A Sign Of Things To Come
The Star Tribune reports from Minnesota. “Finding an apartment is still difficult in many parts of the Twin Cities but, with new ones being built at breakneck speed, that’s beginning to change. During the past three years, about 11,000 new apartments have hit the market, but only about only about 10,000 have been absorbed. Developers are about to tap the brakes after delivering a near-record number of new rentals this year. ‘The slowdown is happening and it’s real, but the market will remain in balance,’ said Brent Wittenberg, vice president at Marquette Advisors, at a recent gathering of the Minnesota Multi-Housing Association in Minneapolis. ‘There will be winners and losers.’”
The San Francisco Chronicle in California. “Thanks to a glut of new high-end apartment buildings, some Bay Area landlords are offering incentives such as free rent for a month or more, six months of free parking, free electricity for a year or up to $1,500 in gift cards. Some are waiving application fees and cutting security deposits to $1,000 or less on units that rent for $3,000 a month and up. But with so many buildings opening around the same time, the incentives are getting bigger and spreading to somewhat older buildings that compete with new ones. South of Market, South Beach, Mission Bay and Potrero Hill are San Francisco’s ground zero for new construction — and rent concessions.”
“Afi Valizadeh is a San Francisco real estate broker who helps investors buy condominium units and then finds tenants for them. ‘All of a sudden the (apartment buildings) started offering one month free, six months’ free parking,’ Valizadeh said. Now prospective tenants ‘come to me and say, look at all this inventory out there. I want this (unit) for this much. They are offering me prices now.’ Rents in her buildings have dropped 15 percent on average since last year. ‘Rents in the Madrone were $5,500 last year, this year they are $4,500 for the same two-bedroom,’ she said.”
From Boston.com in Massachusetts. “Rent increases have slowed over the past year in 71 percent of the Boston area’s ‘luxury zip codes’ where $3,000 and up is the norm, Zillow reports. That’s compared to 61 percent for the rest of Greater Boston where rents are not so lofty. And renters on the high end are also more likely to be offered all sorts of incentives to sign a lease. Slowing luxury rents is not just a Boston phenomenon, but one taking place around the country as new luxury towers flood city centers from New York to San Diego. ‘There has been a slowdown in the apartment market but it is more common in luxury zip codes than in non-luxury ones,’ noted Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow.”
Bisnow on Georgia. “Atlanta Fine Homes Sothebys International Realty’s Christa Huffstickler tells us she’s working with more multifamily developers looking to rejigger potential projects by converting some units into condominiums. The half-and-half approach, she says, is a strategy to get financing that’s becoming more scarce. ‘We know that there will be some condo announcements and offerings coming to market. There are some very ambitious people,’ Christa told our audience. But for now, developers are focused on the luxury condo market, where units can start at $1M. She says there’s a pool of buyers seeing housing in pricing between $600k to $1M, ‘and there is nothing for them. The challenge with even the new projects we announced…everything is trending toward the very expensive, very high-end luxury base.’”
“During his keynote address, US Department of Housing and Urban Development regional center director Ruben Brooks told our audience that there is evidence of a multifamily slowdown in the Southeast. Last year, HUD saw $2B in transactions, down from $3.2B the year before. ‘We’re seeing a slight …slowdown, which is probably a sign of things to come,’ Ruben says.”
From Arlington Now in Virginia. “In Arlington County, projections by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments show that 69,000 new residents will move in by 2045. That’s a population increase of nearly a third. Of course, all those new people will need somewhere to live. And if recent trends are an indicator, many will choose to rent their homes. So, while a glut of recent apartment construction may have led regional rents to flatten a bit lately, it looks like there will be plenty of demand for new and existing units in the coming years.”
From Click 2 Houston in Texas. “Cranes and crews are all over town, putting up new luxury apartment buildings in some of the hottest neighborhoods. The building continues, even as Houston’s economy slows down. That has created an oversupply of apartment units that could take years to fill. Analysts said the area is now in a renter’s market. ‘Right now, we are overbuilding, and we are going to continue to overbuild,’ Patrick Jankowski, with the Greater Houston Partnership, said.”
“Jankowski said that means renters can find deals because with 45,000 new apartment units expected to be added this year and next, the area is maxed out, building more than could be filled in three of the region’s best years. ‘A lot of anecdotes out there of ‘their manager is willing to reduce their rent’ to make sure that they don’t leave. But if you’re out there looking for a new apartment, you can get two months free rent, sometimes you can get a gift card on top of that,’ Jankowski added.”
“In a top of the line apartment, Jankowski said the savings could add up to an extra $3,000 a year. ‘Rents are soft now. But they’re going to get even softer over the next six months,’ Jankowski said.”
‘During the past three years, about 11,000 new apartments have hit the market, but only about only about 10,000 have been absorbed’
This turn in the Twin Cities is a big deal as it was one of the hottest luxury apartment markets in the country. It was a perfect example of every aspect of the multi-family bubble.
What’s driving the market in the Twin Cities? Not too sure on their major economic contribution.
You should see back home in Virginia Beach. Any and all available space I used to drive past and wonder “what will eventually be built when this family sells that land.”
Answer : HUGE-sprawling multifamily/crap shack/cheap quality ‘homes’. All of the old neighborhoods are filled with actual SFH/colonial style houses built in the 70s-80s. All of the new construction is built with plywood, pergo floors, and SS appliances, coupled with $100-200 HoA fees for crappy gardening.
Did you see that Gadams is turning the Bank of America waffle-iron tower into apartments in Norfolk?
When our landlords at the Wainwright were heading to prison I went and watched the bankruptcy court in Norfolk. Both Gadams and the guy from Wainwright were there. It was wild.
Isnt Gadams the favored developer of Norfolk? He purchased the old Rockefeller bldg. and turned it into lofts right?
http://pilotonline.com/business/real-estate/major-apartment-project-planned-for-downtown-norfolk-tower/article_eddaf448-9552-554b-86f2-40de23c4c716.html
‘The Affordable Housing Shortage In Denver And Opportunities It Presents’
‘Walker & Dunlop’s Ralph Lowen implicates the glut in high-end development, especially in the last cycle. Since 2010, new market rate development has outpaced affordable ones 9:1. This trend demonstrates that many developers continue to ignore the needs of low and middle-income residents, who find themselves priced out of the market. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, effective rents in Denver have grown by 65%, while median family incomes have only grown by 5%.’
‘Affordable multifamily construction has stagnated because the institutional money that has recently driven development shows a clear preference for Class-A products. These are perceived as safer, more reliable investments with steady returns. High construction costs coupled with stationary wages have also exacerbated the relative scarcity of affordable multifamily properties.’
