The Room Of 1,000 Doughnuts
The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. “So many had something to gain from the mortgage bubble, says Bill Davis, past president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers’ Palm Beach County region, and many of those people went about their business winking and nodding. ‘It’s everybody,’ he says. ‘The Federal Reserve participated, the big lenders played a part, the credit ratings agencies had a part, so did hedge funds and borrowers, appraisers.’”
“The local results: In the six months ending July 1 of this year alone, more than $1 billion in mortgages defaulted in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast.”
“‘I had a guy who called me who owns 70 homes,’ says Stuart broker Michael Morgan. ‘I know a lady who owns 16. It’s the room of 1,000 doughnuts. How many can you eat? Two? Three? Well, how many houses can you live in?’”
“If everybody gets to be guilty of something, though, ex-Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan gets to be a little guiltier than most. Critics draw a straight line from the number-crunching wizard to front-yard foreclosure signs.”
“Mr. Greenspan slashed interest rates deeply and often: 11 times in 2001 alone. Says mortgage broker Davis: ‘It was effectively free money.’ Mr. Greenspan said in a recent 60 Minutes interview that he ‘didn’t really get’ how subprime loans could wreak havoc on the economy until last year.”
The Tampa Tribune from Florida. “Vacant homes with ‘For Sale’ signs on lawns and ‘For Rent’ signs taped to windows line the block. Neighbors have vanished, some loading moving vans in the middle of the night. New neighborhoods such as Carriage Pointe, where speculators bought homes several at a clip and homeowners stretched their budgets with creative financing, are particularly hard-hit.”
“‘No one has ever lived in those two homes across the street. This is not where I wanted to live,’ said Greg Gibbons, who has a view of several empty houses.”
“As many as 69 percent of the 381 homes in Carriage Pointe are owned by people who don’t live there, county officials estimate. This year, 31 of the homes have slipped into foreclosure, and many other homes are heading that way. Some investors drastically cut rents.”
“The builder seems to realize the home-buying boom is over. The phone number at the sales office is disconnected.”
“Of the 21 homes sold through Greg Armstrong’s Coldwell Banker office last month, 12 had been foreclosed on by lenders. ‘I’ve been in this business for 17 years, and I’ve never seen the bank be the No. 1 seller,’ said Armstrong, president-elect of the West Pasco Board of Realtors.”
“Homeowners who want to move or those seeking to avoid foreclosure by selling can’t compete, he said. And every time a lender cuts prices dramatically to move a home, values in the neighborhood go down, he said. ‘Lenders can afford to go much lower in price than homeowners can,’ Armstrong said. ‘The banks don’t want all these homes, so they’ll sell them for whatever they need to.’”
“That’s part of the reason Brianne and Robert Thompson have decided to file for bankruptcy and walk away from their first home, a three-bedroom in New Port Richey. ‘We hate to just let this house go,’ Brianne Thompson said. ‘We love it, but we can’t do this anymore.’”
The News Journal from Florida. “One Internet site reported there were 100 foreclosed or bank-owned properties in Daytona Beach and 135 in Palm Coast as of Oct. 12. Several area brokers contacted said they have departments devoted solely to selling such properties.”
“Ray Rivela, of Century 21 A.H. Stone here, said the foreclosure department in his office is working seven days a week just to keep up with the growing number of foreclosed homes.”
“Member Sharon Barbaro said the agency listed a REO property in Palm Coast that had originally sold for about $300,000. ‘I sold it for $200,000,’ she said, which was very close to what the bank wanted for the never-occupied house.”
The Orlando Sentinel from Florida. “An entire downtown redevelopment project in Eustis has come to a halt. Condos are on hold at Park Towers in Uptown Altamonte. In Winter Springs, where buyers have defaulted on contracts for town homes, nearly all development in the town center ‘is on hold until the market returns,’ City Manager Ron McLemore said. ‘It is not a pretty picture.’”
“Michael Allen bought a three-bedroom town home in the $300,000s last year. Despite the ‘available’ signs outside many neighboring units at Jesup’s Reserve, Allen still thinks he and his wife made a smart investment.”
“‘I think this community is going to take off,’ he said.”
From Jacksonville.com. “The owner of Paradise Key needs a clever way to sell the 62 homes on South Beach Parkway and Jacksonville Drive. By the time Bestcon Homes President Paul Nichols acquired the land and got the zoning and building permits, the housing market had tanked.”
“‘We’re hunkering down,’ Nichols said. ‘We’re trying to get through this.’”
“Under the new taxing formula, ‘it’s essentially letting growth pay for itself,’ said City Planning Director Steve Lindorff , referring to police and fire services that will be available to new homes or businesses. But with the decline in the housing market, ‘We won’t see those numbers going forward,’ he said.”
The St Petersburg Times from Florida. “Depressed sales of construction materials, home improvements and furnishings triggered by Florida’s burst housing bubble have started spreading to a drop in other types of consumer spending.”
“In fact, unless the state’s economy perks up in the next few months, Florida will report its first decrease in annual sales tax collections since the 1992 recession.”
“‘We have not reported decreased sales tax collections since post-9/11, but that was not as deep or lasted as long as this time,’ said Frank Williams, an economist at the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research.”
“‘How long it lasts depends on how much of a hangover Florida has to overcome (in overpriced real estate) from the housing market and subprime lending problems,’ said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida. ‘We’ve got the dry mouth and headache, but it’s clear they will last well into 2008.’”
The News Press from Florida. “Lee County’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent in September as a stalled real estate market continues to cost jobs in construction and related businesses.”
“Unincorporated Lee County, which includes Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach, issued 76 construction permits for single-family homes in September, compared to 458 a year ago. Cape Coral recorded a record low of 29, compared to 176 permits last year.”
“Joa Wright moved to Fort Myers from Fort Lauderdale about six weeks ago. She said she had been working as a receptionist at a law firm and hoped to find similar work here. ‘I can’t find anything because so many people who had been in real estate are taking other jobs,’ Wright said. ‘At this point, I will do anything. I’ll scrub floors if I have to.’”
“Craig Feinberg, a career development supervisor, said he is seeing stacks of applications from out of work real estate agents, mortgage brokers and real estate attorneys. ‘They are saying they don’t ever want to be in this position again,’ Feinberg said. ‘They want a career in something they can have some control over.’”
“Jay Cremins, an out-of-work mortgage broker, said he watched his earnings dry up as the market slowed, but he waited too long to make a change. ‘I’m stubborn, so I didn’t give up,’ Cremins said. ‘I should have because now I’m in trouble.’”
