Natter 53: We could just avoid making tortured puns
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
This reminds me of the whole "minimum payment" credit card thing. Until recently, a lot of credit card companies would have a monthly minimum payment that would just barely cover interest. So if you only made the minimum payment every month, you'd end up taking 30 years or whatever to pay off your balance. So the govt. passed a law saying the minimum payment had to be higher (4% now?)
I dunno - I think it'd be nice to at least have the option to only make a small minimum payment. So normally you'd make a 4% or more payment, but if you were low on money one month you could pay 2% (which is I think what the minimum often was). Of course, if you always pay 2%, you're screwed. But credit card holders should know that. I wonder if this law is just to protect people who are not smart with their money.
The number of people that call up with $500/month car payments, or that can't believe the rate on their "adjustable" mortgage is going up is just astounding.
For $500 a month that car had better give good road head while I'm listening to my books on tapes on the long drives
Except for, I already had some debt when I started, so I got *slammed* when they did that.
In theory, it makes sense, but doesn't everything?
I meant it, but not twice!
I've keep reading articles about this and it seems like a lot of people were just outright deceived. I don't know how it's legal either. One couple in a CNN article (I think it was CNN, I can't find it now) said that after they signed all the paperwork they discovered that the paperwork had been changed and they had signed for a different, more riskier, loan than what they had agreed to. They didn't read through the paperwork as they signed it, they described it as a "mountain" of paperwork and I'm sure they never imagined that someone would do something like that without telling them.
Then in a print article I read about a woman who remortgaged her house and her payments skyrocketed and she discovered her monthly income was listed as double what it was in reality.
I think I'm fairly smart and I would never guess that paper work I'd previously read through and was getting ready to change had been altered in such a drastic way without anyone saying anything.
There's a whole continuum that goes from just careless stupidity when it comes to money all the way up to "The Space Station Landed on Me and My Employer and My Dog and I'm Screwed" . Financial difficulties != stupid. I didn't mean to imply that, and I realize from my phrasing that could seem implied.
I don't think that the gov't bailing out someone like megan's example is a good plan , and sometimes it is going to be hard to figure out where a situation lies on the continuum, and thus how much responsibility the consumer bears. If there was wrongdoing on the banker/whoever's part, go after them to fix that. But I also think a fair bit is on the consumer to make a good faith effort to inform and protect themself.
I'd make a lousy commie, I think.
Financial difficulties != stupid. I didn't mean to imply that, and I realize from my phrasing that could seem implied.
Thanks for the clarification. That was how it read. I already feel like an idiot.
One couple in a CNN article (I think it was CNN, I can't find it now) said that after they signed all the paperwork they discovered that the paperwork had been changed and they had signed for a different, more riskier, loan than what they had agreed to. They didn't read through the paperwork as they signed it, they described it as a "mountain" of paperwork and I'm sure they never imagined that someone would do something like that without telling them.
Yup. And you get so many documents at closing. (As a side note, I'd suggest closing as early in the day as possible).
Then in a print article I read about a woman who remortgaged her house and her payments skyrocketed and she discovered her monthly income was listed as double what it was in reality.
This too. It wasn't mostly the borrowers overstating their incomes, but the brokers.
I keep wondering how that can be legal, but I guess after you sign the documents the brokers can say it's legal binding and you've agreed that everything in the contract is accurate.
Another nice "trick" is having a glaring error in the closing documents, so you send the package back. Then when you go through the second closing, you are so frustrated you just want to be DONE and you don't read to make sure that what you were told is correct and matches the documents in hand.
Should all this have been a big red flag - hell yes. Do reasonable people still screw up - hell yes.
