April 17, 2006

HP'ers who've lived through a housing bust - tell your story here


My only one was Denver in 1990 - a sea of HUD homes, condos for pennies on the dollar, foreclosures everywhere, and a disgust for real estate among the population

Oh, wait, that sounds like Denver today!

Seriously though, if you've been in a town during a bust, tell your story here. If you've gotten killed before in real estate, tell us how it went down

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it...

Extra credit for anyone who can identify this man and his role in the 1990 housing crash...

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Neil Bush

Anonymous said...

I was an REO Marketing Analyst for the RTC at Home Fed Bank in San Diego in 1991, which from memory was the largest bank with the most REO ever taken down by the Resolution Trust Corporation. I can give much insight into what happened during those days, and would be happy to answer questions any of you might have.

Anonymous said...

Can you tell us what happened? I was pretty young at the time but remember the famous Charles Keating and the Arizona S&L scandal. My dad lost his job because of that scandal (indirectly, the company he worked for had loans at that bank that were bad).

Anonymous said...

As a real estate builder/developer in San Diego, I lost $700,000 cash and three years of my time when the Southern California housing market crashed in the early 1990s.

Housing prices fell by 30 to 40 percent from the peak of the market in 1990 to the bottom of the marke in 1997.

As a 2nd generation buider/developer, I know from first hand experience that anybody that says real estate is always a good investment is either a liar or a fool.

Nothing is permanently safe in this world. Nothing. And that's why 96% of all Americans end up essentially broke and living on Social Security when they retire at age 65.

Sad but true.

Anonymous said...

KEITH (and REO Marketing Analyst),

Keith, I have been very patiently waiting to buy in Scottsdale (AZ). Of course, the prices are obscene. I would be willing to relocate to Denver in the future if prices don't fall here back to 2002 (or 1998) inflation adjusted prices! To be honest, I've never liked it here, and about the ONLY thing I'd miss is shopping at Trader Joe's grocery store! This Valley is for the most part without any intrinsic value and filled with alot of robotic, soulless money sucking monsters (mostly Scottsdale/Paradise Valley.)

Anywho, can you PLEASE respond to the following questions to help me to decide to stay in apt. rental Hell in Scottsdale or move to someplace like Denver (into a house) eventually:

1. How far (% wise) did prices in Denver fall and over what time period?

2. Did condos/condo condo conversions fall much more than lower-end houses? (When you say pennies in the dollar, do you mean they went from $100,000 to $30,000 in a matter of 3 years?- please give specific examples.) As you may know, a small 1 BR condo in north(ish) Scottsdale goes for $165-$185k for an as-is regular type apartment (conversion). How absurd! After PITI, HOA and upkeep, I'm looking at at least $1400/month for something that rented for $650 one year ago.

3. Where was one able to buy at the cheapest prices- bank owned foreclosures, regular MLS, from VA or Fannie Mae? I fear that in the next five years in the Phoenix area the only way to get a "deal" will be to luck out and get a foreclosure somehow. I feat that the market will take 5+ years to lower here. That's too long for me!

4. Were you able to compare how much prices went down in the PHX area compared to Denver? I think that in Jan. 1987, prices topped in PHX area, went down a little, and then started rising again in Jan. 1990. I moved to Tempe in Oct. 1992 from the Atlanta, GA area and mentally noted that the prices seemed very reasonable in Tempe. (In Atlanta and New Orleans in the early 1990's, houses seemed really inexpensive- at least the prices.) Newer townhouses on the Perimeter in North ATL were $45,000. They are now around $170k+ for something that was built in the late 80's.

THANKS FOR ANY INFO YOU HAVE!!!



Marketing Analyst,

Can you please give me an idea of how much prices lowered in San Diego in the early 90's and over what time period. I'll probably never live there, but it still will give me a fuller idea of what prices did in the West (AZ, etc.)

During the early 1990's, I worked at the Macon (GA) branch of the FDIC and they definitely were lowering their scores to shut down banks and S&L's in Middle Georgia and around Atlanta. The house prices even in Macon were so much less than today. I remember historic mansions on College Street being boarded up. My apt. was in a mansion (built 1900) that was subdivided into 13 apts. Rent was $235 per month for about 1000 square feet! (The entire house and outbuildings were about 13,000 square feet total.) Now it's on the market for 1.2 million!! How times have changed even in declining places like Macon. THANKS FOR YOUR IMPUT!!

Dave Barnes said...

