11-13-2008, 08:54 AM
Actually, no - I didn't read every letter of the closing documents. My attorney, however, represented me in the legal aspects of the sales/purchases, and he did his job, all the while not knowing that we were thinking "Holy balls he looks like Tom Brokaw."
ARMs are good, if you know how to use them. Don't know how to use them? Well then you haven't done your research. For our first house, the mortgage lender actually required that we take a little test thing. They sent us a nice little package of information, and then they called us and quizzed us. If we hadn't done our "homework", they would've insisted upon more education as clients. Fortunately, we're both nerds and we studied the hell out of it.
Point being, yes, there are predatory lenders. But it is up to you, as the borrower, to do your own research (ignorant or not, you owe it to yourself to make sure you have some clue what you are doing). You've gotta go into things with a healthy dose of skepticism. Look at banks the same way you (should) look at casinos and insurance companies - if YOU are the one who is going to "cash out", how do they pay for their elaborate corporate headquarters?
If you can't figure out how a bank/lender can afford such a posh pad to run their business out of, then you don't understand how the industry works, and you obviously have more reading to do.
Also, this still isn't society's fault.
ARMs are good, if you know how to use them. Don't know how to use them? Well then you haven't done your research. For our first house, the mortgage lender actually required that we take a little test thing. They sent us a nice little package of information, and then they called us and quizzed us. If we hadn't done our "homework", they would've insisted upon more education as clients. Fortunately, we're both nerds and we studied the hell out of it.
Point being, yes, there are predatory lenders. But it is up to you, as the borrower, to do your own research (ignorant or not, you owe it to yourself to make sure you have some clue what you are doing). You've gotta go into things with a healthy dose of skepticism. Look at banks the same way you (should) look at casinos and insurance companies - if YOU are the one who is going to "cash out", how do they pay for their elaborate corporate headquarters?
If you can't figure out how a bank/lender can afford such a posh pad to run their business out of, then you don't understand how the industry works, and you obviously have more reading to do.
Also, this still isn't society's fault.