Bits Bucket for February 24, 2012
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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Visiting NW Oregon w/ some of my kids. As we drove around Portland this evening, one of them commented on the prevalence of signs posted to almost every lamppost saying “We Buy Houses” and listing a contact number.
I guess some things remain the same no matter where you travel.
Around metro Denver there are a few prominent billboards advertising legal/financial guidance for short-selling your “home”. Perhaps it’s not as rosy here as was discussed in yesterday’s bits bucket.
from the Denver Post: Colorado home prices declined in 2011; only Fort Collins saw gain
“Home prices across most of Colorado continued to decline last year, according to a report released Thursday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The FHFA State House Price Index for Colorado dropped 2.69 percent in the fourth quarter from the fourth quarter of 2010, slightly more than the 2.43 percent decline for the U.S. as a whole.
The FHFA also tracks home prices in major metropolitan areas. In Colorado, the Fort Collins index was the only one to report an increase last year: 1.49 percent.
The Grand Junction index had the worst showing with a 9.15 percent decline. Real estate values in that area were hit hard when a housing boom fueled by petroleum drilling went south in 2008.
The FHFA home price index for metro Denver dropped almost 2 percent last, which lines up with the 2 percent decline recorded in the median price of existing homes sold last year.”
In Colorado, the Fort Collins index was the only one to report an increase last year: 1.49 percent.
Fort Collins is another one of those strange places. I’ve heard about bidding wars in select nabes (older ones, near the center of town), while houses in the newer cookie cutter developments sit unsold. And Fort Collins isn’t all that big, just 140,000 people.
Don’t misunderstand what I said about Denver yesterday. The bulk of it isn’t doing well, yet there are areas that seem to defy gravity. As I mentioned yesterday, my in-laws had no trouble selling their townhouse in Broomfield. They had an offer within a few weeks. Had it been in Aurora it would have been another story.
The squad will be up in Boulder this afternoon, where the “coexist” bumper sticker is the de facto Boulder parking permit. The rich white liberal yuppies do a great job of coexisting with the other rich white liberal yuppies up there. And their Mexican nannies and landscapers and busboys can take the bus back to Longmont after serving the coexisters for the day…
The rich white liberal yuppies do a great job of coexisting with the other rich white liberal yuppies up there. And their Mexican nannies and landscapers and busboys can take the bus back to Longmont after serving the coexisters for the day…
Sounds like the more affluent parts of Tucson. The “green” mentality closely correlates with the amount of green in the bank account.
“Perhaps it’s not as rosy here as was discussed in yesterday’s bits bucket.”
The Housing Crime Syndicate is free to (mis)characterize market fundamentals. What’s more, when someone suggests their market perspective is more trustworthy than what I see and the anectodal information posted by others here, I’m even more suspicious.
It’s the inventory. It’s the empty inventory. It’s the less than ten year old empty inventory that is everywhere.
You keep calling those empty houses “inventory”. The whole point is that they are not “inventory”. This is our national program, to keep them from being “inventory”. Short sales are getting a lot of deals done, but these houses never go into “inventory”, and the deals do not go into comps. Funnel 95% of the mortgages into the GSEs, push mortgage interest rates down to 3%, never put the foreclosures into “inventory”. Give them away to investors in bulk, but do not let them on the market. Let the houses rot for years, but do not let them become “inventory”.
Yet, prices continue to go down.
‘The whole point is that they are not “inventory”.’
As much as I hate to seem like a grammar Nazi, using an adjective to qualify the meaning of a noun defines a new class which is a subset of the original class. So, for instance, “shadow inventory” is implicitly defined as a subset of “inventory,” and the cardinality of a subset can not exceed that of the parent set.
Definition of ‘Shadow Inventory’
A term that refers to real estate properties that are either in foreclosure and have not yet been sold or homes that owners are delaying putting on the market until prices improve. Shadow inventory can create uncertainty about the best time to sell (for owners) and when a local market can expect full recovery. Also, shadow inventory typically causes reported data on housing inventory to understate the actual number of inventory in the market.
Investopedia explains ‘Shadow Inventory’
With the unprecedented number of foreclosures stemming from the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2007-2008 and the overall housing market collapse during that crisis, lenders were left with significant real estate holdings. Many lenders were slow to put their inventory up for sale for fear of flooding the market and further driving down prices, which would in turn lower their potential ROI.
“Yet, prices continue to go down.”
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
OK Prof. That’s why I used the ” “.
When is inventory not “inventory”? When it is in the shadows! Out of sight, out of mind. Realtors are out of minders, backed by out of mind bankers, backed by out of mind government.
“Out of sight, out of mind.”
Works great, until it doesn’t.
For a few years those “we buy houses” signs were at every freeway off-ramp in Phoenix. I also saw them more recently in Tampa. Funny seeing a yellow sign with handwriting advertising houses. IMO, very tacky - neighborhood to avoid.
2012 was long my projected year for the real estate bottom. Channeling 2014 now. For Phoenix some people think the bottom has been reached. Maybe. But I don’t think there is any upside to housing prices in Phoenix the next four years and that’s a minimum.
“Channeling 2014 now.”
Natural consequence of extend-and-pretend: Real estate bottom is postponed, perhaps even beyond the end of Obama’s second term.
California’s water tunnel project could cost $14B
http://tinyurl.com/7886tv3 (sacramento bee)
“Two 33-foot-diameter tunnels running for 37 miles under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would help keep fresh water resources safer from earthquakes and would be more friendly to fish populations. Those tunnels and five pumping stations are estimated to cost $14 billion and are being planned by the California Department of Water Resources. The project is poised to face “constructability challenges” because of its scope and cost, but it advances “the state of the art for tunneling projects in North America,” according to a paper by Richard Sanchez, chief of engineering at the CDWR.”
Constructability is always an issue with projects of this magnitude. The design teams miss it far too often.
My favorite line: “This time, the DWR maintains that existing state water law gives it the power to approve the project without a public vote.”
33 feet in diameter? 33 feet? Not circumference, but diameter? That is huge. How do you even make a pump that would be effective over that sort of area?
Gravity
Well, the “pump” (raising the water to higher elevation) is solar
If i remember correctly, both the LA and NYC systems rely on gravity to bring water supplies in from long distances, a trick that was used by the Romans.
In fact, the NYC system has enough natural pressure to get water up to about 5 floors. That (along with the need for elevators) is one of the reasons that tenement style buildings are around that height. Any higher and you need to pump water into a tank on the roof.
“Gravity.”
True.
About 30 years ago one friend of the family was earning $100,000 annually (1982 circa) to work on the dam projects in ther central Sierra. Too bad the guy died a few years later of cancer although late 20s/early 30s. He had wife and six kids (LDS) and he had enough brains to have life insurance.
You would very surprised to learn of the number and size of tunnels in this country.
Here’s just one example.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Water_Tunnel_No._3
heh….
“Construction began in 1970 and will not be completed until 2020.”
Wow! Sounds like some of the nuclear waste projects that have been in existence in Idaho forever.
The right diameter is a matter of velocity of the water in the line and allowable pressure drop (loss of pressure because of friction). Like RAL said, most of these systems feed by gravity from reservoirs at higher elevations.
Try working in one of these bastards.;)
You’ve never seen dark like the darkness in these tunnels. It plays mind games and you have to stay focused or the paranoia will turn into panic. I can’t imagine what miners experience.
