“Developers Increasingly Face Realities”
The Review Journal reports from Las Vegas. “Looking for an affordable home? Your chance to buy a foreclosed home at below-market value in Las Vegas comes Nov. 19 at the JW Marriott. Hudson & Marshall is offering nine Las Vegas homes valued from $275,000 to $460,000. They’re among more than 100 homes on the block in the foreclosure-battered states of Colorado and Nevada.”
“The homes are ‘real estate owned,’ or REO, property taken back by national lending institutions and asset management companies after every effort was made to work with the borrower. ‘Posting a foreclosure doesn’t necessarily mean foreclosure,’ principal Dave Webb said. ‘These homes are in foreclosure, not default. Realtors have already had their shot at (selling) them.’”
“Rising interest rates have forced many homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages to default on their loans because they no longer can afford the rising mortgage payments, Webb said.”
“‘We’ve had some large sales in Las Vegas. I’d say we did two to three (auctions) a year in Vegas from 1999 to about 2003 with a big inventory, 40 to 50 homes,’ he said. ‘Then the market took off. You were building like crazy. There were very few foreclosures from then until about the last six months.’”
The Las Vegas Business Press. “There are currently 92 mid- and high-rise residential projects planned in Southern Nevada, totaling 50,252 units, consultant John Restrepo reports. Yet only 12 projects (or 14.5 percent) have broken ground thus far, due to rising construction, land and financing costs.”
“That’s an even lower batting average than the one forecast by MGM Mirage CEO J. Terrence Lanni at the 2005 Global Gaming Expo, when he predicted that 80 percent of the condo projects announced for Vegas would fail to materialize.”
“‘Developers increasingly face the realities of the depth of demand, plus high land, labor and material costs,’ said Restrepo. ‘There have been notable cancellations and delays, including Aqua Blue, Ivana, Liberty Tower and Icon.’”
“Winter came early for the the Las Vegas Valley housing market, which suffered a seasonal chill in October with just 1,689 sales. That represented a 34.4 percent drop from October 2005, reports the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.”
“‘What we are seeing are continued signs of what is referred to as a ’soft landing,’ or a market correction,’ said Linda Rheinberger, GLVAR president.”
“Home listings climbed to a record 23,475 units in October, which is 53.8 percent higher than a year ago, while condo/townhome listings skyrocketed to 6,261 units last month, 128 percent more than in 2005. There were a scant 357 condo/townhome sales in October, a precipitous 45.2 percent drop from last year.”
“In total, October saw $623.5 million worth of home sales activity, 33.2 percent less than in 2005. Condo/townhome sales saw similarly frosty results with $78.7 million last month, which was 46.2 percent below last year’s numbers.”
The Reno Gazette Journal. “The National Association of Realtors thinks its a good time to a buy a home and it wants the nation to know about it. ‘We feel that there are a lot of positive factors in play that need to be emphasized as well as the negative ones that are out there,’ said Stephen Haley, president of the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors.”
“According to the University of Nevada, Reno’s Bureau of Business & Economic Research’s last report, units sold dropped 38 percent in the third quarter compared with the third quarter of 2005.”
“But will the NAR’s campaign be enough to stoke interest in the real estate market? Bob Felten, associate professor of advertising at UNR, said the ads will have a tough time attracting sellers to the market, adding that the ads offer little evidence that this is a good time to sell.”
“‘This kind of advertising will support local Realtors’ efforts to sell homes,’ Felten said. ‘The problem is, of course, for many homeowners they have to sell to buy. If you are in a situation where you have to sell a house to buy a house, I don’t know that this is a particularly good time to do that. That is the sort of the shoe that isn’t dropped here (in the ads).’”
“Still, Felten said, the ads do make a compelling case for buyers, and could bring some potential buyers into the market that are currently on the fence. ‘It is likely to have results for those people who may be sort of hesitant to leap into the home market because of all of the noise around the issue of the collapsing real estate market,’ Felten said.”
