Things Just Got Out Of Hand
The Press of Atlantic City reports from New Jersey. “When Matthew Altier became the new VP of administration and finance at Richard Stockton College in April, he got more than just an office. He also got temporary use of a house. As part of his contract, Altier is caretaker of the state-owned home on Shore Road in Linwood. Stockton’s salary, $180,000 per year, was on par with Altier’s salary at California State University.”
“Altier owned a home near Sacramento, and there was no telling how long it would take to sell it in a deflated housing market. If he moved right away, he would have to support two homes.”
“Altier’s housing arrangement runs through June. He said he may look for a home in Linwood - once his California house sells. ‘This isn’t a long-term situation,’ he said. ‘I’d like to invest in my own home again.’”
The News Journal from Delaware. “Don Grist was under no illusions when he and his wife put their four-bedroom Newark home on the market in December. He listed the house at $479,000. It took six months and several price cuts to find a buyer. If the sale closes on July 15, the Grists will sell their home for $440,000 — $5,000 less than they paid for it almost two years ago.”
‘He considers himself one of the lucky ones who found a buyer, even if he and his wife had to write two mortgage checks a month while waiting for the house to sell.”
“‘Fortunately for us, we’re in the position that we could afford to do that,’ said Grist. ‘I understand a lot of people aren’t. I could see how people would be losing their minds.’”
“Home sales fell by 30 percent statewide through the first five months of this year, with median prices also taking a hit in most areas. And everywhere, sales took longer.”
“Near Lewes, Susie Hudson is settling into a new career away from real estate. Just a couple of years ago, as buyers faced off in bidding wars for beach properties, Hudson was bringing in a six-figure income selling homes as a Realtor, she said.”
“In early 2005, she bought an antique market north of Lewes as an investment, with no intention of ever working there. But slowing sales all but forced Hudson from her job as a Realtor, so she opted to run the antique business as a full-time pursuit.”
“‘A lot of Realtors come in here and say ‘at least you have a job’,’ Hudson said.”
“Hudson called real estate agents, including herself, mere ‘order-takers’ through the real estate boom, as buyers lined up to buy homes, many of which were purchased as investments. ‘Now you have to be more creative,’ she said. ‘You have to bust your butt and you still may not get the sale. Because I don’t have anybody to support me, I had to move on.’”
“Sales are off about 50 percent for Lani Freshwater, an agent who has sold homes for three decades. ‘This is the longest period that we’ve ever been through in my 30 years where we went down and didn’t come back up,’ Freshwater said. ‘Houses were so inflated. Things just got out of hand. This was due to happen.’”
“‘It is a good thing,’ Ann Riley, president of Wilmington-based Gilpin Mortgage, said of the tighter standards. ‘Is it taking more people out of the market? Yes,’ she said. ‘[But] I don’t think our industry did people any good by putting them into more house than they could afford. Now people are in a world of hurt in default situations.’”
“Delaware reached another record in May with 446 foreclosure-related filings, up 87 percent from the same month last year.”
The Baltimore Sun from Maryland. “As foreclosure cases continue to mount unabated, Maryland nonprofit groups, elected officials and the courts are joining forces to urge attorneys to help residents in danger of losing their homes.”
“More than 70,000 Maryland homeowners were behind on their mortgages in the first three months of the year, including thousands who faced the imminent loss of their homes. That’s an increase of 70 percent from a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.”
“‘The need is obviously enormous,’ said Esther F. Lardent, president of the Pro Bono Institute. ‘The biggest issue we’re seeing with this is that many of the major financial institutions that have issued the mortgages are also the clients of many large law firms. Those firms have contacted us to say that they would love to be able to help on this, but under the ethics rules, they would be considered potentially in a conflict-of-interest situation.’”
The Charleston Gazette from West Virginia. “Woody and Kelli Hill and their three children live on Charleston’s West Side. They bought their home in 2001, paying $134,000 and putting about the same amount into upgrades. Now, they are trying to sell it for $275,000.”
“‘We have had one open house. And I think things have gone great,’ Woody Hill said. ‘I don’t think we are going to make a fortune on it, but at least get our investment on it.’”
“‘We live in our own little world,’ said Dean Dawson, president of the board of directors of the Kanawha Valley Board of Realtors. ‘Homeowners, when they ask me how the market is and I tell them it’s fine here … they have this stunned face.’”
“In Kanawha County, between the fourth quarter of 2007 and first quarter of 2008, the average sale price of a home dropped slightly, from $143,700 to $135,400. However, in the downtown Charleston market, the average price of a home rose nearly 27 percent over 2007, according to Realtor numbers.”
