Bits Bucket And Craigslist Finds For October 12, 2007
Please post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here!
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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I would like to propose a one time 401K withdrawal penalty moratorium. Say, no or limited taxes with withdrawal limits to say 100K. That should free up some liquidity to the middle class. Everyone else is getting bailed out, why not some help for the savers?
Good point. I think the idea would help to further enslave a wide swath of middleclass to the wealthy elite and coporate pimps. I would expect this to be thrown out on the table very soon.
Probably not the smartest move in regards to personal finances and in the long term in regards to dealing with retirement in regards to cost to society. However, in the short term it could save alot of FBs who will go under which in turn would put more stress on the financial systems in the here and now. So I think this option would also indirectly result in a bailout of wall street and simultaneously just end up robbing peter to pay paul for main street (i.e. exacerbate the looming retirement debacle to avoid more clear and present danger of a home foreclosure/bankruptcy tsunami)
yes, but it just defers their day of reckoning. They will never put the $ back and so they will be homeless for retirement…
Actually, they won’t be homeless. There should be plenty of vacant homes for them to take shelter in - they’ll just have to do it unannounced.
Why do today what you can put off to tomorrow?
Should be a new verse in the national anthem or something.
And it converts funds that are not subject to creditors into funds that might be subject to creditors.
add a verse on how patriotic it is to buy on credit
And the loan light’s bright scars, were so gallant bleeding
Add a verse of how the patriot act takes away our freedoms under the bill of rights and how the freedom act guarantees mental health screenings for kids in public school.
It might not be a bad idea if people had the discipline to put the money back before too long. But given the pathetic savings rate and our spendthrift ways most of the money would just get spent either on toys already paid for and new ones. I tend to agree with exeter in that it would just lock in even more people as wage slaves for their entire life.
“It might not be a bad idea if people had the discipline to put the money back before too long.”
Or used it as principle on a 50% discounted home purchase.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. You could pull your money out and put it in a safe place for a year or two. The bulk of the FBs would see this as a windfall and buy cars, SUVs, vacations, fake thingies, etc. with their money. They would once again wind up broke and then would have no ammunition left to drive up the house prices. Prices would continue to drop and those of us that are responsible could swoop in and make a nice purchase. I like this idea, as long as it is available to non-FBs to also participate. I think I will email Chucky Boy Schumer and Carmela Clinton.
As I read somewhere (and I’d love to find the article again):
The difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich save money and the poor spend it. When a poor person says they want to be rich, what they really mean is that they would like to have the money of a rich person so that they could spend it … and end up being poor again.
Or as the NYCityBoy broken record likes to say, “it doesn’t matter how much money you make. If you spend more than you make, you are still broke.”
I was having this dicussion the other day with a lady who works with people in local slum areas. She said she felt that probably 80% of people in those areas are there through situations of their own making and maybe 20% are genuinely in need. She was shocked at the number of what she called “sweet rides” (automobiles) that she saw parked in some of these areas and started telling me about these “rims” that are popular in the ghettos. Thousands of dollars. Is that serious? I don’t keep up with that stuff, but thousands of dollars for rims?
I always told the summer associates at the law firms where I worked that they couldn’t spend the money twice. We made excellent salaries for the time. But if you wanted to pay off your student loans, you couldn’t live like you were making an excellent salary. If you wanted to live like well paid lawyer, you couldn’t pay off your student loans quickly. One or the other - not both.
Me? I paid off my loans in just under 3 years.
Yes, that’s right. $5-6,000 is not uncommon for a wheel and tire package. Zero down, of course.
bling still rules, for the time being.
“$5-6,000 is not uncommon for a wheel and tire package.”
Holy Crap!
Theres a rim leasing store in a nearby ghetto. Brilliant.
FLL Renter,
You’re kidding … aren’t you? A rim leasing store?
That’s it. I’m heading for the hills.
Rent-A-Rim
Can someone PLEASE explain to me why people buy those goofy rims that spin??? All you’re doing is paying hundreds of dollars (or more) for for the right to MAYBE have someone else to look at your ride and say “cool.”
And YOU, the buyer of that crap, can’t even see them!!!!
Statsman’s post @ 05:49:59 is dead on the mark. That’s why “the village” agenda is doomed to failure. Sorry, but that’s the reality.
Example: I ride the bus everyday because I hate driving in traffic, most of the other riders ride the bus because they have no car - but will buy one (a terrible investment) the first chance they get - with rims of course. Believe it!
Worse - Have any of you every heard of renting/leasing designer bags and accessories?
http://www.bagborroworsteal.com/
Doesn’t seem like the most fiscally sound idea to me.
“All you’re doing is paying hundreds of dollars (or more) for for the right to MAYBE have someone else to look at your ride and say “cool.” ”
It doesn’t just apply to rims. In the past few years, for some reason, clothes from Timberland became in vogue with the urban crowd. Timberland’s logo is a tiny 1-inch tree. But suddenly, those little trees got really big. The tree logo would take up the whole T-shirt, or I’d see a 3-inch tree on the tongue of the boots. Oh, and suddenly you could get those boots in pink (for the ladies), and the price went up.
It’s all about image.
yo!!! u be dissin’ my spinnaz!
Can someone PLEASE explain to me why people buy those goofy rims that spin??? All you’re doing is paying hundreds of dollars (or more) for for the right to MAYBE have someone else to look at your ride and say “cool.”
IMHO, they look stupid. I wouldn’t put them on my car if they were free.
A lot of people do get them for free. They STEAL them. Putting spinning rims on your car is an open invitation for a car jacking, IMO.
I am feeling the need to stand up for the poor.
Yes, many of them are poor because of their own doing. My father is a school psychologist and does testing on many children to determine whether they need to be in special ed, need social attention, etc. This involves talking to the children and really listening to what they say.
First, he is probably the first person to actually pay attention to the child. Second, he is continually surprised at the material things they are surrounded with. Most welfare children he talks to have an XBox and a pair of Nikes. Why? Because their parents. The child grows up in a financially retarded household. The child has the TV (full of consumerist commercials aimed at children) as a babysitter. The child is most likely in a school that is set up for failure. What do you expect? Of course the kid is going to eat junk food and buy $6000 rims for his car.
