THERE IS ENOUGH BLAME TO
GO AROUND!!!
By
Darlys
Walker
Published
August 29, 2012
There
are so many that could share in the blame, it’s hard to know
where to start!
Certainly
the banking industry is largely responsible. After all,
developers were provided a construction fund, with a “NO
RECOURSE” loan. So with no skin in the game, when the going
got tough, they simply packed up and walked away.
On
top of this, home loans were given to purchasers, who simply
put, couldn’t afford the mortgage and Association dues! Why
lenders failed to consider this possibility is beyond me!
This
brings us to the purchasers who seemed to be oblivious to the
fact, they were overextending themselves financially. But hey,
living above our means is the American way right??!!
Let’s
not forget about the astronomical number of foreign investor
purchasers who borrowed American money, from American banks,
closed large blocks of units, rented them, collected monies from
the renters, never paid the mortgage payments and never paid the
Association fees. Then they returned to their homeland and they
are no worse for the wear. I venture to say, they likely laughed
all the way to the bank.
Lastly,
there are the Real Estate Professionals.
By the way, they don’t seem to get much, if any, of the
blame. But hold on, are they not the one’s showing the units,
convincing purchasers to spend just a little more, encouraging
them to apply for the sub-prime loan and tweaking mortgage
applications?
Yes,
there is blame for everyone to share and while we recognize not
everyone in the industry did all this that I mentioned. (Yes,
there are some respectable people out there). The rest of us
stood by and watched it happen.
I
think this makes us all guilty by Association.