“In West Virginia overall, there have been some drops, particularly in the second home market in Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties, said Ray Joseph, director of the state board.”
“The once smoking-hot Eastern Panhandle market has also seen drops, as people are less willing to commute to metro Washington with $4-a-gallon gas, he said.”
“One of the key reasons that West Virginians aren’t feeling the major housing bust is because there was no boom to begin with, Joseph said. ‘They look at the national market and think we are a part of it. We aren’t,’ he said.”
“‘I think the most important thing is to do your homework, just kind of get a feel for the market. Find true comparables. Don’t try to win the housing lottery by listing a house way too high,’ he said. ‘And don’t be afraid.’”
The Times News from North Carolina. “The housing market in Henderson County continues to be dismal as home sales decline and new home construction slows to a crawl. Average sales prices dropped from $252,561 in 2007 to $229,248 so far this year, a decrease of $23,313.”
“For the past several years, the southern mountains in general and Henderson County in particular have been a hot market for out-of-state transplants, especially people from Florida seeking to escape high property taxes, heat and hurricanes.”
“But beginning in late summer of last year, the pace in Henderson County slowed as people trying to relocate to the mountains discovered they could not sell their existing homes. If people thought 2007 was a bad year, 2008 has proven to be worse, economic analysts and area Realtors said.”
“‘It’s harder to find a mortgage today than it was a year ago, and lending institutions are going to be looking at loans with a much harder lens today than they were three years ago when the housing market was booming,’ said Adam York, an economic analyst with Wachovia Corporation. ‘The nation as a whole peaked with construction prices and building in general in 2005. That was kind of the end of the boom. Your area (Henderson County) was a little later in slowing down.’”
“‘Nationally there is an oversupply problem and I think one of the things that is hurting markets across the country at this point, is that people who are in those bad markets are unable to leave,’ York said. ‘They are unable to move to Hendersonville because they are not able to sell their homes. And add to that a weak economic environment in general and consumers at this point are loath to put big money on the table.’”
“Hendersonville Board of Realtors President Ron Stephens said he agrees that the 30 percent decrease in housing sales in Henderson County is ’significant,’ but he says the drop can be attributed more to a cooling in the higher priced, upscale housing market.”
“‘The reason that’s happening is the high end of the market, homes (priced) over $600,000 are really slow,’ Stephens said.”
“The housing crisis also extends to new residential construction with a 67 percent decrease from 2007 to 2008.”
“‘Both new housing starts with our permit center and subdivision applications are down significantly from this time last year,’ said Henderson County Planning Director Anthony Starr, ‘As far as subdivision lots we’ve approved each year for the last three or four years, those have been significantly higher than new homes. So there’s been more lots available than homes being built and that was true even when the housing market was hot.’”
“‘Either the number of subdivisions was going to have to slow down or the number of housing units being constructed was going to have to increase, but they’ve both slowed down,’ Starr said. ‘I’ve heard some builders are going to a four-day week and it’s not because of gas costs.’”
The Dispatch from North Carolina. “In Davidson County, the local housing slump is hurting an already declining economy. Foreclosures have increased 552 percent since 1998, according to Brian Shipwash, clerk of Davidson County Superior Court.”
“The biggest surges in the number of foreclosures can be seen between the years of 2000 and 2001 and 2007 and 2008. From 2000 to 2001, as local furniture plants began closing and moving production overseas, foreclosures jumped from 276 to 472.”
“From 2007 to 2008 - in which the amount is an estimate - the number of foreclosed homes will likely hike up from 811 to 972. This year, Davidson County is averaging 81 foreclosures per month, Shipwash said.”
“During a public counseling session this week on foreclosures…the only couple in attendance acknowledged that scams are out there.”
“‘We brought this house back in the family,’ said James Rolph, homeowner. Rolph bought the house belonging to his wife’s side of the family when it fell into foreclosure. Now, the house is in jeopardy again.”
“The Rolphs were able to hold their heads above water last month with the help of the national tax rebate check and unemployment. However, as the next month draws nearer, so does the chance of foreclosure.”
“‘I’ve been out of work for five weeks - I’m in the furniture business,’” said Rolph. ‘This started like six months ago; no orders have been coming in.’”
‘He said he may look for a home in Linwood - once his California house sells. ‘This isn’t a long-term situation,’ he said. ‘I’d like to invest in my own home again.’
