Money Out The Window In California
Radio Netherlands reports from California. “In Los Angeles, at the heart of the American dream, the economic malaise can be seen on the streets. There are For sale signs in the gardens all over the place. And on many of them the word ‘foreclosure’ has been added - forced sale. This is the case with a third of all houses on the market. And this problem looks likely to increase in the years to come. Forced sale was also hanging above the head of 60-year-old Nordik, originally from Armenia. (He does not want his surname published.)”
“There was a threat he would face forced sale after his mortgage payments increased to 4000 dollars per month. Luckily he was able to change his mortgage and now he only pays half this. But he has lost 100,000 dollars in one go because of it.”
“‘Yeah, Foreclosure. Real estate gave me no good mortgage, there was foreclosure, no good. 4000, just the interest. I lose a lot of money. Like I put the money out the window, that’s it,’ he said.”
“In Beverly Hills, the number of mansions for sale is conspicuous. Even a design house built last year has a For sale sign in its drive. The owner Harash is having trouble finding a buyer. Even after drastically lowering the asking price.”
“‘It was 2.4 I think, but it came down to 1.5. Well, for this property and the size and the way they built it, it’s a great prize, but there are so many big houses. You know, Malibu, Beverly Hills, so people have a lot of options for the same price,’ said Harash.”
“Two middle-aged ladies search in a trolley that has just come out of the store room. Life has become expensive, they say. Even in the second-hand shop prices have increased. Tracy no longer has any confidence in the US economy. That’s why - after forty years - she has decided to return to her country of birth: Ireland.”
“‘I’ve been here over 40 years, but I am going to go home eventually. Go back to Ireland. I am not going to stay here anymore. Because it’s safer. The economy in America is never stable. It’s always going up and down. The dollar is going to collapse,’ she said.”
“But not everyone can escape the malaise. Nordik, who saw 100.000 dollars go up in smoke, will just have to grin and bear it. Pension? The sixty-year old can forget about that for the time being. He has to keep on working, every day.”
From CNN Money. “Kent and Mysti Cope met and fell in love working for one of the nation’s top subprime lenders. Now, their life has been turned upside down after the sudden implosion of the subprime mortgage industry.”
“Mysti was one of the last people out the door at New Century Financial, once the nation’s No. 2 subprime lender. Kent worked for several of the firms that helped give birth to the industry.”
“‘We’re still both in shock that it could go from something so good to so bad so quick,’ said Kent, 59. ‘New Century in 60 days went from top of the heap to out of business.’”
“The two didn’t say exactly how much money they made at their last jobs but Kent admitted they each had six-figure incomes. Today, they’re trying to get by on his unemployment benefits of about $450 a week.”
“Their home equity line, mortgage, health and life insurance premiums alone cost about $10,000 a month. Still, they are trying to hang onto what they call their dream home with a view of the Pacific Ocean where they live.”
“Kent estimates the mountainside home in San Clemente, Calif., which they bought in 2005, is worth 20% less than it was a year ago. And in the current market, he said he’s not sure he could sell it for even that amount.”
“‘We’ve used up most of our reserves, cashed in her 401K,’ said Kent. ‘We’re going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we’ve got to decide what to do next.’”
“And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban and getting rid of the gardener, for example. But the couple also has learned that it didn’t need everything it used to spend money on.”
“‘We used to eat out a lot. Now we are the leftover king and queen,’ said Kent.”
“Since he lost his job, Kent has gotten a real estate license and is trying to start a business selling the rapidly increasing inventory of foreclosed homes in Orange County, Calif.”
“‘You can’t run into someone who isn’t impacted by what’s going on,’ said Kent. ‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.’”
The Union Tribune. “Anyone who bought a home near the peak of the once-sizzling real estate market no doubt has found it painful to watch prices tumble with no end in sight. But in the case of one North County couple, it’s not the volatile market they blame but their real estate agent, who they say duped them into overpaying.”
“Tomorrow, Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad three years ago, will try to convince a jury that their real estate agent defrauded them when he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than what the Ummels had paid.”
“Experts question whether the Ummels will be able to prevail, recognizing that ultimately, the Ummels were the ones who decided to pay what they did in 2005 for their two-story, 3,700-square-foot tract home. In those days, prices throughout the county were still climbing.”
“‘The real estate broker has an obligation in good faith to tell the buyers what he knows about pricing information and that there were houses selling for less than what the buyer was prepared to buy. And the buyers have an obligation to wake up and smell the roses before they buy and get as much information as they can,’ said George Lefcoe, a professor of real estate law at the University of Southern California.”
“‘As an agent, you’d have to basically lie and cheat on this one, and the buyers would have to be as innocent as angels,’ he said.”
“What angered the Ummels and ultimately led them to file their lawsuit was when they discovered a month later that two other homes on their street had sold for substantially less.”
“According to county assessor records, one of the Amante Court homes sold for $1,025,000 on July 29, 2005, the same day the Ummels closed escrow. The other had sold for $1,095,000 three months earlier. Each house is described as having the same square footage as the Ummels’ house.”
“Originally included as defendants in the Ummel suit were John Contento, who handled the appraisal for the loan, and Horizon Pacific Financial, the broker for the Ummels’ $300,000 loan. Earlier this year, Contento and Horizon Pacific Financial settled with the Ummels for $10,000 each.”
“San Diego appraiser Todd Lackner said many people in the industry are closely watching the Ummel case, and while Lackner said he believes the couple have a legitimate gripe, he doubts they will win in court.”
“‘I give the buyers an awful lot of credit. They’re sticking to their point, and most people couldn’t afford these legal expenses they’re shelling out,’ Lackner said. ‘But appraisals are subjective. Did they pay too much? Yes, they absolutely did. But they bought it willingly. No one forced them to purchase that house.’”
The Pacific Coast Business Times. “The Cameron Financial Group collapsed last month, joining the mounting ranks of California lenders undone by the subprime mortgage meltdown.”
“Doing business under the name 1st Choice Mortgage, the San Luis Obispo-based firm filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Feb. 19, declaring assets of $50,000 or less and more than $28 million in debts.”
“According to its Web site, the Cameron Financial Group offered subprime loans to customers with ‘bruised credit’ and so-called jumbo loans of up to $2 million for buying or repairing homes.”
“The list of companies demanding seven-figure claims reads like a who’s who of financial heavyweights bruised in the subprime crisis: Bear Stearns is owed $2.1 million, Countrywide Financial $2.7 million, Deutsche Bank $8.2 million, DLJ Mortgage Capital $2.4 million, Indymac Bank $2.6 million., Impac $2.4 million and Terwin Advisors $4.2 million.”
“In the months before the San Luis Obispo firm went under, financial titans who had purchased mortgage loans that were unlikely to be repaid began sorting out how they might be hurt, looking to loan originators. Once large institutions such as Deutsche Bank figured out where toxic bonds had come from, they began going after the originators of those loans in court.”
