Bits Bucket for February 11, 2011
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
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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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Foreclosures are falling - but it’s a fake out
By Les Christie, staff writerFebruary 10, 2011: 12:14 PM ET
“We’ve now seen three straight months with fewer than 300,000 properties receiving foreclosure filings, following 20 straight months where the total exceeded 300,000,” said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.
“Unfortunately,” he added, “This is less a sign of a robust housing recovery and more a sign that lenders have become bogged down in reviewing procedures, resubmitting paperwork and formulating legal arguments related to accusations of improper foreclosure processing.”
Even with the slowdown, more than 78,000 borrowers lost their homes in January, easing off the record 102,000 that was reached last September.
But, experts argue, this doesn’t reflect the true number of potential foreclosures since most are just being postponed. Inevitably, they’ll show up in future RealtyTrac statistics.
Who profits from foreclosure?
“We expect a spike in the first quarter,” said Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac spokesman. “If we don’t get that, it could mean that the foreclosures are being pushed back even more and that the time needed for recovery will be prolonged.”
Making matters worse, the number of people who are underwater — meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth — rose to 27% in December, according to Zillow.com.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/10/real_estate/foreclosure_filings_fall/index.htm - -
Try to say
She sells Short Sales by the seashore.
10 times fast.
Will I turn into a Realtor?
Oh let’s hope not…
No, but you will be a liar so that is the first step. Nothing, not even short-sales are selling by the seashore these days.
I was just browsing some of yesterday’s comments that I missed. I saw one by Jeff Saturday about the most dangerous jobs. It listed a Top 10. What it didn’t list is chef or kitchen worker. That surprises me. The perils in a large kitchen are unbelievable. There are sharp knives, extremely hot surfaces, boiling water, slippery floors and a whole variety of other potential hazards. Shouldn’t we let these people retire after 20 years of service?
Welcome back AHansen. Give ‘em hell.
“What it didn’t list is chef or kitchen worker.”
Not to mention potentially angry immigrants.
One of those noble “immigrants” just knocked over a small local bank here in the retirement community. Of course, not getting much play in the broader regional media, but I predicted that this would start happening at some point, and that many of the retirees around here would be sitting ducks when their yard workers began to turn on them. They’re living in a fantasy world. They’ve been cootchi-cooing at the anchor babies and chucking them under the chin for years now, dispensing little stuffed animals and plastic beads while mami smiles resentfully through slitted eyes. Gonna be a whole different story shortly, in fact, the retirement community just decided not to open the back gate to traffic from a main road, right across the street from one of the massive, sprawling USDA sweat equity developments.
I got news for these self-satisfied retirees: their yard workers and house cleaners and crop pickers and care-givers aren’t going to be satisfied with shiny plastic beads and little stuffed animals for their offspring. Being a retiree just might become one of the most dangerous jobs in these parts.
I got news for these self-satisfied retirees: their yard workers and house cleaners and crop pickers and care-givers aren’t going to be satisfied with shiny plastic beads and little stuffed animals for their offspring. Being a retiree just might become one of the most dangerous jobs in these parts.
Same thing’s true in expatriate colonies in countries like Mexico and Costa Rica. Americans are viewed as sources of good money. And that’s it.
Same thing’s true in expatriate colonies in countries like Mexico and Costa Rica. Americans are viewed as sources of good money. And that’s it.
No 2nd Amendment in these countries. I know plenty of retirees here in America that armed better than the Taliban.
From watching HGTV’s International House Hunters, those folks will still be admiring thier granite counter tops while the natives are gathering outside with torches.
Don’t make the mistake of lumping all retiree’s
in the same box. All my retired friends are
hard ass ranchers, farmers, loggers, truckers, with a few towners, but all independent as hell and tough as nails.
All my retired friends are hard ass ranchers, farmers, loggers, truckers, with a few towners, but all independent as hell and tough as nails.
I can remember meeting such people when I was bicycling around the United States. One meeting really stands out in my mind: A senior citizens’ apartment complex in South Dakota.
One couple wanted to organize the others to do group buying of staples like food. Oh, boy, did idea that ever go down in flames.
The idea of them getting together to do such a thing! They were ranchers all their lives and never did co-op buying, so why should they start now?
Me? I kept my mouth shut. I thought that co-op buying was a good idea. Could have saved all of them some money.
“Don’t make the mistake of lumping all retiree’s
in the same box.”
I don’t, Rancher. However, I’m sure precious few of the older, tougher guys and gals live around here. I’ve spoken to one or two, maybe. Many that I’ve had to deal with in these parts have a real attitude problem and are short on manners.
It’s an attitude you develop when you live
in a sparsely settled area when you have to rely on your wit and brains and your neighbors if things really get sticky.
Our town has been transformed by the influx of CA and NY retirees with their suck attitude that they brought with them. The older guys
who have lived here all their lives are another
matter entirely.
Our new city council is now heavily weighed
toward the tough old boys who know where
all the bodies are buried and aren’t afraid to directly challenge the city administration that’s made up of college trained urban
planners who know what’s best for us.
Puck ‘um.
Retirees are an easy target when times are tough — in a way like the Jews and the disabled in post-WWI Germany. I personally subscribe to Rancher’s ideal of a productive retirement, but not everyone is going to be able to achieve that. At any rate, I hope we can maintain the sanctity* of long-term contracts as we try to work our way out of this financial crater.
*I don’t include cases where retirement benefits were illegally obtained in the scope of this comment.
San Diego Pension Scandal Called “Worse Than Bell”
Last Update: 10/05/2010 7:18 am
SAN DIEGO - A report released Monday documents large retirement payouts for former city of San Diego employees, which a pension reform advocate said amounts to a bigger scandal than in the city of Bell, where eight officials now face corruption charges for excessive salaries and perks.
…
that’s made up of college trained urban
planners who know what’s best for us ??
Yep…..Snot-nose little a-holes
Rancher how did you all get the upper hand? The snot-noses have taken over here.
We ran some very good, hard ass retired guys
for the city council. We also spent the money to get these men elected.
One gentleman, a business man who owns
a lot of CRE, has 40 years experience fighting
the city with their insane building requirements and system development charges.
Another gentleman, born and raised here,
returned home from CA after he retired.
He spent years handling legal cases for the
city of LA and their school board and worked against the unions.
Another was a planner for the county for decades and came on board to fight against the city, knowing all their dirty tricks and how they hide the money.
Another has a very successful business in town and has lived here all his life, he’s in
his 50’s and just got tired of being shoved
around by the city.
Case in point. A man wants to open a convenience store in a neighborhood that could use one. The city hit him with over
30 grand worth of SDC’s so he appealed to the council. They gave him a 50% reduction.
The city was/is pissed.
Another was a manufacturing plant that wanted to expand without adding additional
employees. The city wanted $50k in SDC’s.
The council rejected that entirely.
The city hit him with over 30 grand worth of SDC’s ??
I am in the initial stages of a project right now…When finished, I will post my experience and what I was required to do and pay for… Forewarned…Take some Dramamine before reading my future post…
We elected some hard asses here, but they’re still a minority, and some have a tendency to go all wobbly on issues they haven’t been following, so they will look like nice guys.
Ever since the courts have ruled that “Fees”
are not taxes, thus not deductible, the cities
are tacking fees on to everything with a
vengeance. Most city’s require a voter referendum to approve any new tax’s or tax
hikes, which proscribes the cities from
increasing their revenue without voter approval. Fee’s, on the other hand, can be
added to anything.
Without a word or notice to the council, the city added a $5 dollar fee to the water bills
of all city residents. The city didn’t have to give a reason or explaination, it just did it
to pad the general fund.
This is a good example why a strong city
council is necessary to keep the city administration in check. It also helps if you
have a good city charter.
Nice guys on a council are a disaster. You have to understand that the city is your enemy and will do whatever it can get away
with what it wants to do, which is usually not
in the best interests of the residents.
One thing that really helps, is active participation by the city residents at city
council meets, getting vocal and in their face.
We’ve had city council meeting where the fire
marshall had to restrict occupancy due to the
fire codes, with as many people outside as in.
the city added a $5 dollar fee to the water bills ??
How about a $20. fee recently put in place to change the billing name on the utilities account ?? Thats right, tenant moves out, put the utilities into your name with a phone call, $20. fee…Tenant moves in and puts the utilities in their name, another $20. fee…Great business model….
That $5 fee is $60 a year times all the city
residences…. adds up to a lot more than
that $20 for a change of service. You have
to watch out for the little ones that no one
notices…..they add up in a hurry.
That $5 fee is $60 a year times all the city residences…. adds up to a lot more than that $20 for a change of service. You have to watch out for the little ones that no one notices…..they add up in a hurry.
And here comes your HBB Librarian with yet another book recommendation: Gotcha Capitalism: How hidden fees rip you off every day and what you can do about it by Bob Sullivan. It’s all about being nickeled and dimed by nuisance fees.
I remember a “planet of the Apes” sequel where the apes were trained to do menial work. The kitchen workers stashed knives and turned on the humans towards the end of the movie
It was pretty bad movie but does remind me of illegal workers turning on American retirees in a twisted sort of way
And there was the less than bright ape who brought in a whisk….
Did anyone post the Forbes article on the 20 most miserable cities in the US? Congratulations, Miami! You’re number 2! Stockton, CA is number 1! Cali has eight, count ‘em, EIGHT cities in the top 20, Florida has four, with Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Jax. Sheesh, Miami to West Palm Beach, meaning just about all of South Florida’s east coast is miserable. Glad I got the heck outta there when I did.
Lol, the city manager of Stockton was pretty PO’ed about the article.
Could do worse than South Florida. My problem is not the summers when the people from New York are home, but the winters when the weather is the best…unfortunately the people are the worst.
“the winters when the weather is the best…unfortunately the people are the worst.”
Testify, brothah!
I remember my first trip to Ft. Lauderdale to visit the snowbird grandparents. I was the skinny pale kid with long straight brown hair, drowning in a sea of tanned fat wrinkled women with the same short gray curly hair, all wearing the same shorts and sleevless top and sandals. To make it worse, we were in line for Old Country Buffet. Which of these ones…is not like the other?… All they do is shop and eat and run from lizards. I think I’d rather stay up North and hibernate for the winter.
All they do is shop and eat and run from lizards. I think I’d rather stay up North and hibernate for the winter.
Which is why my mother, a native of Buffalo, NY, much prefers the north country to FL. She’d rather tough out her winters in PA, TYVM.
Florida is a geriatric ghetto.
The old timers on my block still think it is ok to bury the used oil from the cars in a hole in the backyard.
The perils in a large kitchen are unbelievable. There are sharp knives, extremely hot surfaces, boiling water, slippery floors and a whole variety of other potential hazards.