Most of us on this blog would have been successful no matter how poor we started. We have the inquisitive minds to seek out knowledge and put it to use. The majority of humans are not like us. The majority of middle class and upper class kids are successful simply because they grew up in a middle class or upper class household. The majority of ghetto kids will stay in the ghetto simply because they were never raised as well as the middle class and upper class kids. Sad, but true.
It’s easy to rant about the poor financial decisions of people in the ghetto. But most of those people have no idea how dumb they are with money. Of course they will always be poor. It’s not funny.
the insecure care about what other people think of them - but ironically enough, those who have more sense just look at them and think how insecure they must be to have to try so hard to look cool
Brian of chicago - a lot of Boomers (and their parents) grew up relatively poor, they had the basics, but nothing else. yet many became college grads or did well in their own businesses etc. The difference between them and the ghetto kids of today is no TV to pollute their minds and teach them that you are what you own (or appear to own).
found it.
http://tinyurl.com/2ofb2u
Riding the train from the Jersey Shore to NYC, there was a shop in I believe Rahway “Rim Jobs”. Had to get off the train one day and walk to it to take a picture to show some people… The Rims there averaged in price about 1/3 the annual salary of the people, I guessed… terrifying.
Lost in Utah,
I grew up monetarily poor because of hippy parents with different priorities. But culturally we were not poor. I went to a fancy college from public school. I think alot about what the difference is. I had access to books, intellectual conversations, ideas… when it came to interviewing for college being white didn’t hurt i’d say. Alot of factors gave me a leg up over other kids with similar economic circumstances.
However, even so i know it could easily have gone another way. One or two missed or denied opportunities and i’d be floundering now.
Brian in Chicago is right on the mark. People do come up out of poverty. However, it is an exceptional achievement. It requires uncommon personal traits and luck. Most people are too influenced by their surroundings to do it. But this is not a criticism of them it’s just the way people are.
People in fortunate circumstances tend to downplay their good fortune. It also fits with the myth of American meritocracy and the self made man.
also, for tab. i think renting bling articles is a fantastic idea! it makes a hell of alot more financial sense than buying them. fashion by nature changes constantly and no one knows you are just renting. you get all of the benefits for a whole lot less.
Westwood,
Thank you - I appreciate your effort.
A few years back when rims were starting to become popular, a dishwasher at a local hotel was interviewed because his $8,000 rims were stolen. The guy was 33, lived at home (IIRC), and when asked what he would do, the guy said “I’m saving up for a new set”. I was floored by someone making minimum wage spending that kind of money on rims. It goes without saying that the less money you make, the more vehicle you own.
I have a friend who manages a discount tire store in a gang infested neighborhood and sells at least a dozen sets of flashy rims every week. Most of the rim buyers pay with crumbled bills, and even though they live in poverty, have money stuffed in their pockets. I can guess what they do for a living…
at Lost in Utah @ 08:03:14
That reminds me of the way the frat boys run for the bus in a sort of loping trot walk, trying to pretend that they are casually crossing the street with all the time in the world, not rushing to catch the bus so they don’t have to stand around waiting.
That also reminds me of the high school boys who have to hold their pants up when they run. I never saw so many fashion victims in my life! I thought the baggy pants (clown pants) would have gone out with the 1990’s, but they’re back with a vengeance.
Remember when we used to criticize confining skirts and heels on women’s evening wear in the 1980’s as rapewear? Well, when you wear your shorts so far down your drawers are showing (at least it isn’t plumber’s crack), it has about the same effect of constricting movement. Some ladies told me they were a bit worried that those boys were unwittingly enticing ex-cons to “punk” them.
Brian in Chicago, Thank you for your post above.
For some, it would be a way to get those assets out of dollars. For most, it would be a way to get them out of the stock market. I don’t think it would be wall street positive at all. It might drive the consumer economy for a while.
get it out off dollars and into 10-tola bars. Why 10-tola bars? Well, they aren’t called the smuggler’s friend for nothing…
“Everyone else is getting bailed out, why not some help for the savers?”
I would like forgiveness of some of my mortgages percentage points (similar to those whose ARMs might not adjust to the numbers delineated in the contract they signed).
My mortgage is fixed.
Too bad the FBs aren’t.
Yes they are…. think “neutered.”
The trouble is that they are only financially neutered.
once your CC indebtedness passes 50k, you should be neutered - a new career for realtors - the fix patrol
Agreed… In light of what might be called the “APR Bailout Proposal,” I believe my wife are I should be granted a 200-bp reduction to our 4.625% fixed rate 15-year mortgage. In fact, make it a 462.5-bp reduction; why should we even pay any interest at all?
Ha, I think I’m finally getting into this whole FB entitlement mentality thing. Free 70-inch plasma screens for all, and a credit card in every pocket!
If that is the case then cargo pants will be the new rage. They have more pockets then any other type of slacks!!
Chances are people who took out risky loans aren’t putting diddly into their 401k, so this really doesn’t benefit anyone.
Like above comment, it would allow savers to remove money and park in foreign markets to hedge against dollar slide. I’m trapped in my 401K unless I take the tax hit and 10% penalty. Limited choices in portfolio as well.
I hate plans that have limited options, and I wish employees would get more upset about it and make their views known to the plan administrators, but it doesn’t seem like something folks think about when looking for a job. Luckily my wife has access to the Thrift Savings Plan which is quite good and all my old 401(k)s have been rolled over into IRAs.
You can do what I did to get out of this:
Change jobs and rollover your 401k into an IRA. When Charles Schwab couldn’t tell me what their “stable value fund” was invested in (it took two days of phone calls to Schwab and our 401k plan administrator at my old job to finally answer that question) I took that as a sign to ensure I manage things myself. Of course, at this point I had already changed jobs, rather than changing jobs just to be able to rollover my 401k.
The various government Ponzi entitlement/pension schemes aka SS, Medicaid, Medicare, et. el., with their underlying basis of letting the next generation pay for the previous one’s benefits are bankrupt.
You can tax the fook out of the Gen X,Y, Z’ers and there still isn’t any way $53 trillion is gonna get paid off.
I’m really thinkin’ of voting for the Hillary and Nancy Pony & Dog Show just to get a laugh as the whole rotten mess implodes on itself.
Nanny State City, with free health & child care for all backed by a worthless currency-whatta trip!
Of course the Wall Street Banksters have known full well the jig is up and have undertaken it upon themselves to loot the till.
