Bits Bucket for November 25, 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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I wonder if this guy saw the Kill my Landlord poem?
Angry landlord crushed mobile home while tenants fled, deputies report
By HENRY PIERSON CURTIS
Orlando Sentinel
Posted: 6:56 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011
Landlord John Miller will miss Thanksgiving at home this year after what may be Central Florida’s first case of eviction rage ending in attempted-murder charges.
Miller remains held without bail in the Orange County Jail after crushing a mobile home with a large front-end loader while a terrified child cowered inside as a woman tried to save her, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
“Good, then I got what I wanted,” Miller, 51, said after deputies told him the roof had collapsed and the small trailer was uninhabitable.
The attack began Tuesday afternoon on West Ponkan Road near Apopka when 911 calls reported the Mount Dora landlord had been chasing his tenants with a front-end loader after destroying their home rather than waiting for them to leave Dec. 1. He previously has been charged with refusing to vaccinate a dog or cat against rabies as well as firing a gun in public, records show.
“When Miller returned, he was driving a yellow front-end loader that the women believed to be a bulldozer,” records state. “Miller drove the front-end loader into the right, front side of the trailer as Michelle and Bonnie screamed for him to stop and telling him the children were inside.”
Valdez paid $150 a week for the trailer and had lived there for four months with her three children, brother and sister-in-law. She said she wasn’t behind in rent but upset Miller’s family earlier this month over the use of a table at a yard sale.
“I’m still in shock. I used to get along with him,” she said Wednesday afternoon. “Yesterday, he liked, turned into the devil.”
When deputies arrived, one aimed an M-16 assault rifle at Miller and ordered him to stop but Miller repeatedly swore at them until they forced him onto the ground and handcuffed him.
After being placed in a patrol car Miller told a deputy, “This is my property and I will bulldoze the whole … place,” records state.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/angry-landlord-crushed-mobile-home-while-tenants-fled-1993263.html?cxtype=rss_news -
6 people living in a trailer? That alone seems illegal to me. Every lease has a max occupant clause. I bet the guy was fed up with trying to get them evicted and just went off the deep end.
Wow, I wonder why he would be so upset since these renters were current in their rent payments. You know there’s more to this story.
Diablo Demolition! I love it.
I love this guy….these are the easiest landlords to sue and win….I am KING of my castle and I can do what I want…judges hate that the most.
——–
This is my property and I will bulldoze the whole … place,” records state.
Wonderful things can be done with a bulldozer and a vision….
Remember the guy from about 10 years ago, who welded armor plate all over his bulldozer including the operator’s cab, and proceeded to flatten an entire small town ? The police used every weapon at their disposal but couldn’t do anything to stop him or even slow him down, so they decided to stand back and wait until he ran out of fuel. After a few days of mayhem the guy committed suicide. If I recall correctly they had to use a cutting torch to open the cab and get the corpse out.
The Killdozer! It’s legendary.
As far as the Landlord thing, there was a Dead Kennedys song called, “Let’s lynch the landlord.”
After being placed in a patrol car Miller told a deputy, “This is my property and I will bulldoze the whole … place,” records state.
There is no shortage of a-holes in this world who think the law does NOT apply yo them.
No bubba, you won’t.
“There is no shortage of a-holes in this world who think the law does NOT apply yo them.”
What is this thing, Law, you speak of Komrade?
Much like Santa Clause, it seems to be a fantasy that only the naive believe in and are subject to.
c…i…l…l…my landlord.
I don`t think Moody’s , Standard & Poor’s and Fitch get enough credit or jail time for the housing bubble. Or are they considered banksters?
Triple-A Failure
By ROGER LOWENSTEIN
Published: April 27, 2008
The Ratings Game
Thanks to the industry’s close relationship with the banks whose securities it rates, Partnoy says, the agencies have behaved less like gatekeepers than gate openers. Last year, Moody’s had to downgrade more than 5,000 mortgage securities — a tacit acknowledgment that the mortgage bubble was abetted by its overly generous ratings. Mortgage securities rated by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have suffered a similar wave of downgrades.
Presto! How 2,393 Subprime Loans Become a High-Grade Investment
Moody’s rated three-quarters of this C.D.O.’s bonds triple-A. The ratings were derived using a mathematical construct known as a Monte Carlo simulation — as if each of the underlying bonds would perform like cards drawn at random from a deck of mortgage bonds in the past. There were two problems with this approach. First, the bonds weren’t like those in the past; the mortgage market had changed. As Mark Adelson, a former managing director in Moody’s structured-finance division, remarks, it was “like observing 100 years of weather in Antarctica to forecast the weather in Hawaii.” And second, the bonds weren’t random. Moody’s had underestimated the extent to which underwriting standards had weakened everywhere. When one mortgage bond failed, the odds were that others would, too.