The Arizona Republic. “A subcontractor that worked on the idle Elevation Chandler has filed a foreclosure lawsuit against the developer in an attempt to force the sale of the property. Construction stopped in April on the hotel-condo tower being developed south of Chandler Fashion Center.”
“The defendants listed on the lawsuit are the developer; the general contractor, Weitz Co.; the mortgage lender, Mortgages Ltd. of Phoenix; and seven subcontractors.”
Also from the Republic:
‘A number of people logged on to share their opinions and experiences as the county’s median price of a resale home dipped below $200,000 and the number of homes sold declined by nearly half. Here are some comments posted last week?: I hope it keeps dropping so I can afford to buy a house! It’s hard to get into today’s market as a first-time buyer.’
‘The whole problem with this Valley is people thought they could buy a new house, live in it for a year (and get an ARM, interest-only or pick-a-payment loan to pay for it), then sell it for a huge profit and move into a bigger new build. The biggest problem now is the short-term loans are coming due, and people can’t pay it. Anyone see all the new trucks and cars, trailers, RVs, motorcycles, etc. for sale out there for cheap? Too many cashed-out equity and bought toys with it. We are seeing a horrible downslide because too many wanted it all without the money to pay for it. Now, Peter and Paul are both beating down their doors.’
‘Buyers who allow sellers to sell at ridiculous prices allow the cycle to continue. To purchase a home that I consider a first home (simple, livable, and acceptable) is currently selling for around $250,000 when it should be priced at $60,000 is wasteful. The market is screwed up because buyers allowed it to be. Be patient, investigate the home’s price history and negotiate. Stop wasting your money and keep it a buyer’s market.’
‘The resale market in Maricopa is toast because the buyers and their agents were fools. The property was jacked up by euphoria and speculation, not on any sense of value. The builders SHOULD AND DO reduce their prices to reflect reality. If resale sellers cannot do the same, then they will either suffer or wait or both. And if you tried to “move up” and got burned because everyone else was trying to do the same, too bad.’
‘The whole problem with this Valley is people thought they could buy a new house, live in it for a year (and get an ARM, interest-only or pick-a-payment loan to pay for it), then sell it for a huge profit and move into a bigger new build. The biggest problem now is the short-term loans are coming due, and people can’t pay it. Anyone see all the new trucks and cars, trailers, RVs, motorcycles, etc. for sale out there for cheap? Too many cashed-out equity and bought toys with it. We are seeing a horrible downslide because too many wanted it all without the money to pay for it. Now, Peter and Paul are both beating down their doors.’
Oh, so that’s what’s been happening for the past several years. Silly me, I just thought that everyone made high six incomes in the Southwest US and could actually afford all of these nice things.
Wait until this thing really hits in SoCal…you aint seen nothing yet…
Ugly isn’t the word. In my zip code alone, 92688, there are 60 homes with tax liens on them. Yikes. 161 homes are in some form of foreclosure. I have been tracking these numbers of foreclosure.com and they have only been increasing. Just wait until next May following the next round of tax payments. I suspect that number or tax liens will be even higher. As for where my previous home is, 92336, well 3 homes on the same street, yes street, have tax liens on them and 885 homes in that zip are in some stage of foreclosure. Ouch! Fontucky and Rancho Santa Margarita are going to go down in flames. JWM I love your sarcasm about the high six figure income. Here in South OC you would honestly be led to believe that everyone does make 150-200K a year. Pahlease! Daddy is making maybe 100K w/OT, I stress the OT part. However, there is no way mommy is making 50-100K selling Avon or Tupperware or the family junk on ebay. Even if she is the kids obviously don’t have their parents around since all they do is work.
and wait until the fed funds rate hits 1% next year … yes, we truly haven’t seen anything yet. I’d be shocked if speaker pelosi isn’t already working on a “housing relief act”. Bailouts tend to be popular and get widespread bi-partisan support. I’d like to beleive this time is truly different, but I’m not counting on it.
Righhht, and then the US loses its reserve currency status too. Aint’ going to happen my friend. Lowering the rates won’t help them anyway. It won’t lower their principal payments and it won’t stop their home from losing value such that they can’t refi it.
