Foreclosures come to McMansion country

[Liberal_in_LA]

(Who DOESN'T need a mudroom?) :nopity:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080407/us_nm/usa_housing_mcmansions_dc

Foreclosures come to McMansion country

Poor people weren't the only ones who took out risky, high-interest loans during the housing boom. The sharp increase in housing costs -- and the desire to live in brand-new, spacious houses with modern features -- led many affluent buyers to take out loans they couldn't afford.

"People had in their head, 'I need a mud room, I need giant columns, I need a media room, and I'm going to do anything to get it,"' said Robert Lang, co-director of Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute, a research organization that focuses on real estate and development.

[BlooInBloo]

1. People trying to convince themselves they're rich.

[cliffordu]

2. Sorry -

Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.

Basic math can keep predatory credit card companies at bay, predatory lenders as well.

Few in the McMansion mortgage brackets lack those math skills.



:nopity:

[Ishoutandscream2]

3. Help me here. What exactly is a "mud room"?

I guess I'm just out of touch.

[SoCalDem]

5. It's a smallish room , usually off the kitchen

...a place to deposit sports gear, muddy shoes, coats etc

often has a sink for washing the grunge off and maybe even a bench or two.. Older homes called them "breezeways"..

[Ishoutandscream2]

6. Ahhh... we call it the utility room

It's usually where the washer and dryer is.

[SoCalDem]

8. No.. the washer & dryer is in a different room

the laundry room :rofl:

When we were first married & had no kids, our CAT had her own room :)

[Ishoutandscream2]

12. LOL. We should just start a whole new thread on this

[fed-up]

18. great pic-I'll show it to BF as he is redoing his real, working mud room

yes, he comes in from his fields with a few inches of mud caked to the bottom of his boots during the rainy season

I got him a long coat rack at a garage sale a few years ago, but I love the built in bench seats in your pic-right now there are a few chairs for shoe changing

he could build it with open face cabinets on the bottom (in his spare-hahaha time)

[csziggy]

7. A mudroom is where you take off your boots and coat

...that is, if you have a real working farm. Ours is just an alcove across from the washer and dryer. But it keeps us from tracking the mud throughout the house when we come in from doing the farm chores.

McMansions with wine rooms AND wine cellars, cheese rooms, laundry rooms on every floor, craft rooms, sewing rooms, exercise rooms, theatre rooms, and on and on - now that I just don't get.

[SoCalDem]

10. Here's the house my friend's boyfriend is buying for her

yes he has money..no there won't be a mortgage.

She was married for 40 years to a man much older than she is, and when he passed away a few years ago, she steeled herself to spending the rest of her life alone..

BUT..she starting hanging out with a mutual friend of ours whom we have known for almost 20 years.. They hit it off and are now like two teenyboppers in love..

She and her first husband always lived just this side of peverty,m and since his death, she has been living in a singlewide trainer in a senior park..

This will be her FIRST house (not rented)..

http://www.homesandland.com/Real_Estate/CA/ZIP/92373/ListingId/10981815.html#

A CALIFORNIA MEDITERRANEAN ESTATE Designed inspired by the views from this ideal elevated location. Constructed with the finest of building materials and luxury amenities. Featuring an outdoor living room, kitchen, BBQ, fireplace, plasma TV speakers....1,088 sq. ft. master suite includes sitting/media area, fireplace, balcony and breakfast bar with sink....1,037 sq. ft. garage, 858 sq. ft. out door living area and 5,226 sq. ft. main house. 4 or 5 bedrooms with 7
bathrooms.

http://www.homesandland.com/Real_Estate/CA/City/Redlands/ListingId/10981815.html?Zip=92373

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Very nice.

It'll make a great commune once the recession comes. Lots of people could live in 5 bedrooms plus living space.

[ljm2002]

29. Nice first house!

Good for her, sounds like she certainly waited long enough!

[renate]

34. Good for her

The outdoor living room looks beautiful. What a change from a single-wide! Just goes to show how you never know what twists and turns life will bring.

(It does seem like too much room for one person... but I supposed compared with most of the rest of the world, my family's relatively little house is too much room for us, too.)

Congratulations to her--I hope she'll be very happy there!