‘Now, however, as Class-A begins to feel the downward market pressure exerted by overbuilding and slower absorption, moderate and affordable multifamily development re-emerges as a promising opportunity. These deals require a change in approach aimed at driving down cost. To achieve this, Ralph encourages developers to consider suburban locations outside the prime central business district. He also advocates for smaller units, and even micro-units, which have become increasingly popular.’
‘Financing these projects will be facilitated by the low interest rates touted by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, HUD and banks, all of which want to increase lending on workforce and affordable housing. Other incentives, like up to 90% loan-to-value, 35- and 40-year amortizations, construction rates as low as 2% and permanent rates in the 3% to 4% range, are extremely favorable for developers.’
‘Low-income housing tax credits are now going for upwards of $1 per credit. Residents hope these trends will make Denver’s housing cost resemble the oxygen concentration—not the elevation.’
More free government money does not make more affordable housing.
In fact - it does the exact opposite.
2013 was “Peak Denver” and it’s been all downhill ever since.
Rotting infrastructure, air pollution, traffic everywhere, and worse yet, an incalculable influx of millennials and hipsters.
One of my friends just moved out there, without a job first. But hey, its all about happiness and lifestyle right man? Pfft, I hate my generation sometimes.
Here’s the formula:
Black North Face fleece pullover, Patagonia hat, Wednesday night kickball league, Nissan Pathfinder with Illinois license plates, $7 microbrews, girlfriend with an eating disorder, Instagram selfie on summit of 14er while holding sign with date, elevation, and name of 14er.
Did I miss anything?
Bartending/waitress job.
Broncos sticker on bumper next to coexist
Hope and Change 2012 sticker as well. Cant forget that on their 2002 Toyota Camry with cracked headlights, and half tank of gas because they cant afford a full fill up.
Broncos sticker on bumper
Not if they’re transplants. I see plenty of Green Bay and Nebraska Huskers bumper stickers in my neck of the woods.
I would also say that football and Coexist stickers tend to be mutually exclusive. A Broncos sticker is definitely not cool in Boulder.
Kickball, the sport for guys who would like to play soccer but are too out of shape to do all that running.
WTF!? The last time I played kickball I was in the third grade.
Black North Face fleece pullover, Patagonia hat …
Instagram selfie on summit of 14er while holding sign with date, elevation, and name of 14er.
They must shop at Jax.
I just Googled up Patagonia hat. There’s one that 29 bucks for a pretty cheap looking hat.
http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/fitz-roy-bison-trucker-hat?p=38049-0
Patagonia is such an expensive brand. My Gf bought be a Patagonia vest, it was over $100, I wanted to say “why in the f#%k?!”, but smiled and said, “Ohhh thanks honey”.
I’ll stick with Columbia outlets.
‘One of my friends just moved out there, without a job first’
I recently posted a report on unemployment going up significantly in Denver even as thousands moved there. I asked at the time, are people migrating to Denver without a job? One thing I noticed in Denver last September: it’s expensive.
I suppose you could work 2-3 craft beer boutique service jobs? Rack in $600 a week? Farrrr outttt man. Fortunately for those people hiking is generally free.
The older millennials are hitting the age when it’s time to start breeding, a time that is now coinciding with the realization that raising a family in Denver would require an annual household income of over $200,000 to live at anything above the poverty level.
And now some of them are starting to leave.
P.S. median household income here is less than $60,000.
“P.S. median household income here is less than $60,000.”
Certain asset deflation is baked-in… just need more time.
Certain asset deflation is baked-in… just need more time.
And it’s going to be a horrific ending for those clinging to rapidly depreciating assets like houses.
Denver would require an annual household income of over $200,000 to live at anything above the poverty level.
They can move to Aurora, or if they’re really in a pinch, El Longmonto.
“incalculable influx of millennials and hipsters.”
And they won’t get off your lawn!
I saw some semi-hobos sitting on someone’s SFH lawn in the Corey-Merrill area last Saturday. I am sure the neighbors enjoyed it.
I still don’t understand what the draw is. I lived there in the early 90s right near downtown. The city basically closed at 10pm, the only happening place to go was Larimer Square, the pollution even then in the winter was awful, the only sports team that mattered was the Broncos (the local paper had year-round coverage!).
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
institutional money that has recently driven development shows a clear preference for Class-A products.
Institutional money? You mean like pensions and hedgies demanding yield? Ben, I thought that this Class-A was being funded by government money. Maybe it’s the government’s low interest rates…
Ralph encourages developers to consider suburban locations outside the prime central business district. He also advocates for smaller units, and even micro-units, which have become increasingly popular.’
Microunits … you can’t fit a family into a micro-unit. You can barely fit a couple into a micro-unit. And no, I DON’T believe the happy-happy joy-joy images of micro-unit lifestyle plastered on the walls of the IKEA showroom.
Pensions, life insurance companies and mutual funds. Often these same entities are in hedge funds.
‘I thought that this Class-A was being funded by government money’
A lot of it is backed by the government and there’s no shortage of that. Yes, that keeps rates artificially low. As they say, otherwise a lot of these deals wouldn’t get done.
“Pensions, life insurance companies and mutual funds.”
…Puerto Rico.
The entire pension world is based on 7% + returns
So it’s got to be
“The entire pension world is based on 7% + returns”
Amazing isn’t it?
‘Afi Valizadeh is a San Francisco real estate broker who helps investors buy condominium units and then finds tenants for them. ‘All of a sudden the (apartment buildings) started offering one month free, six months’ free parking…Now prospective tenants ‘come to me and say, look at all this inventory out there. I want this (unit) for this much. They are offering me prices now…Rents in the Madrone were $5,500 last year, this year they are $4,500 for the same two-bedroom’
‘They are offering me prices now’
The horror Afi! And all this after you “helped” these people buy air boxes. Gosh, I hope the prices they are offering you don’t dip below the mortgage. I’m sure the potential tenants will understand when you tell them that just because the shoe is on the other foot, they shouldn’t drive your clients into foreclosure.
When I moved to SF in 2014, inventory was so tight there were brokers charging a month’s rent to find you an apartment. How times have changed.
And lines down the block for rentals! I read stories of young professionals with essentially a portfolio, paperwork ready, for open houses, with reference letters, resumes, pay information, etc. Incredible demand for $3-4,000/mo rents, BUT like you said, “How times have changed”.
The articles these days quote some property manager saying, “we’ve always done concessions.” Right.
Yeah, like concede your bank account over just so you have the right to pay high rents. Brokerage fee, first/last, deposit, $10,000 up front to pay $3,000/mo rent. Sheesh. Let them rot.
They concede to jack up the rent 15% instead of 30.
San Francisco does not surprise me. When I was working on projects there in 2012-2013, the Mission Beach / Dog Patch area was booming with new construction with condo/apartment towers/bldgs. South of the China Basin/ATT Ballpark, I’d say at least 7-10 buildings (from memory) were erected and/or built. Then there was the new high rise right by Rincon Hill/Bay Bridge landing into SF which was a massive tower. These were started at a time when rents were just rocketing past $3k/mo in that area.
