Bits Bucket for March 17, 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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The Atlantic Home
Foreclosures Fell Again in February
Mar 10 2011, 11:19 AM ET By Daniel Indiviglio
After a tiny spike in January, foreclosure activity continued to decline in February. Activity across all stages of foreclosure fell by 13.9%, according to foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac. With 225,101 filings, February was the slowest month of activity in three years. Last month default notices, auctions, and seizures all fell. As we’ve been saying since October, declining foreclosures continue to likely be more a sign of banks and servicers continued struggle to file as quickly as they reform their processes than genuine improvement in housing market health.
…
“…declining foreclosures continue to likely be more a sign…”
-yeah, Likely. What they fail to report is that for every percent of decline in foreclosure activity, there is a percent increase in rent/mortgage free housing for FB squatters. How is government encouragement of this trend any way justifiable to those who are current on mortgage/rent payments? Are we supposed to feel like suckers?
“How is government encouragement of this trend any way justifiable to those who are current on mortgage/rent payments? ”
If they are not paying the mortgage they probably aren’t paying the taxes, and somewhere something has to give. These deadbeats are not going to purchase our way out of this recession, and I will just conserve spending at my end. The government can spin figures any way they want but until real unemployment figures
drop and food stamps drop their won’t be a recovery!!
FB “squatters” are still owners; therefore not really squatters. Homes are in much worse shape when the FB’s have given up the property with no one to watch for looters; water disasters; the feeling that someone actually lives in the vicinity.
If something happens to the house; it is the owner of record’s problem; not the banks. I am suggesting that the FB’s stay but also that the banks find a way to process the non-payers like they should. The utility and HOA bills still go to the “squatters”. The property taxes bills still go to the “squatters”. Should my wife leave; foreclosure would not come any faster, so why leave such liablilities in the hands of nobody? she is in a group of lost auctions that Recontrust rescinded in March here in Oregon. From hundreds to 0 in our county Deschutes; the trustee’s sales #s no longer exist.
Although my wife has not paid for a year the bank has not volunteered to take posession, leaving that responsibility to her or noone. The ball is in their court and we are awaiting their next volley.
We were expecting a sale last November, then the auction date came and went; and was rescheduled several times. Assume that sometime soon they will invalidate the mortgage due to non-payment, transfer ownership, and reposess the home. It is an owner occupied contract; the bank would squatting here; they have no right to come in here so long as it is occupied so we are not squatting, not in the traditional sense of the word. Apparently don’t want the carrying costs; don’t want to face the fact that they will need to write down the value of the loan; or maybe circumventing local rules of moving the note about (Mers messed with property law according to several judges here) interfered with their right to a non-judicical foreclosure.
We don’t know how or when Bofa is planning on processing the 1000s of rescinded sales in this OR group As owner of record my wife contends that the responsible thing for her in this situation is to stay and protect the bank’s investment at no cost to the bank. Otherwise they would have to take some costly measure to secure it.
Squatters would thrash it; those who technically still own in and have not flown the coop should be commended for making things seem a little better than they really are. Our street of 10 units would be completely empty if not for “squatters” like us.
Our next door neighbor has his up for sale at 365k, no realtors, on CL. They are selling for 225k at best. His wife told mine “we are not giving it away” Maybe he will wake up and smell the coffee, but he is keeping the dream alive!
So you are staying there out of self-less compassion for the good of the lender?
“If something happens to the house; it is the owner of record’s problem; not the banks.”
If the owner has stopped paying the mortgage, so the home is headed towards foreclosure and REO status, it seems like the problem is the bank’s: Any reduction in value of the home would presumably reduce the price for which the bank will eventually be able to sell it.
Of course we do not expect the bank to pay us to occupy the place. But after paying Bofa to service and some noteholder somewhere 80k in payments, we feel no remorse staying here whileWe have somewhere else to go and are just awaiting their foreclosure action. It is simply not our fault that they need to find a way around their improper handling of the wet note. Improperly transferred; they must possibly pursue a judicial foreclosure unless no less than 5 OR judges are overruled and repos are allowed to recommence by Recontrust in OR.
So long as the bank does not reassert its presense we feel forgotten and neglected but will valiently continue to pay the carrying costs on this unit while we await repossession; why oh why will the bank not take possession? They could even use the pool!(if they paid the HOAs, which I hear they are not).
Speaking of HOAs, the association here has taken to pursuing them aggressively; placing liens on homes with outstanding balances. I suppose the bank must make good on these fees upon resale. But will the HOA liens go with the property as unpaid property taxes do, or will they stay attached to the deadbeat owner(we stay current on ours…currently) if a lien was filed against the owner?
Maybe a tax lien is imposed against the property and a HOA lien is placed against the owner?
In a resort community of mostly second homes; occupancy is low. On our street of 20 units; we are the only current occupants.
This town….is coming like a ghosttown.
The resort is listing units for 225k; never been lived in. Our neighbor is asking 365 for their unit. It must be gilded.
Mike, are you still paying property taxes? If not, what does the town do?
Mike, times sure changed and opened up this opportunity for you….I wish i could be as lucky as you……not pay for a year.
It does make an interesting legal argument. You are doing the bank a favor by staying, and maintaining property values.
Although my wife has not paid for a year the bank has not volunteered to take posession, leaving that responsibility to her or noone. The ball is in their court and we are awaiting their next volley.
Yes I pay property taxes(on my paid-for home which I lease to a realtor).
The town will have to wait for the bank to pay the taxes on wife’s home that we still occupy.
My wife pays HOAs, but has missed paying prop taxes. The bank will make those payments once they get off their rear ends and take ownership.
Of course they will only get 2/3 of the loan amount; maybe that is why they are not in a hurry. We could actually afford the home at 2/3 the loan amount but that is not what is going to transpire.
Nothing against you, Mike. You are just making lemonade with the lemons that rolled your way. Its the entire corrupt system I have a problem with.
Hey Mike,
While you want to stay there as long as possible, at what point do you feel you need the foreclosure to pass in order to make the IRS’s deadline (2012?) for not paying taxes on the deficicency?
I hope my question is clear. What I am trying to say is that if your foreclosure has not been completed by the end of 2012, you will have to pay taxes on the deficiency (even though you are in a non-recourse situation and don’t have to pay the actual deficiency). We know that the banks move at glacial speed as far as these things go, but on or by 12/31/2012 it will be in your personal best interest to have it over with. At what point will you start to worry? When the time comes, is there anything you can do to get the bank to speed it up? Not that you want to right now (deadline is 21 months away), but have you given it much thought?
I guess I had not thought about it. We have never paid fed taxes due to being under the federal minimum for paying taxes(always earned under 40k since having kids) and always qualifying for the EIC. Property taxes on the house are 2k/ yr and we could pay them if it was a good idea tax wise.
We will keep an eye on this for sure if it goes longer; a year is actually way less than the average I have heard. So it could go longer I suppose. With 80k to the payments over three years; one more seems equitible;we want them to go through with it.
Paying property taxes seems cheaper than what you are proposing, Kim. Maybe a different issue altogether. IRS taxing unperforming loans in their totality as deficiency income w/o a deficiency judgement? Oregon normally does non-judicial foreclosures but may have to judically foreclose ours thanks to the securitizations not recorded properly on the local level.
We could settle the taxes I am referrring to for 2k/yr. Are you saying that come 12-31-2012 that my wife will be paying taxes on the over 200k deficiency caused by an unprocessed foreclosure or a non performing loan? That could be like the mortgage all over again that year/ then back to free living after! Doubt it; but moving out/paying taxes/anything we do can change the bank’s timetable; so how can we worry over that?
But will it really take that long that it will mess up 2012? that would be poetic justice. We are used to a large federal credit thanks to Earned Income. However catching up on the property taxes would not help that I can see. Seems you saying IRS are gonna count an unoprocessed foreclosure as my wife’s income via deficiency?
Yes, that’s what Kim was saying.
Here is some info:
“Another problem with mortgage foreclosure is possible income tax consequences. The general rule is that when a lender forgives or cancels a debt the borrower can incur income tax on the amount of debt forgiveness. When you arrange a discount in your mortgage in order to sell house (a so-called “short sale”) the mortgage lender will cancel part of your mortgage debt and you will receive a tax form 1099 telling the IRS that you have imputed income for the amount of debt reduction. You will also incur income tax liability for a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The taxable income will be the difference between the property value and the balance of the mortgage loan on the date you surrender the property to the bank.
A foreclosure may result in cancellation of debt income depending on whether the bank pursues a deficiency judgment. If the mortgage lender gets a deficiency judgment for the difference between the property value on foreclosure sale date and the mortgage balance the lender is not forgiving any part of the loan. If the bank chooses not to pursue a deficiency judgment, or pursues the judgment unsuccessfully, the borrower may incur income tax liability for debt foregiveness.
In December, 2007, Congress acted to protect many debtors from income tax liability associated with foreclosure avoidance. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 states that homeowners will not be subject to income tax from release from mortgage liability if and to the extent the mortgage proceeds were used to buy or improve their primary residence. There is no income tax shelter from foregiveness of mortgage debts for investment property, vacation homes, or mortgages used for businesses or to pay off credit card balances. You should speak with an attorney or CPA familiier with the new law to see if you qualify for income tax protection.
For those borrowers who do not qualify for protection of the new Act there is an insolvency exception to imputed income from the cancellation of mortgage debt. If a borrower is financially insolvent when he surrenders the mortgaged property to the lender voluntarily or through foreclosure there will be no imputed income. A borrower who files bankruptcy is presumed to be insolvent, so that a bankruptcy debtor cannot suffer imputed income tax liability because the bankruptcy discharges personal liability under a mortgage note. More information is available from IRS Publication 908 and IRS tax form 982. Both forms can be found at irs.gov.”
http://www.alperlaw.com/mortgage_fcdef.html
“How is government encouragement of this trend any way justifiable to those who are current on mortgage/rent payments?”
What evidence do you have to suggest the government is behind this?
The banks cannot foreclose and sell the homes without crashing the market. The government is highly invested in maintaining high home prices and indeed is massively invested in these same homes through the big F’s, which of course are the big F word in real estate loans.
Empty homes rot and fall apart faster than occupied ones and millions of homeless people are not good for peace and order…
…and don’t forget: The “stimulus” effect of the FB getting to spend living-expense money on whatever their hearts desire. iPads, new cars, designer clothes, gucci purses, gas, campaign contributions, etc. Of course the government is all for delaying foreclosures. If you have any doubts as to whether they are behind the whole scam, you have not been paying attention in class where we have discussed at length the government failure to regulate the runaway housing bubble from the (lack of) lending standards and keeping interest rates too low, to the moratoriums set by our leaders long before the whole “robo-signing” mess. I think they knew about crappy mortgage documentation all along and just picked the robo-signing affair to stall the foreclosures in a last-ditch attempt to extend and pretend. The stuff had already hit the fan. When I say “the government did it” keep in mind that “the government” is virtually synonomous with “the banksters”. See this entire blog for the last several years as documentation.
“millions of homeless people are not good for peace and order”
There’s that old tired canard that those who are foreclosed on have no recourse but to live on the streets. Presumably most of them can rent like the rest of us, and if not, then how about free rent for me too?
Around here they rent for about 4 - 6 months and then around the 7th of the month they pull up a moving truck late at night and we never see them again…
Must have been the weather?
Posted on Thu, Mar. 17, 2011
Starts for new U.S. housing down 22.5 percent since January
By Alan J. Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Housing starts in February fell 22.5 percent from January to their second-lowest level since 1946, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.
The most accurate measure of the health of the new-home market, however, was in the permit numbers for the month, and they were, as one economist remarked, “awful.”
Permits fell 8.2 percent from January and were 20.5 percent below February 2010.
“It looks like developers took a vacation in February,” said economist Joel L. Naroff of Holland, Bucks County.
…
Oh, I wouldn’t call it a “vacation.”
Yeah, I hear you, eco. It’s sort of like the “vacation” my design studio’s been experiencing of late.
Just finished a project for a very good client. He’s a university prof and his school’s on spring break right now. So, no more work on that other project we’ve been dealing with until everyone gets back to campus.
Then there was that project that I *thought* was a go. Would-be client is at another university, and she okayed my proposal last month, said her office would send an initial deposit check, and I’ve gotten bupkis in the way of money.
I’ve also had very little success in contacting her about anything else relating to this project. Last week, I sent an e-mail saying that I’d put things on hold. No reply.
Yesterday, I left a phone message saying that things were still on hold, and that if I didn’t hear from her by the end this month, I’d consider this thing canceled. Still no reply.
This is the third time in three months that someone has flaked on me like this.
So, I’ve been pursuing the photography biz a bit harder than usual. Gotta do something since people are flaking right and left on the design side.
Well, guess what? I’ve had some photographic successes! Just had two local magazines publish photos, and I’m now shopping my work around the country.
Cool.
Yeah, people think being in business is easy. HA!
Slim,
Sorry to hear the design side of your business is slow. As you know, things can turn around for the better in a matter of days. I hope this will be the case with your business.
In the meantime, congratulations on the photography gigs!
“Staycation”?
California Home Sales Weaker Than Expected
by Don Jergler | Realty Bites | 03.16.11
4:15pm | California home sales posted a weaker-than-expected performance and declined in February, according to data from the California Association of Realtors.
