Yep! I hear what you’re saying about your income (& exotic loan or move options).

I’m a professional & make a fair amount over the SD median income. I grew up here, moved away, and now I’m back (w/wife & kids in tow) with a decent career & a little $$ from selling my out-of-state home for a decent gain. Yet I still can’t touch anything in the areas I want to live with conventional financing.

I ran into a nice, seemingly intelligent woman at my younger son’s preschool a few months ago. We started talking about housing, and she gradually divulged that she & her husband are in a neg-am & can only afford the minimum pmt each month. They have some equity (bought 3yrs ago), and looked into selling only to be surprised by a $25,000 “pre-payment” penalty they would have to pay not only if they refinanced, but if the SOLD THE HOUSE! This isn’t some weird fly-by-night mtg broker, but Downey Savings. So they are basically forced to keep their house & suicide loan, and slowly burn up their equity praying things will turn out okay somehow.

Now – whenever a get the urge to jump into the market w/ an exotic loan, I think of this poor woman.

To be honest, I am bitter. The bankers w/ all their cheap $$ have ruined my hometown’s housing market. In two years, if things don’t look different, I’ll be moving as well.