HousingPANIC - The Housing Bubble Blog with an Attitude Problem, 2005 - 2008: BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the epic housing ponzi scheme

January 12, 2007

BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the epic housing ponzi scheme

Post good articles, pontificate away, have a good chat, keep it clean, do not feed the trolls

283 comments:

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Joe said...: I want to touch on a subject that gets little to no attention on this blog, but is the 2nd biggest reason why I won't buy a house - which is that houses these days are coming with increasingly stringest, bullying power-hungry HOAs. Basically you are paying monthly dues for the privilege of some nazi to tell you what you can't do with your property.

For a while I considered HOAs a minor annoyance until my last one tried to bully me about my satellite dish. It took me to start going to all their stupid meetings to get them to stop. But I got off lightly. In growing areas like Vegas, Phoenix, and Austin they are becoming increasingly emboldened, backed by emerging "management companies" run by lawyer sharks who look for any little violation so they can fine, lien, and expedite forclosure on your home.

I don't know about anyone else but crashing prices aside, I can't see how I'd want to pour my entire net worth into an asset that can be taken from me over "unauthorized tulips in my yard".; January 02, 2007 7:35 PM
Anonymous said...: I hear ya. My sister and brother-in-law have had similar problems with their HOA.; January 02, 2007 7:51 PM
Joe said...: There is a decent blog on HOAs called Privatopia, but he doesn't update all that often. But some of the stories make you cringe. I'm not sure why someone would buy a house in these nazi war camps, even if prices crash 80% off their 2005 bubble price.; January 02, 2007 8:21 PM
stuckinthecity said...: Next big test of power to seize property?

The US Supreme Court will examine whether a private company can demand payment in exchange for not seizing private property.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Bart Didden wanted to put a CVS pharmacy on his property in Port Chester, N.Y. He even obtained approvals from the local planning board.
But because a portion of the CVS site was in a blighted redevelopment zone, Mr. Didden was told that planning board approval wasn't enough. He'd have to reach an understanding with a private company that had been selected by Port Chester officials to control all construction inside the renewal zone.; January 02, 2007 8:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh yeah HOAs are awful.

I hate not being able to go 3 months without cutting my lawn. I hate the fact I can't park 7 pick-ups in my driveway. Dang I hate the fact I can't have 5 pitbulls in my yard. I hate the fact I can't paint a rebel flag on my garage door.

STOOPID HOAS; January 02, 2007 9:00 PM
stuckinthecity said...: MIAMI (Reuters) - On a piece of prime bayfront property near downtown Miami, weeds climb the steps of the sales office for Onyx 2, a planned waterview condo where apartments were to sell for $500,000 to $2,000,000.

ADVERTISEMENT

A sign reads "For Sale. Land, plans and permits for Onyx 2. Includes fully equipped sales center."

Three blocks north, the land on which a glassy loft-condo called "Ice" was to rise lies idle. A realtor's Web site says: "This project has been canceled and will not be built."

Developers have pulled the plug on some of Miami's most anticipated condominium developments, a sign the city's sizzling, speculator-driven condo market -- where prices of many apartments doubled or tripled in a few brief years -- has finally chilled.

"This market was too good to be true," said Lewis Goodkin, a Miami economist and real estate analyst. "But it was a market fueled by speculators, so it wasn't a true market."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

a ha; January 02, 2007 9:05 PM
Anonymous said...: a reduction in future inventory; January 02, 2007 9:08 PM
Joe said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; January 02, 2007 9:47 PM
Anonymous said...: "This market was too good to be true," said Lewis Goodkin, a Miami economist and real estate analyst. "But it was a market fueled by speculators, so it wasn't a true market."
++++++++++
This is what I feel is happening to the stock market as a whole, which is why I fear for a crash....; January 02, 2007 9:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Joe wanted to have the rebel flag pianted on the garage door and the HOA said no, now he's angry.

My HOA was in the news about 5 years ago. Some asshole wanted to fly the flag. He cried like a little bitch because he was in the army or some shit. The HOA stood its ground and said no flags. After the old geezer cried to the media that he was in Korea or WW2 (can't remember which) they let him fly the flag on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

And guess what Joey, aside from a few redneck military fucks like you nobody supported him. There was a rally to support him and 5 people showed up....5 out of about 100 homes.

Unlike you white trash pieces of garbage, people like myself like living in a nice neighborhood. No flags, no basketball nets, no purple doors, no pick-ups in the driveway, no 8" lawn growing.; January 02, 2007 10:03 PM
Joe said...: Homeowners association sells woman's house

Pamela Bernhardt was close to completing renovations on a house she owned and hoped to sell. But earlier this month, she arrived at the house in southwest Houston and found a small, yellow note stuck to the front door.

The handwritten note said that the house had been sold at a foreclosure sale seven months earlier. The local homeowners association had sold the house, valued at about $250,000, saying Bernhardt failed to pay a $420 assessment fee.

"It was so devastating," Bernhardt said. "I was just stunned."

Bernhardt's situation was another example of the excessive power of homeowners associations and the need to reform the use of foreclosure sales to collect fees, state leaders and activists said Wednesday.

---------------

Please if anyone knows the community name, let me know. I am dying to buy a house at bubble prices in this community just so my house can be sold from underneath me.; January 02, 2007 10:05 PM
Anonymous said...: state leaders and activists said Wednesday.

translated to normal English this means a bunch of niggers and the ACLU who be upset they be loozing their house for not paying their taxes on time; January 02, 2007 10:30 PM
Anonymous said...: jrinlv,

Then good luck finding a home anywhere except the ghetto or North LV.

I too live in Las Vegas and my HOA is a little anal sometimes but overall I like having one. Would you rather have the basketball net or a nieghbor across the street with 2 disabled cars in the driveway? Or how about a neighbor who decides to paint the house green one day? You gotta look at the big picture.; January 02, 2007 10:34 PM
Joe said...: The angry HOA monger above further illustrates my point. Would you want to live in a HOA with this guy at the helm? The authoritarian mindset displayed above is the very reason the laws need to be shaken up to return power to homeowners. If people like this one-inch penis wonder had his way there'd still be racial segregation in schools and on buses.

Seriously, it's not about pickups on the lawn and green houses. Drive through any mature, middle class neighborhood in America and you won't see this at all, despite a lack of enforcable nazi CCRs. It's really about deranged individuals who feel the need to control the lives of others and even benefit financially off of it. Your constitutional rights are being eroded because this guy hasn't called Bob to get his swing of confidence yet...; January 02, 2007 11:04 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't like chain link fences, motor homes out my front window, purple houses, or a neighbors lawn that looks like a junkyard. So I am willing to put up with the loss of freedom. They great thing about America is that if you don't like something, then don't buy it/live there/listen to it.

Happy New Year!; January 02, 2007 11:14 PM
Anonymous said...: If people like this one-inch penis wonder had his way there'd still be racial segregation in schools and on buses.

==================================
if only we could....; January 02, 2007 11:15 PM
Anonymous said...: joe,

if you don't like it move. very simple solution to a very simple problem.; January 02, 2007 11:16 PM
Anonymous said...: joe really what did you do that got the HOA after you? I am guessing one of these white trash favorites....

- rebel flag on the garage
- pitbulls in the yard
- kin sunbathing in the nude on
the front lawn
- fucking your 12 year old
cousin on the front lawn
- working on 3 separate '87 Chevy
pick-ups in the drivway, none of
which run or are registered

fucking white trash piece of garbage; January 02, 2007 11:19 PM
Anonymous said...: A guy I knew lived next door to somebody who painted his house (a little cape) like a "painted lady" in several shades of purple. If he were in a HOA, he would have recourse. Because it's not, he had none.; January 02, 2007 11:22 PM
Joe said...: Vegas homeowner pays $3,200 in fines over water-conserving synthetic grass

In the upper middle class Whisper Creek neighborhood, almost every other home seems to have a small front lawn, and none of them looks as lush and deep dark green as the one at Patrick Fitting's house. But Fitting is being forced to pay more than $3,200 in legal fees and other costs, after an arbitrator sided with the HOA.

The water authority has yet to wade into the artificial turf issue, but that day could come. General Manager Pat Mulroy and several members of the agency's board have vented frustration in the past about HOAs that restrict fake grass and other drought-tolerant landscaping. Mulroy has even suggested that the water authority sponsor legislation to prohibit associations from standing in the way of conservation.

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, tried just that last session.

"These people will wriggle their way out of anything," he said. "They're out of control. Their attorneys are out of control and giving them very bad advice."

Schneider plans to redouble his efforts in 2007.

"The next session is going to be a very ugly session for homeowners associations," he said. "I'm coming after these people."

link; January 02, 2007 11:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Reading some of these posts from fascists who think paint colors should be open to neighborhood approval makes me hate American culture even more.

HOAs are not about cars in the yard, rebel flags or pitbulls fighting in the alley. They're about conformity, blandness and control.; January 02, 2007 11:33 PM
Anonymous said...: The rules that HOA's impudently impose on homeowners are more invasive than what the Soviet Union imposed upon its residents.

The difference is that the residents had no say in the matter, whereas American homeowners willingly impose these restrictions upon themselves (by buying where a HOS can tell them what to do).; January 02, 2007 11:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Ever hear of zoning boards?

Here in PA, every flyspeck municipality had one.
No monthly fee, zoning is supported by taxes and fines, lots of fines! The list of no-no's goes to infinity and beyond. Whether/how they get enforced depends on the zoning board members and their enforcement officers.

Decent people in the positions, you have
no problem. Power mad a*sholes with an ax to grind (like the one we have) and something to prove, everybody has problems

No more comfortable feeling than to have the zoning commissar sitting at the end of your driveway
going thru the ordinance book a page at a time. Kind of like when the cop pulls you over for a suspected violation that won’t hold water, so you sit by the side of the road while he goes thru the statute book until he does find something he can nail you on (and he will!)
There is nothing more aggravating than to be at the whim and mercy of somebody else, despite their best intentions.; January 02, 2007 11:58 PM
Anonymous said...: if you live in a community with an HOA, you certainly knew about it before you bought in. also, your title company is required to give you a copy of the rules before closing. so, read before you buy, and if you don't like the rules, then don't live there. the people that bitch about HOA are too embarrased to admit that they cannot read.; January 02, 2007 11:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Would you rather have the basketball net or a nieghbor across the street with 2 disabled cars in the driveway
----------------

What's the big deal about the b ball nets?? Is that to keep blacks out? Cause you know they LOVE b ball!; January 03, 2007 12:03 AM
Anonymous said...: beautifully said geeski...

kinda like people who sign negative optio arms and then compalin they didn't know what they were signing

I'm so sick and tired of everyone bitching about their life situation. Don't like HOAs? Fine move to a no HOA zone. Don't like option arms? Fine rent. Don't like traffic? Fine move to the country. Don't like the USA? Fine move to Europe.

Just please do me a favor and shut the fuck up with the constant complaining. Nobody cares.; January 03, 2007 12:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Whether a bubble pops or slowly deflates is of no particular concern as, over time, it nonetheless, ceases to exist.; January 03, 2007 12:10 AM
Anonymous said...: My HOA was in the news about 5 years ago. Some asshole wanted to fly the flag. He cried like a little bitch because he was in the army or some shit. The HOA stood its ground and said no flags. After the old geezer cried to the media that he was in Korea or WW2 (can't remember which) they let him fly the flag on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
----------------

What kind of flag did he want to fly? The swastika??!! Are you a communist or some thing? The fuck is wrong with this country when it's outlawed to fly the US flag??!!??!!

my god; January 03, 2007 12:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Quantum Finance – the science of making money appear out of nowhere – is too complex for all but the very brightest young guns to grasp. Yet it underpins the entire financial universe today. The very fabric of money, mortgages and markets has come to rely on concepts and con-tricks not even the sales desks can follow. And Quantum Finance in its higher forms remains unregulated of course, which is just as it should be. For by the time the SEC and FSA get round to hiring the PhDs they need to make sense of the mess, the smart money will have already moved on, selling out as their Lear Jets get cleared for take-off.

