Speculators Driving The Market Down In Arizona
A report from the Arizona Republic. “At least one-quarter of all Phoenix-area homes to fall into foreclosure this year are owned by investors, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of residential foreclosure records. The number is rising monthly as investors fall behind on climbing payments. Many can’t charge high enough rents to break even or sell their properties at a time when the market is flooded with listings.”
“‘Investors, particularly individuals with multiple properties, are driving up the foreclosure numbers,’ said Tom Ruff, a principal with the Information Market. ‘Foreclosures in metro Phoenix haven’t likely peaked yet, either,’ Ruff added.”
“Through May, 8,597 notices of trustee sales for homes, the precursor to a foreclosure, were filed in Maricopa County, putting metro Phoenix on pace to top 18,000 this year. That would be the highest level since the real estate crash of the late 1980s, though there are far more homes in the Valley today.”
“Already this year, actual foreclosures are more than double what they were for all of last year.”
“‘Investors drove up the Valley’s housing market. Now, they are driving it down with foreclosures,’ said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at Arizona State University’s Morrison School. ‘You won’t find a lot of people feeling sorry for them now.’”
“The housing-speculation boom started in California in 2002-03. Investors pushed prices up and cashed out. Their next stop was Las Vegas, where they helped inflate home prices by 50 percent from 2003 to ‘04.”
“As houses got too pricey in Sin City, investors were drawn to Phoenix for its affordable housing and growth. In 2003, the median price for an existing single-family home stood at $155,000. By the end of 2005, the median price for a used Phoenix-area home had soared to $240,000.”
“Las Vegas mortgage broker and investor Zareh Tahmassebian is among the out-of-state buyers who started the speculator-buying boom in metro Phoenix. In 2004, he was just 23 when he and partners bought 15 houses throughout the Valley.”
“Now, like so many others, he is losing properties. Earlier this year, he lost his Chandler house at a foreclosure auction. He owed $490,000 on the property he bought for $464,117 in September 2005, according to public records.”
“When The Republic interviewed Tahmassebian for a story in February 2005, he talked about putting little money down and then tapping equity in one home to buy others. ‘Leverage is the name of the game,’ he said.”
“Tahmassebian moved on to buy homes in Albuquerque. A foreclosure auction for one of his homes outside Albuquerque was scheduled for last week. He didn’t return phone calls about his current investments.”
“Out-of-state buyers may have started a speculator boom, but local buyers quickly jumped in. At least half of the investors with multiple homes now in foreclosure have Phoenix tax-mailing addresses, according to property records.”
“For the neighbors of homes in foreclosure, it doesn’t matter who bought the house or where they are from. Tamara Fisher doesn’t have to sell her home now, but she would like to. She is afraid the investor-owned properties in her neighborhood will pull down her values.”
“Fisher bought a new home in the northwest Valley two years ago. Now, at least two rentals, a house in foreclosure and another home that has never been occupied sit on her block of 15 houses.”
“‘People were just out to make a quick buck, and now they are hurting me and many of my neighbors,’ she said while picking up a dirty plastic bag and a smashed beer can from the yard of the vacant house three doors down from her home.”
“‘I want to sell and move to a neighborhood where people are proud of their homes. But all the investor-owned homes have flooded the market,’ Fisher said.”
“Arizona’s lagging housing market likely won’t recover until next year and will continue to hinder job growth until it rebounds, state economists said this week. Although houses continue to sell, inflated prices and stockpiled inventory will cramp the industry a while longer.”
“Sellers are cutting prices to move homes, but that process needs to continue a while longer before the market can rebuild, (economist) Marshall Vest said. ‘We’ll clearly see a recovery, but it’s not going to go as quickly or surely as high as it did,’ he added.”
“Valley economist Dennis Hoffman said the amount of money changing hands in real estate sales has dropped about 18 percent, to $6.9 billion, from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2007.”