“About 80 real estate brokers from Bonita Springs and Estero jammed a conference room at Keller Williams Elite Realty Monday night to hear attack plans from the area’s top producers and mega agents.”
“‘We had to close it off. We couldn’t take any more people,’ said Sue Ellen Mathers, a licensed real estate professional. ‘I think what we’re seeing now are people who loved a house that wasn’t in their price range, buying that house and then taking a small loss on their current home. What they’ll do is make it up later when they sell their new one. It’s a great time to buy.’”
The Naples News from Florida. “A campaign being rolled out by area builders and developers encourages potential buyers to reinterpret the negative news they’ve been hearing about the local housing market.”
“Sliding prices? Affordability. Record inventories? Broad selection.”
“The ‘Buy Now!’ campaign also offers reminders of Southwest Florida’s steady growth, its enviable climate and its many beaches. Low mortgage rates and the area’s increasingly diverse economy are features mentioned in the campaign as well.”
“Donations from local companies tied to the building trade bumped the budget up to $150,000, said JoAnn Orr, VP of the Lee Building Industry Association. Additional buy-in from the media in the way of reduced advertising costs and in-kind donations of services by a handful of local public relations firms makes ‘Buy Now!’ the equivalent of a $500,000 campaign, she said.”
”We all understand that reporters have to report the news, but bad press has shaken the confidence of people to go out and spend their money,’ Orr said.”
The News & Observer from North Carolina. “Construction crews, plumbers, furniture and appliance salesman, and even real estate schools in the Triangle are starting to feel the pinch from the housing market slowdown.”
“Gary Celey, owner of Celey’s Quality Plumbing in Benson, has laid off 10 employees and cut prices 5 percent. ‘Material costs are up, labor costs are up, but [national builders] … don’t want to pay it,’ said Celey.”
“Last year, the company installed plumbing in 4,000 homes from Chapel Hill to Holly Springs, mostly for large national builders. This year, Celey expects he will work in 500 fewer homes. ‘It’s the worst it’s ever been; margins are smaller,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to re-evaluate how I do business.’”
The Memphis Daily News from Tennessee. “Matthews Brothers Homebuilders is facing more trouble with nine new foreclosures filed against the company by InSouth Bank. The properties are scheduled to be sold Nov. 9 at the Shelby County Courthouse.”
“An additional 29 foreclosures, published in today’s issue of The Daily News, have been filed by First Tennessee Bank. Don Glays, executive director of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association, said he believes the housing slump is driven by attitudes.”
“‘What is the single most significant factor that’s affecting the downturn in today’s market?’ and I think it’s consumer confidence,’ he said. ‘Our builders and the real estate agents that are talking to consumers are finding out that consumers really don’t know the truth about buying a new home,. They are coming in with a jaded opinion of the new home industry, because of the national media.’”
“‘Now, are some builders struggling? You bet they are. There are some builders who … didn’t heed the warnings about a downturn in the economy and housing industry, because, to be honest, in 2004 and 2005, there was some overbuilding going on to meet demands,’ Glays said.”
“In 2006, Shelby County saw 4,312 home starts and 3,992 new home sales, according to Chandler Reports. That’s a difference of 320. However, in previous years, far more home starts were recorded than new home sales. In 2005, the difference was 754; in 2004 it was 1,627.”
The Tennessean. “Some of Middle Tennessee’s largest banks are seeing their loans sour as the mortgage industry has crumbled across the country, which could continue to make it harder for homebuyers and builders to get loans.”
“On Thursday, First Tennessee’s parent company said it lost $14.2 million in the most recent quarter, in part because so many mortgages and home construction loans are going bad.”
“First Horizon’s mortgage losses nearly tripled in the third quarter to $45.8 million. CEO Jerry Baker said a lot of the bank’s mortgage-related losses were in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada, states where home prices had soared and then crashed.”
“Investors are worried about the potential impact of the problems on the economy as a whole, that an increase in the number of bad loans is a sign of greater problems down the road.”
“‘There’s a cockroach theory,’ said Jeff Davis, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities, which is owned by First Horizon. ‘If I see one or two cockroaches, how many more cockroaches are there? Investors are wondering if they’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’”
‘Mr. Greenspan slashed interest rates deeply and often: 11 times in 2001 alone. Says mortgage broker Davis: ‘It was effectively free money.’
‘We hate to just let this house go,’ Brianne Thompson said. ‘We love it, but we can’t do this anymore.’
‘We’re hunkering down,’ Nichols said. ‘We’re trying to get through this.’
‘I can’t find anything because so many people who had been in real estate are taking other jobs,’ Wright said. ‘At this point, I will do anything. I’ll scrub floors if I have to.’
It didn’t turn out to be exactly free, did it Mr Greenspan?
This is the frustrating part of the whole mess: Only some of the people involved will pay the price. Easy Al is off scott-free. He gets to write a book that deflects and minimizes his duplicity.
OTOH, Easy Al isn’t to blame for all of it or even most of it. We are in a “Wild West” period of globalization with no plan, structure, or even a real “notion” of what we are getting into. The people who know the least about it are the ones who are pushing it the most. Yes, it absolutely has benefits, and I really want to see it succeed. However, we are “not oriented for success” with this. For example, the securitization of crap mortgage loans and other dubious credit has been sold all over the world. This isn’t possible unless unplanned and poorly supervised globalization is present. We are now risking a global meltdown in the global economy. It was not possible 10 years ago.
Roidy
” unplanned and poorly supervised globalization is present”
True, and it’s not just toxic financial products…think food and vitamin imports, dangerous toys, flammable textiles, poisoned toothpaste and cough syrup, grey market pharmaceuticals…
And the effects of labor to used to manufacture cheaply includes porous borders, lowered or non-existent worker safety standards,
and the unchecked movement of communicable diseases…
Not to mention the “international” mercenary forces like Blackwater.
“I doubt the tasks will become any easier for the Federal Reserve as we move into the twenty-first century. The Congress willing, we will remain as the guardian of the purchasing power of the dollar.”
That quote is from a speech Alan Greenspan gave at the American Enterprise Institute on December 5, 1996. The economagic link below, tracks the FFR monthly through time. I would suggest that anyone studying the dynamics of what we are witness to, should look at the numbers carefully.
http://www.economagic.com/em-cgi/data.exe/fedbog/fedfund
I just remember in 2003 time frame showing coworkers that the entire price increase could be traced to the lower interest rates. The price per month was the same.
I asked the question, what happens when the rates go back up? I heard nothing but scilence.
I didn’t know at that point either.
