null_dot
@null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- Comment on tall tails 6 days ago:
This is straight from the Pseudo Scientist playbook, well established Graham Hancock shtick.
- Comment on tall tails 6 days ago:
The Experts claim to have an answer to every question
That’s not my experience at all. “The Experts” are extraordinarily cautious to make assertions even when they’re well supported. They talk about “models” and are happy to revise and update their positions when contrary evidence emerges.
Pseudo scientists have answers for everything.
- Comment on When real life generates the shitpost 1 week ago:
Who cares what this asshole thinks. He’s an actor.
- Comment on Albania appoints an AI bot named Diella as the minister responsible for managing and awarding all public procurement tenders to combat corruption 1 week ago:
Oh man. This just obfuscates the corruption.
- Comment on Has Charlie Kirk ever changed his views on a subject during a debate? 1 week ago:
Yeah, engaging with people in the comments has certainly influenced my opinion, many times. Daily probably.
- Comment on Too soon? 1 week ago:
Yeah I agree that it wouldn’t have been easy on the kids. However, if dont think seeing a parent get shot, would be much different than having them die of cancer or anything else really.
Certainly, the kids have my sympathy.
- Comment on AI adoption rate is declining among large companies — US Census Bureau claims fewer businesses are using AI tools 1 week ago:
I dont have the hardware so I’m using “open web ui” to run queries on models accessible via huggingface API.
Works really well. I haven’t invested the time to understand how to use workspaces, which allow you to tune models, but aparently its doable.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Read my other comments, explaining why people with negative equity often default on their mortgage.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Who is more likely to default, a borrower with $100k equity, or a borrower with negative $100k equity?
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
What do you call it in Europe when someone stops making repayments on a loan ?
Obviously, that’s a thing.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
That’s a good question actually.
In Australia, some 60 years ago, banks wouldn’t lend over 80% of the purchase price for a property.
The federal government created a government department to provide lenders mortgage insurance. It wasn’t a free government service, but a good example of the federal government stepping in to do something private enterprise wasn’t able to.
Since then of course that department has been privatised, like everything else, so private institutions provide that service now.
There do remain some differences between LMI and just simply extra interest. Notably LMI is a once off payment, and it can be included in the loan.
More recently, the Australian Federal Government has rolled out a scheme to pretty much abolish LMI. They’re just going to guarantee the loans for free.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Foreclosing is a very expensive process.
If you borrow 100% of the purchase price and the bank has to foreclose they would incur a loss.
- Comment on Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms 1 week ago:
Very dramatic.
- Comment on Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms 1 week ago:
We do have “op shops” which are like a charity that sells clothes and toys that have been donated to them.
We do buy a lot of stuff from these places, and visit almost every week. The thing is, the range of stuff is very limited. For example, they might have a dozen shirts for toddlers, all in different sizes, so at best you get one shirt.
We dont really have “car boot” markets or flea markets here. We have farmers markets for fresh produce but not second hand items.
We have a toy library where I volunteer once a month. This is an amazing resource and our kids always have different toys that are really well used by loads of kids. It really is great.
The thing is, Toddlers grow quick, and they’re pretty gross, so you have to change shirts several times a day. Realistically you need 12 shirts, which they will ruin or outgrown in a few months.
On fb marketplace, any day of the week, there’s people selling boxes of kids clothes for a few dollars, all the same size. Every few months you box up everything thats too small and pass it on to the next person. From a shop, the only other option, a box of 12 toddlers shirts would be maybe $60. Of course you get pants and undershirts and jackets and whatever. So youre saving several hundred dollars each time.
If it were just a matter of going to some other place or using some other app then ofc I would do that, but fb market is the place parents sell their toddler clothes in my area.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
If you were in negative equity, you might choose to suck it up and pay.
Statistically however, borrowers are much more likely to default when they’re in negative equity, because quite obviously, there’s an incentive to declare bankruptcy.
If you owed a million dollars on a property that had been condemned and is only worth $50k, obviously you would declare bankruptcy. If the property was worth $400k you’d probably do the same. If the property was worth $800k you might do that, but you might choose to suck it up.
My point is, negative equity is an incentive to default on the loan.
Obviously, defaulting on mortgages is a thing. Obviously, people are much more likely to do so when they’re in negative equity.
This isn’t something people do as a sophisticated well planned financial strategy. In a context of economic upheaval, declining property losses, usually because of unemployment, which usually causes family breakdowns.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Correct.
Less down payment means more risk and therefore more interest.
Its pretty simple really.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Sorry chief, you’re just not picking up what I’m laying down.
Of course you still owe the money, you’re just much less likely to pay.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Don’t be daft.
I’m not providing advice regarding what someone ought to do when they find themselves in negative equity.
I’m explaining the requirement for buyers to start with a reasonable amount of equity.
Once an owner falls into negative equity, they have an incentive to default on the loan. Yes there will be consequences, but the fact remains they will he weighing those consequences against the financial incentive to default.
The “better off” in my comment is an impartial objective calculation.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
You’re overthinking it.
The loan history is not relevant. The $50k you paid is gone. Sunk costs fallacy and all that.
A mortgage isn’t a complicated shared equity situation.
You owe the bank $650k and if you don’t pay they will take the house worth $600k.
Obviously if you default there will be legal problems and you’re still on the hook for the last $50k and so on, but there’s no incentive to keep paying. Like if you declare bankruptcy then you don’t have to pay the $50k and you can start saving for a deposit on your next house for when the exclusion period expires.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
So why do they need your deposit in order to lease it to billionaires and crypto exchanges?
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
The financial illiteracy of lemmy users always amazes me.
PMI is not double dipping.
It keeps the risk reasonable so that interest rates can remain reasonable.
With no PMI there’s extra risk that would need to be priced in to interest.
No one likes PMI, but it’s not evil.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
They need you deposit that down payment cash ASAP so they can lease it to billionaires and crypto exchanges.
No, this is patently false and borne of a misunderstanding. Idiocy.
When providing a mortgage, how does a bank get money to lease to billionaires and crypto exchanges?
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
as in the subject of this post, yes.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
I’m not sure if you’ve really understood the dynamic.
Suppose you buy for $700k, pay off $50k, but then the market collapses and the property is only worth $600k.
You’ll be $50k better off if you just stop paying and let the bank foreclose.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
The deposit is not to prove you can make the repayments.
Housing markets do, occasionally, go backwards in value.
If you have a loan for a house which is more than the value of the house you would have an incentive to just stop paying.
Thats why the bank needs a buffer, in the form of a deposit. Its not really nefarious.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Idiocy.
The bank doesn’t get the down payment. The person selling the house does.
You pay that person the down payment, and the bank pays them the rest.
Honestly there’s loads of great reasons to hate banks but lots keep it real and avoid making up nonsense.
- Comment on A conundrum 1 week ago:
Interest is not intended to offset risk?
Interest provides a return on capital.
If you have $1 youre not using you might let someone else use it if they incentivise you by giving you an interest in their need.
If you give $1 to 100 different people you might increase the rate for some of them to offset your additional risk, but thats not the purpose of Interest.
- Comment on Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms 1 week ago:
Well, sure ok it’s “avoidable” in the sense that I’m not forced to engage with facebook or any other company or platform.
However, the imposition on my daily functioning and ability to interact with my peers would be severely disaffected.
If there’s a group of a dozen people that I know in person who are interacting on whats app, then if I want to interact with them I need to use whats app.
- Comment on Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms 1 week ago:
Does your mother know you’re using the c-word?
- Comment on Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms 1 week ago:
I’m so excited for you to tell me how you think the Web works.