Continuing To Free-Fall With No End In Sight
The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. “The foreclosure tsunami is starting to sweep over some of Denver’s most exclusive neighborhoods. Homes priced at $1 million or more in places like Cherry Hills, Cherry Creek Country Club and LoDo are popping up more frequently on foreclosure rolls. On a recent week, the Douglas County Public Trustee received six new filings for $1 million-plus homes entering the foreclosure process.”
“Dave Marshall is president of Landmark Custom Homes, one of the builders in Cherry Creek Country Club. Some of his homes and land parcels are in foreclosure there, according to records.”
“And two to three years ago, when the luxury market was still thriving, builders were forced to pay lot premiums for the best sites. ‘No one saw how severe the coming recession and (the) mortgage loan meltdown would be,’ he noted.”
“‘This slow-moving market is leading to some foreclosures in the upper end,’ Marshall said. ‘It is bound to happen. Ironically, it happens more in the best developments because that is where the most homes were built.’”
The Aspen Daily News from Colorado. “Real Estate Transfer Tax collections are already down 37 percent this year off of 2007, which was at the end of a three-year spike in real estate volumes that peaked in 2006 with $2.5 billion in area sales volume.”
“The city’s general fund, which is fed primarily by sales and property taxes, could face troubled times. ‘I think we are at the beginning, not the end (of an economic downturn),’ said City Manager Steve Barwick. ‘There are a lot of credit and debt problems that will take years to work through.’”
“Council members agreed that the city needs to be prudent in the face of an economic downturn. ‘We need to be prepared for that outcome,’ Mayor Mick Ireland said. ‘It is serious.”
The Grande Junction Free Press from Colorado. “There are signs the Western Slope took some hits in the first half of the year. ‘When I moved here a couple of years ago I had to turn away work,’ said Jeff Tanksley, who is a general contractor in Grand Junction.”
“‘I was busy … I didn’t have to advertise. It (business) was going strong. Now, I am not seeing the same thing happening. I am seeing people afraid to spend their money. Instead of a total (home) remodel they are doing a room or two,’ he said.”
“The 20-year industry veteran added, ‘They are cutting back for a good reason - the uncertainty of the economy.’”
“Some local real estate agents say they are getting a sense that qualified buyers seem unwilling to do deals. ‘It seems like the people that can buy things are not. They are sitting on the sidelines,’ said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction. ‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
The Salt Lake Tribune from Utah. “The ads said, ‘Dare to Dream,’ and Jeff Denison was among dozens who did. All he had to do to get into Utah’s red-hot real estate market in 2006 was sign a contract with Dare to Dream Investments. That signature allowed his good credit to underwrite the purchase of a building lot and construction of a house.”
“Denison liked the program so much, he signed up for two houses. Now he’s left holding the bag on two $300,000 mortgages beyond the one he owes on his actual home.”
“And…houses in Grantsville aren’t selling to Wasatch Front commuters like they once were. Making matters even worse, the structures have piles of liens against them by subcontractors who didn’t get paid. Denison is struggling to find money for them, too.”
“‘The biggest thing I’ve lost is my good credit [rating],’ he said. ‘I’m trying not to go into foreclosure. But I’ve had to go 30 days, 60 days late [on mortgage payments]. I just can’t keep up with it.’”
“Attorney, Brennan Moss said some of his clients are left with mortgages of $600,000 to $700,000 on homes that are worth only $450,000 in today’s market. Some of the houses have not been completed.”
“‘The scheme may have worked for a time when housing prices were going up rapidly,’ he said. ‘But Dare to Dream played fast and loose. It’s terrible. It’s devastating.’”
“In March, Kimberly Schneider, who ran Transform America Mortgage and Dare to Dream filed for personal bankruptcy. Transform America Mortgage and Dare to Dream no longer exist.”
“In an interview, Schneider denied fraudulent activity. And she is broke, she said, to the extent she can’t even hire a lawyer to defend against the lawsuits.”
“‘The market crashed in July [2007], and we couldn’t close our loans,’ she said. ‘I cried the entire month. It’s my entire world.’”
“The lot appraisals and construction bids were all independent, she insisted - not part of a scheme. Schneider explained that her parents lost their life savings in the Dare to Dream venture. She, too, poured all of her own money into the program in an effort to keep it afloat. And her brother holds mortgages on two houses he purchased through Dare to Dream.”
“‘If we were doing any form of fraud, would I expose them like this?’ she asked, noting that investors were left with properties, while she has nothing. ‘The money that was lost was our money.’”
In Business Las Vegas from Nevada. “Clark County is preparing to file civil action this month against the Meridian Luxury Suites to stop its operation as a condo hotel. The Meridian has been leasing its condo units as a hotel for months and was even featured by In Business Las Vegas in April for the concept that was a new chapter for the condo conversion market.”
“In previous interviews, Meridian General Manager Eric Lynn said that of the 678 condos in the complex, 450 decided to participate in the hotel concept that requires them to buy new furniture for their units that ranged anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000.”
“Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani says the owners of the complex, American Invsco of Chicago, are taking advantage of the people who bought the units and got them to invest money in furniture without being authorized to do so.”
“‘It is another example of a greedy corporation taking advantage of out-of-state investors who put in their life savings,’ Giunchigliani says.”
The Review Journal from Nevada. “Ronald Cowan thought he’d be living the high life in Las Vegas, rubbing elbows with sports stars and celebrities. Cowan plunked down $132,000 for a deposit at Palms Place, the swank condo-hotel tower that opened earlier this year next to the Palms.”
“One slight problem: He can’t close escrow on his $663,000 unit. Cowan, of Cambria, Calif., was hoping to sell his property in nearby Grover Beach and use the proceeds in an Internal Revenue Service code 1031 exchange to buy the unit at Palms Place.”
“‘I would love to close (escrow) and stay in the project,’ Cowan said. ‘I’m in real estate and with a stated income, you can’t get a loan. Maybe if you put 50 percent down. Call it whatever, reality is what it is.’”
“Cowan isn’t the only condo buyer in that sinking boat. Tighter credit requirements squeezed some buyers out of financing. Other people simply want to cut their losses on condos that are appraising for sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the sales price. They want out of their contracts, preferably with deposits refunded.”
“Robert Daniels wishes he’d held off buying a 910-square-foot unit at Juhl, the mid-rise development by San Diego-based CityMark in downtown Las Vegas, for $440,000. He sees 1,600-square-foot units at nearby Newport Lofts and SoHo Lofts going for about the same price.”
“‘How are these units going to appraise for what we paid for them?’ Daniels wondered. ‘Now I’ve got a guy who said, ‘Make me an offer’ at either Newport or SoHo. It’s going to cost me $3,000 a month to keep it alive and I can only rent it for $1,000.’”
“Daniels is assuming he’s lost 20 percent in value at Juhl and may walk away from his deposit, but he’s not whining about it. ‘I took my shot. It didn’t work out,’ he said. ‘This is Las Vegas. Some people win, some people lose. Who are the winners, anyway?’”
“Many people bought high-rise condos in Las Vegas on pure speculation, hoping to ‘flip’ the units, Realtor Steve Hawks said. ‘Owners wanting out are having a horrific time unloading them,’ Hawks said. ‘One reason is many have dropped in price, so much that they owe more than it’s worth. Units that were once $1.4 million are now $700,000 and units that were $600,000 to $900,000 are now $350,000 to $600,000 and are continuing to free-fall with no end in sight.’”
“Buyers at Mira Villa condos, a project by HDB that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, are worried they may never see their earnest money again. Randa Bishop said she has good credit and assets, including a $1.5 million apartment in New York, and wanted to get an interest-only loan with 20 percent down on her $740,000 unit at Mira Villa, plus about $60,000 in upgrades.”
“‘If they come and say the property only appraises at $700,000, I still have to cough up an additional $100,000 for the difference,’ she said. ‘That I don’t like. I would probably be better walking away from it with my money and wait three months or six months and go back in and buy it.’”
“Signs of ‘vertical Vegas’ going flat are becoming more evident every day, Hawks said. Homeowners association fees weren’t an issue when units were originally purchased because most buyers were looking to flip the units, he said. When that didn’t pan out, the first thing some people did was stop paying homeowners association fees.”
“‘Some homeowners associations are on the verge of being broke,’ he said. ‘Amenities are being drastically cut from security to landscaping. The hallway carpets in some complexes are stained and smell like vomit from Vegas partiers that rented units from owners getting foreclosed on.’”
“Judy Anderson, an attorney from Walnut Creek, Calif., sent a letter to Slade Development, developer of Vantage Lofts, terminating her sales contract and demanding that her $40,000 deposit be returned.”
“She said the contract stipulated that her unit be completed in two years, which would have been June 3. ‘It’s probably overpriced,’ Anderson said of the $540,000 unit. ‘For me, this is good to get out, but I want my money back. I’m entitled to it.’”
“The mortgage meltdown has claimed 14 more victims: a Reno-area couple and their 12 adopted children. Dave and Kathy Bain of Spanish Springs are facing foreclosure on their 3,400-square-foot home after falling behind on payments.”
The Bains moved into the house in January 2007, six months before they adopted nine of the children, including eight siblings. The couple, who earlier adopted three children, weren’t able to rent out their previous, smaller home until last September.”
“Also last year, Kathy Bain switched to part-time work, then stopped working altogether to take care of the 12 children, ages 3 to 16. With their old house rented, she said they now are able to make payments on the new house.”
“However, their lender, GreenPoint Mortgage, is foreclosing because they’re behind $20,000 in payments, she said.”
“‘Here I am with 12 kids at home that I need a home for … I need this size of house,’ Kathy Bain told the Reno Gazette-Journal. ‘It’s hard for me to ask for help, but I need some guidance on where to go from here.’”
