October 4, 2016

Offshore Investors Seem To Be Running For The Doors

A report from Bloomberg on Canada. “A 33 percent drop in Vancouver home sales in September from a year ago, the biggest decline since 2010, signals North America’s once-hottest real estate market — where the average home was appreciating by more than C$1,000 a day — has reached a tipping point. Gone are the days when buyers placed bids without inspecting properties and sellers collected all-cash offers. Properties are taking longer to sell, transactions are plummeting and in some cases prices are coming down in a city where the cost of housing has doubled in the past decade.”

“Keith Stride, a real estate agent grew up in Vancouver, has watched homes pulled this month to relist at lower prices, others selling for as much as 10 percent under the asking price, or sitting on the market for longer than usual amid a growing glut. The retreat is most apparent on his daily drives to appointments and showings. In the frenzy earlier this year, developers began purchasing homes with the intention of tearing them down and building massive new ones to resell at a higher price. The orange fences line the lots and the demolition permits were in place, but those homes are back on the market.”

“Developers and or offshore investors who were planning to develop and make a buck seem to be running for the doors right now,’ said Stride.”

The Metro News. “Sales of detached houses continued to fall dramatically in Vancouver last month and even hit a 10-year low in one neighbourhood, real estate agents. Realtors say the high-end market is seeing the most substantial losses, while condominium and townhome sectors remain active. ‘The speculators and investors, those folks who don’t need to buy real estate, they have moved to the sidelines,’ said Adil Dinani, a Realtor with Royal LePage.”

“Steve Saretsky, a Realtor with Sutton West Coast Realty, completed an independent analysis of September listings and sales data for the region covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. He found there were just 67 sales of detached homes on Vancouver’s east side, the fewest sales in September since 2006. On the expensive west side, 61 detached homes were sold, the fewest September sales since 2008. ‘It’s obviously a buyer’s market for the detached side,’ Saretsky said.”

From News 1130. “One of the most outspoken critics of the lack of intervention in the housing market feels vindicated by the federal government’s move to track how the primary residence tax exemption is being used. The law will force primary residence sellers to report the sale on their income taxes even if they qualify for the capital gains tax exemption. BC NDP housing critic David Eby says CRA auditors can investigate when people are breaking the rules for example declaring more than one primary residence in one family.”

“‘If somebody is continually buying and flipping houses in our real estate market, they may no longer be able to claim the capital gain because it’s not a principal residence anymore. It’s actually a business they’re running. The second reason is we need better data about what’s happening in our real estate market and it’s only by collecting this information that we can know actually whether a family, for example, is purchasing multiple properties under the names of different family members in order to run an investment style scheme instead of using the principal residence exemption as it was intended.’”

The Calgary Herald. “With the city’s high vacancy rate and fewer people moving to Calgary, there are empty rental suites all over town. So when MRU student Alyssa Douglas was looking to relocate from Panorama to the inner city, she had her pick of choice apartment buildings, each offering attractive move-in incentives. Douglas says her 550-square-foot suite is $1,090 a month with $100 for underground parking. She signed a 12-month lease with free rent for the first month and a free year of cable and internet.”

“The neighbourhood was the primary reason why Strategic Group snapped up the land on Centre Street according to CEO Riaz Mamdani. Centro is just one of Strategic’s many projects currently finishing up or under way. Each building is mixed-use with residential up, live/work units and commercial space on the ground floor in prime inner-city locations. The buildings are modern in design with interior finishings and all the amenities that would be found in a first-rate condominium development. Minus the financial commitment. Centro has about 20 suites left, a fact which Mamdani is proud of considering Calgary’s vacancy rate.”

The Financial Post. “Vacancy rates in downtown Calgary, hard hit by the prolonged oil slump and already at historic highs, could be heading to 25 per cent, including in some of the city’s most posh skyscrapers, new reports show. An office report from Barclay Street Real Estate pegs the city’s current downtown vacancy rate at 22.1 per cent, but notes that skyscrapers still under construction could push the rate to 25.6 per cent next year and 26.4 per cent in 2018.”

“‘Vacancy is the highest it’s ever been,’ said Kris Hong, an associate at Barclay Street. ‘Even if oil hit US$100, all the vacancy that’s on the market is not going to get absorbed for at least two or three years.’”

“The current vacancy rate has already surpassed the highs set in the recession of the 1980s, when the rate hit 22 per cent. A separate report released by Re/Max Commercial last week similarly shows the impact of company ‘downsizing’ and said the downtown vacancy rate was approaching 25 per cent as far back as July. Re/Max regional executive vice-president Elton Ash said his company doesn’t see ‘any kind of significant recovery for at least 18 months.’”

