Bits Bucket For May 22, 2009
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Me me me I am the best…I RENT!!!
No way! I am better than you. I work for AIG and you just paid me a large bonus just like you are helping me pay my mortgage on all of my investment properties with these low rates. Thank you for helping make my credit cards more reasonable. I think I am going to go car shopping…
Buy yourself an Escalade. You deserve it.
…with the extra bling.
Here you go Muir, it looks like SP Times is flirting with calling bottom:
Bottoming out? The decline in the Tampa Bay area’s median home sales price since the peak:
- June 2006 $239,600
- March 2009 $135,800
- Difference-43 percent
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/article1003241.ece
Speaking of bottom calling, right as I was changing the channel from CNBC yesterday because that obnoxious Cramer came on, I heard him announce that the depression ended in March. What a tool. Even if it did (a highly suspect conclusion), one wouldn’t know for quite some time until the data were available. I have no idea how that guy gets away with his crap. Nauseating. I can’t even watch him for 5 minutes, and don’t understand how his show continues on.
And the housing market hits bottom on at the end of June.
Some micro-markets have already hit bottom (or are very close). Other micro-markets will continue to slide for the next 3-5 years.
I think Case Schiller will continue to show declines in at least some of their 20 markets for at least the next 1.5-2 years.
Just my opinion.
Will the dollar breach 80 today?
Don’t look now, but the 30-yr T-bond yield has risen from its low for this cycle of 2.53 pct (12/18/08) to its current level of 4.30 (5/21/09) in less than 1/2 a year. If this rate of increase continues, we will see considerably higher mortgage rates by year-end…
Not sure whether this is “good” or “bad”:
“Good” story: Rising l-t T-bond yields are signs of economic optimism, due to green shoots.
“Bad” story: Rising l-t T-bond yields are a sign of an increasing inflation risk premium, due to concerns that quantitative easing may prove inflationary.
The price of money is going up? What’s that tell you?
The price of tomorrow’s money going up in today’s dollars tell me that today’s dollars are worth less and less every day.
Actually I just realized I had it backwards. Yields going up means the price of tomorrow’s dollars is going down.
So today’s dollars are worth more relative to tomorrow’s dollars. But only relative to that - it doesn’t speak anything about how they’re relative to other goods and service; only to tomorrow’s dollars.
Yields going up means the price of money is going up which means the Demand for money is edging out Supply.
While changes in rates/yields for various instruments alter present value streams, not all dollars will be invested in such instruments, nor does inflation/deflation affect all products equally. If you have money set aside for (i) home purchase, (ii) stocks, and/or (iii) cds/money markets; all that really matters to you is rate of return in these particular areas. For many of us with money set aside for eventual home purchase, as long as home prices continue to fall, we are comparatively better off assuming we will buy for cash (i.e., mortgage rates are a non-issue).
Yields going up means the price of money is going up which means the Demand for money is edging out Supply.
You do realize how yields and prices work right? Yields are inversely proportional to prices. In this case of treasuries this isn’t even abstract it’s concrete - e.g. literally buying a $5k treasury bond today costs less than buying a $5k treasury bond did just a few days ago, and weeks ago.
Thus I was actually incorrect in my initial statement - today’s dollars are becoming worth more and more, but again that’s relative only to tomorrow’s dollars. In other words - inflation; or at least the expectations of it.
You took the words right out of my mouth, Tim. If you have no debt, lots of savings and your day to day expenses like food and energy are a small part of your income, then general inflation is not much of a concern. On the other hand, higher interest rates increase the returns on your savings and force down the cost of assets that are usually purchased on credit.
I’m not even going to think about house hunting until interest rates go up. If you only consider the interest part of PITI, $1500 a month gets you $360K at 5% and $225K at 8%. What happens to my six figure downpayment if I buy before the interest rate increase happens?
I would add all this talk from the government about invervention to attempt to achieve stabilization at 5% mortgage rates seems a little useless. What we need is stabilization at 8-9% rates which is where we should be. Billions or trillions spent on intervention so that people can afford (barely) to pay debt service in their home is highly questionable if at the time they need to sell we will be at 9% again, and to fall back to historic affordability prices need to be another 20-40% lower simply because of the change in interest rates alone. It’s just bleeding them dry until their eventual execution, although it may save a few banks from collapsing in the meantime. On average ppl move about every 5 years, due to flipping during the bubble that was reduced considerably. It will be interesting to see what happens more homes become prisons.
Tim,
Right, actually I believe according to NAR’s own stats, they claimed people were in their homes an avg. of SEVEN years! Oh don’t make me laugh.
Had that been the case The Cartel wouldn’t be nearly as powerful. Try 2 years and (1) day.
Kind of fun for me but I used to have a mortgage w/ Bank United FSB after my paper was sold. See ya’.
Hmm… people are in their homes an average of 7 years?
Run a quick calculation on how much prinicipal is paid in to a 30yr fixed over that period of time. If you’re lucky it should cover the real estate agents fees + closing costs when you sell.
And they tell us renting is “throwing our money away”?
I’m no financial geru and I don’t play one on HBB or TV. This is no time for games, being cute or gambling of any kind. That’s for the rich fools and the lately…not so rich fools.
1. I do know that the median price losses for the many large US cities is from 50-25% down from their peaks 2000-09 and still falling…and it ain’t over by a long shot.
2. Cash, the FDIC and interest rates may not be as safe or as good as it used to be but lugging around gold bars and a 45 isn’t what it used to be either.
3. I rent and I’m not lossing $100k in fake equity YOY and I do sleep very well. I’m not making much headway against inflation but at least I’m trying to save money.
4. This financial housing barge my go down but I’m sticking to the close to the leaky FDIC lifeboat just in case it does. I went through SERE training several times and will suvive if I make it to land and there are any unarmed frogs and mice around.
5. When the bodies, fraud and debris field clears out, I intend to buy a modest house(with a nice pool) in the sun and float around with my little yellow duck and a large cool drink.
Sleep well tonight…your government is AWAKE.
Survive, Evade, Resist and Escape
Al,
LOL! Right, Name, Rank and Service Number!
I used to have a buddy that did the whole, “I am an American Fighting Man Creed” ( while flubbing a San Miguel all across a pool table and feeding a jukebox! )
When you’re stuck overseas, you just have to entertain yourself! Any guys here remember the “Teen High Hotel” on Rizal Avenue back in “The Jungle”? Just curious.
“Run a quick calculation on how much prinicipal is paid in to a 30yr fixed over that period of time. If you’re lucky it should cover the real estate agents fees + closing costs when you sell.”
I get about 12% principal paid over 7 yrs on a 30 yr loan at 5%.
“The price of money is going up? What’s that tell you?”
More borrowers less lenders
“I get about 12% principal paid over 7 yrs on a 30 yr loan at 5%.”
Or about 9% on a more typical 7% loan, which covers the 6% realtor fees + 2-3% other closing costs.
Now for a more sane 20 year mortgage, you would have paid about 1/5 of the loan principal in 7 years. A 15 year mortage, you’ve paid almost 35%, even at 7%. So in those cases you’re usually retaining some meaningful equity, with the exception of these unusual times with house prices declining preciptously.
My point is, for all intents and purposes, holding 30 year mortgage, combined with median relocation intervals, is essentially the same as renting when you look at accrual of equity over time. Given that owning free and clear someday should always be the primary goal of “homeownership”, I don’t see how it has become the mainstream mortgage configuration.
Only when housing is temporarily increasing in price faster than wages and the overall inflation rate does a 30 year mortgage make sense, if you intend to move at some point in the intermediate term.
Mikey, I love that, have to remember it:
“I’m not financial guru and I don’t play one on HBB”
iftheshoefits,
Hey, I’ll take you at your word. One of the primary reasons I got interested in The Bubble to -begin- with was that very reason. After a decade of making PITI faithfully, we’d knocked about a whopping 7 grand off our 30 yr. FRM.
Thankfully for us in OR, the wind was at our backs all throught the 90’s so it worked out. But more and more I wondered what would have happened had there ‘not’ been the appreciation? So I sold and rented?
The other aspect was ( w/ soon to grad. teenage daughters ) what were we going to do w/ 2,300 s/f and 3 acres once they left? ) I was too busy regretting having sold our 1st house.
az_lender,
y/w…It doesn’t mean that I don’t pay close attention to all my financially well-educated and talented friends here in Ben’s handy dandy internet School of Housing Business and Finance…while I sit firmly upon my wallet.
I may lose out occasionally but I TRY not to make tall he wrong moves…too soon.
Good plans there, mikey. Except for the part about eating frogs.
“…..what we were going to do w/ 2300 sf and three acres……?”
Horses, my man, horses. You need at least a couple.
They will help take care of all that spare cash you have laying around, too. The initial purchase price is just the tip of the effing iceburg.
Is this good or bad for equities?
It’s good for those who have more money that they need, bad for everyone else.
This applies to equities as well as people.
yes yes yes!!
Houston we have a breach.
That didn’t take long.
The Fed
May 21, 2009, 7:15 p.m. EST
Inflation risks higher than many think, Plosser says
Philly Fed president says slack in economy is less than assumed
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Inflation is a much more serious near-term threat than commonly believed, and the Federal Reserve will need to clamp down on it much sooner than expected, a top Fed policy-maker said Thursday.
In contrast to the official forecast of the Federal Open Market Committee that inflationary pressures will probably remain low for some time, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said inflation could begin to heat up as early as next year, requiring quick action by the central bank.
