Underwater Living Conditions

We keep looking at our current real estate market and wondering just how low it will go and will it eventually affect you and I? According to the latest stats that I have seen I’m afraid the answer is almost a solid absolutely it will affect you and I. If you owe a mortgage on your home and you have lived in it for less then six years, or if you have refinanced in the last five to six years, the chances are great you are now under water. Simply put, your home is now worth less then you owe.

There are approximately 4.6 million home mortgages in the state of Florida and it is now estimated that over two million are under water. Folks that is almost half of all mortgages. I guess it is a little comfort to know that Florida is not number one, Nevada is and second it Arizona. For once it is nice to be in third place.

Is there fear that someone will come knocking on your door to inform you you owe more then your home is worth, not likely. You must understand though, if you are thinking of selling or refinancing and an appraisal is ordered you may have to deal with the results.  Once the lender finds out the value of property you may have a problem. They could command that you pay the difference or they could call the entire note due. I have heard stories of homeowners who tried to refinance and in the process they created a problem due to a low home value.

So, do you and I really have anything to be worried about? Are we one of the almost fifty percent who are sinking? I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but we probably are. The only way to know for sure is to order an appraisal, you may not be pleased with the results though. What can be done about real estate values falling? As long as we see unemployment rising, now over ten percent nationwide average, we will continue to see values fall. You must understand that every time you read about a foreclosure or short sale in your community, you have just lost a little more value in your own home. This is a cancer that is spreading and I’m afraid I don’t see any relief anytime soon.

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