Money-Hungry Pigs In California
The LA Daily News reports from California. “The subprime home-loan rush is history. But its impact on the state’s work force is just beginning to play out as tens of thousands of real estate, finance and construction workers are left looking for work after a number of heady years. A year ago, Ed Stush, a former senior VP at a Fieldstone Mortgage office in Irvine, was earning six figures and enjoying the perks of senior management in an industry that seemingly had no growth ceiling.”
“Today, his former employer has filed for bankruptcy protection, and his income is zero. He can’t even get an interview for jobs paying less than half of what he used to make.”
“‘It’s unjust. If you were in the mortgage industry for a long time … employers think you’re used to making so much money that you’re not going to take $50,000 or $70,000 a year. … They also think (mortgage lenders) are all money-hungry pigs, but it’s not true,’ he said.”
“Like a lot of mortgage industry workers, Stush tried to get work in other kinds of financial services such as insurance, but he found a huge stigma attached to the mortgage industry that disqualified him from even being considered for many jobs.”
“It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’”
“The California Association of Realtors is sponsoring a series of seminars this month called SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics to Survive a Down Market. The events run courses on processing government loans, selling homes in foreclosure and closing short sales on properties carrying much more debt than they are worth.”
“Since July, California has lost more than 50,000 construction jobs and seen at least 10,000 mortgage-related layoffs, with new cuts coming every week. The California Association of Realtors says membership has dropped 17 percent from last year.”
“Headhunters and counselors say they are having a hard time placing laid-off mortgage brokers and construction workers in new positions. Bruce Barnes, head career counselor at (a) career management company, said he has only placed half of a group of workers from a mortgage lender in Burbank who were let go last fall.”
“‘I’m not putting anybody to work right now because the homebuilders are laying off people right and left,’ said Bob Schoonmaker, a building industry headhunter in Newport Beach with clients spread across Southern California.”
“‘Some construction workers coming from the residential side are trying to move to commercial construction, but many others are standing in line for unemployment checks,’ he said.”
“Torri Shack, 29, left the mortgage business in 2007 to become a personal trainer. After five years making lots of money, she ended up declaring bankruptcy for her business, but she says she is much happier now. Entrepreneurial at heart, she is launching a new dog boot-camp venture, a workout program for dogs and their owners.”
“Two years ago, Alain Silverston was bringing in six figures as a real estate agent in Long Beach. Last year, he returned to property management, which was his profession before moving to California from France in 2001. His income has dropped to a few thousand dollars a month, his credit card is maxed out, he doesn’t go to restaurants anymore, and he only shops at Trader Joe’s.”
“Stush sees a bright future in reverse mortgages - as ‘house rich, cash poor’ seniors begin retiring. ‘Reverse mortgages are going to be huge, so I figure if you break in now, you’ll be set. I can’t sit around waiting,’ he said.”
From Fortune. “Wachovia investors are paying through the nose for the bank’s ill-advised California gold rush. Among many other things, the bank took a $2 billion charge for ‘market-disruption’ losses in the quarter, including a surprisingly high $729 million for unfunded loans and leveraged finance positions. Wachovia also took a $2.8 billion provision to cover credit-related losses.”
“The most compelling reading, however, concerns the former Golden West Financial, which Wachovia acquired in 2006 for $24.6 billion. Golden West was a leading issuer of so-called option adjusted rate mortgages…with a portfolio now valued at roughly $120 billion.”
“The fact that 58% of Wachovia’s option ARM portfolio is based in California is problematic. CreditSights argues that a new computer model put into use for Wachovia’s risk management is implying losses of between 7% and 8% for the Pick-a-Pay portfolio. That could mean another $2 billion of potential losses. The bank estimated that 14% of the loans appeared to have negative equity, or loan-to-value percentages of greater than 100.”
The Associated Press. “One in seven mortgage holders worry they may soon fail to make their monthly payments and even more fret that their home’s value is shrinking, according to a poll.”
“One nervous homeowner is Daniel Gallego, a warehouse worker in Stockton, Calif., who said in a followup interview that he may have to sell his house at a big loss.”
“‘We may have to move in with my wife’s parents or my parents,’ said Gallego, who has two young children. ‘I could pay off some debt, then we could rent, and maybe buy another house in a few years.’”
“He said the rising cost of gasoline and other expenses have made his adjustable rate mortgage unaffordable. Because he doesn’t expect his home’s value to recover soon, he said he may be better off moving now before his rates rise.”
The Bakersfield Californian. “As home foreclosures pile up, real estate auction companies are rolling into town. On Tuesday, Irvine-based Real Estate Disposition Corp. will put about 80 homes up for bid at the Kern County Fairgrounds.”
“A number of deal-seekers turned out Friday for an auction held on the front lawn of a freshly painted, three-bedroom, two-bath south Bakersfield home. The home, which was not a foreclosure property, was sold in minutes by a Bakersfield company.”
“The winning bidder paid $127,600 — including the 10 percent buyers premium — for the 1,302-square-foot house. ‘The comparables, even for short sales, are $159,000,’ said Becky Cordova, a local real estate agent who came to watch.”
“Regular resales in the neighborhood are being listed for $229,000, she said.”
The Fresno Bee. “The almost 1,100 foreclosure homes for sale in the Fresno area create an enticing opportunity for buyers who want to snag a house at a bargain price. But there are risks. Real estate experts say lender-owned houses are often priced attractively, but sometimes have hidden problems, can require costly repairs and take weeks longer to acquire.”
“The addition of an extra party — the lender — can complicate things. ‘It’s rare to get a 30-day escrow,’ said Elizabeth Weintraub, a real estate agent in Sacramento. ‘It can take 45 days or longer. The lender has to approve a closing statement, and that can take a couple weeks. They’re just backlogged.’”
“In some cases, the process takes so long that loan commitments have expired, said William Brown, president of the California Association of Realtors. ‘Every bank handles [foreclosures] differently. It’s creating havoc in the marketplace.’”
“Michael Gavin, an agent who works with banks, said the process is becoming easier as more foreclosures enter the marketplace. ‘Banks are starting to become more realistic with pricing and more flexible with buyers,’ he said.”
“Unlike the central San Joaquin Valley’s last housing downturn in the late 1990s, lenders this time aren’t paying for repairs. Banks will often pay for title insurance and a home warranty, but the houses are sold ‘as-is,’ and buyers must take that into consideration when making offers.”
“Families forced from their homes sometimes take their frustrations out on the house. They take appliances, copper wiring, air conditioner parts or other items with them.”
“‘I looked at one where it didn’t even have a front door,’ Weintraub said. ‘The bank put up plywood and bolted it from the inside.’”
“Statewide, 20,513 houses were sold by home builders and private parties through the traditional process in February. An additional 16,931 houses — representing 45% of all transactions — were sold that same month to buyers or reclaimed by lenders in courthouse auctions.”
“That compares with auctions representing 12% in February 2007 and 3% in September 2006.”
The Daily Bulletin. “A rule change that would allow California cities to purchase foreclosed homes and convert them into affordable housing will be pitched to state administrators this week by Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker.”
“‘If people leave their homes because of their foreclosures, and we start to get code-enforcement issues, it’s better to have someone living in the house,’ Parker said. ‘And it’s certainly better for us to meet a need to create affordable housing.’”
“Through February, there were about 120,000 foreclosed homes in the state, and another 184,000 in early stages of foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac.”
“In Los Angeles County, there were 54,000 homes in some stage of foreclosure through February, according to RealtyTrac. There were 27,400 foreclosures in San Bernardino County and about 35,000 in Riverside County.”
“Bill Ruh, Montclair councilman and government affairs director of the Citrus Valley Association of Realtors, called the idea ‘absolutely wonderful.’ ‘It’s a way to get people into homes right now, when houses are vacant,’ Ruh said. ‘Any opportunity you have to utilize the money that’s been sitting there for housing, and use it to get a family into a home, it’s positive for the community.’”
