SUPER SIZE ME

As everyone local knows, our area is
growing leaps and bounds. Even with
all the sound bits about empty new
houses and prices going down.

But the craziest thing is ..the $600,000
and up homes are still being built AND
they are being sold.

I saw McCain on one of the many talk
shows, and he was asked about the
Fannie Mae situation. He was asked
how he voted on the saving them and
bailing them out. He said he didn't
believe in it, yet he voted it in. Why?
because he said there wasn't anything
else better. Did they try? Or was it a
quick answer to the problem? Why vote
for something you don't believe in.

As we drove around in our daily lives here,
we see where trailers use to be, there are
what we call loaf of bread housing. It is a
two story long house. Or we see 20 to 30
homes where it use to be empty fields. Homes
starting at $400,000 says the ads.

Roads going up the mountain and we see
sections of homes. Or a line of 40 mailboxes,
at the end of a road. Places where we use
to pick huckleberries. Places and people who
now have no trespassing signs, or we are being
told, this is a tow away area, and even with your
car half in the ditch, being told you are
taking too much of the road.

My daughter and I love to go yard sale shopping
on the weekends. And as we look at the address,
we wonder, where the heck is that?

We found one this past weekend by signs that
were on the main road, that lead us up the
mountain side about 4 miles. And to our shock
there were 30 houses there. With paved roads.
BIG houses, supersize houses, with big toys in
the yard. Hummers, boats, 4 wheelers and etc.
The people were very nice, but such houses!
I didn't dare ask any questions, as I felt like
the poor relative there. You know, like how
many rooms? (it was a 50ish couple, no
children from the looks of things. Do you
have a library? What goes into such houses?
I surely would have sounded like the country
bumpkin, that I felt I was. Besides all of it,
was none of my business.

As someone who had to jump thru hoops 10
years ago, to buy this meek little house of ours,
at less than one fifth the amount of the houses
we see now. Our meek little 1200 square feet.
We wonder how in the heck do they afford these
3 story high, half a block long houses? Ours
is $500 a month payments. Affordable for us.
I can't get my mind around $300,000 never mind
$600,000 or a million and half. And I know that
Sandpoint jobs are not paying that well. If you have
a job that pays $18 an hour you are in hog heaven.
Because most of them are $11.00 or less. While
some of these people are retired, most of the ones
I see still have children.. small children..as well as
teens. Again, none of my business...

No wonder there are foreclosures. Cause by greed.
Loaners who don't care how the person pays for it.
Just as long as they made the quota of loans.
Buyers who want the American dream, who think
they will find the money somehow, if they can
supersize it and impress friends and family.
Some builders who charge horrible prices because
they can.

Supersize homes, supersize toys, what were you
thinking? And now we all get to help out, even those
in modest homes, because the loans are domino effect.

And will Congress fix this so it never happens again? So
only those who can really afford the house gets the loans?
No, because they are attached to the problem themselves.

Disclaimer...this is not about those who have worked at good
paying jobs all your life..and by saving, you were able to buy
your dream home at what you could afford.