Reader comments
Many selling at loss to avoid foreclosure

How can a 2 bedroom house in SL with bugs, mice and worms? be worth 120 thousand? or 90 thousand? This is ridiculous. How can a house be worth 600 thousand? The prices are ridiculous! Give me the days when we built a new two story on an acre and a quarter for 160 thousand and that included the land. Why do people have to be so greedy. No wonder kids aren't getting married these days.

J Lee reports: "she was forced into a desperate situation".

Who forced her? That's a pretty bold statement with nothing to back it up. Short of any evidence that shows she was forced, one would be inclined to believe that Ms.Hernandez made some poor financial decisions that resulted in her inability to make a promised payment.

I guess that doesn't sound as good as "forced" or "crisis", huh?

This is lazy reporting which shifts the blame of a defaulted loan to... no one.

Namfan, why so negative and judgemental? I think "forced into a despearate situation" refers to her finding out about the homes bad condition the day of closing, and being told she would lose her deposit if she backed out, so she felt forced to go through with the deal.

When I decided to get married I would have lived in a closet if need be, in order to be by ourselves, and enjoy ourselves with each other as much and for as long as we wanted.

Almost two years and an overseas tour later we almost did just that. However we where able to move into Base Housing and then we had too much house.

Living with your relatives is not a good thing, which is why we had a housing boom after WWII. A GI being able to buy a house with little or no money down.

My wife was able to buy our 1st house on her own. Later in Hawaii I finally used my GI Bill Benefits and have the house I own now. Which lost $45,000 in value but is still worth almost twice what I paid for it.

I think prices are adjusting to what they really are as opposed to what they where inflated to be.

I understand the compelling personal reasons for getting an ARM but when the ARM Kicks in they want an ARM and a leg.

Now people are upside down and taking a loss when they try to sell.

"forced into a desperate situation"... Duh. Did we borrow a little too much money? What an idiot. Forced? Give me a break. Try accepting some responsibility for your dumb decisions. Don't worry though. Barack Osama will change everything when elected....

The example in this article is important. To say "she was forced into a desperate situation", is a responsible and appropriate position for her to have taken. I venture to guess that we will find many people across this country who will do the same - and rightfully so. As home values continue to decline, more and more people will find themselves in the same circumstance. And if you can get the investors to absorb the loss, a short sale is the way to go. If you wait too long, forclosure may be your only option.

If you bought a home that is currently worth less than your mortgage, what does that matter if you intend to live in it for 10-20 years? It will regain value eventually.

Oh, you mean you bought the house intending to resell it at a fabulous profit in 18 months?

Oh, you mean you bought the house and then refi'd to take money out when the house appreciated quickly?

Oh, you mean you bought a house with no money down, negative amortization, and a variable interest rate, and you can't afford your current payment?

Also party to this are the taxing authorities who have ***tripled and quadrupaled* the taxes valuations in the past 10 years. Do they benefit financially from such an upward tax valuation or are they a disinterested third party adjusting rates to maintain the same cash flow relative to the booming population count? And don't forget! When the population grows we have more -- not less -- people to pay for the infrastructure, city council, mayor, etc -- in other words there should be economies of scale. Instead we have seen opportunistic municipalities "piggyback" on this inflated growth to benefit their own financial coffers. Will the tax valuations go back to what is actually required for an ever increasing density of housing? I doubt it. Instead the municipalities will find some other excuse to continue raising taxes.

Wow - we've got some bitter people out there. People aren't perfect. They make mistakes. Life doesn't go according to plan. Bad things happen. Can we all try to make more prudent decisions? Of course. But sometimes you do get burned.

Last year my wife and I sold our house in MA at a loss. We were living well within our means when we made the purchase. It was just a bad time to sell, but we were "forced" to, due to a required job change and cross-country move.

Someday we'll have the guts to explore the role immigration played in the mortgage meltdown. Today is not the day. But if you look at the foreclosure heat map and overlay the census data on the foreign-born I think you'll see a pattern emerge, South Texas being the exception.

My sibling out of state is in a position where either a short sale or a forclosure is imminent with a large house lived in for over 15 years. How did this happen? In this case home equity loans as well as a downturn in the local economy were both culprits.

Some might decry poor personal money management, a factor here, nevertheless it saddens me to think of this couple nearing 60, to have such financial problems after their children have been raised.

