Goddamn Real Estate

[Phillip V]

Locked in my 15-year fixed rate mortgage today at 3.75% (3.77% APR)

[Admiral Yi]

What are you bitching about? 

[Phillip V]

Interest rates were much lower just a few months ago.

[Jacob]

I'd love to be in a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, but up here you basically can't get anything longer than 5 years.

[Barrister]

I was reading somewhere (Slate?) that the 20-30 year fixed mortgage is pretty much a US-only invention that exists because of certain incentives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Jacob, you can go as high as a 10-year fixed rate mortgage in Canada.  I renewed last December and now almost wish I'd locked in for that long...

[Admiral Yi]

I was reading somewhere (Slate?) that the 20-30 year fixed mortgage is pretty much a US-only invention that exists because of certain incentives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Then it should be interesting to see what happens to the US market when they and if they nuke Fan and Fred.

[Jacob]

Jacob, you can go as high as a 10-year fixed rate mortgage in Canada.  I renewed last December and now almost wish I'd locked in for that long...

I did not know that.... 

[Ed Anger]

I was reading somewhere (Slate?) that the 20-30 year fixed mortgage is pretty much a US-only invention that exists because of certain incentives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Jacob, you can go as high as a 10-year fixed rate mortgage in Canada.  I renewed last December and now almost wish I'd locked in for that long...

My first house was a 30 year. 400 dollars/month. Those were the days.....

[Jacob]

When I look at the kind of digs I could get in Baltimore for the same price....

[CountDeMoney]

My first house was a 30 year. 400 dollars/month. Those were the days.....

Heh, I'm more than halfway through my 30 year mortgage, so why bother refinancing now.

[citizen k]

My first house was a 30 year. 400 dollars/month. Those were the days.....

Heh, I'm more than halfway through my 30 year mortgage, so why bother refinancing now.

So that you pay less?

[CountDeMoney]

Need a job first, yo.

[mongers]

On the subject of shit in small packages:

'Rabbit hutch' style homes face curb

The government is to consider curbing the building of so-called "rabbit hutch" homes in England.

In a consultation being launched on Tuesday, it said it was considering the introduction of basic space standards.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said England may already have some of the smallest houses in Europe.

Since the 1920s the average living space in some types of home has fallen by more than a third.

As a result the DCLG is also thinking about the possibility of "space labelling", which would give consumers a clear understanding of how much room there was in any property.

The idea has been welcomed by the Royal Institution of British Architects (Riba).

"We are pleased to see the government consulting on space standards, our public research has repeatedly revealed that space in new homes is a major concern," said Harry Rich, Riba's chief executive.

According to Riba figures, the size of a typical new terraced house has shrunk from more than 1,000 sq ft in the 1920s, to 645 sq ft now.

Architects have also highlighted the lack of storage space in new homes, and poor daylight.

.....

Rest of article here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23770320

I think this is an example where you can actually point to something actual, rather than just a newspaper op.ed. and say "Yes this country really is going to the dogs".

And they won't people to commit to buying a 650 sq ft 'house'. 

[Ed Anger]

My first house was a 30 year. 400 dollars/month. Those were the days.....

Heh, I'm more than halfway through my 30 year mortgage, so why bother refinancing now.

I got a second mortgage on that house. Boy, that was a mistake. When I was falling behind, one of the jerkasses at Associates told me to get a cup and beg for the money. So I handled that the calm, Ed Anger way.

By showing up in person and telling him to repeat that to my face. He got much nicer.

[mongers]

My first house was a 30 year. 400 dollars/month. Those were the days.....

Heh, I'm more than halfway through my 30 year mortgage, so why bother refinancing now.

I got a second mortgage on that house. Boy, that was a mistake. When I was falling behind, one of the jerkasses at Associates told me to get a cup and beg for the money. So I handled that the calm, Ed Anger way.

By showing up in person and telling him to repeat that to my face. He got much nicer.

Yeah there's something to be said for 'in their face' diplomacy.