August 6, 2017

A Great Opportunity For Someone Burdened With Debt

A weekend topic starting with Mortgage News Daily. “Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin L. Watt focused much of his speech to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers on its five-year goal of creating two million new Black homeowners. There were ‘The unsavory practices that set the stage for our homeownership rates to get worse, especially subprime and predatory lending that disproportionately targeted minorities with mortgages that were designed to fail,’ and the generally irresponsible practices in the real estate and mortgage finance sector that ultimately led to the meltdown.”

“Efforts to increase credit access are underway and some have borne fruit. Fannie Mae has made several changes to calculating student loan debt in DTI ratios and both GSEs are considering how to better verify income for self-employed applicants and people who take part in the so-called gig economy.”

“Watt said FHFA and the GSEs have also worked to assess the role of debt-to-income (DTI) ratios and creditworthiness. The Dodd-Frank Act ‘ability to repay’ rule which gave rise to the qualified mortgage or QM standards established a regulation which lenders can meet in part with loans that have DTIs that do not exceed 43 percent. However, the GSEs, while they remain in conservatorship, can purchase loans with higher DTIs and do so for otherwise creditworthy borrowers with DTI rations up to 50 percent.”

From Fox 10 Phoenix in Arizona. “Getting a mortgage loan isn’t the easiest thing, especially for those student loan debt. Changes coming to mortgage loans, however, may make the process easier. For many millennials like Tyler McKirgan, home ownership is that American dream they just can’t reach just yet. The culprit? Student loans. ‘It definitely is a big burden, because millennial wages are low, and student loans are high,’ said McKirgan.”

“Mortgage lender company Fannie Mae, however, is revising their loan requirements, which could ease the burden of debt. As of now, the threshold for debt-to-income ratio is 45%, and if an applicant is over that threshold, they’re not likely to qualify for a conventional loan. For McKirgan, who is a recent grad school graduate, he knows that feeling of potential rejection all too well.”

“‘I’m at 46% right now, so on Saturday, I’m gonna be jumping for joy,’ said McKirgan. Saturday is the day when that threshold will be raised to 50%. ‘I think its great opportunity for someone who felt like they can’t buy a home, because they’re so burdened with debt, especially student loan debt.’”

From KPBS in California. “If you applied for a mortgage last month and didn’t quite qualify, you might want to try again this month. Some lending standards have been eased to allow more people to get into the market. Government controlled mortgage giant Fannie Mae is allowing borrowers to have higher levels of debt and still qualify for a home loan. Previously, the debt-to-income ratio was capped at 45 percent. Now it’s at 50 percent, making room for a larger house payment.”

“For example, for a household making approximately $7,000 in gross income a month, with a few hundred dollars in debt payments, it could mean a significant loan increase, said Mark Goldman, senior loan officer with C2 Financial Corporation and real estate instructor at San Diego State University.”

“‘Their ability to afford a home with 10 percent down went from about $455,000 up to about $540,000,’ Goldman said.”

From WTOP in Washington DC. “The D.C. region is one of four metro areas real estate firm CoreLogic Inc. now considers ‘overvalued,’ based on its analysis that includes disposable incomes and median prices. ‘The Washington area overall is a very high-cost market, and prices have risen much more over the last few years than incomes for regular families,’ CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft told WTOP.”

“He says it is a simple mathematical equation. ‘Just over the last year in the Washington, D.C. area, home prices have risen an average of 5 percent over the last year, and mortgage rates are up a half percentage point over the last 12 months. That means to buy the same house with the same down payment today compared to 12 months ago, the homebuyer is looking at a monthly mortgage payment that is about 12 percent more than it was just a year ago,’ Nothaft said.”

From The National. “The biggest financial crisis for 80 years started 10 years ago when the French investment bank BNP Paribas, citing the ‘evaporisation of liquidity in certain sections of the US securitization market,’ froze withdrawals from three of its funds which had substantial holdings of American mortgage-backed securities. The funds were relatively small - less than US$2 billion - but it was the bank’s accompanying statement that terrified the markets.”

“BNP said it found it ‘impossible to value certain assets fairly, regardless of their quality or credit rating,’ which meant that no bank or fund in the world could know the value of the trillions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities they held on their balance sheets.”

“The real carnage, which turned the market rout into an economic recession, was in the global credit markets, or interbank lending market where banks extend credit to each other on a daily basis. Mortgage securities hardly moved - the market simply froze, with trading in many securities halted. The sub-prime crisis, which had been building since the US housing bubble had burst in the summer of 2006, had begun. The rest is history.”

