From Fat City To Crisis Mode In California
CNN Money reports from California. “The subprime mortgage meltdown has shaken the entire U.S. economy. But nowhere might the impact be as stark as Irvine, California. A year ago at this time, Irvine was home to 18 subprime lenders, including many of the leaders in the field, such as New Century Financial and Option One. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, 4,100 good-paying white collar jobs were gone.”
“‘Honestly, some people are still sitting here with their jaws dropping, saying ‘How did it happen?’ It was just so fast,’ said Jacquie Ellis, CEO of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce. ‘Everybody was riding high, it was like fat city. All of a sudden you look around and think, ‘Joe across the street lost his job,’ or ‘Oh my gosh, Sally next door lost their job.’”
“By the end of the year, almost 9,000 subprime jobs were gone from Orange County. Many of these people have been unable to find new jobs.”
“When she was laid off in February, Patricia Guerrero was making $70,000 a year. Weeks later, with bills piling up and in need of food for her family, this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.”
“‘It brought tears to my eyes, and I sat there and I cried. I was like, ‘This is really where I’m at?’ she told CNN. ‘I go ‘no way;’ [but] this is true. This is reality. This is the stuff you see on TV.’”
“A former loan processor, Guerrero…so far has been able keep her house. She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month. In fact, her mother moved in with her to help pay the bills.”
“Guerrero is estranged from her husband and raising her two young children. She’s already burned through her savings to help make ends meet, and is drawing unemployment checks. Guerrero even applied for food stamps, but was denied.”
“In the last 12 to 18 months, said Daryl Brock, the executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank in California’s San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the agencies he supplies have begun seeing more middle-class families coming to their doors.”
“‘Our agencies have said there is an increasing number of people coming to them for help,’ Brock told CNN by phone. ‘Their impression was that these were not people they normally would have seen before. They seemed to be better dressed. They seemed to have better cars and yet they seemed to be in crisis mode.’”
“He added, ‘The only thing they can do is give us anecdotal evidence that they think it’s because of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the housing crisis.’”
The Bakersfield Californian. “Art, business, friendship and faith are fusing together Saturday to kindle the dreams of local painter Tim Kirkindoll and his buddy, self-defined Bakersfield-Los Angeles ‘bi-city’ real estate agent Shay Brandon Burke.”
“‘It was a fluke, a brainstorm, a daydream I had,’ said the multitalented Burke. ‘Why not combine an art show with an open house?’”
“‘As you know, there are lots of properties out there right now and prices continue to drop,’ said Burke, who works for Watson-Touchstone Real Estate. ‘So to sell a home you have to be as creative as you can to get a home seen and sold.’”
“‘There was a time, five years ago, when all agents did was put a house on the market and put it on the MLS and wait for the offers to come in,’ Burke said. ‘I’d get a buyer and they’d look at a home that was listed the day before, make an offer that day and there were already offers on it.’”
“But that is no longer the case. ‘What are you going to do to make my house stand out?’ is the question Burke said desperate sellers want to have answered up-front nowadays.”
“He said the two-story house, which has four bedrooms, 21⁄2 bathrooms, an office, a swimming pool, a play area for children and sits on a quiet cul de sac, would have sold for about $800,000 and possibly up to $1 million just two years ago. Now the going price for such a home is in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, Burke said.”
“Even though it is not a bank-owned home itself, foreclosures of other homes in the neighborhood have affected its price, he said.”
The Recordnet. “Home starts in California fell again in February because of ongoing problems in the housing and credit markets, the California Building Industry Association reported Wednesday.”
“According to housing permit data supplied by the Construction Industry Research Board, total housing starts in California dropped to 2,540 units in February, based on building permits issued. That was nearly a 60 percent decline from 6,326 permits the previous February, and it’s down 5 percent from 2,675 in January.”
“Home starts in San Joaquin County slowed to 46, the lowest monthly level in years, based on building permits pulled in February. That was an 82 percent drop from 249 in February 2007.”
“Kevin Kimball, senior VP of KB Home’s Central Valley region, said it’s tougher for home buyers to get loans today, but that’s because of tighter lending standards, not a lack of cash to lend during the current credit crunch.”
“‘The buyer is going to have to do a lot more work to get a loan than they would have 18 months ago,’ Kimball said. ‘The money is there if they’re willing to work for it.’”
The Contra Costa Times. “New-home starts plunged in the East Bay during February, and the setback in this region was far worse than the decline in California, researchers and home builders reported Wednesday.”
“Measured by building permits, housing starts for single-family homes, condominiums and apartments fell 60 percent in the East Bay in February, compared with the same month the year before.”
“Permit activity plummeted 83 percent in San Joaquin County and 60 percent in Solano County.”
“Single-family home permits weaker fell by 63 percent in the East Bay and Solano County, by 82 percent in San Joaquin County and by 60 percent in California.”
The Times Herald. “The worst may be over for the Vallejo area real estate market, local experts said Tuesday. Locally…experts say sales seem to be picking up, though prices are still not increasing.”
“That the local situation differs from what’s going on statewide doesn’t surprise Solano Association of Realtors president Lori Collins.”
“‘Each area really represents sort of a microcosm, and different areas behave differently,’ Collins said. ‘The market is actually booming in San Jose and San Francisco, and it’s picking up here, but it’s not crazy here, yet.’”
“The downward trajectory of median home prices in the area has slowed, said Collins and Benicia mortgage broker and City Councilman Alan Schwartzman.”
“‘Sales in the Bay Area have been increasing for the past four months,’ Schwartzman said. ‘We’re seeing multiple offers going on, mostly in the lower-range, bank-owned properties. And that’s good. It seems like things are getting better. Or maybe we should say things are bottoming out.’”
“It’s holding steady at $340,000 and a typical home is staying on the market about 128 days, Collins said. Half the homes for sale in the area, however, have had price reductions, she added. Collins said she attributes the change to the relatively affordable price of existing homes, especially in Vallejo.”
“‘I think prices are finally getting down to a place where they make more sense,’ she said. ‘We’re seeing more investors in Vallejo. They’re finding they can buy a home and still make a profit on rent.’”
From My 58.com. “Homes are selling again in Northern California, but it’s taking slashed prices and curbside auction sales to do it. A group of homes went on the auction block Tuesday morning in Southport.”
“A 4,000-square foot luxury home that once appraised at $575,000 sold for $374,000. One buyer purchased a condominium priced at $90,000 for $55,000. He said it was for investment purposes and to rent it out.”
The Record Bee. “The real estate story is a little different in Lake County. Real Estate agents say the buyer profile hasn’t changed much throughout the real-estate rollercoaster ride.”
“During the past seven years, a high rate of home sales at high prices was followed by a leveling out in sales that then dramatically slowed along with a drop in prices.”
