While the homeowner isn’t Fred Flintstone, Curt Sleeper is a modern day caveman. He and his family live in a cave that has been turned into a home, a rather luxurious 17,000 square foot home.
But with the tight credit market he is unable to refinance his balloon loan and is in a desperate place.
That’s right. For nearly five years, Curt Sleeper and his family have lived in a cave. His mortgage is about to come due and, like millions of other Americans, he can’t refinance.
So now, the 17,000-square-foot, subterranean home is being auctioned off on eBay.
Sleeper and his wife Deborah bought the cave outside St. Louis in May 2004 for $160,000. To pay for it, they sold their old home, TV and even the DVD collection. They made a 50 percent down payment and borrowed the other $80,000 from the seller. It was a five-year loan with a single balloon payment at the end.
The original plan was to refinance. But Sleeper, a self-employed computer consultant, said banks struggle to appraise the cave since there aren’t any comparable properties nearby or, well any comparable properties at all. So while he might have received a loan two or three years ago, today he is in a bind. ABC News
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Many people I come across are in this same situation. Although this is a rare type of home an unique type of loan, the same circumstances are now hitting many Americans hard. That loan of 3 years ago with a balloon, adjustabe ARM, or other stip, are now coming back to haunt us. Promises by the lending industry about an easy refi have now gone up in flames.
That is some interesting stuff you get here, I just hope for a fast recovery for the credit market and to have some money flowing back into the real estate industry. It has been really a very dry credit market to the point where we cannot get loans on condos in our area, Breckenridge Co.
This is a worldwide phenomenon, cheap and easy money made buying your own house possible for people who were not in a position to.
The years of free spend and accessible credit has been a contributiong factor to the state of the economy.
Lol…Great post with just the right sprinkling of humour.