Living with foreclosure

[seattle-relo]

As I am working on my Drug and Alcohol Counselor certification (I already have my MA in Psych), I think about the new issues my clients are facing – foreclosure. I am trying to get a true sense of the short and long term consequences will be for these clients. I hear a range from “They will never be able to be homeowners again” to “In a couple of years they can buy a home again”. As I work with different clients facing foreclosure, I want to have a clear understanding of what is to come for them, such as: what kind of rental can they get, when and will they ever be able to buy a home again, does this really effect there potential for getting a job, what will they have to do to repair their credit, or do they have to wait out the 7 years, and other social consequences etc…

I know that most of you don’t have much empthay for people losing their homes, so I’m not asking for empathy, just facts.

Thanks.

[PadreBrian]

It’s 2 to 3 years, depending on lender.

[HLS]

Seattle….It has to be put into perspective for people. My analogy is that they simply gambled and lost. Accept it and walk away. They may even have tax consequences from their loss.

If you owe $600K on a house that is worth $500K today, you really aren’t losing anything anyway, except pride, ego, etc. There are always the drama queens/kings.

People will not be homeless. They will be able to rent.
There are millions of landlords and employers who view a person’s past differently, so it’s impossible to say that they won’t be able to find a rental or get a job. Most employers don’t look at credit reports.

A clean credit report with everything else current except the mortgage should be looked upon differently.

After a foreclosure, you just need to use credit responsibly and pay minimum payments on time to rebuild.

America needs to get past the “shame” of being a tenant.
The fact is that in So Cal, in many areas you can rent for about 50% of what is costs to own.
It’s not an entitlement to OWN a house, any more than it is to own a Rolls Royce.
Europe has had tenants for centuries.

The fact is, most landlords are getting a terrible return on the value of their asset today. (It may be a great return based on their investment, but that’s a diff story)
Tenants should be thankful for this house of cards.

As far as buying in the future, they need to only buy what and when they can afford it. There may be programs that will overlook the foreclosure. Worst case scenario is, it’s on a credit report for 7 years.

It’s not the end of the world, it’s not a terminal disease.

It was irresponsible of many people to buy a home. THEY NEED TO FACE THAT. A govt bailout will be a disgrace and slap in the face to the resonsible people who didn’t buy because they knew they couldn’t afford it.
It will also contribute to an inevitable larger bust from the facade and the related propaganda.

People need to feel some pain and learn from the experience.

[HLS]

Here’s a true story to add….

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/life-changes-with-a-latte-to-go/20070914115609990001

[seattle-relo]

HLS Excellent article, I will save that for appropriate clients. I agree that people who have made bad decisions must feel the pain of their consequences to ever make a change in future behavior. It just helps me as the therapist to have a real sense of the client’s potential consequence so I can work with them in a more helpful manner. Certainly I can imagine that some people who are facing foreclosure might be fearful that they and their families will be living on the streets or will have to live in a high crime area. It’s good for me to know how much merit is in their anxiety. I think it will be interesting to see what the “foreclosure” mark on a persons credit means after so many people foreclose in the coming months/years.

[HLS]

Better coming from you about this mortgage “trauma”
than a doctor telling them that they only have a few months to live.

Gotta keep it in perspective.

I’m in the mortgage biz, but wasn’t involved in retail origination at the time of the craziness.
I deal with these people almost daily now, but not with other addiction issues (that I know of!)

Most people have no clue of the future consequences. They are simply afraid of the unknown.

[johnnyre]

I have heard of people that filed BK and still hold a high 600 fico score………

[patientlywaiting]

How about dealing with the root cause first? Greed, insecurity, brattiness and laziness are what led to this situation. Just because everyone was doing it doesn’t make it right.

No offense but I’been to shrinks before and they don’t give any good advice. All they do is listen and as “how does that make you feel.” At least Dr. Laura tells you like it is and what you need to do to move on.

Suzanne Researched This: Part 2

[seattle-relo]

I’m not offended, but please don’t compare therapists with Dr. Laura. She shouldn’t be calling herself “Dr.” when giving out her “advice”, it’s very unethical – her PhD is physiology, not psychology. She is great at telling it like it is, but I don’t think her approach would be very helpful in an office setting. Plus her “style” is great for radio ratings, not personal growth. There are different therapists with many different appraoches and styles, perhaps the ones you worked with weren’t right for you.

Anyway, when asking about the reality of consequences when working with a client going through foreclosure, I am just trying to seek accurate info regarding the clients future expectations. Trust me, I won’t be overlooking the issues/behaviors/thoughts that got them there in the first place. Changing self destructive behavior is the goal, I just like to see the big picture.

[HLS]

Seattle,,
I’d be real curious to know, on a deep down level, what these folks are thinking (In general)

Do they feel
1) A victim of the system, and it’s not their fault
2)They knew what they were getting into and maybe couldn’t afford it
3) They had really no idea what they were geeting into and what the risks were
4) They figured that prices would just go up forever
5)That the govt should bail them out
OR ????

Are you local,,, SD ??

[seattle-relo]

HLS – I am local, I moved here in December. I am just starting to work with the client so I haven’t explored the thought process yet, the presenting problem was more serious, foreclosure was one of the stressors. I am aniticpating that as the market unfolds, many future clients may also have foreclosure as a stressor, and I want to be prepared with facts.

Coming from another high priced market (Seattle), I do know that the psychology there is that prices will go up forever.

[losgatos200]

If they stiffed a lender then no one will rent to them as they are a big credit risk. Normally it takes months to out a freeloader from a rental or apt.

I’d just advise them to live in the park.

[NotCranky]

Seems to me that for many their addictive personality was a set up for a shaky grab at the status and wealth possibilities of home ownership or naive speculatiion for the same purposes.Just add easy access to credit. The failure could easily cause a relapse or intensification of the mal- adaptive substance consumption habits.

[Author]

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