Thursday, March 27, 2008

They tricked me because I'm old and stupid

That's the theme of this article claiming that some mortgage broker schooled some geezers out of their house.

First, the article is being deceptive. It's starts with this:

Retirees Ozell and J.W. McBee are in disbelief. They never expected to be forced out of the home where they have lived with their three teen grandchildren for years, and they're left clinging to hope that an Illinois attorney general office's lawsuit will help restore their shattered world.

For years? My first thought was why a couple of old people needed to refinance the house they've owned forever. Of course, here comes the only really tricky thing in the article (buried at the end by the liberal reporter Francine Knowles), not anything done by the mortgage broker:

The couple said they had to use money from their credit cards to make the two payments on their 4½-bedroom, two-bath home, where they had lived since 1999.

1999? Oh my, they go way back. The woman moved in as a youngster at the age of 77. Such an emotional attachment they must have.

Second, the type of loan they got is so common I wonder how these two ever fell for it. From what I understand, everybody and their brother was getting ARM's (except me) to "save money". I could have too, but I knew those rates were eventually go up. These two don't have anyone they could talk to about this? You'd think people who have lived this long would have built up a certain amount of skepticism about things.

Anyway, it's too bad they couldn't pay for their house. One other thing is bothering me, though. They live with multiple teen grandchildren, none of whom apparently work to help pay for things. Um, why not? There are jobs out there if they want them. My guess is they are too busy playing XBox 360 and telling their grandparents they are soooooo busy with schoolwork that they can't. Either that or they are social rejects who are unhirable (to invent a term).

As for me, I've been busy drinking and studying lately, thus the weak posting. One of those things is ending, but the other is increasing. I can't guarantee how much will be coming, but as you can read here, my misanthropy only builds like a volcano between postings.

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