People need to understand this is how Wall Street works. This debacle is no accident. Greenspan knew exactly what he was doing…and who he was working for.
Playing dumb is all part of the cover up.
Ben, this is your funniest headline to date.
Bravo!
I thought it was going to refer to local doughnut shops making a killing off orders for open houses, not comparing the houses themselves to the doughnuts.
Very funny indeed.
Me too. I thought for sure it was going to refer to some convention where there were only 3 attendees and 1,000 donuts.
“How many can you eat? Two? Three? ”
The donut theorem. Priceless.
Yes but the greedy investors can consume dozens of them.
This is why housing prices will collapse. I don’t think most people have a sense of how much excess inventory exists.
Clair, you mean like this nut job?
“……Allen still thinks he and his wife made a smart investment. “‘I think this community is going to take off,’ he said.”
1) Foreclosures rising
2) Sales dropping
3) FB’s moving out in midnight stealth runs
Allen is actually correct. The community is taking off….for North Carolina….
On a recent buisness trip to CA. I had lunch with an individual and she was telling me what a great investor she was. She had taken out ~ 130K equity on her mothers house and invested in a buisness with her brothers. She did not indicate what the buisness was. She did let me know that she spent $6500 on a facilift.
I think the buisness she and her brothers are in is forcing there old mother to cash out on some of the equity on her home so that they could spend it.
I was in a CVS in Corona and overheard one person speaking to another. The coversation was about two poeple who purchased a house and lived in together- (not sure the exact reason, affordabillity I assume) anway things went south and the people are no longer getting along and they have to sell the house.
OKLL:
Just wanted to state that my LL is getting 3X the mortgage payments on the place I’m renting. They are making money and I am making money by renting at 1% of income. Cheers!
~Misstrial
“‘I had a guy who called me who owns 70 homes,’ says Stuart broker Michael Morgan. ‘I know a lady who owns 16. It’s the room of 1,000 doughnuts. How many can you eat? Two? Three? Well, how many houses can you live in?’”
HAHAHA he “owned” 70 homes. Dumb POS like this is why prices are so high.
I predict that as this meltdown runs it’s course, this guy will be reduced to servicing the bums down by the wharf for sandwich money before lumbering back to his refrigerator box in the back alley.
Can anyone tell me why it smells bad in the Corona area, smells like a cow laid a big ol dodo.
People are shitting bricks all over.
Dairy farms are in Corona off the 91/71. Many dairies have left and moved out to the high desert or have gone out of business. Friends of mine own one of the dairies that is still left although they are trying to move everything up to the Central Valley on land they own.
Just think, all those incarcerated at the State Prison in Corona get to smell the cow manure every day!
~Misstrial
Who in the he** is crazy enough to lend an individual money on 70!??! homes? God, the sheer stupidity of that number is truly mindboggling. Did he honestly believe he was Donald Trump? Or did he think he was going to buy up every home in an development from the developer and then resell them personally. What a moron.
The news gets grimer every day. I just hope that those of us not involved can stay above the fray… But down here in sunny “flipper-ville” FL (PBC), I can honestly say I am beginning to wonder. There is an air of disconent in the people around me (I live in a big-time FB community) and I think the people are growing more and more hopeless every day. I truly wonder how much longer these people can hold out… Eventually the comps (from the real investors that can take the loss, or from REOs) are going to be so low that they are just going to walk away… Or so I assume?
We have a home (still for sale, shocker) in my community for 1.5M dollars. The home across the street (same model/size) sold about 2 months ago for ~700K. How long will that person hold out? And why are they holding out? Why even list when you are 2X the comps??
“Why even list when you are 2X the comps??”
Because there’s an opportunity for a sweet cash back deal.
I don’t understand it either. We have a very overpriced house in my neighborhood and I know they know they’re asking too much because they’re advertising on Zillow. The Zestimate is $328,000 and they’re asking $419,000. Also, the guy across the street is tryint to sell for $299,000 and has the price right on the sign.
These people paid $310,000 in December 2005 and gave the house the flipper special so I think they think they “need” to get a certain price. They were asking $429,000 then cut the price by $10,000 and put Price reduced! Owner motivated! on their ad so they really do want to sell. We’ll see what happens in December. If their mortgage resets they’ll have to face the fact that you can lose money on real estate.
“Why even list when you are 2X the comps?? ”
Granite countertops?
Simple…add in the HELCO and the fees to the realtor, closing costs…they need every penny of that $1.5M…just to get OUT!!!…the guy who sold for $700K asked, “What’s a HELCO? Never heard of it.”
Me neither. What IS a HELCO anyway?
‘I had a guy who called me who owns 70 homes’
Luckily it’s all contained… to THAT guy.
‘We’ve got the dry mouth and headache’
Sean, ebola sometimes starts like this.
’some loading moving vans in the middle of the night’
Seen it. Dog-walking is a fantastic bubble-sitting tool.
Hey, are there any HBB’ers that regularly travel I-4 between Tampa and Orlando? We need to go a photo of that auctioneer just to the east of I-4 about 1/2 way between. That dude’s lot puts the bubble in a scale that few people can imagine. There is literally a mile of heavy equipment waiting…
Why the heck is Greensperm talking now, he should shut the F-up. I get so tired of him predicting the past. He is in bed with wall street just like Ben B is now.
I think they wall street will start singing a different tune, after they have recived there year end bonuses.
70 homes…..i cant blame the guy. If i walked into Vegas and they gave me access to all the free chips i wanted with the deal that, if i win, i keep the money, if i lose, i dont have to pay it back……..well, id take that deal. Personally, i wouldn’t risk bankruptcy because i actually have cash. People who dont, didnt, arent going to….what have they to lose ???? Bet the farm, quite literally, on housing futures. Go nuts. The money is free. Forget risk. It doesnt matter. No skin in the game, roll the dice ‘come on, papa needs a new pair of shoes’.
Im no big fan of Greenspan, but it is a bit tiresome how often people lambast the guy. Yes, he brought rates down, and even made a couple coments about ARMs…..Greenspan never said “give everyone all the money they want, even if they dont have to pay it back”. He never advocated zero down interest only neg arm loans on a million dollar house to people with 350 FICO scores and a minimum wage job. He never pushed people to buy 70 homes or overextend themselves. Sure, Greenspan kept the lending rate low admid an economy which was fledgling. The Chinese cash, the Japanese carry trade, and the rating agencies……never forget Standard and Poors and Moodys being in bed with the hedge funds and the CDO magicians. That is the real turd in the punchbowl.
