Xmas 2008 Topic Suggestions
Just think; four years ago the idea of a housing bubble was considered by most to be a laughable conspiracy theory. And now, it’s collapse is changing almost every person’s life on the planet. The Palm Beach Post. “Short sales, suddenly all the rage amid a cratering housing market, are a lot like the New York Yankees and Sarah Palin: People either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Realtors such as Jared Dalto say these distressed deals are the only thing keeping them in business. He began focusing on short sales earlier this year and has done a dozen such deals.”
“‘If I didn’t switch gears, I’d probably have hardly any closings this year,’ said Dalto, an agent in Palm Beach Gardens.”
“Dalto worked on one short sale of a Palm Beach County home where the lender took seven months to accept an offer. While the lender delayed, the buyer lost his job, and the sale fell apart altogether. ‘Prices went down significantly in those seven months, so by the time they approved it, the contract price was meaningless,’ Dalto said.”
From WPFB-TV. “A Stuart woman said Thursday that she’s learning just how much foreclosure will cost her. This year, Christmas will be scaled down for Susanna Landino, who is alone and raising her 7-year-old grandson. She found a buyer and entered into a contract for what would be a cheaper, single-family home. But the buyer dropped out, and Landino’s townhome went into foreclosure.”
“‘When I was facing two mortgages, that was way out of line,’ she said.”
The Sun Sentinel. “For Nola McGeachy, it’s going to be a lean Christmas. McGeachy, an accountant, plans to give her husband and two children just one present each, and she is not buying gifts for her circle of friends this year. She’s also giving up her annual trip to Jamaica, buying fewer of the expensive organic foods that her family used to eat and heading to Wal-Mart more often to try to stretch her grocery dollars.”
“Multiply McGeachy’s thriftiness by millions of South Floridians, and the effect on the local economy is unmistakable. McGeachy, who lives in Lauderhill, was laid off earlier this year but found another job shortly afterward. ‘The future doesn’t seem too bright,’ McGeachy said. ‘There are layoffs around every day. I want to conserve as much as I can should my company follow suit.’”
“Economic pressures are forcing people “into a position they can’t get out of,’ said Britt Beemer, CEO of a consumer research firm. ‘You have a survival mentality,’ he said. ‘Spend nothing, buy nothing.’”
The Nevada Appeal. “Carson City’s biggest manufacturer, Chromalloy Nevada, laid off more employees this week because of a continued slowdown in business, a spokesman with the business’ parent company said Thursday. Carson City’s unemployment rate is 7.4 percent in a state that’s seen its highest rate in more than 23 years, according to the most recent state report.”
“Michael Roach, who designed tools at Chromalloy, said many workers expected the cuts. This didn’t make losing his job of more than two years easier, however, he said. ‘I am 60 years old,’ Roach said, ‘and this puts the hurt on my Christmas.’”
“Melissa Cavenagh, who worked at Chromalloy for eight years, said she was surprised when her supervisor told her to go to the human resources office Wednesday. ‘I said, ‘It’s happening, isn’t it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’”
“Cavenagh said she loved her job as a planner, and, after the lay offs earlier this month, she thought she was safe. She said she doesn’t know what she’s going to do now. She’ll probably have to move, she said, but she wants to stay close to her daughter. She said it is hard to talk about losing her job.”
“‘It was a shock,’ she said. ‘We didn’t see it coming.’”
From the Bits Bucket last Friday. “Just an update, funny how fast things can change in a few days. Bottom line I have lost my job, my call center decided that they didn’t need to pay a big salary to the trainer and moved someone else into the position to save money. Why pay me 50,000 a year when they can pay someone else much less?”
“My offer on the house is now withdrawn. Real nice, get fired a week before Xmas. Last week I said my job was secure and now today I have no job.”
A reply, “Hey SKB, as I posted before, I bought a house that closed on Friday before Thanksgiving…on Wednesday, the day before our givings of Thanks…I was ‘laid-off.’ My dad had to pick me up that day. When I told him what had happened…he was quiet for a few seconds, then said: (with a reassuring smile of wisdom)…’Well, you had a job before this one.’”
“Sure enough just before x-mas, an old supervisor working at another company… heard about the lay-offs and said for me to enjoy the next few weeks of the holiday and report to work at his company after ‘New Years’”
“Hoping for the best for you skb! Good old Dad! Still thinking & remembering about him…& Mom.”