“Months before it crumpled, the Cameron Financial Group was being sued by Deutsche Bank for $8.2 million in one such suit. The Cameron Financial Group, Deutsche Bank alleged, was still obligated to buy back $8.2 million in loans that were in early payment default, but had not done so.”
“Part of the illegal scheme, the lawsuit alleges, involved a broker who placed the homebuyers in loans with the Cameron Financial Group. The lawsuit alleges the broker, who was not an employee of the San Luis Obispo firm, spoke only Spanish to the would-be homebuyers.”
“But the loan documents supplied by Cameron Financial were written in English only, the complaint alleges, and the lender provided no meaningful Spanish translation, a crime under California law.”
The Visalia Times Delta. “Sitting in folding chairs and armed with snacks and playing cards, six people waited in a small parking lot in southwest Visalia Friday afternoon.”
“They were waiting, but not for blockbuster-movie passes or tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. The Visalians waited to snag home lots in Impressions at Westpark, a Centex Homes development. The lots were to be released at 10 a.m. Saturday.”
“‘I got in line [for the nearby Woodbridge subdivision] and didn’t get it,’ said 25-year-old Joseph Rabago, who is looking to buy his first house. He didn’t want a replay, so he arrived at 7:45 a.m. Friday.”
“Throughout the state and country, ‘For Sale’ signs flourish and foreclosures are at a record high. But the Impressions at Westpark price range and location appear too good for some to pass up, Centex sales agent Alisa Satterle said.”
“Base-plan prices range from $170,000 to $215,000, according to the company Web site.”
“‘Pound for pound, they’re the best deal here,’ said Paul Howard, who moved to Visalia from Orange County about a year ago. ‘Plus, it’s the area. It’s the nicest part of town.’”
“Howard was in line Friday alongside friends Pam Luna and Arcy Alafa. The builder has been releasing lots in its various southwest neighborhoods every 30 days. The last two times, only five lots were released to new buyers — and lines formed both times.”
“‘This [many people camping out] is more than normal,’ Satterle said. ‘Usually we see somebody camping out because they have a particular site picked out. It’s their home, and they believe it is worth one night [in line].’”
“And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban”
How can they even go out in public anymore?
“‘We used to eat out a lot. Now we are the leftover king and queen,’ said Kent.”
Oh dear, how can they possibly do it. This has just got to stop!
ex-nnv, the JT please!!!
$10K a month; cashed in the 401k; Mach 1 into the wall?
I wanna watch them JT’ed. The whole deal right down to the dripping red and brown.
The “whole deal” huh? Are you sure? Because the “whole deal” isn’t about “dripping”, it’s about high velocity blow-back spatter! You have to wear a haz-mat suit for the “whole deal”……..but it’s very doable.
I’ll bring my opera glasses.
Heck, I’ve done the “haz mat” in different circumstances; what the heck? I’m a good sport; I’m in.
Only one condition. No stopping.
‘Heck, I’ve done the “haz mat” in different circumstances;’
How did we all already know this? I wonder?
Opera glasses?!! Want a closer look, do ya? Man, and I thought I was sick puppy!! I’ll tell you what, I’ll carry out the deed while you zero in. It’ll free you up to be fully immersed in the moment.
Kent Cope — where do they come up with these names? It seems that Kent Can’t Cope.
I’m investing in factories that produce…tiny violins…its the next bull market! Who on earth feels sympathy??? Waaaaaa…we were pulling down ~300k and now we’re broke…waaaa. Where the F is their emergency fund? How about from a Corvette to a Honda? FBs are loving this one…
Or from a corvette to the *gasp* bus.
They have created their own Joshua tree. And they deserve it!
I’m sorry, but I know who needs to make cutbacks:
The city governments in the Alt-A Bay Area.
In San Franciso, there is now 1 city worker making $100,000 for every 99 residents.
Or 8,000 of them above that figure versus around 3,000 just three years.
The bubble knows no end.
******
“In Vallejo, a mid-sized city of 121,000, 292 municipal employees
earned more than $100,000 last year. But in Oakland, with roughly
three times more residents, 1,300 city workers were paid six figures in the same period. San Jose, a city of nearly a million people, had 2,300. And San Francisco, which serves as a city and county government for its 800,000 residents, had more than 8,000.
None of the region’s largest cities faces the imminent threat of
bankruptcy, but all are weathering their own financial crises — even as firefighters and police officers often earn more than City Hall department heads.”
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/citypay/
“Cities pay huge salaries despite fiscal crises”
Erin McCormick, Christopher Heredia,Carolyn Jones
San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writers
Sunday, March 30, 2008
“A city nurse earned $350,000. A fire department battalion chief
pulled in more than twice as much as the mayor. And a municipal park ranger took home $188,000 in overtime on top of his $71,000 salary.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/30/MN7OVQOPK.DTL
Boston, MA had something like 100+ cops making $200k+ (salary+OT+details+etc).
MA state budget is in a deficit, but I think our Gov is going to fix that by doing a cash-out refi on the State House. I hear he has connections at Ameriquest or some other lender.
Of course, given the cost of living in San Francisco, $100,000 is not that much.
For renters, that salary is not a problem.
House buyers in the last five years during the mania? Sure, $100K is not a lot (though many sure tried to make it work by “buying” a place at 10x income).
OTOH, has it ever occurred to you that the high cost of living in the Alt-A Bay might be due to the fact that there are way too many, overpaid, public sector employees?
Evidently SF has a plan to get out of this financial mess - parking fines.
They towed my car this morning from a legal street parking space, total bill - $360. We’ve been here 12 years and that’s never happened before. I’m going to dispute it with photos, etc. but it’s going to cost me a morning and I doubt I’ll find any justice at city hall. They just announced substantial increase in parking fines and permits; be careful where you park.
I got a parking ticket a few years ago. I’d parked in a legal spot close to a church (a few doors down from my place). There was a wedding that weekend (I was out of town) so the police pushed my car a couple of lengths down the street and blocked an alley. So I got a ticket for that (by different police). After the wedding my car blocked the alley so the 1st police pushed it back to the original parking spot. I don’t know how they moved the car but they did (per my neighbor).
Anyway I went to traffic court, the judge was in a good mood and had a field day with it. The entire scene in court was hilarious, we all had a good laugh over it. Best of all, I didn’t have to pay.
“Evidently SF has a plan to get out of this financial mess - parking fines”
I expect these cities to go after thier taxpayers with a vengence ! retirment for city workers is pretty sweet as well.
This is what I posted before janitors making $100K+ a year mostly in Overtime because of union rules
This will be the biggest fight is to revamp civil service work rules to eliminate most of the OT, comp days..etc…
a least they are working
One of the painful parts of the deflationary spiral will be people losing jobs becase salaries are also inflated.
