Bits Bucket for March 3, 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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March 1, 2012 10:29 AM
Foreclosure sales a sign of what’s to come
By Ilyce Glink
There’s good and bad news on the foreclosure front: Foreclosure-related sales rose in the last quarter of 2011 but fell slightly year-over-year, according to RealtyTrac’s latest U.S. foreclosure sales report.
During the fourth quarter of 2011, foreclosure sales accounted for 24 percent of all U.S. residential sales, up 4 percent in the previous quarter. Despite the increase, foreclosure-related sales fell 2 percent year-over-year.
Brandon Moore, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac, believes the quarter-over-quarter number is a better indicator of what’s to come:
“Sales of foreclosures in the fourth quarter continued to be slowed by questions surrounding proper foreclosure paperwork and procedures. Even so, foreclosures accounted for nearly one in every four sales during the quarter and for the entire year. We expect to see foreclosure-related sales [to] increase in 2012, particularly pre-foreclosure sales, as lenders start to more aggressively dispose of distressed assets held up by the mortgage servicing gridlock over the past 18 months.”
“We continued to see a shift toward pre-foreclosure sales, or short sales, and away from REO sales in the fourth quarter,” Moore wrote in a press release Thursday. He expects the trend to continue through 2012, as lenders recognize short sales as a better option for delinquent loans.
“During the fourth quarter of 2011, foreclosure sales accounted for 24 percent of all U.S. residential sales, up 4 percent in the previous quarter. Despite the increase, foreclosure-related sales fell 2 percent year-over-year.”
Sounds like the rate of foreclosures is picking up steam…try not to get yourself steamrolled.
“Sales of foreclosures in the fourth quarter continued to be slowed by questions surrounding proper foreclosure paperwork and procedures.
What are the remaining questions? No, you can’t lie and commit fraud on the courts anymore. You have to follow the laws that have been on the books for several centuries. There’s nothing new or complicated about that.
They act like it’s some new and bizarre twist- that they have to follow the law. I guess they never planned on obeying the law, since being forced to do so seems to be blowing their minds.
They act like it’s some new and bizarre twist
For them it is.
in Ottawa, we did have an intellectual bomb thrower. He’s doing time right now.
Some former high-end homeowners are having their heads handed to them in baskets.
‘How we’re losing our multi-million dollar home’
By Jessica Dickler @CNNMoney March 2, 2012: 11:33 AM ET
Million dollar foreclosure: The Buchanans’ $2 million home
See inside this million-dollar foreclosure.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Like millions of Americans, Joanne and John Buchanan are facing foreclosure. But at a value of more than $2 million, the home they stand to lose isn’t your average delinquency.
For the Buchanans, it’s the dream house they built from the ground up in a resort community near Breckenridge, Colo., in 2003. It took them almost two years and about $2.2 million to build — and soon they will have to move out.
foreclosure fiasco
For years, homeowners at the high end of the housing market were able to postpone the foreclosure process, but now multi-million dollar homes are becoming more commonplace in America’s foreclosure pipeline. In fact, America’s wealthiest families are now losing their homes to foreclosure at a faster rate than the rest of the country, according to RealtyTrac.
Out of all foreclosure activity, the share of foreclosures on multi-million dollar properties — or homes valued at more than $2 million — has jumped by 273% since 2007.
For the Buchanans, losing the six-bedroom estate they helped design was unimaginable at one time, but now it seems unavoidable.
…
What a waste. You build out there to be one with nature and you build this monstrosity. Ego’s of want-a-be’s have no bounds. This is pure ego and stupidity.
You should see what the egomaniacs are building in Lake Tahoe now. Unimaginable filth.
Grizzly,
You use language to express contempt in a way very similar to mine. It’s catchy.;)
If they built the house from ground up, they are themselves 100% responsible for the cost of construction which I assume is a big chunk of the $2.2M. They cannot blame the market. The market can be held responsible for the value of the land but not for their stupidity.
The high-end folks who ran out of money seem to be in the bonecrushing phase of the Housing Bubble Stages of Grief.
Multi-million dollar foreclosures
Atlanta, Ga.
Asking price: $3.7 million
Because of its sheer size (22,000 square feet) and Mediterranean-style architecture, this estate is unlike any other home in the area, said listing broker Suzanne Close.
It initially hit the market nearly three years ago for $5.9 million. After the bank took possession of the property in 2011, it was re-listed for $3.7 million.
Built in 2006 on 3 1/2 acres, this home was made for people who love to cook — or, have someone cook for them. There are four kitchens inside (two on the main level, one in the guest suite and an additional one in the basement), as well as an outdoor kitchen near the pool area with gas and charcoal grills and a pizza oven.
Other pricey details include hand wrought iron work, travertine floors and limestone around the pool deck.
For more information: Atlanta Fine Homes
Outside of Cordon Bleu, nobody needs four kitchens. Nobody. I have yet to see anyone even use all six-burners on a six-burner stove.
I routinely use all four burners on my stove.
I’m the kinda person who would actually use the six burners. It would be clearly be a convenience not a necessity but there’s a lot to be said about convenience if you cook as much as I do.
I agree that most people don’t need it but your argument about Cordon Bleu is probably wrong.
I cook a lot and I can see the convenience of two ovens as well, though I’ve never had them.
The appropriateness of these tools depends on how frequently you use them.
If you’re a regular/power user, the slightest amount of convenience magnifies itself a lot. It eliminates certain elements and tedium, saves time, and more importantly frees you up to do more complex tasks in a more complex order.
I cook regularly in friend’s houses who have barely a skillet and a pot and one stirrer (!!!) and quite typically, a fairly poor knife. I am perfectly capable of doing a bang-up job but it slows everything down, and it’s a frustrating experience for me and for them.
(Typical conversation: “Do you have X?” NO “Do you have Y? NO …. etc.)
I call it going camping.
Another example is that I have a “fancy” timer which allows you to program four times independently. This really frees you up to do very complex tasks in an interleaved fashion that you’d otherwise be forced to do sequentially. The timer is an offload that allows me to do other stuff and it will interrupt me to get back to a previous task at precisely the right time.
Could I make do with a simple kitchen timer with a twist knob?
Probably.
Would I want to?
Definitely not. I use all four timers, and they make my life easier.
Now this is not an expensive device but it’s a representative example of how a good tool gives you convenience and frees you up to do more complex tasks.
We have double decker ovens. We’ve put them to good use many times.
“I’m the kinda person who would actually use the six burners.”