So this guys currently a FB making 180k and working at a college? I’d say he’s fully ‘invested’ now. These Richard Stockton College students may want to reevaluate their decision.
And he’s living rent free! What a deal! 180K salary and free rent.
Sorry, whatever happened to college kids only wanting to get drunk and get laid? Did something change? Why didn’t someone ring a bell?
At that age I was doing well if I managed to get both legs into my jeans correctly.
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Higher education administration is a very lucrative field. In public schools, there are also great government benefits. I’m trying to get my foot into that particular door myself.
The professors at the smaller state colleges certainly aren’t making this kind of money. My neice recently received tenure and promotion to assoc professor at a state college and she doesn’t make anything like that. It was a real grind for her and took something like 15 years after graduation from college to get to where she is now.
Right….administration is where it’s at. Faculty work is getting tougher and tougher all the time. It’s the suits in offices that have it good now, not the teachers.
In other words, if you do the heavy lifting, you get the crumbs.
Well Fairfax County VA (DC metro) is threatening to freeze teacher salaries next year. There was only a 2% COLA this year. Balance the budget on the backs of teachers — nice.
RE: These Richard Stockton College students may want to reevaluate their decision.
Yeah Ben, like these ivory tower types live in the real world.
All the state governments are whining and crying about no money and this chuck gets free housing at taxpayer expense.
But WTF does he care…all these RSC students will simply add another few hundred bucks to their college debts to cover the subsidy.
“‘This isn’t a long-term situation,’ he said. ‘I’d like to invest in my own home again.’”
In other words: I didn’t learn a darn thing from losing my @ss on my first “investment” and am now ready for another Joshua Tree Treatment.
And idiots like this are in charge of education in this country. Terriffic!
Grist for the mill…
When people are grateful just to sell their homes, each perceived bottom is just a mirage.
Bottoman Empire
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“Don Grist was under no illusions when he and his wife put their four-bedroom Newark home on the market in December. He listed the house at $479,000. It took six months and several price cuts to find a buyer. If the sale closes on July 15, the Grists will sell their home for $440,000 — $5,000 less than they paid for it almost two years ago.”
‘He considers himself one of the lucky ones who found a buyer, even if he and his wife had to write two mortgage checks a month while waiting for the house to sell.”
I was down in Greenbriar County, WV, the last few weeks because of a medical emergency in the extended family and spent a lot of time checking out For Sale signs. True, there has been no housing price run up; this neck of the woods has been in decline for 60 years or more, but the credit crunch is trickling down even in this remote, depressed area. Nice older Victorians, with price reductions, on large lots going for 25-33% of what they would cost in PA, with total taxes about 1/20th of what you would pay in PA. I talked with many sellers, and the story was always the same. We are retiring, downsizing, moving for health reasons, to be closer to the kids, whatever, but need to sell this place first in order to relocate. Only now they can’t sell.
Pity all the jobs were outsourced, or even the backwoods places might have had a future.
But who needs jobs! In the New Future, Amerika will be rich and everyone will make money by sitting on their houses and flipping them back and forth to each other! It would be funny, if it weren’t so true… *sigh*
“I talked with many sellers, and the story was always the same. We are retiring, downsizing, moving for health reasons, to be closer to the kids, whatever, but need to sell this place first in order to relocate.”
I’ve heard this from sellers in a lot of places, so many that I think people say that because “moving to be near the kids” garners more sympathy than “I haven’t saved a dime towards retirement and this house is bankrupting me”. I didn’t hear as much “want to move closer to the kids” back in 2005/2006, that’s for sure.
Will someone tell Bye-FL about this great situation.
how are the fires affecting the re market out there in California? …when I see the pictures on tv and the temps over 100 what comes to mind are the people that are trying to sell a home in that environment
California’s a mess right now, an ugly pall of smoke that just won’t go away, and the talk of containment is late July, because so many of the fires are in wickedly unaccessible spots…
Can’t be helpful for selling a home?
today in Fresno is a “red air” day, my kid on the way to summer day camp tells me. That means no physical exertion outside, even for the fit. Temp today: 109. No visible smoke from regional fires. Not good house showing weather. PG&E yesterday darkened my part of the grid. They called it intermitent failure. It seemed widespread and lasted 90 minutes in our suburban bunker.
Spending the mid-day’s heat in the Rubicon river, today.
I heard it’s water rationing in LA but not in SD.
Pasadenan’s are going brown all over in the pretty ‘hoods.