“A decade on the world has still not fully recovered. On Monday this week Eurostat announced that unemployment across the euro zone fell to 9.1 per cent in June, the lowest since February 2009, but still below its pre-crisis levels. Unemployment, particularly in the 18 to 24-year-old “youth” category, in countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece, is still above 30 per cent. Ireland, which took a huge 17 per cent hit in GDP post-crisis, has only recently got back to where it was after a full decade of lost growth.”

“Could it happen again? Yes, although probably not in the same form. Generals always fight the last war and the threat this time around may come from a different direction. On Monday Moody’s warned that UK household debts are rising to worrying levels at a time of economic uncertainty. The same trend is appearing in the United States where the Fed looks certain to raise interest rates. China, worried about its level of consumer debts, has put the brakes on and may be heading for a hard landing. An economic downturn, all too possible given the political chaos in the US and Britain, could tip many households over the edge. A lot of lessons have been learned in 10 years. They just may be the wrong lessons.”




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94 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-08-06 07:18:07

‘Their ability to afford a home with 10 percent down went from about $455,000 up to about $540,000’

Golly that was easy. That Mel is just such a nice guy.

‘The Dodd-Frank Act ‘ability to repay’ rule which gave rise to the qualified mortgage or QM standards established a regulation which lenders can meet in part with loans that have DTIs that do not exceed 43 percent. However, the GSEs, while they remain in conservatorship, can purchase loans with higher DTIs and do so for otherwise creditworthy borrowers with DTI rations up to 50 percent’

Isn’t this special:

‘while they remain in conservatorship’

So because they are broke ass losers, they don’t have to follow the rules designed to fix the mess their broke ass had a big hand in! The logic is impeccable.

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 07:52:12

Relaxing DTI ratios to 50% seems like an effective way to push Housing Bubble 2.0 a little bit closer to the breaking point. One logical consequence of this move will be to drive up the future share of loans that eventually go into default. Rising default rates are an early warning sign of an incipient financial crisis.

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 08:04:02

Prediction:

When the people who borrowed at 50% of DTI eventually default in droves, the Democratic Party leaders who support this kind of debt donkey manufacturing subprime lending scheme will once again point the finger of blame at Wall Street.

Comment by junior_kai
2017-08-06 08:44:58

And it will be nothing but hot air just like last time as the dims get most of their funding from the wall street ponzi scheme. Nothing like getting 250K for a half hour speech like Madame Cankles.

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Comment by Taxpayers
2017-08-06 10:34:40

Cra,Cra,Cra
The left likes to ignore most problems come from gov interference in markets,not market makers

 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 09:30:08

One of our posters calls this “reform”.

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Comment by GuillotineRenovator
2017-08-06 09:47:30

The areas I follow here on the west coast are experiencing parabolic price moves to the upside right now. I don’t see how this can’t end in another meltdown. Incomes don’t support this.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 10:09:36

“Incomes don’t support this.”

Hence the borrowing.

I Love it; I love the fees, I love the monthly payments, I love it all.

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Comment by Grant
2017-08-06 12:10:31

50% DTI ratios of gross pay = 75% +/- DTI ratios of NET pay. Why do I never hear anything about this?!

It always amazed me that the explanation for using gross income vs net when qualifying was “Oh, well - its too hard to figure net, so we just use gross…”

I can’t wait to buy a house at fire sale prices in 2 years.

Comment by Anonymous Coward
2017-08-06 12:37:52

When we’re talking about incomes $200k+ (which are not high incomes in places like NYC and SF), net is more like 50%. So, that is basically 100% of after-tax income going to debt service. Yikes.

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Comment by Grant
2017-08-06 12:49:02

Yep. I live in NYC and know people who’ve taken a mortgage for 700k ON A 700 SQ FT APARTMENT IN HARLEM!

Right after closing they open craigslist and start writing the want ads searching for roommates to split the cost.

Insanity

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-08-06 13:10:29

We’re not talking about”$200k incomes. Household income is $55k/yr.

 
Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-08-06 19:28:04

‘Yep. I live in NYC and know people who’ve taken a mortgage for 700k ON A 700 SQ FT APARTMENT IN HARLEM!’

Oh, come on!

Are these people artisans?

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-08-06 19:44:39

I don’t know. Did you notice the Fed operating from behind the curtain, buying up GSE debt by the billions?

It seems like a preemptive bailout is in place. Since it relies on printing press money, there are no tax dollars involved in buying and burying GSE debt on the Fed’s balance sheet. And since the Fed can print money at will, nobody need get harmed by MBS portfolios with a high rate of default. Who cares if the Fed’s balance sheet eats the losses? Out of sight, out of mind.

Note further that when prices should have corrected to levels the market would bear in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial collapse, the Fed loaned billions of dollars to investment firms at ultralow interest rates, enabling them to snap up residential housing inventory at fire sale prices. Given this precedent of command-and-control price fixing, I don’t see your cause for optimism.