The agencies have blamed the large incidence of fraud, but then they could have demanded verification of the mortgage data or refused to rate securities where the data were not provided. That was, after all, their mandate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/magazine/27Credit-t.html?pagewanted=all -
The question is, did any AAA instruments return a 100% loss? I’ll be they did. And in that case, the rating agencies should be forced to cite that as an example of the value of their ratings on each one.
Perhaps we need a ratings agency for ratings agencies.
If I screwed up lets say just 300 jobs from 2004 - 2006 that bad, just through word of mouth I never would have gotten another job. Yet the rating agencies screwed up on millions and millions of “jobs” and are still taken seriously? Not to mention paid very well for their services.
VA Beyatch, did you move to FL? I missed that one!
Happy Day after Thanksgiving, y’all!
My parents retired here a number of years ago (pre-bubble), and I get down here generally 2 times a year to visit.
Will be back in Norfolk VA by Sunday.
Woman pepper sprays other Black Friday shoppers
(AP) LOS ANGELES — A woman shot pepper spray to keep shoppers from merchandise she wanted during a Black Friday sale, and 20 people suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store.
Police said the suspect shot the pepper spray when the coverings over the items she wanted were removed.
“Somehow she was trying to use it to gain an upper hand,” police Lt. Abel Parga told The Associated Press early Friday.
He said she was apparently after some electronics and used the pepper spray to keep other shoppers at bay.
Officials said 20 people suffered minor injuries. Fire department spokesman Shawn Lenske said the injuries to least 10 of them were due to ” rapid crowd movement.”
Parga said police were still looking for the woman.
The store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray continued shopping.
MAybe she’s a UC campus cop?
LMAO!
To be honest, that might be where she got the idea.
Roman Sheriffs at Walmart
Fight breaks out on Black Friday at Walmart in Rome
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Fight-breaks-out-on-Black-Friday-at-Walmart-in/9YHmDDL6-EeR56OG_PLf4A.cspx
Rome (WSYR-TV) – Just after midnight on Black Friday, a fight broke out at the Walmart in Rome, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.
At 12:01 a.m., just as shoppers were allowed to enter the electronics department, the sheriff’s office says a few shoppers were pushed to the ground and several fights broke out.
The sheriff’s office says two people were transported to Rome Memorial Hospital.
Shop till ya drop
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/25/9012057-black-friday-violence-2-shot-in-armed-robberies-15-others-pepper-sprayed
…All of the incidents took place at Wal-Mart stores as millions of Americans loaded up on holiday purchases.
Updated 9:50a.m. ET: A 55-year-old shopper was shot and wounded during a robbery near a Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, NBC affiliate WMBF reported.
Tonia Robbins, 55, was shot in the foot after two men demanded her purse shortly after 1 a.m. Friday as she stood at the trunk of her car with friends.
Updated 9:45a.m. ET: An explosive device was found at a break room at a Wal-Mart in Cave Creek, Arizona, it was reported on Friday.
Updated at 9:40a.m. ET: A Black Friday shopper was shot and critically injured during a robbery outisde a Wal-Mart in San Leandro, California, early Friday, police said.
Police said the victims were walking to their car with their purchases and were approached by multiple suspects who demanded the merchandise.
A fight ensued and one suspect pulled out a gun and shot one of the victims. Some of the victims wrestled down one suspect as the other suspect fled the scene.
Updated at 7.30a.m. ET: An angry woman used pepper spray when Black Friday bargain-hunters tried to cut in line at a crowded Wal-Mart store in Los Angeles late Thursday, leaving 15 people with minor injuries.
Is there some way we can connect this violence to Obama or to labor unions?
She’s 55 so she was just about to spend her newly-acquired insane public union pension.
Headline from Mirror.co.uk: Wal-Mart’s unhappy holiday tradition: Black Friday violence
“Shop till ya drop”
I like that one, Rio. Here’s mine:
Walmart: More Bang for the Buck
Of all the Wal-Marts in our area, that WM is a really nice one (Porter Ranch-North/West San Fernando Valley), with a McMansion area surrounding it. The demographics are white upper middle class. I bet that’s not who they arrest. My mother told me this morning, they haven’t released the surveillance camera picture of the female suspect to the media yet.
Not that I don’t think the McMansion crowd is immune to being a-holes. We lived among them and it was one of the factors in our decision to get out of our oversized McMansion. But when you’re making $160K between you, I don’t think you’d risk your future, or be that dumb.
So I went to a Wal Mart Black Friday sale once…
….and a hockey game broke out.
Hungary says Moody’s downgrade ‘financial attack’
By Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press
AP – 1 hour 50 minutes ago
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary has slammed Moody’s decision to downgrade its credit rating to junk status, describing it Friday as another unjustified financial attack against the country.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hungary-says-Moody-downgrade-apf-753603715.html?x=0 - -
Belgium just got downgraded. What’s this, the third downgrade in 3 days?
Portugal, Hungary - downgraded to junk. Belgium just got downgraded to AA.
