My house is worth WHAT?!

[Meddle]

Will the bank tell you what the ARM will adjust to? Any chance your payment will go down?

I know it was a different world then, but in the late 90's, I refied a house on the far west side -- dropped the mortgage 2% or so, dropped the term from 30 years to 15 and the P&I dropped enough that I could add enough monthly to be able to pay it off in 9 years.

[Chub]

What is that?

This poor F$^&%& guy finds out that his house is worth 10 percent of what it was and probably owes something close to the same on the house. And you want to be glib about it. Let the guy bitch and maybe just maybe be a little supportive of his situation. Shit...I would burn the mother f@#$@%$ thing down and be giving you the bird from my moving van window. What kind of neighbors do we have in Detroit anyway?

sorry to hear that your place isn't worth what it was. I hope the market turns in the next few years and seeing you actually like living here, you can afford to wait it out.

It is what it is. I sold my house on Atkinson St. for $89,000.00 in 2007. It's now available for $9,000.00. This is reality. I'm sorry.

[n7hn]

A house in warrendale/rosedale park border i used to live in sold for $160,000 in 2007, and then sold last october for 15,000.......... they tried flipping it for $40,000 and couldnt sell so took it off the market and its now a section 8 rental. Its tough out there

[iheartthed]

A house in warrendale/rosedale park border i used to live in sold for $160,000 in 2007, and then sold last october for 15,000.......... they tried flipping it for $40,000 and couldnt sell so took it off the market and its now a section 8 rental. Its tough out there

Warrendale doesn't border Rosedale Park...

[2blocksaway]

Will the bank tell you what the ARM will adjust to? Any chance your payment will go down?.

ARM rates are adjusted daily. According to the LIBOR? rate. Just don't ask me what that is or how it is calculated though.

Mine adjusted last month and went down .25% for the next 12 months.

[eastsidechris]

Thanks for all the responses, especially those from our EEV neighbors.
On the bright side, knock on wood, we're in a position where we could still make the payments if our payments go up in a couple of years. And, who knows, maybe they won't.

And please, if anyone does know a bank that will let me choose my own appraiser or not require me to pay an appraisal fee up front [[as part of the refi application process), please let me know! And don't suggest Chase, because that's who we're with right now.

For the meantime, I guess we'll stand pat for the time being, keep our credit scores high, and hope for the best. Oh, and try to get our taxes lowered with our appraisal [[although I won't hold my breath on that one!).

In the words of Detroit's city motto,"Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" [[We hope for better things; it shall arise from the ashes).

[mwilbert]

All the talk about architecture and leaded glass is basically meaningless. It does not make any difference for 99% of people. Almost all people primarily care about resale value, schools, taxes, services, and safety.
.

I'll take 99% as hyperbole, but even if were 99%, this wouldn't be very relevant. 99% of people aren't looking in EEV. Close to 100% of the people looking for a house in EEV care about architecture and leaded glass, and not so much about resale, schools, safety, taxes, snd services, because otherwise they wouln't be looking for a house in EEV. [[I don't care how safe EEV really is; people who are very concerned about safety aren't going to live there unless they really love the architecture--it is in the scary City of Detroit.) So if the foreclosures are aesthetically inferior to the house in question, they aren't very comparable for purposes of the actual pool of buyers.

That said, prices have come down a lot, and I do not think appraisers should completely ignore foreclosures either. They are out there, and they are competition, even if not comparable. The reality is that there aren't that many sales right now that aren't distressed in some way, so you can't really blame an appraiser for using the sales that exist.

[Downtown diva]

What is that?

This poor F$^&%& guy finds out that his house is worth 10 percent of what it was and probably owes something close to the same on the house. And you want to be glib about it. Let the guy bitch and maybe just maybe be a little supportive of his situation. Shit...I would burn the mother f@#$@%$ thing down and be giving you the bird from my moving van window. What kind of neighbors do we have in Detroit anyway?

sorry to hear that your place isn't worth what it was. I hope the market turns in the next few years and seeing you actually like living here, you can afford to wait it out.

dont kill the messenger.

if nobody is willing to spend more than 20,000 for his house, then he should suck it up and live with it.


The assertion that he should burn it down, so the bank should lose even more is moronic and just plain wrong.

[Downtown diva]

Because, if someone can't make their mortgage payments, the only choices the bank has left is foreclosure, short sale, or modification. The bank decides which of those three will happen; not the homeowner. If a homeowner could make their payments and just simply chose to stiff the bank, the bank can get the court to seize other assets to cover any shortages after a foreclosure.