…
California’s poor performance follows three months of sales gains, according to CAR.
…
There’s that expectation thing again. Exactly who are these d-bag reporters that are the arbiters of official expectations?
Well i finally posted first - must be the time zone advantage - 5:45 pm Thursday here in Japan. I’ve been working just south of Tokyo in Chigasaki for nearly two weeks. I haven’t posted on the blog for awhile and now have many experiences to share, surviving a 9.0 quake, living with days of aftershocks, power blackouts and then finally watching and waiting for a nuclear catastrophy to unfold only about 10 hours upwind from where you’re sleeping. But there’s only one reason I decided to post here today and share my thoughts on probably the most life changing experiense of the whole damned ride. That is, I want to tell as many people as possible how much I love the Japanese people. In the face of perhaps the greatest wrath that God has ever visired on a nation and then the unimaginable adversity that followed and continues still I have winessed their unwordly calmness, incredible compassion, ceaseless caring, quiet dignity and unfathomable strength. I have not yet seen one person lose control or their sense of humor. I have not heard a single complaint or seen an angry outburst. Here there is not a chance of looting or of anyone or any group exploiting the chaos for personal or political gain. And through it all they have never stopped taking care that I, their guest, is both safe and comforted. I’ve folliowed this blog for many years and have often shared the board’s anger at the powers that be, their hypocracy, their deceit, the corruption in high places and the failure of so many people to take responsability for their actions. I watched these social pathologies for so long I guess I may have come to regard them as human nature. My message from Japan today is to claim that they are not. The Japanese have unalterably restored my faith in human nature and my eyes now well up to think of what kind of world is actually possible.
Glad to hear you’re safe and overjoyed to hear your firsthand account of the people and the situation! It’s a welcome departure from the MSM here, which seems to latch on to any hint of sensation. My next trip to Japan is slated for this fall and it can’t come fast enough. If I had the means, I would go even sooner. Your post made my day and we know that Japan will come roaring back from this. Who knows, as bad as this epic disaster was maybe - just maybe - it is the catalyst that ends two decades of economic funk? Thanks again for the positive update and stay safe!
That is a beautiful tribute to a people whose character is shining through in hard times.
Waiting, so glad to hear you are safe! Thanks for the post.
Just this morning I heard from a Japanese friend that she and her family are safe. They spent five days in a shelter eating rice balls, and she was delighted to get home and have a hot cup of coffee. Her house (a rental) is a mess, but its standing.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/
I have no doubt that some cultural factors play in to the lack of looting vis a vis other tragedies, but in terms of Katrina, remember that there is a 40 mile or so bridge that takes you out of town across a swamp so generally you couldn’t walk away from the disaster, especially if you were aged or in poor health.
Also the water didn’t rush in and recede like a tusnami, it stayed until it was pumped out. Festering water ruined most of the supplies that people had stocked up on.
The poverty in New Orleans is much higher on a per capita basis than in Japan (i’m guessing). The poor didn’t have money purchase what they needed, so discounts didn’t matter.
And finally there was a collection of dudes with guns preventing people from leaving in another direction shortly after it happened.
The rampant destruction of japan though most certainly surpasses katrina in terms of cost and in the number of people impacted.
Overdog:
racial cultures do play into this, whites were looting in New Orleans but they were looting food fuels BBQ grills and were cooking food for people..no kidding…..before it went bad you never saw this from the 9th ward peeps….they wanted flat screen tv’s
Plus the 9th ward peeps had plenty of time to leave and chose to stay…Bush had nothing to do with this level of stupid.
You’re sure it’s racial and not economic? Not sure how you definitively come to that conclusion based on the facts. Where does your statement that white people were “looting food fuels BBQ grills and were cooking food for people” come from? You were able to observe the behavior of all white people and black people (adjusting for economic status) and draw the conclusion that white people behaved respectably while black people didn’t?
it’s cultural, not racial not economic
Stupid is color blind.
Well it was all over the news………i think if black folks would have helped feed each other it would have made drudge, and Katie would have flown to N.O. and gave them props and a lead story because that’s how rare it would have been.
Ever notice almost no black peeps ever help sandbag a flood? yet lots of them live near a river cause its cheap.
sometimes the truth hurts
You were able to observe the behavior of all white people and black people
Another Katrina story: As mentioned here before, I went to the Gulf Coast of MS to help the locals rebuild. Did so three times during 2006-08.
Right now, I’m sitting here in my Tucson studio, and I’m wearing a pair of shoes that a Katrina survivor gave me. She did this because the shoes I was wearing during my third and final trip to MS were literally falling apart.
I told her about my plan to toss them out at the end of the trip. That motivated her to bring me the shoes that I am now wearing.
There are good people everywhere. Do not give up hope, people!
Wow, WaitingForREO, that was beeeeeuuuuteeeeful! Many Tankxs for your contribution this AM…Stay Well!
I have not yet seen one person lose control or their sense of humor.
and have often shared the board’s anger at the powers that be, their hypocrisy, their deceit, the corruption in high places and the failure of so many people to take responsibility for their actions. I watched these social pathologies for so long I guess I may have come to regard them as human nature. My message from Japan today is to claim that they are not
Come forth an ancient echo…
When actions are performed
Without unnecessary speech,
People say, “We did it!”
Chapter 17
The Tao Te Ching / by Lao Tzu
Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English
RE: Japanese Calm
Please let us know what evidence you see of their disappointment , anger about being lied to by their authorities.
MAybe a few months from now the Japanese character will develop a healthy skepticsm about authority.
Seen it all - I first think I found it too convenient for my western mind to see their calmness, tolerance and patience as simply an aestetically pleasing facade masking a robotic or subservient nature. Because of my work, I’ve spent a lot of time here in the last 2 years. I have made many truly good friends and I’ve come to realize that this stereotype is untrue. They do indeed have a critical facility - especially when it comes to claims made by the powerful - but they just seem to be several chess moves ahead of me in terms of how to react; both personally and strategically, They may have more patience in their wait for justice than I - and because of their moral code perhaps they can afford to be. I can tell you this, those in authority who have any responsability for what has occured here will make full public apologies to the Japanese people and to the world that their actions affected. They will feel great shame. They will then willingly surrender their positions of power and privilege. And finally, they will not then become lawyer/lobbyist for the institutions that were responsible.
WaitingForREO,
You are spot on, IMHO.
Damned socialists.
Beautiful post, REO. Thanks for your good heart.
WaitngForREO, my thoughts are with you. Be safe, okay?
Well said, WaitngForREO.
Stay safe.
Is there a way to determine if a bird is from Japan?
Just askin.
Thanks
If it glows in the dark?
Look it up in an avaiary book. Birds generally are not flying east to west across the pacific ocean this time of year.
Well i finally posted first - must be the time zone advantage - 5:45 pm Thursday here in Japan. I’ve been working just south of Tokyo in Chigasaki for nearly two weeks. I haven’t posted on the blog for awhile and now have many experiences to share, surviving a 9.0 quake, living with days of aftershocks, power blackouts and then finally watching and waiting for a nuclear catastrophy to unfold only about 10 hours upwind from where you’re sleeping. But there’s only one reason I decided to post here today and share my thoughts on the most life changing experiense of the whole damned ride. That is, I want to tell as many people as possible how much I love the Japanese people. In the face of perhaps the greatest wrath that God has ever visired on a nation and then the unimaginable adversity that followed and continues still; through it all I have winessed their profound calmness, incredible compassion, ceaseless caring, quiet dignity and their unfathomable strength. I have not seen one person lose control or their sense of humor. I have not heard a single complaint or seen an angry outburst. Here there is zero chance of looting or of anyone or any group exploiting the chaos for personal or even political gain. And through it all they have never stopped taking care that I, their guest, is both safe and comforted. I’ve folliowed this blog for many years and have often shared the board’s anger at the powers that be, their hypocracy, their deceit and the failure of so many millions to take responsability for their actions. I’ve watched these social pathologies for so long I guess I had come to regard them as human nature. My message from Japan today is to claim that they are not. The Japanese have unalterably restored my faith in human nature and my eyes now well with tears to think of what kind of world is actually possible.
Great post, Waiting for REO.
This is why I feel so sad about what’s happening in Japan. These people are the salt of the earth, and it saddens me to see such good people have to deal with so much pain.
I hope you are able to stay safe, and that you and your friends are able to find plenty of food and water.
Are you planning on sticking it out there, or do you plan to leave Japan for the time being?
My heart goes out to everyone living in Japan. Best of luck to you.
Thanks CA Renter - I’m physically safe and have a Sunday flight out of Osaka back to San Francisco - Narita is a mess I know this will probably sound crazy but I’m starting to feel great sadness, and guilt, over flying off to relative safety and leaving my Japanese friends and colleages to face what’s coming. I think now I understand why soldiers re-enlist.
Have a safe trip home!
I hope everyone who wants to leave (Japanese, included) are able to do so. It’s got to feel pretty insurmountable over there.
I was hoping that we would hear from someone on the ground in Japan . It has been so inspiring to see how kind and decent
the people of Japan have been in the face of this disaster .
Sorry. You have to get up awfully early in the morning to post before Professor Bear.
Geiger Counter?
Got Gamma Rays?
Keep away from your granite countertops unless you want to have bad hair day.
Higher prices for food are about to get worse
Wholesalers paying more for food, suggesting higher prices to come at the grocery store.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are noticing higher prices at the grocery store, and it’s about to get worse.
Food prices at the wholesale level rose last month by the most in 36 years. Cold weather accounted for most of it, forcing stores and restaurants to pay more for green peppers, lettuce and other vegetables, but meat and dairy prices surged, too.
The big questions are how long food prices will keep rising and how high they’ll go.
The impact is already visible. Wendy’s, paying higher prices for tomatoes, now puts them on hamburgers only by request. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have raised prices because they pay more for coffee beans. Supermarkets warn customers that produce may be of lower quality, or limited.
“It has thrown the whole industry into a tizzy,” says Dan Bates, director of merchandising for the produce division of grocery chain Supervalu Inc.
One other thing that’s a bit disconcerting regarding this nuclear issue is that IF there is fallout over California, how will that affect our crops and livestock?
For those who don’t know, California is the #1 agricultural state. What will the nuclear fallout do to our food prices?
http://stuffaboutstates.com/agriculture/index.html
Too much to worry about…
I don’t expect this to be a problem for California, at least from any radiation. If there were explosions that release significant concentrations of highly radioactive material higher in the atmosphere (seemingly not likely), there would be more potential for greater concentrations to eventually reach western North America, mainly north of California (the jet stream migrating back towards the north as we head toward summer does have its advantages).
I expect from the government we’ll hear lots of carefully parsed language and not a lot of details, much like the “quality” information we got about the Gulf of Mexico.
Scroll down for an interactive projected weather/prevailing winds/radioactive plume map heading for the states.
Duck, cover or get under your desks children.
http://tinyurl.com/4byq5sy
Hey, we’ve you been mikey???????
I’m still not all that concerned. You’ve got dispersion models that are good within the constraints of those models and under certain atmospheric conditions for showing concentrations and dispersion near the release location. You’ve got global models that can show you the trajectory from a location subject to the error in the model. Dispersion models aren’t all that great far from the source and global models aren’t great at handling dispersion. On top of that, it doesn’t look like there’s a very good handle on the details of the release, how much is being released, to what altitude, etc. So examples like that from the NYT article are at best a crude guess.
“Hey, we’ve you been mikey???????”
I’m down in King Walker’s dungeon.
His mean and evil Fitzgerald gang of princelings don’t let me out much anymore since they caught me selling discount union made pitchforks, torches and ropes at my mikey’s All-In-One Recall stand.
“On top of that, it doesn’t look like there’s a very good handle on the details of the release, how much is being released, to what altitude, etc. So examples like that from the NYT article are at best a crude guess.
Cool SDGreg, so when she goes critical FAST and then blows sky high, can I have your Potassium iodide pills?
Not to say that there isn’t a concern here, but I think this whole nuclear thing is being over-hyped, at least for potential problems here in the U.S. Makes for a good story, but if thermonuclear atmospheric testing back in the 50’s didn’t make us all grow 3 arms, I doubt this will either.
Mikey, you can have the potassium iodide pills I don’t have any time. Take all you want.
Even though I’m not concerned now, doesn’t mean I won’t be concerned later. If I were in Japan I’d be very concerned and if I were in the region around Japan more than a little concerned.
Tankxs…
Milk is what you need to worry about…High levels were found all across Europe after Chernobyl.
how will that affect our crops and livestock?
Most Buffett BNSF produce trains in CA…head East.
Bakersfried, CA:
Oil, baby carrots, pesticide dust,…and houses with still reducing prices.
Giant nukular-mutant killer tomatoes and broccoli on the way?
“Too much to worry about…”
Just stop worrying about the scepter of nuclear fallout from Japan. There is way too much ocean and atmosphere between there and here, and the reactor meltdown, partial meltdown, or whatever, is a flash in the pan compared to the detonation of a nuclear bomb as regards sending radioactive material skyward.
By contrast, people who grew up in St. George, Utah during the period when above-ground nuclear weapons tests were routinely conducted in nearby areas of Nevada experienced very worrisome levels of exposure, indeed.