“How do you even make a pump that would be effective over that sort of area?”
I recall the flight engineer mentioning during his address to the passengers that each pump at the floodwater pumping station at The Great Salt Lake were moving 1,000,000 GPM. I don’t think that number even registered with most on the flight.
That’s a lot of water.
Those pumps haven’t run in over 20 years.
http://www.water.utah.gov/construction/gsl/index.htm
Thanks for the clarification redrum. It seems the FE was using some incorrect data. The site you referenced mentions each pump having a capacity of 450,000 GPM.
Which is still a bunch of water.
I thought the Quabbin Resevoir pipes were that big in some places?
The Penstocks at Hoover Dam are 30’ in diameter. If any of you get a chance to do the “hardhat” tour there I highly recommend it.
This woman had one emergency op at America’s hospital to the stars and another on the NHS. So where did she get the best care?
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2105680/This-woman-emergency-op-Americas-hospital-stars-NHS-So-did-best-care.html#ixzz1nHxCjG5B
I appreciate this isn’t a housing topic, but is this an accurate representation of US Health care. At the moment we are discussing changing the UK health model to bring in more private care and I would value your opinion of the health care available in the USA.
Obamacare death panels = gov bureaucrats kill granny
For-profit insurance co death panels = invisible hand of free market
Obamacare death panels = You must participate or pay a tax
Invisible hand of free market = For-profit insurance co death panels or other options such as self insurance or a catostrophic policy but high deductible especially good for young people.
You get all the health care you don’t need, if you are insured, and none of the health care you need if you are not.
From the LA Times: California health insurers to raise rates 8% to 14%
“The cost of goods and services associated with medical care grew just 3.6% over the last 12 months nationally, government figures show. But insurance premiums have kept climbing at a faster pace in California.”
WT Economist
(NY) My aunt has taken to ER by medical transport for flu like symptoms, and because she complains of a headache, they do a brain scan on her. She’s under medicare.
My Aunt told her social worker upfront, she thought she had a mild food poisoning or the flu. A brain scan? wtf
Liability protection-LSW and milking the system, imho.
I always tell my parents that if they think something a do wants to do is absurd, they should refuse it. People rarely do if they have little to no out of pocket expenses, but I tell them their time is valuable too.
So far, no luck.
Radiation is a serious risk, and you would think the hospital would reserve exposure and the accumulation risk,for really life or limb threatening conditions. Her patient advocate (LSW) had left, thus they took advantage of no patient advocate to do a brain scan . Evil pigs.
The older generations have a habit of treating docs as Gods. I hear ya. Although, I think many are finally getting it.
The older generations have a habit of treating docs as Gods. I hear ya. Although, I think many are finally getting it.
Then you haven’t met my mother.
She’s in the hospital, recovering from surgery on her wrist and hip. Turns out that her recent fall broke both. And she was walking around on the hip for almost two weeks.
Mom’s tough. What can I say.
Any-hoo, she wants no part of going to rehab. She wants to go home. No problem with in-home health aides. Nor with having my ditzy dad take care of her. Turns out that before she went into the hospital, he was handling her care pretty well.
Meanwhile, their next-door neighbor is screaming at me to get back there right this minute and tend to my dad. While I’d like to do that, I’m awaiting a job payment that will make that Southwest fare I’ve been watching much easier to cover. That payment should be here next week.
And there’s another wrinkle: I’m being offered a book contract. It’s a book for freelancers, and I’m waiting for the contract to arrive via Fedex, UPS, or something similar. So I’m kind of stuck here until that arrives.
These days, my writing and publishing activities are the only thing that are providing consistent income. Design for print and the web are pretty moribund right now. (Anyone need any assistance in this area :D?) Likewise, photography. Boy, is that a tough business to break into. (Repeating the assistance question :D)
So, while things are continuing to develop back east, I’m trying to make things pick up on the business front.
Slim,
Thanks for the update. I was
concerned about you and your parents.
Wow, walking around on a bum
hip. You’re mom is a tough cookie,
and your dad isn’t as bad as he sounded.
He came through for his life mate! (for now)
Hopefully, a caregiver will be the
thing they need. My mother (incubator)
went into one of those rehab ctrs (after hip
surgery). Nightmare after the family members leave.
The at-home caregiver can be a great experience if you get the right one. My mother loved hers.
It took 3 months for the fracture to heal after surgery. She has a limp.
Contrats on the book deal, and all your business endeavors.
Hopefully, a caregiver will be the thing they need. My mother (incubator) went into one of those rehab ctrs (after hip surgery). Nightmare after the family members leave. The at-home caregiver can be a great experience if you get the right one. My mother loved hers. It took 3 months for the fracture to heal after surgery. She has a limp.
I have a friend who was in one of those rehab centers after she broke her femur in two places and had surgery. Place offered nothing in the way of intellectual stimulation. As far as they were concerned, the patients could just sleep the days and nights away.
That’s why I agree with my mom on going home. And there are some great at-home caregivers out there.
Slim, please contact me off-site?
I’m at dee-vee-ess-enn -tee-tee at bee-enn-eye-ess dot net
Thanks.
For what it’s worth I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago. I didn’t go to Cedar Sinai hospital for the procedure, it was done here in my home town.
The procedure was laparascopic (what I believe she called “keyhole surgery” in her article). I arrived at 6:30 AM and was discharged 4 hours later. The process was what we call “outpatient” care and was performed at a clinic and not at a hospital.
The total cost, which was covered by my insurance, except for my $500 deductible, was about $8,000 and that included the anesthesiologist, the pre-operation diagnosis (also out patient), the surgeon and the clinic fee.
Definitely more than what it costs in the UK, but much less than what Cedar Sinai charged.
Laparascopic Surgery - 21st century medicine for sure (I’ve had it, too.) Up there with Stem Cell therapies.
Do you remember what the “rack rate” was (cost if your insurance hadn’t been forcing down the price for all its customers)?
The total cost, which was covered by my insurance, except for my $500 deductible, was about $8,000 and that included the anesthesiologist, the pre-operation diagnosis (also out patient), the surgeon and the clinic fee.
Strange—the woman in the article claims that her laproscopic gall-bladder surgery was more on the order of $100K, and that her share of it after insurance was in the $7,500 that you quote as the full cost!
Bev Hills bills at about 10X cost because insurance reimburses at about 1/10 billing–”reasonable and customary,” don’t you know? It’s a vicious cycle.
There is also the patient perception thing. If you have a $100K surgery at Cedar Sinai, it’s presumed you were sicker (a talking point for some…) and got better care than if you had a 12K surgery at UCLA. Cedars, you may recall is the hospital where they left 200-some patients under CT scanners for hours at a time and irradiated them to death a few years back.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
No he doesn’t go to Hollywood. Frankie where in the UK are you?
Up a hill near Manchester. Intrestingly enough Frankie Goes to Hollywood where a band from Liverpool a city i know quite well (well at least I knew it quite well in my youth
)
Medical care in the US is a gamble at best whether you are insured or not.
Costs are 4 times the world average among industrialized nations.
Privatization without strict oversight and regulation of ANY monopoly/captured market is always a mistake.
Corporations will always find the cheaper way to do things even if it kills people.