Preach it!
One of my cousins is a sous chef in Chicago. ‘Round those parts, he’s regarded as a real up and comer.
But we Slims worry about him anyway. Why? Because of the hazards mentioned above.
OTOH, if he survives in the “Hell’s Kitchen” atmosphere that is professional chef-ing, I’ll be at the grand opening of his restaurant with bells on.
Was that dangerous listed by the chance of injury, lost time, or fatality? Because that could make a real difference. Certainly kitchen accidents are common, but I suspect that fatalities are pretty rare.
dangerous listed by the chance of injury, lost time, or fatality ??
I believe the highest workers compensation insurance in California is for “Roofers”….Painters are very high up also because of ladders…
I believe the highest workers compensation insurance in California is for “Roofers”….Painters are very high up also because of ladders…”
I heard it’s mostly State Workers who are on disability though
probably much easier for them to get it and stay on it
True case.
We knew this guy that was a stationary
engineer for the city of SF who made very,
very good money.
He felt he was being harassed on the job
and was being discriminated against because
he was gay. He filed a disability claim against the city saying his stress levels were
so high he couldn’t effectively do his job.
He won his case and was awarded full disability for life, at the ripe old age of 43.
Now that’s a good example of abuse.
He designed wedding invitations?? For the city?
Power Plant operator
“I saw one by Jeff Saturday about the most dangerous jobs. It listed a Top 10.”
And then there was another one that wasn’t mentioned:
“I run a comic book store. Oh dear Lord! We call that profession ‘The Widow-maker.’” — Comic Book guy on The Simpsons
“Can’t go on describing the symptoms much longer.”
The National Association of Realtors is Corrupt.
That’s like saying, “hot sauce is hot”.
Just in case you forget.
Did you see the article that New York state wants to start collecting income tax from people that have second houses in The Hamptons and on Long Island? I’m not going to post the link. That should do wonders for that housing market. Bwahahaha.
That is SCHWEEET!
The HBB National Housing Policy Initiative
- Deep six the MID
- Deep six Phoney and Fraudie
- Deep six capital gains exemption on housing sales
Some religious nut from NAR will declare “three sixes, they’re evil!”
Of course I’ve always thought that it would make more sense to collect income tax based on where you WORK rather than where you LIVE. After all, that is where the taxed activity is actually HAPPENING.
That’s how it works…generally…ball players for example have to file allot of state tax returns.
EX then it MUST work BOTH ways
Any losses are deducted from your income, and if it lowers your taxable income to ZERO then you carry over the losses year after year.
- Deep six capital gains exemption on housing sales
Redundant, redundant, redundant!!!!
Redundant, redundant, redundant!!!
Realtors Are Liars.
Bank has given us another month; maybe it will be awhile, but for now we don’t get sold by the Bank until March 18. And we would have left meekly in November, not just cuz exeter wants us to GTFO, but thinking surely the bank would require us to. But looks like we’ll get at least the full year.
Carl-congrats on a job offer. I was commenting the other day about the dearth of jobs out there, not actually looking in the newspaper for a job. Teaching jobs have been absent from the paper for a few years now in our area. Nobody indeed looks in the paper for pro-level positions these days, this is true; but 7 jobs in a tri county area? Newsprint usually advertises the waitress, security guard type entry level jobs and there ain’t even those in there.
Thank you for not heckling, though!
Mike:
My indicator is how much spam you get posting a resume on CL.
Unlimited income be your own boss make $100K with a NYSE company the 1st year…
I used to get 30-40 a week and one week i got 84 job offers of course only 2 actually stated the weekly/yearly pay
Lately even the spammers have given up, now i get 1-2 a day that’s all
Lately even the spammers have given up, now i get 1-2 a day that’s all
Then hie yourself over to LinkedIn or Facebook. Where you’ll get all sorts of connection or friend requests from people you’ve never heard of.
Not that they’re interested in getting to know you — or hiring you for your wonderful DJ skills. Nope, it’s all about them.
I agree Slim… that’s why i try and limit my friends on myspace too just to zydeco and music people…..150 right now i could have easily had 1000
I would have accepted lots of them them even if they were death metal musicians if they lived in the NYC area…who knows maybe they would like zydeco music and show up.
What is CL?
Presume he means Craigslist.
Craig’s List……
Carl-congrats on a job offer.
Thanks.
I was commenting the other day about the dearth of jobs out there, not actually looking in the newspaper for a job. Teaching jobs have been absent from the paper for a few years now in our area. Nobody indeed looks in the paper for pro-level positions these days, this is true; but 7 jobs in a tri county area?
I guess my thought was that it’s been long enough now that “nobody looks for jobs in the paper” that I’m not as surprised as you that nothing is advertised there. Especially since it costs money to advertise there and most everywhere else is free.
Thank you for not heckling, though!
No problem, I’m not the heckling type :-).
Yesterday we discussed rent-free living and other “gaming the system” scams and who knew somebody really doing such business. Well today folks, I heard a real hum-dinger that y’all are just not going to believe:
An guy I know (a fellow motorcycle-racer) who is a struggling dry-waller came to my house this am to do a patch-job on the ceiling where there had been a roof-leak. He is recently divorced and usually tells me about the latest girls who he is “dating” and this time he mentioned that he now had a full-time girlfriend. She is 43, divorced, has four kids and owns an oceanfront house ($1 million - post crash) and does not work. Here is the best part: She recieves $6k a month alimony (child suppport) and, get this, is on FOOD STAMPS! But not just whimpy food stamps - no, she gets $1400/MONTH FOOOD STAMPS!!! He says he stays/eats over at her house as much as possible and she asks him what he wants -Porterhouse steaks, Lobster, etc. She also wants to take him on a trip to Europe! I have a feeling she is not in the minority here and there is plenty of this going on. So, the next time you ask yourself how the eCONomy can be doing so great right now, think of this. This kind of stuff is just beyond depressing and really pisses me off.
I have a feeling she is not in the minority here
Million dollar beach house, 6K alimony, 4 kids, $1,400 a month foodstamps, going to Europe and you have a “feeling she is not in the minority there.”
I mean the prevalent general attitude that it is perfectly alright to scam the system for all you can. Come on, Rio, you seem like a pretty bright fellow.
Come on, Rio,
Well thanks but I don’t think most Americans are scammers. Of course there are way too many.
But I also think that if we had “full employment”, decent paying jobs and universal healthcare we would have a lot less scammers.
For example: Most people with chronic illnesses would much rather work and be covered by something than to become dirt poor to qualify for Medicade.
Most Americans have pride and want to work. Proof was that we had “full employment” a few years back when there were a lot of jobs. Many were FIRE sector fake jobs but Americans will work when there is work. I think scams increase when things go bad.
She should be reporting her child support as income when she applies for food stamps. Drop a dime on her if it pisses you off, it sounds like she’s breaking the law.
Why should it be my responsibility to report her? I have a job, I do my freaking job or I don’t get paid. Why can’t the lazy motherF-er who works for the government, whose job it is to check all the details before approving her welfare do his job? That is pretty much the root of the problem.
And to think that, back when I was a young twentysomething Slim in Pittsburgh, a coworker regaled me with the following advice about signing up for food stamps:
“Forget it!”
We were both working part-time in a food co-op. This guy had recently graduated from Carnegie-Mellon with a degree in (get this!) poetry. And he had mega-student loan debt.
The rest of us took pity on Steve and were very careful not to do anything that could possibly cost him money. He just didn’t have it.
So, if there was anyone who could have possibly used a food stamp or two, it was Steve. And the above advice summed up his experience in trying to get them.
Now, to be fair, Yours Truly wasn’t exactly clear on what he was planning to do with a degree in poetry. It wasn’t as if being a poet paid big bucks during the mid-1980s.
But, on his choice of college major, I held my tongue. After all, I’d majored in the oh-so-attractive field of economics, and I was working in the same damn place.
Steve did set himself apart from the rest of us co-op droids by being a first-rate produce buyer. Lord knows where he got that skill from, but he had it. I don’t think he learned it over at Carnegie-Mellon.
How do you get food stamp benefits that high? That’s almost $300/person! Is that really legit?
Perhaps she “forgot” to report her alimony as income on the aid application.
Maybe a little bird should report her. Funny how we all complain about gob’t cheese and then watch friends and family gobble it down without a peep. Trickle down corruption.
Maybe a little bird should report her.
Here’s a fun-filled IRS link for doing just that!
And also forgot to report the house as an asset. Maybe it belongs to the husband.
I would be very curious as to how she is pulling that off.
I smell fraud somewhere.
Interesting thread. All of this discussion is based on the hear-say of “a fellow motorcycle-racer who is a struggling dry-waller”. “He says he stays/eats over at her house as much as possible and she asks him what he wants -Porterhouse steaks, Lobster, etc. She also wants to take him on a trip to Europe!”
This sure sounds to me like someone who was telling some tall tales to make the day go easier. If you ask me, it’s nothing but a big bovine bowel movement.
Back to yesterday’s discussion about budgets and firefighter’s and cops pensions …
The point I was trying to make was not about the issue of morality or broken promises or whatever one would like to drag up as the right thing to do, the issue I was trying to point out was all about money. There is no money to pay for all that was promised. This means something has to give.
If a cost/benifit analysis is to be made concerning cuts in expenditures when money is tight (or non-existent) then pensions are going to be given a very hard look. They will be given an especially hard look when the pool of retirees is larger that the pool of workers because workers produce and retirees don’t.
IMHO it is very dangerous to be a member of a LARGE POOL on non-performing retired employees when budgets are tight. This is not limited to firefighters and cops, it is true for any profession.
The company I work for has just about as many people retired as they have working and their pension plan is underfunded. This makes it very dangerous financial wise for one to choose to switch from an active employee to a retired one.
Today public pensions are under attack in the bought-and-paid for MSM. Tomorrow it will be corporate pensions.
And I repeat what I said yesterday: what corporate pensions? The upper management sold out the worker bees for 401K decades ago by promising riches via the almighty DOW. Those who refused to give up the pensions were forced via BK. Meanwhile, the same upper management seems to like platinum parachute pensions for themselves.
What I would like to see, really, is some calculation of a minimum income needed for somebody to live in relative comfort. None of this “80% of income crap” that I get from the investment houses. A real number. My guess is $25-$30K per year, and that’s VERY comfortable if you own a house outright and have Medicare. Why not base pensions on that?
“And I repeat what I said yesterday: what corporate pensions?”
Mine for one. Right now I am promised a good pension for life. I am also being offered incentives to retire now so I can cash-in on this promise of a good pension for life.