But perhaps the AAA-rated bond market will implode first. Bill Gross, head of Pimco, says we've reached a peak in making money from nowhere. Leverage on complex bond trades simply cannot get any higher, he believes, citing "a new derivative credit product retailed to institutional buyers under the sticker known as a CPDO or 'constant proportion debt obligation'."

"These multibillion-dollar instruments lever investment grade indices up to 15 times the amount invested," says Gross, "and offer or have offered a spread of 200 basis points over LIBOR with a AAA rating. Hard to pass up I suppose...

"But this AAA rating is subject to numerous (more numerous than usual) subjective assumptions," he goes on. "Increasing multiples of leverage beyond 15x near current yield spreads cannot maintain either a AAA rating and/or the 200 basis points in yield spread that have made this derivative so attractive...The increasing use of leverage, in other words, at least as applied to this particular area, appears to have run out of its magical ability to increase returns."

The money's got to go somewhere, remember. Professional investors abhor cash. But "there are not enough quality assets to go round, so people are buying up the rubbish, closing their eyes to the risk and hoping that nothing will go wrong," as Anthony Hilton put it in the London Evening Standard, also on Dec.7 for some reason.

"This is the case whether they are buying 20-year bonds issued by the current Iraqi government, sub-prime mortgages on slum property in Baltimore or a parcel of 130% mortgages issued to unemployed people in Wigan," Hilton went on. "The world's financial markets have forgotten the meaning of risk."; January 03, 2007 12:18 AM
Anonymous said...: "And guess what Joey, aside from a few redneck military fucks like you nobody supported him. There was a rally to support him and 5 people showed up....5 out of about 100 homes."

The above is why we need the draft.; January 03, 2007 12:18 AM
Anonymous said...: well that is the point dipshit. if you allow some asshole to fly the American flag, what is to stop someone from flying the swastika?
If the US flag is OK, is Iraq's? Is Iran's? How about the Taliban flag? And you just know the ACLU would be all over this representing some fucknut who wants to fly the swastika.

Ban all flags, problem goes away.

Oh and if you don't like it, but yourself a couple of acres out in the country and fly 1000 flags for all I care.

---------------------------------
What kind of flag did he want to fly? The swastika??!! Are you a communist or some thing? The fuck is wrong with this country when it's outlawed to fly the US flag??!!??!!

my god; January 03, 2007 12:23 AM
Anonymous said...: The water authority has yet to wade into the artificial turf issue,

oh my christ! the "water authority"?? At what point does the "you can't take a sh!t quite yet autority" come knocking down your door??; January 03, 2007 12:25 AM
Anonymous said...: relax you fucking retard that is the name of the water company

oh my christ! the "water authority"?? At what point does the "you can't take a sh!t quite yet autority" come knocking down your door??; January 03, 2007 12:30 AM
Joe said...: people that bitch about HOA are too embarrased to admit that they cannot read

I lived in 2 HOAs. The first was my first house. Never received CCRs from the title company contrary to what you say, but the day I moved in when the seller left them behind. Call me a niave buyer. Whatever. Anyways, read them over, the usual stuff like take care of your lawn yada yada yada. No big deal. Live there for a few years, not once did any one fine me or warn me.

Move to another house. Ask for CCRs. But there aren't any since the HOA hasn't been formed yet. Live there a year or so. Suddenly CCRs are left on my doorstep with all kinds of bizarre rules like no satellite dish. Housing bubble hits, I move on. Rest of story.

The point is that a lot of buyers don't understand the implications of HOAs (like I once didn't). You can't fault someone for not understanding the HOA's power when the media give little to no attention to it. Most people don't realize their screwed until the little hitler flag hater above assumes power in their subdivision. Just my opinion. :); January 03, 2007 12:31 AM
Miss Goldbug said...: The handwritten note said that the house had been sold at a foreclosure sale seven months earlier. The local homeowners association had sold the house, valued at about $250,000, saying Bernhardt failed to pay a $420 assessment fee.

----

Something is wrong with this story. She obviously wasnt living there or she would have received their numerous notices to pay the assessment. But its true, they can sell your place if you fall behind in any payments or dues, what this story isnt saying is that it takes a long, long, time for them to take it from you. THe story makes it sound like they sold it instantly.

I can't stand them for good reason. One day without any notice, I came home from work to find my HOA gave me a nice panoramic view of the nearby freeway by cutting down the three story tree outside my unit and then lied about the reason they cut it down.

One day I had a beautiful 40+ foot tree that gave me privacy from the freeway - the next day...gone - instant freeway view out all my windows except the bathroom.

I will never buy anything that has HOA's again. Give me a 50 year old house anyday.

I hate them.; January 03, 2007 1:01 AM
Anonymous said...: yes I hate seeing the American flag. No I don't have any power. I'm not on any board or anything. I fully support - as did 90% of the home owners - the ban on flying flags.

Like I said already, you want to fly a flag, buy some land and fly 1000 flags for all I care. Fly the flag, burn the flag wipe your ass with the flag, I don't care. But if you agree to live in an HOA, then fuck you, live within the rules, which include no flags.

It's so simple yet you fucktards make a federal case out of it.; January 03, 2007 1:07 AM
Anonymous said...: My HOA has a similar policy on flags they can be flown on certain holidays. My neighbor across the street is a Marine Vet and he puts out a flag on the 4th of July, Veterans Day and Memorial Day every year.

He's one of those rah-rah USA, USA kind of guys. I'm sure he'd fly the flag every day but he doesn't. He lives in an HOA and respectes the rules that he agreed to when he moved in.; January 03, 2007 1:45 AM
Joe said...: yes I hate seeing the American flag. No I don't have any power. I'm not on any board or anything.

Holy crap, you got me. You'd make a perfect HOA president. If I were you you I'd start campaigning now, your neighborhood needs you. All those perpetrators out there. Image the little girl who left here bike parked on the front porch. That's a $1,000 fine right there. That little bitch deserves it, right? And all those would-be flag wavers need to be stopped. Don't forget those sloppy rednecks who aren't keeping their grass in the authorized 1.5 - 2.5" height range. Any more than that and it might cause values in your eloquent neighborhood to drop. Heck, it may pop the housing bubble there.

Come on, friend. You have a responsibility. Don't just sit at home with our depressed, anorexic wife (whom you probably beat daily) who tolerates you one-inch shortcoming and your double dose cialis prescription just to get it up. Grab your clipboard and binoculars, your neighborhood needs you!; January 03, 2007 1:45 AM
Miss Goldbug said...: Joe Logic said: "I lived in 2 HOAs. The first was my first house. Never received CCRs from the title company contrary to what you say, but the day I moved in when the seller left them behind".

Exactly, me too. No one gets a copy to review before signing the deal. On the otherhand, that other poster may have a point if you can get a hold of a copy and make a stipulation before buying the place.; January 03, 2007 1:47 AM
Anonymous said...: HOA's were divided between those who wanted to up the monthly fees and spend on all sorts of fancy shmancy big ticket items and penny pinchers who oppose increases in the HOA dues. Some wanted to upgrade the fitness center when only about 7% of members used it, others wanted to shut down the party/entertainment comittee or take away all their funds as they did not like parties. After alot of arguements in committee meetings the community went forward. Committee members were usually sociable and had to approve of parties. The fitness people got some of the things they wanted but not all of them.; January 03, 2007 1:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Like I said already, you want to fly a flag, buy some land and fly 1000 flags for all I care. Fly the flag, burn the flag wipe your ass with the flag, I don't care.

communist, pure and simple.; January 03, 2007 1:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Some wanted to upgrade the fitness center when only about 7% of members used it, others wanted to shut down the party/entertainment comittee or take away all their funds as they did not like parties. After alot of arguements in committee meetings

f all of that.; January 03, 2007 2:04 AM
Anonymous said...: no asshole, communism and fascism os tens of millions of people killed and imprisoned by Hitler, Stalin, Castro, the Kims, PolPot etc.

you are an imbecile if you even begin to compare that with not being able to put up a basketball net in your backyard; January 03, 2007 2:07 AM
Anonymous said...: reading your red neck white trash writings makes me get down on my knees and thank the man above for creating HOAs god only knows the kind of shit I'd have to deal with you fuckers as my neighbors; January 03, 2007 2:10 AM
Anonymous said...: What HOAs prevemt. If you condone this, you are one nasty ass piece of white trash garbage.

http://www.joespc.com/carlos/photo/backyard.jpg

http://www.texasvacation.com/accommodations/redneck/yard%20(Small).jpg

http://static.flickr.com/47/141037057_b0587a8988_m.jpg

http://images.43things.com/place/00/03/b7/243460lr.jpg; January 03, 2007 2:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Somebody tell me again why owning is preferable "because nobody tells you what to do" like when you rent.

Sounds like the HOAs have most landlords beat when it comes to rules.

A condo complex near me in a suburban area won't allow dogs. I went to look at a unit for sale and found it somewhat outrageous that they can tell you you can't have a dog.; January 03, 2007 2:37 AM
Anonymous said...: fyi This is a long article !!!

Falling prices trap new homebuyers
Neighbors in a new Garden Grove tract say a developer’s plan to slash prices by about $140,000 has left them owing more for their homes than they’re now worth.
By JEFF COLLINS
The Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/abox/article_1381194.php

GARDEN GROVE – David Dunn felt as if Christmas were stolen from him when prices for neighboring homes in his new subdivision fell by about $140,000.

Now, he says, his home is worth less than he owes, making it next to impossible to refinance before his $3,000-a-month payment doubles. Eleven neighbors who bought before the price cuts are in the same boat.

“They put us in a bad financial situation by lowering the price,” said Dunn, 33. “Some of (the buyers) did 100 percent financing, so they’re completely over their head right now.”

Brandywine Homes, developer of the 42-home Heritage subdivision in Garden Grove, is one of many homebuilders that’s had to cut prices lately.

Dave Barisic, Brandywine’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in an e-mail that his firm recently held what he thought was a successful meeting with homeowners.

“As such, I don’t think you’ll be contacted again and there probably isn’t much of a story there,” he wrote.

But homeowners say the matter remains unresolved, and an attorney says he’s still waiting for a response to a letter he sent the developer on behalf of buyers who hired him.

Meanwhile, ads offering big discounts and concessions on new homes have been rolling off the press for weeks as builders race to clear inventory before the end of the year:

•”It’s a homebuyer’s market, and now is the time to take advantage of it,” said a Richmond American Homes ad several weeks ago that offered buyers free stainless-steel appliances, free washers and dryers, plus 3 percent toward paying closing costs.

•”Ask about our Serious Incentives for Serious Buyers,” Taylor Woodrow Homes said in another ad.

•The only thing that’s not negotiable, added a Standard Pacific Homes ad, is the quality of the houses – implying that the price is negotiable. Year-end incentives include below-market loan rates, no-loan payments for six months and free upgrades.

At Tustin’s Columbus Grove, sales reps for William Lyon Homes, Lennar and KB Home touted plans that included help paying off closing costs and loans, flooring upgrades worth up to $20,000 or – in the case of one KB Home development – up to $70,000 off the purchase price.

