4673 Alex Mon, Mar 24, at 10:44am  
I'm a Realtor and find myself embarrassed by Chaz's advice. Low income? Buy. Huge debt? Buy. No savings? Buy. Seriously, Chaz, step away from the kool aid.

4580 jswede Fri, Mar 21, at 12:31pm
hey about telling the whole story Chaz? "With 100% financing he/she could afford a $_____ house. Of course, he/she would also a have to pay huge sums in yearly property taxes, monthly assessments, take on market risk that may bottom out down another 10-15% from here, leaving the buyer in $25-100k of debt should they be forced to sell. Which they likely will have to, because they have no savings. It's all good though, because I got paid a commission." ****ing sick slimeball

4584 jswede Fri, Mar 21, at 10:45am
Lastly, in case anyone else was still listening to these idiots: Let's look at a 30yr amortizing loan. Which is what most people will get into (after this interest-only debacle anyway): lets say a 30yr 6% loan for $500k. You'll pay $3k monthly. $36k a year. After 5 years, you've paid about $180k. Of that $180, ~85% has been interest. You've paid off only about $30k of the house. Great way to become a home "owner", huh?

4582 jswede Fri, Mar 21, at 10:37am
and Gisella -- as an advisor -- how about levelling with people? Why not tell them the difference between renting and "buying" (with no/little money down using a mortgage)? It's about as simple as this: when you rent, you pay someone for the use of their property; when you "buy" with a mortgage, you pay some one for the use of their money. You're not an "owner" with no money down. Not even with 20% down. Oh, and also, when you buy you take market risk and pay huge taxes/assessments

4526 jswede Thu, Mar 20, at 09:09pm
Chaz says: "With 100% financing, he/she could afford a $______ house"

4525 jswede Thu, Mar 20, at 09:03pm
let's see.... "no money down" is a recommendation - with no disclaimer - just as long as Chaz gets paid. if your subjects take that advice there's a chance each of them will not get out of debt for decades.

4524 jswede Thu, Mar 20, at 08:59pm
It's nice to see that TimeOut has learned nothing in the last few years. (and that Chaz from the billboards is as big of a slime-ball as I always thought he'd be)

4467 benjamin Thu, Mar 20, at 12:00pm
Great - ask a real estate agent (who makes something like 5% of the purchase price) if someone should buy or rent - no chance of a bias there!