In the same vein as a John Grisham novel, this one had me turning the pages because to the distinct blend of eccentric and colorful characters. That's how much I enjoyed it.

The author's life as a landlord and property owner in Alabama is interwoven with a bigger tale of real estate speculation in a unique way in this book. To sum up, the irresponsible real estate speculation in small towns and regions that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis has been replaced (or supplemented) by speculation by Wall Street investors and public firms. All too frequently, it is the individual homeowners and renters who are forced to foot the bill.

Fantastic, troubling book. Journalist Ryan Dezember weaves his own experience of becoming an underwater homeowner with the small town folks going through similar circumstances and with the disturbing market changes occurring without most people noticing--giant corporate entities gobbling up all the single family homes, turning them into rentals, and driving up prices. As the population of homeowners ages, there will be even more stock on the market by 2030, yet it will likely be out of reach of younger people to buy them. I hope the author will continue reporting on this topic--I would love to read more from him.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Do you ever wonder what happened to the land of opportunity? The opportunity is there but it must be found like a needle a haystack. Do you wonder why your boomer parents were able to accomplish much more and all you have to show for is it an Iphone? Or are you ever schooled about how many trips you take and if you didn't take so much you would be a homeowner? All the above questions are answered in this book. Inflation has taken over our dreams and it will take decades to ever get the opportunities there once was. P.S owning that Iphone or not, taking those trips or not, wouldn't have made a difference in your life's outcome today, because trips are cheaper than ever but price homes and incomes are astronomically disproportionate than in our parents time. A must read for anyone questioning why they haven't been able to purchase a home at the same age as their parents.

A fascinating look at the 2008 crash / housing crisis as delivered by Ryan Dezember who was both reporting on real estate for the Press-Register and experiencing the roller coaster first-hand as a homeowner on the Gulf Coast. Interspersing a well-researched report with personal anecdotes, Dezember paints a thorough picture of both the speculation frenzy and the devastation of the crash on Average Joe homeowners. ⁣

I finished this last night and honestly had a hard time sleeping because it was upsetting to realize just how much control Wall Street investors and banks have over situations like this one. The final few chapters talk about new research that shows the blame for the crash has been mis-attributed to overstretched home buyers when in reality it was investors and flippers who strategically foreclosed that were responsible for the scale of the crash. He also covers the new “Wall-Street-as-landlord” paradigm coupled with Silicon Valley-backed AI for finding suitable listings and y’all, it was wild (and terrifying, to be honest). ⁣

I learned a ton and the book was very well-written. My only (mild!) criticism is that there were a few chapters that were particularly dense on technical details of loans and bonds and other financial concepts that was a little hard to follow, but I’m also no economic expert, so it may have just gone over my head. ⁣

✔️ Read this one if you: ⁣
- Would be interested in a fresh & personal perspective on the 2008 crisis ⁣
- Like recent history reads ⁣
- Are interested in large-scale economics and their social implications ⁣
⁣
〰️ Skip it if you:⁣
- Would prefer to not revisit the 2008 crisis
- Struggle with powering through sections of technical jargon⁣
- Are looking for something more memoir-oriented rather than expanded reporting ⁣

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for Ryan Dezember’s Underwater. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

This book was quite informative and infuriating as Ryan Dezember clearly explains the 2008 financial housing collapse that left millions of Americans “underwater”, holding mortgages for properties that were valued and owed for far more than they were actually worth. Using his personal experience as the driving narrative, the reader comes to understand how honest, hardworking Americans were fooled into a false belief that their home would provide both shelter and equity. The amount of corruption, greed and knowledge that would eventually destroy so many was jaw dropping. This book left me so disappointed in a country I once so greatly admired.
Not an easy read but one that is necessary for understanding how government and big money institutions prey on the working class. A timely read.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://manoflabook.com/wp/book-review-underwater-by-ryan-dezember/

Underwater: How Our American Dream of Homeownership Became a Nightmare by Ryan Dezember is a non-fiction book that the author wrote after making it through the 2008 housing crisis. Mr. Dezember is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

Part memoir, part financial history Underwater: How Our American Dream of Homeownership Became a Nightmare by Ryan Dezember gives the author’s perspective on the housing crisis, and how Americans are still feeling the effects of it decades later.

Mr. Dezember, like many people, found himself with a home that he can’t sell due to its worth dropping tremendously. The author felt it was his duty to pay back the money he borrowed, come hell or high water.
Did he do the right thing?
And if it was the right thing, was it for his sake or the bank’s?
Why did he feel so compelled to live up to his bad financial transactions when every bank and business do not feel obliged to do so?

These are some of the questions the author tries to answer in this book. Along with the analysis of his own financials misfortunes, the book also takes a look at the 2008 economic downturn. He describes what it feels like to own on your house more than its worth (underwater), as well as describing the flipping of condos in Alabama, sold and re-sold several times before they were even built.