Plosser’s views do not represent the mainstream of the FOMC. In fact, his inflation forecasts are the highest of any of the 18 current members. Plosser is not a voting member of the FOMC this year or next, but will be in 2011. He may speak during meetings, but not vote.
I think it doesn’t seem real probable that inflation is emminent.
Remember that reset chart for all those loans. Well there is a huge amount of debt that would go bad if rates reset higher, along with more FB being generated by the downward price pressure. Some kind of counterbalancing force.
Not to mention the goobermints will not be able to handle as much of a debt load.
The dollar is falling & their appears to be a lot of concern about its future value. That is going to put upward pressure on oil prices. More expensive oil will cause short term inflation.
However, it won’t be long term inflation if the dollar stabilizes.
Or if the green shoots get flattened by higher fuel prices.
What are the chances Prop 13 is revisited as crazy California works to find more money while cutting spending?
About the same as Rush Limbaugh replacing Biden on the 2012 Democratic ticket.
You mean a clean and sober Limbaugh replacing Biden on the ticket.
The President, who can find his way around state and federal constitutions, might force California to revisit/change embedded funding restrictions… in return for bailout cash.
That wouldn’t have seemed possible two years ago.
There’s one really interesting possibility vis-a-vis Prop. 13….
Next week the CA supreme court will issue a ruling on Prop. 8 (banning gay marriage). At heart is the issue of whether Prop. 8 contained more than one “issue” and therefore is an improper initiative measure.
If the CA supreme court tosses Prop. 8, that gives precidence to toss Prop. 13 too. Prop. 13 contained (a) a measure limiting property taxes AND (b) a measure requiring a 2/3 majority vote in the legislature to increase any taxes.
Can you imagine the storm if a court invalidated Prop. 13?
SmarTrend(R) Opening Bell Comments — May 22, 2009
Last updated May 22nd, 2009 6:55 AM ET—US stock futures are trading higher as investors prepare for the extended Memorial Day weekend. In corporate news, the FDIC seized BankUnited, making it the 34th US bank failure so far this year. According to a report from the Washington Post, the Obama administration is gearing up to have General Motors (NYSE:GM) file for Chapter 11 as early as next week. The list of economic reports due out today is light, however, Fed Chairman Bernanke is schedule
wmbz,
So why aren’t they coming up w/ more appropriate names for banks? Instead of handles that conjur up images of rock solid reputations, why not?:
Temp. Bank
Interim Federal
On Life Support Thrift
Hmm?
Five astericks Bank
First Zombie Savings & Loan
Zombie Banks loves these names!
All Your Lose Change Are Belong To Muggy Bank
( Five astericks Bank ) Strong contender!
Launch all Bailout! For Great Justice!
Somebody set us up the Timmeh!
Lol, DinOR, it’s actually:
All Your Lose Change Are Belong To Muggy for Make Day Trade Bank
First Consolidated BRAAAINS….
Well GMAC is now Ally Bank… “Because you need a bank in ‘your’ corner”
LOL!
Five Fingered Discount Bank
No, no, no.
It takes two hands.
10 FIngered Discount Bank
Phragile Porcelain Piggy
LOL!
Chicken Wire Piggy Bank
Sive Bank
Front & Center Bailout Recipient Bank
But… what shall we know their “Trust Deptartments” by?
The Department of Trust.
Winston
Bank of Runs
S&M Bank (smoke & mirrors)
Best Bet Bank
Fraud Financial
Leveraged Tax Fund
The First National “I’ll pull out, yeah, really, I’m not lying, I will this time” Bank and Trust
Taxpayer Assisted Rigged Profits Bancorp.
Get it??
The Bank of Shifting Sands. Like the sands on the beach, watch your savings slip through your hands.
Notice how the FDIC seized them on a THURSDAY. Up until now all bank closures took place on a Friday. I wonder what’s up with that?
Interesting what you read by surfing the web outside US borders… My key question: Why would the Fed ever be expected to withdraw any of its initiatives? For comparison, don’t we still have plenty of 1930s-era initiatives in the current mix of policy tools in play (e.g. Social Security)?
Libor’s plunge could trap banks
Free money is usually a good thing.
by Dwight Cass, breakingviews.com
Last Updated: 6:31AM BST 22 May 2009
So three-month unsecured loans carrying less than one percent interest would normally be thought of a boon for banks. It allows US banks to borrow cheaply and lend for several percentage points more – giving them a way to earn their way out of their current troubles.
The problem is, the interbank rate is low largely because the government is propping up the industry. When it rises to a market level that reflects banks’ true state, it could crimp their earnings.
The three-month dollar London interbank offered rate fell to a multi-year low of 66 basis points on May 21. That’s good for owners of the $360 trillion of debt tied to the rate. It’s also good for banks that borrow in the interbank market to fund their loans to customers. They should be making out like bandits.
But a major reason for Libor’s swoon – apart from falling risk aversion among banks – is the Federal Reserve’s many emergency lending facilities, which have reduced the risk that any major bank will suffer serious problems. When the Fed withdraws these initiatives, the cost of funding bank loans will increase – especially while banks are still working through their difficulties. If banks have been too aggressive in pricing the loans they have made, the rising cost of funding them might make the loans uneconomical.
That’s what happened in the Savings & Loan crisis in the late 1980s. A repeat could cause significant trouble for the US banking system – just when a rebound is on the horizon. True, it’s hard to price a loan too richly when the cost of funds is low, not least because competitors will race to undercut you.
Related Articles
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* The worst may be yet to come
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I agree with you. The Fed is likely to prop up US banks forever, or until the whole system collapses for some other reason.
You’re up awfully early for a California boy. (I’m in Maine natch.)
Insomnia has struck the past two nights. Now back to sleep for a bit…
Insomnia is a real bear. (Ha ha.) I hope it passes quickly. When I get it, I find that getting a ridiculous amount of exercise can snap the cycle.
Does a single problem exist that can’t be solved by the Fed printing press? If I had access to such a machine I feel I could solve anyone’s problems who came to me with them. Solving problems without simply throwing money at them is the challenging part. It seems our leaders completely lack ingenuity, imagination, discipline, resourcefulness, integrity, and most importantly balls.
pressboardbox,
Amen.
I plan to make friends w/ Superman so he can use his x-ray vision to find sunken ships filled w/ lost gold. We will have fun hanging out in my mansion in Malibu.
Amen, my problem is that you (the fed) is throwing too much money at other people making my money worth less. How are ya gonna solve that with your printing press?
RE: (I’m in Maine natch.)
Black flies biting you yet?
Ran into them on a golf course near Damariscotta about 12 days ago. Day before yesterday they reached a golf course near Isle au Haut (where they hadn’t been any earlier). We’ll see about today. I don’t get bit just buzzed.
Dollar Weakens on Rosengren Warning; Stocks, Futures Rebound
By Justin Carrigan
May 22 (Bloomberg) — The dollar fell to a four-month low against the euro after Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said America’s recovery may be “slow” and Standard & Poor’s threat to strip Britain’s AAA debt rating stoked concern that U.S. bonds may also be downgraded.
How long does it take a credit rating agency to read the handwriting on the wall? (Judging from the subprime debt experience, I would guess the answer is “Pretty darn long.”)
Geithner Vows to Cut U.S. Deficit on Rating Concern (Update2)
By Robert Schmidt
May 22 (Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner committed to cutting the budget deficit as concern about deteriorating U.S. creditworthiness deepened, and ascribed a sell-off in Treasuries to prospects for an economic recovery.
“It’s very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term,” Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday. He added that the target is reducing the gap to about 3 percent of gross domestic product, from a projected 12.9 percent this year.
The dollar extended declines today after Treasuries and American stocks slumped on concern the U.S. government’s debt rating may at some point be lowered. Bill Gross, the co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said the U.S. “eventually” will lose its AAA grade.
“It’s very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term,”
Like how? By not throwing trillions of dollars at banks anymore? Or bailing out failing car companies? How about cutting social security and rasing taxes on the middle class, yeah, that’s the ticket.
A good start will be to refuse Cali’s augmenting request for a bailout. Smash the public employee unions.
And just how is the Treasury Secretary supposed to control the out-of-control spending practices of the Executive and Legislative branch?
All true, but lately I’m focusing on the abuse we brought upon ourselves?
From WWII until the early 90’s the 15″ tire and wheel was pretty much the standard. Sporty models had a 14″ and economy usually a 13″. It worked.
Bring on the Wealth Effect and even “economy” cars have 17″ wheels. I was in a store the other day and they had a 22″! I said, what’s that for, a school bus!? Nope, SUV. So now you go in for a set of tires ( on your All-Wheel-Drive vehicle ) which requires ALL 4 to be replaced and… it’s about a grand. Just one among hundreds of examples.
Remember, money is no object. Now where is my House ATM Card?
In the 50’s, the cool cars all had fins on the back. I guess everyone was really rich back then.
Skip,
What I was ‘referring’ to was the structural changes that took place ‘within’ the industry based on… fake wealth? Hey I can I understand if some collector wants to put the coolest wheels available out there in the AFTER market on his “baby”.
What I can’t get is how all this high-end cr@p wound up being O.E ( original equipment )? How did we allow fridges deep enough to fit a keg, have a TV built into the door and STILL have a packed parking lot at Safeway?!
Man, a fridge like ‘that’ and you’d think people would only have to shop once a year? How did we permit this to happen to ourselves?
