Bits Bucket for March 5, 2016
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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.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Republicans
Opinion
The Republicans created Donald Trump: no wonder they can’t stop him
Jonathan Freedland
‘By ganging up against Donald Trump, his Republican rivals only confirm Trump as the outsider.’
Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters
Saturday 5 March 2016 01.00 EST
Last modified on Saturday 5 March 2016 05.10 EST
At last, the Republican establishment is engaged in a project the entire world can get behind: the campaign to stop Donald Trump. They’ve left it desperately late, but a collective effort is finally under way to prevent the would-be strongman – who boasts of his admiration for Vladimir Putin and insists he will order US soldiers to commit war crimes, torturing prisoners and killing the innocent families of terrorists – from becoming their party’s standard-bearer in November.
The trouble is, nothing seems to work. In fact, it’s worse than that. Trump is coming to resemble a character from a comic-book: not only do bullets bounce off him, they make him stronger. On Thursday, his enemies mounted a double assault. In a move without precedent, the party’s previous nominee – 2012 candidate Mitt Romney – gave a speech that declared this year’s frontrunner unfit to be president. In a more damning indictment than he ever unleashed against Barack Obama, Romney branded Trump a phoney, a fraud, a bankrupt and a misogynist.
Later that night, during yet another televised debate, Trump’s main rivals, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, formed a tag team to pile on Trump, slamming him as a liar and a fake. And that was during the evening’s loftier moments. (Let historians note that one CNN headline read: “Donald Trump defends size of his penis” and leave it at that.)
…
The status quo that you defend is what created an opening for the likes of Trump.
As for defending himself, no need. He’s the one surrounded by beautiful women.
“The status quo that you defend…”
Posting a factual article about Donald Trump has nothing to do with defending the status quo, except for in your mind.
On the contrary friend. It is not lost on any of us the most of your posts lately are anything but factual.
Why don’t you take that up with CNN?
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2015-10/13/19/enhanced/webdr04/anigif_enhanced-28973-1444778608-10.gif
It says opinion right in the article. Why it’s a factual?
Are you a Trump University reject?
Have you taken your meds today?
Here’s Trump destroying McMahon at Wrestelmania, like the smackdown Porf gets here on a daily basis:
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2015-10/13/19/enhanced/webdr04/anigif_enhanced-28973-1444778608-10.gif
Has your wife asked you if everything is alright?
Has your wife mentioned to you that your hands seem small?
I missed the latest Republican debate. We’re any important issues covered?
Donald Trump defends size of his penis
By Gregory Krieg, CNN
Updated 1:32 PM ET, Fri March 4, 2016
Republican presidential candidates Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz participate in a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre on March 3, 2016, in Detroit, Michigan.
Story highlights
* “Look at those hands,” Trump said. “Are they small hands?”
* Rubio in recent days revived a decades-old old insult, mocking Trump for having relatively slight hands
…
Like for example, how big is Little Donald?
Politics
Sorry, Donald! Scientists say finger size really does matter
Keri Blakinger
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: 03/04/2016 11:17 AM ET
Trump defends size of his hands, says he’s well endowed
NY Daily News
Just a little tip for aspiring politicians: Size really does matter.
Finger size, that is.
…
What an asinine topic to bring up during a presidential debate.
Why am I not surprised Trump failed to point that out, and instead went on the defensive about his “hand size”?
Canadian island to Americans: Move here if Trump wins
By Mark Hensch
February 17, 2016, 02:16 pm
A Canadian island is urging Americans to make it their new home should Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump win the White House in November.
“Hi Americans!” a statement on a tourism website for Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, reads. “Donald Trump may become the next president of your country. If that happens, and you decide to get the hell out of there, might I suggest moving to Cape Breton Island?”
The statement adds: “Don’t wait until Election Day to find somewhere else to live!
“Start now – that way, on Election Day, you just hop on a bus to start your new life in Cape Breton, where women can get abortions, Muslim people can roam freely and the only ‘walls’ are holding up the roofs of our extremely affordable houses.”
The website then explained its rationale for seeking potential American residents disgusted by the prospect of a Trump administration.
“We are an island about the same size as the Hawaiian Big Island on the east coast of Canada,” its statement reads. “We always rank high on travel magazine lists of beautiful islands, but we are experiencing a bit of a population problem at the moment.
“We need people [and] we need you! This is not a joke! See for yourself – you belong here on Cape Breton Island, where healthcare is free, you know your neighbors and they look out for you and nobody has a hand gun.”
“In Cape Breton, we value diversity,” its tourism site reads. “Here, you can hear a number of other languages, like French and Mi’kmaq, even Gaelic! But everybody speaks English, too, just like you.
“Yes, this is Canada, but Cape Breton isn’t frozen all year round! Our summers are delightful with highs in the 80-degree range. Winters here are very similar to the Northeast USA.”
I love that story, which I first heard word-of-mouth from a Canadian friend.
I haven’t heard of people who want to leave if Hillary gets elected. If you come across any such articles, please post.
“I haven’t heard of people who want to leave if Hillary gets elected.”
So far I have survived Obama I guess I could probably survive Hillary too.
Same for me with either of Hillary or The Donald.
PBear, you need really to look at the bright side of a Trump victory: Miley Cyrus promises to leave the country! That is a powerful incentive to VOTE TRUMP 2016!