It was not 1990. It was 1985-1989. See http://www.housedata.info/CO/Denver.Aurora/

Neil Bush of Silverado Savings & Loan. Thief. And, the bastard never went to jail (unlike some of his buddies).

Mark said...

Ridgecrest California - population 30K-ish. A small town in the high desert, about 70 miles from anywhere of significance. Major employer - US Navy (missile testing range).

In 1989 the cold war ended, and the defense cutbacks began the following year. The town had no economic diversity, and jobs were leaving in droves.

1990-1995: You could tell when a house was repo'd. The grass would go yellow because the water and electricity would be shut off. Five of the eight houses on my block street were repo'd.

Businesses were boarded up everywhere, because all the money had left town. The remaining businesses jacked their prices up because there were fewer customers. And people would drive elsewhere, so there was a big "buy local" campaign.

One of the repos on my block belonged to a businessman and city councilman. A windstorm had taken off quite a few shingles from his roof - a common occurance in the Mojave desert. He suddenly just left one day, leaving the roof shingles missing.

I was upside down on my house, thanks to VA loan 100% financing. Hated my job, but couldn't spare the cash to get out of the house. What is the opposite of empowerment? Imprisonment? Indentured servitude? It felt awful. I ended up moving out and renting it for the last 2 years I owned that house. It took 12 years, but I finally sold it for 250 bucks more than I bought it for, LOL.

In retrospect it was like living through a depression.

Update (2006): The war on terrorism (and some base consolidation) has brought *a lot* of govt money back into Ridgecrest. Most of the people I know who've remained there have *just now* been able to start playing the cash-out refi game (house renovations and luxury cars). Too bad that Ridgecrest's economy is no more diverse than it was in 1990. Some people refuse to learn :)

Anonymous said...

I'm the former RTC REO Marketing Analyst, but prefer to be Anonymous because I know some people are going to become very alarmed and very angry when I discuss what happened the last time.

When I left the RTC at HomeFed Bank in 1991, the RTC was in the process of closing down. It was the tail end of that cycle.

While at the RTC, I personally sold bank REO for 20%-30% of what it appraised for just two and three years earlier. Not for 20-30% less, but 20-30% of that real estate's former value from just 2-3 years earlier.

Mortgage defaults and bank REO are increasing rapidly already as of today. Keep in mind that banking regulators will never give lenders leeway to play the market so to speak, or hold on to REO in the hope of an improving market to get a better price or to cover their nut (i.e., mortgage). They HAVE to get those non-performing assets OFF their books. I have lots of stories about those days and I'm convinced this time it will be far worse because back then we didn't have any of the Geo-Political crises we have now (rampant illegal immigration, wars, we're a bigger debtor nation, we have a bigger trade imbalance with China than we ever had with Japan I'm sure, etc., etc.), interest rates that were artificially depressed to levels not seen in 40 years, dangerous and irresponsible lending products, and because the advent of the internet now facilitates the free flow of information much faster. Look at all the housing bubble blogs there are with all the reliable data they are providing. It's almost an avalanche of data supporting why all but the most ill-informed should not be looking to buy for at least 2 years.

I remember telling people in 1989-1990 that the writing was on the wall and nobody listened because there was no publicly available data (brokers like me knew based on MLS data only available to members) to cite in support of the impending crash, and the media, especially newspapers, weren't going to report it because their largest advertising constituency is Realtors/brokers.

With the internet and the info that is available on it, you'll soon see the amount of time it takes for real estate to crash significantly compacted this time. Just look how fast things have turned bad since just before the holiday season started last year.

Homeowners are now increasingly starting to put their homes up for sale to get an early start on the summer home buying season, and some are just now realizing how inventories on their local MLS's have tripled, quadrupled and worse. As of today, ZipRealty reports that San Diego is just about 4 weeks away (based on the average daily increase in inventory I have been monitoring since late last summer) from breaking the old record of 19,250 during the last down cycle.
I know some have said that you can't use that figure because San Diego has a larger population today, but I disagree and here's why. There are far more FSBO related companies today than 15 years ago because of the Internet and collectively, many of their their thousands of listings are not included in the ZipRealty figures. Also keep in mind that last year population in the County went down, and don't be surprised when it goes down again after this year finishes up.

Look how the tone of articles from mainstream media in the last 2 months alone have changed. Panic has already set in for many, but they have no idea how ugly it will get.

