Anyone else see problems here? $30,000 income buys $316,000 house?

[sandiego]

Foreclosed properties help new buyers

Low-income households becoming homeowners
By Emmet Pierce
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 11, 2007

The mortgage market meltdown and the resulting surge in foreclosed homes offered for sale has created welcome home-buying opportunities for San Diego County’s low-and moderate-income households.
Online: For information on first-time home buyer education programs, go to housingcollaborative.org

“When was the last time we put thousands of affordable housing units on the market?” asked Gabe del Rio of Community HousingWorks. “We are talking about homes you bought for $450,000 last year that now are being sold for about $300,000. . . . It makes a big difference.”

The opening is the first glimmer of hope for families long priced out of the region’s real estate market and is one positive aspect of the credit crunch that began over the summer when adjustable-rate mortgage failures took off.

Although foreclosures remain only a small fraction of the county housing picture, in some neighborhoods foreclosed homes “have become a significant part of the market,” del Rio said. He is vice president of lending and homeownership for Community HousingWorks, a local nonprofit group that provides housing services.

Researcher John Karevoll of DataQuick Information Systems said today’s price declines bring a sign of stability after the doubling in home prices recorded countywide between 2000 and 2005.

The county saw home affordability rates plummet during the first half of the decade as the region’s median home prices ranked among the highest in the nation.
“This is one of the first steps in a market that is starting to rebalance itself,” Karevoll said. “It is a good thing.”

But some housing analysts are concerned that speculators may snap up many of the foreclosed properties and convert them to rentals until home prices rise again. To head that off, City-County Reinvestment Task Force Director Jim Bliesner is exploring the creation of a public-private partnership to form a regional land bank. The bank would buy foreclosed homes to create affordable buying and renting opportunities.

The task force promotes private and public financing of affordable housing and economic development in neighborhoods suffering from a lack of investment.

The best deals for first-time buyers are in low-income areas such as City Heights, Bliesner said. On any given day, hundreds of homes in the county are in various stages of foreclosure, he said. “Everything indicates more properties will be on the market in the affordable range.”

Blas Vazquez, 40, a father of four who works the overnight shift at Ralphs in Carmel Mountain Ranch, bought a foreclosed home in City Heights. For years he and his wife, Maria, and their children, ages 9 to 16, have lived in a small apartment nearby.

“We tried to buy a condo for about a year, but we couldn’t afford it because the price was so high,” said Blas Vazquez, who has a second job as a gardener to make ends meet.

Working with Community HousingWorks and Bank of America loan officer Teresita Davis, the Vazquez family last month purchased a small two-bedroom home on 41st Street for $305,000. A year earlier, the house had been offered for $500,000, Davis said.

The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. Although the home is less than 900 square feet, it occupies a large lot that gives the Vazquez children plenty of room to play. There’s also a large covered front porch.

Most of the neighboring homes are modest but well-kept. Blas Vazquez said he eventually wants to enlarge the house.

“This is my first house in America,” said Vazquez, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004. “I have a beautiful family. Now I have everything.”

The glut of foreclosures has also created opportunity for renters, said Robert Adelizzi, a former banker who serves on the reinvestment task force. With home prices in decline, banks are eager to get foreclosures off their books.

Davis said the growing number of low-cost foreclosure homes has changed her approach in working with first-time buyers, broadening their choices.

“Last year all my buyers were in condos,” she said. “This year I have seven in houses.”

Those who buy foreclosed homes should be careful not to fall into the same traps that led the previous owners to default on their loans. That means not borrowing more than they can afford to repay. Home buyers should be able to sleep at night, Davis said.

The key to securing good financing on a foreclosed home is to get preapproved for a loan and to work with counselors designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, del Rio said. For loans of less than $417,000, which are purchased by government-sponsored Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, interest rates remain near historical lows.

Making foreclosed properties affordable to low-income households usually requires “a multilayered loan transaction,” said del Rio. “We utilize the California Housing Finance Agency’s first-mortgage product along with a variety of down-payment-assistance programs.”

The average buyer that del Rio’s agency works with has an income in the mid-$30,000s, and the average purchase price is $316,000.

Adelizzi said the current market situation may be short-lived, however. There is no guarantee that interest rates will remain favorable, and “we are not going to see these prices again.”

While some will benefit from foreclosures, others unable to pay their mortgages will lose their homes, said Paul Leonard, state director of the Center for Responsible Lending.

“There are winners and losers in this proposition,” he said. “Certainly, to the extent that financing is done in a responsible way, it will put people into homeownership. We don’t know where the market is going.”

In inner-city areas such as City Heights, prices on some foreclosed homes have dropped by as much as 40 percent in recent months, said Marc Carpenter, a real estate agent who specializes in foreclosures.

The jump in foreclosures has affected virtually all county ZIP codes, but the biggest numbers have been in Oceanside, Escondido, certain San Diego neighborhoods and areas in the southern portion of the county, including Chula Vista.

The county ZIP code with the most foreclosures was 91977, the Spring Valley area, with 98, representing an increase of 654 percent over the same period last year, DataQuick reported.

Filings of notices of default – the first legal action in the foreclosure process – show Oceanside ZIP code 92057 leading the county in the third quarter with 228, a 196 percent increase from a year earlier.

Blas and Maria Vazquez recently had a barbecue with friends to celebrate their purchase. Homeownership is part of the better life Blas envisioned when he came to the United States from Mexico in 1980.

In their new location, the couple now worry less about gangs and crime.

“My children, they can play outside,” Vazquez said. “I can do more gardening. I don’t know how to explain. It’s happy. When you have your family and your house, it’s another life.”

[PorkmanDelardo]

As the article explains, low income/first time homebuyers qualify with the assistance of patchwork of fixed rate loans and grants. Much of the loans are silent loans that will never have to be paid back if the home-owner meets certain requirements. The loans and grants can bring the actual loan balance close to 50% of the purchase price, hence a payment on on a loan of approx $150,000. Also included in the package is assistance with property taxes etc. Loan rates are typically lower to make the loans more affordable. So the month to month carrying costs are actually much lower than what appears on the surface. Getting qualified and going thru the process can be arduous, but the trade-off is well worth it. San Diego needs more affordable housing and more programs. Porkman

[blackbox]

Currently, this program is a waste of tax payers money, because it puts an artificial floor on home prices. These homes should be priced at around 150k to start with. Its sad to have our money keep this prices out of reach of people who actually don’t qualify for these programs. Let the system work inself out, and low income people with our tax payer money will be able to qualify for a much better home, and those above the minimum to qualify will be able to find something affortable quicker.

[PorkmanDelardo]

The flip side is the artificial ceiling created by the speculators, knife grabbers and the like. Give these working poor people a break. I have no problems with my tax dollars going towards affordable programs to assist people at the bottom of the economic ladder, to get a leg up, one rung at a time so to speak. What I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on is a wasteful unnecessary war prompted by the buffoon in the oval office. That is a whole other argument, not suitable for the website. Just my two cents. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Nice touche on the Porkman. No offense taken, but I got to give credit where credit is due. My moniker is directly related to my desire to eat anything delicious, preferably unhealthy, ie bacon, carnitas, and other lard-laden delicacies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman

[JWM in SD]

“FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies.”

So let’s see if I have this straight or not. You want to subsidize 50% of the purchase price with my tax dollars, meanwhile, I have to save hard money to be able to put 20% on a house that is likely no more than 50% more expensive than the subsidized one?

Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???

[NotCranky]

“Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???”

Jim what are you thinking?This buyer’s four kids, when they grow up semi illiterate, because of the poor education they will inevitably get, will go off and die in Iraq, so your kids can finish school and get a job where they are way over paid relative to the rest of the worlds salaries,for crunching numbers or some such thing. Get your head out of your ass JWM and look at the big picture. Watch KPBS for one night and read the sirnames of the fallen. This isn’t a gift from you to them. These are future soldiers for your country. Menawhile you get your lawn mowed cheap too. If you don’t want them to have your money the best thing to do is become a pascifist war protestor…oh but that would make us a poorer country and nobody would pay you what you are “worth”.

[JWM in SD]

Rustico,

What the hell are talking about?? I didn’t say anything about the guys race. As OcRenter pointed out already, about $50K of “equity” was vaporized already on that deal and guess who paid for that??? You and I. Whether the guy is illegal or not is not the point man.

I don’t ever recall pulling the race card in any of my posts. DO NOT EVER ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ME.

You Got That Rustico…Don’t do it…..

[JWM in SD]

Rustico,

What the hell are talking about?? I didn’t say anything about the guys race. As OcRenter pointed out already, about $50K of “equity” was vaporized already on that deal and guess who paid for that??? You and I. Whether the guy is illegal or not is not the point man.

I don’t ever recall pulling the race card in any of my posts. DO NOT EVER ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ME.

You Got That Rustico…Don’t do it…..

[JWM in SD]

Rustico,

What the hell are talking about?? I didn’t say anything about the guys race. As OcRenter pointed out already, about $50K of “equity” was vaporized already on that deal and guess who paid for that??? You and I. Whether the guy is illegal or not is not the point man.

I don’t ever recall pulling the race card in any of my posts. DO NOT EVER ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ME.

You Got That Rustico…Don’t do it…..

[JWM in SD]

Rustico,

What the hell are talking about?? I didn’t say anything about the guys race. As OcRenter pointed out already, about $50K of “equity” was vaporized already on that deal and guess who paid for that??? You and I. Whether the guy is illegal or not is not the point man.

I don’t ever recall pulling the race card in any of my posts. DO NOT EVER ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ME.

You Got That Rustico…Don’t do it…..

[NotCranky]

“Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???”

Jim what are you thinking?This buyer’s four kids, when they grow up semi illiterate, because of the poor education they will inevitably get, will go off and die in Iraq, so your kids can finish school and get a job where they are way over paid relative to the rest of the worlds salaries,for crunching numbers or some such thing. Get your head out of your ass JWM and look at the big picture. Watch KPBS for one night and read the sirnames of the fallen. This isn’t a gift from you to them. These are future soldiers for your country. Menawhile you get your lawn mowed cheap too. If you don’t want them to have your money the best thing to do is become a pascifist war protestor…oh but that would make us a poorer country and nobody would pay you what you are “worth”.

[NotCranky]

“Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???”

Jim what are you thinking?This buyer’s four kids, when they grow up semi illiterate, because of the poor education they will inevitably get, will go off and die in Iraq, so your kids can finish school and get a job where they are way over paid relative to the rest of the worlds salaries,for crunching numbers or some such thing. Get your head out of your ass JWM and look at the big picture. Watch KPBS for one night and read the sirnames of the fallen. This isn’t a gift from you to them. These are future soldiers for your country. Menawhile you get your lawn mowed cheap too. If you don’t want them to have your money the best thing to do is become a pascifist war protestor…oh but that would make us a poorer country and nobody would pay you what you are “worth”.

[NotCranky]

“Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???”

Jim what are you thinking?This buyer’s four kids, when they grow up semi illiterate, because of the poor education they will inevitably get, will go off and die in Iraq, so your kids can finish school and get a job where they are way over paid relative to the rest of the worlds salaries,for crunching numbers or some such thing. Get your head out of your ass JWM and look at the big picture. Watch KPBS for one night and read the sirnames of the fallen. This isn’t a gift from you to them. These are future soldiers for your country. Menawhile you get your lawn mowed cheap too. If you don’t want them to have your money the best thing to do is become a pascifist war protestor…oh but that would make us a poorer country and nobody would pay you what you are “worth”.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Back from my tasty bowl of menudo. Lots of thin skins around here. Fortunately, Porky sees thru the smoke screen of epithets and will not be pulled into a fruitless argument with war-mongering red-necked sycophants. Flattery will get you nowhere. The Porkman.

[meadandale]

Typical liberal: spews a bunch of ad hominem attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.

I have a suggestion for you and anyone else that thinks that we need to keep raising taxes and giving money to the ‘unfortunate’: open your checkbook and put your money where your mouth is.

I’d like to keep some of the money that I work for, thank you very much, rather than giving it to other people so they can be given the things I’ve worked several decades to finally earn for myself.

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO THE HATERS. I was born a poor mexican/american child. I grew up on an un-paved street in Logan Heights. (true story). Today, my annual salary is probably 5 times the amount that you earn. Did I mention that I am currently a renter? (PIGGINTONS UNITE!) My kids attend private schools. I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint. I just sold ONE of my businesses that I started 7 years ago for $5,000,000. I hire many employees, some college students, some close friends looking to supplement their incomes,etc. My businesses support many livelihoods. I pay all the requisite taxes that support the housing programs that you so vehemently despise. Only I am not so bitter as you appear to be. Life is too short to carry around all that hatred and bitterness. It’s okay to help people that are not so well off as you. Really it is.
Tranquilo………………….
Porkman

[NotCranky]

No te preocupes porkman. Ni estoy enojado con nadie. Mas vale quejar a mi perro que intentar cambiar una opinion aca. Lo explique de una forma que sera capaz de intender este mal hablado JWM. Casi se hizo de broma. Yo se que hay enormes distinciones entre los mexicanos, como qualquiera gente. Algunos van a llegar muy lejos y otros van a cortar cespedes no tengo prejuecios contra quien sea. De todo modos, a mi,me encanta la comida mexicana. Eres el jefe de porkyland, Esa es la que se vendio? Por que llevas el nombre de un asesino?

[PorkmanDelardo]

Ningunas preocupaciones aquí. No soy el dueño de Porkyland. Lamento que yo no fuera. Leí alot de libros de cómics crecer. Mi nombre de pantalla es de un carácter de libro de cómics, nada más. Felicidades. Porkman Delardo

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO MEADANDALE:
Typical liberal: spews a bunch of “ad hominem” attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.”

