You really stuck it to the Man, man!

From the Richmond Times, we have: Dream in distress.

Scott and Dawn Loving were able to stop the foreclosure on their house -- at least temporarily.

The Lovings got into trouble when the subprime adjustable-rate mortgage on their Chesterfield County home reset after two years.

Their monthly payment jumped from $1,250 to $1,400, resetting six months later at $1,600, then again at $1,650. Their new payment consumed more than half their net income.

They got the subprime loan because their credit was damaged years ago when they went on a debt-management plan to pay off $30,000 in credit-card debt.

They were locked into their original mortgage because it carried a hefty prepayment penalty.

As soon as the penalty phase passed, they looked into refinancing. "At least a dozen lenders turned us down," Scott said.

They found one taker. The payoff on the old loan -- a combo ARM and fixed-rate mortgage -- was $137,000.

They walked away with another ARM. This one was for $161,000, which increased their debt. It included $4,000 in cash. Fees and closing costs totaled $20,000.

"We didn't feel we had any choice," Scott said.

The new payment is $1,623, not much better than the $1,650 payment on the old loan. "But we had a fresh start," he said.

The initial interest rate on the new loan is 9.8 percent, 0.1 percent better than the old loan. It, too, has a prepayment penalty -- 5 percent of the loan amount. It resets next June.

Let's see:

You were bothered because you were paying half your salary on $137K.

Now, you owe $161K.

Some jack-off ran away with $20K that you now have to repay.

You also got $4K "back". You do realize that the $4K was a loan that you have to pay back, dontcha?

The loan resets in 6 months. Guess what's it gonna reset to, and guess what happens to a payment on a larger loan. You should sit down and check whether it will take up more than half your salary or not.

You're a regular Cheese-Whiz, d00d! You should run for Congress.