It could be a matter of time before I let my rental grass go brown, and start taking eight minute showers here in sd.
Imagine what’s coming your way in the months ahead?
The rivers are going down rapidly in the Sierra Nevada, as there is scant snowpack left.
aladin - the San juaquin hereabouts is still totally dammed, as you know. I like melons and strawbs as much as anyone. I sure wish they’d send some water down stream.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), Calif.: If we have another dry season like this, I would say that it will be catastrophic. It would be a disaster.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec08/waterwars_07-04.html
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The disaster Dark Vader speaks of isn’t coming next year, it will show up later this year…
Holy Roller says: CA is being punished for its wicked deeds. Don’t buy here….more to come.
The fires are generally up in the mountains where there are few homes and lots of unburt fuel. Take the basin complex fire as an example. It’s burned over 85,000 acres (a lot of area) and only about 60 scattered structures. Much of california’s wild country is evolved to burn, it just doesn’t receive enough moisture for deadwood to decay back into soil. The people who are losing homes have nice places way the hell and gone up some little windy road, nothing urban, suburban or even exurban, and frankly, the average slob doesn’t care much about somebody who can afford to build out there on the wild/urban interface.
The 100degree temps happen once or twice a summer because the ocean winds switch around to blow from the land. It’s probably the worst weather we get all year, and you just hunker down and wait for it to end.
As far as houses go, what affects house sales is, as the mantra goes, location. It’s just that with $4.45 gas (and up), location means something different now than it did a few years ago.
From the News Journal piece:
For-sale signs linger for months in yards from Newark to Selbyville longer as credit-market turmoil, a sagging economy, and an oversupply of homes continues to batter Delaware’s housing industry.
You wouldn’t know it from the high wishing prices on DE homes. I’m starting to look in Delaware because of its lower property tax. But sellers aren’t budging from their unrealistic ask price.
No phillygal, no! You can’t be serious! The only thing worse than going from Philly to DE is going to New Jersey . . .
there are lots of nice inner-ring philly suburbs in PA - don’t torture yourself with a move to the Small Wonder!
Oreland? Merion Station? two underappreciated gems!
we nearly moved to Wilmington (by the Art Museum) a few years ago - every time I go back in to DE, I thank the lord we chose not to move there. traffic is horrendous, it’s flat as a pancake, and it’s not even as charming as New Jersey!
I know, I know…
I do take all of that into consideration. And it is a tough call.
Pragmatic me sees 35-45% off annual tax rate, yes in some cases it is that much for a comparable property. I don’t have children, so I don’t need to worry about schools. Many of my adult years have been lived a short distance away from the DE border, in fact I could easily walk across the state line from my house or job if I had to.
I just have to decide if I’ll be able to endure the social stigma of having a DE address.
(in PA, if I could comfortably afford it, I’d live in Willistown)
When I was growing up, my family went to church in Willistown. Very, very nice area.
not much of a chance of it getting tollified, either!
That’s why my family likes Willistown Township so much. Unfortunately, my parents’ environs have been Toll-ified, and trust me, this does not make them happy.
I just have to decide if I’ll be able to endure the social stigma of having a DE address.
Just consider it social status of living in “the first state”!
Add -
no sales tax, which comes in handy when buying a car - and NO STATE STORES!
I just heard that the PA state cops actually conducted a liquor sting at Total Wine. Some lady got fined $400.00 and her one bottle of wine was confiscated. I was always under the impression PA residents were allowed at least 32 fl. oz. of liquor, and that the raids had stopped long ago.
I just heard that the PA state cops actually conducted a liquor sting at Total Wine. Some lady got fined $400.00 and her one bottle of wine was confiscated.
What in the world are you talking about? A sting for what, buying wine?
Sure yeah. We have this thing called the “PLCB” here - Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board - probably those were the cops who did this. such stoppages/fines are pretty commonplace - we’re not allowed, as PA residents, to buy any liquor or wine in other states and bring it home. Seriously.
All this so a bunch of state employees with ridiculous salaries and benefits (for what they do) can have guaranteed jobs in the State Stores, and we can’t buy decent wine ANYWHERE.
Wow, that’s really draconian. I went to PA (west of Pittsburgh, near the airport, I don’t remember the name of the town) a couple years ago for training. I had a hard time finding beer, but couldn’t figure out why. I wasn’t sure if it was a dry county or what…I just ended up buying it in the hotel.
Doesn’t your right to unreasonable search and seizure trump that? I mean, if you are driving from DE to PA and get pulled over and don’t have the wine in plain view, is that not the end of it?