“Spurred by the bleak housing market, the overall economy is in recession, with unemployment in the county at 9.6 percent last month, up from 9.4 percent a year ago. Area real estate agents and lenders say that many working and middle-class families, the back-bone of the county’s working economy are moving out and less are moving in to the area.”
“‘The funny thing is prices continued to rise, then in 2007 things leveled out. Now things have dramatically slowed and prices are dramatically dropping and the numbers of transactions are dropping,’ said broker Byron Whipple. ‘Overall the economy is affecting everyone. The excess income isn’t there right now. That vacation home the buyer could have afforded a few years ago they can’t afford now.’”
“Former real estate and lending agent Monna Hull got out of the business after eight years. Because of high debt and low appraisals, it was ‘just horrible for me to have to say no to people I’d had a business relationship with for so long,’ Hull said of trying to help her former clients re-finance homes.”
“‘I was just struggling and couldn’t make it, so I quit,’ Hull said. ‘I’m working at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena it was just financially the best thing for me to do. It’s a lot less stress,’ she added.”
OK, San Diegans, here’s your chance to add the 2 cents:
‘When I was chatting with local mortgage broker Brian Brady for this story, he had this characterization of the housing market: “The market is going through a thing we call price discovery, which is ‘What’s the right price to pay for the house?’”
‘He values property in two ways. One is what he calls “intrinsic value,” or the way a purchase pencils out based on a 20 percent down-payment and a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage. When house prices get to a place when those factors are enticing, “investors come in off the sidelines,” he said. He estimated in November prices have about 20 percent to fall to get to that point.’
‘But the other value is what Brady calls “utilitarian value,” which adds about $40,000 or $50,000 to what an investor might pay for a house to what a homeowner might be willing to pay.’
“That’s the, ‘How much will I pay to paint my walls lime green?’” he said wryly, adding some of the reasons people choose to buy instead of rent. “There’s the homeownership value that people love, the permanency, the ‘this is my house’ thing.”
‘How much more than an investor’s cold “pencil-out” scenario are you — or do you think buyers in San Diego are — willing to pay to own their homes? Send me an e-mail with your thoughts.’
20% down and a 15 year note is my criteria. I have kids and like to enjoy my life. I’m not going to become a house slave just so I can smell my own wet paint.
Sorry, though, I’m not from San Diego, never even visited. We’re a single income CO family.
The last time there were “multiple offers” in SD was when the RE convention was in town…if ya know what I mean
I’m not sure I’m understanding the premise - I’m going to spend $50K more for the privilege of spending more money and my time to redo a house? Because it’s never just paint - then you need floors, window coverings, light fixtures and furniture to match the new paint. Then the baths and kitchen look a little dated, so they go next. It seems no one buys a house that they are comfortable living in anymore. I’d rather have my time to do other things than be a slave to a house.
It seems no one buys a house that they are comfortable living in anymore. I’d rather have my time to do other things than be a slave to a house.
No joke. We have way more free time than when were were homeowners.
Of course, the other day I did decide that I’d like to paint the bathroom.
here’s an idea, rent, paint the walls lime green, save tons of $$$, move out, repaint white for $100, go to Vegas. I’ve rented many places with restrictions on: pets, sat. dishes, painting, working on my car you know what, I did all the above, my money, I do what I want, only had one problem with a sat dish, they told me to take it down after 2 years, I said fine, and took my rent money with me.
Then I just moved into a new place, and repeated. Hoas, landlords etc, have never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do and never will
I am a landlord. The property does not belong to you. You are borrowing it. You do not have the right to do as you like. Take your rent money and buy a home if you want to paint the room green but leave my house alone or don’t rent from me. A contract is a contract. You agree when you move in to not paint, you shouldn’t paint. Just like when you move in, I agree to rent to you for a certain price, I should not increase the rent the next week. Grow up. Be responsible, buy your own rental property and see what you think about someone painting it green. Usually, the people do not repaint or else ruin the carpet when they do.
@ JENNY:
Oh please…when landlords stop counting their pennies, change carpets without people begging them to, address neighbour problems, etc…THEN you can talk. Until then, screw the landlord.
BS. The only “added value” that buying recently had over renting was that people were expecting stupid appreciation to make up for the difference. Everything else was an excuse.
There is no added value beyond the intrinsic one. The value of a house is determined by the buyer’s willingess and ability to pay. If the buyer doesn’t make bank, then she cannot pay a buttload for the house, regardless of her paint preferences. If the buyer has to put her own money on the line (not just her credit score), then that cold “pencil-out” scenario will always take precedence over any intangible value that the real estate agent may be trying to push. After all, the cost of repainting your rented wall is far less than 40 or 50 Gs.
Besides, what about the intangibles of renting? You’re free to change jobs, ditch your neighboors, choose a different hood, etc. You don’t have to be responsible for maintenance either. Buying a house is only worth it if the cost over time is less than renting.
“The value of a house is determined by the buyer’s willingess and ability to pay.”
Sorry, Big V — I fired off my post before reading yours. I guest V-ists think alike?
This is a completely stupid “reason” to buy. I’ve painted walls in rental housing, never lost even a nickel of deposit.
Even if you do have a dickish landlord, I seriously doubt that painting the walls is an evictable “offense” in most jurisdictions. Worst case he’ll keep your deposit or charge you a few thousand bucks. Big deal, you make that up within a month or two by renting instead of buying.
Even if you do have a dickish landlord, I seriously doubt that painting the walls is an evictable “offense” in most jurisdictions. Big deal, you make that up within a month or two by renting instead of buying.
Exactly. I fail to see how a landlord could actually extract more than your security deposit anyway. (As in he/she could attempt to charge you more but what leverage do they have other than small claims (good luck) or a credit ding you could dispute…)
Unless you choose electric pink, painting the place is actually maintaining it anyway. From what I can tell of our local rental market any landlord who evicts a tenant that has the wherewithal to paint is out of their minds.
Actually, the irony is that even when you own your home people tsk tsk if you decide to paint your bathroom lime green and/or display Day of the Dead decor, they tell you it will AFFECT your Property Values. You always have to be on high alert, everything you do in your house if FOR the future potential BUYER! Beware of the property value Police! What a crock. So, you see, however you slice it the whole thing is Bull.
LOL! Thanks for the entertainment SaladSD, I enjoyed your sarcasm.
What has always baffled me is the people who let their houses get run down for like 10 years while they live there, then they sink like 10K into renovations to make the house nice right before they sell it. I listen to a guy named Gary Sullivan who has a great handyman talk show, and that’s his pet peeve. He doesn’t understand why people don’t just plan out to remodel one room or so a year or two and enjoy a nice house while they are living there instead of making it nice for the next people.
That is so true. I just lowered the price and saved myself the aggravation.
I think in California this is irrelevant anyway, as it’s the law that landlords must repaint between tenants. I believe they must shampoo carpets, too.