I am still amazed there are stores that rent tires for people that can’t afford to buy them.
Skip,
I saw an ad on C/L yesterday from Veince Beach (?) that was offering to rent you the “car of your dreams” by the day, week or month!
Needless to say I was pretty amazed.
You would be amazed (and no doubt appalled) at how many of those ghetto fabulous land barges are rolling around my part of Baltimore on “dubs” or larger.
Spend every last dime on wheels for your whip while livving in some rat infested hell hole in East Baltimore. Yeah, that makes sense.
Such silliness and vanity ain’t only to be seen in the city. I live in the forest in a rural part of my county and there’s one place I drive by almost every day, right alongside the road, a single-wide snuggled into a little clearing in the woods, shabby and peeling and with the aluminum base covering peeled back and just hanging there crookedly—probably a zillion raccoons living under there, heck, probably some BEARS hanging out and playing pinochle under there—a bunch of clutter on the leaning wooden porch…
the only thing it doesn’t have is the requisite decorative toilet bowl planted with petunias sitting there in grand style. (It’s probably in the back)
And parked next to it, and about the same size as the single-wide?
A great big shiny bright red SUV.
Wow Olygal,
I love how you describe and set the scenes. That could be my mom’s place except she lives in a mini-McMansion on the lake and that crazy lady intentionally feds the bears, deer, racoons, ducks and other unidentified little woodland critters.
A great big shiny red SUV out front would indicate that my older brother is up there trying to STOP HER and save his inheritance.
There is no the requisite decorative toilet bowl planted with petunias sitting there in grand style that I know of yet but one must NEVER underestimate these women that live out there…in the forests.
So they’re still doing that, Sleepr? I remember it well, back in the 70’s when I was working as a cook at the Rustler Steak House in Govans. They would drive up in their ornamented pink barges, all fancied up in their leisure suits, for their $6.00 T-Bone steak dinner.
Livin’ la vida Bawlamer. Some things never change.
One aspect of Silicon Valley life that was a harbinger for the future were all of the Ferarris I saw parked in the carports of what I would consider to be “cheap” apartment complexes. Engineers could afford a Ferarri but couldn’t buy a house? Something is really wrong there.
years ago a buddy of mine bought a 4WD toyota 4-runner. when the tires wore out he had to get rid of it cuz he couldn’t afford new ones.
man…ya gotta love the “how much a month” consumer.
He cannot afford a car, period.
My first car was a used Subaru GL wagon. I had 191k miles on it when I blew a head gasket - unfortunately with boxer engines, you have to pull the engine to replace the head gasket and I wasn’t comfortable doing the work myself. So instead of dropping $1300 to replace the head gasket and some other work I bought a new Jetta for $400 a month.
I kicked myself over that one for 57 straight months. Last time I made that mistake, which I guess is one of the reasons why the economy stinks. I guess I should go buy a new car this weekend instead of replacing the $17 air conditioner relay.
With all old cars, you get to a point where the repairs cost more than the value of the car. But, if you aren’t planning on selling the car, why not fix it? Simply, a $1500 repair is far less than a $13,000 replacement car.
Adam CO– Well, is IS worth a fair amount to have a car the RELIABILY starts every morning, instead of hoping that you’ll be able to get into work that day. If you KNEW what was going to break and when you’d keep junkers longer. But that’s still no reason to buy a brand-spanking new car, instead of a late model used one.
I knew a guy that had FIFTEEN Datsun 510s (and two license plates)
His rationale was that on any particular day, at least one of them would be drivable. That car would get a plate until it broke.
Couldn’t argue with the logic……..but his neighbors weren’t too happy.
Now that’s pretty smart!
Not to mention designer “purses” the size of luggage, which weigh about 8 lbs empty due to all the zippers, grommits, brass rings and tassles. oh, and those cute metal hearts. barf
Luggage these days is still lighter than I remember of my parents luggage (I’m 30)…big plastic+metal things that weighed a considerable amount holding nothing but air. Then again, you never had to worry about anything getting “crushed”. They had metal latches too.
Funny, salad!
I have a LOT of purses, probably about 20, some of them quite expensive ones, got ‘em from friends with too much money who get tired of stuff fast, and some of those things really are just nothing but little pockets and jingling doodads. I think ‘I’ll try something new, see if I like it.’ But my favorite purse is still just a simple leather affair that looks like a mail-pouch stitched up by some peasant in Paraguay, that I got as a gift about 9 years ago. So all the other purses sit in the closet with their doo-daddery getting dusty and complaining to each other.
RE: So now you go in for a set of tires ( on your All-Wheel-Drive vehicle ) which requires ALL 4 to be replaced and… it’s about a grand.
Here’s one for your Din/OR…
My kid own’s one of those AWD Subaru WXR’s. He took a nail in a sidewall which wrecked the Bridgeston. So, the local tire guy tell him, ah, when you trash a tire on an AWD vehicle, you have to go good all the way around again because of the tread wear’s impact on the drive system.
Initially, after hearing the story, I’m WTF? Checked with my mechanic who I trust implicitly and he said, Yup-that’s the game!
After hearing this you’ll never catch me in with AWD.
RE: 22″ inchers on a SUV…Might as well hang a sign in the rear window…white trash wannabe. As ridiculous a look as there has ever been. Heavy forbid anybody would go back to a Torq-Thrust D on a 15 inch. Firestone.
Regarding AWD: Yeah, you should keep them all close to the same circumference, but of course they make it sound way worse than it is to take advantage of the paranoid or are just repeating what they’ve been taught. You can get away with most situations like a mixed set of newer/older of the same brand and size without any problems. Take it from a guy who drag raced an AWD for years and still regularly drives it on the street with a race clutch and a solidly welded center differential. It’s idiots who actually run different sizes of tires who have problems and start all the paranoia.
If I was really paranoid and there was a decent amount of life left in the old set, *maybe* I’d have shaved a new one down to match. If there was that much life left I’d be more likely to call that “close enough” to the new one. No way I’d have just slapped plastic down for a whole new set unless the old ones were worn out anyway.
Carl’s right. You should be able to find a ‘racing’ shop that can shave your tires to a predetermined depth. Racers do that to brand-new tires since the outer layer is somewhat hardened.
Check the owners manual….unless it SAYS all four need changed, I wouldn’t change squat. Make him show you the paperwork requiring all four be changed.
Same thing with “3,000 mile oil changes”. Follow the owners manual, NOT the oil change shop’s recommendations. If you feel guilty, use the “extreme service” recommended intervals. Make sure the oil meets exceeds the spec listed in the owners manual.
Newer cars that have electronic fuel injection do a better job of metering fuel, so you don’t end up with as much fuel residue in the oil.
Oil is getting better all the time……in the jet engines I work on, the interval for changes has at least DOUBLED in the past 15 years. Some newer engines don’t even have a specific change interval; they only have you change it when the TAN (Total Acid Number) exceeds a certain amount.
I change mine every 5,000 miles in my cars, mainly because it’s an easy number to remember.
22″s are so 2008…….they are moving up to 24″s now.
Vehicle dynamics and common sense have nothing to do with it. Just watch “Cribs”.
Good morning to all. Some real estate news from the islands. Away back a private investor bought 203 condos located on the top floors of the Ilikai. Also bought parts of the lower floors and common areas . For those of you that remember Hawaii 50 the Ilikai was the hotel featured in the intro with Jack Lord doing his dramatic turn and looking cool was introduced.
The lenders bought the building back for @ 2/3 of the original price. 203 condos were sold at an average of $174,000 eack. Though the building is old (and needs work)it is a landmark and sits beachfront on Waikiki beach.
We are going fishing today, and yesterday I drove through Wailea. Wailea is the most expensive area on Maui. One out of four homes was for sale. Many new condo’s and houses were built on speculation and nobody can sell anything in this area due to totaly stupid prices. Not to mention all the empty inventory that is vacant and waiting for buyers, and most are empty and in the rental pools.
Last month Wailea’s occupancy was less than 75%. Last year April it was 86%. The year before it was 95%. April is the last good tourist month and occupancy should be in the 90% range. Also room rates have fallen 25%. Boys and girls, this is not going to end well.
At least the diving was good so I have bait for todays trip. I have a full day comming up with golf in the morning. Fourth person gets on the course free. After that we fly back home ,load up the truck, and go fishing. We will be on the rocks all night. A friend is over from Oahu and we are going to make the most of it.
It is still beautiful here but there is a lot more pain to come. If I was intrested in more real estate here I would think that in four of so years some great deals will be here. However the Maui tourist run is a failing model. I see us going back to the 70’s with no recovery in sight.
It is early AM here and I want to say I’m sorry for all the typos. Time to sleep.
Thanks for the update!
God, I miss Hawaii. It’s getting near time to go again.
Thanks for the update!
Thank you for the HI update. Your observations are more than interesting.
Ah, Crash, you brought back fond memories with the Ilikai. I’ll never forget the plush carpets that you almost sink up to your ankles in. Beautiful classy place, back when the word “class” had class. Orchids on all the tables in cut glass vases, I felt like I could turn and see Robert Stevenson writing on a notepad…
I watch a TV station that has Retro Night and Hawaii Five-0 is on every so often. Let me tell you Jack Lord still looks cool and Hawaii Five-0 theme song is great.
That was my mom’s favorite show of all time.