Wally Welter, an Irvine home shopper, said salesmen for several builders at Ladera Ranch offered concessions worth $100,000 or more.

“I’ve had salespeople say, ‘Make an offer,’ which you never hear the builder say,” said Welter, 60. “Now, they’re willing to listen.”

The reason builders now are listening is a housing slump that’s caused new home orders to tumble and homebuilder profits to fall.

Standard Pacific Corp., for example, reported that its net income fell by $66 million in the third quarter, a 68 percent drop; Toll Brothers reported a 44 percent decline in quarterly profits; William Lyon Homes reported that its net income fell 72 percent from the third quarter of 2005.

Most homebuilders are reporting that 40 percent or more of their buyers are canceling this year. Often, cancellations result in the builder getting stuck with an empty home that’s already under construction.

The closer the home gets to being finished, said KB Home’s Irvine-based regional manager, Jay Moss, “the more anxious the homebuilder gets to make the deal.”

Concessions, said housing consultant John Burns, are “the talk of the industry.”

“On a completed home, it can be substantial.”

But residents of Garden Grove’s Heritage subdivision maintain that there’s more to their story than mere concessions. They maintain that their builder, Brandywine Homes of Irvine, has cut prices well below market values, regardless of how that affects the earlier buyers.

At the very least, their story shows that the pain caused by falling prices isn’t borne by the developers alone.

The homeowners said that the price cuts began in November, just months after the first dozen buyers closed escrow, paying from $770,000 to $888,500 for their homes. The average price was $825,000, property records show.

After the builder dropped prices by more than $100,000, all but five of the homes sold in a matter of weeks.

“Usually builders keep their prices up. They try to keep their buyers happy,” said Christie Vu, 27, who paid almost $870,000 for the home she and her husband, Philip Luu, share with their two young sons. “In this case, it’s just the opposite.”

The builder’s representatives said during a recent meeting that they are being forced to price the homes to sell and maintain they are getting “zero profit” from the project, homeowners said.

Keyvan Samini, an attorney for some of the buyers, said the purchasers relied on the lender and its appraiser to confirm the homes’ $800,000-plus price tags.

But appraisers ended up using homes about three miles away as a guide for the first appraisal, and subsequent loan appraisals were based on the first one, Samini said.

The appraisals “were way too high,” Samini said. “I believe that the builder knew they were too high, or should have known. And it’s not the fault of the buyers. They rely on the expertise of those appraisers.”

Barisic, Brandywine’s sales VP, said he doesn’t know anything about the comparable homes used in the appraisals.

“The appraisers are not hired by Brandywine Homes,” Barisic said. “They’re hired by the lenders, which the homebuyers chose themselves.”

One of Samini’s clients said he’s facing the possibility of foreclosure because of the price cuts.

Dunn said he’s in a financial bind because he’s using an exotic mortgage called an Option ARM, an adjustable-rate loan in which the homeowner can pick his monthly payment from a variety of options.

Eventually, he’ll be responsible for making full payments of $6,000 a month, he said, adding, “I don’t know how we’ll be able to pay that.”

“It’s not just the financial aspect. It’s the emotional,” Dunn said. “We can’t eat, can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate on work. This is all I think about.”; January 03, 2007 3:05 AM
Anonymous said...: awwww what's the matter can't raise your pibulls in the condo...poor white trash...awwww

-------------------------------
A condo complex near me in a suburban area won't allow dogs. I went to look at a unit for sale and found it somewhat outrageous that they can tell you you can't have a dog.; January 03, 2007 3:26 AM
Anonymous said...: After the builder dropped prices by more than $100,000, all but five of the homes sold in a matter of weeks.

Hmmm so let's see here. Homes used to sell for $870,000. Nobody was buying. Now they are selling for $770,000 and selling out.

Point is renters, homes are still selling and for a whole lot of money. $100K off $870K sucks big time if you bought for $870K. Pretty sweet if you bought for $700K or $600K or $500K, $400K....

According to you renters, prices should fall back to 2.5 tims median household income. In that part of OC it means $250,000 or so.

From $870K to $770K and the homes sell out. $250!! HA HA HA!! Sure that'll happen any day now.

Is it starting to sink in yet renters? This is about as bad as it's going to get. $100K drop from $870K is 11%. That's it. That's all you're getting. No 40%, no 50%, no 90% off fire sale.

How's it feel to know you'll be renting that 1 bed/1 bath forever?; January 03, 2007 3:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Is it starting to sink in yet renters? This is about as bad as it's going to get. $100K drop from $870K is 11%. That's it.

Gee, it seems like only yesterday that real estate only went up. Now its going to drop 11% but THATS AS BAD AS ITS GOING TO GET.LMAO; January 03, 2007 3:52 AM
Anonymous said...: "...Garden Grove’s Heritage subdivision..."

Funny name. Sounds like some of these FBs (the ones that don't end up in foreclosure) will be giving their heirs the "heritage" of a crushing mortgage.

Orange County will crash and crash hard, especially second and third tier areas such as Garbage Grove, Anaslime, Santa Ana (a.k.a. North TJ), etc., etc...

What kind of a moron would pay $800k+ for a house in Garbage Grove?

"The builders will try to keep you happy."

Yeah, right.; January 03, 2007 3:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Rental Denial is kicking big time. Homes are selling out in Orange County for $770K and the renters still think prices are falling to $250K.

Oh man this is going to be fun to watch.

-------------------------------------
Gee, it seems like only yesterday that real estate only went up. Now its going to drop 11% but THATS AS BAD AS ITS GOING TO GET.LMAO; January 03, 2007 3:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Which part of "sold out at $770K" do you not understand renter?

Renter Denial. Funny...and sad.

--------------------------------------

Orange County will crash and crash hard, especially second and third tier areas such as Garbage Grove, Anaslime, Santa Ana (a.k.a. North TJ), etc., etc...; January 03, 2007 3:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Well really, what more do I need? A single guy, one bedroom, one bathroom. A kitchen, some closets, a living area. That's all most people ever use anyway. most people have more than they need room-wise and can't "support" the extra space- can't furnish it right, can't keep it clean. All they do is bitch about having to pay tax on it.

If homeownership was the holy grail of happiness, you wouldn't feel the need to hang out here desperately trying to be superior to people who choose not to buy in this inflateed market whether the prices will hold or not.

They say misery loves company.; January 03, 2007 3:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Is it starting to sink in yet renters? This is about as bad as it's going to get. $100K drop from $870K is 11%. That's it.

-------------------------

There are always a few last-sucker-in types that will catch a falling knife, thinking that they are getting a good deal. Well, at least they'll be able to think that for about six months, before prices have moved noticeably lower. The OC is ripe for a 60% fall. And what makes you think the median household income in Garbage Grove is $100K? That sounds high for one of the seedier areas of the county.; January 03, 2007 3:58 AM
Anonymous said...: THIS IS AWFUL!!!

(AP) WASHINGTON The U.S. economy is ending the year with a hopeful set of reports showing that consumer confidence soared in December and the worst of the downturn for the battered housing market may be over. The Conference Board reported Thursday that consumer confidence shot up to an eight-month high of 109.0 in December.

That was only slightly below last April's 109.8, when confidence had hit the highest point in four years before soaring gasoline prices and a slumping housing market took their toll on Americans' perception of the future.

The rise in the consumer confidence readings was a good sign that the housing slowdown was not more seriously affecting consumers' willingness to spend money, analysts said.

The fear had been that the severe slump in housing would cause people to stop spending and possibly contribute to an outright recession, much as the bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000 helped trigger the 2001 downturn.

"The latest data show us that the economic expansion remains firmly intact at year's end," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Consumers have jobs, gasoline prices are down and the stock market is up so people feel good."

There was good news on jobs Thursday as the Labor Department reported that the number of laid off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits rose by only 1,000 last week to 317,000. That's a level that analysts said indicated the job market was remaining strong in spite of the slowdown in overall economic growth.; January 03, 2007 4:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Renter spin Jan '07
So what if I will never afford a home, I don't need one. I'm happy in my 1 bed/ 1 bath.

Renter spin June '06:
Man I can't wait till home prices fall so I can finally buy one. 60% crash here we come!!

Rental denial. Funny...and sad

-------------------------------------
Well really, what more do I need? A single guy, one bedroom, one bathroom. A kitchen, some closets, a living area. That's all most people ever use anyway. most people have more than they need room-wise and can't "support" the extra space- can't furnish it right, can't keep it clean. All they do is bitch about having to pay tax on it.; January 03, 2007 4:05 AM
Anonymous said...: "The U.S. economy is ending the year with a hopeful set of reports showing that consumer confidence soared in December and the worst of the downturn for the battered housing market may be over. The Conference Board reported Thursday that consumer confidence shot up to an eight-month high of 109.0 in December."

---------------------

Consumer confidence being up, if anything, is a contrarian indicator... and of course the 'establishment' is going to say that the worst is over and everything is fine. They said the same in 1929, 1930, 1931, ...; January 03, 2007 4:07 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Renter spin Jan '07
So what if I will never afford a home, I don't need one. I'm happy in my 1 bed/ 1 bath.

Renter spin June '06:
Man I can't wait till home prices fall so I can finally buy one. 60% crash here we come!!

Rental denial. Funny...and sad

----------------------

How's homedebtorship working out for that Garbage Grove guy whose mortgage payments will soon be $6000? Most of the fool who bought in the last couple of years couldn't afford to "buy" those homes. They'll soon be back on the market and at that point the forces of supply and demand will work their magic.; January 03, 2007 4:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Why would anyone buy a detached house (SFR) in a homeowner's association?

I could see willingly buying into an HOA if you're getting something smaller like a 1-2 bedroom condo (flat) or maybe a townhouse; that might be a reasonable choice for single people or those with small families. Why would anyone want to own an SFR in an HOA?; January 03, 2007 4:16 AM
Anonymous said...: The REIC spin and misinformation will simply create better eventual buying opportunities for those intelligent enough and patient enough to wait until home prices have come down enough to be a good risk.

As for "throwing away money on rent," well that home "equity" will be evaporating a lot faster, so those rent checks will be money well spent.; January 03, 2007 4:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Consumer confidence way up in December, sales of new homes up sharply in November, home prices up 3% in November, $770K homes selling out in Orange County

All this an the renters think a depression and housing crash is coming.

Not sure whether to laugh at them or have sympathy for them; January 03, 2007 4:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Sure they will renter, whatever you say renter. New $770K homes selling out and yet you poor slobs still think you'll buy those homes for $250K. Keep saying that to yourself renter and maybe if you wish rrreeeeeeaaaalllly hard it may come true.

BWA HA HA HA!! No, it won't. Don't even bother.

------------------------------------
Most of the fool who bought in the last couple of years couldn't afford to "buy" those homes. They'll soon be back on the market and at that point the forces of supply and demand will work their magic.; January 03, 2007 4:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Consumer confidence way up in December, sales of new homes up sharply in November, home prices up 3% in November, $770K homes selling out in Orange County

All this an the renters think a depression and housing crash is coming.

Not sure whether to laugh at them or have sympathy for them

-------------------------

You are right. Home prices must have reached a permanently high plateau. Soon only doctors and lawyers will be able to afford to buy a crappy house in Garbage Grove.; January 03, 2007 4:44 AM
Anonymous said...: Garbage Grove

name calling is a sure sign of desperation. Call it what you like, $770K homes are selling out there.

Poor renter, can't even afford a home in a part of town he derides.; January 03, 2007 4:48 AM
Anonymous said...: Remorseful for not buying
Eager to leave the 1bed/1bath but cant
No yard at home
Thinks prices will fall to 1980 level
Exits reality daily
Repressed; January 03, 2007 4:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Reading some of the comments on this site ...