“Also last year, Kathy Bain switched to part-time work, then stopped working altogether to take care of the 12 children, ages 3 to 16
You already know this woman is nuts…there is no way a FB can have 12 kids and provide them with any quality of life, much less have one yourself. If this is what passes for “family values” in this country, we need a mass sterilization program.
They’re adopted. Not that it makes any difference. Still insane.
I know a woman who adopted three kids from Nevada. She chose that state specifically because it will pay all college costs for kids adopted out of their social services/foster care programs. So the kids’ education will be paid for.
A big heart isn’t always accompanied by a bunch of brains. If the woman in this article had fostered these kids instead of adopting them, she’d have collected a monthly check for the support of each kid. But buying a new home, adopting a large brood, then quitting one’s job is a recipe for disaster. I can’t imagine how she thought it was going to work out.
Unless you’re Angelina Jolie, I don’t see how these kids are better off living like cattle. But maybe it is more of an indictment of our social services system than on this particular FB.
They are siblings who have been adopted. It sounds like this woman tried to do something good by not allowing these kids to be broken up and distributed to various families and just didn’t have the resources to pull it off.
Man, some of the people on this board are really self-righteous judgemental people who speak as though they are better than everyone else. Stop slamming this woman, yea she may have made a mistake, but finding someone who would try and keep a large group of siblings is RARE. It may not be the best of situations, but it is better to live modest and meager with the ones you love than have a high standard of living robbed of family. I commend her effort and I hope they find support in their community, by adopting they surely aren’t milking the system.
You know I really detest some of the moral grandstanding on this board at times, really no better than a bragging Specuvestor or RE shill.
I really enjoy some of the outstanding insights on this board, I have made a good decision to rent instead of buy in this insane market, but that does not give me the right to make get on a moral highhorse on every decision a person makes.
Maybe we should remain humble and succeed rather than morally grandstand.
So does that mean that I deserve other’s sympathy because I “have a high standard of living robbed of family”?
We all make choices, I have no family (but lots of pets) and plenty of money. Pity me because I have no children in my life….
My point is, this lady made the decision to adopt a ton of kids; that’s no “better” or “worse” then the decision I made to not have kids, but instead have plenty of money. It’s a decision, don’t b**ch about the consequences. I always laugh when I hear friend whining about how much their kids cost, or what a PITA they are.
You won’t catch me crying about not having kids; don’t expect my sympathy because of your decisions.
IMHO, it’s the “pity me, I have 12 kids” that are doing the “moral grandstanding”. I don’t see the morality in having 12 kids, or having none, morality is about your relationships with other people (and necessarily your children).
Please don’t take this as a personal attack, I just hate that there are certain things that are “untouchable” for debate (having tons of kids without the financial resources being high on my list). Each child costs about 1M dollars over the course of their lives. Plan accordingly.
I don’t think this woman deserves sympathy, as the article implies, but she doesn’t deserve to be condemned either. She made bad decisions, there is no moral component to it.
I agree with you completely. This is a blog, and these are opinions. I’ve been offended by some of the racist/sexist/homophobic/religious and partisan posts on this board, but I just post my rebuttal and move on. It’s Ben’s sole prerogative to tell us what we can post.
Let’s keep the board interesting. No sacred cows, please…
IMHO, it’s the “pity me, I have 12 kids” that are doing the “moral grandstanding”.
————————————————————–
I don’t see where the woman asked for any sympathy . . . she said she needed some help figuring out what to do next.
It’s fine if someone chooses to live a good life and not have kids . . . we sure don’t need any more on this planet right now! But I agree with the original comment that this woman is being selfless and generous in a commendable way, so what’s the point of jumping all over her?
I don’t think anyone said that making a choice not to have a kids or family is morally wrong. And i don’t see where anyone can criticize this lady for asking for sympathy, because where did she ask for it?
Psychologically, I am sure we are all just strongly responding to our own personal “hot button” issues . . . this blog is as much a psychological study as anything else.
I agree! I think insights on this board are great, but get tired of hearing so many self-congratulatory remarks about a poster’s own smarts and savvy and so much scorn towards everyone else. It is exactly the other side of what FBs are criticized for. We’re all human. None of us is perfect.
I usually try to remind myself that some of what people post here is probably more of a therapeutic/venting nature, or at least I hope so.
There has been a little to much scorn lately. However, I can relate to it somewhat. I had heard from numerous friends and family for the years preceding this crash all of the nonsense that I’m sure others on this board heard, “real estate only goes up”, “you have to start building equity”, “renting is throwing money away” etc. etc. etc. If I had fallen into this trap my whole life would be different right now. I am going to have to move within the next 6 months or so and I would have had a financial disaster on my hands if I had to sell a condo where I am currently renting. The people who gave me the advice to buy now either say nothing or mysteriously have forgotten everything they told me to do. Yes, the scorn can get to be a little much, but I understand where it’s coming from.
It’s not moral grandstanding to point out adopting 9 kids in one shot is not a very smart thing to do unless you’re Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. The proof is in the pudding… she’s going to be living in an RV lot with her 12 kids in the very near future…
I was thinking more like a van down by the river.