For you in the UK, your personal costs WILL go up.
Spare change donation jars next to cash registers to pay for sick children’s medical care is just the invisible hand of the free market.
Those stupid kids should have saved up their allowance money before they got sick and asked for nanny state socialism to bail them out.
Another side of the health care cost debate: clueless doctors, and the hospitals that allow them to drive up costs.
On Wednesday I had to stay around until 6:30 pm so a prima donna GI doc could perform a diagnostic procedure on an unfortunate 50-something man who is on public aid. In the GI suite were no less than 6 techs, all of whom were on overtime pay for 2 hours so the doc could get his procedure done. ANd all of them were obviously unhappy about the entire situation.
I, not being shy
asked why he didn’t do the procedure the next day during normal work hours. He replied the man had already waited 2 days. (The patient’s tumor, whatever it is, is inoperable. And remember he’s on public aid.) When I pointed out the overtime costs, he went ballistic on me.
In the end it was all about ego: his, wounded because the hospital had given a block of prime time to a rival GI doc. Why anyone allowed him to schedule a procedure after normal hours is beyond me; maybe their way of apologizing for inconveniencing him. And this happens time after time in hospitals across the country.
The kicker is that we have a system-wide hiring freeze right now. It’s all FUBAR.
Elanor
Wow, what a story. The guys tumor is is inoperable, and with his precious limited time on earth, what they do, that makes the story even more disgusting.
No kidding. I ought to follow up, see if the poor gent got kicked out of the hospital that night. He belongs in hospice, surrounded by his loved ones.
Elanor
It’s people like you, that still gives me hope for the medical profession.
May the doctor who did that have a similar experience, or die alone on the side of the road. Bastardo!
No worries Frankie - look at the announcement of this thread. It allows for OFF-TOPICS.
Three-generation households reach Victorian levels as cost of living forces families to live together
More than 500,000 homes have three generations under same roof
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105656/Three-generation-households-reach-Victorian-levels-cost-living-forces-families-live-together.html#ixzz1nI5SdZ60
If my wife’s parents become more infirm I could be joining them.
West meets East.
Welcome back to the 19th century! (every neocon’s wet dream!)
It’s Downton Abbey, right here in the USA! Minus the staff and the priceless antiques.
At least the women and coloreds knew their place back then. Maybe Rick Santorum can save us all
Good-night mary-ann, goodnight butt-face, goodnight ostrich bill, goodnight bear butt, goodnight bronosaurus butt (whew), good-night big boobs, good-night stuffed-a-couple-socks-in-crotch, goodnight milkman’s product, goodnight john-boy
Goodnight
West Palm Beach business dating back to 1893 faces foreclosure
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 10:54 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
W EST PALM BEACH — You could say Lainhart & Potter built West Palm Beach and the mansions to its east.
Founded in 1893, its lumber was pulled by mule cart to the worksites of Henry Flagler and used in the framing of the Royal Poinciana hotel and The Breakers. Still today, its doors off 25th Street swing open to the smell of cut wood.
But not for much longer. In August, Lainhart & Potter filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. Its property in West Palm Beach and Jupiter will be auctioned April 5 to pay its debts.
The company, the longest continuously operating business in Palm Beach County, has struggled the past several years as the housing bust and economic crash cut off business from the community it helped create.
“We’ve been through hard times before and always worked our way out of it, but this one, this one is too long,” said 84-year-old Ridge McKenna, who married a granddaughter of co-founder George Lainhart and worked for the lumber and building supplies company for 45 years. “The team we have has been with us for a long time, and everybody became family. Seeing that all go away is tough.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/west-palm-beach-business-dating-back-to-1893-2196075.html - -
That slurping sound you heard in 2005-2007 was the sound of victims who had decided to “suck out home equity at the top of the housing bubble”.
The “Robo-Signing” Settlement: Seeds of Recovery, Or Chaos?
2/20/2012 @ 9:37PM
Here regulators should be cautious about efforts to bleed still further dollars out of the banking industry through endless and protracted litigation. Some critics doubt whether the $25 billion settlement reached last week is sufficient punishment for the misdeeds of the banking industry. Others argue—perhaps with even greater justification—that the settlement provides an unjustified windfall to delinquent borrowers who suffered no actual harm as a result of the banks’ shoddy foreclosure practices, and homeowners who are underwater (those who owe more than their houses are worth) often times because of their own decisions to make minimal downpayments or to suck out home equity at the top of the housing bubble (Oklahoma’s Attorney General Scott Pruitt was the lone holdout among state AG’s, refusing to sign the deal because it favors defaulters over those who have paid their mortgages).
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/20/the-robo-signing-settlement-seeds-of-recovery-or-chaos/ - 128k -
The pieces do not all fit together yet, but I would give very good odds that the supposed settlement is crafted to benefit the banks far more than anyone else, and that the taxpayer is footing the bill.
It was called a $30B settlement, then a $40B, now a $25B. No wonder we don’t really know the details.
One thing, if the log jam of foreclosures breaks, we’ll get to watch Peak REO and its aftermath.
The banksters get a “Get out of Jail Free” card, and the underwater homeowners get a fuzzy promise that they may get “help” some time in the future. Maybe. When monkeys fly out of my butt.
“…the settlement provides an unjustified windfall to delinquent borrowers who suffered no actual harm as a result of the banks’ shoddy foreclosure practices, and homeowners who are underwater (those who owe more than their houses are worth) often times because of their own decisions to make minimal downpayments or to suck out home equity at the top of the housing bubble…”
Wasn’t that the point of the settlement? What am I missing here?
Mortgage settlement is too little, too late for many
February 09, 2012|By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times
Real estate consultants Gayle and Ceara Threets lost four Bay Area homes — three to foreclosure and one to a short sale — when the recession hit. The couple, whose decimated credit now forces them to rent, said the settlement should have included provisions to help foreclosed homeowners repair their credit faster.
“People have already lost their homes — you can’t replace that,” said Ceara, 37. “The thing that would really help is if there was a way for homeowners who have lost their homes to come back to the market faster instead of having to wait.”
Bank of America then stopped accepting her payments and told her she no longer qualified for the modified loan, she said. Hosking, who lost her job as a security guard in November 2010, was told that she owed $34,000 immediately on her home of 30 years — a number that failed to factor in the $14,400 she had paid over the past year, she said.
Unable to pay, she was forced to move. After she showed up in local news coverage of the Occupy protest, Bank of America said it would help refinance her loan — but only after she landed a job, she said.
Thursday’s settlement, she said, offers a mere pittance.
“Look at what it’s cost me, the emotions I’ve had to go through,” said Hosking, who said she’s lost 25 pounds since August. “They want to give me $2,000? That’s nowhere near enough. Why would they think they could buy their way out of this?”
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/09/business/la-fi-mortgage-people-20120210 - 48k -
Guzman, 61, bought the home in 2001 for $211,000….. said he tried to pay off some of his $500,000 debt….
“I’m just waiting for somebody to crush me.”
Priceless!
“Guzman, 61, bought the home in 2001 for $211,000. When he added a room several years later, he took out a risky, adjustable-rate loan, which he quickly realized was “a balloon that was going to explode.”
Hey, give the guy a break- he added a room! A $300,000 room to a $200,000 house. Great plan.
Samuel Guzman, 61, hairdresser, $500k debt?