The one thing I'm always amazed to find out is how many borrowers think that when their home goes back to the bank, that's the end of their problems. What they don't realize is that if the lender writes off or forgives any debt to them (i.e., short sale, etc.) the former borrower will get a 1099 for the amount of that forgiven debt as though they had received it as income. If they sold their home through a short sale at the begining of the year and they got a 1099 by January 30th of the following year, they not only have to pay taxes on that forgiven debt, but now penalties and interest too, because it was due (unless you pay estimated quarterly taxes) at the time the debt was forgiven. I personally knew a borrower who had 11 rental properties and after he lost the first one to foreclosure, he got hit with a huge IRS penalty. He started selling off the others, but had huge tax hits because of depreciation recapture, and because the market was getting worse, he could not sell some for what he owed. I was an underwriter at the time and on paper, just prior to losing his first property he had equity of over $1,000,000; but in the end he lost it all because he couldn't sell in a market where bank REO dominated, and when he tried, the tax hit from depreciation recapture buried him further.

The same sheeple psychology that drove everyone to ignore cash flow fundamentals by flipping condos and homes based on the greater fool theory, will invert like it did in 1990, and for the next few years you'll hear nothing about real estate except how terrible of an investment it is, and it will be true for those who either bought with high leverage or refinanced with max cash out based on the value of their homes in the last 2 years.

And anyone who says rents will catch up to all the adjusting I.O. and ARM loans is in fantasy land.
Between 1990 & 1994, I had my landlord reduce my rent three times by simply giving notice that I could rent a better condo at the
beach for less. And you know why that's possible? Because of all the bank REO that was (and will be again) unloaded on the market. Owners who buy REO can easily compete on price alone. Market rent is meaningless to them. I rent a $750K place now and have been renting since we sold our residence in 2002 and our rent is under $2,000 and in the 5 years we'll have been here, the rent will have only increased by 3% from 2002 through 2007.

To those who ask how long to wait and how low will it get, here's my answer. Even though the Internet will compact the time it takes to crash, I still say don't even think about buying for at least another 18 months. Don't be fooled by ocassional news or market conditions that lead you to think things have turned better because that always happens on the way down, just as it does with stocks on companies you know are "Dead Man Walking".

As far as the percentage, don't think in terms of what percentage it will go down relative to the overall market, but what discount you can get on hardship situations, like bank REO. I think you will be able to get property for 20-30% of what it appraised for in 2005. Trust me. Even if you don't for whatever reason, others who are diligent will.

In 1995, my wife and I bought a La Jolla 1-BR condo one block to WindanSea beach with a peek ocean view off the balcony. It was in default and we bought it for a total price of $104,000 AND got the broker to kick in half his commission. That's how bad it was last time : )


IT WILL GET VERY UGLY \"/

Anonymous said...

Atlanta GA in 1989-91. Builders went bust and left behind partiallty-framed houses that sat for 2-3 years before the banks eventually gave them away for 25 cents on the dollar. Commercial real estate was overbuilt too and landlords offered deals like 6-12 months of free rent on a three year lease.

The house we bought new in '86 dropped 15% in value and appraisals didn't recover to original prices until '96.

Anonymous said...

What Americans do not understand is that houses are NOT getting more expense but Americans are getting MUCH POORER.

The housing bubble is NOT a bubble but massive inflation that has been hidden by massive deflation in everyday goods from China.

The Chinese Present will arrive in America this week to inspect his properties as most of you owe your mortgage interest to him.

You flag waving, pick-up truck driving, religous retards are basically now inslaved to the Chinese government. LOL.

Anonymous said...

MR. former RTC REO Marketing Analyst,

Many thanks for your detailed post.
It is very much appreciated.


Renting SV Geek.

blogger said...

anon from RTC (please sign your posts with any made up name) - that was the single best post in the history of this blog

Would you mind if I posted as its own thread?

Anonymous said...

I lived through the Denver housing bust and came out on the positive side.

The above RE chart showing the Denver bust as just a leveling-off period does NOT correspond to my observation of the market during those years. There was a VERY dramatic collapse in low and mid-level RE prices for a multi-year period of time.

-We bought a townhouse in 82 for $68k. Economy was in good shape but the energy economy was weakening.

-Blue foreclosure signs started appearing around town in 1985. I remember the first blue sign and wondered what it all meant.

-Our energy sector jobs became dicey in 84. Sold townhouse in 85 for orignal price on assumption.

-I remember the somber bank clerk mumbling darkly about another Great Depression. People moving out of town with PUs and Ryder trucks loaded with assorted household stuff.

