Home Buyer Finds Hope

[NeMont]

Not sure I should have to pay for somebody buying a $700,000 house on a $45,000 income but he thinks the President is going to save him.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02192009/news/regionalnews/ray_of_hope_for_qns__homeowner_155903.htm

RAY OF HOPE FOR QNS. HOMEOWNER
February 19, 2009


Mohammed Khoda bought his Queens home at the peak of the real-estate market, and now that "everything is crashing," he's hoping President Obama can save him from foreclosure.

"It was our dream to get a home in New York City," the Bangladeshi immigrant said. "And now we only hope to be able to live here."

Khoda, 59, bought his two-family home on 160th Street in Jamaica for $700,000 in 2006. He, his wife and 17-year-old daughter share it with a tenant.

He took out two loans, at 7.25 percent and 10 percent, and was paying a total of $5,200 a month.

The tenant was paying him $2,800 and he owned a profitable business, a variety store called Caps and Bells, that earned him $45,000 a year.

"I started having problems one year ago," Khoda recalled. "Sometimes, the tenant wouldn't pay his rent. Then I had a lot of repairs and renovations to the home."

Then the economy tanked. "Business went down about 50 percent," he said.

After he paid the rent for his store, there was nothing left to cover the mortgage - so he stopped paying it about a year ago. He tried and failed to sell the home.

Khoda is hoping that he will qualify for Obama's plan to allow some struggling homeowners to refinance their loans, potentially saving hundreds of dollars a month.

Obama's plan, he said, "gives us some hope."

 

[overton]

He should have stayed in Bangladesh where homes are more affordable.

 

[kilowatt]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-19-09 AT 04:09PM (MST)[p]That looks like Bakersfield after it rains.
D13er is a Slum Lord down there.
Brian

 

[boomhand]

Someone please help me accept this. I bought my first house with a 10% mortgage in the early 80s on a construction workers salary that was 8 months a year if I was lucky. When I went for my mortgage they said I was qualified for X number of dollars and I borrowed what I could pay on 1 weeks take home pay. (1/2 of what they wanted me to take). I was out of work half the year in 74,78,82,84 then a boom in the late 80s. Early 90s no work again then good times. I didn't own a new car for 20 years and my wife had to drive the beater. I've never seen an hour of overtime I didn't work and have taken off only 2 sick days since 1974. Some years I worked 1000 hours OT with 7 day 12hour shifts. I've put my daughter through 4yrs of college and a son now halfway through with no (0) subsidies. I spent 25yrs cutting firewood to heat my home and every year half my raise goes to prop up my company healthcare. I have been paying for someones heating bill, college education, healthcare (probably illegals that do construction) and now while I sit in my 2000 square foot ranch house, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and I'm supposed to pay the mortgage for the guy up the street in the 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 50 inch plasma tv, leased BMW and Escalade whose,s bitchin about having to take his brats out of private school!!! (true story) Sorry I had to vent.

 

[NeMont]

Boomhand,

The only thing I can tell you is that at least you know you pulled your own weight, contributed to your families well being and did what is right, rather then what is easy.

The entire stimulus spending is designed to hurt people who save for a rainy day and reward those who spend like drunken sailors.


Nemont

 

[boomhand]

Thanks Nemont. I just need you to come over and hit me in the back of the head with a spudwrench before I turn on Bill Oreilly tonite and put myself totally over the edge.

 

[TFinalshot]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-19-09 AT 06:35PM (MST)[p]
boom, you are spot on. i did similar, but I put myself though college. i'm very upset about all this and like nemont the only thing that keeps me sane is that i've done the right thing, i'm right.

I turned down all the college loans and worked three jobs year-round and went to school in my "spare" time, graduated went kept working and here I am. I too heat my house with 8 cords a year, pile on the warm cloths when it's 40 below, I turned down the huge car credit, never bought that boat that i've always wanted and turned away that monster mortgage offered to me.

Instead I saved up a lot of money, went conventional mostly cause off all the strings attached to federally backed mortgages, put a relatively large amount down on my house (again all from saving pennies every month), avoided PMI by doing so, got my payments down to within my budget, and now I'm starting to wonder if I will even be able to afford what i have.