Belgium has had its credit rating downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.
The country’s downgrade could make it more expensive for Belgium to borrow in future.
Belgium’s rating was cut by one notch, to AA from AA+, with S&P expressing concerns about funding and market pressures.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15898759
Why are you crying, you didn`t get that Flat Screen you camped out for?
Police: Woman uses pepper spray on other Black Friday shoppers, 20 injured
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, November 25, 6:07 AM
LOS ANGELES — A woman shot pepper spray to keep shoppers from merchandise she wanted during a Black Friday sale, and 20 people suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store.
Police said the suspect shot the pepper spray when the coverings over the items she wanted were removed.
“Somehow she was trying to use it to gain an upper hand,” police Lt. Abel Parga told The Associated Press early Friday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-10-injured-at-wal-mart-as-woman-pepper-sprays-customers-seeking-black-friday-deals/2011/11/25/gIQAiqjcuN_story.html
UK Can Now Borrow Cheaper Than Germany
By Matthew Yglesias
Slate
If you want proof that the Eurozone’s sovereign debt woes are fundamentally about the governance of the single currency and the odd behavior of the European Central Bank, then look no further than the fact that Germany’s 10-year borrowing costs are now higher than the UK’s. It’s very difficult to explain this in terms of the kind of scolding moralism that the Germans have been deploying this fall to explain borrowing problems in the Mediterannean countries. The British aren’t out-exporting the Germans. The Germans don’t have a bad work ethic or a corrupt political system. The German government hasn’t been more profligate than the British government in running up debt over the past 10-15 years. The Bank of England has been much less focused on fighting unemployment than has the Bundesbank/ECB. And over the past year the growth performance of the UK has been terrible as austerity budgeting crushes domestic demand and the economy continues to lack appropriate structure for export-led growth.
And yet financial markets would rather lend to the UK. Because the UK’s not in the Eurozone, and because everyone knows the UK’s central bank isn’t going to let anything crazy happen or get into any wild games of chicken.
This just proves how stupid the system is right now. Professional investors don’t care about ability to repay, they care about ability to keep kicking the can.
Well stated Al.
This just proves how stupid the system is right now.
British Satire:
Housing market is pretty much all we have left, admits Cameron 21-11-11
THE government is to boost the housing market because there really isn’t anything else to do, it has been confirmed.
…If it’s broke fix it with the thing that broke it
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have unveiled a £400m investment to encourage new building and help first time buyers after realising Britain had long since given up on anything that was not ultimately about houses.
The prime minister said: “This package will help to reinflate the house price bubble and give mortgages to people who can’t really afford them. Unless anyone has any better ideas?
“It’s worth remembering that the only reason the British economy seemed successful in the late ’90s was because of a house price bubble and mortgages being given to people who couldn’t really afford them, so it’s not as if we’re in uncharted territory.
“This will definitely work.”
Nick Clegg added: “We calculated that if you strip the housing sector out of the British economy you’re left with some Duchy Originals marmalade and footballers paying for threesomes.
“So until such times as we actually start making things out of metal, we need to support the foundations of our pretend economy with money we don’t really have.”
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/housing-market-is-pretty-much-all-we-have-left%2c-admits-cameron-201111214570/
When ability to repay is gone, kicking the can is all there is left.
My son is interested in a short sale. The house is a stopped renovation, stripped inside. I know some HBBers have tried to bid on these, but can’t remember any that got the property. The listing says $1000 deposit, proof of cash and then depends on if the bank will take the offer.
Seems really fishy to me. Why freeze $1K with a “seller” who doesn’t have any right to sell (at that price). Any suggestions on how to navigate this BS?
“Why freeze $1K with a “seller” who doesn’t have any right to sell (at that price).”
A sore loser is likely to destroy a few things before departing. Best to avoid this scene, IMHO.
Blue
I know in Ca the deposit is refundable, unless the buyer doesn’t use the legal recourse to call off the deal. He has to perform and during his due diligence has many opportunites to rescind on the deal. Short Sales takes months and only 50% (maybe a tad more) are closing. He should find out the lender(s) etc from his agent. “Equator”- look this up (read BOA) is the quickest from our exposure.
We aren’t willing to wait out the 4-5 months for a deal that may not close. Best of luck, whatever his decision.
And in Ca, the walk through before the close of escrow (check the state law) will spot changes.
Then again, the legal recourse has stop loses for the selling parties, but you can pierce them for $.
btw, our deposit on an REO was 3%. Of course until there was bilateral acceptance, the check could not be cashed. (Ca R E Law) I’m licensed.
Deposits (also known as earnest money) are negotiable just like the offer price is. You can offer whatever amount you want as a deposit. Just make sure you open escrow and write the check to the escrow company, NOT the seller. That would not be smart. If I’m the seller and considering going through the short sale process with a potential buyer I’d want to know they were serious and weren’t going to bail at the last minute. Someone who isn’t willing to lock up $1,000 in good faith probably isn’t a serious buyer. Again, be careful who you write the check to, but that is a relatively low earnest money amount.