“In recent years, the construction industry created about 25 percent of new jobs in the Valley, Vest said. Removing that major source of growth has had a ripple effect on everyone from real estate agents to mortgage bankers to inspection crews, he said.”
“Vest said retail sales also slumped, showing essentially no growth since last year. ‘The slowdown in sales has to do certainly with high debt levels,’ Vest said. ‘We’ve been using our houses as an ATM machine, extracting large amounts of cash to support our spending. That door is closing.’”
The Arizona Daily Star. “State senators are preparing to give final approval this coming week to laws designed to imprison bankers, loan officers and even home buyers who engage in mortgage fraud.”
“The legislation would make it a crime to deliberately make misstatements on a mortgage application that is relied on by any party in agreeing to the loan. And those who knowingly use the lies of others would be equally culpable.”
“The measure is largely aimed at the ‘cash-back’ schemes that some sellers have used to move their homes as the residential real-estate market has cooled. That involves selling the home at a specified price and then rebating part of that price to the buyer. There is nothing specifically illegal about cash-back sales.”
“What creates the problem is when banks and mortgage companies are not told, and they lend money based on what they believe is the perceived value of the property, according to Felecia Rotellini, director of the state Department of Financial Institutions.”
“Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, who is sponsoring the legislation, said that could lead to a rash of bad loans and foreclosures. And that, he said, could hurt the entire state.”
“‘It could be like the savings- and-loan scandal of the late ’80s,’ he said. ‘It could really put your economy into a major recession.’”
Here is a link to a post I did on the Fortune article referenced today. Note: the server is a little sleepy.
Ah, the good old days.
Funny to see some familiar names and Anonymous postings.
At 7:29 AM, Anonymous said…
WOW, 86 messages…it that a record for one article on this blog?
86? Ben, you’ve come a long way!
“Zareh Tahmassebian is on the way to look at two of his houses in Phoenix. He is lost.
Man, How well I remember that article, seems like just yesterday. This clown had no idea just how lost he would become!
Funny..reading this article reminds me of a guy I know..mortgage broker…who just added another home to his portfolio, all with interest only ARMS…he also did the leverage game and now has millions in outstanding debt.no equity left as each property has been leveraged out…crazy…I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that I had that monkey on my back in a business that was slowly going down the tubes..that is why I don’t feel sorry for these banks/lenders..
Here is a link to a copy of the Fortune May 2005 article. A time capsule chronicle of what this madness is all about.
http://www.thecrusade.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11310
Got 10% down?
This is from a year back….I wonder if he still feels the same now?
Zareh Tahmassebian, who owned 15 properties in Phoenix when we first reported his story, has purchased eight more in the Albuquerque area. One concession to a possible bust: He refinanced all his mortgages to a fixed rate and rented out his properties (the rents do not cover his costs). Why not take his profits? “It’s still going to appreciate better than the stock market,” he says. “I’m holding on.”
I bet he will make Casey look like a “flipping” genius when this is all over.
Looks like he might not be feeling so good…
link
STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANDOVAL THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTNO. D1329CV-06-1349WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK, Plaintiff,v. ZAREH TAHMASSEBIAN; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., AS NOMINEE FOR REALTY MORTGAGE CORPORATION; UNKNOWN TENANTS, WHOSE TRUE NAMES ARE UNKNOWN, Defendants, and REALTY MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Third-Party Plaintiff,v. THE UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF ZAREH TAHMASSEBIAN, IF ANY, Third-Party NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned Special Master will on June 6, 2007, at 12:15 P.M., Outside the Front Entrance of the Sandoval County Judicial Complex, 1500 Idalia Road, Building A, Bernalillo, NM, sell and convey to the highest bidder for cash all the right, title, and interest of the above-named defendants in and to the following described real estate located in said County and State: Lot numbered Twenty-nine (29) in Block numbered Two (2) of the Plat for WILLOW TRACE SUBDIVISION AT HIGH RESORT, City of Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, New Mexico
I don’t think you could qualify Casey as a genius, even next to this Zareh moron. I remember reading about that kid when I first became “enlightened” to the housing bubble. I remember it well because I knew if a 22 year old kid can buy that many houses for those prices without having a clue as to what he was buying that there was something seriously wrong with the system. I’ve been a happey renter ever since. I probably could have done a quick flip and made a little money here in Salt Lake but I probably wouldn’t have slept as well at night or been able to do as many trips if I had so I’m still very happy with my choice.