Same thing for Boston. First coming here in 2014, the Seaport district was being built up on a huge scale, all the empty space was being devoted to new high rise apartment/luxury condo units, all the old factory/office buildings were rehabbed into multimillion $ condos ($1 million).
It’s always the former industrial areas. Which for me as an engineer and a cheerleader for actual production bothered me. The old icons of actual work in these cities being replaced with uber expensive housing units, supported by what? Insurance sales? Shuffling bank statements for other corporations? Consulting? I remember in the Mission Beach area of SF, they put up little pillars of information showing the SF shipyard putting out 2-3 battleships a month, and the shipping piers bustling with economic activity. Now they’re home to beer gardens, luxury condos, and dog parks.
The old icons of actual work
See also Steelyard Commons just south of downtown Cleveland.
America’s industrial base replaced by a strip mall anchored by a WalMart selling cheap plastic sh*t from China. They left a few rusted out odds and ends there to give its name some authenticity.
Look anywhere with the name “Navy yard”, like in Philly, its the headquarters for places like Urban Outfitters, a Marriott, and home to a beer garden. All of these former industrial places are flocked to by morons who are in awe of exposed iron piping, brick faces, and steel I-beams. My first thought walking into these places is “what used to be produced/built here?”, and I look for the placard or historical photo explanation.
SF shipyard, operated by BAE Systems now, outside the gate was an art school, the photographers used to walk down the street to get chic/artsy photos of the decrepit bldgs and industrial zone. I just laughed on the inside as I walked to work in my steel toes.
I got into it with someone on PilotOnline about how foreign companies are building our military ships and war machines now. They’re comment was “At least BAE is an American company!” … My reply was “British Aerospace Engineering….”
China is making tons of fake semiconductors and components now, and even the military is supposedly having a hard time figuring out if they’re getting the real chips or the fake chips.
The other day I watched a documentary about the history of the various classes of aircraft carrier. The narration was peppered with careful phrases about the US “military might” and “deployment against our enemies,” complete with menacing tone of voice of the narrator.
I thought, “yeah right.” We have these multi-billion dollar monster killing machines to fend off an army of invading warships, but we are totally ignoring the army which is invading by simply walking over the southern border and through the airport gates of visa and H1-B.
Ohhh I know first hand, the ships I was a project mgr for were built with Chinese steel.
“Fake” chips—fake in what sense? The basic documented functionality can be test. Or do you mean the addition of undocumented “spy” or “disable” type functionality? Yeah, that is a very real risk.
The saddest town for this is Trenton, NJ.
Mile after mile of beautiful abandoned factories. No one wants to live there so they have not been “converted”
The bridge from Trenton to Bucks County, PA says in big bold neon letters “Trenton Makes The World Takes”
That ended about 40 years ago. The FSA that lives there now wonders what it means…
The lesigistors just a few hundred feet away thinks it means we make bigger and bigger government with more and more regulations and higher and higher taxes…
Every time I drive through Trenton area I have to make sure my car A/C is on recirc so I don’t intake that awful NJ smell.
Arent their entire neighborhood blocks that are abandoned nowadays too?
Last year I was riding through that area, and there was exactl one industrial building left. Was so incongruous among the new glass skyscrapers I had to take a picture.
“Last year, HUD saw $2B in transactions, down from $3.2B the year before. ‘We’re seeing a slight …slowdown, which is probably a sign of things to come,’ Ruben says.”
Neighbor across the street here in Augusta, Georgia quietly moved out of his home of 10 years with very little warning. When he came back to get the rest of his stuff he told me that he was going to rent out the house as he and his daughter had moved into a smaller house in the country which cost him about half of what he was paying across the street for his mortgage. When I asked him why he had upped stakes all of a sudden he told me that the last 2-3 months business had fallen off of a cliff with absolutely no warning and he needed to save cash. He works as a real estate appraiser.
Really? I figured his job was cake, just walk up to the place, appraise it for its listing price and print the report. I suppose if the market is slowing that makes sense. At least he isn’t too dumb, saving cash, and seeing the writing on the wall. Although he should just sell the place outright before he loses 15-20%
Although he should just sell the place outright before he loses 15-20%
Maybe he has learned a better approach from the last downturn: don’t pay the mortgage or do any upkeep, while pocketing all of the rents, for say four or five years?
He didn’t hit the numbers! Gotta hit the numbers to keep getting calls.
Why is he renting out the house instead of selling it? Oh, wait. “Home of 10 years” — did he buy in 2006? He’s probably still underwater.
+1 , bought for $400,000 and now worth $250,000. He must have a real hunch for the market and value of real estate, *face palm
An appraiser being schooled by the market: priceless.
The accidental landlord?
I will put a steak dinner it will be foreclosure within a year…
Remember……
Today’s sale at a grossly inflated price is tomorrow’s default.
W/o the real estate complex and auto world there very little happening.
I think it all stems from the Mil Complex first and foremost. Because then major corporations are paid, justifying accountants/banks, new offices, more employees, factories, logistics, tax inflow/outflow, stock shares/trading….then all those people buy clothes, cars, shelter, and the world is happy. Except for the places that are home to drone strikes and our 150 global bases/presence.
“For the second year, the Denver Business Journal is honoring high-profile real estate deals with its Real Estate Champions Awards.
The program recognizes some of the biggest real estate deals of 2015 and the movers and shakers who made them happen.
The winners will be honored at a luncheon on July 12 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Convention Center.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2016/06/10/heres-the-denver-business-journals-2016-real.html
I actually saw an article titled, “May The Rent Growth Be With you.”
These movers and shakers are good at putting on little parties where they address themselves and talk about winning like Charlie Sheen. They are drunk on all the money. If you listen to them talk, it’s about refinancing and taking money out and doubling down. And value add, flipping even. They never use the word flipping, just “new (or newly renovated) complex sold for a record price!”
May the Rent Growth Be with You
by Mallory Bulman
“Sweat equity” is the best phrase sold these days. It’s right in the listings! Yeah because people get oh so sweaty and tired from the back breaking work of cheap tile mosaics from Home Depot glued to the wall, pergo floors, having SS appliances delivered, and contracting out a granite counter top. Whew, tough work these days.
Talked to a mortgage broker about a house flipper we know, has to pay cash to buy the distressed homes.
They partner up and buy all cash at auctions just like on TV.
Then rebuild with cheap Home Depot stuff.
“Oh my honey, look at these backsplashes!! Ohhhh this $3500 granite job must have easily added $10,000 in equity. Oh oh, and look babe, USB plugs IN the outlets. This is definitely a steal at $450,000″
The most important thing missing from this article is that houses depreciate.