The Desert Dispatch. “A vacant house can become a hangout spot for bored teenagers, a target for thieves and an eyesore. The county recorder registered 49 deeds of foreclosure in the Barstow area between December 2007 and February 2008, according to DataQuick.”
“The total number of foreclosures in the county for 2007 was 8,000, said David Zook, spokesman for Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. In the first two months of 2008, the county saw 3,300 foreclosures. ‘There have been increasing reports of metal theft, especially in regard to abandoned homes,’ Zook said.”
“Corporal Bill Doemner with the Barstow sheriff’s station said vacant buildings do present a crime and public safety issue in Barstow.”
“‘Juveniles hang out there, not to mention you can have public nuisance problems if they’re falling into disrepair, become grafittied and are not maintained,’ he said. ‘That’s more of a code enforcement issue, but for us it’s a problem as far as inviting criminal elements to hang out.’”
“Empty buildings also provide an easy target for thieves, he said. However, Doemner said has not seen significant public safety effects from the local foreclosures yet, because many of the houses have only been vacant for a short period of time.”
“‘It will become more of a problem as the houses become more dilapidated,’ he said.”
The Press Enterprise. “As the number of foreclosures continues to rise in recently built subdivisions throughout southwestern Riverside County, vandals are increasingly preying on these newly abandoned homes, according to police.”
“Perris police have been tracking the trend of graffiti in some of the city’s newest residential areas. Hoping to clamp down on the problem, Capt. James McElvain, who heads the Perris station of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, has begun training deputies to take a ‘zone policing’ approach. Instead of patrolling a wide range of areas, officers are assigned to shepherd a smaller territory day in and day out.”
“Deputy Larry Holloway recently paid a visit to the Sepulveda family of the May Ranch neighborhood, who have watched the foreclosed house next door transform from an empty nest into an undercover party house over the past six months.”
“Adolescents come and go at all hours of the night. Graffiti covers every wall inside. The intruders leave behind blankets, empty alcohol bottles and signs of drug use, according to Holloway, who patrols May Ranch.”
“‘Most of the time the tagger is telling a story. It tells the kids whose hangout this is, and they actually honor that. They’re having sex and all kinds of stuff,’ Holloway said. ‘They’re not really in here intentionally destroying things, but that’s the result. And it causes a lot of problems.’”
“Vandalism to even one house can drag down surrounding homes’ property values and the overall quality of life in the neighborhood, he said.”
“Declining home values inevitably deepen the foreclosure crisis because homeowners find they owe more on their house than it is now worth, which prompts some to walk away, explained John Denver, a Realtor who has been selling homes in the Perris and Menifee area for 30 years.”
“With predictions that the foreclosure crisis will not peak for another 18 months, Holloway said the problem could worsen.”
“‘That’s a long time. And that’s a long way to go from where we’re at right now. If something doesn’t change, a lot more people are going to lose their homes,’ Holloway said. ‘It’s just a playground for these kids.’”
“The Sepulvedas are leaving of their own accord. Enrique Sepulveda, a longtime construction worker, said he plans to move his family to an older, more established neighborhood and then rent out their May Ranch abode to help cover that mortgage.”
“Part of Sepulveda’s fear is that his 13-year-old daughter may be confronted or pressured by delinquent youths, because he suspects the culprits attend her middle school.”
“‘I find myself worrying a lot. The truth is this neighborhood may be beautiful but it doesn’t feel secure anymore. I’d trade all this for a trailer where I have security and peace,’ Sepulveda said, gesturing around a home interior with granite counters and vaulted ceilings.”
First CA post!
First witty reply to the First CA post.
I see your “witty” posts, and I $pit in your general direction.
OK, which baby mamma’s dreams got flushed down the sh*tter today. Where are the sob stories?
First reference to sodomy on the First CA post.
No offense but the technical action of the JT would be classified as sodomy.
I second that motion
I’d like to go ahead and call a bottom here.
Mar ‘08 NOD for 93552 Palmdale was 510% above March ‘07 which was 564% above March ‘06. You can clearly see that based on this the rate of acceleration is receding.
/sarcasm off
You can go ahead and call the bottom that’s getting pounded if you wish….that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? “The Bottom That’s Getting Pounded”…..Ben, that should be the new thread right next to the Bits Bucket.
…..actually, this would officially be the first reference to sodomy on the CA thread.
Hedley Lamarr : “You said Sodomy Twice !”
Cowboy: “I like Sodomy”
Ex-nnwmtgbrkr : “Kinky……”
To be accurate, the word in the movie Blazing Saddles was “rape”.
Come on Ex, you know sodomy makes me uncomfortable.
Try Vaseline next time.
Father, why do these words sound so nasty?
After word gets out that copper thieves are making 20K a month stealing copper pipes( reference earlier thread from Minneapolis), I suspect this bust to take on a whole nother feel!
OT I know, but here is another buried story about a group trying to enforce the constitution being shut down.
It’s pretty bad what the gov’t has become.
http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/UPDATE/Update2008-04-12.htm
If we had brains we’d be requiring scrap metal dealers to photograph and thumb print anyone bringing in copper who is not a professional metals dealer.
This is the best way to get rid of the excess houses. Strip and sell the scrap to China/ Then tear down the house and start anew. Chugging the economy along.
Now if they made sure that you could not scrap the aluminum beer kegs that are stolen from the bars weekly….that would just need a law.
whats the deal hoz, local riff-raff snatching up the kegs of your favorite brew down at the Dew Drop and prices going up as a result.
unintended consequences of stealing kegs to buy beer!
The Shanghai Composite has tumbled to below 3,500 from October’s all-time high of nearly 6,100. Company stock valuations have cratered to about 40 times earnings per share from about 70 times. Household fortunes have evaporated, sparking calls for the government to step in.
–
40 times state doled out earnings sound high? If Americans stop buying what China is selling, then investors shouldnt buy what China is buying. Investors should buy what Americans are buying. I know I’m early with the recovery story, but you gotta start somewhere.
the copper market is following the military mandate of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell” or either they are copying the realtor’s/lending companies modus operandi of “there is too damn much money involved to be asking questions.”
check my story of the 1901 penny below.
Last month I was at a friend’s house in L.A., and he lives up high on a hill, and you can see the goings on in the street 200 feet below…
I watched a decently dressed guy get out of 5 to 7 year old pick-up truck, and start sorting through the neighbors trash bins, out on the street.
He carefully spent about 5 minutes taking things he could sell and putting them in the back of his truck, replaced the trash cans in an orderly fashion, and was off the the next address.
Scavenger Hunt, 2008 style
which reminds me of a story from my father-in-law, from several years ago. He lives in San Pedro, and about 4 am, he heard someone going through the trash. He pops up and yells, “Hey! That’s city property!” (I dunno…what would YOU say at 4 am?) The scavenger muttered “sorry” and took off.
Here in SF we get the bottle collectors. Role out the trash and recycle bins and within hours you have people coming by in cars, pushing shopping carts, on foot - one after another going through the bins looking for cans and bottles to recycle for cash.
I actually think the bottle collectors provide a service. I will place my valuable recyclables to the side of the trash to make it easier for them to pick it up.
More than likely these people are involved in the scams.
“Stush sees a bright future in reverse mortgages”
Yes, I too see a bright future but not for RE’s, but for attorneys suing RE’s for nondisclosure.
Stush is too close to Slush.
Actually I had a personal reaction to the “Stush sees a bright future in reverse mortgages” — I suddenly thought I could go into that business myself. Considering that I have a lot of senior clientele. I should copy my existing business in its essential feature, which is my willingness to deal with people too “small” for the banks. ‘Course the difference between me and Stush is that I actually have money to lend, whereas he seems to be dependent on income from employment. Nyah nyah nya NYAH nyah.