How did you know my battle cry? “Add hominy” to my bowl of menudo!!! Good call. Porkman

[stansd]

I got to spend some time with my brother this weekend. He makes about 60K/year managing a branch for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He works his ass off in what is at this point a dead end job and can barely pay the rent on his 300K (yes, he overpaid and made a dumb decision), 2BR condo in a neighborhood that could marginally be called the hood. His wife waits tables on the weekends and makes 10-12K/year to supplement while taking care of their daughter. They are scared to have a second because they know they can’t hold it together with two kids and two jobs.

My point: Even good people with decent jobs, a college education, and who are working their butts off can’t make it around here. These are also the very types of people who get displaced by social wellfare programs like this.

My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. He’s a fantastic guy personally, but can’t hold it together economically. Why on earth is the government subsidizing him and the gadener while simultaneously pushing guys like my brother either out of the market, or into doing asinine things like paying 300k for a 2BR condo that’s 20 years old in the hood.

Theirs a shortage of land around here, and prices have to settle above the national average given the desirability of the area. That said, let the market do it’s work-don’t reward the irresponsible while duly penalizing the responsible with higher property prices and higher taxes.

Stan

[drunkle]

“My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. ”

what program? which condos? when did he buy?

[stansd]

Drunkle,

Unfortunately don’t know all the details-didn’t probe too hard. For some reason, I can’t dig up their address right now-we rarely go to their condo. I could be a little light on pricing (I know it’s under 150K), but I know he only makes 30K/year or so, with his wife pulling in another 5-10K, and they can afford it with three kids.

Only restriction I recall is that they can’t sell for more than a 3%/year increase or something like that. It’s a place to live, but won’t generate a ton of equity.

Stan

[NotCranky]

Hey JWM,

Well I am sure you got the parody. On the race thing, I can see how you think I am pointing fingers at you ,but not really. I know you have never, ever done that.

My post was really about seeing things form a different light. Yes, the occupation of many low income immigrants has something to do with how I did that. You know by now that I wish the best for all. Obviously there are many points where what is good for one excludes benefit to the other and visa versa. Sometimes I see social programs as our great country way of making some of us resemble the noble characters in a Dickens novel instead of the villains, when otherwise we would probably just float around somewhere in between.

I think when push comes to shove the size of assistance being spoken of here is not the norm. I for one am O.K. with helping the working poor. That is the only place my charity goes, besides trying to be a good neighbor, I can tell you that. The able bodied non-working poor on the dole is a little harder to swallow.

All of us to some degree have a component of welfare to our “earnings and benefits” gained by virtue of our military supremacy and politics that land in our favor. Every single class element of our society, generally speaking weighs in heavily with a sense of entitlement, which is generally speaking rewarded some where along the line , so when I see kiss up kick down behavior I intervene.

[Raybyrnes]

By the way for all those thinking that this guy from the Union Tribune get a ahdn out read the following. Maybe this makes some people on the board feel better.

Already Losing Equity As We Speak
Today’s front page article in San Diego’s Union Tribune documents the saga of a hard working immigrant family scooping up a foreclosure bargain in the City Heights area of San Diego.

Here’s the excerpt from the story:

“Blas Vazquez, 40, a father of four who works the overnight shift at Ralphs in Carmel Mountain Ranch, bought a foreclosed home in City Heights. For years he and his wife, Maria, and their children, ages 9 to 16, have lived in a small apartment nearby.

“We tried to buy a condo for about a year, but we couldn’t afford it because the price was so high,” said Blas Vazquez, who has a second job as a gardener to make ends meet.

Working with Community HousingWorks and Bank of America loan officer Teresita Davis, the Vazquez family last month purchased a small two-bedroom home on 41st Street for $305,000. A year earlier, the house had been offered for $500,000, Davis said.

The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. Although the home is less than 900 square feet, it occupies a large lot that gives the Vazquez children plenty of room to play. There’s also a large covered front porch.”

As the reader that alerted us to the story pointed out, Mr. Vazquez paid $339/sqft for his “foreclosure bargain.” A quick check of Ziprealty reveals that Mr. Vazquez has already lost quite a bit of greens since he closed his deal…

Here’s one right on his street:

3403 41ST STREET, SD – East, CA 92105
–2 beds, 2 baths, 967 sqft
–5/2007: listed for $425,000
–Price Reduced: 07/30/07 — $425,000 to $400,000
–Price Reduced: 08/22/07 — $400,000 to $375,000
–Price Reduced: 09/21/07 — $375,000 to $325,000
–Price Reduced: 10/15/07 — $325,000 to $300,000
–Price Reduced: 10/25/07 — $300,000 to $275,000
–Price Reduced: 11/01/07 — $275,000 to $250,000 ($258/sqft).

…and what about this one just a few blocks away:

4451 REDWOOD ST, SD – East, CA 92105
–3 beds, 2 baths, 1,226 sqft
–10/02/2007: listed for $275,000
–10/29/2007: reduced to $249,000 ($203/sqft)

The 3403 41st street home trimmed its asking price 3 times, or $75,000 in reduction, while Mr. Vazquez was in escrow. Meanwhile, 4451 Redwood came on line and dropped its price as well duriing his escrow. By the time Mr. Vazquez close on his deal, he has lost 41% of his equity!

Remember folks, prices are heading toward 2001 pricing rapidly. The bleeding hearts at Community HousingWorks just created one more knife catcher that in all likelihood will fall victim to foreclosure in due time. Great work, Community HousingWorks!!!(http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html)

[Raybyrnes]

By the way for all those thinking that this guy from the Union Tribune get a ahdn out read the following. Maybe this makes some people on the board feel better.

Already Losing Equity As We Speak
Today’s front page article in San Diego’s Union Tribune documents the saga of a hard working immigrant family scooping up a foreclosure bargain in the City Heights area of San Diego.

Here’s the excerpt from the story:

“Blas Vazquez, 40, a father of four who works the overnight shift at Ralphs in Carmel Mountain Ranch, bought a foreclosed home in City Heights. For years he and his wife, Maria, and their children, ages 9 to 16, have lived in a small apartment nearby.

“We tried to buy a condo for about a year, but we couldn’t afford it because the price was so high,” said Blas Vazquez, who has a second job as a gardener to make ends meet.

Working with Community HousingWorks and Bank of America loan officer Teresita Davis, the Vazquez family last month purchased a small two-bedroom home on 41st Street for $305,000. A year earlier, the house had been offered for $500,000, Davis said.

The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. Although the home is less than 900 square feet, it occupies a large lot that gives the Vazquez children plenty of room to play. There’s also a large covered front porch.”

As the reader that alerted us to the story pointed out, Mr. Vazquez paid $339/sqft for his “foreclosure bargain.” A quick check of Ziprealty reveals that Mr. Vazquez has already lost quite a bit of greens since he closed his deal…

Here’s one right on his street:

3403 41ST STREET, SD – East, CA 92105
–2 beds, 2 baths, 967 sqft
–5/2007: listed for $425,000
–Price Reduced: 07/30/07 — $425,000 to $400,000
–Price Reduced: 08/22/07 — $400,000 to $375,000
–Price Reduced: 09/21/07 — $375,000 to $325,000
–Price Reduced: 10/15/07 — $325,000 to $300,000
–Price Reduced: 10/25/07 — $300,000 to $275,000
–Price Reduced: 11/01/07 — $275,000 to $250,000 ($258/sqft).

…and what about this one just a few blocks away:

4451 REDWOOD ST, SD – East, CA 92105
–3 beds, 2 baths, 1,226 sqft
–10/02/2007: listed for $275,000
–10/29/2007: reduced to $249,000 ($203/sqft)

The 3403 41st street home trimmed its asking price 3 times, or $75,000 in reduction, while Mr. Vazquez was in escrow. Meanwhile, 4451 Redwood came on line and dropped its price as well duriing his escrow. By the time Mr. Vazquez close on his deal, he has lost 41% of his equity!

Remember folks, prices are heading toward 2001 pricing rapidly. The bleeding hearts at Community HousingWorks just created one more knife catcher that in all likelihood will fall victim to foreclosure in due time. Great work, Community HousingWorks!!!(http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html)

[Raybyrnes]

By the way for all those thinking that this guy from the Union Tribune get a ahdn out read the following. Maybe this makes some people on the board feel better.

Already Losing Equity As We Speak
Today’s front page article in San Diego’s Union Tribune documents the saga of a hard working immigrant family scooping up a foreclosure bargain in the City Heights area of San Diego.

Here’s the excerpt from the story:

“Blas Vazquez, 40, a father of four who works the overnight shift at Ralphs in Carmel Mountain Ranch, bought a foreclosed home in City Heights. For years he and his wife, Maria, and their children, ages 9 to 16, have lived in a small apartment nearby.

“We tried to buy a condo for about a year, but we couldn’t afford it because the price was so high,” said Blas Vazquez, who has a second job as a gardener to make ends meet.

Working with Community HousingWorks and Bank of America loan officer Teresita Davis, the Vazquez family last month purchased a small two-bedroom home on 41st Street for $305,000. A year earlier, the house had been offered for $500,000, Davis said.

The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. Although the home is less than 900 square feet, it occupies a large lot that gives the Vazquez children plenty of room to play. There’s also a large covered front porch.”

As the reader that alerted us to the story pointed out, Mr. Vazquez paid $339/sqft for his “foreclosure bargain.” A quick check of Ziprealty reveals that Mr. Vazquez has already lost quite a bit of greens since he closed his deal…

Here’s one right on his street:

3403 41ST STREET, SD – East, CA 92105
–2 beds, 2 baths, 967 sqft
–5/2007: listed for $425,000
–Price Reduced: 07/30/07 — $425,000 to $400,000
–Price Reduced: 08/22/07 — $400,000 to $375,000
–Price Reduced: 09/21/07 — $375,000 to $325,000
–Price Reduced: 10/15/07 — $325,000 to $300,000
–Price Reduced: 10/25/07 — $300,000 to $275,000
–Price Reduced: 11/01/07 — $275,000 to $250,000 ($258/sqft).

…and what about this one just a few blocks away:

4451 REDWOOD ST, SD – East, CA 92105
–3 beds, 2 baths, 1,226 sqft
–10/02/2007: listed for $275,000
–10/29/2007: reduced to $249,000 ($203/sqft)

The 3403 41st street home trimmed its asking price 3 times, or $75,000 in reduction, while Mr. Vazquez was in escrow. Meanwhile, 4451 Redwood came on line and dropped its price as well duriing his escrow. By the time Mr. Vazquez close on his deal, he has lost 41% of his equity!

Remember folks, prices are heading toward 2001 pricing rapidly. The bleeding hearts at Community HousingWorks just created one more knife catcher that in all likelihood will fall victim to foreclosure in due time. Great work, Community HousingWorks!!!(http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html)

[Raybyrnes]

By the way for all those thinking that this guy from the Union Tribune get a ahdn out read the following. Maybe this makes some people on the board feel better.

Already Losing Equity As We Speak
Today’s front page article in San Diego’s Union Tribune documents the saga of a hard working immigrant family scooping up a foreclosure bargain in the City Heights area of San Diego.

Here’s the excerpt from the story:

“Blas Vazquez, 40, a father of four who works the overnight shift at Ralphs in Carmel Mountain Ranch, bought a foreclosed home in City Heights. For years he and his wife, Maria, and their children, ages 9 to 16, have lived in a small apartment nearby.

“We tried to buy a condo for about a year, but we couldn’t afford it because the price was so high,” said Blas Vazquez, who has a second job as a gardener to make ends meet.

Working with Community HousingWorks and Bank of America loan officer Teresita Davis, the Vazquez family last month purchased a small two-bedroom home on 41st Street for $305,000. A year earlier, the house had been offered for $500,000, Davis said.

The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. Although the home is less than 900 square feet, it occupies a large lot that gives the Vazquez children plenty of room to play. There’s also a large covered front porch.”

As the reader that alerted us to the story pointed out, Mr. Vazquez paid $339/sqft for his “foreclosure bargain.” A quick check of Ziprealty reveals that Mr. Vazquez has already lost quite a bit of greens since he closed his deal…

Here’s one right on his street:

3403 41ST STREET, SD – East, CA 92105
–2 beds, 2 baths, 967 sqft
–5/2007: listed for $425,000
–Price Reduced: 07/30/07 — $425,000 to $400,000
–Price Reduced: 08/22/07 — $400,000 to $375,000
–Price Reduced: 09/21/07 — $375,000 to $325,000
–Price Reduced: 10/15/07 — $325,000 to $300,000
–Price Reduced: 10/25/07 — $300,000 to $275,000
–Price Reduced: 11/01/07 — $275,000 to $250,000 ($258/sqft).

…and what about this one just a few blocks away:

4451 REDWOOD ST, SD – East, CA 92105
–3 beds, 2 baths, 1,226 sqft
–10/02/2007: listed for $275,000
–10/29/2007: reduced to $249,000 ($203/sqft)

The 3403 41st street home trimmed its asking price 3 times, or $75,000 in reduction, while Mr. Vazquez was in escrow. Meanwhile, 4451 Redwood came on line and dropped its price as well duriing his escrow. By the time Mr. Vazquez close on his deal, he has lost 41% of his equity!

Remember folks, prices are heading toward 2001 pricing rapidly. The bleeding hearts at Community HousingWorks just created one more knife catcher that in all likelihood will fall victim to foreclosure in due time. Great work, Community HousingWorks!!!(http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html)

[NotCranky]

Hey JWM,

Well I am sure you got the parody. On the race thing, I can see how you think I am pointing fingers at you ,but not really. I know you have never, ever done that.

My post was really about seeing things form a different light. Yes, the occupation of many low income immigrants has something to do with how I did that. You know by now that I wish the best for all. Obviously there are many points where what is good for one excludes benefit to the other and visa versa. Sometimes I see social programs as our great country way of making some of us resemble the noble characters in a Dickens novel instead of the villains, when otherwise we would probably just float around somewhere in between.

I think when push comes to shove the size of assistance being spoken of here is not the norm. I for one am O.K. with helping the working poor. That is the only place my charity goes, besides trying to be a good neighbor, I can tell you that. The able bodied non-working poor on the dole is a little harder to swallow.