I agree. If the US dollar loses reserve status, the economy will implode. The Fed will do that to save some FBs? Better to just let the insiders make a bundle on the fall-out.
The economy will implode regardless.
Reminds me of “Final Destination”. Nothing like knowing you’re going to die soon but not knowing exactly how or when, eh?
Yet only 12 projects (or 14.5 percent) have broken ground thus far, due to rising construction, land and financing costs.”
_______________________________________________
Oh and they make ZERO economical or fundamental sense, Oh and there are NO DEMAND for this crap!
‘condo/townhome listings skyrocketed to 6,261 units last month..There are currently 92 mid- and high-rise residential projects planned in Southern Nevada, totaling 50,252 units’
‘There were a scant 357 condo/townhome sales in October..’
11.73 years worth of condos to sell.
Hello Mr. Supply meet Mr. Demand!
It should probably be, “Hello mr Supply, where the HELL did mr Demand go?” Oh and your ARM just adjusted.
Josh
And about 14 months of supply for SFH. So, does the NAR ad say anything about how it’s a great time to buy when there is so much supply or when prices are (going to be) dropping? Hasn’t the NAR previously stated that prices decline once supply reaches 8-9 months? And, as prices drop, it seems likely that demand will decrease as people wait to buy at lower prices, thus raising the months’ supply, thus adding more downward price pressure.
The National Association of Realtors thinks “its a good time to a buy a home and it wants the nation to know about it.”
Also seen on a sign held by a vagrant standing at a highway exit ramp left turn stop light. Woman holding sign appeared to be wearing a CAR pin on her left lapel.
CAR = California Association of Realtors
Remember that many of the short-timer RE sales folks are returning to their old jobs due to the lack of business.
Huda thunk …… a scam artist trying to become a real estate agent.
i’ll be sure to purchase my airline tickets as i watch the flames from a 747 wreckage just south of the runway
If you look closely at the REO listings the foreclosed houses aren’t the deals they first appear either. We looked at one MLS listing where the agent was clearly covering his backside with the photos he took. Carpets were horribly stained, cabinets were missing doors and drawers. All appliances were gone, one toilet was flagged as not operational. It’s likely that the strapped owners left key maintenance for the next owners as well.
MLS# 512741 @ http://www.coloproperty.com
Obviously if you can’t make the mortgage payments you can’t afford to fix that leaky roof/waterheater/furnace.
This gets back to the somewhat hidden cost of home ownership that many of the adolescents with mortgages never thought about when buying in the last 5 years. Yes, when the water heater dies, it will cost you anywhere from 1K-1,500$ to replace. If the condesner on the air goes, kiss another grand goodbye. If you need a new roof, there goes several grand. These “adolescents w/mortgages” never figured out that maintenance can be a bitch, on top of all the granite upgrades and stainless steel appliance costs. Sigh! Anyway, just look at how all these people are “making it”. Does anyone have the stats the number or Home Depot credit cards or Lowes credit cards that are out there and how much debt is on them? I am sure it would boggle our minds.
Or irresponsible boomers with five investment properties. Irresponsibility and greed know no age boundaries.
Uh . . . please refer to Ben’s Arizona post from yesterday about the “investors” with 30 homes apiece. I believe they were 30 and 32 years old. That age group and younger is where the bulk of the stupidity in this bubble reside. The older people remember the prior bubble.
I respectfully, but strongly disagree with your statement. If there is an age group on which the “bulk” of the stupidity lies, it is the boomers. The banks, and their loose lending practices which enabled the Casey’s, Taco Bell Jeff’s, etc., are not run by Gen X’ers. Sorry TX!
I’m afraid that there is no limit to the stupidity.