-By 86, blue HUD foreclosure signs were noticeable in many places- especially condos/THs. We moved to Vermont in 86.

-Vermont 87. I saw a Denver Post in library in Burlington. There was a separate house foreclosure listing section with 1,000s of foreclosed properties at deep discounts. We moved back to Denver in summer 87 to specifically take advantage of the housing bust.

-Denver/Front Range summer 87. Thousands and thousands of blue HUD foreclosure signs everywhere. Large section in Post with maybe 10,000 foreclosures. Everywhere were open houses to view. RE auctions held monthly were like Amway conventions with screaming people and houses going for 30-50% below levels of 2 years before.

-Some condo/TH developments were 1/3 to 1/2 empty. Blue HUD signs were visible in maybe 125 out of 325 units in TH developments.

-We spent many weeks touring foreclosed properties in Denver,Lakewood, Aurora and foothills. Lot of FUN. Attended RE auctions and bid on several properties. I will never forget the 3500sf solar mansion in Evergreen for $113k and...NO TAKERS(finally sold for $130k months later).

-1987 Townhouses for $35-45K. Condos were going from $11-21k. Suburban houses for $60k and up. In Aurora, houses went as low as $35k but were not in best of shape. We ended up buying a TH for $41k cash- made the deal with HUD with a lowball offer right on the phone.

-1988. Sold TH and bought a 3BR house in Denver for $65k. Paid off small mortgage in 1990. House needed some renovation but doubled in price by 1994.

-1988-89. Lots and lots of foreclosures. Still tens of thousands of properties showing up in the Denver Post foreclosures section. Lots of properties to view. Tough time to be a Realtor@(hah).

-Low point of housing bust was in 1987. This does not seem to show up in the Barnes graph but 1987 was the low point and was acknowledged as such at that time.

-By 1990, the blue HUD signs were disappearing along with the really good deals. Denver was recovering by this time. Many of the condo and TH projects had changed hands 100% and all the original owners were gone. By the early 90s, the original prices were just coming back.

-The Denver bust was a major opportunity. We were able to overcome employment issues and get a paid-off house in a good section of town. And we have never had a house payment since that time. And there is nothing like having a paid-off property...screw the measly tax deduction. No mortgage ever ever again.

Never ever.

Ever ever ever.

Anonymous said...

I was a kid but I just remember driving by forclosures that former owners had intentionally trashed before repo time came.

Anonymous said...

***********RTC REO ANALYST, **********************

Thanks for the long post. I am the one who wrote about Macon, GA in the early 1990's.

If you have time, would would please tell me (us) a list of possible sources of REO so I can be poised and ready to go if prices come down in Scottsdale or Denver, (or in La Jolla, for heaven's sake- $103,000!!!!!) Anything more than VA, HUD, RTC-if they have it again, Realtors, banks, newspapers, F Mae, F Mac, etc.)?????

Where do I start, what should I do, where should I go, to whom should I speak, if I'm paying cash how should I approach x agency, etc., etc.????? How can I know about foreclosures in other parts if I'm in Scottsdale?

I'm able and willing to wait 2-3+ years, even though I hate it. I just need specific info. and a game plan.

Also, does anyone else out there have personal experiences of prices in Scottsdale (or the East Valley) on the same types of properties from the mid 80's to the present?


THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.

IT'S GREATLY NEEDED!!!!!!


****************************************************************************************************************

Anonymous said...

"HP'ers who've lived through a housing bust - tell your story here"

Here, on Long Island, NY; I remember the 80's boom quite clearly.
In 82 Volker started cutting FFR and Reagan goosed the local economy with Defense spending(Grumman and local suppliers). The economy took off like a rocket ship, with housing fast on it's heels. Housing prices started to jump around 2% per month. The stock market also started to catch on fire.
I was 25 & single at that time. I really did not want or need a house, but who can resist such EZ profits.
I had saved a few bucks(you actually HAD TO HAVE A DOWN PAYMENT in those days). So I bought a house with my business partner and we rented it out.
After the 87 market crash, I started to get worried that the economy would tank so I sold out to my partner in 89 and moved south to Savannah Ga. and eventually to Florida. I had gotten married in 85 but that blew up in 90. After getting divorced I moved back to NY.
By 92 I started seeing the housing bust coming down the pipeline. Homes were already making it back to HUD and that is where I concentrated my "SEARCH FOR VALUE".
It wasn't too difficult to find good deals. The problem was there were so many!!! What seemed to work for me was to low ball homes in bad shape, but in the better neighborhoods.(I paid 22k for 1!!!!)
Basically, my strategy was to buy very cheap, fix up and flip just below other retail sellers prices.(125k) THis way my house would sell and their's would languish.
It was all working beautifully(with 0% appreciation), untill, guess what? I got married again. My second marriage turned into an absolute financial nightmare. My only saving grace was the last few homes I had bought were appreciating.(after 98)
During my second divorce, these were liquidated to pay off wife, creditors, etc..
Now I must wait 3 more years, till I can get back into the game.
I expect to buy homes for about 20% of 2005 prices. My biggest concern is; who will I be able to sell to?