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/miley-cyrus-donald-trump-instagrams
Miley can twerk away from now until she is old and wrinkled. I don’t care…
Encrypt no matter which tyrant wins. If you don’t encrypt you lose.
Critic’s Notebook
A National Descent Into Trump’s Pants
Donald J. Trump after the Republican debate on Thursday.
Richard Perry / The New York Times
By JAMES PONIEWOZIK
March 4, 2016
The Republican debate on Fox News on Thursday night was an argument over whose was bigger. Whose lies. Whose poll numbers. Whose … wherever.
A gobsmacking day of intraparty pie-throwing ended with Donald J. Trump, from the stage of the Fox Theater in Detroit, assuring the American public that the size of his male appendage was just fine. “I guarantee you,” he said, “there’s no problem.”
…
Having sex with Donald Trump was the best sex I ever had.
I bet you never had sex with Bubba, then. I hear he has “big hands”.
/\ /\
In the tank for Hillary. Proof.
^ M.T. SKULL proof
I prefer the term “proportionate”.
Is now a good time to buy the dip…
a href=”https://iemweb.biz.uiowa.edu/graphs/graph_Pres16_WTA.cfm”>in the price of a bet that the Republicans will win the 2016 Presidential election?
Trying again…
in the price of a bet that the Republicans will win the 2016 Presidential election?
I had a heck of a time getting this post to work on my Android phone; maybe I should boycott Motorola.
For those interested in more information about the Iowa Electronic Presidential Prediction Markets, here is a link to research employing IEM data, and here is a link to historical data.
Enjoy!
I got frustrated with trying to get the IEM Market links to work, so have created my own figure from the Winner Takes All Presidential Elections Futures prices.
Take home: The closer Trump gets to securing the Republican Presidential nomination, the farther the prospects of a Republican victory in November sink.
Small wonder the Republican Party leaders are in an open state of panic!
Here is a better version of the figure I just posted which fixes some warts. Let me know if you can suggest further improvements!
Some “Winner”
Trump or Romney, who pocketed more money from failed businesses?
Bernie said what’s a business?
In fairness, lots of businessesmen have failures along the way. But Trump seems to have had an exceptional number oh them!
Schneiderman: Trump University fraud ‘pretty straightforward’
by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney
March 4, 2016: 11:16 AM ET
N.Y. attorney general on the case against Trump University
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that evidence of the fraud perpetrated by Trump University is “pretty straightforward.”
“It [was] a bait and switch scheme,” he said on CNN’s New Day Friday, defending his and other lawsuits against the school. “He did ads saying my hand-picked instructors will teach you my personal secrets. You just copy what I did and get rich.”
But Schneiderman said evidence in the case makes clear that Trump was not involved in hiring instructors, and that he didn’t create the program’s curriculum.
“If you tell people we’re going to teach you Donald Trump’s secrets, and he never had any part in writing the curriculum, that’s fraud,” Schneiderman said.
…
“falling housing prices”
Trump needs to stop lying. America can’t be make great again.
Not that it ever was.
This bubble popping will be Epic.
The “victims” will be crying in the street. Banks will implode. The loonie will make for some cheap vacations.
———————-
“This Is A Ridiculous Joke” - An Abandoned, Rotting Vancouver House Is Listed For $7.2 Million
ZeroHedge - 03/04/2016
One month ago, we wrote about the curious story of several Vancouver homes which sold in 2011 to Chinese buyers for millions and dollars, and which had since been left completely abandoned, vacant and rotting. As Postmedia News first reported that the home — in the 4100-block West 8th Avenue, bought for $4.6 million in July 2011 by Huaican Ren and his wife Xuepei Sun, was subject to a City of Vancouver “untidy premises” order.
City hall is currently trying to estimate how many Vancouver homes are vacant. And these online communities are anecdotally gathering photo evidence and coming to conclusions that offshore investment is to blame. In other words, the “Chinese.”
What is fascinating is the history of flips involving just this one home, and involving Chinese “investors: Huaican Ren, then listed as “businessman,” and his wife Xue Pei Sun, “homemaker,” bought the home from Wei Min Zhang in July 2011 for $4.6 million. Wei Min Zhang in turn had bought the home in July 2010 for $3.35 million.
And it is about to be flipped again: according to Sam Cooper of PostMedia news, the vacant, rotting, “ownerless” $6.2-million home is on the market again. For $7.2 million!
We are sad to say that this “abandoned, rotting” house will sell, and almost certainly above asking. At that point we can begin counting down the days until the new owner (Chinese, of course) will likewise disappear. We explained this odd dynamic a month ago:
We also said that “as more Chinese scramble to engage and repeat if only the first three steps, the price of local housing, which is merely a store of value to price indiscriminate foreign buyers, soars while it makes home purchases for the domestic population prohibitively expensive and virtually impossible.”
For its part, the local government has no incentive to stop this recycling of real estate: after all the higher the price, and the more the “flips”, the greater the taxes collected.
We do, however, express our condolences to the local population which not only can not afford to chase these ridiculous bids ever higher, but is left out in the cold… literally.
“For its part, the local government has no incentive to stop this recycling of real estate: after all the higher the price, and the more the “flips”, the greater the taxes collected.”
The comps, don’t forget the comps. The higher the price the greater is the equity growth experienced by those who own their own houses - paid for or not.
Magic!
Chance are very good that their houses produces more wealth for these guys than what they get by working their jobs.