You have to wonder what they were thinking with those above-ground nuclear tests…
It’s a good thing humans don’t need food as much as they need their kitchens remodeled…or the latest iBauble.
I guess iOHbahMa is ashamed of having only 45 million on food stamps, lest aim for 70 million….all is well
heeheehehee, 8 years of Cheney-Shrub’s financial surplus hasn’t gone too far from Wall St, has it?
There’s an old saying the news biz: “Old news is no news.”
Remember about a month ago it was announced that the world was running out of food?
Here’s what is now going on with prices of some of the major grains:
Corn: http://tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/CN/51
Soybeans: http//tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/SB/51
Wheat: http//tfc-charts.w2d.com/chart/CW/51
A month ago we heard non-stop how prices were screaming to the upside, heard how the world’s population was doomed due to mass starvation.
Now we hear … nothing.
You mean prices crash once all the speculators realize there is no *real* end demand for these goods at their elevated prices?
But NOBODY could have seen it coming!
Right?
Reminds of “Green shoots”. That phrase quickly came and went.
Running out of food?
From Wikipedia: “Thomas Malthus has become widely known for his theories concerning population and its increase or decrease in response to various factors. The six editions of his An Essay on the Principle of Population, published from 1798 to 1826, observed that sooner or later population gets checked by famine and disease.”
“If something cannot continue forever it will stop.” I think that’s attributed to Albert Einstein. It certainly applies to population growth.
What do you think will ultimately check, or even reduce, our planet’s human population?
I was wondering about all that farmland in Japan that got it by the
flood ,than add to that the land near the nuclear plant that won’t be farm land anymore . Japan really didn’t have a lot of farmland to begin with on that small island ,did it ?
Einstein regretted his role in nuclear energy from what I understand .
Quote from Einstein….
“I made one great mistake in my life __When I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made ; but their was some justification___the danger that the Germans would make them…”
Yes, all that saltwater can’t be good for farm land.
Now, the nuclear stuff???
IMHO, their agriculture and fishing industries are going to get slammed.
Unreal tragedy…
“What do you think will ultimately check, or even reduce, our planet’s human population?”
Many have been wrong about the when, but not about the why. Say what you will about the Green Revolution and all that - when exponential growth meets linear (or at least non-exponential) growth, there will be trouble.
“What do you think will ultimately check, or even reduce, our planet’s human population?”
The same thing that always does and has: The Four Horsemen.
Although just 2 (disease and famine) are usually enough to do the job.
I saw a link the other day that stated that the US cattle #’s were at 50 year lows. That is a HUGE drop in grain demand. The third world is likely going back to a beans and rice diet and much of the first world will use meat like a condiment. If not for ethanol corn prices would be a lot lower.
The third world is likely going back to a beans and rice diet and much of the first world will use meat like a condiment.
Methinks that the first world’s heavy meat-based diet has been the source of a lot of health problems.
methinks it is the invention of high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils
that and too damn much food
No kidding. I can barely finish the kiddie meals these days.
I usually order a la carte and it’s STILL too much food.
The standard plate size in the 1950s was 9 inch diameter. Today it’s 12 inches. Jumbo plates for jumbo people.
Food bubble.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Enjoy the green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and happy parades with joyful children.
The leprechaun sends his regrets as he will be unable to attend. The bankers mugged him for his pot of gold and he is still in the hospital recovering.
Right back at ya San Diego RE Bear!
he is still in the hospital recovering.
From Nurses to real estate agents,… all on counts of x1 drunk wee lil’ hobgoblin
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, SD RE Bear!!!
oxide
What do you think about the odds of harmful radiation making it to California?
Not to sound paranoid, but I’m seriously thinking about getting out of here until we know more about what’s going on. It sounds like there are too many different stories out there, but from what I can tell, the reality does not look good.
Too paranoid? Maybe a good time to take a vacation in FL?
Google “radiation california l a times” for an article.
Thanks, combo.
That’s one of the many articles that has me concerned.
See this:
“We can never say never,” Lyman said. “My judgment is that there will probably be measurable radiation, but except for a few hot spots it is not something we should really worry about.”
Key federal officials involved in the Radnet monitoring program have so far not disclosed their predictions for U.S. radioactive exposure. The projections are being developed by the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center operated at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California. The center, part of the Energy Department, uses sophisticated models on supercomputers to project the movement of radioactive particles and other toxic substances through the atmosphere.
However, a computer model of atmospheric movements developed by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy shows that the Fukushima plumes could travel across the Pacific, though the levels of radioactivity that could reach the West Coast of the U.S. remain unclear.
It appears that all of the models, however, are not based on measurements of radioactivity at the source and a projection of actual radioactive fallout in the U.S., but rather project a relative scale of radioactivity. Since Japanese authorities have said little about the amount of the releases at Fukushima, nobody can say how much radioactivity will hit California.
Of particular concern, however, is radiation emanating from Fukushima’s No. 3 reactor. That reactor uses plutonium fuel, which poses a special health risk even in small quantities if the fallout were to reach U.S. shores.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-japan-nuclear-usa-20110317,0,1431467.story
——————-
It feels like they are feeding us “happy talk,” and that we are intentionally being kept in the dark. I’m not feeling confident about this at all.
Are you doing anything about it, combo?
“Are you doing anything about it, combo.”
Yeah, I’m sleeping a lot.
Consider this:
If a reporter needs a good story then he needs to interview a lot of “experts”. These experts will render opinions. The reporter will select from these experts the one or two opinions that meets his needs.
These experts all have access to the same data but they all seem to have different opinions. Funny how that is, isn’t it? (Differences in opinions aren’t limited to today’s Japan story, they are found everywhere - just look at how different financial-based opinions are: Same data, different opinions.)
The reporter has to compete against other reporters for the opportunity to have his story presented. The reporter with the best story get to have his story presented; those with lesser “good” stories don’t get theirs presented.
The news orginazation that has the best stories gets Fifteen Minutes of fame. Others get less than fifteen Minutes.
So, to sum up:
1. The expert selected for the story gets Fifteen Minutes of fame.
2. The reporter who gets his story printed or aired (or whatever) gets his Fifteen Minutes of fame.
3. The news organization that airs the best story gets their Fifteen Minutes of fame.
The term “best story” means “most sensational story”, which is why the most sensational story is the one that you will hear about.
BINGO.
And I had no idea there were so many nuclear experts until all the news coverage began.
Sheesh, Since 2004 at least 300,000 people have been killed by Tsanumis, probably many, many more, yet people line up to buy coastal property or spend thousands of dollars to vacation in coastal areas.
The worst nuclear accident in history has killed at most 8,000 people over 25 years.
So we’re fussing about the nuclear side of this tragedy? Makes no sense to me.
Although the radiation isn’t going to do a thing to the U.S., it sure would be ironic: 65 years after Hiroshima, their response is Fukushima.
Try this link. It has an animated map of the plume’s travel.
Forecast for Plume’s Path Is a Function of Wind and Weather
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/science/plume-graphic.html
Multiple experts have said that there is NO chance of significant radiation hitting California. I don’t think they’re even worried about Hawaii.
Thanks, oxide.
We just keep hearing conflicting reports, and based on the back-and-forth coming out of Japan, it sounds like nobody really knows what is going on (or they’re too worried to actually come out and say it).
As some fishermen I know would probably point out, “that’s a big ocean out there.”
the sky is even bigger.
As some fishermen I know would probably point out, “that’s a big ocean out there.”
“the sky is even bigger”
Unfortunately, we have taken a collective dump in both of them.
I’m keeping an eye on reports too but haven’t seen anything yet that concerns me enough to cancel our vacation to CA next month.
“Multiple experts have said that there is NO chance of significant radiation hitting California. I don’t think they’re even worried about Hawaii.”
Multiple experts also said there is NO chance 4 reactors could blow up at the same time.
I find it amusing when people worry about radiation hitting “California” The distance from Yokohama to San Francisco is about 4,500 NM. The distance from San Francisco to New York is 2,200 NM. If it’s a problem for California, it’s a problem for the entire United States. Yes, I realize that the Rockies do tend to cause stuff to precitate out of the atmosphere, but if stuff crosses the entire Pacific Ocean, it probably got into the Jet Stream. This has more to do with people’s wonky perceptions of distance: There’s a bunch of stuff between SF and NYC so it seems “further” in people’s minds than the relative emptiness of the Pacific. The reality is that in the event of a catastrophic meltdown, the radiation to get this far would be measureable, but it’s effect wouldn’t be. The dose make the poison, and I suspect you’d get a bigger dose from eating top of the foodchain fish that were caught who knows where than from fallout blown all the way to CA.
During the late 1940’s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and early ”80s, the United States and France exploded hundreds of both atomic and hydrogen bombs on various islands in the Pacific. Those bombs instantly ejected radioactive material high into the atmosphere, unlike the damaged reactors in Japan which are slowly leaking relatively small amounts close to the ground. And during that time the U.S. was busy exploding atomic bombs in the western states, many of the earlier explosions being atmospheric. Yet life in the U.S. went on normally. Perhaps there were a few extra cases of cancer or birth defects, but no obvious large scale effects. I was a small child when all of this started, living in one of the western states near a lot of the experiments. Now I am an old guy ( “generation greed”! ) in very good health. I am not trying to downplay the nuclear accident, because it really is a disaster on a local scale for the Japanese. They may end up with an exclusion zone such as the Ukraine has around Pripyat. But I don’t believe it will have much of an effect here.
And releasing lots of stuff from Hanford, blowing directly at Spokane. Well at least they used tall smokestacks. Lots of “downwinders” filed suit against the AEC aod DOD but not much ever came of it. There seemed to be reasonable evidence that thyroid cancer rates between Hanford and Spokane were elevated but certainly did not rise to epidemic levels.
Yeah, well…it turned me into a newt.
2005 -The Experts say real estate isn’t in a bubble .
never trust the expert mouthpieces.
Hawaii is probably too far south.
Any reason is a good reason to leave California.
Yes, please go.
Too many questions to be answered. At what elevation will the radiation be transported? Will rain wash it into the ocean? Is it carried on dust that will just fly over the west and deposit in states further east? After we nuked Japan (WWII) which went directly into the atmosphere what were the readings here in CA? What about the Nevada atmospheric tests and air currents? If exposed, how many years before any long term effects show up in the population? etc?
Lets face it …..Do you all really trust the humans when it comes to profit and greed regarding nuclear, whether it’s regarding using it as a weapon or using it for energy .
What strikes me is this . When they tested the Atom bomb in NM
there was a outside chance that it would set the World in flames .
Even though this was only a slight chance in terms of theory ,they
tested the bomb anyway . They went on and bombed Japan .
My father worked for the Atomic Energy commission as a engineer
and of course he thought it was a great source of energy . He use to tell me he use to eat his lunch on ratio active drums . He use to
show me pictures of these domes they were working on and his belief was the greatest problem was how to get rid of the waste .
I didn’t have much interest in the field he was in ,but I know he had to have security checks all the time .
Interesting story about your dad, Wiz. It seems nuclear science is a love-it-or-hate-it sort of thing.
Personally, I’m not really fond of it precisely because, even though the statistical odds are low, when something bad DOES happen, it can be very, very, very bad.
Too paranoid? Maybe a good time to take a vacation in FL?
From what I read, oxide is probably right that no significant amount of radiation will hit the USA but even if it did how much reduction in exposure would you get in Florida? 1/3 reduction maybe?
Japan to California is 5000 miles
California to the East Coast is 2500 miles
I’m not an expert (and I don’t even play one on TV) but I would guess that any substantial reduction would depend on timing of CA departure and return in combination with the timing of the radiation leak in combination with prevailing winds and fallout patterns.
It seems that if there were to be a serious problem (which I doubt), any protection in the USA would have to be achieved from going north or south, not west to east.
“It seems that if there were to be a serious problem (which I doubt), any protection in the USA would have to be achieved from going north or south, not west to east.”
…seems, just…seems?
Sheesh Rio, can’t you be a little MORE percise than that with gasoline at $3.49.
Uncle mikey slams on the brakes and does a U-ie accross the busy 4-lane!!
“Forget DisneyWorld, Mickey and all that stupid sunshine and hold onto your fuzzy little hats, scarves and mittens kiddies, we’re heading for Artillery Lake is a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada to do some ice fishing.”
If you’re really going ice fishing, have fun, Mikey!
BTW, you need to keep updating us on all the goings-on in WI. Some of us really miss your posts!
Realtors Are Liars.
Anyone else have trouble sleeping, lately?
With everything that’s going on in the world, I just can’t settle down. What’s happened in Japan is downright depressing, and I’m not normally a pessimist. Things just seem bad, bad, bad for the Japanese. I can’t get over what they are going through, and feel like crying any time I think about it (which is most of the time).
Stop listening to the news, or be a bit more selective of what news you choose to listen to.
This Japan thing is not the end of civilization.
It could be the end of their civilization, though. IMHO, it will likely alter Japan for a long, long, long time to come.
And your problem of not sleeping because of your worry over what is going on in Japan will help Japan … how?
Just general anxiety and insomnia. Then there’s the Middle East, too.