Realtors Are Liars®
Just for fun, all realtors should be lined up and pepper sprayed. After all it’s only a food product. Can you say food fight?
On Monday, Kelly told fellow Fox host Bill O’Reilly that pepper spray was “essentially” just a food product and that the hubbub over a University of California at Davis cop that fired the condiment (essentially) onto the faces of peacefully protesting students was unwarranted.
“I don’t know if from a legal standpoint the cops did anything wrong,” Kelly said, while at the same time admitting that Lt John Pike’s now infamous assault was still kind of “abrasive and intrusive.”
“Food product”? lmao. What idiots. I didn’t know food products caused chemical burns.
Have you ever bitten in to a habanero ?
How about mustard gas? Want a bratwurst with that?
Yeah, it’s a food product.
A weaponized food product. Like boiling hot water would be if fired from a cannon.
“But it’s just used to make coffee!”
Or maybe high velocity superheated steam.
She should volunteer to take a full-face pepper spray to show us how minor it is.
My brother had to voluntarily get sprayed with pepper spray at the FBI academy…I think police academy’s require the same thing.
Not trying to justify the response…I hate cops…just saying.
Yeah, I think cops have to get pepper-sprayed as part of ‘training’. But they fall to the ground and writhe in pain in the films I’ve seen of it. That’s why I thought it would be educational for the talking head to show us how it was comparable to eating a spicy taco, by taking a blast herself.
It ain’t nothin’ but a chicken wing thing.
When I was in the Army, to prove our gas masks worked against CS gas, we were marched into a sealed building with our gas masks on. The CS gas was released and after a few minutes we were then ordered to take off our gas masks. We were then allowed outside where we then proceeded to become sick.
Food product… yeah they serve it with mustard gas. Idiots.
lol. Bravo Oxy!
I get frustrated with people who assume conservatives and
their complaints with Obama are driven by racism because in most cases I don’t think it’s true.
Unfortunately I did get subjected to the rant of a relative yesterday that was exactly that, though. No point in arguing with drunken idiots, but I did tell him that I didn’t expect any improvement from the Rs. His whole rant was based on the assumption that the Rs would fix everything if they could just be put back in charge one more time.
I’m finding camaraderie with those who are willing to set aside their hard ideological positions and are willing to *look* at the problem. I refuse to defend policy actions by elected officials that are harmful to me and everyone who has to work for a living(most of us). The polling place has become such utter BS considering everyone who campaigns for office is already bought and paid for. 2006, 2008, 2010 elections are proof so please don’t bother cherry picking a name.
Looking to elections to solve the problem fails time and time again. 2012 will be no different. They can’t or won’t do anything for whatever reason.
Can you support this? I can’t think of one thing that is more important than this issue when it comes to fixing this system.
http://movetoamend.org/amendment
Move to Amend has led the call for a Constitutional amendment to not only overturn the heinous Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. FEC, but to put corporations in their proper place as subservient to The People.
Passing an amendment will be a tough job, so the language must be commensurate with the effort needed to win. The amendment must be strong and clear enough to end corporate rule - there’s no room here for half solutions or ambiguity.
Move to Amend’s proposed amendment will clearly establish that money is not speech, corporations are not people, and allows for no loopholes. Our amendment will put people in charge of our government, and corporations in their proper place.
I can and will.
Move to Amend
Aye
Two-thirds of the CONgresscritters plus two-thirds of the senators plus a majority in at least two-thirds of the state legislatures. Piece-o-cake!
Some posters here disagreed with my lament a while back that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t have Initiative, Recall and Referendum provisions the way many (most?) states do. This is an ideal subject for a referendum vote by the people.
Bill in Carolina, you are wrong about US constitution amendments have to originate in Congress. It almost happened during the 17th. amendment. Look it up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_election_of_Senators
That amendment’s absolutely essential. Support it if you want my vote. If you oppose it, take a hike.
Calling jeff saturday!
Your country needs you. This movement needs a battle hymn, a song to inspire the people. They need a slogan too. Something easy to remember, catchy yet focused like a laser on the core issue. Money ain’t free speech.
Hmph. He’s probably writing one for the other side.
Looking to elections to solve the problem fails time and time again. 2012 will be no different. They can’t or won’t do anything for whatever reason.
I tend to agree. Thre’s no way a 3rd party will be able make a dent.
So the question remains: what do we do?
1) Try to overthrow the government? That sounds like a good way to get killed.
2) Wait for everything to collapse? That could also be a good way to get killed, just by a different group of people.
3) Leave the US? It could be just as bad, if not worse, anyplace else when the global economic collapse happens. Plus being a gringo in a foreign land when that happens won’t be a good thing. You will be a scapegoat.
Plus being a gringo in a foreign land when that happens won’t be a good thing. You will be a scapegoat.
Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain….
Brazil’s leader blames white people for crisis March 27 2009
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae4957e8-1a5f-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html#ixzz1ejgrvuyU
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes.
Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, Mr Lula da Silva told reporters: “This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.”
He added: “I do not know any black or indigenous bankers so I can only say [it is wrong] that this part of mankind which is victimised more than any other should pay for the crisis.”
Mr Brown appeared to distance himself from Mr Lula da Silva’s remarks. “I’m not going to attribute blame to any individuals,” he said.
I remember that incident.
Of course there was nothing racist in that statement.
Of course there was nothing racist in that statement.
Good question. Was it racist or making a valid observation involving race?
rac·ism noun dictionary dot com
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3.hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
Of course there was nothing racist in that statement.
LIke I said, being an expat Gringo in a foreign country when the global economy collapses could be hazardous to your health.
So all of the leaders of African countries are white and have blue eyes ? Robert Mugabe, Sese Sekou Mobutu, Idi Amin, etc ?
Making a stereotypical comment could be in bad taste depending on the company but it is not racism.
“Try to overthrow the government? That sounds like a good way to get killed.”
Yet, The Declaration Of Independence tells us it is our duty to kick all the bums out. It might have worked 30 years ago, but now that the barn door has been opened so long….
In Colorado
You’re right, and it is depressing. Where’s the chocolate? LOL
Relatives + alcohol + political “discussions” = chaos.
That’s why people ask “How’s the weather?”; The weather is a neutral subject that most everyone can come to terms with.
And don’t forget to add beatings, cops and jail to that list Combo…. lmao.
Stay away from family politics too. If a favorite person does something stupid it’s the family supportive rally. If it’s a person out of flavor (that you like), you’ll get a knife, and it won’t be for the other white meat. lol
His whole rant was based on the assumption that the Rs would fix everything if they could just be put back in charge one more time
I suppose they could start two more wars. That should get a few million unemployed HS grads off the streets. And the FedRes can print a few trillion to lend to Uncle Same to pay for the wars. $10/lb ground beef will be a small price to pay to preserve “freedom”.
And they could cut taxes even more for the rich, freeing up even more cash for them to invest in China. Maybe even improve the offshoring tax break while they’re at it.
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Where I live, it’s absolutely true.
OT for one of you tech heads-
I’ve been using a 2006 vintage notebook(freebie) at home for a few years. I upgraded to Win7(freebie) but couldn’t get the video driver to work until recently by using it in compatibility mode. Since then, everything is faster. Why is that?
My guess is that “compatibility mode” is a 2D-only version of Win7 (the Win7 GUI uses 3D acceleration), so it’s less taxing on the system.
There could be some device drivers that are slowing down the system that aren’t running in safe mode.
You might just want to roll back to XP, or if you’re really adventuresome install Linux or some flavor or Unix on it. You get Oracle (Sun) Solaris for free.
Colo, actually it’s quite nimble now that I run the display driver in compatibility mode (xp sp3). It’s a Dell d600 and a bit of a dinosaur but it was free. I have a total of $50 in it to boost the RAM to 2gig’s.
4 Gig RAM USB currently on sales at Sears for $5.49!
You can download a win7 compatibility test program from Microsoft that checks your current hardware:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=20
Windows will default to built in basic support to get graphics working. The real drivers for the video hardware kick in all sorts of acceleration that can really improves performance. Video hardware in a computer has it’s own computer processor that can handle some tasks on it’s own. The more the card handles, the less the main computer has to do. The proper driver for the video card enables the video card to do some of the work.
The driver is outdated with Win 7.
Win 7 does not support a LOT of legacy drivers and hardware.
IPOs stoke San Francisco housing market
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/25/us-realestate-sanfrancisco-idUKTRE7AM2KH20111125
….The IPO-driven real estate strategy is suddenly a common one in San Francisco as companies including Zynga and the review service Yelp prepare for public offerings. With the rise of secondary share markets that enable some employees of pre-public companies such as Facebook and Twitter to cash out, moreover, even the promise of an IPO is helping to drive residential real estate activity.
San Francisco had already enjoyed a healthier housing market than most places. But the competitive bidding in some city neighborhoods recently has taken real estate professionals by surprise, with prices up more than 15 percent from last year in some areas.
One bubble feeds another.
I guess we can forget about semi affordable prices in the bay area. If you want an affordable house, you need to move to flyover country. Just get used to a lot of your neighbors being poor.
“If you want an affordable house, you need to move to flyover country.”
Because…?
“Just get used to your neighbors being poor.”
Being poor means not having money. Not having money means not being able to bid up prices. Not being to bid up prices results in low prices.
Except when EZ credit is available.
And while prices are low by coastal standards in flyover country, houses are still unaffordable given local wages.
“Except when EZ is available.”
Which used to be the case but is not the case anymore.
But prices have not yet fully reflected this “not the case anymore” situation.
