Our financial system is crumbling this week.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Mrs. Jack had a former colleague who was probably making around $130k annually, and she bought a $1 Million home. She almost certainly had an interest-only mortgage. Personally, I could not sleep at night with that type of mortgage.

I know of a person who did that on the southside of chicago. Do you know how the market is there? I hope for her sake it hasn't fallen out completely. Having an interest only mortgage and then having the value of your house plummet would be absolutely horrible.

[cardinalkarp]

The new government mortgage assistance program was launched today.

To qualify, borrowers must be spending more than 31 percent of their income on mortgage payments. Loans made this year are excluded, except for those completed on Jan 1. Borrowers must have made six months of payments on their loans.

Wow, do people really have that high of a house payment? Mine is roughly 10%.

Mrs. Jack had a former colleague who was probably making around $130k annually, and she bought a $1 Million home. She almost certainly had an interest-only mortgage. Personally, I could not sleep at night with that type of mortgage.

That person is probably one of the dimwits who's house is currently in foreclosure.

That's just insane to buy that kind of house when you're making that much. Our home is roughly 15% of our yearly gross income.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

The new government mortgage assistance program was launched today.

To qualify, borrowers must be spending more than 31 percent of their income on mortgage payments. Loans made this year are excluded, except for those completed on Jan 1. Borrowers must have made six months of payments on their loans.

Wow, do people really have that high of a house payment? Mine is roughly 10%.

Mrs. Jack had a former colleague who was probably making around $130k annually, and she bought a $1 Million home. She almost certainly had an interest-only mortgage. Personally, I could not sleep at night with that type of mortgage.

That person is probably one of the dimwits who's house is currently in foreclosure.

That's just insane to buy that kind of house when you're making that much. Our home is roughly 15% of our yearly income.

Yeah, that's retarded.

I'm at 5.6%, but I rent.

[TheoSqua]

The new government mortgage assistance program was launched today.

To qualify, borrowers must be spending more than 31 percent of their income on mortgage payments. Loans made this year are excluded, except for those completed on Jan 1. Borrowers must have made six months of payments on their loans.

Wow, do people really have that high of a house payment? Mine is roughly 10%.

Mrs. Jack had a former colleague who was probably making around $130k annually, and she bought a $1 Million home. She almost certainly had an interest-only mortgage. Personally, I could not sleep at night with that type of mortgage.

That person is probably one of the dimwits who's house is currently in foreclosure.

That's just insane to buy that kind of house when you're making that much. Our home is roughly 15% of our yearly income.

Yeah, that's retarded.

I'm at 5.6%, but I rent.

Man, 5.6% - 10% is super cheap. I'm looking at about 20% of gross income.

Though I guess I pay 7.74% right now...

[Hungary Jack]

Mrs. Jack had a former colleague who was probably making around $130k annually, and she bought a $1 Million home. She almost certainly had an interest-only mortgage. Personally, I could not sleep at night with that type of mortgage.

I know of a person who did that on the southside of chicago. Do you know how the market is there? I hope for her sake it hasn't fallen out completely. Having an interest only mortgage and then having the value of your house plummet would be absolutely horrible.

IIRC, there is a wide range of variability in metro Chicago. This website shows median prices and yoy changes for most Chicago neighborhoods.

[Hungary Jack]

Looks like Warren Buffett is becoming America's new commercial banker. After buying $5B of preferred stock of Goldman Sachs, he is now investing another $3B in preferred shares of GE.

[thrill]

Looks like Warren Buffett is becoming America's new commercial banker. After buying $5B of preferred stock of Goldman Sachs, he is now investing another $3B in preferred shares of GE.

He's going to be immeasurably wealthy when this all rebounds.

[Hungary Jack]

Looks like Warren Buffett is becoming America's new commercial banker. After buying $5B of preferred stock of Goldman Sachs, he is now investing another $3B in preferred shares of GE.

He's going to be immeasurably wealthy when this all rebounds.

He's no dummy. The GE shares carry a 10% dividend and are convertible to common stock at a 10% premium. If GE stock rebounds, he'll pocket a lot of clams.

[sighyoung]

Looks like Warren Buffett is becoming America's new commercial banker. After buying $5B of preferred stock of Goldman Sachs, he is now investing another $3B in preferred shares of GE.

He's going to be immeasurably wealthy when this all rebounds.

He's no dummy. The GE shares carry a 10% dividend and are convertible to common stock at a 10% premium. If GE stock rebounds, he'll pocket a lot of clams.

Didn't he lay away $30 of $40 billion in cash, just so he could do precisely this sort of bargain hunting?

[G. Keenan]

Came across this in an article about the bailout bill passing the senate:

The Senate bill would also continue a host of other expiring tax breaks. Among them: the research and development credit for businesses and the credit that allows individuals to deduct state and local sales taxes on their federal returns.

You can deduct sales tax? Really? I'm saving a receipt for everything I buy from now on if that's true.