Update 11 Dec 2007: Due to the overwhelming SPAM on this post, comments have been shut down.
The headline begs you to sympathize, but the story is really one of personal responsibility. Melanie Ave wrote the piece for the St. Pete Times: Foreclosure leaves them just this side of homeless.
No, it’s not the foreclosure that did this to the family. It is the family that did this to themselves. Read the entire article and tell me if you come up with a different answer.
Meet Evangeline and Nader Qandil, a married couple with two kids. They’re not meeting their bills, can’t afford to eat, and embarrassed about asking for public assistance.
I’m embarrassed that the Times paints them as unwitting dupes. The beginning of the article suggests that the foreclosure is only partly their fault:
Like many, the Qandils’ foreclosure came as a result of poor financial decisions, bad luck, the sluggish economy and a complicated mortgage.
The “poor financial decisions” are just lumped in with luck, the general economy, and “complications.” This is insulting to all of you who don’t purchase beyond your means, accept responsibility for your own decisions, and pay your bills on time.
We are not interested in telling a well written heart-wrenching story, so we’ll take info from the article in chronological order instead of the wonderful writing style that Melanie uses:
After selling a 900-square-foot Pinellas Park home for $205,000, they discovered a 1,400-square-foot home in Seminole… The Qandils agreed to buy the home when they heard the price had dropped to $249,000… Nader, a certified mechanic with Autoway Ford for four years, was earning $17.50 an hour, bringing home about $3,400 monthly… Evangeline, a certified nursing assistant, was opening a new children’s consignment store in Largo with her mother. They hoped Little Sprouts on busy Ulmerton Road would bring in $200 a day in sales.
$3400/month is $40,000 a year. And HOPING for an additional $200/day in gross sales for a new business is akin to HOPING money grows on trees. With $40K that they thought they could rely on, the most these people should have spent on a house is (three times annual salary) $120,000 plus their equity in the Pinellas Park home. If the consignment store should prove to be financially viable after a year, then upgrade the home, but you cannot expect to make money from a new business immediately.
But they chose not to use the previous equity for the new house:
With proceeds from the other home, the Qandils paid off debt from Evangeline’s 2004 bankruptcy, which she said she filed because of bills from an emergency gallbladder surgery that wasn’t covered by health insurance… They also bought furniture, including a carved mahogany bedroom set, and inventory for the new store… Christmas in their new home was the family’s best ever.
A previous bankruptcy because of inadequate health insurance, fancy new MAHOGANY bedroom set, and start-up money for the business. All of this is well and good, but you have now limited your house purchase to $120,000. So they bought a place twice as expensive as they could afford, and then had the “best Christmas ever.” Working on that next bankruptcy already.
In the spring, Nader left his commission-based mechanic job when business slowed. He found another job that brought home $1,400 monthly — less than the mortgage payment… The consignment store floundered. Its profits barely covered rent and utilities. Some customers complained about its erratic hours.
Wait – the job was commission based? That adds even more uncertainty to the equation. And then he took a job at less than half the pay? I call bullsh*t. I’m guessing that both incomes may have been exaggerated to the lender.
And the new business had “erratic hours?” Is this more “bad luck?” or the “sluggish economy?”
The Qandils realized they were in over their heads and put the house up for sale in April for $294,000, a Realtor’s suggestion… In July, Deutsche Bank filed a notice with the court… So began foreclosure.
So, if they sell the home for that price, all will be well. But there is that sluggish economy, and the “complicated mortgage” mentioned above.
While the Qandils bought the home for $249,000, public records list the sales price at $210,000. The couple say they did not understand and paid $39,000 directly to the seller… The discrepancy puzzles potential buyers, who wonder about the large asking price given the home’s $210,000 recorded sales price.
They did not understand. Did they ask questions? Did they use a Realtor? Once again, this has nothing to do with bad luck or a sluggish economy. This was a bad decision, period. Cut your losses and move on.
The Qandils drop the price six times, settling at $229,000… One person finally makes a serious offer: $200,000…
Take it. TAKE IT.
The Qandils say no, hoping a better offer will give them money to move and repay money her father loaned them for the down payment… Mortgage and bills aside, they hope to amass $3,500 — first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit because of their bad credit — to move into a nearby three-bedroom apartment.
More of that HOPE. They don’t have much money, but they have an abundance of hope. I hope one day to have a pool like theirs. I hope one day to win the lottery. But Hope don’t pay the bills.
So now we move on to the endgame. The mortgage payment hasn’t been made in months. Now utility bills are being skipped.
Nader… was in an auto accident on 09/10/2007… a doctor put him on three different pain medications for two bulging discs and muscle spasms. He was restricted to light duty. Nader says his company didn’t have any light duty, so he was sent home. He filed a workers’ compensation claim and was told he would eventually receive about $920 a month, or 66 percent of his pay. He has yet to receive a check.
I’ve never run a consignment shop, but I’m guessing that it could qualify for “light duty.” And speaking of light duty, how is the wife helping out? If Nader is unable to work, then his wife needs to get a job.
Evangeline sits at the computer, typing as many ads as she can think of on the free classifieds Web site Craigslist.
She posts a listing for the house, now almost a daily ritual: DO NOT take my word this home is WELL BELOW MARKET VALUE!!!!!! A MUST SEE FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!
She writes one for the bedroom set: I waited 9 years for this set and now I am forced to sell it … we paid over $4,600 less than a year ago … we are asking $3,500 OBO. MUST SEE!!!!!
I wonder if Evangeline realizes that Craigslist also has job listings. Get to work.
They owe $12,000 in other bills, and she heads down to DCF for assistance.
