So, the level of underwater mortgages continues to rise -- no real surprise there. The one sentence from this article that struck me is the following: "Many banks are also requiring homebuyers to put as much as 20 percent of a home's value as down payment ..." Didn't that used to be the norm? The 20% down payment is what I was always told by my parents I needed to have in order to buy a house -- this bit of wisdom was imparted to me probably before I even reached my teenage years. If all of these homeowners who have underwater mortgages or have been foreclosed upon had been required in the boom years to put down a 20% payment for their homes, they (and we) wouldn't be in the mess they're in because a) people couldn't buy a house they couldn't afford and b) they'd have some equity in the damn thing if they did buy a house and would be in a better position to renegotiate terms.
I am not now and have never been a homeowner -- do you want to know why? Because I do not now nor have I ever had the freakin' 20% down payment! Yet I have to read articles and listen to news stories about the housing crisis and feel as though I'm expected to sympathize with people who thought the good times would never end and behaved accordingly. The good times always, always end. It is foolish to think otherwise.
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