Now Speculators Are Losing Their Shirts
A report from the Idaho Statesman. “Pam Hannam was hoping for a fresh start when she left San Diego for Idaho almost three years ago. Since arriving in October 2005, Hannam has purchased a duplex for $127,000, then tried to sell it, only to discover she owed more than the property was worth. She finally abandoned it to two different lenders, who foreclosed on the duplex in Caldwell.”
“‘I moved here with so many hopes and aspirations. And the first day people were flipping me off because of my California license plate,’ she said. ‘How did things go so wrong?’”
“Boise State University business professor Gundars Kaupins said the nation’s dilemma is the result of skyrocketing home appreciation rates combined with lenders who were eager to fund even the riskiest loan. ‘There was this element that life would go on like this forever,’ Kaupins said.”
“‘A lot of people bought these homes as investment properties, and now they’re losing their shirts,’ said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Trustee Bernie Rakozy. ‘They were trying to make a quick buck, and the truth is now hitting them in the rear because the homes were way overvalued.’”
“Demand for residential building permits reached their lowest point of the year in July, as Ada and Canyon counties issued the fewest permits for any month this year.”
“Experts say builders have scaled back on their construction plans this year, hoping to give the market time to absorb an inventory of almost 8,000 unsold homes.”
“Individually, Boise, Meridian and Nampa issued 27, 48 and 24 permits, respectively. Through July, Ada County issued 45 percent fewer permits than for the same period a year ago. Canyon County was off even more with 61 percent below the comparable period a year ago.”
“‘What those numbers tell you is that there are a lot of people who are no longer builders,’ said Buildingcredibility.com founder Trey Langford.”
“Also hurting some high-end builders is the fact that buyers recently have been concentrating on homes priced between $200,000 and $250,000. ‘I think anybody who built anything over $400,000 is pretty puckered up about now,’ said Don Hubble, president of Meridian-based Hubble Homes.”
“Recent Intermountain MLS data shows that sales in the Valley last month were 26 percent below the numbers for July 2004. Moreover, the July permit numbers in Ada and Canyon counties were 69 percent and 54 percent below 2004 numbers, respectively.”
“Rod Blackstead, president of Blackstead Building Co., said builders have had to ‘go back to the basics.’ ‘That means building at the right location, at the right price and on the right land,’ he said.”
“About the only good thing happening for home builders is that land prices have come down significantly from the days when ground in northwest Meridian was going for $165,000 an acre. ‘I think that price has come down anywhere from 40 percent to 50 percent,’ said.”
“Marc Leibowitz is the new executive officer for the Ada County Association of Realtors, where he has been working to convince everybody he meets that the slowdown in the local residential housing market is not as bad as it appears.”
“Q: With almost 8,000 homes on the market, isn’t it going to be a while before the market recovers here?”
“A: ‘I see it differently. When there is a greater opportunity for you to buy a house, that’s when you want to buy a house. So from the buyer’s side, excess inventory is not a bad thing. Right now, you have five times the number to choose from than you had 90 days ago. That’s a good time to buy a house.’”
The Bend Bulletin from Oregon. “Life in Central Oregon’s sluggish real estate market is a double-edged sword this summer. On one hand, for first-time buyers with good credit and some savings, life is good. There are plenty of homes to look at and plenty of sellers willing to cut a deal.”
“For sellers, though, the laws of supply and demand could be conjuring little more than gloom.”
“Things have gotten to the point in the local markets, especially for home builders on recently purchased land, where prices can’t sink much further without inviting losses, Redmond-based agent Pam Lester said.”
“‘I don’t expect prices to go anywhere but up from here,’ Lester said, ‘because they can’t go any lower.’”
“In Bend, 1,588 single-family homes on less than an acre were listed for sale on Aug. 6, according to Bratton Appraisal Group’s Mike Caba, more than 11 months’ worth of inventory based on average monthly sales over the past 12 months.”
“In Bend, the inventory bulge is at its worst in the $400,000-and-under price range, which accounts for more than 68 percent of the homes for sale, according to Bratton’s graphs.”
“It’s no accident that that’s the price range most production builders build in, and the price range that attracted the heaviest interest from speculators and investors during the boom years, Lester said.”
“Some of the speculators who tried to flee the markets beginning in June 2006 when it showed the first signs of weakness, are still trying to sell homes, although many in Redmond have given up and rented them out, Lester said.”
“Builders, meanwhile, are trying to keep their operations moving, but they’re forced to wheel and deal to sell the fewer homes they are building. Asking prices also are dropping as sellers adjust to the new market realities, said broker Bill Berger.”