All of us to some degree have a component of welfare to our “earnings and benefits” gained by virtue of our military supremacy and politics that land in our favor. Every single class element of our society, generally speaking weighs in heavily with a sense of entitlement, which is generally speaking rewarded some where along the line , so when I see kiss up kick down behavior I intervene.

[NotCranky]

Hey JWM,

Well I am sure you got the parody. On the race thing, I can see how you think I am pointing fingers at you ,but not really. I know you have never, ever done that.

My post was really about seeing things form a different light. Yes, the occupation of many low income immigrants has something to do with how I did that. You know by now that I wish the best for all. Obviously there are many points where what is good for one excludes benefit to the other and visa versa. Sometimes I see social programs as our great country way of making some of us resemble the noble characters in a Dickens novel instead of the villains, when otherwise we would probably just float around somewhere in between.

I think when push comes to shove the size of assistance being spoken of here is not the norm. I for one am O.K. with helping the working poor. That is the only place my charity goes, besides trying to be a good neighbor, I can tell you that. The able bodied non-working poor on the dole is a little harder to swallow.

All of us to some degree have a component of welfare to our “earnings and benefits” gained by virtue of our military supremacy and politics that land in our favor. Every single class element of our society, generally speaking weighs in heavily with a sense of entitlement, which is generally speaking rewarded some where along the line , so when I see kiss up kick down behavior I intervene.

[NotCranky]

Hey JWM,

Well I am sure you got the parody. On the race thing, I can see how you think I am pointing fingers at you ,but not really. I know you have never, ever done that.

My post was really about seeing things form a different light. Yes, the occupation of many low income immigrants has something to do with how I did that. You know by now that I wish the best for all. Obviously there are many points where what is good for one excludes benefit to the other and visa versa. Sometimes I see social programs as our great country way of making some of us resemble the noble characters in a Dickens novel instead of the villains, when otherwise we would probably just float around somewhere in between.

I think when push comes to shove the size of assistance being spoken of here is not the norm. I for one am O.K. with helping the working poor. That is the only place my charity goes, besides trying to be a good neighbor, I can tell you that. The able bodied non-working poor on the dole is a little harder to swallow.

All of us to some degree have a component of welfare to our “earnings and benefits” gained by virtue of our military supremacy and politics that land in our favor. Every single class element of our society, generally speaking weighs in heavily with a sense of entitlement, which is generally speaking rewarded some where along the line , so when I see kiss up kick down behavior I intervene.

[stansd]

Drunkle,

Unfortunately don’t know all the details-didn’t probe too hard. For some reason, I can’t dig up their address right now-we rarely go to their condo. I could be a little light on pricing (I know it’s under 150K), but I know he only makes 30K/year or so, with his wife pulling in another 5-10K, and they can afford it with three kids.

Only restriction I recall is that they can’t sell for more than a 3%/year increase or something like that. It’s a place to live, but won’t generate a ton of equity.

Stan

[stansd]

Drunkle,

Unfortunately don’t know all the details-didn’t probe too hard. For some reason, I can’t dig up their address right now-we rarely go to their condo. I could be a little light on pricing (I know it’s under 150K), but I know he only makes 30K/year or so, with his wife pulling in another 5-10K, and they can afford it with three kids.

Only restriction I recall is that they can’t sell for more than a 3%/year increase or something like that. It’s a place to live, but won’t generate a ton of equity.

Stan

[stansd]

Drunkle,

Unfortunately don’t know all the details-didn’t probe too hard. For some reason, I can’t dig up their address right now-we rarely go to their condo. I could be a little light on pricing (I know it’s under 150K), but I know he only makes 30K/year or so, with his wife pulling in another 5-10K, and they can afford it with three kids.

Only restriction I recall is that they can’t sell for more than a 3%/year increase or something like that. It’s a place to live, but won’t generate a ton of equity.

Stan

[Raybyrnes]

drunkle

Here are the sites for current housing. There is affordable housing in many parts of San Diego.

http://www.sdhc.org/hafirstimebuyer1.shtml

http://www.sdhc.org/giaffordhousingnews1b.shtml

I don’t know wehre people are saying that tax payers are subsidizing this housing. Developeres are required to set aside a % of units or pay in lieu fees that are used to pay for housing.

Now one could argue that the added costs to the developers are then passed on to the buyer of these market rate units. THat is very arguable.

The design of affordable housing is just that. Affordable. It is not typically low income. What this type of housing does is reduces costs to pay for police and fireman, teachers and nurses and other middle income families.

Now as an MBA student I would normally argue that market forces would be far better as it would distribute housing costs where they need to go. But unfortunately our local government is corrupt and run by developers therefore the market is inefficient.

People need to get a better handle on the cost of these programs. They do not come out of your pocket in the form of forgiveable loans. There are equity share programs, there are tax credits and there are units that will be permanently designated as affordable.

Any sort of forgiveness comes after a LOoooooooooooooong time by which point the majority of people will have moved on long before this event ever happened.

[Raybyrnes]

drunkle

Here are the sites for current housing. There is affordable housing in many parts of San Diego.

http://www.sdhc.org/hafirstimebuyer1.shtml

http://www.sdhc.org/giaffordhousingnews1b.shtml

I don’t know wehre people are saying that tax payers are subsidizing this housing. Developeres are required to set aside a % of units or pay in lieu fees that are used to pay for housing.

Now one could argue that the added costs to the developers are then passed on to the buyer of these market rate units. THat is very arguable.

The design of affordable housing is just that. Affordable. It is not typically low income. What this type of housing does is reduces costs to pay for police and fireman, teachers and nurses and other middle income families.

Now as an MBA student I would normally argue that market forces would be far better as it would distribute housing costs where they need to go. But unfortunately our local government is corrupt and run by developers therefore the market is inefficient.

People need to get a better handle on the cost of these programs. They do not come out of your pocket in the form of forgiveable loans. There are equity share programs, there are tax credits and there are units that will be permanently designated as affordable.

Any sort of forgiveness comes after a LOoooooooooooooong time by which point the majority of people will have moved on long before this event ever happened.

[Raybyrnes]

drunkle

Here are the sites for current housing. There is affordable housing in many parts of San Diego.

http://www.sdhc.org/hafirstimebuyer1.shtml

http://www.sdhc.org/giaffordhousingnews1b.shtml

I don’t know wehre people are saying that tax payers are subsidizing this housing. Developeres are required to set aside a % of units or pay in lieu fees that are used to pay for housing.

Now one could argue that the added costs to the developers are then passed on to the buyer of these market rate units. THat is very arguable.

The design of affordable housing is just that. Affordable. It is not typically low income. What this type of housing does is reduces costs to pay for police and fireman, teachers and nurses and other middle income families.

Now as an MBA student I would normally argue that market forces would be far better as it would distribute housing costs where they need to go. But unfortunately our local government is corrupt and run by developers therefore the market is inefficient.

People need to get a better handle on the cost of these programs. They do not come out of your pocket in the form of forgiveable loans. There are equity share programs, there are tax credits and there are units that will be permanently designated as affordable.

Any sort of forgiveness comes after a LOoooooooooooooong time by which point the majority of people will have moved on long before this event ever happened.

[Raybyrnes]

drunkle

Here are the sites for current housing. There is affordable housing in many parts of San Diego.

http://www.sdhc.org/hafirstimebuyer1.shtml

http://www.sdhc.org/giaffordhousingnews1b.shtml

I don’t know wehre people are saying that tax payers are subsidizing this housing. Developeres are required to set aside a % of units or pay in lieu fees that are used to pay for housing.

Now one could argue that the added costs to the developers are then passed on to the buyer of these market rate units. THat is very arguable.

The design of affordable housing is just that. Affordable. It is not typically low income. What this type of housing does is reduces costs to pay for police and fireman, teachers and nurses and other middle income families.

Now as an MBA student I would normally argue that market forces would be far better as it would distribute housing costs where they need to go. But unfortunately our local government is corrupt and run by developers therefore the market is inefficient.

People need to get a better handle on the cost of these programs. They do not come out of your pocket in the form of forgiveable loans. There are equity share programs, there are tax credits and there are units that will be permanently designated as affordable.

Any sort of forgiveness comes after a LOoooooooooooooong time by which point the majority of people will have moved on long before this event ever happened.

[drunkle]

“My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. ”

what program? which condos? when did he buy?

[drunkle]

“My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. ”

what program? which condos? when did he buy?

[drunkle]

“My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. ”

what program? which condos? when did he buy?

[stansd]

I got to spend some time with my brother this weekend. He makes about 60K/year managing a branch for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He works his ass off in what is at this point a dead end job and can barely pay the rent on his 300K (yes, he overpaid and made a dumb decision), 2BR condo in a neighborhood that could marginally be called the hood. His wife waits tables on the weekends and makes 10-12K/year to supplement while taking care of their daughter. They are scared to have a second because they know they can’t hold it together with two kids and two jobs.

My point: Even good people with decent jobs, a college education, and who are working their butts off can’t make it around here. These are also the very types of people who get displaced by social wellfare programs like this.

My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. He’s a fantastic guy personally, but can’t hold it together economically. Why on earth is the government subsidizing him and the gadener while simultaneously pushing guys like my brother either out of the market, or into doing asinine things like paying 300k for a 2BR condo that’s 20 years old in the hood.

Theirs a shortage of land around here, and prices have to settle above the national average given the desirability of the area. That said, let the market do it’s work-don’t reward the irresponsible while duly penalizing the responsible with higher property prices and higher taxes.

Stan

[stansd]

I got to spend some time with my brother this weekend. He makes about 60K/year managing a branch for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He works his ass off in what is at this point a dead end job and can barely pay the rent on his 300K (yes, he overpaid and made a dumb decision), 2BR condo in a neighborhood that could marginally be called the hood. His wife waits tables on the weekends and makes 10-12K/year to supplement while taking care of their daughter. They are scared to have a second because they know they can’t hold it together with two kids and two jobs.

My point: Even good people with decent jobs, a college education, and who are working their butts off can’t make it around here. These are also the very types of people who get displaced by social wellfare programs like this.

My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. He’s a fantastic guy personally, but can’t hold it together economically. Why on earth is the government subsidizing him and the gadener while simultaneously pushing guys like my brother either out of the market, or into doing asinine things like paying 300k for a 2BR condo that’s 20 years old in the hood.

Theirs a shortage of land around here, and prices have to settle above the national average given the desirability of the area. That said, let the market do it’s work-don’t reward the irresponsible while duly penalizing the responsible with higher property prices and higher taxes.

Stan

[stansd]

I got to spend some time with my brother this weekend. He makes about 60K/year managing a branch for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He works his ass off in what is at this point a dead end job and can barely pay the rent on his 300K (yes, he overpaid and made a dumb decision), 2BR condo in a neighborhood that could marginally be called the hood. His wife waits tables on the weekends and makes 10-12K/year to supplement while taking care of their daughter. They are scared to have a second because they know they can’t hold it together with two kids and two jobs.

My point: Even good people with decent jobs, a college education, and who are working their butts off can’t make it around here. These are also the very types of people who get displaced by social wellfare programs like this.

My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. He’s a fantastic guy personally, but can’t hold it together economically. Why on earth is the government subsidizing him and the gadener while simultaneously pushing guys like my brother either out of the market, or into doing asinine things like paying 300k for a 2BR condo that’s 20 years old in the hood.

Theirs a shortage of land around here, and prices have to settle above the national average given the desirability of the area. That said, let the market do it’s work-don’t reward the irresponsible while duly penalizing the responsible with higher property prices and higher taxes.

Stan

[Deserted]

This is no place for personal attacks.

The “ad hominem” attack is used only when you have nothing of value left to argue. And the racist remarks by some posters are beneath contempt.

I believe that the program cited in the article is fundamentally flawed. It violates basic economic law and logic. In the short-term it may help some families purchase some houses. In the long-term it will perpetuate overpriced housing and lead to a continuation of the very problem that it seeks to mitigate. By overpricing the market, this prevents other potential home buyers from purchasing. Over time, this program will have an opposite effect from that desired.

With certain extraordinary exceptions, whenever the government or some other outside entity attempts to control, manipulate, or otherwise “correct” a free market, it inevitably leads to unintended consequences — often the direct opposite of those intended.

One of the great ongoing real estate market disruptions is the mortgage interest deduction. When all other interest was taken off the list of allowed deductions in the 1986 “Tax Simplification Act” (a typical government sick joke, since it would be better termed the “CPA Full-employment Act”), the mortgage interest deduction was the only one left standing. Why? Hmmm…. realtors donate more money to politicians than almost any other group. What a coincidence! And so, in typical fashion, this law which was originally intended to make home ownership more affordable has lead to escalation in housing prices making home ownership less affordable.

Well, I didn’t tag myself contrarian for nothing.

[eyePod]

“I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint.”

This alone is such contentious rhetoric that it make me suspicious that Porkman is a troll. Not a serious discussion anyway.

[eyePod]

“I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint.”

This alone is such contentious rhetoric that it make me suspicious that Porkman is a troll. Not a serious discussion anyway.

[eyePod]

“I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint.”

This alone is such contentious rhetoric that it make me suspicious that Porkman is a troll. Not a serious discussion anyway.

[eyePod]

“I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint.”

This alone is such contentious rhetoric that it make me suspicious that Porkman is a troll. Not a serious discussion anyway.

[ocrenter]

bottom line:

the poor guy already lost over $50k after he closed on the home.

I remember when we purchased our OC condo in early 2004 we “made” $50k in equity during the escrow process. neighbors told us after we moved in the sellers were heard crying and screaming about this before they moved away.

things are happening just as fast coming down as they were going up.

ain’t a good time to buy, period!

[patientlywaiting]

I agree with Contrarian. Get rid of the mortgage interest deduction and zoning limits. House prices will then come crashing down.