No thanks; I’ll keep on working due to a good reliable cash flow and all. But some of my fellow workers are jumping up and down ready to sign on the dotted line.
We’ll see how that turns out for them. It hasn’t turned out all that well for those who retired ten-or-so years ago but … we’ll see.
“Mine for one. Right now I am promised a good pension for life.”
Then you are very lucky. Places like HP and IBM have phased out their pension programs for new hires, as have most other corporations.
When people ask me if I have a “good retirement plan” I reply: yeah, whatever I save.
Places like HP and IBM phased out their pension for old hires as well.
At HP they stopped contributing to them, so the retirees will only get a partial benefit, at leas thats what I last heard.
All the Compaq employees had theirs forcibly converted to 401Ks.
OX:
Or if you retire you’d better be “retired”….no other w2’s….and you have to certify every year.
If these people who have upper 5 and six figure retirements or like the guy in jersey cashing out $900,000 in unused sick leave..can’t live on that well tough…….
And I repeat what I said yesterday: what corporate pensions? ”
Combotechie works for a old company new companies don’t have pensions
I change jobs alot and never see pensions anymore and often don’t see 401K match either. being 50 I am at the end of the golden age and saw pensions for folks 10 years older than me but of course I get zip, not even job security. It’s made me kind of distrustful which is why I sold out in 2006 and rent now. Of course the FED can turn my dollars into peso’s if it serves the greater purpose saving banks and government power.
Don’t worry Combotechie jerry Brown will give you a chance to vote on tax increases in CA and if you vote no its the end of the world.
The last report I saw said that only 24% of the private sector has company pensions and the number has been shrinking for years.
And cactus is right. New hires? What pension?
I just found out my Brother has a pension he works for Bank of America used to work for Countrywide and the pension went with him to BofA
new hires don’t get a pension
Inflation ? not in wages
The issue of “what was promised” fails to take into account the retroactive pension enhancements that the unions got passed after most of the workers in or near retirement today were hired.
Lots of places underfunded their pensions so much that delivering “what was promised” will bankrupt them. But in NYC, if workers in retirement and those now active were cut back to “what was promised” when they were hired our problems would go away.
There IS money to pay for that.
Google “state and local government fraud” if you really want to know why there isn’t. The current economic crisis just makes a convenient cover and excuse to scapegoat the pensions and salaries.
Just yesterday I posted 2 links in response to the state of Ohio proposing to weaken the civil unions, yet were getting ripped off to the tune of MILLIONS each year by fraud. Fraud often committed by elected officials and their cronies.
Privately, Public Employees See Cuts as Inevitable
NY Times | Feb 10, 2011 | DAVID M. HALBFINGER
Robert Haupt, a retired electrician, was a member of a union, but he has issues with state workers. “I object to them squawking about getting the day off after Thanksgiving with pay,” he said, referring to a perk the governor tried but failed to revoke. “They can bank sick days to the point where they can leave work two years ahead of time. I never had that privilege. If I didn’t get work, I didn’t get paid.”
But across the bar, Tim Connery, 59, a middle-school music teacher, shared his own fears for the future with Wayne Lonabaugh, a retired colleague. Mr. Lonabaugh remembered the calculations he made starting out.
“I only made $4,200 a year, but older people said, the pension is the big thing,” Mr. Lonabaugh said. “So I had two jobs. I worked in a cement plant. But I got my pension.”
“I got 38 years in,” Mr. Connery said softly over his drink. “But everything’s up in the air. They’re taking 10 percent out of the principal every year to pay existing retirees. I’m worried that it won’t be there for me.”
The two said that they had always accepted earning less than they might have made in another job, partly because the benefits were so good. Mr. Lonabaugh, who taught math and science for 35 years, now enjoys free health insurance. “Twenty-five years ago, a Democrat told me, ‘You’ll never get free health for retirees, because it would bankrupt the state,’ ” Mr. Lonabaugh, a Republican, said with a slightly rueful smile. “And we got it. And he was right.”
Ahmadinejad: Egyptian protests herald new Mideast, “Death to Israel”
AP | February 11, 2011 | Ali Akbar Dareini
…”Despite all the (West’s) complicated and satanic designs … a new Middle East is emerging without the Zionist regime and U.S. interference, a place where the arrogant powers will have no place,” Ahmadinejad told the crowd.
He also urged Egyptian protesters to persevere until there is a regime change. “It’s your right to be free. It’s your right to exercise your will and sovereignty … and choose the type of government and the rulers.”
After his address, Ahmadinejad carried a placard reading, “Death to Israel.”
I bet he says that at the ribbon-cutting for every new mall too.
…Ahmadinejad carried a placard reading, “Death to Israel.”
So he wouldn’t forget?
your right to be free. It’s your right to exercise your will and sovereignty
Hmm I seem to remember this dictator shooting a bunch of Iranian civilians not to long ago.
Hmm I seem to remember this dictator shooting a bunch of Iranian civilians not to long ago.
He also has the charming habit of having his executioners use cranes to terminate people. Nothing like hoisting a dissident off the ground by his neck.
I question the lame stipulation that presumes eliminating Fannie and Freddie will automatically result in higher borrowing costs. If higher interest rates resulted from eliminating the GSEs, they would be offset by a return of affordable housing prices. With proper underwriting, you can have high mortgage interest rates or unaffordable housing prices, but not both.
Obama Administration to Offer Three Solutions for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Reform
Friday, February 11, 2011
By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press
Washington (AP) - The Obama administration is poised to release long-awaited proposals for reducing government support of the mortgage market, but Congress will choose the path for reforming financially teetering housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to release a report Friday that lays out three choices for winding down Fannie and Freddie and moving to a more privatized mortgage market, according to a number of people familiar with the administration’s approach.
The 20- to 25-page report will not endorse any of the options — a decision by the administration designed to provoke a discussion about the role of government in housing finance without roiling the housing market or locking President Barack Obama to a particular solution.
Presenting the choices in Goldilocks fashion, the report’s scenarios are:
–No government role, except for existing agencies like the Federal Housing Administration.
–A government role that explicitly guarantees mortgages only when the market is in trouble.
–A government role at all times, though not through government supported entities like Fannie and Freddie.
“Under any of the scenarios there’s going to need to be more private capital in the housing system,” said Michael Barr, who recently left his post as assistant treasury secretary to return to teaching at Michigan University Law School. “That’s going to mean more pressure on interest rates.”
The greater the government involvement, the milder the impact on borrowing costs. But more government involvement also places more taxpayer money at risk.
…
“Under any of the scenarios there’s going to need to be more private capital in the housing system,” said Michael Barr, who recently left his post as assistant treasury secretary to return to teaching at Michigan University Law School. “That’s going to mean more pressure on interest rates.”
Oooo! A potential client!
Yours Truly had an absolutely marvelous U-M Law School client last summer. Perhaps I should give Prof. Barr a call and drop the other fellow’s name. Other Fellow is a pretty big wheel at the U-M.
TBTF keeps biggering and BIGGERING AND BIGGERING!!!
MarketWatch First Take
Feb. 11, 2011, 10:08 a.m. EST
U.S. plan may have unintended consequence
Commentary: Too-big-to-fail banks could get bigger
U.S. plan could make too big to fail bigger
By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The Treasury Department’s long-awaited plan for addressing government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will create roadblocks on the path to home ownership — it could also make too-big-to-fail bigger.
Under the plan released Friday, the government would gradually raise the pricing of government assistance to the mortgage market. The idea is to even out the playing field and encourage more private capital in the loan market. Read report on Treasury’s plan for Fannie and Freddie.
The report stops short of recommending whether the GSEs should survive, but under any scenario they will be substantially scaled down.
Should Congress sign off on the proposal — a big if, considering that many Republicans want to see the GSEs eliminated outright — the raft of changes would be enacted in 2013, giving the housing market time to stabilize under the current system.
The wild card in the plan is how the industry, including mega banks, and investors respond. Fannie (FNMA 0.68, +0.08, +12.72%) and Freddie (FMCC 0.73, +0.09, +14.35%) have about $5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities outstanding and $1.6 trillion on their balance sheets.
Private investors, Bank of America Corp. (BAC 14.72, +0.23, +1.59%), Citigroup Inc. (C 4.85, +0.07, +1.46%) , and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM 46.39, +0.86, +1.89%) have either endured or seen enough of the mortgage crisis to have fundamental doubts about taking on the role that the GSEs play.
Ultimately, the Treasury Department’s plan may create a new problem. By assigning mega banks a responsibility once valued by the government, will these institutions become even more critical in the too-big-to-fail world?
…
‘Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy. “Can Monetary Policy Really Create Jobs?” Hearing Date: February 9, 2011. Chairman Ron Paul. Statement for the Record. ‘Consider that we had a $700 billion TARP program, nearly $1 trillion in stimulus spending, a government takeover of General Motors, and hundreds of billions of dollars of guarantees to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, FDIC, etc. On top of those programs the Federal Reserve has provided over $4 trillion worth of assistance over the past few years through its credit facilities, purchases of mortgage-backed securities, and now its second round of quantitative easing.’
‘ Yet even after all these trillions of dollars of spending and bailouts, total nonfarm payroll employment is still seven million jobs lower than it was before this crisis began. Since employment levels bottomed out last year, the government reports that roughly one million jobs have been created. This means that each job created has cost upwards of five million dollars. We probably would have been better off just printing out these trillions of dollars and throwing them out the window of a helicopter.’
‘In this same period of time that we lost seven million jobs, the total U.S. population has increased by nine million people.’
‘It should not be surprising that monetary policy is ineffective at creating jobs. For one thing, there are numerous other factors that affect employment, including taxes, labor laws, and other regulations that contribute to labor market rigidity and institutional unemployment. But it is the effects of monetary policy itself that cause the boom and bust of the business cycle that leads to swings in the unemployment rate.’
‘By lowering interest rates through its loose monetary policy, the Fed spurs investment in long-term projects that would not be profitable at market-determined interest rates. The signal to businesses is that consumers are increasing savings and deferring consumption in order to consume more capital-intensive more in the future. If the Fed-mandated interest rate is in fact lower than the market interest rate, the reality is that consumer preferences between consumption and savings have not changed, but businesses act as though they have. The result of lower interest rates is an economic boom which manifests itself as a bubble.’
‘Everything seems to go well for awhile until businesses realize that they cannot sell their newly-built houses, their inventories of iron ore, or their new cars. Low interest rates have spurred production, but because the low interest rates resulted from Fed intervention and not through changes in consumption patterns, the result is overcapacity.’