I’ve lived in a dry county in the bible belt most of my life. As a result, when I buy beer or alcohol, I would often buy large quantities (to save trips) which is illegal (to transport over a limited amount into the dry county), so I would just put it out of sight. If I were to get pulled over, it’s a quick conversation.
“Do you have anything illegal in your car?”
“Maybe”
“Can I search your vehicle?”
“No”
But I expect that kind of stuff in the bible belt…not in the state where our freedom was born.
Orchid -
Correct.
I’ve got to get in touch with my state rep to find out about this BS. My boss told me that when they used to run stings on fireworks purchases, the citizenry put up such a loud protest that the cops stopped looking for illegal fireworks buyers.
Total Wine is a great store. You can make up your own six packs of microbrews. (I know to people in other states this may be a “so what” moment, but to us Pennsylvanians it is a mucho big deal. We’re only supposed to buy beer from beer distributors and I believe you can only buy a case, not a six).
But I expect that kind of stuff in the bible belt…not in the state where our freedom was born.
Good point, blu.
Over the years there have been attempts in the State Legislature to do away with the state store system, but they never succeed.
Oh, and I still don’t get how there is a sting for wine buyers IN A WINE STORE. If the store is in DE, then are the PA cops crossing the border and witnessing a person buy wine and transport it across the border? Can they operate across state lines like that?
And technically, in Arkansas you aren’t supposed to bring liquor across state lines either without paying taxes on it first. But I’ve never heard of anyone getting busted for something like that, especially not for a single bottle. But then I don’t live near any AR border so maybe it happens there too…
they (the LCB cops) used to wait in unmarked cars in the liquor store lots, then follow those with PA plates, and then other cops would stop you on the bridge or just after crossing it into PA.
and yes they will just pop your trunk no matter what you say.
and btw this has happened to several people I know. the one guy who argued, I had to pick him up at the Roundhouse! he was pretty damn pissed off.
I forgot about the beer thing (cos I don’t drink beer)! it’s ridiculous, you can only buy beer at beer distributors, with limited hours, these warehouses . . .
Pennsylvania’s ridiculous liquor laws are among the reasons why I only like to visit back there. As much as I miss my family and friends, those (and other) stupid laws keep me from moving back there.
Yes, Arizona has more than its share of stupidity, but by golly, you can go to the grocery store and buy beer, wine, and all sorts of other good stuff.
I would make regular trips to the liquor store and put empty bags in my trunk.
Then sue those fkrs for illegal search/seizure.
This is beyond stupid. Even here in Ala (Mobile) you can buy beer and wine in the grocery stores. Want anything else go to the liquor store next door.
Seriously! Even the “nice” parts of Wilmington city are crappy - we’re in one of them, and we can see across the park, across the river, into one of the “not-so-nice” areas.
Our car was stolen Sunday night.
We’ve only lived here three months - thank god we rent.
Stay away; stay far, far away.
Talking about Eastern Panhandle of WV, Martinsburg and Charlestown area: Lots of houses are on sale and close to 50% down from their peak prices. A lot of Mcmansions in this so called DC suburb are being foreclosed upon. Especially after the high gas prices, commuters to DC want to move back to DC metro area.
Even at 50% drop they are still at 300K level which I think is still too high for this area.
Realtwhores are still trying to attract buyers by saying this is deal of the century. Short sales are taking 3-4 months. God knows when would these illiterate realtors learn that making money by screwing innocent people will not take them a long way in life. Bad karma comes back and will haunt them later in their lives. Greed has taken over everywhere with no concerns for humanity.
Considering the utter lack of jobs out there and the total lunacy of people communting about 100-miles each way to and from work each day, $300K for a house out there way is just nuts.
I can only hope that when the history books on our era are written (assuming there’s anyone around in the future to read them or who even cares), the lunacy of this Bubble is held up in full sight so all can understand what went wrong.
A hundred mile commute? really?
No, it ain’t 100 miles. I do the commute occasionally (2 or 3 times a month), and to DC proper is about 75 miles. It takes me about 1:45 hours to get to the golden triangle area on a typical day.
This area is getting hit hard, especially but not limited to the developments that have small lots/big houses. Foreclosures in the new development are cropping up, and will probably get worse before they get better.
In my neighborhood, there are 3 of 41 houses for sale. The peak sales price was $515,000 in the summer of 2006. 2 of the 3 houses are now listed for $399,900, the other for $421,000. All have been on the market for 6 + months with price drops rom the low $500s.