I know boomers with multiple homes who are enjoying all of them and won’t be able to retire without selling two at a profit. A couple boomers bought new homes and if one is good, two is better! And I’m their boss and yet I feel I cannot afford even one of those homes…
I know serveral 30 somethings that have their entire life savings leveraged into flips. One is so proud that there isn’t more than 20% equity in any of his properties. For that’s just unused free money… (Groan… smart guy too. But this mania…)
I know a few 20 somethings that have a flip or have, like the other age groups, extracted every ounce of equity out of their properties. The number that have San Diego condos is scary…
These are all people I work with. In what is supposed to be a conservative industry (engineering). I’ve never seen so many people in my life with 2nd/3rd/4th homes who really should only have one. Do I know people with 2/3/4 homes who can afford it? Yes! Not enough to explain this market…
Neil
Boy oh boy, you beat me to it! I can easily estimate that my home costs me 5% a year in maintance. A house is damned expensive, if, and a big if, you truly give a damn what it looks like and is in good repair. Right on, OC!
Dunno… My 48-year-old brother in law just bought a 10,500 sf house - 6000 sf wasn’t enough, apparently - as an investment (so he says). If I figure in heating, maintenance, property taxes, and inflation, I don’t believe it’s all that good an investment.
10,000 sq. ft. home! WOW! The utilities and upkeep must be a pain. Just curious does he make good money? If so, is he frugal. Also, just what was he thinking? Does he have 10 kids or wife running a home-school? 10K sq. ft. seems little like overkill to me. But what do I know, I am just a bitter, jealous renter.
10k? Good lord. My dad has a BARN that’s only 5k sf.
10,500sf might be a great investment, if you were using 7,000sf of it to grow hydroponic marijuana
I used to get so frustrated when I lived high in the mountains in Va. (first place I owned - 10 beautiful acres) because neighbors across the way wouldn’t buy $50 worth of gravel and do the most minimum of improvement/maintenance on their “driveway” so that evertime there was a hard rain mud came pouring out onto the road and even into my property.
And that’s when an old man gave me my first and best RE lesson in 10 words: If you ain’t got good neighbors you ain’t got $h*t.
A great reason to rent. If the neighbors suck, foreclose, or just don’t give a damn, you can get out and fast. Once again, ownership (debtship) comes with more than just the mortgage. A lot of these buyers are gonna find out the hard way in the next few years, if not already!
amen. was explaining this to the fiance that we can rent a house, and maybe buy later on.
“And that’s when an old man gave me my first and best RE lesson in 10 words: If you ain’t got good neighbors you ain’t got $h*t.”
Reminds me of my first home. I bought a fixer and the yard was overgrown. Right after closing, I received a citation from the city stating that the grass on my newly aquired property was in violation of the maximum height allowed. Noticing that there were far worse yards in the neighborhood, I called them to ask why they were singling me out. They apologized and mentioned that anytime they received a complaint, they were required to go out and measure. They told me that my new neighbor called them right after the change of ownership. He never even gave me time to move in and cut the grass. He turned out to be the biggest @sshole I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.
“Rising interest rates have forced many homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages to default on their loans because they no longer can afford the rising mortgage payments, Webb said.”
Can anyone in the lending biz explain how you guys plan to respond to the inevitable charges that you preyed on poor, unsophisticated buyers by marketing suicide loans as affordability vehicles? Sorry to keep repeating this question, but the silence is deafening.
“Rising interest rates have forced many homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages to default on their loans because they no longer can afford the rising mortgage payments, Webb said.”
This has got to be the understatement of the year! In other 1+1=2 and the sun appears to have risen in the East again. Geez, didn’t these guys seem to think that their clients were going to get hosed if rates went up. DAMMIT, THEY KNEW, BUT THESE GREEDY SONSABITCHES WANTED THEIR COMMISSIONS! Sorry for the rant, but guys like these kill me. Yeah, like no one in the industry saw this coming. Hell, you don’t need a Ph.D. to figure this one out. Intrinsically, ARMs are not bad, but with i/o, no money down, neg/am and all the equity pulled out and mortgages refied at much higher loan amounts this is a disaster for many home debtors. Sheesh. Webb should be flipping burgers at Burger-Mart! Rant over.
