yeah i did log in... but my post wasnt there..... :(
Always try to copy before posting.
Mine always work. Alhamdolillah.
Im sorry I have to disagree here a little. So many businesses are trying to sell various types of products, is that what marketing gimmicks are all about. Just because someone fed you a piece of information, doesn't mean you blindly listen and join in and spend your money. It is up to the individual to do some reasearch on their own. You don't blindly spends $200-500K or more, just because oh the banker/realtor painted me a pretty picture and I listened. A person must know his salary and what he is able to afford, no matter what anyone tells you.
If I go into an auto sales shop looking for a small compact car because my budget is say $15K, I would be silly to buy the $30K-40K car, just because well the agent told me I can afford it, im too stupid to do my own calculations.
totally agree with you Afro-sheen..
I dont believe the bankers are the only people to blame.
There are so many examples of people here on a weekly basis (on the news) who are crying about how they've got 500k+ loan and they've got no job cus they're either retired or are a widower.. or someone who works at some retail shop..
tell me, people who go into these loans, why werent they using their own heads?? why are people blindly trusting some bank company? only cus they want to hear that yes they can really afford that huge dream house of theirs? why were people not thinking straight?
the same thing is gonna happen all over again here... people who are buying HUGE houses cus of the low interest rates.. what is goign to happen in another 2 years time if/when the interest rates go up? Have these people not seen what is happening in the world? its like a vicious cycle.. People should be learning a lesson or two from whats happened.. but they're not.
I dont understand how people can go into such huge deal blindly... its beyond me
Re: the "R' word
^that's exactly what I've been saying. Thank god someone actually understands!
When the term banker is used, it is referred to an investment banker. What u guys are talking about r people at a bank that help people get mortgages, don't remember the name but they aren't bankers.
And I highly doubt that these people were blantantly lying to potential homeowners, otherwise there would be so many lawsuits, the bank would hand gone bankrupt.
Re: the "R' word
^ i think what some others are saying is that bankers (or people who were acting as the loan officers) should have been a bit more i guess restrictive.
In the last few years, it was just sooo easy for any person off the street to go get a huge loan. The thing is, when a bank tells you, you are able to afford such a such amount... these people should really put their thinking caps on, think about what their monthly expenditure is, their bills are.. and see whether they can meet the installments. And they shouldnt just think about the present.. think about how it'll work on one persons income..
These days, it has become a lot harder to even get $300k loan.. but im quite pleased about that...
Yes, banks were at fault for not doing proper checks.. but people going for the loans could have been smarter. Afterall, its them who are going to lose in the end if things go bad
^ i think what some others are saying is that bankers (or people who were acting as the loan officers) should have been a bit more i guess restrictive.
In the last few years, it was just sooo easy for any person off the street to go get a huge loan. The thing is, when a bank tells you, you are able to afford such a such amount... these people should really put their thinking caps on, think about what their monthly expenditure is, their bills are.. and see whether they can meet the installments. And they shouldnt just think about the present.. think about how it'll work on one persons income..
These days, it has become a lot harder to even get $300k loan.. but im quite pleased about that...
Yes, banks were at fault for not doing proper checks.. but people going for the loans could have been smarter. Afterall, its them who are going to lose in the end if things go bad
Here' a simple question ,
When there is a christmas sale, do we sit behind and watch or do we also rush in to get some good deals ???? majority rush in to get the right deals !
we are least bothered whats happens to the store's profits... some of us even go slightly overboard our budgets for a really good deal thinking this is a cheap deal .....
later if the store goes bankrupt for selling expensive things at such low prices ..... *would you blame the consumer for buying things at rock bottom prices or the store for selling them at those prices ???? *
*who would you blame?????? *
^ Yes, banks were at fault for not doing proper checks.. but people going for the loans could have been smarter. Afterall, its them who are going to lose in the end if things go bad
another question , *how many of you knew what a credit crunch is before this crisis hit us??? *
how many of you knew how your purchasing a house will end in the world getting hit with the credit crisis ????
for many of you all that mattered at that time was : wow , I like this house and I can get a mortgage as well .. lets go ahead ......right or wrong ... ?????
Re: the "R' word
^ this is the way i see it... if there is something thats being sold at ridiculously cheap prices.. I would wonder why. I would not rush into buying it.. instead if like to do a lil bit more research into finding out why it is the case... and also.. do i really need this thing in this point of time
so to answer ur question quite simply..
not everyone goes crazy at these sales
If im one such person like this... im sure there are many more who use their heads as well and think before they waste money on something useless.. Cus really in this day and age... u really cant afford to be silly
another question , *how many of you knew what a credit crunch is before this crisis hit us??? *
how many of you knew how your purchasing a house will end in the world getting hit with the credit crisis ????
for many of you all that mattered at that time was : wow , I like this house and I can get a mortgage as well .. lets go ahead ......right or wrong ... ?????
its not even about knowing about the credit crunch
one should know what they can afford before being too greedy.
one should always watch out for the bad times.. cus one needs to leave that much of a buffer zone for incase someone loses their job.. someone becomes ill. There are SO many factors one needs to look into before purchasing.. ANYTING.