The Business News Network. “Canadian economic growth got a big boost from oil production in July, but a slowdown in construction was in evidence as well, an early indication of the pain that could come with the end of the country’s years-long housing boom. With clear signs of cooling in Vancouver real estate, the most expensive market, and only Toronto still booming, some economists are braced for a hit to construction and real estate, which they warn could trickle into other sectors as consumers pull back.”

“The shift would follow a two-year slump in Canada’s energy sector caused by plunging crude prices. ‘It’s one weakness replacing another,’ said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics. ‘While it’s not necessarily the case that the economy will get worse, it does mean economic growth will continue below its potential, the unemployment rate could edge up, and we’ll be even longer without the recovery that the Bank of Canada expects.’”




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102 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 14:58:57

They have throw everything at the bubble in Canada now. They are attacking it on loans, money laundering, income taxes and the Vancouver foreigner tax that other jurisdictions may well follow.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 15:17:16

‘On Monday, the federal government announced two housing measures that could have an impact on Vancouver’s market in the months to come. As of Oct. 17, all insured mortgages will have to undergo stress tests to determine whether borrowers will still be able to make payments if interest rates rise or they lose their jobs. The government also limited to Canadian residents a tax exemption for capital gains made when homeowners sell their primary residences.’

‘Robert Hogue, a senior economist with RBC, said he expected the mortgage changes to have a bigger impact on the market. There is little data to show how commonly foreign buyers were taking advantage of the tax exemption, he said.’

“Today’s announcement adds yet another layer of uncertainty to how this will be interpreted by the market,” he said, stressing the cumulative effect of all the policy changes. “I think all of those together are likely to have quite a moderating impact on activity.”

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 07:57:01

“…all insured mortgages will have to undergo stress tests to determine whether borrowers will still be able to make payments if interest rates rise or they lose their jobs.”

Is it safe to presume this prudent measure is already in place with respect to insured mortgages in the U.S.?

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 15:21:38

’some economists are braced for a hit to construction and real estate, which they warn could trickle into other sectors as consumers pull back… ‘While it’s not necessarily the case that the economy will get worse, it does mean economic growth will continue below its potential, the unemployment rate could edge up’

Magic 8 Ball says it’s already happening Paul.

‘Vacancy is the highest it’s ever been,’ said Kris Hong, an associate at Barclay Street. ‘Even if oil hit US$100, all the vacancy that’s on the market is not going to get absorbed for at least two or three years.’

It’s probably not Kris, unless the Canadians go out of business. But then it won’t matter will it? And you’ve got a whole bunch of construction workers and all the related industries that don’t have work for a few years. It’s real easy to get into this situation but not so easy to get out.

Comment by Joshua Tree
2016-10-04 15:43:50

‘Vacancy is the highest it’s ever been,’

That’s what happens when demand collapses. Get used to collapsing demand for all items. It’s going to be around for a while.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-04 21:59:29

Add unemployed construction workers to unemployed oil workers and you have lots of unemployed workers.

Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-05 06:10:23

Gov workers and academics remain

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 06:58:44

Academics can’t be a significant fraction of anything. Getting a PhD is hard and risky, with no guarantee of a job after years of slave labor.

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Comment by rms
2016-10-05 07:07:06

Seems like the unemployed workers don’t sit idle either. Nope… gotta put a another bun in the oven or maybe have a spousal abuse episode leading to a higher social services burden.

Comment by aNYCdj
2016-10-05 07:15:55

amazing how none of them saved even $10k to move for this eventual reality.

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Comment by redmondjp
2016-10-05 11:03:06

No can do. Gotta make the tire store payments on the $8K lift kit and monster tires/wheels, for the $75K diesel brodozer parked in the driveway that has a much bigger monthly payment.

A man and his truck; it’s a beautiful thing.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Jingle Male
2016-10-05 04:29:52

It will take over a decade to absorb a 25% vacancy. The average office vacancy in the US is 16%, and it’s been a decade since our bubble burst.

It is fascinating how, when a market turns down, everyone says “Oh, wait 6 months, it’ll turn around!” It like all those North Dakota trackers in 2015, standing around holding their pipe with both hands, waiting for a restart…..next. Still waiting….

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 15:35:43

‘In the frenzy earlier this year, developers began purchasing homes with the intention of tearing them down and building massive new ones to resell at a higher price. The orange fences line the lots and the demolition permits were in place, but those homes are back on the market.’

“Developers and or offshore investors who were planning to develop and make a buck seem to be running for the doors right now”

Here’s a lesson for the “build your way out of a bubble” people: they were saying that in Vancouver too. Look at how fast that went away.