“Intrinsically, ARMs are not bad,”
Agreed, but generally they don’t make sense as affordability loans for low income households which lack financial sophistication. I believe time will tell that this group was disproportionately targeted for these loans, and I want to hear how the lenders plan to spin this.
Yes, exactly. This is the crux of the whole affordability problem or “trees don’t grow to the sky” issue. Eventually, you run out of loan options when the price of the asset grows so high that the debt service is unaffordable to the majority of the intended consumers. This is the inherent constraint that the permabulls have either chosen to ignore or are just too stupid to understand.
Agreed. I was just saying that when used for short term and then a possible refi into a fixed, and of course all the traditional fundamentals at work, may be not so bad. Getstucco I can’t agree more that these were targeted for low income, if one could call them that here in South OC. For most of the people here in South OC, they were targeted for the greed of people to buy more house or to buy homes that were unaffordable and to just plain drive up the whole bubble.
Let’s also add to the mix. If we buy said house for say 150K, why in the world would anyone, if they have any intention of ever paying it off, want to raise the debt (mortgage) on the house? Why, if it is 150K, would I want to go to 200K or 250K or 300K? Yeah, I know, to payoff the credit cards. Hell, go down to the local credit union and get a signature loan. Don’t put the house on the line. It makes no sense to me that all these people in the REIC and homedebtors didn’t think this through. I thought the object was to levt debt-free and home-paying free, of course you may have county tax and insurance and maintence, but get rid of all the debt. DON”T INCUR MORE OF IT!
Meant to say, live debt free, not levt (what was I thinking?)
As usual in our society, the lenders will point the finger at the greed-crazed, euphoric can’t-lose-money-in-RE borrowers, and the borrowers will point the finger at the greed-crazed, crooked, deceptive and stupid lenders. Add realtors, appraisers, and the Fed to the circular firing squad and it will be everybody’s and nobody’s fault. Every member of the daisy chain deserves their heaping helping of blame.
People will pay for 3 main sins — a lack of historical perspective, following the crowd, and unrestrained greed. Reminds me of the line in the movie “Unforgiven” where the kid says to Eastwood, well I guess he had it coming, and Eastwood says kid, we all got it coming.
Oh, but it’s all the greedy, sophisticated buyers fault isn’t? The honorable realtors and mortgage brokers were just giving the buyers what they wanted. Sarcasm off. Okay Mr Incomestream, fire away…because I know that one really sticks in your craw.
Actually, I was hoping Mr Incomestream could enlighten us here…
“….respond to the inevitable charges that you preyed on poor, unsophisticated buyers….”
C’mon GS, you know these guys are bullet proof. All they have to do is close up shop, seal the records for 50 years, and they are golden. Plead the 5th and claim it never happened. After all, it’s the mortgagor’s fault, right? They should have known better, right. Then there is contract law, of course. And don’t forget about the new BK rules.
Rant Off.
I’m not in the lending biz, but I’ll proffer a guess. I think that the banks will try to spin this to make themselves look like the victims of fraud, with the mortgage brokers and FBs as the bad guys.
The banks will claim that they were merely offering products that the customers (mortgage brokers and FBs) wanted, and that the mortgage brokers were supposed to act as gatekeepers to make sure that the FBs got the loan product that was appropriate for their circumstances. But, of course, the mortgage brokers sold whatever product produced the highest commission, without regard to the FBs financial circumstances and the banks simply didn’t know.
The banks will also blame the FBs for the massive fraud in low-doc, no-doc loans, saying that the banks didn’t know that there was so much fraud going on, and they can’t be blamed for the fraud perpetrated on them through lies on the loan applications. And, the banks will claim that the mortgage brokers collaborated in these scheme by encouraging the FBs to lie on the loan applications.
Oh, the poor banks, just trying to provide a valuable service to the American public, and this is the thanks they get - being defrauded.
Anyhow, that’s how I see (through my very murky crystal ball - smog is tough here in SoCal) the banks spinning this whole mess.
Meant to say, In other news 1+1=2…
This whole mess stinks. JWM you are right. Everyone was in on this mess. I hold the homedebtors and realwhores just as accountable. The only slight difference is that guys that held the purse strings could have said NO! However, I am w/you. ALL PARTIES are liable on this one.
