My personal story about the housing crisis.. Inside the mind of a Republican!

[Joanne98]

I really didn't want to put this on a forum but since the Republicans are continuing their tantrums I decided what the Hell.

I have a cousin who's Bush loving wife became a real estate agent. Now the reason she loved Bush so much (even gave to his campaign in 2004) was because she wanted to be rich and didn't think she should have to pay taxes. ANY taxes.

Anyway, she got her real estate license in 2006. The first house her sold was to my aunt, her mother-in-law. She went on to sell a lot of houses. She made 300,000,00$ in 2006. She even got a free trip to Italy from her employer.

She bought a house for herself that cost 400,000.00$ She was going to "flip" it. And here's where it gets interesting. The MINUTE she found out that her neighbors house sold for less than they paid for it she declared bankruptcy.

My aunt went on the declare bankruptcy too. Because Chase raised her CC rate to 30%. When she was doing that she found out that she had gotten a sub-prime loan. From, guess who, her daughter in-law.

That told me that the reason (blank) made so much money in 2006 was because she was selling sub-prime loans. That's why she knew to get out the minute housing prices started to fall.

She is now selling foreclosures. She has divorced my cousin (he's a loser because he's not rich)..

The reason I'm telling this story is to point out that if you look closely at the Republicans you will find out things they don't want anybody to know.

They had a big part in this mess on a PERSONAL level.

Don't let them get away with pretending their victims.

They are faking it!

PS I forgot to add. She recently bought shares of Fannie and Freddie. Even though she hates "socialism". Not enough apparently to boycott to stocks. LOL

[scarletwoman]

1. It's easy to know what Republicans are up to -- just look at what they're accusing others of doing.

They are THE champs at projection. Thanks for your story, it is indeed an excellent look "Inside the mind of a Republican."

sw

[Joanne98]

3. I was thinking about her when I was watching the people at CPAC

And I asked myself, if (blank) went what would she be going for. And I knew instantly. She would be there to network and sell shit. Mary Kay etc.. It's the only reason she goes anywhere. Noble causes are a waste of time. "Go getters" make money. Period.

They think their fooling everybody. Half those people where just there to find out what everybody's doing for money now that they've lost the WH!

They spent all there time networking and handing out their cards.

Noble cause MY ASS!

[SheilaT]

2. How interesting.

And once again, the dishonesty and hypocrisy of such people is quite breath-taking.

[Joanne98]

4. Really. Now they're having tea parties. How many of these people were making a living

off the housing bubble before it burst. I think we should start asking them.

[barb162]

6. You won't get an honest answer.

Realtors are extremely cagey these days in answering any questions about the deals they were doing. Have you noticed? They'll also say they had nothing to do with the mortgagors their clients went to. (NOTHING, I tell you!!!)

[Joanne98]

17. I know. I've thought about them a lot because of this. I've came to the conclusion

that they company she worked for had to be pushing the sub-prime loans. They must have made tons of money. I personally think they all should be investigated. Especially Countrywide and the Homebuilders. The foreclosure business is sucking. (Blank) has only sold a couple of houses in the last year.

[CoffeeCat]

9. So many of them, and no one is talking about it...

...except you, of course! ;)

I cannot understate enough how "in cahoots" our real-estate agent and our mortgage broker were, when we
purchased our home nearly four years ago.

This was when everyone in our area (suburb) was buying huge homes--and never questioning the long-term
consequences.

We asked to see homes in a certain price range. The realtor would show us homes that were $100k more than
the price range we discussed. She rationalized, "We can always talk them down." She'd get us into these
beautiful homes, and of course you want it! And after you see the higher-end home--it makes the lower
priced homes look worse.

We finally found a house--on our own--in our price range. The realtor strongly encouraged us to "take advantage
of the amazing financing options available!" The realtor and the broker pressured us to take an ARM or an
interest-only loan. They treated us like idiots who didn't understand how great this financing was.

It was all a con! We stuck to our guns and got a fixed-rate, conventional mortgage, btw...

No one talks about this, but the realtors were showing and selling those big houses. The realtors knew that many
had no money down, and they knew what the buyers income was! They knew this wasn't sustainable and that it was
reckless. But they didn't care---because they made more money if they sold bigger houses. What did the realtors
care if the people foreclosed in five years? They still got their commission.

It was all a big shell game brought to you by the lobbyists for the banks and finance companies. They lobbied for
lax regulations on lending--and look what happened.

Twenty-five year olds were starting mortgage-broker shops and becoming millionaires--and so were the real-estate
agents. The banks knew that the real-estate agents would play the game too--because they would make loads of cash.

Meanwhile, the little guy gets screwed...and the people who are foreclosed upon are positioned as irresponsible
low lives who wrecked the country.

No one talks about the real-estate agents or the mortgage brokers and their culpability in this mess.

:eyes:

[barb162]

10. There was a lot of guilt /responsibility to go around.

As long as prices kept going up, everything seemed okay on the surface. Except, that is, for those worrisome articles I'd read about the resets on the ARMs.