But stay tuned.
“Just get used to your neighbors being poor.”
In addition to being short of money poor people tend to impose on their neighbors. Poor neighbors need lots of space because they’re noisy. In a good neighborhood you don’t even notice your neighbors, but in a poor neighborhood it’s just different.
I have noticed quite an increase in work commute traffic in the last 2-3 months. There is a recent bump in activity.
FWIW
Somebody emailed me a Groupon offer. The whole concept seems designed to put my name on every mailing list in existance, just to save $10 here and there. Kinda creepy. However, I realize that I’m lucky and can afford the extra $. Other people might like groupons.
[of course I'm a hypocrite because i order a lot of stuff from Amazon. Nobody knows be better than amazon.]
Groupon is a horrible deal for the businesses. I think Groupon takes 40-50% or something very high.
Not sure why it was worth so much money, so easy to replicate.
It’s settled. 2013.
Housing Prices Won’t Recover Until 2013: Economists
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45416286
U.S. home prices will stagnate through next year and only start recovering in 2013, according to economists polled by Reuters who also felt the stimulus options being floated will not do much to reinvigorate the market.
The housing market, considered by many as critical to any meaningful economic recovery, is still struggling to find its footing after collapsing by a third over the past several years, leaving many owing more than their homes are worth.
The poll of 27 analysts taken Nov. 17-22 was more downbeat than a survey taken two months ago, which predicted small home prices rises next year of less than 1 percent on average.
With an excess of unsold homes holding prices down and more foreclosures expected, lawmakers and experts have floated various options for propping up the market until the economy improves and Americans start buying homes again.
But most of the economists polled were sharply critical of two of the main proposals: more purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by the U.S. Federal Reserve [cnbc explains] ; and a reduction in loan principal for struggling homeowners.
In other words, housing prices stop falling by 2014 at the earliest.
“Housing Prices Won’t Recover Until 2013: Economists”
I really don`t care when house prices recover, but I really would like to see them be aloud to hit bottom.
Guess that should have been allowed.
“I really don`t care when house prices recover, but I really would like to see them be aloud to hit bottom.”
Whether prices recover is irrelevant if one can never afford it. I’m much more interested in sustainable affordability than maintaining artificially inflated prices forever.
‘Whether prices recover is irrelevant if one can never afford it. I’m much more interested in sustainable affordability than maintaining artificially inflated prices forever.’
That`s what I was trying to say!
But I will never be able to say it that well.
“Housing Prices Won’t Recover Until 2013: Economists”
Why is it that economists avoid linking household income and housing prices? The relationship is obvious, IMHO.
Housing prices are recovering just fine. They are moving down as they should, albeit a tad more slowly than would be ideal. Why is it these “economists” equate “recovery” to “getting more expensive”?
Of course Manhattan really isn’t recovering yet, but I hope to see some price drops here… eventually.
If your advertisers and funders are agribusiness companies and corporate farms, when food prices go up, you call it a recovery. When food prices go down, you call it a devastating loss to the economy.
If your advertisers and funders are the FIRE sector, when house prices go up, you call it a recovery and when they go down, you call it a devastating loss to the economy.
It’s settled. 2013.
And this time we mean it.
As I’ve said before, it was approx 6 years before RE recovered after the Savings & Loan disaster.
Given the economy collapsed in 2007, then 2013 is about right.
But then again, the total economic damage of the S&L collapse was only about $500 BILLION, not $1 TRILLION +.
It really IS different this time.
“But then again, the total economic damage of the S&L collapse was only about $500 BILLION, not $1 TRILLION +.”
Also, some of those thieves were prosecuted and served jail time. This time so far…?
More global warming fraud exposed in emails I see - at climatedepot dot com and other sites. I wonder who is doing the leaking? Good on ‘em, taking a risk like that. Seems as though Department of Energy approved not releasing some data sets to the public for independent analysis. Time to shut them down, and cut funding big time to this phony research.
And before any chumps cry what do I know, I worked in this area for years and saw scientists say anything as long as they were being paid. And answer this:
What are the sensors used to determine global warming, and what are their biases, as well as the nature/source of their biases and how do they vary over time?
I can hear heads explode.
Therefore global warming does not exist?
And renewable energy is bad?
And oil and gas and coal are better?
Because the 21st century should be powered by 19th century technologies?
Because 7 billion people can all consume like Americans without any environmental consequences?
Because pollution is only an economic externality?
Because pollution is only an economic externality?
Embrace the brown cloud.
Thermal inversion is your friend.
A little ozone never hurt anyone. If you can’t see it, it isn’t pollution, right? (most urban areas in the US have unhealthy levels of ozone)
Because 7 billion people can all consume like Americans without any environmental consequences?
They don’t even have to consume like Americans, they just have to consume more than they have in the past. And if you think gas is expensive now … just wait as billions of third worlders buy a motorcycle or a tiny car. Imagine filling up that Suburban, Escalade or 400 HP pickup truck (the new muscle car) with $10/gallon gas! Yeehaw!
