What do you think of cookie cutter housing developments?

[BoxCar_Willie]

New Albany can stick the $6,000 a year we were paying in taxes and stuff it up their asses.

Moved to Columbus Taxes and Westerville Schools. Much happier and the people are SOOO Much nicer.

Rather have a nice house from the 70's or early 80's with some trees in the yard.
The kind of Floor Plan where the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are bigger than postage stamps. Seems like a lot of todays new houses have a HUGE master bedroom and little tiny 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bedrooms.

 

[PrincessPeach]

Hate the-!

No originality and no personality. Those who live in the- have been fully assi-ilated into suburbia. A ho-e/house should be a reflection of the owners' personality and tastes. Those MI/Do-inion ho-es don't provide it at all.

Plus, I hate seeing those develop-ents go up, gobbling up far- land and woods, when there are plenty of areas in the city that need bulldozed and rebuilt.

Of course, I live in a condo develop-ent, so -aybe I don't have -uch room to talk....

Ditto that. I resisted this trend for a while, because I also can't stand the lack of character in these subdivisions, but continuing to pay rent seemed completely foolish, so my husband and I broke down and bought a condo last year. It was a good option for a first purchase, since we have neither the time nor the resources to pour into a money pit. This way, when we're ready for that in 3-5 years, we'll at least have some equity to roll over.

 

[gbearbuck]

I understand some company's are now putting some type of a blue foam up and not "boarding" the walls with real wood. They will put siding on the blue foam.... they claim it is just as good as wood?!?!?!?!?

I laughed when I heard that... the guy dropped $450k on the house. He had to pay extra to have them put boards over the insulation....

I think the building codes need to be more stringent... developers are building as cheap as they can, to line their pockets with more $$$...

 

[Dryden]

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

I don't take issue with someone who chooses to buy one new or used; if you like having 15 sq. feet of lawn that's your business. My problem is that the companies that drop these neighborhoods on the outskirts of our towns and cities don't assist with the building of any of the infrastructure to support the relocation of such a large population. There are no stores, religious shrines, or schools built in these neighborhoods, and many times the sprawl happens so quickly that the two lane feeder roads that provide access to these neighborhoods become congested and result in a traffic fiasco.

In Lancaster, the city just spent millions of dollars upgrading a downtown area public elementary school (North School), only to complete renovations and decide to close it down the following year because another public school (Tarhe) saw its student body effectively triple in under five years thanks to Dominion Homes.

Several businesses on the northeast side of the city have packed up and left as Lancaster inches closer to Canal Winchester two miles per year.

By 2015, Pickerington-Lancaster will merge and be one great big 35 mile diameter suburb.

 

[exhawg]

I understand some company's are now putting some type of a blue foam up and not "boarding" the walls with real wood. They will put siding on the blue foam.... they claim it is just as good as wood?!?!?!?!?

I laughed when I heard that... the guy dropped $450k on the house. He had to pay extra to have them put boards over the insulation....

I think the building codes need to be more stringent... developers are building as cheap as they can, to line their pockets with more $$$...

I think that's how they built my parents home 20 years ago and they haven't had any problems. It was a little weird seeing that the only thing between the outside and inside is siding, insulation, more insulation, and drywall, but the only time it would matter is if you get in a gun fight, or a tornado decides to throw a tree through your house. The blue insulation probably helps out your heating bill more than wood. I'm sure wood and insulation is the best way to go, but wood adds cost. If you're only going to live in a house for 20 years you won't have any problems, and whoever buys the house from you won't know that there isn't any wood.

 

[stxbuck]

I hate them-I think they are a blight on the landscape. I enjoy seeing trees.
The construction of these homes is often questionable-I have heard of contractors using 2x2's for framing instead of 2x4's, and other shady shortcuts. plus, I would hate being able to see everyone's backyard for 2 square miles when you step outside.