Allow people in central areas to tear down the old run down houses and put in multi family buildings. Commoditize housing by standardizing building requirements. Pre-fab is the way to go.

[patientlywaiting]

Great point, ocrenter.

There’s a good chance that house prices, in recent developments where there are income-restricted units, will drop near or below the price of the subsidized units (airoso, la boheme, bressi, etc..).

Those income-restricted buyers will be underwater because they would have given up future appreciation by participating in the housing programs.

People who can’t afford to buy should save and rent. They’ll eventually be able to buy because the market always corrects.

If were’re going to help the poor, I’d rather give them 50c for each $1 that they put in a savings account that can’t be touched but for college education only.

[drunkle]

the really funny part is where 30k income is “poor”. median wages for males is something like 36k.

there are so many f’d up things about alot of things…

[drunkle]

the really funny part is where 30k income is “poor”. median wages for males is something like 36k.

there are so many f’d up things about alot of things…

[drunkle]

the really funny part is where 30k income is “poor”. median wages for males is something like 36k.

there are so many f’d up things about alot of things…

[drunkle]

the really funny part is where 30k income is “poor”. median wages for males is something like 36k.

there are so many f’d up things about alot of things…

[Deserted]

Interesting references on eliminating the mortgage interest deduction:

First, from the New York Times. hardly a beacon in the night for capitalism, but even they have a hard time justifying the tax break:

And now, from the dark side of the force:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/mortgage_interest_deduction/index.html

[Deserted]

Interesting references on eliminating the mortgage interest deduction:

First, from the New York Times. hardly a beacon in the night for capitalism, but even they have a hard time justifying the tax break:

And now, from the dark side of the force:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/mortgage_interest_deduction/index.html

[Deserted]

Interesting references on eliminating the mortgage interest deduction:

First, from the New York Times. hardly a beacon in the night for capitalism, but even they have a hard time justifying the tax break:

And now, from the dark side of the force:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/mortgage_interest_deduction/index.html

[Deserted]

Interesting references on eliminating the mortgage interest deduction:

First, from the New York Times. hardly a beacon in the night for capitalism, but even they have a hard time justifying the tax break:

And now, from the dark side of the force:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/mortgage_interest_deduction/index.html

[patientlywaiting]

Great point, ocrenter.

There’s a good chance that house prices, in recent developments where there are income-restricted units, will drop near or below the price of the subsidized units (airoso, la boheme, bressi, etc..).

Those income-restricted buyers will be underwater because they would have given up future appreciation by participating in the housing programs.

People who can’t afford to buy should save and rent. They’ll eventually be able to buy because the market always corrects.

If were’re going to help the poor, I’d rather give them 50c for each $1 that they put in a savings account that can’t be touched but for college education only.

[patientlywaiting]

Great point, ocrenter.

There’s a good chance that house prices, in recent developments where there are income-restricted units, will drop near or below the price of the subsidized units (airoso, la boheme, bressi, etc..).

Those income-restricted buyers will be underwater because they would have given up future appreciation by participating in the housing programs.

People who can’t afford to buy should save and rent. They’ll eventually be able to buy because the market always corrects.

If were’re going to help the poor, I’d rather give them 50c for each $1 that they put in a savings account that can’t be touched but for college education only.

[patientlywaiting]

Great point, ocrenter.

There’s a good chance that house prices, in recent developments where there are income-restricted units, will drop near or below the price of the subsidized units (airoso, la boheme, bressi, etc..).

Those income-restricted buyers will be underwater because they would have given up future appreciation by participating in the housing programs.

People who can’t afford to buy should save and rent. They’ll eventually be able to buy because the market always corrects.

If were’re going to help the poor, I’d rather give them 50c for each $1 that they put in a savings account that can’t be touched but for college education only.

[patientlywaiting]

I agree with Contrarian. Get rid of the mortgage interest deduction and zoning limits. House prices will then come crashing down.

Allow people in central areas to tear down the old run down houses and put in multi family buildings. Commoditize housing by standardizing building requirements. Pre-fab is the way to go.

[patientlywaiting]

I agree with Contrarian. Get rid of the mortgage interest deduction and zoning limits. House prices will then come crashing down.

Allow people in central areas to tear down the old run down houses and put in multi family buildings. Commoditize housing by standardizing building requirements. Pre-fab is the way to go.

[patientlywaiting]

I agree with Contrarian. Get rid of the mortgage interest deduction and zoning limits. House prices will then come crashing down.

Allow people in central areas to tear down the old run down houses and put in multi family buildings. Commoditize housing by standardizing building requirements. Pre-fab is the way to go.

[ocrenter]

bottom line:

the poor guy already lost over $50k after he closed on the home.

I remember when we purchased our OC condo in early 2004 we “made” $50k in equity during the escrow process. neighbors told us after we moved in the sellers were heard crying and screaming about this before they moved away.

things are happening just as fast coming down as they were going up.

ain’t a good time to buy, period!

[ocrenter]

bottom line:

the poor guy already lost over $50k after he closed on the home.

I remember when we purchased our OC condo in early 2004 we “made” $50k in equity during the escrow process. neighbors told us after we moved in the sellers were heard crying and screaming about this before they moved away.

things are happening just as fast coming down as they were going up.

ain’t a good time to buy, period!

[ocrenter]

bottom line:

the poor guy already lost over $50k after he closed on the home.

I remember when we purchased our OC condo in early 2004 we “made” $50k in equity during the escrow process. neighbors told us after we moved in the sellers were heard crying and screaming about this before they moved away.

things are happening just as fast coming down as they were going up.

ain’t a good time to buy, period!

[Deserted]

This is no place for personal attacks.

The “ad hominem” attack is used only when you have nothing of value left to argue. And the racist remarks by some posters are beneath contempt.

I believe that the program cited in the article is fundamentally flawed. It violates basic economic law and logic. In the short-term it may help some families purchase some houses. In the long-term it will perpetuate overpriced housing and lead to a continuation of the very problem that it seeks to mitigate. By overpricing the market, this prevents other potential home buyers from purchasing. Over time, this program will have an opposite effect from that desired.

With certain extraordinary exceptions, whenever the government or some other outside entity attempts to control, manipulate, or otherwise “correct” a free market, it inevitably leads to unintended consequences — often the direct opposite of those intended.

One of the great ongoing real estate market disruptions is the mortgage interest deduction. When all other interest was taken off the list of allowed deductions in the 1986 “Tax Simplification Act” (a typical government sick joke, since it would be better termed the “CPA Full-employment Act”), the mortgage interest deduction was the only one left standing. Why? Hmmm…. realtors donate more money to politicians than almost any other group. What a coincidence! And so, in typical fashion, this law which was originally intended to make home ownership more affordable has lead to escalation in housing prices making home ownership less affordable.

Well, I didn’t tag myself contrarian for nothing.

[Deserted]

This is no place for personal attacks.

The “ad hominem” attack is used only when you have nothing of value left to argue. And the racist remarks by some posters are beneath contempt.

I believe that the program cited in the article is fundamentally flawed. It violates basic economic law and logic. In the short-term it may help some families purchase some houses. In the long-term it will perpetuate overpriced housing and lead to a continuation of the very problem that it seeks to mitigate. By overpricing the market, this prevents other potential home buyers from purchasing. Over time, this program will have an opposite effect from that desired.

With certain extraordinary exceptions, whenever the government or some other outside entity attempts to control, manipulate, or otherwise “correct” a free market, it inevitably leads to unintended consequences — often the direct opposite of those intended.

One of the great ongoing real estate market disruptions is the mortgage interest deduction. When all other interest was taken off the list of allowed deductions in the 1986 “Tax Simplification Act” (a typical government sick joke, since it would be better termed the “CPA Full-employment Act”), the mortgage interest deduction was the only one left standing. Why? Hmmm…. realtors donate more money to politicians than almost any other group. What a coincidence! And so, in typical fashion, this law which was originally intended to make home ownership more affordable has lead to escalation in housing prices making home ownership less affordable.

Well, I didn’t tag myself contrarian for nothing.

[Deserted]

This is no place for personal attacks.

The “ad hominem” attack is used only when you have nothing of value left to argue. And the racist remarks by some posters are beneath contempt.

I believe that the program cited in the article is fundamentally flawed. It violates basic economic law and logic. In the short-term it may help some families purchase some houses. In the long-term it will perpetuate overpriced housing and lead to a continuation of the very problem that it seeks to mitigate. By overpricing the market, this prevents other potential home buyers from purchasing. Over time, this program will have an opposite effect from that desired.

With certain extraordinary exceptions, whenever the government or some other outside entity attempts to control, manipulate, or otherwise “correct” a free market, it inevitably leads to unintended consequences — often the direct opposite of those intended.

One of the great ongoing real estate market disruptions is the mortgage interest deduction. When all other interest was taken off the list of allowed deductions in the 1986 “Tax Simplification Act” (a typical government sick joke, since it would be better termed the “CPA Full-employment Act”), the mortgage interest deduction was the only one left standing. Why? Hmmm…. realtors donate more money to politicians than almost any other group. What a coincidence! And so, in typical fashion, this law which was originally intended to make home ownership more affordable has lead to escalation in housing prices making home ownership less affordable.

Well, I didn’t tag myself contrarian for nothing.

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO MEADANDALE:
Typical liberal: spews a bunch of “ad hominem” attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.”

How did you know my battle cry? “Add hominy” to my bowl of menudo!!! Good call. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO MEADANDALE:
Typical liberal: spews a bunch of “ad hominem” attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.”

How did you know my battle cry? “Add hominy” to my bowl of menudo!!! Good call. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO MEADANDALE:
Typical liberal: spews a bunch of “ad hominem” attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.”

How did you know my battle cry? “Add hominy” to my bowl of menudo!!! Good call. Porkman

[drunkle]

“The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. ”

300k home
30k stated income

97/3 fha loan

low income program, 5k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/nofaprograms.pdf

redevelopment funds 5-30k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/fshomeheights.pdf

results at best in a 270k price (not including whatever ancillary costs, agent fees, broker, etc).

at 6%, that’s some 1350/mo. 30k/year with 5 exemptions… dunno? 2500/mo in pocket? his wife probably works too…

it’s close, i wouldn’t do it, especially 300k purchase price for city heights. but doable and not ridiculously “socialized”.

[drunkle]

“The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. ”

300k home
30k stated income

97/3 fha loan

low income program, 5k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/nofaprograms.pdf

redevelopment funds 5-30k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/fshomeheights.pdf

results at best in a 270k price (not including whatever ancillary costs, agent fees, broker, etc).

at 6%, that’s some 1350/mo. 30k/year with 5 exemptions… dunno? 2500/mo in pocket? his wife probably works too…

it’s close, i wouldn’t do it, especially 300k purchase price for city heights. but doable and not ridiculously “socialized”.

[drunkle]

“The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. ”

300k home
30k stated income

97/3 fha loan

low income program, 5k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/nofaprograms.pdf

redevelopment funds 5-30k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/fshomeheights.pdf

results at best in a 270k price (not including whatever ancillary costs, agent fees, broker, etc).

at 6%, that’s some 1350/mo. 30k/year with 5 exemptions… dunno? 2500/mo in pocket? his wife probably works too…

it’s close, i wouldn’t do it, especially 300k purchase price for city heights. but doable and not ridiculously “socialized”.

[drunkle]

“The lending package that enabled the family to buy the home was a patchwork of fixed-rate loans, grants for low-income buyers and city redevelopment funds. ”

300k home
30k stated income

97/3 fha loan

low income program, 5k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/nofaprograms.pdf

redevelopment funds 5-30k
http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/pdf/fshomeheights.pdf

results at best in a 270k price (not including whatever ancillary costs, agent fees, broker, etc).

at 6%, that’s some 1350/mo. 30k/year with 5 exemptions… dunno? 2500/mo in pocket? his wife probably works too…

it’s close, i wouldn’t do it, especially 300k purchase price for city heights. but doable and not ridiculously “socialized”.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Ningunas preocupaciones aquí. No soy el dueño de Porkyland. Lamento que yo no fuera. Leí alot de libros de cómics crecer. Mi nombre de pantalla es de un carácter de libro de cómics, nada más. Felicidades. Porkman Delardo

[PorkmanDelardo]

Ningunas preocupaciones aquí. No soy el dueño de Porkyland. Lamento que yo no fuera. Leí alot de libros de cómics crecer. Mi nombre de pantalla es de un carácter de libro de cómics, nada más. Felicidades. Porkman Delardo

[PorkmanDelardo]

Ningunas preocupaciones aquí. No soy el dueño de Porkyland. Lamento que yo no fuera. Leí alot de libros de cómics crecer. Mi nombre de pantalla es de un carácter de libro de cómics, nada más. Felicidades. Porkman Delardo

[NotCranky]

No te preocupes porkman. Ni estoy enojado con nadie. Mas vale quejar a mi perro que intentar cambiar una opinion aca. Lo explique de una forma que sera capaz de intender este mal hablado JWM. Casi se hizo de broma. Yo se que hay enormes distinciones entre los mexicanos, como qualquiera gente. Algunos van a llegar muy lejos y otros van a cortar cespedes no tengo prejuecios contra quien sea. De todo modos, a mi,me encanta la comida mexicana. Eres el jefe de porkyland, Esa es la que se vendio? Por que llevas el nombre de un asesino?

[NotCranky]

No te preocupes porkman. Ni estoy enojado con nadie. Mas vale quejar a mi perro que intentar cambiar una opinion aca. Lo explique de una forma que sera capaz de intender este mal hablado JWM. Casi se hizo de broma. Yo se que hay enormes distinciones entre los mexicanos, como qualquiera gente. Algunos van a llegar muy lejos y otros van a cortar cespedes no tengo prejuecios contra quien sea. De todo modos, a mi,me encanta la comida mexicana. Eres el jefe de porkyland, Esa es la que se vendio? Por que llevas el nombre de un asesino?