Just googled his name and came up with this article:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0609investor0609.html
“Tahmassebian was so bullish on Arizona real estate that, in 2005, he moved from Vegas to live in one of his Valley homes in Chandler.
Now, like so many others, he is losing properties.
Earlier this year, he lost his Chandler house at a foreclosure auction. He owed $490,000 on the property he bought for $464,117 in September 2005, according to public records.”
Duh. Too much alcohol last night. Sorry about that, Ben!
When I read that someone is “so bullish” I make the mistake that they are actually financially educated enough to call something “bullish.”
Or perhaps the article was mistaking bullishness for blind optimistic speculation. Either way, I’ve learned my lesson.
I remember this clown back in ‘05 all smug, I bought all these houses w/ 0 down ( I’m so smart.. It’s all about leverage baby, blah, blan,front page, AZ Repulsive)………… These clowns need to be thrown in jail…..Should call his friend over in Bakersfield…….
Wow, at that time (May 05) all I was doing was fixing up my flipper house and hoping to make a killing. Instead, I was very happy to escape (last year) without a loss. Thx to HBB, among others, for alerting me to the hazards.
Yes! I have waited to see this idiot circle the drain. That Fortune article may have been the most odious one of the entire bubble.
HAHAHA, I remember that guy, the one who was bragging about all the houses he owned that he’d never seen, what a great ending to that story.
Wow… that guy’s turnaround and fall was quick LOL
Great find, Ben! I remember that post well, and have always wondered what happened to that guy every time Casey would come up.
Now, if you could only dig up some follow-on dirt on the twenty-something broker that bought the $1.5M Irvine penthouse condo…
Houses continue to sell??? I don’t see any moving in South Chandler!! Some have been on the market for close to 3 years!
For comparison, I just checked the used home picture in Rancho Santa Fe (92067) on ziprealty.com.
The listing dates range from 8/25/05 to last week, but the median listing date is 3/16/07, which means half the homes on the market have been listed within the past three months, and the other half have been on the market for more than three months. The average time on the market for current listings is well over three months, as the distribution of listing times is skewed to the long end of the range (8/25/05 was eons ago in bubble time!).
“Houses continue to sell??? I don’t see any moving in South Chandler!! Some have been on the market for close to 3 years!”
Rookie! You just have to be “patient”. Didn’t you know that patience is the key to selling a home? After all, you don’t really have any control over the process, if you are a seller. You can’t lower the price too much and just “give it away”. Patience is working for the folks in New Jersey. They are still waiting for that bag of money and box of stupid to fall onto their doorstep. Too bad the subprime lenders are completely out of bags and boxes.
this is reminiscent of the internet bubble. when the market is up, everyone is a genius.
And when it is down it is because of the media or the government not responding quickly enough with a massive bailout. God bless all of those victims.
What is the government’s purpose if not to bail out leveraged speculators? Everyone deserves a big fat profit when gambling.
I remember reading this and other stories and wondering how people were able to do this (and sleep at night).
It’s intriguing to see these people back in print, but in far different shape than that which the authors in the original stories painted. Vindication?
The moral of the story is: Don’t overpay for a lemon and expect to get a pineapple.
Great replay, thanks Ben.
“At least one-quarter of all Phoenix-area homes to fall into foreclosure this year are owned by investors, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of residential foreclosure records. The number is rising monthly as investors fall behind on climbing payments. Many can’t charge high enough rents to break even or sell their properties at a time when the market is flooded with listings.”