Did anybody here actually get dressed today AND go to work???; January 03, 2007 5:14 AM
Anonymous said...: Do any RE agents on here have his or her high school diploma?; January 03, 2007 6:15 AM
Anonymous said...: The builders' brothers run the HOA in the new developments.

Here in Irvine people pay an average of $500 per month.

That is $500 rent to the builder on "your" home that you just purchased.

I would never even touch a house that has HOA fees.; January 03, 2007 6:18 AM
Anonymous said...: A four-story condo complex under construction in Santa Clara was destroyed by fire Tuesday afternoon, according to NBC11.

The Santa Clara fire department said this was a five-alarm fire.

It's not clear how it started.

The condo complex that caught fire is surrounded by hundreds of recently constructed homes in a new Rivermark neighborhood. There is also a shopping complex within 100 feet of the fire that includes a Safeway and several restaurants.

The flames and black smoke reminded South Bay residents of the Santana Row fire in 2002 which is categorized as the largest structure fire in city history.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/
10654824/detail.html

Although a Prometheus Web site lists the project as condominium homes, a representative at Prometheus' San Mateo office said the complex was to be rental units and was scheduled to be completed and leased in March.

The Web site described the project as a ``gated, premier resort-style community of 430 units in five buildings. It boasts two of the tallest buildings in the immediate area, offering spectacular views of the Santa Clara and San Jose areas.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/
mld/mercurynews/
16369138.htm

An eight-story building next to the fire site and also under construction was saved by fire fighters, according to McCarthy.

http://www.ktvu.com/
slideshow/10651770/
detail.html?
qs=1;s=1;dm=ss;p=news;w=400; January 03, 2007 6:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Most of the ARMs and Option ARMs will be pop, pop, poppin' in '07. The Loan owners won't be able to refi, won't be able to find a greater fool to bail them out, and probably won't be able to afford the hefty monthly payment spike. Then all the Loan owners will WISH they were renting.

And it was the realtwhore trolls in here that talked these poor folks into signing their life away. Now that's sad. Must be some really guilty consciences causing so much nasty name calling.

Yeah, I know, I know, I'm a moron, homosexual, nigger, jew, wingnut, whatever. You dumbass realtors can save your breath.

At least I'll sleep very well tonight. My bitter renter conscience is clear. I'll have sweet dreams of the San Diego RE falling.; January 03, 2007 6:37 AM
Anonymous said...: My HOA has banned gay marriages.

My HOA has banned parking your car in your own drivway. All cars must be parked in the gargage at all times so as not to scare the nieghbors.

My HOA has banned lottering outside on the sidewalk as this also scares the nieghbors.

All visitors to our HOA must remove thier shows prior to being body scanned as my nieghbors at scared that Islamic terrorists will blow up the putting green.; January 03, 2007 6:39 AM
Anonymous said...: HOA = Americans are cowards.

It is best you all stay inside and keep your doors locked.

I lived for 2 years in a Colorado suburb and could not believe people actually live like that, after moving back to New York you really understand how backwards and uncivilzed and how enslaved most middle class Americans are.

Middle class America must be a very unhappy group of people.; January 03, 2007 6:43 AM
Anonymous said...: House price slump catches fire in the U.S.

A sobering article from the U.S. on the impact the house price slowdown is currently having on major swathes of that vast country.

Is it too early to draw comparisons with the UK? Perhaps, whilst the drive in unsustainable HPI has been caused by lax lending and speculation both sides of the Atlantic, the culture in relation to house building is very different.

It could be argued that the US have built their problem - continuing to build exponential units whilst the warning signs of an impending house price slowdown were evident for all to see...

http://firstrung.co.uk/
articles.asp?
pageid=NEWS&articlekey=3544
&cat=44-0; January 03, 2007 6:44 AM
Anonymous said...: RE agents are God's army spread bread and salvation to the world.

RE agents are spreading the love of Jesus Christ through cash out refinancing.; January 03, 2007 6:47 AM
Bakersfield Bubble said...: MLN Employee Video-

Box up your $hit and GTFO!

http://bakersfieldbubble.blogspot.com; January 03, 2007 6:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Paul L. Minnig, W10567 Fay Road, Beaver Dam, faces charges of arson of building, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of marijuana, which all stem from the fires that destroyed his home. Following his initial appearance, Minnig was released in lieu of a $10,000 signature bond.

The Randolph, Fox Lake, Columbus and Beaver Dam fire departments responded to a fire at Minnig's residence Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. to find his house ablaze. The fire was extinguished by 10:30 p.m., at which point the structure was scanned with a thermal imaging camera to detect hot spots within the walls and ceilings that could cause the fire to reignite. No such hot spots were found.

A second fire call was received for Minnig's residence at approximately 4:30 a.m. This time the Randolph Fire Department found Minnig's house fully engulfed in flames. The structure was completely burned out when the department extinguished the second fire.

Investigators served search warrants on Minnig's residence on Nov. 13, which included the burned-out home, a two-story garage, a shed, a pick-up truck and a coach home. According to the officer's report, the search yielded a pipe, marijuana, firearm ammunition and six charred logs. Investigators spoke with Minnig Nov. 13, and according to the criminal complaint, he stated he purposely stacked logs in a wood burner at his residence so that they would roll out and start the residence on fire.

He also stated he had removed some antique furniture and a television from the residence he did not want to burn, and that he was upset about seeing his ex-wife with a new child and "just wanted everything to be gone." Investigators also found that American National Bank had an open mortgage in the amount of $108,257 on the house. A court date for Minnig's arraignment has not yet been set.

Minnig is scheduled to return to Dodge County Circuit Court Jan. 11 for a preliminary examination. The three felonies facing him together carry a maximum sentence of $135,000 and 56 years and three months in prison if he is convicted.

http://www.wiscnews.com/
bdc/news/112692; January 03, 2007 6:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Home builders, in particular, felt the sting of the slowdown in the housing market. Some home buyers, unable to sell their current houses, canceled contracts on new homes. Other customers demanded price reductions or incentives before they would make a commitment.

Builders felt the heat. Red Bank-based Hovnanian Enterprises, the state's largest home builder, posted a third-quarter loss, its first in nearly 10 years, as customers canceled more than a third of their contracts for new homes.

When it filed for Chapter 11, Kara Homes of East Brunswick also blamed the housing slowdown, saying it ran out of cash needed to keep building new homes.

The bankruptcy filing has left prospective Kara home buyers, some of whom had put down tens of thousands of dollars in deposit money, in limbo.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061231/BUSINESS/612310344/1003; January 03, 2007 6:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
no asshole, communism and fascism os tens of millions of people killed and imprisoned by Hitler, Stalin, Castro, the Kims, PolPot etc.

I'm sure that's next on your list, pinko; January 03, 2007 7:02 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Somebody tell me again why owning is preferable "because nobody tells you what to do" like when you rent.

Sounds like the HOAs have most landlords beat when it comes to rules.

A condo complex near me in a suburban area won't allow dogs. I went to look at a unit for sale and found it somewhat outrageous that they can tell you you can't have a dog.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 2:37:09 AM

ya not only are you paying 3x the going rent, you still have some jagoff that has the balls to tell a WW2 or Korean vet not to fly the US flag! Pathetic.; January 03, 2007 7:05 AM
Anonymous said...: Lennar, Citing Weak Housing Market, Expects a Quarterly Loss

Lennar said it expected a loss of 88 cents to $1.28 share for the quarter ended Nov. 30 after a pretax charge of up to $500 million for the inventory evaluation. Official earnings for the quarter will be released before the market opens on Jan. 17.

“Market conditions continued to weaken throughout the fourth quarter, and we have not yet seen tangible evidence of a market recovery,” the president and chief executive, Stuart A. Miller, said in a statement.

New home orders for the quarter were down 6 percent compared with the same period last year.

Lennar also announced on Tuesday that it would sell a 62 percent stake in its partnership with the LNR Property Corporation in their LandSource Communities Development venture. Lennar and LNR will receive about $660 million each in the sale.

http://www.nytimes.com/
2007/01/03/business/
03lennar.html; January 03, 2007 7:08 AM
Anonymous said...: Mortgage Lenders Network USA Inc. stopped making new loans through its wholesale arm, becoming the third mortgage company in a month to curtail operations as housing sales slowed and defaults by borrowers rose.

Lenders including Ownit Mortgage Solutions Inc. and Sebring Capital Partners LP, which also specialize in ``sub-prime'' mortgages, were among companies that closed operations and cut staff in 2006 as loans to high-risk customers soured. Nationwide, late payments on sub-prime loans rose during the third quarter to 12.56 percent of the total, the most since the first quarter of 2003, the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/
apps/news?pid=20601087&
sid=aTpglnM_rtRM&refer=home

Mortgage Lenders Network USA, a large U.S. subprime lender, said it has stopped funding loans and accepting applications for loans, citing deteriorating conditions in the mortgage market, and has temporarily laid off about 80 percent of its 1,800 employees.

http://today.reuters.com/
news/articlebusiness.aspx?
type=bankingFinancial&story
ID=nN02342721&from=business; January 03, 2007 7:14 AM
Anonymous said...: Now, he says, his home is worth less than he owes, making it next to impossible to refinance before his $3,000-a-month payment doubles. Eleven neighbors who bought before the price cuts are in the same boat.

******* Oh ya!

“They put us in a bad financial situation by lowering the price,” said Dunn, 33.

******** No No No. YOU put yourself in a bad financial position by buying at the top of the peek!

But homeowners say the matter remains unresolved, and an attorney says he’s still waiting for a response to a letter he sent the developer on behalf of buyers who hired him.

****** What a bunch of crybabies! They got a lawyer now! Boy they are dumber than they sound. Just what is that lawyer gonna do?? More money down the hole.

Most homebuilders are reporting that 40 percent or more of their buyers are canceling this year. Often, cancellations result in the builder getting stuck with an empty home that’s already under construction.

****** OUCH!

The homeowners said that the price cuts began in November, just months after the first dozen buyers closed escrow, paying from $770,000 to $888,500 for their homes. The average price was $825,000, property records show.

******* Cry me a river. Were talking about almost a million dollars for a house! F U

“Usually builders keep their prices up. They try to keep their buyers happy,” said Christie Vu, 27, who paid almost $870,000 for the home she and her husband, Philip Luu, share with their two young sons. “In this case, it’s just the opposite.”

******* Ya bitch and USUALLY home prices don't DOUBLE in 5 years either! Didn't you think that was little odd??????

“The appraisers are not hired by Brandywine Homes,” Barisic said. “They’re hired by the lenders, which the homebuyers chose themselves.”

****** Oh ya, eat a dick!

Dunn said he’s in a financial bind because he’s using an exotic mortgage called an Option ARM, an adjustable-rate loan in which the homeowner can pick his monthly payment from a variety of options.

Eventually, he’ll be responsible for making full payments of $6,000 a month, he said, adding, “I don’t know how we’ll be able to pay that.”

********* AHAHAHAHAAH Well, you must not have a good enough job. Get a better one.

“It’s not just the financial aspect. It’s the emotional,” Dunn said. “We can’t eat, can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate on work. This is all I think about.”

******* Welcome to our lives. I'm so sick of this housing shit. I'll be sooooooo happy when prices come crashing down here and I AFFORD to buy something. I JUST WANT A HOME, NOT AN INVESTMENT VEHICLE. I do not feel sorry for these suckers one bit.; January 03, 2007 7:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Which part of "sold out at $770K" do you not understand renter?

