Asbury Park Press – Better Late than Never

This is an article that was originally published two days ago in a number of different newspapers across the country and on the Internet. For whatever reason, the Asbury Park Press decided to run it in today’s business section. So even though this story is two days old, some Jersey Shore residents might not have seen it. As for the Asbury Park Press, some original reporting would be nice occasionally instead of the usual AP wire stories and Ganett syndicated columns. Also, thank for removing the annoying Jason’s Furniture pop-up from your website.

[SAN FRANCISCO — Once a frustrated renter, Chris Economou is now a happy homeowner, enjoying a splendid view of San Francisco and an $80,000 increase in his property's value since he bought the one-bedroom condominium for $435,000 a year ago.

He credits his good fortune to an interest-only mortgage, an increasingly popular — and risky — loan that enables borrowers to lower their monthly payments enough for several years to afford rapidly escalating home prices in expensive markets like the San Francisco Bay area. Economou estimates he saves $1,000 a month by having his interest-only mortgage instead of a traditional 30-year fixed rate loan.

"I'd still be looking at renting for a long time," if not for that mortgage, said Economou, 33. "Home prices are so high that it's about the only way young people like me can get into the market.”] More…