Wealth produced for them by the actions of complete strangers.
A miracle!
The magic that is used to entice a house to create wealth for one person due to the actions of strangers is not the common variety magic you might in everyday miracles, instead it is a magnified type of magic, a leveraged type of magic, a magic you will find when prices are levitated due to commitments to buying (as compared the the much, much more expensive action of actually buying), commitments to buying that does indeed fill the pockets of the seller immediately and in full but at the same time does not empty the pockets of the buyer immediately nor does it empty them in full.
Now, just how amazing and magical is this? How can a seller get his price immediately and in full while at the same time the buyer doesn’t have to do either - he doesn’t have to pay the price immediately nor does have to pay the price in full (not in full immediately that is. In the long run he may end up paying many times price the seller received but in the long run he - and we - will be dead).
So the incentive for the seller to sell at a high price is not altogether countered by the incentive for the buyer to buy at a low price and so (surprise! surprise! surprise!) high and rising prices is what you end up seeing.
Their new lib pm says spending is good for u n me
Looney at 74¢
The decline in the values of the loonie was caused by the decline in price of oil and other commodities. Look on the bright side. There were probably shorter lines at Disney World this winter.
Great used to mean personal freedoms and economic opportunity.
What you did with that golden lottery was up to you.
Now great means obamacare, banning guns, celebrating thugs and giving the free sh*t army more free sh*t.
Thank you progressives.
“…celebrating thugs…”
Thank you, Donald Trump.
Now great means obamacare, banning guns, celebrating thugs and giving the free sh*t army more free sh*t.
So I assume that you’ll be voting against Trump.
“America can’t be make great again.”
Nonsense, all we need is more credit.
Is Trump a real conservative?
Politics
Donald Trump Pulls Out Of Conservative Confab
Updated March 4, 2016 2:43 PM ET
Published March 4, 2016 1:44 PM ET
Jessica Taylor - Square 2015
Donald Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2015.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Donald Trump has abruptly canceled a planned appearance Saturday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a major annual gathering of the GOP faithful.
In a Friday afternoon typo-ridden statement, the GOP presidential front-runner said he instead will be holding a “major rally on Saturday prior to Caucus” in “Witchita, Kanasas” [sic].
“Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years. Mr. Trump would like to thank Matt Schlapp and all of the executives at CPAC and looks forward to returning to next year, hopefully as President of the United States,” his campaign said.
There had been rumblings that the real estate mogul could face a hostile crowd at the conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington.
“We’re having [a] massive walkout on Saturday when [Trump] comes to speak,” one activist, dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier, told the National Review. “We already have over 300 people who are going to get up at one time to go the bathroom.”
The conference’s official Twitter account expressed their disappointment and said the snub was an affront to conservatives.
…
CPAC are the folks who want to broker a convention against him. Can’t say I blame Trump for telling them off.
He can run, but he can’t hide.
I don’t know. Trump is a real statist. And his brainwashed are emotionally blind. It is collectivism when you do not see the statism in his talking points: Forced deportation of millions, execution of whistleblowers that reveal state crimes, killing family members who have black sheep in their family, building a wall.
Donald Trump is no Ron Paul. Donald Trump is a tyrant compared to even Rand Paul.
Donald Trump is no libertarian. It does not matter if his fans call him conservative or liberal.
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Bill.
And now back to the GOP Presidential debate about which candidate has the largest “hands”…
Thank you both for being honest about wanting open borders and lawlessness.
Thank you for showing everyone once again that you are a black-and-white thinker.
Quacks like a duck.
“Quacks like a duck.”
Donald Duck and Trump!
All the undisputed truth, Bill. But it comes down to a choice: Trump or Goldman Sachs. Trump isn’t a rabid neocon, and a vote for him is the best way to take a wrecking ball to the corrupt establishment GOP, which are the best reasons I can think of to vote for him.
+ >1
I’m all for throwing a wrecking ball.
Bill however does not have a say in this.
How did you get a say and Bill doesn’t? Are you among the betters?
Bill has defaulted on his right and responsibility to vote.
/\ BETTER. VOTER
Blue is just being a fascist like his idol. Last time I read the first amendment it did not say only voters have free speech. Nice try Nazi Blue. But fail!
Where do you get off calling me a Nazi?
Talk all you want, if you don’t vote you have no say in the election itself.
Bill makes his own rules after reading Harry Browne’s How To Live Free in an Unfree World. It’s very informative. You can get a PDF on the Internet for free.
Page 262 has some wonderful advice concerning children.
Bill doesn’t sound like he’s enjoying his freedom much.
Back to housing for a moment.
Here’s a link to an article I found interesting about one young Vancouver native’s story about being priced out of her home town.
As I was reading this I thought to myself that it must be really bad if young people are moving to San Francisco because it’s more affordable than Vancouver.
http://www.newgeography.com/content/005185-the-great-vancouver-exodus-why-i-m-almost-ready-leave-city
Does that reflect reality or is it just more pimping?
Is demand in Vancouver at 20 year lows like in the US(30 year low in CA)?
Same story in Long Island/NYC/Conn/RI/Mass etc.
I meet young folks all the time in the south.
No paying jobs in the NE, insane housing prices and truly insane property taxes.
