Bits Bucket for January 19, 2013
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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
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Breaking news bear seen defecating in wood and in other shock news
Greece needs more European money to help with debts, says IMF
Greece will need additional help from its European partners as soon as next year to bring its huge debt under control, a senior IMF official has said.
“There is a gap according to our preliminary projections for 2015-2016″ of up to “€9.5bn,” Poul Thomsen, the IMF’s mission chief for Greece, told a conference call.
The EU and IMF have committed a total of €240bn in rescue loans to Greece since 2010, but with its economy entering a sixth year of recession it is still having trouble making budget ends meet, AFP reported.
“The IMF’s policy is that the programme needs to be fully financed for the 12 months ahead… What is key is that the Europeans know there is a gap and they’ll have to fill it,” he said.
Meanwhile, an IMF report into Greece has concluded that “the rich and self-employed have continued to evade taxes on an astonishing scale and bloated and unproductive state sectors have seen only limited cuts”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9811748/Greece-needs-more-European-money-to-help-with-debts-says-IMF.html
I’m shocked I tell you, shocked.
unproductive state sectors
What are the productive state sectors?
“What are the productive state sectors?”
Was this question on the lender’s due diligence list?
The Greek constitution guarentees that Shipping Magnets pay no taxes.
Why are they not creating jobs?
Tax avoidance is a central tenant of the Greek mindset. But in Greece and here in the U.S. The difference is that here we don’t have a critical mass of Greeks that it can drain the system.
The thought of employing someone is far removed from tax considerations. It’s not “I avoid taxes so therefore I can employ a lot of people”. It’s “I don’t pay too much in taxes AND I employ as few people as possible to keep margins sky high”.
why are real estate losses constantly socialized?
To save the banks?
To save the shareholders / stock market - e.g. pension funds.
To save the banks ??
Yep….That is the bottom line….Save us or this country will go into complete anarchy….D.C. & the FED Blinked and are still Blinking….Corporate America enjoying the free cheese…Average Joe trying to figue out how to make it to the end of the month…
‘why are real estate losses constantly socialized’
They aren’t.
To save the politicians (who by and large are wealthy and property owners).
Here’s an excellent Frontline video: “Inside Obama’s Presidency”
http://video.pbs.org/video/2325679851
Run time = 53 mins.
That would be about 52 minutes too long.
The film is pretty even-handed, actually. And it doesn’t shy away from examining Obama’s feckless capitulation to Wall Street when the political opportunity for real reform was an alternative.
Haven’t seen it, but let me sum up.
These Dems are well meaning people, trying really hard but these bad republicans not helping at all.
I think I am close.
If you want to get close then home in to the part of the video when the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES visited Wall Street to give a speech to the bankers of Wall Street but the bankers of Wall Street did not bother to show up.
The President showed up but the bankers didn’t. If you are wondering just where the power lies in this country therin lies a clue.
And while you are at it pay close attention to the remark that when Presidents cannot get their way with Domestic Policy their attentions are turned toward Foreign Policy where there is less obstruction at home that prevents them from getting their own way.
IMHO If the game is power then one must be able to exhibit power in order to keep in the game. If one cannot exhibit power in one arena (domestic, in this case) then one is forced to exhibit power in another arena (as in some other place on the globe).
If the game is power then one must be able to exhibit power in order to keep in the game.
Didn’t Cheney advocate similar things? He was considered evil, what does that make Obama when his admin is following the same path?
The janitor?
Obama is merely a continuation of the Bush administration.
” If one cannot exhibit power in one arena (domestic, in this case) then one is forced to exhibit power in another arena (as in some other place on the globe).”
Henry V did it too. Distracting people from domestic troubles with foreign involvements is as old as the hills.
Not defending the bankers but why would anyone want to listen to a speech where they will scolded all day long. And the same person lecturing will conveniently forget the last night’s party where he took a quite a loot from the same bankers.
Bankers are all that powerful because the government allows them to be. I never bought the argument that the bankers run the government. It’s a symbiotic relationship between them and the government.
“Not defending the bankers but why would anyone want to listen to a speech where they were scolded all day long.”
” … would want to listen to a speech …”
The operating word here is “want”. If the President used his power correctly then it would not matter what the bankers “want”, the only thing that would matter is what the President wants.