I am awaiting for the SD Union Tribune to publish a similar report on the high percentage of investors trying to cash out of their Southern California alligators. I don’t think they can keep this elephant hidden under the rug for much longer.
Why are they still referring to these people as “investors”? They put no money into the game. They were gamblers, speculators, lottery players, etc. The last thing they were was investors. This is like calling a hooker a virgin.
lol
“This is like calling hooker a virgin.”
Or a drug dealer a pharmacist.
He said, “Call the doctor. I think I’m gonna crash.”
“The doctor say he’s comin’, but you gotta pay him cash.”
“Life In the Fast Lane … surely make you lose your mind!”
The bigger they are, the harder they fall! I must confess I feel a sense of schadenfreud come over me when I read how this guy (and others I now) have come full circle over the last couple of years. I know of some people I work with that got into the RE investment craze in that time and most are sweating right now … I’ve also recently noticed a few nervous looking/sounding people away from their desks in quit parts of the hallway talking about RE loans and attempts to sell their properties on their cell phones during the day.
Same here in Cupertino-San Jose. Biggest armpit of ARM loans in nation. The resets wave to soon hit. A better economy or the emergence of another boom isnt in the cards as many new buyers ( 2002-2005) have expected to bail them out. We are still seeing cutbacks (layoffs) continue due to high cost of employees and movement to cheaper areas.
“‘Investors, particularly individuals with multiple properties, are driving up the foreclosure numbers,’ said Tom Ruff, a principal with the Information Market. ‘Foreclosures in metro Phoenix haven’t likely peaked yet, either,’ Ruff added.”
I would love to see a study on the number of people who purchased multiple SFRs for the first time ever in the short span of the past decade. I am guessing the number would astonish to the upside.
OT but good news to Arizonans: 1.5 weeks ago, we got an invasion of cicadas here at my residence in Lost Causes, NM.
2 days later, birds came & ate them all up. I do not know what breed of bird, but I think one of the breeds is the mourning dove. The other breed involved is a brown bird that is larger than a sparrow, but smaller than the Western Meadowlark.
The cicadas were in all of the trees around my residence and they make an irritating sound like a circular saw. So, when the cicadas made their noise, that enabled the birds to find them and eat them.
Not sure if all the water flowing in the Rio Grande has anything to do with enabling the birds to continue to live here in spite of the heat, but anyway, I am so grateful for these birds!
~Misstrial
If only flippers made some sort of buzzinb sound. Sigh….. no, wait a minute… I think I hear something.
“For the neighbors of homes in foreclosure, it doesn’t matter who bought the house or where they are from. Tamara Fisher doesn’t have to sell her home now, but she would like to. She is afraid the investor-owned properties in her neighborhood will pull down her values.”
Tamara, honey - your fears are unfounded. Those same investors drove up the price of your home (the artificial value that you now think that your home is worth). Simply revert back to the homes value in 2002 and you will have your homes real value … that is the profit that you should be concerned about.
She bought in the northwest Valley two years ago. Two years ago, that would be the spring of 2005. Not necessarily the exact top, but pretty well timed to approximate it. If she would like to sell her home now, she should do so. It could be a short sale, but probably better than waiting another year.
Roubini sums up WSJ lead story this weekend…
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/
Economists are giving up on the idea that the U.S. housing slump will be quick and relatively painless.
Instead, more are concluding, the downturn that began nearly two years ago will last at least through the end of 2007, remaining a major drag on the U.S. economy. The culprits: a glut of homes for sale and growing caution among lenders who now regret being so free with their mortgages during the boom.
Last paragraph says it all…………….
“At the Los Angeles auction, Suresh Gupta, a condo developer, made the winning bid of about $1.2 million for a three-bedroom home in Pasadena, where he and his family plan to move. The house had a previous value of $1.5 million. Mr. Gupta thinks the auction price compares favorably with what he could get through a conventional purchase. “There is no justification for the prices many homeowners are asking for,” he says. “They are living in a dreamland.”