If the rating agencies did their job, as they were supposed to, the MBSs all would have been rated junk bonds and required a double digit return. No one has ever implicated Greenspan in that one. Not saying he didnt, mind you. But if you want to string up anyone, find they guy who signed off on those AAA CDO tranches. That is your man.
Whoever that is, he is really happy Greenspan is being villified…..as he bellows into the PA system from behind the curtian admid the smoke and mirrors “PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTIAN”……..
People who have money need to be able to invest it, or they lose constantly to inflation.
The FED sets a bottom line for safe investments. If you don’t like the market action, you can “bank” your money until you see some chance of getting profits.
When the bank return is 0.75% PER ANNUM in a MM account, you a losing money every day. It makes people desperate for some kind of return. They begin to look for other “safe” ways to invest their funds.
The GREENSPAN cheap money frustrated holders of cash.
He started the desperation to find ANYTHING to save their money from catastrophic losses of value.
The War on Savers - using inflation to prevent people from being able to keep their wealth. Force them into the market (any market) and make them gamble so the Big Boyz can take their money.
jasper, lol! very funny! keep up the comedy, bring a funny lite to this sometimes stodgy subject.
This is the best explanation of the housing bubble ever!
“‘There’s a cockroach theory,’ said Jeff Davis, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities, which is owned by First Horizon. ‘If I see one or two cockroaches, how many more cockroaches are there? Investors are wondering if they’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’”
The REIC message has gone from suggestion ‘It’s a great time to buy’ to command ‘Buy Now!’
This is a sign of growing desperation. Pretty soon, the message will read: You better effing buy now or else!
But most people are robots and still believe that it is a “great time to buy”. Just talk to the average drone about real estate and you will see nothing but confusion in their glassy eyes.
Nothing wrong with renting…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkTlb2MoFjM
Prices dropped in SFL average of $40K…On list for more deeper price cuts..but hey,” IT IS A GREAT(sorry was drinking heavily, (slight hiccup) TO BUY!”
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_292092917.html
‘Our builders and the real estate agents that are talking to consumers are finding out that consumers really don’t know the truth about buying a new home,. They are coming in with a jaded opinion of the new home industry, because of the national media.’”
Consumers are learning the truth, and when they learn it all, a jaded opinion is going to be the least of what the consumer thinks about the new home building industry.
‘’We all understand that reporters have to report the news, but bad press has shaken the confidence of people to go out and spend their money,’ Orr said.”
Like I’ve said, no complaining when the press was cheerleading people to buy at any cost.
Blaming the media for anything is a sure sign that a person has no credibility. The media didn’t lose the war in Iraq and the media didn’t cause the housing meltdown. When even the President of the United States uses the media excuse, then everybody thinks they can use that excuse. There is no leadership in high places in this country and that lack of leadership is filtering down daily.
nycity- i would agree but the media’s role should be kept in perspective. One of America’s greatest novelists had this to say:
“The American press, with a very few exceptions:, is a kept press. Kept by the big corporations the way a whore is kept by a rich man.” Theodore Dreiser
Sad but true.
“There is no leadership in high places in this country and that lack of leadership is filtering down daily.”
NYC boy, yep, to quote Chris Rock as he says about the black man blaming the media for inaccurate sterotyping…..”when im taking money out of the ATM at 2:30 in the morning, i aint looking over my shoulder for the MEDIA”
What are you doing at the ATM at oh-dark-thirty anyway? Bail money? *wink*
Confidence, it keeps coming back to confidence - not fundamentals mind you - but confidence. No need to do research on an area, learn how a loan amortizes, consider downside risks, critically evaluate one’s professional marketability and education, etc.
Could one find a more bald faced admission that this has been a confidence game all along than this guy’s desperate plea?
“In the United States neither paper currency nor deposits have value as commodities. Intrinsically, a dollar bill is just a piece of paper, deposits merely book entries. Coins do have some intrinsic value as metal, but generally far less than their face value.”
‘What, then, makes these instruments - checks, paper money, and coins - acceptable at face value in payment of all debts and for other monetary uses? Mainly, it is the confidence people have that they will be able to exchange such money for other financial assets and for real goods and services whenever they choose to do so.”
“… Then, bankers discovered that they could make loans merely by giving their promises to pay, or bank notes, to borrowers. In this way, banks began to create money.”
Cite didn’t show up: “Modern Money Mecahnics” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
http://landru.i-link-2.net/monques/mmm2.html
ROTFLMAO after reading the Jax article. Building is down 50 pct or more from the peak and the author claims, ‘It’s different here.’
The Beaches have not been as hard hit [compared to the national scene], but the market is slow. Construction in Jacksonville Beach has dropped to its lowest level since 2002, according to annual reports from the city’s Planning Department. Residential construction dipped to about $41 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, down 24 percent from the previous year and almost 76 percent from 2005.
The other two Beaches cities aren’t doing any better. In Atlantic Beach, residential construction, as of Oct. 12, was about half what it was in 2006 and about 54 percent less than in 2005. In Neptune Beach, residential construction as of the end of September was about 87 percent of the 2006 count and about 81 percent of what it was in 2005, according to that city’s permit statistics.
How telling…I remember when a bbbbillion was a bbbbig word.
For the love of Jeesh!
more than $1 billion in mortgages defaulted in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast
It would be interesting to find out the average loss ratio on those defaults.
Morning ozajh,
Ja AVAGOODWEEKEND?
As a congresman on the house floor sarcastically responded to another who was defending a ’small’ pork barrel portion of their spending bill by saying it was only a billion dollars……
“yes, yes, i know….but, a billion here, and a billion there….pretty soon, it can add up to real money”
sometime CSPAN can be as much fun as Ben’s Blog
“Craig Feinberg, a career development supervisor, said he is seeing stacks of applications from out of work real estate agents, mortgage brokers and real estate attorneys. ‘They are saying they don’t ever want to be in this position again,’ Feinberg said. ‘They want a career in something they can have some control over.’”
These realtors had control over the whole country. Put the whip down the scam is over.
And now most of them are searching for jobs in an ever-tightening market with no real skills. What will they venture into next? What professions will they try for their next run?
Repo man.
Well, the Army has been lowering their standards as of late…
Macy’s cosmetic department….and Men’s shoes…
Rent boys.
My neighbor was recently laid off. She was an executive assistant. Apparently when I talked to her yesterday she said they gave a decent severance that will carry her up to Jan 2008 easily. But the key thing she said: “they are replacing us with younger persons who can be paid a lot less than us”. My neighbor is around 55.
