| Mortgage bloodbath?
(Pic)- A house is seen for sale in this undated file photo. The subprime mortgage meltdown is hitting more than people living on the financial edge (Enlarge Pic). REUTERS/ Files
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Unlike many borrowers who took out subprime loans, Andy Sobel had good credit, a decent job and modest savings, but he needed to stretch to buy a home in the white-hot San Diego housing market in 2004.
Three years later, Sobel has lost his home and his savings, and he faces a big tax bill as a consequence of a failed subprime mortgage held by Countrywide Financial Corp. he says he should never have been written.
"You never think that this could happen to you. You feel like an idiot," said Sobel, 48, who has a doctorate in education. "You fall down and they stab you."
The subprime mortgage meltdown is hitting more than people living on the financial edge.
Owning A Home
For many young people the prospect of buying their own home is little more than a pipe dream. Rocketing house prices have put the average cost of a first home in London at 250,000, pushing many first time buyers into the 3% stamp duty threshold and walloping them with a 7,500 tax bill before they even get started.
Another big headache is the enormous deposit required to buy a property. According to calculations the average first-time buyer is now stumping up a staggering 37,632 deposit to get on to the ladder. And with the spectre of more interest rate rises and the hefty costs associated with buying a property, many young adults believe their chances of owning a property are fading fast.
But It's Not All Doom And Gloom
First time buyers are a much-needed part of the mortgage market, so lenders are doing as much as they can to encourage them.
Diamond Jo's Impact on the Community
As floods of people roll the dice and give lady luck a try at Diamond Jo, business owners in Lake Mills say the gamblers cash is also trickling into town. "We've had a very good business year, a lot of new faces," said Lake Mills Pizza Ranch store owner Cathy Nygard. Many of the new faces work at the casino. Worth County has never seen more jobs created in one place. Lake Mills real estate agent Harris Honsey says a good number of those near five hundred new employees at the casino are choosing to live in Lake Mills. "It's only nine miles. Obviously those driving a great distance over time are going to notice that it would be a lot more economical for them to live nearby," said Honsey. Economic development expert Teresa Nicholson says the casino's proved it's a huge benefit to every community in Worth County by donating millions.
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