Prosperity Appeared To Have Arrived In Florida
The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. “Florida is gliding quietly into a new and potentially painful part of the boom-bust cycle, where stacked-up “deficiency judgments” for unpaid condo fees and unsatisfied mortgages could come back to haunt past owners. Many of them thought they had escaped further costs when they handed their home over to their lender. With a few exceptions, like personal jewelry, this judge’s order can be used to confiscate almost anything of value — including wages or the cash in a checking account.”
“For the previous owners, who thought they were done with an ‘investment property’ except for the bad credit rating, the garnishment can come as a rude shock. Homestead’s Mary and Luis Renfigo found out the hard way how heavy a deficiency judgment can be. Earlier this year, Mary Renfigo got a phone call from the bank where the couple had their checking account, saying it had been legally frozen. A warning letter from the bank a few days earlier went unread.”
“The couple had $2,300 in the bank, but all of it got swept up in the writ of garnishment. And that did not come close to covering what they now owed. With interest stacking up on the unpaid balance, the debt was $4,300. ‘They said, ‘We are going to put everything together, and you are going to pay in full or we won’t let you short sell,’ Renfigo said. ‘We sold a car that weekend. That is how we paid it.’”
“‘You can even sue at the end and get more time, so there is all the time in the world to collect on these things,’ said Darren Soto, an Orlando attorney and state legislator. ‘Yet there is this pervasive rumor that you can somehow walk away from your house and never have to worry about it again. And it is simply not true.’”
The News Press. “David Cruz Jr. got what he believed was a great offer in a foreclosure lawsuit filed against him by giant mortgage lender Fannie Mae. If Cruz deeded the modest Fort Myers investment house back to Fannie Mae, the government-backed company would release him from the loan’s $123,750 note: the obligation underlying his mortgage. He deeded the house back to Fannie Mae, but court records show he didn’t get what he bargained for.”
“Now, experts say, he and thousands of others in Florida who took the same deal from Fannie are at risk of being stalked by a so-called ‘zombie note:’ debt that appears dead and gone but still can come back to life. Xiomara Cruz, David Cruz’s attorney and ex-wife, said she’s looked at court records from around the state and likely thousands of people were treated in the same way.”
“‘He doesn’t want the property back,’ Xiomara Cruz said. ‘It’s not about that.’”
The Daily Record. “Middle District Chief Bankruptcy Judge Paul Glenn said Tuesday that filings could reach about 64,000 this year, down from the record 66,618 last year. That would be a drop of 3-4 percent, but the final number would still be higher than in previous years. ‘It’s a difficult financial time,’ Glenn said after the annual meeting of the Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association.”
“Bankruptcy attorneys attributed last year’s record filings to fallout from the 2007-09 recession and the credit crisis, resulting in double-digit unemployment and a financial spiral for consumers and businesses, especially real estate developers, contractors and investors. Glenn said he watches statistics and reports for the Middle District so he can anticipate the court’s needs. Some of those reports, especially those covering real estate, continue to show problems in the Florida markets.”
“For example, he cited a RealtyTrac summary of properties across the country in foreclosure at the end of 2010 that showed nine of the top 30 markets were in the Middle District. Also, the district contained three of the 10 job markets considered by one online tracker as the most difficult for job seekers, including Jacksonville. ‘It’s an interesting time,’ said Glenn.”
The Sun Sentinel. “In boom times, like many other cities in South Florida, Lauderdale Lakes spent liberally, opening four new parks, a new pool and a combined library and cultural center. But the 50-year-old city, right in the middle of Broward County, didn’t react fast enough when the bottom fell out of the housing market and tax revenues plummeted.”
“Now Lauderdale Lakes has a $9 million deficit and is struggling to survive — pleading with Broward County for a bailout, cutting staff and salaries and taking police officers off the street. In some ways, it may be the canary in the coal mine, showing the tough choices that lie ahead for other South Florida municipalities that have outspent their ability to pay. Like in Hollywood, Lauderdale Lakes’ manager is blamed for bungling the city’s finances. Anita Fain Taylor was fired last month.”
