Countdown To Las Vegas - Day 14
This is a fresh thread for new posts on the LV meeting. The deadline for registering for the meeting room is Feb. 6th. “The first International HBB Meeting will be held in Las Vegas Friday, February 20th through Sunday, February 22nd! The meeting will officially start at 3pm Friday (check-in) and end at 11am Sunday (check-out), although we will probably plan a group lunch for around 11:30 Sunday if you want to catch a slightly later flight. ”
“This will be a chance for HBBers to meet, share info and just have some fun. As an added bonus we are expecting a German documentary film-maker to do some interviews. For more details, please check the comments.”
An update on a few things; it looks like the documetary people will be there for sure. They asked what day would be best to get everybody together at once for interviews, and I told them Saturday. The man in charge of that has been reading here for years and follows some of the posters. For instance, he is keen to interview AZ Lender. I don’t think he has ever posted here, but is welcome to. Part of the problem is the time difference with Germany.
Also, some people are looking at carpooling, and Susan has more on that.
Hi All:
We’ve set up a carpooling thread on the Forum if you want to advertise or ask for rides from your area:
http://tinyurl.com/VegasCarpool
If you have general questions about the meeting please post them below. If you have specific or private questions please feel free to e-mail me at sd.re.b@hotmail.com
If you need more details about the meeting, hotels, flights, etc., I recommend reading the last thread we had up:
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=5220
Since we’ve been trying to put this meeting together since August it’s hard to believe it’s only three weeks away!
Ah, Ben, you have to e-mail AZ_lender and tell her that. She said she probably wasn’t coming because she has other travel plans, but you can probably convince her to go if you contact her personally and tell her she’s a special guest.
I am not able to attend. However, I hope that my gratitude, good thoughts, and donation help you have a great time.
I thank you all for years of mental support, gut busting laughter, and moneysaving advice!
Hi Guys:
Southwest is having another three day sale and the early morning flights seem to be well priced. It’s not through the main page so use this link:
http://tinyurl.com/dgpx59
I wasn’t planning to attend, but it would be a great way to chat with a bunch of people who don’t drink the kool-aid, and because AA is having a fare sale for about $200 r/t for me. I’ll think about it today, in between reading stories about how the NAR says things are turning around, and the Republicans thinking that putting people in overpriced houses at 4 to 4.5% mortgages are going to fix the problem
Don’t think, just do it, LOL.
San diego Posse….come now!
I will be driving in, and I can’t wait to meet all of you!
Cool, it’ll be good to see you again.
Yeah - once again, drinks on me, Ben.
Do you have to publish a blog or can you just be someone who has posted bearish comments?
Heck you can even be a troll we tormented for years.
This is for all of us who post on and read the blog. Familiar names are coming, but I’ve also had a couple of “lurked but never posted” readers showing interest. We’re collecting a small fee to offset the meeting room fee and put some things together like an LV foreclosure tour bear style, and we’ll have some presentations including the hows of surviving a bear attack. 
Go to post 5220 to get more details (see link above) and find out how to register! Hope you can make it.
You have to trash FB.
Having made snide comments about their personal appearnace earns you bonus points.
When is the latest you can register? I am in LV so getting there is no problem, but you know on the weekends I might want to get away from the foreclosed stucco boxes.
February 6th.
I’ll be with you in spirit, guys and gals.
And the first cracks in the dam are starting to appear here in Australia. One of the statistics organisations came out with some numbers showing YOY declines in almost all the major cities, and all the main newspapers reported these numbers.
You can be there in a way. The meeting room will have wifi, and I’m sure many of us will bring laptops. We can do a live thread back-and-forth discussion. Maybe even let you chime in on the documentary.
Ben, please post more on this when the time is near. I’d be interested, since I can’t come in person.
Thanks for the offer and details, but I’m house-sitting for a friend at the moment and they don’t have any sort of Internet access.
The two places I normally post comments from are both very very restricted in what I can do, plus there’s the time-zone issue (which is worse in our summer/your winter due to daylight saving, I’m posting this just after midday locally on a hot Sunday afternoon).
Best of luck anyway. I’ll certainly be lurking here come the day.
We’ll have a drink on your behalf, ajh!
Cheers!