“Average list prices in Bend dropped from $533,481 on all types of housing in May to a little less than $467,000 in July, Berger said.”
“‘The buyers tend to be first-time home buyers,’ Lester said, ‘because they don’t have to go out and sell a house first in order to do it.’”
The Whidbey News Times from Washington. “There’s little doubt that the subprime mortgage crisis has affected Whidbey Island and will continue to do so for some time.”
“‘The market slowed down about a year-and-a-half ago and went back to normal,’ said broker Rick Schutte. ‘For about three years before that we were in a highly-funded market.’”
“Schutte feels that North Whidbey is pretty well insulated from subprime problems because of the military population and the number of loans guaranteed, in portion, through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”
“Gregor S. Strohm, ASA, a real estate appraiser in Oak Harbor, sees things a little differently. ‘It’s going to get worse before it gets better,’ he said.”
“Strohm…says the subprime crisis gradually killed off the real estate frenzy of two years ago. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for buyers to bid against each other and for sellers to enjoy sales above the listing price.”
“But no more. ‘Some people are going to have to sit back and lower the prices of their homes,’ he said.”
“He said Whidbey Island doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Interest rates are up and banks are tightening up lending practices. ‘People who would qualify two months ago now may not qualify,’ he said.”
“In July, 58 homes were sold on North Whidbey, as compared to 78 homes in July of 2006. In July, 379 homes were listed for sale, while there were only 260 a year before.”
“Home prices are also down. The 12-month moving average price on North Whidbey is down about $10,000, from a peak in February of $302,131 to $292,173 last month.”
“One impact she does see from the subprime crisis, said Realtor Marilyn Sherman Clay, is fewer number of people selling their homes in California for huge bucks and scooping up prime real estate on Central Whidbey.”
“‘Prices are still holding, though they aren’t as good as they were two years ago,’ she said.”
The Bellingham Herald from Washington. “In 2002, Washington state’s then-Attorney General Chris Gregoire came to Bellingham to announce what was billed as a historic legal settlement with mortgage giant Household International that would curb nationwide abuses in subprime mortgage lending.”
“After the Household International episode and several similar cases gave clear evidence of the risks, many are wondering why subprime lending excesses were allowed to go on unchecked until the mortgage system went into a tailspin.”
“Joseph Mason, associate professor of finance at Drexel University, has done extensive research into the financial underpinnings of the subprime mortgage industry. As he sees it, the potential for disaster in the subprime lending arena should have been obvious before, during and after the Household International affair.”
“‘Household was among a number of aggressive players,’ Mason said. ‘It was not unique in its business model….By not cracking down after seeing this kind of behavior, regulators allowed it to grow and become standard industry practice.’”
“Chuck Cross was the Washington Department of Financial Institutions’ lead investigator in the Household International case. ‘We had all these dollars coming off Wall Street, looking for these high-return investments,’ Cross said.”
“‘Sound underwriting was just thrown out the window. Wall Street wasn’t asking the questions. Nobody was doing due diligence. You had greed meeting up with naiveté,’ he said.”
“Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said the burgeoning subprime mortgage business fed on itself. ‘Credit was too easy,’ McKenna said. ‘The sale and resale of mortgages accelerated.’”
“Now, with investors yanking their money out of the subprime financing system, wouldbe homeowners with less than great credit histories may find it harder than ever to get a loan.”
“‘The music has stopped,’ said Bob Parlette, the Wenatchee attorney who sued Household International on behalf of Whatcom County clients. ‘The people without a chair are going under.’”
‘The Ada County Development Services Department, the agency that processes construction-related applications and permits, is taking steps to solve an expected $1.7 million revenue shortfall by Sept. 30. Thanks to a tumble in the local real estate market, the department’s projected $5.3 million in revenues stands at only $3.6 million with only a little more than a month left in the fiscal year.’
‘I walked into a buzz saw,’ said Development Services Director John Traylor, who took over the department in May. The previous two years of record-breaking revenues from growth led the department to set higher budgets in anticipation the developer fees would keep rolling in.’
‘About 10 percent of that anticipated shortfall would be covered if three planned community developers paid their tabs.’
‘I’ve never in my 26 years run a budget in the red, ever, so stepping into this pile of doodoo is very uncomfortable for me, Traylor said.’
Speculators are doing the slow bleed in Oregon and subsidizing rents at the same time!
‘Some of the speculators who tried to flee the markets beginning in June 2006 when it showed the first signs of weakness, are still trying to sell homes, although many in Redmond have given up and rented them out, Lester said.’