“Only six years ago, the city appeared in good shape. In 2005, as property values climbed, Lauderdale Lakes collected more in revenues but spent considerably more as well to attract new businesses, beautify parks and neighborhoods, dredge canals, resurface streets and upgrade sidewalks, bus shelters, and storm water drainage systems. Prosperity appeared to have arrived, and the city adopted the hopeful vision theme: ‘Going for the Gold.’”
“At the time, Fain Taylor told the Sun Sentinel the city was banking on the higher values of redeveloped property to prevent a repetition of 2003, when Lauderdale Lakes was forced to borrow $1.3 million from savings, raise taxes, lay off staff and trim expenses.
“”The city is considering a lease-back program, where it mortgages its equity in city property and uses that money to pay down the debt. It’s also looking to reorganize departments and contract out some city services. ‘It’s going to be harsh. It’s going to be hard on the people of Lauderdale Lakes,’ Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, who represents Lauderdale Lakes, told city officials.”
The Pensacola News Journal. “Budge Huskey has been CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate since June 2010. Huskey is past president of the Greater Orlando Realtor Association and is a director of the National Association of Realtors and Florida Association of Realtors. Q: Do you see any need for renewing the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit that stimulated the housing market last year? Or is that a minefield?”
“A: I do think that’s a minefield. There are some who would love to see another tax initiative for first-time home buyers, but the Realtor community is not asking for it. I think the time for that type of artificial stimulus is over. While we don’t want anything in terms of an artificial stimulus, we also don’t want any more impediments for home buyers.”
“We can’t have an economic recovery without a housing recovery. And a true housing recovery requires a stabilization of prices. We don’t want to do anything in the way of lending regulations, which are already extremely tight, that would keep the qualified buyer from purchasing a home.”
“Q: Given your argument that the housing market is at affordable levels now, are you seeing much investor activity as a result of bargain prices?”
“A: There are some markets around the country where investor activity is so significant that there is actually a shortage of houses on the market.”
The Seminole Chronicle. “According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, 11,480 homes are for sale in the Orlando area. This is one of the lowest inventories of active properties since the peak of the market in 2005, and homes in Winter Springs and Oviedo are among the scarcest.”
“‘We’re dealing with one of the most unusual markets I’ve ever seen; but the home situation, for the temporary time, has gotten better,’ said Gary Balanoff, the Broker and Owner of REMAX Select in Oviedo. ‘The prices have rebounded a little bit. Sellers are getting offers on their property because there is less to compete with.’”
“Local realtors explained that there are several reasons why the home inventory has suddenly dipped, but among the most significant is the decrease in foreclosed homes being released onto the market. ‘Foreclosures have shut down. While that may seem like a good thing, because people aren’t losing their homes, it’s not an accurate market of what’s actually out there. There’s a huge inventory of shadow properties out there, but the banks haven’t been able to finish off the paperwork,’ Balanoff said. ‘That’s dampened the total inventory.’”
“Foreclosure filings continued to sink in most of Southwest Florida during May, with only small signs that processing delays were ebbing and some banks were pushing inventory into the marketplace. In Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties, 994 foreclosure actions were filed last month, down 1.6 percent from April and 56 percent from a year ago.”
“‘Processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation,’ said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO. ‘Activity spiked in May for various stages of the foreclosure process in some states, a pattern that has occurred in several states over the past few months. That is ‘evidence that lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory,’ Saccacio said.”
“‘The real telling sign will be what happens in June, July and August, when sales typically fall and foreclosure filings are expected to rise,’ said Brian Helgemo, an agent with Five Star Realty of Charlotte County.”
“The inventory of unsold bank-owned REOs increased in April and May, even as new REO activity slowed in both of those months,’ Saccacio said. ‘That points to continued weak demand from buyers, making it tough for lenders to unload their REO inventory. Even at a significantly lower level than a year ago, the new supply of REOs exceeds the amount being sold each month.’”
YEAH! A Florida thread. Woot!