401 take-outs will do nothing more other than rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, but WTF you might as well grab the dough and live it up while you still buy something with what will soon become worthless paper.
I kinda feel the same way HD…Just have not figured out where to go and hide yet….
Don’t get carried away folks - Google up the average 401k balance. Those that do save won’t be suckered it squandering it right now - so such a measure will not save the hyper-consumers.
I’d like it, because I could liberate myself from an old 401K and keep adding to a new one. And - I’d keep in “cash” for the short term as stocks fell on these redemptions, and slowly buy back in as the marekt recovered.
It would also be a nice “dry run” for the market to test future boomer-retirement-driven withdrawls.
I think I could limit my “reward myself” impulse to a new guitar, a new suit, and an inexpensive vacation (about $2,500 total) of the $100k
“I would like to propose a one time 401K withdrawal penalty moratorium.”
Any such action would cause the stock market to lose 20-30% instantly. Where do you think most of that money is? The Bigs (or better-put - Pigs) wouldn’t let that happen.
Personally, I don’t think it is wise for any individual to touch
defered contributions such as 401(k) plans before
retirement under *any* circumstance.
But, I am all for declaring a cease fire in the War on Savers.
One approach would be suspend or reduce income taxes
on interest income from CD’s and short/long term capital
gains on stocks.
Of course, I would bet the odds are better for Santa Claus
coming down the chimney before this happens…
what? you mean he doesn’t???? gonna be a cold Christmas for many…
Beazer Homes Reports Surge in Cancellations
The Wall Street Journal
Posted: 2007-10-12 07:15:55
Beazer said 68% of prospective home buyers canceled their orders in the just-ended quarter, up from 36% in the prior quarter.
Is that “Taps” I hear playing??
wow, you would think 100% would have cancelled back in 06 !!!
In looking at what the HBs have built, if they all go belly-up, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings in the least. I don’t know about anyone else, but these large swaths of identical tract homes make me sick to my stomach. It’s “corporate housing” and like much corporate product, there’s a dull, sickening, depressing sameness to these structures. It sort of represents the future under a “global” corporate model. And as someone mentioned here on the blog, you can’t even have a basketball hoop for the kids without someone reporting you to the “board”, which will then levy a nice fine. All in the name of “property values”. Which are in the crapper anyway.
In unrelated news, Deutsche Bank upgrades the homebuilder segment to “STRONG BUY”.
Wow, NYCityBoy. Well, I suppose that doesn’t surprise me, doesn’t Deutsche have a lot of toxic product on its books?
Palmie, I was somewhat kidding. It was two days ago that Deutsche upgraded some of the homebuilders.
Check out CTX. They announced that they will be writing off $850 million. That is an $8 per share writeoff. Does anybody think this will be the final writedown? CTX has surged in the past two weeks to $30 per share. It will be interesting to see if they take a big hit today.
The long crowd on HBs like to point to book value. When you can lose $8 in book value in a single day, book value doesn’t seem to be a good metric. The only thing that matters now for the HBs is cash flow. Something tells me that’s a fight they are losing. We all know the income statement and the balance sheet can so easily be manipulated. “Where’s the dough?”
Oh my gosh, so they still have more crap to unload?
And in a related story …
Deutsche Bank executives are committed to the local insame asylum for coming up with idiotic investment plans.
They will be housed in the cell next to Stephen Kim of Citigroup in the Mozilo wing of the prison. HBO will be filming a show based on the experience. The show will be called “Moz” and star Edie Falco.
“so they still have more crap to unload?”
LOL! I think a number of financial entities have an ungodly case of constipation right now.
SPF: 0, as in going to jail.
That’s what the protesters in front of cfc, should have on their signs…
“The long crowd on HBs like to point to book value.”
I played that game six months ago- with some of the HBs at 0.5 x book, I thought it was relatively safe- until the BV took a nosedive, and the multiples did not come back up to where they were.
Deutsche Bank - the same folks that called XOM “overvalued” and a “sell” at $36.00 Not joking.
I don’t know about anyone else, but these large swaths of identical tract homes make me sick to my stomach.
Believe me, it’s not just you. What bothers me the most is that the houses are all lined up, and the spaces between are all exactly the same, as if they put the houses up on a piece of graph paper.
It reminds me of the “Camazotz” suburbs from A Wrinkle in Time. (if anyone remembers that from elementary school). Maybe John Toll is “IT.”
That part of the book scared me when I was little. And those new tracts definitely bring that to mind!
Do they still build identical tract homes? I thought the HB had at least done a good job of varying the styles, unlike in the olden times of Leavitt.
I wonder which presidential candidate would most likely bring WantsOut’s dream to reality? How about going one further and having complete elimination of the income tax??
Got Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul2008.com
Better yet, how about a FAIR tax. When we are all paying 28-34% on hourly wages and Wall Street thugs are paying 15% on millions in fees, I’d say it’s high time to even things up.
Don’t say that. You might make Rudy Giuliani cry. We “need” those pigmen, don’t you know?
What about a “head” tax in lieu of all other taxes (property, income, estate, etc.). Everyone pays the same DOLLAR amount per person. The amount should be determined by popular referendum, NOT by the government.
No, it would not be “fair” but what else in life is? And there is a certain logic, since govt services are supposed to be provided equally to all.
When I saw “head tax” I was thinking something else completely different.
I certainly hope you’re not engaging in class warfare.
The wealthy need lower taxation rates in order to show the rest of us how great it is to be rich.
Fortunately, those richies are getting even richer:
The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.
(Source: that hotbed of class warfare, the WSJ.)
ET…. ya like that perverted twisted use of “class warfare” huh? No doubt who has been waging war and who is losing. To deny is futile.
Why is it only labeled class warfare when the underlings respond?
CarrieAnn, I presume you mean the “not wealthy” when you say underlings?
Because CarrieAnn there is more of us vs. them
“Why is it only labeled class warfare when the underlings respond?”.
CarrieAnn, I prefer the term “Morlocks”.
“Why is it only labeled class warfare when the underlings respond?”
Carrie Ann, I prefer the term “Morlocks”.
Garrett, I agree with the elimination of the income tax. It would be a great burden lifted off the shoulders of the American people. It is nothing but a tool of social engineering. It’s a penalty on earning and saving.
And he who cheats most, cheats best.
