Great read. A lot of that I did not know, but makes sense. I never realized
it, but my wife and I probably benefited from all of that.

We bought our home back in '98 with only 10% down. It was a 30 yr fixed, but
since I was a sole proprietor, income docs were not really necessary (I
thought that was odd). My wife produced W-2s, and I filled out a form. We
refinanced 5 years ago to a 20yr fixed that was a full 1.5 points lower
(5.25)... same deal... no income docs required from me. Lower payment, and
shaved 5 years off the term. We refinanced for the right reasons... NOT to
pull money out to remodel. As they say, timing is everything. Or... better
lucky than good!

Perhaps we are lumped into the sub-prime mortgage heap, but we've never
missed a payment, and have at least $350,000 in equity (SF Bay Area). Two
years ago it was $450,000. Yup, the bubble popped, but I'm not complaining.

Thanks for the link.

--Mike


"Eisboch" wrote in message
...
For those with an open mind and who are really interested in why we are in
the condition we are in, this is a good read.
Long, but thoughtful.

http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=1229

Eisboch