If you are wondering just where the power lies in this country therin lies a clue ??
Along with the Pentagon I might add….
Pentagon has what, 7 days of diesel fuel on hand?
According to Wikipedia:
The Department of Defense uses 4,600,000,000 US gallons (1.7×1010 L) of fuel annually, an average of 12,600,000 US gallons (48,000,000 L) of fuel per day.
Quite frankly I think that is refreshing. The president is a civil servant not a sovereign. The presidency and government in general has become way too imperial since WWII. I think it’s absurd that there is even a daily presidential press briefing. Do presidents think they’re kings and popes and need to opine on everything under the sun? (That’s the responsibility of housing bubble bloggers
) One of the most annoying is when some celebrity dies and the president issues a statement. Talk about diluting / cheapening the brand. But maybe once a politician always a politician.
FROM YESTERDAY
Comment by Brett
2013-01-18 08:13:35
After the lay offs, I got worse than expected rent news.
My rent is going up from $1675 to $1899… I just received the 30-day notice by landlord.
I spent a few hours yesterday looking at properties around the same area (downtown / central Austin), and the situation isn’t much different.
***************************************************************************************
Brett, some thought in addition to those others shared …
One thing sometimes we talk about on this blog is the nesting instinct. I think one reason people buy RE or want to is a psychological need for territory. Such an urge effects me. But you need to resist it.
Are you one of these people that think that rent is throwing away money? Some people really believe that and resent the rent. When you spend a night a hotel or buy a nice meal do you think that is throwing away money? I have a beautiful apartment, good location, well built, quiet, great neighbors. I think it’s worth every penny and more.
Are friends, family, and peer buying places and you feel left out? Worse are they asking you about it?
Are you a pain in the neck tenant?
What do you earn? Do you have enough money to live comfortably after rent? Maybe the $1675 is already too much of your income and that is the problem.
Maybe your rent was below market for a while and you should be happy you had a bargin for all that time.
I might buy a cheap pair of sneakers or a cheap sofa or even a cheap car. But IF I ever bought RE again it’s such a large purchase I would only buy the best / most blue chip type (even if means a much smaller place in a better location) I don’t know Austin but some how a converted 1980s garden apartment or a 2008 one(makes me think poor construction quality) does not sound like it. The $350K places are better because of their location. But of course the $350K places are probably still bubble prices. I looked at REALTOR.COM some of those new loft type condos are purty. But if you are worried about $…an extra 200 per month is nothing to compared to losing $10K, $20K, $50K on a purchase.
Good luck
Brett is a real estate professional. He won’t be truthful about it though.
You are really putting out some great advice with what you just posted Anon
Brett,
If the downtown location is of paramount importance, why not consider advertising for a like-minded person to share a nicer apartment/condo with? Surely $3600 a month would buy you an excellent two master-suite location even in Austin. There must be some associate professor or medical resident who finds themself in a similar situation.
Alternately, have you considered putting an ad on CL or in a local newspaper seeking a guest house or private quarters in a large home whose owner travels frequently and doesn’t want the house unoccupied in their absence?
The 50K+ student population plus equity refugees from California have made Austin a very strange market.
“Are you one of these people that think that rent is throwing away money? Some people really believe that and resent the rent. When you spend a night a hotel or buy a nice meal do you think that is throwing away money? I have a beautiful apartment, good location, well built, quiet, great neighbors. I think it’s worth every penny and more.”
Let’s say you are into performance automobiles or motocross dirt bikes, and you have your garage/shop with the roll-away toolbox, the rigid tool girl calendar, etc., do you really think apartments or town houses are an option?
No of course not. But I could rent a house with a garage workshop and be fine with renting it rather than buying. I am getting the sense that Brett is not giving a complete picture as to why he wants to buy or not addressing the psychological / emotional component. I think the need for territory is a really basic need / want that manifests itself via purchasing. The temptation certainly effects me - until I look at my monthly rent then compare to buying. Even some the places that the cost is roughly equal. I don’t want to give up the flexibility of renting. Especially since I don’t think life is stable / static enough to make a purchase of 100s of thousands of dollars. Conditions change radically both for the good and bad.