Comment by Jingle Male
2016-10-05 04:32:44

Yes, there was false demand driving prices. Tulips. There is no way out for an irrational market.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 07:02:05

The short run way out is to reflate and kick the can down the road until your tenure in office expires. Sadly, doing so saddles your successor with a bigger bubble problem and more distorted economy than before.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 15:56:13

So…how much will San Francisco FBs be asking for their Leaning Tower condo “investments”?

http://wolfstreet.com/2016/10/04/condo-owners-leaning-tower-of-san-francisco-knock-value-to-zero-millennium-tower/

So what’s a condo worth in the 58-story Millennium Tower at 301 Mission St., the most luxurious condo tower in San Francisco, which has sunk 16 inches since its completion in 2008 and began leaning in 2009?

The tilt has reached 2 inches. Majestic finger-pointing has ensued. Lawyers have been unleashed. Investigations, studies, and counter-studies have commenced. No one is certain how to repair it, or if it is repairable at all.
A few things are certain: Large amounts of moolah will change hands, lawyers will get rich, and if taxpayers don’t watch out, the moolah may well change from their hands to other people’s hands – because the city of San Francisco has been dragged up to its eyeballs into this.
Lenders too are on the hook. California is one of the dozen or so “non-recourse” states. Standard purchase mortgages are non-recourse: they’re secured only by the property. When push comes to shove, borrowers might be tempted to let the bank worry about their properties in the leaning tower of San Francisco.

Comment by dropping like a rock
2016-10-04 16:27:31

and liquefaction issues… Not sure I would sleep well in that building.

I would have bought a 1 story beach house in santa cruz instead.

 
Comment by the spider monkey
2016-10-04 21:45:31

“Everyone, including Mayor Ed Lee, has assured everyone that the building is safe at the moment, even during an earthquake.”

Riiiiight.

“And there’s no obligation to disclose to potential buyers that the concrete building is heavy and more prone to sinking than a steel-framed building, and that it was nevertheless built on a concrete slab that in turn rests on concrete piles that go down about 80 feet into mud-fill and sand, and that the bedrock starts at about 200 feet.”

They are worth $0.

Schlonged.

Comment by Jingle Male
2016-10-05 04:38:28

Zero? I’d buy one for $1, assuming the HOA is under $500/month.

Hmmm, I wonder if the HOA can create special assessments for legal costs…..that could drive up the monthly assessment. Nevermind, that place is a millstone….zero is too much!

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 16:11:01

Pure crony-capitalism pay-to-pay exposed: new hack of the Clinton Foundation.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-04/clinton-foundation-hacked-exposing-thousands-donor-databases-pay-play-folder

Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-04 17:00:49

“.as well as Wall Street bank donations, curiously cross-referenced to how much TARP funding they received.” :)

 
 
Comment by azdude
2016-10-04 16:51:55

im sleeping in a tent to save money tonight.

Comment by va investor
2016-10-04 16:59:42

Get kicked out of the library already?

 
 
Comment by Vancouver Guy
2016-10-04 17:17:46

Spoke with a real estate agent at Starbucks. Recognized his face from the advertising wrap on his car. He figures prices will levitate forever regardless of how low the local incomes actually are. So many moves have been made by the government, that it is no longer fun to flip houses, play god all mighty with renters stuck in flips, sip lattes and brag. Everyone will now have to declare income from real estate transactions and will need to be “approved” for tax exemption. Now flippers will have to be 50% smarter to make the same money due to tax. Joe Hammer and sister Realtress will have to find other ways to earn a living soon…

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 17:47:53

Man, you’re really in the thick of it. Vancouver is the poster child for bubble 2.0.

Comment by azdude
2016-10-04 17:58:19

didnt they use to flip tulips?

 
Comment by Crdt
2016-10-04 18:14:23

Telling me… Absolutely ridiculous. People think the prices are adjusting to the new reality where our little neck of the woods is the only place on earth suitable for colonization. The amount of hubris is spectacular. Grown men and women dazzled by the comps, thrilled with each new story of their powers prices out of the market…

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:30:40

Where do they go if they sell? Gavin McInnes says there are very few places to really go in Canada. Like, forget Quebec if you don’t speak French. Nothing happening in Nova Scotia. About all there is, is Vancouver and Toronto.

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Comment by Vancouver Guy
2016-10-04 21:32:13

Home is where you make it. Lots of places to live, I am amazed at how little the locals know about other places that are amazing places as well. I was in Seattle the other day and I would love to live there over Vancouver any day as a newly minted IT graduate. Vienna is also gorgeous, many parts of Oregon are the same as up here, nice places in Ontario outside of TO… If you think about it, there are tons of great places, Vancouver is just one of them, may I also mention the very low average income in Vancouver as well…

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2016-10-05 07:48:07

Where ever you go in Canada, you will find the housing bubble.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:02:32

“Vienna is also gorgeous,…”

As in Austria? Seems like a long way from Vancouver…

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-10-05 08:51:55

Where do they go if they sell? Gavin McInnes says there are very few places to really go in Canada. Like, forget Quebec if you don’t speak French. Nothing happening in Nova Scotia. About all there is, is Vancouver and Toronto.