Only 8 of them were siblings. She upped it to 12 by adopting 4 others.
Only 8 of them were siblings. She upped it to 12 by adopting 4 others.
I distinctly remember there being a shoe in this story somewhere.
Don’t be too hard on her. We don’t even have oprhanages anymore do we? Someone has to care for these kids.
Some people are actually willing to devote their lives to serving others. Imagine a world where everyone is only interested in themselves. - It ends up looking a lot like Wall Street doesn’t it?
yes we do, they are ran by indivduals rather than the state. my mother had one for awhile and housed 8 children here in california. the state pays so much per child to the business owner.
Yeah, for reasons I don’t understand, social service people have taken to having individuals take of people in what used to be handled in a group setting.
My father ran what was, for all practical purposes, a boarding house for the mental ill and retarded. It had all sorts of regulations, yearly inspections, and frequent visits by case workers as many of their clients were in 1 place. He had to close when social services decided to start placing the “easier” cases in apartments with individuals.
I’m not sure the “family” method is better or worse care but my thinking is that managing a bunch of individuals is far more expensive and much harder to keep an eye on. (The opportunities to take advantage of such a situation with the mental ill are endless..)
Also, in a sense, group living also gave them a sense of community - they were surrounded by others that were just like them. I’ve often felt that the whole trend towards mainstreaming the severely disabled was an attempt to make the parents/social workers feel good. I’m not sure how swell it would it would feel to be the only person in a giant group that struggled with your problems.
Whoa…adopt a passel of kids as some kind of mortgage debt shield? But, but, but, we had to have the big house/loan cuz we have 9 more kids, on top of the 3 we already have. Where was the guidance before they signed onto this foolhardy cheaper-by-the-dozen scheme?
And it gets better!
“”Dave Bain does part-time training for county foster parents.”"…
“”Kathy Bain said the family could move back into their previous home, but the space is inadequate for a family of 14.
She said some of her children suffered emotional trauma in the past, and the last year has been very difficult on the family.
Before moving in with the Bains, the eight siblings had spent five months in a local shelter for abused and neglected children.
It was the most siblings given to Washoe County’s custody that social workers could recall.”"
As some have said below, it is commendable that the Bain’s kept the sibblings together.
They have a rental, but it’s too small. What the frack?
Dad’s working part time. What the frack?
Something doesn’t add up!
Sigh,
Leigh
They applied for hardship assistance, but were denied last month.
Well, yeah.. evidently they are not at all destitute. They own another home that’s currently being rented out.
So, move back into that one. The kids won’t care.
Oikiomiasmata!
the horror…. the horror
“‘It is another example of a greedy corporation taking advantage of out-of-state investors who put in their life savings,’ Giunchigliani says.”
And that’s New York’s job, not Nevada’s. Nevada is supposed to take advantage of out of state gamblers.
I LOVE the authority that officials are now slamming the barn door closed. Nevada has to pretend to care about out of state investors; for without them the state would implode.
Too many states are toast. People are hunkering down. There is not quick recovery when everyone wants a bed in the bunker.
Got Popcorn?
Neil
And Las Vegas is about $200 worth of gasoline (round trip) away from it’s constituency, which is staying away in droves…
Goodbye sin city.
Vegas will probably start offering free 7-night hotel stays and meals for anyone just to get the spending at the slots!!
Indian gambling is still gambling, and it’s closer.
Vegas will probably start offering free 7-night hotel stays and meals for anyone just to get the spending at the slots!!
It’s been my understanding that the last few years (2004-2007) have seen record profits for the casinos.
How much does a casino need to make to stay in business? Seems to me there is going to be some big price-competition here in Sin City! Bring it on.
Heck, they may even improve odds, payouts and customer service.
What a concept…
minus the free booze, Vegas casino action is about as enticing as the average high school bake sale/carnival charity event.
I like Indian gambling only because (if managed properly), it means finally got to turn the tables on us. (Not that I’d throw my money away in any of those places but if junkies are going to go someplace, they might as well give the money to the descendants of the people we screwed over.)
Vegas: “Units that were once $1.4 million are now $700,000 and units that were $600,000 to $900,000 are now $350,000 to $600,000 and are continuing to free-fall with no end in sight.”
———–
When I turned 21 in 1981, I went to Vegas for the first time. It has a special place in my heart.
I fear the desert will have her now.
I have to go to Vegas for business. I have a special distain for the place. The morons are in the middle of the blasted desert, but they close the swimming pools at 6:00pm.
I had to stand for 8 hours straight after back surgery. The pool sure would have felt good. $280/night for the room wasn’t enough $$ to justify access to a pool? Idiots.
Vegas can shrivel up and blow away for all I care.
They don’t want you in the pool; they want you in the casino.
Right, like last year when we went on the 4th of July, only (1) place put on a feeble fireworks display. No angle left un-exploited.
The only possible reprieve for towns like this will be if they have some juicy 2nd Home Legislation pass that allows for an immediate credit and other bennies too. Oh, (duh) people were ALREADY gaming the system claiming them as “primary” residences! I can’t see any other way out.