Yeah he is buying for 1.2 mil for a 3 bedroom in Pasadena and they are the ones dreaming.
Another ass clown is gonna bite the dust. I hope smarty pants put down 50%….to lower the payments.
Such homes still rent out for about $2,500-$4,000 per month, making it hard to see why anyone would pay a million dollars for them.
A condo developer?? And he’s saying other FBs “are living in a dreamleand”??
Reality bites Suresh. Watch your a$$.
Hmmm… 3 bedroom condo, 1.2 million, Pasadena. Who did he say was in dreamland? Bwwwaahhhhhaaaaa. Get serious… Sheesh.
WSJ Real Estate discussion board is comical. When you get a chance read it.
Some gems from the original story:
He is obviously a quick study. At age 17 he learned about leverage from his cousin, who mapped out the principles on a napkin in a diner. (”You can buy one $200,000 house with cash, or you can buy 20 with 10% down. Which would you rather have?”) At age 18 he bought his first home for $126,000, watched it appreciate, and decided not to go to college.
Wow! Who knew real estate investing was just that simple! Why would anyone go to college after having the Rich Dad / Poor Dad megabucks formula revealed to them on a napkin?
Tahmassebian begins his inspection. “See this wood?” he says, gesturing to the slatted frame of the unfinished house. “This wood made money for me! I don’t own it-but I own the rights. I put a 10% deposit down, I haven’t even made a mortgage payment yet, and it’s already gone up $45,000. What a country!”
Yes, what a country indeed. A place where dirt and wood literally squirt money!
“Is that Tempe?” he asks. “I think I have some houses there.”
If you’re a confident, 22-year old real estate tycoon, you don’t need to know where your property is, what you paid for it, or even how many properties you own. Those are details that only clueless, non-expensive-car-driving-schmucks think about.
In seven months, he estimates, the 15 properties have appreciated from $2 million to $3 million. He’s planning to sell in the next two to three years, but if the market does crash-which he doesn’t expect-it wouldn’t be a disaster, he says: “You just hold on till it comes right back up.”
Sure, when you’re 22 with no job, holding on to 15 money-losing properties for several years is a no-brainer. Negative cash flow of $30K/mo? No problem? That’s what cash-out refi’s are for!
Did anyone show him what happens when the napkin is turned upside down?
Tahmassebian moved on to buy homes in Albuquerque. A foreclosure auction for one of his homes outside Albuquerque was scheduled for last week. He didn’t return phone calls about his current investments.”
I hope this clown loses is shirt, pants, hair, A$$, legs, arms, shorts, and anything else that can go. Too bad I didn’t know about his ‘investment’ going to auction in Rio Rancho. I would love to have gone and given a report. If he is losing more ABQ houses, I would love to go and watch the auction and report back.
What’s too lose? The only loser is the banks and the pension funds who bought the mortgages in a CDO. These clowns put nothing down, risked nothing, took cash back, lived high in luxury, spoiled this country, and face absolutely no consequences for their actions. So what he loses a few houses which he never really owned. What a f*schking country, indeed.
“Out-of-state buyers may have started a speculator boom, but local buyers quickly jumped in. At least half of the investors with multiple homes now in foreclosure have Phoenix tax-mailing addresses, according to property records.”
I hope the a$$hat who posted on here the other day that the speculative boom is entirely due to Californians reads this.
Not entirely, no, but definitely the trend-setters!
“What creates the problem is when banks and mortgage companies are not told, and they lend money based on what they believe is the perceived value of the property, according to Felecia Rotellini, director of the state Department of Financial Institutions.”
“Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, who is sponsoring the legislation, said that could lead to a rash of bad loans and foreclosures. And that, he said, could hurt the entire state.”
These guys have so much hindsight, it’s like they got eyeballs on their asses.
LOL. Tough crowd here on the weekend.
