Are you under water?

[Zod]

They say 1 in 4 Americans are underwater on their home mortgages. I'm not, and I don't know of any that are. Are you?

I have a feeling many of these are second and third homes people own.

[Cat]

Do you mean do I owe more than it's worth? I imagine a LOT of people do because house prices plummeted, I also suppose a lot of people don't realize that they are.

I am not because I bought a foreclosure in the middle of all this mess and we put a lot of money down. I paid about 20k less for my house than the original owners paid in 2003 when it was built and they installed a pool and a sprinkler system. That is how much prices fell.

[Guest]

House prices fell everywhere. I'm probably right at nose level.

[Davidson Deac II]

For the most part, home values in NC didn't skyrocket the way they did in some other communities. Thats why the housing value drops haven't hit us as hard. Most of those that are underwater are in places like Florida, Nevada, and California. Here in Winston, home values haven't changed much. Of course, there are fewer people working, so its harder to sale them.

I am not underwater on my house, but it wouldn't matter so much if I was. I don't really care about the value of my home, since I don't ever plan on leaving (unless unforeseen circumstances arise). I don't look at my home as an investment, I look at it as a place to live. The main thing I want to do is have it paid off before I retire.

[TheSaint]

havent gotten appraised any time recently, but i sincerely hope my home value hasnt dropped that much.

i put over 20% into it to begin with.

[Zod]

Go to www.zillow.com for a quick and pretty accurate home value estimate.

[Johnny Rockets]

For the most part, home values in NC didn't skyrocket the way they did in some other communities. Thats why the housing value drops haven't hit us as hard. Most of those that are underwater are in places like Florida, Nevada, and California.

.

I agree....states like the ones he mentioned are what drive that national 1 in 4 number up. It didn't affect NC nearly as much. In fact NC one was of the few places were values were still rising while others were collapsing.

I bougth a foreclosure at the height of the housing boom a couple of years ago and still paid $25K less than it's value now.

My parents are in Florida right now looking to purchase a new vacation home and they are finding homes that were $120K+ for $40K and $200K homes for $80K. People/Banks are just looking to unload. Hard to pass up the deals that are out there.

[Samuel L. Jackson]

I own my home... No mortgage at all... Same for my cars... no payments...

That's how it is when you make all kinds of awesome movies...

(in reality, my wife and I inherited just enough to cover said things...)

I'm not trying to brag or anything like that at all, because if times got super tough for anyone I knew I could trust, my doors are always open to them... I realize how fortunate we are to be able to make such a claim...

It is a great relief to not owe anyone a cent in this day and age of credit, and we can move towards our own futures knowing that even in the worst of times to come, someone loved us enough to plan ahead for us and look after us even after they were gone...

Also, as per the topic, I don't know anyone "underwater" either... I think it's all media sensationalism...

[Johnny Rockets]

Go to www.zillow.com for a quick and pretty accurate home value estimate.

Meh....in most cases it is usually off by + or - 8% or so. I think they have mine about $10K higher than what it really is,

[Cat]

I have a girlfriend who lives in California right outside of the OC. They just bought a house last year for $315k that the seller purchased for $550k only a few years earlier. oh yeah the house is only 1700 sq. ft. I'd love to live in Cali but I'm not forking out that kind of money for that size of a house.

[Davidson Deac II]

I agree....states like the ones he mentioned are what drive that national 1 in 4 number up. It didn't affect NC nearly as much. In fact NC one was of the few places were values were still rising while others were collapsing.

I bougth a foreclosure at the height of the housing boom a couple of years ago and still paid $25K less than it's value now.

My parents are in Florida right now looking to purchase a new vacation home and they are finding homes that were $120K+ for $40K and $200K homes for $80K. People/Banks are just looking to unload. Hard to pass up the deals that are out there.

I was talking about this very thing with one of my new coworkers the other day. Apparently, his entire neighborhood (those that haven't been foreclosed) are underwater. He lives in an area of Arizona which went thru a building boom only to see prices collapse over the past 2 years. So its definitely some areas that are skewing the stats.

[Johnny Rockets]

I have a girlfriend who lives in California right outside of the OC. They just bought a house last year for $315k that the seller purchased for $550k only a few years earlier. oh yeah the house is only 1700 sq. ft. I'd love to live in Cali but I'm not forking out that kind of money for that size of a house.

We have a girl in our office that just transferred in from CA. As part of her move package, our company shelled out $280,000 to cover the loss she took when she sold her home. I couldn't imagine being almost $300,000 upside down in a home loan, but that is the reality in places like CA, FL, Vegas.....

[Cat]

I own my home... No mortgage at all... Same for my cars... no payments...

That's how it is when you make all kinds of awesome movies...

(in reality, my wife and I inherited just enough to cover said things...)

I'm not trying to brag or anything like that at all, because if times got super tough for anyone I knew I could trust, my doors are always open to them... I realize how fortunate we are to be able to make such a claim...

It is a great relief to not owe anyone a cent in this day and age of credit, and we can move towards our own futures knowing that even in the worst of times to come, someone loved us enough to plan ahead for us and look after us even after they were gone...

Also, as per the topic, I don't know anyone "underwater" either... I think it's all media sensationalism...

That is awesome!! I'm very happy for you!!!

Our goal is to be debt free in 10 years. Everything is paid for but our house. And my sons college is taken care of. If we don't hit any major bumps then I think the goal is doable.

[Darth Biscuit]

I'm not upside down... we bought our house in 2003 before the prices went up so high... our house was valued at over $100K more than the purchase price 3 years after we bought it... I guess we could have sold at that point and made some money, but it would have had to go right back into any new house we bought here, so I didn't think it was worth it.

We own both our vehicles outright as well... so overall we're pretty good. We've always been very conservative financially however and my wife's so tight she squeaks so that doesn't hurt.

I do know a few people that are in financial trouble... they live fast and loose and beyond their means. Everyone I know in that situation has done it to themselves by their lifestyle choices. Funny thing is one of the guys I'm thinking of is a banker... he's always got some financial scheme and thinks he so good with money, but they owe almost $300K on a failed business, he lost his job and now they're taking care of his parents too... sad really.