Does anyone know what park bench our former troll, LV Landlord is sleeping on these days? It would be a nice gesture to drop off a case of Ripple and some beef jerky for her, along with a new cardboard box and refurbished shopping cart.
I heard she just moved to Colorado Springs.
You forgot the JT.
I put this on the first meet-up thread, and I’ll write it again: It sounds like a blast and I hope someone takes photos for those of us who check in more than we post.
Long-promised various Vegas Valley maps and photos of malheur with attendant snarky comments
here
I just got back tonight from a meeting in LV. Lots of cheap hotel rooms available tonight. No line at the Bellagio buffet last night. Bartender under water and can’t sell his house. Cab driver’s daughter just got foreclosed. Car rentals cheap - taxis very expensive. I think it’s the perfect time for the HBB crowd to go - leave it up to you guys to go to LV when it’s a bargain!
+1
This is so cool!! Thanks so much for putting it together. Don’t have time at the moment to really look at it, but can hardly wait to do so.
Thanks!
We were definitely planning on coming but the dryer gave out, the computer took a ( well, had a big problem at least ), and we would up stimulating the economy thru purchasing a new gas dryer which ran about twice what I thought it would ( this is the low-end type, too, not those giant-sized ones which evidently cost over half of a mortgage payment, to my amazement ), and a nice, fast computer. Looks like (since I’ve never done this before ) I forgot to order the monitor ! I just woke up husb and informed him of this. He let out this really adorable groan. I asked him to please wake up and help me finish setting up what we did get, which is a 2.66 dual processor 4GB thingey in a nice black case. And wireless. It’ll eventually be used for a home coding business. So sorry to miss everyone and the excellent info which will be coming out of the meeting, but the available cash on hand has been spent on dry clothes and computing needs ! Have a wonderful time and best wishes to all.
Ben,
What’s the plan of activities for Fri/Sat/Sun?
I’m really interested in a foreclosure tour (or two, LOL), any word yet on when/where we’d go?
Hi NYchk:
We don’t have the foreclosure tour planned yet but I suspect we’ll go on Saturday. How we do it depends on how many people sign up. Wish I had more details for you, but we just can’t make a lot of plans until we know how many people to plan for. So far the tour is the only definite external event so ideas are welcome. I’m planning group dinners Friday and Saturday nights, probably at the hotel restaurant Friday night. We have a couple people who want to do presentations, and there are going to be some “scheduled” discussions (all of which will be a heck of a lot more fun than they sound - I swear!) and more topics are welcome. I.e. I’d like to bring up the idea of a book written by the blog - more details in Vegas if you ever wanted to be an author.
Bus companies (try Bell Trans) have 20-seaters, around $200 for four hours (bargain hard !). If more people are going, there are 10 person vans, or large taxis to accommodate additional people. If 30 or 40 are going, get a bus. Google LV bus companies, bargain hard. Renting one of these is easy. Do not forget bus driver tip ($ 40 for half day for coach, 25-30 for 20-seater).
Tell the company you want a driver who speaks English and is a local. Talk to the driver about what you want to do - likely they are helpful, they surely know their share of FB’s. Let him know this is not the same “foreclosure tour” that UHS are offering, trying to make a profit from the disaster; you will likely have an ally.
If you rent a (small) bus, take ten minutes before leaving to go over the itinerary, one person needs to step up and lead here. Don’t get into a situation where five, or 20 pax give directions, or where you change the mind about where you want to go while driving down the road. Also note, it takes some time for bus to stop, and find a place to stop. Don’t yell from the back “Stop driver stop!”. One person needs to be in charge. If driver knows the topic, he can get on the microphone.
Start conversations with the locals, like mentioned above, taxi drivers, people in the shops. “How has business been” etc. Ask the locals which are the worst foreclosure areas, i am sure you will find out in no time.
Thanks so much for the information Sagesse! A bus would be a lot of fun and you’ve given us some good tips for a more success time. (And if you attend we’ll put you in charge of the tour!
)
But I want to yelll from the back of the bus…
’stop bus driver, stop now, stop here’.
STopppppppp.
Or the other one is ‘ turn the a/c on’.. personal summer approaching fast.
Oh well, guess the childish behavior will have to just wait for another bus trip.
“A book written by the blog”
If Ben has all the archives, it would be a small effort to compile an engrossing, poetic documentary.