So, electric pink or puke green wouldn’t matter anyway. And if painting the walls (with actual wall paint) is the worst thing a tenant does, well, that’s one lucky landlord.
you make that up within a month or two by renting instead of buying.
My friends all graduated college around 1990 so where able to buy with rather perfect market-timing in the 1990s. They are all sitting pretty in Prop-13 protected houses with payments now less than rents.
But when they bought, their payments were not less than rents.
Even if it costs more to rent, with a decent market timing I think Mr Wage Inflation will eventually make the buy decision a win-win.
But we can agree that people buying at the suicide 2002-2006 era pricing are gonna have a long time to wait for wage inflation to push up rents in their area.
‘But the other value is what Brady calls “utilitarian value,” which adds about $40,000 or $50,000 to what an investor might pay for a house to what a homeowner might be willing to pay.’
I personally suggest adding a third factor to the calculation: Homeowner ability to pay. Household purchase budget constraints are severely underrated as a predictive tool for where markets will bottom out.
I was just down in SD. We lived there for 30 years. Already lived through two housing bubbles We looked at a few houses while we were there. Still incredibly overpriced. One thing to keep in mind is that most people down there have no idea what a “normal” home price is so it’s hard to say what they will pay. I heard that there are people making multiple offers on bank-owned properties now. They are under the impression that they got a steal on a house because they “only” paid 600k for it when the person before them, the one that got the foreclosure, paid 750k. Never mind that the property is only worth 500k. Same dummies that jumped on the band wagon on the way up and jumping again on the way down. Some call themselves investors. Go figure.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay more for a home than a true investor would pay.
Look on the bright side - these speculators will get their asses handed to them when those properties fail to sell at any kind of profit. They will drag this price inflation out by flipping back and forth to each other until somebody walks away. Then the house is back on the market again as REO for an even lower amount. Greater fools seem to breed prolifically.
IMO, those types are few and far between because the funny money is, for the most part, gone. The people you speak of aren’t investors, they’re greedy idiots with some boneheaded bankers money burning a hole in their pocket. Most are getting washed down the foreclosure toilet as I type.
It’s true, there are people making multiple offers on REOs. I posted an REO here a few weeks ago that should be declared a superfund site. There were 18 offers made on the property. The bank actually quit taking offers. When I drove by the place an asian family was looking at the home. The grandma who was outside holding the baby actually gave me the stink-eye.
The banks price the REOs super low and people are going crazy over dumps.
“How much are San Diegans willing to pay to own their homes?”
========================================================
Such a quaint notion. And such an antiquated notion.
These days, what they are willing to pay is irrelevant. What are they able to pay? That’s the real question.
Having moved back up north after seven years in No San Diego Co (mostly because of crappy wages & benefits) I can tell you that the average home there based on the average income should be about 236k TOPS. Two of our kids still live there. I’ve told them NOT to buy until everyone is talking about how bad real estate is. It’s such nonsense that the bottom comes and goes in a few months or so. Just stand back and get out of the way and see where the knives fall. Interesting that the ’stories’ about multiple offers always seem to come from RE agents….
I talked with my Realtor today for some advice on pricing my rental property, and I got to talking about a buddy who might be looking at buying, but was renting dirt cheap, and stacking money like mad. She said that he should get on the lists to keep an idea of what’s out there, but his best buy opportunity in the Amarillo area won’t be for another year to year and a half.
Ha-ha!
Professor Bear beat me to it.
Ben- I think you are baiting us. I have clients who are giving back 36 houses that they bought to flip. I have an 82 yr. old woman that you guys will soon read about in the UT giving back 8? properties. This guy you spoke with is an absolute loon (In my opinion). This thing is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much more huge than what we are seeing. The US Govt. by its nonsense lending, etc. is just rearranging the deck chairs onthe Titantic. Will they be able to avoid 1929? Doubt it andthe other countries of the world are voting (with their money) against it. My. $.02
“utilitarian value” ?
I’m sorry but my take is different then his. To me it would imply a decrease in value based on what it would take me to bring the house up to my level of expectation. Maybe it has a swimming pool that is better filled in than utilized as a pool. Maybe the property will need to be reroofed in three years and deed restrictions would force me to put on a more costly roofing. Maybe two families are allowed to live in one house which would be a negative for that property. Perhaps too many properties in the neighborhood are rentals, especially section 8. The further the property is from amenities (rural) the less the utilitarian (useful) value of the property.
–
“A former loan processor, Guerrero…so far has been able keep her house. She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month. In fact, her mother moved in with her to help pay the bills.”
Aren’t women disproportionately losing jobs/incomes due to the housing bubble burst? Any estimate, or guess, on %?
Also, I read sit-in restaurants are doing poorly. What % employed in these are women?
Any social implication beyond the financial?
Just curious,
Jas
Let’s hope so….They hired so many Paris Hilton type clueless fluff bunnies in the last 5 years,so now they all need to go back to their last job…as a stripper
————————————————————————-
Aren’t women disproportionately losing jobs/incomes due to the housing bubble burst?
I’m just guessing, but being a Realtor ™ and/or a prostitute might be the most common highest paying jobs for women?
Lovely… Among my group of women friends the most common “jobs” are as doctors and lawyers. Sorry to burst your fantasy bubble..
I’m just guessing, but being a Realtor ™ and/or a prostitute might be the most common highest paying jobs for women?
It was a chance for women, some really smart women too, that were stuck in administrative jobs where they never get paid what they’re worth, to make some real money for doing similar work. It wasn’t just bimbos that went into real estate, mortgage and escrow business. I think the social implications are more women (and sometimes men) stuck in miserable marriages - not necessarily violent or dangerous relationships, just the type that suck the life out of you. I do think there will be more domestic violence and child abuse, which always seem to increase in bad economic times.
Yes, and it also seems that some women felt empowered by their new RE jobs to divorce their scummy husbands, and will probably feel compelled to take the bums back now that they don’t make enough to really support themselves. That’s why women should not neglect their educations with the plan to count on their husbands. Oh, and also why people should teach their daughters to count.
So true, V. I taught both my girls that you have to be financially independent in order to be able to pick a proper mate based on the right compatibility. I also told them they should be willing to be single parents before they got pregnant because through a variety of ways you can end up that way and if they weren’t willing to raise a child alone, they shouldn’t have one
“…some women felt empowered by their new RE jobs to divorce their scummy husbands..”
They must be scummy women. Just sayin’.
Jas -
I think the premise is iffy at best. I’m sure there were alot of women loan processors - and just as many male subcontractors now looking for work. My little experience with sit down restaurants where you could make real cash as a server is that ratios of men to women were about equal.
Those are just my experiences, of course. I’d be interested if someone else felt there was a huge skew one way or the other. From my POV, this seems to have been more of an equal opportunity bubble.
“When she was laid off in February, Patricia Guerrero was making $70,000 a year. Weeks later, with bills piling up and in need of food for her family, this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.”