(probably cause her grandson was an extra on the show)
Feds close largest Florida-based bank, sell it to group that includes Palm Beach investor
By JEFF OSTROWSKI
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 21, 2009
CORAL GABLES — The largest financial institution based in Florida on Thursday became the largest bank failure of the year.
In a transition that they promise will be mostly invisible to depositors, federal regulators closed BankUnited and sold its assets to a group of investors that includes Palm Beach resident Wilbur L. Ross.
The arrangement was the “least costly” outcome for the troubled thrift, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement - but the failure still will cost the FDIC $4.9 billion.
BankUnited, which had 86 offices and assets of $12.8 billion, was felled by bad bets on the Florida real estate market. The bank will keep its name but will be owned by WL Ross & Co. and Carlyle Group. It will be run by former North Fork Bancorp Chief Executive John Kanas.
BankUnited customers will see little change, the FDIC said.
Its 86 offices will open as usual today. Deposits will be insured by the FDIC. Customers can continue to use BankUnited FSB’s checks, ATM cards and debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual, the FDIC said.
The FDIC and BankUnited will share in the losses on $10.7 billion in assets covered under the agreement.
The new BankUnited will recapitalize the institution with $900 million in capital, the FDIC said.
BankUnited will not assume $348 million in brokered deposits. BankUnited customers who have questions can call the FDIC at (800) 451-1093.
BankUnited is the sixth-largest financial institution in Palm Beach County, where it has 17 offices and deposits of $1.6 billion.
“least costly”
Well certainly for Wilbur Ross it was! What’s that, about a dime on the dollar?
“BankUnited will not assume $348 million in brokered deposits. ”
That’s interesting. I haven’t seen a specific comment about brokered deposits in the other FDIC-takeover press releases.
Does that mean holders of brokered CDs just get their funds returned immediately, and don’t get to hold onto the “distressed bank rate” that they likely were getting on those CDs?
Cougar91, any comments, since you engaged in distressed-rate CD investing a while back IIRC?
Still doing it actually. I didn’t use a broker, I shopped around myself among 7 banks up to FDIC limit. So far 2 has “failed”: WaMu, IndyMac and I think another will fail soon: Corus in Chicago. First 2 cases, the receivor bank honored the terms of the CDs so power to me.
Oh forgot one more: National City, which was taken over by PNC. So total of 3 banks taken over that I had a CD in (National City, WaMu and IndyMac), all 3 receivor banks honored the high APR on those CDs. Only time will tell what happens going forward.
Those guys had great CD rates right before they folded. A friend opened one at IndyMac right before the close: she told me I should do the same. But the FDIC has the right to change interest rates going forward.
They didn’t.
So when WaMu went under, I was there the very next day with a $100K cashier’s check and opened a 13 month CD at 5.00 apy. Sure enough, the FDIC was cool with that.
Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124294047987244803.html
There are two things I love: abandoned subdivisions, and abandoned malls. I won’t have to return to Rochester, the whole country will remind me of it.
You would probably like: www deadmalls com .
That was a very long article to have never once mentioned the role of the absent housing ATM machine in the demise of malls.
A handful of retail holdouts — stores for Footlocker Inc., Burlington Coat Factory Inc. and several local merchants, many paying reduced rents — are reluctant to leave, even as sales dwindle. “I’ve made my business here,” Luz Pavas said, while manning her kiosk of health and beauty aids. “I don’t want to move to another mall. I want Eastland Mall to be like it was eight years ago.”
We have millions of Americans wanting America to be like it was eight years ago…lots of luck lady !
8 years ago was 2001 and the tech wreck was well underway. I would think most people would prefer 3 years ago.
LOL! I know realtwhores sure would. How ya’ been man, hangin’ in there?
Also smart of her to burn through whatever reserves she might having hoping for shoppers to return to that mall instead of proactively getting her kiosk into a more central mall where there is foot traffic.
Yeah, I giggled a bit when I read that, too. “I want, I want….”
She sounded like a pouty little kid.
Well, IIIIII want to fly to the Mooooooon on a magical winged pink pony. I want a magic pony! I want a magic pony! Oh, yeah, and someone pack me a ham sandwich to take to the moon in case I get hungry! I want a ham sandwich! And I’m just gonna HOLD MY BREATH until I get a magic pink pony and a ham sandwich! Do you hear me? I mean it! I really mean it!
(In stern parent voice):
“Look, I said it’s a cheese sandwich and a ride on the ferris wheel young lady! One more peep out of you and you’re going home to your bedroom, hungry!
That’s one mean bear, sounds more like Grizzly Bear than Bantering Bear.
Olympiagal,
Have you read Kay Thompson’s “Eloise”? If not, a must read for you.
I’ll go get me a copy and check it out. Thanks
My daughter worked at Steve and Barry’s for a while……the place was a giant Charlie-Foxtrot. She couldn’t figure out how the place made any money, between the turnover, poor inventory control and mass shoplifting (they had NO Store Security, even with stuff as dirt cheap as it was, people were still stealing them blind).
The place was all about the IPO…….make the sales numbers look good on paper, then let the new sucker/owner find and fix all the problems. I’ve never shorted stocks, but I was going to short the crap out of that stock, if they had made the IPO.
As I recall, the only thing keeping them afloat was the “incentive money” that mall owners were paying them to open stores in their mall.
When I was growing up, I was not allowed to go to the mall by myself. Or with friends. Sorry, folks, but Young Slim had to go to the mall with Mom (a rare event) or with Dad (even rarer, as Dad regards shopping as a chore best left to Mom).
Reason for the mall ban? My folks didn’t want me to become a mall rat.
I growed up in the wilderness, and when I say ‘wilderness’ I mean wilderness, so I went to the nearest Mall, which was farrrrrr away in the Big City of Orem, Utarr about lessee…that would be never, in the first 7 or so years of my life, I believe.
Then when we were a bit older and would go to visit the cousins for a sleep-over in the Big City of Provo, Utarr, we went to the Mall a few times…it was pretty overwhelming to a farm-girl.
I remember there was a brick fountain right there inside the building! Wow! Right there! Inside, in the courtyard! And it had yellow lights under the water and it would splash up and then come down most enchantingly and ripple all yellowy. The mall cop made me get out and then he scolded my aunt, although it wasn’t her fault. I had waited until she wasn’t looking.
Anyway, malls were exciting and mysterious far-off foreign lands to me in my youth. Then when I got older and went to the mall it was a serious let-down. I thought ‘This su*cks’.
Hahaha, that reminds me, I was talking to some suit last autumn and he mentioned how much time his wife spent at the Westside mall and then he wondered if they had a good coffee spot and I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ve never been in there.’ and he actually stepped back in an involuntary gesture of shock and about fell down the stairs backwards. It was pretty funny. Not that he’d nearly damaged himself, just how astonished and full of wonderment he was.
For those of you who remember NY in the 1970s, James Wolcott hits it out of the park in this month’s Vanity Fair. Might be one good side effect of this downturn, a gritty makeover for NY. We can dream, can’t we? Good read.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/06/seventies-nyc200906
Not to mention the return of the fake ID stores in Times Square!!!
So glad to hear you’re a fellow VF fan. The article you mention is a perfect example of why I like it. I get exposed to stories, cultural history and ideas that I don’t see anywhere else.
I didn’t think the 1970s were so good, frankly.
I did a summer internship in NYC in 1978. It was a nasty town, lemme tell ya. I much prefer the present-day NYC.
The post about Hawaii very interesting. On my short list of places to live. Some have written about the higher education bubble and stuff bubble cause by the false sense of prosperity and HELOC money. What do you guys / gals thing of PBS’ Antiques Road Show ? One of my favorite. Very interesting to see the stuff and learn history. But I think the appraisals are way high and the market is exaggerated. Yes the appraisers give RETAIL price for a shop / gallery or auction but still. Sure for a piece of jewelry that turns out to be Tiffany or Cartier or a painting by a famous artist. But last Monday there was a modern dining table era 1950s. The lady - original owner - had it made for about $600. She had the original sales slip and drawings. Sorry don’t remember who made it. Nice enough looking piece, just big slab of cherry. Appraisal $60K. Appraiser said so and so is very hot. Some of these appairsersremind me of realtors pimping property. Somehow I think that in this economy the demand for $10K baseballs, $3K stuff toy bears and several seasons ago a $50K ceramic “cocoa set” will be diminished.
Anon in DC,
Can’t say. I’ve long predicted there was a Barrett Jackson Auto Auction bubble and it took until last year for prices to abate in the least?
But I like where you’re going. ( See my post above ) Hey look, I don’t have any control over how the Gov. decides to burn money. I can’t stop ‘that’. In the end, the only thing I ‘can’ control is myself. But what you have to ask yourself is:
Is this investment “real”?
Is there real value in what I’m about to exchange cash for? Again I don’t have anything against people and their passions, but fer’ chrissakes, specialize in something! Be it arch top guitars or whatever! In the boom times all it had to be was old to draw bidders.
The rare cars, with concours-type restos, are having some problems. I’ve also been seeing a lot of “projects” starting to come out of the woodwork, with lower “wishing” prices, but they are not there yet. Unless a “project” is priced at a point where I can at least break even when it is done, it’s not worth wasting my time.
The “drivers”, are holding up okay. Even if they slide a little, you can still use them as transportation and not hurt their value too much.
Same thing in the fine art market and other collectibles. They are not required for living and even the rich are not spending like they use to…. Just like real estate, they are only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.