The bank gets screwed because they didn't do their job. It was their responsibility to make sure the buyer would either be able to make their payments or a foreclosure could pay off the mortgage. Bankers get paid good money to do their jobs and stock holders also get paid well when they do. The cluster fuck came when the bad banks and bankers were supposed to lose to the good banks and bankers, but the government had to get involved.

Banks are in the risk business. If there was no risk, loans would be alot cheaper. I'm still clueless as to why its the taxpayers responsibility. Ask your congressman.

you people are great.

on one hand, you cry poor...."poor me, i cant make my mortgage payments.....poor me, my house isnt worth what I paid for it..."

on the other hand, it "those evil banks had the audacity to loan me the money to make a poor investment"

To you, these banks are faceless, nameless people. To me, these banks are where my tax dollars are going becasue you people decided to take out a loan with $0 down, and a low introductory rate.

[mwilbert]

The banks are in the business of making loans. If they made bad loans, absent fraud I don't see how you can avoid ascribing the lion's share of the blame to them. They knew there would be little or no recourse if the collateral was inadequate.

As a taxpayer, I am a lot more annoyed at the banks than at the borrowers, not that I am so happy with them either.

[courtney]

That said, prices have come down a lot, and I do not think appraisers should completely ignore foreclosures either. They are out there, and they are competition, even if not comparable. The reality is that there aren't that many sales right now that aren't distressed in some way, so you can't really blame an appraiser for using the sales that exist.

It blows that this is the reality, yet it absolutely is. Especially given that a fair number of those foreclosures could be brought up to "comparable" condition for under $50k. No, not everyone is willing to do the work to make that house a comparable, but from a pure money standpoint, the house that cost $70k to be good is going to "win" over a $100k+ one in a city with high taxes and crappy services.

I think sometimes people [[myself included) fall in love with their house, especially if they've put effort into making it the way it is. It's absolutely NOT a bad thing, but it can lead to a nasty reality check when they go to refi/sell and realize that all the love and "sweat equity" in the world isn't going to fix incurable defects like location and economy.

[cocoabee]

Eastsidechris:
Sounds like the appraiser is using comps from foreclosed homes, which are probably stale foreclosures and have succumbed to missing copper plumbing, architectural elements that you mentioned, and have been subject to deferred maintenance and neglect.
I know firsthand, having recently purchased such a foreclosed home in BE for around $20k, it needed lots of work when I acquired it such as a tear off roof, gutters, downspouts, plumbing, some electrical work, and plastering, the doorknobs and some doors were stolen. I have spent about $60k rehabbing my home, and it is now almost complete. My friends who live close by paid $200k in '07, and their home is 100% restored, it recently appraised at $59k.
It all boils down to if you are willing and able to enjoy living in your home and continue to afford the payments. Personally, I'm optimistic that things WILL indeed turn around, and you could say that from what I have just told you that I have a vested interest in my neighborhood, the City of Detroit and certainly have put my money where my mouth is". Don't listen to these remarks from those "Debbie Downers" who seize every possible opportunity to trash Detroit and spend their days wallowing in their dirty diapers, having accomplished nothing constructive with their lives.

[n7hn]

Warrendale doesn't border Rosedale Park...

well. I know alot of people debate where warrendale borders, myself I consider I was in neither. above rosedale park, below warrendale, joy and brace.

But my main point was the prices sold and unsold for, those Im sure of

[softailrider]

It blows that this is the reality, yet it absolutely is. Especially given that a fair number of those foreclosures could be brought up to "comparable" condition for under $50k. No, not everyone is willing to do the work to make that house a comparable, but from a pure money standpoint, the house that cost $70k to be good is going to "win" over a $100k+ one in a city with high taxes and crappy services.

I think sometimes people [[myself included) fall in love with their house, especially if they've put effort into making it the way it is. It's absolutely NOT a bad thing, but it can lead to a nasty reality check when they go to refi/sell and realize that all the love and "sweat equity" in the world isn't going to fix incurable defects like location and economy.

Can't argue with that last paragraph at all, high taxes, bad city services and terrible schools. I'm actually shocked that property values climbed so high years back. I guess there's a one work explanation- RIMCO.

[iheartthed]

you people are great.

on one hand, you cry poor...."poor me, i cant make my mortgage payments.....poor me, my house isnt worth what I paid for it..."

on the other hand, it "those evil banks had the audacity to loan me the money to make a poor investment"

To you, these banks are faceless, nameless people. To me, these banks are where my tax dollars are going becasue you people decided to take out a loan with $0 down, and a low introductory rate.

