My sister posted a rant the other day… My turn!
—Begin Rant—
We bought a condo in Cincinnati because we were told: (1) home prices never go down and (2) if you’re going to live there for more than 2 years, it is a safe investment. We now recognize both of those as lies. Always, always check a home v. rent calculator before buying (like this one).
We lost money on that condo (thousands of dollars; maybe upwards of $15,000). But we attributed the devaluation of our condo to the area, not to the market, as the housing bubble had not yet burst.
We stupidly bought a home in Florida when we moved here thinking the same thing (it was just before the housing bubble burst). I’m reading the news this morning when I see this: Mortgage lender Taylor Bean & Whitaker closes doors, shocks Ocala. So, our home in Florida is now probably worth about 1/3 less than we paid for it and our mortgage lender just went belly up. Supposedly Bank of America (a.k.a. the most evil bank on the planet) is now going to service our home loan. Great! Lucky us!
We’ve never missed a mortgage payment and we bought within our price range because we thought it was the right thing to do. This is the result. Argh!
Sometimes I wonder if life would be better if I lived like so many other Americans – deeper in debt every year with complete disregard for the ramifications. This whole “live within your means” thing seems to only benefit the crooks and scoundrels out there taking advantage of people like us!
—End Rant—