[NotCranky]

No te preocupes porkman. Ni estoy enojado con nadie. Mas vale quejar a mi perro que intentar cambiar una opinion aca. Lo explique de una forma que sera capaz de intender este mal hablado JWM. Casi se hizo de broma. Yo se que hay enormes distinciones entre los mexicanos, como qualquiera gente. Algunos van a llegar muy lejos y otros van a cortar cespedes no tengo prejuecios contra quien sea. De todo modos, a mi,me encanta la comida mexicana. Eres el jefe de porkyland, Esa es la que se vendio? Por que llevas el nombre de un asesino?

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO THE HATERS. I was born a poor mexican/american child. I grew up on an un-paved street in Logan Heights. (true story). Today, my annual salary is probably 5 times the amount that you earn. Did I mention that I am currently a renter? (PIGGINTONS UNITE!) My kids attend private schools. I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint. I just sold ONE of my businesses that I started 7 years ago for $5,000,000. I hire many employees, some college students, some close friends looking to supplement their incomes,etc. My businesses support many livelihoods. I pay all the requisite taxes that support the housing programs that you so vehemently despise. Only I am not so bitter as you appear to be. Life is too short to carry around all that hatred and bitterness. It’s okay to help people that are not so well off as you. Really it is.
Tranquilo………………….
Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO THE HATERS. I was born a poor mexican/american child. I grew up on an un-paved street in Logan Heights. (true story). Today, my annual salary is probably 5 times the amount that you earn. Did I mention that I am currently a renter? (PIGGINTONS UNITE!) My kids attend private schools. I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint. I just sold ONE of my businesses that I started 7 years ago for $5,000,000. I hire many employees, some college students, some close friends looking to supplement their incomes,etc. My businesses support many livelihoods. I pay all the requisite taxes that support the housing programs that you so vehemently despise. Only I am not so bitter as you appear to be. Life is too short to carry around all that hatred and bitterness. It’s okay to help people that are not so well off as you. Really it is.
Tranquilo………………….
Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

TO THE HATERS. I was born a poor mexican/american child. I grew up on an un-paved street in Logan Heights. (true story). Today, my annual salary is probably 5 times the amount that you earn. Did I mention that I am currently a renter? (PIGGINTONS UNITE!) My kids attend private schools. I drive a Hummer H2 and a Prius to counter-balance the carbon footprint. I just sold ONE of my businesses that I started 7 years ago for $5,000,000. I hire many employees, some college students, some close friends looking to supplement their incomes,etc. My businesses support many livelihoods. I pay all the requisite taxes that support the housing programs that you so vehemently despise. Only I am not so bitter as you appear to be. Life is too short to carry around all that hatred and bitterness. It’s okay to help people that are not so well off as you. Really it is.
Tranquilo………………….
Porkman

[meadandale]

Typical liberal: spews a bunch of ad hominem attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.

I have a suggestion for you and anyone else that thinks that we need to keep raising taxes and giving money to the ‘unfortunate’: open your checkbook and put your money where your mouth is.

I’d like to keep some of the money that I work for, thank you very much, rather than giving it to other people so they can be given the things I’ve worked several decades to finally earn for myself.

[meadandale]

Typical liberal: spews a bunch of ad hominem attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.

I have a suggestion for you and anyone else that thinks that we need to keep raising taxes and giving money to the ‘unfortunate’: open your checkbook and put your money where your mouth is.

I’d like to keep some of the money that I work for, thank you very much, rather than giving it to other people so they can be given the things I’ve worked several decades to finally earn for myself.

[meadandale]

Typical liberal: spews a bunch of ad hominem attacks because he knows he has no defensible position from which to argue.

I have a suggestion for you and anyone else that thinks that we need to keep raising taxes and giving money to the ‘unfortunate’: open your checkbook and put your money where your mouth is.

I’d like to keep some of the money that I work for, thank you very much, rather than giving it to other people so they can be given the things I’ve worked several decades to finally earn for myself.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Back from my tasty bowl of menudo. Lots of thin skins around here. Fortunately, Porky sees thru the smoke screen of epithets and will not be pulled into a fruitless argument with war-mongering red-necked sycophants. Flattery will get you nowhere. The Porkman.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Back from my tasty bowl of menudo. Lots of thin skins around here. Fortunately, Porky sees thru the smoke screen of epithets and will not be pulled into a fruitless argument with war-mongering red-necked sycophants. Flattery will get you nowhere. The Porkman.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Back from my tasty bowl of menudo. Lots of thin skins around here. Fortunately, Porky sees thru the smoke screen of epithets and will not be pulled into a fruitless argument with war-mongering red-necked sycophants. Flattery will get you nowhere. The Porkman.

[JWM in SD]

“FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies.”

So let’s see if I have this straight or not. You want to subsidize 50% of the purchase price with my tax dollars, meanwhile, I have to save hard money to be able to put 20% on a house that is likely no more than 50% more expensive than the subsidized one?

Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???

[JWM in SD]

“FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies.”

So let’s see if I have this straight or not. You want to subsidize 50% of the purchase price with my tax dollars, meanwhile, I have to save hard money to be able to put 20% on a house that is likely no more than 50% more expensive than the subsidized one?

Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???

[JWM in SD]

“FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies.”

So let’s see if I have this straight or not. You want to subsidize 50% of the purchase price with my tax dollars, meanwhile, I have to save hard money to be able to put 20% on a house that is likely no more than 50% more expensive than the subsidized one?

Are you freaking stupid??? What kind of moron are you Porkman? You, Porkman, can subsidize him personally, how about that dipsh*t???

[PorkmanDelardo]

FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

FYI, these programs are designed to get people into houses in areas where prices are inflated, artifically or otherwise. Relatively speaking, a person in an area where home prices are moderate (more normally priced) will not have available the moneys/programs that are offered in a state where the cost of living my be higher. I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Nice touche on the Porkman. No offense taken, but I got to give credit where credit is due. My moniker is directly related to my desire to eat anything delicious, preferably unhealthy, ie bacon, carnitas, and other lard-laden delicacies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Nice touche on the Porkman. No offense taken, but I got to give credit where credit is due. My moniker is directly related to my desire to eat anything delicious, preferably unhealthy, ie bacon, carnitas, and other lard-laden delicacies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Nice touche on the Porkman. No offense taken, but I got to give credit where credit is due. My moniker is directly related to my desire to eat anything delicious, preferably unhealthy, ie bacon, carnitas, and other lard-laden delicacies. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

The flip side is the artificial ceiling created by the speculators, knife grabbers and the like. Give these working poor people a break. I have no problems with my tax dollars going towards affordable programs to assist people at the bottom of the economic ladder, to get a leg up, one rung at a time so to speak. What I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on is a wasteful unnecessary war prompted by the buffoon in the oval office. That is a whole other argument, not suitable for the website. Just my two cents. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

The flip side is the artificial ceiling created by the speculators, knife grabbers and the like. Give these working poor people a break. I have no problems with my tax dollars going towards affordable programs to assist people at the bottom of the economic ladder, to get a leg up, one rung at a time so to speak. What I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on is a wasteful unnecessary war prompted by the buffoon in the oval office. That is a whole other argument, not suitable for the website. Just my two cents. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

The flip side is the artificial ceiling created by the speculators, knife grabbers and the like. Give these working poor people a break. I have no problems with my tax dollars going towards affordable programs to assist people at the bottom of the economic ladder, to get a leg up, one rung at a time so to speak. What I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on is a wasteful unnecessary war prompted by the buffoon in the oval office. That is a whole other argument, not suitable for the website. Just my two cents. Porkman

[unbiasedobserver]

I remember when I took my first job out of college earning 32,000 my realtor told me the highest price home I could afford with 5% down was 98,000. I found a house I really liked listed at 102,000 and he strongly urged against me buying it (which I did anyway). How times have changed, now the govt of all people encourages people with that income level to buy in the 300,000s. WTF. Our government evidently wants its citizens to be as broke as it is. Shameful.

[unbiasedobserver]

I remember when I took my first job out of college earning 32,000 my realtor told me the highest price home I could afford with 5% down was 98,000. I found a house I really liked listed at 102,000 and he strongly urged against me buying it (which I did anyway). How times have changed, now the govt of all people encourages people with that income level to buy in the 300,000s. WTF. Our government evidently wants its citizens to be as broke as it is. Shameful.

[unbiasedobserver]

I remember when I took my first job out of college earning 32,000 my realtor told me the highest price home I could afford with 5% down was 98,000. I found a house I really liked listed at 102,000 and he strongly urged against me buying it (which I did anyway). How times have changed, now the govt of all people encourages people with that income level to buy in the 300,000s. WTF. Our government evidently wants its citizens to be as broke as it is. Shameful.

[unbiasedobserver]

I remember when I took my first job out of college earning 32,000 my realtor told me the highest price home I could afford with 5% down was 98,000. I found a house I really liked listed at 102,000 and he strongly urged against me buying it (which I did anyway). How times have changed, now the govt of all people encourages people with that income level to buy in the 300,000s. WTF. Our government evidently wants its citizens to be as broke as it is. Shameful.

[blackbox]

Currently, this program is a waste of tax payers money, because it puts an artificial floor on home prices. These homes should be priced at around 150k to start with. Its sad to have our money keep this prices out of reach of people who actually don’t qualify for these programs. Let the system work inself out, and low income people with our tax payer money will be able to qualify for a much better home, and those above the minimum to qualify will be able to find something affortable quicker.

[blackbox]

Currently, this program is a waste of tax payers money, because it puts an artificial floor on home prices. These homes should be priced at around 150k to start with. Its sad to have our money keep this prices out of reach of people who actually don’t qualify for these programs. Let the system work inself out, and low income people with our tax payer money will be able to qualify for a much better home, and those above the minimum to qualify will be able to find something affortable quicker.

[blackbox]

Currently, this program is a waste of tax payers money, because it puts an artificial floor on home prices. These homes should be priced at around 150k to start with. Its sad to have our money keep this prices out of reach of people who actually don’t qualify for these programs. Let the system work inself out, and low income people with our tax payer money will be able to qualify for a much better home, and those above the minimum to qualify will be able to find something affortable quicker.

[sandiego]

Your nickname explains it all, PORKMAN.

The free market will adjust to allow real buyers the opportunity to buy without needing 50% subsidizes.

[TheBreeze]

I can’t think of a worse use of taxpayer money than giving some random low-income person $150,000 to buy a house. I mean, wtf? What makes this particular family so special that they deserve $150K in housing aid while some other family making say $5,000 per year more doesn’t? It’s such a crock.

[TheBreeze]

I can’t think of a worse use of taxpayer money than giving some random low-income person $150,000 to buy a house. I mean, wtf? What makes this particular family so special that they deserve $150K in housing aid while some other family making say $5,000 per year more doesn’t? It’s such a crock.

[TheBreeze]

I can’t think of a worse use of taxpayer money than giving some random low-income person $150,000 to buy a house. I mean, wtf? What makes this particular family so special that they deserve $150K in housing aid while some other family making say $5,000 per year more doesn’t? It’s such a crock.

[TheBreeze]

I can’t think of a worse use of taxpayer money than giving some random low-income person $150,000 to buy a house. I mean, wtf? What makes this particular family so special that they deserve $150K in housing aid while some other family making say $5,000 per year more doesn’t? It’s such a crock.

[sandiego]

Your nickname explains it all, PORKMAN.

The free market will adjust to allow real buyers the opportunity to buy without needing 50% subsidizes.

[sandiego]

Your nickname explains it all, PORKMAN.

The free market will adjust to allow real buyers the opportunity to buy without needing 50% subsidizes.

[sandiego]

Your nickname explains it all, PORKMAN.

The free market will adjust to allow real buyers the opportunity to buy without needing 50% subsidizes.

[PorkmanDelardo]

As the article explains, low income/first time homebuyers qualify with the assistance of patchwork of fixed rate loans and grants. Much of the loans are silent loans that will never have to be paid back if the home-owner meets certain requirements. The loans and grants can bring the actual loan balance close to 50% of the purchase price, hence a payment on on a loan of approx $150,000. Also included in the package is assistance with property taxes etc. Loan rates are typically lower to make the loans more affordable. So the month to month carrying costs are actually much lower than what appears on the surface. Getting qualified and going thru the process can be arduous, but the trade-off is well worth it. San Diego needs more affordable housing and more programs. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

As the article explains, low income/first time homebuyers qualify with the assistance of patchwork of fixed rate loans and grants. Much of the loans are silent loans that will never have to be paid back if the home-owner meets certain requirements. The loans and grants can bring the actual loan balance close to 50% of the purchase price, hence a payment on on a loan of approx $150,000. Also included in the package is assistance with property taxes etc. Loan rates are typically lower to make the loans more affordable. So the month to month carrying costs are actually much lower than what appears on the surface. Getting qualified and going thru the process can be arduous, but the trade-off is well worth it. San Diego needs more affordable housing and more programs. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

As the article explains, low income/first time homebuyers qualify with the assistance of patchwork of fixed rate loans and grants. Much of the loans are silent loans that will never have to be paid back if the home-owner meets certain requirements. The loans and grants can bring the actual loan balance close to 50% of the purchase price, hence a payment on on a loan of approx $150,000. Also included in the package is assistance with property taxes etc. Loan rates are typically lower to make the loans more affordable. So the month to month carrying costs are actually much lower than what appears on the surface. Getting qualified and going thru the process can be arduous, but the trade-off is well worth it. San Diego needs more affordable housing and more programs. Porkman

[Bloat]

You’re not considering:

1. He has 4 kids which means he qualifies for more government benefits paid for by the taxpayer and creates enough exemptions so that he pays zero income taxes but actually gets a credit back.

and

2. His second job as a gardener, which likely produces a qood chunk of unreported income.

Of course he can qualify (at my expense).