“But I think the appraisals are way high and the market is exaggerated.”
Once again, wishing prices! Last weekend I went into several art galleries in Carmel and was told that I could get a great deal on some of the oils that were now on consignment because of the economy. Most coming from the east coast and Texas. Can’t wait to ‘concours d’elegance’ this year to see how much prices will ebb.
Off to the Sequoia’s…now get along with you all & enjoy low mortgage rates, falling home prices, gasoline @ less than last years “supply & demand” price of $4.60 per gallon, things you find yourself tossing on the bar-be-q, every news article related to mortgage fraud arrests, and all those folks we honor with our fluttering American flags!
No WiFi, no cell service…good lord, free at last!
Are you sure you’re not Laddie masquerading as Hwy50ina49Dodge?
Remember the NYT magazine article last weekend about the journalist who went bankrupt? Apparently his wife has been bankrupt twice already.
Interesting read.
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/05/the_road_to_bankruptcy.php
And now you know….the rest of the story.
Ouch.
Wow, between the serial bankruptcy filer for a current wife and the 4k/month he pays the previous wife, this guy certainly knows how pick ‘em!
You know, I didn’t come up with that explicitly when I read the article, but it makes a huge amount of sense once you say it. Everything he said about her - insisting on buying expensive clothes for him and the kids, always getting the expensive food, the fact that she couldn’t understand how they could have used up all his money in so short a time, the way she thought things would just take care of themselves without any change in their income or her spending. She is the guys version of women liking “bad boys” - vibrant, exciting, and a total spentthrift.
If he cuts up her credit cards and controls her spending (she clearly has no interest in doing it on her own) and she is willing to put up with it, they might have a chance. Otherwise the marriage will be over in 2 years or when he loses his job, which ever comes first.
> If he cuts up her credit cards and controls her spending (she clearly has no interest in doing it on her own) and she is willing to put up with it
Do you really believe that someone like her will put up with it? No way Jose.
Not really. She sounds like a broad who gets all her self worth from buying stuff and being worshipped by a man. Hence the sentence you quoted starts with an “if.” That guy is going to be a total basket case when she is through with him. He’ll never trust anyone again.
No, wife #3 will be *exactly* the same.
Its similar to when children of alcoholics marry alcoholics. Its all they know.
The phrase is “High maintenance.”
I’m a real believer in liberated women. I won’t date a woman who hasn’t had to earn her own money. So far my most interesting ex-girlfriends have all become doctors, lawyers, mathematicians, etc.
Too bad I wasn’t good enough for them!
But I’ll have to keep trying.
Editorial change:
“Patty was brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic”
should read :
“Patty was a brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic albatross…”
>fiery
This single word alone would have sent me running away for sure. Fiery gal = scary gal.
Here, hold this road flare.
Blue Skye,
That got me laughing. Thank you.
LOL! More fun than a potato, that’s for sure!
Yeah, I made that mental euphemistic translation once long long ago. Although in my case, fiery was “high-strung”. Somehow I imagined that might be analogous to how a high-strung race-horse can be high-performance.
Hey I am just telling like it is… “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” came from some wise man (personal experience I am sure), didn’t it?
This thread won’t be complete without a comment from hd.
Oh yes the thread is complete without a comment from hd.
LOL, SFGal!
Ya gotta love these posts!
…brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic = bi-polar crazy
(ask me how I know)
LOL
Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Your prize is an all-expenses paid romantic trip to anywhere on the planet, which of course will show up later on your credit card. But it’s the thought that counts, right?
Read the comments!
Here’s one (presumably) woman’s take.
“Going back to the original, original article: “Patty was brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic.”
N”ext time, Doofus, maybe you ought to look for a girl who is short, flat-chested, average-looking or maybe even a little chubby, good-natured, hard-working, responsible, and brainy enough to balance a checkbook.”
Here’s one (presumably) woman’s take.
“Going back to the original, original article: “Patty was brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic.”
Patty is going to keep working it until either….
A. Her looks or “charms” run out.
B. Her 5th husband secretly over-insures her butt and pays little Vinny from Jersey to “adjust” her brakelines.
Treasury bond plunges just before 9am, Gold up up and away.
This is gonna end well. NOT.
Didn’t a bond market crash in the spring of 1987 portend the stock market crash that fall? Good thing our stock market has already crashed, or this new development in the bond market might be concerning to the Wall Street bull herd.
Sell in May, go away.
Yes, all my anti-dollar hedges are now roughly even after being down ~10% or so…
…and there was much rejoicing
er, USD-hedges or anti-dollar bets. Sigh.
B.Dogg,
Whats with the spam in the forum?
Lol…..no doubt.
I can’t understand why so many folks here in Florida, a recourse state, believe that lenders will not be going after borrowers for deficiency judgments.
Am I missing something?
Just using common sense, the claims have to be coming soon. In Dade County alone, there around 60,000 foreclosure filings in 2008 (and 2009 may double). Assuming that each deficiency is around $200,000, that means that in one year, in one county, there is $12 BILLION in bad debt sitting there. Imagine what the total bad paper for the whole housing bubble for all the recourse states. Do you think for one second that the lenders are simply going to allow all that debt to simply fade away before five-year statute of limitations passes?
Yet, despite what I see an obvious flood of deficiency actions, I keep reading things like this from banking.about.com:
“Is a Deficiency Judgment Likely? If your lender is allowed to pursue a deficiency judgment, there is no way to know whether or not they will. In many cases, your lender will not go to the trouble. Legal action is expensive and time consuming, and people who just suffered a foreclosure often don’t have the assets or income needed to satisfy a deficiency judgment. If you had the resources, you wouldn’t have missed your payments in the first place.”
And that seems to be a general attitude out there. Since lenders didn’t bother to go after deadbeats in the past, they won’t go after them now. However, the situation today is MUCH different. First, the volume is unprecedented. Second, it’s not just poor folks without assets that are defaulting. Now, there are plenty of wealthy, well-capitalized who are walking away due to their equity situation. Certainly, lenders will not allow those deadbeats to simply walk away without repercussions. Right?
“it’s not just poor folks without assets that are defaulting”
Interesting wrinkle? In light of “Don’t 1099 me bro’” I was willing to write the whole thing off? With Bank United FSB going under, seems the method is to let ( certain ) banks fail, let investment groups pick it up for a song and let FDIC ( with dwindling resources ) pick up the tab?
And people wonder why I’m a fan of cram-downs?
The banks are just the servicers of the mortgages, not the actual “lenders”. And does any lender really want to set in front of a judge and explain why they gave a ninja loan for $400K to anyone?
“Now, there are plenty of wealthy, well-capitalized who are walking away due to their equity situation. Certainly, lenders will not allow those deadbeats to simply walk away without repercussions. Right?”
You seem to be assuming that lenders are competent to judge the most sensible thing to do from a financial p.o.v.
After the way they behaved w.r.t. lending standards during the bubble, why would you assume that?
No, I do not think the lenders are competent enough to judge.
However, I do think that there will be plenty of craft law firms that specialize in debt collection who will start offering the lenders a few pennies on the dollar for all the bad paper that they’re still holding.
It’s those firms that I think will relentlessly pursue the all the deadbeats.
A very long time ago, I worked for a “receivables management” company. We used to buy written-off receivables from hospitals. Then, we would compare the receivables to the debtors credit score. We only would seek judgments against debtors with very high bills and decent FICOs. The others were tossed.
Certainly, the same will happen in this case.
I’m envisioning a ‘Dog, the Bounty Hunter’ spin-off…
Bernie, the Debt Collector. “No one just walks away in Bernie’s town”
What’s the statute of limitations on deficiency judgements? Three years?
“I’m not even going to think about house hunting until interest rates go up. If you only consider the interest part of PITI, $1500 a month gets you $360K at 5% and $225K at 8%. What happens to my six figure downpayment if I buy before the interest rate increase happens?”
Polly, I’m with you 100%. I’m also waiting to buy again once interest rates head north. Higher rates have to mean the next leg down in prices. Your down payment goes farther with a lower price, property taxes & insurance are lower, and come the next rate cycle, you’ve got sufficient equity to re-finance. Of course, according to NAR, it’s a great time to buy because rates are at historic lows. Yeah right.
It always amazes me how ingrained into the DNA of just about everyone in Orange County the “it’s a great time to buy because interest rates are low” idiocy.
I always shoot back, I want interest rates at 20% when I buy. first they look bewidlered than confused. At which point I explain the common sense of it, iterest low-price high and the obvious inverse.
On some rare occasions, you can see the light go on. Usually followed by some concern that their whole premiss has been distorted along the way and possibly a problem for them. Most agree but just fall back to “it’s a great time to buy because interest rates are low”. Truly amazing, what a sell/con/brainwash job.
I finally get people to understand when I explain it as “Buy when rates are high, refinance when rates are low.”
Anybody who still has a mortgage from the early 90’s that hasn’t refinanced is asleep at the switch. (Or very concerned about moving to a recourse loan.)
Lisa,
Isn’t it great to be numerate? The entire “rates are low so it is a good time to buy” campaign is based on people not being able to divide by percents, even with a calculator. The level of math knowledge in our society is pathetic.
Polly,
I have a friend who rushed in to buy 2 years ago, because there was a “small window” to get in before rates moved up. House was bought, and the 20% down payment ($150K) has evaporated in those 2 years given price declines.
