A few years back, during the real estate boom, I remember wondering aloud how all of a sudden anyone with a pulse (and perhaps some without one) could get a mortgage. Like my dog (if I had one), could have qualified back then. It didn't seem right at the time, and now we're finding out exactly how wrong and illusory it all was.
I'm no economic expert, but it seems that it's past time for millions of people to start re-thinking the American Dream. What the hell is that supposed to be, anyway? People in the real estate industry would like you to think it's owning your own home. I have news for you, folks. Until the last note one your house has cleared, the bank owns it, and probably not even the same bank you financed it with in the first place.
I read a horrifying story in the paper the other day of a man who'd "owned" his home for close to 20 years. Never missed a payment. Then he ran into a rough patch financially, got a shady, adjustable rate re-fi, and ultimately lost the home to foreclosure.
American Dream? Or American Nightmare? Which is it?