Excuse me, but wasn’t this ONE FREAKIN’ MONTH AGO??
So, she “burned through” her ’savings’ in one lousy month, and I’m supposed to feel *sorry* for her? Either she’s dining lavishly on Kobe beef and Dom Perignon, while riding around town in a limo every night, or, she failed to adequately plan for a rainy day.
Oh, and ’splain to me exactly WHY she “cannot” rent? Is it due to the low social status and dreaded stigma of being a (*gasp* renter –the horror!)
Either way, her failure to plan and save up for tough times is not my problem. Nor does going back to renting and living within her means constitute a tragedy.
Oh, and ’splain to me exactly WHY she “cannot” rent?
She probably has trashed credit, thus would not qualify to rent. Fortunately for her, homeownership has lower standards these days.
I agree HARM.I noticed the income level vs. the savings depletion time table too. Evidently, she was entitled to “the good life”. I’ve always lived parcimonious, and planned for the rainy days. A lot of these “victims” are just learning about consequences for actions and bad decisions. Black Swans do come in life.
I’m not going to buy into the other parts of the argument, but I actually doubt whether there was all that much “good life”.
$70K gross = ??? net. Take out $30K in mortgage payments, plus another $5K or so in insurance and property taxes.
Unless you’re collecting maintenance from the ex you don’t have a huge amount left to raise 2 children on.
Ernst Blofeld’s facts further down the thread render my argument invalid.
But she is a renter - just with a 30 year lease and an obligation to purchase. She’s currently paying interest only.
It’s seems most of America is three missed paychecks away from BK.
Mike
SD is cracking trying to stay above $300/sq.ft
http://www.sdlookup.com/Property-0BDC8CE7-3927_Nobel_Dr_36_San_Diego_CA_92122
That is a pretty hefty loss, but how this one bedroom condo could ever have gone for $550/sq.ft. is beyond my comprehension. Starting to see a few more sellers who bought 20 years ago undercutting the market.
Starting to see a few more sellers who bought 20 years ago undercutting the market.
Uh ohhhhh …
STILL over priced, I moved from the neighboring place. This place may as well be a dormitory. Its just a bunch of UCSD and USD college kids on mommy and daddy money or student loans who like to invite all their buds over to their rooms, play loud music through the paper thin walls, and puke in the hallways every weekend. Sure the eye candy at the 20 somthing pool parties is nice, but you won’t want to live there after 1 month, buy there, haha only if you plan to rent it out, not a place to live.
So to sell a home you have to be as creative as you can to get a home seen and sold.
No, you just lower the price till you hit its market value.
Quiet you!! The used homes salespeople want you to believe it’s a science. Now, go hang some art in that gator and shut your mouth!
Comment by ex-nnvmtgbrkr
2008-03-27 15:49:49
Quiet you!! The used homes salespeople want you to believe it’s a science. Now, go hang some art in that gator and shut your mouth!
Heh Heh
Don’t forget the ultimate in staging.
A potted Joshua Tree in the Foyer.
It ads a new definition to ‘multi-purpose.’
Got Popcorn?
Neil
my landlord in the OC is so tapped, he doesn’t care what color i paint the walls. not that i would. Says he is still financially recovering from my new bathroom, the poor thing. matter of fact, he just asked for utility bills (his name on them) so he can get re-fi.
of course i am month-to-month
Hi Catspit:
You might want to consider looking for a new place. Chances are, he’ll be rejected for the re-fi, at which point he will either sell or be foreclosed on. Either of those would be bad for you.
Catspit1, you’re in Costa Misery, right? What region are you in? I’m in the southwest side of CM, near Placentia and Victoria.
I’m in a great rental situation right now that I don’t want to give up, but if I had to look for another rental place, I’d be extremely cautious about who my new landlord would be. Especially in the foreclosure Mecca that Costa Mesa has become.
Eastside Caucasians essay!! (throwing off gang signs)
No sweat I’ve been here like 10 years. I sense it will take them awhile to evict me but what do i know? maybe i can hold off long enough for prices over by the beach to be down in the 300s seems like. I need to take up cigars to go with the tommy gun when they try to smoke me out. YOu’ll never take me alive copper!!
my greyhound likes the big back yard here but we can find something else i’m sure, there’re tons of for rent signs up and when we moved in here it was hush hush, friend of a friend to find a good SFR rental.
i haven’t looked into it but i bent renters have some rights against foreclosure, no?
No, renters have no rights against foreclosure. The bank just has to give you 30 days notice.
Someone looked up Guerrero on the local assessors database:
How does that even happen? At what point did these people look in the mirror and say “You know, I could really feel better of myself if I tripled my debt load!”
better about, not better of.
They both fit.
Being that the house is 3000 sq ft and is old, I would guess that they blew a wad expanding and remodeling it. Probably added a second floor, a pool, new bathrooms and kitchen (granite of course). Throw in a couple of status mobiles and that’s where the money went. Irresistable!
And even if they did, where did the rest of the $450k go? If they didn’t, she apparently has none of the $450k left to her name? UFB.
“I’ll spare you all the gory details………….”
That’s gory enough for me, I think I am going to be sick.
I guess this vacuous pig gets to squander the $450k tax free, mooch off society for every give away there is, and eventually walk on the mortgage.
She needs to have her tubes tied.
And she gets a HUG from HILLARY and OBAMA, as well as a chunk of my tax dollars.
(I paid more in taxes this year than this woman is crying about “losing”. Yet Congress, Hillary and Obama are treating me like I’m what needs to be “corrected” so ****s like Patricia can “keep her home.”)
SAY IT AGAIN.
“And she gets a HUG from HILLARY and OBAMA, as well as a chunk of my tax dollars.”
-Full disclosure- Would love to vote democratic but #1 issue that supersedes any party loyalty is robbing Joe to buy a palace for Paris, i.e. spending my tax dollars to prop up this mortgage.
you means runts, right? :p
sob sob
my heart bleeds for these people - NOT
SICK to death of having to see this drivel STILL in the MSM. Isn’t it time for the MSM to start reporting the real deal? That is, only t6he FBs and bleeding hearts could possibly think it is in the best interest to bail this sh!t out.
Blaming Hillary and Obama is getting a little bit ahead of the game. The banking reforms that set the stage for this mess happened under Clinton, and the greatest bubble action happened under Bush who made sure the regulatory environment wasn’t going to stop anyone. To the extent we want to play the blame game we have to admit that Clinton and Bush and their people are responsible, not anyone who is campaigning now who happened to be a Senator recently.
all of you give the presidential administraton way too much credit for this mess. Just like people who blame bush for the price of oil, its well beyond their control
Funny. That’s not what Bush said before he got elected. He said in the debates in 2000 that the Pres. should just get on the phone and tell the Saudis to bring the price down. Seems like he spends more time holding hands in public with his Saudi buddies these days..