“…it’s like they got eyeballs on their asses.”
Luckily they also have their pants down, or they would not be able to see.
This bubble (I am sure) has floppers with addresses in all 50 states. Greed exists everywhere. Just CA floppers seemed to be the first to spread this toxic disease that is going to leave us in a mess for years to come.
May I pose a question to you guys about Tahmassebian and others like him?
Presumably, he used an LLC or some other vehicle to buy his properties. So if the properties go to foreclosure, doesn’t he just walk away, with any remaining mortgage debt and/or tax liability accruing to the LLC and not to him personally? If that is the case, then he isn’t really harmed when one of his speculative deals goes bad. He gets all the upside potential and none of the downside risk. Am I missing something?
I think he refinanced his purchases so the lenders might have greater recourse to go after other assets ,or even income . I’m also sure this is a case where fraud can be proven ,(meaning he might not be able to declare bankruptcy ).This is really a case where the lenders should not let this guy off the hook without some penalty IMHO.
You would presume wrong buying through a LLC requires at least 25% down payment and/or a personal guarentee. He is on the hook and it’s going to be very painful on the way down.
MrIncomeStream:
Thanks for the info. I did not know that you had to give a personal guaranty, although I guess that makes sense since the lender would not want to lend to an LLC without any assets. However, that raises a further question: If these speculators have to give a personal guaranty, then what is the benefit of the LLC? Is it a tax benefit or perhaps limited liability (i.e., if someone slips and falls in front of one of your 15 houses)?
There are lots of reasons for the LLC as you stated limited liability, tax, ease of accounting particularly when there is a group of investors. But unless there is a burn off of the personal guaranty at some point then the lender can come after you. Unfortunately most of these guys running around with LLC’s don’t need them a trust will suffice. But the Guru’s are pushing them so folks buy them so they can sound impressive at the dinner party.
Politely butting in, but he can be named personally as a defendant in a civil suit even though he may have made his purchase through his LLC.
If he has an LLC, he is its President? Vice President? Secretary? And if he is a licensed attorney, a General Counsel?
Believe me, he can be personally sued along with the LLC. The difficult thing is finding out WHERE the LLC (or other corporate form) is incorporated (state, Delaware, Nevada) and to get the corporate name EXACTLY. Also VITAL is to properly and accurately name the entity: is an LLC, Inc, PC, LP, or whatever.
If one cannot find out the info, the defendant can be personally named and the complaint amended when further entities or names can be added.
I am working on a case where the LLC was never registered with the Secretary of State and yet, I found out what the deal is and named persons individually, next, I found out the exact name of the LLC involved, and found out that there are actually 3 LLCs involved, so they all get sued.
You can only depend on corporate forms for a limited time if you intend to rip-off.
~Misstrial
Wanted to add, that if a corporate form does NOT register with the Secretary of State (or appropriate entity) then depending on your state’s laws, that corporate form has no right to seek redress or defense in a court of law. These are the fun cases, because winning a judgment is assured
What can a defendant do then? Probably will declare personal bankruptcy. Always be a secured creditor.
~Misstrial
Mrincomestream/Mistrial et al:
Thanks for the info. BTW, Mistrial, I would think that if the LLC is not registered anywhere and if corporate formalities were not maintained, then you could also argue that the LLC form simply be disregarded and the owner held directly liable. As Mrincome points out, however, there should be a personal guaranty from the owner, so that may moot the point.
Anyway, good to know that these speculators have real pain in their futures. I remember these guys on the cover of Fortune in 2005. These guys had dollar signs in their eyes and contempt in their hearts for the lowly suckers who were naive enough to think of a house as a place to live. Anyway, I love this blog and the knowledgeable people who post here. Thanks!
According to YAHOO real estate section from an unknown author, there is no reason to not be investing. We are just a bunch of drooling morons, this guy has valid and sane points….right.
1) The Sky isn’t falling.