But then the poor single mothers couldn’t get back $6,000 to $9,000 without paying anything into the system, by means of the EITC.
Actually they do have to earn some money. If the earn zero money they get no EITC.
tax reform must be a grass roots thing. Voters must do it by pressuring their reps in Congress.. the executive branch is no more than a backseat driver.
What makes you think Congress takes its orders from the people? Only when you have someone in the white house who can DEMAND attention and can rally support can you get congress to budge.
i wasn’t suggesting that congress takes orders from anyone.
were you around for the 1994 election? ever heard of Newt Gingrich?
presidents do not make or change law or allocate money.. and can’t demand squat.. all s/he can do is veto.
Ahh but if your the President you can ignore certain parts of a law.
Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) — Centex Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder, will record almost $1 billion in land-related writedowns and writeoffs as the housing slump deepens.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4ZmfVhrbtOA
That seems like quite a bit (1B dollar writedown). What is the total value of all the land they are holding on thier books? If they are holding 2B and just wrote it down to 1B, that’s a move in the right direction. If they are holding 20B, and just wrote it down to 19B, that’s crap, and they have MANY more writedowns ahead of them!
They have a $3.6 billion market cap and just had to writedown $1 billion. Bye bye shareholder equity. That must be a signal that the bottom is in. Where’s Stephen Kim?
Easy to find.
June 30th consolidated balance sheet for CTX shows “Land Related” totals $8,894,702.
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/fetchFilingFrameset.aspx?dcn=0000950134-07-016300&Type=HTML
Ron Paul is doing an on-line chat on the Washington Post website today at 10:00 AM. You can submit questions or comments ahead of time here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/01/DI2007100101451.html
Use the same link to read the chat either during the live chat or after it is over.
Last night I listened to Ron Paul speak at the Robert Taft club, a libertarian group in Arlington Va. It was packed. Standing room only.
His messages included:
The government should not go to war without congress first declaring war.
He wants to abolish a lot things we don’t need, including the federal reserve.
He wants people to be free to run their own lives.
In his office he has only a few pictures. One includes a picture of Grover Cleveland with the quote, “What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?”
As John Stewart said, “You appear to have consistent principled integrity, but Americans don’t seem to go for that.”
We’ll see
Arlington will go dem or reporklican, same thing these days
who ever will spend the most and hire the most gov workers gets the vote within 20 miles of dc
Less than 15% of federal government jobs are within the beltway. San Diego CA, Huntsville AL, Jacksonville FL and many other cities have a large amount of federal workers.
fed workers speak of retirement,sick day,vacation day
NEVER accomplishments that number = 0
They all look the same, too. They’re pasty and pudgy and utterly unimaginative.
Most gov workers (direct, not subcontractors) never worked in industry, heck, never DID anything. Once they got in the “system”, that was it. They love security, but they also spend too much.
Most of them are earning more than they could hope to in the private sector because they are not high achievers. Those who are, eventually leave for better things.
This is not so true on the state and local level, for various reasons … though there are quite a few drones in the Mass. state gov. who do very little these days now that they have these things called “personal computers”. Strange…
(Despite the “Taxachusetts” moniker, these employees don’t earn much, either, though I guess anything is a lot for doing so little. Remember, this is the state that used to pay social workers in the child protective system 1.5x federal minimum wage. Nice.)
Arlington is probably the strongest democrat jurisdiction in Virginia . Alexandria is right there are well. Perhaps some heavily African-American areas in Richmond or Hampton/Newport News could vie for that, as well. Pretty reliable democrat territory.
I’m certainly interested in reading the chat after it is over. The Post does a good job on these things. I find them very revealing. Most are with post writers and columnists. The home decorating one has been notably less filled with people who are involved in major kitchen renovations very recently. And the personal finance one is run by a woman who is constantly correcting people when they say they used a home equity loan to pay off a credit card (that isn’t paying it off, that is taking out more debt) and telling them to get a second job if they don’t have enough money.
Thanks Polly, I posted my proposal. We’ll see if gets any air time.
I sent a question….now, how does one read or hear the live chat from that link??
Under the same link where you posted your question.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all national income in 2005 — a postwar record. The bottom 50% made 12.8%.
WSJ: http://tinyurl.com/323f5l
Let them eat Homes
ROFL
You so crazy!
without a doubt same story in most of Europe and certainly in the UK and Netherlands, the income /wealth gap it the biggest in the last 60 years (and maybe even last 100 years). If you look at the top 0.1% or so the difference is even more obscene.
It’s that “skills gap” that Bu$h keeps talking about. They are better skilled at bending the rest of us over, therefore they deserve to make that much money. The skills on that Steven Schwarzman guy are just phenomenal. Same with that Mozilo fellow.
“They are better skilled at bending the rest of us over, therefore they deserve to make that much money.”
Oh, amen and testify, brothah!
I think the most important part of the skills gap is what these people are totally lacking, like honesty and a sense of responsibility. That makes it much easier to operate in the current political/economic climate.
A rising tide lifts all boats - unless…..
Got debt?
–
What is never mentioned is the fact that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between Pushing Debt on households and concentration of wealth, especially, via financial means.
Jas
If anyone attends the home auction in Chicago tomorrow (10/13), please post on the happenings. I posted this last weekend too, but this is Day 2 of the auction. I’m just curious to see if there are many buyers there and if anything sells.
Looks like they cleared out the inventory from the ‘burbs last weekend and most of what is left are Chicago properties.
I didn’t hear a peep on this from the media, so this week I sent emails to Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald asking if they were going to report on it. No response, but will be interesting to see.
http://www.ushomeauction.com/auction_details.php?auctionID=H-007
I have seen the ads on TV for that auction. I won’t go, I am busy this weekend but besides, the houses are horrible and in so-so places. Some of them are way overpriced.
In DuPage county banks are still expecting to get top dollar for their REOs. I follow some interesting REOs but they are trying to get the mortgage balance (most of them purchased in 2003-2005). Maybe next year, however they will be sitting empty during the winter so it could be tricky.
US Home Auction Terms and Conditions, Section 3) Bidding and Buying at the Auction:
“….Auctioneer may open bidding on any Property by placing a bid on behalf of the Seller. The Auctioneer may further bid on bahalf of the Seller, up to the amount of the Reserve Price, by placing successive or consecutive bids for a Property, or by placing bids in response to other bidders….”
