I usually rant in my video’s….but for whatever reason, I just feel like writing this all down….sorry for the length..but it is what it is…
This whole “stimulus” mess has just hacked me off and then the new news on more money being thrown at mortgages….it just…..it just….well it just makes me mad as hell…
First off, I know something needs to be done….I am not stupid…..I just act that way sometimes…and yes I also know that there are good people out there that are hurting and struggling….In fact I have friends who are….But the whole process seems so random and without any serious thought by the people who are passing these bills….take for example the new home credit that is included in the stimulus package….it’s still limited to first time home buyers…WHY?!….I mean if you want people to buy houses let them!!!
Take my example…and while this example is unique to me….the underlying situation is not….
2 years ago, we allowed our son to assume the loan on our house. We could let him do that because I am a Veteran…I served almost 4 years (got out early to go to school) and I served in the first Gulf War….I am a proud Vet…So when the opportunity came for us to buy a house I used the VA benefits that are afforded to me to purchase the house.
The reason why we had our son assume the loan?….a few reasons…one, to give our son a chance at the American dream…at 21, he was making enough money doing construction to afford a home, he didn’t want to rent, because he felt like he was throwing away money…he had enough money for almost 10% but like us…he wanted to live below his means.
You see Glenna and I have always done that….lived below our means..when we first bought the house (about 7 years ago) our son now owns, we could have afforded 250,000 easy, given our credit and debit to income ratio….but we didn’t want to do that because we had seen to many of our friends be house poor even at that time. So we looked and looked and found a house that fit our needs for about 145,000 less than we could afford….so that way we could absorb anything unexpected that may come up. And even before we bought the house we lived below our means…it was just, and still is a way of life for us.
So our son wanted to live below his means, but finding a house that he could afford with his self imposed restriction was hard…So one night a little over 2 years ago, Glenna said she had a crazy idea….sell Jimmy the house. I thought…”what?!” But the more we talked about it…the more I thought it would be a good idea….Jimmy could assume the loan, make a payment that is affordable for him and he could get a lot of house for his money. So we made the offer to him and he took it.
Now you know the first reason, to give our son an opportunity…the other reasons…well Glenna and I wanted the freedom to explore some options….we thought we might just hit the road and move, to California or New York….take a leap of faith and follow that rainbow…so we decided to rent for a year to see what would happen….well one year turned into 2 and the economy went to crap, I work at a bank and Glenna works for a non-profit, helping people who live in poverty…God, it seems has a sense of irony…
But as we neared the end of our 2 year mark Glenna and I felt and feel the time is right for us to be home owners again…why? Because we are not going anywhere, we are going to be grandparents here very soon…our family is here, our friends are here…our life is here…so we are buying a house again….
And again we are buying less than we can afford, we are just buying what we need. I have no idea what the future holds, but I will not live my life in fear.
So all this brings me to the whole tax credit flap….when we were first looking in December and January I knew we did not qualify for the 7500 credit that was out there, you gotta be out of your home for 3 years before you qualify again….why 3? I have no idea some stupid politician thought that was the magic number.. But since we didn’t qualify, I didn’t really give it a second thought.
Well then…our Congress, at least some of them said….”hey if we want to help with all these empty homes, let’s give people a bigger tax credit and let’s not limit it to just first time home buyers…” I thought to myself….”hey that actually makes a little sense”…I mean when we are talking trillions of dollars in bailout money and wars, how bout we help out the people here!!! It’s a novel idea don’t ya think?
Well as you know, it got stripped…and again it only applies to people after 3 years…why? Again I have no idea….And now the President to going to give billions more to people who have some of these toxic loans that helped create the mess in the first place…now I know he said it would not be used by people who gambled and lost…but lets face facts…people will find a way to scam the system….it happens all the time…and with the amount of money we are throwing around I am expecting the amount of fraud to reach into the billions…
So…am I just mad because I am not going to get “my” piece of the pie….no….I am mad because, yet once again….the guy who plays by the rules and does what is right, the guy who lives below his means, the guy who does the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do….I am getting hosed….again…and millions of other people just like me are getting hosed…people are are doing the right thing, we are going to be the ones paying the bills for years to come…us and our children and grandchildren……
That is why I am mad….
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