He sounds like those American coastal elitists who call the middle of the country flyover land.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 17:58:36

Just looking around for info on tonight’s debate to see if I want to watch or not, and up comes a video of that fat lard Frank Luntz. What is this guy’s purpose in life? Oh, right, he’s one of those “consent manufacturers”. Is it a requirement that they look so creepy?

What a waste of a mound of flesh.

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:24:28

Oh, geez, just tuned in briefly. Mike Pence. “I’m just a small town farm boy, had a cornfield in my back yard”.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:25:59

Oh, and his parents were immigrants. Y’know, that’s not much of a selling point anymore, if it ever was.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:51:56

Oh, fer cryin’ out loud, Pence. I mean, really.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-04 22:49:29

Why is it again that you guys want a dictator-in-chief in the White House? I’m no Hillary Clinton fan, but Trump scares my mom, who has voted in every election since 1952.

Comment by Don!
2016-10-05 05:45:34

Man every time you post the image that comes to my mind is the frumpy old man glowering into his stein during the beer garden scene in “Cabaret.”

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 07:03:45

Stop looking at yourself in the mirror, and you won’t have to see that image any more.

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Comment by Don!
2016-10-05 07:34:36

Why can’t you just shut your brie-hole?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN7r0Rr1Qyc

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:09:08

Getting a little thin-skinned there, Donny Boy? Why not rant about your frustrations on Twitter instead of annoying the posters here?

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 09:36:50

Did you happen to catch SNL last weekend?

Apparently Alec Baldwin was Too Good at Being Donald Trump for The New Yorker
By Paste Staff | October 4, 2016 | 4:34pm
Apparently Alec Baldwin was Too Good at Being Donald Trump for The New Yorker

By now, you’ve seen Alec Baldwin’s excellent Donald Trump impression from the SNL season premiere, and if you haven’t, do so here. The parody was so spot-on, it seems, that The New Yorker couldn’t resist running a piece suggesting that Baldwin’s similarity to Trump goes beyond last weekend’s mimicry. Ian Crouch writes:

But he may, beyond that, be uniquely suited for the role. In an alternative universe in which the Democrats, rather than the Republicans, had nominated a charismatic, thin-skinned, and incendiary celebrity as their Presidential candidate, Alec Baldwin could be Donald Trump.

 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-05 06:05:59

“I’m no Hillary Clinton fan, but Trump scares my mom,”

Show her this.

Hillary Clinton on Gaddafi: We came, we saw, he died - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y - 384k -

Hillary Clinton is Evil! (REMIX) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqYJRc0TJkQ - 182k -

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2016-10-05 07:20:30

bear dont know why? trump is just not politically correct

his immigration policy is MILD compared to mexico, and ohbahma’s policy of letting in criminals….

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/229641/how-mexico-treats-illegal-aliens-michelle-malkin

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:07:50

I don’t particularly care about whether Trump’s or Obama’s or Mexico’s immigration policy is the worst.

Find me a politician who supports a pragmatic legal immigration process which favors the kind of immigrants that will help the U.S. and excludes those who will harm it, without violating U.S. constitutional principles, and I am in.

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Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 18:02:44

I was going through some old emails and found this:

Condo overload hits Flagstaff
By J. FERGUSON
Sun Staff Reporter
Sunday, October 1, 2006 9:10 AM CDT

When Shelly Denny of Phoenix put one of the two townhouses she owns in Boulder Pointe on the market three weeks ago, she knew it would take a while for it to sell.

Denny is asking $309,000 for the 1,440 square-foot, three-bedroom, 21/2-bath townhome, a price right in the middle for units for sale in that neighborhood.

But with 237 townhouses and condos listed for sale in greater Flagstaff and sales slowing down, Denny could be in for a longer wait than she thought.

“I believe there is a year’s worth of inventory on the market,” said Stephen Brighton, a Realtor with Century 21 Metro Alliance.

According to statistics from the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors multiple-listing service, sales have slowed locally and are down 13 percent from the same period last year.

From June through August , 86 townhomes and condos sold this year, compared to 99 last year in the greater Flagstaff area.

For the last year ending Aug. 30, 266 condos and townhouses have sold in greater Flagstaff, but Brighton said he believes the market has cooled considerably just as it has become flooded.

