Hidden victims of the mortgage meltdown

[Toucano]

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/11/sherrilynn-palladino-lives-in-a-modest-three-bedroom-home-with-an-affordable-mortgage-about-15-miles-from-the-ocean-in-grov.html

Sherrilynn Palladino lives in a modest three-bedroom home with an affordable mortgage about a mile and a half from the ocean in Grover Beach, Calif. She's never missed a mortgage payment during the 10 years she's lived in the neighborhood. In fact, she says, she's never late on any bills. At 60, she'd like to retire, downsize and escape spiraling property taxes in the suburb about half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

But she can't. The house next door is empty. It's been vacant and in various states of disrepair for three years.

Palladino is a quiet victim of the housing market crash. Call her collateral damage.

"I'm stuck," she said. "I can't sell my house for what I paid for it with an empty eyesore next door. I can't afford upkeep, maintenance, and property taxes. And I can't retire until I downsize ... I don't know what to do. It's all just a mess and I feel like it's out of my control."

Thanks, Republicans, for the "ownership society" that now owns us.

Getting people to live in bank-owned properties has got to be a part of any stabilization and recovery plan.

[The Doctor.]

1. Curious to know...

Whether she is a Republican.

So many so called 'Conservatives' can't wrap their head around the idea that we're all in this together. When we let our neighbors fall, we all get dragged down.

[Toucano]

4. It's in the national interest.

The federal government should use eminent domain to buy up those vacant properties and distribute them through public housing programs.

The banks and Wall Street will just have to get smaller bonus checks.

[Igel]

5. Google says she gave to (D) in 2009.

The question is, Was the person who defaulted or abandoned the house (R)?

[grace0418]

2. Yep. We learned yesterday that our condo is worth only a little more than it was when

we bought it 11 years ago. If we manage to sell it for the asking price and not a penny less, we still won't make enough to purchase a larger place. We're trying to start a family and I work at home, so we really, really need a larger place.

And we're the lucky ones. We can afford our mortgage just fine, have never been late on a single payment. There aren't a lot of empty/foreclosed places around us, it's still a vibrant community. We live in a very popular neighborhood and under any other circumstances would be able to sell our place in a heartbeat for a nice profit. But right now we're stuck.

We could maybe move way out to a really crummy suburb and afford a bigger place, but then we'd NEVER be able to sell it, considering how hard it is to sell a great place in an awesome neighborhood.

We don't know what to do. We may end up staying where we are and I will have to rent office space if/when baby arrives.

[Pathwalker]

3. And then there are the pets who get discarded. Why do people think

it is better to drop a pet off in the country than to take them to a local no kill shelter? I have seen too many of them end up as road kill out here in the country. It's a sad situation for everyone, with no end in sight.