“All too often, though, we don’t realize that how we feel about homes blinds us when it comes time to buy or sell. We let our emotions blind us to cold facts about the market or the realities of ownership. Or we prioritize one set of emotional needs over others that are just are strong but may not be evident at first. And ignoring them can lead us to make bad financial decisions that can affect us for decades to come.
The home-selling side of the equation brings its own set of thorny issues. Homeowners often have an overly rosy view of their home and expect it to increase in value far beyond reasonable expectations. And when they put it on the market, they often stubbornly cling to their asking price—even if it means leaving it up for sale far longer than they planned, and risking the possibility of not selling it at all.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-psychology-of-buying-and-selling-a-house-1465783741
Now that I’ve found this blog, read through it the last few months, read up on Robert Shiller, the Case-Shiller Index, etc…I am more aware when I hear people discuss housing/buying/selling. It really is alarming. For instance friends of my GF are house hunting in the North Shore Boston area. The guy does part time construction, she is a pre school teacher and bar tender, they aren’t married (stupid I know). They put in an offer for a $350,000 crap shack (got beat by all cash foreigner). How in the heck could they fathom affording that, even with an FHA? Even as an mech engineer up here I wouldn’t go above $250,000 on a house. A few of my coworkers have recently put in offers on condos, ugh the thought of shared walls and HOA fees *shudder*. I also just laugh when people mention selling/moving and expecting 5-10% appreciation YoY
A co-worker friend just put in an offer on a 3/2 house, Small lot, no basement. But it’s walking distance to a Metro subway stop and it’s been cleaned up nicely. I thought that the list price was a bit high to begin with, but he offered $30,000 over list, anticipating a bidding war. I’m hoping he loses the bid.
Which metro stop if you don’t mind me asking? Yeah for his sake I hope he loses too.
hope he’s not one of the 20% that Trumpf will RIF
non essentials
“All too often, though, we don’t realize that how we feel about homes blinds us when it comes time to buy or sell. We let our emotions blind us to cold facts about the market or the realities of ownership. Or we prioritize one set of emotional needs over others that are just are strong but may not be evident at first. And ignoring them can lead us to make bad financial decisions that can affect us for decades to come.”
It’s called love, which is blind.
Houses, stocks, women … it’s love.
Love: “We let our emotions blind us to cold facts …”
Squirrels!!! Don’t forget about the squirrels…
Squirrels are delicious in wine sauce.
When one fall is love he forms an ideal image in his mind of the object of his affections and this ideal image is then projected onto this object and it is this ideal image - this projection - that he sees and it is the one that he falls in love with.
It’s the way we are wired.
FWIW and all that.
The real horror and haunting are public unions and the $20,856/year property tax bill…
————————
The Home From ‘Amityville Horror’ Is on the Market for $850,000
New York Daily News | 6/7/16
The house that sparked “The Amityville Horror” book and multiple movies on the murders that took place there is back on the market.
Currently listed for $850,000, the five-bedroom, three-bathroom Long Island home at 108 Ocean Ave. is up for sale through Coldwell Banker Harbor Light owner and broker Jerry O’Neil.
Caroline D’Antonio, who bought the house in 2010 for $950,000 though at one point it was listed for more than $1 million, is selling it because her husband died last year and she wants to downsize.
The application, which O’Neill’s office will have to approve three to five days before the desired date of the viewing, states that anyone interested in seeing the listing must be financially pre-qualified and have proof of “funds.”
Last year’s property taxes for the home were $20,856.
When the murders took place, the house was worth $75,000 and was listed as 112 Ocean Ave. But after the killings, a later owner of the home worked with the post office to get the address changed.
Securing the Realm. Yes, Realm:
“Although it tends look to the sky, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) came back down to Earth to develop RoBattle, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that may soon be tasked with the type of risky missions typically assigned to foot soldiers.
IAI’s UGV is built to be maneuverable, dynamic, and tough. Six wheels with independent suspension enable RoBattle to scale obstacles, such as rubble and small walls, to access areas that would typically be out of reach for other robots. A modular robotic kit allows the machine to be modified and adapted with remote vehicle control, navigation, and real time mapping abilities, depending on its operational needs.”
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/06/13/israels-new-robattle-bot-is-built-with-swappable-modules-that-change-its-abilities.html
Rallying the base:
“The Obama administration’s treatment of Israel has been, in a word, deplorable.
Everybody knows it. President Obama has enabled Israel’s archenemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran, to threaten its very existence. The White House has allowed Tehran to receive sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons systems from Russia, with more advanced weapons on the way, to frustrate proactive military strategies Israel uses to deal with threats she faces. Mr. Obama has even effectively set up a timetable for Iran to receive nuclear weapons.
All this while Iran’s leaders continue to call for the destruction of Israel and defiantly test ballistic missiles to deliver the eventual nuclear payloads. Heck, Bloomberg reports this week that Mr. Obama’s $1.7 billion bribe to Iran through last year’s nuclear deal is actually financing Iranian weapons purchases. In case you haven’t noticed, Bloomberg is not known as a right-wing news outlet.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/9/obamas-anti-israel-policies-turn-russia-into-main-/
No “smaller government” or “less regulation” or “lower taxes” happening here.
Israel has made-out really well thanks to the United States.
“President Obama Signs the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act”
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2012/July/29%20n/President%20Obama%20Signs%20the%20United%20States-Israel%20Enhanced%20Security%20Cooperation%20Act.htm
“Dating had sucked the life out of me. I was sick of telling my story, a story that not long ago felt unique and personal, but now felt empty and scripted. I was sick of throwing out commentary on hot topics like Instagram (what I consider the essence of our culture’s narcissism) and board games (painful distractions from any attempt at real connection) — comments that used to feel contrarian and clever but now, almost five years later, seemed manufactured, an assembly line of remarks. I was sick of trying to prove myself through intimate life details to people who weren’t even worth the time it took to program their names in my phone. With each date I felt more like the profile I was trying to represent, and less like an actual person. I would re-read my profiles on each site often, to remind myself what my date was expecting. It felt so off — it wasn’t me — but when I tried to change it, I drew a blank. Maybe it was?”
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/11/new_york_killed_my_dating_life_and_i_couldnt_be_happier_now/
I predict cats and box wine…
———-
There was no rush in my twenties. Intent on my career, being single felt more like a badge than a blemish. I watched friends from high school, then couples from college, pair up and settle down. Not me. I wanted independence, self-discovery, the autonomy to make my own choices. I moved to an apartment in the East Village and jumped head-first into a fancy consulting job, followed by a cross-country move to California for business school. I met other women with ambitious goals and strong ideals and we clung to one another…
And then, as if someone had given a signal that I clearly didn’t catch, my friends started getting married. Women I never thought of as codependent, couples I never imagined needing the safety of marriage…
Racis.
Declining female fertility after age 30 is a social construct. It is not biology, it is not evolution, it is cisgender, capitalist, patriarchal oppression.