Agreed. When cooking an Indian feast from the Ajanta cookbook (that’s a plug), I was thinking, “Just two more burners (or even one)!” Got the app, main, rice, veg, dessert and bread in the oven. Enough food to last all week. That gives me an idea for tomorrow…
The need for those extra burners only happens a few times a year and I wouldn’t spend mega bucks for a 6 burner range, but if it fell in my lap, I would definitely use it.
I wouldn’t spend mega bucks for a 6 burner range,
Brazil has a lot of inexpensive 6 burner ranges. I cooked on someone’s last week.
Six burners are also good when your stove is electric- it allows you to quickly go from high heat to low heat- by switching burners. (Inability to quickly reduce your heat being one of the major problems with cooking on electric burners.)
BTW- Long ago, I studied at Le Cordon Bleu- we cooked on four burner stoves, and usually shared one with another student. Taught you how to work in tight conditions- a good skill for the restaurant world.
+1 on the electric.
That’s my number one criterion for a place. No electric. Thankfully, in NYC, that’s not really a problem. All gas. Works for me.
I am told that modern induction stovetops can switch like gas. Very quickly. Haven’t had a chance to work with one ever so this is all just reviews, etc.
Working in a tight spot is kinda key for most NYC kitchens. I have a large kitchen (by NYC standards.) You should see how carefully it’s decked out to support my insanely large pantry and cooking habits. No space wasted.
I’m the kinda person who would actually use the six burners.
and fancy timers
(picture of me doing a polite bow)
I do every big holiday dinner for the family, I could easily use all six burners.
‘this estate is unlike any other home in the area, said listing broker Suzanne Close.’
Uh, Suzanne did research this one this time.
Ongoing San Diego home price declines flummox the experts!
HOUSING: San Diego County house prices down 5th month in a row in December
By ERIC WOLFF ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 5:00 pm
Monthly Case-Shiller home price index through December 2011 with the North County median house price for the low, high and most recent
HOUSING: Nervous buyers, high supply to hold back house prices for years, Fannie Mae economist says
San Diego County house prices fell a fifth consecutive month in December and for the 11th month in a row on an annual basis, a widely respected index said Tuesday.
The report from Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index closed the books on a year of low house prices and slow sales. Despite record low interest rates, potential homebuyers stayed out of the house-buying market much of the year, driving down prices.
House prices in San Diego County in December dropped 0.7 percent from November and 5.4 percent from December 2010. In Riverside County, the median home price fell 3 percent in December from December 2010 to $194,000, according to La Jolla data firm DataQuick.
“Why did we hit this big decline year-over-year at a time when interest rates are as slow as they’ve ever been?” said Mark Goldman, an instructor at the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University. “Affordability is very strong right now.”
…
“…when interest rates are as slow as they’ve ever been…”
Did he mean to say ‘when home sales are as slow as they’ve ever been,’ or was it ‘when interest rates are as low as they’ve ever been’? I guess we’ll never know…
Cheaper by the dozen — houses, that is…
Investors buying homes by the dozen
Image: An abandoned and dilapidated home is seen in Detroit
Rebecca Cook / Reuters
Investors are buying homes by the dozen in places such as Detroit, where the depressed housing market has homes going for $500 a pop in some cases.
By Michelle Conlin
updated 3/2/2012 9:08:31 AM ET
When Vena Jones-Cox entered the foyer of the once-grand Colonial-style home in downtown Columbus, Ohio, she stepped onto a wood floor that was so moldy and mushy that it actually wiggled. As Cox proceeded down the basement stairs, they disappeared from underneath her.
“I found myself lying on the floor,” says Jones-Cox, 45. “Staring at a dead rat, by the way.”
The house tour from hell didn’t stop her from making an offer on the place. While she was at it, she bid on some other houses, too. Forty nine houses, actually.
She’s paying $3,000 for each, a bit more than the cost of an Apple Mac Pro. “We’re at a bottom,” says Jones-Cox. “I mean, where else is there to go but up?”
As the greatest real-estate fire sale in the history of the United States rages on, the bulk buy is the dead hot deal of the moment. In some of the most foreclosure-ravaged parts of the country, it is almost as if the housing market has become the new big box store, with investors wiping out whole shelves at a time.
The idea is to arbitrage other people’s misery. With the ranks of the rental class expected to swell, investors can buy houses at clearance sale prices, pour some money into repairs and then take advantage of the difference between their low cost of capital and the rent they receive. Often, they bank cash from day one.
Hedge funds and private equity shops like McKinley Capital Partners started to quietly become landlords by buying up inventory last year. Now Main Street investors are following suit.
“They aren’t just buying one rental property,” says Oak Park, Illinois realtor Kyra Pych. “This is a frenzy. They are loading up.”
…
“Hedge funds and private equity shops like McKinley Capital Partners started to quietly become landlords by buying up inventory las year.”
Hedge funds and private equity capital = Other People’s Money.
I saw this phenom first hand in Compton some years back.
Investor money from overseas (in this one case that I personally know of the money came from Israel) poured in to buy up apartment housing complexes on the cheap. The numbers looked good on paper but - hey - it was Compton.
Poof.
A lot of people abroad have no idea of what Compton means.
The average “smart” person in Florida has no idea what Compton entails. Truth be told, had there been no mania, there wasn’t even any reason that any of us should know what Compton means. (Some of us might have but strictly speaking, it was unnecessary unless you lived in LA.)
Every location has a caste system. New York does, the Bay Area does.
Investors from abroad have no clue what this means. They hear “New York” but they don’t know that Jamaica, Queens is not really “New York” in any way that they conceptualize it.
I bet Compton was actually marketed as LA.
“A lot of people abroad have no idea what Compton means.”
A lot of people who DO KNOW know of Compton don’t know what it means to be a landlord there. I know of several people who have learned the hard (and, oh, and so very expensive) way the joys of being a landlord in Compton.
Poof.
A woman I used to work with in the Eighties thought the key to riches was becoming a slumlord in Compton.
Boy, did her tenants have a lot of fun with her. She lasted maybe a year, maybe two.
Poof.
A woman I used to work with in the Eighties thought the key to riches was becoming a slumlord in Compton.
Rapping was the key to riches. She didn’t even see that coming, did she?
“Staring at a dead rat, by the way.”
I bet she was looking in a mirror!
Gentrification worked for Harlem, right? Compton just needs cheap money.
“Compton just needs cheap money.”
Lol. You have no idea.
Harlem has some unique characteristics that Compton lacks.
For starters, it was a very rich neighborhood (think Jazz Age) which fell into disarray for complex reasons.