Translation: US Home Auctions allow the seller to bid against you!!! This is a SHILL auction. You will get rolled. No need to report on anything. It is a set up from day one.
“The Auctioneer may further bid on bahalf of the Seller, up to the amount of the Reserve Price.”
Why not just start at the reserve price then? Oh wait, maybe the builders are just feeling out the bidders’ intended lowball prices.
If they disclosed the reserve price, no one would show up. This way, they get the hook into you with the “offering price”. According to a recent study, only 11 of 66 units closed escrow 60 days after the last Sacramento auction.
The Sacramento Bee newspapar said NONE of the downtown River’s Side condos sold two weeks ago, as no bid cleared the lender’s reserve price.
Soon, auctions with no reserves….or no bidders will show. Buyers are getting tired of the shenanigans.
Centex homes is having a 12-hour sale this Saturday as well. An advertisement on Chicago radio station KISS FM indicates that discounts will be “up to $100,000″.
For those not from Chicago - if you could see an average KISS FM listener you’d understand perfectly why Centex advertised there. (I heard it in the gym last night - so don’t flame me for it.)
Pulte Homes is having a MONSTER Sales for Halloween discounts between 25k to 75k in their outer locations (I guess they mean Oswego, Plainfield, Elgin…really far in the ex-burbs).
I heard it this morning on the radio and I thougth they are more and more like a car dealer or a furniture store!
The houses up for auction within Chicago are mostly in dodgy neighborhoods. A lot of boardups in that lot, too — talk about curb appeal.
It’d be interesting to know how many of the homes sell at all.
In this market, maybe automobile style lease would be appropriate for houses. Say 5 or 10 year, agreed uppon residual value, wear and tear allowances (Maximum miles per year).
Nice thought but people will never accept that a home can be a depreciating asset in the same way that a car is.
Retail sales held up by inflation. Go Bendover!
“U.S. retail sales were stronger than expected in September, rising 0.6% in September on strong sales of gasoline, autos and food, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Excluding vehicles, sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, as expected. Excluding both vehicles and gasoline, sales increased 0.2%, the government said.
Sales were weak at the mall, but healthier for consumer durable goods, food and drugs.
“U.S. consumers are holding their own for the time being, but it’s only a matter of time before deepening home price deflation, tighter credit conditions and an ebbing job creation trend take their toll,” wrote Michael Gregory, an economist for BMO Capital Markets, ahead of the release.”
http://tinyurl.com/3y6jnt
Uhm, did we buy more food and gas or just pay more for the normal amount of food and gas?
You never know. We just keep getting bigger and bigger. Perhaps a recession would be good for our health.
AAAAAHHHHH, THIS IS SO INFURIATING!!!!! IT IS NOT INFLATION ADJUSTED!!! WE’RE BUYING THE SAME SH!T, AT A HIGHER PRICE!!
Article on exactly that subject just published about Cuba the Science section of the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/health/09nutr.html
Perhaps a recession would be good for our health ??
I agree BUT the chaos that will result from a recession will feel more like a depression this time around…I am quite sure none of us want that no matter what your financial situation may be…
We pay more for less, for all the important non-core items. That leaves less money to be spent for purchases that affect core inflation. The lower the number goes, the more pressure on the number to go down further? Perhaps they HAVE solved the inflation problem.
PPI up larger than expected however core rate blah, blah, blah…
“U.S. producer prices rose by a larger-than-expected 1.1% in September but core inflation increased a tame 0.1%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Higher energy and food prices accounted for most of the gain in September in the producer price index for finished goods. It was the largest gain in the PPI since February.
Energy prices rose 4.1% in September, the most since November, as wholesale gasoline prices jumped 8.4%. Natural gas and home heating oil also rose. Food prices rose 1.5%, the most since March.”
http://tinyurl.com/2lmpfs
If only you could add flatulence sounds to your post, it would be much better. Those numbers are just one big wet fart.
The important thing is that plasma will be cheap in time for the Super Bowl. Heating oil - who needs heating oil? Hedonics would suggest the a good substitute would be a 55 gal. drum stuffed with the wood framing from an abandoned worksite from some subdivision.
We could call these 55 gal. fire drums - Barnake Barrels.
ROFLMAO. You better believe I have 2 Bernanke Barrels in my garage right now. End cuts from moldings that our mill makes. I have a working wood-burning stove in my basement that gets fired up on the coldest days. I think I’m gonna spraypaint BEN on the sides of them tonight.
Party Crasher
http://www.stockmania.com/index.php?showimage=65
Kahuna, that is awesome.
LOVE the Kramer caricature. Too funny!
Thanks!
I did a follow up
http://www.stockmania.com/index.php?showimage=66
Murky Pricing? Better title would be “How the Banks Hide the Sausage”
“Some financial firms have sought in recent weeks to avoid write-downs by selling mortgage positions to hedge funds, with an agreement that allows the hedge fund to sell them back after a set period. A hedge-fund trader says his firm recently bought $1 billion of risky subprime mortgage loans from Bear Stearns with a one-year pact, known as a “mandatory auction call,” under which Bear agrees to participate in an auction for the loans that will provide the hedge fund with a minimum rate of return, according to a person familiar with the situation. “They didn’t want the mortgages on their books,” the hedge-fund manager says.
Such financial arrangements typically are considered proper if there’s an economic purpose to the trade and if risk is taken on by both parties. Legal problems could arise if such trades are part of an attempt to conceal a company’s financial picture, regulators say.
Securities regulators also are examining whether financial firms are valuing assets consistently and fairly. Differing valuations have been accepted at some Wall Street firms in some circumstances. For example, some dealers provide “valuation marks” to investors who own bonds outright, and different “collateral marks” on bonds that dealers accept as collateral on loans to investors, traders and investors say. But dealers aren’t allowed to assign higher values to securities they themselves own than to the same securities owned by clients.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119214581308956665.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
That is f***ing outrageous - done specifically to dress things up to pay large bonuses, despite the big losses they’ve incurred.
Shhh! Everything is contained.
The actions are probably being done and may have been suggested with full and implicit knowledge of the FDIC (Federal Reserve). The losses are staggering.
Remember there are only $45B in reserves backing up $15T in assets (loans).
Wasn’t it BSC that came out with a strong buy on New Century (?) only to have them file bankrupcy weeks later. Why weren’t they called on that?