Renter Denial. Funny...and sad.

that guy is f'ed 2; January 03, 2007 7:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Lennar said it expected a loss of 88 cents to $1.28 share for the quarter ended Nov. 30 after a pretax charge of up to $500 million for the inventory evaluation. Official earnings for the quarter will be released before the market opens on Jan. 17.

good.; January 03, 2007 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: I just sat in something Icky!; January 03, 2007 7:32 AM
Joe said...: Florida Nazi HOA forced to pay homeowner's attorneys fees in legal fight over flag

A judge ordered the homeowners association to pay Silver twice his regular legal fees - a total of $126,225 - after he successfully argued the case against The Indian Creek Homeowners Association Phase 3B.

Originally, Silver agreed to represent George Andres, a 68-year-old veteran at odds with his neighborhood association over a flagpole he had put in his yard, for free. By the time he came on board, a judge had ruled against Andres, and he and his wife were ordered to pay about $30,000 in attorneys' fees.

An attorney for the association then filed a foreclosure lawsuit because Andres couldn't pay.

Silver got a temporary injunction that kept Andres' American flag flying and then won an appeal that reversed the rulings against Andres. As Silver made the case, he said, he saw a way to argue that the homeowners association should pick up the tab for his services.

"In Florida, homeowners associations are used to running roughshod over the rights of their clients. And the reason they can do that is once they decide to go after one of their own homeowners, it's virtually impossible for a homeowner to find an attorney to represent them," Silver said, explaining the crux of his argument.

Circuit Court Judge Edward Fine bought it, and as part of the decision awarded Silver twice his regular hourly fee, because of the risk involved in taking such a labor-intensive case without guarantee of payment.

Neither members of the homeowners association nor its attorney could be reached for comment.

Silver said he hopes the ruling will encourage other lawyers to challenge homeowners associations.; January 03, 2007 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Mortgage Lenders Network USA, a large U.S. subprime lender, said it has stopped funding loans and accepting applications for loans, citing deteriorating conditions in the mortgage market, and has temporarily laid off about 80 percent of its 1,800 employees.

a ha! that is where all these trolls are comming from!; January 03, 2007 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: What protection does Merrill Lynch have if National City Corp have allot of bad loans like Ownit Mortgage Solutions and National City Corp files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection also?

National City Corp. said Tuesday it has completed its $1.3 billion sale of mortgage lender First Franklin and affiliates to Merrill Lynch & Co.

http://www.miami.com/mld/
miamiherald/16367761.htm

Ownit Mortgage Solutions Inc., a California-based home lender, filed for bankruptcy, saying it didn't have enough cash to buy back $166 million of soured loans sold to Merrill Lynch & Co. and other financial firms.

Merrill is the largest unsecured creditor, with $93.0 million of ``repurchase requests,'' Agoura Hills-based Ownit said in a Dec. 28 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Los Angeles. Lenders who sell loans to banks or investors typically must buy them back if borrowers miss payments within the first few months after a mortgage is granted.

Merrill paid $100 million for its 20 percent stake, the Los Angeles Times reported on Dec. 30. Merrill has declined to comment on its investment in Ownit.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing protects Ownit from creditors while managers try to devise a plan to pay them back.

http://www.bloomberg.com/
apps/news?pid=20601009&
sid=akwzqnZA.euU&refer=bond; January 03, 2007 7:43 AM
Anonymous said...: New Zealand's dollar traded near its highest level in more than a year, helped by demand for the nation's high yields and speculation the central bank may raise interest rates from a record high as soon as this month.

There is a 73 percent probability Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard will raise the official cash rate a quarter-point to 7.5 percent at his next review on Jan 25, according to an index compiled by Credit Suisse based on trading in overnight interest- rate swaps. The index was at 44 percent on Dec. 8, the day after the central bank's last policy statement.

``The high-yielding appeal and the risk the Reserve Bank will go again in early 2007 is keeping the currency supported,'' said Danica Hampton, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand in Wellington.

http://www.bloomberg.com/
apps/news?pid=20601081&
sid=aoJqbYU5Lf.A&refer=
australia; January 03, 2007 8:02 AM
Anonymous said...: New reports out today say that New York apartment prices are hitting new record highs. "bubbletalk" is just what you call it......."talk"!; January 03, 2007 10:58 AM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: Nardelli has resigned as CEO of Home Depot with approx. 210 million severance pay. He has executed a one year Non Compete.
EVP steps up to take his place.; January 03, 2007 1:45 PM
Anonymous said...: FMW -

$210 mil? That's obscene.; January 03, 2007 2:51 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: Yep it is obscene. They published it to embarrass him publicly according to CNN.; January 03, 2007 3:08 PM
Anonymous said...: The great stock market crash of 2007 starts of with NASDAQ up 1% in less than an hour of trading....

Oh yeah it will be a bloodbath; January 03, 2007 3:19 PM
Anonymous said...: The great housing crash of 2007 starts with....an increase in mortgage apps even though interest rates rose

It will be a bloodbath folks; January 03, 2007 3:22 PM
Anonymous said...: The great 2007 Global Depression starts with...a report showing an increase in manufacturing activity for December

Gonna be a bloodbath out there folks; January 03, 2007 3:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Re HOA's....

I just wonder....coming from Portland,
currently exceedingly overpriced, but
with many old neighborhoods, and pop-
ulated with gardener's run amok (wonderful!), .....I have been stunned
by the sterility of the yards in
the 'burbs' of Denver, as I visit
family...
So my question is this? Let's say
we have WW3 and need to have victory
gardens (not at all farfetched), or
we have an economic meltdown, also
not impossible: In the Great Depression 20% of the people lived
rurally, and were greatly helped by
the ability to grow their own food.
Now only 2% of the population lives
in the hinterlands. So look around
you and see your yard as God's little 1/20th acre or whatever. How
long before the HOA's cave to a little creative food production.
Will we want to grow food in former
grasslands that have been sprayed to
death. How many fruit trees are left
growing in any American city if there is trouble with transport for
any reason: oil embargo, WW3 again
(ever seen the coupons for 1 quart
gasoline per week, per person?)

I could go on, but TWT. PKK; January 03, 2007 3:37 PM
Anonymous said...: So we need to get rid of HOAs because we will need gardens in a post WW3 era to survive.

OHHHHHHH KAAAAAAYYYY; January 03, 2007 3:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Regrets not buying in 2001
Especially angry at owners
No yard in his future
Troubled by nigger neighbors
Eager to buy but cant afford
Rants incoherently about GD2012; January 03, 2007 3:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Great CRASH OF '07 UPDATE...

NASDAQ up 1.5% in 1.5 hours of trading

Yes folks, it's gonna be ugly out there.; January 03, 2007 4:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Democunts take over today. Higher taxes, and a $7.25 minimum wage are coming.

Good job America!!; January 03, 2007 4:27 PM
Anonymous said...: anon at 4:27 -

Yeah, heaven knows we don't want to pay a decent wage. Let's allow the market to decide. If somebody doesn't want to work for starvation wages, they can just not work, huh?

Sheesh.

In the meantime, jerks are allowed to loot corporations for $210 mil in severance pay - or enough money for a couple hundred people to be able to retire on, or buy a house cash, or start a new business with, or go to a great college...; January 03, 2007 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: why not let the government take all our money I'm sure Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid know how to spend my money best

shut the fuck up you socialist dumbfuck; January 03, 2007 5:07 PM
Anonymous said...: That $210 million has nothing to do with you, unless you are a shareholder of HD. It's a private company. if they want to give away $210M of their own money, so be it. Why is it any of your concern?

Would you like me to scrutinize every expense you have? Hmmm 10 cres, that $15 you spent on pizza last night, you know how many straving children in Africa that could have fed?; January 03, 2007 5:09 PM
Anonymous said...: anon 3:37 -

Interesting thoughts about victory gardens.

Perhaps one could grow food plants if they looked "pretty" and were laid out in a decorative pattern rather than in blocks and lines, and thereby satisfy a HOA (?). I don't know, I've never had to deal with an HOA.

My exp. in cities, much of what annoys neighbors can fall under zoning and health laws. Let your lawn get too high, it's a rat harborage, you can't leave garbage strewn around, etc.

I agree that neighborhoods can look too sterile. I recall the lovely older areas of New Orleans, where each house is different and often painted in multiple bright colors. The cityscape would lose a lot of its visual charm if they were all white or pastel. JMO.; January 03, 2007 5:09 PM
Anonymous said...: I went to look at this cheesy house in Tacoma WA asking 285 anyhow i was the only one there and then he asked me if i was single (i was like wow is this guy gay im not gay) then he said hed hook me up with 2 fine chicks for free from craigslist and a 10% reduction on the place wow I ran out lol.; January 03, 2007 5:19 PM
Anonymous said...: and then you woke up; January 03, 2007 5:26 PM
Anonymous said...: HPers begin the spin.......NOW!!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The decline in the Manhattan apartment market seems to have been over in a New York minute in contrast to the sluggish U.S. housing market, according to an influential property report released on Wednesday.

In the fourth-quarter, the median price of a home in Manhattan rose 5.1 over the year-ago period, according to the report, the Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview.

The number of sales during the fourth-quarter rose 15.5 percent to 2,441 from the prior quarter and 55 percent from the year ago quarter. The inventory of homes shrunk 22.2 percent from the third quarter to 5,934 and 0.5 percent from the year ago quarter.; January 03, 2007 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...: the silence id deafening from the renters; January 03, 2007 6:05 PM
Anonymous said...: R.I.P. HOUSING CRASH 2006

HPers begin the spin.......NOW!!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The decline in the Manhattan apartment market seems to have been over in a New York minute in contrast to the sluggish U.S. housing market, according to an influential property report released on Wednesday.

In the fourth-quarter, the median price of a home in Manhattan rose 5.1 over the year-ago period, according to the report, the Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview.

The number of sales during the fourth-quarter rose 15.5 percent to 2,441 from the prior quarter and 55 percent from the year ago quarter. The inventory of homes shrunk 22.2 percent from the third quarter to 5,934 and 0.5 percent from the year ago quarter.; January 03, 2007 6:06 PM
Anonymous said...: Yeah, yeah, you're right. A 5% increase in Manhattan medians is surely a sign that there is no bubble. I'm gonna go get my neg-am suicide loan so I can get rich too. Damnit! 5%, how could we be so wrong.; January 03, 2007 6:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Manhattan is another country.; January 03, 2007 6:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
That $210 million has nothing to do with you, unless you are a shareholder of HD. It's a private company. if they want to give away $210M of their own money, so be it. Why is it any of your concern?

the share holders hated that guy.; January 03, 2007 6:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Reading some of the comments on this site ...

Did anybody here actually get dressed today AND go to work???

===============================

You expect too much of HP posters...

They sit in their trailers, er condotels, and pound away on the keyboard, waiting for the welfare check to come in...; January 03, 2007 6:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
I just sat in something Icky!
=================================

typical HP post...; January 03, 2007 6:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Uh,I guess anon 6:46 got a free minute to step away from his high paying, and important job to put down some bloggers. Don't make your posts too long, the fries will get burnt to a crisp.; January 03, 2007 6:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Republicunt failure caused it...

---------

Anonymous said...
Democunts take over today. Higher taxes, and a $7.25 minimum wage are coming.

