Foreclosure.
I know what you are going to say.
You’ll say, “Of course.”
But I was shocked.
Our constant-TV-watching-renting-to-the-naked-neighbor neighbors have foreclosed on the house next door.
(Ok, now you can say your ironic, “Of course”)
All the cars? Their massive television? The constant television watching? The huge ass diamond? The designer clothing? The revolving UPS deliveries?
They took out a $400,000 mortgage on their 100-year old house and a $100,000 home equity loan before they moved to their new 6,000 square foot house. They did the same there.
Last week, they declared bankruptcy and moved to the Florida Keys.
I guess that’s what you get when you work in the mortgage industy.
We used to be a little jealous of them.
- They completely remodeled their house while we stumble along one item at a time.
- They have five brand new cars while we have one car that we mostly don’t drive. (We ride our bikes a lot.)
- They mostly didn’t work (hence the television watching) while we really work (mostly because we love what we do).
- Except for friends? They had every single thing you can think of.
If I could just rid myself of the value of paying things off, living with in my means, saving for the future, I too could live like our neighbors.
I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t tempted.
Filed under: Thoughts on being human...., Update
Dare to dream claudia!
Rileyberry - Hrm… I’m not sure what I’m dreaming of…
I can relate. I have a “friend” from childhood who has always lived very high and several years ago. declared bankruptsy. She bragged that she was starting over with a clean slate.
“So all those things you bought were freebies?” I asked incredulously.
“Yup,” she squealed. “Now I can go out and buy all NEW stuff.”
She promptly moved to Beverly Hills and racked up other bills that she had no intention of paying.
She also wonders why she is alone, why all her relationships disappoint her. I suggested that maybe she should choose men for qualities other than the size of their wallets, but I don’t think she was listening.
So, is the house next door going for a price that could be considered a steal?
Some people have no values, and no sense of permanence. The also think that they can get something for nothing. It happens all over the place, not just in mortgages. But I’m glad you wrote this. Thank you.
I popped by via Heart’s blog and gosh, that situation sounds crazy! What are people thinking living so recklessly with their finances?
I wonder how long it’ll take you to get new neighbors. And I think it’s very cool that you ride your bikes!
Heart in SF - It’s unbelievable, really. Sigh. We don’t know what will happen to the house. The lot might be worth $500K? Mostly because it’s a historic district and there’s no building allowed here. There’s not a chance that house is worth $500k - not a chance. We have no idea what will happen - which feels awful since the houses are so close.
The CEO - It’s just so tempting, you know, to chuck it all and take that route. Of course, I’d have to do that whole personality change thing…
Thanks for stopping by!
Liz - They get away with it - that’s what they are thinking. But then again, they don’t have any friends, their family can’t stand them… The whole thing is up in limbo for now - we don’t know what will happen. Thanks for stopping by!
Well of course they declared bankruptcy! hehe.
I’m just glad I don’t have huge bills hanging over my head!
Peace
Odat - Me too.
Wait…this is the second time they declared bankruptcy. See it is people like that who make interest rate so high for the hard working people like us. Argh!
Hubby and I are always exclaiming ‘How do people AFFORD all these things?!?’ Chahgee chahgee, I suppose.
House foreclosures are at an all-time high, which is very telling, but still…
The question is, is this living stupid or living smart?
I find myself heading in the opposite direction with lifestyle: purging and streamlining and simplifying. A bit less is a bit more.
Except for my ever-growing yarn stash, of course.
And books.
Never ever enough books.