“When he added a room several years later, ”
Never use vagueries if you can use specifics. Something like “When he added a family room in 2005″ would have been better info and taken the same amount of column space. This should have been caught by an editor.
The Hosking case is interesting:
“Hosking was told that she owed $34,000 immediately on her home of 30 years”
What did you do with the money, Virginia?
“After her husband died in 2010, the institution refused to let Hosking replace his name on their modified loan with that of her son, she said.”
Why would it have helped to put her son’s name on the mortgage? If the son had the money, couldn’t he have given money to Mom without putting his name on it the mortgage and saved the home that way?
I’m guessing that nobody has any money, but the son has yet to trash his credit report. So many behave as if credit is the same thing as cash. Certainly the settlement is a pittance. But there I have limited sympathy for those who persistently failed to live within their means and gone into greater and greater debt as a result. Of course I also have little sympathy for those lenders who have failed to follow the well settled if somewhat complicated steps required to keep their loans secured by real property and engaged in or hired others to engage in forgery and fraud to make up for that fact.
Lyrics to Satisfaction :
I can’t get no Loan reduction
I can’t get no Loan reduction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m drivin’ in my car
And that man comes on the radio
He’s tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no Loan reduction
I can’t get no Loan reduction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m watchin’ my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How low my bills can be
But he can’t be right ’cause he doesn’t know
How long I`ve lived for free
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get Loan reduction
I can’t get no Refi suction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m ridin’ round the hood
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signing that
And I’m talkiin’ to some bank girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
‘Cause you see I’m on losing streak
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
I can’t get no Loan reduction
No Loan reduction, no Loan reduction, no Loan reduction
+1 for “refi suction.”
“+1 for “refi suction.” ”
That was a nice touch.
“+1 for “refi suction.” ”
“That was a nice touch.”
We have a spin-off
Grand Funk Railroad - The Locomotion Lyrics
Anywhere USA 2005-2007
Everybody’s doin’ a brand new dance now
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
I know you’ll get to like it
If you give it a chance now
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
All my fuqin`neighbors say they do it with ease
It’s easier than learning your a b c’s
So come on, come on,
Do the refi-suction with me
You gotta move your lips now
Come on baby, pump up, your shack
Oh well I think you got the knack
Now that you can do it
Let’s buy a gold chain now
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
Take some nice vacation and get out of this rain now
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
Do it nice and easy now don’t lose control
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul
So come on, come on,
Do the refi-suction with me
Well you can board cruise ships now
Come on, come on,
Do the refi-suction with me
Yeah
Chug chug (sampling)
Go and buy a car with your new refi-suction
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
Tell youself your fine cause` it`s a new tax deduction
(C’mon baby do the refi-suction)
There’s never been a scam that’s so easy to do
You`re glad you bought your house
Way back in 2002
So come on, come on
Do the refi-suction with me
Come on, come on,
Do the refi-suction with me
Yeah
Come on, come on,
Do the refi-suction with me
You gotta flap your lips now
END:
(repeat & fade
This article was a laugh-a-minute.
What an entitled bunch of whiners…
Guzman said he knew for roughly five years that his “risky, adjustable-rate loan” that he took out in a ridiculous amount ($300K over purchase??) was going to “explode”, but he did nothing to change the situation, like, say refi??? Dolt.
The Threets’ are quite the vicims, but three rentals presumably producing rent, but somehow didn’t manage to make the payments on any of them. My heart bleeds for these RE pros who drank their own kool-aid.
Hosking I at least feel for because her husband died, and she lost her job in the same year. But obviously they should have had some life insurance to guard against the risk of an earner passing away. And the whole bit about the bank not letter her son be on the mortgage is nonsense; banks are always happy to have MORE people on the line to repay any debt. They probably didn’t qualify for a refi even between the two of them, or she didn’t want the son on the title (which the bank will not accept if he is on the mortgage).
There’s a lot of good schadenfreude in this one short article…
Oh yeah, and I forgot the other wonderful emotion displayed: envy.
Yee, who is behind on his mortgage and is upset that others are getting free government cheese, and there is none for him…
“But it’s upsetting that the government would implement all these different funds, but I’m not able to get any of it.”
That’s good schadenfreude right there…
Realtors Are Liars®
Realtor, wife accused of massive loan fraud
By John Langeler
Fox 5 San Diego Reporter
9:51 p.m. PST, February 21, 2012
SAN DIEGO — Federal prosecutors Tuesday indicted a prominent Mira Mesa realtor, his wife and seven employees of defrauding banks and home buyers of more than $50 million.
An indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges Eric and Charmagne Elegado masterminded a scheme to use fraudulent documents to obtain home loans for more than 100 unqualified buyers between 2002 and 2007. They conspired with seven of Eric’s employees at E Real Estate and Loans, Inc., in a scheme that cost banks at least $15 million, prosecutors said.
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/kswb-mira-mesa-realtor-eric-elegato-wife-accused-of-massive-loan-fraud-20120221,0,7684331.story - 127k
I didn`t know that “unqualified buyers” even existed between 2002 and 2007. I knew there were a lot of unqualified payers but not “unqualified buyers”.
They lied on their mortgage app. Realtors encouraged it(wink wink), mortgage salesmen looked the other way. The obvious outcome is default.
Now there is a whole lot of pandering for principal reductions.
Did any of you ever *think*….. “why are realtors, mortgage salesmen and everyone else involved in the housing scam championing principal reductions??
“Did any of you ever *think*….. “why are realtors, mortgage salesmen and everyone else involved in the housing scam championing principal reductions??”
No but I think you have the beginning of a joke there…
A Realtor and a mortgage salesmen walk into a bar and ask the bartender… Do you serve Deadbeats here?
Take this one and rework it.
A man walked into a bar, leading an alligator by a leash. He asked the bartender, “Do you serve lawyers here?”
“Sure do,” said the bartender.
“Good,” replied the man. “Give me a beer, and I’ll have a lawyer for my alligator.”
I`VE GOT IT!
A renter walked into a bar, leading an alligator by a leash. He asked the bartender, “Do you serve Deadbeats here?”
lmao…
We gotta have a northeast HBB meet. You(do u every head back to CT?), me, mugzster, Carrie, Polly, etc.
I`m going to be going back to Old Greenwich pretty soon to see Mom. She`s gettin on in years and the last time I was home was for my Dad`s funeral about 6 years ago. I`ll let you know when, I`ll take you to Augies for lunch in Cos Cob if it`s still there. They had great Rubens. Augie banned me for life about 31 years ago but he died about 12 years ago so I went there for lunch the last time I was home.
Why did the Realtor cross the road?
Because those were the terms of his sign-twirling job.
Hey!
U2!
Jeff,
Anywhere in CT is good with me. Prolly western CT for the NY/NJ contingent and those further west.
Hows Auggies pastrami. Anygood?
“A Realtor and a mortgage salesmen walk into a bar and ask the bartender… Do you serve Deadbeats here?”
…and then walk the tab.
“We gotta have a northeast HBB meet. You (do u every head back to CT?), me, mugzster, Carrie, Polly, etc.
I’ve been thinking we needed to do that. Was thinking about a meet up in Saratoga Springs sometime if you were trying to get the whole northeast contingent.