That said, I love it in the country and am blessed with a job that provides a company car and allows me to work from home.
Where are you located in Martinsburg? Or you are in Charlestown? I’m in Kearneysville in one of the new communities.
I live in the Pheasant Ridge at Abelow Farms community. Technically it is Kearneysville, but practically it is unincorporated Middleway.
E-mail me at forvg@hotmail. Maybe we’ll get together and assess the housing market in our area.
I used to visit Martinsburg on visit. You can see the 19th Century German influence, but the gene pool has sadly degraded since then. Seriously, most of the locals look like extras from DELIVERANCE. The whole town has a seedy, has-been feel to it. The run-up in prices was driven mostly by commuters who worked in the Beltway and lived in “affordable” Martinsburg - now not so affordable with $4 gas. In another year or two I’d expect to see prices back to 1999 levels.
People should be very concerned with a percived job opportunity or transfer in this economy and housing market. An ill planned or poorly researched job move could result in financial disaster for years to come when it mobility and houses.
Welcome to the new American Dream. Trapped by your HOUSE
An ill planned or poorly researched house purchase is the key element in your worst case scenario, not the job move.
“I’m in the furniture business,” said Rolph. ‘This started like six months ago; no orders have been coming in.”
Kind of goes hand in glove with Housing Wizard’s observations yesterday. This is actually a great and wonderful sign. It means ( unlike the recent past ) that sellers are no longer listening to realtors. Period. No more “staging” painting and landscaping at the slightest suggestion on the part of the realtor to make their job cake walk easy!
With the brunt of the new inventory being sold “as is” potential buyers will get a much needed dose of reality as they go to shop the market. Buying a house will revert back to being more like a marriage… ( not picking up your prom date! )
“Buying a house will revert back to being more like a marriage… ( not picking up your prom date! )”
At the peak wasn’t it more like just picking up the phone ala Spitzer?
Dial-A-Date-Rape?
(with apologies to the world’s oldest profession)
When I was growing up, the purchase of furniture was a very rare and special thing. People did it once every five or ten years.
Furniture stores were much fewer in number than they are now. I can recall going on furniture store-hunting trips with my parents. We’d have to go far and wide just to find such a store.
A friend has really cool 100 to 150 year old furniture, wickedly solid, and best of all, it all comes apart, because back in the day, there were no SUVosaurus’s or T(ruck)-Rex’s to transport it from one place to another.
Our home is furnished with mid-century modern “stuff”. A lot of it garage sale or thrift store finds from when we lived in SoCal. We were lucky to find an old-time upholsterer that also re-located to Utah from L.A. to recover some of it.
The upholsterer told me that it has become common over the last couple of years for people in town to show up at his place with brand new (and expensive) furniture that they wanted covered with a different color or type of fabric to match their existing home decor.
He’s turned down some of these jobs because the furniture doesn’t have any real wood in which to securely attach nails or staples. It seems that compressed paper and wood pulp “mystery wood”, instead of solid wood, now seems to be a favorite frame material for some furniture manufacturers.
I have seen some of these newer pieces of furniture that he has redone stripped and at times the construction quality (cheap padding, missing springs, etc) is laughable. This is especially true when compared side by side to a piece of stripped furniture that was constructed in the 50’s or 60’s.
When I had leather car seats refurbished, the guy at the shop explained why the seats on our 97 Toyota were so much more worn out than the seats on the 94 Seville. The 94 Seville leather is a piece of cowhide. The 97 Toyota leather is a a half piece of cowhide - split through its thickness.
He said that leather on some new furniture is not a piece of cowhide or even half one. He said that cowhide scraps are ground up and mixed with some kind of matrix, compressed, and “leather” sheets are extruded. (He compared it to cheap turkey breast deli meat.)
He said that he feels really bad when people come in hoping that he can repair their new but damaged leather couch - and he has to tell them that he can’t. It doesn’t have the fibers that he needs to work with. He said that they always say something about HOW MUCH it cost.
Very true, and I’m not all ‘that’ old? What you ‘did’ see a lot of though was upholstery shops that would gladly re-cover them for a modest fee.
Now imagine at the height of the bubble trying to talk one of your FB neighbors into having ANY of their furniture restored? Oh that would’ve been fun.
About 10 years ago I took some a chair needing re-covering to an upholstery shop outside Aransas Pass TX. Hard to find without a sign, the shop was a big metal building with a little tarped-off area where sort of grizzly-looking mom, pop, and son were working at machines.
