Comments on: Three reasons U.S. homeowners shouldn’t lose hope http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2010/10/06/three-reasons-u-s-homeowners-shouldnt-lose-hope/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:49:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: finneganG http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2010/10/06/three-reasons-u-s-homeowners-shouldnt-lose-hope/comment-page-1/#comment-3987 finneganG Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:39:57 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/columns/?p=4253#comment-3987 This is not good news for homeowners - ridiculous! Why would owners take solace in the fact that their house is now cheap, relative to disposable income and adjusted to 2001 pricing levels? (rhetorical, please). That is a loss of value AND counties continue to tax at a rate that does not reflect the reduced price of the property or structure - they increased taxes while the market value dropped (yes, to offset the loss of revenue from distressed/foreclosed property taxes). A second wave of house price declines that is less painful - are you kidding me? Wow - that will make everyone feel fantastic, and I'm sure the folks that reneged on their lenders' second chance mortgage option feel powerfully happy about that historical fact. This article is written for the hawks waiting to swoop in and gather up properties and for market speculators - not for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, find jobs, and wonder why their property taxes have jumped while everything else of value drops. Enough with the "feel-good-about-yourself" silliness so the market folks can have fun with manipulating dollars (and sense). Contemporary facts are relevant; historical trends no longer apply in this world. This is not good news for homeowners – ridiculous! Why would owners take solace in the fact that their house is now cheap, relative to disposable income and adjusted to 2001 pricing levels? (rhetorical, please). That is a loss of value AND counties continue to tax at a rate that does not reflect the reduced price of the property or structure – they increased taxes while the market value dropped (yes, to offset the loss of revenue from distressed/foreclosed property taxes).

A second wave of house price declines that is less painful – are you kidding me? Wow – that will make everyone feel fantastic, and I’m sure the folks that reneged on their lenders’ second chance mortgage option feel powerfully happy about that historical fact.

This article is written for the hawks waiting to swoop in and gather up properties and for market speculators – not for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, find jobs, and wonder why their property taxes have jumped while everything else of value drops.

Enough with the “feel-good-about-yourself” silliness so the market folks can have fun with manipulating dollars (and sense). Contemporary facts are relevant; historical trends no longer apply in this world.

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