[SoCalDem]

39. There will be the two of them..and he has 4 grown kids

and she has 3..and between them they have about 12 grandkids..so I guess they will fill the place up from time to time..
:)

[Muttocracy]

11. that sounds more like my idea of a mudroom - one with real mud! nt

[riderinthestorm]

14. Another farmer here

:hi: Illinois. I run an eventing and dressage horse training, breeding and boarding operation and have 2 acres of organic produce that I market at the local green market, and sell to my sister's organic restaurant.

I am finally, after 25 years of tripping over boots, muddy sneakers, snow pants, drenched coats, hats, gloves etc. - and the process of trying to shuck everything off while holding onto filthy dogs who just want to run in and snuggle down on the sofa, I am finally getting a dedicated mud room.

It'll be small, just 7 x 10 feet, adjacent to the bathroom with a shower but I am soooooo excited about finally having a closed off part of the house to shed this stuff, and contain the dogs, without the rest of the house being a mess. Or the company having to fall over the accumulated dirty crap at the door themselves.

I won't have a wine room, or entertainment center, or media room, or fancy kitchen, or master suite, or even a bathroom that's just for my husband and I - nope, I just wanted and will get a mud room in the new addition.

Welcome to DU.

[GoesTo11]

25. My whole house is a mudroom sometimes

Wish everyone would put away their boots and hang up their coats.

[patrice]

4. So, how do we identify those who "deserve" help and those who don't? nt

[depakid]

9. Campaign contributions and lobbying connections is how Reid & the Senate does it....

[GoesTo11]

26. Help them downsize

This was a good idea I heard. It's not like people who can't afford a huge house "deserve" to stay in it at taxpayer expense. But if they can afford a smaller house, it would be better to smooth their path to making a sale (not the same as a huge subsidy, just free them up from bankruptcy long enough to get market price), then their credit score survives and they can finance a smaller house on which they can afford the payments (maybe helping the seller of that second house in the process).

[renate]

35. That sounds like a totally excellent idea

... and I haven't heard it anywhere else, although now that you bring it up it seems so obvious. It would be the kind and compassionate thing to do (which of course is what banks are all about :)) and, from a political point of view, it would really help keep the economy from going over the precipice.

Is there a flaw in this plan? It really seems like a great idea to me. Of course, the value of the McMansions would be lost, but everyone owning a home below them in the housing market would benefit.

[Greyhound]

13. Why, do you suppose it is, that nobody has ever pointed out that the whole hyper-inflationary

housing valuation scam was created and fueled by these loans? That skewing the economic value of one market, far and above the other sectors, will always result in what we are seeing today? That the entire boom-bust cycle is created by those that control our economy and own our nation?

For a $75,000 house to be revalued to $250,000 in a few years through nothing more than collusion within an industry, was once illegal in this country, and now we sheeple just accept it as "the way things are".

Hmmm?:shrug:

[zazen]

15. want a shock? trulia.com now lists foreclosures

Just type in your local zip code.

I've been looking in the Cary/Raleigh area, and have seen several 600K plus mansions in foreclosure. I'm not buying at that price range, but still, I just can't believe it. When you go to realtytrac.com for more detailed info, the most common lender has been, of course, Countrywide.

[Better Believe It]

19. Here's The Ceiling In My Mud Room

[libodem]

16. The McMansions

are going to need multiple members with an income to afford to be inhabited. All the Aunts, Cousins and Uncles, neighbors and friends will have to move in to afford the mortgage. I have often wondered what kind of house payment these things take?

[emmadoggy]

24. My sister's mortgage payment

is $4200. She was just laid off from her six-figure salary job 2 weeks ago. :-(

[MissB]

28. That is insane.

And I'm sorry she was laid off.

$4200 isn't sustainable unless you have so much money that you can nearly pay the mortgage outright.

[emmadoggy]

30. It is insane. I could never imagine paying a mortgage that big.

They have a beautiful home and it's huge and though I would like a few of the luxuries they have, for the most part, it's way more than I need. So much of it is wasted. And the energy needs on top of it would be enough to choke me.

She is strongly thinking they will have to sell now. They built the home 2 years ago - their dream home. So even though the house is not what I would personally do/want/need - I feel horrible for them that they may have to give it up. Of course, the homes she is considering to move to if they sell are still at pretty much the same level of luxury. They (their current house) just happen to be on a large lot in a great location, so theirs is valued higher.

The money is mind-boggling to me.

