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Friday, December 07, 2007
Felix Salmon Thinks I'm a Bad Person Salmon Sez: "If you're hoping to get a home [on] the cheap out of foreclosure, then maybe you're damaged." My response: Excuse me? Real estate is overvalued. Those who, like me, did not buy for that reason will naturally wait for prices to come down before considering buying. Foreclosure is one means by which the the expected price reductions will be effected. That's how the market works. There is nothing normative about it. I'm not going to buy a house until I find one that I like at a reasonable price. If that house is available as a result of foreclosure, so be it. *I* didn't cause the previous owners to buy more house than they could afford, nor did I scam them into signing an impossible mortgage. I strongly resent your characterization of those who hope to benefit from the coming rationalization of the real estate market as "damaged." Just because I saw this train wreck coming and anticipate the availability on the market of decent housing I can actually afford doesn't make me some kind of ghoul. I might feel good that I haven't overextended myself, but that's my right. And it doesn't make me "damaged." On the subject of what a good deal this plan is for everyone, I'd like to point out that the plan will give "relief" only to those who are already stretched to the limit. To the extent the plan is carried out, there will be that many more people stuck paying top dollar for a depreciating asset. Unless their incomes rise substantially, they won't be able to afford much else, and when the interest resets in five years, they'll be in the same boat they're in now: facing foreclosure. Yeah, this is a great deal. Update: Exclusive to ALG! Felix says he didn't mean it. See comments and judge for yourself. |