“Stush sees a bright future in reverse mortgages”
The only requirement for being successful in selling reverse mortgages is your willingness to screw over seniors by selling them financial products even if it is not in their best financial or even lifestyle interest, similar to selling annuites. If you are/were a greedy unethical Realtor/broker used to screwing over RE buyers with toxic mortgages then it would be an easy transition to beguile seniors with reverse mortgages by being guiless and desperate for that commish $ . I could sell annuities and other financial products to asset-rich but cash poor seniors as i have a bit of knowledge of said financial products but would not like to sell seniors ‘questionable’ financial products not in their best interest. It is just is not in my makeup.
The exploitive structure of existing reverse mortgages is another good reason why I can perhaps compete effectively. I haven’t looked into it much, but I have the impression that the banks are ripping people off in RM’s, and that a structure just slightly more generous could have a broad appeal.
I can see the reverses working out well under the right circumstances. What I don’t get is why they just don’t sell the thing, take the cash and move. I don’t get this idea of being cash poor and miserable so you can stay in a house. Tell me we’re not all destined to be narrow comfort zone and rigid as we age.
Moving gets harder when you are older. Think of the mountains of Stuff that can be accumulated. As people age, they develop little ways of coping, e.g., the neighbor who always does X for you, the pets that keep you company and would not be welcome in a rental apartment, etc etc. I am a Trustee for a cash-poor senior (no, I’m not lending her anything!), and I have suggested a reverse mortgage because she is not very good at investing, so it would not do her a lot of good to sell her place and try to live off the income.
I used to work in senior services, and I knew a lot of seniors who would be living on $800/month of social security, and in a paid off home that would sell for $200K+ on the actual open market. As long as there are strong consumer protections laws in place, reverse mortgages can actually help those kind of people enjoy a higher quality of life in their own familiar homes during their retirement years.
So many people that age are all about living like paupers so they can leave an inheritance for kids & grandkids. Which is a nice enough sentiment, but when money is so tight for a senior to begin with, you find yourself wanting them to put themselves first for a change.
“He said the rising cost of gasoline and other expenses have made his adjustable rate mortgage unaffordable. Because he doesn’t expect his home’s value to recover soon, he said he may be better off moving now before his rates rise.”
This is starting to become a problem. Gas is pushing $4 a gallon in CA. I drive a small, 30MPG beater pickup truck, and I carpool. But even for me, that’s around $70 a week. Not the end of the world for me, but for the majority of the folks in the Suburbans, Escalades, and other larger cars, this will be a deal breaker that I imagine is only going to get worse.
Before the crash started, a lot of us on this blog predicted that RE fools would find myriad unrelated excuses for price declines. This is one of them “Oh, foreclosures are happening because of inflation.” No, foreclosures are happening because of unaffordability caused by exotic lending, inflation is happening because of government-led bailouts, and the two are feeding off each other.
Yes, but the good news is that this is leading to “appreciation” of the food supply. For those cleaver investors who got ahead of the pack, there’s a lot of money being made in corn and wheat and other staples.
Even better, the United Nations is so surprised by this recent “appreciation” of food supplies that they want large, rich countries, like ours, to help contribute massive amounts of more money to keep the purchase price high.
I am certain our friends in Congress will help to keep the “appreciation” as high as possible, since we can see by their actions on the Housing Mortgage situation, that HIGH PRICES are a staple of the American diet in all things financial. It good that housing has “appreciated” so rapidly over the past few years, so we can’t let market forces bring prices back down. We need a multi-billion dollar government bailout to sustain the high prices.
So I say, good. Let’s all buy into the FOOD Price “appreciation” and enjoy our newfound unearned income.
People will do what they did during the 70’s oil embargoes, wise up and buy economy cars. Of course Detroit will be caught with its pants down once again while Asia runs off with our car market again
LMFAO!
“People will do what they did during the 70’s oil embargoes, wise up and buy economy cars.”
According to a dealer I recently talked with, it’s already happening. And in a big way.
I can guarantee you though with oil only getting more expensive and scarce, we’re never going back to a nation of SUVs. America has hit the decline baby and I’m going to fiddle!
Of course Detroit will be caught with its pants down once again while Asia runs off with our car market again
If Asia ran off with our car market in the 70s, then Detroit must have gained it back so that Asia can run off with it again…
If you want to name a car company that is getting caught with its pants down, I think you’d have to say Toyota. They bet the farm on a full-size pickup. Took their small SUV and made it mid-size with a big V6. Took their quirky, fuel efficient, and incredibly popular Scion xB and made it bigger on the outside, smaller on the inside, heavier and gave it a bigger and thirstier engine. Are you seeing a pattern here?
In the mean time, photos and details of Ford’s new small V8 diesel have leaked out onto the internet. Available next year on a range of large Fords - 20%+ greater fuel efficiency than the gas V8s currently available. They’ve got a range of gas engines they’re calling eco-boost or something like that and they’ll be in cars next year - with double digit economy gains. They made this Sync MP3 and bluetooth phone system a super cheap option on the $14000 Focus (and made it really ugly). 35mpg and the coolest sound system for cheap - no wonder sales are up by double digits. They are getting rave reviews for their new Fiesta tiny car and have already committed to selling in the US next year.
As far as I can tell they’re SLOW to market, but they look more ready for gas prices than some Asian makes…
The Asians only gave obese Americans what they wanted…. Huge cars to fit their huge asses.
That’s wonderful news for Detroit, Brian. I hope it pans out.
Yeah, the situation of the US automakers is a little different than it was in the early 1970’s. They’re going to take a beating, sure, but most people do not realize that they’ve been selling small, fuel efficient cars in Europe for decades.
GM and Ford have a whole lineup of models, and engines, that have been sold in Europe for years. They can bring this technology over here if need be.
A lot of the newer, smaller cars, like the Toyota Scions and the BMW 1-Series, are models that have been on sale in Europe and Japan for years.
The big US automakers won’t be caught unprepared this time. SUV’s are a lot more profitable than small cars, so their finances will definitely take a hit, but they do have plenty of fuel-efficient models to offer if need be.
RE: Not the end of the world for me, but for the majority of the folks in the Suburbans, Escalades, and other larger cars,
Saw a brand spanking new 2008 Ford F-150 4×4 in a front yard on the way home from work tonight. You could smell the new interior from the street. Owner just must not have been able to deal with the psychological pain of a $90.00 fill up and 10mpg.
I love seeing those monsters, not a spec of dirt on those off-road tires and even the tire tread grooves are armour-alled. Should be sold with a magnifying glass for the owners small penis.
Have you ever seen those Ford F-650s. They go anywhere from 85-150K. Complete waste!
Yes, and warn your daughters: “Never date a guy who drives a car larger than a sedan”.
I saw an ‘03 Excursion on ebay that ended bidding at $8500(reserve not met). Blue book says $17500.
The dearth of closed sales on ebay auto of late is telling.
Seeing H2’s gathering dust on some of my neighbors’ driveways is the ultimate in schadenfreude.
That’s awesome. Seeing Hummers is like listening to fingernails on chalk.
“Wachovia investors are paying through the nose for the bank’s ill-advised California gold rush. Among many other things, the bank took a $2 billion charge for ‘market-disruption’ losses in the quarter, including a surprisingly high $729 million for unfunded loans and leveraged finance positions. Wachovia also took a $2.8 billion provision to cover credit-related losses.”
_______________________________________________
Bernake alluded to it last week as well, which is these banks and financial institutions need to raise capital. Just like every other damn corporation on the face of the earth that made bad business decisions, they need to cut dividends, cut jobs, and sell some stock. Why all this talk about taxpayer bailouts? Make investors out there a deal they can’t refuse. How many times has GM or Ford come out with 20, 30, 40 billion dollar writedowns? Seems like every 4 or 5 years, yet they still survive. So, screw your existing shareholders and move on. It really isn’t that hard to fathom.
““Two years ago, Alain Silverston was bringing in six figures as a real estate agent in Long Beach. Last year, he returned to property management, which was his profession before moving to California from France in 2001. His income has dropped to a few thousand dollars a month, his credit card is maxed out, he doesn’t go to restaurants anymore, and he only shops at Trader Joe’s.””