Wasn’t it BSC that came out with a strong buy on New Century (?) only to have them file bankrupcy weeks later. Why weren’t they called on that?
S&P had a strong buy on AHM the day it declared bankruptcy. They changed their four-star rating to two the next day. Thanks for the heads-up S&P!
Nice of the WSJ to bird dog this practice for the SEC, FED, Treasury, Bank Examiners, etc., etc. Don’t any of the idiots in the alphabet soup organizations do anything?
Paging the SEC, can you guys take Wall Street’s _-_-_-_ out of your mouth and start doing some investigation?
didn’t enron do the same thing to hide their loses?
How about the rats leaving the sinking ship….who is bailing out of the game?
On Friday, the FBI and IRS arrested Sennett Swift, a loan officer with First Liberty Financial in Sacramento. He was arrested while boarding a flight at Sacramento International Airport. Agents said at the time, he had thousands of dollars in cash and believe he was trying to flee the state…
http://sacramentolanding.blogspot.com/2007/10/take-money-and-run.html
There are getting to be a lot of housing bubble participants that don’t want to play anymore!
Dunmore Communities, Liberty Mortgage, and the list is growing…
similar to what I mentioned yesterday, that executives of at least ten Dutch RE investment funds/companies disappeared from the planet in the last weeks, taking many millions of investment euros with them. I think it’s going to get crowded on the Cayman Islands, Vanuatu and similar locations.
Hey all you Ron Paul fans–he’s on CSPAN right now (between 9:30 and 10:00 am EDT) taking calls.
Watching it right now and I would have missed it if it wasn’t for your post. Thanks!
NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Friday it added temporary reserves to the banking system through 3-day repurchase agreements.
Federal funds last traded in the market at 4.813 percent, above the Fed’s target rate of 4.75 percent.
*********************************************************
I understand the saturation some may have about this “news” here, but when the rollovers stop, I’ll stop. When the banks are solvent this will stop. I think this may not come to an end for quite some time.
NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Friday it added $7.5 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system through 3-day repurchase agreements.
Federal funds last traded in the market at 4.813 percent, the same as before the operation but still above the Fed’s target rate of 4.75 percent.
The Fed said collateral accepted in the operation was $200 million in Treasuries, $3.128 billion in agency debt and $4.172 billion in mortgage-backed securities.
************************************************
if my memory serves correctly, this indicates 1.5B got sucked out of the sloshing dollars….
Buying some more puts now, especially nasdaq ones.
Probably a very smart move:
Arrow Electronics, Inc.
Melville, NY
Arrow Electronics Inc., the world’s largest distributor of electronic components and Long Island’s largest company in terms of sales, has eliminated about 150 jobs in North America. The jobs eliminated, mostly back-office and sales positions, were at 44 locations in the United States and Canada. Melville-based Arrow has about 13,000 employees worldwide, including about 750 on Long Island.
Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500
Source: Newsday - October 10, 2007
Computer Sciences Corporation
El Segundo, CA
Dallas, TX
Computer Sciences Corp. is laying off 187 workers in its office in Dallas by Nov. 30. The company did not provide any additional information on the layoffs. A company spokesman said the reductions were related to the “wind-down” of a contract. CSC provides business process outsourcing services in areas such as billing and payment processing, customer relationship management and human resources.
Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500
Source: Dallas Business Journal - October 9, 2007
Dell Inc.
Round Rock, TX
McGregor, TX
Nashville, TN
Edmonton, AB
Dell Inc. closed its call center near Waco today, a move that resulted in the loss of about 260 jobs in that Central Texas community. The call center in the city of McGregor opened in May 2005 and at one point employed more than 400 people. Staff levels there had been cut significantly. In May, the computer giant announced a plan to reduce its worldwide workforce by 10 percent. Also, Dell Inc. said yesterday it was cutting 250 tech support jobs at its facilities in Nashville, Tennessee as part of a broad plan to trim costs and become more competitive with rivals. A company spokesman said the job cuts were effective immediately. Also, Dell is laying off middle-management staff in Edmonton as part of a global corporate cost-cutting. “In excess of 50″ workers were let go Thursday with no warning. The company came to Edmonton in 2004 and occupied four floors of the downtown Telus building before moving to a 155,000-square-foot centre in Edmonton Research Park. Prior to the layoffs, it had about 1,300 employees. The centre has the highest customer satisfaction rate of any of the company’s worldwide call centres. Dell said in June it would cut 10 per cent of its workforce over the next year to trim costs and become more competitive.
Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000
Source: Austin Business Journal - October 5, 2007
Flextronics International, Ltd.
Singapore
Youngsville, NC
Several hundred jobs will be lost when an electronics manufacturer closes its plant there over the next six months. A spokesman with the Franklin County Economic Development Commission says Flextronics has had between 600 and 700 workers and is one of the county’s largest employers. A company spokeswoman says in a statement that the closing doesn’t reflect the quality of work done by its employees in Youngsville.
Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000
Source: The Associated Press State & Local Wire - October 6, 2007
SI International Inc.
Reston, VA
Dallas, TX
SI International Inc., a company that provides service center operations support to the Department of Homeland Security and Citizenship and Immigration Services in Dallas, said 215 of its Dallas employees would be affected by layoffs. The company said the workers are employed under a contract that expires in November.
Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500
Source: Dallas Business Journal - October 9, 2007
“Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream.”
Hoz, I miss these posts, they show the pulse of the economy
It is depressing to just read page after page of mass layoffs in every industry.
Remember, I am screening looking for companies to buy.
Companies or stocks?
Hoz - do you have info on the Hartford, CT area?
First to Tx, both.
Second to M.B.A. - I posted Hartford on last Saturday’s bits for you. There is one new addition this week.
Hartford
The Hartford Housing Authority laid off half its central office staff Thursday morning, a move the authority’s board said will create a more efficient, streamlined agency. “The previous organization was very management-heavy,” said the board Chairman, detailing the 10 layoffs that, among other things, eliminated the authority’s entire legal department. “We didn’t make any reductions to folks that directly serve the residents.” The housing authority has been the focus of various governmental investigations for more than a year. Thursday’s move followed a board vote Wednesday night to approve the restructuring plan, aimed at saving the authority money. The authority has $12 million in administrative expenses and only $11 million to pay for them. The reason, in part, for the changes is that new budgeting requirements from the federal government mean that the authority will have less money to spend on its own operations.