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Comment by GuillotineRenovator
2017-08-06 20:30:01

Does the Fed write checks to local assessors for property taxes? Because, they’re going to be sitting on a boatload of houses…

 
 
Comment by Jingle Male
2017-08-07 00:55:14

2 years? First you need to peak……then it takes 5 years to get to the bottom……..

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Comment by mwr
2017-08-06 13:08:58

‘Their ability to afford a home with 10 percent down went from about $455,000 up to about $540,000,’ Goldman said.”

I saw this and the only thing I could say, and I said it aloud, was,
Oh My God!!

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 13:54:24

Like the 🐸 in the pot of water that is gradually heated up to the boiling point, the MSM seems poised to sit back and watch without comment right up until the next financial crisis erupts, at which point we can expect a large chorus of journalists to sing in unison, “Noone could have seen it coming!”

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Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 08:02:03

It is the logic of bigger government and of buying votes.

Mel Watts is the obama’s legacy to the mortgage market.

Some call it one of the many obama landmines left for Trump.

His term ends in 2019.

So this madness will not end until Trump’s second term.

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 09:05:03

Apparently there’s nothing to stop Trump team members from offering comment on the mortgage lending madness if it concerns them. But so far, politicians on both sides of the aisle have chosen to refrain from making comment or taking prudent precautionary measures to curtail loose lending, preferring to score political points during the blame game that follows the onset of a financial crisis.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 10:17:51

“But so far, politicians on both sides of the aisle have chosen to refrain from making comment or taking prudent precautionary measures to curtail loose lending, preferring to score political points during the blame game that follows the onset of a financial crisis.”

Yeah? Well they like their jobs and thus they will do what they are told.

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Comment by Lip
2017-08-06 12:30:54

That’s why they all suck! They are all, except for a few, mainly concerned about getting re-elected and padding their own bank accounts.

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Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 10:55:38

and of buying votes ??

Or Gerrymander your way there…

 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 09:40:37

“DTI rations up to 50 percent”

Only the very poorest people could manage this kind of burden. If you were in any significant tax bracket, the percent of income for living expenses would be in the single digits.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-08-06 09:57:15

It’s worse than that:

‘Certain debts can be excluded from the borrower’s recurring monthly obligations and the DTI ratio: When a borrower is obligated on a non-mortgage debt — but is not the party who is actually repaying the debt — the lender may exclude the monthly payment from the borrower’s recurring monthly obligations. This policy applies whether or not the other party is obligated on the debt, but is not applicable if the other party is an interested party to the subject transaction (such as the seller or realtor). Non-mortgage debts include installment loans, student loans, revolving accounts, lease payments, alimony, child support, and separate maintenance.’

‘When a borrower is obligated on a mortgage debt - but is not the party who is actually repaying the debt - the lender may exclude the monthly mortgage payment from the borrower’s recurring monthly obligations if the party making the payments is obligated on the mortgage debt.’

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b3/6/05.html

April 25, 2017
Fannie Mae Introduces Innovative Solutions for Borrowers with Student Loan Debt

http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/media/financial-news/2017/student-loan-debt-6546.html

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 11:29:35

The Fed is burying the GSE debt on its balance sheet, right? So long as the Fed makes the toxic twins’ debt vanish without a trace, no worries about high rates of default.

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Comment by taxpayers
2017-08-06 12:39:25

innovative=ass pounding taxpayer abuse

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Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-08-06 09:45:21

“’For example, for a household making approximately $7,000 in gross income a month,’” with a few hundred dollars in debt payments,’”

NOTE !!!!! That’s GROSS income, not NET.

“‘Their ability to afford a home with 10 percent down went from about $455,000 up to about $540,000,’ Goldman said.”

Mr Goldman,
Show me the numbers. Show me how $450K is doable, let alone $540. You are a menace to your students and to society.

[ Some one out there. Show me how after food and utility bills there is sufficient NET income to service a $400K mortgage AND its taxes.]

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 10:11:44

“Show me the numbers. Show me how $450K is doable, let alone $540.”

What I will show you is a dotted line and you will sign it and you will like it.

Comment by Gordon Gekko
2017-08-06 11:07:26

some of my best work:

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good.

Greed is right.

Greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind.

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Comment by In Colorado
 
 
Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-08-06 11:19:54

So here’s a serious question:
You have a glistening aluminum popcorn tray in a camp-fire. Your eight year-old wants to reach in and grab it. Do you stop him and then tell him why? Do you stop a twelve year-old? A twenty-year old?
Do you TRUST an ophthalmologist repairing your torn cornea with a laser? If so, why?

