July 7, 2015

The Toxic Business Model Is Still Out There

WFAA reports from Texas. “In the past four years, homes in Dallas-Fort Worth have gone from a median sale price of $149,000 to $215,000. ‘If you do not want to pay top dollar or over top dollar, now is not the time to buy. You are going to pay a pretty penny to own a property in D-FW,’ said Leah Slaughter, owner of OmniKey Realty. She hasn’t seen values and demand like this at any other time since she started her business in 2006. ‘We surpassed 2006 prices a few years ago, so everything here is uncharted,’ she said.”

“Ashley Franson is ready to put her Wylie home up for sale… again. Originally she put it up last October, but then decided to wait. A little more than half a year later, realtors and appraisers are telling her its value has gone up substantially. ‘Probably about $20,000,’ Franson said. She plans to sell and then become a renter. ‘It’s almost like the stock market,’ she said. ‘You try to time it.’”

The Denver Post in Colorado. “Buyers purchased a record $2.15 billion worth of homes and condos in the metro Denver area last month, but the frenzied pace seen earlier in the year is fading, according to a report Monday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. One sign of tempering is that sellers are seeing fewer offers above list price for the hottest segment of the market, homes priced between $150,000 to $350,000. Whereas a seller might have waited knowing that four or five strong offers above the list price might come in, now they are motivated to seal the deal once one or two show up, said Anthony Rael, chairman of the market trends committee of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.”

“‘There is a general feeling that things are cooling,’ said Rael. ‘Things have been at such a frenzied pace, any sort of slow down is noticeable.’”

KOUW in Washington. “The Seattle-area housing market could use an injection of inventory. It’s on a tear right now, fueled by high demand and low supply, and hooked on low-interest rates.And there is a potential supply of lower-priced homes in the region. Those are the 4,300 foreclosed homes from Everett to Tacoma that are now owned by banks. But these houses are just sitting around. ‘It’s not uncommon for us to see houses that have been in foreclosure for five, six years, where the banks haven’t done anything,’ said Jim Melgard, who works for a real estate company that buys houses at county auctions.”

“On a recent evening, investors met at Caliber Real Estate on the Eastside. There they scoured the market for cheap houses to flip. Zack Lazo was the agent in charge on this particular night. But Lazo said investors are running out of neighborhoods. ‘It’s getting really hard to buy something that’s low enough to justify buying it and still being able to eke out some sort of profit,’ he said.”

The Pryor Daily Times in Oklahoma. “The high-demand of housing in Pryor has been the subject of many conversations by city leaders in recent months. Mayor Jimmy Tramel said despite the high numbers, he doesn’t believe Pryor has a housing shortage. ‘This is just a bubble. People in transit are coming here for work, so they’ll live here until the work is done. In five or so years when the work is complete, if we’ve built apartment complexes, we’ll have a lot of vacancies,’ he said.”

“Tramel said some people have come to him with an interest in building apartment complexes, but nothing is in the works. ‘They aren’t inclined to do it because of a lack of permanency, it isn’t a good investment,’ he said. He said property in Pryor fills up fast but a recent housing survey didn’t indicate a problem. Tramel said, ‘That housing survey was very clear, there’s no shortage of housing in Pryor Creek.’”

The Intelligencer in Ohio. “Largely due to the housing demand created by oil and natural gas industry workers, new hotels and apartment complexes continue popping up in Belmont County. ‘People wonder what will happen five or six years from now when the gas rush is over. I don’t have the answer to that,’ Eugene Householder, director of tourism in Belmont County, said when asked if the county may find itself with a glut of abandoned buildings when the boom ends. ‘Clearly, Belmont County is changing rapidly.’”

The Daily Herald in Illinois. “A pair of suburban real estate developers are among six defendants indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations they devised and participated in scheme that cost banks and mortgage lenders $16 million and left condo buyers with loans they could not afford, authorities said. The scheme, federal prosecutors said, revolved around the marketing and sale of condominiums at the 50-acre The Woods at Countryside development in Palatine. The indictment says they enticed prospective condo buyers with unsustainable financial incentives, such as down payment refunds and up to three years’ worth of mortgage payments, maintenance costs and property tax payments.”