Should be a section on surviving econmic dislocations in the anarchist cookbook.
Listened to some Auto Talk on the radio the other day. They were discussing how the Chevy Corvette sales are dropping through the floor. They build like what, 35,000 vette’s a year still working six days a week on the production line at GM. ATTENTION Vette owners. Resale value? Well it should be right in there with the Pontiac Aztec.
I still love mine.
Ah, yes, the Aztek. It seemed like such a good idea at the time:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000321.html
No mention of kids in the article, so chances are they didn’t breed. Thanks God for small favors.
She has an 11-year-old.
And an expensive gas hog sports car exchanged for an expensive gas hog SUV is a good move how ?
Gas hog? I get 30mpg on the highway, in my vette.
Gas hog? I get 30mpg on the highway, in my vette.
meters?
Yep, even the 500 hp. z06 gets like 27 mpg.
Thats a yep to vmaxer not to “not missing it”. They get better mpg than most people think.
so why buy a vette if ya never step on the gas? Don’t answer that.. i can guess.
Corvette - 8 letters
Viagra - 6 letters !
Coincidence??
Don’t you have to be over 60 to own a Vette? Seems to be the ultimate geezer car.
I had an accidental date one time with a guy who drove a Porsche. I don’t want to rehash the details, but if a guy seems like he’s too short, he is.
yep and must have a bald spot to drive a Porsche
and a little [ ] to drive a Suburban
insurance is the only thing i can think of..
“Hi Kent. How ya doin today?”
“Fine… fine. Say, how’s the wife? Is she over the flu?”
“She’s doing great. Hey, Kent. I have to give you another speeding ticket. 62 in a 35? You’re in a real hurry today. Don’t bother with the driver’s license. I know the number by heart.”
Uh Huh, what about city driving ?
according to fueleconomy.gov, a 2008 corvette gets 16 city 26 hwy. These are the new epa ratings that are lower than before and usually more accurate.
So it’s far from a Prius, but not outrageously bad.
a 2008 suburban gets 14/20 in the most economical setup. 6 mpg (hwy) doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it means that the Burb consumes 30% more gas than the Vette for a given distance.
In any event, buying a Burb to save money is not smart. they are pretty expensive (lowest MSRP is $39k! you can get a pretty nice car for that!), and suck gas.
For Mysti, 37, all her efforts to find work since she lost her job last May have been futile. She said she believes the attention given to subprime borrowers who have run into trouble paying their mortgages work against her and other former colleagues. It’s almost like having “Enron” on your resume.
“The media has somewhat tarnished the subprime industry and all the employees, and portrayed them as being dishonest,” she said. “We’re not dishonest. Not everybody was a bad borrower. Not every company was a bad lender.”
–
That darn media, stopping poor Mysti from getting a new job! It couldn’t be the fact that massive fraud and unethical behavior was uncovered at New Century, and that just this week their bankruptcy examiner even found their auditor at fault for so readily believing their absurd lies. No, it wasn’t New Century’s fault, or Mysti’s… it was the media.
The lack of personal accountability in all these stores is both hilarious and depressing. I need to get out of this state before I go insane.
She didn’t work for just any lender, she worked for one of the worst, the equivalent of Enron. Good people can work for bad companies and do tasks unrelated to the bad activities. However, she had a six figure salary and was one of the last out the door, so I doubt she was one of those “innocent” employees.
The name Mysti makes me think of evil things. Like Top 10 Names for Exotic Dancers.
play Mysti for me….oh yeahhhhhh.
‘Like Top 10 Names for Exotic Dancers.’
What?! Exotic dancers aren’t evil! Anyway, the most current exotic dancer name is Madisyn, or else Blake, or some other boy name. You gotta get downtown more, and you’d know these things.
Are you saying those female exotic dancers only *look* female??? That they are really male????
‘That they are really male????’
No, no, Dave–calm yourself. They are girls. Your money was well spent. Probably.
Look, I declared that, and this is entirely based on my own obervation, that lately they have all selected the stage names of boys. It could have started as one of them reverse psychology thingies, but now it’s just a trend. Thus we see that strippers are subject to trendiness. Who knew? But it is so.
Speaking of bad marks on your resume, we sent a job opening to Craigslist for a position and one of the candidates actually put down as his achievements that he broke a company record for subprime loans.
He didn’t get an interview.
“…I need to get out of this state before I go insane… ”
I’m starting to hear this more and more…
Hmm, Mysti is 22 years younger than Kent. Does anyone besides me think that she’s looking for a new sugar daddy?
yep - thought that immediately
Um, not exactly sure since this is outside of my realm of experience but don’t you have to be somewhat attractive in order to attract a sugar daddy?
Yeah, but it it is entertaining.
I knew a couple who had similar circumstances (both lost jobs at same time in a downturn). They ate all their savings, figuring a turnaround was just around the corner. They ended up being interviewed by the local paper after becoming absolutely destitute - ran out of unemployment, lost the house, ate the savings. I moved to another state, without a job. Let me tell you - No cable, no fishing license, not even keeping my motorcycle endorsement, because that was $25 extra.
They may just have to learn the hard way.
Way to go. I did much the same. Amazing what you comprehend about real needs once you come out the other side.
““And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban ”
Is this really a cutback? It must cost close to a hundred dollars to fill up a Suburban, and they get lousy mileage. With “cutbacks” like this, they will be in even bigger trouble soon.
Why didn’t they get one of these babies:
Smart Car
“Why didn’t they get one of these babies:”
not really a baby, a zygote maybe, possibly an embryo, but definately not quite a baby
Gets 48 to 68 miles highway apparently .They can go up to 84 miles a hour but become unstable at higher speeds .It would be ok if everyone was driving them .
I live in metro Atlanta. I saw one of these things last week on 285. Think Geo Metro minus a back seat.
And if Kent wanted to save $$$, an old Accord is a fine solution. We just bought a ‘92 for $1500. Runs great.
We had a choice - private school for our son or car payments. We went with the private school.
I was riding my motorcycle in Metro DC area traffic the other day, saw a Smart Car, and thought, “Holy Christ that thing looks dangerous!”
On my motorcycle.
they cost about 12K brand new (here in the Portland area). I’d think of it as an enclosed Vespa….
Geez what a moron….he should have bought my little FORD ESCORT station wagon 1996 with only 52,000 miles…no kidding…i dont drive much
“And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban”
Someone please bail out these destitute people… This is obviously a public cry for help by “Kent”.
Send payments to:
FB Assistance Council on Urban Blight
1111 Dumb Luck Avenue
Paradise, CA
How many kids? Why a Suburban?
Mortgage Defenestration Demonstration
“‘Yeah, Foreclosure. Real estate gave me no good mortgage, there was foreclosure, no good. 4000, just the interest. I lose a lot of money. Like I put the money out the window, that’s it,’ he said.”