Your point on the skills set is very important since apparently one of the resources provided to her is a conference all where:
1. They teach you how to economize (food, clothing etc.)
2. Going about learning new skills
3. Support
She mentioned the fact that there are many persons from Ford on the conference call that were laid off and not many from Countrywide. Here’s the key though: she wants to be a realtor!
They GAVE HER the good severance in exchange for not suing them….its getting real bad out here.
Plus just try and get an intern job at 45 let alone 55 to keep up your skills.
I still may file a discrimination charge against Dan Rather, because i asked the awful question;”Am I TOO OLD to be Dan Rather’s Production Assistant?” scary question, i even got emails from Mark Cuban…no kidding he was not happy.
Snake oil salesman is always a good backdrop for people with such shyster skills. When you can look someone in the face and tell them that they should buy houses because the prices are guaranteed to go up into infinity and you will be ‘priced out forever’ if you don’t get on the property ladder…………that sounds like a most appropriate profession.
‘They want a career in something they can have some control over.’”
Yeah, good luck with that fantasy……
“Member Sharon Barbaro said the agency listed a REO property in Palm Coast that had originally sold for about $300,000. ‘I sold it for $200,000,’ she said, which was very close to what the bank wanted for the never-occupied house.”
Say goodbye to the resale market and seller wishing prices. Reality is hitting the street. That’s a 33 pct discount.
And that’s probably still too high (200K)..
I fully expect FL to drop 50% from the peak prices. I don’t know when this person bought, of if they bought well (for the time), but 200K is probably, IMHO, still too much to pay.
My personal rule is now 100/sq/ft for a nice home in a good area. Anything more and you run the risk of losing big money (and, frankly, I think at the bottom in FL we will be below 100/sq/ft, but I think that is a real fundamental support level for housing, so I expect that to be a pretty good area to jump in).
You’re right. It’s probably going to fall to around 150k. However, that’s a huge drop in the right direction. The resale market is toast. Short sales, foreclosures, and builder liquidations are leading the comps down.
I agree with your target of $100/sf, Mike. I’ve noticed per square foot prices dropping through air pockets, from $200 to $175 to $150, and am eagerly awaiting $125. These are sale prices, of course, not asking prices. Once sold prices reach $125 per square foot, then you know you’ll be able to find bargains at $100 per square foot by shopping desparate FBs and REOs.
For me and my house, though, all the fun has been drained out of homeownership and I seriously doubt even $100 a square foot would entice me back into being a homeowner. My girlfriend, who sold her house in April of this year, is absolutely terrified at the thought of owning a home.
I also agree with your conclusion that $100/sf is the number as long as interest rates stay historically low. St. Pete in 95 had a average sale price of 60/sf then in 99 - 75/sf, 03 - 100/sf, 05 - 180/sf, 07 - 125/sf, 09 - 90 to 100/sf (future projection). By the way those are sale prices not wishing prices.
I concur. I wouldn’t say I was terrified - just that I have some extremely stringent criteria regarding cost/affordability/markets before I take the plunge again.
Back in 2000 when we looked at new homes (Central FL) upscale places were running 102-115sf. Other areas, still nice areas, $85-100. My rule is also 100sf, before I’d even to start looking, and that’s in the better places.
Well, good to hear that others are with me on that page, that’s for sure! I really do think that the 100/sq/ft is really a decent marker, obviously, all of us could figure out a very complex (and probably more correct) equation to determine what is a fair price for a particular neighorhood. However, I think that the 100 rule is easier, and probably, just as correct anyway.
And, BTW, just so we are all on the same page, at 100/sq/ft I am including the land. Assuming your not waterfront in PBC, there is land EVERYWHERE, it, in the scheme of a 200-300K transacation, is negligible. Waterfront is different, I agree, and for waterfront the price of the land must be figured in. However, for all the McMansions that have been vomited across the Palm Beach landscape, I value the land at nearly “free” as there is a huge overhang of it, and no intrinsic barriers to additional development.
I post this occasionally, but just so everyone who has missed it can see it. My friend bought a home in this development in NJ about 1yr ago. This home (including land) was FAR under 100/sq/ft. This town (Millville, NJ) btw, is commutable to Philly (30-40 miles, but highway is only about 1 mile from these homes), and I will tell you (from personal experience) that these homes are really, really nice inside. Much nicer then the 500K home I live in now in PBC (and also, double the size and half the price).
Anyway.. Just so everyone can see it, here is an area that did not get hit by the boom nearly as much…..
http://www.lennar.com/findhome/plan.aspx?DIVID=SJHLEN&COMID=23903&PLANID=4165
Priced from $333,950
3,719 Sq Ft. 4 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms,
2 Car Garage
And, btw, those are wishing prices, IIRC, my friend paid about 290 for his home, which is this model, and has quite a few upgrades (SS, granite, tile, etc).
“Unincorporated Lee County, which includes Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach, issued 76 construction permits for single-family homes in September, compared to 458 a year ago. Cape Coral recorded a record low of 29, compared to 176 permits last year.”
What I would like to know is why are any building permits still being released? I guess that keeps a steady supply of homes for sale. That is just another reason that the turn around is way way into the future.
‘why are any building permits still being released?’
Well, besides there being no law against it, prices are still artificially high, IMO, and supply will continue until prices fall enough to stop it.
Builders during the boom had huge margins on pricing. If the prices go down the builders margins are squeezed. Wait a second! The builder can cut costs by buying cheaper land, paying less for contractors, buying materials at lower prices, paying their employees less. Something tells me prices need to fall off a cliff before builders are completely unable to secure any profit margin. If land prices tank then the builders will keep on building until the rapture.
I’ve posted articles where raw land has fallen well over 50%. These things snowball that way, and for years. After all, what are these guys going to do for a living? If they can get a lot at auction for $15k, and all their construction buddies will work for peanuts, guess what?
Ben,
Specifically land prices, what are the trends there?
Haven’t read much on them or see it posted.
I have my thoughts but how do land prices trend with this housing bubble?
What I’ve noticed is that raw land has gone up higher and fallen much lower, in percentage terms that finished houses. Sometimes, by dramatic amounts, like around North Port, FL. When this stuff goes to auction, nobody wants it, because there is no clear sense of when it might be profitable to develope.
Raw land prices are more volatile than lot prices which in turn are more volatile than house prices. That is why in “normal” times the LTV for land loans will be 50-60%.
It doesn’t cost much to turn a field into a bunch of lots. A few fees, some ribbon, stakes and a sign.
From what I’ve read most of the builders bought up “land banks” to ensure they had land to develop as the prices rose. So now saddled with land they paid to much for, they must develop it to liquidate it. Otherwise, they take a loss and the loan comes due immediately.