Whenever you start planning it, please don’t keep it a secret! I would definitely drive for such a meetup.
I’m not keen on Saratoga(dumb-ass country) but I’ll be there in mid-late July for an obligation.
Perhaps if you pretended to be someone else, because you could fog a mirror and they couldn’t?
I think the writer meant to say “unqualified borrowers”…
What a bunch of worry warts. Pay no attention to that large looming black cloud, take your Canadian equity down to Miami and pay cash for a couple of condos. When it all falls apart it ain’t your fault anyway, your a victim.
Bank of Canada worries about potential for debt shock
Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:02pm EST
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada warned again about rising household debt on Thursday, saying Canadians could “experience a significant shock if house prices were to reverse”.
Last year Canada posted a ratio of debt to income of 153 percent, above that in the United States. The central bank says it is concerned that low interest rates are persuading Canadians to take on too much debt.
In the introduction to the latest edition of the Bank of Canada Review, a collection of articles on the economy and central banking, the bank said there had been a increase in both household indebtedness and real house prices since 2000.
“These facts are interrelated, since rising house prices can facilitate the accumulation of debt. Households could therefore experience a significant shock if house prices were to reverse,” it said.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE81M1AT20120223
“The central bank says it is concerned that low interest rates are persuading Canadians to take on too much debt.”
The central banks lowered interest rates to persuade Canadians to do what?
To prevent the USA from adjusting exchange rates too far. We would have stopped buying from Canada and they would have started buying from us. Can’t have that.
So, as the USA attempts to use monetary policy to reverse trade imbalanes, the rest of the world fights back with lower interest rates, prompting their own debt bubbles.
I submit, interest rates are a poor means of attempting to balance trade. I propose a more direct attack on trade imbalances, such as a tariff on money leaving the country.
I know this is off topic, but seriously, if I hear the song “I Will Always Love You” one mo’ time, I’m gonna bust a cap in…,well, something or other. Please, mommy, Make. It. Stop.
Just a suggestion: Turn the radio and TV off.
I’m tellin’ ya. You’re right, of course. But you almost can’t avoid it when you switch on the box before you even change the channel, or the radio when searching the dial, or while in the waiting room while your tire is being changed, etc. On the news, chat shows, home page, etc. etc. etc.
LOL, reminds me of when I wuz a pup in college and Jefferson Starship’s Red Octopus album came out and “Miracles” was a huge, I mean HUGE hit. I was in my dorm room with the stereo on, playing that song, and all of a sudden I see this geeky guy who lived a few doors down the hall, standing in the doorway to my room, all red-faced and quivering with irritation, his fists balled up at his side. He says: “Does everyone have to play that freakin’ song, over and Over and OVER??????????”
Zappa’s “bobby brown” was to far too popular song one year in my dorm.
you didn’t happen to go to w&m?? I think i could still reel that one off the top of my head right now.
In our co-ed dorm, some guy woke himself up every morning w/Pat Benetar’s “Hit Me w/Your Best Shot”. It was 1991. Yeah, I had a shot I wanted to hit him w/alright but more it was more like buckshot.
Maybe you’re experiencing some delayed karmic justice, palmetto.
“Turn the radio and TV off.”
That’s thinking outside the box!
I turned mine off. It’s so much better now that I get the “real news” from the Drudge Report
We gather that you are fond of the Drudge Report.
You have gathered correctly sir. He occasionally posts links to what could be considered “news”, sprinkled among the latest outrage du jour stories from reputable sources like the UK Daily Mail and breitbart.com.
Just change the lyrics in your head.
I Will Never Pay You.
That should make it more tolerable.
Bustin` a cap in something or other is frowned upon in most staes unless it`s hunting season. Anyway I usually call my Mom on Friday nights so I`ll ask her if she can make it stop, I don`t think she can though. I am guessing you did not take the seat Bobby Brown left open last weekend at his wife`s funeral.
“I’ll Never Pay You.
That should make it more tolerable.”
Awesome! I can sense another Jeff Saturday HBB classic in the makings…
If I should pay
I’d be throwing my money awaaaay…
Elanor, that’s a great opener! Awesome!
C’mon, you guys need to get on this one, it’s too good to pass up!
So I stay
And I wait
For the sheriff to knock on the dooooor
But Iiiii will never pay youuu, no I
Will never pay you
Bittersweet fantasies
Of living on government cheeeeese
that’s all I got
End of verse:
Bittersweet fantasies
Of living on government cheeeeese
How I hope
For reprieve
So I won’t have to trash the place and leeeeeave
Oh Aih-ee-aih will ne-ver pay you!
No I will ne-ver pay you
Oh Banksta, I will never pay you!
I like it!
“Cause ah-e-ah-e-ah… will ne-ver pay you!”
Maybe it would easier if you visualized Dolly Parton’s
:razz:
Meredith Whitney on the Mortgage Market
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000074615
From the transcript:
“fannie and freddie are effectively subsidizing unprofitable mortgages that the banks wouldn’t put on their balance sheet. that’s not sustainable and ultimately the taxpayer is paying the bill for it. the banks used to price profitable loans and you know, they’re a myriad of loan products that they’re still not pricing for profits. and that’s the regulators fault and it’s the also the bank’s fault. i wonder at this point, you could almost say that the policy by the federal reserve, which in your view, you know, the benefits are not being seen in some of the negative consequences, we don’t know what they are but they might exist out there. and some of the stock market activities, some of the asset inflation that we’re seeing might not be completely justified if you had a fed that wasn’t quite so accommodating. you’ve mispriced assets everywhere. there’s no doubt about it. the, because i think at the it’s got to be so clear to every policy maker that the low rate environment is not helping anyone and it’s not helping the system and it’s just leading to other bubbles. that’s a straightforward — what’s the fed to do. if they can’t use the tools they’ve traditionally relied on to try to juice the economy and get things going along and they don’t think there’s going to be any help from congress and the administration because they can’t agree on anything. if the economy doesn’t turn and you’re still looking at 2% to 2.5% growth and unemployment that’s above 8%, are they supposed to just sit back and watch that at that point? i think the fed has done everything they could. and now the fed, people are looking at the fed as having all the answers and they can’t have all the quick fixes. now we’re getting into issues where you have to have policy, you have to have major policy changes.”
Riddle me this…….
Is there some particular reason that Subaru drivers (especially those with Colorado tags) feel compelled to cover the backs of their cars with bumper stickers?
(Bumper stickers are an affront to a civilized society. It’s like yelling your opinion/viewpoint into the face of your neighbor, and not permitting him a chance to reply).
See above post. The “coexist” bumper sticker is the unofficial Boulder parking permit.
(So Ca) ad nauseam around here -”coexist” bumper sticker craze.
It replaced the “baby on board” eye vomit.
And the one that is so narcissistic I want to puke is:
“my grandchild is cuter than yours”
(but off to their religious fashion show weekly)
Sometime recently I remember hearing some kind of report/study say that you are most likely to get a road-rage type of reaction from people with lots of bumper stickers. The surprised part was that it didn’t matter whether it was Coexist stickers or NRA stickers. People of all political persuasions who put a lot of stickers on their car are apparently much more comfortable with conflict than the rest of us.
I think that Subi drivers tend to be a bit “left over sixties counter culture granola” and would often fit in as characters in Portlandia…
The Saab and Volvo driver, circa 1970-90, has migrated to Subaru.