“Still, Felten said, the [NAR] ads do make a compelling case for buyers, and could bring some potential [GF] buyers into the market that are currently on the fence.”
The RE market was and possibly still has some irrational buyers. Perhaps the NAR’s resale numbers will indicate how many GFs are left. It’s hard to imagine, with media reports foreshadowing lower rates of return and even losses, there would be a significant positive return on this ad.
“‘What we are seeing are continued signs of what is referred to as a ’soft landing,’ or a market correction,’ said Linda Rheinberger, GLVAR president.”
ROFLMAO
Apparently she is a little behind on the times, as the NAR and CAR have already given up on the “soft landing” phrase.
You know, we keep hearing about all the “victims” that are carrying two mortgages, having ARMs adjust, etc.
There is a local realtor here in Reno that uses her blog to, of course, put a positive spin on the local real estate market. The bubble sitters, in turn, have been using her blog as an opportunity to counter pretty much all of her positive spin. I found this comment left last night, and think that this truly shows who the real victims are. From http://dianecohn.blogs.com/reno/2006/11/reno_residentia.html#comments
“I just hope I live long enough to see Reno housing prices come down to realistic, affordable levels. I grew up in the Truckee Meadows, left six years ago for an expensive East Coast city and sold our little house in Old Southwest (reno) for a modest sum. A year ago, I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. I don’t know how long I have to live. I want to come home — move back to be close to my family and get my husband settled in so we can deal with our suddenly uncertain future. Well, guess what? Housing has gotten so outrageously expensive in Reno, we can’t afford to move back. We’re stuck! All because of a bunch of greedy real estate speculators. This housing bubble is having serious consequences for me and my family. I never would have thought this could happen to little old Reno. What a nightmare.”
OT: Awesome election results. America has spoken.
Yes, but what are they saying? ” We want more free money!”, or “Quit spending our country into bankruptcy!”
It does matter. Just because change is required doesn’t make just any change beneficial.
I’d say that while the Republicans lost at the general election, America had already lost at the primaries.
”We want more free money!”, or “Quit spending our country into bankruptcy!”
The problem is, in both cases that was what the Republicans were giving us. And the national debt, which doubled under Bush, proves it. In this case, change was very beneficial to the nation.
Having a Democratic congress doesn’t mean we are going to spend like drunken sailors. That was what the Republicans have done. But make no mistake, there will be tough decisions ahead to clean up the Republican mess. And it is a big one.
Saying that Congress spends money like drunken sailors, is an insult to the sailors — at least they’re spending their own money.
First head jut rolled down…
Rummy OUT! GOOD riddance you stubborn old man!
Love watching Bush dancing on the spot. It’s pretty obvious, because he’s talking more than usual and stumbling, that he’s in unknown territory and didn’t expect it. He’s still lying of course. He said he and Bumsfeld decided yesterday that, “new faces were needed.” Lying sack of s*it. If he had won, Bumsfeld would still be in place.
Please, please, please Dems, don’t get soft hearted. Go after him. Impeach him.
Now that would be a true Pogo moment! New faces, new direction, same worthless, useless crusade.
by all means, please impeach Bush. It will certify how unserious Democrats are about dealing, in any way, with terrorism.
It will certify how unserious Democrats are about dealing, in any way, with terrorism.
Like invading Iraq and creating more terrorists? Good plan.
“It will certify how unserious Democrats are about dealing with terrorism….” Oh, yeah, you’re right. Democrats are really stoopid. They want to see another 9/11 or see a major tunnel under a river blown up. That’s the reason they wanted to get elected. They want to see thousands of americans killed and Al Queda setting up shop in the US. Give me a break. Bush has created more terrorists around the world than the Democrats could have even if they tried. Worse, the terrorists are no longer confined to one (trackable) organization. There are now HUNDREDS of splinter groups. Everywhere. Yeah, he’s been a great President…..for the terrorists. As for “He’s protected us from another attack.” News Flash. These nutcases are using THEIR timetable - not President George W. Clouseau’s.