I dont need to know about the credit crunch. Before it even happened, we had decided on what our limits were going to be, just to be on the safe side..
and thats what im saying
and not all of us were like 'WOW'... a lot of people did put their thinking caps on before rushing into buying..
everything is a WOW.. but when u sit down and do the math, it really aint
Re: the "R' word
CB I don't know if u know, there is a huge difference between buying a sweater on sale and a house. What is that difference? The fact that purchasing a house is a major decision in your life with a huge price tag for which you will take a loan out. Please don't compare the two purchases! You can never take an ARM out to purchase a sweater! You will continue to make payments on a house and if u get an ARM those payments will fluctuate.
It's shocking that you don't understand these simple concepts yet claim to work in the financial sector.
We are having some tough time. The home we bought back in December 2006 for $485,000.00 is only worth $280,000.00 (maybe or less), anyway its really hard to keep up with the payments.....................I hope (Insha Allah) we will get through this.
Re: the "R' word
^just keep working hard and praying, everything will work out inshAllah.
We are having some tough time. The home we bought back in December 2006 for $485,000.00 is only worth $280,000.00 (maybe or less), anyway its really hard to keep up with the payments.....................I hope (Insha Allah) we will get through this.
is there any chance in refinancing?
Guys ..
we put the blame for this credit crunch squarely on the greed of the banks, aided & abetted by government & its regulators. Someone, I forget who, a Senior regulator, once said on a programme: "If everyone has a mortgage & we control the interest rates, then we effectively control how much people have in their pockets to spend" (paraphrased).
Ok, people can be daft, they all want money, who doesn't? That's why we work. Everyone wants a nice home with lots of lovely stuff in it. Billions is spent on advertising telling us this what we should have, almost as a right. Not enough is earned to buy this stuff so money is borrowed.
The banks see lots of profit, in lending this money. At one time, you had to show that you could afford to pay this money back but bank greed soon put a stop to that! We have all been bombarded with a relentless stream of offers of credit; loans, cards, accounts, mortgages-with Self Certification being at the top of the scandal list.
Just about any form of credit that can be imagined has been dangled in front of everyone's noses, often without a hope of ever being paid back. The government has taken its cut of this greed in many forms, sometimes even encouraging it for its own ends.
The regulators have turned many blind eyes to the profit drive schemes of the banks. If you can come up with yet another money making scheme then you take a massive bonus along with a fat salary.
**
**Anyone with even a little noggin could see that all this could not last! Its just an impossible situation! Now the proverbial do-doos has hit the fan. Who is going to end up paying?
Yup, us! Again! I think that these greedy banks should have been allowed to go under but with the savings of depositors safeguarded. after all, that money must be somewhere! these greedy institutions need strict lessons learnt. That way, we might be able to prevent this from happening again. But I doubt it. Greed has become a way of life. Much for a few, a little for the many.
actually the crisis hasnt come coz people bought homes beyond their means ..
The crisis has actually hit us coz the "credit" dried up at the economy level ... the investment banks invested in many high risk deals... when credit dries up , you cant find buyers ...all their credit is blocked in Forex /properties ... they MUST sell some of their investments to get the ball rolling ... but cant find any buyers, now they want the government to buy their failed investments, to get some cash in hand , the government will only be able to do that with the taxpayers cash !
and ultimately businesses require some degree of credit , when they arent able to get, it which means they only have to resort on the cash in hand ... hence the pressure ...
when thier business gets limited and profits get hit , they end up making job cuts ... and job cuts = not being able to pay for the mortgage ...
hence we say its the bankers fault!
PS .. its the banks responsiblity to keep a check on how much they can lend to the public or the businesses ...
To general public, bankers were presenting a golden opportunity .... it was the bankers responsibility to know where they had to stop the lending ... they should have refused when they were giving out 90% mortages etc ...even though the risk of getting that back from the customer might be slight .. why take the risk !
Totally agree. How can you not blame the big banks like Lehmans, Merill Lynch and so many others. Of course the government should have had a stringent regulatory agency to overlook the toxic securities that were being created but the bankers were creating these securities. The securities came into being coz of the bankers. They started this mess and they should pay for it but sadly speaking the taxpayer is stuck with bailing them all out! People will love to get loans but the bankers are the regulating authority in our country to overlook the financial sector!
Bankers had a lot of incentives to sell the houses. They got a huge ton of commission for it and they still are!! If a drug dealer gives drugs to a vulnerable teenager and makes him addicted, do we blame the teenager for not knowing better or do we blame the drug dealer for approaching the teenager and making him an innocent victim??
Re: the "R' word
^ id blame the teen for not knowing better.
there are things for sale everywhere.. would you blame the buyer for buying something useless or the seller? id blame the buyer
Also, I beg to differ with people saying that the taxpayer should have done their own research. Majority of these people who have defaulted on their mortgages are the working class who have never even been to college. So to claim they oh they should have done a thorough investigation before taking out a loan is outright absurd. They were working class individuals who always dreamt of a owning property as an investment. The banks lured them into easily taking out a loan without any supporting documents of their savings or income.