Denny bought the two Flagstaff townhouses as an investment opportunity, but she is allowing her daughter to live in one as she goes to school.

She said she decided to buy property in Flagstaff because she liked the area and said it has potential in terms of real estate investment.

While there are fewer sales and more townhomes on the market, the price is up 10 percent for the same three-month period. The median price for townhomes and condos in the greater Flagstaff area is $275,000.

But the supply is about to increase even more and the median price come down as condos at The Arbors, an apartment conversion project, are offered for sale between $95,000 and $222,000.

Developers of new townhomes and condos are using several incentives to lure buyers into the market, including down payment assistance, the waiving of closing costs or offering amenities like Corian countertops.

Valerie Caro, a local real estate broker who is handling the Arbors condo conversion, said the developer’s move to set aside $500,000 down payment assistance has helped court buyers for the former apartments.

Caro said that for qualified buyers, the assistance would be worth several thousand dollars.

For sellers of existing townhomes, there are fewer incentives to offer prospective buyers.

“They don’t have the same ammo,” said Brighton. “They have to make the price compelling.”

New townhomes at Railroad Springs are being offered at $266,000 for two-bedroom units and $318,000 for three bedrooms.

In the existing Boulder Pointe Estates, recent townhome sales range between $279,000 and $349,000 for three bedrooms.

A spokesperson for NAAR said the sales figures are down from last year.

“Our condo and townhome market in Flagstaff has proved to be an interesting one,” said Ginny Britt, spokesperson and president for NAAR.

“We certainly seem to have more on the market as you drive through the neighborhoods.”

With prices up and a larger selection of homes, Britt points to another economic indicator, falling interest rates again, that may bring new buyers into the market.

Britt said it was important that interest rates have fallen below the 6 percent barrier for a 30-year conventional mortgage, making it cheaper for qualified buyers to buy a home.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 18:18:36

What a time capsule. Almost exactly ten years ago. Little did I know I would end up doing foreclosure work in these places a few years later. I got to know some of these UHS (they were all REO specialists by then). Railroad Springs; the tales I could tell. Besides those awful townhouses, it’s mostly manufactured shacks. I probably handled 2 or 3 dozen. So many stories about black goo in the fridges, etc. One time the people who had left had chickens living in the kitchen cabinets! The townhouses were built with super narrow streets that sat in the shade most of the time. This meant the snow didn’t melt, but did turn to ice. The first time I went there were ice banks 5 feet high on either side of these streets. Cars could barely pass single file. Of course the HOA was broke so a bobcat that might have cleared it wasn’t available.

The Arbors was another disaster. Opened at exactly the wrong time. The big problem there was the heating came from water heaters. People quit paying their bills, pipes froze and entire units flooded all around. The construction was crappy, so when we would go in to pull out a shower to work on the plumbing, we couldn’t move it without tearing other stuff up, all crammed in too close. Change order, Fannie Mae! Ah, good times.

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:22:28

Didja make some good $$, though? Courtesy of Unka Sam? God knows you deserve it.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 18:28:57

Not for the amount of work and the difficulty. It was alright. I learned a lot, that was the big plus. I eventually got into rehab bidding and that has really helped with property management. I am in the process of a big remediation job that I could never have done without what I learned in the REO biz. I learned the ins and outs of REO’s on a level most people never see. I’m glad I did it. Have some great memories too.

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Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:32:06

“Have some great memories too.”

Best one? Funniest one? Strangest one?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-10-04 19:04:47

Out of thousands, I couldn’t begin. Most of the time I was alone so something will have to jog my memory to even remember it. I’ll give you two. Once in Sedona in 2008 we were doing an initial secure on a fancy house. I had to go get something and when I got back the guy working with me said, “Dude you wouldn’t believe the woman who just came by to get a last few things. She was so HOT! I mean better looking than any movie star you ever saw!” He went on like this for several minutes as we worked our way upstairs. In the master bedroom, we found these sex toys in the closet. And not just ordinary sex toys, but some crazy kinky stuff. That guy had this look on his face you wouldn’t believe. We laughed and laughed.

One time in Kachina Hills this guy died and his house went into foreclosure. I could see from the paperwork he left he had refinanced like crazy. He had been gone for a year when I got there. OK, so he had two fridges. He also had a big fondness for snails, the kind you eat. One fridge was full of snails. Now I’ll tell you snails left for a year in a fridge without power liquefy. All sealed up it gets really, really nasty. (Don’t open the fridge! is the joke in the industry). But somebody has to open it to see if it’s any good. I knew it was bad because the black liquid was coming out the bottom of the door. I hired a couple of guys to get rid of it. I told them, “don’t open it no matter what you do, just take it to the dump.” So I’m off somewhere and I pull up and these two guys are on their hands and knees in the front yard puking their guts out. Turned out, they had taped it shut like I told them but coming down the stairs just outside the door it fell off the dolly, the door swung open and everything came out. The stench overwhelmed them and the rest was history. I’ll never forget that scene when I pulled up and seeing them, tears streaming from their eyes, heaving in the cool summer day.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 19:31:50

That’s some great stuff there. I’m familiar with those snails, escargot is what they call them. Great when there’s six of them as an appetizer with butter and garlic. I can’t imagine what happens when they liquefy, but I guess your buddies found out.