“I could not afford to live in the town I grew up in…”
“I could afford the property taxes if I was given a house for free…”
And on the other side of the age spectrum, retirees end up not necessarily going to where retirees end up, since the ones who got there first raised the price to get in. When I lived in Tucson in the 90s I was surprised to find so many young people there. And I was surprised it to find its reputation of having very low wages. I thought Before that Tucson was for old people.
Economics works on both sides of the age spectrum and brings us together. When you see a city of predominately young people or old people you see a bubble about ready to burst. Young people keep the economy going with their productivity. Old people keep the economy going with consuming. A mix is necessary.
So far, Phoenix, which “everyone hates” is doing okay for not having a great year round climate. It has a good mix of young and old, and white and brown. Even in its dust bowl year of 2011 I still saw people digging in, enjoying the low cost of living and the city was still modernizing. Although I moved away last year to California, I know that if I move back to Phoenix I will regain that same sense of moving to more freedom that I felt when I moved into Arizona in 1996.
Though the expensive places such as San Francisco are beautiful and exciting, there are sections in Phoenix, Houston, Mineapolis, Columbus, Tampa, northern New Jersey, even Baltimore, where life could not be better anywhere else.
‘Though the expensive places such as San Francisco are beautiful and exciting, there are sections in Phoenix, Houston, Mineapolis, Columbus, Tampa, northern New Jersey, even Baltimore, where life could not be better anywhere else.’
What are retirees looking for in a city? Low costs of living or progressive lifestyles or access to big city amenities, etc?
Mild climate, low cost of living, good health care facilities, proximity to extended family and friends would be on my list.
Progressive lifestyles are for the younger folks in my opinion.
‘Progressive lifestyles are for the younger folks in my opinion.’
I was thinking of college towns on that one. I think those US & World News Reports type outfits often list college towns as top places for retirees.
“…Progressive lifestyles…”
I move to ban the word ‘progressive’ from the HBB lexicon. It is used so often to demonize posters who don’t cow tow to the Trumplings that it is completely devoid of its original meaning.
Here’s a link to an article I found interesting about one young Vancouver native’s story about being priced out of her home town.
If I were a young Vancouver-ite, I’d move into one of those vacant, decaying properties owned by an absentee Chinese owner…
Do they have adverse possession statutes in Canada?
seems like stocks and homes will never go down again.
The Echo Bubble is destined to last forever, just like the last bubble did.
Oh wait…
We’ve agreed to terms over email. We’re proceeding without a realtor. I would appreciate a few things in the next few days here: a little help, and please save the flaming for later. I’ve been on HBB from the start… ten years or so. I’m not asking for much. You are all licensed to call me donk beginning May 1st, for now, I have to get through this without a realtor. Jeff, thank you for your description in yesterday’s bits, that is precisely the situation I am in. If we either purchased or rented on the open market right now, in the same neighborhood, we’d be paying more thatn what we’ll be paying once we close. If it helps any of you doubters, I am making the decision in the best interest of my kids and family. We are five minutes from their school, which means very short travel times and the neighborhood is a kid-safe as they come in Florida. % of my income going to housing will be 24% and even lower when my wife becomes and administrator, which will happen between now and June.
Steps
1. Mortgage Pre-approval, done
2. Sales contract, in progress, my lawyer neighbor is going to look it over
3. Title Co., seller chooses?
4. Inspection, I choose and pay?
5. Appraisal, bank sets up?
6. Closing, I don’t have to, but I should bring an attorney, yes?
Muggy -
I bought and later sold a house in Clearwater (1997/2002).
Both times used the standard form Residential Contract for Purchase and Sale approved by the Florida Bar and Florida Realtors. You can find it with a google search.
I don’t recall who chose the title company. Just use one that’s established and close to the subject property.
You choose the inspector. I used one that was recommended by a friend who was a residential appraiser at the time. The ones recommended by realtors *may* have an incentive to overlook items that could upset the deal because they’re looking for their next referral.
Bank/Lender chooses the appraiser.
Bringing an attorney is up to you. By all means get the title insurance to cover your equity.
Remember to bring a frisbee with you the next time you go to the beach with your kids to watch the sun set into the Gulf.
Good luck!
Muggy, like I said all the easy decisions end in your 20s. In your situation it seems like you’re making the best decision given all the information available to you. I wish you all the best and congratulate you on your decision. May you and your family enjoy many happy years in your new home.
Would-be flammers, show some class. Every HBBer is responsible for doing right by their families: once one of our own has made their decision to buy, based on their specific circumstances and priorities, it’s time to get behind them and be supportive.
Thanks, I did look at an apartment complex nearby, and three br prices were ridiculous ($200 more than I will be paying) and garage was extra. No space for free play…
Remember Muggy, trust no one when buying. Even the people you hire, Realturd, loan scammer, house inspector….
Make the seller give you a great 1 yr home warranty.
they all work for the seller.
There’s only one place to rent in the entire town?
Naw, there’s thousands of places, and they’re all terrible.
“2. Sales contract, in progress, my lawyer neighbor is going to look it over”
IMHO even if you have to pay a lawyer $400 it is money well spent.
“3. Title Co., seller chooses?”
When I sold in 2005 I chose and paid and when I bought in 2012 the seller chose and paid but I would ask the lawyer.
“4. Inspection, I choose and pay?”
You choose and you pay. I would get some references, you could ask a Realtor or mortgage broker you trust (if they exist) or possibly hit your local building department and ask them.
