Appraisal Articles

Land of the free, home of…

The brave? How about, home of the financially responsible…

Not home of the free handout.

Can You Believe It?

I am all for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have the right to pursue life. But there are no guarantees; and rest assured not one of us will get out of this life alive. You have the right to pursue liberty; but again, there are no guarantees that you will obtain it. And of course, you have the right to pursue happiness, but it is the most elusive of all.

Then there are those with the misguided assumption that not only are these things supposed to be obtainable, but if they are not also easily obtainable, then they should be given.

Given? How about earned.

What amazes me most is our country bailing out individuals who did not have the wherewithal to manage their funds better. What incentive do they have to perform better next time?

Personally, I do not think that owning a home is for everyone. If you can not manage your daily finances, perhaps you should be renting instead. And certainly these individuals should not have their errors rewarded with a payoff or forgiving the debt.

I would like for the free money ride to be over. In fact I think we should go back to the days of 30 to 50 % equity stakes. At the very least, 20% equity.

I believe that if you want to own a home, you should have a little skin in the game. You should have to save your money and amass a down payment. The process of saving is a lost art. And having 20% tied up in equity would get rid of the bail and burn attitude of the 100% financing.

When homeowners have nothing that they have paid in, they can just walk away: a bankruptcy or foreclosure is not enough of a deterrent any more. Let’s make it mean something to OWN a home.

Comments? Email me.