That housing blog I mentioned upthread highlights people who obviously had these kinds of loans, and/or got a little home-equity-line-of-credit/refinancing happy and are now forced to sell their house (or walk away from it, leaving the bank to sell it).
That one cherry picks the worst of the worst, though, so I suspect it's not really a true picture. (Bad as the true picture certainly is.)
Interest-only works if the value of the house appreciates faster than the interest rate you are paying. Otherwise, you are pretty much screwed.
Well, if it's appreciating at all you're still staying even, aren't you? Not making money, maybe, but in the first big chunk of a thirty-year you're not paying down much on the principal to begin with.
I would also like to point out that "grampa" is in dictionary.com while "granpa" is not. "Grandpa" is, though.
I'm thinking of getting a new car next month, as my 1999 Saturn has 98000 miles on it, and I foresee a lot driving in my future over the next few months. Sensible as it would be, I'm going to miss the whole lack of a car payment thing. I'm leaning toward the Honda Fit. Has anyone here owned one or heard wondrous/horrible stories about them?
I'm leaning toward the Honda Fit.
A couple of my friends have one and they love it. I have ridden in the back seat and can say that it's comfortable back there. Not luxurious, but def. doable. Roomier on the inside than it looks on the outside. Great gas mileage and holds a ton more cargo than you'd expect. I suspect I'll be getting one as my next car (in about 2 years).
I love this Dalai Lama quote - it starts out nice, but then....
Of course, I have great respect for, in fact, I love President Bush, because he is very frank, very straightforward. His intentions are good, but some of his policy in spite of his sincere motivation and right goal, and some of his method becomes unrealistic because of lack of understanding about reality.
[link]
I thought the Dalai Lama believed that reality is an illusion anyway.
Well, if it's appreciating at all you're still staying even, aren't you? Not making money, maybe, but in the first big chunk of a thirty-year you're not paying down much on the principal to begin with.
The problem with that is that housing isn't appreciating anywhere right now. It is going the opposite direction. So if you are paying interest only then you are creating negative equity with every month that goes by.
Staggering in, utterly exhausted. I'm sure I've missed absolute tons of stuff but with the schlepping of the Diva around the city in the pursuit of taking over Broadway, I've been barely making it into bed intact each night. (Am seriously missing my own bed, though.)
Anyhow, she performed her big showcase at Camp Broadway today, a condensed version of Bye Bye Birdie and was, IMO, completely adorable.
Seated on the floor in the tangerine capris