I see the poor guy has to choke down Trader Joe’s. Just wait till it’s Ramen!
It’s probably Ramen from Trader Joe’s.
Forget the ramen, how do you make six figures and not save for a rainy day?
It’s California. You don’t ask such silly questions.
There’s a Sunshine Tax or somesuch, and people always pay up or summat like that, and then, after that something happens magically, and the Universe provides, and there’s Karma, and then so and so forth …
The Universe will provide, sister!
Oh, for crying in a bucket! I’ve eaten Ramen and lived to tell the tale. When this guy is down to part time at the minimum wage and getting by on two meals a day, then I’ll feel some sympathy. BTW, the previous sentence described how I lived in early 1983. It wasn’t fun.
There were 3 whole days when I was in college during which I didn’t eat, and nobody offered me a bailout. Maybe that’s how I got to be so mean.
fuggin’ Ramen is a TREAT at my house!, for Thanksgiving and occasionally Christmas if it’s been a good year…
‘There were 3 whole days when I was in college during which I didn’t eat, and nobody offered me a bailout. Maybe that’s how I got to be so mean.’
I had three whole days in college like that, too! Except I was being a bat, see, and bats don’t eat ramen. I learned that in biology class. After, I went right back to eating ramen with peas, and I became the hale and hearty and mean specimen of smart bald monkey you see before you, or that you would see before you, if you were here, and were not drunk, as I am. But the ramen didn’t make me mean, that just comes natchurl, as a gift from Baby Jeebus.
One the funnest summers I ever had in my life was when I had all of about $500 to live on for about 3 months in Berkeley. I kid you not –> SOOOO much fun, eating day old bread given out by a place called Uprisings! Bakery, crashing at various (female) friends, going on long hitchhiking trips. Ahhh, College
Being young and having no money was not so bad. I remember those days fondly - it was easy to pay the $200 rent back then with a parttime job. Nowadays it’s different.
When he’s selling “favors” down on Melrose then I’ll feel sorry for him………nah, not really.
I pay good money to purposely eat Raman at the Korean Roll house, and I like it !
That’s a different animal than the packaged garbage made from nothing you could pronounce.
It’s all perspective - for those that all of the sudden thought they were rich and living the life, sliding back down the food chain is tough. To go from making 6 figures to nothing is quite the adjustment when you never planned for the rainy day. It’s going to get very ugly when all the faux possers have to go back to being what they were before RE. When your whole sense of self worth is pegged to how much money you make and you lose that job, you lose everything.
Since when was property management considered a “profession”?
V, that is the funniest thing you’ve said on this thread.
You are always funny. Have you met pussycat in person?
No. I can’t remember whether pussycat is one of my friends or one of my foes. I don’t wanta accidentally go meet someone and then get smacked ’cause I POd ‘em. I do like to throw HBB parties sometimes, though, but I think Pussycat lives far away from me.
Pussycat does Big V.
I believe Big V lives in NY.
Well, anyway my propery manager is so snobby.
Sometimes she is nice but the 50 page application I filled out was hellish. Her general irritation she feels when I tell her the fence is going to fall down, the shower head is missing and the heater broke is humiliating but I got out of my crap shack so I am ok with ass kiss.
BTW she is scared of the landlord of this place. This guy is a delta pilot. Is he going to have to foreclose on his rental?
Hoz?
Big V lives in Newark, CA.
Must read my posts more carefully before I click on the “Add comment” button.
Let’s start over.
Big V,
Pussycat lives on the east coast. I believe Pussycat lives in NY.
I’ve had way too much coffee today.
Hey that’s my sister you’re talk’in about and she says she doesn’t “have” to do it ’cause the RE recovery is com’in this fall and in 2009 don’t ya know….. but it pays the bills right now…… Yeah needless to say, we aren’t getting along right now. It’s so hard to keep my mouth shut about the reality out there and sad to say she addicted to that NAR/CAR Kool-Aid. Do they have a Kool-Anon group? I’m worried about her…..!
Ever since the first former real estate agent took that job to get by and needed to play it up to the silicone bleach blondes at his local watering hole.
Silly me thinking that Trader Joe’s is an absolute luxury, rather than a big step down from those high-falutin joints that sell goose liver and pastis. Hon-hee-hon said the frog.
Trader Joes many times has better prices on higher quality items than the grocery chains. I always look at nutrition per dollar. I can buy lots of cheap crap or I can buy less, high nutrient items. And i trying to get around all the retirees at ours out here in the desert isn’t any kind of luxury.
Trader Joes shopping is a joy and a treat.
Wait till he has to shop at the food kitchen.
Wonder where Mister Silverspoon was shopping before he had to trade down to TJs. Whole Paycheck, I suppose.
really.
There are a lot of people who would feel blessed to be able to shop at TJs.
Trader Joe’s is not that expensive. It’s marketed as a gourmet grocery store, but they are often actually cheaper than the big regional grocery chains.
He can’t eat Ramen. He’s French. It would kill him instantly.
It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’”
Not that I have any sympathy for these clowns but doesn’t this technically violate the law ?
Those aren’t protected classes, such as race, gender, ethnicity, veteran status, etc. Gov’t laws and regs say which criteria you cannot legally use to pick an employee. Everything else is fair game.
Exactly.
If you’re just going to look at the mortgage ones, and toss them in the recycle bin, you might as well state that upfront.
How about ‘No bimbo ugly realtwhos need apply!? hehehehehehe
Devils Advocate ON: So if you’re a young black woman with a handicap who was a mortgage broker can they still discriminate ?
You can if she’s a lawyer.
I don’t think so. You can discriminate just not on the basis of race, gender or age.
Unless you’re contracting for the Federal government under an affirmative action contract, then you can discriminate.
Or be a member of Congress. All non-discrimination legislation includes a rider exempting Congress from thier creations.
“It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’
lord almighty I’m laughing so hard the neighborhood dogs are barking at me in response . . . !!
Yeah, that has to peg just about anyone’s schadenfreude meter. Talk about being singled out! Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch too, what with their collective reputation for ruining lives and neighborhoods just to make a sale.
It amazes me that some people think their CVs are just supposed to establish a track record of compensation for their next jobs.
“Hi, I made $120K/year screwing widows and orphans. Based on that, I think I’m worth $150K to your firm.”
Yaw drops. Asks candidate about “reputation.” Candidate looks back blankly, then repeats how good he would be for the bottom line. The mind reels.
From what I’ve read, part of this is because they know the applicants will just rush back to their old broker/realtor jobs when the real estate market picks up again. So they don’t want to waste their time training and investing in them only to have them flake out when times are better and they actually really need them.
My personal opinion is they don’t have to worry about anything like that happening for a loooooong while, but it is still nice to see these scumbags become untouchable.
Also, any time my heartstrings are tugged in the slightest by the story of how they weren’t one of the unethical ones, they’d been in the business for decades, blah blah… I remind myself that when things were booming and their industry was ethically in the toilet, they were NOT being quoted in the paper saying something was amiss. Only now, once it fell apart, are they speaking up… and the only thing they’re saying is poor, poor me.
For the local SS commandant, he wasn’t allowed to get away with “I was just following orders”. Then they hung him. Or shot him.
Yeah, me too.
It’s about time that someone (employers) put an end to these job-chasing, fad-chasing fools. I bet many of them were software developers back in the late 1990s. I spent 3-4 years working with many of these idiots who could barely read a book before they moved on to real estate in 2003.
For my business - will only consider people with four degrees from accredited institutions. This wipes out about 90% of the real estate crowd.
Four degrees?! Do they all have to be four-year degrees? I’m guessing 100%.
“no real estate or mortgage candidates”
The only thing wrong with this is, that I’d like my 12-year-old bookkeeping assistant to be able to use his work for me as a part of his resume when he’s old enough to seek “real” employment. At least I expect he will not be Laid Off from his work for me.