“5. Appraisal, bank sets up?”
For me that was a yes.
“6. Closing, I don’t have to, but I should bring an attorney, yes?”
I would give the same answer as 2.
Good luck dude
Excellent, thank you. I have an attorney friend/neighbor that is going to help. I’m 99% sure I have a reputable inspector. I need to research title companies.
Hire a regular real estate lawyer.
7. Don’t overpay.(<$50/sqft)
8. Escrow $2.50/sq ft per year to offset depreciation.
#3. Yes
#4. Yes
#5. Yes
#6. Not necessarily but maybe…I am not familiar with Florida closings…With that said, Its typically pretty straight forward and the title officer should explain everything to you…Once your loan documents get to the title company ask for a estimated closing statement along with a copy of the mortgage note…Read those carefully and if you have a question ask your title officer and see if you get a acceptable answer…You can always turn back to your attorney if necessary…
Hire an actual Real Estate Attorney. It should only cost a couple of hundred. Then most of your questions are answered.
Put in the contract that Everything is subject to your Attorney’s approval. Everything. One simple line that is a free exit.
I wish you nothing but the best of luck, Muggy!
We all agree housing is not an investment but rather a life style. Muggy it appears you are really a decent thoughtful guy with a good head on your shoulders. I applaud your decision. Life is too short to nickel and dime yourself or your family. Living a full life filled with memories and experiences is worth something. In the end even if you lose some money who cares.
I say go for it. Happy home ownership.
You missed step 7
Invite Hbber’s to a bang up house warming party.
In addition to hiring a house inspector you should check the place out thoroughly yourself top to bottom, including the crawl space if there is one…did this myself and found that pest report clearance repairs done at the sellers expense were not done properly and I was able to get that fixed as a condition for closing the deal. The seller had also wanted to use their contracted bug and pest provider (since this was no additional charge for them) but I insisted on picking an independent one at my expense since theirs would have a powerful incentive to not find any problems…and as it happens mine did find some relatively minor termite damage. Also FWIW years later I found some old and serious hidden termite and carpenter ant damage on my own when doing repairs, both the house and termite inspectors missed it….this was so extensive I had to tear the front porch down completely and rebuild it from the ground up.
All that being said contrary to some here owning was a very good experience for me, bought in 1997 and my monthly housing cost after tax deductions was about what I’d been paying in rent. Spent about $10K in repairs and upgrades, did nearly all the work myself and mostly enjoyed that. Sold in early 2007 thanks in part to the HBB correctly predicating that the pop was imminent and walked away with $200K cash tax free.
My timing was good but I bought the place for the right reason…TO LIVE IN IT…I don’t want or expect to make a profit on a house again. No way I’d buy in my area (northern Calif.) currently as we have a second bubble as big as the last one but can see it making sense in some other areas. Here I need to wait until Bubble 2.0 pops….
(did try to buy in 2011/2012 but was shut out several times by 100% cash flippers and speculators)
Had you the misfortune of actually buying a shack in 2012, how far underwater would you be today?
With the Fed’s debasement of the currency, it is likely Muggy will be paying back his loan with Weimar-style wheelbarrow money.
Meanwhile the deflationary spiral rages on.
Remember…. Nothing accelerates the economy like falling prices resulting in an increasingly valuable currency. Nothing.
Miami Beach FL Housing Market Folding; Prices Crater 9% YoY As Speculators Dump Properties En Masse
http://www.zillow.com/miami-beach-fl/home-values/
You OK Muggy?
(LAST NIGHT) I DIDN’T GET TO SLEEP AT ALL 1972 - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T94l0qlYPvU - 239k -
Instead of nodding off with a stuffed donkey, preparing to be one is causing nightmarish insomnia.
I would definitely take loss of sleep over the prospect of signing a death pledge into account in the decision. We lived in two different homes bought during the course of the pre-bubble era. I don’t recall losing any sleep in either case, because it was cheaper to buy than to rent comparable property.
jeff, did you ever re-post what you wrote about why you prefer to own your home in Florida? I thought it was a really good summation and might be helpful to Muggy.
Never mind, I see from Muggy’s post that you did.
He did post it, and it is precisely how I feel / similar situation.
There is nothing wrong with owning a home so long as you don’t pay a mania price for it.
∆ It really is as simple as that.
I’m not. Mania price was $390… take more than a third off that
OK, Muggy. However, do you realize we are nearing the end of another business cycle and homes always go on sale during a recession? I know you face the prospect of a forced move, which drives many a young family into loan ownership.
I do, Bear. I do realize we’re at peak 2. I simply don’t care.
So long as you are wealthy enough to throw $10Ks out the window, enjoy!
Also enjoy the humor as your wife nickels and dimes you on the price of the tomatoes you buy at the store, once you are stretching yourselves to the hilt trying to pony up $KKKs a month for a mortgage payment.
Bill Clinton signed NAFTA
obama wants to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership
no differences in parties…
oh wait…
And PS - Yahoo Finance writers are idiots.
—————
Trump’s bad logic on ‘bad trade deals’
Yahoo Finance - Rick Newman - 3/5/2016
Somebody please tell Donald Trump: A trade deficit isn’t a loss. You could even argue it’s a gain.