Take a McMansion off our hands and get a $35k credit off your taxes! ( Like we haven’t bent over backwards enough already? )
Or if they find a way to legalize MJ, that would push tourism WAY up again.
Frankly, gambling is about as much fun as pulling teeth for me, at least in the stock market I have even odds. The game (gambling) is rigged, everyone knows it’s rigged, and yet they still play? WTF?
I am actually going to Vegas next month, I’ll give an on the ground report while I’m there (be there for a week, business, trust me, NOT pleasure).
How on earth can people think that Vegas has a land shortage? Have the people buying the homes EVER been in an airplane (and seen Vegas from the air)? It’s in the middle of a da** Sahara desert!
yeah, notice there’s never any clocks or windows near the casino floor to give gamblers any sense of day or time. a 24-hour party.
Disdain, yes. I was born in Vegas. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a fetus in Vegas?
Don’t worry about that… Lake Mead is going to be dry by 2021.
When I turned 21 in 1981, I went to Vegas for the first time. It has a special place in my heart.
Peter?
If Richie Rich Aspen is hurting, imagine how bad it is for non-money sucking locales?
“The city’s general fund, which is fed primarily by sales and property taxes, could face troubled times. ‘I think we are at the beginning, not the end (of an economic downturn),’ said City Manager Steve Barwick. ‘There are a lot of credit and debt problems that will take years to work through.’”
“Council members agreed that the city needs to be prudent in the face of an economic downturn. ‘We need to be prepared for that outcome,’ Mayor Mick Ireland said. ‘It is serious.”
For Northern Colorado - the saga continues.
For the month of June, 2008:
In Fort Collins, during this period there were 283 SF homes sold down 12.11% from the same period last year; 23 new homes were sold vs 47 last year, down 51.06% in number of homes sold.
In Windsor, 25 SF homes sold, vs. 60 last year, down 58.33%. Six (6) new homes were sold, vs. 16 new homes sold in June of last year.
In Loveland, 119 SF homes were sold, as compared with 151 last year, down 21.19%.
Also in Loveland . . . no homes sold for more than $655,000, although 118 were available.
In Greeley, 104 single family homes were sold, as compared with 117 sold in June last year, down 11.11%;
In Boulder, 112 single family homes were sold, as compared with 168 sold in June last year, down 33.33%.
Source: IRES
Ouch - Boulder down 33%, but the median is holding up north of $500k.
Also in Loveland . . . no homes sold for more than $655,000, although 118 were available.
I guess they were hoping that all the doctors at the new hospital would buy them. I can’t think of any other profession that pays well enough to afford a 655K house.
250K in income is EXCEEDINGLY rare.
And, hence; the massive oversupply of McMansions across the country.
“Judy Anderson, an attorney from Walnut Creek, Calif., sent a letter to Slade Development, developer of Vantage Lofts, terminating her sales contract and demanding that her $40,000 deposit be returned.”
“She said the contract stipulated that her unit be completed in two years, which would have been June 3. ‘It’s probably overpriced,’ Anderson said of the $540,000 unit. ‘For me, this is good to get out, but I want my money back. I’m entitled to it.’”
Lady….your money is long gone…..but good luck with getting that refund…..
She’s a lawyer…she can make their lives so painful that they will just settle the lawsuit “for an undisclosed sum”.
NSO,
In a normal market/economy that would probably well apply but with these builders getting the hurt put on them from every angle, what’s a certified letter going to matter? Besides, you can’t get blood from a turnip.
“I’m entitled to it.”
Barf.. Cough.. Vomit.. Repeat…
“Attorney, Brennan Moss said some of his clients are left with mortgages of $600,000 to $700,000 on homes that are worth only $450,000 in today’s market. Some of the houses have not been completed.”
Try $175-250K, and only that if people actually live there. Grantsville is to SLC as Buckeye is to Phoenix. What a nothingburger of a place. Didn’t realize they were building McMansion ghosttowns up here as well. But apparently so.
What happened to all the oil folks moving in out there? I remember their local Ford dealer saying two years ago that he had never sold so many trucks before.
“The Grande Junction Free Press from Colorado. “There are signs the Western Slope took some hits in the first half of the year. ‘When I moved here a couple of years ago I had to turn away work,’ said Jeff Tanksley, who is a general contractor in Grand Junction.”
“‘I was busy … I didn’t have to advertise. It (business) was going strong. Now, I am not seeing the same thing happening. I am seeing people afraid to spend their money. Instead of a total (home) remodel they are doing a room or two,’ he said.”
Mesa County, Colorado is discovering that the local economy was bolstered by two booms occurring simultaneously: one in housing and one in energy. It took the confluence of both to bring the levels of growth that we were experiencing recently. It will be interesting to see if the growth in the oil/gas industry ALONE will be muscular enough to shoulder the development proposed for the area. Of course, the unasked question is what happens when natural gas matures and those jobs start leaving the area….
Just went lookin for a blast from the past.. I wonder how worn out that Panic Button ® is..
‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
You can’t always get what you want…
But if you try sometime, you just might find…
…you get what you need.
“Some local real estate agents say they are getting a sense that qualified buyers seem unwilling to do deals. ‘It seems like the people that can buy things are not. They are sitting on the sidelines,’ said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction. ‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
Dude…that should tell you something! The smart qualified people are waiting to pay less, while the dumb unqualified people are ready to pay today’s still inflated prices…..are you sure you work in the real estate business?
“Some local real estate agents say they are getting a sense that qualified buyers seem unwilling to do deals. ‘It seems like the people that can buy things are not. They are sitting on the sidelines,’ said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction. ‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
I love this whole quote. Sounds like there is some HBB lurking happening in Grand Junction.
“‘How are these units going to appraise for what we paid for them?’ Daniels wondered. ‘Now I’ve got a guy who said, ‘Make me an offer’ at either Newport or SoHo. It’s going to cost me $3,000 a month to keep it alive and I can only rent it for $1,000.’”
And it also means that the condo you have is basically overpriced and needs to come down in price by about 66%…
Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/recession_plagued_nation_demands
“What America needs right now is not more talk and long-term strategy, but a concrete way to create more imaginary wealth in the very immediate future,” said Thomas Jenkins, CFO of the Boston-area Jenkins Financial Group, a bubble-based investment firm. “We are in a crisis, and that crisis demands an unviable short-term solution.”
Can’t wait, I love imaginary wealth.
Lol. Great stuff!
“Every American family deserves a false sense of security” LOL!
Yes, I knew they had a panel working on our next bubble as we speak. And as The Onion makes clear, it doesn’t really matter ‘what’ the next mania is centered on! We need to do something to get the false economy going again?
God those guys are great. You can bet if it’s reached the Onion even a much younger crowd now knows the HB was a total joke.
These two paragraphs say it all:
“the financial situation will return to normal”
Right, that way we can all stick out heads in the sand and pretend we are increasing our net worth, financial security and plush retirement?
When you think about it ( and I believe others have commented ) that many of the REIC interviews ’seemed’ as if the quotes were written by the Onion staff? Seeing actually IN The Onion drives it from the surreal to merely laughable and harmless entertainment. I think that’s the way I’m going to look at it from now on.
That’s classic.. Excellent find!
RE: “Denison liked the program so much, he signed up for two houses. Now he’s left holding the bag on two $300,000 mortgages beyond the one he owes on his actual home.”
Talk about walkin’ around with a couple of lead balls shackled to your ankles.
Dude better sign up for some stress management workshops.
‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
(said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction.)
I believe I’m going to take this particular quote and make a darling cross-stitch sampler of it for my kitchen wall. I was just in Utarr for almost two weeks and I visited my dear old grandma Katie, who is 92, and beheld her latest needlework project and it gave me a pleasantly nostalgic sensation. What better sentiment than this one, to prettily stitch into spaced muslin? With pretty pansies on the edge. The only one that could be better would be “I f*cking hate developers, really and truly, and so does Sweet Baby Jeebus, I bet.”
Maybe that one could be on the other side of the clock!
I have good ideas today.
Of course, grandpa Hyrum was there, too. But he is not doing as good as grandma Katie. His latest needlework project looks like crap, for instance.
He’s 90, so I guess I must make allowances.
(I’m just idly lying, by the way. He doesn’t do needlework. He is, or was, an organic chemist. I remember when he could scare the crap out of anyone in eye-shot simply by raising his eyebrows casually. Now he’s all non-scary and frail. I felt sad to see this. I still feel sad.)
I’d love to see a needlepoint saying “Abandon hope, all ye who enter”, with a picture of a FB walking the plank from his window while waves of debt crash around.
I’d love to see a needlepoint saying “Abandon hope, all ye who enter”…
I vote for I fucking hate developers
I love developers ’cause they’re the ones who create a bunch of foreclosed houses, lots, and condos that we can buy at rock bottom prices from various lenders.
Okay, that one’s good, too. As long as the FB has a cummerbund on, and also they’re crying. I like to see cummerbunds and crying, as long as neither one’s on me. And, this just came to me–there should be a cute little pony wearing a sunbonnet, with its head peeking interestedly from behind a lanyard or something. The pony should be named ‘Muffin’, or else ‘Buttons’.
Man! I really am having good ideas today! I better get out a notebook and write them down.
And, this just came to me–there should be a cute little pony wearing a sunbonnet…
Are you eating mushrooms from out of the woods?
Yes, I am eating mushrooms from out of the woods, Mr. Sassypants! Dried, though, as this is not the season. Goodness, last Autumn was THE season…*nostalgic sigh*…mushrooms busted out everywhere. I couldn’t go to the mailbox without tripping over a clump of them. Laccarias, russulas, slippery jacks, oyster mushrooms; I bet I ate about 50 pounds of wild mushrooms a month then. I hope this year is good, too.
But my point is, Mr. Man, that ponies wearing sunbonnets are always adorable, and you don’t need to be eating sunbonnets out of the woods to see that.
