Monday, December 20, 2010

More see walking on mortgage as viable plan

I was reading the MSNBC web site this morning when a comment in an article jumped out at me that I felt related to the Tiny House movement as an explanation for the paradigm shift in the perception of housing that makes a Tiny House so very popular.

The title article quotes Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac:
“The mindset of why people purchase a home has changed over the past decade.”  In the early 2000s, as home prices rose sharply and steadily, many buyers saw their home as an investment. But in the wake of the housing bust, it's clear that a home has become far more of a “utility” — a form of shelter — than an investment.

Now this statement screams REALITY CHECK to me.  If so many people are finding that the housing market bust caused them to finally rethink and realign their priorities, maybe, just maybe, there is some good that can come out of the major league pain in the butt problem that has crippled our economy.  So many people to ignored, at their own peril, the principles of lending/borrowing upon which the banking industry was founded to finance a home as an investment that was beyond their means that the problem was created by arrogance and avarice.  Now, I understand that some good people have been caught in the jaws of the monster that is eating the financial resources and destroying some families and homes apart.  The collapse of the housing bubble has affected everyone and most have been hurt.  But some exacerbated the problem through greed and more greed when they intentionally over-bought in an attempt to take advantage of a temporary market condition.  I find it real hard to feel sorry for those people.  They "bought" the conditions into which they have been trust, in effect, creating a Frankenstein's Monster of their own.

I do feel bad for the good people who have been trapped in the jaws of this monster and I wish the government could save those people.  Unfortunately, our government has displayed a track record of failing to be able to find their way out of the massive messes like this in the past.  The complexity and scope of a possible solution eludes both elected officials and individuals tasked to attempt to correct the problem when combined with the private agendas of some of those involved.

Anyway, what struck me most of all regarding this article was the common sense perspective of those within the Tiny House movement to view a house and home as a utility item or object and not a fashion statement or an investment.  A Tiny House is just a place to hang your hat.  So, really, how many square feet does that take?

Hey, call me crazy (but watch out because that room is pretty crowded), but a smallish bungalow or Tiny House seems like all most would really need.  Am' jus' sayin'...

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll get down off the soap box now.  Somebody probably needs the wood.  Let's get out there a make this a great day!

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