On Wednesday's show, Lex & I got into a small 'discussion' about the mortage crisis.
I expressed a concern about the government bailing out people who had simply made a poor financial decision by signing up for loans that contained the risk of higher interest rates. I won't bore you with those details but suffice to say, I got a couple of emails of both the supportive and "I hate your fucking ass" varity.
But I want to share one exchange with you that I got great humor from, and I thought would show-off the kind of stuff we get in our email box everyday...
----- Original Message ----- From: <bev>
To: <theshow@lexandterry.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 6:23 AM
Subject: sub-prime mortgages
Hey guys, could you please tell that little dweeb that does the "news" that he needs to shut his mouth and stop talking about things he knows nothing about?
My husband lost his mother, father and his granny withing a 13 month period of time. In 2004 we took $30,000 of the money we got from that and put it down on a house. We insisted on having a fixed interest rate. Our mortgage broker told us we were "locked-in" at 6.5%. We were lied to. At the closing table we were told that the interest rate would go up 2 points at the end of two years but my husband was still extremely distraught because his parents and the granny that helped raise him were all gone and he was devastated. We foolishly signed the papers.
Our house payment started at around $700 a month. It is now over a $1000 and rising. I lost my job a year ago. This caused us to be late on the mortgage. We got caught back up on our mortgage and then my husband lost his job. Now, no one will help us re-finance because we are still late on our mortgage. We are both working now but we haven't been able to catch up.
My husbands parents had to die so we could buy a house. Tell that little news dweeb that he needs to shut his mouth about people being responsible for themselves. The government DOES need to intervene when unscrupulous mortgage brokers SCREW people into these loans.
Please give a shout out to my husband Rodney and tell him I love him (he's driving to Fort Worth right now).
Thank you,
Beverly
Bev.
If you listened to what I said, no where was what I was saying had anything to do with your situation.
My beef are people that signed mortgages with full knowledge (or lack of self responsibility to read the contract) of the potential for increases. The truth is that I have done a lot of reading about this and have friends that are in the industry.
The VAST majority of people who are in trouble OVERBOUGHT because they saw a chance to get a BIG house on the cheap. It was explained both verbally and in writing that their was a "chance" that their rates could change and they made the choice to take the deal.
What has happened to your family has been happening to people since mortgages began... Home owners get sick, lose jobs, have sudden financial burdens pop up - its part of life. Foreclosures are not a new thing.
But what is going on now is different from the norm. What is happening, for the most part, are the consequences of poor personal financial decisions. If your family makes $75K a year, you probably shouldn't be buying a $500K house on a 5 Year ARM. This is no different then people who get credit card applications in the mail, sign up for all of them, max them out and end up with crazy debt. Just because the offer is there, doesn't mean you have to take it.
What is effecting the economy and making the news has very little to do with someone like you. If you have a contract that clearly states that you were locked in, only to have it turn out to be a ARM, I think there are 1000's of lawyers that would love to take your case pro bono.
Really? Why don't you recommond a couple of them to me because my husband will totally and completely freak out if we loose the home that his parents died for us to get.
Do you realize that he spent TWO YEARS GREIVING? I have loved my husband since I was 13 years old, the instant I saw him I KNEW he was going to be my husband. A strong guy, a car guy, a guy who NEVER cried--who loved his car hobby and was content tinkering around the garage without a care in the world. He went from that to a man who went into a deep depression.
It has been so hard and so difficult but man, I love this guy. Even after 20 years of marriage, I love him. I started faxing EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS the other day (I've done 30 so far) because I have to do something. I can't let what my husbands parents worked so hard for be stolen from us.
Please write back with attorneys names and numbers.
Thank you,
I don't personally know of any, but I don't think a simple google search for lawyers in your area would get you some results.
Wow, there you go again talking about things you know nothing about. 1,000's of lawyers, huh? If that were true, you would be able to suggest at least one.
No, because I'm not the one with the mortgage problem...
If I were in your spot, I would take the time to find a lawyer...
Frankly, I am surprised that your family hasn't thought of that at this point. If you were so clearly lied to, you have legal remedies available to you, but no, I am not going to hold your hand and do the leg work.
If you want some assistance, here is my advice... Use your time better by looking for a lawyer, not emailing some dumbass on the radio. You'll get farther.
Yeah, you are definitely right about that--you are a dumbass.
I wrote Lex and Terry to tell you to stop talking about things you know nothing about. Your e-mails prove I was correct in the first place.
PS...don't tell me how to utilize my time...I wouldn't take advice from you ever...you sit there and talk about 1000's of lawyers and yet can't make even one suggestion...you are useless and don't belong on the radio, period.
Don't bother writing back, you are blocked biatch.
Posted: 12/7/2007 7:23:59 AM by Peter Welpton | with 29 comments