“Buying some more puts now, especially nasdaq ones. ”
But TX, I heard Dopey from $hithead Asshead Management this morning saying that we were going to have moderate growth and the NASDAQ was headed higher. I know he was right, because he also said the mortgage problems were contained to subprime
no, you misunderstood, he said NASCAR, not NASDAQ
Yes, and don’t forget your shots!
http://biz.yahoo.com/ts/071012/10384048.html?.v=3
Jim Rogers still can make me laugh even though he can be pig headed wrong. hes not wrong about the FED though heres a quote. And hes now buying Gold and so am I.
Rogers believes Federal Reserve was wrong to slash the fed funds rate by 50 basis points in September, and that exuberant money-printing will be a key catalyst for the long-term demise of the dollar.
“The fool went and cut interest rates with the stock market down 6%,” he says of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. “What’s he going to do when stocks are down 30%?”
–
“What’s he going to do when stocks are down 30%?”
Cut the rate to 0% and they pray (prey on the old savers). Fed would be proven to be impotent when the push comes to shove.
Jas
B-52 Ben can do much better than those 0% rates; he has already suggested a penalty tax on savings, like 2% monthly charge. That will teach those who haven’t yet learned the FEDs lessons. I have said it from the start (when most on this blog were of a totally different opition!), this Bernanke guy is a total idiot, get ready for some seriously ill FED action.
“he has already suggested a penalty tax on savings, like 2% monthly charge.”
NHZ, do you have a linky on that? I might have to accelerate the timing of launching “Project Aladinsane”.
Won’t that create the mother of all bank runs? In effect, simply accelerating the collapse.
Nope. First, accounts will be frozen, no withdrawals allowed for a time.
Second, monthly charges will be levied until the accounts are emptied.
Simple, no?
Taxing savings is such a repulsive idea that just reading that made me sick - and on a Friday yet.
“If a bubble develops in China in the next year or two, I’ll have to sell because bubbles end badly”
This is amusing because many international investors already believe China’s stocks are bubbly (I sold in August up 80% for the year, now up 110%). The only reason I sold was because of a statement the government said which suggested that there would be a change in policy. Having been caught in sudden policy changes before (see Russia, 1997), I will never allow myself to be caught again - nor will I ever invest in Russia.
the China stockmarket sure look parabolic; of course you never know how much higher it can get, but it seems extremely unlikely to me that they can continue this curve for much longer.
“The future Conan?”
http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/rfs/446983762.html
Some observances in Mar Vista (West LA)…
House A that sits directly across our apt slashed their price by $100k. It was originally listed at $999K, now it’s at $899K.
House B right next door to House A is currently on the market selling for $749K. They are both somewhat the same type of home. House B was for sale late 2005 - early 2006, eventually sold on 3/30/06 for $765K. It looks like they are already selling for a loss
Also, I noticed the yard has not been maintained with weeds starting to grow.
Pop pop in Mar Vista. It’s coming!!!!
I got an a mail today, pissed me off big time…I am sharing my response and read the e mail he sent.
Thank you for your interest Frank, but to be blunt (and I will be read on) I feel rather insulted with what you have sent.
First off do NOT assume that we do not have any money thus is the reason we will be renting. The reason we will be renting is due to the freak run up in prices over the last five years that made properties like the ones you sent me sell for insane prices on money borrowed from the bank.
Please also do not try to insult my intelligence to tell me that anyone paying 250,000 with a measly 7,500 down will have a payment equal to what renting a similar home would be, as you should know property taxes double that mortgage payment and insurance can add on another 1/3 to the end result. It is the likes of you that have led people down the garden path to financial ruin. Real state only goes up, they are not making anymore land, buy now or be priced out forever!!!!!! (sound familiar to you?)
Also, please do not send me any more crap shacks like the ones you did, those properties will NEVER sell for that price in this market. If they do sell, they are being sold to a complete moron who would listen to the lies of a real whore like you and unknowingly catch a falling knife. The investors that have ruined this market have now fled and there are not many fools left. There are also tighter lending restrictions and people are not getting easy peezy financing any longer.
Thanks but NO thanks for the offer but I can do my own research.
That first shit box you sent me sold for 100,900 before the bubble.
Murcott Nov-1998 10745/1101 $100,990 WARRANTY DEED FREUNDLICH WILLIAM H
When the prices return to the mean we will be CASH buyers.
Thank you,
Christine
P.S. You may find an income for yourself by sending out mass e- mails for promises of huge wire transfers from money left in Nigerian bank accounts from wealthy investors.
Dear CRISTINE, DO YOU KNOW YOU CAN BUY ANY PROPERTY UP TO $250,000 WITH FHA PROGRAM WITH ONLY 3% DOWN PAYMENT($7,500) IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IS ALMOST THE SAME KIND OF MONEY YOU WILL NEED FOR RENT AND PAID FOR SOMEONE ELSE MORTGAGE.
!!!!! JUST TRY!!!!!!!!
I’ve found a property that I’m sure will interest you. Click the link below to view. Please call me to arrange a time to view it. If there are any other properties that you’d like to know more about, please send me the addresses or listing numbers and I’ll be happy to research them and provide you with additional information.
http://rmlsfl.mlxchange.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1477486279&s=RML&t=RML
Sincerely,
frank A.
http://rmlsfl.mlxchange.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1477486279=RML=RML
SKB, the mortgage madness is not over yet, and there are still plenty of GF to go around for someone like your realtor. Just today, we got in the mail a flyer that looks as if it was printed on a home office printer from something called the “mortgage management group” offering “special” mortgage rates for physicians and dentists 4.375% fixed for 5 years, no points, no fees, no prepayment penalties and NO INCOME DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED. The sample payments start at 1,822 per month for a 500,000 loan and end at 3,645 for a 1M loan, but don’t worry because you can borrow amounts of up to 5M. I did not think these type of things were still being pushed, but obviously some of these people are still in business, and they still have clients. This is going to take longer than we think…
I’d like to see what a 0′ x 12′ kitchen looks like.
On end, it looks like this:
Reuters
Solid sales ease recession jitters
Friday October 12, 2:23 pm ET
By Emily Kaiser
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales rose solidly in September while inflation pressures were largely muted, according to data on Friday that eased recession fears and suggested further interest rates cuts may not be needed.