Even if global warming were a hoax, there are plenty of reasons to stop using fossil fuels as a primary source of energy.
I agree Colorado…just don’t like folks pissing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.
And renewable energy is bad?
Of course it’s bad. It means that big oil could lose a rich, lucrative revenue stream.
Wind energy is big out here, and as I mentioned yesterday we pay 7.4 cents per Kwh, less than in Rick Perry’s crony capitalist paradise, and Xcel Energy still makes a profit.
Big new discoveries of oil in Colombia.
—Therefore global warming does not exist?
And renewable energy is bad?
And oil and gas and coal are better?—
strawman.
That’s not the point of his post.
Global warming might or might not exist. Man might or might not have a hand in it if it exists. The solutions proposed certainly will fail to fix it if it exists and is caused by man.
And so forth…
You’re the most intellectually dishonest person to ever post here. Are you really not capable of thinking through climate change?
Thus sayeth chicken little.
ANSWER the question.
So demanding…
Just what we expected.
troll
intellectual coward
Speaking of cowards, it didn’t take much to draw you out from another one of your alternate usernames.
You’re far too easy.
I love the smell of paranoia in the morning.
But what about Ima’s kugel?
Nothing smells so sweet as RAL’s paranoia in the morning.
“I worked in this area for years and saw scientists say anything as long as they were being paid.”
So did you ever work in the defense industry?
Here’s one for the chumps, from Bloomberg:
Arctic Sea’s Ice Loss Is ‘Unprecedented’ in past 1,450 Years, Study Shows
“The researchers used ice core records, tree ring data, lake sediment and historical evidence to reconstruct the amount of Arctic cover. The thickness and extent of sea ice have declined dramatically over the last 30 years, the researchers said.”
Al Gore probably made that one up too just to sell more movie tickets, right?
What are the sensors used to determine global warming,
One of them is Frogs I think.
and what are their biases?
They don’t like dry skin?
how do they vary over time?
There gets to be less of them.
“What are the sensors used to determine global warming”
I don’t need sophisticated sensors to “determine global warming”. Photographs of Ranier’s glaciers from the 50s compared with an eyeball inspection today is sufficient.
Wow. These folks act just like religious fundies when their bible is called into question.
Fun to watch.
It saddens me some, that so many of the really intelligent commenters on this site can’t turn some of the same well-honed skepticism toward Big Science that they can toward Big Finance.
If you really believe that the these two cartels have literally no modus operandi in common, you’re not reading about the problems from enough different perspectives.
Whatever the ultimate case may be with CO2 climate influences, this current crowd that zealously controls the message is setting the cause way back perhaps 50-100 years with their endless dissembling.
Big Science is usually paid for by Big Money. Last I checked, the Lorax didn’t have a whole lot of money to speak for the trees. Wind power and solar don’t have a lot of money to spare. And even Soros can’t pay for everything, you know.
So who’s got the Big Money to fund Big Science? Oh, right, Big Oil and Big Gas. By this reasoning, Big Science should have have conclusive evidence that global warming is fake. And yet, all they can muster is a scandal or two over couple of data charts, when there are hundreds of other charts, photos, graphs, measurements, etc, in favor of climate change.
Whatever the cause, it’s real.
Google Enron and Kyoto sometime, and follow where it leads.
Big Energy is fully on board the GW train. Pays the same to them either way.
And Earth’s still flat and Earth’s the center of the universe. Go away troll.
Fun to watch indeed.
He is a troll, he threw a rock at the hornet’s next knowing well what would happen.
next -> nest
Like those “chumps” in Kemp, Texas who think that their god is real and their climate change is not?
Working “in the area” of the science and actually participating in it are two different things, grenada. For example, the hospital cafeteria lady works “in the area” of the neurosurgical staff, but I’m guessing you’d prefer she not do your brain surgery.
This is why politics is so important. Insults and emotions trump intelligent discussion every time.
How many BTUs are created each year by the human race?
How many tons of pollution are created each year by the human race?
Hint: it also doesn’t just magically disappear, either.
I’ll bet you don’t even get close to the right amounts.
As for scientists, they are no different than any other profession that is now driven by excessive profit. Big money attracts big thieves.
In the meantime, can I interest you in some beach-front property? I’ll even throw in the bridge.
Not that I’m making any comments on the research but it hit 66 degrees in my part of Syracuse today…..just sayin’.
Syracuse was under a mile thick layer of ice not too many years ago. Just sayin!
Dogs are so sad when you leave because they think you are never coming back.
Dogs are so happy when you get home because you are back a lot sooner than they thought.
Agreed!!!! That’s why we have cats.
A dog’s point of view:
My owner buys me food, pets me, plays with me, houses me, takes me to the vet. He takes care of me in every way imaginable.
My owner must be a god.