‘ Resources have been “malinvested,” directed into sectors of the economy which are not truly in demand from consumers. These resources must be liquidated, and this is the corresponding bursting of the bubble. Until these resources are redirected, often with great economic pain for all involved, true economic recovery cannot begin.’
http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1827:can-monetary-policy-really-create-jobs&catid=16:speeches
the Fed spurs investment in long-term projects that would not be profitable at market-determined interest rates.
‘ Resources have been “malinvested,” directed into sectors of the economy which are not truly in demand from consumers.
Can someone please explain to ol’ Hwy50 how the “Hummer” came to be ubiquitous on US Hwy’s?
Was it because some average American’s NEEDED them, or was it for some other eCONomic reason?
Hwy eagerly awaits a sensible “economic” explanation…
Extra credit:
(Can the “Hummer-tulip” phenomena be extended to other “things”?)
‘…because the low interest rates resulted from Fed intervention and not through changes in consumption patterns, the result is overcapacity.’
I love how the solution for bank failure is to give the failed-bank to a bigger bank. Is this not right out of the recipe-book for TBTF? WTF??
TTT sez its going to take an extended period of time to phase out a fully government subsidized housing market.
How to strangle a presidential administration in the crib, appoint Tim Geithner as your Treasury Secretary.
How to strangle a presidential administration in the crib, appoint Tim Geithner as your Treasury Secretary.
Agreed. When I heard that Obama was nominating him as Treasury Secretary, I cringed.
I mean, come on, Barack. Is that really-truly the best that you could do? Really?
OTOH, I’m going to don the asbestos suit and say that one of his better cabinet picks was…
…Hillary Clinton. Yes, Hillary. She’s done a lot better at State than I was prepared to give her credit for. And State is not an easy place to run.
I also give high marks to Steven Chu.
“She’s done a lot better at State than I was prepared to give her credit for.”
How about that Egyptian revolution underway? Is that in the class of ‘no one could have seen it coming’?
Just like the housing bubble the political bubble in Egypt is decades in the making.
If I remember correctly, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a bit of a surprise.
If I remember correctly, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a bit of a surprise.
And, despite all the talk about Reagan ending the Cold War without a single shot being fired, U.S. intelligence agencies had quite a bit of evidence showing that the Soviet bloc was crumbling from within. And that was back in the 1970s.
It was a huge shock to the East German government. They were so busy tapping phones, bugging houses and opening mail to realize what was happening.
A few years ago, I was surprised to see how much of the fall was brought about by Pope John Paul II.
A few years ago, I was surprised to see how much of the fall was brought about by Pope John Paul II.
Not to mention Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walensa, Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the rank and file citizens of the various Soviet bloc countries.
I was surprised to see how much of the fall was brought about by Pope John Paul II.
Me too.
The author below worked for Margret Thatcher and National Review and has biases but a good book nonetheless. I found the Pope’s role most interesting.
The President, the Pope, And the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World by John O’Sullivan
http://www.amazon.com/President-Pope-Prime-Minister-Changed/dp/1596980168
“The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister” is a sweeping, dramatic account of how three great figures changed the course of history, as told by John O’Sullivan, former editor of “National Review” and the “Times of London”, who knew all three and has conducted exclusive interviews that shed extraordinary new light on these giants of the twentieth century.
● How the pope’s moral undermining of Communism worried the Soviet Politburo more than any military threat
● Why Thatcher’s handling of the Falklands crisis was a turning point in the Cold War
● How Reagan arranged for the pope to receive U.S. intelligence on developments in the Soviet bloc
● Reagan’s reluctant support for the nuclear “balance of terror” and how he gratefully adopted the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) as an effective alternative
● The Soviets’ attempts to lure the pope into an anti-SDI campaign and his refusal
● How Reagan’s refusal to compromise with Gorbachev in Reykjavik precipitated the unraveling of Soviet power
● How Reagan, Thatcher, and John Paul II restored optimism and hope to their people
How Reagan, Thatcher, and John Paul II restored optimism and hope to their people
This is the one that the Reagan-bashers ignore. He may not have made *them* feel good, and they may think that the people he did make feel good were losers…but that doesn’t change the importance of what he did or how successful he was at it. The reason for Palin’s success is that she seems to have some of that in her, too. Now if the people who hate her would just come up with someone that’s got “it” to compete with her instead of just hating.
We are living in Reagan’s legacy. He destroyed us just as surely as he helped to bring down the Soviet Union.
In geopolitics, there was a strategy called “the king’s rook” named, of course, after the chess move. It was put forth back in the early 1980s.
What this meant was that if the Soviets were to initiate their own collapse before the “west” was ready, it would have grave economic consequences FOR the “West.”
Reagan forced their hand.
You’re now living in it.
Remember the “cold war dividend?” Where did that go?
“A few years ago, I was surprised to see how much of the fall was brought about by Pope John Paul II.”
I recall reading many years ago that Gorbachev once said that JP II was the single most influential person in bringing down the Soviet Union.
I recall reading many years ago that Gorbachev once said that JP II was the single most influential person in bringing down the Soviet Union.
In his prime, JPII was a real force to be reckoned with.
OTOH, he all but snoozed through the clergy abuse scandals. No excuse for that. None.
“How about that Egyptian revolution”
Not sure I understand why the Egyptian people are celebrating the military taking over their government. I wouldn’t be celebrating the military taking over the U.S. government — I would be scared to death. As my wife said, “I wouldn’t trust the military worth a sh*t!”
“I wouldn’t be celebrating the military taking over the U.S. government”
Normally I wouldn’t either, but they are truly lucky to have that military there as its’ own branch of govt. There’s no power vacuum to be filled, as there would be if, say, Saudi Arabian folks revolted. And for now, the military has the earned trust of the people, allowing for a honeymoon period while they (military govt) ponder the options. Not ideal, but better than most alternatives. They likely appreciate the ‘power of the people’ concept better than most right now. Hopefully that will guide their actions.
I suppose he is right; housing prices are already in a slow-motion crash, even with the zombie GSEs using taxpayer life support to prop up the market.
I’m going to work today so my neighbor can get free money to keep his house:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/11/3394008/state-launches-foreclosure-prevention.html
You better do a good job. Everyone is counting on you.
Got a link? How long? Just long enough for taxpayers to foot the bill for the chaff, and for banks to buy back the wheat for pennies on the dollar.
The link is between Geithner’s pointy elf-ears. Vauge is the new specific plan.
“Just long enough for taxpayers to foot the bill for the chaff, and for banks to buy back the wheat for pennies on the dollar.”
Is it ever done any other way?
Also love the union busting, Rand Paul advert at the top of the page. “Right to work for less pay” sums it up nicely. Just like when they cut pay across the board at HP when profits were sky high. Of course we didn’t need a union to protect us from our predatory employer (who took advantage of a weak labor market), cuz we were skilled workers.
+1, Colorado.
I really really wish that comments like this would inspire people within themselves to QUIT THAT COMPANY and start their own. I bet instead, 5 years later (or 10, 15 whatever) those same people are still at that same job.
Tried starting your own company?
While it’s easy to start one, it’s VERY hard to keep one.
I know a few HP’ers who tried their hand at starting a business … most failed and lost a lot of money.
As for moving on … if you’re in Silly Valley its easier than in Ft. Collins. STill, I know PLENTY of Ft. Collins based HP’ers who told Mark Hurd to shove it and they left, some after being 20+ years with the company.
Sure thing mathguy. Say I quit my job and got my own company, with just me as sole employee. I got an iPhone, a laptop, an ergonomic desk, and a potential client or two. Now, watch me try to find health insurance.
I got an iPhone, a laptop, an ergonomic desk, and a potential client or two. Now, watch me try to find health insurance.
Which is why Dan Pink’s very good book, Free Agent Nation, goes on at great length about the lousy state of health insurance for people like us. And Wendell Potter, former VP of communications for CIGNA, elaborates further on the same topic in Deadly Spin.
Both books are highly recommended by your HBB Librarian.
Self-employment is overrated.
Taxpayers also get to make the claims payments to make the banksters whole on the federally guaranteed debt, just in case the GSEs’ newly-reinstated lending standards don’t prove tough enough to stop the foreclosure tsunami tide from rising further.
arent tougher lending standards making things worse by taking away demand?
Yes…..
Taking away demand at price points the buyers cannot afford is the reason prices are returning to affordable levels. That may be worse in your world, but it is better in mine, especially as regards my kids future prospects (will be too late for me personally by the time housing prices are back in line with incomes by 2030 or so)…
+1 Bear.
Taking away demand at 9:1 income is good.
Demand at 2.5:1 will always be there.
And what if the prices got down to the point where you wanted to buy but could not qualify for the loan because of a $98. collection on a PG&E bill you new nothing about ??
Demand at 2.5:1 will always be there ??
Along with 50 million competitors for it….
“And what if the prices got down to the point where you wanted to buy but could not qualify for the loan because of a $98. collection on a PG&E bill you new nothing about ??”
Then I would either pay the bill, go to a different (non-TBTF / competitive) bank for a loan, or both, depending on whether the collection was valid.
The NPR writer saying “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are blamed to greater or lesser degrees” suggests he might not clearly perceive the roles of the GSEs in driving the housing bubble parabolic towards unaffordable prices at the end stages, in particular through lowering their underwriting standards and securitizing subprime. There were actual causal mechanisms at work here, and there were culpable parties who transmitted them. Let’s place blame where blame is due, or we may soon finding ourselves reliving the housing bubble experience, due to a lack of meaningful systemic reform.
One question I have for those who understand the federal government resolution process better than I do: Will removing the taxpayer-funded feeding tubes from Fannie and Freddie entail the creation of a new resolution program, analogous to the Resolution Trust Corporation, which was created to resolve the insolvent FSLIC in the aftermath of the late-1980s Savings and Loan crisis?
Obama To Target Fannie, Freddie For Eventual Death
12:49 pm February 9, 2011
by Frank James
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are blamed to greater or lesser degrees — depending on the political ideology of the finger-pointer — for their roles in the 2008 financial meltdown.
But even before the bursting of the mortgage bubble, critics complained the mortgage companies were risky. As government-sponsored entities, or GSEs, the argument went, they operated with an implied guarantee that federal taxpayers would rescue investors if the companies got in trouble.
And taxpayers have bailed them out to the tune of about $134 billion so far, according to reports.
So the Obama administration plans to make a number of proposals about what should happen to Fannie and Freddie. An administration white paper expected later this week will reportedly call for the two companies to be gradually euthanized.
Nick Timiraos at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported:
Jim Tankersley at the National Journal (subscription required) adds the following:
The fact that the mortgage giants provide so much of the liquidity or money available to make new mortgages dictates that their glide path to elimination would have to be gradual to prevent chaos in the mortgage markets.