Huh?
I buy house. I pay too much. I lose lot of money. I really stupid!
“‘Yeah, Foreclosure. Real estate gave me no good mortgage, there was foreclosure, no good. 4000, just the interest. I lose a lot of money. Like I put the money out the window, that’s it,’ he said.”
Thats the CA I remember, and this
““Tomorrow, Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad three years ago, will try to convince a jury that their real estate agent defrauded them when he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than what the Ummels had paid.”
That is pretty funny, given every home that sold went for 50K more than the last… I doubt the realtor forced them to buy, although I would not be surprised if they did not get the standard if you don’t buy now … garbage!
How about trading in the suburban for a bus pass
and the leftovers for ramen noodles
unless that is leftovers from a garbage can of a restraunt
Patience, dutch, they’ll soon be there.
“Their home equity line, mortgage, health and life insurance premiums alone cost about $10,000 a month.”
And eating leftovers is going to balance the budget…
Dumping the house is not possible, of course, because their entire self worth is tied up to that stupid house, and that “view of the Pacific Ocean”.
Who here read/saw House of Sand and Fog?
great movie!
So apposite too!
Bone chilling movie. Spare and tragic plot - as in the classical sense, with hubris and all. Astounding cinematography. I bought the DVD. I re-view it every time I get depressed.
this should go over well in LA Times editorial page this morning:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-schiff31mar31,0,2496155.story
Lasner used some Schiff quotes over at the OC register and, you’re right, he got blasted by a lot of folks. But a surprising number also cried “hurrah”.
Amen. Losing a house to foreclosure isn’t a federal disaster or even a cause for pity if the foreclosed party doesn’t hold any equity in the home.
I’ll buy HIM a diamond
Who wouldn’t?
“‘We’ve used up most of our reserves, cashed in her 401K,’ said Kent. ‘We’re going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we’ve got to decide what to do next.’”
I like that: not “if” he runs into a wall, but “when”. Why, O why do most people insist on throwing good money after bad just because it’s a HOUSE?
It’s just a f**king HOUSE, people! It’s not your firstborn, it’s not the “American Dream”, it’s just a roof over your head. A mortgage also represents a huge financial liability and comes with maintenance headaches, property taxes and plenty of downside risks –like, illiquidity in a down market for instance.
God forbid broke, irresponsible people should become (*gasp*) renters again. The Shame, the Horror.
It’s idiotic to cash in a 401k. They are immune from bankruptcy in many cases.
Agreed, but unfortunately over time I think they may not be as immune from the actions of central banks and those who thrive on liquidity injections.
I beg to differ on this.
However, this is a longer more convoluted argument than I can summon up right now. Apologies for the “bait ‘n switch.”
My sister does animal rescue in San Diego area. Families in Range Rovers are dropping off pets, saying they can’t afford them. Recent family was likely losing house, trying to sell everything to hang onto house. Sis suggested letting it go, and renting. Oh, they couldn’t do that. There weren’t any rentals in good areas, and that would be horrible.
Sigh.
I’m really angry at people who would get rid of pets in an attempt to “cut expenses” so they could hang on to a piece of overpriced real estate. Pets live. Houses don’t. I know even although I love my present condo, if it came to a choice between it and my dog, the latter would win.
This makes me SO MAD! These people should go to the food bank and get food for their pet. They are JERKS!!!
Totally agree. There are plenty of people out there that would be willing to give food for pets. Heck, just stand outside of a pet store if you have to and explain your situation, and I’m sure people entering the store would be willing to buy some food for their pets. I know I would.
HAHAHAHAH!!! Stop it…you know that’s not reality. These people can’t take care of themselves why would you expect them to put themselves out there like that for a pet. Not going to happen…
I remember that after fall of communist economy in the 80’s, many people put their pets to sleep or let them run loose around the neighborhood. The recession was extremely brutal and a fewer people could afford to keep a pet. I remember extremely sad case, when old, lonely woman killer her self and her pets (dog and cats) and leaving a note, that she could not afford to feed them and did not want to see them starve to give them away. Housing crisis like we have now will be extremely brutal for pets. On the other hand, there are many animal lovers (like me), who will do anything to keep their pets.
I live in the IE. People losng there homes atc. keeping dumping them in my complex. Or just plain leaving them, and intrepid as they are come for the sprinkler water.
Long story short and hundreds of dollars later, I can’t rescue them all.
Animals, pets, are not a throwaway fashion statement. They are a beloved gift and an obligation. I sm currenly dealing with a dumped pet cat, who all I can figure out, due to her behavior, was locked in a bathroom extensively.
So many more that can’t be rescued. Sigh.
Sometimes I really hate people.
We cashed in our 401k’s last year…
60% of something(after taxes) beats the heck out of 100% of nothing, which is what most 401k’s will be worth in the not too distant future.
“Sitting in folding chairs and armed with snacks and playing cards, six people waited in a small parking lot in southwest Visalia Friday afternoon.”
“They were waiting, but not for blockbuster-movie passes or tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. The Visalians waited to snag home lots in Impressions at Westpark, a Centex Homes development. The lots were to be released at 10 a.m. Saturday.”
“‘I got in line [for the nearby Woodbridge subdivision] and didn’t get it,’ said 25-year-old Joseph Rabago, who is looking to buy his first house. He didn’t want a replay, so he arrived at 7:45 a.m. Friday.”
___________________________________________________________
See what sort of hook one needs to land a newspaper reporter nowadays?
6 shills in lawn chairs is all it takes, apparently.
“And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban and getting rid of the gardener, for example. But the couple also has learned that it didn’t need everything it used to spend money on.”
Hmm.. I know that can’t right, so I must be reading it wrong, my eyesight must be going, cause I think that reads that he traded in a Vette for a Sloburban. Is there some kind of financial wizardry that takes place when trading one expensive vehicle for another expensive vehicle. Did I miss something in Budgeting 101?
The Suburban can be slept in. A Corvette is only good for a quickie.
And only if both parties are more limber than average. Or really small.
You can live in a Suburban.
Only if you’re small and skinny.
Seriously. It tells me the guy just doesn’t get it.
I traded in my Corvette for a Scooter…gets it.
I traded in my Corvette for a Geo Metro…gets it.
I traded in my Corvette for a bus pass…gets it.
Traded in for a Suburban with $3.50 gas? Doesn’t get it…
Reminds me of the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd trades the van to a kid for a mini-scooter:
“Just when I think you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this…and totally redeem yourself!”
That one made me laugh too. I think the message Kent was trying to get across: We’ve become practical! See, we ditched the muscle car for the family car.
I guess that I should not expect somebody to go from free-spending to thrifty all in one step. It’s a process.
I don’t get why they need two cars at all, if they’re both unemployed.
