This is just crazy. These people were each making $300 per week picking strawberries and they, along with another family that work as mushroom farmers making $500 per week, were able to qualify for a $720,000 house. Because they didn’t speak english, they were completely reliant on their agent to help them through the process.
As it turns out, the loan they were given, and clearly didn’t understand, had a ONE MONTH teaser rate which put their payment at $4800 for the first month, and $5375 after that. The agent assured them they would be able to refinance quickly and get the payment down to $3000. Uhhh, on what planet?
Here are the ugly details:
Family 1: $600 per week (2X$300) (seasonal)
Family 2: $1000 per week (2X$500) (seasonal)
House Price: $720,000
Mortgage payment (first month): $4800
Mortgage payment (second month): $5375
House value estimate: $580,000
What is even more amazing about this story is that the mortgage was only put in one person’s name. This person had an annual income of $13,000. How does someone with an annual income of $13,000 qualify for a $720,000 loan? It seems even more suspicious to read that the real estate agent was helping them with the payment for the first few months. I’ll bet she didn’t help them long enough to burn up her commission! I’m sure there are lots of stories like this out there. It’s really amazing how bad some people get screwed.
Are criminal charges being filed in this case? The article didn’t say. To sucker someone like that is immoral if not illegal.
I completely agree that it is immoral. There is certainly a civil lawsuit waiting to happen. The fact that this realtor helped pay the mortgage shows that she clearly understood that she sold them something they couldn’t afford.