Comments on: Wells Fargo sues itself over condo mortgage

By: No Longer Looking

No Longer Looking — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:17:44 +0000

Mr. Reasonable, I haven't borrowed a cent in years. Somehow, I manage.

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By: Mr. Reasonable

Mr. Reasonable — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:08:25 +0000

No Longer Looking: I have friends that went through bankruptcy 5 years ago. There are a lot of negatives, one being that borrowing money becomes much more difficult and expensive for a long time. People would be well advised to steer clear if possible.

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By: No Longer Looking

No Longer Looking — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:44:21 +0000

JD, For those who suddenly lost jobs, and have no other assets, I can't imagine bankruptcy will bother them if they are hundreds of thousands of dollars underwater.

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By: JD

JD — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:11:34 +0000

realpaul: In non-recourse states you can walk away from a mortgage without declaring bankruptcy, but here in Vancouver they'll come after you for the difference between what you owe on the house and it's current value. Ironically non-recourse loans did a great job of preventing banks from over-loaning on speculative real estate investments until they got too smart for their own good and invented the slice and dice reselling of debt. The story of the bank that sues itself just goes to show the general level of expertise at work in these financial institutions. I have a feeling that people who dream about a 'return to normalcy' based on the lunacy of the bubble years are going to be disappointed for a loooong time.

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By: realpaul

realpaul — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:43:20 +0000

Walking away from negative equity is just a numbers game.

"When negative equity rose to $50,000, 7% of those who consider strategic defaults to be immoral said they'd walk away. At $100,000 negative equity, 22% would do so. At negative $200,000, 37% of those with moral objections would nonetheless default, and at $300,000, 38% said they would.

Among those who had no moral reservations, the percentages were much higher. At $50,000 negative equity, 20% said they'd walk away. At negative $100,000, 41% would do so, as would 59% at negative $200,000 and 63% at $300,000.

The researchers found that age, tenure of homeownership, the frequency of foreclosures in a person's ZIP Code and even politics influence an owner's willingness to bail out of a mortgage. Owners under age 35 are less likely to have moral problems with strategic defaults,"

http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news…

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By: realpaul

realpaul — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:37:05 +0000

Stunning news of mass robot unemployment !!!! Tha future is now. Humans must die!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/technology/13ro…

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By: stats

stats — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:26:56 +0000

@YLTNboomerang: Looks like sales have plateaued and prices can't be far behind http://agentwill.com/weekly-stats/

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By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:08:23 +0000

Good for lawyers though, they always make money, no matter what!

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By: YLTNboomerang

YLTNboomerang — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:44:22 +0000

Just got back from Fort Lauderdale where the water taxi driver stated the price of the luxury waterfront condo (it actually was pretty damn fancy and very waterfront in the most exclusive area of town) at $340K for a 700sqft place to which everyone on the boat balked at such crazy prices. I'd much rather pay this price down there than in Vancouver any day. Speaking of Vancouver, I've been out of touch for the past couple weeks and have lost my access to the MLS site, does anyone have any charts depicting sales and average prices to confirm that the spring bounce is over and that prices are declining again? I'd really take comfort in seeing such a chart.

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