The people in this country are so spoiled.
Woe is me! I won’t be able to live in my 800K house. Shhh…. I can hear all the violins playing now.
PrincipledPilgrim on February 23, 2009 at 2:11 PM
CNN is so lame, of course the reporter fails to ask the obvious questions, like “what made you believe you could afford this home in the first place?”
echosyst on February 23, 2009 at 2:12 PM
I think CNN honestly believes that we’ll get angry with the lender… that’s how they (BHO) will spin these cases.
mankai on February 23, 2009 at 2:12 PM
My memory is foggy, did McCain propose helping nimrods like
Minta Garcia with Mortgage assistance?
WashJeff on February 23, 2009 at 2:13 PM
I’m fed up with the language of extreme that Obama and the media are washing over us: crisis, catastrophe, massive, and the like. Who says this number is countless? What’s the number of the foreclosures, and let’s discuss which homeowners, if any, are worthy of assistance. Flippers or multiple-home owners: no sympathy. People like Mrs. Garcia: if you got ripped off, make your case against the lender. If Obama wants the feds to intercede to help duped (and I’m skeptical) borrowers, maybe that has some merit. But no outright assistance. If there are other circumstances, such as a loss of a spouse, a debilitating injury, I’d still rather see these matters handled locally–family, friends, church, local charity, and other means of local assistance.
BuckeyeSam on February 23, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? Well, I don’t! Did you see that kitchen? What I wouldn’t give to have granite counter tops and a big center island. I guess I am an idiot for buying a house at half that price but something I can afford. Does anyone understand the concept of want vs. need anymore?
PAGOPgirl on February 23, 2009 at 2:14 PM
We need to tax these evil rich people to help out this poor lady. We all need to sacrifice because rich people are too rich and exploit poor people to get rich.
I weep for my country. This is only going to get worse. A Tea Party would be nice, but it should be only the beginning of any revolution to change this Socialist course we are on. We are in BIG, BIG trouble in this country.
King of the Britons on February 23, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Let alone the furnishings which were probably put on a credit card that will go unpaid.
sherry on February 23, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Capitalism: Smart people have lots, dumb people have little.
Communism: Smart people have little, dumb people have little.
Obamaism: Smart people have little, dumb people have lots.
At this point, Communism would be a step up.
Crusty on February 23, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Of course Octobama is trying to have it both ways, too. He’s bailing out the idiots who made the loan to poor Minta.
There is plenty of scorn waiting to be heaped. Give this woman — and others like her — their share, but the crooks now being protected from their idiocy by our trillions should be scorned and forced out of their cushy situations as well.
The sh*tweasels at AIG, Citi and other propped-up institutions knew damn well what they were doing. Let them hit the streets, too.
It’s time for realism all around. And we’re not going to get that from The Messiah.
MrScribbler on February 23, 2009 at 2:15 PM
And I’m supposed to bail out this bus driver’s lavish expectations of life without reviewing a complete credit application and history? What do you think I am…a bank or something? :O
GrayDog on February 23, 2009 at 2:15 PM
In a related story, the bus driver was forced to let her maid go… who must now face the prospect of losing one or more of her homes in Malibu.
How can you sleep, Mr. Bush?
mankai on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
My wife grew up in 400sq foot house. two parents, three kids, two bedrooms, one bath.
Our parents and grandparents grew up in houses that were sub 1000 sq. ft.
MarkTheGreat on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Well, then we have the homeowners that were comfortable with their VA mortgage, were making more than sufficient money to afford the monthly payments.
Then both lost their jobs.
Now the house payments are two month in arrears and no employment on the horizon.
SeniorD on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Yep. Second debate. About 5-10 minutes in; Obama was actually second in line to destroy the free market. Can you believe it?
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I could care less about who she thinks she is as a bus driver buying a $800K house. Free country, if she thinks she can swing it, and meet the risk, go ahead. However if she fails, and the risk bites her in the ass, then it’s her problem. Risk & reward. Don’t come crying to me because you were a jackhole who though they could work the system. And don’t start pointing fingers about how the lender made you do anything. What are you, six years old? For cripes’ sake stand up and be responsible for yourself. Frickin’Genius.
Boo freakin’ hoo. Come crawling to me with your hand out after that disgusting display, and I’d more than like likely smack that hand away, and then smack you in the head ask you what you thought you were doing.