[NotCranky]

“I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman”

It is not really like that Porkman. Not that many people here are crazy about Bush. Conservative to the end, yes there are many,probably the majority. I think the rest of us, who might be a bit more in your camp don’t want to put on the (gloves anymore),some like have apparently left alltogether.I think posts about affordable housing bring very good information to the blog though.

On the other hand, it is a great day for a Costillas de Puerco or a bowl of Posole.

[NotCranky]

“I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman”

It is not really like that Porkman. Not that many people here are crazy about Bush. Conservative to the end, yes there are many,probably the majority. I think the rest of us, who might be a bit more in your camp don’t want to put on the (gloves anymore),some like have apparently left alltogether.I think posts about affordable housing bring very good information to the blog though.

On the other hand, it is a great day for a Costillas de Puerco or a bowl of Posole.

[NotCranky]

“I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman”

It is not really like that Porkman. Not that many people here are crazy about Bush. Conservative to the end, yes there are many,probably the majority. I think the rest of us, who might be a bit more in your camp don’t want to put on the (gloves anymore),some like have apparently left alltogether.I think posts about affordable housing bring very good information to the blog though.

On the other hand, it is a great day for a Costillas de Puerco or a bowl of Posole.

[NotCranky]

“I can see that I am not going to sway too many opinions on this website. I feel like a Democrat on a life boat, floating in the Republican Sea of Bushies. Porkman”

It is not really like that Porkman. Not that many people here are crazy about Bush. Conservative to the end, yes there are many,probably the majority. I think the rest of us, who might be a bit more in your camp don’t want to put on the (gloves anymore),some like have apparently left alltogether.I think posts about affordable housing bring very good information to the blog though.

On the other hand, it is a great day for a Costillas de Puerco or a bowl of Posole.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Directed to BLOAT
Like I said, there is no point in trying to sway opinions here. Go back to your ivory tower, your Starbucks coffee and your Useless Tribune Sunday Edition.
By the way, the veiled racial undertones of your text speak volumes. Porkman

[Bloat]

Directed to Porky,
Wow, there’s a shot across my bow, you sensitive fellow you. Where’s the veiled racial undertones that speak volumes? You don’t know me. I see it like it is. The subject’s gardening income was suspiciously not quantified.

[losgatos200]

Yeah right,

Tell me why my taxes need to go to subsidize the housing needs of illegal aliens with large families. We have to house, educate and provide expensive medical care to these people ?

No wonder we will be left soon with the fat cat thieves from Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, etc on Wall Street and a whole bunch of poor illegal aliens like this guy. the middle callss in this country is being systematically wiped out. Outsourced jobs, lousy education system, decaying infrastructure, escalating medical and college costs.

[Bloat]

Careful, los,

You’re making sense, Porky will now comeback and call you a racist. He’s a kneejerk reaction type guy.

Actually the guy in the article “became a citizen in 2004”, so I say more power to him, he did it right. But a $30k income won’t qualify for half the loan he got, so I wonder how much that unstated gardening income generates and why only the Ralph’s (W2) income is noted.

(now, back to my rented ivory tower)

[Anonymous]

Well I just finished reading all of u peoples comments and, just what’d to say that,
My Dad Blas Vazquez has been working all his life even as a little boy all he did was work and if he didn’t he would get beat. Eventually, he found his way into the US and worked at Minimum wage for many years. His only hopes were to be happy with the family he’s created me being his first son. I’m extremely pound of my father he’s worked a nightshift at Ralph’s for as long as i can remember and I’m 17years old now once he is done with a nightshift of at least 8 hours he even works over time at that store then two hours later once he is home he goes to work again in gardening
Usually he works at least 14hours a day he makes sure
We got everything we need in our life so that we don’t have to endure the great hardships he is still living today
All even when he gets days off he dedicates those days to his family and his passion for Baseball since he plays for his own team out in parks as part of a league. There is no reason to talk bad about his luck in the housing prices.
He’s earning his keep in here in the US. So if anyone here is saying anything about how tax money goes to people who don’t need it or why it should go to people who are less fortunate then themselves ask yourself this. if there was none of this type of programs out there who can help people become successful then this land wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now then it wouldn’t be the dominate nation in the world if more people life in apartments and never owned land of there own then how can they archive the American Dream? How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life? Not everyone started out in the top of the world not everyone had that silver spoon which has only brought Greed to this world making others envy and others stuck up.
I’m not directing this to anyone necessary just that I know it’s true
Yea I know this is about how payments became possible for house but it’s more then that. It’s about a successful economy as a whole and not who can monopolize the nation in which the forefathers of the US had fought so hard to claim the Land of the Free.

[Ex-SD]

The land of the free is not supposed to mean a free handout from the government so someone can live on par with others who also work hard and are able to legitimately afford the home that they are buying. What you just posted is a bunch of liberal hogwash. You’re not likely to get much sympathy on this board and you most certainly not getting any from me.

[Bugs]

The only thing I find unfortunate about your family’s experience is the fact that your Dad was encouraged to buy during a rapidly declining market. Had you guys been better adivsed you would have held out for a couple more years while watching the prices continue to drop. Your payments would have ended up being a lot less and you guys might have have a little more discretionary income.

Much respect for everyone who triumphs over adversity and earns their place in this nation. I just hate to see people take advantage of you.

[JWM in SD]

Hey Kid, I hate to tell you this, but we didn’t steal your family’s money. I can tell you who did though. The realtor, builder, mortgage broker, and way down the line some WallStreet A-Hole running around NY in his $120K MB.

Why don’t you ask one of them to refund your money instead us because guess what, we’re taxpayers and fund the Govt.

[Aecetia]

To Blas Vazquez Jr. on April 11, 2008: I think many of the people find your father’s story inspirational. The problem they are having is that whatever agency assisted him in this purchase greatly underestimated the trajectory of the market downward which caused him to overpay for the house. Maybe the same agency who helped him buy the house can either help him refinance his purchase or get it reassessed. I do not think they meant to defame him for his work ethic or his ethnicity. There are plenty of self-made men and women on Piggington’s who believe in the American dream, as you obviously do.

[Aecetia]

To Blas Vazquez Jr. on April 11, 2008: I think many of the people find your father’s story inspirational. The problem they are having is that whatever agency assisted him in this purchase greatly underestimated the trajectory of the market downward which caused him to overpay for the house. Maybe the same agency who helped him buy the house can either help him refinance his purchase or get it reassessed. I do not think they meant to defame him for his work ethic or his ethnicity. There are plenty of self-made men and women on Piggington’s who believe in the American dream, as you obviously do.

[Aecetia]

To Blas Vazquez Jr. on April 11, 2008: I think many of the people find your father’s story inspirational. The problem they are having is that whatever agency assisted him in this purchase greatly underestimated the trajectory of the market downward which caused him to overpay for the house. Maybe the same agency who helped him buy the house can either help him refinance his purchase or get it reassessed. I do not think they meant to defame him for his work ethic or his ethnicity. There are plenty of self-made men and women on Piggington’s who believe in the American dream, as you obviously do.

[Aecetia]

To Blas Vazquez Jr. on April 11, 2008: I think many of the people find your father’s story inspirational. The problem they are having is that whatever agency assisted him in this purchase greatly underestimated the trajectory of the market downward which caused him to overpay for the house. Maybe the same agency who helped him buy the house can either help him refinance his purchase or get it reassessed. I do not think they meant to defame him for his work ethic or his ethnicity. There are plenty of self-made men and women on Piggington’s who believe in the American dream, as you obviously do.

[Aecetia]

To Blas Vazquez Jr. on April 11, 2008: I think many of the people find your father’s story inspirational. The problem they are having is that whatever agency assisted him in this purchase greatly underestimated the trajectory of the market downward which caused him to overpay for the house. Maybe the same agency who helped him buy the house can either help him refinance his purchase or get it reassessed. I do not think they meant to defame him for his work ethic or his ethnicity. There are plenty of self-made men and women on Piggington’s who believe in the American dream, as you obviously do.

[Anonymous]

hey Grown im here to tell u that i never said that anyone stole my family’s money.
good ur a taxpayer what the hell? who cares
im just telling anyone who read what i typed
of how my dad was able to get his home not about how we are complaing.

[Aecetia]

Update, almost a 50% drop. I ran the 3403 41st 92105 on Redfin and it sold for $222. The area is still depreciating.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3403-41st-St-92105/home/5396845

[Aecetia]

Update, almost a 50% drop. I ran the 3403 41st 92105 on Redfin and it sold for $222. The area is still depreciating.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3403-41st-St-92105/home/5396845

[Aecetia]

Update, almost a 50% drop. I ran the 3403 41st 92105 on Redfin and it sold for $222. The area is still depreciating.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3403-41st-St-92105/home/5396845

[Aecetia]

Update, almost a 50% drop. I ran the 3403 41st 92105 on Redfin and it sold for $222. The area is still depreciating.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3403-41st-St-92105/home/5396845

[Aecetia]

Update, almost a 50% drop. I ran the 3403 41st 92105 on Redfin and it sold for $222. The area is still depreciating.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3403-41st-St-92105/home/5396845

[Anonymous]

hey Grown im here to tell u that i never said that anyone stole my family’s money.
good ur a taxpayer what the hell? who cares
im just telling anyone who read what i typed
of how my dad was able to get his home not about how we are complaing.

[Anonymous]

hey Grown im here to tell u that i never said that anyone stole my family’s money.
good ur a taxpayer what the hell? who cares
im just telling anyone who read what i typed
of how my dad was able to get his home not about how we are complaing.

[Anonymous]

hey Grown im here to tell u that i never said that anyone stole my family’s money.
good ur a taxpayer what the hell? who cares
im just telling anyone who read what i typed
of how my dad was able to get his home not about how we are complaing.

[Anonymous]

hey Grown im here to tell u that i never said that anyone stole my family’s money.
good ur a taxpayer what the hell? who cares
im just telling anyone who read what i typed
of how my dad was able to get his home not about how we are complaing.

[JWM in SD]

Hey Kid, I hate to tell you this, but we didn’t steal your family’s money. I can tell you who did though. The realtor, builder, mortgage broker, and way down the line some WallStreet A-Hole running around NY in his $120K MB.

Why don’t you ask one of them to refund your money instead us because guess what, we’re taxpayers and fund the Govt.

[JWM in SD]

Hey Kid, I hate to tell you this, but we didn’t steal your family’s money. I can tell you who did though. The realtor, builder, mortgage broker, and way down the line some WallStreet A-Hole running around NY in his $120K MB.

Why don’t you ask one of them to refund your money instead us because guess what, we’re taxpayers and fund the Govt.

[JWM in SD]

Hey Kid, I hate to tell you this, but we didn’t steal your family’s money. I can tell you who did though. The realtor, builder, mortgage broker, and way down the line some WallStreet A-Hole running around NY in his $120K MB.

Why don’t you ask one of them to refund your money instead us because guess what, we’re taxpayers and fund the Govt.

[JWM in SD]

Hey Kid, I hate to tell you this, but we didn’t steal your family’s money. I can tell you who did though. The realtor, builder, mortgage broker, and way down the line some WallStreet A-Hole running around NY in his $120K MB.

Why don’t you ask one of them to refund your money instead us because guess what, we’re taxpayers and fund the Govt.

[Bugs]

The only thing I find unfortunate about your family’s experience is the fact that your Dad was encouraged to buy during a rapidly declining market. Had you guys been better adivsed you would have held out for a couple more years while watching the prices continue to drop. Your payments would have ended up being a lot less and you guys might have have a little more discretionary income.

Much respect for everyone who triumphs over adversity and earns their place in this nation. I just hate to see people take advantage of you.

[Bugs]

The only thing I find unfortunate about your family’s experience is the fact that your Dad was encouraged to buy during a rapidly declining market. Had you guys been better adivsed you would have held out for a couple more years while watching the prices continue to drop. Your payments would have ended up being a lot less and you guys might have have a little more discretionary income.

Much respect for everyone who triumphs over adversity and earns their place in this nation. I just hate to see people take advantage of you.

[Bugs]

The only thing I find unfortunate about your family’s experience is the fact that your Dad was encouraged to buy during a rapidly declining market. Had you guys been better adivsed you would have held out for a couple more years while watching the prices continue to drop. Your payments would have ended up being a lot less and you guys might have have a little more discretionary income.

Much respect for everyone who triumphs over adversity and earns their place in this nation. I just hate to see people take advantage of you.

[Bugs]

The only thing I find unfortunate about your family’s experience is the fact that your Dad was encouraged to buy during a rapidly declining market. Had you guys been better adivsed you would have held out for a couple more years while watching the prices continue to drop. Your payments would have ended up being a lot less and you guys might have have a little more discretionary income.

Much respect for everyone who triumphs over adversity and earns their place in this nation. I just hate to see people take advantage of you.

[Anonymous]

To whatevers Ex SD
im not trying to get any sympathy im telling u how it is
thats what happend and im just telling u whats up
i don’t need ur crap about me saying Hobwash just telling u how things went and we are happy where we live
and we don’t complain we don’t feel robed in anyway
soon once im out of high school i will be increaseing the money that going to paying the house and we will live fine
but wtf with u talking about getting sympathy.. don’t throw that BS at me

[Anonymous]

To whatevers Ex SD
im not trying to get any sympathy im telling u how it is
thats what happend and im just telling u whats up
i don’t need ur crap about me saying Hobwash just telling u how things went and we are happy where we live
and we don’t complain we don’t feel robed in anyway
soon once im out of high school i will be increaseing the money that going to paying the house and we will live fine
but wtf with u talking about getting sympathy.. don’t throw that BS at me

[Anonymous]

To whatevers Ex SD
im not trying to get any sympathy im telling u how it is
thats what happend and im just telling u whats up
i don’t need ur crap about me saying Hobwash just telling u how things went and we are happy where we live
and we don’t complain we don’t feel robed in anyway
soon once im out of high school i will be increaseing the money that going to paying the house and we will live fine
but wtf with u talking about getting sympathy.. don’t throw that BS at me

[Anonymous]

To whatevers Ex SD
im not trying to get any sympathy im telling u how it is
thats what happend and im just telling u whats up
i don’t need ur crap about me saying Hobwash just telling u how things went and we are happy where we live
and we don’t complain we don’t feel robed in anyway
soon once im out of high school i will be increaseing the money that going to paying the house and we will live fine
but wtf with u talking about getting sympathy.. don’t throw that BS at me

[Anonymous]

To whatevers Ex SD
im not trying to get any sympathy im telling u how it is
thats what happend and im just telling u whats up
i don’t need ur crap about me saying Hobwash just telling u how things went and we are happy where we live
and we don’t complain we don’t feel robed in anyway
soon once im out of high school i will be increaseing the money that going to paying the house and we will live fine
but wtf with u talking about getting sympathy.. don’t throw that BS at me

[Ex-SD]

The land of the free is not supposed to mean a free handout from the government so someone can live on par with others who also work hard and are able to legitimately afford the home that they are buying. What you just posted is a bunch of liberal hogwash. You’re not likely to get much sympathy on this board and you most certainly not getting any from me.