Where does the “trust” lie? Who is responsible? Caveat emptor is too flippant an answer. (Do you tell the eight year-old caveat emptor?)
Are you justified in killing bankers or is the eight year-old a “puke” also?

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Comment by Ol'Bubba
2017-08-06 18:08:36

You stop the 8 year old - “CAREFUL, Billy - that’s hot and it will burn you”, and you physically stop his hand from touching the hot tray.

You warn the 12 year old - “Careful, Billy - it’s hot and could burn you”. By now Billy has probably already burned himself at least once, so he backs off on his own.

Unless the 20 year old is a special needs kid, you let him fend for himself and re-learn the lesson he probably learned years ago. Perhaps he’s in Colorado and the munchies kicked in?

You trust the ophthalmologist because you’ve done your due diligence and the technique, and the physician, has demonstrated his competence via board certifications, etc.

 
Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-08-07 09:39:18

Regarding our real estate problem:
Where does the “trust” lie? Who is responsible?

That was my original question. You did not answer it.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-08-06 07:21:25

‘Just over the last year in the Washington, D.C. area, home prices have risen an average of 5 percent over the last year, and mortgage rates are up a half percentage point over the last 12 months. That means to buy the same house with the same down payment today compared to 12 months ago, the homebuyer is looking at a monthly mortgage payment that is about 12 percent more than it was just a year ago’

I included this to highlight what a half of a percent increase in rates can do.

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 07:58:10

This is where the higher-allowed DTI ratios come into play, as lenders are enabled to make federally-insured loans with larger monthly payments that would not be feasible at the 43% DTI limit.

Rising rates? No problem.

 
Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 10:57:37

highlight what a half of a percent increase in rates can do ??

Yep…Raise rates in any meaningful way and the music stops…

 
Comment by Taxpayers
2017-08-06 16:02:35

This year n va counties barely raised taxes,next year it’s hammer time

Comment by Ben Jones
Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 16:35:39

Excellent segment, thanks for posting.

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Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 07:31:25

A decade after the financial meltdown, its underlying problems haven’t been fixed
The banks have, to a certain extent, changed their ways: but cheap credit, low interest rates and mountains of debt are still with us
Sunday 6 August 2017 02.00 EDT

Ten years ago this week, the global financial crisis started with a small rumble in France. Local bank BNP Paribas announced it was freezing the assets of three hedge funds with heavy exposures to the US sub-prime mortgage market. A little more than a year later, after the run on Northern Rock and the bailout of Bear Stearns in the US, the full earthquake arrived in the form of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of Wall Street’s biggest banks.

We soon discovered the full horrors within the financial system. Banks had taken on risks they did not understand and called the process “innovation”. Credit rating agencies had fallen asleep. Weak or incompetent regulators, encouraged by politicians, had been idle. In the UK, RBS would be mostly nationalised and the ailing HBOS was shoved into the arms of Lloyds TSB with a state bailout to follow.

A decade after the start of the drama is a good moment to ask whether the financial system, and the world, is truly safer. There is good news – but also worrying signs of trouble ahead.

 
Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 07:45:01

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that racial discrimination in mortgage lending is illegal in the USA.

“Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin L. Watt focused much of his speech to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers on its five-year goal of creating two million new Black homeowners.”

Racial discrimination litmus test: If it sounds like discrimination when you substitute the word White for Black, it’s discrimination.

“However, the GSEs, while they remain in conservatorship, can purchase loans with higher DTIs and do so for otherwise creditworthy borrowers with DTI rations up to 50 percent.”

So is the plan to enable otherwise-creditworthy households to buy more house than they can afford? What is the societal benefit of encouraging minority households to strap themselves with unrepayable debt burdens?

Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 08:33:03

Who cares? Should be obvious by now there’s no real rule of law. Like I said, the so-called “law enforcement” and “justice system” exists to serve TPTB and prevent others from cutting in on their action. And enrich themselves, as evidenced by the recent civil asset forfeiture incident in Georgia. Face it. The “police” are now little more than highwaymen, just like the highwaymen of medieval Europe. The middle class is on the menu.

“What is the societal benefit of encouraging minority households to strap themselves with unrepayable debt burdens?”

I dunno, maybe increase their anger and outrage so they’ll lash out and go after their neighbors?

Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 08:43:20

They will call themselves victims and demand a bailout.

The Free Sh*t Army comes in many flavors.

And they always vote for the party or candidate of bigger and bigger government.

 
Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 09:15:29

“Should be obvious by now there’s no real rule of law.”

You got what you voted for.