We wonder why people expect the taxpayers to save a dime when every time the government gets a dime, they spend it twice.
Seriously, how is it that whenever intake exceeds expectations, every government department immediately increases outgo to fit? And then begs for more tax money when the reverse hits?
Not to be too cynical, but its the same with unions, same with retirees, same with corporate management bonuses, same with computer software service contracts, etc.
Self-preservation and greed rule the world.
I just got a ‘your company is purchased!’ windfall. If I were the government, I’d assume I was getting it again next year and budget accordingly!
If I were a speculator, I’d buy MORE.
The stock market is rigged. With all the bad news out how could it have another stellar day?
Didn’t you hear? E-Trade and Ameritrade are MERGING!!! This could save the economy!!!
Carry trade
EuroYen vs S&P500 90 days
http://tinyurl.com/2lvgnp
Sharp’s ratio 1.27
I like this short entry at day’s end. It will be easy to tell if it’s wrong.
tee hee!
Ameritrade is the joint that has that fake district attorney as their spokesperson…
¨people are gullible¨
My Ameritirade, if you will.
Do you all know that Ameritrade is based right here in Omaha? Oh yes, they have great employee loyalty when they pay their junior brokers and traders $11 per hour.
The stock market is rigged. With all the bad news out how could it have another stellar day?
What most folks here don’t seem to understand is the FED is bailing out the lenders. The hedge fund boys that made gazillions of dollars selling garbage loans couldn’t find buyer for their junk last week, as people with money finally began to realize the ratings of the CDO’s and LBO’s and every MBS’s were all bullcrap……….and being downgraded after collapsing.
The FED “opened the window”, accepting commercial paper. That is, the FED said they would buy this CRAP through their Open Market Operations to provide “liquidity” to the sellers of CRAP.
That has emboldened the market as the possibility that RISK might get punished if you were on the wrong side of the trade was quickly dismissed as the seller’s of CRAP were rewarded with manna from heaven………or free credit from the FED.
The message is that the FED won’t let the markets fall………only rise, so why not BUY, BUY, BUY.
Give it a few days.
You seem to think that the Fed’s message that they’ll “save the markets” is false. Maybe. Maybe not.
We’ve got an inflation-happy Fed chief who has done absolutely nothing yet to show that he’s tough on inflation (other than saying “I’m worried about inflation”). When it comes to actions he’s already showed his hand: He’ll create liquidity to save the market.
Ultimately what this means is that holders of stocks are being protected, and salary earners are getting screwed.
While some people think the inflation/deflation debate is up in the air, I think it’s already been decided: Inflation it is.
I just don’t think that the Feds position should be to lend on bad paper in order to free up money .Isn’t this being just as bad as the lenders that gave the bad loans to FB’s.How about the fact that the Wall Streets boys were saying last week in essence that they could not determine the value of these notes ,(market to market ),yet the Feds are lending billions based on those very same notes .
The truth is that they couldn’t get fannie/freddie in operation quick enough to be a bail out loan machine ,so the Feds went for the direct discount window loans to these bad lenders who couldn’t sell their toxic high risk junk loans anymore .
I think your right sohonyc ,the Feds are going the inflation route ,which just isn’t right if they do that .
“Average list prices in Bend dropped from $533,481 on all types of housing in May to a little less than $467,000 in July, Berger said.”
Bend is going to bend over and down a lot more before they hit bottom…..fantasy land is closed now…go home folks.
My family has about 80 acres near Bend or a place called Prineville…something like that. I have never been up there to check it out, maybe I will next Spring and see what everyone is screaming about how nice it is up there. I will just rent an RV, and stop at Lake Shasta also, I need to see that place!
You know what they say around Tahoe (Truckee, actually)… There are three seasons in the High Sierra: July, August, and Winter.
“Q: With almost 8,000 homes on the market, isn’t it going to be a while before the market recovers here?”
“A: ‘I see it differently. When there is a greater opportunity for you to buy a house, that’s when you want to buy a house. So from the buyer’s side, excess inventory is not a bad thing. Right now, you have five times the number to choose from than you had 90 days ago. That’s a good time to buy a house.’”
This guy should go work for the White House!
“When there is a greater opportunity for you to buy a house, that’s when you want to buy a house. So from the buyer’s side, excess inventory is not a bad thing.”
I had a “great opportunity” to buy Yahoo stock back in the late spring of 2000. Heaven knows there was lots of “excess inventory” just waiting for my broker’s call. Yet I failed to seize the opportunity. I’m so ashamed…..