The suburban now has a bumper sticker that reads:
” Gas, Grass or Ass. No one rides for free! ”
I remember those from the 70’s.
“We’re going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we’ve got to decide what to do next.”
Spot the logical error in this statement…. (hint, it’s a timing error).
I know that I like to make some preemptive decisions BEFORE I crash into the wall. But that’s just me.
At Mach 1, two aging heads will smash when impacting said wall.
On the other hand, thinking was not their strong suit.
Notice that the guy is 59 while his wife is 37. It appears that he already has a retirement plan figured out…
Nah, she had it all planned out. But that’s about to change now…
Reminds me of that old joke:
What’s the last thing that goes through a bug’s mind when he hits the windshield?
His a**hole.
Thank you! You’ve been a wonderful audience. I’ll be here all week.
I was traveling through Victorville, CA this past Saturday. Hopefully the pics I sent Ben will get posted in the photo gallery. I was shocked at all the new construction out there along 395. Look left, houses! Look right, houses! Houses, houses, row after row neighborhood after neighborhood. Brand new 2-story stacked right up next to each other. I tell you it was scary. It left me numb to think what will happen to that area. Can a ghost town actually have tile roofs and concrete driveways? If these homes are not demolished I predict them selling for the low $70k at some point. 2-story in the desert, who builds 2-story homes in the desert? And to top it off the upstairs bedroom were right above the garages. So after the 80+ mile commute the engine will be nice and toasty. Pull it in the garage and let all the heat rise right into the upstairs bedrooms. God have mercy on Victorville.
If prices get down to where they should be, desert lovers will be able to buy up 5 houses at a time, demolish the 4 houses that surround the middle one, chop the top story off of it, set that 2nd story down right next to the 1st one, and end up with a reasonable house on a reasonable lot for a reasonable price.
How about in the wintertime when someone warms up the car in the garage.
I know! I know!!
two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom.
I think you meant one oxygen atom - CO.
–
I drove thru Loserville in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 during trips to San Diego and Indian Wells. I didn’t notice much during 2004 but then in 2006 and 2007 I couldn’t avoid noticing signs for new homes including several people dangling signs at some intersections.
Jas
“was traveling through Victorville, CA this past Saturday”
VV gets over 100% half the year. There is nothing out there but new tract houses and shopping malls. It is 100 miles one way from VV to the OC or LA . You will spend $30-40 per day in gas at current prices. VV is nor even an attractive desert region. It is mostly withering stubby sage scrub flatpan and the desert has a wasted desolate aspect. It is completely overridden by developers who put up cheaply build mass-produced tract homes which was the MO of the entire IE during the 1st decade of this century. That style: 2-story with bedroom over garage was/is typical IE mass-produced Centex/Pardee/Standard/Frontier tract home put up in thousands of locations from Barstow to banning .
These hb’ers had lots of cheap open space and no impediments to put these cheap cookie -cutter brown stuccos. One thing the IE and the hi-desert has is space, lots of it. What it lacks is hi-paying jobs and diversified critical mass economy.
Those cheaply bulit stuccos will drop down to under $100,000 by end of 2008 for brand new REO homes in good parts of VV( if there are any), and $50,000 for ragged stinkers out in the boonies.
I drove by and finally know where this baby is.
The signs are selling “desert living”, I thought that is for the people in “No country for Old man”, never thought it as desirable.
Poor Nordik…. if he got back on the right track, I would call him Nordik Track.
dude……..
“‘We’ve used up most of our reserves, cashed in her 401K,’ said Kent. ‘We’re going Mach 1 into a wall. When we run into it, then we’ve got to decide what to do next.’”
700+ miles per hour is gonna leave a mark…
If I recall, 660 mph is the speed of sound… still hurts.
Alad - where was your backcountry day and how was the snow?
Wikipedia says 770 mph, or 1130 feet per second. That sounds right if I remember the numbers from my old reloading days correctly.
Ha!
I suppose it’s a very good thing I don’t work at NASA.
Depends on the altitude. I think the 770 mph is at sea level.
I love engineers!
I give you big kees weeth tongue!
Speed of sound is temperature dependent for an ideal gas, how hot is it over there?
Up @ Farewell Gap in Mineral King…
The snow was nice and firm skinning up the mountain, delicious corn snow on the way down…
Oh, man, I am jealous. Sounds perfect.
I certainly haven’t skied enough lately… [sigh]
Did you have to replace your radiator hose?
The marms are still sleeping…
Guess they didn’t get the global warming memo
Up @ Farewell Gap in Mineral King
Aladinsane
I did a seven day summer backpack trip, ‘91′, in the mineral king area. Was not a particularly well-planned trip but there was some really nice remote backcountry behind the western divide. MK is really a gorgeous forested glacial carved valley and the scene as i was hiking up the trail to timber pass and looking back at the valley to the south was almost like a swiss alpine scene.
It reminds me of an accident on I-96 in Detroit years back. A couple of kids put their sports car roof first into a bridge abutment at 100+ mph.
The only decisions were made by the surviving relatives. Cremation or casket.
Kent will get to choose between chapter 13 and chapter 7. I’d guess 7. Perhaps he’ll also get to choose between living with mom or section 8.
Or maybe he’ll be on CNN news, one of these guys who kills his wife and then makes some lame attempt at killing himself (which will fail, of course). They’ve been reporting a lot more of these lately, but I can’t tell if it’s an actual increase in crimes commited, or just an increase in sensationalistic journalism.
FINALLY someone posts something as morbid as I’ve been thinking.
I watch an awful lot of Law & Order and it takes a heck of a lot less than bankruptcy or $100k in lost equity to qualify as “motive for murder”.
It might be one in a million that the next foreclosed guy goes nuts and tries to kill someone, but how many foreclosures have we had and how many are coming?
I know there are tons of anecdotes about TGD (I think The Great Depression is common enough in the blog lexicon to be an acronym by now) involving murder and suicide, but does anyone know of sources for hard evidence?
Economists wait SO LONG to declare a recession. The spike in capital crime could actually be a leading indicator despite being the result of economic reality.
I find this a fascinating topic (despite being intensely morbid) because it’s SO HARD to spin something as serious as murder/suicide. Talking heads can babble for months about Bear Stearns and to what degree subprime mortgages are contained, but you really can’t spin a surge in mortgage-related murder and/or suicide. You can’t really second guess the motive or explain it away as a spike in plain-ol-craziness. If the statistics support the idea, it is genuine and transcends all the bull#@$%.
“Failure is not an option. Everyone has to succeed.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Failure is always an option.
“It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.”
Gore Vidal
“The two didn’t say exactly how much money they made at their last jobs but Kent admitted they each had six-figure incomes. Today, they’re trying to get by on his unemployment benefits of about $450 a week.”
“Their home equity line, mortgage, health and life insurance premiums alone cost about $10,000 a month. Still, they are trying to hang onto what they call their dream home with a view of the Pacific Ocean where they live.”
