Whats the rush?

[Drazil65]

In my short 6 months here on this forum I have learned much and also have maybe taught some with what little knowledge I have gathered. One thing I have seen repeatedly though baffles me here, whats the rush to get into another mortgage?

I see people here asking about the time frame to get another mortgage, really? I guess I understand wanting to have that little piece of the American dream (or nightmare where BOA is concerned ) but in all that has come of their situations why the rush? Why not rent and rebuild your financial picture indefinitely? Enjoy life for a while and go slowly with your fresh start?

Sometimes I think this whole idea some have about having to have a house and paying that mortgage is another myth that the banks have instilled in our heads and partially responsible for the financial downfall of many. If you think about it a mortgage is nothing but rent as you really do not "own" it until it is paid off. In the mean time you are totally responsible for the upkeep and at the mercy of the bank that holds the collateral. In a financial crisis you see how the banks have rushed to help us at all costs right?

If we have learned nothing else from our current financial situation we have learned that living on borrowed/credit is not the be all end all place that the banks (and other big businesses have convinced us it should be) and being tied to a big bank (or small one for that matter) in any way is not financial freedom. We are running as far as we can from ever being tied to anything again for quite some time.

For some it seems that they cannot wait to start over with the credit and mortgages, what have they learned? Do not mean to offend anyone with this observation but after filing BK it becomes a case of less is more for sure. Maybe easier for us as we were not shoppers and never had the mind set to keep up with the neighbors (or relatives or whomever). We will live on a strickly cash basis and live comfortably at that. The fog certainly has lifted for us but it seems many are still blinded...

[tradinglife]

I for one HAVE learned my lesson, no more mcmansions, multiple new car leases, and maxed out cards. I would like to live debt free except for a modest home that we can call our own.For me getting a mortgage means I can allow my kids to grow up in a home they call their own, they can carve their name in the tree in the backyard and build memories. As a renter we are not putting down any roots, have no interest in making friends with neighbors, nor they with us, it feels llike we are just existing in limbo. And we are paying more in rent than what we would pay for a mortgage on a home we want. I guesss in urban areas where people live their whole lives in an apartment or condo (would never buy a condo, like buying an apartment) they would not feel the same way. I live in the midwest where to most people owning a home is part of your identity. Don't even like to have friends over anymore, as I am embarrassed about my situation. I know I shouldn't care what people think, but I do!

[mountanddo]

I for one HAVE learned my lesson, no more mcmansions, multiple new car leases, and maxed out cards. I would like to live debt free except for a modest home that we can call our own.For me getting a mortgage means I can allow my kids to grow up in a home they call their own, they can carve their name in the tree in the backyard and build memories. As a renter we are not putting down any roots, have no interest in making friends with neighbors, nor they with us, it feels llike we are just existing in limbo. And we are paying more in rent than what we would pay for a mortgage on a home we want. I guesss in urban areas where people live their whole lives in an apartment or condo (would never buy a condo, like buying an apartment) they would not feel the same way. I live in the midwest where to most people owning a home is part of your identity. Don't even like to have friends over anymore, as I am embarrassed about my situation. I know I shouldn't care what people think, but I do!

I really must learn my geography. I live in Minnesota and assume that is the midwest. I alway's thought of Kentucky as South. LOL I have to agree with everything said here. It would be nice to be able to call something my own. Change the toilet if I want. Paint the walls. All the things you can't do in apartments.

[tobee43]

i understand and see the pros and cons of home ownership. i found this time mag with the main article about rethinking homeownership in American, and although i posted it about june of this past year, (it's actually older than that), it really makes you think. here's the blog link, i found very interesting reading i thought i might share again since the subject matter came up.

http://www.bkforum.com/entry.php?2196-Rethinking-Homeownership

we downsized from 4500 square feet to 2k and are so happy now. actually and in all truthfulness, once the kids grew we closed all rooms but three and it was STILL costing us well over 1200 dollars for heating and electric monthly, winter summer fall or spiring! repairs were unreal. we lived there for 33 years and the pool, ponds, grounds were way to much for us to maintain anymore. i also do want to mention we didn't buy our house in the boom, we purchased back in 1976, but like many others refin'ed to to repairs etc., and then the medical bills hit and the long time jobs were lost. BANG we went down! but prior to that, we were never house poor, even with all the repairs, although as the house got older and older and the floods, black mold and septic and leech field problems were taking their toll, i am so thankful we left it.