I’ve just about had it with the propaganda that portrays a surplus of overpriced choices as a great buying opportunity. These people and their canned phrases sound like children’s dolls.
You missed the best part. Inventory up 500% in 90 days!!!
Redmond-based agent Pam Lester
“‘I don’t expect prices to go anywhere but up from here,’ Lester said, ‘because they can’t go any lower.’”
Just shut your trap please Pam and all others of your ilk. No one is listening, when you keep your mouth shut no one can be sure you are a retard, but of course you can’t so everyone is 100% certain that you are. Find some new line… Of work!
There’s a lot she doesn’t expect that’s gonna happen. Like her losing all her commissions for the rest of the year. We should get her number and start crank calling. “Yes, I’m interested in buying a house, and I was wondering if you could recommend a competant agent? Yes, I know you THINK you’re a competant agent, but based on the idiocy that falls from your lips every time you open your mouth, I think we both know it’s not true. So why am I asking you for other agents names? So I know who ELSE to avoid, you foolish child! Good day!”
AHAHAHAHAHAHAhhhaaaaa beautiful !!!
Why don’t you tell her directly?
http://www.pamlester.com/contact.htm
Indeed I did!
I saw you quoted in the paper as saying ‘prices can’t go any lower’ and it gave me quite a laugh. Make sure to snip that article out, frame it, and put it up on your wall for when potiential clients come in over the next few years.
Me too…..told her she should be ashamed of herself.
Kinda cute though……
“We should get her number and start crank calling.”
541-504-1338
Well, maybe not.
I’m glad you redeemed yourself, Blano.
He meant cute for central Oregon.
“He meant cute for central Oregon.”
Well I know where I’m NOT gonna move.
Here is my reply to her:
So……you think prices can’t go any lower? Would you be willing to take 10 different listings and wager on these 10 that they will be higher in 10-12 months? If you would like to bet on this with your own money I am game, I would bet $200-500 per property, just think if all 10 go up you could win $5,000! And how could they go lower, this is an obvious no risk wager for you, I bet Suzanne could research this for you also if you are worried.
You could always tell her directly:
http://www.pamlester.com/contact.htm
(Hope this isn’t a repost… I posted this earlier and waited 10 minutes but my post hasn’t appeared… so here I go again)
“‘I don’t expect prices to go anywhere but up from here,’ Lester said, ‘because they can’t go any lower.’”
Translation: They can’t go any lower if I expect to make a profit on this pig I bought in 2005.
She must be inexperienced or stupid or get a royalty every time she says that.
She has an IQ of about 80 if she thinks things can’t go lower because “Gosh that would me mean losses and that can’t happen !”
Yet the MSM finds her worthy of being interviewed.
Stupid is as Stupid does…
“‘I don’t expect prices to go anywhere but up from here,’ Lester said, ‘because they can’t go any lower.’”
Explain why? Lier.
Funny, but I actually met her in person when I was living in the Bend area. She is very typical, runs a little group of agents whom she makes slice on their seller side while she does mostly listings. All of them look like they are from California, which makes sense because of all the transplants there over last few years. Still a pretty place though, oh well Bend , I hardly knew ya….
Really, Pam? Then I guess no one wants to sell anything, do they?
Redmond-based agent Pam Lester
I wonder if her husband’s name is Moe?
Will somebody out West PLEASE go slap Leibowitz and Lester for me???? How can they say this stuff with a straight face??
Has that chick Lester ever heard of the number zero??
Some people have a face for TV, some for publication. Those who can’t keep a straight face while babling inanities obviously wind up in print.
“Pam Hannam was hoping for a fresh start when she left San Diego for Idaho almost three years ago. Since arriving in October 2005, Hannam has purchased a duplex for $127,000, then tried to sell it, only to discover she owed more than the property was worth. She finally abandoned it to two different lenders, who foreclosed on the duplex in Caldwell.”
Did anyone else follow the link and read this story? She claims someone “talked her into” an 80/20 loan. She has a bankruptcy in California and now two foreclosures in Idaho.
And she wonders why people in Idaho are flipping off her off. She brought California financial mayhem and wacko decision making to their neck of the woods.
Of course, it wasn’t her fault. The broker made her take the 80/20 mortgage. How much do you want to bet that the loan was a no-doc NINJA loan and she knew it all along? How many more of these people are going to show up acting as if they were taken advantage of, but when you look in their closet, there are a lot of skeletons?
What a loser. Two bankruptcies now. And this type of person was competing with people who were responsible.
I’d flip her off too if I saw her.