Florida: come for the sunshine, stay for the deficiency.
Bankers always win! The system was set up that way. Any bad loans they can not collect on the private bankers federal reserve buys and later the taxpayers “pay ” it in the end.
‘“Florida is gliding quietly into a new and potentially painful part of the boom-bust cycle, where stacked-up “deficiency judgments” for unpaid condo fees and unsatisfied mortgages could come back to haunt past owners.’
Can this approach be used to collect on former owners who stopped paying their mortgage, moved away, and started renting the place out? I would think this category of former owner turned landlord pirate could yield large sums of money for the party pursuing the deficiency judgment, as these landlord pirates obviously display impressive private sector business acumen.
“turned landlord pirate”
Arrrh…guh matey! Have the script writers throw in a few zombie notes and I think you’re looking a wildly successful movie franchise there!
Somehow it would be equally entertaining if JustWalkAway.com was dragged into a class action/AG suit for wrongfully advising their FB’s.
Many of them thought they had escaped further costs when they handed their home over to their lender. With a few exceptions, like personal jewelry, this judge’s order can be used to confiscate almost anything of value — including wages or the cash in a checking account.”
“For the previous owners, who thought they were done with an ‘investment property’ except for the bad credit rating, the garnishment can come as a rude shock. Homestead’s Mary and Luis Renfigo found out the hard way how heavy a deficiency judgment can be. Earlier this year, Mary Renfigo got a phone call from the bank where the couple had their checking account, saying it had been legally frozen. A warning letter from the bank a few days earlier went unread.”
For many - you will have to declare bankruptcy after “giving” the house back to the bank. No FB dollar will be allowed to escape.
And these judgements can come YEARS after the short sale. I predict a cottage industry of companies hounding/collecting for this debt for decades…
“…collecting for this debt for decades…”
If a debtor passes away, do these deficiency judgments attach to his estate?
If a debtor passes away, do these deficiency judgments attach to his estate?
Most likely - YES.
That is why you have estates/probate - to settle debts before the assets can be distributed to the heirs…
Prof:
The only debt that does not pass to the estate is…student loans… death cancels them.
This is true with student loans through the Feds’. I heard once on Suzie Ormand that the private student loans continue on. And if you cosigned for them then you remain on the hook.
Life insurance and IRA’s pass unencumbered to the beneficiaries.
“For many - you will have to declare bankruptcy after “giving” the house back to the bank. No FB dollar will be allowed to escape.”
Oh there are are other ways:
If you are an immigrant, you go home.
Fabricate a new identity for yourself. (Works for illegals)
“And these judgements can come YEARS after the short sale. I predict a cottage industry of companies hounding/collecting for this debt for decades…”
IIRC, in Florida the lender will have 20 years to collect the deficiency. So this is going to go on for quite a while. Every state is different, however.
They have to be willing to get the judgment first. If they don’t feel they can collect, very few will go for it anyway.
That’s where the opportunity arises for a cottage industry.
All a lender has to do is bundle up the deficiency judgements and sell them at a discount to a firm that will pursue them over time. Nine out of ten may go uncollected, but collecting that tenth one could make it all worthwhile if the upfront discount was deep enough.
“…at risk of being stalked by a so-called ‘zombie note:’ debt that appears dead and gone but still can come back to life.”
911 what`s your emergency?
There’s a zombie note eating our bank account! We thought it was dead and gone but it came back to life!
“We can’t have an economic recovery without a housing recovery.”
We hear this regularly from the NAR. Whether or not they are correct, you cannot force a true housing recovery in the wake of an unprecedented boom, when new home construction far outpaced fundamental demand for a record period of time, and prices marched to lofty levels far out of reach of local labor market incomes. Until needs catch up with supply and prices better match local incomes, the housing market is destined to remain moribund.
They keep mixing that phrase up and getting it backwards. We cannot have a housing recovery until we have an economic recovery.
We cannot have an economic recovery until the real estate malinvestment works its way through the system and prices finishing collapsing.