The scene was like something out of Lil Abner and I almost peed my pants when their pit bulls came running at me barking and snarling (then just snuffled around my legs).
The daughter apologized, explained that they didn’t normally get walk-in customers - she picks up their work at fancy decorating shops.
We chatted for a while, and I learned that her parents had always worked in upholstery shops and hated it. Then they won the lottery. They bought prime land on the highway and built a warehouse so they can upholster cars, boats and planes. They have their own upholstery business and they are having a great time.
It was just before 4th of July, and she told me that they were going to Corpus for the fireworks. She said that they had become donors to the Corpus Museum, so that they could go to the 4th of July Patrons’ Cocktail Party and get the best view of the fireworks.
Good story. Couldn’t have gone to better folks.
About upholstery, and winning the lottery:
About 10 years ago I took a chair needing re-covering to an upholstery shop outside Aransas Pass TX. Hard to find without a sign, the shop was a big metal building with a little tarped-off area where sort of grizzly-looking mom, pop, and son were working at machines.
The scene was like something out of Lil Abner and I almost peed my pants when their pit bulls came running at me barking and snarling (then just snuffled around my legs).
The daughter apologized, explained that they didn’t normally get walk-in customers - she picks up their work at fancy decorating shops.
We chatted for a while, and I learned that her parents had always worked in upholstery shops and hated it. Then they won the lottery. They bought prime land on the highway and built a warehouse so they can upholster cars, boats and planes. They have their own business and are having a great time.
It was just before 4th of July, and she told me that they were going to Corpus for the fireworks. She said that they had become donors to the Corpus Museum, so that they could go to the 4th of July Patrons’ Cocktail Party and get the best view of the fireworks.
I have friends who had an upholstery shop here in Tucson. They must have done quite a business because they moved back to Connecticut (where the wife was from) and bought a small estate.
The estate included an outbuilding that they planned to use for the upholstery biz. And I’ll bet they’re continuing to do quite well.
“This is actually a great and wonderful sign. It means ( unlike the recent past ) that sellers are no longer listening to realtors. Period. No more “staging” painting and landscaping at the slightest suggestion on the part of the realtor to make their job cake walk easy!”
I recall going to see a house for sale and the Realtor (arrogant Beatch) was telling us that she told the homeowner to install granite counter tops, repaint the kitchen, buy new appliances, do some landscaping. She basically told her to spend thousands and thousands dollars before she can sell the house. The price was too laughable to even comprehend. I checked on the house a year later. Guess what! foreclosed.
“‘The need is obviously enormous,’ said Esther F. Lardent, president of the Pro Bono Institute. ‘The biggest issue we’re seeing with this is that many of the major financial institutions that have issued the mortgages are also the clients of many large law firms. Those firms have contacted us to say that they would love to be able to help on this, but under the ethics rules, they would be considered potentially in a conflict-of-interest situation.’”
Oh, cry me a river!
What Maryland NEEDS is affordable housing! (Well, that and a solution to the crime-filled cesspool of Baltimore, economic development outside of the narrow strip between Baltimore and DC, and an end to the tax-and-spend politicians that rule the state and the idiots who support them, but I digress…)
In Maryland, one can expect entry level housing that is worth buying (not a crummy condo or a run-down shack in a poor area of town) to start at 5 times median household income for the area. Much higher prices for newer developments of McMansions are also very common. It is insane, but insanity is normal in this state. After all, we’re “all rich because we live near DC” and “BRAC will save us” and so on. It is different here!
Unfortunately, I fully expect my tax dollars to go towards propping up the Bubble in this state, despite the lunacy of it all. This is a state where a couple composed of 2 engineers had to take on a third job at Best Buys to afford a new-construction townhouse… that had all sorts of problems… but the couple was able to “flip” the house so they could buy a 4,000 square foot McMansion for 2 adults and 1 child. Then, the wife confessed to me that she had no idea how she and her husband could continue to afford the new place… and then they had a 2nd child. Duh!
All this is considered normal here in Maryland, and my taxes will go towards creating “workout plans” and bailouts for idiots like these… while I still cannot afford a house without committing financial suicide.