And in any case, Harlem’s gentrification is overstated. It’s undoubtedly there but it’s still quite rough. I would argue that the jury is out on this one as of yet.
Combotech: you have no idea
“It is an outrage that people such as myself and my children have to live in a place where the windows are busted out, there are holes in the wall, the toilet is plugged up and the garbage disposal doesn’t work.
I think I’m getting the idea.
“A lot of people abroad have no idea of what Compton means.”
Let me help them out:
COMPTON The L.A. Riots (Rodney King Part 1}
Uploaded by johnnytuinals on Feb 5, 2011
Thought some of you would like to really see what happened
on the day they let the Police go after the Rodney King Beatings
That whole scene screamed “lack of parenting and education.”
On a related note …
I know of a plumber who is employed by some government entity to keep up with repairs in government-owned low rent housing units.
He REALLY loves his job. And he is REALLY busy. ALWAYS busy.
He loves his job because there are no old crusty pipes to contend with; That’s because everything is brand new. It’s brand new because everything constantly needs to be replaced.
Ask yourself: “Why is that?”
If you are stumped for an answer to this question then don’t even think of becoming a slumlord in Compton.
I give up…what are people eating there?
They’re taking the piping away and selling it for scrap metal.
No, they are discovering what will flush down the toilet and what won’t, and what the limits are on garbage disposals as to what they will and will not handle.
Why bother to take out the trash? Just shove everything down the garbage disposal or flush it down the toilet.
Does it screw it up? No matter; Just make a phone call and it’ll get fixed. For free.
“I give up…what are people eating there?”
Quite obviously, they are eating new pipes.
As to garbage disposals:
When (not if) you have to replace the garbage disposal DO NOT TELL the tenant that you installed a new one. Tell him/her you installed a rebuilt one. Scruff the new one up a bit if you have to.
If you install a brand new garbage disposal you give to the tenant some valuable bragging rights that she can then inflict onto her neighbors (i.e. I have a brand new garbage disposal, you don’t. This means I have it better than you.). Inevitably everyone else’s garbage disposal will somehow get screwed up and then you will end up giving all your tenants brand new garbage disposals.
Such are the games. Expensive ones, but only the one who foots the bill cares a whit about the expense.
Oh, and there are the 3 AM phone calls coming from the tenants complaining that the unit is cold because “there was sort of a fight in the unit and most of the windows have been busted out and cold air is coming in and my small children are freezing and you need to get somebody over here right away to get some new windows put in. And while you are at it get somebody to patch up the holes in the wall that somehow got there during the fight.”
“It is an outrage that people such as myself and my children have to live in a place where the windows are busted out, there are holes in the wall, the toilet is plugged up and the garbage disposal doesn’t work. Congresswoman Maxine Waters is sure to hear about this if this condition is not rectified immediately.”
“By the way, I’m not going to be able to make the rent payment this month either. Just tack on what I owe you to those other missed payments.”
Landlords are not responsible for a tenant breaking all the windows out of a rental and punching holes in the wall.
Yeah, but landlords are the owners and it’s the owners who end up getting stuck with the bills.
Try sticking the tenants with the bills and you will find out rather quickly just who it is that is actually in control.
There is one person of the two people in the landlord/tenant relationship that has a large amount of money at stake. Guess which one it is?
If you guess correctly then your next task is to guess which one of the two holds power over the other.
Hint: One person has nothing thus has nothing to lose.
A lot of people abroad have no idea of what Compton means.
They do if they’re rap fans. Straight Outta Compton, the late 80s debut of NWA,was one of the major albums in rap history. It gave birth to the Gangsta Rap style (so beloved by NYCdj), and switched the locus of the hip hop world from the East to the West Coast.
It was a great album- but it damn sure didn’t make you want to be a landlord in Compton.
“The average “smart” person in Florida has no idea what Compton entails.”
This average “smart” person in Florida does… I grew up on Eazy-E.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwPMKozHPCM
March 1, 2012, 10:40 AM
At a Glance: Greek Debt Swaps Explained
Neelabh Chaturvedi and Katy Burne
An international trade association on Thursday ruled that no credit event has occurred yet as part of a Greek debt restructuring and therefore payouts of insurance contracts against Greece defaulting on its debt won’t be triggered.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s Determination Committee ruling came in response to two questions prompted by the passage of laws in Greece that could force unwilling investors to accept a steep write-down on debt as part of a bond exchange. But the ruling does not preclude further questions from market participants nor is it an expression of the Committee’s view as to whether a “credit event”‘ could occur at a later date.
The ISDA committee noted that the situation with Greece is “still evolving.”
Most market participants had not expected ISDA to determine if a “credit event” had occurred until the actual debt exchange is completed.
This still leaves the door open for the payout of Greek credit default swaps if the Greek government were to actually push through provisions that force all private bondholders to take steep losses.
The Greek government’s intention of invoking so-called collective action clauses will become clear towards the end of next week, by when private bondholders have to indicate whether they want to participate in the deal or not.
At stake are payouts from sellers of a net $3.2 billion of CDS on Greece currently outstanding, and the stigma associated with lending credence to an instrument policy makers have long reviled.
…
“An international trade association on Thursday ruled that no credit event has occurred yet as part of a Greek debt restructuring and therefore payouts of insurance contracts against Greece defaulting on its debt won’t be triggered.”
Lesson learned: Options which pay off on total collapse can be indefinitely nullified by extend-and-pretend.
Or by letting the bagholder decide whether a “credit event” has occured or not.
Not to worry, folks: The Greek debt crisis is fully contained.
The New Economy
Greek debt crisis sparks sharp fall in US, Europe markets
Fears that the Greek debt crisis will spread roiled global stock markets Tuesday. Major US and European indexes fell more than 2 percent.
By Laurent Belsie / May 4, 2010
…
Why are you posting at article from May 2010?
It’s Feb 2012 in case you didn’t notice.
I was just trying to make a point about how rapid the progress has been to resolve the Greek debt crisis.
February???
OK, it was early.
Greek debt crisis might test value of swaps
By Peter Eavis / New York Times News Service
Published: March 02. 2012 4:00AM PST
The restructuring of Greece’s debt that is scheduled to start next week may well demonstrate how effective credit-default swaps are.
These financial instruments, which played a major role in both the 2008 financial crisis and the European debt crisis, are meant to pay out if a company or country defaults. But the twists and turns over Greece’s debt are revealing their potential limitations for investors who hope the swaps will protect them against losses if Greece defaults.