Therefore, we won’t have a housing recovery until the market finishes crashing, which won’t happen until we stop malinvesting in it.
Even then, housing recovery = return to historical income/rent/price ratios and appreciation that closely tracks inflation.
Precisely.
Housing will not lead a recovery if it occurs. Housing is still an anchor on top of the corpse of the former American economy. Housing will most likely delay or slow any recovery should it occur, not lead it.
Does housing ever lead any legitimate economic expansion?
“Only six years ago, the city appeared in good shape. In 2005, as property values climbed, Lauderdale Lakes collected more in revenues but spent considerably more as well to attract new businesses, beautify parks and neighborhoods, dredge canals, resurface streets and upgrade sidewalks, bus shelters, and storm water drainage systems.
These are one-hit costs that literally can be stopped overnight. Where are the recurring costs going? What does the town budget really look like? I hate it when reporters do not do their jobs.
My guess would be that they funded all their public works projects with debt rather than with the free cash associated with the higher property taxes.
My neighborhood is one of the few Tucson nabes with sidewalks and street lights. They were paid for via a special property tax assessment on residents of this area.
The recurring costs are payments on the debt and maintenance of all of the new parks, buidlings and other toys (which are high). Also, any time you add these things you also add a bunch of people. It is part of the unvirtuous cycle for governments and not for profits. Build monuments to the leaders and then hire people that never go away to take care of them. This is why our taxes alwys go up. If they stopped building unneeded stuff when they were flush with tax revenue, they wouldn’t need as much when times were bad.
Alas, people never learn this with their individual finances and they sure as heck don’t care when they are using other people’s money.
‘…lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure … as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory,’
This certainly does sound a lot like price fixing, which constitutes a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
I suppose it’s different in real estate and banking.
In Credit Suisse Securities (USA) v. Billing (05-1157), the Supreme Court decided that when securities regulation and antitrust law are incompatible, then the Securities Exchange Act prevails and individuals who would otherwise violate antitrust law receive antitrust immunity. Because mortgages are financial instruments, I believe you won’t be able to rely on the Sherman Act for your anticompetitive argument.
I think it’s hard to argue that the banks are intentionally “producing” too few goods to meet consumer demand (I believe this is how it’s worded in Sherman). At the extant price, consumer demand is met. There is at least 12 months of inventory available. We can’t hold an industry in violation of Antitrust for the normal process of market equilibration.
And in support of the latter argument, prices have come down nationally (and in localities to a much greater extent). Part of the test the regulators use in Sherman is to look for stable prices. They do not exist in housing, as much as I’d like to see it come down faster (through more inventory blowouts).
All I keep hearing from Yankee friends of mine is how great it is to live in Florida. You’d think that paradise wouldn’t have as many vacant houses.
I was in Naples recently, and read a public-relations circular with some amusement — in the first five paragraphs alone, it used the words “paradise,” “nirvana,” “magical,” and “beyond compare” to describe the area. Those of us who live in Florida know that such language choices are simply a set of rhetorical shears used to fleece the unaware.
What’s happened to southwest Florida in the last fifteen years is a crime. The newer parts of Naples remind me of the Ft. Lauderdale suburb of Weston, which is on the suburban wasteland medal stand as long as we’re talking about going for the gold. Somebody let me know when we decide to build something in this state that isn’t dehumanizing.
“What’s happened to southwest Florida in the last fifteen years is a crime.”
Weather-wise, it’s gotten so awful here in the PNW ( we’re still waiting for ‘Spring’ ) the wife and I are now finally in a place mentally where we’re willing to consider FL.
But WHERE!? I’ve read so many conflicting positions on places there you wouldn’t want to live at ANY price!? For those that would prefer, peace & quiet, affordable PT res., what’s our best options? TIA.
Each area of the state has its own distinct personality, so my advice would be to spend time in a few different places, at varying times of the year, to “sample” them and see what fits you the best. I am hostile to some places in Florida that others who post here like, and vice versa. I happen to like Marathon in the Keys, and Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic coast, and St. Pete Beach near me, but I cannot say that any of those options are affordable, because the housing bubble turned this state from cheap to expensive.