“As a result of the scheme, the indictment states, banks and mortgage lenders unwittingly funded risky, speculative property investment deals on unfavorable terms to unqualified borrowers who defaulted on their loans and were unable or unwilling to repay them. the first six months of 2010, 98 condos there fell into foreclosure — nearly half of all the units that had been sold and a quarter of all the foreclosures in Palatine during that time. ‘It’s been a very unfortunate situation for the people who bought in there, because of the dishonest way things had been done,’ said Village Manager Reid Ottesen. Finally this should allow people there to begin moving forward.’”

From Reveal News. “Five years after the financial crisis crested with the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc., top executives from the biggest subprime lenders are back in the game. Many are developing new loans that target borrowers with low credit scores and small down payments, pushing the limits of tighter lending standards that have prevailed since the crisis. Andy Pollock rode the last subprime mortgage wave to the top, then got out as the industry collapsed and took the U.S. economy with it. Today, he’s back in business.”

“Pollock was president and CEO of First Franklin, a subprime lender whose risky loans to vulnerable consumers hastened the downfall of Merrill Lynch. ‘Old habits die hard, especially when there’s no incentive to do things differently,’ says Rachel Steinmetz, a senior underwriter-turned-whistle-blower who worked at subprime lender GreenPoint Mortgage, later bought by Capital One, until June 2006. ‘The same shenanigans are going on again because the same people are controlling the industry,’ says Steinmetz, who stays in contact with former colleagues.”

“‘That toxic business model is still out there,’ says Susan Wachter, a real estate finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and it’s being exploited by the same people who ‘were feeding toxic mortgages into the system’ during what she calls ‘the 2007 frenzy.’ The conclusion seems obvious to Brenda Fore, who is fighting to take back the house in which she spent her adult life. ‘If it’s being built by the fellows who screwed it up last time, you’re going to have the same result,’ she says. ‘The system was dysfunctional before, so its offspring are going to be dysfunctional as well.’”




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55 Comments »

Comment by taxpers
2015-07-07 04:09:37

? Wonder what will happen?
The gas boom ended last Oct 2014
No need to wonder

Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 05:21:28

‘HOUSTON - Drop by the apartment complex at 770 North Eldridge near Memorial Drive if you’re looking for a deal, because the leasing agents are ready to talk.’

“We have more one bedrooms,” says Mark Billig, the property manager for Francis Property Management. “So we’re going to be offering closer to one month free. So you walk in the door, I’ll say, ‘Look, I can get you $1,200 off your first month’s rent.’ You come in for a two or three bedroom where I have fewer available, I’ll say, ‘Well, we have some great competitive pricing and we’re offering $1,000 off on the first month’s rent.’”

‘With the impact of lower oil prices rippling through Houston’s economy, it seems rents are beginning to stabilize. Experts suggest that’s not so much a reflection of what’s happening in the apartment market right now as sign of anxiety about the future.’

“The problem is that folks who are finishing up their apartments now and bringing that new product to market are anxious to get them leased,” says Bill Gilmer, Director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting in the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business. “They’re looking down the road. They know there’s a big pipeline of apartments to be completed yet.”

‘Anybody driving around Houston can see the construction sites. During the first quarter of 2015, CBRE counted more than 25,000 new multi-family housing units under construction in Houston. “The concern is we probably were on the edge of overbuilding the job market when we had strong job growth this year,” Gilmer said. “Now we’re looking at no job growth. We’re looking at the first quarter of this year, we’re building houses just like we expect 100,000 new jobs here this year. And that’s not going to happen.”

‘Still, about 20,000 people are waiting to buy homes in the Houston area, Gilmer said. That backlog may actually help the apartment market.’

“Housing prices are still hot,” Pursell said. “And people are hoping probably that maybe the housing prices will go down in housing. They’re staying where they’re at in the apartment communities. They’re extending their leases and they’re waiting for those prices to drop in housing.”

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/07/06/landlords-make-rent-deals-for-houstonians/29795371/

Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 05:25:52

‘HOBBS, N.M. —The drive toward the town of Hobbs is filled with pumpjacks, gigantic rigs and lines of tank cars ready to transport fuel across the country. In town, nearly every storefront has something to do with the oil and gas industry. Even the city’s seal is an ode to its reliance on oil and gas.’

