- submitted by Linda Keenan on 01/29/2008
Housing Meltdown: "Smart" People Do The Stupidest Things
Contributing Writer: Linda Keenan*
Think all the folks out there saddled with toxic mortgages are vulnerable, uneducated, and deserving of empathy, emergency bailouts, and a belated holiday gift of lower interest rates from the Fed? Here’s a random collection of notable quotes from people in suburbia I know, along with their educational provenance, and/or current profession**:
1. “My mortgage broker totally screwed me over. How did I find him? Oh, he was this really cute guy who worked on the corner.” (Cornell University, interior designer.)
2. “We did the deal. FINALLY. How much? 700K.” Neither spouse had a full-time job, trust fund, or significant savings for a down-payment. (Harvard University, financial reporter.)
3. “We don’t have any debt. Just car and mortgage payments.” Cars: matching SUV’s. House: 5800 square feet. (Barnard College, well-known blogger who often counsels women on independence and identity.)
4. “Just do it. Everyone does it. House prices never go down. You have a new baby. Just do it.” Advice to me not taken, thankfully, to buy a house back in 2004. (Columbia University, software engineer, whose own house is down, oh, 12 percent in value since advising us to buy, buy now!)
5. “I guess 5 bedrooms maybe was too much. It’s not like we have kids or anything.”
(Bowdoin College, producer of a real estate television program.)
Do you have any notable quotables from the over-educated and under-financed? Or any other tales of financial stupidity? I'd love hearing them in the comment section!
* Linda Keenan worked 7 years as a head writer/senior producer for various programs on CNN. Before that, she worked as a writer/producer for Bloomberg TV. She now writes satire, primarily about parenting culture, at www.thoroughlymodernmommy.blogspot.com
[**Editor's Note: This piece is a companion to Linda's recent Burbia column on the plummeting housing market & economy and who's to blame. Hint: Look in the mirror. Check it out here.] ...read more rants