One thing to remember is that it gets crushingly hot and humid here. People who visit in March, without experiencing May through October, are not getting the entire picture. It’s supposed to be 95 here tomorrow and Wednesday, with lows approaching 80. That is not unusual.
I went hiking in the PNW in 2008, and afterwards one of my friends, who lives in Portland, took us to his health club. I sat in the steam room because it felt like Florida.
I was there in August 2007. The heat cannot be described. Nothing helped but AC.
I’ve lived here for almost twenty years, and that summer, and that month in particular, was the hottest ever. A local newspaper columnist described it as being “between molten and Hades.” I blistered my feet walking on the sand at the beach, which is the only time that’s ever happened.
Second place was the summer of 1993, when a plastic CD cover warped after I left it exposed in my car.
And on top of that, it’s humid. I’m surprised that Disney set up shop in Orlando. But the tourists flock there in the Summer, so what do I know?
If you’re on either coast of Florida the summer isn’t that bad. In the center of the state it’s miserable.
Summertime is when many of the theme parks advertise packages for locals. I can’t say whether the mix of patrons changes, though. I’ve been to Busch Gardens on a chilly day in January, and attendance was obviously way down, enabling me to go on every popular ride without the usual forty-minute wait. I rode the Kumba so many times I had a hard time walking in a straight line afterwards.
I dunno, DinOR, I have mixed emotions about this place. What do you value?
One of the things that has been hard for me is space and boundaries. Where I am from (Upstate NY) it’s very easy to walk/bike and have no idea whose property you’re on. It was fun to explore as a kid. Here in FL everything is cordoned of, gridded, gated, fenced, and purposed, which - if you’re not on that land for that purpose - means a call to the cops.
I like St. Pete Beach if you’re a retiree or childless. It really depends on what you want. Do you have any idea of what you want?
It is very hard (at least in the Tampa Area) to get peace and quiet anywhere in this state (boom cars, spring breakers, emergency sirens, etc.).
Florida’s heat and humidity has been mentioned, but no one has mentioned Florida’s other miserable menace — mosquitoes!
Mosquitoes are not a problem in areas that spray i.e all major cities.
I have to give Disney credit. From what I have heard they keep the place bug free.
BUT…
Some astrophysicists are now saying we are at the beginning of a new Maunder Minimum- a period of few or no sunspots that could last as long as a hundred years. Last time that happened was from 1645 to 1715, and it coincided with the Little Ice Age in Europe and North America.
Florida may become the only comfortable place to live in the continental U.S.- not real hot in the summer and not really cold in the winter.
Bad Astronomy to the rescue!
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/17/are-we-headed-for-a-new-ice-age/
Much ado was made over the recent news that the Sun’s magnetic activity may be cooling off over the next few years. Can this mean the Earth itself will literally cool off, slipping into an ice age? Some news sites are reporting it that way (of course, the execrable Daily Mail uses the headline “Earth facing a mini-Ice Age ‘within ten years’ due to rare drop in sunspot activity”; which isn’t even within a glancing blow of reality).
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2010/2010GL042710.shtml
“Here we use a coupled climate model to explore the effect of a 21st-century grand minimum on future global temperatures, finding a moderate temperature offset of no more than −0.3°C in the year 2100 relative to a scenario with solar activity similar to recent decades. This temperature decrease is much smaller than the warming expected from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century. “
“Weather-wise, it’s gotten so awful here in the PNW ( we’re still waiting for ‘Spring’ ) the wife and I are now finally in a place mentally where we’re willing to consider FL.”
As many others have noted, the summer heat and humidity is relentless. There’s a reason Florida was sparsely populated prior to air conditioning (aside from the seasonal population). How comfortable would you be with that heat and humidity if energy supplies were sufficiently expensive or unavailable that you couldn’t use AC some of the time during the summer months?