This person is the poster child for “sub-prime”
Everyone should work in a collection agency at some point. It is a real eye opener and you get to hear famous catch frases “aint got no money” and “you can’t bleed money from a turnip”
Turn them over to the other collection agency that will bleed something else.
Dear God, ANOTHER flipper from San Diego!?!
WTF is in the water down there? If we ever build a wall on the border lets make sure SD in on the Mexico side and never let them out.
She had a lot of help. Bought some djw dec 130 puts at the close.
Did anyone else do the easy math? Why did it take her a year to move from SD to Idaho?
I bet those breast implants of the Idaho/Sandiego gal were HELOCed.
See there is SOME good that is coming from this bubble !!!
LOL!! How did I not notice that??
GEEZUZ…How can you not afford to make the payments on $127k. Even working at wallmart you should be able to swing that payment unless the intrest rate was sky high. Oh wait with a BK maybe it was. Still, she’s obviously not trying…
How do you get a new loan 3 years after a bankruptcy??
They were offering 100% loans, 1 day out of BK.
This deal doesn’t seem right . She bought a duplex so you would think if she lived in 1/2 of the duplex she could rent out the other one and lower her payment .
I am not entirely unsympathetic. (see I am not such an SOB). It makes me angry that a modest 127K mortgage is not affordable! Is she supposed to be responsible? Yes. Did she get in over her head? Yes.
This is the failure of an economic system that has left 90% of the population earning less today than 7 years ago.
“This is the failure of an economic system that has left 90% of the population earning less today than 7 years ago.”
And getting worse by the day.
Hannam has purchased a duplex for $127,000
I sure don’t profess to know a lot about Caldwell ID, but you’re tellin’ me this woman couldn’t keep a $127k duplex solvent by living in one side and renting out the other?
WTF are rents? $300.00?
Gotta be more to this story…
I’d bet she only got 1/2 of the duplex.
About time somebody started showing that 95% of the “victims” of this bubble are flippers who were trying to make a quick buck and homeowners who used their homes as ATM’s.
yup
‘I think anybody who built anything over $400,000 is pretty puckered up about now,’
Thanks, Don. I really didn’t need to carry around that vision all day long.
You should have seen Cramer this afternoon when he chats with the CNBC anchorette. Not only did he practically state a rate cut is going to happen but then said that once the fed lowers rates enough everyone will be able to afford the 700k loan.
Not only will Cramer save the stock market but he’s going to single handedly demand a bail-out, and get one.
He’s a mostly a fraud, when it comes to stockpicks.
He’s funny, but only in the way that buffoons are funny. An especially loud and greedy buffoon.
“Karl: Not funny ‘ha-ha’, funny queer…”
Sling Blade
Great movie.
[Pam Hannam's story.] She was sold on the idea of renting out half the duplex to help pay for the mortgage but later learned that rents in the area were too low… Hannam says she was talked into buying the duplex with an 80/20 loan — essentially two loans — and has ended up with two foreclosures. “This has ruined me,” said Hannam. “I will be a renter for the rest of my life.”
How sad! She filed for bankruptcy in San Diego and moved to Idaho. She takes on toxic loans to make a bundle off other people’s money. Walks off leaving the bank on the hook. And, now she is going to be branded by that unspeakably horrible title: “rent*r” I can’t even make myself to type that word. How can it happen to a nice woman who only wanted to be a homeowner? It is a shame the fed govt, Congress and Helicopter-BB are not doing something quick to prevent people like her becoming “rent*rs”.
lol, a real sob story.
BTW, people in Idaho are very okie. Lots of stupid people there.
“This has ruined me,” said Hannam. “I will be a renter for the rest of my life.”
Someone find my 20 pound trout. I’ve had it in deepfreeze for a few months. Ruined her? She ruined herself! That pouty picture on the article makes me want to inflict about 40 whacks to the side of the head.
Ahhhh. Looks like the trout is coming back.
Thank you chick, you’re rapidly becoming my favorite.
Every now and then Ben posts a great sob-story like this that sets off everybody on the HBB and I love reading the responses. I think Hannam is this week’s winner.
PS - Who’s got the Joshua tree?
With a face like that you’d be doing her a favor, yeesh !
That’s what paper bags are for.
It’s been a while since we had a comment this ripe and trout ready.
Whew! A renter for the rest of her life - that’s right up there with having that coveted SUV lease out of reach or *even* - drum roll please - not being able to afford the latest Coach bag. How could you not feel the victim in that situation?