…
If the deficit is $172k for every taxpayer, then what if you add the personal debt on every taxpayer’s balance sheet to the $172k? Isn’t that a shitload of debt? Way too much to ever imagine paying, especially if going forward requires both the government and the consumer(taxpayer) to take on MORE debt. At what point does the whole thing just seem laughable?
About 1990.
I remember my Mutual fund used to love buying FNMA stock back when it was really going up
I suggest everyone brace themselves for the deluge of political bullshit we are about to enjoy, courtesy of the REIC, as they dig in their heals against meaningful GSE reform.
At any rate, the issue of whether to keep or eliminate GSEs seems like it should be covered in the larger context of eliminating the moral hazard which accompanies the federal government’s implicit free financial catastrophe insurance program for the TBTF portion of the financial sector. A restoration of enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act would seem like the best way to restore competition to the American consumer lending sector. Right now the banksters still have the American people by the balls.
So you can see all of this with the GSEs but not with the public unions? What about anti-trust laws being used against labor monopolies? You say the “banksters still have the American people by the balls”. What about the way the unions extort to show who they have by the balls?
You have a blind spot a mile wide and it really hurts your credibility on other issues.
The blind spot is all yours. Where did I say public unions were outside the scope of TBTF financial entities?
“Public anything = easy punching bag target for the disaffected and the politicians who feed on their anger.”
“Nonetheless, I reassert that they signed a contract to take a dangerous job in exchange for a good pension and an early retirement date. The same deal was open to any of the bellyacher who complain about the unfairness.”
“Public processes are also the way to go. The TARP and the HAMP are so unpopular not only because they did not work as advertised, but also because they were crammed down America’s throat without public input.”
I believe those are your words from yesterday. You are a strong supporter of the unions but hate the GSEs. I get it. I believe you must be a beneficiary of a union organization so you are all for them. So if it will line your pocket you are all for it. If it won’t line your pocket then you are against it.
The difference between a union and a GSE is quite clear. Unions are not taking money out of the pocket of the taxpayer (at the end of the barrel of a gun) to collect their dues and strike their bargains (with the exception of the public employee unions, who imho should not be allowed to contribute to political campaigns).
I believe you must be a beneficiary of a union organization so you are all for them.
“I believe you must be a beneficiary of a union organization so you are all for them.”
Yeah well you’d be wrong. I have been a card carrying member of the Musician’s Union for thirty years or so, which entitles me to a large enough death benefit to pay for a funeral but not a burial. I have no dog in the public employee unions fight; I simply think police officers and fire fighters who have worked for years in dangerous jobs are entitled to their due in retirement. If you think it is fine policy to break pension contracts, then you are certainly entitled to your views.
Unions have lost NYCboy, they have been decimated in the private sector and are shrinking in the public sector as well.
Remember though that when there is no organization fighting for labor rights your labor and rights will be devalued as well. Labor should provide a counterweight to corporatism, but that counterweight is gone now. Corporations own the politicians who depend on their money.
I don’t believe they lost. I believe they failed to adapt.
I don’t believe they lost. I believe they failed to adapt.
I saw this failure to adapt when I was growing up outside of Philadelphia during the 1960s and 1970s.
If it wasn’t the corruption of the unions’ top officials, it was the racism and sexism. It was very hard to get into the trade and craft unions unless you were white and male. Which shut you out of a lot of good jobs in the Philadelphia area.
The toxic brew of corruption, racism, and sexism alienated a lot of people.
“The toxic brew of corruption, racism, and sexism alienated a lot of people.”
That and folks seeing no value-add for the dues they paid in. My first job in high school required me to join a union. I was making minimum wage and had to pay fifty cents of every hour to the union, and I got no bennies or extras whatsoever that weren’t already mandated by state and federal law.
Unions have done a lot for this country, but unfortunately they have became big business in and of themselves.
On the radio the other day I heard some Wall St. shill saying allowing states to go BK would be the apocalypse. That they would have to pay more interest on their new bond issues.
Uh, isn’t that already the problem? They are already considered a poor risk.
“That they would have to pay more interest on their new bond issues.”
The case could be made that the state is a better risk than ever because the overhang of old debts has been cleared away.
“…allowing states to go BK would be the apocalypse.”
here we go again.
first it’s allowing the banks to go BK would be the apocalypse, then it’s allowing the states to go BK would be the apocalypse, next will be allowing the FED to go BK would be the apocalypse and finally allowing the USA to go BK would be the apocalypse.
In short, every component of the U.S. economic system is too big to fail now (except for households and small businesses, that is…).
“next will be allowing the FED to go BK would be the apocalypse”
It is impossible for the Fed to go BK; they own the electronic printing-press, and can print up as many $$$s as they need to remain solvent.
Wouldn’t accidentally hyperinflating be tantamount to a Fed BK declaration? (Not suggesting they are headed there; just trying to nuance your point.)
The live shot of Tahrir square is looking more and more like LaLaPalooza but with tanks. Tarp-tents are forming a crop circle.
Rumor has it the Black Eyed Peas are flying in for a reprise of their Super Bowl Tron performance.
That’ll drive Mubarak out of the country quicker than any protest.
MSNBC reports that he’s already gone.
Amid the largest protests to date, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Skeikh. NBC’s Richard Engel reports from Cairo.
Yeah, but they are still going to burn Cairo, right?
Aw, come on.
Let’s have some contemporary Egyptian artists. Or artists from elsewhere in the region.
The Middle East has quite the hopping music scene, even though we in America hear very little about it.
There’s a Lebanese place where I sometimes grab a Gyro for lunch. They play a lot of their pop music, definitely different.
Used to be a place near the University of Arizona called Andalus. I liked to go there, not so much for the food, but for the Lebanese music videos. Mmm-mmm-mmm!
Mubarak has reportedly stepped down. I guess the threat of the Black Eyed Peas flying in did the trick.
Naw, it was the sight of this guy in his Versace underwear.
(see slide #3)
www msnbc msn com/id/41533270/ns/news-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
They only show guys in their videos.
Hey, send in The Bangles. I wanna see Susanna Hoffs on TV again.
The Band that should have been a supergroup of the 80’s but lost out to the fluffy Bangles:
http://thecatholicgirls.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfsOwJ24BJE
All the major news outlets are now confirming that Mubarack has indeed yielded power.
The Iranian government’s first move was to jam the transmissions of this news from the BBC Persian language broadcasts.
Guess it’s now hitting a little too close to home.
Peter Horrocks, head of BBC Global News, called for an end to the jamming, saying: “It is wrong that our significant Iranian audience is being denied impartial news and information…
“The BBC will not stop covering Egypt and it will continue to broadcast to the Iranian people.”
BBC Persian TV launched in 2009 and has suffered similar attempts to interfere with its signal intermittently ever since. But it continues to stream live online.
Coincidentally, today marks the 31st anniversary of the uprising by the Iranian people against the Shah.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/feb/11/bbc-iran
After discussing houses with a contractor friend of mine, we were thinking of what the next “fad” in houses will be for the next 5 to 30 years - in other words, what is going to be the “It has granite counter tops” in 2030?
I believe it is going to be in law suites. With so many retired parents losing their retirements or so many young folks off to a ‘false start’ with their careers, more and more people will be combining houses and having full or part time residency in their parents/kids house. Fixing up the man cave basement into an area with a small living room, bedroom, kitchenette and full bathroom, I believe, is going to be a hot item in up coming home sales.
He believed it is going to be selling McMansions, but to two or three older folks - combining their savings and still getting a nicer home. These houses will be divided up into a few sections, with a community kitchen and living room. He said plans were already underway by some contractors to move around some doors and walls and make this into a cheaper reality. Moving away from the neighborhood HOA and into a town type club which allows for cleaning/mowing/shoveling with your membership.
Just curious on others thoughts.
My own theory is that, as a country, we can’t really afford for different kinds of kitchens, bathrooms, etc. to go in and out of style every few years. My guess is that there are people somewhere in America who are probably already saying that granite countertops and stainless steel appliances have already gone out of style and should be replaced by something else.
Taking a McMansion and pouring a bunch of money into it to divide it up so that a number of retired people can live in it is going to be seen (I hope) by mosr people as simply unaffordable.
If you consider that some of these McMansions are 4,000 or 5,000 square feet, it should be possible for the individuals to be able to get away from each other by going into their own corner of the house if they need a few hours of time by themselves.
Anyone remember that TV show, “The Golden Girls”, from about 20 years ago? It was about four senior women who shared an ordinary (though pretty big) four-bedroom house. The house was not renovated to give them separate living areas. They shared the kitchen, living room, etc. I imagine that this kind of arrangement is what could happen in the future with McMansions.
The problem with McMansions is they normally are multi-story on a tiny lot. That means stairs, and stairs aren’t good for seniors.
Firefighters and cops will buy and live in all the McMansions.
Firefighters and cops will buy and live in all the McMansions.”
Already do in Moorpark and Simi valley CA
Years ago, “remodeling” was for the purpose of restoring damaged things like chipped tile countertops, or adding up-to-code wiring and plumbing. I’d add replacing original windows with double-pane windows in this lot.
I have a crazy friend who has paid $2.4 million for a house in Monte Sereno, CA. He disapproved of the “quality” of the granite coutertops so he ripped them all out and replaced them with “better grade” granite.
He put in $1 million in remodeling before he even moved into the place.
Zillow says it’s now worth $2.3 million. And the company he worked for went out of business.
No permanent job and a $30K property tax bill every year.
When I was in college in New Hampshire, more than 4 or 5 women who were not related to each other living in the same home was automatically considered a brothel and could be shut down by the cops. Sorority houses were exempt because of their affiliation with the college.
I do not recall that there was an exception for the ladies in question being over a particular age.
If they work in the real estate industry, maybe they still should be running a brothel.
Having a house with more than one kitchen is not allowed in many municipalities.
I seem to recollect that they got an exception for the Massachusset’s customers. I think it had something to do with free trade or some such much like china is doing to us now. I guess you could say that china is barneyfranking the USA and like the mcdonalds commercial, “We’re loving it.”
people somewhere in America who are probably already saying that granite countertops and stainless steel appliances have already gone out of style
Granite countertops are a big yawn in Brazil. Everybody has them, even a lot of the poor. It’s everywhere because Brazil’s loaded with it.
Of course there is granite and there is GRANITE. I have GRAnite in my house.
Next thing you know the “hot” jobs will be paying illegals to burn down the mcmansions and collecting insurance.
