bailouts

[dragonrider]

The problem is, credit is as tight as a virgins ass. Many new/ used car/ motorcycle/ RV/ boat/ (whatever requires credit to finance) dealers will have to close shop, that will result in high rates of unemployment. As companies crash, the desire to get out while you still have some value persists. People sell things when they need a means of exchange. When you are unemployed, you then will dip into your retirement money (therefore participating in the market correction).

If i have the money to lose and i am in it for the long term, only going to sell if i believe its going to be bad. Credit has to be freed up or people will lose jobs, im talking millions of jobs will be lost by the years end.

The reality of this started to come home for me in the last few months. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I started looking at the possibility of buying some rental units in the last few months. Prices are way down, so it seems a better time to buy than in the past.

The problem is the financing. Loan terms have gotten worse for the past few months, and now I'm not even sure if I can find ANY kind of loan. My credit union has removed ALL information regarding real estate loan terms and rates from its website for the past two weeks. I have excellent credit and plenty of equity to draw on, but the financing is still not there.

I started to understand the reason these prices are so low is not because there are not willing buyers at these prices --- there just isn't any credit for those who do want to step up and buy. If we don't get some financing available, prices will continue to drop until we get to the point where people with lots of cash on the sidelines can buy without financing. Those people will make a fortune in the long term, but everyone else will suffer.

Everybody is losing money. The average long term investor is down between 10% and 20% this year (IMHO). Its really a shame.

This is true for me. My long-term investments in 401k and IRA are way off year-to-date. WAY OFF!!!