ONE in SIX Americans upside down in their home

[Fishhead]

Are any of you one of them?

Not here, been renting for the past 5 years.

[capitalist pig]

Two houses here, one in FL one in AR, both paid for. I can thank capitalism for that.

later

[HedgeHog]

House paid for, but probably worth a little less today (who cares). Renting is like flushing money down the toilet...or betting jj's selections--same thing!

[ryanXL977]

suprised its only 1 of 6

[jjgold]

Renters are way ahead of the game in this type of economy

[flyingillini]

I only have 200k left in my home I live in... I have 3 houses that are business related/funded that have a hefty mortgage but the state pays for them.

[tyler36]

Renters are way ahead of the game in this type of economy

Not if your home is paid off, although a good possibility its not worth as much right now, but I agree somewhat, renters don't have to worry to much about the market going down.

[flyingillini]

Homes where I live are a great investment... The prices are crazy here... Prices in Montecito have not budged.

[purecarnagge]

just bought my house here this past july. I'm not upside down. Our housing market is staying about level. The banks in this area did a pretty good job at keeping loans reasonable.

I was looking for a foreclosed place worth moving into...but I didn't want to spend 180k on a 250k house... I would have been tapped and had to redo all the carpet and stuff, plus it had a weird layout...

[pico]

i prefer renting over buying.

[Coachep]

House paid for, but probably worth a little less today (who cares). Renting is like flushing money down the toilet

This is a huge misconception. Renting has so many upsides that owning does not. The flexibility to relocate on almost a whim, no property taxes to pay, upkeep is the responsibility of the landlord, and finally, its just cheaper. While its true that you have to pay to live somewhere anyway, if the money you save by renting is invested wisely (hard to do in this market, but in theory it's true) you could wind up way ahead of someone who spent that extra money on a house.

Houses are really not that great of an investment, and right now that investment is tanking along with everything else.

I got married and bought a house last year, as the market had slid a bit but nowhere near the bottom. We bought it because it was in the area we wanted to live in central NJ, the schools are good, its in the same town as her parents (who promised free child care if we bought a place near them), and it's about 10 miles from where we work.

As first time buyers, we got a great fixed rate (5.625) and only had to put about 7.5% down. As a result of this, I have a $2800 mortgage on a house that is probably worth at least 10-15% less than it was appraised for.

Financially, were now in a hole, but I don't care. I didn't buy the house as an investment, I bought it for the afore mentioned benefits, and to have a really nice place to live.

[pico]

This is a huge misconception. Renting has so many upsides that owning does not. The flexibility to relocate on almost a whim, no property taxes to pay, upkeep is the responsibility of the landlord, and finally, its just cheaper. While its true that you have to pay to live somewhere anyway, if the money you save by renting is invested wisely (hard to do in this market, but in theory it's true) you could wind up way ahead of someone who spent that extra money on a house.

Houses are really not that great of an investment, and right now that investment is tanking along with everything else.

I got married and bought a house last year, as the market had slid a bit but nowhere near the bottom. We bought it because it was in the area we wanted to live in central NJ, the schools are good, its in the same town as her parents (who promised free child care if we bought a place near them), and it's about 10 miles from where we work.

As first time buyers, we got a great fixed rate (5.625) and only had to put about 7.5% down. As a result of this, I have a $2800 mortgage on a house that is probably worth at least 10-15% less than it was appraised for.

Financially, were now in a hole, but I don't care. I didn't buy the house as an investment, I bought it for the afore mentioned benefits, and to have a really nice place to live.

you're one of the smarter ones who got fixed rates. the ones paying flexible rates got totally ****ed.

[robzilla]

how do u do stuff when ur upside down? It would make it tough to go to the washroom.

[Outlawdino]

My wife and I rent a small house here in NW Ohio. The cost of living is cheap around here and the only debt we have is our student loans. Aprox 40% of the homes available in Toledo, Ohio are foreclosures. It's only getting worse and renting will allow us to pack up and get out of here when we deem necessary.