The NAR propaganda is just terrible. No one seems to understand prices can’t hold up with higher rates & conventional lending standards, and I don’t see big income jumps coming anytime soon.
I’ve tried to explain this reasoning to so many people recently, to no avail. The conversation usually ends with ‘well you have to buy this year to get the $8k tax credit’.
The only person who gets it is a fellow housing blog reader, who likens buying a home because of low rates to walking into a car dealorship to buy a car, only caring about the monthly payment.
“The only person who gets it is a fellow housing blog reader, who likens buying a home because of low rates to walking into a car dealorship to buy a car, only caring about the monthly payment.”
I certainly wouldn’t ask a car dealer if he/she thought it was a great time to buy a car. I don’t know why people think NAR is any different.
I’m in Marin, and I can report that folks are quiet on the subject of housing…the obnoxious “masters of the universe” attitude about how smart you were to be leveraging $1M+ in mortgage debt has pretty much disappeared.
Yes, Lisa, you are correct.
The local entitlement culture has taken a major hit… but the jackass-to-regular person quotient in southern Marin is still too high.
Another year or two of this and it will be tolerable again.
The car dealership is actually a good example to use to explain the housing mess. The last time I bought a car, we haggled hard on price, and claimed our monthly budget for payments was high and acted clueless about interest rates. Got a good price with a terrible payment plan. Then said “Honey, let’s just write them a check. I don’t want to mess around with payments.”
Classic.
It only works on places with ‘in house’ financing where they get a cut of whatever horrible deal they stuff you in.
Classic. Total classic. I think we once had someone here ask about car negotiating strategy and I recommended a much less exciting variation on that - just let them think you will be financing with them get committment on the good price and then refuse to take their financing. I can see that it would work way better with a partner….
It works best when you let them play up to the stereotypes, too. And more hilarious.
Fire up the windmills, break out the solar pannels
GO BUCKEYES !
Ohio unemployment tops 10 percent in April May 22, 2009 9:58 AM ET
All Associated Press news COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio’s job market continued to weaken in April, pushing the state’s unemployment rate above 10 percent for the first time in more than 25 years, state officials announced Friday.
The state jobless rate last month was 10.2 percent, up from 6.2 percent in April 2008, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said.
Last month’s rate was the highest since December 1983, when joblessness in Ohio hit 10.4 percent, department spokesman Brian Harter said.
The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent.
I graduated college in Ohio in May, 1983 (BS- Finance) and the unemployment rate was higher. Of course, it had been high for some time, so it seemed there were a million unemployed Ohioans with work experience competing with us grads for a job.
Only 2 people in my senior finance class got jobs - both at banks out of state. And this from one of the better undergrad universities and business schools in the country (Miami University).
Another 1983 grad. The generation that looks at the present as good times.
Kind of like 1933 grads, like my grandfather.
A 1979 grad of that university whose football team hasn’t fared well against the Buckeyes in recent years. And, sad to say, Michigan’s economy had “get outta here” written all over it. Even then.
“But windmills near-by could reduce the value of my house…”
This is about the only area where Michigan can say it beat you….12.9 here now.
Hail! to the Victors valiant
Hail! to the conquering heros
Hail! Hail! To Michigan
The leaders and Best
I have seen evidence in Radar Logic data that San Diego home prices are finding support at $200/sq ft since last November, when they first dipped below that level. In fact, every time the price level dips substantially below $200/sq ft, it is as though a giant boot kicks it back up again.
The price is out of reach for most would-be end user buyers in a bad recession, so I am guessing this demand is coming from a very deep pocketed source who believes it makes sense to buy now in order to capture the gains due to future house price appreciation. Hopefully for these newfangled speculators, our market will not go the way of Japan’s over the past two decades (but I can’t see any reason why this is outside the realm of possibility)…
What will happen when they run out of fence sitters to prod into buying houses? I am planning to wait and see…
Realty Q&A
May 21, 2009, 7:07 p.m. EST
First-timers and beyond
Extending home-buyer tax credit to all is on the table
By Lew Sichelman
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Question: Is there any possibility that the tax credit for first-time home buyers will be expanded to also include repeat purchasers who already own a house but would like to move up? I understand there has been some movement in Congress along these lines.
Answer: There is not yet any legislation along the lines you suggest, but the Democratic Leadership Council has recommended such a move. The first-time buyer tax credit was designed to spark home buying among those who have yet to join the ranks of homeowners, and the DLC says a similar $8,000 credit for move-up buyers would do the same thing for those who want to move up the housing ladder.
“Getting homes moving again is crucial to speed the nation’s recovery,” says Bruce Reed, the council’s new chief executive officer.
At an estimated cost of $11.4 billion, the DLC would expand the credit to all buyers, regardless of whether they owned a home previously. But it also recommends limiting it to just this year to “force” those who want to take advantage of the government’s largesse to do so right away.
I didn’t even know that the DLC was still around. The fact that they are recommending anything about any legislation reminds me of an Arabic expression that translates as “the flopping-around of a slaughtered chicken.”
People still look favorably at DLC-guru Bill Clinton.
“Getting homes moving again is crucial to speed the nation’s recovery,” says Bruce Reed, the council’s new chief executive officer.
So how about setting Freddie and Fannie to 20% down, full documentation only, canceling HUD and FHA, removing that mortgage interest deduction and waiting 6 months. That will compress about 5 years of pain into 6 months if you do it all at once. Then housing will start selling again.
Side note: HUD is said to be the most corrupt of all the Fed agencies.
+10,000, sfbb!!!
I will believe this plan when I see it implemented.
Geithner Calls for ‘Very Substantial’ Change in Wall Street Pay
By Rich Miller
May 22 (Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called for major changes in compensation practices at financial companies and said the Obama administration’s plan to help realign pay with performance will be rolled out by mid-June.
“I don’t think we can go back to the way it was,” Geithner said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” to be aired tonight and over the weekend. “We’re going to need to see very, very substantial change.”
He said that Wall Street’s pay practices, which include big year-end bonuses, encouraged excessive risk-taking and helped precipitate the financial crisis. What’s needed is a set of broad standards that financial supervisors can use to make sure that doesn’t happen again, he said.
This is called “playing to the audience” as well as “dissembling.”
What needs to happen is to put the regulations that were created from the Great Depression back into place that were dismantled and repealed over the last 2 decades.
California Cities Irked by Borrowing Plan
SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his efforts to find funds to balance the state budget, has proposed borrowing $2 billion from municipal governments over the next fiscal year, a tactic that is rankling local officials up and down the state.
Mr. Schwarzenegger is invoking a 2004 law that lets the state demand loans of 8% of property-tax revenue from cities, counties and special districts. Under the law, the state must repay the municipalities with interest within three years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124294953351345429.html
The California governor and legislature are pathetic. The voters send a screaming message and try to take away the credit card and all Arnold can do is try other means to continue borrowing funds.
The state government needs to be restructured with cuts in employees and employee compensation packages, especially pensions. For example, a state employee can now retire after 30 years and get 90 percent of their pay in retirement. Prior to the increases in the pension plan early this decade, it would have only been 60 percent. Pension benefits were increased 50 percent with no way to pay for them.
The state has hired nearly 40 employees per day, every day, for the last decade - quite a hiring binge. Most private sector businesses and federal agencies (Homeland Security excepted) have been getting by with the same or fewer employees. There is no compelling reason why the state should be expanding employment beyond the rate of non-illegal population growth.
Also astounding is that there are more than 5000 prison guards making more than $100k per year in just wages and overtime alone, not including the rest of their benefit package. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons it costs more than $40k per year to house a California prisoner while it costs less than $20k per year in Florida.
There are a lot of places to cut, including services to illegals, that wouldn’t have much impact on the general public. Trying to find more ways to maintain current bloated spending levels isn’t the solution.
This morning Mayor Newsome in SF was whining about the state “borrowing” money from cities that would force municipalities to make the tough decisions about cutbacks.
Let’s recall that in San Francisco, the “public servants” don’t work for you - you work for them!
9,000 of the city’s 28,000 in staff make $100,000 or more per year (and let’s not mention the full lifetime health care benefits).
That’s one city staffer making $100K or more for every 89 residents. The number of city employees, and the what they are paid, is beyond greedy.
It’s plain INSANE.
Or better yet, a very simple high-end welfare program - I suppose the situation wouldn’t be so egregious if San Francisco was actually well run.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/01/09/sfpay2008.DTL
www oftwominds com / blogmay09 / belief-fades05-09 html
“The City and County of San Francisco has about 800,000 residents and a budget of $6.5 Billion. The enormity of that number doesn’t faze the politicos or government employees at all; everything they say tells us they think “that’s as it should be.” Never mind the budget was only $4 billion not that many years ago–now $6.5 Billion is the new baseline, and anything less than that “will cause dramatic cuts in core programs,” blah blah blah.”
That’s more than $8000 per resident. No wonder that Californians are now vying with those from New Jersey for the highest combined state and local taxes, up from 6th before the state tax increases the past few months. In this case for this state, raising taxes even higher is not the solution. Spending must be cut.
Red Pen, if you’re reading this, you rock! Made my day!