I haven't looked at a house in a long, long time, but even when we bought, every realtor did that bit where they try to get you to buy up because then they get a bigger commission.

[Joanne98]

18. It's the untold part of the story. I hope some free-lance journalist is working it.

It would make a really good article. They were totally in on it and they knew exactly what they were doing. And on the bigger scale, with the credit default swaps, I think the some of the top real estate brokers were in on that too. But we haven't got the proof yet. But I think it's why BOA swooped up Countywide. Wall Street doesn't want anybody to make the connection because of conspiracy. I think this is why they are blaming the people who bought the houses cause they don't what anyone looking any deeper.

Thanks for posting your personal story. I wish more people would come forward. I think a lot of people are embarrassed or ashamed but if nobody tells their stories we won't get the truth.

[Donnachaidh]

19. the big question -- WILL anyone go after the brokers, realtors etc.?

That's what needs to be done -- but WILL they?

[Joanne98]

24. I don't know. I hope so. It's hard with the MSM confusing everything.

I don't think the American people get it yet. We need MEDIA REFORM!

[Donnachaidh]

26. next to jobs, that is the first thing we need

The MEDIA is an abomination in this country.

[CoffeeCat]

27. I think people keep quiet...

...because of how these homeowners have been demonized.

The endless stories about "irresponsible homeowners" have a chilling effect on the people who hold the truth.

I think the coordinated attack on these homeowners has been designed to shame them into silence. If the whole
world blames them and thinks that they are irresponsible--they cower in the corners. Also, they blame themselves.

It's real easy to look back and think, "Wow, what WAS I thinking? Why did I take that ARM or why did I buy a house
that left my budget pretty tight?". Easy to blame yourself, when the entire country and the media is constantly
making you feel like you're the evil guy in this situation.

I remember what it was like. I know what friends have said. I had a friend who had a realtor tell her, "Oh, come on--you
could afford this house. Your husband will probably get a promotion and you're only working part time right now. You guys
will move up in the world!" Realtors WERE saying these kinds of things, and they were enticing people with the larger
houses and encouraging the "creative financing" that would eventually blow up in their faces.

And yes, not ALL realtors did this, but many did. And, many realtors who jumped in to the job when they saw how much
money was to be made--probably did it more often than not.

First-time home buyers---who aren't as financially savvy as more-experienced homeowners--could easily be taken by the
realtors and the lenders. These people are viewed as the "experts". People trust them and their advice. When they're
steering you into a big house and talking about ARMS and 3-2-1 buy downs--as if they're the financing of the uber-sophisticated--that's
not fair to the home buyer.

You're right...more homeowners need to step forward and talk about this.

[Historic NY]

5. Republicans never take personal responsibility for anything.

[barb162]

7. This part makes no sense; she had to know the prices of the houses

as she would have had that at her fingertips: "The MINUTE she found out that her neighbors house sold for less than they paid for it she declared bankruptcy."

Why didn't she just flip it really fast?

[Joanne98]

13. No she didn't flip it. She didn't have time. She declared bankruptcy

She eventually sold it. I don't have the details. Just that she freaked out when her neighbors house sold for less than it was worth.

[JohnWxy]

8. THE key to Republicans is their total hypocrisy. And that and they LOVE to subvert social policies

meant to help the nation. They love to twist them in ways most of us would never even think of and use them for self aggrandizement. But the biggest kick they get is that they are subverting a policy that was well meant to strengthen our economy and society. OF course without some strong checks built into such policies people can find ways to do this. These are people who are always looking for ways to make money without actually working for it. They are called grifters. - if you're being polite.

Thanks for this inside view.

[Liberal_Christian]

11. No taxes at all????

Then she better not drive on a road, call the police or firefighters in an emergency, eat clean food, go to college, get a government job, or let her own employer accept any bail out money. It's true there are a lot to blame for this mess (democrats included) but lets not forget we had a republican president for the past eight years and a republican majority in congress for the past 6 years (until 08) so all these controversial bills that have been put into play were proposed AND passed by republicans NOT democrats. Fannie and Freddie played a big part but there's something financial institutions like Fannie, Freddie, Lincoln Savings and Loans, and Enron all have in common; NO regulation, NO transparency, NO oversight, and NO government enforced accountability. What do republicans swear by????? NO regulation, NO transparency, NO oversight, and NO government enforced accountability because it "interferes" with a "free" market. Yeah, kind of how a police officer "interferes" with a naturally "just" society. They didn't just have a big part; they had the BIGGEST part. People like your cousin's ex are the problem not only because they're part of the republican base but because they've sold out morality for wealth resulting in almost pure apathy toward doing the right thing as oppose to the lucrative thing.