I don’t blame Hillary or Obama for the housing mess, I believe Joe Flipper and his irrational exuberance is the prime target. I do however have a problem with anyone who wants to use my money to bail out these idiots.
Both Hillary and Obama have publicly backed the Dodd-Frank housing bill that would use FHA loans to refinance these fools. When they default in droves, it’s you and I who will pay for it.
My goodness people are greedy nowadays! All of this just to keep up the appearance of wealth and luxury.
What’s interesting is that they bought from the parents. Basically, this entire family conspired to rob a bank. And this story gets covered as a “sob story”. Have you ever seen any new story check the story against the public records?
You’ll notice that it was _his_ parents they got the house from, but apparently _her_ house after the divorce.
That’s where the kids live, blofeld42, so it’s where the mom lives too. Besides, it’s possible that Guerrero is her maiden name.
If you ask me keeping the house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anymore. She’d be better off if he got the house and the ginormous mortgage.
Trying to keep the house is the No. 1 mistake divorcing women make.
and if I’m not mistaken, a CA home sale to a relative such as child or spouse keeps the prop tax level at the current value.(Prop 13 exemption) so not only did she get the house for $150k she didnt pay any higher taxes thru the refi’s. she did lose her non-recourse status but still …. thats an average of over $100,000 PER YEAR and now she is broke after only 4 years!? FOUR EFFIN YEARS!??!
barring some unusual emergency, thats just BS to the Nth degree.
Aw, Reuven, checking the public records is SO hard!
Whats WORSE is CNN printing a FAKE Story
How do we all get the word out its faked?
Doubt it will make a difference, but I wrote to CNN here:
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
I copied/pasted the info above and put it in the comments sections for that story. Don’t know if CNN will allow it or not, but would love if someone else does the same to make sure it gets in there.
I didn’t look up the information–someone else on another board did. Many people have told CNN about this, but they’re not posting any of the comments. I’ve got a little sympathy for them on this, because if they posted the information and it turned out to be wrong they’d be in a world of hurt. But it’s not that difficult for them to look up the assessor’s information themselves.
thank you for looking up the facts rather than allowing these bleeding heart stories to float out unchecked. the reporter didn’t check or didn’t find it pertinent.
You just never know what people do with money. I just know that if I had been able to suck $450K out tax free, I could have lived a long, long time on that. If you suck the money out, but keep it and then walk - can they take it away (assuming they can find it)?
I think they can search and find it in any acct via SSN, so probably they’d have go offshore. I’m only guessing and probably someone here knows more about that. But if there’s no deficiency judgment to begin with, there’s no grounds to attach the account.
I don’t care much for gold normally, but if I were to do this for real I’d probably by me some ingots and then pour them into molds that wouldn’t raise suspicion then dip the results in something like plaster of paris then paint them :). Security through obscurity.
Ernst:
Will you please send that information to the author who wrote the article? Maybe they’ll do a follow-up.
Just go to the CNN website, down at the bottom find the Contact link. Send them your comments on their faux sob story and demand that they retract the story and tell the REAL story.
I pasted Ernst’s info into the comments section below the article, and also sent is to the editor throught their “corrections” link.
I don’t see it.
Looks like they haven’t updated the comments since I posted. I kind of doubt they’ll publish it, since it makes them look a little silly. I still sent it through their corrections link, though.
I know this is so common…
But ghad… given a livable home and turn it into nothing but debt.
I’m too practical… Smart friends still think it will go up. They’ll know better in a few months…
Got Popcorn?
Neil
So his parents basically worked hard to acquire a home they could afford, sold it to them for a reasonable price, and they proceeded to completely jack up a throughly sane situation. Where’s my tiny violin?
“There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed by truth.”
John Kenneth Galbraith
Oh, it’s been especially sweet lately.
To all my REIC bubblio Kool-Aid drinking neighbors in the Alt-A Bay…
I say: “Yes, yes it is!”
–
Latest on hot markets (towns) in Silly.con Valley — Active Listings keep going up faster than the general area. Cupertino, Los Also and Palo Alto listings are up 60-70% during the past three weeks. Just the opposite was the case a year ago during this time of the year.
Also, SF and SJ metros continue to do worse than the rest of CA. SC (Sacramento) and SD were the leaders and SJ was the laggard until recently.
The situation in outlying areas of Santa Clara Co in South is bizarre. Look at these in Gilroy (I don’t know if these are builder listings):
717 GAGE CT $739,000
727 GAGE CT $739,000
737 GAGE CT $739,000
716 GAGE CT $749,000
726 GAGE CT $749,000
707 GAGE CT $749,000
747 GAGE CT $749,000
945 WILDFLOWER CT $1,532,621
940 WILDFLOWER CT $1,540,400
910 WILDFLOWER CT $1,542,988
955 WILDFLOWER CT $1,544,300
925 WILDFLOWER CT $1,600,612
950 WILDFLOWER CT $1,608,400
920 WILDFLOWER CT $1,622,642
960 WILDFLOWER CT $1,655,042
935 WILDFLOWER CT $1,661,521
900 WILDFLOWER CT $1,665,000
930 WILDFLOWER CT $1,674,480
Listings keep piling up, sales are slow, and people still aren’t dropping listing prices much.
Jas
Maybe they’re hoping for a PowerBall hit?
–
That is their best hope, especially, seeing GOOG down. I think that the bottom will fall out of Palo Alto shacks once the Scam Market gets below the 2002-03 levels. Until then the listings will keep piling up, the first definitive sign of the coming big price drops.
Jas
Jas
Did you hear that, SiO2?
I heard it. I saw two listings in Los Altos come up this week for under 1.5m. Both are unremodeled and about 1700 sq ft. My guess is that they will be sold within 3 weeks. But I would love to be wrong.
Another example:
986 Seena Ave, Los Altos. Remodeled but small: 1627 ft on a 9147 lot. Asking 1.450. Listed 2 weeks ago, it is now pending.
So I still read the tales of woe on this blog, but I am not seeing the effect in the market. That may change.
PS, my second call-out by name on this blog! I am honored.
(this may read as sarcastic but it is not, just to be clear)
Final note,
I did just see that there are houses listed for under 1.5m now. Eichler shacks, sure, but even those were more than 1.5m last year. so there is some movement down.
It’s Gilroy. It must be a new home Outlet.
Here is the Movoto listing for 935 Wildflower Ct, Gilroy, which oddly enough shows that this neighborhood has increasing crime, is barely majority white, has residents which mostly finished high school but have no degrees and mostly earn $30-75k a year. Strange place for a tract of $1.5 million plus homes!
Gilroy is a s**t hole. Basically northern Mexico.
Good garlic though!
Mike
The Real House Lies of Orange County…
“The subprime mortgage meltdown has shaken the entire U.S. economy. But nowhere might the impact be as stark as Irvine, California. A year ago at this time, Irvine was home to 18 subprime lenders, including many of the leaders in the field, such as New Century Financial and Option One. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, 4,100 good-paying white collar jobs were gone.”