The engine on this train got stoked up pretty high while to was easy to get wood and water. Now in the desert, it will take a while for the fire to die down with everyone hoping that happens before the water runs out and the boiler explodes leaving them to die slowly in the searing heat.
“‘No one has ever lived in those two homes across the street. This is not where I wanted to live,’ said Greg Gibbons, who has a view of several empty houses.”
“As many as 69 percent of the 381 homes in Carriage Pointe are owned by people who don’t live there, county officials estimate.
Carriage Point-e? I detect some point-e heads….
“As many as 69 percent of the 381 homes in Carriage Pointe are owned by people who don’t live there, county officials estimate. This year, 31 of the homes have slipped into foreclosure, and many other homes are heading that way. Some investors drastically cut rents.”
Carriage Pointe captures this housing mania. It has everything — overbuilding, flipping, falling prices, specu-lording, falling rents, walk aways, bankruptcy, and crash. Oh, the humanity! That’s a keeper.
“‘We had to close it off. We couldn’t take any more people,’ said Sue Ellen Mathers, a licensed real estate professional. ‘I think what we’re seeing now are people who loved a house that wasn’t in their price range, buying that house and then taking a small loss on their current home. What they’ll do is make it up later when they sell their new one. It’s a great time to buy.’”
Wow. I’ve heard them called Realtwhores, but this sounds darn near robotic.
“Zzzt, zzzt, market tanking. *pop* It’s a good time to buy. Mortgage rates at historical lows. *pop* Inventory zzzt zz zzz zzzzt new highs. It’s always *pop* a good time to buy.”
Short circuit!
“About 80 real estate brokers from Bonita Springs and Estero jammed a conference room at Keller Williams Elite Realty Monday night to hear attack plans from the area’s top producers and mega agents.”
I’ll bet the Repo men hit pay dirt in that parking lot. And what is a MEGA agent ?
And what is a MEGA agent ?
A fat one from eating out all the time.
Sounds like a transformers character to me.
“to hear attack plans from the area’s top producers and mega agents”
I have a feeling the people closed out of this seminar didn’t really miss anything. Top producers aren’t about to share their secrets, their edge - not in this cutthroat kind of market. Sorry to burst the agents’ bubbles (again).
Yep, she’s on her back and working.
I went to pick up this newspaper this am, and at the newstand the new issue of Essence magazine (aimed at successful black women) had the headline…Making a Fortune in RE–Including Free Money (paraphrase).
Figure the issue was planned 3 months ago, say in June…what were the editors thinking, and what of their readership? The media is to blame for discouraging folks? The media is still cranking out the worst financial advice possible and selling it.
No wonder Blacks households have been losing ground financially in the last decade, when they’re getting advice like that. Sick.
The couple made it work until the property taxes shot up. The Torreses’ tax bill went from $1,436 to $2,959. Combined with rising property insurance, Torres said, the monthly mortgage payment went up by $500.
“There’s no way we could pay that,” Torres said. “Some months, it really became, ‘Do I pay my mortgage or feed my kids this month?’”
This is an illustration of the problem with Florida’s Save Our Homes (SOH) taxing scheme. SOH is killing off Florida’s future growth. It demotivates young families. SOH encourages young families to leave the state.
“We budgeted for all our bills and had only about $10 to $15 left over each month,” Jesus Torres said.
Ah but it wasn’t just the taxes. Here’s a part of article that you have to read by going to the full article: $10-15 a month left over in case of emergency. I hope they don’t run out of toilet paper any month. This was before the tax increase. They were so in a home that was probably twice what they could afford.
Trust me, I am right with you on the SOH issue.
However, I also agree with Ghostwriter. These people were in UP TO THEIR NECKS to begin with. Even if they paid 0 property tax it would be too much house for them to carry.
SOH is not at fault in this case (IMHO)… This one falls directly on the head of the lenders that allowed them to buy a home that would leave them 10 bucks left over after paying the MTG and escrowing taxes/insurance.
Trust me, SOH can be blamed for MUCH of what is going on around us down here. But this one I think I pick “lenders” as the most copable party.
Your last part is right on the money, btw.. SOH is killing FL’s future, and is pushing young families away. If I were not lucky enough to have a very high income (compared to median PBC incomes) I would have to start to consider leaving. You would have to be a moron to buy a home in FL right now, plain and simple. ESPECIALLY if you’re a snowbird….. That should be part of the competency test for older drivers!
“Would you consider buying a condo in FL?”
“Yes”.
Sir, please hand over your license and sign right here to have yourself declared incompetent.
By the way sir…we are enacting our right to “Baker Act” you..please step to the side, allow these nice men in white coats to put this jacket on you and escort you to the waiting vehicle..by way it may take longer than usual as we are currently busier than expected…
Funny how so many of these people had no problem driving up prices, spending no time thinking about the impact on property taxes, insurance, etc.
Fools were so intoxicated by their gambling rush that they didn’t bother to think what would happen.
These people are really pathetic.
As usual I am totally against your argument with Save Our Homes. These folks just got caught in the inflation trap by buying in a highly inflationary environment.
If they had homestead, which they would after the FIRST YEAR, then the assessed taxes are CAPPED at 3% per year.
That keeps them from having the taxes be the cause of losing their house.
There is something wrong with this story. It is not possible to increase taxes this much under SOH if the property is OWNER OCCUPIED and Homesteaded. Why didn’t they have a cap??
Was this an “investment” property??
People make up all kinds of stories as to why they are in trouble with finances, and it’s always someone else’s fault.
I think they are cheating somewhere with these numbers.
Mr. Greenspan said in a recent 60 Minutes interview that he ‘didn’t really get’ how subprime loans could wreak havoc on the economy until last year.”
Come on Greenspan, any idiot could “get” it. Anyone with a brain could figure out that if it’s subprime, 99% of the time the losers will not be paying it back.
That’s part of the reason Brianne and Robert Thompson have decided to file for bankruptcy and walk away from their first home, a three-bedroom in the Thousand Oaks subdivision in New Port Richey.
The couple bought the home four years ago and took out a second mortgage nearly two years later. They had equity at the time and wanted to upgrade their home. Two months after signing the paperwork, Brianne Thompson discovered she was seriously ill and no longer could work.
For a year and a half, they made it work, barely making mortgage payments each month. With their second mortgage and home prices falling all around them, however, the Thompsons now owe more than they can sell the home for.
Here’s another part of that Tampa article. This is the reason you should never depend on 2 incomes just to pay your mortgage. Then they took out an equity loan 2 years later, also qualifying with both their incomes.