Then why do Docs have to run a bunch of extra tests, discuss risks, a carefully monitor women after age 32 or so? Because they themselves are sold on this social narrative?
Turn on your sarcasm monitor. You’re flailing.
Oops, normally I’m keen on sarcasm, but it was such a direct opinion. Anywho, it amazes me the push for career first, biology second these days. I mean, its great people want to be smarter about starting a family or more stable, but a lot of families (including mine) were just fine starting out young (mid 20s) and yes, having to ‘rough’ it, i.e. no crazy big vacays, new video games, or new cars.
Different stokes for different folks.
I like the Japanese better: 十人十色 (ten people, ten colors.)
Everyone should make their own choices. You don’t get to dictate whether or not a “vacay” is crazy or not.
Japan, the land of Herbivore Men who have no use for dating or marriage.
So?
‘more multifamily developers looking to rejigger potential projects by converting some units into condominiums. The half-and-half approach, she says, is a strategy to get financing that’s becoming more scarce. ‘We know that there will be some condo announcements and offerings coming to market. There are some very ambitious people,’ Christa told our audience.’
Ambitious and leveraged to the eyeballs Christa. Can’t rent your Atlanta apartment that comes with a dog wash? Let’s sell it to some sucker for a cool million! It’s a half and half approach. You guys really know the lingo.
‘That has created an oversupply of apartment units that could take years to fill. ‘Right now, we are overbuilding, and we are going to continue to overbuild,’ Patrick Jankowski…Jankowski said that means renters can find deals because with 45,000 new apartment units expected to be added this year and next, the area is maxed out, building more than could be filled in three of the region’s best years.’
And we know it’s not the best of years Patrick. Three years; that’s a long time to be making loan payments on very expensive apartment projects that are empty. I’d bet some aren’t going to make it.
This thing has morphed into a commercial RE/housing bubble like the one that took down the oil states in the 80’s. Oh look, credit has already started drying up.
It’s a good thing these people are being cautious. I posted this yesterday:
‘After almost 30 years in the multifamily industry, and 13 of those as an executive with global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson, Bob Hart went on to found his own firm, TruAmerica, in 2013. Focused on renovating and repositioning mostly Class B apartments in the Western U.S., the multifamily investor and operator has a unique strategy that adds value for its investors, with more than 27,000 units under management valued at nearly $6 billion.’
‘Hart: The real estate cycle that emerged after the recession was going to have a lot of life to it, particularly for multifamily, because it wasn’t a cycle based on negativity from being overbuilt, it was under-supplied. The fundamentals were still very strong despite the downturn in the economy. I also think that’s born out now because as we’ve been moving through the cycle over six or seven years, in the apartment industry we’re seeing tremendous growth, demand and a shift in how Americans are living.’
‘Our core strategy has been renovation and repositioning of Class B. We’ve delved a little bit into Class A. We have a number of pension fund advisors who like to place capital into some higher quality product. So hopefully we’re getting in at a little better cap rate, creating value for the lease-up, and giving our investors an opportunity to diversify slightly into more of a Class A building.’
‘MHN: Why did you decide pursue a value-add strategy?’
‘Hart: That’s been my core capability for a long time. I’ve also done it for many years through my own account. I feel like the opportunities are more plentiful because you have a lot of older housing stock that needs an upgrade. By creating value-add and being vertically integrated, it gives us a competitive advantage of capability. We find buildings that are either under managed or under renovated, and lift values by repositioning them and getting higher rents as a result.’
‘I’m cautiously optimistic. I don’t know if I’d be starting brand new development right now in downtown Seattle or San Francisco, trying to target $6 to $8 dollar per foot rents, depending on the markets you’re in, or even New York. But I’m optimistic that there’s going to be continued steady growth base demand for multifamily housing in the U.S. Although the birth rate is declining a bit, you still have 3 million new people moving into the country each year, which creates a tremendous amount of household demand. Plus you have housing stock that comes offline and the expansion of households becoming smaller. Overall, the shift is happening long term in multifamily. I think it’s not a cycle of innings nor a cycle of gains, but a cycle of seasons.’
‘There may be dips in the real estate cycle based on cap rate or investment enthusiasm, but I don’t think that’ll affect long term the demand for multifamily product. Probably not since the end of WWII have we seen this much demand for housing, particularly multifamily, and I think it’s going to continue.’
‘In terms of investment, I think there’s more foreign capital coming in. You’re seeing in real estate and in the financial markets, people are seeking yields in the low-interest-rate environment.’
‘MHN: Are there any trends or challenges you’re noticing in the industry?’
‘Hart: We have two agencies that provide most of the financing, Fannie and Freddie, more than they’ve ever been. There’s a ton of banks out there lending. There’s tremendous amount of equity and liquidity in the market, and great rental demand. I think there’s a little element of cautiousness. Can this keep lasting? Can people continue to afford rising rents? You see that published more and more because a lot of the middle class is disgruntled that have been left behind in the recovery. The biggest challenge in growing the overall economy, let alone the rental economy, is affordability. That’s probably the number one threat: maintaining peoples incomes at a level that can sustain rental growth.’
‘I think it’s not a cycle of innings nor a cycle of gains, but a cycle of seasons’
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9660#comment-2552406
This guy has brass balls. He goes on and on about “renovating and repositioning” and “adding value,” which is marketing code for putting in cheap fixes and jacking up the rent more than appropriate.
Then he goes on to say that the “middle class is disgruntled.” Gee, YA THINK? If they had to pay through the nose for your cheap value-added crap, I’d be disgruntled too.
And “that’s probably the number one threat: maintaining peoples incomes at a level that can sustain rental growth.” In other words, he’s going to charge his high rent come hell or high water, and it’s up to somebody else to pay the tenant enough money to make the rent.
‘The biggest challenge in growing the overall economy, let alone the rental economy, is affordability’
Donk,
He’s throwing more good money after bad on a rapidly depreciating asset called a house.
The ubiquitous trend to build luxury apartments in urban centers around the world suggest a global consequence of the post-2008 quantitative easing / zero interest rate era in central banking which will end in tears.
As a case in point, plenty of tears are soon to be shed over redundant luxury apartment housing in major U.S. cities.
TROUBLE COMING
06.04.16 9:15 PM ET
Luxury Urban Housing, Built on a Myth, Is About to Take a Big Hit
For years, we’ve heard about the “return to the city.” It was never as true as the hype, but now it’s about to collapse entirely.
Written by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox
From steamy Miami to the thriving cores of cities from New York, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago, swank towers, some of them pencil thin and all richly appointed. This surge in the luxury apartment construction has often been seen as validation of the purported massive shift of population, notably of the retired wealthy, to the inner cities. Indeed with the exception of a brief period right after the Great Recession, there was slightly greater growth in core cities than the suburbs and exurbs. It was said that we were in the midst of a massive “return to the city.”