-And really that's the problem with these industries (banking and real-estate) if you know anyone successful in these fields you find out quick how there's almost no correlation with an individual's education, intelligence, or experience and how much they make. I personally know people in both fields and can safely say these industries are unlike any other because one truly does not earn the amount of wealth they attain. TAKE YOUR STORY FOR INSTANCE; Experienced Doctor's make $300,000 a year, Experienced Engineer's make $300,000 a year, Experienced Lawyers make $300,000 a year, But (blank) made $300,000 in a year by selling some empty fucking buildings.

[Joanne98]

14. NONE! The first time she told me that I thought the same thing.

Which was wierd because her brother-in-law was a fireman. Since she liked him you would think she would understand that NO taxes meant no firemen. I don't know how she would have arranged the world because I couldn't talk to her that long. We didn't get along. It was like five minutes was all I could take. I went to my aunt's house for Christmas dinner this year. I haven't been there for five years because she went. She was such a bad vibes.

I was actually shocked when I first heard the 300,000$ figure. I thought it was a mistake. But I guess when you add in salary and bonuses... It's still a lot houses. But she was a hard worker. She gets up at 4:00 every morning whether she has something to do or not. She's always cleaning her house. It's immaculate. She's the kind of person who checks people's dishes for dishwasher spots when she eats at their house. It used to drive my aunt nuts. lol

[960]

12. How did your cousin sell a sub-prime loan to your aunt?

That would be the mortgage broker, not the realtor.

"blank" wasn't selling sub-prime loans. She was selling houses. The buyers may have been using sub-prime loans to purchase the houses, but your story isn't accurate.

And if someone's credit card interest going to 30% pushes them to bankruptcy, they were living so close to the edge that they should never have bought a home.

[Joanne98]

15. She sold my aunt the house and I think her company rec'd the loan.

But I'm not sure. My aunt and uncle don't really like to talk about it that much. I got this information over a period of a couple of years. (Blank) might not have known it was a sub-prime. It was her very first sale. She did say one time that she didn't like the way her company treated it's customers but she didn't say why. Personally I don't think she did that on purpose. It was just a surprise to my aunt and uncle when they went thru bankruptcy. They had no idea they had a sub-prime loan. Which blows the republicans argument that everybody who got these loans knew. They didn't and they're not stupid people.

[Donnachaidh]

21. And the realtor would push the buyer to the broker who does subprime mortgages

Realtors always try to push their clients to brokers *they* work with. This has always been done by realtors who care more about getting contracts done, than worrying about whether the buyer can afford the house.

This has ALWAYS been the case.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Exception to that ALWAYS:

We have very few foreclosures in our little area, I think it is because our real estate agents do not steer to crooked brokers.
Small town, everyone knows everyone, is usually related to everyone.

It helped that I knew the real estate agent from a previous purchase/sale.

Fortunately, even tho I innocently chose Countrywide, in 2005, I also knew what I wanted in a loan, and we got a standard 30 year, no prepayment penalty, no escrow, could afford to put more than 20% down, so no insurance.
Countrywide office closed in this town in 2007.
We still pay mortgage to them, where ever their main mortgage collecting place is, but I am curious
to know if they have the original note.
Hope I will not be in a position to find out.

[960]

32. That may be the case for many real estate agents, but not all.

The fact remains the cousin didn't "sell" the loan.

[Senator]

22. See #9 above

And welcome to DU.

--

[Joanne98]

16. I promised myself that I couldn't post this unless I could say something good about her.

So here goes, I thought of THREE things.

She was a good mother. She home schooled her kid. Not for religious reasons but because she didn't think he would get a good education. She did a good job. The kid's really smart. I remember one time she was even doing science experiments at home.

She wasn't a liar. ( usual for a Republican) She always told everybody about her desire to be rich right from the beginning. It's made the divorce go down easy. There's no drama. Which is really nice when you consider the Hell some divorces put people though.

And.. I forget the third one already. lol

[lostnfound]

23. I know the third.

She didn't have dishwasher spots on her glasses.

[Joanne98]

25. LOL

[Joanne98]

20. I found out at Christmas dinner that she bought Fannie and Freddie.

I had to laugh because I KNOW what she was thinking. She probably believed all those Fannie/Freddie conspiracy theories that the right has been throwing around since this whole thing started. Since she bought the stock AFTER the election she probably thought Obama was going to give them more money. Well he hasn't and I'm dying to know what she thinks about that. She paid 70 cents a share and I checked Friday and their in the 40's. She's lost over 30%.

[immoderate]

28. My Republican friends are all quick to say...

Well, I'll be OK. And this goes back way before the crisis. I remember an investment banker friend (we have lost touch; his wife didn't like me) telling me something like if everybody wound up begging in the streets, he would still be doing OK. This was back in the late 70s. All the Republicans I know are like this. They don't think past their own bank accounts.

--imm

[SlowDownFast]

29. I hope she bought ALOT of Fannie/Freddie. n/t

[JohnWxy]

31. HEre is a post about the Bushs and medicare fraud going back years!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=114&topic_id=58920&mesg_id=58920