I think there are several books this blog could write and that is at the top of the list! But I’m envisioning more of a name the perps type book or the good, the bad and the ugly according to the real experts (ummm, you know, the people who actually saw this disaster coming!)
Bring your book ideas - maybe we’ll start an HMM series!
One book of course would be JUST Oly gals musings.
Then there would be a book by the illustrious Aladinsane.
Then there is the book on nasty naughty retorts.
A list of continuous retorts.
Longest running retorts..
Then there would be the serious books/chapters on Tim and his insider info..etc.
And a phone /email book for private usage for the HBB contingent.
Whoops meant HBB
Don’t know if I can go or not ,but I sure would like to . I might make it depending ,but if I don’t ,have a great time everybody .
Hope you can make it - everyone whose been to the regional meetings has had a great time and this will be ten times that experience! Come on - a whole weekend with people who agree with you - how can you resist?
On this REO tour, do we have a listing agent, asset manager, or other representative coming with us on the tour? Just trying to gauge if I’ll need to get a prescription for Ativan before getting on the bus >; )
Seriously, do they know who they will spending time with?
In the meantime, still looking at the flight vs driving options as I’ve never done a road trip in the new car. Napa/Sonoma don’t count as they are just up the road an hour. A road trip to LV could be fun but I would need to read Fear and Loathing again to get in the proper mood.
‘On this REO tour, do we have a listing agent, asset manager, or other representative coming with us on the tour?’
I know a couple, but not any that specialize in REOs. I work with foreclosures a lot, so I’ll be able to point out some things. I’m interested in seeing some of the condo conversions first hand. And if possible, some of the distressed subdivisions. If you haven’t seen these things, it’s quite the shocker.
Hi Jane:
If we do have any of the above attending they will be bubbleheads. It would be too cruel (and easy) to torment the average REIC idiot. Although I can’t promise any kindness to ones we run across on the tour.
Southwest is having another special and you can get out of your area for $89 on Friday morning. Sunday’s pretty steep but there’s an early flight on Monday also for $89. Since it’s about an 8-hour drive I would recommend flying and being a little late for work (if that’s your situation) on Monday. I haven’t checked any airlines other than Southwest so there might be other cheaper flights.
I’ll buy drinks if you come, Wiz! We’d love to have you come along.
Deutsche Bank keeps saying they got rid of all toxic paper.
They must own many of foreclosed houses in Vegas, does anyone know how to find foreclosures by bank?
I think the extended their loan on the “$3.5 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino “.
I thought Deutsche Bank owned half the homes in Cleaveland?
Yes, hundreds in Cleveland, but not only there.
Here’s a page listing nearly 40 banks’ , S&Ls, the FDIC, Freddy/Fanny etc’s REO disposal sites.
Deutsche Bank REO:
No information is available online.
..but maybe in person? Call and see.
3 w.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/REO_Database_List.asp
About any sort of group plans:
If we are drinking on Friday night, then I’m not getting out of bed before 10 on Saturday, K?
Just FYI.
That’s ok, we’ll come to your room and get you in your PJ’s to drag your sleeping carcass on the foreclosure tour. None of the guys will mind!
(We’ll probably do it in the afternoon since some people aren’t coming in until that morning.)
Governator: IOU’s an apology that I cannot attend……still nickle en dime’n here in Sacromentoe…..are dey givin avay da homes der yet?…..hahahahahahah!
Well as my “bad” luck would have it, I screwed up the flight reservation and was supposed to be there Sunday - Tue. However, after looking at my flight information, I am arriving on Saturday around 1:00pm and leaving on monday. doh!!
I have extended to leave on Tuesday, so I will be there for the Saturday afternoon and Sunday am activities. I guess I better get registered.
Regarding the Tacoma half-built condo tower, hoping somebody explain this quote: “The developers have considered converting the building to apartments, but the building, made of concrete and steel, may be overbuilt for that use, O’Connor said.”
If concrete and steel means a quieter building and hearing your neighbors less, I know plenty of renters that would pay a premium for that. Is this developer making false excuses for not converting to rental?
so sorry, posted in wrong thread!
Please tell me you are planning a group outing to a timeshare presentation. Maybe you could bring the documentary filmmaker along for the fun that would ensue.
I love this! Maybe we can all have housing bubble t-shirts to wear for it. LOLOL