Summary
In the article "Utah in top 5 for mortgage failures" (July 16), Zions bank economic consultant Jeff Thredgold attributes this ranking to the prevailing culture that encourages large families. He is quoted as saying, "People get married younger ... buy a house younger ... have 50 percent more children per adult." His logic is that, as a result, Utahns have larger-than-average financial stresses, which naturally lead to mortgage failure.
While it may be true that raising large families can be more expensive, blaming high mortgage-failure rates on "prevailing culture" or large families without associated facts is irresponsible and places accountability where it may not belong. Where are the statistics that support his "fact"? Are mortgage companies asking how many children are in the family when they foreclose or send default notices? Buying more house than is affordable, adjustable- rate mortgages, using money resources inappropriately, unforeseen medical expenses and loss of employment can also lead to mortgage failure.See the full content of this document
Extract
Don't Blame the Culture
Until the...
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