Let’s see: $450/week * 4 weeks/month = $1800/mo. $1,800 - $10,000 = -$8,200. Aw, cumon. Surely this great nation of the US of A can afford to advance this fine couple a mere $8,200/mo to cover their mortgage, HELOC, life insurance, and health insurance. Otherwise, what’s the point in even being an American? Why, I might as well just go back to one of my ancestral lands.
I don’t get why they need life insurance when their lives clearly have negative value.
Sorry, that made me laugh out loud. There may be guacomole on my computer screen.
“‘You can’t run into someone who isn’t impacted by what’s going on,’ said Kent. ‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.’”
Au contraire, Kent. If you act now, you can still get approximately 80% more than what your house is worth. Keep waiting, and eventually you will only be able to get what it’s worth, which is about 50% of what you paid.
No, you can ALWAYS get what it’s worth, becuase what you can get is the definition of what it’s worth.
Take a look at the Photos section on the CNN article: gallery.
Please, y’all, don’t throw anything or anyone while reading it. I stopped after the first three before I would’ve totally smashed my drink against a wall or something.
NYCityboy, you better stay away from that link!
I only read the first one. That US car engineer is a real self-righteous biyatch, ain’t she? “I have a gass guzzler because I can afford it.”, then “I won’t blink a husband into existance until I am in control of the world.” Doesn’t she realize that auto engineering in the US is a declining job market? Wonder if it’s an io loan or what?
Don’t you remember? “Hire apprentices while they still know everything!”
She’s far more financially responsible and long-term in thinking than 95% of people her age (25) (or people in general for that matter.) She planned her work and is now working her plan. Even if her current job fizzles out, she follows many of the principles that many here have complained are missing from US society in general. I’ll take another 1 million of people like her over any random 1 million in the US any day.
I guess the thing that gets me about folks like Denise is the conspicuous overconsumption. The main reason she is so tightly planning her road to success (which will have more bumps in it than she realizes), is that she is terrified of being identified a “loser”.
She drives a monster truck so that everyone will know that she can afford it because she is successful because she is smart. Her husband and kids are being planned as crown trophies that she will grant herself when she feels she has met a certain goal. She is “responsible”, but only in a selfish, superficial way.
In youth, this may seem like an overall benefit, but as selfish people age, they find more and more ways to rationalize their selfishness. It will go from “See what a winner I am” to “See what a loser everybody else is” to “Society can suck an egg; I’ve got mine”. I wish more people could value social responsibility over personal greed.
Er…You got all of that from this?
“I’m a mechanical engineer for an automotive company and my financial situation is fantastic. I just bought a house and a full-size truck in Michigan, where I plan to stay rooted. (Gas for my truck is at least $300 a month which doesn’t make me want to run out and buy a tiny car.)
I made sure the degree I got would pay a salary that met my needs and I worked hard to secure a great job. I worked through college so I only have a quarter of my school loan left to pay back. When I bought my house I understood the terms of the loan and what I could comfortably afford.
I’m waiting to get married and have children because I believe that one of the ways to be a responsible and productive adult in this great nation is to save money and have a secure financial foundation before I bring a husband and children into my life.
I made it a priority early on to have three months expenses saved just in case — and I’m working on making that a year’s expenses. All I can say is it’s a rainy day and some people got caught without an umbrella.”
Tough crowd.
Its funny to here big v condemn a women when she has bragged about drinking 30 dollar bottles of wine!
Hey, I wasn’t bragging! I was only saying that a recession in the US isn’t going to result in actual SUFFERING, that’s all. We just go from being really ridiculously rich to being really comfortable. Besides, I’m too busy trying to consume all this Easter chocolate to even THINK about drinking a bottle of wine right now.
Thats kind of harsh.
Auto engineering is expected to be a growing job market due to retirements. Similar to chemical engineering.
She has a plan… women are so tough on women
Not sure on that… my acquaintance after master degree in chemical engineering could not find a job paying more than 45K.
Loser!
j/k… Read an article in CNN. The oil industry expects to lose 80% of its work force over the next 10-12 years. That is three times the normal rate.
Similar there is an expected shortage of automotive engineers over the next decade as well. Not as bad as the oil industry though.
Stick with it and give it some time to find a spot.
Some telling quotes, in just the first two highlighted…
The first is 25 years old - good goals! Though I hope she’s planning on life after more of the auto industry leaves Detroit.
Denise Janus: “I made it a priority early on to have three months expenses saved just in case — and I’m working on making that a year’s expenses. All I can say is it’s a rainy day and some people got caught without an umbrella.”
*******
And the second, “like most we carry $17,000 in credit-card debt…” - did the brains on Wall Street and our “leaders” understand this?
Perhaps it’s not obvious enough - it’s not that hard to notice that consumption figures (spending growth) have been outpacing income gains for years.
Sabrina Smith: “If things get much worse we don’t know what we will do. We do well compared to some people out there, but like most we carry $17,000 in credit-card debt and don’t have much in savings.”
I like the part where they say “He now drives over 70 miles a day for work. The truck he drives gets 11 miles to a gallon. We spend well over $800 a month just on fuel. If things get much worse we don’t know what we will do.”
Hmmm, $200/mo for a new car w/ 35+ mpg — $200/mo for the gas. That saves them $400/mo and they don’t even have to sell the old POS truck.
1500 bucks will get you a mid 90’s camry/etc that will still have plenty of road left on it, and get you great gas mileage.
The Smiths’ dog is wearing a crown, no good can come of that.
LMAO!
“Like most”??? Who the hell carries $17k in credit-card debt? Maybe I’m just naiive, but the people that carried $17k in debt were at the receiving end of “tsk-tsk” and whispers behind their back.
Or they were my ex-wife. But I didn’t know about it, and that’s another story.
Either way, $17k is a helluva lot of money. And a helluva lot of money at an usurious interest rate.
I do not know anyone who has 17K on their CC. Only debt I have is my school loan… and everything else I had paid in cash after I had saved for it. And many of my friends do the same… what is wrong with people who do not know how to live with their financial limits and use CC for emergencies and travel?
I hate to judge - there was a time when I could have had $10k in credit card debt, due to my immaturity at the time, and my financial stupidity. I had done something incredibly financially dumb, and got caught out. I was emotionally unable to admit to my family that I had done something that stupid. I was lucky, I had enough that I only ended up with $3K in debt, but it took me 2.5 years to pay it off. I worked extra jobs, lived close to the bone, didn’t go out. I paid off every dime of it myself, while covering my own rent and utilities and daily living expenses. I’m still paying back the savings to myself that I burned through with my stupidity, but I will do that soon.
