Robert and Kay Richards live in the center of this trend. In 2006, they took a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage — a prime loan — borrowing $172,000 to buy a prefabricated house.
They erected the building on land they owned in the northern Minnesota town of Babbitt, clearing the terrain of pine trees with their own hands. Mr. Richards worked as a truck driver, hauling timber from a nearby mill. His wife oversaw the books.
Together, they brought in about $70,000 a year — enough to make their monthly mortgage payments of $1,300 while raising their two boys, now 11 and 16.
But their truck driving business collapsed last year when the mill closed. Mr. Richards has since worked occasional stints for local trucking companies. His wife has failed to find clerical work.
“Every month that goes by, you get a little further behind,” Mr. Richards said.
Last June, they missed their first payment, and they have since slipped $10,000 into arrears. They are trying to persuade their bank to cut their payments ahead of a foreclosure sale.
Am I the only one thinking that if Mr. and Mrs. Richards got a job doing yard work, cleaning houses, etc. They would have had no problems covering the $1300 a month to pay their mortgage. My pool guy comes for an hour and gets the equivalent of $30/hr. Housekeeper gets the equivalent of $25/hr. Yard guy $25/ hr. Even if they didn't have the ingenuity to find clients for these jobs, they could get jobs at restaurants or retail making $8-10/hr. and combined bring in $40-50k per year.