Sometimes, I just want to curl up and watch Nick-at-Nite and not pay any attention to what’s going on in the world. It’s tempting to join the “American Idol” crowd and stick one’s head in the sand.
Ignorance is bliss, right?
Much healthier to switch of the TV entirely and go outside for some fresh air and exercise. Do get some exercise, it will help calm you. Talk to some real 3D peole around town.
Thanks, Blue Skye.
“Stop listening to the news,”
News? TV? think he means HBB.
Ca Renter
I was really “magenta” too, do to my utmost respect for the Japanese culture, so it’s magnified. I’ve needed some laugh therapy, so I’ve been watching “Alf” while treading each morning. Escapism is good right now.
I wish I could help. My heart aches. I hear ya.
WaitngForREO - Thank you for that first hand and life altering account. You etched a beautiful memory. Safe trip.
Alf? Really? I remember watching it as a teen as thinking that it was only slightly less lame than Mr. Belvedere. Sorry to come so strong, but this is the second day that you’ve extolled the comedic virtues of Alf. It’s like watching the Lawrence Welk show with no irony. And this is coming from someone who thought that the Dukes of Hazzard was the acme or television, so the bar is pretty low…
Try meditation, a completely clear mind even if only for a few minutes is the best feeling in the world.
MrBubble
I hear ya, but sometimes mindless pablum is in order in life. We don’t own a TV, and this is the worst transgression I can confess too. I also take piano lessons. Yin & Yang.
We don’t own a TV, and this is the worst transgression I can confess too. I also take piano lessons.
I’m with you on the non-TV ownership, Awaiting.
And I’ve had a hankering to take voice lessons. Or that deejay class down at KXCI. Reason: The vocal cords have reached, ahem, a certain age. Which could bode well for Slim’s dreams of a performing career of some sort or another.
I killed my cable TV years ago - it seemed like nothing but outright boldface lies (it looks like real estate has finally hit the bottom!) or really really nasty bad news I didn’t want to hear (and in other news, 3 children drowned and there was another in a string of murders in bla bla bla).
Too few feelgood stories, just bad news stacked on bad news. It was effecting my mood.
Nowadays I pull all the TV I could want through alternative means (like netflix streaming), and check on the news once in a blue moon. As a result, I feel remarkably less pessimistic than most of the people I’ve been talking to in person lately.
“I hear ya, but sometimes mindless pablum is in order in life. We don’t own a TV, and this is the worst transgression I can confess too.”
No cable here, but we do have Netflix and Hulu. We are addicted to the cooking shows. Not everybody’s cup of job for sure. Just giving you the business!
Thanks, Awaiting!
BTW, I think Alf is funny.
Now, now, they’ll pull through! But yes, this whole week has also been creeping me out big time! Seriously, I’ve been pensive and irritable and feel as though donating isn’t doing enough. This is certainly a situation that calls for lots and lots of prayer.
This is going to sound corny, but my own connection to Japan still baffles me. My background was a blue collar neighborhood where a trip to the Wisconsin Dells was a huge outing and foreign lands were for foreigners. My pops served in the Philippines and lost close friends in action - one to a Japanese sniper. He later guarded Japanese POWs. He never said a bad word about the people, although some of our neighbors still talked angrily about Pearl Harbor. Thankfully my parents valued travel over cars and crap and so us kids saw things our friends never did…or in many cases ever would. One of my siblings took an assignment in Japan and I’ve been hooked ever since.
REO’s post earlier up the thread made my day, proving once again the firsthand accounts from real people help more to navigate these challenging times than “official” news. REO’s accounts square perfectly with my own observations from my journeys in Japan - and they strongly suggest that this too shall pass.
Anderson Cooper was really praising the Japanese, too. He was comparing it to Haiti or the Katrina disasters, and seemed in awe of the way the Japanese have composed themselves. He acted surprised because there was no looting. A Japanese anchorwoman came on after him and basically said:
“We would have expected nothing else. That’s how the Japanese behave. We would never expect to see looting, because the Japanese people don’t do that.”
It was awesome to hear all the praise. Truly an admirable people.
You mean they weren’t shooting at the rescue helicopters? No feces-covered superdome?
Monolithic, relatively closed societies have their advantages (as well as disadvantages).
“Truly an admirable people.”
And then you read “King Rat” for balance and realize that people are people.
BATAAN DEATH MARCH not as fun as it sounded.
“BATAAN DEATH MARCH not as fun as it sounded.”
My uncle agreed—though he could never talk about it.
“It could be the end of their civilization”
I don’t think so but I do think it is a wake up call to really discuss Nuke power and world wide regs on the type of reactors to be built, safety, and just where is the best location to put them.
Why no call to forbid any residences within 3 miles of any coastline? I guarantee that will save many more lives than any changes in how nuclear power plants are constructed. There is a very high probability that within the lifetime of many of those reading this blog, the Cascadia Quake Tsanumi will kill tens of thousands on the Northwest Coast of the US and Western Canada.
Just say’n.
“Why no call to forbid any residences within 3 miles of any coastline?”
I can see that for the PNW but not for California. Our cliffs are too high for any tsunami to reach very far inland except for in very low-lying areas (e.g. esturaries), while the absence of a subduction zone (excepting the north coast) reduces the risk of a tsunami-sized quake nearby.
By contrast, the Puget Sound region (Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia) is a much different story — a beautiful area, though a catastrophic natural disaster in waiting, whether by pyroclastic flow or lahar from Mt Rainier, or due to the one-two punch of a near-shore magnitude 8.0+ subduction zone quake followed by a destructive tsunami, similar to that of 1700, but with massive coastal development now at risk.
Certainly not an end to their civilization. IMHO the question is: Will this catastrophe cause a degree of restructuring and reprioriitization in the same way, albiet to a lesser degree that losing WWII did? Or will the fact that they AREN’T being occupied mean that the powers that be manage to do the same stuff in the same ways that they have been doing. Much in way that our country has responed to our (much more minor) financial crisis largely with the same old same old.
“It could be the end of their civilization, though. IMHO, it will likely alter Japan for a long, long, long time to come.”
I doubt that. The 2004 SE Asia tsunami was far worse in terms of death toll.
Not the death toll (though that’s part of it) as much as the shock to their entire infrastructure and faith in their engineering, etc. They worked so hard to ensure against such destruction — putting more effort into than almost anyone else in the world — and look at what happened.
Also, I think this nuclear disaster will end up changing things for them in the long run. Agriculture, fishing, etc. will all possibly be affected.
The SE Asia tsunami affected a lot of people, but they didn’t have the #3 economy in the world, and they didn’t have all the expensive infrastructure like Japan did. The Japanese prided themselves on this, and to see it fail will certainly cause people to lose faith, IMHO.
They worked so hard to ensure against such destruction — putting more effort into than almost anyone else in the world — and look at what happened.
There seems to be a growing body of opinion that the Japanese government is doing a terrible job responding to this disaster. Some are saying their need to build consensus doesn’t work well in situations like natural disasters.
“Authorities have not been idle. But in places such as Ishinomaki, a town on Japan’s northeast coast now half-submerged, many are asking what happened to the country’s much-vaunted flare for organization.
Unlike victims of earthquakes in Haiti, Indonesia or China, those in Japan expect their government to work and can’t understand why their country can’t keep gasoline flowing and why towns across the northeast have been plunged into frigid darkness for five days.
“I never expected anything like this in modern Japan. It is like fiction,” said Yutaka Iwawawa, 25, a forklift operator. With the first floor of his house under water, he and his family huddle on the second floor. They go to bed as soon as the sun goes down because it is too cold and damp to do anything else.
The military, which has mobilized 100,000 soldiers for relief work, delivers water in stricken areas, hunts for bodies and has flown risky missions to dump water on a nuclear-power plant belching radioactive smoke. In Ishinomaki, soldiers operate from a baseball stadium on dry land.
But the state has abdicated some of its most basic duties, some say. “The government is not doing anything. They are not present here,” said Akase Hiroyuki, principal of Ishinomaki’s Nakazato Primary School. Along with 20 of his teachers, he runs a shelter for 1,200 people left homeless and hungry by the tsunami.”
washington post
“Unlike victims of earthquakes in Haiti, Indonesia or China, those in Japan expect their government to work and can’t understand why their country can’t keep gasoline flowing and why towns across the northeast have been plunged into frigid darkness for five days.”
Umm, I guess it has something to do with the fact that they had a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami in the middle of winter, and their government, just like any other, is far from perfect.
“Anyone else have trouble sleeping, lately?”
Not because I am worrying; more because I have too much on my plate (the normal state of affairs for parents with high-school aged kids in the house).
My take on the state of the world: Bad stuff is happening here and there, and really bad stuff happened in Japan last week, but I see no general shift from bad to worse worthy of sleep loss.
Good luck with the HS kids, PB.
When you’re done with them, feel free to come over and tutor mine.
Math is hard!!!!
PB, if you think doing your taxes is tough, wait ’til you fill out that financial aid form. It’s lotsa fun. NOT!
Not looking forward to that…
It’s not just Japan. The world has been struck with multiple disasters of all kinds in the past few years, and they seem to be striking with a vengeance as if to punish President Obama. It appears that the world was just barely holding together while Bush was President, and now it’s all breaking loose at once. The economy was held together only by debt. The middle class was held together only because of debt, and because their declining financial health hadn’t yet touched the basics of food, housing, gas. The dictatorships in the Middle East were being held together only by our need for oil. And our infrastructure was being held together only by the good will of the brave engineers of 50-60 years ago who were still allowed to give up a little profit margin in order to build with a little more safety margin.
Exactly. It just feels like there is so much more turmoil than usual, one can hardly keep up with it all. Like it’s all unraveling.
Its only a function of too many people. If nobody lived there, the tsunami would not have killed anybody.
Too many people building houses (and reactors) on an unprotected beach.
We have short memories. We’ve almost forgotten about Katrina, and who thinks any more about Haiti or the “World Series” earthquake in the San Fran area, with 3-story houses reduced to 2-stories, gas-fed fires, collapsed elevated freeways and people crushed in cars, etc.
This month it’s Japan. Remember the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami that wiped out several hundred thousand people back in 2004?
“World Series” earthquake in the San Fran area, with 3-story houses reduced to 2-stories, gas-fed fires, collapsed elevated freeways and people crushed in cars, etc.
Recall that, right after this earthquake happened and there were people trapped in cars on the wrecked Nimitz Freeway, people from the nearby neighborhoods got ladders so they could help with the rescue. Mind you, these ladder-bearers were from poor areas and many of the drivers were much more affluent. Yet the help came.
“Mind you, these ladder-bearers were from poor areas and many of the drivers were much more affluent. Yet the help came.”
You have one ladder and have to rescue either an immigrant family in a blue 1992 Nissan Sentra with one red door or a guy wearing tassled loafers in a new, scratch-less Range Rover and his wife who has an iPod cover with dog-print designs on it and those trendy buccaneer boots.
Who do you choose?
You have one ladder and have to rescue either an immigrant family in a blue 1992 Nissan Sentra with one red door or a guy wearing tassled loafers in a new, scratch-less Range Rover and his wife who has an iPod cover with dog-print designs on it and those trendy buccaneer boots.
Who do you choose?
Given that this earthquake happened in 1989, the 1992 Nissan Sentra reference is a bit off. And ISTR reading that the ladder-bearers didn’t discriminate. They saw people on the elevated freeway who needed help, so they gathered up their ladders and went into action.
You’re right, I just chose a number and fell into an anachronism. Oops.
But my question was whether it would be different this time around and if there would be discrimination based on economic tribalism. A flippant way to pose a semi-legitimate question, I realize. But if you have so many resources, has there been a shift in which people you’d assist (if any or are people just retreating to a bunker)? I am being honest in saying that, in my little mind, there has been shift and I’d be less inclined to help the wealthy. I know, I’m a bad person. Just being honest.
I am being honest in saying that, in my little mind, there has been shift and I’d be less inclined to help the wealthy. I know, I’m a bad person. Just being honest.
I hear ya, Mr. Bubble. But indulge me for a moment. I’m going to take you back to my first post-Katrina reconstruction experience in MS.
During that week, one of my fellow volunteers told me that another guy in our group was so rich that he owned his own jet. Y’know, the kind that our own X-GSfixr works on.
I was floored. I mean, come on. This guy was going out and busting his hump on the job sites during the day and sleeping on the floor of a church fellowship hall at night. Just like the rest of us.
He could have afforded to get a motel room nearby. Hell, he could have *bought* the motel. And several others like it.
But, instead, he stayed with us. Ate brown bag lunches with us. Worked like a dawg with us. And slept on the floor at night.
There was absolutely nothing in his mannerism that indicated that he was a multimillionaire. Nothing.
So, you never know.
“There was absolutely nothing in his mannerism that indicated that he was a multimillionaire. Nothing.”
Agreed and that’s really smart to keep one’s wealth on the DL (and nouveau not to). And I’m not saying that rich people don’t help anyone, ever. I just wonder how many workers he had to offshore so that he could get that jet. At some point, I feel that he had to screw over a bunch of people and whether or not his concern for his fellow man is legitimate, if I saw him in his jet or Bugatti, I’d be less likely to help him.
Exactly. It just feels like there is so much more turmoil than usual, one can hardly keep up with it all. Like it’s all unraveling.”