Good job America!!; January 03, 2007 6:53 PM
Anonymous said...: spin away renters...the bubble crash is over, well it never happened really but it could have. now it's done. 5% increase in NYC is only the begining

you know very well had a 5% drop and a 55% drop in sales occured you girls would be all over it as proof of the crash. now that the reverse is happening you are spinning yourselves into a hole

nice try though; January 03, 2007 7:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Lennar swings to loss on writedowns. Nardelli resigns with $210 golden parachute. Another subprime lender goes caput. More at my housing market roundup, just posted.

Also, check out the mortgage-lender implode-o-meter page. I'm keeping close track of this trend.; January 03, 2007 7:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Err, that $210 million golden parachute, of course =); January 03, 2007 7:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear realtwhore(tm)troll,
here are a few other cities median prices yoy % change 3rd quarter 2006, source- nar's website
Boston -4.3%
Chicago +1.7%
Denver -.1%
Miami-5.6%
Phoenix -.6%
San Diego -2.1%
San Francisco +3.8% Sacramento -3.5%
Most of these cities (including NYC)have seen yearly 15-30% appreciation for the last 2-3 of years. If you can't recognize a major shift in buyer psychology then I'm afraid I would be unable to explain it to you.
The housing crash is only in it's infancy, that's right, the beginning of a painful multi year cycle. I can't speak the whole country, I live in the San Francisco bay area, and that 3.8% increase in median prices is completely detached from the real price one could have fetched a year ago. It's much more like -5 to 10% just outside of inner San Fran and Santa Clara.
However it's impossible to really predict the future. Perhaps tens of millions of Americans can start new jobs at Goldman Sachs and recieve 6-7 figure bonuses every year.; January 03, 2007 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: I just had a great revelation for a business idea.

here goes: i'm going to establish a school that teaches only one class: SIMCITY; basics, strategies, techniques, etc.

I'd recommend the class highly for any person that:
- is going to buy a house
- works in a city municipality
- works for the city in any way
- the mayor
- the city board
- all state employees
- everybody

the goal is to have any idiot understand the effect of taxing, taxes, property taxes, cost of living, etc. feel free to develop this idea further.

Keef, create a thread to discuss simcity and its undeniably highly beneficial impact.

if this thing picks up, we'll have a better educated population.

thank you.; January 03, 2007 7:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Ok. So how long before this thread becomes filled with the Mad Hatter's Tea Party?; January 03, 2007 8:26 PM
Anonymous said...: “The rookie realtor sat at a dining room table covered in brochures and home listings for his first open house. A sign-in sheet contained two names. ‘Those are fake names,’ Charles Durrenberger said. ‘A little trick of the trade. No one’s come by yet.’”

“The five-bedroom house seemed bigger than reality as Durrenberger paced through the home alone, saying things like, ‘Someone please come’ and ‘I wish someone would show up.’”

“Some call it a correction or a buyer’s market. Some call it a bust. Jane White, the owner of the home in Oro Valley Durrenberger wants to sell, just says ‘whatever.’ ‘I’m lucky in a sense because I’m not in a hurry,’ said White, who wants $492,000 for the home built in 2001. ‘The market is going to do what it is going to do. You can’t let it drive you crazy.’”

“White remains optimistic, predicting that the market will improve by spring. ‘Then maybe I can be a buyer in a buyer’s market.’”

“Experts have refrained from calling the state of the market an outright bust, though it seems like nothing less to those in the trenches. Take John, who ran into a wall when trying to sell his family’s home in Starr Pass Heights on the westside. He had a job offer elsewhere.”

“‘We hold open houses and no one shows up. We get two visitors a week, but no offers. We advertise like crazy, but without much response. I don’t know what to do next,’ John wrote.”

“The frustrated seller purchased the home for $300,000 in November 2005. Even though a realtor advised him to price the home at $375,000, John has lowered his asking price to $289,000. Still no buyers. ‘I’m definitely going to lose $30,000,’ John wrote, wondering what to do next. ‘Keep it at the insanely low price where I’m losing my shirt and wait for a buyer to come around? Try to find a renter and wait out this downturn?’”

“Production builders have been hit the hardest, said Alex Jacome, government liaison for the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association. Rumors have swirled about people walking out on home orders and down payments. ‘I’ve heard some talk about people backing out on sales, but I haven’t seen anything concrete,’ Jacome said.”

“Nonetheless, construction workers have lost their jobs. ‘Not hordes of them, but there have been some layoffs,’ Jacome said. ‘We’re all just waiting for 2007 when this thing corrects itself.’”

“Richmond American recently abandoned two high-profile projects in Marana. The builder based its decision on an unattractive market, according to sources with the town of Marana.”

“The Tucson housing market has ‘all but stopped,’ according to University of Arizona’s economic forecaster Marshall Vest. Sellers have unrealistic price expectations and buyers think prices are plummeting ’so why buy now?’ Maybe buyers read the newspapers and sellers do not, Vest joked.”

“More than 9,000 homes in the region remain listed for sale. Inventory numbers have stayed about 66 percent higher than 2005 levels. Almost 40 percent of homes on the market are vacant, the product of investors or home-flippers who abandoned their purchases when the market shifted.”

“The investors, most from California, mistakenly thought they could cash in on 2005’s market but came too late, added Rosey Koberlein, CEO of Long Realty.”

“All in all, the past two years in Tucson’s real estate market, as one expert put it, tell a ‘textbook bubble story.’ Most think the ending will be written in 2007.”; January 03, 2007 9:15 PM
stuckinthecity said...: realtwhore(tm) troll said...
spin away renters...the bubble crash is over,
--------

See? no biggie!; January 04, 2007 12:37 AM
stuckinthecity said...: “‘We hold open houses and no one shows up. We get two visitors a week, but no offers. We advertise like crazy, but without much response. I don’t know what to do next,’ John wrote.”

Wait, what??; January 04, 2007 12:38 AM
sk said...: The mortgage broker blogs are stating that:

1.Secured Funding
2.Aegis SubPrime Unit

closed down today. Smaller fry, not as big as Ownit or MNL but still.. Once the ball starts rolling, mann it picks up speed real fast.

Of course we are looking at it from hindsight. The real damage has already occurred, it just hasn't ripened yet.

-K; January 04, 2007 2:40 AM
The Apostrophe Cop said...: anon 9:15 p.m. -

“The rookie realtor sat at a dining room table covered in brochures and home listings for his first open house. A sign-in sheet contained two names. ‘Those are fake names,’ Charles Durrenberger said. ‘A little trick of the trade. No one’s come by yet.’”

No, tell me it ain't so! Not deception - not from a real estate agent!

Surely not! Surely a real estate agent wouldn't lie to sell a house! No no no!; January 04, 2007 2:57 AM
BitterRenter said...: The person chiding renters for missing the boat, that real estate will never crash, sounds much like gloating republicans in 2004 who predicted a "permanent republican majority".

Funny how things work.; January 04, 2007 7:34 PM
BitterRenter said...: To Sane Person:

There's a much better chance of things improving for the masses under democrats than republicans who still pine for the fuedal system and crave a South American-style society where 5 families have all the wealth and everyone else eats dirt.

Things would improve faster if we could do like the Shiites. Have a powerful entity remove republicans en masse and hang their leaders. But as long as republicans exist they'll create roadblocks to a better world at every opportunity. They're filthy, ignorant savages.; January 04, 2007 7:37 PM
BitterRenter said...: To Sane Person:

There's a much better chance of things improving for the masses under democrats than republicans who still pine for the fuedal system and crave a South American-style society where 5 families have all the wealth and everyone else eats dirt.

Things would improve faster if we could do like the Shiites. Have a powerful entity remove republicans en masse and hang their leaders. But as long as republicans exist they'll create roadblocks to a better world at every opportunity. They're filthy, ignorant savages.; January 04, 2007 7:38 PM
Mammoth said...: “Declining gasoline prices and a steady job market should have helped merchants, but Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research company in Swampscott, Mass., believes the recent drop in home equity loans — a big source of buying power over the past few years — curtailed spending among middle-income shoppers.“
(Full article at: http://tinyurl.com/y8sc2y)
-----------
With the HELOC spigot now turned to the “off” position, will this drop in spending be what finally pushes the stock market into a prolonged downturn?

-Mammoth; January 04, 2007 11:02 PM
The Apostrophe Cop said...: bitterrenter -

Excellent replies to "sane."

I'm somewhat more centrist than you are, but still... I think I'm in love ;-).; January 05, 2007 12:06 AM
Anonymous said...: The latest housing bubble victim...; January 05, 2007 4:50 AM
BitterRenter said...: Must sting to be a republican today, watching Speaker Pelosi ram that gavel up the republicans' asses.

Squeal like a piggie!; January 05, 2007 8:19 AM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: It's a good thing,' home builder thinks
Stewart community to be built here

Jerry W. Jackson | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted January 5, 2007
RELATED STORIES
Another development will bear Stewart's name
Dec 2, 2006

Windermere neighborhood news

PHOTOS
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart

What makes it a Martha Stewart neighborhood?
(KB HOME)

Jan 5, 2007

Lifestyle diva Martha Stewart is bringing her taste in homes and decor to Central Florida real estate.

The first Stewart-inspired development in Florida will be built by KB Home on 31 acres southwest of Windermere, company representatives confirmed this week.

The model homes should be completed by May for a grand opening of the Avellino community, designed for 143 homesites and a "new urbanism" look," said George Glance, president of KB Home's Orlando division.

"It's a huge deal," Glance said of the project, which is in unincorporated Orange County just west of County Road 535 and just south of Overstreet Road.

Martha Stewart-branded subdivisions are already top-selling communities for KB Home in Cary, N.C., and Fairburn, Ga., Glance said, and the Avellino community near Windermere should also see strong demand.

"We think with Martha's influence and track record, it should sell out in 12 to 14 months" once the first home is occupied, which could be as soon as October, Glance said.

A second Florida development is also in the works for Ormond Beach, in Volusia County, though no start date has been set for that project.

Glance said that all of the homes in Avellino will feature architectural styles inspired by Stewart, including a number of units "themed after some of her own homes."

Chicago real-estate broker and author Mark Nash said he thinks the cooperative venture between Stewart and KB Home "is a great fit" and trumps other celebrity development tie-ins.

"Martha Stewart is really known for houses -- inside and outside," Nash said. "I think, of all the media-types and names, she really brings a unique perspective. It's a home run for KB Home."

Nash said that, with the nationwide slowdown in home sales, the name recognition that Stewart brings to the KB Home projects could be the extra edge to help those communities stand out in the market. He said Stewart's marketability has rebounded since she was released from federal prison in March 2005, having served five months for lying about a 2001 stock sale.

"Her new daytime home show has done well and has good ratings," Nash said. Martha Stewart Living, on the Style cable-TV network, touches on a range of subjects from home renovations and decor to entertaining.

Steve Hoffacker, an independent home-building consultant in West Palm Beach, said KB Home deserves credit for crafting a marketing tie-in with Stewart, whose name is better known among many consumers than California-based KB's. Still, he said, it is a bit of a marketing gamble.

"In general, it wasn't a bad idea for KB Home to do this, but it may not create the positive reinforcement they were seeking," he said. "Her name may mean a lot to some people and others may be turned off by her name being associated with a community."

Satisfied homeowner

Mark Kistler, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, bought a home in July in the first Stewart-affiliated community, a development called Twin Lakes in Cary, N.C. He said Stewart's name did play a role in his family's decision.

"One of the things that intrigued us was the fact that it was a Martha Stewart community -- the first in the country," Kistler said. "It drew us initially."

Kistler said the two-story Lily Pond model he bought -- said to be patterned after one of three styles of homes Stewart has lived in -- "has a lot of nice touches" inside and out, including a brick front and faux Shaker siding.