I like that “Don’t open the fridge” I can see why it would be an industry joke.

 
Comment by Jingle Male
2016-10-05 05:17:41

+2! Bravo. Great stories. I’ve hosed out a house, but nothing like a dropped fridge full of liquefied snails!

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-10-04 18:25:36

Trump is on fire in Prescott, AZ today on C-SPAN.

New York Times and Washington Post “real journalists” need to choke on their own vomit and DIE.

Please just die, like five minutes ago. And if you need a boot on your neck to help with that, tell me the time and location where you need that boot.

I watched my native state of Ohio die because of you. Turnabout is fair play.

“This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 18:40:51

I’m tellin’ ya. I really, really, really despise the MSM.

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-10-04 18:41:08

WTF am I watching? Dennis Kucinich? James Traficant? How far and how obscure in old school Ohio politics would you like me to go?

Eleven Million People, totally f*cked over by NAFTA.

We used to skateboard and smoke weed in these abandoned factories, and graduate to No Jobs.

Globalists can suck it.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 18:51:50

The awake and aware can totally relate to THE WALKING DEAD. A tiny handful of people hanging on to their humanity, trying to do the right thing in a world gone mad and populated by shuffling brain-dead zombies motivated solely by their basest instincts.

 
Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 19:04:53

John Hiatt, All the Lilacs in Ohio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYR-EbZYxTU

 
Comment by dropping like a rock
2016-10-04 19:06:20

President George H. W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas all have what in common?

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 19:33:17

They’re not in office anymore.

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Comment by dropping like a rock
2016-10-05 11:09:01

There polices are.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 18:34:29

Another city maladministered by the Comrades of Proven Worth (D) has a parasite infestation.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/disturbing-photos-SoMa-drug-use-homelessness-9624487.php

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:12:45

It looks like SF is the same overpriced socialist utopia that it was when I first set foot in it twenty years ago. What’s changed?

Comment by MightyMike
2016-10-05 08:59:50

Nothing’s changed, but Ray will blame Obama anyway.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 09:06:51

He’d more likely blame local extreme liberal politicians than Obama, which would be right on target.

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-05 15:59:08

Actually I’ll blame the idiots who elected the Comrades of Proven Worth (D) who are running SF into the ground. Obama is playing a minor supporting role.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 18:36:56

If you like your crony capitalism, you can keep your crony capitalism.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3822095/Apple-named-biggest-corporate-tax-avoider-US.html

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 18:40:53

Germans voted for a stooge of the globalists and banksters, Angela Merkel. Now they’re getting exactly what they voted for. Hillary voters, take notice.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/10/04/oktoberfest-attendance-lowest-15-years-sex-crimes-increase/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-04 18:45:36

How will our insane open borders policies (thank you, globalist oligarchs) affect the housing market? And what percent of these “huddled masses” will be Democrat-on-Arrival dependency voters?

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/census-record-42.4m-immigrants-23-of-school-kids-muslims-biggest-jump/article/2603543

 
Comment by dropping like a rock
2016-10-04 19:02:25

The VP’s make Trump look silly with their knowledge or world events.

Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-04 19:19:13

I started watching late but all I’ve seen Arnie Grape do is interrupt Pence when he is talking about Hillary’s failed policies by saying… Trump didn’t pay taxes…He doesn’t like teachers.

 
Comment by Don!
2016-10-05 05:06:41

Kaine is sexist.

Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-05 05:11:31

“Kaine is sexist.”

When he comes out of the closet all will be forgiven.

Comment by redmondjp
2016-10-05 11:06:39

Now that you mention that, I picked up on that last night while watching as well . . .

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Comment by Apartment 401
2016-10-04 19:21:34

Here’s a Bukowski moment for ya:

I don’t know a single person that works a job that involves breaking a sweat or getting their hands dirty that is voting for Hillary Clinton.

Manhattan, Los Angeles, and especially Washington DC, none of these people have ever worked a day in their f*ing life.

Why should anybody listen to you?