Jeff Sessions’ asset forfeiture plan is a return to the storm-trooper days of anti-drug frenzy
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks to the media in Washington on July 20. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)
The Times Editorial Board

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions recently took a giant step backward in history and in basic principles of justice, and now he wants to drag the rest of the nation with him. The object of his strange nostalgia is the practice known as civil asset forfeiture, under which police confiscate private property from people they suspect of being drug dealers or other criminals.

The key word is “suspect.” Police agencies have long exploited loopholes in criminal law and procedure to seize cash, cars and other property without ever winning a criminal conviction or even, in some cases, filing a charge. In the past, police have simply taken property from travelers at airports or on highways after searches. In an outrageous reversal of American criminal justice standards, the owners bore the burden of proving their innocence in order to recover their assets.

Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 11:15:59

“You got what you voted for.”

Oh, puleeeze. I wrote a long time ago about Loretta Lynch and Comey delivering the message to the people that the rule of law no longer exists, and that in fact it probably never did for much of the history of the US. And I was not around to vote in the 1800s and beyond the first half of the 1900s. Long before Sessions. He’s just a continuation of same.

BTW, your buddies the Awans have been running a spy ring in Congress for at least a decade, maybe more. Enjoy the results of that. ’tain’t Kim who is going to get us. Watch for the balloon to go up in Pakistan.

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Comment by SW
2017-08-06 13:47:22

Forfeiture increased after 9/11. It was egregious in the last 10 years. I think it’s somewhat apolitical.

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Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 14:16:59

Exactly. I’ll never forget when I had two cops come by my apartment years ago looking for the former occupant and his girlfriend. They decided they wanted to come in and look around just for the heckuvit and told me there was nothing I could do about it. Since the Patriot Act, no one has rights anymore.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 08:31:31

I have never seen people so happy about going deeper in debt…

Sign of times. The 2banana family has been taught that debt is bad and is to be avoided at all costs.

And if a movie about Wall Street and our culture was made today…

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that debt, for lack of a better word, is good. Debt is right, debt works. Debt clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Debt, in all of its forms; debt for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”

Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 08:45:20

Ha-ha, you ought to read some of the local relocation forums in Florida. People are just moist with delight over landing that $250,000 + crap shack in sinkhole country.

And not just Florida, but other parts of the country as well. People posting blow by blow descriptions of their move from one area to another, from selling their home to buying (or building) the new one, complete with tales about their family members and pets. The commenters cheer them on. And finally, the victory lap when they close on their new home, with high-fives all around from those who followed the whole saga.

Completely bizarre, but good for some major belly laughs.

 
Comment by Mike
2017-08-06 09:00:38

2banana, that is a great mash-up of the Wall Street quote

Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 10:01:12

It’s kinda sad that it works and is so spot on…

Debt for love, knowledge…life….

Who could live today without debt? Most people couldn’t even imagine life without debt.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 10:14:29

Daddy, what does victory look like?

Well, son, it looks a lot like this …

“Who could live today without debt? Most people couldn’t even imagine life without debt.”

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Comment by Ben Jones
2017-08-06 08:58:28

This has some interesting aspects:

‘Mexican LA: History, culture and resistance
Los Angeles continues to serve as a representative of Mexican culture and heritage in a “hidden gem” known as the Campo.’

‘Not long ago, this was Mexico. Now, Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the United States. While it no longer belongs to Mexico, it remains, in many ways culturally Mexican.’

‘There are more than 1.2 million Los Angeles residents who self-identify as of Mexican origin, according to the 2010 US Census. They constitute around one-third of the city’s population…About a tenth of the city is undocumented, according to a study from LA’s University of Southern California. That includes not just Mexicans, but also Central Americans, Asian Americans and indeed people from all over the world.’

A tenth? That’s probably taking up a few houses.

‘Obama, who had earned the reputation of “deporter-in-chief” among many, oversaw more deportations than any president before him, expelling more than 2.5 million people, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s statistics. Trump, however, has pledged to outdo his predecessor, vowing on the campaign trail last year to deport as many as 11 million undocumented people.’

‘Grace came to LA from Mexico when she was a teenager - crossing the border without her family - led by the so-called coyotes, border crossers whom migrants pay large sums to help them on the life-risking journey over the border. It’s a gruelling journey she says she’s lucky she survived, but she felt she had no choice. “I come from a family where my dad is macho. He said women are for the kitchen and not to study or have a better life or go to university. And money was everything,” she said.’

Your dad sounds kinda non-PC Grace. And a money grubber to boot!

‘At her work, Grace has heard an increasing number of racial epithets targeting undocumented people and Mexicans. “I didn’t know how much the white people hate Mexicans. After Trump, it became apparent how many people hate us, I didn’t know how many racists live here until he came up.”