‘But the mayor is thinking bigger. “We don’t want to get branded as a one-industry town,” Mayor Sam Cobb said. “What we’ve adopted is Hobbs — the place to live, work and play.”

‘The oil boom has in turn created a housing boom, with lots of new construction. “We’re building probably 700 units right now of apartments. Every single person anticipates them to be full as soon as they’re built,” First American Bank Community Bank President Bret Moody said.’

‘But Hobbs wants to be ready in case the price per barrel of oil plummets.’

http://www.koat.com/news/hobbs-looking-to-diversify-oil-reputation/34009020

‘Every single person anticipates them to be full as soon as they’re built’

Click!

Comment by snake charmer
2015-07-07 07:08:19

Later this year I will be taking my first ever trip to New Mexico. Hobbs is not on the itinerary. I appreciate the mayor’s optimism, though.

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Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 04:15:25

‘It’s getting really hard to buy something that’s low enough to justify buying it and still being able to eke out some sort of profit,’ he said’

He’s saying prices aren’t going up much.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 04:24:31

‘That toxic business model is still out there,’ says Susan Wachter, a real estate finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and it’s being exploited by the same people who ‘were feeding toxic mortgages into the system’ during what she calls ‘the 2007 frenzy.’

This lady is a certified REIC cheerleader, so this is saying a lot. Not only is subprime back, it’s the same exact people!

‘Crystal and Anastazio Belmontes spent the past few years working on cleaning up their credit record and saving money to buy a Phoenix home. The couple had cash in the bank and was looking at houses earlier this year, when their car died and their medical insurance costs soared.’

‘It was a tough phone call for Crystal, a 32-year-old accountant, to make when she contacted their real estate agent to say the search for a house was off. But her agent knew about a new program that has helped more than 1,000 Valley home buyers with down payments.’

‘With more than a $5,000 down-payment grant from the Arizona Housing Finance Authority’s Home Plus program, the Belmontes were able to obtain a mortgage on a three-bedroom house in Laveen last month. Their house cost less than $160,000 and is bigger, with enough bedrooms for them and their three children.’

‘They are paying only about $150 a month more than they did to rent, and the tax deduction could make up the difference.’

‘The Belmontes’ payments also could drop within five years if they build up 20 percent equity in their home and are no longer required to pay mortgage insurance on their government-backed loan. “The down payment seems to be the biggest issue for first-time and boomerang buyers now,” said Dirk Swift, homeownership programs administrator for the Arizona Housing Department’s Finance Authority. “Expenses are going up. Wages are stagnant. Rents are sky high, and then there’s student loan debt.”

‘The Home Plus program was launched in Maricopa County late last year.
Unlike many down-payment programs, boomerang buyers — those who lost them through foreclosure — are also eligible if they meet the requirements: an annual income of less than $88,340 and a home-purchase price below $353,360.’

‘Homebuyers must work with a lender approved for the program. Housing analysts think boomerang and first-time buyers will drive the Valley’s home sales and prices during the next few years. The Belmontes are telling all their friends and family about the program that helped them buy a house.’

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/real-estate/catherine-reagor/2015/07/02/down-payment-help-homebuyers/29643613/

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-07-07 07:20:00

“This lady is a certified REIC cheerleader, so this is saying a lot. Not only is subprime back, it’s the same exact people!”

That’s what happens when perps don’t get prison time.

 
Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2015-07-07 08:49:10

‘With more than a $5,000 down-payment grant from the Arizona Housing Finance Authority’s Home Plus program, the Belmontes were able to obtain a mortgage

Is this another seller-funded down-payment program? Cause those worked so well last time around…

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 04:30:27

‘We recently came upon a report on the best places in America to begin a new career. Unfortunately, if you graduated from a school here in California, this state is not your best bet for future employment — and that is a problem for just about everyone living here.’

‘And here’s a shocker: If you believe one of the big metro areas is your best shot at landing a good job, places like New York City or Los Angeles, you are incorrect. Of the 10 top-rated job markets in America, six are in the state of Texas.’

‘The only California city on the top-10 list is Fremont, in seventh spot. Why so few California cities ranked in the jobs-availability survey? That’s an easy one — housing. When you look at the level of income it takes to own a home, California’s overall ranking is abysmal.’

http://lompocrecord.com/news/opinion/editorial/building-for-that-long-term/article_a5ca8670-8d4a-55fc-ba15-cad5514b3843.html

Comment by scdave
2015-07-07 07:29:14

That’s an easy one — housing. When you look at the level of income it takes to own a home, California’s overall ranking is abysmal.’ ??

