Those ex-Marinites, Vernon and Marty Ummel, were schooled yesterday on the meaning of the phrase "caveat emptor"; they lost. What a surprise. (Thanks to reader "w.c. varones" for spotting the article.)Let this be a lesson to all current "owners" who have seen their house price drop and to all would-be buyers who might be worried about their soon-to-be-purchased house losing value.
It took a jury less than two hours Thursday afternoon to unanimously clear a real estate agent accused of failing in his duties to a couple he helped buy a tony Carlsbad home.There's hope yet.
"The bottom line is that you (as a buyer) are responsible when you sign a contract and purchase something."
So if the buyer is responsible for the consequences of their signing a contract, why is the US government, the Fed, the state, bailing out failed flippers, "under water" mortgage holders, banks and lenders, et al. who made bad financial decisions/bets?
6 comments:
This is off the subject but Still Waiting in Sacramento is about to become Still Waiting in Marin (job transfer back) - Yikes!
Best rental resource other than craigslist - anyone?? Help!
PBS News Hour did a piece today about the latest bailout package. Their guest said it would be "very difficult" to determine who deserves help and who doesn't, and then gave an example. Neighbor #1 scrimps & saves 20% down payment, takes a fixed loan, drives a used car, etc. to make sure the mortgage gets paid through thick & thin. Neighbor #2 takes out a 100% loan during the bubble and then proceeds to HELOC whatever equity they had. Does that neighbor deserve help? The guest called this a difficult question. I wanted to vomit.
No one wants to take responsibility, but that seems to be the reality. We've become a nation of debt zombies.
Can we make this jury Federal Reserve governors?
Lisa, good point.. this is chest pumping America damn it, so we must cheer and protect Neighbor #2 who is the type of American we all are striving to become ... NOT
The Chronicle ran a front page story today about....drum roll, please.....how mortgages are still so difficult to get despite the increased GSE limit. One loan officer was quoted as saying it's the worst mortgage market since The Depression.
The dramatics are mindbogling....the article outlined the current "requirements" for buying a home. At least 20% down, since now some BA markets are considered "declining", high credit score, cash reserves in the bank, documentable income and tax returns. The horror! Like these are all never-been-seen-before. When I bought in '96, all of the above were the norm, just 12 years ago.
But I think it goes to the entitlement mode of this bubble. Like anyone who wants to buy should be able to. Take an $800K home in Marin and add in 30-years of interest, and you're asking a bank to loan you about $1.6MM. That should be difficult to qualify for, for crying out loud.
oh the Ummels are from marin? No wonder. Their lawsuit reeked of dumb entitlement. I laughed my ass off when I heard the real estate agent won.
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