Here in Tucson, they seem to like electric cars. Or hybrids like the Prius.
Heard a story about a guy on the highway who saw a Prius with a McCain/Palin sticker. The poor guy was so surprised he almost crashed the car.
I think that Subi drivers tend to be a bit “left over sixties counter culture granola” and would often fit in as characters in Portlandia…
YMMV, Here in the Centennial State Subies are popular with non granola munchers.
Here in the Centennial State Subies are popular with non granola munchers.
Same with the Seattle folks. A large number of the animal rescue folks I work with are subie drivers as well, and very not granola-y…
And now for something completely different.
Phoenix wanted to create more activity downtown to increase real estate prices and justify building $1 condos and other such non-sense. One of the things they did to further this goal was open an ASU Downtown campus where they located both the journalism and medical schools.
To help feed students into the ASU medical downtown campus, they also worked with the city and local businesses to create the Bioscience High School.
What the heck is the Bioscience High School? Well it is a free public school with limited enrollment. You have to apply to enroll and be accepted. Their target is 100 students per grade for a total of 400 for the school. Every student that gets in is assumed to be an honors student. The honors material is integrated right into the general ciriculum.
They do things like instead of having separate classes for math and science they have a single class called Phalgabra with is an integration of physical science and algebra. Teach them a little math, then show them some science that uses that math, then a little more math, then some more science… Every freshman takes both phalgebra and bilology, in addition to a similarly integrated english and social studies. This leaves the only decision “Spanish, French or Chinese”.
Initially, they had just the bioscience focus. Last year they added an engineering track. Their Jr. Year they can pick whether they want to be in the equivialnt of AP biology or AP physics by their sr. year. Either way, every student is in the equivialnt of AP Calculus and AP English Composition by thier sr. year.
Every student, upon acceptance, is already able to pass the AIMS (our version of the standardized tests that schools teach to these days). Becasue of that, they don’t have to teach to the tests and can focus on what they call, “A higher level of understanding”.
In effect, they are cherry pikcing the best students from all the jr. highs, and putting them into one high school full of just “the cream of the crop”. 5 years the school has been open, not a single fight. No bullying. No drugs. Their main disciplinary issue? Misuse of the laptop that every student is issued.
They don’t teach to the SAT, but their average score is up around the 95% rank. 2 graduating classes, they have had 3 students accepted to Ivy League schools. Several students have gone to MIT. Part of their senior year project is to apply to both UoA and ASU, and not a single student has not been accepted.
Part of me thinks this is awesome. Why hold back the smart kids? This is the part of me that just had his 13 y/o genious daughter accepted to this school.
Part of me is concerned. By pulling the best of the best out of other high schools, we take away resources from those shcools. Had half of the best students been pulled out of my high school, there would not have been enough kids left to justify having an AP calculus nor AP physics.
What if we start to do more of this on the low end. Take the worst students and put them in a shcool of just the worst of the worst? At what age do we write someone off as not fit to do anything more complicated than sweeping the floor and emptying the trash cans?
My son is the opposite of his sister. He has strugled with both math and physical science. He’s had some disciplinary issues. At 14, should we have written him off as unteachable? He’s a great reader, writer, artistic. He has even aced biology, government and history. He’s 2nd in command for his Air Force JROTC class. But, based on his STEM skills, would he have been written off and dumped in the “stupid person school”?
Thoughts on separating people into different high schools by skills/abilities starting at 13/14 years old?
Creating exam entry magnet schools within the public school system is one of the best ways to keep upper middle class kids in the public schools in urban areas.
The best high school in NJ is an exam entrance school - McNair in Jersey City. This school outperforms the public high school in Princeton, where, presumably, many children of the employees of a somewhat well-known university, attend. Out performs the fancy places where upper middle class New Yorkers (who would be very, very wealthy almost anywhere else) retreat when they figure out that private school for the two kids is going to cost $80K a year and they can’t swing it on top of the costs of a three bedroom co-op. New York City has several exam entry high schools. The Washington area has some magnet school programs which may or may not require exams to enter. I think the science one in Virginia does. Boston Latin is an exam entry public school. I went to college with a guy who went to a public school math/science magnet in North Carolina that took in students from all over the state - he started living in a dorm at 13 or 14. I’ve never heard of anyone diverting students to a “dumb ones” magnet school even though the programs for students who are particularly gifted have been around for decades.
What is the big deal?
This practice is common in Europe and Britain.
My high school in a mid-size Midwest city in the early 1970s used to bus students downtown to the local community college for AP classes, with students from the other public high schools. Saved the system a lot of money, and we kids loved pretending to be college students while hanging out in the student union.
Bronx Science has been around since 1938
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx_High_School_of_Science
I don’t see anything wrong with providing talented kids with a special program where they can excel.
HOWEVER, I find our society’s lack of interest in providing a reasonable education to all (hopefully) future taxpayers to be troubling and short sighted.
Other societies do do a shunting into academic/practical tracks at around that age… I’m not sure if that is good or bad in the long run. Testing like you refer to seems a bit of a crude implement for judging long term potential.
Wish I had a solution.
I believe Steve Job’s high school gpa put him in the low Bs. There is intelligence and that will usually get you up a few rungs. But there also needs to be confidence, vision, and tenacity for intelligence to be turned into $$$$. Can we teach those? Have the parents ferreted those skill sets out? Can the child who does not have confidence and/or tenacity but intelligence only become inspired along the way? Will a child that does not have it all only become intimidated in the higher caliber environment when he/she might have taken babysteps in the safer generalized environment?
Also pre-high school would be a great time to know what you were going to do for the rest of your life. I do think there are many kids that have seen enough of the options to decide. But many don’t. If that school puts them on a track which is not where they’ll end up, what have they missed? Will it be a liability if they go into something completely different later?
Good luck. Lucky you to be in that position.
The interesting thing is, they don’t use GPA or even a standardized test for admission to Bioscience high school. Sure, they check their jr. high AIMS score as a way to eliminate some applicants, but that is not the primary determinante. Some kids with high AIMS dont’ get in and some with barely passing do get in. They talk to their teachers to check attitude and potential, then interview the children.
I have a lot to say about this, since my primary function is overseeing the creation of four similar magnet programs in my current district. My only issue here, is that the entire school separate.
I gotta put the kiddos to bed, but I have more to write… back in a few!
Here are some random thoughts about the issue (in no particular order):
1. If districts operate under district or state grading measures, then it is unfair to create “super” schools. This also brings equal access issues, not because of the bioscience kids, but the risk of concentrating ESOL, ESE, 504,etc. populations.
2. You are correct that concentrating these kids reduces course options for other non-magnet kids. Physics and calculus are perfect examples.
3. In Florida, these programs are embedded in a high school as a magnet. I am surprised Phoenix has entire campuses dedicated to one program, although that brings savings by reducing redundancy in materials, especially something like a bioscience program.
4. The geography of any given district is a factor in locating these programs. How near is the nearest kid? How far is the farthest kid?
5. In general, test scores can be used as a screen, but your bioscience school (if it doesn’t already) should have an appeal process to allow students to plead their case. I just completed this process for the 2012-2013 school year in my district, and was amazed by a student who completely leveled the appeal committee despite low test scores.