“But I could rent a house with a garage workshop and be fine with renting it rather than buying.”
+1 I agree completely.
“The temptation certainly effects me - until I look at my monthly rent then compare to buying.”
+1 Again, I agree with you. Problem is the constant moving if you are in a place with crashing RE, foreclosures, etc., and you are faced with new schools for the kids as well as packing up all of the tools and things. First, last, cat/dog cleaning deposit, etc., can add up to some real expense too not mentioning the time involved. Ownership does alleviate many issues. FWIW, I had to move north about 1,000-miles to gain stability.
Florida homeowners, and homebuyers, get $60 million boost
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 4:34 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013
State lawmakers this week divvied up how $60 million of Florida’s mortgage settlement money will be used to aid struggling homeowners, with more than half flowing to first-time homebuyers for down payment assistance and millions directed at borrowers through legal aid and housing counseling.
Also, Florida’s circuit courts will get $5 million for additional employees to handle foreclosures and to provide “technology solutions” to speed cases through the system.
The money is part of $334 million the state received in the March settlement between attorneys general and the nation’s five largest banks to atone for foreclosure-related abuses. State coffers got $74 million of the payment, which included a 10 percent civil penalty allowed for in the settlement and another $40 million civil penalty added through an agreement between lawmakers and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
How Florida will spend $60 million from its share of the national mortgage settlement
• $5 million to legal aid groups
• $35 million to a first-time homebuyer down payment assistance program
• $10 million to HUD-approved housing and credit counseling groups
• $5 million to state courts to pay for additional employees and develop a technological solution to speed foreclosure cases
• $5 million to reimburse the Florida attorney general’s office for legal fees
Comments
Posted by freep at 5:43 p.m. Jan. 18, 2013 Report Abuse
i have paid my mortgages on time every month since 1983. what do i get?
Posted by CheeseusSonofdog at 1:12 a.m. Jan. 19, 2013
Robo-signing was a simple case of perjury. Like other perjury, the fines should go to the clerk of court. The clerk should then use it to process the gigantic backlog of foreclosures, and to make sure proper documentation is being followed. But to homeowners? Heck no! For first time buyers? Why? Why in the world are we brining back subprime? That is what this assistance program is. Giving people money for their down payment and ultra-low rates…. As the poster above said, what do the responsible homeowners get? We have been funding this state by paying our property taxes, insurance and hoa. The deadbeats haven’t. Many deadbeats haven’t paid any for nearly five years. Add it up. In many cases they stole over $50k, $100k, and that is money the rest of us are forced to pay to the banks in bailouts. This pisses me off! The banks and deadbeats should have both been punished. Any settlement should have compensated the rest of us.
Posted by Mugsy3701 at 6:49 a.m. Jan. 19, 2013 Report Abuse
“The lion’s share, $200 million, will be spent on “housing-related purposes” at the discretion of lawmakers” Yeah, right–Politicians are going to make decisions about money. What a joke. Like giving the keys of a beer truck to an alcoholic to make the deliveries. Just wait and see how much of the money goes to the people who were really screwed over….
Posted by nocondocommandospleaz at 8:31 a.m. Jan. 19, 2013
I agree with you freep. Those of us that could do math, those of us that weren’t flipping houses, those of us that weren’t using our equity like an ATM - we get to keep on paying that mortgage. No free lunch for you and me. No government “that a boy, you were wronged, here’s free money”
On the bright side freep: you should be getting the deed to your house this year. Unless you took out a 40 year mortgage.
Posted by ItIsTheWayItBe at 8:45 a.m. Jan. 19, 2013 Report Abuse
We continue to reward all the wrong behavior and punish those who abide by the rules and pay their bills on time. We should not subsidize people who could not otherwise afford a home. Those are the people most likely to default.
Comment by CeeCee
2013-01-18 13:41:18
“In short, I do not blame people for not wanting to take care of their parents even if they could. Actually, even if you wanted to, it would be emotional suicide if you did it alone, to the point where you just give up and throw them in a home. And even then, there are many suicidal elderly people in nursing homes. The real issue is keeping someone alive when their quality of life is gone and they just want to pass.”
Along these lines, this happened yesterday.