[Ex-SD]

The land of the free is not supposed to mean a free handout from the government so someone can live on par with others who also work hard and are able to legitimately afford the home that they are buying. What you just posted is a bunch of liberal hogwash. You’re not likely to get much sympathy on this board and you most certainly not getting any from me.

[Ex-SD]

The land of the free is not supposed to mean a free handout from the government so someone can live on par with others who also work hard and are able to legitimately afford the home that they are buying. What you just posted is a bunch of liberal hogwash. You’re not likely to get much sympathy on this board and you most certainly not getting any from me.

[Ex-SD]

The land of the free is not supposed to mean a free handout from the government so someone can live on par with others who also work hard and are able to legitimately afford the home that they are buying. What you just posted is a bunch of liberal hogwash. You’re not likely to get much sympathy on this board and you most certainly not getting any from me.

[SDcostal]

Only an idiot would pay 300K to live in a place like City Heights.

[SDcostal]

Only an idiot would pay 300K to live in a place like City Heights.

[SDcostal]

Only an idiot would pay 300K to live in a place like City Heights.

[SDcostal]

Only an idiot would pay 300K to live in a place like City Heights.

[SDcostal]

Only an idiot would pay 300K to live in a place like City Heights.

[ocrenter]

Blas Vazquez Jr,

we blame the agency involved, not your father. your father works hard and he deserves much better advice than the one that was given.

unfortunately, Community Housing Works, in its attempt to “do good” ended up doing harm to your father and to the general taxpayer. It ended up harming your father by helping him into a home that unfortunately has lost another $100k in value since his purchase back in October. In the meantime, it wasted valuable tax money doing so.

you see, Jr, back in October it was painfully obvious to everyone that knows the housing market (and as an agency that’s involved in housing CHW should have known this) that housing value was going to continue to decline. do you know there’s a 822 sqft house on Fairmont street in the same neighborhood as your father’s home that is now selling for $190,000? how nice would it be for your father to have $115,000 less in mortgage burden to worry about.

[waiting hawk]

“How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life?”

Owning a home is not a god given right. Liberty and justice for all does not mean to go buy a house you SHOULD know you can’t afford. Next time be smarter is the only advice I can really give to people that just cannot calculate simple math. We all been here for almost 3 years. To bad people were not smart enough to find us before they made horrible mistakes.

Btw pigs, I’m ~90k off from buying my house. They were 7-800k range and now high 4’s 😉 (at least some good news ey)
Lastly you have to check out this awesome awesome guy playing guitar:

[CA renter]

True affordability comes in the form of lower prices, not gimmicky mortgages or public grants which actually serve to keep prices high and entirely UN-affordable.

The very best thing that could happen to “poor people” is massive deflation of housing prices that leave enough money (after paying for housing costs) to allocate toward education, retirement funding and (gasp!) discretionary income.

A primary house is an EXPENSE, it is not “The American Dream.” The American Dream is the ability to improve one’s lot in life and end up in a better situation than where you started.

I’m a liberal, economically-speaking, and am totally opposed to anything that serves to prop up prices so they remain unaffordable to the working class.

[Aecetia]

CA renter– I am not a liberal, but I agree with you about the American dream. The dream, or maybe I should say ideal, of this country was that there was no class system and through hard work a person could make a better life for himself, usually by obtaining an education and a profession, but sometimes just by sheer will. I am also opposed to artificially propping up the prices. The market should be driving the prices, not the politicians.

[NotCranky]

Thanks Waitinghawk,

Beautiful music and amazing skill.

[nostradamus]

yeah dude cool guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen this one:

[Ex-SD]

nostradamus: I first saw that young man on a cable tv show. He is outstanding! He’s also very shy. These days, it’s really great to see young people that are more interested in learning to play a musical instrument than sitting for hours in front of a play station. I play seven instruments and have never regretted for one moment the time that I spent practicing so I could master them.

[Ex-SD]

nostradamus: I first saw that young man on a cable tv show. He is outstanding! He’s also very shy. These days, it’s really great to see young people that are more interested in learning to play a musical instrument than sitting for hours in front of a play station. I play seven instruments and have never regretted for one moment the time that I spent practicing so I could master them.

[Ex-SD]

nostradamus: I first saw that young man on a cable tv show. He is outstanding! He’s also very shy. These days, it’s really great to see young people that are more interested in learning to play a musical instrument than sitting for hours in front of a play station. I play seven instruments and have never regretted for one moment the time that I spent practicing so I could master them.

[Ex-SD]

nostradamus: I first saw that young man on a cable tv show. He is outstanding! He’s also very shy. These days, it’s really great to see young people that are more interested in learning to play a musical instrument than sitting for hours in front of a play station. I play seven instruments and have never regretted for one moment the time that I spent practicing so I could master them.

[Ex-SD]

nostradamus: I first saw that young man on a cable tv show. He is outstanding! He’s also very shy. These days, it’s really great to see young people that are more interested in learning to play a musical instrument than sitting for hours in front of a play station. I play seven instruments and have never regretted for one moment the time that I spent practicing so I could master them.

[nostradamus]

yeah dude cool guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen this one:

[nostradamus]

yeah dude cool guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen this one:

[nostradamus]

yeah dude cool guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen this one:

[nostradamus]

yeah dude cool guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen this one:

[NotCranky]

Thanks Waitinghawk,

Beautiful music and amazing skill.

[NotCranky]

Thanks Waitinghawk,

Beautiful music and amazing skill.

[NotCranky]

Thanks Waitinghawk,

Beautiful music and amazing skill.

[NotCranky]

Thanks Waitinghawk,

Beautiful music and amazing skill.

[Aecetia]

CA renter– I am not a liberal, but I agree with you about the American dream. The dream, or maybe I should say ideal, of this country was that there was no class system and through hard work a person could make a better life for himself, usually by obtaining an education and a profession, but sometimes just by sheer will. I am also opposed to artificially propping up the prices. The market should be driving the prices, not the politicians.

[Aecetia]

CA renter– I am not a liberal, but I agree with you about the American dream. The dream, or maybe I should say ideal, of this country was that there was no class system and through hard work a person could make a better life for himself, usually by obtaining an education and a profession, but sometimes just by sheer will. I am also opposed to artificially propping up the prices. The market should be driving the prices, not the politicians.

[Aecetia]

CA renter– I am not a liberal, but I agree with you about the American dream. The dream, or maybe I should say ideal, of this country was that there was no class system and through hard work a person could make a better life for himself, usually by obtaining an education and a profession, but sometimes just by sheer will. I am also opposed to artificially propping up the prices. The market should be driving the prices, not the politicians.

[Aecetia]

CA renter– I am not a liberal, but I agree with you about the American dream. The dream, or maybe I should say ideal, of this country was that there was no class system and through hard work a person could make a better life for himself, usually by obtaining an education and a profession, but sometimes just by sheer will. I am also opposed to artificially propping up the prices. The market should be driving the prices, not the politicians.

[CA renter]

True affordability comes in the form of lower prices, not gimmicky mortgages or public grants which actually serve to keep prices high and entirely UN-affordable.

The very best thing that could happen to “poor people” is massive deflation of housing prices that leave enough money (after paying for housing costs) to allocate toward education, retirement funding and (gasp!) discretionary income.

A primary house is an EXPENSE, it is not “The American Dream.” The American Dream is the ability to improve one’s lot in life and end up in a better situation than where you started.

I’m a liberal, economically-speaking, and am totally opposed to anything that serves to prop up prices so they remain unaffordable to the working class.

[CA renter]

True affordability comes in the form of lower prices, not gimmicky mortgages or public grants which actually serve to keep prices high and entirely UN-affordable.

The very best thing that could happen to “poor people” is massive deflation of housing prices that leave enough money (after paying for housing costs) to allocate toward education, retirement funding and (gasp!) discretionary income.

A primary house is an EXPENSE, it is not “The American Dream.” The American Dream is the ability to improve one’s lot in life and end up in a better situation than where you started.

I’m a liberal, economically-speaking, and am totally opposed to anything that serves to prop up prices so they remain unaffordable to the working class.

[CA renter]

True affordability comes in the form of lower prices, not gimmicky mortgages or public grants which actually serve to keep prices high and entirely UN-affordable.

The very best thing that could happen to “poor people” is massive deflation of housing prices that leave enough money (after paying for housing costs) to allocate toward education, retirement funding and (gasp!) discretionary income.

A primary house is an EXPENSE, it is not “The American Dream.” The American Dream is the ability to improve one’s lot in life and end up in a better situation than where you started.

I’m a liberal, economically-speaking, and am totally opposed to anything that serves to prop up prices so they remain unaffordable to the working class.

[CA renter]

True affordability comes in the form of lower prices, not gimmicky mortgages or public grants which actually serve to keep prices high and entirely UN-affordable.

The very best thing that could happen to “poor people” is massive deflation of housing prices that leave enough money (after paying for housing costs) to allocate toward education, retirement funding and (gasp!) discretionary income.

A primary house is an EXPENSE, it is not “The American Dream.” The American Dream is the ability to improve one’s lot in life and end up in a better situation than where you started.

I’m a liberal, economically-speaking, and am totally opposed to anything that serves to prop up prices so they remain unaffordable to the working class.

[waiting hawk]

“How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life?”

Owning a home is not a god given right. Liberty and justice for all does not mean to go buy a house you SHOULD know you can’t afford. Next time be smarter is the only advice I can really give to people that just cannot calculate simple math. We all been here for almost 3 years. To bad people were not smart enough to find us before they made horrible mistakes.

Btw pigs, I’m ~90k off from buying my house. They were 7-800k range and now high 4’s 😉 (at least some good news ey)
Lastly you have to check out this awesome awesome guy playing guitar:

[waiting hawk]

“How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life?”

Owning a home is not a god given right. Liberty and justice for all does not mean to go buy a house you SHOULD know you can’t afford. Next time be smarter is the only advice I can really give to people that just cannot calculate simple math. We all been here for almost 3 years. To bad people were not smart enough to find us before they made horrible mistakes.

Btw pigs, I’m ~90k off from buying my house. They were 7-800k range and now high 4’s 😉 (at least some good news ey)
Lastly you have to check out this awesome awesome guy playing guitar:

[waiting hawk]

“How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life?”

Owning a home is not a god given right. Liberty and justice for all does not mean to go buy a house you SHOULD know you can’t afford. Next time be smarter is the only advice I can really give to people that just cannot calculate simple math. We all been here for almost 3 years. To bad people were not smart enough to find us before they made horrible mistakes.

Btw pigs, I’m ~90k off from buying my house. They were 7-800k range and now high 4’s 😉 (at least some good news ey)
Lastly you have to check out this awesome awesome guy playing guitar:

[waiting hawk]

“How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life?”

Owning a home is not a god given right. Liberty and justice for all does not mean to go buy a house you SHOULD know you can’t afford. Next time be smarter is the only advice I can really give to people that just cannot calculate simple math. We all been here for almost 3 years. To bad people were not smart enough to find us before they made horrible mistakes.

Btw pigs, I’m ~90k off from buying my house. They were 7-800k range and now high 4’s 😉 (at least some good news ey)
Lastly you have to check out this awesome awesome guy playing guitar:

[ocrenter]

Blas Vazquez Jr,

we blame the agency involved, not your father. your father works hard and he deserves much better advice than the one that was given.

unfortunately, Community Housing Works, in its attempt to “do good” ended up doing harm to your father and to the general taxpayer. It ended up harming your father by helping him into a home that unfortunately has lost another $100k in value since his purchase back in October. In the meantime, it wasted valuable tax money doing so.

you see, Jr, back in October it was painfully obvious to everyone that knows the housing market (and as an agency that’s involved in housing CHW should have known this) that housing value was going to continue to decline. do you know there’s a 822 sqft house on Fairmont street in the same neighborhood as your father’s home that is now selling for $190,000? how nice would it be for your father to have $115,000 less in mortgage burden to worry about.

[ocrenter]

Blas Vazquez Jr,

we blame the agency involved, not your father. your father works hard and he deserves much better advice than the one that was given.

unfortunately, Community Housing Works, in its attempt to “do good” ended up doing harm to your father and to the general taxpayer. It ended up harming your father by helping him into a home that unfortunately has lost another $100k in value since his purchase back in October. In the meantime, it wasted valuable tax money doing so.

you see, Jr, back in October it was painfully obvious to everyone that knows the housing market (and as an agency that’s involved in housing CHW should have known this) that housing value was going to continue to decline. do you know there’s a 822 sqft house on Fairmont street in the same neighborhood as your father’s home that is now selling for $190,000? how nice would it be for your father to have $115,000 less in mortgage burden to worry about.

