We paid $950 for an old one bedroom (about a 40 yo building) east of Main in Vancouver and were happy because it was so cheap!

However, we were still seriously underhoused because we have a (now) 5 year old and just couldn’t afford a 2 bedroom.

And Vancouver is not affected by the sub-prime mess in the US.

Lise, your profile isn’t available. So where will you be doing the review? Give a link in a reply, if you can.

Thanks!

Thanks for the information. I will definitely check out Warren’s articles. I just know that most of the problems in my area are more to do with people buying too much house or, as you pointed out, refinancing and getting too deeply in debt.

But certainly it’s always good to be educated about a subject you spout off about. Even if, in my case, it may be after the fact.

I’ve entered you in the giveaway and will definitely be interested in your review of Warren’s book.

Two, in many cases lenders specifically sought out minorities, immigrants, and very old or very young–many of whom could in fact qualify for standard mortgages, had they been better educated about them–with enticing introductory rates that ratcheted up, eventually leading to foreclosures. In fact, if you lay a map of foreclosures in the Cleveland area over an ethnic density map of the same area, foreclosures are disproportionately in black areas.

I think too many people are taking out their frustration on the mortgage fallout on consumers, thinking that yuppies who bought more house than they could afford are at blame. In truth the situation hinges a lot more on predatory, unregulated lending practices.

I’m going to be reviewing Warren’s book, The Two-Income Trap, soon, which was written in 2003 and yet neatly predicts exactly this situation. If you’re interested in the mortgage crisis, you might want to tune in.

Thanks for commenting. It’s so nice to wake up to lots of comments!

I gave you another entry for this week’s giveaway.

But here they’re up too.

I still believe MMND that renting is better, particularly in my city’s strange climate where rents barely cover the costs of a home.