On Thursday, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the industry body that decides whether swaps should pay out, said that Greece’s proposed debt exchange did not currently activate swaps linked to the country’s debt.
But the association added that the swaps could activate at a later date.
The body’s decision reignites the debate over the usefulness of the default swaps. If Greece had simply stopped paying interest or principal on its bonds, the swaps would have paid out. European policymakers, however, decided last year to try to use a voluntary debt exchange for Greece as a way to avoid setting off the swaps. The maneuver was a brusque reminder for investors that there are ways to circumvent the conditions of credit-default swaps.
“If a sovereign, and those trying to rescue it, tiptoe around the periphery to avoid triggering the CDS, it may impair the effectiveness of the CDS as a risk management tool,” said Bruce Bennett, a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling.
…
Realtors Are Liars®
Rain where is the snow?
Winds of change beginning to gust?
Hollande goes on the attack with ‘Marxist’ millionaire tax
The Socialist front-runner for the French presidential election has announced plans for a 75 per cent tax rate on millionaires, drawing accusations that he is trying to create a “Marxist” economy.
Francois Hollande said he intended to punish “indecent wealth” with the measure, which is not in his manifesto.
He declared that the rich should consider it a form of “patriotism” to pay extra tax and “get the country back on its feet again”. “It is sending out a signal, a message of social cohesion,” he said.
Mr Hollande has promised more fiscal “justice” after the five-year administration of Nicolas Sarkozy, whom the opposition calls “the president of the rich” because of the tax breaks he introduced for the better-off.
Mr Hollande, who began his presidential campaign by attacking “the world of finance” as his “greatest enemy”, announced the plan on television late on Monday. “I have seen the considerable rise in the pay of the CAC 40 [the French stock index] bosses. Euros 2 million on average. How can we accept that?” he asked.
http://www.canada.com/news/Hollande+goes+attack+with+Marxist+millionaire/6223693/story.html
Mr Hollande, who began his presidential campaign by attacking “the world of finance” as his “greatest enemy”
Vive le Hollande!
Comment by Avocado 2012-03-02 13:01:03
Interest rate: when and how high?
Comment by ahansen 2012-03-02 13:08:13
After the reelection and up to 14% in three years.
Hahahahahhahaha
This is a joke, right?
We have increased each houshold’s share of total debt from 2.8x income to 6.5x income. 14% at 2.8x income is under 40% of household income going to pay debt. At 6.5x median income, 14% interest on each houshold’s share of the total debt is 91%.
In short, before interest rates could get close to 14%, first atleast half and probably 2/3rds of the money that exists would have to poof out of existence.
However, if 1/2 to 2/3rds of money ceased to exist, the deflationary spiral and 50% unemployment would make interest rates moot. No one would be looking to borrow in that kind of deflation.
Not a chance of 14% rates in the next 10 years (probably even more.)
The persistent trend has been to make money cheaper and cheaper.
Agreed, it’s the only way to keep sovereign debt from defaulting. Raise rates to 14% and defaults will skyrocket, in all sectors.
Will money ever be free?
It already is for banks (and anyone else who can borrow directly from the Fed). It’s just a question of getting that free money into consumer’s hands.
So yes, it certainly could happen; but would require a direct loan program rather than a Fed->Bank->Borrower system.
One could argue (I might) that money is already free. You can borrow at a deductible 4% interest rate today, making (for most) an effective interest rate of around 3%. If the rate of inflation is higher than 3% (which, I’d argue it is) money is “free”.
You can borrow at a deductible 4% interest rate today, making (for most) an effective interest rate of around 3%. If the rate of inflation is higher than 3% (which, I’d argue it is) money is “free”.
Except every day your money is worth less. I assume you mean if you invest in something that keeps pace with inflation. Which is?
... I assume you mean if you invest in something that keeps pace with inflation. Which is?Vanguard Energy, ten year return of 14%
Vanguard Precious Metals, 17%
Usual disclaimers.
Usual disclaimers.
Like ‘you may be buying at the top of the commodities bubble’?
Housing was beating inflation, too. For a while.
Too much “free money”.
Brazil slams rich countries over ‘currency war’
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/brazil-economy-iof-idUSL2E8E10RY20120302
BRASILIA, March 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff slammed rich nations on Thursday for unleashing a “tsunami” of cheap money that threatened to “cannibalize” poorer countries such as her own, forcing them to act to protect struggling local industries.
Rousseff’s words amounted to some of the highest-profile criticism to date of efforts by the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and others to spur their economies through low interest rates and cheap loans.
Without naming specific countries, Rousseff said these measures have damaged emerging-market nations such as Brazil by unleashing a wave of capital inflows. That has made their currencies overvalued and their exports more expensive.
…Brazil has been battling the effects of a strong currency for years but had enjoyed somewhat of a reprieve in recent months as the financial crisis in Europe made global investors more averse to risky assets. With Europe’s problems now abating, the real has rebounded more than 8 percent this year.
“We have a currency war that is based on an expansionary monetary policy that creates unequal conditions for competition,” said Rousseff, who is a career economist.
“We will continue to develop (our) country by defending its industry and ensuring that the strategy used by the developed countries to exit the crisis does not cannibalize emerging markets,” she said.
“Currency war” is where countries seek to achieve a lower exchange rate to protect exports.
Rousseff’s speech, which echoed words earlier by her Finance Minister Guido Mantega, appeared to be a coordinated effort to express dismay as central banks in the developed world keep interest rates at record lows and pour cheap cash into markets.
….Brazil warned it would take further measures to stop the real strengthening. “The government will not stand by as the currency war rages on,” Mantega told reporters in Brasilia.
A presidential decree published on Thursday extended a 6 percent tax known as the IOF on overseas loans with maturities of up to three years. The tax was previously charged when companies in Brazil took foreign loans maturing up to two years.
…More radical steps could also be on the horizon. One possibility would be charging a “toll” on capital coming into Brazil disguised as foreign direct investment but which ultimately ends up parked in financial instruments instead of the real economy, Valor Econômico reported on Thursday, citing unnamed government sources.
….Central bank President Alexandre Tombini sounded the alarm bells this week by saying that foreign investors are returning in droves to emerging-market assets to seek higher returns as the global economic outlook improves.
One person’s “currency war” is another’s “currency rebalance”.
OH GOD! Don`t look Darrell! Just look away!