Cry havoc!
juanito on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Just found out this weekend that the drivers ed teacher at the high school in my taxing juristiction gets paid $110,000 per year excluding benefits. SO yes, you are in the wrong profession.
WashJeff on February 23, 2009 at 2:16 PM
“stop the foreclosures”???? Does she think Obama is God? That the President is supposed to have that kind of power? Just snap his fingers and make everything better? What kind of country does she think we live in?
She’s a bus-driving mother of two buying an $800,000 house. What was she thinking when she bought the place? The lender “made it too easy?” Is she an adult? Is she allowed to vote and drive? Is she allowed to write a will or sign a contract or make other adult decisions that effect her or her family?
Why am I supposed to feel sorry for her? She got greedy and is now reaping the results of that greed. The world economy is going down the crapper in large part because of greedy people like her. When CEO’s get screwed because of their greed we’re all supposed to be happy about it. How is she any different than a CEO?
Man, I’m getting getting so sick of people.
29Victor on February 23, 2009 at 2:17 PM
So, if paying taxes to government is patriotic. Is receiving money from government unpatriotic?
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:17 PM
Just like our government, spending money they don’t have and assuming Utopia is just around the corner.
It wasn’t for the Mintas. A giant foreclosure sledgehammer was. TS baby, you asked for it, you own it.
fogw on February 23, 2009 at 2:17 PM
When my wife and I bought our house, the lender at GMAC was rather surprised at our approach.
I told the woman what we are willing to pay a month – about $100-200 what we were already paying in rent. When all the paperwork was established that our loan was about $120,000, she asked us if we’d like to see what we could have qualified for.
I told her that we were not tempted at all, but sure just to be curious.
$500,000!
I told my wife “See, I could get you a mansion – for a month!”
I told our lender that that was retarded. She proceeded to explain the situation – little knowing she was prophesying what was about to happen in the next year.
Nope, no sympathy for those folks – I don’t care if the lenders acted irresponsibly or not – the greed was from within. If they did not know what they were doing – such as my wife and I – then get some information before you commit. We did. We live in one of the leaders in foreclosures. We are terrified of joining that “club.”
kybowexar on February 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Why I voted against Obama and not for McCain.
WashJeff on February 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM
This is so racist, I don’t even know where to begin.
lorien1973 on February 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM
I believe I saw last week that HuffPo was actually SOLICITING mortgage sob-stories from the public. You see, the more we hear/read, the less hostile you people will be!
;-P
Marcus on February 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM
HAHA! How stupid do all those renters look now? You know, the idiots that for the last 5 years couldn’t afford to buy a house, so they did the responsible thing by renting and saving their money. Suckas!
Responsibility doesn’t pay under the Obama Administration.
BPD on February 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM
We have an independent thought over at HA… have the DoJ check on that “crisis” immediately. It’s on the internet… you’ll just have to find the right tube.
mankai on February 23, 2009 at 2:19 PM
YOu think that is bad, well, I want an Oompaloompa. I want an Oompaloompa, NOW!!!!!!!1
bloggless on February 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Poor old CNN–they’ve been in the tank so long they’ve managed to convince themselves they’re on to something here.
jeanie on February 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Big boys/girls don’t cry.
Not Over.
1GooDDaDDy on February 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
That’s what happens when you don’t have to make a down payment. When you had to put down 20% people made dam sure they didn’t want to lose it!
Caper29 on February 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Better nix that wish. When you get one & realize the little princess is a drain on your resources, you’ll realize the govt has made it impossible to pound out little princess the pony. So you’ll end up paying a vet a bunch of cash to put her down.
And if you live in town, you’ll have to pay for her burial-not cheap.
And you won’t find anyone who’ll take princess bcs aqll the horse shelters are FULL.
So you do have the option of dumping princess onto BLM or state/fed lands. Then she can get ripped to pieces by the wild horse herds there. And if that doesn’t happen, at least she’ll slowly starve to death!
Badger40 on February 23, 2009 at 2:21 PM
BTW, who in their right mind would pay $800,000 for that house?
bloggless on February 23, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t get this mentality. How does someone boldly get so far in over their head?? I could not put my family in this situation, don’t know how I would sleep at night.
I live in a nice home now, within our means. Have no doubt we’d downsize or rent if times were ‘hard’.
neal7 on February 23, 2009 at 2:22 PM
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