The book goes back and forth between the author’s personal account, a look at the jaw dropping corruption which happened on a local level, as well as national, and even worldwide, implications. The author does capture, on a personal level, what a terrible time it was for thousands upon thousands of people. To see your home, and probably your biggest investment, go down the drain is heartbreaking and certainly has lifelong affects.

Like many books about disasters, this is a slow rolling, but fascinating narrative which is difficult to comprehend, upsetting when understood, but impossible to look away. I must suppose that the author dumbed down a few things to make the book readable for those of us who are not financial professionals. I think this was the right choice, while the truth is always more complex, it’s impossible to keep it all in one’s head and telling small stores, whether personal or about the shenanigans on the Alabama coast, it more relatable and understandable.

It was really hard to get into this book. THere was a lot of Alabama businessmen and their names floating around. It was hard to keep track of them all.
However, I kept plugging along and it got more and more interesting. So much so, that I had a hard time putting it down.
I really loved the book when the mayor got arrested.
It was so interesting to learn about what the economists thought happened after the crash.
This book is a MUST read for anyone to know about the Great Recession, Alabama shores real estate, personal story on the housing crash, and the rise of the rental giant companies.
Bravo to the author for being honest about his struggles.

4 stars
Underwater by Ryan Dezember
An absorbing and fascinating look at the housing crisis from the viewpoint of a journalist and an underwater homeowner. Dezember meticulously researches the collapse nationwide as well of his small Alabama beach town. I really believed I knew all there was to know about the recession and housing meltdown but I learned a great deal more in this book. This is a truly fascinating book! I really enjoyed the viewpoint of an underwater homeowner who chose not to walk away compared to those of speculators, flippers, other homeowners and banks.
I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

My brother tells the story of a friend and his wife who in the early 2000s built their dream house in an upscale part of Oakland County, Michigan. After a few years they decided to relocate. They owed more than the house's market value.

Is real estate still a good investment? Perhaps if you are in it for the long run.

My folks bought a modest house in 1972 for $33,900. Between 2004 to 2005 it's value shot up by 72%. By 2009 when I inherited the house it's value had plummeted by 50%.

We weren't selling. It was our retirement home. Today the value has risen again, neighboring houses selling in the range of their high back in 2005.

Perhaps the house's value will plummet again. Who knows what will happen in ten or twenty years? But if we had not inherited a home, we would be renting. That $1500 a month expense would have made us penny-pinchers in our golden years, just as we were when we were starting out. Living without mortgage or rent has made all the difference.

Ryan Dezember was a journalist covering real estate for an Alabama newspaper when he and his wife purchased a modest home in 2005. Within years the marriage was over, the house up for sale. The house would not sell for what he owed. The housing market had collapsed.

It took ten years before Dezember could unload the house. He figures it cost him $60,000. He understood the real estate business, the deals and flipping that made billionaires overnight--selling housing that didn't even exist yet. Still, he was a sucker for the American Dream of homeownership.

Underwater explains the whole messy, disgusting process that ruined the lives of so many. People like my brother's friends who ultimately told the bank, accept the buyer's offer or we are walking away and you'll get nothing. (The bank opted for nothing.)

After we inherited my folk's house, we spent our days off doing yard work and upgrading the electric and appliances. We walked the dog in our so-to-be-neighborhood, noting the foreclosure signs and sale signs. It was heartbreaking. These same houses are now so hot, realtors are clambering for houses to sell.

Dezember's book is full of real estate details of the transactions in the Alabama beach community he covered. It can be overwhelming! The book is humanized by his personal story. The environmental impact of building on the white sand shore of Alabama is distressing to read.

Dezember notes that 55% of owner-occupied home in the US are filled with people like me--seniors who will swamp the market in the 2030s as they downsize or die. That means our home will fetch far less than it does today.

Should we sell when the value is high and rent?

Since the stock market is also unreliable, selling and investing the money could also be risky.

Underwater explains the real estate game and how people like you and me find our investments gutted overnight. "Banks are amoral," Dezember reminds us. It's all about profit.

I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

I received an advance reading copy (ARC) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. I very rarely read books about the economy, but this particular one piqued my interest. Author Ryan Dezember is a journalist who specializes in stories about real estate. Sounded kind of boring at first, but I was in for quite a surprise. Dezember detailed the economic downturn in 2008 that led to thousands upon thousands of foreclosures, defaulted mortgages and homeowners who found themselves owing more on their homes than its actual value--hence, the title 'Underwater'. He described the multiple 'flipping' of condos that were not even built yet. Some sold three or four times before they were completed--each time the selling price increased--giving the same realtor commission after commission. Many city officials were on the take, allowing contractors to pretty much do as they pleased. And then there was Dezember's own personal experience in keeping a home that he bought and couldn't sell. It was a jaw-dropping look at a terrible time, but like a train wreck, you just couldn't stop looking--or in this case reading! Dezember gets right to the point and doesn't pull back on his punches. Well written and well researched, you just won't believe how it all went down. As they say, truth is often stranger than fiction and in this case, the complex truth of why/how the market fell makes for a must-read.

This book was fascinating and sad............right up there with "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond. Thanks to Netgalley for the electronic galley!