Do you think the lenders and investors are stupid enough to give Californians several hundred billion dollars without getting paid back? I bet they won’t get fooled again.
Today’s featured property is another HELOC abuser that hopes she has some equity left.
Asking Price: $599,000
Address: 4292 Manzanita, Irvine, CA 92604
{book5}
Won’t Get Fooled Again — The Who
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again
No, no!
Will the lenders inflate another bubble? I have no doubt whatsoever that California homebuyers will work to inflate a bubble. The rewards of the last one were too great for too many people. Once prices start going up again, kool aid intoxication will take over. However, for prices to go up again, lenders have to provide credit; buyers blow bubbles, but lenders provide the air.
When I was studying real estate economics, it was just after the Savings and Loan disaster was unwinding. Many of the case studies in my classes revolved around what happened and why. There were two things I took away from those classes that apply to today: 1. Have cash in the aftermath of a financial catastrophe. 2. Unregulated lending that is insured by the government leads to wild risk taking and massive taxpayer losses.
After the Savings and Loan disaster, I never thought I would see reckless lender behavior again in my lifetime. But in fact, I did see the same behavior in The Great Housing Bubble. Lenders made these same mistakes in the late 1980s, and they learned nothing. The fact that lenders did this again is ominous. I can no longer say with any confidence that we will not see the lenders lose their minds again.
I have made no secret of my conversion from a free-market capitalist to a believer in regulated markets. I accepted the deregulation nonsense of the last 25 years. The Ponzi Scheme worked, or so I thought. It is apparent to everyone now that a lack of oversight and regulation lead to an unprecedented government bailout. Do you realize that we have already given more to AIG than we spent on the entire S&L fiasco?
If we put a stern regulatory framework in place within a bureaucracy
insulated from political pressure (don’t ask me how to do that), we may
be able to keep our lenders on a leash and prevent another financial
bubble. Absent regulatory reform, we will still have 20-25 years before lenders lose their minds again. Institutional memory is short, but the losses were so large that sane people will remember the perils and avoid this for a while. In either case, the typical knife catcher is betting we will re-inflate the bubble next year or perhaps the year after. I don’t know much, but I am quite certain that isn’t going to happen.
Income Requirement: $149,750
Downpayment Needed: $199,800
Monthly Equity Burn: $4,991
Purchase Price: $252,000
Purchase Date: 5/31/1996
Address: 4292 Manzanita, Irvine, CA 92604
Beds: | 4 |
Baths: | 3 |
Sq. Ft.: | 2,100 |
$/Sq. Ft.: | $285 |
Lot Size: | 5,623
Sq. Ft. |
Property Type: | Single Family Residence |
Style: | Other |
Year Built: | 1974 |
Stories: | 2 |
Area: | El Camino Real |
County: | Orange |
MLS#: | P679609 |
Source: | SoCalMLS |
Status: | Active |
On Redfin: | 2 days |
master bedroom with retreat upstairs and 4th bedroom. Close to
elementary school and quartly association dues include membership to
the swim club. Fenced yard for entertaining and eat-in kitchen, living
room and family room with two bedrooms and two bathrooms downstairs.
Greeen? quartly?
I love the clutter in this house. I bet they sit on the garbage can under the kitchen island by mistake occasionally.
- This property was purchased on 5/31/1996 for $252,000. The owner used a $200,000 first mortgage and a $52,000 downpayment.
- On 5/5/1999 she refinanced with a $225,000 first mortgage.
- On 6/31/2001 she refinanced with a $255,000 first mortgage.
- On 8/21/2002 she refinanced with a $258,000 first mortgage.
- On 9/3/2004 she opened a HELOC for $100,000.
- On 9/27/2006 she refinanced with an Option ARM for $495,300.
- Total mortgage debt is $495,300 plus negative amortization.
- Total morgage equity withdrawal is $295,300 including her downpayment.
Remember yesterday I was talking about the typical pattern: people take out spending money over time, and at the end, they want to take another pile of cash with them? This woman took out $295,300 over a 10-year period. Spare me the chronic illness crap; she spent it. Some of it might have gone into the upstairs improvements, but based on the pattern of withdrawals, that is not where most of it went.
Depending on the self-discipline of the owner, some took out a little, and some took out a lot; in any case, most took out something. This behavior explains much of the reason kool aid intoxication is so strong.
I’ll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie
I hope you have enjoyed this week at the Irvine Housing Blog. Come back next week as we
continue chronicling ‘the seventh circle of real estate hell.’ Have a great weekend.
🙂
{book6}
I’ll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again
No, no!
Won’t Get Fooled Again — The Who