These people knew they were ultimately screwing people over. Because they saw the dollar signs they just didn’t care. Glad to see the pain swing back in their direction.
KARMA.
Entrepreneurial at heart, she is launching a new dog boot-camp venture, a workout program for dogs and their owners.”
A) Get Dog
B) Get Leash
C) Get lazy ass off couch
D) Go walking/Running with dog
E) Save $$ by not spending money on Hokey dog boot camp
How excellent. She stiffs all the people who lent money/services to her business so that she could make an undeserved killing over 5 years, and now she wants to pollute the business environment with a doggy boot camp? Do you think the city will actually give this dangerous mind a business license? It’s a waste of stupidity.
You’ve got a point there. If two of the dog-students squared off and got into a fight, her insurer would be targeted in the resulting lawsuit. Ditto for one of the dogs attacking one of the other dog owners.
Scrapbooking, anyone?
Candlemaking, anyone?
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Scrotum Masseuse,…….anyone, anyone?
Not fair! Chardonnay spewed on my keyboard!
Recession proof.
Scrapbooking, anyone?
Candlemaking, anyone?
Doggie accessories, anyone? (My BIL)!
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Doggie biscuit bakery anyone? A few weeks ago on Marsh St or was it Higuera Ave. in San Luis Obispo ? A sign of the ‘Bubble’, eh? hehehehehehe
Pismo, when I click on your “pismoclam” link, I get “page not found.” Where the heck is your blog?
Since when does a personal trainer go “bankrupt”? This is generally an extremely low overhead business, and if you don’t have enough clients you don’t have any income. But why exactly would you need to borrow money? Did she build her own gym?
Doggy Boot Camp? These people can’t pay their mortgages….and their dogs are looking to trade up.
Right, but sadly the pups will be lucky if the FBs fill up their bowls one last time before turning out the lights.
The doggy boot camp immediately leaped out and bit me. Will someone please buy Torri a copy of “The Long Emergency” by James Howard Kunstler?
As oil and food prices continue to rise, dog boot camps will become less and less necessary.
What gets me the most about these real estate “moguls” is how out of touch they are with basic concepts of discretionary spending versus necessary spending. They seem to think that society is full of people with money bulging out of their pockets, just waiting to throw it away on one thing or another.
For the next few years, you want a safe, steady job, with a regular paycheck and insurance benefits.
For the next few years, you want a safe, steady job, with a regular paycheck and insurance benefits.
Amen. Preach it.
Therein lies the reason that me, the wifey, and 2 kids have not left Clownifornia.
Yet.
Good salary. Good benes. Goobermint job. Nice location, but waaaaay overpriced, still!
Not going to start over in this economy.
I really want a career change/chance to open a business. Not in this environment. As long as my clients are willing to pay me reasonable fees, I am not budging until this economy has bottomed out. Or I move to Asia.
Excellent point. When the choice comes between feeding Fido and feeding oneself, Fido will lose. This doggie day camp is a joke, and I would be embarassed to say I went to something like that. In FL we have this stupid doggie-dining law right now.
The more I read about present-day California, the more I realize it’s now nothing but a third-world cesspool with a very thin sliver of desireable real estate along the coast. I feel sorry for any HBBer’s living there trying to put together a middle-class or better lifestyle, while having the beliefs and actions of most of your neighbors working against you.
If this housing-led recession does what it needs to do in California - reverse 12 to 15 years of systemic overpricing and HELOC living, the resulting realities will be very ugly to confront. I really wonder what percentage of CA residents actually have a positve net worth - obviously the bottom 50% do not, but the ones with mortgaged houses, small 401ks - how hard will reality hit them when they realize that they are almost ALL upside down on their mortgages and will need to liquidate everything to start over elsewhere? The typical “$600k” 1800 square foot 3/2 CA house is really worth about $200k, just like it is anywhere else in this country outside of the rust belt. Only the very few nice houses within WALKING distance of the ocean should carry a “California premium”, and after this crash is complete, they will be.
Only the very few nice houses within WALKING distance of the ocean should carry a “California premium”, and after this crash is complete, they will be.
—————————–
As a person living in San Diego, I appreciate your optimism. But I doubt it’ll ever get down to midwest prices (adjusted for income, of course). There will “always” be a little bit of a premium where I’m at… No way could I hope for much better than a price of around 3.5x income, really…
Notice how I said “outside of the rust belt” - that means the Midwest.
Hey, Tijuana is as close to the ocean as San Diego is - what’s the price premium down there? From what I can see Southern California is moving in the general economic/societal direction of TJ anyway.
San Diego is a far, far cry from TJ. Really, it’s like night and day at the TJ/San Diego border. Folks who visit here from Europe or Canada always remark on that.
If only this blog had smell-o-vision so that you could really drive the point home. TJ is a hell on earth but has good beer, chips, and salsa.
This thread certainly degenerated into a nasty anti-imigrant rant.
The ghettoization and conversion of LA into a humongous third-world festering gang-infested black hole region is largely ignored by the MSM especially our LA times due Mainly to igorance, naivety or PC correctness. Very few have been out to all these ghetto hoods to actually see the ramsnackle century- old crackshacks in graffitied slums which at one time were selling for 1/2 million or more in impoverished illegal-alien packed slumzones where average household income is $45,000-50,000 at most(real, not stated liar incomes).
The entire LA City gov’t, the LA times and the entire CA administrative machinery has come out %100 in favor of open borders and immigrants- illegal & quasi- legal. The CA Politicos don’t care about the resultant degeneration of 1000’s of S Cal hoods from uncontrolled open border immigration over last 25 yrs but they continue to sprout green slogans and profess to be concerned about globsal warming. Meanwhile there is enough illegal dumping in illegal alien- swamped Scentral LA to fill several cargo ships a week.
Peter M.
Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village are getting more invaded year after year. Parts of older T.O. are looking like Van Nuys (West). Many new businesses with that “Latino” flair and Spanish speaking employees and customers are opening up. The cities have relaxed their over crowding enforcement. Day workers hang out on Hampshire (by the park,by the freeway on/off ramps), awaiting a car to stop to pick them up.We’re turning 3rd world too.
I used to work off Hampshire you can see day laborers on bicycles and 100K sports cars all at the same time. Hollywood invaded Westlake Village IMO but I remember when it was a big field.
“The cities have relaxed their over crowding enforcement”.
What i see happening in the nicer outer middle class exurbs away from inner LA is that lots of Fb’ ers/flippers are renting their homes out to latino immigrants, as the lower wage unskilled construction, restaurant, gardening jobs are still out there in the outer growing satellite hoods such as TO, westlake, santa clarita, ect and latino immgrants always flock to where the jobs are. Once u renrt out to a single latino family , they will bring in relatives and ‘friends’ to subrent out to. The observant person in their quiet hood will suddenly notice rented homes with 3-5 junk cars/trucks in the grease- stained driveway and out on the street. These rented homes if not carefully watched over by the fb’ers will in most cases be completey trashed out by the immigrant renters , requiring $10,000 or more in restoration & repairs.
I am so glad we LEFT LA!!! This is my 3rd week in the Bay area and granted the prices here are still really crazy, but over here in East Bay it actually feels like I’m in America again!! I never thought living in California would feel like America with people who actually want to live here (new immigrants) and want to fit in!! I work with many people from all over the globe and it is a pleasure to be in their company! I have really grown to HATE LA! It’s a real DUMP! I’m so glad we left!! Now I just have wait these nuts out up here!
LARenter - I’m the opposite. After 8 years in the Bay Area, I’ve had enough. I miss LA. Never dealt with the “dumpy” aspects of it. Always loved it down there. But like you, the job keeps me up here, so I’ll just grin and bear it.
Everything I hate about the bay area is x10 in LA.
Mike
San Diego prices were not historically higher than many other places in the country as of 5 years ago. I don’t see why we wouldn’t return to the norm that we had for 100+ years.
