Reply #9: It depends on who or where you are [View All]

[Warpy]

and what your strategy has been.

If you're on either coast and have been trading up to bigger and bigger houses and have bought the last one in the past 2 years, you are in trouble. If you've gotten a creative financing deal to do it, you're in bigger trouble. If you've already refinanced to pay of credit cards, you're totally screwed.

If you bought a modest house 5 years ago or earlier, you'll probably be OK wherever you are. You've got enough paper equity in that place to survive what's coming, but only if you've got that fixed mortgage.

The problem with the housing collapse is that it's going to cause a lot of those credit card outfits to start getting very nervous about all that unsecured debt floating around. THAT is what might start the real trouble.