 

[PrincessPeach]

To me, a worse problem than over construction is the despicable habit of the builders' financing companies of overextending young homebuyers. Dominion, in particular, was horrible about this, approving people that clearly did not have enough financial responsibility for home ownership. They hook them in with a 2-1 buy down, so they're ok for the first couple years, but once the full payment hits them in year three, they often can't make it, because they didn't get the raises they were counting on when they signed the mortgage. Additionally, a lot of the Dominion tax escrow amounts were based on assessments done on unimproved lots. Once the properties were reassessed, the resulting jump in taxes was more than a lot of homeowners could handle.

Now you drive through just about any Dominion subdivision, and twenty to forty percent of the homes are vacant. I understand that home ownership is part of the 'American dream,' and that these builders are trying to make that more accessible to more people, but approving people for mortgages they cannot possibly afford is simply irresponsible. Clearly, if the homebuyers are not doing their homework or accepting financial responsibility, they are to blame for the rash of foreclosures, but the builders do seem to be unfairly preying on them.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

To me, a worse problem than over construction is the despicable habit of the builders' financing companies of overextending young homebuyers. Dominion, in particular, was horrible about this, approving people that clearly did not have enough financial responsibility for home ownership. They hook them in with a 2-1 buy down, so they're ok for the first couple years, but once the full payment hits them in year three, they often can't make it, because they didn't get the raises they were counting on when they signed the mortgage. Additionally, a lot of the Dominion tax escrow amounts were based on assessments done on unimproved lots. Once the properties were reassessed, the resulting jump in taxes was more than a lot of homeowners could handle.

Now you drive through just about any Dominion subdivision, and twenty to forty percent of the homes are vacant. I understand that home ownership is part of the 'American dream,' and that these builders are trying to make that more accessible to more people, but approving people for mortgages they cannot possibly afford is simply irresponsible. Clearly, if the homebuyers are not doing their homework or accepting financial responsibility, they are to blame for the rash of foreclosures, but the builders do seem to be unfairly preying on them.

There was a rather lenghty piece in the Dispatch covering this exact topic. They were highly critical of lending companies, and rightly so. The idea of interest-only or zero-down is appealling to people who do not have the money to afford the mortgage or cannot make a down payment. Generally, if someone is forced to consider these options in order to get into a home, they probably are not financially prepared to make the leap from renter to owner. Lending companies know this, but they don't seem to care. Let's face it. Lending companies would not be offering these types of loans if they weren't benefitting from them.

On the other hand: at some point, people need to take responsibility for their own financial decisions. At no point has it ever seemed prudent to count on future wage increases in determining whether or not I could afford something. If I can only afford the interest on the mortgage payment right now, why in the world would I expect to be able to afford the interest plus a signifcant amount of principal.

 

[PrincessPeach]

I had heard there was a Dispatch series. I'm not a daily subscriber, so I didn't get a chance to look at it, but I may go check it out online.

For the record, I'm not trying to take any of the reponsibility away from the homebuyers who can't afford their payments. Shame on them for getting in debt over their heads. However, in our consumer culture, debt has become the norm, and many people simply have never had any sound financial advice, since everyone they know pays $20/month for eight years before they even own their televisions outright.

It's sad, but there is a general state of financial ignorance in our society, and the homebuilders (intentionally, I believe) prey on this to make a quick profit. They then sell the mortgages to banks, so they are out of the process long before foreclosures hit.

 

[AKAK]

It's sad, but there is a general state of financial ignorance in our society, and the homebuilders (intentionally, I believe) prey on this to make a quick profit. They then sell the mortgages to banks, so they are out of the process long before foreclosures hit.

Just to Clarify... and if NYB stops in, he can give even more detail to this process... but its actually the homebuilders taking advantage of the Mortgage industry in that all mortages are graded (in someway) and to be funded by a financial institution, they need to meet whatever the minimum requirements for the loan type are. So, point being that the "builders" are following those rules, or they couldn't ever sell the loans to the "Banks."

Thus, the homebuilders are actually preying on the mortage industry.... also, I beleive the 2-1 buydowns borrowers have to qualify for the full payment, not just the "bought down" payment.

