Hyperinflation as a likely outcome

[hollohas]

HBAR, that depends on if your income will increase as inflation does. You might be able to afford the ranch mortgage now, but if your income stays the same after a hyper-inflationary event, then you'd be spending more of it on food, etc. and might not have enough left over to pay the mortgage. If the banks will bother foreclosing on properties after a hyper-inflationary collapse, I don't know. To the best of my knowledge, people were foreclosed on during the great depression but maybe they wouldn't be in a bigger economic collapse.

Ummm if hyperinflation occurred, wouldn't you be paying off your house with readily available cash that was worth only pennies on the dollar after the crash as the loan would still be in usd?

I don't suspect cash wouldn't be readily available. Any of your cash would be coming from your job if you still had one, however, I don't think most employers would be giving raises to keep up with the inflation. So if hyperinflation were to hit, you're income would still be the same amount of dollars as before but gas/bread/milk would cost a lot more. If you're employer paid you more to keep up with inflation, you'd be able to pay your mortgage off in no time. That'd be great.

However, I think the more likely scenario would be most people would be spending a much larger percentage of their income on food/gas such that they wouldn't have enough left to pay their mortgage or especially rent. Mortgage's payments would stay fixed. But imagine a person who's rental contract expires the month after hyperinflation. One month they were paying $1200/month and the next the new market rate of $5000 or more...but their income was the same? That person would be kicked to the curb. And this is where Chunky's comment above comes in. His income would go up with inflation because he would be able to charge his rental customers more (assuming there were renters who could pay more...a fairly big assumption). He's protected himself in that way. He'd be fine. But many people's income wouldn't go up and they'd be screwed. We live in a largely service based society...in other words, a society that doesn't produce goods. If you or your employer sells services and not goods, it's a safe bet your paychecks won't increase as inflation does. However, if you are in the business of selling an actual product (bread, gas, shelter) then your income will likely increase as inflation does.

What about folks on a fixed income (SS or other retirement)? Checks wouldn't keep up with hyperinflation. So an elderly individual who makes $750/month in SS would still be making about the same even if bread hit $100/loaf. Think that person could then pay their fixed mortgage or rent after it was adjusted to the new market rate? Nope.