“…this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.”
“A former loan processor, Guerrero…so far has been able keep her house. She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month. In fact, her mother moved in with her to help pay the bills.”
Can anybody really be this stupid… she doesn’t have money for food but still wants to keep “renting” (isn’t that what you do with an interest only loan) her house for $2500/month. If anybody knows who this lady is, please tell her she can rent a nice apartment for $1500/month and now she’ll have an extra $1000/month for food… just my 2 cents…
Silly rabbit…this is California we are speaking of…remember…she’s entitled.
The funny thing is I know quite a few loan processors that are hanging by a string literally…and to think it’s only just begun.
I see we’re on the same page.
Oh yeah, we are…I’ve received a fair share of phone calls, basically on their knees for a deal…they get nada…
C’mon mis, you teased them a little by playing with your fly…
Hanging by a string, not their own petard? Or a hanger in the closet?
They’ll find work in the new RTC-2, I suppose. Someone’s going to have to process a lot of paper over the next few years, and it might as well be them. Unless RTC-2 outsources the work to India.
I actually interviewed at one of the RTC offices in SoCal in the early 90’s, it was staffed by all of the old S&L employees that had lost their jobs….
Oh no, weren’t you listening to the Obama/Hilary fiasco today? It’s the American Dream, and by god owning a home is a RIGHT!!!!, not a priviledge for those earn it. So tax-payers of America must unite to keep this starving Betty in her home……..Tell her to go rent?!! What a heartless bastard you are!
(I feel the sarcasm just oozing today..)
Gosh….what was I thinking saying she should rent! Sorry about that! Please stay in your house lady… I just can’t wait to contribute my share of the bailout money to the IRS to help save this poor lady and her modest home…
Does she drink the $30 bottle of wine ?
Senator Clinton made the funniest comment this week.
When asked who she would have on her economic team she responded Mr. Alan Greenspan. When asked why
“Not only that, but the Fed didn’t act while he was there. But he has a calming influence still to this day on Wall Street — don’t ask me why because I never understand what he’s saying — but nevertheless people respond to that Delphic oracle approach. I think it would be wise to include him. And recently he’s come out, and very smartly so, that we have to deal with housing and maybe we need to have some kind of buyout mechanism for mortgages. So he’s moved on his understanding and depth of the problem — but you know you could pick three others. You just have to have some demonstrable involvement of presidential leadership…”
Attytood
http://tinyurl.com/3dzk9w
The Delphic oracle approach. Just get me out of here, you can keep the cheese.
WHAT??? Yes, they acted when he was in. Did you hear she wants to form a super team aout of Greenspan, Volker, and some other 100-year-old man? Great, a team of people who are too old to wipe their own butts. That will work. Who needs youth anyway, with all it’s inconvenient flexibility, brightness, hope, and concern for the future?
aoutoutit’sitsI don’t know if I spelled Volker right. Is it Volcker?
Paul Volcker
Volcker, yeah.
Senator Clinton “don’t ask me why because I never understand anything” “and I like to make stuff up”
Obama and Hillary are just espousing government the way it’s always been, as noted by Frederic Bastiat: “Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” Doesn’t make it right (and it’s not right), but it seems like that’s the way those in power always think.
I heard all that too, unfortunately. Of all the plans, Obama’s is the least horrible. Repubs: Must bail out banks, system depends on it. Dems: Must bail out homedebtors, system depends on it. I hope they all just drop it after they get elected.
Yeah, but then she wouldn’t qualify for food stamps!
Gosh….what was I thinking saying she should rent! Sorry about that! Please stay in your house lady… I just can’t wait to contribute my share of the bailout money to the IRS to help save this poor lady and her modest home… just hang in there a few more months lady!
The video of Ms. Guerrero is the bomb…
She describes taking off her Tiffany bracelet and leaving her Coach bag in the car, before going into the foodbank.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/03/27/foodbank.family/#cnnSTCVideo
Wow…isn’t that surreal…I mean look at all that crap she has in her house…the diamond earrings…I must be of a different breed…if I was that broke…I would be having yard sale in the driveway and a for sale sign being placed in the front yard all within the same day and selling blood part time…to think she has kids…WoW
Here’s another question if your situation is that dire…How in the f*** do you have time to sit down in the middle of the day conducting interviews with a reporter…why in the hell aren’t you looking for a friggin job…
Or she could contact a freaking DIAMOND DEALER and put her jewelry on consignment. That’s always been my justification for owning diamond jewelry. I can wear it as long as I’m doing OK, and can sell it later if I need to. It’s a store of value.
If she’s really desperate for food (questionable), she can pawn the jewelry.
Go to a consignment store, put your Coach bag there, start a store on ebay, have an estate sale… the list goes on, the ‘how to’s of getting cash.’
Damn, and she said that someone at the food bank felt sorry for her and offered to pay her utility bill. This woman has no shame!
just another fat ass female
…paying 2500 interest-only, and this began as a mere 159k debt…sheeeeeeesh.
She said that she and her husband both had good paying jobs up to two months ago. With what they were making they could have paid the original loan off within five years.
denial is very very powerful. To leave would be to realize the loss.
Guerrero is just plain stupid, all there is to it. Wonder what they did with that $450,000.
Why does the media keep feeding stories of these sad sacks and failing to mention shit like their 6 cash out-refi’s?
“‘I think prices are finally getting down to a place where they make more sense,’ she said. ‘We’re seeing more investors in Vallejo. They’re finding they can buy a home and still make a profit on rent.’”
I find it difficult to believe that this statement is true anywhere in CA.
At a casual dinner party yesterday someone told me that he plans on buying a rancher in Herndon/Reston VA, fixing it up, and flipping it. I was literally speechless. He told me that housing prices are really down right now like it was some kind of investment secret. This guy makes about $45k/year in NoVA, which is a stone’s throw from the poverty line. Financing? Don’t worry - his parents are going to co-sign.
“I asked the captain what his name was
And how come he didn’t drive a truck
He said his name was Columbus
I just said, “Good luck”.” -Bob Dylan
No one wants to live in Herndon, and parts of Reston. Very third-world gangland.
It’s an i/o loan. They’re still giving them out to people with good credit. Not for long, though.
Me too - but given that they are calling the bottom in the same article, it’s less than surprising that the reporter would not ask for some proof of what is likely an outright falsehood.
“…this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.”
Food banks all across the country are just as overdrawn as the people that frequent them…
“‘It was a fluke, a brainstorm, a daydream I had,’ said the multitalented Burke. ‘Why not combine an art show with an open house?’”
Bwwwwwwaaaahhhhaaa Art Show…Bakersfield Bwwwwaaaahhhhaaa
What’s next?….strippers on poles?
Strippers would have been an attraction at least. Most ppl have crap for taste, so art is out.
