Hortons created the mortgage mess

This is absurd on so many levels. 1) Bought a Condo in 2005 2) Bought a House in 2007 3) Has Student loan debt, credit card debt and an auto loan Of course with someone like this who probably has no money to his name, as the article states there's no point in paying the mortgage since no bank will likely be stupid enough to lend to him again, and it does not appear he's remotely able to save for a... [more]

This is absurd on so many levels. 1) Bought a Condo in 2005 2) Bought a House in 2007 3) Has Student loan debt, credit card debt and an auto loan Of course with someone like this who probably has no money to his name, as the article states there's no point in paying the mortgage since no bank will likely be stupid enough to lend to him again, and it does not appear he's remotely able to save for a down payment. Add to that paying his credit card keeps the ability to borrow at 20% for the future. something he'll need to do considering his situation. Horton strikes me as someone who knew he had no money, bought two properties in the hopes of flipping them and getting rich. Horton should have listened to Who! http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/growing-number-of-consumers-pay-credit-card-debt-before-mortgage/2011/05/02/AFN5OV2G_story.html Jeff Horton of Orlando stopped paying the mortgage on his home 19 months ago, and said he still hasn’t heard from his lender, Bank of America. He bought the home in 2007 for $265,000 only to find out that the value plunged to less than half that a year later. A condo he purchased in late 2005 for $140,000 is now worth $34,000, he said. Horton said he can’t even rent the properties at a price that would cover his mortgages. “It’s absurd,” he said. “I’m completely bound to these properties. I can’t get rid of them.” Horton said that his condo has gone through foreclosure, and that he knows it will take years to repair his credit. But he figures it could take even longer for the value of his home to recover. As for his credit card, student loans and car note? “I pay all that stuff. I’m not behind on anything else. Never have been,” Horton said. [less]