Anonymous said...

Keith (from former RTC REO Marketing Analyst), feel free to re-post part or all of my response anywhere/anyway you like.


To the ANON poster asking where to get info on foreclosures...

If you're in San Diego Stewart Title company has the info on Notices of Defaults, Notices of Trustee Sales, and REO posted here..

http://www.stewartaffiliates.com/servlet/ViewSiteServlet?OfficeId=210&CategoryId=3186

Many title companies in large metropolitan areas have this info either posted on an unpublicized web link, or will/can email it to you, but here's the problem. It's expensive data they pay for and provide free to generally only lenders, appraisers, and brokers. If you call them for this info, you may feel interrogated when they start asking alot of questions like who's your title rep, what company do you work for etc., and if they discover you're not a source of business the way
lenders, appraisers and brokers are, you won't get it. Try and find that one broker out there who doesn't mind getting you the info if you can, or simply pay for it at foreclosure.com. With the deal you will likely be getting in 2-3 years on real estate, it will be worth it. I plan to pay for the data if/when the title companies stop offering it free to the few of us in the industry.

By the way, I never said it, but I was an REO Marketing Analyst for commercial properties at the RTC, not 1-4 unit residential properties like I'm sure you're all assuming, and that's the property type whose values real professionals claim will be far less affected, but it will be affected. Strong term leases from commercial tenants mean nothing if the business tenant goes into BK and the BK judge breaks or invalidates their lease, and they will for the greater good. Better to keep businesses open and employing people than saving a real estate investor who will pay the tax on the property anyway, unless they want to lose it.

I may post some additional dynamite info in a few weeks, but wanted to ask Why all the Christian bashing on this site? How is being religious or who you voted for connected to the housing bubble?

If you want to hear about hypocrisy from bleeding heart secularists, wait till I tell you how they exploited the RTC, taxpayers and the housing bubble in my next post sometime soon. It will blow you away

Anonymous said...

Neil Bush - future President of the U.S. - after Jeb of course.

Anonymous said...

Let's say you keep renting for the next few years and mortgage rates hit double digits - how will you be able to buy unless you have lots of cash? Isn't it like a catch-22

Anonymous said...

Let's say you keep renting for the next few years and mortgage rates hit double digits - how will you be able to buy unless you have lots of cash? Isn't it like a catch-22

Anonymous said...

Let's say you keep renting for the next few years and mortgage rates hit double digits - how will you be able to buy unless you have lots of cash? Isn't it like a catch-22

Nope, prices will decrease relative to the increase in rates so it will be the same in the best case scenario. I fully expect prices will tank more than rates rise resulting in a more favorable environment for the buyer.

Anonymous said...

Former RTC REO Marketing Analyst,

Thank you for your very insightful and informative postings. Looking forward to hear about hypocrisy from bleeding heart secularists.

Anonymous said...

It's not that I didn't like the entertainment, it just shows how mainstream middle class people are mimicking what used to be considered trashy culture. The point is not to belittle the culture, but just to show how brainless our most upstanding citizens have become.

Amen brother. Being from the country it makes my blood boil to see the same yuppies who 5 years ago trashed everything country have now basically become an extension of the blue collar lifestyle. They think driving pickup trucks is tough while marketing has gone gaga to portray trucks and SUVs being used for outdoor excursions, camping trips and fishing expeditions.

All this does is water the experience down for the purists...instead of being able to drive out along a country road and toss a line in the river I'm surrounded by a bunch of yuppies sporting brand new top of the line fishing equipment purchased by cash-out refis, driving fancy new boats without a sense of respect.

To cap it off I gotta go back to the campground, stare at that shiny new truck and all new camping equipment, watch these people mess with a fire, and then listen to their music all night. Ahhhhh the great outdoors!

Anonymous said...