The Republican presidential frontrunner has been railing against “bad trade deals” since declaring his candidacy last summer. And he’s amplified the criticism, if that’s possible, in recent weeks. “If you look at China, and you look at Japan, and if you look at Mexico … they’re killing us,” he said during the latest Republican debate on Fox News. “With China we’re going to lose $505 billion in terms of trade …. Mexico, $58 billion. Japan, probably about… $109 billion.”
Trump is talking about the annual U.S. trade deficit with those three countries—but the amounts in question are anything but losses. Trade occurs when one party buys something from another, and trade between countries has the same mutual benefit as trade between an individual consumer and a merchant: each side gets something they want. “They’re sending us goods and we’re sending them green pieces of paper,” says Patrick Newport, U.S. economist for forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. “I don’t see how that’s a loss.”
Free trade can be tough to defend because the benefits to Americans—cheaper goods, stronger purchasing power and a more efficient economy—are spread broadly across the entire population. And those benefits are often intangible. Yet the costs of free trade, such as an individual company’s decision to close a U.S. factory and move it overseas, create concentrated loss that’s intuitively easy to understand. Free trade creates far more winners than losers, but the losers are more visible and often, more vocal.
“..benefits to Americans—cheaper goods, stronger purchasing power and a more efficient economy-”
cheaper goods that people without jobs cannot purchase, no purchasing power without a job, and efficient my azz. Not tough to defend; impossible to defend.
We have covered this before:
Following diplomatic negotiations dating back to 1990 among the three nations, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas, each responsible for spearheading and promoting the agreement, ceremonially signed the agreement in their respective capitals on December 17, 1992.[5] The signed agreement then needed to be ratified by each nation’s legislative or parliamentary branch.
After much consideration and emotional discussion, the House of Representatives passed the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on November 17, 1993, 234-200. The agreement’s supporters included 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, 61-38.[6] Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.
It looks like the imaginary family of Canklepants, Anklepants, Meltdown, DumidolFanger, DuplicitousDoper, AlcoholAnger, Yuuuge in Burma and the fake Donald Trump all had a bit too much hard drink last night and are sleeping it off, as their half of the posts are missing.
rent free
Thought free
Copy and paste anti Trump articles. Yep that requires thoughts.
I just finished doing a little data analysis you might find interesting. Stay tuned!
Rent free! Now data analysis. Please consult your wife concerning your recent change in behavior. I think you’ve posted 30 plus antiTrump articles here for days despite Ben’s warning memes.
Did you see the figure I posted above? Try not to rant like crazy about it.
The bubble mania continues in Vancouever. What happens when the flood of Chinese embezzlers and money launderers slows to a trickle?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-04/ridiculous-joke-abandoned-rotting-vancouver-house-listed-72-million
Are sane lenders and financial institutions finally pushing back against the Keynesian fraudsters and “former” Goldmanites at the central banks?
http://wolfstreet.com/2016/03/04/palace-revolt-ecb-nirp-negative-interest-rates-by-bavarian-savings-banks/
Brother BIll, what are your thoughts on this?
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blockchain-2016-3
Banks have been getting in on the blockchain. I’m all for it. They are making use of the technology to help decentralize everything. My focus is on Ethereum for now because its blockchain technology is advanced decentralization. But the more the merrier.
Our way of life is going to be radically decentralized in all ways within a generation. My career is about helping to bring it about quickly.
The rein of terror by rulers will continue in the meantime. The next tyrant in the white house in might be the last tyrant.
While rank and file Democrats are embracing the corrupt status quo with their support for the vile crony capitalist Hillary Clinton, the Republican base are raising their middle fingers en masse at the sellout RINO neocons of the GOP establishment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-party.html?_r=0
The globalists and their NEA henchmen continue their efforts to turn our schools into neoliberal indoctrination mills turning out snowflakes and sheep. Mr. Banker might be right: while the thinking 5% will stubbornly resist such measures, the stupid 95% can become even more indescribably stupid, if that’s even possible.
http://www.hannity.com/articles/hanpr-election-493995/outrageous-public-school-students-taught-to-14451508/#ixzz41xdMfY6C
“We pledge allegiance to an International Flag!” Our dual language classroom strives to be a place that everyone feels welcome! (Emphasis added)
I saw that, reminded me of…
“We are all Americans — north and south in this hemisphere,” and urged America to see this as not a crisis but an opportunity ”
Saturday at a press conference from the Rio Grande Valley, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) discussed her tour of a border holding facility and addressed the humanitarian crisis of thousands unaccompanied minors flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border, which she called a “humanitarian opportunity.”
Pelosi explained, “We are all Americans — north and south in this hemisphere,” and urged America to see this as not a crisis but an opportunity “to be helpful.” She also said she wished she could simply “take home” the thousands of children temporarily housed in the overburden facilities.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/06/pelosi_at_the_border_we_are_all_americans.html#ixzz423ICyXCe
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
Pelosi might be on to something. ‘Muricans are rapidly becoming as amoral and accepting of corruption as our neighbors to the south.
The gold rush is on as the more astute members of the population are starting to see the inevitable endgame of nation-states letting criminal private banking cartels control their monetary policies and money issuance.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/03/04/gold-soars-into-bull-market-as-global-growth-fears-mount/
Pity the nuerotic snowflakes….