Inferring much? :-/

[iheartthed]

well. I know alot of people debate where warrendale borders, myself I consider I was in neither. above rosedale park, below warrendale, joy and brace.

But my main point was the prices sold and unsold for, those Im sure of

The southern border of Rosedale Park is Lyndon.

[softailrider]

you people are great.

on one hand, you cry poor...."poor me, i cant make my mortgage payments.....poor me, my house isnt worth what I paid for it..."

on the other hand, it "those evil banks had the audacity to loan me the money to make a poor investment"

To you, these banks are faceless, nameless people. To me, these banks are where my tax dollars are going becasue you people decided to take out a loan with $0 down, and a low introductory rate.

Absolutely true, some people act like they had a cocked revolver held to their head when they signed up for an ARM.

[n7hn]

The southern border of Rosedale Park is Lyndon.

yeah, not on lyndon. . joy and brace

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/86...88673003_zpid/

[LodgeDodger]

[quote=Novack;50256]What is that?

Shit...I would burn the mother f@#$@%$ thing down and be giving you the bird from my moving van window.[/quote]

That comment is shameful.

[Novack]

Ah Dodger

I think your taking my comment out of context. I was merely commenting on the quote I referenced
I'm not a big fan of the idea of telling someone "Deal with it." When it appeared they wanted to vent and maybe were looking for a little advice or a "Yeah that kinda sucks".

[Rideron]

You house is worth what someone will PAY.

I got $130,000 under what I paid in 2000 for my house in G.P. when I sold in October 2008. Am now in Richmond, VA; where they have jobs....

[eastsidechris]

I just wanted to post a follow-up, as I received the comps from a realtor friend regarding my house. The comps that HE found [[as opposed to those from the bank-hired appraiser) ranged from $105-50K. And those are what the houses actually sold for, not just their list prices. The home most similar in size to ours sold for $95K.

For the bank-hired appraiser to say our house is worth $20,000 by ONLY comparing it to bank-owned property is - just as I suspected it would be - ridiculous. While it is quite clear and no surprise that our house isn't worth what it was just two years ago, it also looks like we're just another couple who had a low-ball appraisal. They're not just a Detroit thing. The article from Bloomberg that I posted includes an example from Royal Oak and says these low-ball appraisals are hurting the housing market's recovery.

One last thing, there seemed to be some inferred assumptions that because we have an ARM, we must have put zero down on our house and are getting what we deserve. Just so it can be duly noted, that is hardly the case: We put down about 15% on the house and have absolutely no problem with having the privilege of paying our own mortgage. We've been doing it for years. And there was no low introductory rate, just an attractive 7-year term.

To make the assumption about us based on our type of mortgage is as outlandish as assuming that a person who lives in the 'burbs and owns multiple houses in the city must be some kind of parasitic slumlord. You know, one of THOSE people who rent out junky properties they've barely fixed up to people they personally wouldn't want to live near but are happy to subject others to as long as they're getting paid. Their kind hoard most of whatever rent money they collect instead of fixing or maintaining a place, then complain when tenants don't do their part to take care of it and don't want to pay the rent. Those are the kind who delight in ranting and raving about how OTHER people ruin Detroit. And even though they themselves are oh so responsible, they'll never take any responsibility for the role their own actions and attitudes play in the city's troubles.

However, I'd guess that based on what I've seen in the city, that stereotype is a bit more grounded in the truth.

[Strathcona]

"To make the assumption about us based on our type of mortgage is as outlandish as assuming that a person who lives in the 'burbs and owns multiple houses in the city must be some kind of parasitic slumlord. You know, one of THOSE people who rent out junky properties they've barely fixed up to people they personally wouldn't want to live near but are happy to subject others to as long as they're getting paid. Their kind hoard most of whatever rent money they collect instead of fixing or maintaining a place, then complain when tenants don't do their part to take care of it and don't want to pay the rent. Those are the kind who delight in ranting and raving about how OTHER people ruin Detroit. And even though they themselves are oh so responsible, they'll never take any responsibility for the role their own actions and attitudes play in the city's troubles."

What?? Where did that come from...

[REL]

Downtown Diva,

I think it's unfair to attack someone who got their loan modified. Kwame Kenyatta just walked away because he was upside down. There is a difference.

At least by getting a modification, that shows that the person is committed to staying in the home and not wanting to be foreclosed on.

[LodgeDodger]

ESC, I'm glad to hear things worked out for you.