Definitely not arguing with you..
I’m in the loan origiantion biz. I see some sad cases.
It’s simply too late to help them.
The crying on the “boards” IS an indication of the mess.
My guess is that at least 80%-90% of people bought property before 2003. They have decent loans and plenty of equity IF they didn’t use their home as an ATM machine.
The problems are for people who bought since 2005, with ARMS and those with little or no equity. It’s prob less than 10% of homes, but will get 99% of the media attention.
It’s going to be a mess, I’ve been saying it for years.
Most people don’t day trade their homes. Many people live in homes that are worth 5x-10x (or more) what they paid, and aren’t moving. It’s a crappy return on their asset, but don’t care.
What many people don’t realize is that even with a pile of equity in their home, they cannot get to it because they don’t qualify for a decent loan.
Some people are making a huge financial mistake by wanting their mortgage paid off sooner or completely.