The show of consumer spending power in the face of a slumping housing market and tighter credit conditions gave a lift to stocks prices and to the value of the dollar.
Bond prices fell as traders saw the data reducing chances that the Federal Reserve, which lowered borrowing costs in September, would do so again at a meeting at end of the month.
“People were expecting that perhaps the economy was on the brink of recession, but you can’t have a recession if consumers are continuing to spend, and by all means, they seem to be continuing to spend,” said Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/071012/usa_economy.html?.v=7&.pf=personal-finance
File this under: “I can’t be overdrawn, I still have checks!”
“but you can’t have a recession if consumers are continuing to spend,”
Oh yeah?? If they’re planning to go bankrupt, and never pay the banks issuing the credit card, yes, indeedy, you could have a recession. Mr. Rupkey, you should re-think your models, before your bank gets whacked with housing foreclosures and cc defaults–en masse.
so i were in financial trouble and KNEW I was about to go into foreclosure and bankruptcy, I know my credit record will be affected for 7 years no matter what. If I know I’m going to destroy my credit record why not go out with a bang and spend to my heart’s content instead of a whimper ?
If you keep your credit cards intact and current, you can buy a house 1yr after BK with 15% down. (which a smart FB should have after not paying her current mortgage for 6mos or more.LOL)
Hilarious..
“Sellers - Keep Your Power & $, Refuse to Sell for Lower Price !
I am sure this will bring on quite a few comments. But I feel the same about the fuel prices. If I could afford not to drive I wouldn’t do it.
I have a novel idea. What if everyone who has their house on the market who doesn’t actually need to sell right now, refuses to sell it for a lower price. Either the buyers take it at their price or leave it. Let the buyers buy all the excess spec homes, foreclosures, or the fixer uppers for lower prices. So what if those houses aren’t quite as appealing as the ones where the sellers won’t sell for less, let the real estate agents market those homes. Let the buyers buy the houses that are available for less even if they are less desireable.
Then when all those lower priced houses are sold or there is so little inventory of houses, the sellers who can wait it out, can then put their houses on the market for what they feel their house should sell for according to what the market should bring compared to all the sales that have gone before; not what the market had declined to, or what people are saying the market is going to decline to in the future.
Some people’s houses have appreciated in value because the market has gone up and others have appreciated in value because they have done inmprovements to them. We are one of the latter. We didn’t just buy a house and wait for it to appreciate and are then trying to sell it. We have worked on it for three years making many improvements and updates with the sweat of our brow. We don’t feel we should have to lower our price to below what we have put into our house and don’t feel anyone else should either. We also don’t feel we should have to pay for anyone else’s closing costs; no one has ever paid for our closing costs. Now if I could afford to, I would be glad to pay for someone else’s closing costs just to be altruistic, but I am not in that position.
After reading many of the post here about sellers being advised to be ready to pay for the buyers closing costs and any repairs and lower their prices even more - that isn’t right in my book. We have never bought a house where we were given these concessions and frankly I think that is absurd. I really feel bad for those who must sell because they have been transferred or who have circumstances in their life where they need to sell and are forced to “eat crow” while doing it.
I know some will say I am going through the anger stage and anger is correct. Much of the hoopla about all these price reductions that are needed is perpetuated by the media, bankers, real estate agents, and all the hype about how the “market” is going down and you better sell now for whatever you can get or be prepared to just sit on it for years or really loose your “…”.
No wonder buyers are hestitant to buy houses or are backing out of sales. Can you blame them - they are waiting for a $5 hamburger to go for 50 cents and who can blame them. As most home buyers, they work hard for their money and are just hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime deal for their family. But I also bet some of those buyers are buying houses strictly on price and later on down the road they are going to wish they had bought one of the houses that might have been priced a little higher but had more ammenities, more square footage, more land, better roof, paint, etc. It will cost them in the long run, they just don’t know it now.
Sellers take back your power and hold your ground!”
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/realestate/msg1022510631214.html?16
It sounds like the prisoner’s square. Classic game theory. If this person is the only one with their house on the market, they can ask a higher price as long as no one else breaks. If anyone else breaks, everybody loses money.
I love how much America has become about being the sheepdog that leads the lambs to slaughter.
Will the Shenanigans never stop? Wall Street has the whole US government trying to bail their sorry azz out…
“U.S. Treasury officials are talking with Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other banks on a plan to jump-start the asset-backed commercial paper market.
Policy makers are concerned that investors remain reluctant to purchase the paper even if the loans that back them are sound, said a U.S. government official, who declined to be identified.”
Bloomberg
http://tinyurl.com/2uoqjc
This little tid bit was deleted at the end of the article from the “Updated Version” linked above:
“New York-based Citigroup had about $98 billion of assets in
SIVs that sold commercial paper, representing about 4.6 percent
of its average assets, JPMorgan analysts said in a research note
on Aug. 21. Bank of America Corp. had about $62 billion.
Kristin Lemkau, a spokeswoman at JPMorgan, and Citigroup
spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment.”
House foreclosing, Make any offer please
——————————————————————————–
Reply to: alex1871@gmail.com
Date: 2007-10-12, 9:00PM CDT
Make any offer because the bank is going to take it. I have been approved for a short sale and am taking all and any offers, but need to close on the house by November 18 2007.
I purchased this house for my ex-wife and 3 kids last year. Halloween weekend 2006 my ex-wife decided she was going to cheat on me. So I left that weekend and filed for divorce and that was final in January 2007. She got remarried, pregnant and purchased another house. I’m stuck with this huge mortgage payment and child support. Well I can’t pay for both so its going to foreclosure. On November 20 I sign the house over to the bank. The house is in Arlington Heights (Arlington Heights Rd and RT 12 ) and in a great neighborhood with plenty of shopping malls, restaurants and the well known district 25 school district. I purchased the house for 320,000.00 and have it listed now for 299,000. But like I said I AM TAKING ALL OFFERS. This is really a nice house. I would’ve loved to live their but the court is making us sell it, it was part of our agreement even if there is no profit made. Thanks
Here are the details, MLS # below and Realtor.com link :
http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=60004&mnp=25&mxp=24&bd=4&bth=3&typ=1&sid=73124e14f1874699a179902a1ba17d74&pg=2&lid=1089661663&lsn=16&srcnt=17#Detail