Have you read the book ” the fourth Turning” ?
“Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history as a series of recurring 80- to 100-year cycles. Each cycle has four “turnings”-a High, an Awakening, an Unraveling, and a Crisis. The authors locate today’s America as midway through an Unraveling, roughly a decade away from the next Crisis (or Fourth Turning). And they recommend ways Americans can prepare for what’s ahead, as a nation and as individuals.” This was written in 1997
You used the word “unraveling” it reminds me of the book
We seem to be in the Crisis period now with all the debt, etc and every diaster is unsurmountable.
But there will be a Awaking again we just have to get through this mess. I expect the crisis happened when Obama was elected , nothing against Obama it just marked a pivital turning point, so we have at least another 10-15 years of crisis.
Save your strength don’t freak out we need to get through this as the older Boomers and Silent gerneration born in a
“high” and a “awaking” will be of little use I suspect as they lose their wealth, pensions, etc. and go into a depression over the change that’s happening.
The middle east is going through an “awakening” I think because of their population dynamics.
I think Japan is 10 years ahead of the West and will emerge form the Crisis period before the US.
No, I haven’t read it, but have heard of it.
Thanks for the suggestion, cactus; it’s on my list.
“Anyone else have trouble sleeping, lately?”
Try having a beer or two. If that doesn’t work, try six.
Valium works pretty well…
Valium would have helped that bash
She said, “Hey babe,
take a walk on the wild side”
six
Was that a six pack or a typo?
I just can’t settle down.
CA, renter, (Iffin’ I was where you’re at…) this is what ol’ Hwy50 would suggest:
Head on over to the Potato Shack, gets some spuds & coffee, listen to the noise & chatter…grab the Coast News, look at the listings,…laugh, laugh & laugh!
Thanks, Hwy.
BTW, you’ll have to let us know when you’re down next. We can have you guys (and Mr. Cole!) over for a playdate & BBQ.
Ca renter …I agree Ca renter, times are bad right now for a number of places in the World ,and there is no denying that . I am unsettled right now also . We are a witness to great suffering .
I don’t want to go full speed ahead with nuclear ,I think more needs to be examined first. Now more than ever humankind needs to think before they act and consider new priorities . We have been full speed ahead on this greed and profit train for a long time now and it needs to be reexamined .
When I hear Experts say things like ,”This has never happened before .”
and they don’t know what will happen ,it gives me pause when you think about the arrogance and greed of Man,especially when you can’t fool Mother Nature .
Hwy ….I’m going to take your advice and go out to lunch and eat a big steak and have a big piece of choc. pie …doesn’t that sound
good …..might be hard to do if I think about people that are starving
but I need a break from thinking about it I guess .
There is no question that the dramas taking place World wide are
like something we usually only see in a movie ,but this is the real
stuff .
Ca renter ….You are a thinking and caring individual and what your feeling is normal for a thinking caring person IMHO . Take a break and do something enjoyable to renew your energy .
Hey, I said: “spuds & coffee!” So, since today bein’ what it is in America for a certain group of folks that carry certain specific genetic phenotypes, make it:
spuds & IRISH coffee!…’only till 10am
Thanks so much, Wiz. Hope you got a chance to eat that piece of chocolate cake.
Yeah, it’s really difficult to watch all that suffering and not be affected by it. It’s had me in a funk this whole week…and I’m not normally prone to “funks.”
Just watching footage of people scrambling to get their kids out of harm’s way, or even worse, finding out that a loved one is dead. And then there are the workers at the nuclear plant; can you imagine what they are thinking and feeling right now? The moment I think about them, I start to cry. It’s just so sad.
Trouble sleeping? Yeah, but it’s just the damn pollen from an all too early spring.
Read interesting article somewhere that we’re having more Dark Swan moments. And its not more natural disasters, it’s just that we didn’t use to develop so intensely along the coast. Most of the original beach homes in San Diego, ala 1920s, were very humble weekend cottages. Folks weren’t so obsessed with ocean views–knew that it meant expensive upkeep and moldy shoes.
It’s always funny to walk or drive along the coast in Malibu or in San Diego. You see the “original” beach homes — cottages, or even trailers, like you’ve said.
And then the “new money” came in and built big, ugly monstrosities with guard-gated communities and “private” beaches. Yuck!
I have never had an ATM card, I always carry several hundred dollars with me. Don’t understand why so many people don’t carry some cash with them. Guess they like feeding the banksters.
$5 ATM fees coming our way?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — ATM fees are on the rise at some of the country’s biggest banks.
Chase, for example, is testing out $5 fees for non-customers. That means if you stumble upon a Chase on your way to dinner and decide to take out 20 bucks, you’ll pay a 25% fee. And that doesn’t even include what your own bank charges you for going out of network, which is typically around $3.
JP Morgan Chase is currently testing the $5 ATM fee in Illinois and a $4 ATM fee in Texas — both for non-customers who use its ATMs — to see if they bring in enough revenue to introduce nationwide, according to sources familiar with the tests. A Chase spokesman declined to comment.
Out of the bank’s network of 16,000 ATMs, more than 20% — or about 3,600 — are located in these two states. Chase spent an estimated $400 million to build the entire network and pays $200 million a year to run it. So the bank is making non-customers pay a significant amount for the convenience of using this large network.
“Chase spent an estimated $400 million to build the entire network and pays $200 million a year to run it.”
Lol. So this puts Chase in a difficult position, does it not?
Chase needs customers more than customers need Chase.
Cash …
Chase needs customers more than customers need Chase.
Methinks that a lot of the big megabanksters are going to find themselves in the same position. Turns out that treating customers like shhhhhhhh! isn’t a winning strategy after all.
Dell found this out the hard way as well.
Went from the number one PC seller in 1990s to a very distant number 3 by 2006.
So has GM and Chrysler, though neither seem to have learned their lesson yet.
Bailouts make it easier to avoid your lessons at the school of hard knocks.
To follow up on something from a few days ago:
——-
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Declined! Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 — or even as little as $50.
JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation’s largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. And the cap would apply even if you run your debit card as credit.
——-
That answers a question we had from a couple days ago. At first we thought JP was just trying to get customers to swipe as credit. I guess not.
I believe that JPM has no intention of implementing the $50 limit. I suspect they are — publicly — considering it only as a threat to force the Fed to back off on cracking down on the interchange fees. I hope the Fed doesn’t blink, and lowers those interchange fees. And you know what, I *want* JPM to implement that fee. I dare them. I double-dog DARE them.
did you guys see this chase commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgcA8erFCP4
They are helping people.
I just watched that commercial via the YouTube link. The comments below the video aren’t exactly a JPM love-fest.
I’m with arizonadude on this one. To do so would be cutting their own throats.
Not only would they lose customers in droves, but merchants would cut them off immediately, as well.
“I always carry several hundred dollars with me. Don’t understand why so many people don’t carry some cash with them.”
Men don’t seem to share the hang-up, but I don’t know a lot of women who like carrying cash. Personally I get nervous if there is more than $20 in my purse. That, however, doesn’t mean I’d be willing to pay $5 for an ATM fee either.
Suspect we’d see an increase in muggings if folks started carrying more cash.
Like people aren’t being mugged, carjacked and having their identity stolen as it is?
Here’s a tip: stay aware of your surroundings and stay out of bad neighborhoods and don’t flash your bling.
It’s not 100% foolproof (nothing is), but it REALLY helps your odds of staying safe.
While I always carried some cash, after the NYC blackout a few years ago, making sure I was carrying “emergency” cash became standard with me…
Also, (at least before we became safer than London,) there was the tradition of carrying “mugger money” so you’d have something to give up and (hopefully) avoid being physically hurt by a frustrated mugger.
Today I see hipsters on the subway wearing earphones and IPods in full view and think how in the 80’s they would have been an attractive target.
“So the bank is making non-customers pay a significant amount for the convenience of using this large network.”
The bank is not MAKING anyone pay for the “convenience.” Suckers may be CHOOSING to pay, but it’s their choice.
“So the bank is making non-customers pay a significant amount for the convenience of using this large network.”
When traveling in the UK some during the first half of the last decade, you could use any ATM with no fees from the host bank.
While there are costs for the host bank, the fees are very much a function of what regulators will allow. In the U.S., the banks are mostly allowed to run wild, the impact on the public be damned.
…what regulators will allow and customers will be willing to pay. /snark
Jim,
I understand your point. I think Americans, while not liking the fees, are mostly oblivious that not having the fees and still having access to ATM’s is a choice. But like so many choices those in power have made, the financial services sector wins and consumers get screwed.
“I have never had an ATM card, I always carry several hundred dollars with me. Don’t understand why so many people don’t carry some cash with them.”
Ever been mugged?
Yeah it’s a different era, for now. But you shouldn’t carry what you aren’t prepared to lose. Just enough for someone who is edgy due to narcotics withdrawl symptoms not to lose it and blow your head off.
Hwy50, moved…his money… to a credit union…(chuckles a lot, because it’s a NON-Issue that’s easily been terminated …goes back to the garden to plant more sunflower seeds)
It was customary to read the New York Times online for free not including a fee.
They would have to pay me to read the NYT’s dribble.
They would have to pay me to read the NYT’s dribble.
Because they use the wrong words and stuff?
Fannie(homepath) is corrupt and deceptive. Another dump they clearly stated they sold over a year ago is back as a new listing.
Saw a “new” listing this morning. It turns out to be a flip, sold a couple months ago for around $150K. Flipper renovated the interior, put a nice vase of tulips on the new granite kitchen counter, and is now asking over $300K. Yup, good luck with that one. He didn’t touch the exterior. Plus its still a 50′ lot and one car garage.
Oops… I messed up. In reviewing that listing I see there WAS work done to the outside. I couldn’t tell by looking at it, though. Its still overpriced compared to other listings IMO.
Dont forget Freddie (Homesteps)…same shtuff; different entity.
Collusion runs deep and I don’t think I could do business with Homesteps or Homepath directly…
On the other hand…A realtor paid rent to me this month; I entrust my home to her; and befuddling as it is, she always insists on paying early-no doubt due to her intense need to f with me. Always mowing the lawn and stuff too. Can’t figure her out as she must be a liar, being a realtor and all. The money could be fake? Or am I just being paranoid?
I’m having difficulty understanding your comment but spare me if you’re defending and making excuses for the Housing Crime Syndicate better known as NARscum.
Just one little old lady that bucks the trend I defend; wearing a NAR knitted sweater she’s not worthy of the scorn piled righteously on most UHS.
But I was agreeing with your F and F’er frustration- befuddling listings and also lying outright about their sold-or-not status. Seen that firsthand.
“Can’t figure her out as she must be a liar, being a realtor and all. The money could be fake? Or am I just being paranoid?”
Brings THE UNEASY RIDER by Charlie Daniels to mind with a few liberties.
Well, you may not know it, but this girl’s a spy
She’s an undercover agent for the FBI
And she’s been sent down here to infiltrate the Housing Bubble Blog.
She’s a snake in the grass, I tell ya guys
She may look dumb, but that’s just a disguise
She’s a mastermind in the ways of espionage.
That’s good news. I just started using their website, saw all the “Under Contract” listings and thought, “Who would pay that…for that?” This gives me confidence that reality will prevail.
Well almost posted first - must be the time zone advantage - 5:45 pm Thursday here in Japan. I’ve been working just south of Tokyo in Chigasaki for nearly two weeks. I haven’t posted on the blog for awhile and now have many experiences to share, surviving a 9.0 quake, living with days of aftershocks, power blackouts and then finally watching and waiting for a nuclear catastrophy to unfold only about 10 hours upwind from where you’re sleeping. But there’s only one reason I decided to post here today and share my thoughts on the most life changing experiense of the whole damned ride. That is, I want to tell as many people as possible how much I love the Japanese people. In the face of perhaps the greatest wrath that God has ever visired on a nation and then the unimaginable adversity that followed and continues still; through it all I have winessed their profound calmness, incredible compassion, ceaseless caring, quiet dignity and their unfathomable strength. I have not seen one person lose control or their sense of humor. I have not heard a single complaint or seen an angry outburst. Here there is zero chance of looting or of anyone or any group exploiting the chaos for personal or even political gain. And through it all they have never stopped taking care that I, their guest, is both safe and comforted. I’ve folliowed this blog for many years and have often shared the board’s anger at the powers that be, their hypocracy, their deceit and the failure of so many millions to take responsability for their actions. I’ve watched these social pathologies for so long I guess I had come to regard them as human nature. My message from Japan today is to claim that they are not. The Japanese have unalterably restored my faith in human nature and as i type this on my iPhone my eyes well with tears to see the kind of world that’s possible.
Sorry about the multiple posts. I gave them plenty of time but they just did not seem to be posting - and then suddenly….
It’s the spaminator.
Hey, Ben, where’d you put the Purina Spaminator Chow? Thing’s getting a bit hyperactive. I think it needs to be fed so it calms down again.
That’s OK with me, Waiting, your posts have made my day. Many thanks.
I have contacted my congressional representative (for all the good it will do) with a request that, should things get worse, any citizen of Japan who wishes to relocate to the US be allowed to do so with no red tape. Those are the sort of immigrants we should be encouraging.
+ a trillion, palmetto.