i was raised keeping in mind one thought: YOU MUST own a home. no question. then one day some months ago when i was getting on my daughter about not re purchasing a house after she did a land contract on the one she owned in another state, she said, don't think so, i might have to move again for a job. plus i don't want any house problems, i don't want to hear the roof is leaking or the dishwasher is broken. let someone else worry about that. she's living in a mcmansion but pays really low rent and says there are hundreds she can chose from without the worries. ok, i'm still not exactly on board, but i got her point loud and clear. especially in light of the job market, it's of course, much easier to just pick up and move when one doesn't have a ball and chain of a house attached to them.

in as much as people being so concerned about when they will be able to get a mortgage again, it think it's a few factors, first the mind set many of us were raised with, secondly, another type of mind set where we were all able just a few years ago to go into a bank and get FREE money (or so we thought) and we are just use to be able to do that. the psychological effects of cutting someone off completely has many people uncertain about their futures because they were lead to believe this is the AMERICAN dream. it's going to take a ton of our social structure changing and doing a turn about to get people to look at things differently.

[Freddy03]

My reason is I'm fairly young I can't see paying rent for 30 plus years and not having anything to show for it.

[tobee43]

My reason is I'm fairly young I can't see paying rent for 30 plus years and not having anything to show for it.

yes, freddy, personally i feel, and i'm not fairly young, the same way as you. i just feel like it's throwing away money to rent. but i do understand the other side of it. i also think the banking situation in this country has to begin to loosen up some monies for mortgages, there is so much inventory laying around rotting when it can be filled with a loving family! somethings got to give!

[Diesel73L]

I personally can't imagine not owning a home, but that's just because of who we are as a family. I get that renting makes sense for some people, but just like we can't all be homeowners, we can't all be renters either. I burn wood for heat, perform my own maintenance and repair work on my vehicles, collect scrap metal and sell it, etc... There aren't too many landlords who want renters who do those things. The sentimental stuff is also a reason for us too. My parents built their own home and have lived there for nearly 30 years and will until they day they die. My old tire swing still hangs in the backyard and my dogs are buried there. We plan to stay in our home indefinitely-it's slightly underwater at the moment (which is to our advantage for BK of course), but it will recover. We are not in the same situation as folks who bought a $700K home that's now valued at $350K. Post filing we will owe on the house, one car, and student loans. Our goal is to live as frugally as possible for the next 10 years (cash only) and then evaluate our situation. We'll never use credit cards the way we did before, but I'd like to talk a long break before ever using one again.

[tobee43]

i hear you Diesel, but i soon learned home is most definitely where the heart is and not in the the walls.

i brought both my children threw that front door when they were born and watched them leave for college and bring back their future wife's and husband's. at first is was so hard, but i now really truly know better.

i understand very well, we lived out in the country were considered one the top gardens in the state, opened to the public for 2 weeks out of the year for tours. i ended up donating my trees to the state's botanical gardens, at least i know they well live on for the end of their life time in a place they are able to share their beauty and rarity. it was not an easy move, but today i realize it was one of the best things we ever did. but that's just us, and remember we are on the only half of a lifetime.

[8forme]

Well we will most likely be modifying our CH13 to surrender our house so we can move across the country. We have owned it for 8 years, before that we only ever rented. We both actually prefer to RENT. We have no interest in owning a house anytime soon. We prefer to rent as when something breaks, it is not our $$ that has to pay for it. We also like to move, the job allows for that, and like not being tied to one place. This is the longest we have lived anywhere and we are getting antsy. Not to mention this house is the biggest reason we had to declare BK and we both hate it for sucking us dry.