Exactly Anon,

As mortgage rate climb, banks will require more money down, the rate at which the mortgage rates rise along with the percentage down required will rise faster than your savings.

The market will simply dissapear, no sellers left who can afford to sell, no buyers who can afford to buy = no market!

The benefit of buying TODAY is that you will have a locked in, low payment to an asset that will fall in value as rates rise. You will be behind for several years but as long as you can maintain the payment, remain employed etc. you can ride out the storm.

Alternative, wait and save and eventually things will stabilize and you can buy down the road for less. With the Fed pumping out dollars like crazy (8% last year alone!), housing will recover and todays' prices will seem cheap.

Anonymous said...

RTC REO said "I may post some additional dynamite info in a few weeks, but wanted to ask Why all the Christian bashing on this site?"

No problem here with moderate religious folks who use religion to enrich the life of the society.

The problem is with right-wing fundamentalist Satan-believing Christian fanatics...a group that includes many in power today. These folks will tell any kind of lie or misrepresentation to gain power...and then change the law so they can shove the worst of Christian theology down everyone else's throat. They and their religious warlike attitudes are NOT wanted any longer!

Moderate Christians need to stand up to the right-wingers and make their views known...or be viewed as part of the problem.

Anonymous said...

"The market will simply dissapear, no sellers left who can afford to sell, no buyers who can afford to buy = no market!"

But that assumes that people don't have to sell...we just read numerous posts about divorces, etc. What about our increasing elderly population? There will be plenty of people who HAVE to sell, whether they can afford it or not, b/c holding onto it will be worse for them.

Anonymous said...

I remember the last down turn in San Diego (early 90's) because my parents lost a ton of money on their house after a lengthy divorce. They lost about $60K because they had to sell in 1994 (bought in 1991). This was in the middle of the downturn and the price of that house didn't reach the original bought price until 1999. That's nearly 10 years!

Anonymous said...

Little Al,
Your comments on being right but needing to be in partnership with others struck a chord. I've talked about these housing blogs to friends and family. I truly think they all believe I'm off the deep end. I'm preparing myself for an intervention. :)

My search started off just figuring out where we were in the bubble since we had just put our former fixer upper up for sale. We would have done it sooner but some things had to be finished for buyers to consider.

I was stunned with the info I found and what it said about our economy. I've been thirsty for knowledge/understanding ever since. I'm sometimes lost when investors start using market jargon but catching on slowly and learning much.

Unfortunately other than CYA, there's not much I can do with that info. The info seems so incredibly important yet no one around me is interested. Its become so surreal to view our world via the blog info and then go out and interact with others that don't see it at all.

I guess I need to profusely thank all the posters that put this info out there for us to acknowledge and learn from.

Anonymous said...

RTC REO said "I may post some additional dynamite info in a few weeks, but wanted to ask Why all the Christian bashing on this site?"

Because "Christians" tend to say things like:

"The reason I said bleeding heart secularists is because many of those in attendance whose behavior I witnessed were people with no conscience which is generally not associated with people of faith who believe there are consequences for their actions in the afterlife. "

Last time I checked, it wasn't secularists starting wars over religion, bombing health clinics, bilking money out of believers, or cutting off their babies' arms because "gawd told them to." I'm willing to bet that the Enron bastards would self-identify as Christian. As do most politicians, especially those in the current administration, who we all know are just *models* of decency.

Did you actually go up to those people at the non-profit conference, and ask them their religious affiliations? Pretty stupid to just ASSume they were non-religious, don't you think? Especially given that a huge majority of Americans profess belief in god (small g on purpose). All those believers in the world, yet NONE of them showed up at the conference?! Wow, Satan must be working overtime these days, to get all those dirty secularists in one place.

Some people can live a good, honest, moral life without magic or supernatural beliefs to keep them in line. Others need threats of everlasting punishment in the pits of hell to keep them in line. Who is more moral? Who has more strength of character?

Not that I'm against religion. If threats of eternal damnation from the Big Sky Daddy keep these morons from stealing my stuff or killing me, pray on!

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Anonymous said...

I started in the Commercial Real Estate Finance arena in 1982 and have worked with a "high End" multi state developer, Savings and Loan, Investment Banking entity, the RTC as
a LG 14 and currently work for a firm
owned in a partnership by GE Capital and CBRE called GEMSA. During the late 1980's and early 1990's I worked in Texas where most of the financial structures in selling off assets for the RTC originated. I would like to share and ask some questions if you are available.