Posted: 4:21 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013
Police: Man who fatally shot wife, then himself, wasn’t ‘acting right’ when he visited her in Tequesta
By Ana M. Valdes and Julius Whigham II
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
A man who frequently visited his wife at a Tequesta nursing home for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients shot her to death Friday, then fatally shot himself, according to police.
The shootings happened about 4 p.m. at Clare Bridge of Tequesta, located at 211 Village Blvd.
The couple have not been identified, but police said they were in their 70s or 80s. Police confirmed the couple’s relationship after speaking to their daughter, said Tequesta Police Department spokesman Lt. Jason Turner. The couple’s daughter police that they had known each other since childhood and there were no apparent signs of marital trouble.
The man lived in Palm City and was a frequent visitor to the Claire Bridge facility, Turner said. Martin County Sheriff’s deputies checked the Palm City location but did not find anything related to the shooting, Turner said.
The incident began Friday afternoon when a friend of the husband contacted police to say that the man was acting strangely and had planned to visit his wife at the facility.
The man, who was known to staff at Clare Bridge and apparently was never a threat, arrived at the facility around 4 p.m.
Officers responding for a welfare check went to the nurse’s station and requested to speak to the man’s wife, Turner said. When the nurse went to the room to get her, she found two people shot, including the man on the floor with a gun.
The officers called for additional units and found the man and woman dead upon entering the room.
Investigators found one firearm at the crime scene, which is believed to be a revolver, police said
(Reuters) 19 Jan 2013: Caterpillar writes off most of China deal after fraud
I sure hope the BOD doesn’t have to give back their bonuses!
My worry too. That reminds me of our egalitarian friend the rich (except me) should pay more taxes Warren Buffett. Why does he not use his influence to reign in executive pay?
Here’s a couple of articles to categorize under, ‘just when you thought you had the world figured out’.
‘David Cameron’s trouble-prone strategy on Europe suffered another setback when US President Barack Obama made a personal appeal to him not to allow Britain to drift out of the European Union. Mr Obama’s intervention came only hours before the Prime Minister was due to make his landmark speech on the UK’s relationship with Europe.’
‘Mr Cameron had planned to warn that the British public could “drift towards the exit” of the EU unless it reformed. But Mr Cameron called off his speech…the White House disclosed: “The President underscored our close alliance with the United Kingdom and said that the United States values a strong UK in a strong European Union, which makes critical contributions to peace, prosperity, and security in Europe and around the world.”
They are lovin’ the prosperity in Spain, Greece, etc. And how about the peace? Check this out:
‘It all started with a military coup in March 2012, only one month before Mali would hold a presidential election…The coup leader was one Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, who happened to have been very cozy with the Pentagon; that included his four-month infantry officer basic training course in Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2010. Essentially, Sanogo was also groomed by AFRICOM, under a regional scheme mixing the State Department’s Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership program and the Pentagon’s Operation Enduring Freedom.’
‘No one in the West is asking why the Pentagon-friendly Sanogo’s military coup in the capital ended up with almost two-thirds of Mali in the hands of Islamists…How come the latest Tuareg rebellion ended up hijacked by a few hundred hardcore Islamists?’
‘Anyone who thinks “bomb al-Qaeda” is all there is to Mali must be living in Oz. To start with, using hardcore Islamists to suffocate an indigenous independence movement comes straight from the historic CIA/Pentagon playbook. Moreover, Mali is crucial to AFRICOM and to the Pentagon’s overall MENA (Middle East-Northern Africa) outlook…Mali borders Algeria, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Guinea. The spectacular Inner Niger delta is in central Mali - just south of the Sahara. Mali overflows with gold, uranium, bauxite, iron, manganese, tin and copper. And - Pipelineistan beckons! - there’s plenty of unexplored oil in northern Mali.’
‘As early as February 2008, Vice Admiral Robert T Moeller was saying that AFRICOM’s mission was to protect “the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market”; yes, he did make the crucial connection to China, pronounced guilty of ” challenging US interests”.
Gee I watched The Early Show on CBS this morning and they didn`t mention any of this. They did have a lot on “Preparing for Inauguration Day”.
Discovery had a show about Mormons from Utah going to Mali to mine gold.
Spoiler Alert!
They lost everything!
You forgot the part that they went to Mali to try to unbuy themselves from real estate debt they had racked up (realtors).