Japanese immigrants would hit the ground running and would be a successful part of the larger group in short order.
Plus;
-They would not arrive with expectation of special considerations and handouts for entitlements of all sorts due to their culture or race.
-They would raise the place the US has in the world rankings of technical competence in the sciences and mathematics.
-They would not need special consideration to meet the standard grade point for achieving Dayton, Ohio policeperson status.
-I think there would be little concern about kamikaze religious nuts.
-They will not do jobs that Americans won’t do (for long).
Disadvantage
They save too much (unAmerican).
I cannot understand a thing they are saying.
We would have good gardeners again.
Some of them might be put off by the fact that we still have “internment camps”?
Huh? Where do we still have internment camps?
any citizen of Japan who wishes to relocate to the US be allowed to do so with no red tape.
The USA would have some competition. The largest concentration of Japanese in the world outside of Japan is in????
Brazil.
1. First arriving in 1908, they were allowed in Brazil to work the coffee plantations and for their Agriculture skills.
2. It’s still kind of different to see a bunch of them speaking Portuguese with each other.
3. Japanese in Brazil faced prejudice and Brazil had camps for the Japanese in WW2 just as did America.
4. Japanese with Brazilian makes for some pretty women.
I believe there are a lot in Peru, too.
Anyway, if they came to America, they’d probably want some sort of commie government health care like they enjoy in Japan.
I believe there are a lot in Peru, too.
Remember Alberto Fujimori?
4. Japanese with Brazilian makes for some pretty women.
—————–
Yes, they would be pretty (and the men handsome!).
Your post was worth a third read. Many of us are thinking about our friends there and the enlightening experience of visiting that country. Safe trip home.
Perhaps Brown will prove a less polarizing (and thus divisive) figure than the Gubernator?
Calif lawmakers forge ahead with budget package
The Associated Press
Posted: 03/17/2011 02:56:03 AM PDT
Updated: 03/17/2011 02:56:03 AM PDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California lawmakers are focusing on a budget package aimed at closing the state’s $26.6 billion deficit, as Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders seek out the votes needed to pass the plan’s two most divisive components.
…
Nixon to China…
Brown is more Republican than most Republicans.
That’s good, especially for California.
Yup, but still a Dem. It takes someone like that to make serious changes. I hope it works.
Brown was the person responsible for the problems in California with too much going out in union pensions.
He’s the one that made the deals that we’re choking on now. Expecting him to fix it is the definition of insanity.
“Expecting him to fix it is the definition of insanity.”
I don’t see that as any more insane than expecting the Gubinator to keep his promise to never again mire California in debt.
Comment by Dave
2011-03-17 15:40:07
Brown was the person responsible for the problems in California with too much going out in union pensions.
He’s the one that made the deals that we’re choking on now. Expecting him to fix it is the definition of insanity.
——————-
No, that was Gray Davis.
“Perhaps Brown will prove a less polarizing (and thus divisive) figure than the Gubernator?”
It also helps that he’s an experienced politician. Experience can be helpful. One should not expect good results when one’s first political position is governor of California.
American Taxpayer to Japanese: We’d like to help you but we already gave all our money to those Goldman guys during the last crisis.
Can’t the FedRes just print more?
Can anyone explain why the Yen is at an all-time high?
anyone…. Bueller?
Because the market believes the Japanese will repatriate foreign holdings. The foreign holdings have to be converted back into yen, which bids up the price of yen.
Do you mean the Japanese might sell some US bonds? Aren’t they supposed to be the ones buying them?
The Japanese are cashing in their bonds (of various currencies) and rebuying Yen to rebuild at home. The demand for Yen increased, the supply has remained the same, and the price of the Yen rose.
They wouldnt dare sell their us treasuries would they? That could stall the US recovery.
Credit is expected to be tight in Japan (so much potential collateral was destroyed). Cash is king.
”The Senate on Thursday is expected to pass another continuing resolution that will fund the government until April 8 and avert a shutdown. But that won’t solve the need for a budget to fund the remainder of the fiscal year, much less address America’s true fiscal woes, says Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff.’
‘Including projected payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs, America’s true budget gap is $202 trillion, or 14 times GDP, Kotlikoff says, citing CBO data. America is in “worst fiscal shape than Greece, Ireland, Portugal” or just about any other developed economy, he says. “The unofficial debts are staggering. Our implicit debts, the ones hidden off the books by Enron accounting show a much worse picture than the official debt.”
Yahoo.com
‘If there’s consensus on anything in America these days, it’s that “something” must be done about Fannie and Freddie, which have received nearly $160 billion in government aid since 2008. The problem is there’s little or no consensus as to just what should be done about the government-sponsored housing giants. “They all want to wind them down. There’s lot of plans and lots of talk but there’s nothing sold out there,” says Paul Muolo, executive editor of National Mortgage News.”
“You can’t pull that much liquidity out of the mortgage market without crashing it,” Muolo says. “If you crash it, home prices will fall by 50% and we’ll be in a worse situation than we were three years ago.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/fannie-mae-&-freddie-mac-too-big-to-wind-down-536040.html?tickers=XHB,FNM,FRE,XLF,KBH,LEN,DHI
I’ve often asked, how are people going to react to ’saving’ the GSEs when their SS and Medicare are being cut? We’re still looking at trillions to keep them going. This from the last link:
“The problem with winding down Fannie and Freddie is the GSEs buy about 70% of all mortgages originated in the U.S. and there just isn’t enough capital or risk appetite in the private sector to fill the void.”
This just isn’t so. Aren’t we told of corporations being flush with cash? Can’t the banks borrow from the Fed at rates much lower than mortgages?
It’s very simple; the GSEs are lending at low rates and down-payments on over-priced houses for political reasons. This keeps house prices higher than they would otherwise be. I don’t think anyone denies these are the reasons they are being kept alive.
Getting rid of the GSEs will solve the problem. Prices will fall, down-payments will go up, standards will be tightened, (all of which is going to happen anyway) and private lenders will be willing to take the risk on loaning against houses again.
…….. and like I’ve mentioned… Phoney and Fraudie inventory games are ongoing. I believe their inventory is grossly understated. Furthermore, I see this cross-advertising of REO between the GSE’s and banks. It’s difficult to determine who owns this stuff. Skank of America will advertise a shack and then I see the same dump listed on Phoney’s site only to re-appear on Skank’s site months later. This is a fawkin’ joke.
Why? It really doesn’t matter to me. They need to stop the games.
I thought the whole recovery was based on the acceptance of Enron-accounting? Regulators gave bullshit accounting their blessing when they did away with mark-to-market.
No…. people need to be really pissed off about this. This is massive game of three card monte. It’s price fixing and it needs to stop. RealtorScum is complicit in it right down to the local Lying Realtor. I know this for a fact as I was interest in a Fraudie house and ready to make an offer and I got a run around.
“It’s price fixing and it needs to stop.”
Is price fixing legal these days? My impression was that the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibited it, but perhaps that law is no longer in effect?
I suppose it is legal in a de facto sense, so long as the government is behind it.
The Sherman Antitrust Act is all but a dead letter. As are most of the protective regulations that were supposed to prevent our current situation.
“…all but a dead letter.”
Never been a better time for reincarnation.
The whole recovery is based on the US treasury selling treasuries to the primary dealers via the NYFED and then the 18 or 20 primary dealers (goldman types) sell the same treasuries they bought the week before back to the FED (at big profit) and then the primary dealers take the cash (computerized credits out of thin air) and pump up stocks.
That is the recovery in a nutshell unless someone else can show us something different.
Sounds pretty incestuous…
looks like “reproduction” works regardless…
The treasury can keep pumping out treasuries to the FED and pay their bills and funnel more cash to bankrupt fannie and freddie.
It is pretty clear that the govt is trying to stop home prices from falling but they have simply underestimated the extent of the mess.
If a private entity is going to backstop mortgages then they better do a little homework on the people they are loaning money to.
The automakers are back to giving loans to the subprime folk because they are the majority of buyers.If they didnt give them loans they wouldnt sell any cars.
“This just isn’t so. Aren’t we told of corporations being flush with cash? Can’t the banks borrow from the Fed at rates much lower than mortgages?”
It seems to be SOP for Uncle Sam these days to claim, ‘We can’t do that,’ while paying billions in tax dollars to maintain the effort to prevent the ‘that’ in question from occurring.
“Getting rid of the GSEs will solve the problem. Prices will fall, down-payments will go up, standards will be tightened, (all of which is going to happen anyway) and private lenders will be willing to take the risk on loaning against houses again.”
It seems like there is a clear choice between near-term housing bottoming and recovery, facilitated by ripping off the band-aid, or a twenty-year+ Japanese-style housing malaise, perpetuated by indefinitely propping up the GSEs.
facilitated by ripping off the band-aid,
no, no…”Financial Innovation” has something new…they just spray the “healing-goo” on the wound, then it gets “Incorpoorated” into the scab. Over a certain period of time, it’s all good.
Getting rid of the GSEs will solve the problem. Prices will fall, down-payments will go up, standards will be tightened, (all of which is going to happen anyway)
yea it will happen anyway so I’ll just keep renting
Getting rid of the GSEs will solve the problem. Prices will fall, down-payments will go up, standards will be tightened, (all of which is going to happen anyway) and private lenders will be willing to take the risk on loaning against houses again.
———–
Gosh, Ben…
That just makes too much darn sense for it to ever really take place.
We can hope.
QE is working?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-17/bernanke-in-testimony-can-prove-to-ron-paul-how-qe2-works-in-free-markets.html
“The plan sparked the harshest political backlash against the central bank in three decades, with Republican lawmakers warning the additional stimulus risked causing a surge in prices. So far, they were wrong. ”
They were wrong…hmmm…bought gas or food lately?
Doesnt the FED use the core inflation rate ( excludes food and energy) to do all their number tinkering?
apparenty they use the iPad as the sole control component.
They were wrong…hmmm…bought gas or food lately?
—————–
Exactly. How in the world can they make the claim that prices aren’t up?
I saw a sign for “free tablets”. Instead of a new iPad2 I got some lousy iodine pills.
Be careful they are toxic if taken incorrectly, more dangerous than any radiation that will reach CA.
Since I live downwind of the Palo Verde nuclear reactor, I keep a supply of granulated kelp in the house.
Reason: Kelp is a good source of iodine. I once used it after developing a mild goiter, which, BTW, was caused by eating too much soy. I’m now a soy avoider.
Too late. I already took ‘em all at one time I don’t even have a buzz. How lame is that?
” I already took ‘em all at one time I don’t even have a buzz. How lame is that?”
Well, what did you chase them with?
I think I would have gone the red wine route, not sure of the science but after the remedy you probably would not care:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2689422/posts
Red wine is better to fight radiation than iodine according to this article.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are crime syndicates.
Why does modern response to big man-made disasters (BP and nuke plant) resemble monkeys humping a football? Has it always been this way? Is it the just MSMs portrayal?
It’s always been that way to a degree.
Remember that increases in population and increases in technology have made recovery from disaster more complex.
Rule number on of news: if it bleeds it leads, and if it doesn’t then make it bleed.
William Hearst was the master. Through his newspapers, he exploited the mystery (to this day) of the explosion of the USS Maine, culminating in the Spanish-American war.
Rates on 15- and 30-year mortgages tumble
!5-year mortgage rate dips below 4% for first time in three months
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Fixed mortgage rates tumbled this week and the 15-year loan dipped below 4 percent for the first time in three months. Rates followed the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds, which fell on worries that the crisis in Japan could slow economic growth.
Freddie Mac said Tuesday the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinance option, dropped to 3.97 percent from 4.15 percent. The last time the rate was below 4 percent was in mid-December. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.76 percent from 4.88 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Those yields have tumbled as investors sought safer investments.
Decades later, Simi Valley (Ventura County - So Ca)nuclear meltdown still impacts lives
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/ventura_county&id=8018106
That’s it, we’re taking a Geiger Counter with us house hunting.
“That’s it, we’re taking a Geiger Counter with us house hunting.”
Very useful if you are attracted to granite countertops!
Kim,
Unfortunately, I am. My other half isn’t enamored by them. He likes to bake to relax, and doesn’t think they’re practical. Great suggestion, thank you.
yea I keep hearing about that
Moved to TO in 1964 Known a few people with Thyroid cancer
I make sure the kids use the salt with iodine added I always did when I was little.
cactus
Yeah, I am not over reacting quite yet. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley , and the radius for exposure is a 62 mile radius. No major cancer epidemic I know of.
KB Homes was suppose to do a huge development in Runkle Canyon, starting in 2006, which would have distrupted the area. That was the peak heading down time for the bubble, so I have a feeling it was canned. The EIR (Environmental Impact Report) would be interesting to read. Who paid off whom tale…
I looked it up my Brother lives towards the end of Sequoia which then turns into Runkle Cyn after the gate.
A big development was supposed to go in between Moorpark and Simi back in 2006 when I left for Phoenix in 2006
lakes , a new off ramp, million dollar homes, etc.
It was voted down. What a favor the voters did for the developers.
All there is now is the new homes where they found the Mammoth bones. Toll brothers bought part of it off some bankrupt developer. How things have changed since I moved back.
Have you looked at Indian Hills ? After the 1994 quake they were selling at a discount.