From a climate standpoint, the Pacific Northwest may be one of the better places to be located in the decades ahead. It’s easy to get stuck in a wretched weather pattern and think anything must be better. But different isn’t necessarily better long term and the Florida climate is hugely different from Oregon.
“Q: Do you see any need for renewing the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit that stimulated the housing market last year? Or is that a minefield?”
“A: I do think that’s a minefield. There are some who would love to see another tax initiative for first-time home buyers, but the Realtor community is not asking for it. I think the time for that type of artificial stimulus is over.”
No… NARtel isn’t asking for it b/c they have since figured out it didn’t ‘work’ in the FIRST place! I suggest a prayer meeting fellas.
Depressing collection of articles. From my standpoint, it looks like a decision has been made that the survival of the United States depends on people overpaying for houses and incurring the associated debt. I look at young people, who face the possibility that a disproportionate part of their incomes will be devoted simply to servicing debt incurred for a house, car, and education, and all I can do is shake my head. It’s not going to work.
If I can, I’ll do my best to keep my son from getting sucked into all that. At least when he’s an adult he’ll know that living in a low income neighborhood isn’t the end of the world if you do it right. Hopefully I can get him to listen to me on the rest of it as well.
From my standpoint, it looks like a decision has been made that the survival of the United States depends on people overpaying for houses and incurring the associated debt. I look at young people, who face the possibility that a disproportionate part of their incomes will be devoted simply to servicing debt incurred for a house, car, and education, and all I can do is shake my head. It’s not going to work.
EXCELLENT summation.
One of the best things we can teach our children is to STAY out of debt. No debt is good. Even if it means lots of sacrifice (while your friends don’t seem to sacrifice at all) for a few short years - it will be worth it.
You’re putting the cart before the horse Snake. You presume there will be income(jobs) for the younger generation. Oh there will be jobs…. part time, no benes, low wage.. just like now but alot more of them.
Hyperinflation will cause jobs to move back to the US. Manufacturing will especially be an engine of growth. In the meantime it’s time to get our financial house in order as a country.
it looks like a decision has been made that the survival of the
United StatesBanking Clan depends on people overpaying for housesFixed it.
The deficiency judgment thing can be a sticky wicket. For those who default in recourse states, you have to plan ahead to avoid nasty surprises.
Moving to another state is always a huge roadblock for collections. Not an insurmountable roadblock, but one which makes the creditor work a bit harder. Another is fairly simple and involves closing your existing bank accounts and opening new ones. The creditor often has your old bank account information on file and doesn’t even have to work hard to garnish your bank account. There are also banks which have no Florida branches and that makes it tougher.
I was able to dodge a civil judgment (not related to a mortgage, but the result of a suit) by resorting to such dodges. The creditor in judgment could have expended resources to track down where I’d hidden the money, but it would have cost them money to do it and they eventually agreed to settle for 25 cents on the dollar. It saved me $20K and provided some amusement while I played the games..
We have an offer on a place about 30% off asking and $70k below comps… we’ll see. I just went and checked the place out, and I am totally soaked. 94 degrees and humid GAH!
Question: what about a massive oak tree with a branch a few inches above a power line. Owners responsibility?
“Question: what about a massive oak tree with a branch a few inches above a power line. Owners responsibility?”
It depends.
I came home and saw one of our LL’s trees had a branch hanging precipitously over the driveway. Because the trunk of the tree was on that 4′ of grass between the sidewalk and the street, I called the town. They came out (not even two hours later) and took care of it at no charge.
Also, at certain times of the year the power companies hire people to drive around neighborhoods clearing branches away from the power lines (at least those along the streets), no matter where the trunks are located.
Offer declined! Whew.
I have to make an earnest attempt once a year to keep the wifey happy.
The power company is responsible for keeping tree limbs clear of their lines, which are on their deeded utility easement. Call ‘em.
Thanks, Bill.
I just LUV public unions.
We have two Americas. Public union goons vs the people who they tax.