I have one word for boomers - Downsizing
Selling the trophy McMansion
Selling stocks
Selling bonds Selling vacation homes
Selling boats
Selling all sorts of crap
Correction: Two words- BUYING……. (400sq ft at the old folks facility)
(400sq ft at the old folks facility)
————————————————————————–
They don’t discriminate at the old folks facility. All aholes, whether they belong to a used-to-be FB or a person with a mortgage paid in full, get wiped the same.
Welcome to the 30-year yard sale. Already in progress.
And we’re the looky-loos who showed up early but haven’t bought anything.
But who is gonna buy their junk? I’ve seen ads on Craigslist for nice old Camaros: “$35,000 firm. Serious offers only”
Then a month later “$30,000 firm. Serious offers only”
Then a month later “$25,000 or best offer”
Then a month later “$20,000, willing to entertain offers”
“who is gonna buy their junk?…$35,000 firm….a month later “$30,000 firm…..then “$25,000 or best offer”
I think it gets harder to stay firm when you’re older and broke.
It’s a fricking Camaro. Just like back in the day, every belly-button picker had one. Just like everything else GM built.
OTOH, my little Mopar is doing just fine. A lot fewer of them made to begin with, and the herd has been culled over the years thru attrition. It’s amazing how much that “H” in the VIN is worth.
And, because I bought it back in 1991, before everybody went bat-$hit crazy.
Yeah, but a Camaro is a lot easier to put a BBC in :-P.
You know why there are a lot of aftermarket parts to make Chevys go fast?
Because you NEED a lot of aftermarket parts to make Chevys go fast.
Signed,
Ronnie Sox
I see the adult kids boomeranging back to the mom n dads and chipping in with the costs (from their menial jobs). In the later years they care for mom n dad and inherit the house after they are gone.
I see adult kids coming back and not chipping in with costs because they’re busted.
That too.
Ah, but sell to who? People making $12hr don’t buy boats and houses.
but to two or three older folks - combining their savings and still getting a nicer home. These houses will be divided up into a few sections, with a community kitchen and living room.
Predicted on HBB!
Ask your contractor friend if they are putting elevators in the grand foyer (or a corner of the two-story great room), and if they have plans for medical clinics in the clubhouse.
Ha ha ha. My in laws bought a McMansion (Kids moved out and they bought a larger retirement house). They were talking of putting in an elevator which goes upstairs to four empty “guest rooms”, down to the main floor, and then down to the basement.
A few months ago I was over there and had to get something from the upstairs bedrooms. It was freezing up there! I asked my mother in law why it was so cold and she said “We pretty much shut off the heat up there since no one has been up there in a while”
I said “So…..no plans for an elevator?”
They have buyers remorse, as their house has lost a ton of value, but their pride will never admit it. Apparently she was upset because years ago I made the comment “I like your old house better”.
Heh… Nice story. A friggin’ elevator huh? The arrogance…..I’m guessing they’re in the mid-atlantic area?
They run from $12k-20k. Not that expensive.
A residence elevator will run you between $20,000.-$25,000….for a lot of seniors, it beats moving…
I remember an article a few years ago about houses that were designed with an eventual elevator installation in mind… a floorplan with one large closet above another if I remember correctly.
The sensitivity on this stuff is amazing. I have friends and relatives who did the debt thing and you can’t talk about it. The kindest thing I could tell a friend who did the housing bubble second mortgage and buy a condo thing is that was like a fever that swept the nation. And for some reason I was immune.
And I don’t mention that five years ago I put everything in gold and silver.
“My in laws bought a McMansion (Kids moved out and they bought a larger retirement house).”
Are we related?
My in laws purchased their empty nest McMansion about ten years back, for a little over $300K. By the time the Utah bubble hit its apex, the comps were selling for over $800K. Now the Zestimate is $373,500.
And check out the confidence bounds on the Zestimate: wide enough to drive a truck through!
“$306K – $489K”
Why don’t the Zilldos™ just put the confidence bounds at $0 to $1m, so they can be 100% certain they nailed their Zestimate?
I doubt it. My in laws don’t know how to use their computer. I dont think they even know how to take it out of the box.
1) More composite materials that reduce maintenance cost
2) Energy efficiency improvements, i.e. composite walls and sandwich panels
3) single floor plans
4) More modular and Lego style construction
As far as behavior of the masses, who knows….
whatever the government decides to subsidize will be the new black…right now green is the new black.
Our 1999 “green built” house is quite energy efficient. It costs a lot less to heat and cool than our previous, smaller house.
Not only that, heating, electricity and water bills are only going up so spending a few bucks more upfront really knocks those bills back.
Case in point, my old 800 sq ft poorly insulated apartment’s summer electricity bills were more than my current house 3 times as big, and the rate now is higher. Thank the pink panther for insulation!
On the other hand, I’m sure it’s cheaper for the pink panther to insulate an 800 apartment than to build and insulate a bigger house…
Probably, but there’s no way I was going to tear down the walls to do it, and the apartment rental company didn’t care how much by utility bills were.
“These houses will be divided up into a few sections, with a community kitchen and living room.”
Mc
MansionsPartmentsi have been in many “mcmansions” that i would have no problem sharing with another family of 4 or 5…hell…i think it would be kinda of cool if it was one of my best friends or either of my brothers’ and their families.
I was thinking selling the McMansions cheap to extended families,and they cant sell until the old folks die or are invalid.
My father grew up in a house that would best be described as a McMansion. And it housed three generations of his family. (Their father’s mother, whom we all referred to as Granny, lived with them.)
After my dad and aunt grew up, moved out, and got married, Grandma and Grandpa sold the place and moved into an apartment.
Which continued to be a three-generation place. The cast of characters consisted of Granny, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Jim. Jim was the sibling of my dad and Aunt Jean. He didn’t move out of the apartment until after Grandpa died and Grandma had to go into a nursing home.
I read and article recently about a guy who builds high-end sheds and he has recently been approached to build shed-sized houses for customers. I believe the MicroMansion could be the next fad.
Tiny houses area already a fad. Lots of floor plans in the 150-300 sq ft range. Unfortunately, they cost upward of $200-300/sq ft, because the sq footage is largely kitchen and bath with specialized pint-sized fixutures.
The next fad in well-built housing is the fad that should never have gone out of style: small cottages and Sears Craftsman.
The next fad in well-built housing is the fad that should never have gone out of style: small cottages and Sears Craftsman.
In and around Downtown Tucson, the Craftsman houses are still going strong. Mind you, this was a house that came in a kit from Sears. A great deal of assembly was required.
I want a 150s/f house made entirely of granite.
There’s a nice lot in Forest Lawn!
Own and love a 1918 Craftsman home. All redwood bones and siding. Required a ton of TLC and sweat equity to modernize, but well worth the effort. Happy to live in the Preservation Zone -
“He believed it is going to be selling McMansions, but to two or three older folks - combining their savings and still getting a nicer home. These houses will be divided up into a few sections, with a community kitchen and living room.”
No way. I sure wouldn’t want to go all in on my life savings for what is basically a roommate situation. Maybe such houses would sell to a landlord who would rent the units. As a buyer… not so much. What happens when one owner needs nursing home care? Imagine the possible variety of legal battles between a dead owner’s heirs and the current resident-owners? Even worse… what if one resident dies intestate? The others could be stuck carrying extra expenses, etc. during a long probate period.
I agree with you that the next trend will be in-law suites (or at least a main floor bedroom/office with a full bath that could be designated as in-law space if needed).
Go back to the time when money was expensive to borrow, and a house was a place to live, and not a fashion statement. Updated for today’s realities (more energy efficient).
1500 sf single story ranchers, with lots large enough for gardening, or maybe a “carriage house” with an apartment/living space for grandma, or the kids.
If I was a developer, this is what I’d look at building.
With solar AND wind.
You’re talking a 0.2 acre at least. You only need a little lawn, but you need space between houses to let in 8 hours of sunlight.
Unfortunately, where are you going to build? All the good parcels are already paved over with high-density attached product, or tied up in options. Anything else is a hour commute on clogged arteries.
Around here, a lot of the stuff close to downtown is run down 75-100 year old stuff, that has been foreclosed on. IMO, a bunch of this crap is going to end up being sold for the back taxes.
Apparantly, there are a few locals that are doing teardowns on these properties, and building new with approx. the same size house. One of the things they avoid is special assessments, because the water/sewer/electrical is already there (albeit old).
Just like everything else, if the math works, and you can price it right, it will sell. Especially if it is close to jobs, and gasoline gets to 4-5 bucks a gallon.
This is exactly what was done when the townhouse craze hit my city.
Old shotgun shack neighborhoods near downtown were bought, the 900sqft shotgun shack demolished or (and I still haven’t figured this one out) MOVED in their entirety and 2-3 townhouses built on the same lot using zero-lot-line specs.
Shotgun shack and land: $100K
3 townhouses sold: $750k
Build cost: ~$200K
And you could could count on a 90% approval within one year for the new townhouses.
If I had known more about RE then, that I know now…
I’m afraid our kids are going to boomerang back to us. I don’t mind them so much as all their furniture and boxes and boxes of crap. Early 20s, and hauling all that around behind them. I never let my stuff exceed what I could fit in my VW, back then.
The flippin’ animated .gif for Toll Brothers on the top of this page is aggravating. They’re trolling for suckers and stupids.
And they’re trolling in the wrong place!
Nice article
With a lot of facts and links,most posted here as well but
http://www.alternet.org/story/149839/armageddon_for_home-owners_12_facts_that_show_we%27re_in_the_midst_of_the_worst_housing_collapse_in_us_history?page=2
Today, only 47 percent of working-age Americans have a full-time job.
In fact, in recent years average Americans have been getting significantly poorer. Over the past two years, U.S. consumers have withdrawn $311 billion more from savings and investment accounts than they have put into them. That is very troubling news.
Now the price of food is soaring and the price of oil is about to cross $100 a barrel again. So what is going to happen if we have another major financial crisis and we witness another huge spike in the unemployment rate?
The Federal Reserve is trying to smooth all of our problems over with a flood of paper money, but it isn’t going to work. Yes, increasing the money supply will produce some false highs on the stock market and some false economic growth statistics for a while, but the tremendous damage that will be done to the economy is just not worth it.
In any event, let us all hope that we see some really great real estate deals over the next couple of years, because in the times ahead land will be something very good to own. In fact, down the road it will be much better to own land than to have your money sitting in the bank where it will continuously decline in value.
Use your paper money wisely. It will never have more value than it does today.
So what do all of you think? Is the “housing Armageddon” almost over, or do housing prices still need to decline a bit more? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below….
“So what is going to happen if we have another major financial crisis and we witness another huge spike in the unemployment rate?”
welcome to the party.