Yet in reality the movement to the inner core has been much less spectacular than that. Indeed by 2014, growth once again was faster not only in traditional suburbs but also in the exurban areas that were broadly predicted to be the most doomed. At the same time, the fastest city growth, notes economist Jed Kolko, occurred largely in the most “suburbanized” cities, like Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego.
One major meme for the luxury developers had to do with well-off retirees—the one domestic population with the money to afford such housing. Newspapers have been crammed with anecdotal stories about this “trend.” Yet analysis of Census trends among seniors shows that the senior percentage share in both the inner core and older suburbs dropped between 2000 and 2010 while growing substantially in the newer suburbs and exurbs. The most recent data show these patterns continue. Since 2010 the senior population in core cities has risen by 621,000 while the numbers in suburbia have surged by 2.6 million.
So who’s buying them? It’s wealthy foreign nationals, largely as investments. In many cases these units are not really residences but pieds-a-terres for the world’s wealthy; in some markets, as many as 60 percent of units are not primary residences. But such sales are susceptible to changes in foreign economies. And today, many of these buyers must contend with slowing economies at home.
…
Along with the “millennial” marketing gimmick, I think the narrative of the youth migration back towards city centers was a BS push by the REIC. I got the “city life” out of my system early, by traveling for work and staying downtown. There’s only so many beer festivals, decent restaurants, and taxi/bus life you can deal with before you say enough is enough. And to think I wasn’t even paying the ridiculous rents some of my friends currently pay for that life. I live a 25 min train ride ($7.50 ea way) into Boston, and can go in when there is an event of my choice.
It is taking a long time for my friends to realize chasing a $50-75,000/yr job isn’t worth the public transit life/passes and $2000/mo rents. Born and raised in suburbia, I can understand their disdain for that life, but it serves a purpose, mainly, affordability.
‘the narrative of the youth migration back towards city centers was a BS push by the REIC’
And it’s not even a new one. Ten years ago it was urban living in condos. Once people get the bar-fly out of their systems, those 50,000 Miami Beach rented out condos don’t have much use. And considering how much they cost, somebody is going to get burned.
dandroidz, I think you’re only partially right.
The Narrative of youth migrating to the city was *not* entirely BS for the first wave of Millenials. I saw it happen. As Ben says, urban condos were very hot 10-12 years ago. Condos were a hit because, even with the easy credit, a 24-year-old single person fresh out of college couldn’t afford $450K for a starter SFH, but they could afford a $275K condo. But now, that first wave of Millenials is 36, probably married and might have 1-2 kids. They are going suburban, just like their Greatest Generation grandparents.
Now, the REIC sees the second wave of 24-28 year old Millenials, so they are pushing the same narrative onto them too. Except, these new Millenials are saddled with too much college debt and too much job uncertainty. So yeah, I can see why it’s going to be a bust this time.
Yes I sometimes forget about the 1st wave/older millenials. I am part of the 2nd wave. Also this time around, regardless of debt, city condos/residences are no where near affordable even for millenials with good jobs. A look around Boston, you’d be hard pressed to find a 500 sq ft condo for under $600k, and let’s not even go to the Bay area….
‘ A look around Boston, you’d be hard pressed to find a 500 sq ft condo for under $600k’
What?! You’d better be pulling in some major coin to justify that sticker price.
this….relative to the Joel Kotkin article citation……
http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/culture/the-future-of-suburbia-according-to-mit_o?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=Article&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ABU_060716_B%20(1)&he=bf2312e862621379e6eb47cf38a090f6df55a046
This was from this month’s architect magazine.
Standard linky here……http://www.architectmagazine.com
Article is in the design section of the mag…..
‘In Arlington County, projections by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments show that 69,000 new residents will move in by 2045. Of course, all those new people will need somewhere to live. So, while a glut of recent apartment construction may have led regional rents to flatten a bit lately, it looks like there will be plenty of demand for new and existing units in the coming years.’
And I’m sure these apartment owners can feed the alligator for 20 years or so waiting on them to show up.
Lord help them if the trillion dollar/year deficits ever come to end…
They have ended:
2012 $1100 Billion Deficit
2013 $680 Billion Deficit
2014 $485 Billion Deficit
2015 $438 Billion Deficit
http://www.davemanuel.com/history-of-deficits-and-surpluses-in-the-united-states.php
2016 (projected): $534 Billion Deficit
What are they projecting 70,000 new government jobs by 2045? Lol. In this environment, deficits, bankruptcy, no way in heck does .Gov add 70,000 new jobs. Where are these 70k new residents going to work? The front offices of DoD MIC corps maybe? Boutique burger bars? Maybe a Vegan/Gluten only restaurant with $15 grass plates?
they are planning on a huge fed gov
Hillary can deliver
‘Southeast. Last year, HUD saw $2B in transactions, down from $3.2B the year before. ‘We’re seeing a slight …slowdown’
30%+ is slight. Oh Mel, what have you done?
BTW, my international stock page is all red. I get it on my smartie phone/time waster. Yesterday I was reading that smart phone sales are in the dumps. Seems the China thing didn’t work out. So what are they going to do? Churn out more movies about Steve Jobs?
Moto is bringing back the Razr because they know people are expressing a desire to go back to “dumb” phones. I wouldn’t mind picking one up.
That’s what I’m going to do when this thing dies. I realized I didn’t use 99% of the things it can do. The article I read mentioned the new phones don’t do much that the older ones can do and people aren’t upgrading. Plus the phone companies are moving away from the two year free upgrade.
All it it seems to be is larger screens, ultra HD resolution, higher camera res, and a slightly upgraded SoC from Snapdragon. The screen resolution is a joke, because there is not discernible difference to the human eye of 1080p, 1440p, or 2160p on a 5″ screen. And now that carriers have gone away from subsidized contracts, users either shell out the real cost of the phone upfront ($500-700) or finance it because they really cant afford it (whats new?).
Me personally I’ve bought Google’s Nexus line going back to 2012. Great value, for a smartphone, and I can often resell the “old” model for 75% of what I paid, to go towards to upgrade. But I think after this 2015 Nexus 5X, I’m over it. I spend way too much time rotting on my phone, and enough is enough.
I went back to a “dumb phone” a couple of years ago. It’s rugged, the charges lasts for over a week and it cost $70, brand new. And I spend about $30 a month on the service.
Nice. I have been prepaid for over 4 yrs, never paying more than $50/mo, which isn’t too bad, and I buy my phones outright. The smartphone is a great tool for exploring a city and travel (GPS directions on foot, transit times, restaurant info…) I should probably just delete the social aspect, FB, Insta, etc…I’m finding Facebook is now just a place for rehashed meme’s, extreme right/left articles, or dumb/”funny” videos.
this….
http://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2016/06/08/tech-trends-in-rural-rust-belt-america-stuck-a-decade-behind/#722f575c52fd
Microsoft to Buy LinkedIn in Deal Valued at $26.2 Billion
Microsoft Corp. said it will buy LinkedIn Corp. in a deal valued at $26.2 billion, giving the world’s biggest software provider access to a virtual Rolodex of connected business professionals.