6. Another issue of having an entirely separate campus, as you’ve noted, is not allowing other students to jump in to take singletons or a partial track. I am fighting this battle right now, and losing. I am strongly on favor of co-locating these magnets for this reason.
7. Magnets are a strong mover in school turnaround if done correctly. This means that all of the students are expected to interact and located about the school I.E. the bioscience kids sit on the gen. ed science wing and so on. This move alone can make or break a school/magnet. If you have separate buildings on one campus, it creates and us/them split that usually creates tension with staff and students.
8. A popular school reform measure that pisses many teacher off, but that I agree with, if having teachers teach at least two preps. In the case of the bioscience school, not only are you concentrating your best students, you are also likely concentrating your best teachers. At all of the schools I have seen turn around, the bext physics teacher also teachers a class or two of physical science and so on.
9. I love these programs. I didn’t mention that. I truly love stuff like this and wish I had access to something like this when I was in high school. They need to be implemented with a lot of consideration, but they’re great.
This is so sad, Darrell.
My public high school (mid-1960’s) offered all this and more. College acceptance rate for 1400 students was 99%. (Including 2-year JC’s.) What we had as a matter of course in our California public schools then is now only offered at elite private institutions here– at $20K+/year.
Separating? No. Less cubbyholeing, yes. There was an interview with the guy who started up the Khan academy on YouTube(Look it up, its probably the future of learning on the internet) about how you have a group of 10 kids, you give them a new math problem, one gets it right away, 5-6 of them get it after 2 examples, and that last couple of kids miss it. Because they miss it because there isn’t time to go over it until they do get it, because that takes away from the other 8 kids, they will always fall a little bit farther behind in math as they years go on, whereas if they had had a chance to have maybe 2-3 more examples to try, they might have gotten it, and kept up.(badly paraphrased from the interview)
The problem is, schools are designed to mass produce education for the center of the bell curve of the population. You lose the top kids who get bored and don’t have a chance to meet their potential, and you lose the bottom kids because they need an extra hand, and there are too many kids, and teachers and education are looked down upon.
Another example I heard of the problem of non-conforming kids and education, from Wikipedia:
” Lynne had been underperforming at school, so her mother took her to the doctor and explained about her fidgeting and lack of focus. After hearing everything her mother said, the doctor told Lynne that he needed to talk to her mother privately for a moment. He turned on the radio and walked out. He then encouraged her mother to look at Lynne, who was dancing to the radio. The doctor noted that she was a dancer, and encouraged Lynne’s mother to take her to dance school.” The daughter was Gillian Lynne, who went on to do the choreography for Cats, among other things. If she hadn’t gotten the right Dr., she would have been shot full of Ritalin or something because she wasn’t fitting the average.
What we drastically need is MAJOR overhaul of education in this country, but right now in our society, being educated is frowned upon, as is science and reason. This is a VERY BAD THING ™.
“The avg IQ in America is 84. This means half are even lower.”
- George Carlin (paraphrase)
Sounds like Carlin didn’t know the difference between average and median…
A few extreme outliers can skew an average so that way more than half are above or below average.
Median does not suffer from this problem; half are above the median, and half are below the median, by definition.
half are above the median, and half are below the median, by definition.
Assuming a sufficient spread of discrete values, of course. In the extreme, 100% of the population could be exactly equal to the median, in which case what I wrote wouldn’t be true.
I’m guessing Carlin DID know the difference but he thought his audience wouldn’t.
“The median IQ in America…..” probably woulda confused some folks. Then again, maybe that proves the point!
Er, “average/median”, that’s part of the joke.
The son of a college friend had a very challenging habit when he was a toddler. He enjoyed opening the kitchen cabinets, dumping the contents on the floor, and banging on them.
His parents decided to get him tested.
They learned that he had quite a bit of musical talent, and they decided to encourage it. He grew up, went to Juilliard, and is now playing in the Metropolitan Opera’s orchestra.
Good thing they didn’t discourage his curiosity and all that pot banging.
Good story. I am glad that it happened a while ago. These days, they might have just put him in some expensive drugs rest of his life.
That’s a little hard to believe. How can a test determine whether a toddler has the potential to become a great musician? I assume that it was potential and not actually talent that was discerned, unless that pot banging sounded really wonderful.
I gather that, from what my friend said, the kid did have some pot banging talent. He wasn’t just hitting the kitchenware at random.
Slim
What’s going on with your parents?
(only if you want to share)
Are you heading out to see them?
I spoke with my mother today. She’s recovering from wrist and hip surgery. She fell on ice and broke both, and was hobbling around on the hip for almost two weeks before realizing that maybe-just-maybe something was wrong with it.
So, she went to the hospital and had it X-rayed. Broken bone. Surgery.
My dad’s kind of like a lost soul. A cadre of neighbors, church members, and Rotarians are looking after him.
I’m working on rustling up the money to pay for airfare to go back there. Point of info to all of you: Southwest Airlines takes PayPal. And I should be getting a nice payment for work done this month by the end of next week.
I’m also awaiting a book contract from an Australian publisher. It’s coming to my street address, and knowing how dumb the Fedex and UPS drivers are around here, it’s the sort of thing that they’d dump here for every lyin’, cheatin’, thievin’ person to run off with. Not the sort of thing you want while you’re trying to plan a trip out of town.
Mom’s okay with my waiting for the contract to come. Meanwhile, my folks’ next-door neighbor is screaming at me to come back east right now!!!
Sorry, Neighbor Dave, but there’s this thing called money. And, right now, I don’t have quite enough for air fare and ground transport. Not to mention that business here has really been slow, I’ve been trying like the dickens to make it pick back up again, and it’s been pretty frustrating.
So, in a nutshell, that’s where I’m at right now.
I’m also awaiting a book contract from an Australian publisher. It’s coming to my street address,
Slim, if you get the tracking information from the sender, you can re-direct to a different address (e.g. of someone local that you trust) using the Fedex websites, generally.
I’m not sure that something arriving via Fedex would be a reason to wait rather than go sooner…
Sorry to hear that the financial pinch is a factor…
AZ Slim,
I hope everything works out. Hang in there!
Slim, do you have a “donate” button on that web site where you uploaded your journal about your erstwhile cross country bicycle trip ? Can you put one on if not, and publish it here?
I would donate for sure, your journal was a great read. Once I started I could not put it down.
I am sorry for being dense, but I did not cut and paste the URLs of your web site for future reference. Would you consider republishing the web site that has the “donate” button?
Thank you!
Maybe classrooms that encourage those students above the center of the bell curve to help those well below it? Too socialist?
News from the nabe:
People facing eviction and foreclosure often report hardly being given the time of day by banks and lenders. But yesterday, three top Wells Fargo executives flew to San Francisco to meet with Alberto Del Rio, a Bernal Heights resident facing foreclosure.
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2012/02/23/after-pressure-occupy-bernal-wells-fargo-execs-fly-across-country-meet-bernal-he
Another victim-less victim story:
Del Rio’s parents purchased their home in 1973. The home was refinanced multiple times, he says “for a better life” for his family.
Bought in 1973, so the initial 30yr mortgage should have been paid-in-full in 2003. Or, almost a decade ago.
Where did all the money go, Del Rio???
It went for a better life apparently. And now that’s over.
