A good dog deserves a bone
... but all distressed homeowners (home owers) should not be bailed out.
A client planning on relocating to Charleston will be visiting in a few weeks and sent me some listings that they would like to see. One of them was a short sale and as I generally like to do, I researched the history and tax records of the listing. What I discovered may (or may not) surprise you.
The home was purchased in fall 02 for $295,000 and after refinancing several times, the home ower now owes a mortgage company $550,000. The house is currently listed for $475,000 so of course, the seller will not receive enough proceeds from the sale of the house to pay off the lender, consequently, it is a short sale since the seller is short funds.
I'm hopeful that truly distressed and deserving borrowers can get some relief from their current situation; sadly, despite efforts thus far, very little has been successful in helping the little guy. After all, a good dog deserves a bone.
But one of the many ways the financial system got in trouble was lenders making these kinds of loans. Are the taxpayers supposed to bailout every bad decision. Or are we no longer accountable for our actions.
And where did the $255,000 go. This house was apparently used as an ATM machine, not a home to live in.
Photo courtesy of Flickr by MarthaRiley