Reuters: California Man Losing Nine Homes
Actually, if he sheds the home his family's living in, then by my math it's ten homes. But these days, who's counting?
A California man who has defaulted on nine homes and expects banks to foreclose on all of them, forcing him into bankruptcy, says he now considers it a mistake to have invested in the real estate market.
Lemme guess: At least several of these homes were signed for as "owner-occupied," too, right?
[Investor Shawn] Forgaard bought a house in Santa Cruz, about 60 miles (100 km) south of San Francisco, in 2000. Four years later, using $800,000 in stock options, he began snapping up investment properties, putting 10 percent to 40 percent down on negative-amortization loans — in which payments do not cover the interest so that a borrower's balance grows over time.
Actually putting money down? How archaic is that?
Ah well. What the stock market giveth, the real-estate market lately taketh away. Sure sounds like someone's in need of a bailout. Congress-folks in the audience, can we get right on this, please? I sure would hate to see Mr. Forgaard get left out of the benefits of any current pending legislation.
After all, we need rising house values, and this guy was front and center in the glorious runup. No way should financial dumbassery of this magnitude go unrewarded.
Labels: Homeownership, Investing