THERE WILL BE NO DOUBLE DIP…..
by Egon von Greyerz – Matterhorn Asset Management
August 16, 2010 @ 1:06 pm
No, there will be no double dip. It will be a lot worse. The world economy will soon go into an accelerated and precipitous decline which will make the 2007 to early 2009 downturn seem like a walk in the park. The world financial system has temporarily been on life support by trillions of printed dollars that governments call money. But the effect of this massive money printing is ephemeral since it is not possible to save a world economy built on worthless paper by creating more of the same. Nevertheless, governments will continue to print since this is the only remedy they know. Therefore, we are soon likely to enter a phase of money printing of a magnitude that the world has never experienced. But this will not save the Western World which is likely to go in to a decline lasting at least 20 years but most probably a lot longer.
The End of an Era
The hyperinflationary depression that many western countries, including the US and the UK, will experience is likely to mark the end of an era that has lasted over 200 years since the industrial revolution. A major part of the growth in the last 100 years and especially in the last 40 years has been built on an unsustainable build-up of debt levels. These debt levels will continue to swell for another few years until the coming hyperinflation in the West leads to a destruction of real asset values and a debt implosion.
In the last 100 years the Western world has experienced a historically unprecedented growth in production, in inventions and technical developments leading to a major increase in the standard of living. During the same period government debt, as well as private debt have grown exponentially leading to a major increase in inflation compared to previous centuries
Until the early 1970s the growth in credit to GDP had been going up gradually since the creation of the Fed in 1913.. But from 1971 when Nixon abolished gold backing of the dollar, virtually all of the growth in the Western world has come from the massive increase in credit rather than from real growth of the economy. The US consumer price index was stable for 200 years until the early 1900s. From 1971 to 2010 CPI went up by almost 500%. The reason for this is uncontrolled credit creation and money printing. Total US debt went from $9 trillion in 1971 to $59 trillion today and this excludes unfunded liabilities of anywhere from $70 to $110 trillion. US nominal GDP went from $1.1 trillion to $14.5 trillion between 1971 and 2010. So it has taken an increase in borrowings of $50 trillion to produce an increase in annual GDP of $13 trillion over a 40 year period. Without this massive increase in debt, the US would probably have had negative growth for most of the last 39 years.
There has probably never been a period in world history which has caused the amount of wealth destruction that we are likely to see in the next few years. If we are correct in our assumption that the West will see a correction of the excesses of the last circa 40 years but more probably of the last 200 years, since the start of the industrial revolution, we could see a total annihilation of the assets that have been fuelled by the credit bubbles. The spike in asset values in the last 100 years, which is unprecedented in history, is likely to be corrected by a waterfall which could start at any time.
Why should I look away? Because he’s saying pretty much the exact same thing I have said… except this… which I do not get.
“coming hyperinflation in the West leads to a destruction of real asset values and a debt implosion”
You can’t have both hyperinflation and debt inplosion. Hyperinflation would require wage inflation, otherwise it immediatly resaults in crashing demand. I don’t see wage inflation while trying to complete with $2 an hour global labor wage.
I just do not understand this hyperinflation argument. I see debt collaspe and deflation… just like we were seeing in 2008 before easing of FASB157 so everyone could just lie about the value of assets on their balance sheets to delay the debt collapse.
Silly, silly, silly sheeple.
Hyperinflation destroys the wealth of the rich. The rich are the powerful. If you believe that they will end their own game, I have a bridge in New York that I want to sell you.
It’s theoretically possible but the only mechanism is via seizure of populist power. That means you’ll see the signs long before it arrives.
Did you get your kids car window fixed? I guess hoping you found the prick that broke it so they could pay for it is asking too much. But it would be nice to hear that you did, that would make me smile.
The “persistent trend” was to make housing more and more “affordable.”
Get back to me in 2016 and we’ll see, won’t we….
Time to fire up the coffee maker…
Drinking hotel coffee another morning, but looking forward to my Trader Joe’s home brew tomorrow.
That’s it Canada fan those flames, what could possibly go wrong…
Will slowing GDP growth drive BoC to cut rates?
With the latest data Friday showing Canada’s economy slowing down — but not stalling — in its fourth quarter and likely to continue to muddle along down a similar path in 2012, the addition of weaker housing activity will drive the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates at some point this year, Capital Economics said in a report.
David Madani, Canada economist for Capital Economics, said housing trends point to a downtrend in Canada’s housing market.
This includes a sharp drop in housing investment growth to an annualized 3.3% from close to 11% in the prior quarter.
“We expect home resales and renovation to decline in the coming quarters, with falling house prices eventually discouraging new construction as well,” he said in the report. “We expect weaker housing activity to have serious negative implications for domestic demand growth, eventually prompting the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates.”
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/03/02/will-slowing-gdp-growth-drive-boc-to-cut-rates/
President Rouseff, Brazil, should talk to Bernanke - and the BoC, etc. She is right. Know why the price of gasoline is so high? Ben’s cheap money not buying enough Saudi currency. Global economy Oil is showing Ben he cannot buy his way out of the mess - but in the meantime he sure can destroy the economies of a lot of third world countries with his dated PhD.
You don’t fight a new war with old strategies. If Bernanke refers to the GD one more time to base his current movements on I am going to write a letter to my - priest.
BB et al did not wiso cheap money for business - he did it to delever banks from 50 to 20 (wishful thinking - lucky if they are at 20). The longer it takes the greater the volume of hard problems are adding up - ie concentration of highly depreciable capital and the hypothesized CDs are as strong as ever.
I cannot believe our Canadian banks are layering their capital, often downwards unto ever more risky carriers. Our pile of bricks are becoming as strong as the weakest one because even those little carriers are becoming too big to fail in a small market like ours. They should not have the incentive of insuring up to $400,000 by trickery but only the $100,000 intended.
Republican charges that Democrats are playing the “class warfare” card are merely a smokescreen for their own efforts to reward the 1% and throw the 99% under the bus. Rock on, trust fund babies!
Op-Ed Columnist
Four Fiscal Phonies
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: March 1, 2012
Mitt Romney is very concerned about budget deficits. Or at least that’s what he says; he likes to warn that President Obama’s deficits are leading us toward a “Greece-style collapse.”
So why is Mr. Romney offering a budget proposal that would lead to much larger debt and deficits than the corresponding proposal from the Obama administration?
Of course, Mr. Romney isn’t alone in his hypocrisy. In fact, all four significant Republican presidential candidates still standing are fiscal phonies. They issue apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of government debt and, in the name of deficit reduction, demand savage cuts in programs that protect the middle class and the poor. But then they propose squandering all the money thereby saved — and much, much more — on tax cuts for the rich.