And the whole scheme wasn't created by some small commerical bank who have support staff working. The whole scheme came into being because of investment banks who were once again seeking to maximize their profits at the expense of the taxpayer. That is why they are paying for it. That is WHY lehman fell and Merill lynch got bought by B of A. Obama should definitely carry out an overhaul of the financial sector and implement strict regulations on these investment banks. So the executives don't go home with their millions while the taxpayer struggles with his mortgage. The mortgage that was created by the very executive to create tons of "BS" securities and given unreliable insurance by AIG another huge culprit along with the banking executives. I don't know why anyone cannot see that these investment banks and corporate giants created the mess for their own greed and to maximize their own proft and the taxpayer fell for their scheme coz he didn't know any better.......coz most people really don't know any better. Thats why we have professionals like bankers, doctors and lawyers in place!
Also, I beg to differ with people saying that the taxpayer should have done their own research. Majority of these people who have defaulted on their mortgages are the working class who have never even been to college. So to claim they oh they should have done a thorough investigation before taking out a loan is outright absurd. They were working class individuals who always dreamt of a owning property as an investment. The banks lured them into easily taking out a loan without any supporting documents of their savings or income.
And the whole scheme wasn't created by some small commerical bank who have support staff working. The whole scheme came into being because of investment banks who were once again seeking to maximize their profits at the expense of the taxpayer. That is why they are paying for it. That is WHY lehman fell and Merill lynch got bought by B of A. Obama should definitely carry out an overhaul of the financial sector and implement strict regulations on these investment banks. So the executives don't go home with their millions while the taxpayer struggles with his mortgage. The mortgage that was created by the very executive to create tons of "BS" securities and given unreliable insurance by AIG another huge culprit along with the banking executives. I don't know why anyone cannot see that these investment banks and corporate giants created the mess for their own greed and to maximize their own proft and the taxpayer fell for their scheme coz he didn't know any better.......coz most people really don't know any better. Thats why we have professionals like bankers, doctors and lawyers in place!
that is absurd..
for us to know better we need to be bankers, doctors and lawyers
u've got to be kidding me.
We've all been given a brain. It's time we used it
^ ummm no you don't need to be a banker, doctor or lawyer to know better generally. Please don't twist my words. But you consult a doctor when you are sick, you consult a lawyer when you need legal help and you rely on their opinion. Therefore, you need to consult a banker before you get a mortgage and the banker should have your best interests in mind and make sure you're able to pay your loan instead of just being outright greedy and making a profit at the expense of your naivete.
Also, you can't get a prescription drug without the doctor's prescription. You trust the doctor's judgment to prescribe you the right medication coz they know what will work. And thus a taxpayer shouldn't be allowed to judge whether to take out a loan or not. A taxpayer will always want to own as opposed to rent coz owning is an investment. But thats where the banker comes in or sadly was SUPPOSED to come in and prevent the taxpayer from embarking on this disastrous route. A doctor can prescribe morphine and suppose a patient requests a dose for the sole reason of getting high! When the doctor prescribes it, and the person gets addicted do you blame the person for that or the doctor?? Sure, the person is stupid but who gave it to him??? the doctor who was in charge of providing good healthcare or the person who was just looking to get high?? Who was in **charge **here?????
Doctors, investment bankers and many others along these lines get paid well precisely because they are in charge of regulating the health, financial well being and other such factors in a society. There is a reason they hold these presitigious positions. It calls for a lot of responsibility and demands putting the interests of society before theirs! Sure investment bankers seek profit but you can't make profit from a venture so risky that it collapses the entire financial sector!!! So they can't create the mess and run away screaming, oh the taxpayer came to us for a mortgage and we had no choice but to give it to them. What a pathetic argument. Why did you give it to them when you knew very well that given their finances, they will most likely default! And now millions of innocent taxpayers have to pay for your greediness when these millions didnt even default and have nothing to do with this subprime mortgage crisis!!
that is absurd..
for us to know better we need to be bankers, doctors and lawyers
u've got to be kidding me.
We've all been given a brain. It's time we used it
Sadzz your perspective is extremely naive ...
the governments around the world arnt mad that they are putting the banks on the spot ... or are they ....???
how come its only a handful people who are blaming the taxpayer , whilst all government insititutions around the world are preparing plans to overhaul the banking culture?
I still fail to believe tht some people in the society are so know-it-all that they wont run after any good deals ! Where are these people? if they were around , there would be no bankers /doctors/lawyers .. coz the people would surely know it all .. thats as crazy as it gets ... LOL
Re: the "R' word
CB, I dont disagree that banks were part of the problem... lekin what im trying to say is that, people were at fault too for taking loans..
I'm not being naive... im just stating that some responsibility lies with the people taking loans