Its true as long as you isolate it to places such as Silicon Valley and a few others…Go 1 hour east, and you could afford a house on a substantial social security check…

Those are the 4,300 foreclosed homes from Everett to Tacoma that are now owned by banks. But these houses are just sitting around ??

I just don’t get this…Low inventory & high prices and the banks continue to sit on these…Whats up with that ?? Something else is at work here…Is their greed involved…Are the banks waiting for the prices to run up even further…

Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2015-07-07 08:58:06

Something else is at work here…

My guess: they still haven’t managed to locate the paperwork…

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-07 10:45:30

“Those are the 4,300 foreclosed homes from Everett to Tacoma that are now owned by banks.”

Just how many excess empty and defaulted houses in Washington State are there? 1 million? 1.5 million? 2 million?

Comment by redmondjp
2015-07-07 11:23:17

Millions of empty homes in WA? Complete and absolute nonsense, even in the rural parts of the state.

Most of the foreclosed homes are occupied, with utilities being paid by the occupants, and the property taxes being paid by the banks.

You really are clueless, HA . . .

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-07 12:53:12

Refute it.

 
Comment by redmondjp
2015-07-07 22:52:02

No need. Show me these empty homes you speak of.

You want to know whose homes ARE empty? The Chinese investors’ homes, and the executives’ 2nd and 3rd homes in the street-of-dreams neighborhoods in the suburbs. Those homes, mostly purchased with cash, are unoccupied most of the time, but certainly not in foreclosure!

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-08 05:55:05

It’s all dumb borrowed money my friend.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 04:54:22

‘The median price of King County single-family homes sold in June climbed to $500,000, up 10.3 percent from a year ago, according to figures released Monday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The frenzied market represents a new peak for King County home prices: The last peak of $481,000 was in July 2007, at the height of the nation’s housing bubble.’

“I wouldn’t say we’re in a bubble,” said Alan Pope, a real-estate appraiser in Redmond. “I would say the balloon is growing, and I can’t tell when it’s going to stop.”

‘Local buyers now have to compete with people moving here for new jobs, foreign buyers and millennials looking for their first home, Scott said. More are leaping into the market to lock in interest rates before they rise, he said.’

‘Brokers are still shocked that a home in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood that listed for $880,000 in March sold for $1.6 million in April. Windermere real-estate broker Diane Charouhas said she never expected the bidding war to get so heated for the 2,940-square-foot house on an eighth of an acre at 22nd Avenue East in Montlake.’

‘The home “did appeal to the masses from the standpoint of it being in a prime location,” Charouhas said. But its unique architectural pedigree and design also attracted a narrow slice of buyers who appreciate art. “It just had awesome feng shui,” she said.’

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/median-price-for-single-family-homes-pushes-past-500000-in-king-county/

Comment by snake charmer
2015-07-07 07:17:48

It’s not a bubble, it’s a balloon! Filled with hydrogen no doubt. I think I read about that house here; wasn’t it was sold to a mainland Chinese buyer?

Without even looking, I’m guessing that there are now home staging companies that specialize in feng shui.

Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2015-07-07 09:07:03

Holy Moly, Batman!

$544/sq-ft!!!

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/2101-22nd-Ave-E-98112/home/137956

While the house was clearly staged, I think the feng shui comment is more due to the flow of the original 1957 design. Not that I know anything about feng shui!!

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-07 10:46:44

And not a buyer in sight at 25% of that amount.

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Comment by inchbyinch
2015-07-07 14:19:06

Man, when I saw the price, gulp $1.6M. ouch.

That home style is very popular for the “cool” set. Mid-Century modern style tract housing in California built by Joseph Eichler is the same flavor. Gotta love the trees, and yes people due live minimalistic. Come on …$1.6M gulp.

1950-1974 Eichler built homes. His tracts are a “collections” with big price tags. I wonder if he built in WA?