Our kids are homeschooled and we don't feel tied to a place because of schools. We may consider building a small place once we hit retirement that we pay cash for as we build but that would be it. We also have no interest in having credit cards. We have not used any in 2+ years and like to play cash or with our debit card. We have a corporate American Express for the business travel. Once we finish our 13 we will be free from owing anyone. We already feel very liberated. I never want to be beholden to anyone. We have already decided any newly purchased cars will be purchased with cash.

[bcohen]

I agree. I don't know why everyone is so "hot to trot" to buy another home, especially after they had to give one up in bankruptcy. Personally, I do not see much benefit of owning a home, as I believe that home is a place to sleep at night and store your stuff--not a status symbol to brag about and "show off" to your friends/neighbors.

It's also not clear that buying a home is such a wonderful investment, or that renting is "throwing away" money as so many claim. When you own a home, you are responsible for a large number of additional costs--above and beyond the monthly mortgage payment--which can be variable and unpredictable. Also, the money which you have tied up in the house may or may not be recovered upon its eventual sale, and usually could have been placed into much more profitable investments anyways.

When you rent (from a reputable company, of course) you are receiving peace of mind and convenience that your monthly cost is set in stone for the term of the lease, and that any maintenence and repair issues will be correctly performed, and not at your expense. Often times, a reputable apartment complex will include other amenities, such as beautiful landscaping, swimming pool, a playground for the kids, security patrol at night, etc, which would be expensive for a private homeowner to afford, but can be efficiently provided in a shared community.

Now of course, if you are living in a dump owned by a slumlord who is not investing into maintaining and improving the property, then yes you are throwing money away.

[Diesel73L]

I agree. I don't know why everyone is so "hot to trot" to buy another home, especially after they had to give one up in bankruptcy. Personally, I do not see much benefit of owning a home, as I believe that home is a place to sleep at night and store your stuff--not a status symbol to brag about and "show off" to your friends/neighbors.

I guess that some folks who find themselves in BK (or foreclosure) may have bought homes as a status symbol to "show off" to their friends and neighbors, but it's a little much to say that "everyone" buys a home for that reason. Some people just like more privacy and freedom to do as they please than a rental (apartment complex or otherwise) would allow. How many apartment complexes let you have backyard bonfires, hang deer, and pull engines on their property? I do have a friend who rents a small house on a farm not far from where we live and he actually has all this and more (gets to hunt the property, target shoot, ride his ATV, etc...), but that's not exactly a typical situation. Like I said, we can't all be buyers, but we can't all be renters either.

[LadyInTheRed]

Many seem to be answering the question "why buy again." The original question is "Why Rush?" A reason to rush would be that both property values and interest rates are currently very low. If you plan to get back into the real estate market at some point, now seems like a pretty good time to do that. It's a buyer's market, if you can get financing.

[tradinglife]

Many seem to be answering the question "why buy again." The original question is "Why Rush?" A reason to rush would be that both property values and interest rates are currently very low. If you plan to get back into the real estate market at some point, now seems like a pretty good time to do that. It's a buyer's market, if you can get financing.

If you can get financing, that's the key. Read a report last week that new home construction is up! Now when you read deeper into the report multi-family (apartments, duplex's) housing starts are up. We all may be renting in the future whether we want to or not. I myself feel like i am living in a hotel when I am in an apartment, no privacy!!

[Drazil65]

I appreciate all the input and many have good reasons. DH and I have owned many homes between us at different times for different reasons. Home is where you make it and it is not our identity. Everyone is here connected by BK in some way and if for no other reason seems like the whole idea of why each person owns a home was squashed by the bk. Why rush back into that major debt when it really did not work out for anyone this time around. I am sure many would say that they did everything to keep their house including get further into debt to the point of bankruptcy to save it. To those that say they want it because you are young, in my book that is even more reason to wait because you are young.

There are a whole lot of people (banks etc) that would like you to believe that you are nothing if you do not own a house. This has been very intense for us and although our house is exempt through TBE (DH only one filing) we will not reaffirm and will pay and stay until we are ready to move. We can not imagine getting right back into major (or any) debt at least for a while. This really affected us and drained us mentally, we will welcome the breather and take our rebuilding slow. this is very much a very personal choice and I wish everyone that has gone through or is going through bankruptcy the best in this journey.