The home as ATM
The Irvine Housing Blog -- "chronicling ‘the seventh circle of real estate hell’ since September 2006" -- has an interesting post about the owners of a million-dollar California house who are now trying to sell it for more than they bought it for but less than they borrowed against it:
They never put any money into the deal, they pulled out $333,000 in cash, and they got to live in Turtle Ridge for 3 years. Not a bad deal — for them. ...If you knew prices were going to collapse, and the lifestyle was not sustainable (like many on this board did,) would you have done it anyway? When you see the lives led by people like today’s owners, it is not difficult to see why so many chose that life.
Thanks to Jay Hancock for pointing it out. (If you click on the link, you'll need to scroll down a bit.)
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