Are you guys hunkering down money wise?

[cowboy357]

I,m Curious is to whether or not Anyone else is conidering Pulling Their cash out of The Bank We dont have Much in there but Would be in Trouble if it was lost ? Also In My case We Owe No Money other then The regular bills, Utilities Insurance & such . I,ve Been retired since 2000 with No real income Other Then The Ocasional repair jobs , & Liquidating Toys & Equipment I no longer have the need for .

My Wife has a Good secure job with a major cruise line & Makes Fairly good Money & retirement . But It could All Go away if the wrong things happened or things get worse I Suppose . I Am Wondering if it Would make sense to Borrow Money against Our Property Why She still has an income Or The Banks freeze ALL Loans To have for Emergencys in the later Years ?

I am getting very Paranoid Right now & Have no Real Retirement Funds Because I Have allways dealt with cash & been self Employed . Also We have no Investments Other then The Property & Personall Property of which all is paid for . & I am slowly selling of for money to do repairs on The house & several Out buildings that are ALL in need of Repairs Which I do All the work Myself .

Any Input or Suggestions/Advice would be Appreciated Thanks. Bob

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

your odds will be much better if you aren't in debt....i'd stay that way

if you borrow money against your house and your wife loses her job then you may lose your home.....

in really hard times, you can turn off all but the essential, pay your taxes and just try to eat and stay warm.....

we are getting ready to buy that land and i wish we didn't owe on it......then, if we had to, we could live in a hut......then we would only have to worry about property taxes, food, heat and some clothes.....all other things can be turned off.....except my internet access and this website

 

[cowboy357]

your odds will be much better if you aren't in debt....i'd stay that way

if you borrow money against your house and your wife loses her job then you may lose your home.....

in really hard times, you can turn off all but the essential, pay your taxes and just try to eat and stay warm.....

we are getting ready to buy that land and i wish we didn't owe on it......then, if we had to, we could live in a hut......then we would only have to worry about property taxes, food, heat and some clothes.....all other things can be turned off.....except my internet access and this website

Thanks Flatheadyoungin for the advice & it Makes Sense. But If She did Loose Her job I dont know if We could still Borrow any money if needed without Proof of an Income . Thats My concern . Allthough There are Lots of Options as far as Making Money if She was at home , As We are both Capable of Doing several things to provide income if needed As I,m setup as far as a Woodworking shop, Body & weldingshop & We also Have Enough Equipment & supplys to Open a small Craft store if need be , Ceramics & such . Its Just been All I can do to keep up with the property & Buildings allthough its only 13 acres Its Pretty much a full time job . Anyway I Guess we,ll just ride it out & see what happens , in the Meantime I,ll just rathole what We do have & We never Buy anything unless its absolutly Needed Anymore at least . Thanks again.

 

[bigshovel]

I,m Curious is to whether or not Anyone else is conidering Pulling Their cash out of The Bank We dont have Much in there but Would be in Trouble if it was lost ? Also In My case We Owe No Money other then The regular bills, Utilities Insurance & such . I,ve Been retired since 2000 with No real income Other Then The Ocasional repair jobs , & Liquidating Toys & Equipment I no longer have the need for .

My Wife has a Good secure job with a major cruise line & Makes Fairly good Money & retirement . But It could All Go away if the wrong things happened or things get worse I Suppose . I Am Wondering if it Would make sense to Borrow Money against Our Property Why She still has an income Or The Banks freeze ALL Loans To have for Emergencys in the later Years ?

I am getting very Paranoid Right now & Have no Real Retirement Funds Because I Have allways dealt with cash & been self Employed . Also We have no Investments Other then The Property & Personall Property of which all is paid for . & I am slowly selling of for money to do repairs on The house & several Out buildings that are ALL in need of Repairs Which I do All the work Myself .

Any Input or Suggestions/Advice would be Appreciated Thanks. Bob

Full crash and your money isn't worth anything anyway. Borrow now against a paid for house? I can't imagine.

Brad

 

[SnowRidge]

Thanks Flatheadyoungin for the advice & it Makes Sense. But If She did Loose Her job I dont know if We could still Borrow any money if needed without Proof of an Income . Thats My concern . Allthough There are Lots of Options as far as Making Money if She was at home , As We are both Capable of Doing several things to provide income if needed As I,m setup as far as a Woodworking shop, Body & weldingshop & We also Have Enough Equipment & supplys to Open a small Craft store if need be , Ceramics & such . Its Just been All I can do to keep up with the property & Buildings allthough its only 13 acres Its Pretty much a full time job . Anyway I Guess we,ll just ride it out & see what happens , in the Meantime I,ll just rathole what We do have & We never Buy anything unless its absolutly Needed Anymore at least . Thanks again.

I remember this quote about the depression: "People were selling apples on street corners for only a nickel each. Trouble was, nobody had a nickel."

If things truly crash, there won't be many customers for any goods or services. What money the average person has will be spent on absolute necessities. A lot of people will be selling off their prized possessions for whatever they can get for them, just to survive. Better off individuals with cash in hand will be able to pick these items up for pennies on the dollar. Some will find it a windfall. Most will not.

I hope it never gets to that, but I have to say that I have never been less optimistic about the future.

 

[riptides]

I saw a report on the new wires this AM.

One in six homes in America are underwater.

No one in politics has addressed that issue, they don't even speak of it.

 

[SnowRidge]

I saw a report on the new wires this AM.

One in six homes in America are underwater.

No one in politics has addressed that issue, they don't even speak of it.

Does underwater in this case mean upside down on the loan?

 

[ultrarunner]

Does underwater in this case mean upside down on the loan?

I read it is fast approaching 20% as the number of Homeowners with no equity in their homes... i.e., owe more than it's worth... probably higher if you factor in the cost of selling a home is generally 5 to 8% with brokerage and required repairs.

I hate to say it... but I know plenty of people that are just walking away from their homes...

Most are 30 or younger first time home buyers that see no point in paying for a declining asset and can rent for less than half the cost to own.

Others are older and mostly those that got on the refinance wagon and never got off. Not uncommon to refinance every 12 to 18 months... of course that has all stopped now.

I have a real problem with the walk-aways because you could say I'm old fashioned... Several of the homes I bought over the years were seller carry with my 25% to 50% down... I would never choose to walk-away from the elderly people that trusted me enough to extend me credit to buy.

Never owed anything to anyone on time other than a first mortgage... I guess my parents and grandparents stories of the depression shaped who I am more than I thought.

 

[HappyCPE]

Was that the story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal reporting that 1 of 6 homeowners owes more than the property is worth? Yes, that sounds like underwater, drowning in debt, owning the bank more and mailing them the keys.

 

[SnowRidge]

Apparently there was a change in federal law not too long ago that permits people to just walk away on a mortgage with no consequences, other than a bad credit rating. There was a story about a college professor in So Cal whose townhouse was now worth $100K less than what she owed on.

She had no trouble making the payments, but figured why should she. She was quoted as saying something like (I'm paraphrasing here), "The bank isn't going to fund my retirement. Why should I pay for something that has dropped in price due to their actions?"