 
Comment by cactus
2015-07-07 17:25:34

1950-1974 Eichler built homes. They have some in Thousand Oaks CA by lynn Rd

Lots of glass and flat roofs

 
 
Comment by inchbyinch
2015-07-07 19:07:07

Cactus
I knew about TO and Granada Hills, etc…, and the website devoted to the followers. The few I’ve been in have A roof lines as well. Thanks for that interesting link.

Our home has a 15′, a 12,’ and a 6′ slider. Going dual pane (”Malibu” Anlin w/ French Dr illusion)was expensive. It was a great climate control decision. Those room sizzled.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-07 23:05:38

And it’s all depreciating overpriced junk.

 
Comment by rms
2015-07-07 23:41:51

“1950-1974 Eichler built homes. His tracts are a “collections” with big price tags. I wonder if he built in WA?”

Eichler homes usually had a garden/patio in the center of the home with plenty of sliding glass access, which meant mild climate locations. Not ideal for extreme heat or cold snowy regions. They don’t have much curb appeal either.

 
Comment by rms
2015-07-07 23:56:48

“Center Atrium…”

That’s what I was looking for. Thx, cactus!

 
 
 
Comment by RioRanchoRicardo
2015-07-07 13:59:06

“I wouldn’t say we’re in a bubble,”
“I would say the balloon is growing,”

http://www.quotationof.com/images/upton-sinclairs-quotes-1.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgIW9u8CNq8

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 05:02:20

‘In Missoula, it would take the average worker 5.9 years worth of wages to buy a house. The report said the basic rule of thumb should be 2.6 times one’s take-home pay. Anne Brownell was house shopping for her daughter. She thinks housing prices are too high. “I think it’s maxed,” she said. “I think she would be buying high right now.”

‘Statistics show, for the first five months of 2015, Missoula’s median house price was $235,000, up $11,000 to-date over last year. “You compare that to what the median income earner can afford in Missoula,” said Mike Nugent, with the Missoula Organization of Realtors, “and the median income earner can generally not afford the median income house.”

‘Bozeman’s median house price to-date is higher than Missoula’s, at more than $236,000.’

http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/housing-report-lists-missoula-as-one-of-nations-least-affordable-cities/34025038

Comment by rms
2015-07-07 23:50:38

Montana is a low wage, hard scrabble state.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 05:35:53

‘‘Old habits die hard, especially when there’s no incentive to do things differently,’ says Rachel Steinmetz, a senior underwriter-turned-whistle-blower who worked at subprime lender GreenPoint Mortgage, later bought by Capital One, until June 2006. ‘The same shenanigans are going on again because the same people are controlling the industry,’ says Steinmetz’

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/07/why_eric_holders_new_job_is_an_insult_to_the_american_public/

‘If Las Vegas took bets on whether recently departed Attorney General Eric Holder would return to corporate law firm Covington & Burling, the casinos would have run out of money faster than Greek banks. Newborn infants could have guessed at a homecoming for the former partner at Covington from 2001 to 2009. Last year, Holder bought a condo 300 feet from the firm’s headquarters. The National Law Journal headlined the news, “Holder’s Return to Covington Was Six Years in the Making,” as if acting as the nation’s top law enforcement officer was a temp gig. They even kept an 11th-floor corner office empty for his return.’

‘If we had a more aggressive media, this would be an enormous scandal, more than the decamping of former Obama Administration officials to places like Uber and Amazon. That’s because practically no law firm has done more to protect Wall Street executives from the consequences of their criminal activities than Covington & Burling. Their roster of clients includes every mega-bank in America: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America. Yet Holder has joined several of his ex-employees there, creating a shadow Justice Department and an unquestionable conflict of interest. In fact, given the pathetic fashion in which DoJ limited punishment for those who caused the greatest economic meltdown in 80 years, Holder’s new job looks a lot like his old job.’

‘You could actually make a plausible argument that Covington & Burling bears responsibility for the Great Recession: In the late 1990s, Covington lawyers drafted the legal justification for MERS, the private electronic database that facilitated mortgage-backed securities trading. MERS saved banks from having to submit documents and fees with county land recording offices each time they transferred mortgages. So it’s unlikely you would have seen mortgage securitization at such a high volume without MERS, and by proxy, without those legal opinions. Of course, securitization drove subprime lending, the housing bubble, its eventual crash and the financial meltdown that followed. Though evidence pointed to MERS’ implication in the mass document fraud scandal that infected the foreclosure process, former Covington lawyer Holder never prosecuted them, and now he’s back with the old team.’