Just a year ago we were talking about a "Housing Crisis" because home values were to high. Now it's a "Housing Crisis" because values are to low. That's the sensationalism of the media for you... I just wish we could return to normal without "forcing" the public to pay for it.

I agree with "Name" 100% If the house was a good deal when you bought it then why is it not a good deal now? Simple, because you found out the house down the street is selling for less and you got greedy!

Judge not folks, one never knows when one will lose their job and find the house payment a great burden. As a single(parent) income earner I needed a break to buy a house for my children but it was one within my means and thank God I am able to continue making the payments so long as I have a job of which I have had the same with for 20 years but daily it is held over our heads they need to cut - until you understand the circumstance you will not understand the great loss to anyone who has been given a chance to buy a basic home - not everyone has the McMansion in the sky - not everyone has bought over their heads -- not everyone gets the GI bill and thus lets be more compassionate in our judging. Young people of today though can't start out on the low end they have to start out on top and that is their pitfall

"But the increase in short sales and foreclosures has contributed to the decrease in home prices along the Wasatch Front and the rest of the state, he said." (Per Dave Anderton of SLC Board of Realtors.

The decrease in home prices in SLC is a good for society and eventually the economy. Of course real eastate agents do not like that.

This real estate bubble in SLC will bust just as much as the rest of the "World" real estate bubble is bursting.

Amazing how drunk with greed and desire to have a "Big" house has hit SLC citizens. The house flippers have had a good time and bragged continually about the money they made.

Now collectively the 401K statements of September 2008 reflect this bust. And those sparty pants flippers are complaining on how much money they have lost in their 401K.

So on to greater adventures. There is a law of cause and effect that cannot be violated. It never has and never will. "NEVER" . SO. BE. IT. 41CADILLAC

My home is worth more than I paid for it two years ago. However, I paid the required 20% down. As a result the home is still worth more than I owe and I can afford the payment.

What happened here was someone that was loaned 100% or more of the value of the home. It is the bank and customer who listened to the bank who are at fault here.

Name, you are right on target. We simply need to become a responsible people. Take a risk and you may win and you may lose. Too many people are finding that their reckless behavior isn't paying off.

What about the realtor they hired who gave false information? The sale should have been contingent on the results of the inspection; not just having it done. The greed that has helped this inflation nightmare is shared by realtors who will do almost anything for a sale. Most are not "professional" and they take no responsibility for their errors. I don't believe in needless litigation but she should sue the realtor.

Every one of them will give you the sales pitch about how much safer they will be with an agent "representing" them. When the agent lets them down (after collecting an unrealistic commission), they should have accountability along with irresponsible lenders and buyers.

With inflationary prices out of control from artificially increased housing values the agents continue to receive commission based on inflated values of homes, further driving the costs up. The work is the same on two home sales; yet the agent gets so much more money for selling the higher priced home. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this is a flawed system.

Shame on investors too. They greedily gobble up affordable houses that owners could buy and improve themselves. They're "flipped" and affordability disappears.

Will we see the day when the citizens of the USA start moving to Mexico to seek their dream of home ownership?

He or she is correct....when did buying a home mean you were going to live in it and raise a family...not just make money on it...I also blame some of the big builders..cost of buildig materials have not gone up that much..but land they purchased and sold for $35,000 a lot and now ask over $100,000, we should al rebel and let the greedy builders sit on those lots..we all need to take a step back..

"Forced", yeah forced!!! The banker, real estate agent, and previous owner all head a gun to her head and said BORROW THIS MONEY that we know you can't pay back! Give me a break!!! It's called lack of personal responsibility! We (My wife & I) ended up buying in Roy because we were physically RESPONSIBLE and bought something within OUR BUDGET that we could afford that wasn't in a drug/gang/high crime infested neighborhood. It's called being RESPONSIBLE adults! You don't have to have a BRAND NEW HOUSE because Joe Blow Homes just built a new subdivision, besides why pay $250,000 or more for a home when you can't tell your house from your neighbors except for the number on it? America has gotten spoiled rotten, and wants everything given to them, and when they make a mistake that is their own fault they were "Forced" to do something to lose their wonderful too expensive house/car or whatever it was, to begin with! Bring back the days of LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS!!! I love my NEW 1975 home, and when we have the money I will remodel the less than perfect kitchen, until then I will enjoy it the way it-is!