Local stuff….my band was playing way out in the boonies last Saturday, near a popular lake and ski resort. Lots of cabins, acreage and modest second homes. Met a genuine Realtwhore at the bar who was getting plastered. He said that the locals weren’t coming down from their wishing prices so sales are stalled. All the action now is in the Flathead, which had a big bubble (Whitefish, Kalispell, Polson, Bigfork). Lots of out of state specuvestors *snapping up* vacation properties (again) and lakeside condos because the prices are down > 40%. He thinks he’s really missing out. Later I saw him sitting up against the wall, staring into space just sh!tfaced. As I packed out and left later he was asleep in his SUV with the dome light on. LOL.
Yesterday I was hanging with some county employees and got some scuttlebutt. Word is local house and auto sales have plummeted and the county’s tax rev isway down, drying up the general fund. County workers standing around without much to do, no new hires or replacements for retirees of course. The budgeting ofc has gone eerily silent and the word is they’re holding their breath, waiting for property tax totals after this month to see how they’re doing.
I asked if there was any sense that the economic situation was turning a corner and they said no, it’s just getting worse and probably will drag into 2010.
Gotta remember, it’s different here and we didn’t have a bubble. Yeah.
Hey, are you in Boze? If so, how’s the rental situation there?
Nope, Missoula. Bozeman is really a mess, got it from the horse’s mouth. I don’t know about rentals but I would check CL of course.
Thanks, have been checking, but seems like things are still high. Missoula’s a beautiful and cool town.
Well, hey! This is just super handy. In Montana, you’ve saved me the effort of laboriously typing out the report on MY county, Thurston co., here in WA. I’ll just change the date, shall I? Otherwise it’s all exactly the same…
A week and a half agoI was hanging with some county employees and got some scuttlebutt. Word is local house and auto sales have plummeted and the county’s tax rev is way down, drying up the general fund. County workers standing around without much to do, no new hires or replacements for retirees of course. The budgeting ofc has gone eerily silent and the word is they’re holding their breath, waiting for property tax totals after this month to see how they’re doing…
Man, it’s like deja vu all over again!
Does your county ALSO have a brand new auto registration system that doesn’t work and wipes out existing records, so that it takes 2-3 hours to get your tags even when the county employees don’t have all that much to do nowadays?
Didn’t think so.
Nah, you got it all wrong. Nobody goes there anymore: it’s too crowded.
I grew up in Montana (Butte, which also managed to have a bubble, of all the godforsaken towns to have had one) and I’ve been worried that it’s not going to end well up there. Montana has never had piles of revenue, and the bubble tax revenue made the legislature spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave. They have zero chance of replacing that revenue so I see some extremely painful government contraction in the future up there.
Thankfully, Cali might have the same thing. Smaller gov!
At a softball game last night in Lake Oswego, Oregon, I overheard that it’s a great time to buy right now. Steals all over the place. Buy now! One lady bought last year and it was a little too soon, but they got the perfect house for them (naturally) and couldn’t wait because it would be gone. They’re pleased as punch with their Garage Majal because it’s humongous, custom-made, granite everywhere, soaker tubs galore and all the other things that scream ‘housing bubble flip’.
How much time to people actually spend soaking in those soaker tubs? And if you assumed that the time doing that was worth something totally ridiculous, like $10 an hour, how much value would you have added to your life doing it? I can understand wanting some sort of tub rather than just a shower - hard to lean over to shave legs in a shower stall that is only 3 feet wide and deep - but the really big ones? You could kill yourself just climbing out of it.
Last time I “soaked” in a tub was in a hotel after spending a week on a raft down the Colorado River (through Grand Canyon) with no place to rinse off except the river (it was May and it was COLD) and spending nights on a sleeping bag on the beach. Took one shower to rinse off sand. Soaked for a bit while using hotel provided Dove bar to moisturize and then took another shower to finish cleaning out the hair. It was years ago.
Is this a TV thing? People see characters on TV shows soaking in a tub and want to be able to do it even though reaslistically they never will?
My friend Ernie LOVES those soaker tubs, he uses one every time he gets off from a week working at the Cactus Rat Mine, thinks he’s the cat’s meow saoking in the darn thing.
He told me about how great it was, so I took him some Dead Sea Bath Salts last time I went out there, his “soaker tub” was a horse tank.
Goes to show ya that it’s all in your mind, how well off you are, as long as you’ve got the basics covered (food, shelter, your health, and a pack of dogs).
Nothing wrong with a soak in a horse or farm tank but I learned that you HAD to remember to hide the horses when you were a kid.
I was subjected to some heavy duty, sibbling blackmail after my sister spotted our horses and rode up to surprise me and her one of her girlfriends…splashing around !
I guess I must be a renter, because I have no freaking idea what a “soaker tub” is, but it sounds redundant: as opposed to what, dry tub?
I don’t know. A huge jetted tub, with a great water, mountain or city view, together with a good book or your favorite TV show, and a bottle of wine and/or chocolate covered stawberries, is very enticing for me. I do it at least once a week.
Do you alternate between all though options, or do them all at once?
I bet Ernie’s never even heard of chocolate-covered strawberries, will have to take him some.
though = those
I’ll probably regret posting this response (good thing the internet is anonymous ;), but I’m going to have to agree with Natalie.
Don’t know why most people don’t realize how relaxing a nice soak can be. Bring a glass of wine, plop the laptop on the commode with a movie or some TV show on hulu…great way to de-stress.
Those fizzy-ball things are pretty cool, too. Dated a girl who always had some handy…
I’m with Natalie on this one. A long soak while reading a book was always way up on my list in the past.
My rental with no tub (just a shower) has put a real damper on this in recent years…
I’m also looking forward to buying a house (someday…maybe) so we can finally have a nice bathtub. Agree with Natalie and the rest — there is nothing like taking a nice, long, hot bath to de-stress and relax.
Another way to cut off Realtor commissions!
Homeowners turn to online home trading sites
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Homeowners-turn-to-online-apf-15328526.html?.v=3
“Universal counterfeiting could be the entitlement program that ends all other entitlement programs and sets us free. It is time to stand up and tell our legislators we want universal counterfeiting. If they protest, ‘You cannot just print money,’ then promptly respond in kind, ‘Why not? It works for you.’ ”
Think about it! Why should counterfeiting be a privilege reserved only for a private banking system and Washington politicians? Why shouldn’t all of us have the right to print and spend money as we please? Why, it would almost immediately wipe out poverty (Warning to the uptight reader….if you’re not in the mood for a laugh don’t read this.)
May 22, 2009
Time to Legalize Counterfeiting…
Many Americans today believe certain illegal vices in our society should be decriminalized, taxed, and regulated. The most popular of these vices include marijuana smoking, prostitution, and all forms of gambling. The proponents for decriminalization believe that the new tax revenues produced would help support schools, healthcare, and the impoverished, ease the pain of taxpayers, and reduce the deficit. They also believe that transgressions such as these will take place no matter, but, if properly regulated, would be safer for society in general. It would be a win, win situation.
Unfortunately, when it comes to lowering taxes and helping the downtrodden, the best-laid government plans seem to fall short of expectations. However, there is one vice, one small illegal indiscretion, that, if decriminalized would solve all our problems. The United States needs to legalize the victimless crime known as counterfeiting.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/time_to_legalize_counterfeitin_1.html
A while back, a fellow HBB-er recommended a very good book, A Nation of Counterfeiters. Good backgrounder for a discussion on legalizing counterfeiting.
Oh, and did you know that the U.S. federal agency that’s in charge of tracking down counterfeiters is the Secret Service? Word to the wise: Don’t mess with the Secret Service. Just don’t.
Well, shoots, now what am I supposed to do with all these brand-new 50’s in my pocket?
Seriously, a guy in a tiny town in Utah was just arrested, he would bleach out one-dollar bills and then photocopy the face of a 50 on them. I thought that was pretty innovative, don’t know how long he got away with it. Probably not worth the cost of lost opportunity sitting in prison…wait, you actually LEARN things in prison these days..
Suggested movie rental (if you missed it in the theater):
Die Fälscher
Excellent movie!
Product counterfeiting is an estimated $250B a year industry in this country alone.
3/3/2009 Tuesday 7.28081 NOK
5/21/2009 Thursday 6.42680 NOK
Gain in the NOK versus $US since 3/3/2009
((7.28081/6.42680)-1)*100 = 13.3 pct
Annualized rate of gain
((7.28081/6.42680)^(360/(31+30+21))-1)*100 = 72.9 pct
Don’t worry — this is a short-term trend, likely to soon reverse itself (gulp)…
NOK tracks oil quite closely, as oil is a major Norwegian export.
Not sure where this may have come from, but I like it.
Every year at Texas A&M they do a contest to come up with the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term. This year’s term was one of my favorites: political correctness. Here is the winning definition …
“Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.”
Go Aggies !
Holy frick! I just to the littleman to the aquarium in Tampa, which is in Channelside. It’s UNBELIEVABLE.
It’s like a mini city, entirely new, and abandoned.
to = took
Just looked at it online.
Dang, but that is huge!
Why abandoned? How so?
Some retail vacancies at the actual Channelside, but the entire surrounding “residential” complexes are brand-spanking new, and nobody lives there. Not to confuse anyone: the outdoor mall place is still functioning, but definitely listing. Back in the fall there was an article Ben posted about this one couple throwing pumpkins off their balconies there…
Anyway, I finally got to see Tampa’s “hip, new” play/live area. Totally screwed!
One way to help CA is to vacate the ‘ninth circus court of appeals’ out of SF ‘Ventura Decision’.