‘Covington’s real meal ticket is white-collar defense. They literally promote their aptitude in getting bank clients off the hook in marketing materials. I wrote in Salon last March about the firm’s boasting, in a cover story in the trade publication American Lawyer, about avoiding jail sentences and reducing cash penalties for executives at companies like IndyMac and Charles Schwab. Included in the praiseworthy article is Lanny Breuer, who ran the Justice Department’s criminal division under Holder. Breuer, a vice chairman at Covington, vowed not to represent companies under Justice Department investigation, but his presence in a marketing document specifically wooing bank clients is clear: Sign up with Covington, and you get access to insiders at the highest level.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2015-07-07 05:36:58

Where oh where is alpha sloth, to lecture us on crony capitalism? Mersy me.

 
Comment by 2banana
2015-07-07 13:00:11

John Corzine was doing God’s work.

 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2015-07-07 05:53:23

“Old habits die hard, especially when there’s no incentive to do things differently.”

Jail time, jail time is one incentive to do things differently.

Comment by rms
2015-07-08 00:02:10

There’s jail time, and there’s jail time with a water moccasin.

 
 
Comment by Jingle Male
2015-07-07 06:16:49

“….The indictment says they enticed prospective condo buyers with unsustainable financial incentives, such as down payment refunds and up to three years’ worth of mortgage payments, maintenance costs and property tax payments…..”

Sounds like the Nouveau Riche scam one of my acquaintances became involved with in 2007. Crashed and burned on the same scammer’s strategy. I wonder when Jim Piccolo will go to jail…..I mean BACK to jail?

Comment by Jingle Male
2015-07-07 06:31:41

Hmmm, getting closer to more jail time? This from 2011…

“…..In the first case, the Commission ordered James Piccolo of Scottsdale, Craig Cottrell of Tempe and Michael Roberts of Scottsdale and their affiliated companies to pay $5,577,226 in restitution and a total of $300,000 in administrative penalties for defrauding 105 investors with unregistered deed of trust investments. The Commission found that the men promoted the unregistered deed of trust investments at real estate education seminars where they convinced students to become investors, promising them double-digit returns…..”

Comment by scdave
2015-07-07 07:43:00

at real estate education seminars where they convinced students to become investors, promising them double-digit returns….. ??

Send the ba$turds to prison but IMO, Its their own Gullible fault…If you pay $99.00 to go listen to some dude tell you his “secret” to a million dollar fortune you deserve to get you A$$ handed to you..

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-07-07 10:54:25

You tell us Jingle_Fraud. You’re neck deep in it.

 
 
Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2015-07-07 08:42:09

‘The system was dysfunctional before, so its offspring are going to be dysfunctional as well.’

Particularly true when the PTB make every effort to avoid having the guilty parties brought to justice…

 
Comment by Adult Diapers
2015-07-07 09:01:36

Denver real estate is a total ripoff

 
Comment by Arizona Slim
2015-07-07 09:24:53

Happy-happy joy-joy!

The rental house across the street appears to be ready for sale! I see a nicely dressed, Mercedes-driving fella taking pictures of the place.

I’ve posted about this house before. Daddy bought it for his daughter to liven in while she went to the University of Arizona. After she and her buddies finished turning it to shhhh, the brother moved in with his pals and they continued with the job of running it into the ground.

Last year, a group of party girls moved in. They had a few shebangs, but they stopped after I called the cops on them. Tucson’s finest didn’t arrive until after the party was over and the girls had gone to beddie-bye with their beaus. The cops gave them a stern warning, and they were on their best behavior ever after.

In short, the residents of this house — and their do-nothing landlord with the sweet, high-paying Pima County job — haven’t been an asset to this neighborhood. I’m not sorry to see them go, and I am NOT the only one.

I can’t wait to see what the asking price is. And, if there’s an open house, I will be there with bells on.

Comment by Arizona Slim
2015-07-07 10:18:11

Oops. My bad. My joy got the best of me. I meant to say “LIVE in.”

 
Comment by snake charmer
2015-07-07 11:11:17

Speaking of partying, I was at a wedding in Tucson about 15 years ago. After the reception, everybody decamped for a boozy U of A student hangout called “Dirtbags.”