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/psychologists-and-massage-therapists-are-reporting-trump-anxiety-among-clients-a6914046.html
Sad Snowflake Saunders supporter sobs over Trump Meanies who aren’t keen on forced redistribution of wealth or “fundamental change.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoAmll3ViQA
Vermin control in Philly. Scratch two Hillary voters.
http://6abc.com/news/police-man-65-shoots-attacking-duo-in-queen-village/1226676/
More fundamental transformation comes to Europe. Coming soon to a community near you if Obama and Hillary have their way.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3478002/Refugee-boys-raped-Calais-Jungle.html
Got popcorn?
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-never-polls-wins-2016-3
GOP strategist Rick Wilson, a prominent Trump critic, told Business Insider why some Republicans are more focused on stopping Trump than Clinton:
Stopping Trump is most important. Hillary Clinton is a nightmare but she’s not actually clinically insane. She’d unify conservatives against her. Trump will destroy not only the GOP but also the modern conservative movement. He’ll also pollute the GOP brand for a generation.
They got elected to stop Obama and didn’t so maybe the GOP can stop Trump.
Revealed! Inside look at why GOP won’t fight Obama
Published: 09/03/2015 at 8:59 PM
WASHINGTON – Why won’t Republican leadership in Congress fight President Obama?
It’s the question that frustrates 75 percent of GOP voters and an issue that has likely helped Donald Trump skyrocket in the polls.
Now, WND has obtained a revealing look into the thought process of the congressional Republican elite during a candid email exchange with a Senate leadership aide.
It showed why GOP leadership is apparently so reluctant to effectively confront Obama on such key issues as defunding executive amnesty, Obamacare and Planned Parenthood.
These are the key points to arise from the dialogue:
GOP leaders appear to be truly afraid of the extremist label and are sensitive about their image.
They appear mortified by the notion of another government shutdown.
They believe the 2013 shutdown hurt the party even though the GOP went on to a landslide win at the polls in 2014.
It seems they want to avoid actual confrontation and prefer to go on record as opposed to Obama.
Perhaps the most revealing element of the exchange: When GOP leaders say they will use all means at their disposal to confront Obama, they do not mean all means.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/revealed-inside-look-at-why-gop-wont-fight-obama/#cAmuLuwKbwitV0SM.99
If you do not encrypt, you are a bootlicker, likely a Trump lover. If you do encrypt, you are upsetting tyrant Trump.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/encryption-made-easy,news-22351.html
Has Trump followed through on his plan to boycott Apple yet?
I noticed he changed his proposal to force our servicemen to commit war crimes when it dented his poll numbers.
I don’t know but I got sick and tired of Statists being hypocrites long ago. Encryption for me, not for thee.
http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/donald-trump-calls-for-apple-boycott-uses-an-iphone-on-twitter-500672-3.jpg
The only people I see wanting to spy on all Americans ans have phone manufacturers give up a back door is the obama administration.
Only fools rely on third parties to encrypt. Open source encryption is the safest way.
Did Donald Trump really say that Mormons have an “alien” faith?
You Need to Know Donald Trump’s Opinion on Mormons
By Christopher D. Cunningham
Feb 29, 2016
Donald Trump at a Presidential Candidate debate
Opinion
Church leaders encourage members to “study [political] candidates carefully.”
While the Church remains politically neutral, this article studies the statements from the Donald Trump campaign about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Donald Trump Phenomenon
When Donald Trump began running for president in the summer of 2015, most pundits dismissed his candidacy because of his public profile as a reality TV entertainer.
His campaign generated attention through a series of controversial statements that alienated many voters but won him a devoted following. Still, few considered him a viable candidate.
But now that voting has begun, Trump has started to win actual delegates for the nomination. His statements that did not make front page news now deserve special consideration.
Trump’s campaign has made two statements in relation to Latter-day Saints.
1) Mormons have an “alien” faith
…
2) “Investigate Mormon Churches and Shut them Down”
…
Donald Trump: Mitt Romney ‘would have dropped to his knees’ for my endorsement
By Tom LoBianco, CNN
Updated 8:17 PM ET, Thu March 3, 2016 | Video Source: CNN
…
They believe God is a space alien named Maroni. Seriously.
There is a South Park episode about the whole ridiculous relegion, that is absolutely true and absolutely hilarious. The Mormons got into the space cult thing very early.
It’s weird they don’t just limit their beliefs to the God who changed water into wine, healed the sick, walked on the water, and was executed by death sentence, only to come back to life three days later with no signs any harm was done, the way that normal (”non-alien”) Christians do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3JLKw0q4kY
It’s mediaopoly!
Congress, for instance, refuses to raise the national gasoline tax, even though gas prices are extremely low and the Highway Trust Fund, which is supposed to be funded by gas taxes, requires “offsets” from other programs every year. Despite years of griping about a mushrooming national debt that’s now $19 trillion, Congress steadfastly refuses to raise taxes (or cut spending) so the government spends within its means. Instead, it borrows, inevitably passing the bill onto future generations.
Works for me. I have no kids. The whole thing can burn to the ground in 40 years for all I care.
Jeff, may I have you contact me at hbbmuggy@gmail.com? I would like to forward you the link to the seweroscopy so you can take a look if you have a moment. I’m think foaming root killer for a few years, then pipe re-lining, or let me know if it’s a deal-killer. It’s the only issue.
Like we said, get a heavy quote from a site contractor and deduct it from the sale price.
Hey Muggy
Let me know if you got what I sent you.