I know it's going to be harder once this inflation kicks in, it's horrible to think that there's guys like us all over the country who are going to get the shaft, period. Hell, even the small amount that i've been able to stash away in cash aint worth chit and the few years worth of 401(k) i have has shrunk to the size of my pod when in an icy river over my belly button.

I got fired up about it so I talk to Max Baucus's (D) Montana, Chairman of the Finance Committee "stimulus" staff guy here in Montana the other day and I explained our story to him (I'm saying ours because we have a similar story as do a lot of other guys here on this board) and then I asked, "so what's in the stimulus for Montanans?"

He basically said, "nothing." Wait, let me be more clear so there's not missunderstandings, he did speak, and when he did, he said "there's nothing in it (the stimulus) for me or for my small, one man business."

There you go. . .

 

[WapitiBob]

neither of the 2 examples will benefit from the new plan.

 

[eelgrass]

Poor Mohammed Khoda, he's not alone. Stupid people and greedy banks. A bad combination.

On the bright side, my daughter and her husband just purchased a house in Modesto, CA. It sold new in 2004 for $650K. It was foreclosed on and they offered $215K. Much to their delight the offer was accepted and the deal will close Feb. 25th. (they can afford it). 5 bedroom 2.5 bath, 2800 sq.ft. I'm thrilled for them. Their first house.

 

[huntindude]

On the surface this deal sucks, but I'm going to withhold judgment until the details are out.

Nobody wants to pay for someone elses stupidity, but we pay welfare and it's the same thing. as some experts say the cost of doing nothing may be more than the cost of doing something. there are 9 million people who can't make their home payments today, there are millions more on ARM loans who won't be able to in the next 2 years. so is it cheaper and make more economic sense to assist the banks in a plan to keep these buyers in their home making some form of payment or bail the banks out after they get them dumped back on them? and the forclosures will further depress the market, and the economy so we all lose.


The time to fix this was before it happened, we're in damage control now, anything should be on the tabe. I don't like this idea one bit, but until we learn more about it and what might happen if something isn't done we should be asking questions. one thing you can be sure of is it isn't going to be fair and the idiots who bought houses they couldn't afford and the banks who made the loans are going to get off on welfare, but who said life is fair. if this saves money and the economy I could swallow it, if it won't let them live under a bridge.

 

[NeMont]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-20-09 AT 10:24AM (MST)[p]HD,

The problem is that if the proposed cram down rules are imposed then at the end of the day the only people willing to offer mortgages will be the Federal Government.

It isn't even really a fairness issue. The issue is that the entire program is designed to destroy savings and reward spending. That goes for the bailout of everything. If you were prudent in your spending, prudent in how you harnessed your labor, denied yourself the latest greatest our government is following policies that say basically, "You are stupid".

The equity in ones house in a illusion if the value is distorted by printed money and propped up loans. All this will do is prolong the day of reckoning. It is like being addicted to crack, if your crack dealer stopped selling to you then there is short term pain while you dry out, but long term you are better off because you got off crack, same goes for credit for these homeowners. I am sorry the economy turned south but that is life

Nemont

 

[huntindude]

I agree but what are the consequences of watching millions more forclosures happen in this economy? might it be cheaper to have someone paying 75% of their payment as opposed to ther taxpayer owning the house nobody can afford to buy? this is where we're at on the fanny and freddie mortgages.

Nobody born after WWII has ever seen a situation like we're in today. infact the world is learning as we go in this economic climate we've never seen , this ain't your daddy's economy it's a world economy . we aren't sure how to proceed and that's the fact of the matter, no idea is off the table at this point we have to realize that.

I hope when the details are out about this plan it will make more sense, if it's a joke I think the opposition to it will be strong enough to smash it.

 

[bwnco]

What a dumb Sht........ do the math...... Heck with him for close, throw his butt out, and re sale it to someone that can add and subtract..

 

[NeMont]

HD,

There is a saying in economics that says, "If anyone ever tells you that it is different this time, you can rest assured that it is not".

Let them go broke and allow all the people who kept their powder dry to buy up the assets of the over leveraged and over spenders. That is the way it is supposed to work. Let the people who sacrificed in order to be in a position to prosper in a downturn prosper. That will be better for everybody.

Nemont