Yeah, that's why I wish people would do their 30 seconds of research.

The prices have gone up not because the value of the house is worth that much, but because people made mistakes and they want others to pay for it.

adam please dont use u.s.d if the might dollar sinks any lower im going to use it for toilet paper...thanks bush

Heh reminds me of a story I read this morning

Supermodel 'rejects dollar pay'



The model reportedly demanded euros for a Pantene advert

The world's richest model has reportedly reacted in her own way to the sliding value of the US dollar - by refusing to be paid in the currency.

Gisele Bündchen is said to be keen to avoid the US currency because of uncertainty over its strength.

models speaking out ..hmmmm is that safe

Also there has been a rash of lenders (like BofA, Countrywide, WaMu and many others) who are looking at investigations soon for intentionally colluding to...

• Artificially over-inflating property values post escrow.
• Overcharging borrowers with good credit based on race and income.
• Over-qualifying borrowers with bad credit knowing they couldn't meet the terms of the contracts.
• Failing to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley.

The coming bank failures are going to make the bank failures of the 80's look like a speed bump.

Just glad my house is paid for free and clear.

boy do i wish i have 27 more years to go

I love those who made their mistakes which raised my equity

I think the media might be putting an alarmist tone on this. Why are new home sales up? This is a crisis yes. A buyer for an investment as large as a house should be aware that adjustable rate mortgages are a gamble. Perhaps the people effected by this should consider renting. There is a divide in socio-economic classes. This is a reality. Also, a large number of these loans have been falsified by the borrower and lenders alike. Financial responsibility will be a hard learned lesson for Americans this decade. Now again, I'm forced by my nature to look at the individuals who are going through this dread of loosing a home. I am comforted by the knowledge that we are resilient as a country.

Biggest problem here is why do we as taxpayers have to consistently "foot the bill" for others lack of foresight. I personally bought my house at pre-katrina pricing (super over-inflated market due to the moveouts from New Orleans) with a fixed mortgage rate of 5.75%. My house purchased for 130k is currently worth in the neighborhood of 170-180k. And I have yet to make the renovations necessary to shoot the price over 200k. Oh and I have owned this one less than a year. Will I get any sort of relief? Of course not I bought at a extremely low rate, I can easily afford the payments and am in no danger of foreclosure. So I get nothing except increased taxes to help those struggling. When I do decide to sell I get to pay more taxes because I bought smart and renovated myself and could turn a profit on it. Conversely one of my employees bought a much smaller house which they have proceeded to "tear-up", they pay a couple hundred bucks more for and can barely afford their note each month because the bank told them they qualified for it. So I have to be penalized for their lack of understanding and failure to see the whole picture. It's really a shame that the banks dont make people go to a real estate seminar or class before signing a note. Ya sure you can afford the note its only $500 a month. What they dont tell you is then you have insurance and taxes and fire protection and insurance on the loan and all the other small charges that make that $500 note into an $850 note each month. But hey you qualified so you can afford it just dont plan on eating for 6 months of the year.