PS
I talked to a long time superintendent who has been building houses in South Florida since he got out of high school and as long as it is outside the slab the general consensus is what our main man Mafia said, get a couple of quotes to bargain with. If the problem is under the slab that could change.
Under slab
The video is nearly a gig, still downloading… here is a screenshot
I just checked my email and I did get your message and very much appreciate it. The video is killing my computer. I’ll probably download it, edit some stuff out, upload it to youtube and send that link. That’ll take a day or so. I sincerely appreciate the help.
In the meantime, here is a screenshot of the root (upper right corner): http://picpaste.com/pics/root_intrusion-gTM2DZ3H.1457235745.png
It’s terazzo, so I’d prefer to go with pipe liner. The sellers already agreed to knock $10k off price for this. We’re assuming it’ll eventually have to be replaced the hard way. I’m hoping I can foam it, get a year or two, line it, and maybe get 5-10 years before cutting through slab.
I’ll check back with you in the morning.
Focus on the technical details of the home purchase, and you won’t have to think about burning $10Ks…
Brazilian leftists, like American Democrats, rally behind corrupt leaders.
http://news.yahoo.com/corruption-scandal-stokes-anger-bitterly-divided-brazil-190856497.html
Washington D.C.’s corrupt, incompetent (Democrat) city council has a new hug-a-thug program: paying felons to promise (without smirking) to be nice. The unwritten contract on the payola is doubtlessly to deliver the thug vote for the Demcrats.
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/crime-totally-pays-dc-council-approves-paying-criminals-to-stop-committing-violent-crimes_032016
Swedes bend over the the oligarchs and globalists by meekly letting the latter impose a cashless society. Good-bye, freedom. Hello, Orwellian suveillance and control, and unfettered neoliberal looting of the proles.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-05/sweden-begins-5-year-countdown-until-it-eliminates-all-cash
People vote for Constitution tramplers, then wonder why police kick in their doors and ransack their houses with impunity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2016/03/05/probable-cause/
In all fairness, Marquito totally deserved that comeback. After all, he was the one who said Trump had small hands (he doesn’t) and implied if the hands were small, so was something else. Trump could have gone a whole lot further than trading innuendo for innuendo. He could have made some reference to the tax returns and asked if Marquito wanted to see something else, too, but he didn’t.
BTW, I lived in South Florida for many years, including a stint in Miami. You haven’t seen crude and corrupt politics until you’ve seen them go at it with each other there. Google up the face-off between Joe Carollo and Xavier Suarez from the 1990s. Now THERE was a moment. This is the background that spawned Marquito.
I really don’t understand the media and other politicians getting the vapors about Trump, especially considering the likes of JFK, LBJ and Nixon, not to mention Hillary and Bill. Or Karl Rove’s little scene at the Mayflower Hotel (Wayne Madsen). Or the Larry Franklin-Bush cover-up. Where’s the MSM on all of that?
I noticed, for example, the google news aggravator is full of Louis CK’s Hitler trumpeting. Really? I first saw him on SNL a few years ago and thought he was a riot and posted about him here on the blog, thinking he was the heir to George Carlin. Then I looked at some of his other work on Youtube and came away with a real queasy feeling.
This is a guy who finds it a real laugh a minute to demean and degrade his own family in his comedy routines, including references to his daughter’s private parts. I mean, this is way beyond Henny Youngman’s “take my wife, please!” A real shame, too, because the guy could actually be funny without plumbing the depths. And here he is, calling Trump Hitler. Wonder what CK’s family has to say about him? That crap is on the internet for the rest of their lives. No wonder his wife divorced him.
More proof, as if more were needed, that ‘Murica has descended into IDIOCRACY.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/arts/television/a-national-descent-into-trumps-pants.html?_r=0
Oops, that reply above should have gone here, sorry about that:
“In all fairness, Marquito totally deserved that comeback. After all, he was the one who said Trump had small hands (he doesn’t) and implied if the hands were small, so was something else. Trump could have gone a whole lot further than trading innuendo for innuendo. He could have made some reference to the tax returns and asked if Marquito wanted to see something else, too, but he didn’t.
BTW, I lived in South Florida for many years, including a stint in Miami. You haven’t seen crude and corrupt politics until you’ve seen them go at it with each other there. Google up the face-off between Joe Carollo and Xavier Suarez from the 1990s. Now THERE was a moment. This is the background that spawned Marquito.
I really don’t understand the media and other politicians getting the vapors about Trump, especially considering the likes of JFK, LBJ and Nixon, not to mention Hillary and Bill. Or Karl Rove’s little scene at the Mayflower Hotel (Wayne Madsen). Or the Larry Franklin-Bush cover-up. Where’s the MSM on all of that?
I noticed, for example, the google news aggravator is full of Louis CK’s Hitler trumpeting. Really? I first saw him on SNL a few years ago and thought he was a riot and posted about him here on the blog, thinking he was the heir to George Carlin. Then I looked at some of his other work on Youtube and came away with a real queasy feeling.
This is a guy who finds it a real laugh a minute to demean and degrade his own family in his comedy routines, including references to his daughter’s private parts. I mean, this is way beyond Henny Youngman’s “take my wife, please!” A real shame, too, because the guy could actually be funny without plumbing the depths. And here he is, calling Trump Hitler. Wonder what CK’s family has to say about him? That crap is on the internet for the rest of their lives. No wonder his wife divorced him.”
crushing.housing.losses.