No Shame in Selling Short

Our house was recently appraised by the bank for so much less than we ever would have imagined a year ago. Even just six months ago. It's hard to believe how much the market has changed... slowed. To a demoralizing halt. Well, everything is shifting. And it's going to take some time for it all to click into place in this new economic paradigm. For now, change is the paradigm. Transition.

What we're seeing now more than ever before is (as I wrote in my earlier post today) we are SO not alone.

We weren't "victims" of greedy lenders or overextending ourselves on a subprime mortgage. No, that wasn't us. We put 20% down on a 30-year fixed. We had the income. Then it went away. Poof. Then the market changed. Dramatically. And we couldn't sell our house for full-price. Couldn't pay the mortgage, couldn't sell the house. Double whammy. And we are where we are. And it is (as Bob has been saying a lot lately) as it is.

We've had over seven months to come to grips with our own situation. The shame, failure and embarrassment we felt at the beginning is long gone. There's just no time to indulge in all of that. AND.... it's happening all over the place- to all tax brackets. The people who did get subprime mortgages, those who overextended themselves, those victims of irresponsible lending, both the expected and unexpected, people in cookie cutter subdivisions in the Inland Empire and people in luxurious mansions in Hancock Park.

Speaking of luxurious mansions in Hancock Park, I found this example on Curbed LA today very interesting:

-Harry Warner Hancock Park Estate Now A Short Sale - Curbed LA