We’re looking for a older one-story ranch with a pool in a one-story neighborhood.
Indian Hills got hammered in the quake. Thanks for reminding me. So did the Texas Tract, and that is suppose to be on rock. I did my due diligence on the area, and I always talk to long term homeowners in prospective neighborhoods.
That’s bad news that Toll Bros built on some of that land. The disruption of the contamination isn’t a good thing, imho. Bummer.
I have the list of tracts and have been studying natural hazards, floor plans, and other issues. This time we aren’t making a mistake! I am also meeting neighbors. We’re paying cash for the toe-tag home. This time we’re getting it right. (until the neighborhood changes. LOL-but hope not)
That story was very weak on facts and very heavy on feelings, as would be expected of what passes for TV news.
renters beware:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/15/real_estate/rent_rise_housing/index.htm
It would take more than crappy crystal ball ranting from industry shills to make the oversupply of housing go away.
“In the hottest rental markets, the increases will likely top the 10% mark annually for the next couple of years, according to Lesley Deutch of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. In San Diego, she anticipates rents will rise more than 31% by 2015. In Seattle rents will climb 29% over that period; and in Boston, they may jump between 25% and 30%.”
I don’t believe there will be sufficient employment opportunities in San Diego to report rent increases of that magnitude, but if the industry shill says that 31% rent increases are in the cards, I guess we should believe her.
She’s the expert.
I think there is a lot of spin and hype to that article. My daughter lives in Los Angeles and with each trip down there are more and more rentals on the market. I know of more families where the kids moved home and still don’t make enough to move out, and one or both parents are on unemployment and out of work. This economy in Monterey Bay area is not getting any better. Each week more and more businesses are shutting their doors. As for me, I rent and I’d move in a heart beat if my rent went up.
Same thing in SLO county.
Rock out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyRqBFiHkWw
interviewing with Fannie Mae next week.
Suggestion: Don’t bring up the HBB during your interview.
i would only accept a position there to put food on the table and only then if i have a pretty darn good severance package built into my offer letter.
but i must admit…apart of me is a bit curious about what’s going on inside there.
Absolutely — it would be a bit like taking a position to work at a badly damaged nuclear power plant, but without the radiation hazard.
would an interview with Goldman be “an interview with a vampire [squid]“?
Good luck with your interview.
BTW, I know we’re pretty down on F&F around here, but the fact is, they still exist. And they’re going to need people like michael to get them headed in the right direction.
So, michael, here’s hoping that you do get the job.
Then we can trust you’ll stand by your anti-government sentiment and do what?????
i have other interviews lined up that i am much more interested in…i just thought HBB would get a kick out of the Fannie one.
The only plus really is getting to know the financial services industry.
“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” - Sun Tzu
Tell them greenspan is your hero.
interviewing with Fannie Mae next week.
Iffin’ it comes up, have ‘em define: “Long-Term”
Slippery slope has begun in Libya, gone from a no fly zone to bombing missions that don’t seem to be limited to air defenses, can boots on the ground be far behind: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110317
Its all good. The stock market loves the news. Its like a coporate announcement for a new big contract. Our government would love to do another war. Wars are good for jobs. Who else wants a war?
U.S. Seeks UN Resolution Authorizing Strikes on Libya
March 17, 2011 | FoxNews.com
The Obama administration is pushing hard for a Thursday vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing airstrikes and other measures to stop Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi from killing more civilians and defeating rebel forces in Libya.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that a U.N. no-fly zone over Libya “requires certain actions taken to protect the planes and the pilots, including bombing targets like the Libyan defense systems.”
Do they teach “Don’t Return Phone Calls 101″ in Realtor school?
I guess I will soon have to start listening to Faux News or else bury my head in the sand, as my key regular news source is on the brink of having its funding pulled. Maybe all the free riders off NPR will finally step up and start making contributions? (We have supported them for 20+ years, but know many listeners who don’t support them.)
* POLITICS
* MARCH 17, 2011
Republicans Put More Heat on NPR
By RUSSELL ADAMS And DANNY YADRON
House Republicans stepped up pressure on National Public Radio Wednesday at a meeting they called to discuss a ban on federal funding for NPR programming, setting up a vote on the proposal by the full House of Representatives on Thursday.
“Taxpayers should not be on the hook for something that is widely available in the private market,” Rep. Doug Lamborn (R., Colo), author of the bill, said in a statement. “I wish only the best for NPR. Like many Americans, I enjoy much of their programming.”
…
How can you be a free-loader if you’re being taxed to pay for something?
And what about NEGATIVE free-loaders, i.e. people who get taxed to pay for it but don’t listen?
Let me conjecture that the slice of your federal taxes that goes towards the basic public news service NPR provides is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to what you pay for other peoples’ retirement (Social Security), housing price support (billions pumped in through Fannie and Freddie), trillions of Fed funded bankster bailouts, etc etc etc.
But feel free to correct me if you can substantiate that NPR’s public service is provided at a steep cost to the taxpayer, compared to other questionable allocations of public monies.
A tiny drop for tiny listener base? I bet it comes out a lot per listener. You can get yours for free from CNN or MSNBC if you don’t like fox. Personally I like CNN.
“I bet it comes out a lot per listener.”
It is to our collective benefit to have a well-educated population. NPR furthers this; not so much Faux News.
PB: Government should never have a hand in a media agenda. Neutrality is completely impossible. We need to benefit society as a whole; partisanship can too easily shape the media message.
So your only defense to the charges of waste and free-loading (on the part of NPR, not the listeners) is that there are even bigger wastes and free-loaders out there. Great.
I sincerely believe NPR offers a public service not available by listening to Innanity, Simple Sarah, Rush the Drug Addict, or Faux News.
Just my humble opinion here…
I guess I will soon have to start listening to Faux News or else bury my head in the sand, as my key regular news source is on the brink of having its funding pulled. Maybe all the free riders off NPR will finally step up and start making contributions? (We have supported them for 20+ years, but know many listeners who don’t support them.)
How many millions of dollars does Fox News get in taxpayer yearly “support”?
Oh yeah - NONE.
Like all good liberals - they cry when there is “nothing” as an alternative to their government supported propaganda while failing to see that is NPR (etc.) had not been so heavily bias for the left - there would have never been a demand for Fox News in the first place.
So you really think there is no value in having at least one news outlet that isn’t corporate controlled?
Yes but does it have to pravda-lite?
I am sure you are willing to pay a few bucks if the model existed.
Its the Corporate MSM that makes me think of Pravda, with their endless spin doctoring and obfuscation of the facts.
Could NPR be better? Of course.
How many millions of dollars does Fox News get in taxpayer yearly “support”?
It’s more complicated than that. Fox gets millions of dollars a year in indirect taxpayer support due to Corporate Welfare. Our corporations are totally socialist. They feel entitled to steal taxpayer money and they do each year because they own our politicians.
But it gets worse. What I’m afraid of is that our corporations are going from being socialist and are now wanting so much power and corporate welfare that our corporations are on the verge of becoming Communist while us middle-class Americans have to fight it out with them while remaining the good capitalists that we are.
You have problem with Corporate Communist Capitalism©®™, comrade?
Rio ,I agree with your above post . I have noticed lately that
so many of the commercials on news programs are Wall Street and Insurance co. and Bank related . It reminds me of the period of time where all you saw was residential loan and real estate and real estate improvement commercials during the boom . These days I see nothing but campaigns going on in
one way or another .
If your advertisers are cleaning companies ,you might be able to
to report some matters more objectively . When people wonder why the reporter didn’t ask deeper questions ,just follow the money .
It would be interesting to figure out how much bailout money implicitly landed in Faux News’ lap, though quite challenging, given the fungibility of greenbacks.
“…they cry when there is “nothing” as an alternative to their government supported propaganda while failing to see that is NPR…”
I’m not crying. But I will get my news from outside the U.S. before I listen to Faux News.
‘How many millions of dollars does Fox News get in taxpayer yearly “support”?’
That’s why they have to make their broadcasts appealing to Republitards with lotsa dough…
Subsidized by poor tax payers, produced by rich, educated whites for the consumption of rich while folks…….
haha
Subsidized by poor tax payers, produced by rich, educated whites for the consumption of rich while folks…….
but I thought the poor didn’t pay no taxes
Maybe we should fund NPR with capital gains taxes- that will target the wealthy listening audience, right? And while we’re at it, let’s tax those capital gains like the income they are.
Why should the rich have lower tax rates?
Maybe we should fund NPR with capital gains taxes- that will target the wealthy listening audience, right? And while we’re at it, let’s tax those capital gains like the income they are.
Now you’re talkin’!
“…let’s tax those capital gains like the income they are.”
Whachoo talkin bout, alpha? We need to encourage people to invest, have kids, buy homes, etc. Otherwise, those things might be dictated by the free market and we can’t have that. Wait…what?
“Drop in jobless claims” my ass. They revised the prior week to over 400k in order to show a “drop” this week. All the financial news reporters are crediting the drop in weekly claims with the 100+ point dow rally. What a joke.
400K a week is a disaster. It’s like saying the fire isn’t so bad now that the building has burned down.
Latest disaster: Hell freezes over.
Investor Jim Rogers is going long the dollar???:
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/breakout-exclusive-jim-rogers-may-buy-u.s.-dollar-as-it-nears-%22tipping-point%22-536042.html?tickers=%5Eixic,%5Egspc,%5Edji&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=
Kathleen Madigan
March 17, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
Federal Reserve sounds positive, with one exception
Commentary: Housing remains economy’s problem child
…
Depression certainly was the apt word for February. Wednesday data show housing starts plunged 22.5%–the largest drop in nearly 27 years — to an annual rate of just 479,000. Building permits fell to a record low.
…
Federal Reserve sounds positive, with one exception
Commentary: Housing remains economy’s problem child
Housing problems are a result of the problem child, the Fed.
We just elected these 2 idiots?
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney today called on the presidents of the NCAA and CBS to televise Thursday’s University of Connecticut men’s basketball game on CBS rather than on cable network TNT, as currently planned.
Wow. Just… wow.
Marie Antoinette would be proud!
Not to mention, you can stream it live from CNN-SportsIllustrated…
There’s gold in them thar CA hills,…still!
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/huge-gold-nugget-found-24558975
Lucky, lucky SOB.
US Cost of Living Hits Record, Passing Pre-Crisis High
Thursday, 17 Mar 2011 ~ CNBC
One would think that after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Americans could at least catch a break for a while with deflationary forces keeping the cost of living relatively low. That’s not the case.
A special index created by the Labor Department to measure the actual cost of living for Americans hit a record high in February, according to data released Thursday, surpassing the old high in July 2008. The Chained Consumer Price Index, released along with the more widely-watched CPI, increased 0.5 percent to 127.4, from 126.8 in January. In July 2008, just as the housing crisis was tightening its group, the Chained Consumer Price Index hit its previous record of 126.9.
“The Federal Reserve continues to focus on the rate of change in inflation,” said Peter Bookvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. “Sure, it’s moving at a slower pace, but the absolute cost of living is now back at a record high in a country that has seven million less jobs.”
The regular CPI, which has already been at a record for a while, increased 0.5 percent, the fastest pace in 1-1/2 years. However, the Fed’s preferred measure, CPI excluding food and energy, increased by just 0.2 percent.
“This speaks to the need for the Fed to include food and energy when they look at inflation rather than regard them as transient costs,” said Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital. “Perhaps the best way to look at this is to calculate a moving average over a certain period of time in order to smooth out the peaks and valleys.”
“This speaks to the need for the Fed to include food and energy when they look at inflation rather than regard them as transient costs,” said Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital. “Perhaps the best way to look at this is to calculate a moving average over a certain period of time in order to smooth out the peaks and valleys.”
Look out, Stevie-baby, Slim wants to kiss you for saying the above. And I’m not a huggy-kissy kind of gal.
Deflation my shiny metal a…
“US Cost of Living Hits Record, Passing Pre-Crisis High”
Change? Yes.
Hope? No.
Pocket change? No.
I’m about to give up. Apparently my expectations are much too high. I still think every house I like is 30-40% overvalued. And yet, reductions off even higher prices get “snapped up” just like that.
House started 6 mos ago at $359k, then $329k, then $299k, just went pending at $279k. My offer would be at $187.5k.
WTF. I just saw your post after reading an email from my realtor. A nice 3/2 that I wanted to view accepted an offer above asking.
I’ve had an eye on this place for about 5 years and planned to write a letter to the owner over a year ago. It’s beat up and exactly what I’m looking for. My offer then woulda been about the same amount, and that amount woulda flown even less at that time.
Eff it. I’m going to the Big Island (radiation exposure be damned) in a month and plan to turn this noise off for a while. People fall all over themselves to go into debt at prices down from 3 years ago, but still double what they were just 8 years ago.
Realtors that I know are saying “activity” is WAY up. Grr.
WTH is wrong with these buyers. FHA is probably the answer. 3% down with plans to bail is my opinion. Nincompoop howmuchamonth clueless twits.
rant off
We did our due diligence on a home that sold from underneath us, and it sits of 3 ft of fill. In So Ca that is a Siesmic Risk we’re not willing to take. Good luck to the buyer, if they don’t understand ,or if they don’t read the Natural Hazard Disclosure. Shake,Rattle, & Roll possibly. No thanks. And they were in a rush!
