Anecdote - Debt Sh**t Hitting The Fan

[BuyingBear]

but the son'll lose much of his inheritance when his mum dies because of the interest on that £100,000, which I think will be enormous, but he's desperate.

Indeed, the interest payments are rolled over into the loan and compounded, obviously the higher the interest rates over the years the worse it becomes, the IR is probably pretty high as it is. These are essentially the negative-amortization loans we've been hearing about in the states, except in this case the entire repayment is rolled over, these mortgages are technically illegal in many US states for obvious reasons.

So yes, they'll get stung terribly, which obviously means the son will get his just rewards eventually. Personally I hope the old dear lives until 110, at least!

[libitina]

I do so hope that that man and his wife get whats coming to them. :angry:

[Bingley Bloke]

Poor lady should hang onto her house. If her son is so irresponsible that he'll get into all that debt once than he'll likely do it again. And if his wife is so selfish that she'll leave him because he doesn't have enough money then both he, and his mother, are better off without her in their lives. He should dump the wife, sell his house and go live with his mother.

[Guest Winners and Losers]

Yup - I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Awooga

[The Colour]

It's easy to get into debt. I was out of work for 4 months last year - I was even doing bit'n'bobs on the side and I ran up an amazing 9K worth of debt! Rent + child support + phone etc.

[munro]

Funny, I heard a similar anecdote recently...

Guy in his 50s, runs a business employing 10 people, all of whom have families and mortgages. He's been struggling to keep the business going in the teeth of a downturn because he knows if it goes under everybody will lose their jobs, houses, etc. The downturn, of course, is the aftermath of the HPI that has made his mother asset-rich.

His wife has recently been in hospital with cancer. He's been worreid sick about her and finding it hard to run the business and visit her.

The debts are mounting up as he tries to absorb rises in fuel prices and not lay off his staff. The bank are threatening to foreclose.

His 90 year old mother is rattling around in a big house worth £470k. She looks like a sweet old dear but as he knows all too well she's a tyrannical monster who won't give you the time of day unless you pay for it. She's spent her whole life making her kids' lives miserable. Now she moans endlessly about council tax, heating bills and the fact she's lonely because her kids won't come and visit her. The reason they won't visit her is because she is a selfish, self-centred old cow - and now she's reaping what she's sown (or rather, not sown).

Wife is in remission but has been told to avoid stress to prevent a recurrence. She's going frantic with worry. Wife knows it won't work if the tyrannical old bat moves in with them in their existing house so she goes looking for a house with a granny annexe. Son and wife also know that sooner or later the old battleaxe will need looking after so this way it's all organised while she's fit enough to move.

Son rings mother and asks for help. She says no, she's keeping the house till she dies and because she believes in death duties she's not making any tax planning measures at all.

Wife rings mother-in-law, in total distress. The redoubtable old bat says no. Wife, in utter despair, threatens to leave husband. Immediately regrets what she's said, and didn't mean it in the first place. After all we've all said things in the heat of the moment that we didn't mean and later regret.

And everybody looking from outside thinks the husband and wife are a right pair of greedy little shits. There's usually two sides to every story.

[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

10 sides to every story (at least) in my family.

[marko]

Funny, I heard a similar anecdote recently...

Guy in his 50s, runs a business employing 10 people, all of whom have families and mortgages. He's been struggling to keep the business going in the teeth of a downturn because he knows if it goes under everybody will lose their jobs, houses, etc. The downturn, of course, is the aftermath of the HPI that has made his mother asset-rich.

His wife has recently been in hospital with cancer. He's been worreid sick about her and finding it hard to run the business and visit her.

The debts are mounting up as he tries to absorb rises in fuel prices and not lay off his staff. The bank are threatening to foreclose.

His 90 year old mother is rattling around in a big house worth £470k. She looks like a sweet old dear but as he knows all too well she's a tyrannical monster who won't give you the time of day unless you pay for it. She's spent her whole life making her kids' lives miserable. Now she moans endlessly about council tax, heating bills and the fact she's lonely because her kids won't come and visit her. The reason they won't visit her is because she is a selfish, self-centred old cow - and now she's reaping what she's sown (or rather, not sown).

Wife is in remission but has been told to avoid stress to prevent a recurrence. She's going frantic with worry. Wife knows it won't work if the tyrannical old bat moves in with them in their existing house so she goes looking for a house with a granny annexe. Son and wife also know that sooner or later the old battleaxe will need looking after so this way it's all organised while she's fit enough to move.

Son rings mother and asks for help. She says no, she's keeping the house till she dies and because she believes in death duties she's not making any tax planning measures at all.

Wife rings mother-in-law, in total distress. The redoubtable old bat says no. Wife, in utter despair, threatens to leave husband. Immediately regrets what she's said, and didn't mean it in the first place. After all we've all said things in the heat of the moment that we didn't mean and later regret.

And everybody looking from outside thinks the husband and wife are a right pair of greedy little shits. There's usually two sides to every story.

Yes...a wonderfully rounded tale....however, I am going to stick with the 'Son and wife are sh1ts' myself. In my experience it is better to NOT give people the benefit of the doubt.

The lady is 90 FFS.

[BuyingBear]

And everybody looking from outside thinks the husband and wife are a right pair of greedy little shits. There's usually two sides to every story.

Hrm... no, I like the first one better.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

If I was the old lady, I'd be tempted to say that the son can have the money on condition she sees the completed divorce papers

[dalek]

Yes...a wonderfully rounded tale....however, I am going to stick with the 'Son and wife are sh1ts' myself. In my experience it is better to NOT give people the benefit of the doubt.

The lady is 90 FFS.

Thankyou for all your replies - you were all, give or take one piece of pxss (awooga), really compassionate. I did like the take of Munro, very clever. Except in this case, the wife does not have cancer, and the son is in a good, well-paying job.

To me, it's an incredible tale and on my doorstep. And not something I would have heard even a year ago, I don't think. I really think it's symptomatic of what's beginning to happen now. The old dear, by the way, is a tough old boot - her garden is a joy in the summer, she's out there every autumn and spring digging away. But she's very kind, and was seriously upset about the thought of having to leave her home, quite naturally. And she loves her son - she said she had no option than to do something. She - unlike me - doesn't judge him.

It's true, she might as well offload the amount that would have to be paid in inheritance tax on her son, I suppose, it's just the way he and his equally grasping evil wife decided to go about it. And £70,000 in debt in your 50s, what's going on? He's lucky, the bxxtard, but many won't be. Watch this space.

Edited February 8, 2006 by dalek