More people would show up for that at least. Probably about the same result in sales, though - zero.
How about a Tractor pull in the back yard ?
I remember during the Regan years, middle Americans had a lot of scorn for the “Welfare Queen:” the prototypical person who lived like a Queen on welfare.
Well, now Middle America has become a huge army of Welfare Queens, wanting to spend money they don’t have (and never will) and feeling entitled to bailouts, tax credits, and special treatment by the Goverment. (And “Government” really is the few poor saps who actually have savings accounts and contribute a significant amount to the tax collector”)
The sense of entitlement is so strong that when that “specuvestor bailout act” was passed several months ago, people didn’t consider the tax break on forgiven debt as a valuable gift, they thought if it as correcting an injustice over what was oddly termed “phantom income” by Frank, Pelosi, and their ilk.
We are truly doomed. We’re a nation of lazy people who feel entitled.
I hear ya. This could be the best thing that ever happened to irresponsible idiots like this chick. The best lessons are learned the hard way. Let her go to the school of hard knocks and get some sense. The good that came from the Great Depression was a generation of folks who said “boy, we won’t do that again!”
The only problem I see, is the “Cinderella/Cinderfella Effect”
The clock struck midnight and your $600k home turned into a little house of financial horrors, your Lexus got repo’d and in lieu of fine cuisine, you’re now eating top ramen…
A mighty fall awaits for many who have no idea it’s coming.
A couple of quotes I like on this topic are:
“Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” Benjamin Franklin
“The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.” Herbert Spencer
And recall how any woman on welfare was scorned as a lazy slut, spewing out babies to get more money. They would forget to mention that 80% of the women on welfare were women who were owed child support. All you would hear is that they should get off their butts and go to work. Yet now the upper middle class women with good educations and ability to make good money are encouraged to stay home and raise their children. We have some whacky ideas in this society. I guess that’s part of the ownership society - like bailing out banks that pay outrageous bonuses based on bogus audits while we tell people that don’t have medical coverage too bad.
I noticed that, in the video, the reporter just said that the husband “left”. I wonder if he did it to improve her chances of getting gubmnent $$. I wonder if he’s still sending money (he should be). I mean, you’d think that would have been highlighted a little more. The loss of a bread-winning husband isn’t exactly an insignificant detail.
“‘The buyer is going to have to do a lot more work to get a loan than they would have 18 months ago,’ Kimball said. ‘The money is there if they’re willing to work for it.’”
Ummmm…what exactly does “he” mean by this…should I be inquiring about Kinko stocks
The agent doesn’t want to say “you’ll need a down payment and can only borrow what you can afford to service, full amortization.” That would indicate that the buyer pools at today’s asking prices are now a lot smaller then they used to be. To give encouragement to sellers he’s hinting, without specifically saying, that a household with no assets that earns $50k per year can still get a $300k home loan.
Asking a real estate agent to be honest about a declining market is like asking a government economist to forecast a recession.
The New American ex-Middle Class Homeless…
“In the last 12 to 18 months, said Daryl Brock, the executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank in California’s San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the agencies he supplies have begun seeing more middle-class families coming to their doors.”
“‘Our agencies have said there is an increasing number of people coming to them for help,’ Brock told CNN by phone. ‘Their impression was that these were not people they normally would have seen before. They seemed to be better dressed. They seemed to have better cars and yet they seemed to be in crisis mode.’”
Around Passover, I usually make a substantial contribution to local food banks, usually through an organization called Mazon. (To fulfill the commandment based on “let all who are hungry come and eat.”)
I want to contact them and make sure they choose the recipients wisely; I’ll be danged if my donation will be used to help people like Guerrera stay in a home she can’t afford by picking up food-bank food.
“It’s just depressing,” she said. “For me, I just don’t want to get out of bed, but I have to. That’s my hardest thing. I have to.”
I get so sick of this “I can’t get out of bed crap” from people like this. Does she stop to think that someone else has to get out of bed and not only produce for their own family, but for her lard engulfed a$$ at the same time.
I know, they used to call it laziness; now it’s “depression”.
I get especially angry this time of year when I see the finally tally of all the money I pay in taxes. It makes me want to stop working for a few years so I don’t have to bail these folks out.
Reuven, you sound a lot like me. And I’ve been mean enough to ask nonprofits about the lasting results that they can show.
What about microloans? I’ve been 3 clicks away from starting a microloan finance account for the last week but I’m not fully confident that they’re on the up and up.
I’d rather provide financial backing to a goat herding entrepreneur on the other side of Earth than donate canned goods to the undeserving recipient of my tax dollars.
I used to help out at a food bank once a month — you wouldn’t believe the people that pulled up for the free goods. Most were working poor or retirees, but some had pretty nice wheels.
I usually buy 50 pound bags of Rice & beans along with Pastas, soups and sauces to donate. I get the most food I can for my money. If you’re really needy you don’t need steaks to live on in your McMansion.
And I scored a bunch of ramen noodle packages at a trade shows. No charge. The exhibitors offered them to me.
I could care less about this cow eating, but I do care about the kids - then again, where is dad and his parents?
Not that it is important, but Ms G could lose a lb or two by eating less.And thereby saving money.
Oh, how about buying only what is in season, no junk foods.
To fulfill the commandment based on “let all who are hungry come and eat.”)
I want to contact them and make sure they choose the recipients wisely; I’ll be danged if my donation will be used to help people like Guerrera stay in a home she can’t afford by picking up food-bank food.
LOL - I’m no theologian, but I’m thinkin’ here you missed the spirit of the commandment. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a clause in there about feeding only the “reuven’s worthy” hungry. *grin*
Seriously, I understand what you’re saying about being choosy about charities. I tend to give to charities that offer a “hand up” like Habitat for Humanity, etc.
I guess I tend to accept that sometimes charitable efforts go to those who have probably squandered their resources. It just seems plain old impossible to me to help the worthy and not help the “unworthy” at the same time. Minimize yes, eliminate no.
close italics!
I agree. I recently gave a bunch of food to our local food bank. Who knows who will receive it? Not my concern, as there may be a hungry child who will get a meal from it all.
Any fruits from local citrus trees goes to the senior center.
There is an organization that asks people who have abundance of fruit/vegs etc, donate them before they go bad.
You’re absolutely right about no clause about only giving money to the worthy hungry. You’re supposed to give people the benefit of the doubt. There are several examples in what’s known as the “oral torah” about giving to beggars, even if they may not truly be needy.
My desire not to give to “unworthy” people is outside of what most people believe the meaning of the commandment is.
But that still doesn’t stop me from checking to make sure I find the most worthy charity to give to. I’ll be damned if some Bay Area Hunger charity gives food to FBs who are trying to juggle several I/O mortgages in hopes of becoming a Real Estate Millionaire
Around Passover, I usually make a substantial contribution to local food banks, usually through an organization called Mazon. (To fulfill the commandment based on “let all who are hungry come and eat.”)