That article is loaded with gems. Like every other story we’ve heard, there’s a lot more to these people losing their house and the Torres story above it.
As I noted in another post, something else is extremely wrong with this story. Under Save our Homes, it doesn’t matter how much the tax assessment increases, the taxes cannot be raised more than 3%. They are lying about the cost of taxes.
Insurance is another matter. It is based on the inflated prices, so it has doubled, along with the “new price”.
The figures sound dramatic with the new assessments, but they are already beginning to decline and will need to readjust dramatically, but the taxes are not based on the assessment for owner occupants. Perhaps they have a contract for deed due to the re-finance?
Insurance is interesting. Commodity prices are and will soon be decreasing (cement, lumber, labor) so the replacement cost of a house is probably far below the appraised value. Thus, if I’ve isured my house for full replacement value (and $10,000 deductible), if it cost $150,000 in materials/labor, I shouldn’t have to have $300,000 (appraised value) of insurance. Insurance prices should start coming down as values drop, but right now, the insurers are probably trying to make up some money lost in 2004/2005.
“Member Sharon Barbaro said the agency listed a REO property in Palm Coast that had originally sold for about $300,000. ‘I sold it for $200,000,’ she said, which was very close to what the bank wanted for the never-occupied house.”
Anyone want to bet this house will be worth $125-150k by next year. I can still see a lot getting burned buying foreclosures right now on the way down.
I am only betting if I get the “worth 125-150K” side of the bet. If you can find me some sucker to take the other side of the bet “worth 200K” I am ALL for it.
Never bet against how LOW FL RE can go.. Going to be a new mantra after this fully unwinds.
For 50 years “Florida real estate” was the punch line of a joke. It will be again for another 50 years.
I gave a party last night. Some of the people who came were friends in the housing construction business. Although I went out of my way not to discuss the housing situation, I could tell by their rotten moods that it was on their minds big time.
What scares me right now for exposure to all this mess… the big banks are aware of the cascading defalut problem. However they realize they have that FDIC insurance backing them up. So, they are very busy stuffing their personal pockets full to the brim. Meanwhile they make increasingly risky bets with heavier leverage and more and more bad loans.
Where the hell are the federal bank regulators right now?
I just don’t want to see all this stuff landing on the FDIC.
Many of of the banks are in damage control mode. One of my friends at a major bank has been trying to undo Phoenix loans for two years (to builders). Its getting ugly.
Got popcorn?
Neil
“A campaign being rolled out by area builders and developers encourages potential buyers to reinterpret the negative news they’ve been hearing about the local housing market.”
“Sliding prices? Affordability. Record inventories? Broad selection.”
“The ‘Buy Now!’ campaign also offers reminders of Southwest Florida’s steady growth, its enviable climate and its many beaches. Low mortgage rates and the area’s increasingly diverse economy are features mentioned in the campaign as well.”
This is so slimy I can’t believe it. They’re nothing but scam artists creating new ways of bilking people out of their money. Spin doctors every last one them.
Malibu Fire:
The new “Black Swan”
Custom mansions toasted.
I grew up in Malibu. I’m going to church.
And Malibu Colony, while nice, is possibly the most overpriced area in the whole of L.A.
A 2,500 sq ft house on a 7,000 sq ft lot - for $12.5 million?
‘Yer ‘avin a larf, mate - a right $ucking giraffe’, as they say in good old Southeast London.
My grandparents bought their first home in Malibu because it was “cheaper” to live there compared to the city. Malibu was considered out in the boonies. They paid $5,000 for the lot and built their own home (he was a contractor) for around $25,000. Spielberg bought it for around $5 million 5 or 6 years ago and rebuilt the place (left one wall down standing - long story).
My dad to this day hates seafood. Grandpa was a big scuba diver and sailor (actually worked on John Wayne’s boat for many years too), so they would set lobster traps. Evidently eating lobster each and every day gets really old. The big treat for him was McDonalds!
I spent a lot of summers (and winters) there, and it was pretty nice. I remember watching the stealth fighters flying out there when they were still considered top-secret. Dick Clark lived a few doors down.
Malibu is cool…but it isn’t that cool. Every year brings problems. Fires, landslides, waves crashing through the windows, you name it. It was a constant worry. Little things too. Can’t have a damn thing made of steel. The shit vaporizes fast due to rust. And it gets really cold and windy at night. The kind of cold that goes right through you.
As someone that did this lifestyle I can tell you it is vastly overrated and overpriced. I just don’t see the attraction. Once you get over the “look at me” crap it really isn’t that much better. The ocean is nice but it gets boring after a while. How many sunsets can you enjoy before “been there, done that” sets in? I think 50 acres in the mountains with streams and wildlife would be a lot more fun to me. There’s way more variety, and you don’t have to deal with the assholes that camp out in front of your place constantly (this was a private beach).
People paying $12.5 mill for this stuff are completely insane.
LOL about the lobster! In Victorian England, oysters were considered ‘food of the poor’ - just goes to show how times change.
CNN has cancelled its usually very good ‘This Week at War” to show full-frontal coverage of the Malibu fire. For once, I’m not too irritated as I live over the other side of the mountains from it. Winds going the wrong way, fortunately, but the emergency services have been screetching down south SFV roads all morning.
Mel Gibson must be sighing with relief - his name’s been mentioned about 15,000 times so far, with very little reference to ‘The Incident”…
“Burn, Malibu, Burn”, to paraphrase John Lydnon…
Times sure do change, don’t they. Really sucks about the castle. Hope Pepperdine doesn’t get torched.
These are the things that make living in Malibu less then optimal.
Always something!
A fire in Mailbu? My, what a totally unusual, unforseen, unique event.
The castle is on fire. Now that sucks! Getting ugly.
i just got a good view of the malibu fire from the hill behind my house. the coast is toast
“Buy Now!” got its start with a $40,000 grant from the National Association of Home Builders.
Donations from local companies tied to the building trade bumped the budget up to $150,000, said JoAnn Orr, assistant executive vice president of the Lee Building Industry Association.
Additional buy-in from the media in the way of reduced advertising costs and in-kind donations of services by a handful of local public relations firms makes “Buy Now!” the equivalent of a $500,000 campaign, she said.
Additional buy-ins from the media in the way of reduced advertising costs…well if we ever doubted the lopsided reporting on the housing bubble, here’s your proof.
“South Florida is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past. A limited supply of land coupled with demand from baby boomers and foreigners would prolong the boom indefinitely.” - NY Times 3/25/2005
One of my favs..