I agree and same with Detroit because of all the automobile jobs in Detroit it will always have a premium over the rest of the country.
You should pay close attention to Mexican Oil production.
Now I live in Irvine CA and although I think San Diego could easily drop down to 3X income its different here in Irvine. Or 3×2 SFH are really work 500-600k simply because its Irvine.
“I agree and same with DETROIT because of all the automobile jobs in DETROIT it will always have a premium over the rest of the country.”
You’re joking, right??
What if you had bought a home in Detroit 30 years ago using that reasoning and made your last payment today ?
I was just trying to get people to understand how long 30 years much less forever.
My opinion is San Diego and most of Southern CA will turn into a huge third world slum within 20 years at most.
Its fate is already sealed if you know what to look for.
100% agreed
And it is ugly. I’m working on a farm loan for an orchard development… +/- less than 10% of my net worth, yet it’s taking forrrrrreverrrr. Multiple come-backs, requests for additional data, honest -to-God stupid small stuff. And all this with a spotless record over 20+ years. This experience tells me more than anything that housing re-fi’s are total total toast.
RE: housing re-fi’s are total total toast.
Appraiser’s & originator’s will have to continue their lying ways.
Nothing will clear underwriting.
“‘It’s unjust. If you were in the mortgage industry for a long time … employers think you’re used to making so much money that you’re not going to take $50,000 or $70,000 a year. … They also think (mortgage lenders) are all money-hungry pigs, but it’s not true,’ he said.”
This is actually kind of funny, because about a year ago I was speaking to a close relative who was a mortgage broker up until about a year ago. She was mentioning how she was considering getting out of the biz, so I mentioned a few occupations she might want to consider and added “I think you could probably make 50 or 60grand.” I was floored when she put her nose up in the air and said she needed to make at least 100 grand to maintain her lifestyle.
So what did she end up doing??
I know a Manhattan Real Estate broker. The amount of money they make uses 7 digits. No contribution to society, yet they earn about $3 Million/year.
Outside of the Mojave, California’s climate is still about the best you can find, and education/employment here is still really good too. House prices will come down, employees won’t scream so much, things will get better.
This CA resident (renter) is net worth +$85K. My GF is also nicely positive. There’s a few of us, but I agree that it’s not many.
Just waiting a couple years for the real bottom.
Is that net worth ex-real estate?
“Walking distance of the ocean” isn’t necessary: a view of the ocean will always carry a substantial premium. However, there is no high-paying work in Morro Bay. All the money Came Here in the pockets of retiring people, or from the bank accounts of fool investors. Considering that the AP poll in Ben’s post showed that 59% of people think it’s a good time to buy, I am not sure that the inevitable decline of prices here will go any faster than it already has. About 8% per year for two years so far, per square foot of low-end house or condo. Like watching paint dry, but slower.
The CA premium is mostly associated with wage spikes. In LA the media industry pays some people extremely well. These occasionally outsize payouts represent “wild” randomness in economics as per Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot. Other trades like importation and agriculture usually also have a few big winners that like to live large. There is also a significant amount of old money hanging around. Around SF the finance and tech crowds bring in fortunes now and then, and pretty good pay most of the rest of the time. Anything in range of these areas of relatively high demand and high pay for workers is going to higher prices for housing, but even then the 2-3x yearly wages rule or something like it will still apply.
You have no idea of which you speak. California is so geographically and geologically divirse - there’s every type of weather and terrain in CA. There communities of every size and type. You don’t have to live like a wannabe, you don’t have to live beyond your means, and you don’t have to get involved for the most part with the politics. CA is not the be all and end all, but it’s also not just a giant cesspool either.
I agree. California is more like a country than a state. Very hard to generalize about it.
I don’t know, az. I drove from Chicago to Michigan last week to visit an old friend. Things looked really bad in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan to me. More of the U.S. is hurting than not. I think OCDan has a good point. Those who move to get a new job must remember that the last hired is the first fired.
Not for nothin, though, CA is still far better off than NY or NJ, or pretty much anywhere else in the northeast for that matter, at least as far as quality-of-living is concerned..
Just imagine CA, but with crappier weather, higher taxes, more ridiculous housing prices (in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn anyway), more pollution, and more corrupt politicians. And highway/parkway tolls everywhere. At least the taxes in NYC go to the NYPD and they can still get away with thumping or plungering the riffraff enough to keep the place relatively safe.
Glad I left! I still love to visit NYC though.. As long as the company’s picking up the tab!
“The winning bidder paid $127,600 — including the 10 percent buyers premium — for the 1,302-square-foot house.”
10% for talking fast and banging a gavel ? The Real Estate Scammers are still out in full force.
I had relatives that lived in BK in the 90’s.Those homes up for auction are in less desirable ares.My guess is they are worth less than $100K….Maybe $70k - $80k at the most.
Nicer homes just west of there are in $200K - $300K range.Worth about $100k to $125k……..
Terrible air and AG smells abound…….Hot as hell in summer and foggy and cold all winter.
I laugh every time I see Btown…..
Yep I live just south of Fresno in Hanford. It’s rediculas nothing out here but farms, cattle and a Navy base. Everyone has the it’s different here attitude and house prices are still insanley high. 90% of the military here can’t afford the prices they are asking for these homes. Jan 03 median price psf was $91.00, Jan 08 it’s $122.00 down 15.9% from peak. Still waiting for it to get back below $100.00 psf before I even think about buying.
Funny all I look at is psf and I agree only under 100. I really don’t want to bite till I see 60 but its worth beginning to look under 100 a square foot. The other metric is when new houses are finally priced a bit more than used houses.
So this gets into costs psf to build which means land prices also better tank first.
And of course 3x income rent equivalent etc. But whats funny is this is really just a return to normal given the bubble I can’t see it not going well under normal.
‘Any opportunity you have to utilize the money that’s been sitting there for housing, and use it to get a family into a home, it’s positive for the community.’”
OK Genius, Exactly how many foreclosed houses can you buy with that money and how do you create a program that ensures those houses get to people that won’t turn them into crack dens ? How is this a good use of my tax money ?
Yeah my first thought was this was a perfect way to destroy a neighborhood. You pretty much can figure this would be worse then Section 8 housing. The only good think is I suspect they won’t have enough tax payer money to buy many homes.
My only fear is that this idea could seep up to the federal level where they could print enough money to cause a serious problem.
Then of course people selling homes would want the option to sell to the government. Why wait till its in foreclosure buy it from the FB so he can go buy another house. You can see where this path leads.
“Deputy Larry Holloway recently paid a visit to the Sepulveda family of the May Ranch neighborhood, who have watched the foreclosed house next door transform from an empty nest into an undercover party house over the past six months.”
Get a clue moron. Home Depot>Thick Plywood sheets>Drywall screws>Cover all openings to keep Kids out. And you expect to rent your house out when you’re leaving a problem festering like that ? Stop watching, grow a pair, and DO something !
Oh, boy, you just pushed one of my buttons. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard various neighbors say this, that and the other thing about the sorry state of The Neighborhood.
Mind you, these are usually the same people who can’t be bothered to come to our neighborhood meetings or participate in our neighborhood cleanup parties. Heck, we don’t even see them at the annual Oktoberfest!
Yet they’ll complain a blue streak.
Next time I hear this thought-train coming my way, the dialog will look like this:
Me: You want a better neighborhood?
Complainer: YEAH!!!
Me: The first thing you can do is be a better neighbor.
Complainer: HOW???
Me: You can keep your yard weeds pulled, pick up the trash in and around your property, call 911 when you see or hear something suspicious, and come to our neighborhood meetings. When it comes to improving neighborhoods, nothing beats knowing the other people around here.
I could go on, but you get the point.
“A rule change that would allow California cities to purchase foreclosed homes and convert them into affordable housing will be pitched to state administrators this week by Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker.”