And here I was thinking that I could handling renting for the rest of my life. No lawns to mow, no worring about pipes breaking, no tearing down 60 years worth of ceilings. Apparently, however, I’m ruined. Bummer.
With a BK and forclosure she may have trouble becoming a renter, unless she can find a desperate flopper to rent from.
cue frownie face:“I will be a renter for the rest of my life.”
What’s so terrible about being a renter the rest of her life? At least she’ll have a roof over her head.
Sometimes I think folks get “homeless” confused with “mortgage-less”.
“…unless she can find a desperate flopper to rent from.”
That shouldn’t be too hard. Not all of the Pam Hannams of the world will go BK at once, so there will be plenty of rentals available in the bombed-out areas.
I’m just waiting for the floppers to get desperate around here so that I can rent a recently upgraded house with a big back yard for a reasonable price.
Sounds just like my ex. In fact, are you SURE that’s her real name?
“later learned the rents are too low…”
Isn’t that something they teach you in the first day of business school - to research the market to see if your venture would be profitable? How come this idiot didn’t scan the want ads to see what rents were going for before she bought?
“Pitbull Mortgage School”
Amazing how Ms. Hannam tries to look like a victim in her picture. And how did she have a 637 FICO with a bankruptcy??
And how did she have a 637 FICO with a bankruptcy??
Charge it and pay the minimum. The revisions to FICO might help with that a little bit, but don’t hold your breath.
people can buy FICO scores off the shelf.. basically, pay money to someone with a high number and ride “piggyback”.
Someone in this blog posted this link a couple months ago.
Fake Feek-O
(experimenting with the href= thing.. if the above doesn’t work, the link is:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070603/cash_for_credit.html?.v=9
This is coming to an end starting next month. Fair, Isaacs and the boys are already on it. Their new software, which will be upgraded one at a time by the 3 credit bureaus, eliminates all “authorized” users from using someone else’s credit as part of their score.
heh.. reminds me of AV software manufacturers’ struggle to stay one step ahead of the h4×0rs..
“Marc Leibowitz is the new executive officer for the Ada County Association of Realtors, where he has been working to convince everybody he meets that the slowdown in the local residential housing market is not as bad as it appears.”
Is it a requirement that you dropped too many mind altering drugs in your youth to qualify for a job like this ?
the only requirement is one’s ability to convince buyers that there should be a Bible in every home.. even if you happen to be an athiest.
“‘I moved here with so many hopes and aspirations. And the first day people were flipping me off because of my California license plate,’ she said. ‘How did things go so wrong?’”
Idahoans have been flipping off Californians for at least three decades. You’re a little late, sweety.
I talked to a friend yesterday who’s stuck in Boise for the summer. She said she talked to a guy in a store there and he said he was from California and was in Boise thinking of moving there to escape the SoCal air pollution. But he told her the air’s worse in Boise than in LA. He said he didn’t know what to do now.
She said she told him: “You might try Lincoln, Nebraska.”
Boise looks awful good from here (Detroit).
“‘I moved here with so many hopes and aspirations. And the first day people were flipping me off because of my California license plate,’ she said. ‘How did things go so wrong?’”
Translation: “I moved here to exploit people by reselling junk properties”
I guess those Boise people must have thought “flipping her off” was the proper way to greet a “flipper”
I have to wonder if the flipping off had more to do with her driving than her license plate.
“After the Household International episode and several similar cases gave clear evidence of the risks…”
Are they sure their business models did not anticipate this? What if it did? hmm? A new approach?
From Idaho to Iowa - in a nearby small paper (the NSP, fairly typo free) there are three different ads for places available to rent with one being for sale also. The thing is, this is the first time I have ever noticed an ad that did not list the PRICE. Kind of odd for rentals.
Finally our bigger paper is getting serious about foreclosures due. The front page today, very seriously written. Most of the banks properties do not get sold at foreclosure auction, the properties are returned to the bank to be sold by realtors. A complete loop.
So with no last suckers to buy at auction, how long does the realtor let it sit and how will they determine sale price? Is that what the the properties for sale, with no advertised price, are?
They too blame the lenders, such a common talking point for them, as if…
“…But there are people who dug too deep a hole”
In reguards to looking out for the intrest of the buyers, one realtor is quoted, “we should…be including that in our services”. Heh, but they didnt. Nice cartel.
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/22/news/local/doc46cbb9b09f6d7757976862.txt
CNCB just had a segment on investing in foreclosures. Their “experts” were two realtors, one from Stockton CA and the other from Las Vegas. Las Vegas guy said the prices will bottom out at earlier 2005 prices and the Stockton guy said that in 12 years prices will be double what there are today. Looks like the NAR is still hard at work pushing their BS.
oops - they are today
… in 12 years prices will be double what there are today.