2) Real estate is unique.
3) There is no bubble.
4) Value is a complicated cocktail.
5) There is always a baseline of demand.
6) There is always a baseline of mortgage defaults.
7) There is no risk.
Yes, Yahoo section of real estate….what a crock of crap.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/Real_estate_news/story?s=rytimes/item-4bcc1fc619fd6bf106034420ddf198de.html
That article came from Realty Times the VoiceBox of the Real Estate Industry. Its run by realtors. The article was paid for by realtors for the benefit of realtors. Yahoo has damaged real journalism in this country. Some is legit while most of the front page is People Magazine with lots of propaganda.
I hope this clown loses is shirt
I must apologize for calling this Tahmassebian dude a clown. I didn’t want to insult those funny men (and women) who are willing to put on clown suits and do funny things to make a living. They provide a real service of making us laugh. As for Tahmassebian, hope he and Casey are buddies in some slammer somewhere.
I also can’t help but think that the guy was fraudulent on his loan applications . Nobody should be allowed that sort of greed he displayed at others expense . Because this Tahmassebian refinanced most of his properties the Lenders might have recourse to go after his assets and I hope they do . This guy will cost the lenders over a million for this greedy fraud .Anybody in the industry that helped this young man obtain the crazy goals he had should be investigated also .
Also ,lets not forget how clowns like this Tahmassebian and Casey along with the other stupid flipper investors who paid top dollar (because they are stupid) drove up the prices in many areas which in turn priced alot of people out of the market . You also had alot of evil people mentoring these young screwball investors like Casey and Tahmassebian and they made alot of money off of them . The lenders should of looked twice at investors that were that young also .
Don’t forget Jeff from the SDCIA! Guy has been AWOL for some time now.
Got 10% down?
FYI
Bond guru Bill Gross sees a more dire outcome. The manager of the world’s biggest bond fund told CNBC Television on Friday that an increase in rates will decimate the housing market “if they haven’t already.”
try being from Fl where the housing market has a gravestone on it already with a R.I.P. being carved as we speak..high property taxes..high insurance…higher interest rates…better get that graveyard ready for more states to come…
“decimate the housing market” yea thats about right.
Its about time we get rid of the cancer that has been growing on our economy. Its totally foolish to consider RE as some sort of speculative asset with prices rising which benefits our economy. Its driven many with higher taxes insurance and cost of doing business.
What do you all think of Ron Paul?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IWfIhFhelm8
If he does not win the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008 I will vote Libertarian instead of Republican. Second to him I like Giuliani. He’s socially liberal enough for me.
speculaotrs
” I’m shorting your house”
It’s a renter’s market.
Potential home buyers should wait until housing bubble unwinds.
Some good advice here.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5578360,00.html
It would seem that the enterprising reporter read the Fortune article about Tahmassebian in 2005 and filed it away for a followup. I remember reading that article and fervently wishing at the time that we would get to hear “the rest of the story.”
Confusing a bull market with brains is the hallmark of a bubble.
Folks…We need to show the daring young businessmen like Tahmassebian, Casey and Jeff a little Compassion and Sympathy as the personal and financial pressure, strain and STRESS of a RE CRASH must be horrendous to them.
That being said…HAR…HARRRRRR !
Ooops ..Sorry Ben….my Bad but I had a anti speculator taunt spasm that I just couldn’t control
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_6036130
Somebody help me out here. Anybody have anything that shows just how prevalent specuvesting is in Utah? Everybody seems to think the local economy is driving a $320k median home price!
“What creates the problem is when banks and mortgage companies are not told, and they lend money based on what they believe is the perceived value of the property, according to Felecia Rotellini, director of the state Department of Financial Institutions.”
No Felecia, a better statement of fact is, what creates the problem with the banks is Greed. And I love the part about the “not told”- these are financial institutions with supercomputers that could pull up any information and parse it down to the smallest sector but there was only one thing they were interested in and that was the profit line.