OT: Ouch !
By joe
- 1 minutes read - 206 wordsNot that cnbc is the bastion of correct/reliable/accurate reporting, but this article definitely hurts. The “American dream” has been to own your own house. We bought ours 13 years ago, with a 30 year mortgage. Refinanced 6 years ago to a 20 year mortgage, with the same payments. We assumed the value of the house would be increasing or at worst, staying the same. Last I checked on a few real estate sites, we are “underwater or upside-down” on the mortgage. That is, thanks to the declining property values, we owe now more than the property is worth. And worse, the values are going to keep on dropping. My understanding is that this has vastly increased the incidence of “jingle mail”, where homeowners mail the keys to the lenders and say “all yours”. Here in Michigan, property values will likely continue to plummet until the economy turns around. Considering the time scale required for this (think generational change, deep changes required in the state for taxation, and other purposes), we might be done paying off the mortgage around the time the turn around happens. Which is a shame. Michigan is a great place to build data centers though. Fantastic place. Real good cooling outside right now.