I have yet to feel the pinch. Maybe it is because I planned ahead in life and borrowed what I could vs. ride a wave of speculation in real estate... Maybe it is because I wake up every day and go to work and don’t piss and moan that life would be better if I had a Lexus or Bimmer… Maybe it is because I am able to shoulder my responsibilities like a man, vs. looking for the handouts and bailouts I keep hearing are coming. They are probably coming to this area too, and surely at my expense.

When we bought our house, we put down over 20% and without PMI and our fixed rate mortgage, we settled in and looked ahead vs. down into the hole we dug…

Reading the papers back about 6 years ago, I remember where interest only loans had jumped form 3-4% in VA to about 30%. That was HUGE! It was also a sign of things to come… With the turn of the decade, liar loans and no-doc mortgages became the norm. Many of your neighbors bought their homes with these if they bought in the past 5 years. If they sold and moved on, they might be doing ok however, if they stayed, they are probably in the group of those who feel the pinch.

This past week, another report came out that showed that most of the foreclosures in our area, are in Herndon. Look further, and Manassas is high on the list and so is the Prince William area as a whole. Fairfax County in general, is doing better than most. Alexandria and Arlington, even better. So why is the sky falling in only certain areas? Is it the people who bought those homes who should not and could not afford them to begin with? Is it those areas probably were cheaper than much of Fairfax County? I am not sure, but I do know that the homes I know are foreclosed upon, the buyers simply walked away… Well, with a liar—loan, was it really theirs (ever) anyways?

People got into housing that they could not afford when ARMS reset.

ffxn8v Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> This past week, another report came out that
> showed that most of the foreclosures in our area,
> are in Herndon. Look further, and Manassas is high
> on the list and so is the Prince William area as a
> whole. Fairfax County in general, is doing better
> than most. Alexandria and Arlington, even better.
> So why is the sky falling in only certain areas?
> Is it the people who bought those homes who should
> not and could not afford them to begin with? Is it
> those areas probably were cheaper than much of
> Fairfax County? I am not sure, but I do know that
> the homes I know are foreclosed upon, the buyers
> simply walked away… Well, with a liar—loan, was it
> really theirs (ever) anyways?


There are probably several reasons for that.

1. Growth in PWC was driven primarily by Hispanics moving into the county. Now that PWC is on the anti-illegal immigrant warpath, the Hispanics are leaving and not buying.

2. Because PWC had new developments, it attracted more first-time homebuyers who didn't have 20% to put down. Most of the people I know living in Fairfax have been here for years and so were not impacted as much by the housing bubble.

3. The demographics in outlying areas is probably younger, so people with less experience with home ownership probably took out their equity when they re-financed instead of leaving it there. Now they are screwed because they owe more than the house is worth.

4. People living close-in have higher incomes than those living out. A lot of your firefighters, police, teachers, etc, live in PWC and Loudoun and drive in to their jobs. Alexandria, Arlington, etc, are full of lawyers, lobbyists, doctors, etc.

WashingToneLocian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ffxn8v Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > This past week, another report came out that
> > showed that most of the foreclosures in our
> area,
> > are in Herndon. Look further, and Manassas is
> high
> > on the list and so is the Prince William area as
> a
> > whole. Fairfax County in general, is doing
> better
> > than most. Alexandria and Arlington, even
> better.
> > So why is the sky falling in only certain
> areas?
> > Is it the people who bought those homes who
> should
> > not and could not afford them to begin with? Is
> it
> > those areas probably were cheaper than much of
> > Fairfax County? I am not sure, but I do know
> that
> > the homes I know are foreclosed upon, the
> buyers
> > simply walked away… Well, with a liar—loan, was
> it
> > really theirs (ever) anyways?
>
>
> There are probably several reasons for that.
>
> 1. Growth in PWC was driven primarily by Hispanics
> moving into the county. Now that PWC is on the
> anti-illegal immigrant warpath, the Hispanics are
> leaving and not buying.
>
> 2. Because PWC had new developments, it attracted
> more first-time homebuyers who didn't have 20% to
> put down. Most of the people I know living in
> Fairfax have been here for years and so were not
> impacted as much by the housing bubble.
>
> 3. The demographics in outlying areas is probably
> younger, so people with less experience with home
> ownership probably took out their equity when they
> re-financed instead of leaving it there. Now they
> are screwed because they owe more than the house
> is worth.
>
> 4. People living close-in have higher incomes than
> those living out. A lot of your firefighters,
> police, teachers, etc, live in PWC and Loudoun and
> drive in to their jobs. Alexandria, Arlington,
> etc, are full of lawyers, lobbyists, doctors, etc.

Go to Realtytrac.com
Need to also look at the pre-foreclosures
sums pre-foreclosure, auction, bank owned:
Clifton 50
Vienna 134
Oakton 24
Mclean 96
Great Falls 37
Fairfax Station 30
Reston 316
Oak Hill 9
Lorton 269

What is really interesting here is that some people with ARMs might be in good shape in the coming months as a result of the Fed rate cuts. I have a friend with a 5/1 ARM at 6.25% which is due to reset in a couple of months to 5.875%.

People living ghetto fabulous beyond their means, treating housing like a piggy bank. Why should the tax payers bail out people who made poor choices and greedy businessmen? F'em