Oh right, because we don’t anymore…

Comment by palmetto
2016-10-04 19:39:34

Speaking of Ohio AND Hillary Clinton, there’s some great video on InfoWars of attendants wheeling a hospital gurney backstage at a Clinton event in Akron.

http://www.infowars.com/video-clinton-staff-panics-as-journalists-capture-video-of-gurney-being-wheeled-backstage/

I like that Millie Weaver. She’s a sharp young lady, she is.

Comment by Don!
2016-10-05 06:31:51

Hillary is the ringleader of a criminal enterprise.

Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-05 07:59:25
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Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-05 04:16:58

My hood is all fed workers
100% Hilary
Bigger gov coming

Comment by MightyMike
2016-10-05 06:20:52

At least she’s not a socialist.

 
Comment by rms
2016-10-05 07:35:53

“My hood is all fed workers”

Huntsville, AL?

Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-05 07:45:43
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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:15:36

“Americans will face falling home prices in a matter of years as personal income gains fail to keep pace with the recovery from the financial crisis, according to a Bank of America Corp. analyst.”

So long as Uncle Sam is willing and able to dole out federally guaranteed loans at leverage levels approaching 100%, what do incomes have to do with home prices?

 
Comment by rms
2016-10-05 14:19:41

“So long as Uncle Sam is willing and able to dole out federally guaranteed loans at leverage levels approaching 100%, what do incomes have to do with home prices?”

Anything for a vote.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-04 21:37:54

Illegal Voters Uncovered in Philly Are ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

Law firm uncovers illegal immigrants, convicted felons on rolls — and some have voted in crucial swing state

by Brendan Kirby | Updated 04 Oct 2016 at 8:11 PM

At least 86 non-citizens have been registered voters in Philadelphia since 2013, and almost half — 40 — even voted in at least one recent election, according to a legal group that sued to get voter registration records.

Joseph Vanderhulst, an attorney with the Public Interest Legal Foundation, noted Philadelphia knows about those 86 illegal voters only because officials received specific requests — in almost every case from the voters themselves — to remove the names from the rolls. He said there is no way to know how many non-citizens might be registered to vote in Philadelphia, let alone in the rest of politically crucial Pennsylvania.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Who knows how many are on and don’t ask to be taken off.”

Research by the law firm also indicated that Philadelphia makes no effort to proactively remove non-citizens or incarcerated felons, who also are ineligible to vote under Pennsylvania law. Philadelphia becomes the latest jurisdiction that the Public Interest Legal Foundation has revealed to have irregularities in the voter rolls. The group recently found 1,046 non-citizens who had been registered to vote in eight Virginia counties and that nearly 200 cast ballots between 2005 and 2015.

http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/illegal-voters-uncovered-philly-just-tip-iceberg/ - 133k -

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-10-05 04:27:55

Hope n’ change comes to the trucking industry. No green shoots here.

http://wolfstreet.com/2016/10/05/heavy-truck-class-8-orders-plunge-worst-september-since-2009/

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:25:06

Few green shoots are visible, either on land or at sea.

The Shipping Noose
Why the global network of cargo ships is suddenly melting down.
By Joshua Keating
This picture taken on September 3, 2016 shows a general view of the Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal in Seoul.
Ed Jones/Getty Images

…the shipping industry’s biggest underlying problem—overcapacity—isn’t going away.

Essentially, the global supply of ships has been growing much faster than the amount of goods that need to be shipped. According to a Moody’s analysis published in June, global container-ship capacity grew by 8.6 percent in 2015, a year when global trade grew by only 2.6 percent. Despite low demand, companies continue to order ever-larger vessels. Shipping capacity is measured in “twenty-foot equivalent units” with the largest ships able to transport more than 18,000 TEUs. In the 12 months through May 2016, the number of these ultra-large vessels increased to 37 from 22. The next class down, 14,000 to 18,000 TEUs, increased from 51 to 70. Larger ships are far more efficient and drive down the rates that their operators can afford to charge manufacturers, which has led to a race to the bottom: Supply now vastly outstrips demand, and shipping rates are sitting at all-time lows.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:43:44

Apparently there is no shortage of capacity gluts these days around the oil business, either.

After The Oil Glut Comes the Oil Office Glut
By Rani Molla & Liam Denning
Real Estate
Oct 4, 2016 10:36 AM EDT

If you’re in office real estate in a place like Houston or Calgary, then you’re also in the oil business, whether you like it or not.

Just how much damage the collapse in oil and gas prices has wreaked on regional energy capitals varies from city to city, according to a new report by real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. While most cities around the world have seen strong growth in their office rental markets in the past few years, many cities tied to oil and gas have seen rents slow or vacancies increase.

