Suck it up. Stop whining about your underwater mortgage, and stop thinking that renting is a better alternative to owning a home.
Mortgages
Strategic Mortgage Default: The Irresponsible, Amoral, But Best Strategy?
If you voluntarily walk away your mortgage because you owe more than the home is worth, are you a bad person? Should you even care?
It Was an Awful Year for the Economy. But a Great One for the Consumer?
The most obvious upside to being a consumer this year was that you felt wanted, and you felt appreciated. In a bad year for business, retailers were very, very happy to have yours. You felt the love—though sure, they only “love” you for your money. It wouldn’t be the first time somebody was happy to be in a relationship with a gold digger.
Great Expectations in 2010: More Personal Savings and Cheaper Food, Heat, Electronics, and Homes
As we leave 2009 behind, there are many signs that life will be way better in the year to come.
On Reverse Mortgages and Home Projects That Just Don’t Pay Off
As far as anyone can foresee, it’ll continue to be a bad market for home sellers for some time to come, leading many homeowners to consider reverse mortgages or remodeling projects rather than selling at a lowball price. But both have their share of pitfalls.
You Just Strategically Defaulted on Your Mortgage. What’s Next? ‘We’re Going to Disneyland!’
Approximately one million American homeowners will strategically walk away from their mortgages this year. Why? They’re underwater on their mortgages, and the rental market is so cheap that they can live large by paying a landlord instead of a bank.
Odd Economic Indicator Round-up: More Jews Moving to Israel, More-Cramped Cubicles, More Smoking and Surfing Porn
Perhaps they’re not quite as odd as the Hot Waitress Index (a theory in which waitresses get increasingly more attractive as the economy gets worse), but these trends are still rather unusual—yet revealing—indicators of how the economy is faring.
Now It Should Be a Little Easier to Avoid a Mortgage Default
What do you do if you owe more than your home is worth? You could simply walk away from the mortgage, as one professor suggests. But through a change in the works from the Obama administration, it should be slightly easier to get rid of the home without the stigma or complications of a foreclosure.
Is Walking Away from Your Mortgage the Smartest Thing You Can Do?
Forget about shame and guilt. Don’t worry about your credit score. If you owe way more than your home is worth, simply stop paying the mortgage and don’t feel bad about it, suggests a University of Arizona professor.
Black Friday: Also the Best Day to Buy Cars and Invest in CDs?
The biggest shopping day of the year is not only about snagging discounted toys and plasma HDTVs at the mall. Car dealers and online banks also want in on the action.
Ten Bizarre Theories on Saving and Spending
Poker teaches important lessons about saving and investing. Foreclosures are better than mortgage modification programs. Debit card overdraft fees are good for consumers. PMS is responsible for impulse purchases. There is no shortage of strange theories out there—and some of them are actually plausible.
Ten Ways to Get More Out of the Home You Want to Buy, Sell, or Rent
Has the real estate market hit bottom? Is it time to buy? Time to sell? Should you rent rather than buy? Should you rent the home you own instead of trying to sell it? No matter your housing needs and desires, here are some ideas that’ll help your cause.