This seems like the right place to post my song lyrics — just in case you didn’t seem them in the other forum. Don’t have a tune for this yet…
JS
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he Upside-Down Blues
___________________________________
REFRAIN:
My father told me “Never rent”
But now my equity is now all spent
Thought I would always have my McMansion
Ever appreciating, to serve as my pension
Now my ARM is broken
And on bills I am choking
I’ve got those upside down Blues…
_____________________________________
I bought in the Spring of 2002
When the housing boom was fresh and new
Although I barely had enough money for rent
I had no trouble financing one hundred percent
Knew I would never regret
My huge load of debt
Since California real estate
Does nothing but appreciate
Adjustable rate,
interest only subprime
I borrowed a million
My payment: a dime
San Diego, LA and Corona Del Mar
It seems 800 k won’t go very far
My jumbo loan gave me the leverage
To buy something quite beyond the national average
Four Thousand square feet
At first seemed pretty sweet
I took my counters for granite
It was like owning a planet
I had my place near the coast
Many miles from the sprawl
I had a Beamer in the driveway
Plasma screens in the hall
In 2004 prices were hot
My net worth through the roof had shot
I did a cash out refi no points
And spent 200k on travel and joints
To get a loan I had to fog a mirror
They made it easy to get in arrears
The bankers knew I would never unload
They passed a tougher bankruptcy code
For four great years Greenspan was my hero
Now my fridge and net worth are both sub zero
In a pinch, I thought, I could always sell
Now my American dream is a vision of hell.
We are all understanding
That there is no soft landing
I was rich on paper
Now my equitys vapor
I’ve got those upside-down blues
My commute is a bummer
I can’t pay for my Hummer
And I’m busting my ass
For three dollar gas
Now that I am in repo
No longer shopping at Home Depot
My family needs a place to go
Where real estate is really low
A friend of mine says a boom is coming
Although it involves a bit of slumming
So off I go with little loot
I am buying a condo in Eastern Beirut