Dunno—he is still living in the house for free, and just got a 90-day extension during which he can try to “boost his income”.
Looks like a PR move by the bank…
But the gravy-train should end eventually.
I need to recheck the numbers, but I think I’ve hit a milestone this month…..
After deducting all of my commuting, business, tools, and “Big City in Flyover Country” renting/working/living expenses, I’d take home more money working at the Jiffy Lube in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
“Someday son, this war’s gonna end……….”
I’d take home more money working at the Jiffy Lube in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
Which sounds great, until the last Jiffy-Lube in Oil City closes down and lays you off…
Don’t they also pay for your clothes and laundry at places like Juffy Lube? You might be ahead.
Someone is going to have to explain to me how this “New Paradigm Economy” pencils out.
-Owners of raw materials (especially those that have no “Use By” date; oil, coal, precious metals, minerals needed for manufacturing) make bank.
-Anyone in a “Value Added” occupation/business gets squeezed permanantly from both directions.
-The banksters/1%ers (who conveniently, are also members of Group 1) make bank by buying/foreclosing on Group 2’s assets, or what’s left of them.
The team manager at Jiffy Lube was ready to make me an offer on my car for parts (namely the engine). He had another 97 Taurus that needed one. The idea is absurd because while it has some exterior damange, my car is much more valuable as a driving vehicle, but he had a steady supply of people with cars who might be willing to sell them for parts coming through. Not a bad side business.
LOL. Sounds like the kind of guy I DON’T want working on my car!
“The team manager at Jiffy Lube was ready to make me an offer on my car for parts (namely the engine).”
I wonder if that could work with real estate?
You are asking $250k for your house. But your kitchen and bathrooms are dated and I don`t need the whole house, I just need the 2 car garage. I`ll give ya $75k take it or leave it.
Honestly, GS-fixer, that’s how I got the idea of the Oil City Plan to begin with. I was browsing around the housing in one of the places with the low prices — Buffalo, NY — and found that a livable house could be had for $60K.
I thought, “If you have a husband and wife on minimum wage, that house is still only 2x income. Or if one of them can get a $15/hr job, it’s 2x income and the wife’s income would be gravy.” Then I thought of all those Californians paying 12x income and driving long commutes for the same $15-20/hr job, and thinking: “they would be better of financially if they just moved to podunk.” At the same time, ByeFl was pining to pay cash in Oil City, and it developed from there.
ByeFl
I wonder what ever happened to ByeFL…
He disappeared from this board. I don’t know if Ben gave him the boot, or if he was tired of being ridiculed.
I vaguely miss him. He was unique.
Oly used to take the p1ss out of him. I miss that too.
Ben banned him after he started posting porn links one night.
Kid in his parent’s basement selling used optical equipment on ebay, wonder if he re-emerged here under a different persona?
Persoanlly, I’d up the ante a bit and move to the neighboring town of Franklin. What a nice little place, albeit a bit pricier. I do recall being in OC when there were some great hatches coming off the river in late spring.
I drove through Franklin both ways, to and from my Oil City exploratory trip last July 4th weekend. You are right, it is picturesque, has a living Main Street with pedestrians etc., and has a real small town feel to it. Get two streets off Main St and the housing prices go back to Oil City prices.
I drove through one of those streets on the way back because Main St was blocked off for ten blocks for the Fourth of July parade. Everybody in the entire town turned out for it, or at least that’s the way it seemed.
Oil City had some determined restorations on the good side of town. However - there is a critical mass of such effort in Franklin - based on the four hundred or so houses that I drove by slowly (I did drive back and forth in a grid pattern just to get the feel of the neat, functioning small town - there were no other cars driving, because everybody was walking to the parade, and I waved cheerily at the folks on the sidewalk).
Maybe I imagined it, but it seemed that I was sized up and pegged as a harmless tourist at first glance. I’d feel pretty safe living in Franklin.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-could-pressure-north-korea-tomorrow-quit-100-094000585.html
Zimbabwe Ben has a competitor.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/central-bank-of-georgia-marks-10th-failure-of-2012-2012-02-24-1712380?link=MW_home_latest_news
Pondunk banks allowed to go under, while the mega-fraudsters on Wall Street are allowed to cook their books and maintain ficticious asset values while engaging in a speculative spree with Zimbabwe Ben’s free greenbacks.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/spain-barter-economy-wins-followers-grip-crisis-110524512.html
Barter economies: the next big thing when Zimbabwe Ben’s currency debasement and bankster looting of the productive economy take us to the next level.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/business/global/japan-orders-aij-investment-advisors-to-suspend-operations.html?_r=1
Japanese retirees get Corzined, as a pension fund can’t account for $2.3 billion in pensioner funds after being busted by Japan’s lethargic regulators over false accounting. As they say, when you see one cockroach….
When you see one BIG cockroach, evolutionary considerations suggest others are lurking out of view…
Well I`m glad I held off buying all these years, I would have kicked myself for the rest of my life if I had missed this one that has just been listed.
223 S Beach Rd Hobe Sound, FL 33455
$23,000,000
Estimate My Monthly Payment
Beds:4 Bed
Baths:8 Bath
House Size:10,585 Sq Ft
Lot Size:4.26 Acres
•Master Bedroom is 22 x 20
•Living room is 27 x 23
•Dining room is 18 x 16
•Family room is 28 x 22
•Kitchen is 16 x 16
•Den is 33 x 23
•View
•Pool features: Heated, Inground
•8.1 car garage(s)
Other Features: Cook Island, Elevator, Split Bedrooms, Flooring: Marble, Wood, Bedroom 2 is: 18×14, Bedroom 3 is: 18×14, Bedroom 4 is: 16×14
MLS ID R3258866
FPSS, I was joking last night. My goal in life is not in fact a cheap house. I am showing my kids the wonders of the world.
I’m working on the cooking thing.
Email me!
I write a food blog, and I’m particularly interested in the science of food. I’m sure I can teach you more than a few tricks to get awesome healthy stuff on the table.
PS :- As your grade-school teacher probably told you, you will need to “apply yourself.”
PPS :- I’m a very tough grader but you knew that.
“I write a food blog, and I’m particularly interested in the science of food. ”
Are you aware of/have you read Caldwell Esselstyn’s book on heart disease? I’m 99% compliant with his recommendations (vegan, no oil, whole grain, etc.).
Morning coffee and night wine are my only sins.
Morning coffee and night wine are my only sins.
And both of those are good for you…
Within limits, but then so is water…
All things in moderation, right?
“Morning coffee and night wine are my only sins.”
Professor Bear approves, and would go so far as to suggest this pair of habits is far less harmful to your health (so long as you don’t overdo it) than the refrigerator full of caffeinated colas some of my wife’s LDS relatives enjoy.
Uh, how do I email you?
Good Q.
Guess I’m wrong. Apparently, there’s no way to do that.
cba DOT fed DOT ihg AT gmail DOT com
Hey FPSS, I’d love to check out your food blog. Mind posting a link, or is it alright to email you? (Didn’t want to assume that was an open invite…)
cba DOT fed DOT ihg AT gmail DOT com
I’m hanging on to that, just in case. But FYI, there is a 0% probability I will be taking my daughter on a visit to NYU this spring, based on my experience with her this weekend.
based on my experience with her this weekend.
Ooooo, sounds like there’s an interesting story there…