Please don’t force Californians to use their tax dollars to purchase foreclosed homes at unaffordable prices, just at the moment that affordability is beginning to manifest itself through market forces.
“‘If people leave their homes because of their foreclosures, and we start to get code-enforcement issues, it’s better to have someone living in the house,’ Parker said. ‘And it’s certainly better for us to meet a need to create affordable housing.’”
I have a better suggestion: Just tax the current owner for the external cost of code-enforcement issues, and soon enough, the affordable housing will be available on the market to would-be buyers. There is no need to create taxpayer-funded subsidies from state taxpayers to banks, flippers or other holders of devalued property.
This will never pass go. The deficit faced this year in CA is enormous, and it’s getting enormous-er by the minute.
There just aren’t funds.
I don’t get the point of this at all. Why not just keep the people that are already in the houses in them if you’re going to write off the old amount and sell at a lower amount to some city to put in someone who was probably foreclosed out of their previous home.
Besides, look how eager that gov’t affairs fella from the Citrus Valley Assoc. of Realtors is about the whole idea. One just knows the agents have their sights on some kind of fee they can charge to “help” local gov’ts find houses to buy up.
It is obviously a conflict of interest to turn our government into a real-estate broker. Then all of the sudden we won’t know whether our goal is to make housing affordable (ha ha) or to maximize revenues. I certainly hope that tax payers and policy makers aren’t stupid enough not to realize the inextricalbe problems with this proposal.
“A rule change that would allow California cities to purchase foreclosed homes and convert them into affordable housing will be pitched to state administrators this week by Claremont City Manager Jeff Parke”
Wasn’t Claremont considered above normal RE bubble collapses due to some new RE financial investment laws put up by some claremont professors who brought a $900,000 home in claremont? Now claremont prices are down to around $500,000.
BTW the San Gabriel cities/east LA county mentioned in the article are a center for some severe RE corrections. There is already a vast sea of affordable under $300,000 foreclosed properties in that vast slum section of the valley called Pomona. Problem is they are unoccupied, squatted & trashed REO’s, and Pomona is a gigantic nest for all the East LA county gangs, wannabes, riffraff, wastrils, section 8’s, hoodlums & impoverished illegals, who will no doubt furthur add to the already degenerated nature of Pomona, and of the entire ugly flat Mid-section of the San Gabriel valley. Furthurmore, this vast sea of foreclosures in Pomona infects all adjacent SG communites such as Clarement, montclair, La verne, covina,San dimas, upland & ontario like a fast spreading cancer.
This is why parke is in full panic mode. East LA county is in full- blown RE meltdown , and besides it is little different in topography , jobs sector, and demographics from the immediately adjacent IE.
Pomona Queen by Kem Nunn will give you an idea of what happened to this area. The love for three oranges lingers only in memory.
Oh peter m you silver-tongued devil i could listen to you wax poetical all night…
Corrections:
“‘It’s
unjust. If you were in the mortgage industry for a long time … employers think you’re used to making so much money that you’re not going to take $50,000 or $70,000 a year. … They also correctly think (mortgage lenders) are all money-hungry pigs, but it’snotcompletely true,’ he said.”Old social lepers: renters.
New social lepers: REIC workers.
“Like a lot of mortgage industry workers, Stush tried to get work in other kinds of financial services such as insurance, but he found a huge stigma attached to the mortgage industry that disqualified him from even being considered for many jobs.”
“It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’”
houses = permant taxable resource for govt use. C’mon, is it any wonder that the politicos turned a blind eye to all the mortgage shenanigans, in fact, encouraged it!?
best part is no Lo-Jack needed to locate for billing owners. our overlords HATE IT when they do not have complete control. case in point: a past HOA pool manager a few years ago sent out a pool membership form to all HOA members. this form looked like some law enforcement booking arrest sheet, complete with demands for ALL RESIDENTS NAME, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, and other personal info. I took one look at it & told the other half no way in hell is that much info necessary to swim in the pool.
Turns out, of course, the pool manager is a sheriff’s deputy. ie; never too much info for our wonderful overlords. they all think they have a god-given badge-wearin right to demand anything and if you protest yer “impeding their authority” or some other such BS!
Don’t get me started on this. No disrespect meant, but why is that when law enforcement or somsuch is injured or killed the laws are harsher against the perp than in other states. I thought we were all equal before the bar of the law.
Sure, kill an off-duty cop, get life w/no hope of parole. Kill the neighbor’s kids and get out w/parole in 25.
What a topsy-turvy world we live in.
But who hasn’t wanted to kill the neighbors kids once in a while ?
Get off my Lawn !
That’s why my yard is full of sharp, thorny things. Even the trees have thorns on them. Best kid deterrent going.
fo’ shizzle. then when the funeral procession cranks up, there is zero law enforcement for the duration of the festivities. And the police chiefs’ decorations put Petraeus to shame. brings a tear almost.
Or how about when a cop abuses his authority by falsely arresting people, assaulting them, lying under oath, etc., and he totally gets away with it. If a nonuniformed citizen does the same, that person is a criminal. This is standard practice even though the abusive cop does FAR MORE damage to society than the criminal citizen.
Come on. Yes there are people in all walks of life who abuse the system they work in and should be punished for it. But it doesn’t mean everyone does it. It’s the way society has evolved, people are not held accountable for thier actions, there is always someone out there who will find a reason why someone broke the law and try to shift the blame from the the individual. There are bad seeds everywhere and not enough good seeds to keep them in check and it’s getting worse buy the day.
More bad seeds in law enforcement. It’s one of the few professions that sociopaths gravitate to: power.
That’s why I became a fire fighter. Everyone loves FFs. And the cops protect us just like one of their own. All buck, no bang.
A job for two who are now of job age!
Or how about when a cop abuses his authority by falsely arresting people, assaulting them, lying under oath, etc., and he totally gets away with it.
Having been a police officer in a past career, I can assure you that the dishonest ones pay dearly for their misdeeds than the ordinary citizen.
Breaking the trust of a community by the dishonest police officer does do extensive harm to the reputation of the police department and the good cops. That is why when a cop gets caught, they pay the ultimate price for their stupidity and are often sentenced to prison far more than the ordinary citizen.
I shoulda done this is the Oregon thread, but here goes:
local market update,betwixt Medford and Eugene:
U-Haul is dumping 12+ foot cabvans.(2 years ago, they were paying people to take trucks to California)
Bloated used car lots are now buying and selling gold and silver.
United Rentals and Rental Service Corps…..dumping equipment.
hard nosed, beaten down builders are also liquidating the goods.
2006 Vintage, 3000 sq ft, 3 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath grantitzed mcmansions rents for, wait for it: asking 1200 a month.
I am literally watching two business’ a month close the doors. this is bad people, this is the hard landing. The Treasury cannot even throw the printing press at this one and seriously be effective…I am bunkering, I am actually going to double the size of the garden.
and even the business’ that are not just packin it in are getting run-off, so the new Corporate Walgreens can get a nice high traffic corner…… it was a five for 1…gonna be a big empty parking lot with more cashiers than customers.
1901 penny.
dialog from today, while picking up the Mirror Pond, pale ale. Bend real estate may be toast, but they gots some good brew.
Cashier: “Sir, you only gave me six dollars. Its 6.29″
voz: “Well I guess I best give you another piece of paper so I can get some real money back.”
Cashier: “A customer came in and gave me this today. But you have to give it back to me, its one hundred and seven years old. It has to be worth fifty cents.”
I posted last years tax return: this year Ill do the same.
did not have to file or produce:
1120-S
1165 (or supporting schedules)
4562
4791
did pick up:
Schedule A&B
Schedule D (as always), was quite downsized, long Term Capital loss carry forward saved the day….thank the lord
When TxChick (or her first time homebuyer hubby) buy a house, the bottom is in. book it. I just wanna run small business not own any, for at least another year. This marks the first year I did not balance to the 1901 penny- those got rounded off.
Well, well, well! Mighty Los(t) Angeles is kaput.