Measton, you conveniently left out parts of this heavily liberal article:
———-
“While all that may sound reasonable, the truth is that the U.S. middle class has become so cash poor that the vast majority of them cannot afford homes without the kind of mortgages that were available in the past…
…The housing market is not like other financial markets. It is difficult to artificially pump it up with funny money. If the U.S. housing market is going to rebound, it is going to take lots of average American families getting qualified for loans and going out and buying houses. But they can’t do this if they do not have good jobs. Today, only 47 percent of working-age Americans have a full-time job at this point… Without a jobs recovery there never will be a housing recovery.”
———-
Now, I think that the middle class deserves homes as much as anyone else, but I’m sorry, this is the kind of attitude that gave us ACORN and other ultra-liberal whipping boys. The attitude that house prices are high and will stay high. The attitude that the middle class can’t afford housing unless it’s “the type that was available” (meaning subprime NINJA). The attitude that somebody needs to “get” those families qualified for loans at these prices, even if the “getting” is by government fiat, HOPE or HAMP style.
The libs are trying to save the current FB’s with high prices, while saving the rest of the middle class by “getting them qualified” with yet another government program.
That government program would be just another unnecessary layer in this Rube Goldberg machine of government programs. Let the banks fail, unleash the Fannie/Freddie inventory to the taxpayers only,* and house prices will drop by themselves. The middle class won’t NEED wacko loans or government programs to afford it. Now, if there aren’t jobs, that’ll just bring prices down more. Job creation is a separate issue and should happen separately.
———-
*no banks or bottom feeders allowed. You buy the house, you gotta move in. (maybe offer a discount on moving services just to make sure they really move in…) The taxpayer bailed out the banks, the taxpayer deserves the spoils.
Note to Oxide:
It ain’t just the liberals who are trying to save the FBers. Out here in Red-State, the Republican PTB are working just as hard to rally support for their Mr/Mrs J6P Suburbanites, and their Realtor and Local Homebuilder Small-Local-Business buddies.
Denial isn’t only in Egypt.
Yes it was most amusing because it whacked both sides equally, the progressives with their affordable housing initiatives premised on ever-increasing prices, and Chamber republicans with all their REIC investments and hustles.
Liberals?
Who created those toxic mortgages/CDOs/hedge funds/pension plan investments/muni bonds based on the bubble?
Just liberals?
Uh… no.
Again, are you familiar with CAFRs?
I had to dig for that 47% number, but here it is:
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-23-2011-only-47-of-working-age.html
The Real Estate Washout That Wasn’t ~ Businessweek
From Manhattan office towers to Florida apartment buildings to retail properties in Washington, commercial real estate values are rising, defying predictions made as recently as February 2010 of a collapse that would drag the U.S. economy back into recession. Prices of commercial properties sold by institutional investors surged 19 percent in 2010, the second-biggest gain on record, according to an index developed by the MIT Center for Real Estate.
Near-record-low interest rates mean buyers can get cheap financing, which improves their returns. At the same time, rising earnings give banks a cushion to absorb losses, enabling them to sell distressed properties rather than hang on to them. Investors, convinced the worst is over, have pushed prices on bonds backed by commercial mortgages to the highest level in two years. Says Dan Fasulo, managing director at New York-based Real Capital Analytics: “Now that values are on the upswing, it’s given owners and lenders more wiggle room to work out these troubled situations.”
Those taking advantage of improving conditions include Vornado Realty Trust (vno.), which in December resolved a standoff with its lender by paying $115 million to buy the $171.5 million loan on its Springfield Mall in a Virginia suburb of Washington. The loan had been transferred to a special servicer a year earlier because the New York-based real estate investment trust was in danger of “imminent default” on the property, according to Fitch Ratings.
In downtown Fort Lauderdale, a market damaged by declining home values, USAA Real Estate bought Las Olas Centre, a 469,000-square-foot office complex that had been seized by lender Wells Fargo (wfc.). USAA Real Estate, based in San Antonio, paid $170 million in September; the previous owner spent $231 million near the top of the market in July 2007, according to Real Capital.
Near-record-low interest rates mean buyers can get cheap financing, which improves their returns.
But can they find tenants? I’m seeing quite a bit of see-through commercial properties here in Tucson. ISTR other HBB-er reporting the same thing in their locales.
“I’m seeing quite a bit of see-through commercial properties here in Tucson. ISTR other HBB-er reporting the same thing in their locales.”
TONS around here. Many built in the last 5-8 years and never even occupied.
They are cherry picking the data to present a much better picture than really exists….Commercial real estate for most of the United States is on its back…
You cannot GIVE AWAY commercial property within 500 miles of where I live. Every other building/parcel has a faded “for sale” sign. “For rent”, and “Now Leasing” are also quite prevalent.
A decade ago, the fields behind Union Station in DC were sown with office buildings, and those buildings are now ready for harvest. For the n00bs, these new ooh-shinies are 10 minutes’ walk from two Metro stations and Amtrak, and 20-minutes’ walk from the Capitol Dome. Although the neighborhood half a mile north is bad, during office hours you can’t dream for better real estate than that.
And yet you can see all the way through the buildings, from the train.
Hmmm, ISTR noticing those places on my last trip to DC. I was with my father, who’s quite the adventure to travel with, so I had to get him ready to exit the Metroliner.
While I was getting Dad’s attention — which is a bit of a challenge due to his major hearing loss — I noticed quite a bit of new construction. It was almost a relief to see, because much of the train route into DC from the north looks like a trip through Dumpington.
with ZIRP and $ 1.5 trillion deficits as far as the eye can see.
wow…when the next one hits…it’s gonna be a doozie.
Again, a $12hr labor force can’t support our consumer based economy.
And neither can 50% un/under-employment.
Apple, Netflix, and Priceline are our market leaders? That’s some real innovation for ya. What happened to flying cars?
a phone, a movie, and a coupon. great. How about alternative energy, new food sources, a cure for the common cold?
Did you see the Republicans plan for cutting government spending? They took an especially heavy and vindictive axe to alternative energy at DOE, yet left fossil fuel strangely unscathed. Gee I wonder why.
Kept the tax breaks for offshoring jobs, too.
that would be because most alternaitve energy spending is a total waiste of money.
solar and wind alternatives do not eliminate the need for dependable when you need it fossil fuel energy.
europe has tried it and it hasn’t worked out.
“a phone, a movie, and a coupon. great. How about alternative energy, new food sources, a cure for the common cold?”
People would rather buy a new SUV (cost equal to fully self power an average house), eat fake beef (taco bell) and have an excuse to take off from work.
You want a flying car? A REAL flying car? Send me $10 million. I’ll have it for you within 5 years.
Note to potential customers: Write spec to define “flying car” very carefully.
Oh absolutely. But it would be a true VTOL and fit in a regular parking space.
today’s flying car
it will be here soon, and we don’t have to give ecofeco the $10,000,000 he wants
Apple, Netflix, and Priceline…
Dont’ forget one of the world leaders in modern IT, Google. Google makes its money by selling advertising. Isn’t that great? The culmination of decades of research and development, much of it funded by the taxpayer, used to expose our eyeballs to advertising, which exists mainly to get us to buy cr@p that we don’t need.
Don’t need and can’t afford. Yet they make money just because we look at it.
The culmination of decades of research and development, much of it funded by the taxpayer, used to expose our eyeballs to advertising, which exists mainly to get us to buy cr@p that we don’t need
Are you saying you don’t benefit from the search functionality google provides?
The Real Estate Washout That Wasn’t:
Commercial is on fire, guys.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Real-Estate-Washout-That-bizwk-1087938482.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=
As is burning to the ground?
Sign-Twirlers: a recent phenomenon?
At a light yesterday was a Dominoes Pizza sign-twirler. Did we even have sign-twirlers before the housing bubble? Or do we have the decadent bubble era to think for creating the profession?
In 1986, I had a job at a Domino’s Pizza. When things were really slow, the manager would send out the sign-twirler. It was a pretty rare occurance. But the number of twirlers seemed to really skyrocket
after about 2000.
I also remember sign twirlers (AKA Human Directionals) in the 80’s.
In the last “Not a Depression Recession©®™”, sandwich board guys were the “sign twirlers” of the era.
“Eat at Joes”
“New Condos”
The people of Egypt are chanting “Egypt is free .”Apparently that
creep stepped down finally ,more like he took his money and went to another place .
And the military has stepped in. I guess that’s freedom for ya.
i heard the swiss froze his accounts
This peaceful revolt of the Egyptians is such a stunning example of how you can bring about change without violence . I got to hand it to these people
they really held their ground without resorting to violence .
Except for the 100+ people Reuters reports died during the protests.
Probably in clashes with pro-Mubarak goons, I’m guessing?
I got to hand it to these people
they really held their ground without resorting to violence .
So, what went wrong in Tienanmen square, China?
x1 115 pound chinaman…vs…x1 98,000 pound Chinese Gov’t-military tank?
So, how smart is the Chinese Gov’t? Use USA donated dollars $$$$$ to have your domestic military intimidate the 115# pound Tienanmen square dissenters with a tank built in Pakistan. heheeheehheeeeheee
“The Type 90-II is a third-generation main battle tank (MBT) designed and developed by the China North Vehicle Research Institute (also known as 201 Institute) in Beijing and the Inner-Mongolia First Machinery Group Corporation (also known as (617 Factory) in Baotou, Inner Mongolia for the export market. A further improved model known as MBT-2000 was marketed by NORINCO to the foreign customers in the late 1990s. The tank is built by Pakistan under license as the Al-Khalid”.
Type 90-II (MBT-2000) Main Battle Tank:
Specifications
Crew: 3
Weight: 48t
Engine: Ukraine built 6TD 1,200hp liquid cooled diesel
Transmission: Mechanical, planetary
Track: Metallic with RMSh, with rubber-tyred road wheels
Suspension: Torsion bar
Radio: Receive/transmit, telephone
Dimension: Length: 10.07m; Height: 2.40m; Width: 3.50m
Ground Pressure: 26hp/t
Cruising Range: 450km
Speed: Max road 65km/h; max off-road 45km/h
Fording Depths: 5m with snorkel
Main Gun: Indigenous 125mm smoothbore, 39 rounds
Rate of Fire: 8 rounds/min (autoloader), 1~2 r/min (manual load)
Auxiliary Weapon: One coaxial 7.62mm machine gun; one 12.7mm air-defence machine gun
Fire Control: Laser rangefinder input, onboard computer, wind sensor, and control panel
Last update: 20 February 2009
Hwy …I know it’s been impossible in some places to bring about change because the ruling powers bring out the big guns .
“‘ I got to hand it to these people
they really held their ground without resorting to violence .”