”
Home > Membership > Retirement > Service Retirement >
Ventura Decision
The Ventura Decision, as it affects ACERA, redefined what cash paid benefits are included in your final compensation. Final compensation may include, in addition to your base salary, items such as pay differentials, on-call pay, and shift differentials. For a complete list of pay types included in your final compensation, contact the Retirement Office. Employee contributions for cash benefits are being deducted on a biweekly payroll (or monthly if applicable) basis and are included in determining your retirement benefit.
One of the biggest impacts the Ventura Decision has for members is in the inclusion of the cash value for vacation cash received (as a result of vacation sell back and/or vacation “cashed-out” due to termination/retirement.) in the final average salary calculation. Under the decision, only such amount as can be accrued in the final compensation period (Tier 1 - 12 months; Tier 2 - 36 months) is included in the calculation of final compensation. For example: Tier 1 members who receive cash for vacation (cash at termination or sell back) during the final average salary period (highest 12 months) are limited to a maximum benefit equal to their annual vacation accrual rate or actual cash received, whichever is less. Tier 2 members who receive cash for vacation (cash at termination or sell back) during the final average salary period (highest 36 months) are limited to a maximum benefit equal to their annual vacation accrual rate for each year of the final average salary period or actual cash received, whichever is less. ”
Safety retirement should be based on high three earning years pay (actual base pay) and not include uniform allowance, overtime, etc pay. After 30 years they still get something like 90%.
The Ninth Circus is infamous.
I have NEVER seen more boneheaded decisions in my life from any other court.
People in government never talk about balancing the budget by removing gross abuses of taxpayer money like paying themselves to not work. If they do anything buy raise pensions, they know their pension is in trouble.
And the first thing they do when there are unexpected revenues is increase salaries and bennies.
Seeing as we bought a home yesterday, I thought I would share some of the things I learned along the way that might help when it comes time to pull the trigger.
1. First, we saw around 25 properties that were in our price range. The home we ended up buying was the one we almost removed from the list because the pictures didn’t look that good. Keep an open mind and see as many homes as you can.
2. Take good notes, because once you see 25 homes they are all going to blur together. We did a wrap up after each home, noting what we liked and disliked about it. It helped when we were back at the hotel.
3. After you have seen all the places and go back to the realtor’s office, they are going to whip out a lot of data. Comparison sales, what is listed, etc. I listened to it, and took it all in. But nothing was more important than the past sales history for the property. Nothing. For example, we were told that most homes were selling for 3% less than list price, and certain properties were below the market. But most of these homes were grossly overpriced relative to what they were bought for 3-5 years ago. So most of the data we saw was worthless. What matters is what the home sold for prior to the bubble. That is really the only way to know if you are overpaying or not.
4. There are good deals out there, but they are few and far between. But in the end, you have to be able to afford it. And in this market, if you have to sell you will take a big loss. So don’t expect to get your money back if you try to sell in 3-5 years. Not happening. You might not be able to sell it, period.
I don’t think you ever said where you bought?
He bought in Colorado.
Go to yesterday bits buckets.
“First, we saw around 25 properties that were in our price range.”
That, my friend, is the beauty of a buyer’s market — plenty of inventory to choose from at attractive prices for the quality of the homes. The two times in our married lives my wife and I bought homes, we had the advantage of similar market conditions to those you describe.
banana,
Congratulations on buying a home!
Enjoy!
Leave it to Maxine to come up with a solution for
the mess that America is in economically now..
“I bought a bird feeder . I hung
it on my back porch and filled
it with seed . What a beauty of
a bird feeder it was, as I filled it
lovingly with seed . Within a
week we had hundreds of birds
taking advantage of the
continuous flow of free and
easily accessible food” .
But then the birds started
building nests in the boards
of the patio, above the table,
and next to the barbecue .
Then came the poop . It was
everywhere: on the patio tile,
the chairs, the table . .
everywhere!
Then some of the birds
turned mean . They would
dive bomb me and try to
peck me even though I had
fed them out of my own
pocket . . . .
And others birds were
boisterous and loud . They
sat on the feeder and
squawked and screamed at
all hours of the day and night
and demanded that I fill it
when it got low on food .
After a while, I couldn’t even
sit on my own back porch
anymore . So I took down the
bird feeder and in three days
the birds were gone . I cleaned
up their mess and took down
the many nests they had built
all over the patio .
Soon, the back yard was like
it used to be . . . . quiet, serene . . . .
and no one demanding their
rights to a free meal .
Now let’s see .
Our government gives out
free food, subsidized housing,
free medical care and free
education, and allows anyone
born here to be an automatic
citizen .
Then the illegals came by the
tens of thousands . Suddenly
our taxes went up to pay for
free services; small apartments
are housing 5 families; you
have to wait 6 hours to be seen
by an emergency room doctor;
your child’s second grade class is
behind other schools because
over half the class doesn’t speak
English .
Corn Flakes now come in a
bilingual box; I have to
‘press one ‘ to hear my bank
talk to me in English, and
people waving flags other
than ‘Old Glory’ are
squawking and screaming
in the streets, demanding
more rights and free liberties .
“Just my opinion, but maybe
it’s time for the government
to take down the bird feeder” .
She’s wrong.
It’s MILLIONS. (not “thousands”)
Even Eagles Need a Push
Even the greatest and most powerful have weak moments. At such times, they may need a push before they stretch their wings and fly.
Golden and bald eagles are among the largest and most powerful birds in the world. Eagles are symbols of strength, bravery and courage — and proud independence. But their independence must be learned.
As young eaglets, the nest is comfortable, safe, and secure. But if the eaglets are to survive on their own, they must leave the comfort of the nest and learn to fly! To convince the eaglets that it is time to leave the parents make the nest uncomfortable by tearing up the bedding with their talons, allowing the sticks and sharp ends to be exposed.
The mother eagle then beats her wings at the eaglets, harassing them, and driving them forward. Cowering before such an attack, the little eaglets climb up on the edge of the nest, only to be pushed over the side by the mother eagle. The eaglet falls, its wings struggling to catch the air currents, but flopping out of control due to inexperience.
Just before the eaglet crashes upon the rocks below, the mother eagle swoops down, catches it on her back, and soars upward into the sky. Much relieved, the young eaglet feels safe, until suddenly, without warning, the mother eagle dives downward, depriving the little eaglet of its grip. Once again it finds itself plummeting toward the ground.
Repeatedly the eaglet is dumped then rescued until it learns to catch the rising air currents and ride the winds. Its wings strengthen and soon the eaglet soars high above the earth, taking on the character of a true eagle.
Unfortunately, some eaglets refuse to use their wings and fly. Eventually, the mother eagle soars high one final time with the eaglet on her back, and with a wild screech of disappointment and pain, she dives out from under it and flies away, leaving it to its fate — either “fly or die.”
Speaking of, eagles have been fighting with ravens around my place for days now. You’d think they’d just kick some black-feathered tail, being so much bigger, but they don’t. I always hope they’ll nest in the tallest fir and every year they get driven off by the ravens.
It’s really neat to hear them talking to each other. It sounds like flutes.
It`s not the size of the bird in the fight
It`s the size of the fight in the bird
Blano,
I sent you an email about Paris. Did you get it?
You two are going to Paris together? Blano finally found a taker?
My anecdotal observations of Sussex County, DE, i.e. Rehoboth Beach and points north to Milford, DE
Many many for sale signs for land. Land land everywhere. Bulk acreage, lots you name it. Farming here has been quite profitable for decades according to natives but when the developers moved in during bubble years, land reached a whopping $50,000 an acre. Just to give you an idea of the level of madness here, I personally watched a 125 acre corner tract(tilled for generations) go for 9 million in June 2005. The seller (a farmer) demanded the developer pay all taxes associated with the transaction and the developer agreed. My superintendent at that time told me that the most a plot of that size would sell for pre-bubble was $3000/acre. My opinion is that farmers thought the prices were permanent but it seems they missed the boat and realized it all at once if the number of signs are any indication. Anyways, unless you’re farming, I’m not sure the massive inventory of land has much use and therefore not worth much.
Multitudes of signs on new and used SFH’s. More than I’ve observed in the past, used in particular. Of course we have the usual suspects here… Pulte, KB etc. Schell appears to be a large regional player with tons of “New Community” signs everywhere.
Commercial construction has not let up here. It’s all retail and it’s everywhere. I even noticed some stick framed housing going up and I didn’t even have to look that hard.
Wife and I looked at a couple of houses today without realturd of course and we noticed something very strange. NEITHER had a realturd sign on them yet both are listed with realturds through the REO dept of bank. One shack is owned my Wash. Mutual and the other I cannot determine what bank has a stake in the place. The Wamu shack appeared to be well kept and possibly someone living in it but I couldn’t confirm. The second shack is in a state of minor disrepair, generally speaking. Punch listing that place would be a delight in terms of leveraging the price downward with a realturd. Both are fantasy priced at 200 and 240k but they would have easily fetched the high 300’s at the peak. Possibly 400k.
Can anyone speak to the fact that these places don’t have RealTurd signs on them?
Happy FDIC Friday to all on the blog!
May 22, 2009, 7:55 p.m. EST
Second Illinois bank is closed by regulators
By John Letzing
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Macomb, Ill.-based Citizens National Bank was closed by regulators, the 36th bank failure of the year and the second Illinois closure announced on Friday, according to the the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Morton, Ill.-based Morton Community Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank’s deposits, the FDIC said. Citizens National had roughly $400 million in deposits as of May 13, and $437 million in assets, the FDIC said.