In 12 years you can double your money?
Terrific. This will really appeal to the ADD- addle-brained/ instant gratification flipper mindset.
CNBC must not have Clue 1 about who pays attention to its “experts”.
At the rate the Fed is pumping money, it won’t take *six* years for prices to double in nominal terms. Of course gas will be $6.50 a gallon, and a new Toyota will cost $65,000.
Well EVERYone wants to live in Stockton for that “Christ did a cow shit in here !!!??” aroma.
Well EVERYone wants to live in Stockton for that “Christ did a cow shit in here !!!??” aroma.
Oh, man…(ROTFL with tears in my eyes)
LOL
someone who expects realtors to be anything more than the typical comissioned solicitor has also swallowed some of the NAR b.s..
Credit card companies are starting to cancel credit cards for individuals like Pam Hannan in Idaho—it is about time.
Do you have a linky source for this? Today I read about cc rates being raised, which I took as the usual cc company BS. But actually cancelling cards? That’s something new. Usually when you’re in trouble they hand out more credit.
I remember hearing that credit card companies used to target bankruptcy filers for new lines of credit since they couldn’t file bankruptcy again for another 7 or 10 years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118773982869404682.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
I don’t know if it mentions cancelled cards, but limits are being reduced to balance for some folks.
Two more excerpts from the Idaho Statesman interview with Marc Leibowitz, the new executive officer for the Ada County Association of Realtors:
“I remember when the housing appreciation rate was between 9 percent and 13 percent, and I thought that was unsustainable. Then we saw 30 percent to 40 percent appreciation rates, and that surely was not sustainable. Now, we’re in the 5 percent to 6 percent range.”
‘ Leibowitz…was working as an assistant producer at a CBS affiliate in Washington D.C., when federal legislation forced owner Katharine Graham to decide whether to own the station, or the Washington Post. Not surprisingly, she chose The Post. “After that there were some new affirmative action rules, and I messed up the numbers, so I was fired,” Leibowitz recalls.’
“‘A lot of people bought these homes as investment properties, and now they’re losing their shirts,’ said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Trustee Bernie Rakozy. ‘They were trying to make a quick buck, and the truth is now hitting them in the rear because the homes were way overvalued.’”
truth is now hitting them in the rear
Ass pounding???
“‘I moved here with so many hopes and aspirations. And the first day people were flipping me off because of my California license plate,’ she said. ‘How did things go so wrong?’”
If you are gonna do the equity refugee gig, do it intrastate…
Nobody will be pissed off at your Californianess here.
‘How did things go so wrong?’
i agree.. it’s unfathomable.. Is this not the same planet Earth we all know and love? Since when do one’s actions have consequences?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20396081/
“Mortgage industry job cuts surpass 38,000”
‘Andy Roach didn’t foresee the turmoil when he joined Greenpoint in March. As late as June, the 25-year industry veteran thought the business of making “Alternative A” mortgage loans — geared for those with slightly better credit than subprime borrowers — was on a solid track.’
Hey, look– the roaches are being flushed out.
That story went out just a little too early, so it missed the 1200 Lehman… With some rounding, they could have gotten a nice round 40,000.
25 years and he can’t see any problems in June, let alone March.
You can’t fix stupid.
Spikey…you made my day…LMAO
“It’s pretty much a ghost town over there,” Clark said. “Somebody went in and took the furniture from the lobby. I don’t know who did that. I put some of the other stuff in the back and locked it up.”
Thieves among mortgage brokers ? Must be a mistake.
Might want to get into the Pest Control biz…
As a native Californian I am embarrassed by all the as*hats with their stupid real estate pie in the sky scams.
CA had a bad enough image in some areas, especially San Fran, without all this fallout. Heck, I remember the novelty of having a blue n gold CA plate in FL in the 80’s …. people would ask if I knew any movie stars. Seriously.
We would trade some jokes back n forth, all very friendly, good natured.
NOW I guess I better get some side amour & a gun turrent for any more long trips!!
Hey not every one abhors Californians! Some of us dislike the illegal immigrants from Illinois.
S.P.Q.A.
Senate of the People of the Rome? Wait.. America?
SPQR had its power taken when Julius Ceasar usurped power through control of the military and favorable populast opinion.
Some deeper meaning to SPQA?