‘…you don’t need to be eating sunbonnets out of the woods to see that.’
What I meant was, ‘you don’t need to be eating MUSHROOMS out of the woods to see that’.
Jeeze, it’s obvious, only a crazy person would eat a *sunbonnet* out of the woods. Bigfoot coulda been wearing it, for instance, and he has ticks and cockleburrs and mud all over him. It’d be nasty.
. I remember when he could scare the crap out of anyone in eye-shot simply by raising his eyebrows casually. Now he’s all non-scary and frail. I felt sad to see this. I still feel sad.
My MIL always had a huge grudge against her FIL because in his young days, apparently, he was able to press his point in almost any situation or conversation.
I met him when he 65+ and dying of heart disease. By then, he seemed more “babbling, lonely old personish” than having any real presence. I felt more sorry for him than anything else.
“continuing to free-fall with no end in sight.”
Shes a good girl, loves her mama
Loves jesus and america too
Shes a good girl, crazy bout elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
Its a long day living in reseda
Theres a freeway runnin through the yard
And Im a bad boy cause I dont even miss her
Im a bad boy for breakin her heart
And Im free, free fallin
Yeah Im free, free fallin
All the vampires walkin through the valley
Move west down ventura boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
And Im free, free fallin
Yeah Im free, free fallin
Free fallin, now Im free fallin, now im
Free fallin, now Im free fallin, now im
I wanna glide down over mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
Gonna free fall out into nothin
Gonna leave this world for a while
And Im free, free fallin
Yeah Im free, free fallin
From the Denver article: “”The only market that is immune to that is the super rich,” he said.”
By “super rich” he means people that actually OWN their home.
I really feel foolish for thinking that everyone was so smart and doing so well financially a couple of years ago. I thought I really had missed the boat somehow.
Us too. Here we were, sitting on a pile of cash for a house (debt free buying), and we almost pulled the trigger. The next month, prices started to fall. So glad we stopped to take a deep breath, calm down, and think. You weren’t alone. Evidently, we had the conviction to reason. When I found HBB (2 + yrs ago), I didn’t feel like an island anymore.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” - Matthew 7:13
Anything that is working for “everyone” will soon be working for “no one”.
A very smart trader told me that once, and he has been totally dead on. As soon as the last fool enters the building; the roof falls in on all of them.
That is preposterous. The super rich depend on the world economy to make it happen, no?
Lost in Utah,
Hope everything is going good for you.
Miss seeing you post.
Hey, thanks BayAreaGal, I’m in town right now so can get the net, but the place I moved to has no net service, so am going cold turkey. I’m high in a cabin in the San Juan Mountains, Rocky Mountain HIgh for me, all natural, too. In fact, the altitude is getting to me a bit, am 4000 feet higher than in Utah. The museum didn’t work out, they actually wanted me to work, unbelieveable, the gall. I arrived here yesterday, it’s nice and cool and no gnats! I’m under the big peaks.
Will be back when I can, wake me up when prices get affordable. An article in the Telluride paper (Telluride Times?) today about how slow RE is getting to be there (I’m about 40 miles away). I can be contacted through my webpage, though can only post when I’m in town.
Carry on, and thanks Ben for everything, and Bantering Bear and CarrieAnn, if you’re there, come see me! They take horseback riders (tourists) through the meadow behind me, it’s fun to see everyone standing up in the stirrups cause they’re so saddle sore. LOL.
Lostcontrol, not to worry.
Did I mention no gnats??? And Hoz, this is for you:
Sona si latine loqueris.
Where are you? I’m near Lake City
Hey, just over the hill, near Ridgway.
Looking like rain, nice.
Lost in Utah,
Would love to stay in touch with you.
Would you mind if I ask Ben for your email.
Sorry about the museum not working out for you.
Hey, just click on my handle and it will take you to my webpage, or send to info@yellowcatbooks dot com, would love to stay in touch with anyone who wants to.
The museum had a resident Nazi and we didn’t hit it off, they said I’m too anachronistic, whatever that means. The director is quitting next week, too. Guess what, he’s moving to Utah.
Post will prob come thru, in case not, info at yellowcatbooks dot com
Only a fool would live in Utah.
:)
(I’m going back when the snows hit.)
“‘I was busy … I didn’t have to advertise. It (business) was going strong. Now, I am not seeing the same thing happening. I am seeing people afraid to spend their money. Instead of a total (home) remodel they are doing a room or two,’ he said.”
“The 20-year industry veteran added, ‘They are cutting back for a good reason - the uncertainty of the economy.’”
“Some local real estate agents say they are getting a sense that qualified buyers seem unwilling to do deals. ‘It seems like the people that can buy things are not. They are sitting on the sidelines,’ said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction. ‘And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.’”
Ok…let’s break this down:
1 - “….instead of a total home remodel, they are doing a room or two.”