Also keep in mind that many of these foreclosures are a result of soemthing that hardly anyone thinks about, and that is when you buy houses in new developments the tax assessment is sometimes still based on the value of the farmland it was built on... so the lot value can literely increase exponentially in value, shooting the escrow payment through the roof on top of the loan payment increasing to the full amount.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I had heard there was a Dispatch series. I'm not a daily subscriber, so I didn't get a chance to look at it, but I may go check it out online.

For the record, I'm not trying to take any of the reponsibility away from the homebuyers who can't afford their payments. Shame on them for getting in debt over their heads. However, in our consumer culture, debt has become the norm, and many people simply have never had any sound financial advice, since everyone they know pays $20/month for eight years before they even own their televisions outright.

It's sad, but there is a general state of financial ignorance in our society, and the homebuilders (intentionally, I believe) prey on this to make a quick profit. They then sell the mortgages to banks, so they are out of the process long before foreclosures hit.

If you are looking for an argument, I'm afraid you won't get one from me. :tongue2:

I absolutely agree with everything you said. In no manner was I trying to chastise you for criticizing these shady homebuilders. They are slimebags. I was just trying to augment that statement by adding that many of the people to whom they sell are morons that have no idea what they are doing.

 

[buckeyegrad]

I hate them-I think they are a blight on the landscape. I enjoy seeing trees.

This is another reason I hate the- as well. Why would anyone want to live where there are no trees? I can't stand seeing naked yards without trees...the properties look too artifical and are too exposed.

 

[Pheasant]

I had heard there was a Dispatch series. I'm not a daily subscriber, so I didn't get a chance to look at it, but I may go check it out online.

For the record, I'm not trying to take any of the reponsibility away from the homebuyers who can't afford their payments. Shame on them for getting in debt over their heads. However, in our consumer culture, debt has become the norm, and many people simply have never had any sound financial advice, since everyone they know pays $20/month for eight years before they even own their televisions outright.

It's sad, but there is a general state of financial ignorance in our society, and the homebuilders (intentionally, I believe) prey on this to make a quick profit. They then sell the mortgages to banks, so they are out of the process long before foreclosures hit.

Ha, I only pay $12/month for my TV, and it'll be all mine in just 3 more years.
You make a good point, Peach. The level of debt our society is in insane (not like BKB, but actually insane). I have a funny story in relation to lending companies.
When I was an umeployed 18 year old college freshman I got a credit card with a $3000 credit limit. I didn't even lie on the form, I just put student and $0 for my income. My mother applied for a card from the same company less than a month later, and was denied. I don't remember the reason, her credit score was fairly good, certainly better than mine. Also, at the time my father was still working, as a VP at one of our local Fortune 500 companies, making 6 figures a couple times over.

Back on topic (sort of) The proliferation of cash advance businesses is a pet peeve of mine. How hard is it to realize that you are living beyond your means when you have to go to one every month?

 

[PrincessPeach]

If you are looking for an argument, I'm afraid you won't get one from me. :tongue2:

I absolutely agree with everything you said. In no manner was I trying to chastise you for criticizing these shady homebuilders. They are slimebags. I was just trying to augment that statement by adding that many of the people to whom they sell are morons that have no idea what they are doing.

Agreed. Why would I look for an argument this week anyway? We have a common enemy.

Kbuck (or anyone who knows) - perhaps you can enlighten me. I know that many of these loans are FHA loans, something about which I admittedly know little - how does that affect the approval process or the mortgage requirements. If these loans are federally insured, what impact does the rash of foreclosures have on the greater economy? What is the source of the federal funds that back these loans?

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Back on topic (sort of) The proliferation of cash advance businesses is a pet peeve of mine. How hard is it to realize that you are living beyond your means when you have to go to one every month?

No kidding. Those robbers take a rdiculous percentage. I don't know exactly what it is since I've never been to one. Anyways, if you can't pay the bills you have with your full paycheck, why does it seem like a good idea to give 10% to someone else to get the check a couple days early.