Vardon Family Might Avoid Foreclosure

8 Comments so far

1. Donna on December 12, 2008 7:07 pm

   Hi Diane, Actually going to washington is a good idea.I have been wondering if the powers that be consider this. During the boom of apartment complexes converting to condos, Banks positioned representatives at the home sales site to write mortages. This resulted in a large percentage of loans held by one bank in a community. Now that many of these same properties are in forclosure , the same bank is having “fire sales’ and bailing by selling these properties at 60-65% lower prices than they had orgianlly mortaged them for. Example:a condo that was sold at the time of conversion for $250,000 is now being sold by the bank for $115,000.the bank is creating it’s own nightmare.They are making a situation that will result in the next go around of properties in default. Here is why. The owners,especially investor owners (and that is the majority of all owners), that have beeen struggling, and taking money out of their pocket, to keep these mortgages current, have had to contend with dropping rental payments,since new owners buying from the bank can rent for much less that the original owners.Now you have to decie what is the upside to pouring more money into a property that is so devalued by the bank selling them so cheaply.Here is my suggestion at a solution.
   If the bank would have to drop the principle on existing mortages , in the same communtiy, to the same money they are selling them off, they wouldn’t rush to dump these properties at such give away prices. Also , if they can afford to sell them at these prices, doesn’ it make more sense to do this for the current home owner? The bank saves a ton of money, rather than going through expense and time cost of forclosure. It also would stop the glut of available housing. So Washington, here is a simple plan. why does everything have to be so complicated?

2. DebtFree on December 16, 2008 3:32 pm

   “Give away” prices?

   There was a Housing Bubble. It has burst. See chart:

   graphics.nytimes.com/images/2006/08/26/weekinreview/27leon_graph2.large.gif

   Rising home prices were fueled by speculators and everyday people using toxic loans to buy houses at unsustainable prices.

   Salaries have not doubled and tripled over the last few years. This was a classic “bubble” and it is over.

   Any effort to sustain bloated home prices is misguided, and only lengthens the pain during the inevitable correction.

   Add in increasing efforts to ship high-paying US jobs overseas, an increasing number of aging and retired Baby Boomers, and it becomes obvious we will NEVER see those over-inflated prices again.

   People who have lived within their means, who have savings and do not rely on credit, are being punished because they were responsible.

   This whole housing bubble is a real life demonstration of the old “Grasshopper and the Ant” story.

   This ant has no sympathy for reckless grasshoppers, and no desire to bail them out, either.

   Let the housing correction continue, where home prices can return to affordable levels, and in line with historic norms (i.e., tied to income, not toxic financing).

3. Dena on December 16, 2008 9:49 pm

   Dear Debt Free,
   The housing correction is being manipulated, job losses are creating the new wave of foreclosure. And many foreclosures have nothing to do with people who have not lived within their means. Addie Polk is 90-year-old woman. The toxic loans, government manipulation of interest rates, lack of responsible regulations of Wall Street as well as Toxic financing started this mess, it only looks like the housing market burst, but actually it is the economy that is broken.
   Like it or not, if you are an American Citizen, living somewhere in America, then you are part of the Bail Out.
   I would suggest that you pull out your savings, and stuff it in your mattress, when the Banks are done dumping toxic loans, and jobless families defaulting, there may not be any savings left. However, crime is predicted to be the next Boom.
   “We the People” need to go to Washington, stop the bailout going to “the criminals” and get help for your neighbhors.

   Otherwise, you may find thousands of homeless families sleeping on your door step to make ends meet.

4. Extreme Home Makeover Sneak Peek: Augustin Family of Keller, TX | Zillow® Blog on December 17, 2008 6:01 am

   [...] Vardon Family Might Avoid Foreclosure on Their Extreme Makeover Home [...]

5. concerned citizen on December 17, 2008 11:59 am

   So who is gonna help them next time. I’m not trying to be mean, and Idon’t know the details of why they went into forclosure procedings…but it would not surprise me if their issue is not money but how to deal with the money they do get. Listen to Dave Ramsey….

6. Not bitter on January 18, 2009 9:27 pm

   What a horrible thing to say. These are not people who accepted gifts and then blew their cash. These are people with extremely high health care costs for a disabled son and are victims just like everyone else of the burst of the mortgage bubble AND the auto industry disaster.

   Do some research on how much it costs to treat a child with autism and get them the resources they need. Then add on that they communicate with him by TOUCH. And try to grow a heart and think outside yourself. When you are aware of what the accusations you are making mean, feel free to open your mouth.
   I know you weren’t “trying” to be mean, but your accusations were hurtful and unfounded.

7. Maralago on January 21, 2009 2:33 pm

   debtfree and concerned citizen have no idea what they are talking about. I’m a policy analyst and housing is just one area I cover. Yes, there are plenty of stories to be told of genuinely dumb, greedy people who had no business buying houses yet did so anyway. Like the single mom receptionist on Long Island who bought a townhouse though she was well aware the mortgage would leave her only $100/mo. to live on. The Vardons problem is totally different - they have multiple family members with multiple physicall & developmental challenges. You who are trashing them haven’t a clue of the costs they incur, let alone the time & energy it costs them. You ought to be ashamed. These are people who are working hard & trying to do the right thing for a severely disable child instead of making the government take care of him. I cannot use on this forum the language I would like to tell you what I think of you. Autism is another area I cover and believe me, it is financially & emotionall devastating to family members. God Bless the Vardons and all those who helped them keep their home. I’m proud to say I sent a check. debt free & citizen should shut their pie holes & do the same.

8. Loan Modification Zoom on May 6, 2009 3:30 pm

   Its sad but a startling amount of people are (understandably) feeling more and more beyond hope when they receive notices of foreclosure. Let’s hope that rather than doing something drastic they get in touch with their lenders and can successfully modify their mortgages. A little has been done by President Obama and Congress towards economic recovery - the stimulus, Making Home Affordable, et. al. but not enough; these are our neighbors, family, and friends facing foreclosure and feeling like they simply can’t go on. Its time to make a difference.