Foreclosures & Short Sales

Foreclosures on the rise! The mortgage meltdown is still unfolding. The news keeps talking about all of the foreclosures. They keep posting terrifying numbers.

They keep blaming the loan companies for predatory lending, like Our Mayor Sheila Dixon in Baltimore city suing Wells Fargo for "reverse red lining" defined as a predatory lending practice. Really who is to blame...the buyer, the loan officer, the bank, the investors on Wall Street, or _______? I mean how did we get here?

Ok here is my take on the big picture. First of all I want to make it clear that inflation is through the roof! Sure maybe the "indicators" are not showing this but these ancient indicators are irrelevant and have been for the last 20 years. As for me here in Baltimore, I saw the price of gas double for both my car and my house and the price of electricity as well. Every business that felt the pinch in turn charged more for their services and products. Then my house appreciated which would have been great if I had sold it but I did not and the tax man came to collect higher taxes too (not to mention at a new rate). Next Governor O'Malley raised the sales tax and increased and/or created other taxes too.

I am young and new to all these experiences but someone please tell me is this how it happened when you bought your first home 20, 30, or 40 years ago? I mean did you get in on the skin of your teeth and then have every expense around you increase dramatically? The news keeps acting like people bit off more than they could chew but honestly if everything had stayed the same (expense wise) as when you bought your house 1,2,3,4,or 5 years ago do you think the the foreclosure rates would be so high?

Maybe you can already tell from the tone of this blog how I feel, yes I blame inflation but I think we have a few other important issues people have not yet examined. One is financial education. Did you take a financial education course in your k-12 schooling? Did anyone educate you on things like interest, mortgages, and amortization? I think I can safely say a vast majority will answer no to this question.

I am tired of the same news about whether the loan officer was to blame or the person who bit off more than they could chew. Does anyone have intelligent data on inflation? Does anyone have a plan that includes getting financial education to the masses in our k-12 schools?

What I want to know is some of the stories behind these numbers. I want to hear stories about REAL people and how it all really happened. Please feel free to tell me your story.