[ocrenter]

Blas Vazquez Jr,

we blame the agency involved, not your father. your father works hard and he deserves much better advice than the one that was given.

unfortunately, Community Housing Works, in its attempt to “do good” ended up doing harm to your father and to the general taxpayer. It ended up harming your father by helping him into a home that unfortunately has lost another $100k in value since his purchase back in October. In the meantime, it wasted valuable tax money doing so.

you see, Jr, back in October it was painfully obvious to everyone that knows the housing market (and as an agency that’s involved in housing CHW should have known this) that housing value was going to continue to decline. do you know there’s a 822 sqft house on Fairmont street in the same neighborhood as your father’s home that is now selling for $190,000? how nice would it be for your father to have $115,000 less in mortgage burden to worry about.

[ocrenter]

Blas Vazquez Jr,

we blame the agency involved, not your father. your father works hard and he deserves much better advice than the one that was given.

unfortunately, Community Housing Works, in its attempt to “do good” ended up doing harm to your father and to the general taxpayer. It ended up harming your father by helping him into a home that unfortunately has lost another $100k in value since his purchase back in October. In the meantime, it wasted valuable tax money doing so.

you see, Jr, back in October it was painfully obvious to everyone that knows the housing market (and as an agency that’s involved in housing CHW should have known this) that housing value was going to continue to decline. do you know there’s a 822 sqft house on Fairmont street in the same neighborhood as your father’s home that is now selling for $190,000? how nice would it be for your father to have $115,000 less in mortgage burden to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Well I just finished reading all of u peoples comments and, just what’d to say that,
My Dad Blas Vazquez has been working all his life even as a little boy all he did was work and if he didn’t he would get beat. Eventually, he found his way into the US and worked at Minimum wage for many years. His only hopes were to be happy with the family he’s created me being his first son. I’m extremely pound of my father he’s worked a nightshift at Ralph’s for as long as i can remember and I’m 17years old now once he is done with a nightshift of at least 8 hours he even works over time at that store then two hours later once he is home he goes to work again in gardening
Usually he works at least 14hours a day he makes sure
We got everything we need in our life so that we don’t have to endure the great hardships he is still living today
All even when he gets days off he dedicates those days to his family and his passion for Baseball since he plays for his own team out in parks as part of a league. There is no reason to talk bad about his luck in the housing prices.
He’s earning his keep in here in the US. So if anyone here is saying anything about how tax money goes to people who don’t need it or why it should go to people who are less fortunate then themselves ask yourself this. if there was none of this type of programs out there who can help people become successful then this land wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now then it wouldn’t be the dominate nation in the world if more people life in apartments and never owned land of there own then how can they archive the American Dream? How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life? Not everyone started out in the top of the world not everyone had that silver spoon which has only brought Greed to this world making others envy and others stuck up.
I’m not directing this to anyone necessary just that I know it’s true
Yea I know this is about how payments became possible for house but it’s more then that. It’s about a successful economy as a whole and not who can monopolize the nation in which the forefathers of the US had fought so hard to claim the Land of the Free.

[Anonymous]

Well I just finished reading all of u peoples comments and, just what’d to say that,
My Dad Blas Vazquez has been working all his life even as a little boy all he did was work and if he didn’t he would get beat. Eventually, he found his way into the US and worked at Minimum wage for many years. His only hopes were to be happy with the family he’s created me being his first son. I’m extremely pound of my father he’s worked a nightshift at Ralph’s for as long as i can remember and I’m 17years old now once he is done with a nightshift of at least 8 hours he even works over time at that store then two hours later once he is home he goes to work again in gardening
Usually he works at least 14hours a day he makes sure
We got everything we need in our life so that we don’t have to endure the great hardships he is still living today
All even when he gets days off he dedicates those days to his family and his passion for Baseball since he plays for his own team out in parks as part of a league. There is no reason to talk bad about his luck in the housing prices.
He’s earning his keep in here in the US. So if anyone here is saying anything about how tax money goes to people who don’t need it or why it should go to people who are less fortunate then themselves ask yourself this. if there was none of this type of programs out there who can help people become successful then this land wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now then it wouldn’t be the dominate nation in the world if more people life in apartments and never owned land of there own then how can they archive the American Dream? How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life? Not everyone started out in the top of the world not everyone had that silver spoon which has only brought Greed to this world making others envy and others stuck up.
I’m not directing this to anyone necessary just that I know it’s true
Yea I know this is about how payments became possible for house but it’s more then that. It’s about a successful economy as a whole and not who can monopolize the nation in which the forefathers of the US had fought so hard to claim the Land of the Free.

[Anonymous]

Well I just finished reading all of u peoples comments and, just what’d to say that,
My Dad Blas Vazquez has been working all his life even as a little boy all he did was work and if he didn’t he would get beat. Eventually, he found his way into the US and worked at Minimum wage for many years. His only hopes were to be happy with the family he’s created me being his first son. I’m extremely pound of my father he’s worked a nightshift at Ralph’s for as long as i can remember and I’m 17years old now once he is done with a nightshift of at least 8 hours he even works over time at that store then two hours later once he is home he goes to work again in gardening
Usually he works at least 14hours a day he makes sure
We got everything we need in our life so that we don’t have to endure the great hardships he is still living today
All even when he gets days off he dedicates those days to his family and his passion for Baseball since he plays for his own team out in parks as part of a league. There is no reason to talk bad about his luck in the housing prices.
He’s earning his keep in here in the US. So if anyone here is saying anything about how tax money goes to people who don’t need it or why it should go to people who are less fortunate then themselves ask yourself this. if there was none of this type of programs out there who can help people become successful then this land wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now then it wouldn’t be the dominate nation in the world if more people life in apartments and never owned land of there own then how can they archive the American Dream? How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life? Not everyone started out in the top of the world not everyone had that silver spoon which has only brought Greed to this world making others envy and others stuck up.
I’m not directing this to anyone necessary just that I know it’s true
Yea I know this is about how payments became possible for house but it’s more then that. It’s about a successful economy as a whole and not who can monopolize the nation in which the forefathers of the US had fought so hard to claim the Land of the Free.

[Anonymous]

Well I just finished reading all of u peoples comments and, just what’d to say that,
My Dad Blas Vazquez has been working all his life even as a little boy all he did was work and if he didn’t he would get beat. Eventually, he found his way into the US and worked at Minimum wage for many years. His only hopes were to be happy with the family he’s created me being his first son. I’m extremely pound of my father he’s worked a nightshift at Ralph’s for as long as i can remember and I’m 17years old now once he is done with a nightshift of at least 8 hours he even works over time at that store then two hours later once he is home he goes to work again in gardening
Usually he works at least 14hours a day he makes sure
We got everything we need in our life so that we don’t have to endure the great hardships he is still living today
All even when he gets days off he dedicates those days to his family and his passion for Baseball since he plays for his own team out in parks as part of a league. There is no reason to talk bad about his luck in the housing prices.
He’s earning his keep in here in the US. So if anyone here is saying anything about how tax money goes to people who don’t need it or why it should go to people who are less fortunate then themselves ask yourself this. if there was none of this type of programs out there who can help people become successful then this land wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now then it wouldn’t be the dominate nation in the world if more people life in apartments and never owned land of there own then how can they archive the American Dream? How can this Land be considered a great nation in which it stands? How would it be with Liberty and Justice for all if not everyone is given equal possibilities in life? Not everyone started out in the top of the world not everyone had that silver spoon which has only brought Greed to this world making others envy and others stuck up.
I’m not directing this to anyone necessary just that I know it’s true
Yea I know this is about how payments became possible for house but it’s more then that. It’s about a successful economy as a whole and not who can monopolize the nation in which the forefathers of the US had fought so hard to claim the Land of the Free.

[Bloat]

Careful, los,

You’re making sense, Porky will now comeback and call you a racist. He’s a kneejerk reaction type guy.

Actually the guy in the article “became a citizen in 2004”, so I say more power to him, he did it right. But a $30k income won’t qualify for half the loan he got, so I wonder how much that unstated gardening income generates and why only the Ralph’s (W2) income is noted.

(now, back to my rented ivory tower)

[Bloat]

Careful, los,

You’re making sense, Porky will now comeback and call you a racist. He’s a kneejerk reaction type guy.

Actually the guy in the article “became a citizen in 2004”, so I say more power to him, he did it right. But a $30k income won’t qualify for half the loan he got, so I wonder how much that unstated gardening income generates and why only the Ralph’s (W2) income is noted.

(now, back to my rented ivory tower)

[Bloat]

Careful, los,

You’re making sense, Porky will now comeback and call you a racist. He’s a kneejerk reaction type guy.

Actually the guy in the article “became a citizen in 2004”, so I say more power to him, he did it right. But a $30k income won’t qualify for half the loan he got, so I wonder how much that unstated gardening income generates and why only the Ralph’s (W2) income is noted.

(now, back to my rented ivory tower)

[losgatos200]

Yeah right,

Tell me why my taxes need to go to subsidize the housing needs of illegal aliens with large families. We have to house, educate and provide expensive medical care to these people ?

No wonder we will be left soon with the fat cat thieves from Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, etc on Wall Street and a whole bunch of poor illegal aliens like this guy. the middle callss in this country is being systematically wiped out. Outsourced jobs, lousy education system, decaying infrastructure, escalating medical and college costs.

[losgatos200]

Yeah right,

Tell me why my taxes need to go to subsidize the housing needs of illegal aliens with large families. We have to house, educate and provide expensive medical care to these people ?

No wonder we will be left soon with the fat cat thieves from Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, etc on Wall Street and a whole bunch of poor illegal aliens like this guy. the middle callss in this country is being systematically wiped out. Outsourced jobs, lousy education system, decaying infrastructure, escalating medical and college costs.

[losgatos200]

Yeah right,

Tell me why my taxes need to go to subsidize the housing needs of illegal aliens with large families. We have to house, educate and provide expensive medical care to these people ?

No wonder we will be left soon with the fat cat thieves from Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, etc on Wall Street and a whole bunch of poor illegal aliens like this guy. the middle callss in this country is being systematically wiped out. Outsourced jobs, lousy education system, decaying infrastructure, escalating medical and college costs.

[Bloat]

Directed to Porky,
Wow, there’s a shot across my bow, you sensitive fellow you. Where’s the veiled racial undertones that speak volumes? You don’t know me. I see it like it is. The subject’s gardening income was suspiciously not quantified.

[Bloat]

Directed to Porky,
Wow, there’s a shot across my bow, you sensitive fellow you. Where’s the veiled racial undertones that speak volumes? You don’t know me. I see it like it is. The subject’s gardening income was suspiciously not quantified.

[Bloat]

Directed to Porky,
Wow, there’s a shot across my bow, you sensitive fellow you. Where’s the veiled racial undertones that speak volumes? You don’t know me. I see it like it is. The subject’s gardening income was suspiciously not quantified.

[PorkmanDelardo]

Directed to BLOAT
Like I said, there is no point in trying to sway opinions here. Go back to your ivory tower, your Starbucks coffee and your Useless Tribune Sunday Edition.
By the way, the veiled racial undertones of your text speak volumes. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Directed to BLOAT
Like I said, there is no point in trying to sway opinions here. Go back to your ivory tower, your Starbucks coffee and your Useless Tribune Sunday Edition.
By the way, the veiled racial undertones of your text speak volumes. Porkman

[PorkmanDelardo]

Directed to BLOAT
Like I said, there is no point in trying to sway opinions here. Go back to your ivory tower, your Starbucks coffee and your Useless Tribune Sunday Edition.
By the way, the veiled racial undertones of your text speak volumes. Porkman

[Bloat]

You’re not considering:

1. He has 4 kids which means he qualifies for more government benefits paid for by the taxpayer and creates enough exemptions so that he pays zero income taxes but actually gets a credit back.

and

2. His second job as a gardener, which likely produces a qood chunk of unreported income.

Of course he can qualify (at my expense).

[Bloat]

You’re not considering:

1. He has 4 kids which means he qualifies for more government benefits paid for by the taxpayer and creates enough exemptions so that he pays zero income taxes but actually gets a credit back.

and

2. His second job as a gardener, which likely produces a qood chunk of unreported income.

Of course he can qualify (at my expense).

[Bloat]

You’re not considering:

1. He has 4 kids which means he qualifies for more government benefits paid for by the taxpayer and creates enough exemptions so that he pays zero income taxes but actually gets a credit back.

and

2. His second job as a gardener, which likely produces a qood chunk of unreported income.

Of course he can qualify (at my expense).

[Anonymous]

This article made me want to vomit. First, what kind of idiot believes that 300K is an affordable price for low to moderate income homebuyers? A low to moderate income earner has no business paying this much for a house.

Secondly, I am so tired of the bullshit government trying to “encourage” homeownership. If you don’t make enough money to buy a house, then rent. If you are tired of the high prices in a certain area (such as San Diego), then move the F#%$ out of here morons.

[Anonymous]

This article made me want to vomit. First, what kind of idiot believes that 300K is an affordable price for low to moderate income homebuyers? A low to moderate income earner has no business paying this much for a house.

Secondly, I am so tired of the bullshit government trying to “encourage” homeownership. If you don’t make enough money to buy a house, then rent. If you are tired of the high prices in a certain area (such as San Diego), then move the F#%$ out of here morons.

[Anonymous]

This article made me want to vomit. First, what kind of idiot believes that 300K is an affordable price for low to moderate income homebuyers? A low to moderate income earner has no business paying this much for a house.

Secondly, I am so tired of the bullshit government trying to “encourage” homeownership. If you don’t make enough money to buy a house, then rent. If you are tired of the high prices in a certain area (such as San Diego), then move the F#%$ out of here morons.

[Anonymous]

This article made me want to vomit. First, what kind of idiot believes that 300K is an affordable price for low to moderate income homebuyers? A low to moderate income earner has no business paying this much for a house.

Secondly, I am so tired of the bullshit government trying to “encourage” homeownership. If you don’t make enough money to buy a house, then rent. If you are tired of the high prices in a certain area (such as San Diego), then move the F#%$ out of here morons.

[Author]

Posts