I’ll be danged if my donation will be used to help people like Guerrera..
Ok, I am not a fan of Guerrera, but Rev, please don’t brag about your “substantial contribution” then quote a Commandment , and then rip into the person receiving it.
You can donate Kosher for Passover to any branch of Jewish Family Services and they will make sure the food goes to a needy family. They screen their clients very well….no FBs….
SG
Good idea, but I usually like to donate to a charity that helps everyone, Jewish or not. Mazon does this.
Of course, helping poor people have a proper seder is another important–but separate–issue.
“‘It brought tears to my eyes, and I sat there and I cried. I was like, ‘This is really where I’m at?’ she told CNN. ‘I go ‘no way;’ [but] this is true.
Well if that’s the way you speak I am surprised you ever made 70k! However you will fit in just fine at 7 dollars an hour.
Yes, she sounds like a 14 year old girl. “So I go, and he’s like, and I’m like OMG, and then he goes….”
They should make her sell her place as part of receiving aide. If she is on welfare they will go after dad for child support.
OT, but funny.
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_L/threadview?m=tm&bn=10602&tid=29265&mid=29265&tof=1&frt=2
Love it!
variation of “the burning match”. I read that IIRC in The People’s Almanac at a very very tender age.
I’m not very impressed with the work that these loan processors and underwriters did during the last 6 or 7 years (rubber stampers ). Again you have a person who took out more loan than they could really qualify for (and she was in the business ).
This gal was only making 70K a year at the height of the biggest RE boom in history? She should of saw this comin’!
every loan officer I knew personally at the local sub prime sweatshop was pullin in $150k and I saw their W2’s to prove it. If these clowns with no credentials, training, or degrees could do it, I’m surprised this person could only manage 70k.
412 Westlake Dr Palmdale 93551
3144sq.ft. (assessor says 2744sq.ft.)
Last transferred for $243K in 2001.
3+3 (assessor says 3+2)
Seller wants to close a contingent deal on a new house up the hill.
Most would consider this the nicest area of Palmdale, with lake and city views.
Anybody want to give an opinion of what I should offer? (Palmdale flamers need not respond, I know it’s in a desert.)
–
dude,
If you don’t want to wait then go ahead and offer $225K. Good luck.
Jas
That’s not far off my thinking. I’m pretty sure this particular seller won’t take it though, that wouldn’t fund their “move up”.
San Diego County Economy Continues Freefall
Mar 27, 2008
Ed Joyce
A barometer of San Diego County’s economy doesn’t show signs that things will be improving anytime soon. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more on what’s depressing economic growth here.
The University of San Diego’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County continues to drop. Professor Alan Gin says the index fell 1.1 percent in February after falling 1.2 percent in January.
He says it’s the 22nd time in 23 months the index has declined. And the job numbers for last month in just one sector reflect that downward trend.
Gin: If you take construction, real estate finance and the real estate industry itself, we’ve lost more than 13,000 jobs in February compared to a year ago.
Gin says there’s no turnaround in sight as far as the local economy’s concerned. He says job growth in the county is at a virtual standstill. Gin says a weak housing market and high gas prices have also shaken consumer confidence to near record lows.
Gin: So if people are worried about their jobs and their incomes they’re not going to go out there and spend money particularly on big ticket items like automobiles or even homes. And so that could make the situation even worse.
–
Does anyone know if Dr. Gin thinks that SD is in a recession?
Jas
A former loan processor, Guerrero knows all about that, although so far she has been able keep her house. She used her tax refund to help pay many of her bills for the first two months, but now that money’s gone. She says she’s now in a middle-class “no-man’s-land.”
I’m sorry Ms. Guerrero, but $70k doesn’t make you middle class in California, especially if you’re divorced with kids. Another thing that doesn’t make you middle class in this state is not having a college education. Loan officers, who do little more than type fraudulent information into computers, are not required to have more than a high school diploma. That’s why they really don’t make that much $$. The $$ they were making during the boom was way too much.
The fact is, if you want the luxury of having a house, nice clothes, a nice car, obviously more than enough food, kids, and no husband, then you are going to have to figure out some type of actual carreer for yourself. Those loan officer wages are never coming back.
V: $70 K can make you middle class if you have very low overhead and reasonable expectations. I make less than that, live in a nice place, drive a nice car, save and even indulge a bit. I certainly don’t want for anything. But I did struggle all the years I raised kids, so maybe it’s just perspective.
I agree.
lol
I caught part of the CNN broadcast this morning and recall her saying something to the effect: “…of course I don’t wear my Tiffany bracelet or carry my Coach bag when I got to the food bank” Yes, this was filmed in her massive granite filled kitchen.
Agreed…that granite and kitchen is much nicer than mine. The thing that really fries me is that she probably let that lady at the food bank pay her utility bill….while her Coach bag and diamonds were hidden out in the SUV. This woman sucks. She needs to sell her crap (and go on a diet).
“Notice of trustee sale” taped to the front door of the house across the street from my rental
Got popcorn
Holy cow! That has to be a wake up call.
Now, go out for a fancy dinner, when its taped on YOUR door.
Banks will demand a real down payment soon. We’re getting there… but the credit tightening is only in wave 3 (per CR). I’m not buying until a few more waves have gone through.
Got “lots of Popcorn?”
Neil
No joke, we got one taped to OUR front door three days ago.
just so I dont look like a FB, we RENT. Landlord is in trouble, meanwhile I’ll be living here rent free until the bank starts the eviction process, I figure I got a good 30 - 60 days to bank some serious coinage.
Here is something else to think about while poor fat over fed Patricia continues her dumpster diving activites. Who gave the fat pig a loan for 600k+? Lets think about this. She worked at a lender as a over paid under educated processor who was entitled to a big fat pay check which I’m sure contributed to her reasoning to take out a big fat loan that her employer was more than happy to give her!!!!!!!! BOO WHO!!!!!!! How many times did this fat war pig go back to the trough? PLEASE!!!!1
“fat war pig” is a nice phrase i like the tone. You sound like you could use a little anger management, no? that people got lots of ridiculous loans is pretty much a given round these parts, i think.
Blimey, for a person going to a food bank, she is bordering on obese. Are there any Yanks who aren’t 50 pounds overweight?
Ivan: You might say she binged ,now its time for her purge. My friend whose brother is a mortage broker/reality liar (realtor) said last week, his brother went to training to learn how to sell houses again. CAR remedial training classes ? This of course is down in Orange county.
the Patricia Guerrero story is sloppy journalism. It’s a case of coming up with a “story idea” first and then going out and trying to find a subject. Why not ask her some tough questions or dig into her background a little more.
CNN: You only has 2 months of savings?
Patricia: uh
CNN: Why didn’t you just stick with the 157K mortgage and live within your means?
Patricia: uh
CNN: Why don’t you sell that bracelet?
Patricia: uh