[Thirtieschild]

17. Husband just asked if we lived in a McTrailer

We were amazed when neighbors told us we lived in the triple-wide, discovered we hadn't taken the time to read the info that said the wheels and axles had been removed. The house we'd lived in for 36 years was closing in two weeks, the house we were going to buy had failed inspection, we flew out here and had three days to find something. That's our excuse but it's possible, just possible, that we can put it down to a senior moment. Also, we had no idea that trailers were stucco with tile roofs.

[Ilsa]

20. "I NEED" this. "I deserve that." All are phrases that make

people rationalize spending beyond their means.

I guess some people haven't given much thought to how little their parents and grandparents made do with during The Great Depression.

[HughBeaumont]

21. "A median HOUSEHOLD (not individual - HB) income of $98,000"????

And they're buying homes worth $500,000 to 1.3 million dollars . . .. WHY?

That's what the wife and I make collectively, and we wouldn't even THINK of doing something so unbelievably stupid.

First of all, new as they may be, the inspectors that I've had come to the house that see these same McMansions say they truly are built to sell fast. Corners are cut just about everywhere to put these things up in a hurry, from framing to subfloors to insulation to foundations to roofing . . . . they're complete wastes of space, cost about as much as their exorbitant mortgage payment monthly to heat, cool and electrify, and are susceptible to mold problems and leaks of all kinds. Repair on these things is a bitch when your burning through savings just to afford the mortgage and utilities (not counting the likely land yacht or two they have in their garages).

Secondly, most basic financial books worth their salt tell people "Your home should be no more than 1 1/2 to 2 times your collective annual income, and 2x is even pushing it." Maybe not now, but eventually, any more than that and you're going to be financially FUCKED - I guarantee it. To own a home in the $500,000 and above range, you need to be making vascular surgeon-level salaries to keep your head above water. All these marketing reps, systems analysts and middle managers of the world . . . what are these people THINKING? Even if you're pulling in $100,000 a year (which most people aren't), that still is not good financial sensibility to purchase such a wasteful creature comfort.

The need-above-all for curb appeal and simply not accepting you're a peasant just isn't worth it.

[Greyhound]

23. That's the problem, there were no options. The deregulated loans

drove the price of houses up far further than would have been possible without them. You have to live where you work, and the sub-prime mortgages allowed those that fled the dot com market into real estate to get their money back through artificially induced inflation of the market. The people making $100,000 in their government jobs have very few choices in where they live, everywhere around DC is really expensive, and $500,000 for a modest house is not unusual at all.

[Romulox]

27. No options??? *I* didn't buy a house costing $500,000 in the past several years...

However did I manage? :shrug:

"everywhere around DC is really expensive"

It's not the job of the rest of us to subsidize housing in Washington DC. Move to Nebraska. :rofl:

[newfie11]

31. Sure come on out here to Nebraska!!

[Greyhound]

32. You live in one of the most depressed areas of the country.

Do you believe that your experience is the only one that matters? Do you think that someone working in Washington DC should live in Michigan? Are you going to subsidize that commute?

You seem to have completely missed the point, but that's not really surprising.:eyes:

[Romulox]

33. I live where I can afford to live. Give it a try!

:hi:

"You live in one of the most depressed areas of the country."

And you are apparently too good to live in a place like Michigan, but not good enough to make your own house payment. I've been composing a piece for tiny violin for you! :nopity:

"Are you going to subsidize that commute?"

Quit looking for a handout. Jesus. :eyes:

[Greyhound]

37. There is a point that you, disingenuously, continue to ignore.

BTW, I don't live anywhere near DC nor do I work for the government nor do I advocate subsidizing the mortgage crisis.

But thanks for exposing yourself as a narrow-minded buffoon, and thanks for turning this country into the cesspool it has become.

[Romulox]

38. Right, because living within your means is bad, and reckless spending is noble!

"BTW, I don't live anywhere near DC nor do I work for the government nor do I advocate subsidizing the mortgage crisis"

Well, then I don't advocate the government not bail YOU out--I guess we're both speaking about the hypothetical poor baby who can't afford their $500,000 McMansion. :rofl:

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

36. Yes there were!

I chose to buy a small condo rather than overpay for a house. As bad as the market is getting Ill likely get out even at worst.

The only people who are really being unfairly screwed by this mess are the ones who made good decisions (smaller or cheaper houses) only to see the folly of others destroy neighborhoods..