All these racist Californians, who would have guessed it? And it wouldn’t be a proper article on California if it didn’t mention just how expensive and rare housing is:

‘Today, Boyle Heights - and more broadly East LA - exemplify the gentrification of poor neighbourhoods sweeping across the US. A rapid hike in rents, as property moguls put luxury housing in this place for the young, hip and wealthy urban dweller, is driving many in this long-standing Mexican American community out of their homes.’

‘In April, community members rallied against what they described as unprecedented rent hikes, local media reported at the time. In some case, landlords had raised the rent by as much as 80 percent.’

Doesn’t sound very hip to me with all these racists, illegals, greedy landlords and bigoted Mexican men.

Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 09:10:48

“After Trump, it became apparent how many people hate us, I didn’t know how many racists live here until he came up.”

Before Trump, it became apparent how many people from south of the border hate US citizens, too. Check out Vincente Fox’s twitter feed. Also check out some of the anti-Trump folks bloodying citizens at the California election rallies.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-08-06 09:50:33

‘President Donald Trump has teed up another campaign promise, publicly backing a Senate bill that would cut back on immigration while admitting more high-skilled migrants and fewer low-skilled ones. This plan, however, would collide with another Trump priority: Raising economic growth beyond the lackluster 2% level of the last several years.’

‘The Senate bill, called, in the usual clumsy fashion, the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy, or RAISE, Act (get it?), would change the criteria that allow migrants legal entry to the United States. The current system relies heavily on family connections. Under the RAISE Act, priorities would be education, the ability to speak English and demonstrated accomplishments as a worker or business owner. Overall, the bill would reduce total immigration from around 1 million per year to 500,000 or so.’

‘The idea is to draw the most talented foreigners to the United States, while restricting low-skilled immigrants who might be willing to work more cheaply than American workers, threatening those jobs.’

‘It’s not a fringe idea. Canada and Australia have merit-based systems similar to what the RAISE Act envisions. Some liberal groups and unions support the idea, since it might protect current American workers. But any limit on legal immigration also poses risks to the economy, because the United States actually needs more immigrant workers, not fewer, in order to grow faster and more robustly.’

Don’t tell me we are going to follow those right wing nuts jobs in Canada and Australia down this path.

Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 10:04:15

And Canada requires a government ID to vote.

Why doesn’t anyone call them racists?

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Comment by palmetto
2017-08-06 11:03:25

“Why doesn’t anyone call them racists?”

You’re looking for fairness? Bwahahahah! Ain’t no such thing in the cultcha wars.

I see people get all indignant about this these days. (b-b-but we were so good to you, we passed laws to help you, to make things equal for you, we opened the cheeks of our citizens to make rivers of tax money available, blah, blah) Well, get over it, that’s what happens. Please note that the shock troops don’t give a rat’s patootie. They know multiculturalism is a scam. And they feel no obligation to “fairneth” and “toleranth”. Eric Holder stated as much.

I hope people learn a really, really good lesson from this. If they’re not slaughtered first. Better get used to the new rules of the road, which are not written, but understood.
BTW, don’t look for the PO’lice to help ya. They’ll stand by and watch like they did in California. And don’t look for Trump to defend you, because there was nary a peep out of him after his supporters were violently attacked.

Superman ain’t comin’. Look at Europe and figger it out, fast.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-08-06 12:12:26

And Canada requires a government ID to vote.

Why doesn’t anyone call them racists?

That’s false. Utility bills and credit card statements can be used. Canadian provinces also issue IDs to non-drivers, which most Americans states don’t do.

http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=ids&document=index&lang=e

Also, there was a voter ID law in North Carolina struck down by the courts because there was clearly documented intent to reduce the number of black voters.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/court-strikes-down-north-carolina-voter-id-law-226438

 
Comment by mwr
2017-08-06 13:22:26

Canadian provinces also issue IDs to non-drivers, which most Americans states don’t do Also, there was a voter ID law in North Carolina struck down by the courts because there was clearly documented intent to reduce the number of black voters.

North Carolina does issue Govt. IDs to non-drivers. For Free. My former girlfriend had one. You just need to ask for one.

So I have to call BS on the ID comment.

 
Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 13:58:52

So in Canada you need a government ID to vote (#1 Method)

or

A utility bill with your name and address and another ID (like a Canadian passport) to vote.

And as a FYI - to get a utility in your name in Canada you need to show a GOVERNMENT ID to them.

So Mikey…

WHY DOESN’T ANYONE CALL CANADA RACISTS?

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-08-06 14:19:09

One state is not most states, so you’ve not provided evidence of BS.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 14:44:28

I had a phone line put in my name in Canada without even showing my face.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-08-06 15:10:51

I had a phone line put in my name in Canada without even showing my face.

This is not surprising. It’s the same in the USA.