And, honestly, I need to get that moron down here, and bang his head off the VACANT lots that are scattered all throughout the PBC area. Some directly in the downtown sector (where condos were going ever day for 500/sq/ft) some in the tony neighborhoods around PBC, and GOBS of it on the outskirts of the area…
I honestly think that those who claim “no more land in FL” perhaps have NEVER BEEN TO FL. Or, if they were, they only stayed in SoBe and never went more then 2 blocks from the ocean.
How ANYONE with half a brain can claim that FL is out of land is truly an exercise in self-delusion. There are even, the horror of it, old/run down homes on some of the barrier islands that are DIRECT oceanfront. In an area that is “out of land” you would NEVER see that, a developer would have bought ever single lot like that and put up a 30 story condo building.
The only place that I have EVER been that looks “out of land” to me is Manhattan.. And not all of it, just a few sections… Even places like San Fran… Yes, there are buildings on almost every lot. But some of them are ramshackle, falling down shells of buildings.. When you are “out of land” you have towers on EVER available lot, and ALL the land is being utilized to a reasonable portion of it max potential. The fact of the matter is, there is almost NO place like that in this entire country.
And, back to my point, absolutely NOT in South Florida.
Your right…once you leave PBC and drive up the turnpike all you see is LAND, LAND LAND… and most of it does not have orange farms on it…there is lots and lots of land available in that state…I always said to my husband…I don’t understand when the boom was going on why they made it seem like there was no place left to develop in the state. Especially in the middle of the state where land is and remained during the boom “cheap.”
I agree, but by those standards India is far from “out of land” as well..
Sadly liveable (or even enjoyable — what a notion) high-density urban planning has also gone out the window in the “investment” craze.
Even Manhattan has a lot of low-density neighborhoods, with 6 stories or less. That said, Sackman, a local builder, knocked down a couple of old townhouses, and is building a condo tower around the corner from me on 86th and West End. They’ve been breaking rocks for two weeks to dig the foundation. Interesting to see how this works out. Last time nyc crashed, the condo tower on 85 between West End and Broadway was completed and foreclosed by Bank of NY. The place sat unsold and empty for a few years…the same with the Staples condo tower at Broadway and 80th. Both had to be refurbished before they were finally sold in the mid-90s. Then they joined in the RE runup in prices.
But somebody took a real bath on both towers…probably the developers and the original lenders. So it goes.
Hey I think I saw that reporter outside the building…he had a cup in his hand and a sign that said, “Feed me!”
Uh oh the church is on fire!
Damn Im pres. I spent three great years living on Serra creek rd. It got wiped out by the floods.
There goes the old Rand Corp. building!
My house rental was one house away from Helen’s horse ranch.
Right by a creek, an old tile factory and a Father Serra monk retreat on the hilltop
Dave Mason lived on my street.
my MIL lives up LFmesa. She got wacked in the ‘95 fire, and since then has been living in a mobile on her property. the worst that can happen is we put a new mobile up for her.
between the mudlides, floods and fires these people insist upon rebuilding their houses every 25 years. none of us city folks have any mercy on these idiots.
Just got my annual property tax bill. Nice thought, thousands of FBs are receiving the same while their houses are sitting on the market doing nothing?
“annual property tax bill”
The new bubble. What’s the word for a bad bubble?
A fart, maybe?
Especially in a jacuzzi….
I bought my 2400 sf zero lot line deed restricted home in 2000 for $195,000. The market began to shoot up about 3 years later and the last sale in 2006 was for the same unit for $367,000. A year later the same floor plan sold for $340,000 and a newly remodeled unit of the same plan is on the market now for $315,000 and will maybe sell for $300,000 to some asshat. BY this time next year I bet I am looking at $235,000 which is about right. (Orlando)
“Michael Allen bought a three-bedroom town home in the $300,000s last year. Despite the ‘available’ signs outside many neighboring units at Jesup’s Reserve, Allen still thinks he and his wife made a smart investment.”
“‘I think this community is going to take off,’ he said.”
..and being an Orlando native he should know…take off just like Disneyworld’s ‘Tower of Terror’.
Yeah, especially since it is a Levitt & Sons development and they stopped all work on all units in all developments last week after they ran out of money and missed a $2.6 million bank payment. Ouch. Yeah, I bet that place is really going to take off now.
If those gagillionaires in Malibu are out of town, who is looking after the wine cellar and art collections?
you mean my SIL who is out of town? she has a beautiful prop in topanga. The fire is still about 5 miles from her.
I’d give my right boobie for a place with a little land in Topanga. Always was much nicer than Malibu, IMHO.
I think we should organize a rescue mission. Save the wine!
Got popcorn?
Neil
This is not a joke! Wasted wine is a tragedy! Go! Go! GO!
Oh man the eccentric doctors castle is up in smoke. No moat? Its all rock stones.
Wish me luck friends. I am meeting a realtor on Friday to rent (RENT) a place for a short term lease. It feels good to be in the driver seat because I stated my conditions for rental with no credit problems and ability to pay deposit, if necessary. Complete change from two years ago where “if you don’t sign this lease right now for these onerous terms, there is someone waiting right behind you who will”.
“I am meeting a realtor on Friday to rent (RENT) a place for a short term lease.”
I just signed a lease with a realtor comp. to rent. It was 50 pages.
Be sure to put the “date command” on your camera for your before and after photos.
50 pages? Wow! I’ll take the time to read and modify the lease to my content, and if they don’t like it, then I don’t rent. Simple as that. A weeks stay in Holiday Inn is cheaper than being on the losing side of a lease for a year. I walked away from a rental last week because the lease was written (as is legal in FL) for the ‘leasee’ to pay all rent even in event of breakage until the term is over or the apt is rerented. The agent told me it was a good deal because they were always able to rent quickly. There was total silence when I asked why they were so many vacancies in that case.
Kind of funny, in my current complex I asked the asst. mgr how they were looking occupancy wise. He replied they were #1 in the state of FL renting for last month. I replied that tells me nothing and just walked away. I know the guy is full of B/S; the two apartments on either side of me have been empty for over a month.
Tell the reporters to quit rubbing in the “million dollar homes” line.
Why can’t they just call them structures?
But….but….Dick Van Dyke lives there!
{honestly, I thought we was dead already]
What we would give for a good fire here in Florida!
“So many had something to gain from the mortgage bubble, says Bill Davis, past president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers’
Lax regulation, laws not being enforced and commision only brokers, etc., is the perfect storm to generate greed and fraud. In the end, most will be caught due to some unannounced investigations that are happening right now. Stay tuned, more to come!