And nobody should be surprised. It has been obvious all along, to anyone paying attention, that the politicians shouting loudest about deficits are actually using deficit hysteria as a cover story for their real agenda, which is top-down class warfare. To put it in Romneyesque terms, it’s all about finding an excuse to slash programs that help people who like to watch Nascar events, even while lavishing tax cuts on people who like to own Nascar teams.
O.K., let’s talk about the numbers.
…
Why is it again that people choose to live in Tornado Alley?
Tornado survivors prepare for more violent weather
Twisters claim at least 13 lives in Midwest, South
By Jim Suhr | Associated Press
March 02, 2012
The 110-year-old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Ridgeway, Ill., was reduced to rubble when it was struck by a tornado early Tuesday morning.
SCOTT OLSON/ GETTY IMAGES
HARRISBURG, Ill. - Crews cleared splintered plywood and smashed appliances from small-town neighborhoods yesterday, a day after tornadoes killed 13 people in the Midwest and South. But the forecast held a menacing possibility: More twisters may be coming, and they could be even stronger.
Damaged communities tried to take advantage of the brief break in the weather, mindful of one meteorologist’s warning that by today, both regions would again be “right in the bull’s eye.’’
Skies were sunny in the southern Illinois community of Harrisburg, where Darrell Osman was back in the rubble of his dead mother’s home, trying to salvage whatever he could. When he arrived, a neighbor handed him his mother’s wallet, which the storm had deposited in a truck near her home.
Gene Hauptmann looked over the damage caused by a tornado in Harrisburg, Ill. The worst loss of life from the line of super-cell storms — which marched across the Midwest and produced 35 tornado reports from late Tuesday through Wednesday — was in Harrisburg, where six people died.
He couldn’t help but think of the pain that would be inflicted if another twister hit Harrisburg, where six people were killed.
“On a personal level, I think I’ve been hit as hard as I can be hit, but it would be disheartening for this community,’’ Osman said.
…
Kentucky is not exactly Tornado Alley. Gotta live somewhere..
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/stalley.gif
“1 day/decade, 60% near peak”
I never get these NOAA technical references…but so far as I am aware, anything east of the Rockies and south of the Great Lakes is pretty much a tornado target, in the long run.
“Gotta live somewhere…”
Similar factoid: In the long run, any San Diego locale more than 5 miles inland from the Coast is tinder.
New England is about as safe as gets. Fifty years here with few if any weather related crises. Not to say it is always pleasant - 36 degrees with rain as we speak
I always thought NM was safe.
“New England is about as safe as gets.”
Along with Detroit. The difference?
Nothing.
Kentucky is not exactly Tornado Alley.
Somewhere along that north-south strip known as tornado alley is where cold air from Canada collides with warm moist air from the gulf producing the darkest boiling clouds you’ve ever seen. A hail storm there can destroy a crop in a few minutes, and some of the strongest wind shear ever recorded has claimed a few airliners.
I remember growing up in the 1960s when wind shear downed a plane trying to land at the St Louis airport during a severe thunderstorm. And last year, a twister literally tore through the airport, taking out half the windows in the main building.
But at least the Midwest has not had any significant earthquakes since around 1811-1812 or so…
“Why is it again that people choose to live in Tornado Alley?”
For the same reason they live in earthquake or hurricane country?
It’s funny to talk to Californians about tornadoes. I had this conversation just this morning, in fact: Woman at a meeting I am attending, whose day job is almost on top of the San Andreas fault north of San Francisco, told me how terrified she is of tornadoes.
Midwesterners express similar fears of California earthquakes; in fact, when I moved from the Midwest to California, I was somewhat disappointed to learn the ground noticeably shakes once a year at most.
Out here in the Sunflower State, the Tornado Warning sirens are the signal to go stand in the front yard with the video camera.
Hey, out here you have to get your entertainment when you can find it.
According to historical data, the Tampa, Florida area gets fewer funnel clouds than Pheenix or Portland (Ore.). The big danger is hurricanes, but they have not had any major hurricane in several decades. The locals told me that at least you know when hurricanes are about to strike several days in advance.
I still prefer my long stays in earthquake country of the South Bay. I have good views of the hills above Malibu and of the San Bernardino’s on a clear day. And I love the South Bay weather.
Just to put it all in perspective, approximately 6,800 people in the U.S. die (from all causes) EVERY DAY.
(Census Bureau says just under 2.5 Million people died in 2010. 2,500,000 / 365 = 6849)
Wow that’s a big number, but the annual figure is still less than one percent of the U.S. population.
And I love the South Bay weather.
Don’t rub it in!
Midwesterners express similar fears of California earthquakes;
I find earthquakes far more frightening than tornadoes because of the widespread nature of their destruction. They can level whole cities, whereas a tornado- even the biggest- usually don’t have more than at most a mile-wide path of destruction (generally much less). And even in that path, the tornado will skip along, not destroying everything.
I’d much rather be in a city being hit by a large tornado than a powerful earthquake, because in all likelihood, the tornado will not hit where I am, but an earthquake surely will.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=202865
Phil Angelides says stop the looting, start prosecuting.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which Congress created to examine the full scope of the crisis, was given a budget of $9.8 million — roughly one-seventh of the budget of Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”
IMO if congress wished to fund $90.9 BILLION for prosecution the populace would cheer. Simple fact is they are paid to look the other way. Won’t happen.
Sammy, thought of you when I saw this.
http://garrisongraphics.blogspot.com/2010/08/march-of-tyranny.html - 96k
“My cartoon (click to enlarge) shows how the banking and corporate masters (crony capitalist fascists) control both major parties behind the scenes. They keep us distracted with left vs. right while giving us the illusion that voting for one of the other parties will solve things. It won’t.”
“It was just hand us the deed and we’ll give you $10,000 to get out of the house,”
Real estate experts: 2012 might be year of the short sale
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 7:33 p.m. Friday, March 2, 2012
More than a quarter of all home sales in Palm Beach County last year were of bank-owned properties or homes purchased in a short sale, a sign of continued stress on a market where traditionally less than 1 percent of sales are of distressed homes.
According to a year-end report released last week by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, about 22 percent of sales statewide in 2011 were of homes in foreclosure or short sale. The report measured all deed transactions, not just Realtor sales, said company spokesman Daren Blomquist.
Nationwide, distressed sales made up 23 percent of all home purchases.