California’s Pension Bomb Ticking Toward Detonation | Fox …
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2102379203001/californias-pension-bomb-ticking-toward-detonation - 29k
The Cato institute and Fox. Great TV right there…
“The Cato institute and Fox. Great TV right there…”
So California’s Pension fund is in good shape then. That is a relief, I thought they would need a bailout.
I bet both of those guys on the TV make more than than average CA worker. Not to mention, they both claim to be Libertarian.
If so, why are they all up in other peoples’ business?
“If so, why are they all up in other peoples’ business?”
In the world of “Making money without working” having enough to retire just isn’t good enough. These parasites with clean soft hands want ALL the easy money, and they want you mow their lawn for minimum wage.
“These parasites with clean soft hands want ALL the easy money, and they want you mow their lawn for minimum wage.”
That sounds like a $110k a year 52 year old retired fireman I know.
Yet our heroic “first responders” unions tend to vote hard-core conservative. One senses a disconnect in here somewhere….
RKBA types like myself on Facebook who are wary of Obama’s executive orders are probably aware that today is gun appreciation day. Bought
More ammo and a leather holster. In Arizona you can open carry. Rally at all state capitals. Gun shows all over had lots of attendees. Unfortunately with all that crowd there was a kook in Raleigh at a gun show who shot someone before shooting himself. But millions of patriotic rational Americans are safe with their guns. Statistics are in our favor.
Annoy a statist. Buy guns, ammo, gold, silver, and platinum! Ammo and guns regularly. Keep them safe and keep them out of “safe” deposit boxes. Barack Delano Obamavelt will order all gold confiscated. School marm is goi g to call me a criminal if I tell them “I sold off all my gold yesterday.”
Just remember…If your doing it, they want to know.
Statists - The masters of other people’s business.
WTF is a “statist”?
Are medical centers “statist” because they are centralized and tax supported? Is 911 a function of “statists” ? How about corporations; they’re hierarchical and subsidized by the “state”. Are they “statist”, too?
And how does “statism” affect your personal agenda? Would you prefer we revert to a tribal (non-bureaucratic) societal construct? Please tell me, because for the life of me I can’t figure out what you’re talking about. Thanks.
“And how does “statism” affect your personal agenda?”
Because you can’t stay out of other law abiding citizen’s business. You never stop, you are never satisfied, we give you an inch and you take a mile. I don’t want to live your life, you don’t want to live mine, find other things to keep yourself busy and leave the rest of us alone. Pleeeeeaaaaaaase stay out of our lungs, stomachs, thoughts, bedroom, gun cabinet, etc…go away.
Also, like northeasterner said this week, you never stop with the fees and taxes. Do you have any limits? We are dying out here, we are tapped out. I have to ask what is your motivation? What is the root of your need to influence the lives of free people?
A statist is one whose knee-jerk “solution” to any “problem” is the use of aggression…i.e. government. Aggression being the initiation of force, the threat of force, or fraud.
Real Estate broker / State Supreme Court Justice charged with bank fraud
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway is now facing a federal bank fraud charge.
The charge was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Friday. The document laying out the charge against Hathaway says she “executed a scheme to defraud ING and to obtain money and funds owned by and under the control of ING by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses and representations.”
The feds said Hathaway lied to the bank to get out of $600,000 dollars in mortgage payments on her underwater home in St. Clair so she could get a short sale. The 7 Action News investigators found documents that showed Hathaway shuffled around homes to do it.
“The person who goes in and robs a bank is going to be serving 5 to 10 years in prison. Defrauding a bank out of over $500,000 dollars is a very serious crime. Should that person receive a much lighter sentence?”asked Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Wayne State University. He said that prison time is a possibility for Hathaway.
“She’s a real estate broker. She knew what she was doing. You don’t’ accidentally defraud a bank,” said Henning.
“The feds said Hathaway lied to the bank to get out of $600,000 dollars in mortgage payments on her underwater home in St. Clair so she could get a short sale. The 7 Action News investigators found documents that showed Hathaway shuffled around homes to do it.”
Even the “smarty-pants” are eligible for the FB award, and then adding bank fraud really is the cherry on top.
snork lives free
snork don`t pay