Work harder, slaves…
——————————
Guess what’s the average San Francisco city pension? [hint - It's 2x the average wage in SF ]
San Franciso Chronicle | June 20 2011 | SF Chronicle
Here’s some fun facts. OK, maybe not so fun depending on your perspective.
The average retiree from San Francisco city government earns an annual pension of $46,272, according to the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. The average retiree who worked at least 30 years in city government earns an annual pension of $76,981.
The average pension for a retiree from the fire department is $108,552. From the police department? $95,016. And everybody else? $41,136.
The figures show most retirees aren’t getting anywhere near the fat packages that outrage many city residents - like the $264,000 pension paid to former Police Chief Heather Fong last year.
But city retirees are doing pretty well compared to working San Franciscans. Census data shows the median family income in the city is $86,546. Per capita income is $44,373.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi is gathering signatures to place a measure on the November ballot that would require city workers to pay far more of their salaries toward pensions. Currently, most pay 7.5 percent of their paychecks, but some highly-paid employees would pay double that in bad economic years under Adachi’s plan.
“I think it’s interesting that the average pension paid to a city employee is higher than the average earnings of most San Franciscans,” he said. “When you start looking at the total cost of these pensions, it’s through the roof.”
How is $46K (average pension) two times $44K (looks like it is probably the median per capita income)?
LOL. Don’t let facts/reading skills get in the way of 2banana’s anger.
“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”
Yoda
“”The city is considering a lease-back program, where it mortgages its equity in city property and uses that money to pay down the debt. It’s also looking to reorganize departments and contract out some city services. ‘It’s going to be harsh. It’s going to be hard on the people of Lauderdale Lakes,’ Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, who represents Lauderdale Lakes, told city officials.”
So they are going to take on debt to pay off debt? This is the govenrment equivalent to the Enron and bankers setting up special purpose entities to get debt off their balance sheets. Debt is still debt, whether you call it that or a lease. The only potential redeeming quality of the lease would be if the interest rate inplicit in the lease is lower than the rate on the current debt. I am sure with bankers’ fees for aranging it and legal fees for vetting it, there is probably no net savings. Someone will probably use the refinancing to vote in a promotion, raise or bonus for the guys who pushed it through.
And the hits just keep coming…
We will do ANYTHING to keep home prices propped up. Anything.
———————–
$1 Billion in Homeowner Aid Offered
MortgageLoan.com | 6/20/2011 3:52 PM | Peter King
Homeowners facing foreclosure can now tap into a $1 billion program of emergency loans to help tide them over a temporary financial crisis, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced.
Beginning today, homeowners in 27 states can file preliminary applications for the Emergency Homeowner’s Loan Program (EHLP). Eligible homeowners can obtain interest-free loans of up to $50,000 to help cover mortgage expenses for up to two years.
The program is available to homeowners who have seen their incomes fall and who could lose their homes to foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control, including involuntary unemployment, underemployment, economic conditions or an illness.
The program is a counterpart to the $7.6 billion Hardest Hit Fund and is available only to homeowners in states not covered by that program. The Hardest Hit Fund provides foreclosure avoidance assistance to homeowners in states that have been most seriously affected by the declining housing market and economic downturn.
The new initiative is expected to provide assistance to up to 30,000 homeowners, with loans averaging $35,000 each. Loans may be used to pay a portion of monthly mortgage bills, including missed mortgage payments or past due charges including principal, interest, taxes, insurances, and attorney fees.
It’s a loan, as in “it has to be paid back.” Since they can pay one back, what makes you think they can handle two?
can = can’t
Can the borrowers use the money to buy a car instead of paying
the banks?
Or is this a new bail out scheme for the banks?
“The couple had $2,300 in the bank, but all of it got swept up in the writ of garnishment. And that did not come close to covering what they now owed. With interest stacking up on the unpaid balance, the debt was $4,300. ‘They said, ‘We are going to put everything together, and you are going to pay in full or we won’t let you short sell,’ Renfigo said. ‘We sold a car that weekend. That is how we paid it.’”
Good. Hammer the deadbeats. Next time they might think twice about signing mortgages they can’t afford.