What gets me is the whining. Nobody made me a fool but me. I spent the money, I refused to really cut my expenses to the bone - i.e. I kept my cable and my netflix and chose to live alone rather than get a roommate, which made it take longer to pay off - and I am still ashamed enough of my actions that I will never tell my family what happened. I may have whined about being an idiot, but not in public.
Doing stupid stuff doesn’t make you stupid it makes you human, continuing to do stupid stuff makes you stupid. Congrats on getting out of debt, nice testimonial.
Doing really regrettable stuff because you didn’t know any better when you’re young can pay off massive dividends later. Odds are you didn’t have much to lose so you can recover. You never want to go back there again. You have decades to apply those learnings.
I’ve seen some folks who thought they were perfect because they avoided the big mistakes when they were young. But then their big boneheaded mistake came much later in life when the stakes were much higher and there wasn’t as much recovery time. I’ll take the big loss on a small pile of money over the medium loss on a big pile of money.
Look at this pair of losers
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0803/gallery.real_stories/23.html
WTF txchick, now I’m gonna have nightmares all night.
Yikes..
Wow, 40 stories of people from different States trying to get by .Only a couple of the people in the stories were in good shape and most were having problems with the food and gas bills .
Do you suppose her stage name is Madisyn, or maybe Blake? (see above comment by OlympiaGal at 19:40:21)
LOL @ “Look at this pair of losers.”
This is quite unkind, but he does look like a follower of Anton LeVey.
Some of those people could save a bundle by not eating like fat pigs.
Dear gawd, I’m reading through these articles…and these people make me sick.
Yeah, I’ll agree with Betamax, most of these people could save a ton of money just by not overeating. And why are almost all the pictures of the people shown in vacation areas, with alot of kids? Things to ponder.
And $5 a gallon milk? Not a problem in this household…we don’t drink a friggen gallon or two everyday.
Pussycat - I read them all. It tells me the dems will get a landslide.
Stay at home dad:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0803/gallery.real_stories/11.html
Honestly, no comment.
OMFG. OMFG.
From the third:
“My monthly student loan payments are $1,630 a month. I bring home roughly $2,200 a month from my job.”
I have $25k in student loans, consolidated, costing me $160 per month. Apparently this consumer has something like $200k+ in student loan debt? And makes $40k per year? OMFG.
You fail. You fail the test. The game is life, you lost, game over. Critical failure at achieving the bare level of social competence. FLEE THE F’ING COUNTRY. OMFG.
Join the military and get those loans repaid/forgiven. Fake your death and get the debt forgiven. Hell I’d consider committing a felony and spending the next 20 to life in prison. You failed. You just plain failed.
I was reading this at 2am trying to go to sleep and now I’ll be up all night.
Ok, I have some sympathy for some of the stories there.
There’s a real zeitgeist of class warfare brewing in the USA.
“‘I give the buyers an awful lot of credit. They’re sticking to their point, and most people couldn’t afford these legal expenses they’re shelling out,’ Lackner said. ‘But appraisals are subjective. Did they pay too much? Yes, they absolutely did. But they bought it willingly. No one forced them to purchase that house.’”
Well, appraiser Tom Lackner, if appraisals are so subjective, then why pray tell do you think anyone should hire you? I hope the Ummels win, but I’m not sure they will because they only overpaid by 10%, and that could be explained by differences in upgrades/upkeep. Still, if brokers, appraisers, and RE agents are not held responsible for their “professional” opinions, then they have no credibility and therefore no arguable profession.
“According to its Web site, the Cameron Financial Group offered subprime loans to customers with ‘bruised credit’ and so-called jumbo loans of up to $2 million for buying or repairing homes.”
“The list of companies demanding seven-figure claims reads like a who’s who of financial heavyweights bruised in the subprime crisis: Bear Stearns is owed $2.1 million, Countrywide Financial $2.7 million, Deutsche Bank $8.2 million, DLJ Mortgage Capital $2.4 million, Indymac Bank $2.6 million., Impac $2.4 million and Terwin Advisors $4.2 million.”
What do you call someone who lends money to folk with bruised credit, and then borrows money from some of the worst bruisers in town? A bruise sandwich, I guess.
“…bruised in the subprime crisis: Bear Stearns is owed $2.1 million, Countrywide Financial $2.7 million, Deutsche Bank $8.2 million, DLJ Mortgage Capital $2.4 million, Indymac Bank $2.6 million., Impac $2.4 million and Terwin Advisors $4.2 million.”
A bunch of whiners. If the market had kept going up, these ‘fine’ institutions would not be complaining.
MURRIETA, Calif. - When the light starts to flash, you had better have the cash.
That’s the reality for millions of subprime borrowers whose used car purchase is contingent upon having an unusual option: a little box mounted underneath the dashboard that forces them to make their payments on time.
A light on the plastic box flashes when a payment is due. If the payment isn’t made and the resulting code punched in to reset the box, the vehicle won’t start. The next step is a visit from the repo man.
Just think, if they did this to front doors…………nah, they’d come through the window.
“Kent estimates the mountainside home in San Clemente, Calif., which they bought in 2005, is worth 20% less than it was a year ago. And in the current market, he said he’s not sure he could sell it for even that amount.”
going out on a limb here, but if he can’t sell for 20% off, it’s worth even less then only 20% off the year ago price.
“‘I got in line [for the nearby Woodbridge subdivision] and didn’t get it,’ said 25-year-old Joseph Rabago, who is looking to buy his first house. He didn’t want a replay, so he arrived at 7:45 a.m. Friday.”
“Throughout the state and country, ‘For Sale’ signs flourish and foreclosures are at a record high. But the Impressions at Westpark price range and location appear too good for some to pass up, Centex sales agent Alisa Satterle said.”
Here’s a trick: If you miss the first one, but then another one pops right up, and the price does not increase between the two, then you are witnessing a crash and there is no need to wait in line. Just grab yourself a bowl of Niel’s Freshly-Popped Derivatives Blood-Shed popcorn and wait it out at home. Soon enough, there will be no one else in line.
I’m not sure I want to eat that popcorn…
But what is the rush. Don’t they realize that increased down payments means better afford-ability? What… some have no down payment?
Bwaaa haaa haa!
Its finally rolling downhill.
Got Popcorn?
Neil
‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.’”
You can’t get what it’s worth…Yes you can, just drop the price by 30% and you’ll get what it’s worth.
‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.’”
Last time I looked the market determines the price and not one’s glorified opions.
“And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban…”
Does this retard realize this is not really a cutback…. especially if you include gas prices!
How about trading in a Corvette for a Pinto… now that would be a cutback that might make me feel sorry for the guy!
I received my cocaine education vicariously through a friend’s addiction, in the early 1980’s…
He went from driving a new Ferrari 308 to a Pinto with mag wheels, in less than a year.
Stop it, you’re making me want to go out and get one of those Taco Bell bean burritos.
You made me laugh again
“Kent and Mysti Cope met and fell in love working for one of the nation’s top subprime lenders.”