Mayor Slick’s 3rd State of the City address outlined quite a lot of achievements on his watch.
Specifically, the city is $400 million, that’s right, $400 million, short for the year and will have to cut 800 jobs and increase trash pickup costs.
Just fire everyone on the city dole, evacuate everyone, and bulldoxe that entire city, yes, even the famous Chavez Ravine. LA is almost half a billion short.
Man, trash pickup is gonna cost a lot this year. Or not.
Welcome to 4th world slums, coming to a south central house near you. And those crapshacks are still worth half a mil. Yeah, riiiiiiight!
“Specifically, the city is $400 million, that’s right, $400 million, short for the year and will have to cut 800 jobs and increase trash pickup costs.”
The hon. Mr Open borders Mayor of the second largest city in US presides over a third world sun-baked banana- republic tijuana cesspool, complete with soviet socialist- junta city council, tijuana style narco-gangsta drive bys, kidnappings ,and executions, and pot farms growing all over the local mts .
The LA inner city residents in ragged hoods will evade the increasing trash pickup costs by simply dumping into alleys all over scentral and under freeway underpasses. And look for increased hi- density housing as immigrants turn more toward packing in 2-3 families, 8-10 per household and add illegal unpermitted rooms and converted garages, which they get away with as LA city is a completely pro-illegal alien sanctuary city and has no housing code enforcement in the ghettos , period..
the mayor is a two-faced duplicious guiless all- talk politician-hack without any principles, except for making sure LA continues to be a sanctuary city and save haven for illegals. His tough talk on gangs is completely phony and staged.
I liked Mayor Richard Riordan and wanted him for Guv, but the Gray Davis campaign ran plenty of negative ads against Riordan at primary time, so that the other Republican, Dan Lundgren, who was eminently beatable, would be the Repub gubernatorial candidate. Too bad.
After Riordan, we had Hahn the do-nothing. But, “nothing” was probably a lot better than Villaraigosa is doing. Glad I am not in LA any more.
The Daily Bulletin. “A rule change that would allow California cities to purchase foreclosed homes and convert them into affordable housing will be pitched to state administrators this week by Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker.”
“‘If people leave their homes because of their foreclosures, and we start to get code-enforcement issues, it’s better to have someone living in the house,’ Parker said. ‘And it’s certainly better for us to meet a need to create affordable housing.’”
What is Parker thinking. He wants the State to pay good $dollars for overpriced houses so that he can lower the price and sell it into the affordable housing market?
Well Parker, what what would happen if the State did not buy these houses? Do you think the price could drop all by itself into the affordable housing market and the State can be spared from wasting my $dollars that I donate to the State?
Parker is trying to bail out the house speculators and he knows it. I am discusted with people who want to bail out the housing problem with my money. (And now for my rant. I still consider it my money they want to use to bail out speculators, even though the state has legally extorted it)
Communism
“The California Association of Realtors is sponsoring a series of seminars this month called SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics to Survive a Down Market. The events run courses on processing government loans, selling homes in foreclosure and closing short sales on properties carrying much more debt than they are worth.”
I got a visual of it…
An unmarked panel truck/market comes screeching to a halt, and Realtors in matching attire spill out of the back door and rescue the industry, right?
“Torri Shack, 29, left the mortgage business in 2007 to become a personal trainer. After five years making lots of money, she ended up declaring bankruptcy for her business, but she says she is much happier now. Entrepreneurial at heart, she is launching a new dog boot-camp venture, a workout program for dogs and their owners.”
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war. But until that day you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even human.
CSI…Captivating Sex Investigation:
“‘Most of the time the tagger is telling a story. It tells the kids whose hangout this is, and they actually honor that. They’re having sex and all kinds of stuff,’ Holloway said. ‘They’re not really in here intentionally destroying things, but that’s the result. And it causes a lot of problems.’”
This sums up the current facists in power
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2008-04-13-irs-audit-companies_N.htm?csp=1
Use the government to crush competition, consolidate monopoly power.
Entrepreneurial at heart, she is launching a new dog boot-camp venture, a workout program for dogs and their owners.”
Now, this has to be the winner of the most unusual business idea typed up. I certainly have my doubts as to the future success. Hey, Fido - back away from those doggie-biscuits. Now, for some doggie pushups. Bob, back away from that donut bag. Drop down and give me ten with Fido.
hell, all you need is my dog (part/mostly German short-haired pointer). Throw in a squirrel or a deer (or hint of same) and he’s off–and you’re right behind him. He flipped me a week or so ago…literally. Head over heels…or, more accurately, ass over teakettle. It was spectacular. All because a something or other (racoon? coyote?) ran through the side yard. Boot camp be damned.
I guess gambling isn’t recession proof??
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080414/mgm_mirage_layoffs.html
Housing in Vegas just took another shot in the nads.
Actually they put it all on red 7 and it came up black 00. You lose. Sorry the house dosn’t give credit….
Isn’t 00 green?
recession proof.. too early to tell, imo. WSJ had a piece about casino revenues being down 4% or so.
I was there last week.. talked to the bartenders, who usually hear everything..
Noticable drop in business? Nope. Gaming industry layoffs? Nothing much except hotel staff was tightening up a bit. Unions seem to be protecting most jobs for the time being.
One guy, LV born and raised, was really up to speed on local RE.. (a renter / good credit looking to buy) said nice $200K homes in nice hoods are available but they’ll probably be $100K a year from now.
Everyone’s playing a ponzi scheme so why not the FED too?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aei_CcWOfeDo&refer=home
“One option would be for the government to sell more debt and deposit the proceeds with the Fed, according to a Treasury official and two people at the central bank familiar with the proposal. The Fed would then use the cash to purchase Treasury notes, which it could lend to dealers.”
and it keeps going,and going,and going….
gambling appears pretty recession proof here in Albuquerque. They are full and continuing to build. But I think it is too many people just wanting an ‘escape’. It is sad to see those people zoned out and glued to an almost guaranteed money loser (a few do win, but VERY few).
I am the only one I know that gets paid to go to the casinos. Sad to see people taking cash advances on ccs and then blowing it, and do the ‘rinse, repeat cycle’. I get paid to evaluate the service, and do it for the paycheck. Too cheap to give them back what they pay me. Figure it is better to spend it on things like, food, gas, stuff for kids, etc.
“Stush sees a bright future in reverse mortgages - as ‘house rich, cash poor’ seniors begin retiring. ‘Reverse mortgages are going to be huge, so I figure if you break in now, you’ll be set. I can’t sit around waiting,’ he said.”
Maybe I don’t understand reverse mortgages, but what is the average equity that someone over the age of, say 55, has? Is $150K in equity on average high? And how long can you make that last on less than 5% return?
gotta be 62 or older to qualify. Wikipedia has a page..
i guess that if you can’t sell and need money for food and meds a RM might be the only way to go.. So maybe this guy is right. They might become very popular as the recession gels..
“It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’”
Oh … my … god. Sweet Justice!
See, we were all bitter about the morons making their easy salary. But, the narket does eventually corrent, and over-compensate.
Too bad I bet none (or very little of them) saved it.
My idiot SIL, the Realtor, not only didn’t save a dime from her commissions, she got foreclosed last year. And then had to sell all the over priced furnishings and accessories she bought to adorn that POS McMansion.
I knew she should have spent that money on a facelift and liposuction (she’s fat and fortyish)…you know, something that couldn’t be repossessed. Plus, some surgical enhancement could help her land a husband.
“It’s not uncommon to see disclaimers on Internet job postings that say: ‘NO REAL ESTATE OR MORTGAGE CANDIDATES PLEASE.’”
The lack of transferable job skills and a formal education is the cause of their inability to find a job. The other factor is that when the market does improve, are these type of people going to stay in a 50K job when they can make 100K in the mortgage industry?
Then again, those who made large sums of money should not have any problems sitting it out for a few years until the housing bubble corrects. In the meantime, they can read about the mess they helped create!