"We're very happy with it," Kistler said of the 2,496-square-foot home. But the clincher for the sale was the price he got from the developer, who was eager to remove the home from its inventory after the first buyer backed out of a contract. Kistler said he paid about $359,000, or $41,000 less than the original asking price.

New-home sales throughout much of the country have cooled during the past year, as a glut of inventory and a backlog of existing homes for sale have put pressure on prices. But Kistler said homes in his Stewart community are selling well, as are homes throughout the region because of strong demand created by nearby Research Triangle Park and the well-known universities in the Raleigh-Durham area.
Kistler said Stewart's past legal problem was not an issue for him personally, and he considers her name and brand in the home-fashion and design fields to be rock solid.

"She made a mistake and paid for it and is trying to get on with her life," Kistler said.; January 05, 2007 3:56 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: MORTGAGE RATES
Piggyback loans versus mortgage insurance
A new tax deduction in 2007 will give borrowers more financing choices.

Holden Lewis | Bankrate.Com
Posted December 31, 2006

ADVERTISEMENTS

Mortgage insurance will be tax-deductible in 2007. For some homeowners, the new law means it will be cheaper to get mortgage insurance than to get piggyback loans.

The 109th Congress passed the tax law in its final hours. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will save a total of $91 million when they file their tax returns in 2008, according to estimates prepared by the mortgage insurance industry.

"This is really going to help close to a million Americans who will buy a home next year using mortgage insurance," says Kevin Schneider, president of U.S. mortgage insurance business for Genworth Financial.

Bottom line for consumers: Don't get a piggyback loan without taking a serious look at mortgage insurance, because mortgage insurance is likely to be cheaper in the long run, and it might even cost less in the short run. Here's a look at each:

Mortgage insurance. According to an analysis by Bankrate, a homeowner with a $180,000 mortgage would save about $351 in taxes per year because of the law. This assumes the borrower has good credit and is in the 25 percent tax bracket.

When you buy a house, lenders consider you a riskier borrower if you make a down payment of less than 20 percent. There are two main ways to make you pay for that risk: mortgage insurance and piggyback loans.

Mortgage insurance is the old-school method. You, the borrower, pay for the policy, but the lender is the beneficiary. If you fall behind on the loan payments and the lender has to foreclose, the mortgage insurance policy reimburses the lender for legal costs and lost income.

The premiums depend on the size of the loan, the percentage of the down payment, your credit score and the type of mortgage insurance you get.

Piggyback loans. When you use a piggyback, you get two home loans: a primary loan for 80 percent of the house's value and a second mortgage for the rest of the money you need. With a 5 percent down payment, you would get what's called an 80-15-5 mortgage: an 80 percent loan, a 15 percent piggyback and the 5 percent down payment. Getting a piggyback eliminates the need for mortgage insurance.

The piggyback can be either a fixed-rate home-equity loan or a variable-rate home-equity line of credit. The piggyback has a higher rate than the first mortgage.

The combined payments on a piggyback mortgage are a bit less than the payment on a single loan with monthly mortgage insurance premiums. For years, piggybacks had a big advantage because the mortgage interest on both loans was tax-deductible; mortgage insurance payments were not. Now that has changed, with these caveats.

The tax deduction applies only to mortgages that are closed in 2007. If you have a loan with mortgage insurance in 2006, you won't be able to deduct the premiums in the 2007 tax year unless you refinance in 2007.

There are income limits. You get the full deduction if your adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less. The amount you can deduct phases out rapidly after that, and no mortgage insurance deduction is available if you make more than $110,000.

This is a one-year deal, and Congress would have to renew the deduction to make it apply for the 2008 tax year and beyond.

If you take the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions, the new law makes no difference to you.

When you put those complications aside, the new law makes it easier to compare loan offers, says Mike Zimmerman, vice president of investor relations for mortgage insurer MGIC. "Now everything's on an equal footing: Mortgage insurance is tax-deductible and piggyback is tax-deductible.''; January 05, 2007 4:01 PM
BitterRenter said...: Hey SP:

Still trying to claim victimhood status with the press? Poor republicans. Why is it that the people who ridicule the victimhood society the most always claim victimhood status?

No wonder you people lost it all in November, losing to democrats by over 7 MILLION votes. And not one democrat lost a race, something not done by either party for 70 years.

Americans back the democrats' agenda by HUGE numbers, too.

As for retail sales:

U.S. stocks lower on disappointing retail sales

Only a republican would see people buying more future landfill items on credit as a sign of a strong society.; January 05, 2007 5:39 PM
james dean said...: From what I heard, flat screens did well. But overall, the holidays were bleak. People bought flat screens and little else.; January 05, 2007 5:43 PM
Mammoth said...: SP Called FMW “sleazy” in the “Question of the night (teapot)” thread below.
--------------
Has anyone else here noticed that those who are vehemently anti-Democrat, seem to also be the most mean-spirited people?

Name-calling is one of their favorite ways of dealing with those who disagree with them.

Just an observation.
--------------
Admittedly, the Democrat’s November victory may have less to do with everybody being enthralled with the party and more to do with the Republican’s corruption, lies, incompetence, and their remarkable stupidity.

We need to hold off on our judgment of the new congress until they show us some results.

-Mammoth; January 05, 2007 7:03 PM
Joe said...: And not one democrat lost a race, something not done by either party for 70 years.

So you're saying that the House is now 100% democrat? You're not making any sense.

As far as retail sales, it will be fun to watch democrats go from downplaying good economic news to taking credit for it.; January 05, 2007 7:17 PM
sane person said...: joe,

I think what the socialist meant not one incumbent lost. Publik Skool grad...give the lad a break.; January 05, 2007 7:24 PM
Joe said...: I think a big reason the democrats won was that the fanatic hate-mongering liberal organizations and individuals were left out of the picture. No Michael Moore with his camera, no uneducated hollyweird celebrities spewing their usual hate, no moveon.org psycho-terror organizations running spots every minute. The democrats were smart to keep these clowns on the sidelines.; January 05, 2007 7:34 PM
BitterRenter said...: No, here is what the people support:

Poll shows support for Democrats' goals

And it's not just on Iraq.

And SP, you must be one of those "libertarians", an amalgam of the worst of both parties. The selfishness of the republicans combined with the supposed hedonism of the liberals. Ignorant, callous AND amoral.

Yes, things are going so well, people are so happy that 2/3 think we are going in the wrong direction.
Besides, happy people don't vote out the ruling party in HUGE numbers.

As for my anger, I HATE republicans, conservatives and "libertarians". In days gone by those who didn't want to contribute to the greater good were sent into the woods alone to be eaten by bears. Not a bad idea.; January 05, 2007 7:53 PM
BitterRenter said...: That old saying was created by a bitter, old conservative shitheel who had lost any shred of idealism.

Here's some bad news: we're ALL liberals in the big scheme of things. The concepts of equality, freedom and personal rights are liberal ones we ALL share.

If the election was solely about the war people wouldn't be polling so, yes HUGE on supporting the democratic agenda. And the war had nothing to do with the seemingly endless republican corruption scandals that tainted them so badly. And if it was only about Iraq 2/3 wouldn't poll as believing the country is headed in the wrong direction domestically.

I'll tell you what huge is. Huge is SEVEN MILLION MORE VOTES for democrats when elections normally turn on hundreds of thousands.

I have no illusions of a socialist Utopia. We're alreayd fairly socialist despite you and those like you. But at least the democrats will slow down our descent into a South American-style culture of haves and have-nots. A society ruled by greed alone.; January 05, 2007 8:34 PM
james dean said...: Problem is - the Republicans are not really conservative anymore. They are pawns for mulitnational corporations. Years ago, Republicans talked about not wanting endless taxpayer supported welfare for the lazy unemployed whom choose to keep having babies. That resonated with most Americans. Recently, they shoved most Americans under the bus and spent money like water.

Conservative and liberal labels historically have fluxed from Republican to Democrat and back again.; January 05, 2007 9:21 PM
sk said...: re: bitterrenter
------------------------------
That old saying was created by a bitter, old conservative shitheel who had lost any shred of idealism.
------------------------------

Hey, that's Young Winnie, Winston Churchill you are talking of there. Given his track record of authorizing poison gas on Iraqis, soldiers against strikers, a disastrous military campaign in Dardenelles during WW1 - your characterization isn't so wrong - the veneration he gets undeserved - until WWII - cometh the hour, cometh the man.

In one of history's ironies though, he did all those crappy things as a Liberal - a member of the British Liberal government! He switched back to the Tory party in the late 1920s, after 20 years as a Liberal.

-K; January 05, 2007 10:25 PM
BitterRenter said...: Here you go, SP. Churchill never said it.

Quotes Falsely Attributed To Churchill

And even if he did, was his word some sort of Gospel? I mean, the fatass almost lost his country to the Germans.

Why not just move to S America now? After all, it has all the attributes savages like. 5 families in each country holding all the wealth, 40-60% poverty rates, indifference to the greater good. You know, the wet drream conservative/libertarian culture. But guess which side of the have/havenot divide you'll end up on without government redistribution of wealth? But be careful, they've been electing socialistic leaders lately. Some cultures evolve. Some like the USA, devolve.

So government can't do anything right? Says a lot for our military. Doesn't explain why Medicare works so well, though. In reality, there's no empirical evidence that the private sector is any more efficient than the public otherwise 90+% of all new private enterprises wouldn't fail.

Did you know that SS administration has about a 4% overhead? In countries with "privatized" retirement systems overhead from the capitalist parasites consumes about 25%. That's all true capitalists are good for: taking without adding anything. Sorta like a RE agent.; January 05, 2007 11:36 PM
BitterRenter said...: Oh, and the WHO rates America's healthcare system 37th in the world, far after those countries with socialized systems.; January 05, 2007 11:51 PM
sk said...: The rumors turn out to be true:
From:
https://securedwholesale.com/
-----------------------------------
Dear Valued Customers,

Based upon market conditions and limited product availability, we are ceasing wholesale operations. We have stopped accepting new applications, and will have until the 12th of January to fund out the pipeline. We appreciate your patience as we undergo this transition.

Thank you for your support
---------------------------------

This must be the 6th, 7th Subprime lender that's closing up. To that I add the ending of 100 LTV loans for subprime scores by various lenders, the significant tightening of Interest Only loans, of stated income loans as a result of Fannie Mae restrictions, state restrictions(specially OH), federal banking regulator restrictions and the result is subprime lending is drying up!

40% of loans in 2006 were subprime. Borrowers aren't suddenly going to improve the credit scores, aren't magically going to produce income documentation to backup their "stated incomes", won't suddenly find money to put down and go 80,90% LTV.

People weren't taking on these crazy loans from just stupidity, there was also necessity(if they wanted to become "homeowners). Now they won't be allowed to be stupid even if they wanted to.

There's going to hell of a sharp fall off in qualified buyers starting this month, accelerating further in future months. Fewer qualified buyers fewer sales. Unless of course prices come down sharply. Which they will, but only one distressed house sale at a time.

The housing freezeup continues.

-K; January 06, 2007 5:55 AM
The Apostrophe Cop said...: joe logic -

"I think a big reason the democrats won was that the fanatic hate-mongering liberal organizations and individuals were left out of the picture."

I think you're right. The Dems had lost a lot of credibility and bewildered their fellow party members when it seemed like the party was going over to the radical left.

/I'm a Zell Miller Democrat; January 06, 2007 1:23 PM
Anonymous said...: "27 comments"

even with the "anon" posting being allowed again, this blog is slowly dying off just like the housing bubble myth...Y2K anyone?

do you guys still believe this shit after 2 years of blah blah blah about it? even ufo's went away eventually...find a new paranoia. or take some xanax.