I agree. I’m seeing many sold places with 3-5% put down.
We just heard from a friend who lost a buyer over an FHA $1,500- xfer of closing costs back to the buyer’s side. The buyer was buying on fumes. If the deal falls apart over $1,500-, that says a lot.
She found a real buyer with 20% down and is under contract.
We’re waiting out the insanity, but still looking in So Ca, so don’t feel alone. We’ve watched one home come down From $460K to $425K, and that’s still ridiculous. In 2002 the neighborhood went out between $260K-$280K (public records) This is a slow controlled collapse for NOW.
Here’s what’s going to happen. In 2-3 weeks a dumpster will be out front. In the ensuing 2-4 weeks, painters, plumbers, electricians, roofers, and all manner of other workers will be crawling all over the place. 2 weeks after that, a for sale sign will proudly proclaim the availability of this $250k ARV home for “just” $429k.
Did I say “Grrr” yet?
Sleeper
The flipper nightmare seems to have died down in my area of So Ca. Evidently, it is still happening in your neck of the woods. Some of the flips we’ve viewed are nicely done, but the neighborhood can’t justify the price, so they are sitting 120-280 DOM, even after monthly $5K-10K reductions. I hope these a-holes get creamed.
oh, excuse me, Sleepless. “Mental-Pause”
Cheers, Awaiting. I hope this deal falls apart but it sounds strong. Either it’s a cash-buying flipper, or a couple from outta state who will throw $100k down on it, bringing the loan amount down to what the asking price should be IMO. Either way, I’m competing with some of the same folks I was 5 years ago…aka - more money than brains…I don’t think the third option, the 3.5% down buyer, will be in play on this one. Details to come…
sleepless
Sleepless-
I think the FHA’s are down to 3%, IIRC. I know how you feel. We sold years ago, stuff in storage ,and have priced out for a long time. Now that the dust is settling on prices, our competition seems to have “more $ than brains” too. Offering list or above in a declining market is just stupid. Inventory is tight in our range of both sq ft and price, and buyers are running scared. Screw that. We are non-loan contingent, and we refuse to give $ away. Hell, my husband says he rather flush it down the …. then give it to some s o b seller. When they say “we aren’t giving it away” he parrots the same thing about our $. Egomaniacs, the sellers and UHS. I’m licensed (Shopping Ctr backgrd) and all these people drive me crazy. The idiot buyers who overpay especially.
What shocks me is the sense of entitlement of the UHS. “I’ll get back to you when I feel like it. And the pleasure of waiting will be yours” is what I get from them…
Sleepless
UHS drive us nuts, and you’re right about their sense of entitlement, hot stuff attitudes. Then to top it off, our Broker has a long term relationship w/ so many of the Listing Agents, he leans towards that more than his fiduciary relationship to us. He has the nerve to challenge the concept, the buyer funds the deal. Talk about chutzpah!
After an increase in prices through early 2010, prices seem to be in sharp decline again, at least in parts of San Diego, and this isn’t in the hood.
p/sqft…year
60 / 1999
360 / 2005 (peak)
250 / 2009 (initial “bottom”)
275 / early 2010 (dead cat bounce)
<225 / March 2011
The above prices are for a condo building I was in, meshing the prices/values of the unit I was in with the one above (identical, except on different floors).
The upper unit how now been on the market 54 days and has lowered the asking price from $279k to $259k. Peak was around $425k in 2005. What’s happening now as far as declines and lack of offers looks very much like 2007.
Today investors snapped up shares on the NYSE. Thank god for the snappers.
Thank god for the printing press technology.
Look’t them snappers, Ira!
I don’t want to FL bash, so let’s just leave it at, “It’s time for me to move on.”
I’m thinking about applying for jobs in Philly, Pittsburgh, or Wilmington (DE)… any thoughts on housing or cost of living?
Muggy
Re*altor dot com would be a good place to get an education on how much buys what at this stage of the game.
Pittsburgh
I keep reading about the quality of life being high and the cost of living being low in Pittsburgh. I like the geography too.
But I might be biased because I love saying “Monongahela”.
+1. I’m a Clevelander so I refer to it as Pitts-puke, but it is one city that seems to have rebounded from the 70s really well. I particularly like the area around Pitt (Oakland, I think?), although it’s been a decade since I’ve been there…and I like the hilly terrain as well.
There are some cost of living and salary conversion
caculators online. They might not be 100% accurate but a good place to start.
duplicate post
re@ltor dot com is a good place to get a feel for the cost of housing in different areas. It’s the MLS. It’s great for looking up the status of the property of interest.
Some interesting facts from March 17th Dylan Ratigan show tapes with guest you can google if your interested .
The real unemployment is more like 18%
Apple employs 1 USA worker to 10 outside Country workers .
They have developed a passive water system that uses gravity to
cool the nuclear rods in the event of a shut off to back up systems
that would buy time up to 3 days . Question is can they put these
systems on the old systems ,or do they not want to because of costs ?
Apple employs 1 USA worker to 10 outside Country workers .
Looks like karma needs to take a big bite outta the “now-rotten-at-it’s-core” Apple…
“They have developed a passive water system that uses gravity…”
Lol. In other words, they have “developed” a water tank and it is to be kept filled with water and it is to be located above the reactor.
Friend or relative suggested tapping higher water from rivers or streams days ago. Too linear. Too inside the box. Sad
Worker threatened with layoff dies after plunge from roof of Costa Mesa City Hall:
March 17, 2011 | 4:20 pm
After the city of Costa Mesa on Thursday announced major layoffs, a worker fell to his death from the roof of City Hall.
The incident involving a man identified as a 29-year-old maintenance worker occurred hours after layoff notices went out. Authorities, who believe the man may have jumped, said he had worked for the city for four years and was told he might be laid off.
About 213 Costa Mesa employees — nearly half the city’s workforce — received layoff notices Thursday.
More than 90 firefighters, 50 city maintenance workers, 30 dispatchers and a dozen city jail staff members are among those being notified that their jobs will be outsourced in six months.
Wait… outsourced?
Uh, is there more to the story they aren’t telling or just a poor choice of words?
I’m guessing they mean to contractors outside city gov’t, not overseas.
Wait… outsourced?
As in the city pays more, and a CEO makes the money instead of the workers actually doing the job?
The system will work all the way up until the moment it doesn’t. I’m referring to the ever growing debt. I think Congress is intent on finding out where that point is.
The MSM writers don’t get it. The problem is not the reversion to prudent mortgage loan underwriting standards. The problem is sellers (especially stucco investors) who missed the memo that bubble prices went away with the 2006 housing collapse.
I guess it kind of sux to be an investor riding a falling knife real estate investment towards the ground.
Mortgage Q&A: First-time buyers lose to investors
By Henry Savage
The Washington Times
10:38 a.m., Thursday, March 3, 2011
I read a very interesting article about home sales last week in my local newspaper. Frankly, I was taken aback by the gloomy picture it painted. Here’s a summary.
Sales of existing homes rose in January after the worst year in more than 10 years. A modest rise of 2.7 percent from December may appear to be good news, but the devil is in the details. First-time homebuyers accounted for just 29 percent in national sales. According to the National Association of Realtors, 40 percent is a healthier number.
The median sales price fell to its lowest level in about nine years. I guess the so-called experts who boasted that “property values always rise” were wrong.
With property values at such low levels and interest rates remaining at historically low levels, where are all the first-time homebuyers? The answer is easy. They can’t get mortgages. The overtightening of lending standards in response to the mortgage meltdown is as senseless as the easy mortgage money available a few years ago that caused this mess.
…
Calif home prices, sales fall in Feb from year ago
The Associated Press
Posted: 03/17/2011 02:32:05 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES—Home prices and sales dipped in California from year-ago levels as “short sales” and sales of foreclosed homes accounted for more than half of home resales in the state, a tracking firm reported Thursday.
DataQuick Information Systems said the median price paid in the state last month was $244,000, down 2 percent from $249,000 in February 2010, although the median was up 2.1 percent from $239,000 in January.
Home sales in February declined 2.8 percent to 27,320 from 28,111 in the year-ago period and fell 1.4 percent from 27,706 in January.
The firm said both the percentages of absentee investors buying homes and buyers paying all cash are the highest on record.
DataQuick President John Walsh said traditional homebuyers are waiting to see whether prices have bottomed out. At the same time, he cautioned that home sales in January and February are not typically good indicators of what will happen in the near future.
“Over the next few months we’ll begin to see how much of the pent-up demand will play out during the traditional spring-summer home-buying season,” Walsh said. “Our sense is that we could see sales jump significantly from today’s subpar levels if the economic outlook improves.”
…
San Francisco Bay Area Home Prices Fall for Fifth Month
March 17, 2011, 2:41 PM EDT
March 17 (Bloomberg) — San Francisco Bay area home prices slid 4.7 percent in February from a year earlier as buyers delayed purchases and distressed sales made up half of all transactions, according to DataQuick Information Systems Inc.
The median price paid for houses and condominiums in the nine-county region was $337,599, down 0.2 percent from January, the San Diego-based data company said today in a statement. It was the fifth straight year-over-year decline after 12 gains.
…
Sacramento home sales up, but region median prices decline
Sacramento Business Journal - by Michael Shaw, staff writer
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 11:55am PDT
…
The median price in Sacramento County pushed lower to $157,000, about a 7 percent drop from a year ago and $3,000 lower than the January figure. The price drop in El Dorado County was the greatest over the past year, down to $230,000 from $305,000, a 24 percent drop. Placer County’s median price was $265,000, about 7 percent down from a year ago but up $3,000 from January. The median price in Yolo County was up 1.8 percent over the year to $229,000.
…
California housing market slump persists through February
February’s state housing market is marked by mixed prices and weak sales as the median home price falls on a year-over-year basis for the fifth straight month.
By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
March 18, 2011
…
Did you ever notice how DataQuack CEO John Walsh is forever expecting home prices to jump, rise, rebound, bounce, recover, whatever in the near-term future?
Good luck with the shillery, John!
Housing sales flat in Santa Clara County
By Pete Carey
Posted: 03/17/2011 02:41:02 PM PDT
Home sales in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties barely budged last month, as distressed sellers and investors continued to rule a market “stuck in neutral,” a real estate information service reported Thursday.
February sales remained far below historical averages, MDA DataQuick reported.
A total of 803 detached, single-family homes changed hands in Santa Clara County in February, four fewer than in January, and one less than in February 2010. That’s 22.7 percent below the average February in records going back to 1988, DataQuick said.
In San Mateo County, 291 single family homes sold last month, the same number as in January and only four more than in February 2010 — 31.6 percent below the average February
The median sale price in Santa Clara County was $495,000 last month, compared with $510,500 in February 2010, a 3 percent drop. In San Mateo County, the median price dropped 7.5 percent over the year to $555,000.
Throughout the nine-county Bay Area, sales were flat, DataQuick said. They were down 0.4 percent from a year ago, while the median price dropped 4.1 percent to $445,000.
John Walsh, DataQuick president, said January and February are “weak indicators” of future sales, which could jump this summer if the economic outlook improves.
…
The home snapper-uppers armed with cash are flooding into the Bay Area like a tsunami.
Cash buyers flood into market to buy Bay Area homes as prices fall
By Eve Mitchell
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 03/17/2011 02:40:53 PM PDT
The median price paid for a Bay Area home continued to fall in February, posting lower prices from a year ago for the fifth month in a row while sales were essentially flat.
That is leading to a record level of investors and cash buyers snapping up homes, according to a report released Thursday by MDA DataQuick.
…
Home prices in Bay Area fall nearly 5%
Dan Levy, Bloomberg News
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Bay Area home prices slid 4.7 percent in February from a year earlier as buyers delayed purchases and distressed sales made up half of all transactions, according to DataQuick Information Systems Inc.
…
If worries about the world situation were slowing the SoCal housing market before last week, just wait until the housing market factors in 24/7 news about a major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns into the picture.
HOUSING: Median price sinks to 2009 levels
Tight fisted lenders make buying difficult, agents say
HOUSING: Median price sinks to 2009 levels
By ERIC WOLFF
North County Times - The Californian |
Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011 7:23 pm
The median house price in North County dropped in February to $417,500, its lowest level since 2009 and the biggest monthly drop since 2008, when house prices were in free fall, according to the North San Diego County Association of Realtors.
The number of sales also dropped, as buyers fell out of escrow after trouble getting loans, real estate agents said. Inventories swelled, as sellers tried to unload their homes for less than they owed in mortgages and pushed up the number of listings.
Agents also blamed gas prices for a weakening market for sellers.
“With all the worry about the world situation, all the buyers are not sure what they’re going to do,” said Bill Richard, a Carlsbad real estate agent.
The median house price dropped 6.4 percent from January, and 4.9 percent compared with February 2010, when a tax incentive pushed homebuyers into the market.
Falling prices in North County typically bode poorly for Southwest Riverside County prices, as potential buyers grab houses closer to their San Diego County workplaces. Data from the Riverside County Assessor’s office showed the median price in Southwest County shuttling between $200,000 and $215,000 for the past 12 months, but that price could be poised to slide if North County prices drop.
…