A cat’s point of view:
My owner buys me food, pets me, plays with me, houses me, takes me to the vet. He takes care of me in every way imaginable.
I must be a god.
So dogs are Cargo Cultists.
Cargo Cultists is the second thing I have had to look up this week from reading this blog. The other one was fluffer.
Not dead cat bounce ?? -
So dogs are Cargo Cultists.
There’s a reason they’re “man’s best friend”
Brilliant
I must be a god.
That label is reserved for the congressional inside traders.
One of my favorite cat’s point of view
Nice to see you, Gal.
Hope you’re well and happy.
Question ? Has the Housing Bubble photo gallery been updated ?? Or is there some other place photos are posted ?????
$16 TRILLION in Actual Bailouts.
Most. Corrupt. Nation. Ever.
http://www.unelected.org/audit-of-the-federal-reserve-reveals-16-trillion-in-secret-bailouts
“$16 TRILLION in Actual Bailouts.”
I wonder what the whole GD world is worth Lock, stock, and barrel without artificially inflated prices? What, about $15 TRILLION.
According to Wikipedia using 3 different references, +/-63 trillion for 2010.
“According to Wikipedia using 3 different references, +/-63 trillion for 2010.”
I think that`s inflated too. We went into Afghanistan and dropped about 2 billion $ worth of bombs and did about $3.75 worth of damage.
Canada offers support to Europe, but is cautious of ‘dangerous and risky new spending schemes.
Flaherty: Europe’s Crisis Creating ‘Contagion’
By Greg Quinn and Doug Alexander - Nov 25, 2011 12:30 PM ET
He touted Canada’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product of 34.9 percent, which he said compares with the Group of Seven average of 80 percent, citing International Monetary Fund estimates.
While Canada may offer additional stimulus measures if needed, the government won’t resort to “dangerous and risky new spending schemes,” Flaherty said. Canada’s federal and provincial governments must all aim to restore balanced budgets, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/europe-s-crisis-creating-contagion-flaherty.html
It’s a bit of a troll idea, but I keep thinking it’d be fun to start the idea of a renters strike / renters union. Perhaps the idea that renters can join together and quit paying rent and sink their landlords, who are often the 1%. Homeowners get all the love, they get to live without paying their bills, they get bailouts, etc. By banding together, renters could have the same or more power.
Sure it isn’t fully legit, but if it cycled around it might make landlords fear.
In my area apartments are booming. Tons of $1600/month apartments for the $39K/year avg household income populace.
I am a renter and I certainly will not cheat anyone (99%er or 1%er) out of a lease I sign.
I don’t band together with others.. “banding together” is a collectivistic concept that I simply do not grok.
I don’t band together with others.. “banding together” is a collectivistic concept that I simply do not grok.
Yeah, you’ve made that pretty clear. I think you (and the rest of us) are fortunate to live in a time (at least for now) where the rule of law was sufficiently strong to allow that to work successfully. As the rule of law breaks down I suspect that it will not be possible to survive as a lone wolf. Similar to how I’ve heard prison society works.
“Theme from The Monkees”
Here we come, walkin’
Down the street.
We get the funniest looks from
Ev’ry one we meet.
Hey, hey, we’re the Deadbeats
And people say we monkey around.
But were too busy signing
To put any money down.
We go wherever we want to,
do what we like to do
We don’t have time to get restless,
There’s always something new.
Hey, hey, we’re the Deadbeats
And people say we monkey around.
But were too busy signing
To read what was written down.
We’re just tryin’ to be friendly,
Come and watch us sing and play,
We’ll screw your gneration,
Cause we’ve got nothing to pay.
Any time, Or anywhere,
Just look over your shoulder
Guess who’ll be standing there
Hey, hey, we’re the Deadbeats
And people say we monkey around.
But were too busy singing
To put any money down.
(fade)
Looks like federally backed mortgage lending will have to increase in order to keep house prices up. Yes we can!
U.S. Workers’ Pay Slide Poses Consumer Risk
http://tinyurl.com/brwspd8 (Bloomberg)
60 Minutes has a piece on homeless kids this weekend. They are forced into homelessness when parents lose jobs and then get foreclosed on. Looks like the government will have to work harder to keep house prices high in response. You know, in order to keep them affordable.*
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/06/60minutes/main20038927.shtml
* Federal and Fed policies keeping rents and house prices high helps people make ends meet how exactly? “We have to keep house prices and rents high in order to make them affordable” sounds a lot like “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” Dr. StrangeLove is giggling maniacally somewhere.
“60 Minutes has a piece on homeless kids this weekend.”
Real victims. Not victims like 60 minutes Robo signer queen Lynn Szymoniak the white collar crime lawyer who has trained FBI agents who still lives in her mansion for free for going on 4 years now after she stole I mean took out over $500k in equity out of “her” house. Gotta keep those house price/rents up. Screw the banks, screw the Deadbeats and screw the Fed.