Iraq hasn’t created terrorists. It is a terrorist magnet. We want our soldiers to meet the terrorists so that our general population won’t. Anyone with half a brain understands this. Apparently more than half of voting Americans have (or use) less than half their brain.
Bush “created more terrorists”. And what was Bin Laden doing throughout the Clinton years, knitting?
Yeah, I suppose doing nothing about terror works…oh, right that’s what Clinton did and it worked? There weren’t any terrorists on his watch and surely the 9/11 plans STARTED in January 2001.
Sorry, if you read a tiny bit of what the terrorists are all about it has nothing to do with what Bush has done or even what Clinton didn’t do…Muslim extremists despise our “immoral” way of life, from our “uncovered” females to our acceptence of homosexuals. That hatred has nothing to do with who’s in the White House and it won’t change whether we stay or go in Iraq.
Hysterical. All the cliches come out which were planted by the media. “We’re fighting them over there to stop them coming over here.” or “Iraq was a terrorist magnet.” Total b.s. Saddam Hussein hated bin Laden. Do your homework. How about the cliche, “We fight them there so they will never come over here”. Sure. They could NEVER get into the US. More b.s. Our borders are really secure when hundreds of thousands of illegals cross every year. I think I heard the other day that there are already Hammas cells in the US.
As for Clinton? Clinton relied on useless and inept (as we now know) US intelligence. At least he tried to whack them when there was a report that they were seen somewhere. However, we did know bin Laden was in Afghanistan so what did we do? We went to Iraq. You think the terrorists are all in Iraq? They are in dozens of countries (now). Going to Iraq was a real smart move considering Saddam Husseain was “boxed in” and going nowhere anytime soon. Oh, yeah! I forgot. He has WMD’s. WMD my *ss. Bush went there to control mid-east oil and used terrorists and Saddam Hussain as the excuse.
You are correct about the muslims despising us for our values. However, if YOU knew anything about bin Laden or Islam, you would know that the hatred these radical muslims have for the US is because they do not like to see foreign troops in Islamic countries. How would you feel seeing uniformed Muslim soldiers walking around your malls and shopping centers? Most of them didn’t really care what we did in our own country but now, because of Bush and his totally failed Iraq invasion and occupation (of an Islamic land) they sense our weakness. They now see that the mighty US military machine can be beaten the same way insurgents beat other mighty military machines. By guys (and women) without uniforms conducting hit and run attacks. That’s what drove the French out of foreign lands like Algeria and the British out of many foreign lands…..including America a few hundred years ago. Try thinking for yourself instead of following the path of every other brain washed American.
“Go after him. Impeach him.”
And end up with Cheney? What’s the point? Might as well wait out the two years.
‘Buyers who allow sellers to sell at ridiculous prices allow the cycle to continue. To purchase a home that I consider a first home (simple, livable, and acceptable) is currently selling for around $250,000 when it should be priced at $60,000 is wasteful. The market is screwed up because buyers allowed it to be. Be patient, investigate the home’s price history and negotiate. Stop wasting your money and keep it a buyer’s market.’
$60k? I think not. Those homes in reality are worth more than that. Even if the worse possible scenario ocurrs there is no possible way a home drops from $250k at its peak to $60k. If the FB are lucky it will decline to $150k to $180k.
I don’t know. I can imagine some fairly severe ‘worst possible scenario’. Of course, my world has already collasped. Britney Spears and Ken Federlein have split the sheets. The horrors!
I had a dream Monday night that I was hanging out with Brittany and Lindsay Lohan in Palm Springs. They seemed like nice people.
turnoutthelights “I don’t know. I can imagine some fairly severe ‘worst possible scenario’. Of course, my world has already collasped. Britney Spears and Ken Federlein have split the sheets. The horrors!
Oh yes! Right up there with Clinton and Monica.
“If the FB are lucky it will decline to $150k to $180k”
They won’t feel so lucky at that level. That’s a 40% decline.
Amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same.