He’s assuming that these people actually HAVE money to spend on these remodels. Many of them were using the HELOC money for these projects or throwing it all on credit cards. Besides that, I am fed up with people thinking they NEED to remodel after a purchase. Excluding necessary repairs and such, what happened to moving in and living in the house ‘as is’? We *used* to do it that way. What changed?
2 – “…they are cutting back for a good reason – the uncertainty of the economy.”
I think it’s more like they don’t have access to the HELOC dollars that they used to, gas prices have gone through the roof, food prices have increased. The days are gone when you could buy Monopoly houses with Monopoly money.
3 - “ And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.”
HELLO McFLY!! Perhaps they DON’T qualify!?
Sheesh! I’m done.
BayQT~
“We *used* to do it that way. What changed?”
We realized that we could spend someone else’s money to do the remodel. And then, as soon as we figured that out, “Flip this house” told us that a kitchen remodel returns, on average, 300% of the price to do the remodel.
And off to the races we went.
How, in the name of everything holy, does paying a contractor to do a remodel of your home “increase” the value more then the price you pay to have the work done? If you do the work yourself (the horror!), I can see some sweat equity. But, when you just pay someone to do the work? That might return (in a normal market) 50 cents on the dollar. And that’s assuming you find a buyer who likes you taste. What a stupid idea.
I think I’m going to start a business buying computers (new), ripping them apart, adding a bunch of expensive hardware (paying someone to do it for me, actually), and then selling them (used) to other people. Great f’ing business model.
“Kim Schneider explained that her parents lost their life savings in the Dare to Dream venture. . . . ”
kim schneider & kevin bacon should go partners in a bike messenger service while they peddle away their angst.
“Kim & Kevin’s Quicksilver Messenger Service”.
“Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani says the owners of the complex, American Invsco of Chicago, are taking advantage of the people who bought the units and got them to invest money in furniture without being authorized to do so.”
American Invsco has a terrible reputation in Chicago. Nearly every single project they’ve been involved in (mostly converting apartments to condos) has ended up with tons of foreclosures. If one were to make a list of the condo towers in Chicago with the most foreclosures, at least 4 out of the top 5 would be American Invsco projects.
I suppose that eventually a company like that has to go to some other town to find new suckers.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?article_id=30117
A very good article about American Invsco and foreclosures in Chicago. Since 2001, there have been 76 large condo projects (175+ condos) in the downtown area. Just 8 of those projects, all American Invsco projects, account for almost 60% of all the foreclosures in those 76 buildings.
Which is exactly why he will walk away. What’s more important to the average “investor”? Having a good credit score, or having $300,000.00?
Funny, there was a time when the term “out of state investor” would have evoked images of greed.
I’m in real estate and with
a statednoincome , you can’t get a loan.I’m having a field day.
That’s OK. It’s not irresponsible to treat your finances as a gamble and then watch the entire US economy fall while screaming for a bailout. It’s fine. As long as it feels right.
Who let this happen? Aren’t there laws out there about how many children can be adopted by one couple? If I were a state agency, I would worry about these people’s intentions, frankly.
Somebody take that coffee pot away from Big V. LOL!!!
BayQT~
“Signs of ‘vertical Vegas’ going flat are becoming more evident every day, Hawks said. Homeowners association fees weren’t an issue when units were originally purchased because most buyers were looking to flip the units, he said. When that didn’t pan out, the first thing some people did was stop paying homeowners association fees.”
“‘Some homeowners associations are on the verge of being broke,’ he said. ‘Amenities are being drastically cut from security to landscaping. The hallway carpets in some complexes are stained and smell like vomit from Vegas partiers that rented units from owners getting foreclosed on.’”
Flat except for the piles of …
Maybe “The World is Flat” or soon will be as housing crashes around the world.
“The hallway carpets in some complexes are stained and smell like vomit from Vegas partiers that rented units from owners getting foreclosed on.’”
Ewwww….that is SO gross!
BayQT~
Dear Senator Feinstein:
A few months ago, I sent you a whitepaper detailing the dangers of the continuing relationship between Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and the US taxpayer. The whitepaper revealed that the agencies (while deemed “too big to fail”) were actually too big to bail, since their at-risk debt load exceeds the current US national debt (which is huge). I extended to you the proposition that increasing GSE limits to $1,000,000.00 per house loan might introduce more risk to their balance sheets than they could handle. I backed up that proposition by reminding you that the median household income in the nation is only about $40,000/year, and the median household income in California is only about $50,000/year. That should support a median house price of $120,000 nationally, and $150,000 in California.
I also suggested that it might be unwise to place so much trust in a pair of companies that had been caught committing fraud, with one of them being caught again a short while later. I also questioned the SEC’s decision not to delist the corporations at that time, which was called for by the SEC’s own rules.
Despite the obvious carnage that would ensue from your decision, you sent me a response explaining that you supported raising GSE limits. I am curious as to why you thought it was OK to sell out America’s future. You had all the information you needed to make the right decision. I know because I provided it to you. As long as you are still a senator, I beseech you to shift your thinking towards long-term economic health instead of short-term, socialistic fixes that only serve to prop up an unhealthy business climate.