That article on “subprime lending” was the headline/front page article in the Bellingham Sunday paper this week. It was a very well written primer on the evolution and consequences of the lending debacle that inflated RE prices and should have scared the bejesus out of any seller whose head isn’t firmly planted in the sand.
We still have plenty of “head firmly in sand ” sellers up here though. All of my friends are still chasing the market down and wondering why their homes won’t sell. They don’t even bother to look at the properties down the street that have come on the market in the past month that are bigger, nicer, better homes than theirs and CHEAPER.
Here’s a clueless seller I found last night on the MLS (thank God, not a friend of mine, nor even an acquaintance):
The home in question was first on the market in December ‘05 at 480K. (The market here, despite the realtor propaganda, had already softened by then). After numerous price reductions, they sold in May ‘06 for 430K.
Now, just about a year later, it’s back on the market. The knife catchers are asking 495 K. Oh boy, this one’s going to be an interesting one to watch. I smell a foreclosure in the offing and it’s a pretty nice house too.
My Seattle friends are in the process of getting absolutely slaughtered by their greed. Could have sold at any point last year and up to a few months ago and made a 200K profit. Instead, they poured money into the house (on the recommendation of their brilliant Realtor) to the tune of 40 K and have already knocked 100K off the price since May. There’s no way in hell it’ll sell now because there are much better homes in the same block for lower prices this week. The outright stupidity is hard to witness, thank goodness I can vent about it here.
Pam Hannam story can be summed up as “The devil let me do it”.
Wait until the 1099 comes, she doesn’t pay the taxes, and the govt takes her F250.
Then the po-po show up and arrest her for signing a loan doc that listed he income much higher than it actually was and for lying when asked about prior bankruptcy. (That isn’t in the story directly, but it is hinted at…
“I don’t know how she did it,” said a local banker, who spoke on condition he not be identified. “I could not have made that loan, even under the most aggressive guidelines we had in 2005. After such a recent bankruptcy, the most I could have gotten her was 80 percent financing.”
She bought not knowing what rent she could charge? She bought even though it needed repairs and didn’t know she was overpaying? She didn’t know her loans had pre-pay penalties?
You could fill the universe with what she didn’t know.
Who says the credit report wasn’t fake .
WOW!!! 4 banks borrow $2 billion from the Fed discount window, and BoA suddenly invests in Countrywide… How much??? $2 billion.
Purely coincidence that the amount borrowed from the Fed discount windoe EXACTLY matches the amount invested in Countrywide.
I think we just saw the Countrywide bailout to keep them solvant a few more days…. But why was BoA willing to becme the bag holder? Don’t they have to be bankrupt to actually not pay back the Fed loans?
Oak Harbor, Washington: The hot RE market 2 years ago also triggered a new construction boom. Now many of the listings are empty new homes offered by local builders. There is also a large condo project under construction to add to the inventory. I expect news stories in the next 2 years about local builders going bankrupt.
Up to 646 signatures.
Feel free to sign if you haven’t and pass it along to others : )
http://www.petitiononline.com/bailout/petition.html
Tom, I’m considering signing…it just seems to sound…what are the words…kinda forgiving. My sentiments are more like this:
“Hell NO! I’m as mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!… I’ve had enough of this Sh@t…and I’m not going to take anymore!”
Any politician that raises their voice for a “bailout” should be tar & feathered AND burnt at the stake…read my sputtering lips: NIX, NIX, NIX!
“‘A lot of people bought these homes as investment properties, and now they’re losing their shirts,’ said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Trustee Bernie Rakozy. ‘They were trying to make a quick buck, and the truth is now hitting them in the rear because the homes were way overvalued.’”
A lot of people stick their fingers into electrical sockets too. These and the above are collectively known as “stupids”. And their stupidity is what helped drive home-prices to astronomical highs.
So my pity-level for them is @ about .00003 % right now.
I hope these fatheaded flippers get dropkicked. I get sick of the California yuppies and looters moving in and ruining everything around here. Quite honestly, for people who are so openminded, a good majority of them must have a gold plated flagpole shoved up their butt. Granted, there are some west coasters who actually are civil but from what I’ve experienced, maybe 80% of them are rude, evasive, braindead and flatout clueless. I’m not too fond of the mountain state peoples either but I can understand why Idahoans would give the one finger salute to someone in an F250.
BTW, what’s with the SUV obsession nowadays? You’d think that with gas at $3/gallon these people would trade in that wierd yuppie bling and get maybe a KIA. Am I the only one who wonders that?
Well, FYI, many here in the Vancouver area still firmly believe “that it won’t happen here.”
Isn’t that a riot?