Microsoft will pay $196 per share in an all-cash transaction, including LinkedIn’s net cash, is a 49.5 percent premium to LinkedIn’s closing price Friday. LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence and Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive officer of the company, Microsoft said in a statement Monday. The offer values LinkedIn about 91 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the highest multiple of any takeover valued at more than $5 billion this year, the data show.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-13/microsoft-to-buy-linkedin-in-deal-valued-at-26-2-billion-ipe079k9
Like they couldn’t just log in and search it before?
That’s what I thought. Why pay 26 billion for a rolodex anyone can use?
‘Walgreens cuts ties with Theranos in latest blow for ex-Silicon Valley darling’
A comment:
‘Goodness, I hope you paid CASH for you McMansion. This house of cards is falling. ‘
I have a Linked In account and I find it to be next to useless.
Mine is worse than useless. In the past year I started getting fictitious link requests. So I don’t even bother opening the one or two I get every day from some guy in Africa or Estonia.
I think its a better tool than Monster.com in a job sense. I do not use it for a “social” element but more part of my job/career seeking mediums. I have been contacted by recruiters just as often on LinkedIn for engineering work as Monster.com or Indeed. The fact that it sees your mini-resume and updates potential job postings you appear eligible for is somewhat helpful as it keeps it to your geographical area, skills/traits, and job titles.
I think its a better tool than Monster.com in a job sense.
Ditto. It landed me my last job, without me really intending to make a change…
I get cold calls from recruiters when I’m not looking. The few times I have been looking I would always find dead ends, hence why I feel it’s useless.
We found our last hire via a job posting on LinkedIn (we previously used Monster, but no more).
My wife almost got poached from her current job via a person who found her on LinkedIn.
I view LinkedIn as similar to Facebook. Pretty much a waste of time, but really excellent for a few things.
Facebook is really excellent of finding old friends for reunions.
LinkedIn is a really good place to find employees.
Isnt that one of the major signs of lack of innovation and value? Companies just absorbing other companies? Overpay, absorb, lay off, regret decision, sell off.
When ms released Windows 7 I thought they were pulling it together… The came Windows 8 and Edge, and it was clear they had t. Apple is in the process of jumping the shark. I’m going to end up using Linux again, and I am NOT looking forward to it.
I am keeping my systems on Win 7 until 2020 (?) when MS ends official support. Win8 and 8.1 was a travesty for UI and unnecessary “apps”.
I feel like Apple jumped the shark right around the time Steve Jobs passed. They haven’t really brought anything innovative to the field. It’s similar to Samsung, incremental upgrades, no real innovation. Apple is sustained off of brand loyalty, not quality of product. Yes their MacBook Air 2016 is very thin and lightweight, but so are ultrabooks by PC manufacturers.
We should just rock Raspi 3’s with Raspbian distro, and enjoy the simpler life.
FreeBSD!
They keep adding too many features to OSX and it’s starting to be slow on nice hardware, Linux upset the community with the systemd garbage, and Microsoft is trying to force people to take a free product and everyone is crying bloody murder. It’s a strange world.
Why are so many bankers committing suicide?
“Three bankers in New York, London and Siena, Italy, died within 17 months of each other in 2013-14 in what authorities deemed a series of unrelated suicides. But in each case, the victim had a connection to a burgeoning global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.”
http://nypost.com/2016/06/12/why-are-so-many-bankers-committing-suicide/
ant tips for brexit day
international div ETf
or UK etf ?
could be fun
If it happens…
World wide stock sell off
Gold rises
Gold has already risen back to near the $1300 mark after dropping to $1200 a couple weeks ago. All this economic disappointment and Brexit talk has given gold some great momentum. Even investors were confused by the Fed’s recent employment data speech, hawkish or dovish or idk? Gold goes up, dollar goes down.
Ho hum…Bitcoin even outperforms gold. I have far more in gold than Bitcoin but I hear lots of crickets.
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-skyrocketing-june-13-halvening-2016-6?r=UK&IR=T
Let me know how that parabolic rise works out…
‘The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.2 percent as mainland markets traded for the first time since Wednesday. The ChiNext index of smaller companies sank 6 percent to its lowest level in almost a month, as Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. plunged by the 10 percent daily limit. China’s fixed-asset investment in the first five months of 2016 trailed all 38 economists’ forecasts, reports showed Monday, while yuan approached a five-year low.’
‘The Shanghai Composite fell 94.09 to 2,833.07, the biggest loss since Feb. 25, with about 25 stocks declining for each that advanced. PetroChina Co., China Life Insurance Co. and Bank of China Ltd. were the biggest drags on the gauge.’
‘The measure has tumbled 20 percent this year, the world’s worst performer after Italy’s benchmark gauge. The gauge closed at a seven-year high on June 12, 2015, before embarking on a precipitous decline that would erase $5 trillion.’
‘The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slumped 2.4 percent, extending its two-day drop to 4.5 percent, the steepest in four months. The yuan slid 0.4 percent, its steepest loss in two months. A gauge of the greenback’s strength climbed 1.1 percent when mainland markets were closed for holidays.’
“Any sensible investors would want to sell as both internal and external risks are building,” said Ronald Wan, chief executive at Partners Capital International Ltd. in Hong Kong. “China’s economic data is not improving, while Brexit risk is escalating.”
While the FBI successfully completed its false flag mission to instill cries of more government among the gullible over the weekend, Bitcoin pierces $700
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-skyrocketing-june-13-halvening-2016-6?r=UK&IR=T
Bitcoin now beat the S&P 500 performance over one year and over two years.
How come no one hit this guy over the head with a chair? If you are going to get shot, you might as well go down fighting.
Yeah. It’s also odd there is no video, not from smartphones not even surveillance cameras.
ED ZACHARY! The whole thing stinks like 10 day old fish.
http://themillenniumreport.com/2016/06/orlando-massacre-the-back-story-to-this-black-operation/
“After a grueling night of shooting and hostage herding, he participated in a 3 hour gun battle, after which he set up a bomb and blew the place up. Convenient. Now they don’t have much of a crime scene.”
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!
LOL, there’s even a Megyn Kelley interview with the moke who HELD THE DOOR shut, supposedly trapping his fellow merry makers inside with the shooter.
at 4:47. Unbelievable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Agt0A1Fcrg&feature=youtu.be&t=4m47s
who reaches for their smart phone when getting shot?
More gov is needed in this case. Nuts should not be able to buy guns.
