Om my. What a jerk! Brand new car, eh? Landscaping, huh? There are no words.

I hate how these stories always manage to highlight exactly the people I don't feel sorry for. Even the single mom...if she's in real estate she should have known better. So is there anyone deserving of true sympathy here and the media just doesn't find them? Or are we really bailing out....I'll leave out the descriptors....?

Frustrating!!

OK, I've only listened to the first two, but here's what they both say that makes no sense: They're paying 50 or 60% of their income to their mortgages. But that hasn't changed since this economic crisis. Regardless of what the value of your house is, or what you equity in the house is, you're paying the SAME payment (unless you have an ARM or something, which they didn't mention). So because they bought a house they can't afford, counting on the value continuing to increase, we're supposed to bail them out. Sorry, Charlie. That's called speculation, which involves risk. Your risk, not mine.

Oh thanks, great, now I DO need a new keyboard. I want a keyboard bail-out.
This is unbelievable. This first guy makes me want to hurl. Sitting on his $1M house and moaning about how he wants a bail-out because he doesn't have enough money left over to spend on furniture and other luxury items. Oh the humanity! And then, in a sweeping gesture of magnanimity, he offers to buy himself a luxury (a car) if O will bail him out. And as @Vesta says, who cares about equity - you're living in your house, it serves a purpose. Do you complain about equity in your car after you buy it? Or in your furniture after you buy it? Yes, these people are speculators who put it all on the line, lost, and now want their gov't bailout just like those other (poorer) people who "speculated" just to have a place to live.

He wants to refi to get a lower interest rate, but cannot because his house is worth less than when he bought it.

I see no problem with that - the man wants to spend less on his mortgage and have more money for other things.

Are people mad just because he has a million dollar home? What if his home was $200,000, would we be okay with him wanting to refi?

@Anonymous
No, it wouldn't be OK. Lots of people would like to refinance. Sure, *I*d like to too. But I don't expect to be able to in this climate. And I don't expect the gov't to make it possible. This guy bought his house knowing full well that he could afford it and what the payments would be. He voluntarily accepted it .. what's changed in that formula? I voluntarily accepted the terms of my mortgage, and if I don't like those terms now, then too bad for me.
Just because on wants something doesn't mean that one is entitled to it.

@anony - I agree w/ Infidel. The man knew what the payment would be when he bought the house. He bought a really, really, really nice house. Now he's whining to the media about how he can't afford *luxuries.* Like somehow his case of the "gimmes" is the government's problem.

I know lots of people who are truly barely making it. Like truly in dire financial times, NOT like they wanted a bigger house than they could afford. It's hard to read these stories in light of the harsh reality facing so many families in this economy.

Glad to see I'm not the only one maddened by this. I hadn't been this furious at a consumer-side story in months.

@ Anon:

I see no problem with that - the man wants to spend less on his mortgage and have more money for other things.

If you really can't see the problem here, then there's nothing I can say to help you.

I try to be as understanding and sympathetic as I can with folks, but I find it almost impossible these days. The sense of entitlement many of us exhibit is ... breathtaking.

I think I've pretty well reached the end of my "tolerance of idiots" rope. This meshing of idiocy and greed has flat-out unhinged the system. And those of us who acted prudently — plus our kids and grandkids, who had nothing to do with this — will get to finance it in perpetuity.

Here's my take: The first guy in the video can go f*&k himself.

The only gov't aid he needs is the kind provided by the Better Business Bureau: They could refer him to a 24-hour moving service. He needs to either make his payments and keep his mouth shut, or else get the [edit] out of that house and let it settle in the hands of a more-capable buyer.

That first guy is unbelievable. Could NOT be more ridiculous.

Thanks for posting this.

I bought my house in 2006 at the height of the market here in Tucson, and I am currently about 45k underwater. I would love to have my interest rate modified down to the 5% range instead of 6.375, but I am a realist. The facts are these: I signed a contract for the house of my dreams, in the neighborhood I've always wanted, at a price I could afford, at a great (at the time) interest rate and I don't regret it at all. In fact, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I have tried to refinance at a lower rate, but being upside down in my loan prevented that from happening. If this "loan modification" crap that passed helps me get a better interest rate, yes, I'll take advantage of it. If it doesn't, I can still look at my family and say we are in a good place because we made solid choices in a time full of speculation.