When it comes to North America’s energy cities — defined as those that are home to listed or state-owned energy company headquarters — Houston and, especially, Calgary are most affected by the oil slump.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:48:06

Glut, glut, glug, glug, glug,…

Oil Tankers Piling Up in North Sea Highlight Glut Facing OPEC

Laura Hurst
October 5, 2016 — 1:28 AM HST
- At least 10 vessels near U.K. ship-to-ship transfer sites
- Oversupply continues to loom as OPEC seeks to limit ouput

A pile up of tankers waiting in the North Sea suggests a glut is building again in the market where benchmark crude is traded, highlighting the task facing OPEC as it seeks to rein in a global glut.

At least 10 tankers are at or near locations off the coasts of England and Scotland where they must wait to transfer their cargoes, according to vessel-tracking information compiled by Bloomberg. The increase is happening amid seasonal work at the U.K.’s largest oil field.

“The physical crude market is already showing signs of weakness with floating storage threatening to build up in the North Sea, in spite of ongoing field maintenance,” according to a research note from JBC Energy GmbH. It cited the vessel pile up at the ship-to-ship transfer sites as one of the indicators of a surplus.

 
 
Comment by Don!
2016-10-05 05:31:50

Interesting Website. I know why California doesn’t vote GOP anymore, but I was surprised looking at Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Did everyone there worth a damn move somewhere else?

http://www.270towin.com/states/

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 07:19:32

I guess not all business geniuses are also geniuses in tax law.

Politics
Oct 5 2016, 8:16 am ET
Trump Tax Attorney: ‘He Didn’t Understand the Code’
by Phil Helsel and Emma Margolin
Kaine on Taxes: ‘So It’s Smart Not to Pay?’

An attorney who oversaw Donald Trump’s income tax returns in the mid-1990s said the Republican presidential candidate had little interest in the tax code — contrasting with the billionaire’s claim that he understood taxes “better than anyone” who had run for the White House.

“As far as I know, and that only goes through late ‘96, he didn’t understand the code,” said Jack Mitnick, a former tax adviser for Trump, in an interview with NBC’s TODAY. “Nor would he have had the time and the patience to learn the provisions. That’s a lifetime of experience.”

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 07:12:05

The party is ending soon, folks…time to batten down the hatches.

The Financial Times
Global Economy
World debt hits $152tn record, says IMF
Calculation of burden highlights challenge of boosting growth
New 19 minutes ago

Central Banks
Markets eye the taper but fear the tantrum
With policy under fire in Japan and the eurozone, investors are wary of scenario in which QE is unwound

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-10-05 07:27:34

in a sub 2% gdp world you need to save 2x vs the 3.5% boomer world of yesteryear

Article said 22% savings required for retirement at age 67
=wow

 
Comment by X-GSfixr/Paid Minion
2016-10-05 07:49:44

Things are really effed, Chapter 283:

Had the carpet cleaners come by yesterday. As always, they get a kick out of doing an airplane instead of the typical suburban home.

Had a conversation with the “cleaner”. He graduated from one of the local state universities with an Electrical Engineering degree. Has been sending out resumes since earlier this year. Finally got his FIRST interview this month. In the meantime, he cleans carpets to pay off the school loans.

BTW, he knows exactly what “H-1B” means.

Found out his main issue may be that he believed the BS about playing it by the rules, and applying online.

Online job applications are a joke/another Kabuki Theatre. They are not meant to locate candidates. They are meant to eliminate candidates without telling them why they have been eliminated, and/or develop records to back up the corporate hiring policies (or H-1B program) in court.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 08:27:15

“Finally got his FIRST interview this month. In the meantime, he cleans carpets to pay off the school loans.”

That’s rough, especially when you realize he is one of thousands in a similar financial boat.

Comment by redmondjp
2016-10-05 11:14:00

And unemployed middle-aged EEs are in a similar boat - young, tech companies where the CEO may be 27 years old don’t want to hire people in their 50s.

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-10-05 12:14:22

Right. Age discrimination is illegal, but still…

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Comment by Carl Morris
2016-10-05 21:26:42

Online job applications are a joke/another Kabuki Theatre. They are not meant to locate candidates. They are meant to eliminate candidates without telling them why they have been eliminated, and/or develop records to back up the corporate hiring policies (or H-1B program) in court.

Yes, unless your resume goes in through someone you know there…or at least a friend of a friend…you will have a 0% success rate. At least that’s how it worked for me this summer. Even for positions that sounded like they were written for me.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-10-05 08:32:25

Hillary’s Harrisburg press conference yesterday had a whole lotta shakin goin on.

 
Comment by drumminj
2016-10-11 20:37:18

foo

Comment by drumminj
2016-10-11 20:46:08

bar

Comment by drumminj
2016-10-11 20:47:10

bar2

 
 
 
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