Had lunch with one of my sons today. He's got a secure job as a civil engineer with the state highway department, his wife is a "stay at home mom", with son 2 years old and expecting daughter next month. He has "80-12-8" financing- 80% first mortgage, 12% second mortgage, and he put 8% down when he bought the place 2 years ago. I haven't specifically talked to him about the "mortgage crisis", so just for fun, I quizzed him a bit:
"So, what's the status of your loans, as to value of your place?"
"Well, judging by the similar house down the road that just sold, I'm upside down on my first mortgage, so my second mortgage isn't worth the paper its printed on."
"Soooo- what do you plan to do?"
"Whatya mean, 'What do we plan to do?' We're just gonna keep making the payments like we always have."
Still testing, I noted, "You know, you could just walk away."
"How stupid would that be? Then we go live in a shelter? Its our home. If we walk away from this deal, how long before we can buy another- 10, 15 years? No thanks. Value will come back, probably, but even if it doesn't, its a lot more comfortable than a tent."
Not holding son up as a paragon of virtue- but he and millions of others doing the same thing show that "middle america values" are still alive and well.
It should be noted that he did not offer to pick up the lunch check. . .
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Today's Featured Article - My Ford Golden Jubilee - by Troy Estes. This article is about my '53 Ford Jubilee and a story that starts with taking the tractor to my brother's Starter/Alternator Rebuilding shop for a wiring fix. The generator was shot as well as all the wiring. I dropped off the tractor expecting a transformation from a 6 volt to a 12 volt system utilizing the original generator housing, and a total rewiring of the whole tractor. The front end center pin bushing was worn also so I ask that they replace it if they had time. Well, that’s wha
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