CalifoH20: +1
That’s my first thought too. If you just hear bullets flying and you see this guy, you’re telling me no one, not one single person had any angle on this guy? I know its impossible to put yourself in that situation but out of hundreds of people, no one had a glass bottle or bar stool they could just fling at the dude? Flight or fright.
Lol, not only that, but some patrons were HOLDING THE DOOR SHUT to keep their fellow patrons trapped inside with the shooter.
It really strains credulity.
If this is not a false flag, then the mope who went on Megyn Kelley and admitted to it now has a life that’s not worth a plug nickel.
And for future reference, here’s another “tell”: no one’s head is rolling for this, no one is tendering their resignation. At first I thought Comey would be going down for it, but no.
It just, like, happened!
My first thought, aside from “another Islamic radical”, was, if in fact the FBI had a hunch/suspicion on this guy, and interviewed him a couple of times, how was he able to procure the weapons and/or carry this out? Does it speak to lack of enforcement of already on the books laws/regs? Does it speak to the lack of security the PATRIOT ACT and other spying/surveillance Big Bro programs provides to the USA? No one is pointing their finger at the FBI ineptitude. No, its a hate crime and gun problem, not a terrorism and intelligence community problem. The same lack of follow through by the intelligence/crime agency is exactly what lead to 9-11 in the first place, creating the PATRIOT ACT, more NSA power, etc etc…so what gives? Politics side, this housing market needs to pop.
Ex-FBI David Steele says all the terrorist events in the U.S. have been planned by the FBI
Rut roh…sounds like this guy is primed for a “random acceleration” event with his motor vehicle. 95 mph in a neighborhood into a telephone pole.
My first thought, aside from “another Islamic radical”, was, if in fact the FBI had a hunch/suspicion on this guy, and interviewed him a couple of times, how was he able to procure the weapons and/or carry this out?
It would require an act of Congress for the FBI to be able to stop someone from purchasing a gun based on a “hunch/suspicion”? I imagine that that law would have some problems regarding due process.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-weekend-shootings-20160613-story.html
Gay black lives in Orlando and any black lives in Chicago don’t count….
Know. Your. Narrative.
Nobody needs an AR-15: The Orlando massacre teaches us (again) that we must ban semi-automatic human killing machines
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/13/nobody_needs_an_ar_15_the_orlando_massacre_teaches_us_again_that_we_must_ban_semi_automatic_human_killing_machines/
Access to Assault-Style Weapons Is an Assault on the Neighborhoods of America
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-emery/access-to-assaultstyle-we_b_10439986.html
Orlando Gunman Used Assault Rifle With Military Roots, Police Say
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/us/orlando-gunman-used-assault-rifle-with-military-roots-police-say.html?_r=0
Pushing this narrative with the election just months away is a mistake (for the Dems) and will only help Trump and the GOP.
Trump. lol!
France has nearly a total gun.
It didn’t stop the muslims from slaughtering hundreds.
And it won’t stop future muslim massacres in gun free zones and in places with almost total gun bans.
The only thing that will stop a muslim intent on killing infidels is an infidel with a gun.
Reagan was surrounded by trained arm guards, still got shot.
Here’s a little personal anedote: I contacted the office of one of my state representatives, seeing as how this happened in Florida. The young man who I spoke with was all eager to speak with me. “Let’s discuss what we, in the state of Florida, can do about it”. And then proceeded to tell me that even though he was a supporter of the Second Amendment, gee, ya know, maybe we have to do something. The guy came up clean as a whistle on background checks, so it could have been anyone….so…uh…
And there it was. The “maybe we should do something about people having guns after all.” Boy, was he prepared. And not much interested in my views, although he politely listened, but kinda cut me off on the issue of immigration and states’ rights. A most interesting exchange.
I was at band practice one night, and we got to the messing around making prank phone calls. Our singer called the 700 club donation line, and told them that he had just come home and found his wife in bed with another man and that he was going to shoot them both. The guy at the 700 club was trying to defuse the situation, telling him that God loved everyone and to calm down and forgive. After a bit of this my friend goes ” but he’s a n****ger!” There was about 10 seconds of stunned silence on the other end, and the guy hung up. It was one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard. You should try that on your representatives.
“You should try that on your representatives.”
Ok, that’s just too funny right there, I don’t care who y’are. Jeebus, I just howled with laughter. Best. Advice. Ever.
Thanks for the lighten-up. I realize I take this stuff way too seriously and the joke’s on me when I call my political reps to make a serious point. They must be splitting their sides.
Well, I’ll just have to think up some witty stuff to engage these assistants with. Might as well mock them, what else can you do?
There is one other thing that just annoys the snot out of ‘em, just say “Trump’s right”, even if you don’t like or agree with the guy. It’s like holding up a silver cross in front of a vampire. You can feel the hissing and spitting coming through the phone line and almost see the bared fangs.
Sig Sauer
Not auto
Not assault
AR-15s
Not auto
Not assault.
Look it up
Canadians upbeat on hot re market?
Dude, Canada’s is depressed till oil hits ninety
Well not really. Not at all. The only thing that will accelerate the economy is falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels.
Keep in mind crude production costs arei n the $6/barrel range.
Forget Mel Watts…..
this…..http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/37253-monday-morning-cup-of-coffee-the-10-commandments-of-flipping-a-house
and this…..
https://twitter.com/SecretaryCastro/status/741305258845065216/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
http://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/entry-level-makes-a-comeback-on-builder-100_o
Looks like builders are attempting to build more entry level…it will be interesting to see:
1. If this is actually a trend (builders targeting entry level instead of luxury; and
2. If this entry level push reverses the long-term trend of larger and larger homes being built.
Will tens of millions of excess empty and defaulted houses and condos out there, there isn’t any need to build more of them.
I’d like to get my hands on one of these discounted/foreclosed homes that are rotting. Cant compete with the cash out re-fi, bids on 2nd residences..
Why?
Only $3000 http://slo.craigslist.org/apa/5621505664.html
Better than $6000/month locked in for 30 years.
Also better than $9000 / month locked in for 90 yrs.
You’re catching on Lola.
http://www.startribune.com/diplomat-qatar-frees-dutch-woman-held-after-rape-report/382655791/
Meanwhile in a country formerly known as Venezuela……
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-12/violent-riots-and-looting-are-now-daily-occurrence-venezuela
People are the worst. J. Seinfeld.
Did they at least get to keep their doctor?
“But with their beloved former president, Hugo Chavez, dead for three years and the economy deteriorating rapidly, many former “Chavistas” have turned on Maduro. “Behind all this is the president, the rat in his palace, eating riches while we fight to buy pasta,” said homemaker Maria Perez, 31, once a Chavez supporter, at the El Valle supermarket.”
“As the citizens slowly come to the realization that the socialist government that promised everyone they’d always be taken care of can’t possibly follow through on those empty promises, the citizens have gone to a survival of the fittest type attitude toward the situation.”