Read the list again, 2banana. The requirements can be satisfied by utility bills. Or a utility bill and a lease.

Also, there are people who call some Canadian government policies racist, such as many native Canadians.

 
 
Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-08-06 15:53:30

“…admitting more high-skilled migrants and fewer low-skilled ones.”

That imports INFLATION.

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-08-06 13:00:52

It’s no wonder crime and poverty haS reached record levels in CA.

Enforce the law and it solves a whole bunch of problems in the nation’s filthiest most under educated state.

Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 15:31:20

Stay away HA. We don’t like your type.

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 16:57:50

You are unique Dave, not a plurality.

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Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 14:33:48

Apparently proximity to Mexico helps keep housing prices affordable.

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 14:46:57

The last frontier of homeownership?
After a major drop in homebuilding since the start of this year, June has a large increase in building permits.
Phillip Molnar
August 5, 2017 9:35 PM

There comes a time for most San Diego couples when they get sick of renting and, for the Whites, it came around the 40th birthday mark.

Shawna White, 40, spent countless hours researching a place she and her husband Nathan, 39, could afford that wouldn’t break the bank. In addition to getting away from the region’s explosive rent hikes, they saw a home as an investment.

Eventually, the Navy couple landed in Otay Ranch on the eastern fringes of the county near the border with Mexico. They bought a new 1,504-square-foot townhouse for $378,000, around $200,000 less than what something similar would have cost them closer to downtown.

“We were able to buy something new instead of an older home with issues,” she said. “This was a good buy.”

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-08-06 19:48:15

“…the Whites…”

That’s racis’

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Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 09:08:11

Here’s an interesting video for you pukes: John Perkins Confessions of an Economic Hitman (run time = 1:08:49).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1IvMLTQ6ew

 
Comment by Chris
2017-08-06 09:49:42

“‘I’m at 46% right now, so on Saturday, I’m gonna be jumping for joy,’ said McKirgan. Saturday is the day when that threshold will be raised to 50%. ‘I think its great opportunity for someone who felt like they can’t buy a home, because they’re so burdened with debt, especially student loan debt.’”

This quote makes me want to beat myself to death with a hammer.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 10:06:40

“Saturday is the day when that threshold will be raised to 50%.”

“This quote makes me want to beat myself to death with a hammer.”

Bahahahahaha … it makes me want to open up my bank for business on Saturdays.

 
Comment by rms
2017-08-06 12:13:22

You can do this Tyler!

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-08-06 10:24:11

Sherman Oaks, CA Housing Prices CRATER 7% YOY

http://www.movoto.com/sherman-oaks-ca/market-trends/

 
Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 12:32:53

Mr Banker,

I have fought you all my life.

I live beneath my means. I save. I have no debt. I have taught my many children to live the same. Cars paid off. House paid off. Kid’s colleges paid with savings, scholarships and just plain good old negotiations.

I have never paid credit card interest in my life but I have taken your wonderful travel points and cash back for 20 years. You got me ONE time. I transfer some purchases to a “zero percent” card with some good bonuses. In the fine print (which i missed) it said “new debt will be paid last.” So I would have to pay ALL the transferred purchases first before I could pay off the new purchases at 20%. So I just paid off the entire card and CLOSED it. BTW - that was very well played on your behalf.

Being thrifty is a good place to be. Sometimes my kids had other words for it….!

Through-out the years, we have seen neighbors come and go. Making less, no savings, lots more toys, lots more expensive vacations, etc. My family would ask how they did it. I would always answer “lots of debt” and eventually, it would always catch up to them.

I have had friends at work go the flipper route, the day trading route, the “liberate your house ATM” route…it always ends in disaster.

When I spend money I negotiate hard, strike out lines in contracts, read every word, hold the vendor to his promises, etc. I know how hard I worked for every dollar of savings. Debt is easy to spend. Cash you earned is hard to spend.

It is nice going to bed at night knowing everything around me I have worked hard for, paid off and no one will come after me for a debt.

I take care of what I have. I buy reliable products (which cost more) but are much less expensive in the long run. I DIY as much as possible.

We still have lots of fun. A nice house. Trips to Europe. Nice paid off used cars. Etc. We have never wanted. But we have never owned a Mercedes or Land Rover either (thank God).

Without debt we have the money to do what we want to do. And to give generously to charities and church. To help others.

I will fight you until the days I die. And then instruct my children to have the most thrifty funeral and continue the fight.

2banana

Comment by aqius
2017-08-06 13:27:47

careful there, Logan 5 (2banana). no one escapes carousel.

sandman’s coming.

Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-08-06 16:12:25

Have ankh, will travel.

 
 
Comment by SW
2017-08-06 13:59:46

Nice diatribe banana!

Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 14:30:28

And I wasn’t even drinking!

Comment by Professor 🐻
2017-08-06 14:54:24

Well said.

Of course, the banksters have developed means to encourage and reward spendthrifts who willingly live high on the credit hog at the expense of “selfish hoarders” like some of us who read and post here.

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Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 15:17:12

Borrowing robs from your future and guarantees you will have less or work more than if you hadn’t. I could never fault anyone for borrowing for necessities in a pinch, but borrowing to increase consumption has, in the end, the opposite effect.

Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 15:42:29

LOL. Gees. The fear here of borrowing money is mind boggling. It’s called a bit of leverage. Econ-101. Useing it wisely is the key. Fearing it is just foolish. But, if that helps you sleep at night then fine. I will continue to do it the way I have for 45 years.

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-08-06 15:58:11

Well, an honest man pays what he owes. We live in a time when spendthrifts, degenerate gamblers and those who live on promises to pay what they do not have, have been rewarded. Go figure!

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Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 16:29:47

+1 BK.

 
Comment by scdave
2017-08-06 16:31:16

+1 BK = +1 BS

 
Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 18:00:12

“Well, an honest man pays what he owes.”

If it is worked right he will also pay what he doesn’t owe.

“We live in a time when spendthrifts, degenerate gamblers and those who live on promises to pay what they do not have, have been rewarded.”

Yes!!!

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-08-06 16:11:09

Remember….. If you have to borrow for 15 or 30 years, you can’t afford it nor is it affordable.

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Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 17:56:17

“I have fought you all my life.”

That’s interesting in that I never even noticed you were there.

‘I live beneath my means. I save. I have no debt. I have taught my many children to live the same. Cars paid off. House paid off. Kid’s colleges paid with savings, scholarships and just plain good old negotiations.”

There’s hope for you yet.

“I have never paid credit card interest in my life but I have taken your wonderful travel points and cash back for 20 years. You got me ONE time. I transfer some purchases to a “zero percent” card with some good bonuses. In the fine print (which i missed) it said “new debt will be paid last.” So I would have to pay ALL the transferred purchases first before I could pay off the new purchases at 20%. So I just paid off the entire card and CLOSED it. BTW - that was very well played on your behalf.”

“… You got me ONE time…”

For me that ONE time was orgasmic. Was it good for you too?

“Being thrifty is a good place to be. Sometimes my kids had other words for it….!”

Is one of these words “cheap”?

“Through-out the years, we have seen neighbors come and go. Making less, no savings, lots more toys, lots more expensive vacations, etc. My family would ask how they did it. I would always answer “lots of debt” and eventually, it would always catch up to them.”

And to me, eventually it would always catch up to me. Their debt translates to my income. IOW they work, I reap.

“I have had friends at work go the flipper route, the day trading route, the “liberate your house ATM” route…it always ends in disaster.”

As I like to say, a disaster is a terrible thing to waste.

“When I spend money I negotiate hard, strike out lines in contracts, read every word, hold the vendor to his promises, etc. I know how hard I worked for every dollar of savings. Debt is easy to spend. Cash you earned is hard to spend.”

I see we are back to visiting that “cheap” word again.

“I will fight you until the days I die.”

I suppose I should thank you in advance for the exercise. This time around at least let me know there is a fight going on.

Regards, and cheers.

Comment by aqius
2017-08-06 18:59:28

i’d wager mr banker & 2banana are both blissfully blogging from the same jacuzzi, drinking mai tais while surepitously ogling young bikini babes in the pool as the wives get a mani-pedi & kids race around the pool!

wager 50 quatloos. don’t touch yellow.

(cue-up fight music . . . NOW)

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-08-06 20:08:47

Mr. Banker enters the pool …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioE_O7Lm0I4

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Comment by 2banana
2017-08-06 19:20:05

“That’s interesting in that I never even noticed you were there.”

Oh, you notice me. I get your credit card offers with $20k+ lines of credit, promises of cheap/easy equity extractions from my home and investment seminars with a great lunch ALL THE TIME.

“This time around at least let me know there is a fight going on.”

It is a guerrilla fight. Just a no name little village in some small back water country. Your massive army of bought/paid corrupt politicians could not even find it on a map. But it is still a fight. It ties down your troops protecting your lines of supply. And there are plenty of other fighters in other no name little villages.

I will continue collecting my free travel points and cash back on credit cards. And use your free checking services and pay off every credit card on time. Pay cash for cars.

And it is not about victory. It is about survival.

 
 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2017-08-06 14:37:31

Pompano Beach FL Housing Prices CRATER 5% YOY

http://www.movoto.com/pompano-beach-fl/market-trends/

 
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