Interesting trend
What piqued analysts’ interest was not the sheer number of distressed sales, but a shift nationwide and in Florida at the end of last year toward more short sales and fewer sales of bank-owned homes. A short sale is when a lender agrees to take less for a home than what is owed on the mortgage, while a bank-owned
In a scenario becoming more commonplace, Realtors said banks are dangling incentives in front of homeowners to make a clean getaway, rather than drag out a long foreclosure.
Realtor Jared Dalto, of the Palm Beach Group at Seawinds Realty in West Palm Beach, said he was about to list a short sale recently when the bank called the owner and offered $10,000 for the deed.
“It was just hand us the deed and we’ll give you $10,000 to get out of the house,” said Dalto, who didn’t know which bank made the offer.
Dalto, who estimates about 90 percent of his sales are short sales or foreclosures, said wait times to conduct a short sale are getting shorter, but that “horror stories” still exist.
“I just closed a sale today that I had for two years,” he said. “But some are getting fast-tracked, which is extremely helpful.”
The short-sale trend was reversed in Palm Beach County.
For all of 2011, RealtyTrac measured a 4 percent decrease in short sales in Palm Beach County compared with 2010.
Sales of bank-owned homes, however, were up 82.5 percent during the same time period.
Blomquist attributed the spike in bank-owned sales to a rush of home repossessions that happened in 2010 before the robo-signing scandal stalled the foreclosure process nationwide. Those repossessions were then resold in 2011 to new owners.
“We expect to see foreclosure-related sales increase in 2012, particularly (short sales), as lenders start to more aggressively dispose of distressed assets held up by the mortgage servicing gridlock, over the past 18 months,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
McCabe agreed, calling 2012 “the year of the short sale.”
“And next year may be the second year of the short sale,” he added.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/real-estate-experts-2012-might-be-year-of-2212887.html -
“2012 might be year of the short sale”
I’m all in, provided we can find a deal that works for us.
Suggestions?
“where traditionally less than 1 percent of sales are of distressed homes”
How long does it take to make something a “tradition” I gotta think it`s getting close to where we are going to have a new “tradition” when it comes to sales of distressed homes.
Real estate experts: 2020 might be year of the Long sale
By Kimberly Willer
Palm Beach Host Staff Writer
Posted: 7:33 p.m. Friday, March 2, 2020
More than a quarter of all home sales in Palm Beach County last year were of people-owned properties or homes where people had actually been paying the mortgage, a sign that most of the Deadbeats have finally moved out of homes they have been living in for free for the last 12 years in a market where traditionally 80 percent of sales are of distressed homes.
Sweet!!!
The Onion has a new writer!
I gotta give it up for this guy, he`s out there trying to make a living.
Man arrested for 80th time
WTNH News 8
Published 10:50 a.m., Friday, March 2, 2012
WOLCOTT — Police say a Bristol man has been arrested 80 times.
Kenneth Seyler, 52, was arrested for the 80th time, when police charged him Wednesday with a Dec. 20, 2011 burglary at the American Legion Hall in Wolcott.
Police say Seyler was caught on camera breaking in, rummaging through an office, and taking off with a safe.
While Wolcott police were investigating the robbery, Seyler was arrested for the 78th and 79th times in Madison and Clinton on burglary charges. Police found evidence from these two incidents that they say matched the burglary of the American Legion Hall.
He was charged with third degree burglary and third degree larceny in Wolcott.
Police say his arrest record is nationwide, including arrests in Ohio and Florida.
http://www.greenwichtime.com/ - 144k
This is much bigger and uglier than the PTB would have anyone believe. This POS condo is still in the victims name on the county records, shows up as a Homepath Property Alert, has $123k of mortgages on it + whatever the unpaid HOA fees are, has an Assessed Value of $13k by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser and is listed at $28,900 WTF is going on here?
Homepath Property Alert in PALM BEACH County, FL
There are new properties that match your search criteria.
(another 10 listings sometimes 20 a day not enough time to look them all up)
Sent By:
“Homepath.com Alerts”
On: Mar 03/02/12 6:46 PM
1068 Benoist Farms Rd Apt 312
West Palm Beach, Florida 33411
Palm Beach County
REO ID: A12095S
MLS ID: R3263887
$28,900
1 Bed, 1 Bath
540 sq. ft
———————————————————————-
Property InformationLocation Address:
1068 BENOIST FARMS RD UNIT 312
Municipality: UNINCORPORATED
Parcel Control Number: 00-42-43-29-21-014-3120
Subdivision: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDOMINIUM I
Official Records Book: 21513 Page: 297 Sale Date: Feb-2007
Legal Description: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDOMINIUM I UNIT 14-312
Owner Information
Name: THOMSON MARC A
Mailing Address: 6601 SW 41ST PL
FORT LAUDERDALE FL 33314 3319
Sales Information
Sales Date Book/Page Price Sale Type Owner
Feb-2007 21513/0297 $0 WARRANTY DEED THOMSON MARC A
Feb-2006 20015/0981 $111,900 WARRANTY DEED THOMSON MARC A
Type: MTG
Date/Time: 3/6/2006 16:04:56
CFN: 20060133354
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 20015/984
Pages: 19
Consideration: $89,520.00
Party 1: THOMSON MARC A
Party 2: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC
AMERICAS WHOLESALE LENDER
Legal: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDO BL14 U312 BLU
Type: MTG
Date/Time: 3/6/2006 16:04:56
CFN: 20060133355
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 20015/1003
Pages: 8
Consideration: $16,785.00
Party 1: THOMSON MARC A
Party 2: AMERICAS WHOLESALE LENDER
Legal: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDO BL14 U312 BLU
Type: MTG A
Date/Time: 3/14/2007 09:07:26
CFN: 20070126086
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 21513/300
Pages: 8
Consideration: $0.00
Party 1: THOMSON MARC A
Party 2: AMERICAS WHOLESALE LENDER
Legal: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDO BL14 U312 BLU
Get Image for another $16,785.00
Type: LN
Date/Time: 4/15/2008 16:32:27
CFN: 20080142866
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 22577/1007
Pages: 1
Consideration: $0.00
Party 1: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDOMINIUM I ASSN INC
Party 2: THOMSON MARC A
Legal: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDO U14-312 U
Type: JUD
Date/Time: 9/27/2010 16:15:25
CFN: 20100365982
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 24104/1080
Pages: 5
Consideration: $0.00
Party 1: FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION
Party 2: THOMSON MARC A
AMERICAS WHOLESALE LENDER
DOE JANE
ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH MASTER ASSOCIATION INC
THOMSON SPOUSE
DOE JOHN
ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDOMINIUM I ASSN INC
Legal: ST ANDREWS PALM BEACH CONDO BL14 U312 BLU
Why does your search criteria match a 1 br/ 1 ba 540 sq ft condo? Looking for investment property? Or did wifey give you the boot?