Being responsible is a sucker’s game in Amerika!
exactly. I’m in MD, and it is driving me nuts!!! When will everyone around me get a clue? I’m “the crazy one” for thinking housing prices are too high. $300K for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath rowhome in a nice neighborhood outside of the city? Sure, there are cheaper homes, but the schools are miserable. And the traffic … dreadful. But everyone here still has blinders on. I’m hoping to leave soon … MD has some great things going for it, but you just can’t get ahead here anymore …
I live in Maryland too. It’s not only housing prices, the rents in this area are insane! Apartments in Dundalk that rented for $400 ten years ago are now almost $1,000 per month. Tiny, noisy apartments in Chase are going for over $1,000 per month.
Whoa–have some patience. This takes time. Rest assured that those “owning” homes will suffer as much or more than you in the coming years.
Well, even though all our family is here, I’m not really the “stick to one place” kind of person, so we’ll most likely move anyway, for jobs.
it’s just annoying to listen to on a daily basis …
>> “This is the longest period that we’ve ever been through in my 30 years where we went down and didn’t come back up,…”
Hang in there Lani. The world understands that we (somewhere north of the Rio Grande and south of the Great Lakes) are the chosen people. The jobs—the real ones, not the manufacturing and assembly kind—are reserved and waiting for us.
You can restart the house building juggernaut any moment now. We’re gonna need luxury homes. And lots of pickup trucks.
“Now you have to be more creative……..”
“More creative” = Now, I have to actually work for a living.
I was doing a little mileage check on the commute to DC via the I-270 route.
From Frederick to Chevy Chase (basically the Beltway) it’s 38 miles one way. From Hagerstown it’s 61 miles. From Charles Town, WV it’s 61 miles and from Martinsburg WV it’s 80 miles. And that’s not doing 75 mph all the way. Heck, it’s 30 miles from Leesburg to the Beltway taking the “Dullest” Toll Road
It’s hard to believe that supposedly educated people didn’t figure out they were looking at 60 to 90 minute one way commutes even when gas was $2 per gallon.
Add to that the $8-a-day round trip tolls on the Dulles Toll Road, or the other option being a *horrendous* commute down SR 7, with stoplight after stoplight. There’s no way in hades that I’d commute from the WV panhandle into DC - lower house prices or not.
I’m at the midpoint of that commute - live in Leesburg but only commute to the next town over Ashburn - about an 8 mile commute. During non-summer rush hours that commute takes right at 35 minutes. Fortunately I can commute during non-rush-hour, or sometimes even bike it on the W&OD.
Please add the traffic jams on 270 or Rte9 or Rte7 during peak hours which easily adds 1 hour to the commute time.
People like it big - like big cars, big houses, big parties and just getting big without knowing the long term consequences. As you said, who in the right state of mind commute more than 2 hours one way to work. It is like spending $35 per day on gas. I just hope this all gets behind and we start a fresh and happy life (for the remaining life).
“One of the key reasons that West Virginians aren’t feeling the major housing bust is because there was no boom to begin with, Joseph said. ‘They look at the national market and think we are a part of it. We aren’t,’ he said.”
riiiight, lemme guess, “it’s different here in West Virginia”, right?
Drives me crazy that everyone everywhere thinks it’s different wherever they are.
I still think that in 3-5 years when we’re truly at the bottom (after BHO runs the economy into the ground) there will be two types of real estate markets:
Type 1 will be established areas where people can live and work without long commutes, and that didn’t have massive overbuilding.
These areas will have prices that are 50%-75% below the 2005-2006 peak.
Type 2 will be areas with nothing going for them, with massive overbuilding. (Greater Sacamento, Las Vegas, Inland Empire, Greater San Diego)
These areas will have homes that are worth $0 because there will be no buyers at any price, and blocks of boarded up houses and slums
So, if they’re lucky, they may be in a “Type 1″ neighborhood.
(I have property in Sunnyvale, which I believe to be “Type 1″….at some price people will buy these homes…AND I have property in Central Florida which I believe will be worth $0 in a few years. So I I can have an unbiased opinion on this)
How can they say there was no boom when housing prices more than doubled in 7 years?
Extremely dishonest.
I’m also based near Martinsburg and Winchester. The hills are full of trademen who perform hvac, plumbing, welding, electrical, and other various servicing/repair roles. Many of them need a few acres to store their spare inventory and makeshift shops. Most of these guys probably put in 60 to 70 hour workweeks, but its broken up between work at home and making trips to the beltway. I commute 200 miles round trip to work, but I only do it several times a month. There are a couple of extra recovery days a month when I dont go to work until late in the afternoon after those gungadin experiences. Life here is not for the faint hearted. It’s the price you pay to be in an areas where schools and medical facilites are excellent. The taxes are fairly low, and the only gun fire you hear is from the hunting season.