It is a warm wonderful cozy home, clean and tastefully decorated with my Ethan Allen curtains matching my Ethan Allen dining room set, my baby grand piano, laughing kids inside who adore me, pets, with kids who ride their bikes on the street, parents who walk their kids to the nearby school, interesting neighbors, kids who carpool with me, activities nearby that my kids walk/ride their bikes to, a park where our dog can run, mature trees, next to a creek and mountain trails for me to run, and full of chirping birds (even right now).
I am happier in this home than in the previous home which I owned and built. I gave up my $2500 Miele steam oven (yeah, ever heard of one?), Viking 6 burner range top, and green Iranian granite (so cool!!) for a simple 4 burner gas stove and formica. Small price to pay…I am financially much better off, and my husband is happier too without all those house projects that always weighed on him.
In an era of ridiculous home price inflation, a house cannot be thought of in the traditional sense of the American dream. It is an asset which is quickly losing value and will turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare, as thousands or millions of homeowners enter foreclosure.
(And wait until you get Fannie Mae’s audited books. They’re spending $800 million just on figuring out how bad the problem is…Gov’t bailout of unheard proportions coming soon..)
A house can become a shackle and a way to bankruptcy and foreclosure. We must think of a house as an asset, and not be emotionally attached. Many investors get attached to their stocks, and will not sell and cut their losses. Homeowners are like this, too.
Docteur, you can afford to lose 50% of your home equity. You made millions in your last deal, so you don’t mind losing $1mil in home equity. You deserve this, and for a person in your situation, this is the best decision. Someday, I hope to have a place paid off, where I don’t have to make any monthly payment to anyone.
For the median income American, and for anyone making that darn mortgage payment, losing 50% of equity will be a toughter burden to bear. Anyone with a mortgage or less than 50% equity, cannot afford to be carrying that house right now, because it is a shackle more than a home.