“Why does your search criteria match a 1 br/ 1 ba 540 sq ft condo?”
Mine doesn`t. They are Sent By: “Homepath.com Alerts”
and include every overpriced POS condo or house that Fannie Mae has taken off the books of your friends, the Big Banks and my friends the Deadbeats in an effort to get someone share in the stupidity of overpriced home ownership.
There are new properties that match your search criteria.
PALM BEACH COUNTY LISTINGS - 433 TOTAL
9945 MANTOVA DR
LAKE WORTH, FL 33467 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$249,900
1396 WATERWAY COVE DR
WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33414 NEW
1390 RED APPLE LN
WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33415 BACK ON MARKET
List price:
$129,900
15241 97TH DR N
JUPITER, FL 33478 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$247,550
4335 TREVI CT
LAKE WORTH, FL 33467 NEW
105 PARADISE HARBOUR BLV
NORTH PALM BEACH, FL 33408 NEW
1551 N FLAGLER DR APT 504
WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$117,500
9488 LAKE SERENA DR
BOCA RATON, FL 33496 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$329,950
2621 VILLAGE BLVD APT 102
WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33409 NEW
2600 FIORE WAY APT 112A
DELRAY BEACH, FL 33445 NEW
There are new properties that match your search criteria.
Sent By:
“Homepath.com Alerts”
On: Mar 03/02/12 6:46 PM
PALM BEACH COUNTY LISTINGS - 438 TOTAL
504 N E ST
LAKE WORTH, FL 33460 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$47,900
1162 RIALTO DR
BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33436 NEW
203 4TH ST
JUPITER, FL 33458 NEW
431 45TH ST
WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33407 NEW
4335 TREVI CT
LAKE WORTH, FL 33467 NEW
List price:
$42,900
1068 BENOIST FARMS RD APT 312
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL 33411 NEW
List price:
$28,900
6662 THORNHILL CT
BOCA RATON, FL 33433 BACK ON MARKET
List price:
$174,250
9480 BOCA COVE CIR APT 4
BOCA RATON, FL 33428 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$58,550
2512 NW 4TH ST
BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33426 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$104,900
18771 STEWART CIR APT 1
BOCA RATON, FL 33496 PRICE REDUCED
List price:
$71,250
web: http://www.homepath.com
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Iceland considering switch to Canadian dollar
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120302/will-iceland-switch-to-the-loonie-120302/
Oh goodie! They can have another bust again.
Forget Bookcases: Now You Can Buy an Entire House from IKEA
Have you ever spent a Saturday afternoon strolling through IKEA, thinking to yourself, “If only I could live at this magical place”?
The Swedish company hasn’t begun renting out its showrooms just yet, but it has partnered with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox to launch a line of prefabricated homes.
Dubbed “aktiv,” the one-bedroom homes will be decked out entirely in hip IKEA decor.
Expected to sell at $86,500, the homes are “Swedish inspired” and “full of personality,” according to the Ideabox website.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/02/forget-bookcases-now-you-can-buy-an-entire-house-from-ikea/?hpt=hp_c2
So what do you do if the “hardware bag” is missing some parts? And how are they labelled?
“Insert 85 metal dowels (AAHG) into bedroom wall (ABM) and connect with wall (ABN)”
Yo Brother Jethro.
What’s the status on your offer? Gimme us the details dude.
I will check with my Liar this week to see what if anything is up. I am second in line but the listing Liar told my Liar he thought the first dude was going to walk, I put an offer of $220k in. I know, I know it`s too high. Back in 2003 when Mrs. saturday and myself started looking for a bigger shack to raise our now mostly grown kids in I told her… I am not going to pay $220k for a house that`s worth $170k. Unfortunately house prices only go up and those $220k houses went up to $500k. (around here the last date of “only” was Nov. 2005) Anyway when those $170k houses were selling for $220k IMHO this house given how it`s built, location etc. was probably worth $220k. Unfortunately the original owner had paid $249k two years before that and had done equity Lipo to the tune of somewhere around $600k by the time he was done in 2006. Sorry I made a short story long and when I check with my Liar this week I`ll let you know.
Well…. it’s not just any shack. CMU and both the IFS and EFS are done nicely. Short on lot size if I recall but as long as you got enough room to squeeze an inground in, it ought to be a nice place. Do you plan to install a pool?
And let us know of your Liars lies. I’m sure there will be many of them.
“Do you plan to install a pool?”
Short answer, no. We have had a pool in both of our rentals. For us at least a pool was something we really thought we wanted, used to be on my list of things I wanted in a shack. I have found over the last 6 years that they are a lot of work, a fair amount of money to maintain and seldom used.
There was a long discussion here about that Bloomberg article about the “whiners” in NYC so I’ll chime in.
They interviewed the small potatoes. The small potatoes are gonna squeal because they (a) spent far too much, or committed far too much above their station, and (b) it was a bubble.
Can’t empasize (b) enough. It was a bubble. A Bubble. A BUBBLE.
Their salaries were in a bubble. They better get used to the downdraft.
Yes, you can live a very very comfortable life in NYC with $200K but you need to deploy your scarce resources correctly. (And yes, for a family, that salary would be “scarce resources”. For a single person, not at all.)
They just lived on the high hog, and worst of all, they committed future income to a present resource (= housing.)
There’s a great saying from a play I once saw. These people are “hand to mouth on a higher plateau”.
Sounds exactly right.
I still can’t believe it, but my first year in NYC I made $24k, and I partied my ass off all over town. I went to all these rooftop parties in Tribeca with bankers… boy, they really love the artsy types. “I hate my job, I can’t believe you hang out and play guitar all day.”
I did occasionally have to sleep on the couch in the control room, but WTF, flying solo in NYC is easy.
I wonder if this will affect SF Renter?
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/education/2012/02/sf-school-board-votes-issue-pink-slips-485-teachers
“The district is required to base layoff notices on seniority, but the school board voted to skip layoffs for 70 teachers at 14 schools in the Superintendent’s Zones in the Mission and the Bayview. Since 2010, the district has concentrated resources on these schools in order to bring up test scores of poor and minority students, and officials noted that the district had invested millions of dollars in professional development and teacher coaching.”
This is how world ends. Why invest in the brightest youth who will help propel the economy when we can toss our limited funds down the drain as the enablers of the losers who are likely to add to the burden with more dysfunction? Brilliant!