This marriage is headed for the sholes when the unemployment runs out.
Tracy no longer has any confidence in the US economy. That’s why - after forty years - she has decided to return to her country of birth: Ireland.”
“‘I’ve been here over 40 years, but I am going to go home eventually. Go back to Ireland. I am not going to stay here anymore. Because it’s safer. The economy in America is never stable. It’s always going up and down. The dollar is going to collapse,’ she said.”
Unfortunately for her, Ireland is slowing down as well. However, she’ll likely find better health care and pension benefits.
Now if we can get the g0dd@mn illegals to say and do the same thing we’ll be good to go.
Rob
Amen
“Time discovers truth.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“‘I’ve been here over 40 years, but I am going to go home eventually. Go back to Ireland. I am not going to stay here anymore. Because it’s safer. The economy in America is never stable. It’s always going up and down. The dollar is going to collapse,’ she said.”
While the Irish economy is stronger than it has been in some time, Ireland has a bigger property bubble than the U.S. and the Irish economy is heavily dependent on exports. A strong Euro is not good for those exports. If she’s assuming the Irish economy won’t suffer some of the same types of economic shocks she’s seen in the U.S., she may be greatly surprised.
The Irish have a long history of making do with precious little…
They’ll be ok.
My old company, after learning that its product would not be approved for sale in the US, had to shut down its manufacturing plant. In Ireland. The whole world depends on the US economy, always has.
Elan?
Panoz DP-01?
You all will love this!
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/03/uh-oh-carsvacat.html
I wonder if TurboTax has this built in to its 1040/Schedule A engine.
Okay, fellow HBB geeks, are you feeling evil, mean, and nasty?
Why don’t we write a subroutine that will add it to the TT 1040/Schedule A engine? Something like this, perhaps?
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/18/186208
Oh chick, yummy. I love a slice of Schadenfreud before bedtime.
Thanks.
Thanks Txchick . I have been wondering about all these people that thought that their equity loans were tax deductible if they would get audited if the money didn’t go to home improvement .
Use your equity and get a tax write off and enhance your life style was a big sales pitch used during the boom by the commissioned sales people to get people to take out equity loans . One more myth by the professionals that equity loans were a write off no matter what you bought with the money .
Interesting question . What if you bought another house with the equity money ?
You can still borrow $100,000 against your home for other than property improvements and write it off. So if you blew $100,000 you’re fine, if you blew $250,000 you are in trouble.
“Kent and Mysti Cope met and fell in love working for one of the nation’s top subprime lenders.
Lets see Mysti (37) sees Kent (59, yeah pal) and her meal ticket to the high life for years and years. Now living on unemployment, I give it a year before he gets the divorce papers or the Dear John letter with something about him not keeping her lifestyle intact . Just a thought….
You can’t run into someone who isn’t impacted by what’s going on,’ said Kent. ‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.
I lived in Orange County at one time (almost 20 years ago). I rented a room in a house. I drove a modest used car. I made decent money. I didn’t flaunt it. It wasn’t that hard. Even if I was still there (left CA because of high home prices), I would live in something modest, drive a modest used car, not flaunt anything, and save. I guess that is also same way of living. I don’t care about keeping up with the Jones’. I just want to take care of my family and keep savings and no unnecessary debt.
I was thinking the same thing, need2. We lived in O.C. from 1993-98, where we bought our first little house with 20% down, paid off student debt, drove the same old student cars, and raised our kids without video games, etc. I’ll bet we were happier than old Kent has ever been.
need 2 leave ca, if you don’t ‘keep up with the joneses’ in OC - even at the expense of running yourself deeply into debt and maxing out your credit cards - you are virtually a social outcast. I’m serious and not at all exaggerating.
I live in AZ and briefly considered moving to OC. Glad I didn’t. I love the place but I can’t stand the people.
Once large institutions such as Deutsche Bank figured out where toxic bonds had come from, they began going after the originators of those loans in court.”
Amazing these financial titans didn’t know this BEFORE they purchased this Specialized High Intensity Training (take acronym).
Let the housing chips fall
The quicker we reach bottom, the quicker we can recover.
By Peter Schiff
March 31, 2008
According to this Center for Economic Policy Research report the more severe the correction, the longer lasting the impact will be on jobs. Our economy derives much value from specialization, so making corrections go fast only helps at a balance sheet level. Job transitions are more difficult and take more time.
“‘Pound for pound, they’re the best deal here,’ said Paul Howard, who moved to Visalia from Orange County about a year ago. ‘Plus, it’s the area. It’s the nicest part of town.’”
___________________________________________________
Where’s shylock when you need him? Poor paul is going to wake up one day and realize “I’m in visalia (queue the ominous music)…I’m in VISALIA!!”
Or, to quote Creedence Clearwater Revival…
Oh, lord… I’m stuck in Lodi again.
Did this genius look around before buying??
Let’s see…
It’s 115 in the summer.
The whole area smells like cow crap.
And the diesel exhaust and dust are so thick that the horizon disappears, unless the wind is blowing… at 60 mph.
Man, I love the Valley.
Full disclosure: I spend opening weekend of dove season every year in Fresno. Or, as I call it, Fres-NO!!
–Shannon
‘It’s very expensive to live in Orange County, and you pay a lot for your home and you can’t get what it’s worth now.’
I admit that I haven’t lived there in almost three years, but I lived in Newport Beach and my rent for a 2-bedroom was only $1350/month. It’s not THAT expensive to live in Orange County, as long as you don’t do something stupid like buying a house there.
Orange County used to be a beautiful place now its got way to many people fighting for space on the 405 all living in overpriced mcmansions,w/high priced leased foreign cars,the matchsticks will fall fast and hard in this part of our land,because EVERYONE thouhgHt there 3 +2 tract was worth 750,000 and lived high on equity lines……it will be fun to watch…..
Update on Marina Ca. 3-2 home, 2 miles to beach, built 2 years ago and bought for 705k. Tried to flip for 775K, no takers. Dropped price every 2 months down till eventually foreclosed when asking reached low 600s. Bank listed all the way down to 489K. Auctioned last thursday for 339K.
I will be cheering for the 3+2 tract matches to fall. They are worth about 200K. And traffic really bites on the world’s longest parking lot (405 fwy).
I am going to live modest, no matter where I am. The older I get, the less I care about the showoff crap. Take me for what I am, good or bad. I am very simple. I judge people for their heart, not what crap they have.
The quicker we reach bottom, the quicker we can recover.
Bummer that we have to keep inflicting this banker-created chaos on ourselves. If we didn’t fall for their scams, we wouldn’t need to ‘recover’.
OT
I have posted my inventory charts for Greater Vancouver if you follow that market. Inventory up 17%
http://paul-northvancouverhomes.blogspot.com/
Inventory is climbing fast.