“It’s so embarrassing,” she says, clutching a small Coach purse and a stack of unpaid bills. “But what can I do? I don’t have a choice.”
A Coach purse? Coach? Embarrassing, indeed. And yes, Evangeline, you DO have a choice.
These people have made some horrible financial decisions. Furthermore, their pride seems to dictate much of their motivation. They should be living in an apartment, but my gut tells me that they didn’t want to accept reality in choosing where to live. Tell me how I am supposed to feel sympathy for these folks.
Ben
2 years ago
Tommy – I came away more with mixed feelings about the Quandils than outright embarrassment or anger. They made some really crummy financial decisions – emphasis on decisions, there – and they are paying for them, no question. Mahogany bedroom set? Coach purse? I see where Melanie Ave is driving on this article, and I’m there with her.
Their situation is not black and white. I’m sure that Mr. Quandil was legitimately hurt on the job. I’ll even go so far as to believe he’s having trouble getting his disability check. What’s more, I respect Mrs. Quandil for trying to start her own business. That’s an extraordinarily brave and optimistic thing to do. I’m sorry for her that it is struggling right now.
But of course, that’s not the whole story, as you capably point out. They bought well above their means, and now they’re more or less stuck. Red flags for many folks would have gone up long before the point where they are now. Neither of the Quandils were, apparently, paying attention to their situation. That is their responsibility, and they failed in it.
They made many poor choices, and, coupled with circumstances that were largely beyond their control, they are now in a terrible situation. I have a feeling that there are many, many other Quandils out there in Florida and in America. How much of the responsibility of their situation is probably a case by case basis.
What should our society, our community, do to help these people, if anything?
Maf54
2 years ago
Tommy, I am SO with you on this.
What the hell?!?
The story shouldn’t be about, “This poor couple, victims of the housing market,” this should be, “The poor lender, getting duped into giving these schmucks a loan.”
Everything this couple did was retarded. They made extra equity on their house, and instead of applying it to their new house, they pay off a bankruptcy (why would medical bills force anyone into bankruptcy, anyway? I have several large medical bills that I owe, it’s not forcing me into bankruptcy …
Did this reporter do any research? There was a bankruptcy filed for about $5,000 in medical bills, despite having about $150,000 in assets. If she had contacted those agencies and asked to make payments — even tiny ones — she wouldn’t have to worry about anything more than crappy credit, but it would still be better than a bankruptcy-laden credit report.
But you’re absolutely right, Tommy. They bought a house that was WAY beyond their means. I mean, I’m buying a house right now, and as much as I feel I should have a “great Christmas” with a nice mahogany bedroom set, I am NOT going to buy something that is anymore than three times my annual salary. And I didn’t.
This is just plain stupid. Every decision they made — including NOT selling for $200,000, and thinking they were going to get more than what they paid for in this current market — was stupid.
And the reporter was stupid, too.
Dave
2 years ago
It’s a shame the home lender didn’t catch the riskiness of the situation at the time they lent the money. One of the things home money loaners have tried desperately to do the past 10 years or so is to avoid handing out money to poor credit risks. Now, all the hard work in accepting thousands of dollars in down payments, not to mention the time and resources it took depositing it into their bank accounts, is wasted. What a shame.
Dave
Pink
2 years ago
Umm, yeah, you might want to have some sympathy for this family. If only because foreclosure costs the whole community. Houses sold under value depress home sales throughout a community. Banks accrue approximately $50,000 in costs for each foreclosure, so who do you think pays that? You guessed it, the next guy who comes to get a loan. And don’t forget about all those subprime lenders who gave anybody and everybody a loan. This country runs on credit, but we do a very poor job of educating consumers on how to use it. Buying a home is a huge, complicated process so it’s very easy to take advantage of an uneducated buyer. Yeah, they made bad decisions, but how many times have taxpayers paid for an ambulance to go rescue some idiot who tried a stupid stunt? The Qandils made some really poor choices but I’d rather have my tax dollars paying for food stamps for their kids to eat than paying for a dumb war.
Lee Nelson
2 years ago
Did I catch this right?? The only stable income was 3,400 per month. They owe 11k for back mortgage payments and 12k in other bills that they didn’t pay since April….its October…that’s 23k worth of expenses in 6 months…and his salary was $36,400 per annum.
The article mentions Pinellas county giving them a ‘nutrition’ expert….they need someone to teach them how to set up and stick to a budget.
dreaming
2 years ago
they are evidently house flippers who stayed too long at the fair. she bought two other houses previously. they saw a shot at more profit and lost.
except they arent so smart financially.
the wife is 80-100 pounds overweight, so she has been easting pretty well through it all, by the looks.
just please tell me not a penny of my taxes are going to bail them out. oh? food stamps already.
a lot of americans think they are entitled to a lot of things they can’t afford. they are just poorly educated. i cant blame the sptimes for this story, even if it missing some common sense disclosures such as the flipping.
Maf54
2 years ago
Wow … Maf54 is a pretty popular guy, even if he isn’t trying to pick up Congressional pages online. =P
jason
2 years ago
I hear they’re facing prison for mortgage fraud….
Oh, and the husband filed Workman’s Comp while at Autoway from a back injury. You’d think he’s have enough sense not to take such a physical job as driver for Canteen!!! Stairs, weight, long hours.
I suggest he stop trying to carry his wife: figurativly AND literally!!
Anonymous
2 years ago
I read this story and its about the Quandils than outright embarrassment or anger. They made some really crummy financial decisions.
Kristin
2 years ago
Dear Tommy, Thank you for writing this. It was very entertaining. The SP Times article was pathetic. It’s hard to empathize with anyone who wears their Coach bag to get assistance…