This crisis is not the fault of the people you loaned money to....

[The Straight Story]

I was working two jobs, had a house here in Ohio and was living in CA. Those here who know me know I moved mainly because of health reasons related to my wife.

I wanted to keep my house here, which is why I was working two jobs and trying to get a third one.

The plan for us was simple - move out west, near wife's family, work hard, get her some good medical care - and if it didn't work out move back here to the first house I ever bought.

Then I got laid off of both my jobs - in the same month. One of the jobs I had (doing programming from home) was for the company that held my loan.

Things didn't go well out west and we moved back here.

That home I got a mortgage for a few years back, at 95k, is now listed on a HUD site for 45k. I live next door to it and see folks looking at it all the time, several people a day. I didn't have an ARM on it, my payments weren't all that bad really - but when you lose two jobs in the same month you kind of get in a bind (and the place I was renting in CA was owned by my in-laws who would have let me slide, and did, if I chose to pay for the house here instead of rent there).

I know quite a few people who have lost their homes, none of them because they had wild rates or homes they could not normally afford - they lost them because the economy went bad and they couldn't pay their mortgage.

The bailout seems to stem from investors who bet that people would pay, and I think many would have had they not lost their jobs.

I have 13 years of experience in the tech field, from managing several data centers to programming and I am having a hard time finding a job (I just took one as a security guard as I have 5 years experience in that plus my time as a cop). My credit is shot now, so I pay more for insurance and some companies do financial background checks and won't hire folks with bad credit scores.

I tried. I made mistakes to be sure, won't blame anyone other than myself for those. And I have accepted the fact that I have now lost my house, that I will probably work a couple of jobs 7 days a week (even McD's won't hire me though because I am 'overqualified' but wendy's may be giving me a chance).

*I* will overcome this, I will work hard, pay off my debts, get my credit rating fixed, get health insurance so the wife can get the meds she needs, and so on.

No one can or will bail me out. But there are others who are in situations where they can be bailed out and make their payments - IF they can get some breathing room and have jobs that pay a living wage with some security for them.

If you think this is all about bad loans - well, I think you are somewhat wrong. People bought houses and wanted to live in them, worked hard for them, but employers have been dumping people at alarming rates. You can't pay for a home if you don't have an income.

Some want to bail out the investors who made these loans - I say make those loans good by giving people a second chance and a job where they can pay them. 30 year mortgage when most jobs don't last for more than a few years anymore?

Hell, we gave loans to people with crappy credit and many of them would have been happy to pay for it, but you laid them off, fired them, moved jobs overseas, or hired illegals at cut rates.

You gave the loans, now give people the jobs so they can pay them - and they will.

This crisis is not the fault of the people you loaned money to mostly, it is the fault of those who took the money away from people in the hopes of higher profits for shareholders.

You got your gains in the short term, but you lost them long term and now you are freaking out.

Welcome to my world.

[OhioChick]

1. A good example is Cleveland....

Most weren't foreclosures due to the sub-prime crisis, but due to joblessness. In my opinion, we can inject all we want into the financial sector and it won't make a difference down the road..........the bottom line is that people need JOBS......NOW.

IT field here too, I feel your pain.

[The Straight Story]

3. The bailout might fix the problem for some right now

But it does not address the root causes - people don't have the money to pay because they don't have jobs.

No one wants to lose their home, I didn't and it hurts like hell. If they gave me a second chance and a job I would make sure they made their money back. Many others feel the same I am sure.

[OhioChick]

5. Bingo!

Root cause = People need jobs. That's the bottom line.

I'm sorry to hear that your wife is ill. I wish her the best. My son is ill, as well. Don't even get me started on health care. :grr:

[TomInTib]

2. I have been wondering....

Damn, man...

We are all a bit screwed.

Tom

[The Straight Story]

4. Yeah we are

We get blamed for the current crisis, and the investors get bailed out but we don't.

How the fuck did that happen???

[Ilsa]

6. I don't blame the borrowers, unless they were speculating or

trying to get a good deal for a vacation home. I see nothing wrong with a person trying to buy a primary residence they can always depend on to be there for them, especially when prices are escalating the way they were.