Comment by Arizona Slim
2015-07-07 12:04:34

And, yes, Dirtbags is still in business. Still boozy. And not the sort of place you’d go to if you were over 25.

 
 
Comment by inchbyinch
2015-07-07 14:31:59

Az Slim
I remember you tales of UOA dirtbag students for neighbors Lawyer cousin when there, and he’s a dirtbag, with a Pepperdine Law Degree.

You must be dancing on air that the shenanigans is over.

This 4th was a huge party and illegal fireworks shooting into the sky from backyards all around us, and we have trees that are matchsticks all around us ,in this So Ca drought. Idiots.

I know from lack of neighborhood etiquette, and unruly inconsiderate a-holes.

Comment by Arizona Slim
2015-07-07 14:54:20

I hear ya, inchbyinch.

We had some very enthusiastic pyrotechnicians in this nabe. Including a crowd that was two houses behind mine. They were launching firecrackers into the sky — and some of them were falling into nearby yards.

Me? I was deathly afraid that there would be a brush fire next door. That’s a rental property with grass as dry as a bone. Fortunately, the cracker-launchers gave it up after the city fireworks display was over. Good. Because they’re not the sort that you can talk to about their behavior. (Read: They’re real ahos.)

Comment by inchbyinch
2015-07-07 19:26:01

Speaking of a Darwin Award (indirectly,) this guy’s actions were mind blowing, literately.

man-shoots-off-firework-from-top-of-his-head-dies
http://abc7.com/news/man-shoots-off-firework-from-top-of-his-head-dies/830297/

His brother said he wasn’t stupid, he just liked to get laughs.
His brother said there was nothing of him left to call 911 for help.
The comments were funny, but this is so sad.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2015-07-07 10:48:33

Denver, CO Housing Prices Fall 8%

http://www.movoto.com/denver-co/market-trends/

Comment by Adult Diapers
2015-07-07 13:04:56

Denver real estate is overpriced garbage

 
 
Comment by rj chicago
2015-07-07 12:27:50

The Daily Herald in Illinois. “A pair of suburban real estate developers are among six defendants indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations they devised and participated in scheme that cost banks and mortgage lenders $16 million and left condo buyers with loans they could not afford, authorities said. The scheme, federal prosecutors said, revolved around the marketing and sale of condominiums at the 50-acre The Woods at Countryside development in Palatine. The indictment says they enticed prospective condo buyers with unsustainable financial incentives, such as down payment refunds and up to three years’ worth of mortgage payments, maintenance costs and property tax payments.”

I live not far from the burg of Palatine - may take a little drive and a stroll in this underwater nabe and report back.
On a parallel and separate note - there is ironically out near Elgin IL a similarly titled development called the Woodlands - what is with that name - it is in the middle of a friggin corn field for heaven’s sake - and 10 years ago they were prepping for all the ex urb folk and then boom the market blew and there it remains - curbs, gutters, streets and lamp poles and alot of dirt - I mean alot of dirt - maybe two, three houses up and operating but nothing else. 10 years now - it is very eerie to drive by this place in the middle of winter with the snow flying about and the street lights on. Redefines the adage - lights are on and nobody home!!!
Enjoy your day. Beautiful for once here in Ch*tcago!!

Oh by the way - 3 more shot dead last night - the carnage continues.

Comment by 2banana
2015-07-07 13:02:14

Wait - there are rebel flags in Chicago?

 
Comment by snake charmer
2015-07-07 13:28:35

In the 2005-06 time frame I drove into Chicago from the west, on I-80, with some friends. A long way before we got to the city, or even what might qualify as the western suburbs, there were several newer tract home subdivisions that looked totally out of place amidst cornfields. It was exurban, drive-until-you-can-afford-it living taken to an absurd extent.

I griped that the placement of the homes was ridiculous, leading one of my exasperated friends to sigh “snake charmer, this is how people want to live.”

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2015-07-07 16:29:08

Well they couldn’t call it ‘Dirtlands’ now could they?

 
 
Comment by Clubber Lang
2015-07-07 16:57:24

Listen to your Wall Street and Washington Soviet masters:

You buy home!

You invest stock market!

You go store and purchase!

 
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