I think we could take our government and country back with very little violence if everyone in the country went on strike for two weeks. The banksters, politicians, and firefighters are the only ones who would not be willing to join us. We could take ‘em.
i think everyone should read “how might warren buffett invest in real estate?” so that we don’t get into the trouble that we got into recently with the real estate crash and foreclosures.
Homeowners Associations Now in the Fraudclosure Scam Too:
http://lonestarwatchdog.blogspot.com/2011/02/homeowners-accociations-now-in.html
We have lived in two HOA PUDs, and both Associations were a PITA, had retirees walking the neighborhood looking for violations, and made you feel like you had a LL. Never again.
I’d rather have a house on the street, that I am not fond of the aesthetics, or possibly behaviors, than trade in the freedom for totalitarianism.
“In 2008, as she took over a district with a $1.5 billion budget, Pinellas County’s new school superintendent Julie Janssen said she had long since recovered from the money troubles that led to bankruptcy in the mid 1990s.
But once again Janssen and her husband, Dennis, are in financial straits — Wachovia Mortgage Corp. has started to foreclose on their lavishly renovated Treasure Island home on Boca Ciega Bay.”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1150969.ece
So let me get this right, J6P has a hard time getting a job because his credit report may not be pristine, but this women gets to control millions of public dollars after having a bankruptcy?
Say what?!
In India computer science majors don’t have Internet connections, don’t test thier programs, and don’t do the needful:
http://www.carissadoshi.com/2011/02/theoretical-engineering/?a=s
Who cares? They’re cheaper than you!
Just look at what was done here. The people of Egypt stepped up to the plate and forced their President to step down, and they did it in 18 days with minimal casualties.
Then we have Iraq. The US government, in their arrogance, decided that it was their responsibility to liberate the people of Iraq (a @#$% story if there ever was one, but…). So here we are, 8 years later. Hundreds of billions of US dollars have been spent, thousands of American soldiers and countless thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians are dead, and there is no end in sight. The democracy we were going to “give” them has not materialized. We can’t leave because they are worried the region will become unstable, blah, blah, blah, lies, lies, lies, blah.
The next time our useless puppet President tries to tell you that we need to send our military to do ANYTHING, you should all realize that it is one big lie and they will definitely make the situation 100x worse
Then we have Iraq. The US government (forgot their names have we?), in their arrogance, decided that it was
theirUS taxpayers/military personnel’s responsibility to liberate the people of Iraq (a @#$% story if there ever was one, but…)Shazam-I’m-the-Decider-you-all-American’s-pay-for-Cheney-Shrub-decision-making-decisons-he-hee-heeehehe-heehe-but-remember-9/11-was-an opportunity-for-you-not-to-focus-on-real-estate-nor-nonrealestate-domestic-job-creation.
“See-ya-in-Dallas-sometime, bye!”
But Egypt wasn’t threatening to go all Euro with their oil trade, now were they?
Actually, they accomplished removing their president in 30 years, not 18 days; and then they succeeded with a defacto millitary coup. It is not impressive and not a great victory for freedom.
‘It is not impressive and not a great victory for freedom’
Two entrenched dictators, backed up with brutal security systems are rolled over by unarmed, protesting youngsters, in a few weeks. Suddenly, every king/tyrant in the region is shaking in their boots, giving back freedoms withheld for decades in the hope that their people won’t send them packing as well.
I’d say you’re wrong on all points.
I’m pretty excited about the Victory of the People in Egypt ,in fact this is the most exciting thing that I have seen in years .
I’d say it was a peaceful victory of freedom over oppression. Perhaps our Repugnican leaders are having difficulty celebrating because they personally identify with greedy, evil dictators like Mubarak?
‘Surely, the obvious “next” candidate is Yemen, which not only has the same sort of multi-decade ruling US backed dictator as Egypt, and a number of active secessionist movements. But protests are also continuing in Jordan, cropping up in Algeria and Morocco, and Libya and Syria both seem to be at risk as well.’
‘Perhaps the biggest wild-card out there, however, is in Bahrain, where the king has tried to bribe his way out of trouble by offering a “gift” of $3,000 to every family. This may work for awhile (at least until the checks clear), but Bahrain clearly has long-standing unrest and, should it fall, that unrest could easily spread to neighboring Saudi Arabia.’
‘And don’t forget that fledgling dictatorship in Iraq, either. Prime Minister (and Interior Minister and Defense Minister, etc) Nouri al-Maliki is clearly centralizing power at an alarming rate, a problem doubly concerning since his bloc lost the 2010 elections…’The answer really is that such unrest can crop up virtually anywhere in the region, and nearly every government in the region has made a lot of enemies over the years which, in the face of the current economic downturn, feel they have less and less to lose by open revolt.’
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/02/11/us-intel-officials-question-after-egypt-whos-next/
Lets face it people houses in this country should be priced somewhere between 80k to 200k. That should get you 1800 to 2500 sq ft 3 to 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
If you have a great job and money in the bank then you can offer to shop a larger home and pay more free country.
But again for the most part 200k and under should be it for most Americans so you can afford other nice things besides a overpriced house!
Ok someone made an offer on my moms orange grove condo in pasadena. I am sure my brother will not take it. Sorry 699K to 615K
sounds like one of you guys. she bought in it the 80’s. they wanted sconces and my future room sized persian rug!
anyway i countered 650K, wish i could get excited but. hey does anybody want to see the link?
Sure….$615 k whats a few K anyway….unless you have 10 siblings who each have 5 kids…..just sell it….$615 and they pay closing costs…
No wonder I am so miserable.
Forbes ranks Palm Beach County No. 8 on “Most Miserable Cities” list
by Jeff Ostrowski
Forget all the tourists flocking here to get away from massive snowfalls up north. Forbes.com ranks Palm Beach County No. 8 on its “America’s 20 Most Miserable Cities” list.
“The West Palm-Boca Raton area might sound glamorous with its beaches and million-dollar ocean-front homes,” Forbes says. “The reality is much different as the median home is worth $225,000, down 39% the past three years. Prices are expected to fall a further 22% this year as foreclosures continue to affect the housing market. Unemployment was recently at 12.3%.”
We might quibble with a few assertions. “Million-dollar ocean-front homes”? Uhh, right. The cheapest oceanfront sale I’ve heard of recently was $8.5 million. Prices falling 22 percent? That sounds like a bit much, too. The pessimistic predictions I’ve heard have prices falling less than 10 percent this year.
Forbes says Palm Beach County is more miserable than Flint, Mich. (No. 11), Youngstown, Ohio (No. 14) and Detroit (No. 15). Stockton, Calif., is the nation’s most miserable city, followed by Miami at No. 2.
Forbes looked at 10 factors, including unemployment, commute times, home prices, foreclosures, crime, weather and taxes.
I spent on weekend on Singer Island a few months ago and it was great. The rest of the area was scary as hell.
COPS, filmed on location!
Two ways to get on to Singer Island. PGA at the north end, nice area not far from The Gardens Mall where you drive by Lost Tree Village where Jack Nickalus lives or Blue Heron to the south where you don`t want to be after dark if you can help it.
California plans $2-billion program to help distressed homeowners
The Keep Your Home California program could help more than 100,000 struggling homeowners, including about 25,000 borrowers with underwater mortgages.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-keep-your-home-20110210,0,2404099.story
(If this is a duplicate post, sorry.)
“…program could help more than 100,000 struggling homeowners…”
Could… but won’t.
So ecofeco, you believe this is just “hope-ium” to keep the hope addiction alive? I hope you’re right. I am so sick of the no good deed or good morals goes unpunished scenario.
HAMP has shown that it will be “hampered” from the start.
You mean no one caught that joke?
As I’ve said, the name will tell everything about any program or company.
And here I associated it with HEMP all this time.
Hey brother, could you spare $15k to help me catch up on my rent?
Oh that`s right, if I was $15k behind on my rent I would have been thrown out 8 months ago.
“Another piece would use $129 million to provide as much as $15,000 apiece to help homeowners get current on their mortgages,”
jeff, I hear ya. We rent, actually we have 5 rents going right now, and we don’t have a Fairy Godmother (although that’s sounds pretty good).
I just heard Geithner on the radio stating that while they want to wind down Fannie and Freddie, they want to get the housing market back to a healthy state.
My question is, “What does Geithner consider a healthy housing market?”
The financial sector and realtors would love to see bubble-level prices and debt levels. Realtors make their cash up front, the financial sector vacuum up whatever “losses” they claim, from the taxpayer.
I’m not sure I’d agree with Geithner as to what a healthy housing market is. I’d be curious to hear him spell it out.
“What does Geithner consider a healthy housing market?”
I’m guessing when he can sell his NYC home for what he paid, he will consider the market healthy again?
Any government housing program which aims to backstop the market is just promising more of the same as we have now - maintaining too big to fail, and if the market does go down, they’ll once again vacuum wealth from the taxpayer and firehose to at the financial sector.
Why not kill two birds with the same stone, and break up the TBTF Megabanks at the same time the TBTF GSEs are wound down?
U.S. Mortgage Finance Overhaul May Create New Winners, Losers
By Lorraine Woellert and Clea Benson - Feb 11, 2011 9:01 PM PT
The Obama administration’s proposal for reducing the government’s role in housing finance may pit Wall Street against real estate groups as it restructures the $11 trillion mortgage market.
The report released yesterday by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner offers three options for attracting private capital back into housing finance while shrinking the role played by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises that have been sustained by U.S. aid since September 2008. The debate over the options may create new sets of winners and losers, according to stakeholders on both sides of the issue.
Banking-industry groups praised the proposals for laying out steps that could increase their share of a market long dominated by the two GSEs. At the same time, community banks, real estate agents, builders and consumer groups that have benefited from the government support rallied to fight changes that would shift power to big banks.
“The basic thrust of it is that we’ve got to reduce the federal government’s role in the mortgage market,” said Bert Ely, a banking consultant based in Alexandria, Virginia. “The challenge is how far can you go in that direction, how fast can you go, and what should be the residual government role?”
Groups opposed to expanding the power of big banks said the report’s most extreme privatization options should be off the table. Another option, which would privatize the guarantee function of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would only work depending on how it is written, they said.
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As Treasury yields go, so go mortgage rates
U.S. Treasury yields and bond marketsClick on the chart to see other bond data. By Catherine Clifford, staff reporter
February 11, 2011: 5:00 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Treasury yields have been climbing higher since fall 2010, as the economy begins to show signs of improvement. As a result, mortgage rates have been moving higher as well.
The national average interest for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.05% in the week ended Feb. 11 — marking the first time since May 2010 that the popular consumer borrowing rate topped the 5% barrier, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The data factors in an average of 0.8 points in fees that the average borrower paid to lower his or her rate.
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