Florida Gator; January 06, 2007 2:35 PM
Anonymous said...: I would put most of you in the same boat as the rah rah realtors- they are overly optimistic all the time, you are overly pessimistic..

theres just too much bias here

the fact is that the slowdown to come indicated by rampant overconstruction, rising supply, and decreased demand was happening earlier in the year- and NOT having an agenda or bias, I would be the first to mention that then

NOW- all those factors are stabilising or reversing, supply is decreasing , bearish builders have been cuttin back on new construction (supply) and mortgage demand for NEW purchases is recently hiot an 11 month high
and long term rates are conming down

so the situation to a reasonable UNBIASED person is NOT the same as it was earlier in the year, and the PRESENT situation does not seem to be deteriorating from here NATIONALLY there are always pockets of over/undervalued markets- phoenix and CA. does not represent the whole, yet it is the subject of endless anecedotes on this site..

There would be more credibility here if people would simply acknowledge that trends change in supply/demand in any market,, simply being bearish/bullish all the time based on anecdotes in the worst/best areas isnt reasonable analysis

PS another anecdote used here is foreclosure foreclosure, when the actual rate of preforeclosure is less then 1/2 of a percent nationwide and most foreclosed properties get about 85% of full retail value upon sale - so even if rate of foreclosure goes up 5x it is still a small part of overall national picture

and before you hate, or attack- note that im simply UNbiased, and would be the first to say to the realtors a year ago that supply and new construction spending are increasing, rates going up, and demand decreasing (so the market is softening going forward)

they would have attacked me on their blog for saying this

now that many of those factors are reversing ,, you are just as biased as the relators for attacking the facts that new mortgage demand is going up (for puchases) supply is stabilizing/going down- and the picture isnt as bearish as it was..

just my two cents; January 06, 2007 3:08 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: HP Word of the Day: ad hominem With regard to the anon Trolls and Sane Person;

An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: "argument to the person", "argument against the man") is a logical fallacy consisting of replying to an argument by attacking or appealing to the person making the argument, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument. It is most commonly used to refer specifically to the ad hominem abusive, or argumentum ad personam, which consists of criticizing or personally attacking an argument's proponent in an attempt to discredit that argument.

Other common subtypes of the ad hominem include the ad hominem circumstantial, or ad hominem circumstantiae, an attack which is directed at the circumstances or situation of the arguer; and the ad hominem tu quoque, which objects to an argument by characterizing the arguer as being guilty of the same thing that he is arguing against.; January 06, 2007 4:19 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: Good News for me if it is TRUE!
iw

Happy new year predicted for homes
The Orlando area's market will stay No. 1 in Florida, a new report says.

Jerry W. Jackson | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted January 6, 2007
ADVERTISEMENTS

The Orlando area is Florida's strongest real-estate market as the state heads into the new year, while Fort Myers and Miami are the weakest, according to a new, three-year forecast that has mostly good news for the region.

Metro Orlando's advantages include strong population growth, driven by "robust gains in employment," and relatively low levels of new-home inventory, according to the report, which is to be released next week by Attorney's Title Insurance Fund Inc.

"Orange County's economy will grow strongly through 2009," and population growth "holds up well over the forecast horizon," said Orlando-based economist Hank Fishkind, who prepared the report for Attorney's Title, the state's leading title-insurance underwriter.

Fishkind said Friday that Fort Myers and Miami are the weakest markets in the state because of large inventories of unsold homes and lower rates of household formation.

In four-county Metro Orlando, Lake County could experience one of the weaker real-estate rebounds, as the report notes there is "little growth in the rate of formation of new households," and "housing starts are expected to slow through 2007 and remain stable through 2009."

Still, the Lake County economy overall is expected to expand strongly through 2009 as it integrates with the metro area's three other counties, the report predicts.

"They really have an [excess] inventory problem there," Fishkind said of Lake County's housing stock.

In Orange and Seminole counties, there is relatively little "standing inventory" of new homes, the report notes, and household growth in those counties "gives rise to sustained strength in housing starts."

Trouble in Osceola

Osceola County's new-home starts plunged from about 8,000 units in 2005 to about 4,000 last year, and it will likely remain at about that level through 2009, the forecast suggests. Though the county has little standing inventory of single-family homes, "high inventories of new and converted condominium units will keep prices stable as the market continues to slip."

The report, which analyzed 33 of the state's largest counties, predicts that, in Metro Orlando, "trends in the existing-home markets are expected to be similar to those of the new homes' marketplace."

Doug Buskers, a residential-real-estate sales agent in the Longwood office of Exit Real Estate Results, agrees with Fishkind that Metro Orlando is a strong market in comparison with much of the rest of the state, where speculative building was more rampant. But he said it is hard to generalize because demand varies so much at a local level.

"It depends on your market. Windermere is different from Pine Hills. So you really have to pay attention to your local area and educate your clients about that, " said Buskers, who moved to Central Florida three years ago from the Washington area.

"I do think this is a vibrant market overall and should be the rest of the year. But that doesn't mean prices will appreciate like before," he added. "We'll still see some adjustment downward."

Fishkind said that, in analyzing the data, he was also struck by how widely the various counties differ in terms of housing stock, buyer demand and other factors.

"There is very strong differentiation, even within a metro area," Fishkind said. "Lee County is overbuilt. Collier County, right next door -- not so overbuilt."

Market 'coming back'

Jeff Alexander, a Lake Mary resident and president of Homecrete Homes, a specialty builder based in Stuart on the Treasure Coast, said he concurs that the Orlando market has advantages over some areas of the state -- including more room for growth.

"The Treasure Coast is what's known as a scattered-lot market," Alexander said. "There are just no big tracts of homes, the way it is in the Orlando area."

Alexander, who has been in the home-building business since 1979 but moved to Florida from Chicago about six years ago, said residential construction in Florida is returning to more-conventional and cyclical patterns based on supply and demand.

"The market has flattened out, but it's coming back," Alexander said.

Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721.; January 06, 2007 5:11 PM
bozonian said...: Admittedly, Keith is a bit melodramatic, however, I think his overemphasis is just early. The emotion he demonstrates WILL be factual when the real crash begins.

Like most of us, we can predict the future to some degree, but getting the timing right is very difficult.; January 06, 2007 5:22 PM
BitterRenter said...: Dear SP:

Calling Keith melodramatic is ironic coming from someone who thinks being asked to pay up for government services and support is confiscating his wealth for socialist causes.; January 06, 2007 8:09 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html
Check the dead cat bounce, aready.
Coconutz!; January 06, 2007 8:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Just watched A CNN special called mortgage meltdown,this was the first very negative news in depth that i have seen the MSM do.
The analyst even said dont buy now and if you can sell ,sell now.; January 06, 2007 10:33 PM
Anonymous said...: hosted by Gerri Willis author of
"The SmartMoney Guide To Real Estate Investing".; January 06, 2007 10:41 PM
Anonymous said...: “A network of scam artists convinced unwitting investors to buy houses using questionable loans and then backed out, leaving the investors on the hook for as much as $5 million apiece, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Riverside County Superior Court.”

“Temecula attorney Richard Ackerman filed the suit on behalf of an anonymous client, who he said was duped into buying five houses in and around Murrieta in early 2005.”

“According to the suit, the anonymous plaintiff is stuck with 10 loans and payment obligations of more than $20,000 a month, far beyond her ability to pay. All told, the alleged scheme involved as many as 400 investors and an estimated $1.2 billion of property, Ackerman alleged in the complaint.”

“The cash from each new round of loans was used to cover the regular mortgage and tax payments on the last round, giving the arrangement the form of a classic ‘pyramid’ scam, Ackerman said.”

“A San Diego financial adviser said three of her own clients were involved in the operation. Including investors known to the adviser, to Ackerman and to attorney Ashley Abano, the alleged scam took in at least a dozen investors with two to three dozen properties.”

“‘The total number of loans affected is likely in the hundreds, if not thousands, within the Temecula/Murrieta area,’ the complaint filed Friday alleges.”

“The alleged scam could levy a big blow to local real estate values, according to Ackerman and one prominent real-estate agent. Large numbers of empty, foreclosed homes in a neighborhood can make it difficult for the banks to sell them for close to the amount of the mortgages they issued. The empty homes for sale can also force other sellers to slash their prices.”

“Ackerman estimated that renters occupied half or more of the investment properties, but said they were not paying nearly enough to cover the mortgage payments.”

“Rising numbers of foreclosures last year have already begun to undercut the market, economists, analysts and real estate agents have said.”; January 07, 2007 12:08 AM
Anonymous said...: hey coconutz here is what else was said on that source you provided:

"OK, I admit defeat: there will not be a recession in 2007, or ever again. The U.S, and global economy will continue on an upward trajectory of strong growth for the foreseeable future"; January 07, 2007 12:26 AM
foxwoodlief said...: Oil down, gold down, copper down, lumbar down, sounds like inflation should be down too. Sounds like global growth is slowing quickly. What happens next? Where will all that liquidity go? Stocks? If no growth why buy stocks? Back into housing? Prices can't really rise if the cost to build falls? What does 2007 hold for us?; January 07, 2007 12:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Lake Tahoe Properties Up 8% in 2006

From Las Vegas Sun 1/6/07:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (AP) - Bucking a nationwide trend, the median price of an existing home rose 8 percent to $807,313 at Lake Tahoe in 2006 compared with the year before, a leading real estate firm reported.

Incline Village again has the most expensive homes at North America's largest alpine lake, with a median price of $1.071 million, up 8 percent over the previous year.

Just behind Incline Village was the east shore's median price of $915,000, also up 8 percent. The median price is where half sell for more and half sell for less.

The best bargain was on the south shore, where the median price of $478,000 was up just 1 percent in 2006.

In California, the median price climbed 12 percent to $765,000 in Tahoe City but dropped 3 percent to $669,000 in Truckee.

Lowe said high-end homes, especially those over $5 million, are still selling especially well.

The median price of condominiums increased 11 percent to $489,125 while sales slid 36 percent to 318.

Lake Tahoe reported record home sales in 2004 and 2005, and rarely sees a decrease in median prices.

Economists don't believe the nationwide cooling in the once-hot housing market will short-circuit the five-year-old economic expansion and throw the economy into a recession.; January 07, 2007 1:16 AM
Anonymous said...: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/12/08/news/state/
11_01_1012_7_06.txt

Cities asking DC for afordable housing funds. No need, housing will be affordable on its own. Or will it.; January 07, 2007 1:21 AM
Anonymous said...: This is something that I have been wondering about for some time.

When the REIC, or anybody doing housing stats for that matter, states that there is a 6-month, 8 month, etc supply of houses for sale in a given area, is there any kind of universally accepted set-in-stone formula for figuring this out.

For instance, if today only one house is left for sale, in the whole state, and its priced BEYOND anyone’s ability to purchase, and up to this time one house sold every day this year, does that spin to one days supply, or 100,000 years supply, depending on which side of the fence your sitting on.

I am only asking this because of all the dimwits who took out suicide loans are counted
as being purchasers (which they were,) but shouldn't have been.
Their replacements, the greater fools, are going to dry up in greater numbers as this plays out.

Just who decides how much inventory is available in a time span projection, and how? Anybody know?; January 07, 2007 3:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Lawyers find business in real estate woes

While the residential real estate market is slowing down for local lenders and Realtors, it's speeding up for real estate attorneys.

Unfortunately, it's for reasons that the market doesn't like to see.

Foreclosures, loan fraud and dealing with government regulations are filling more legal pads these days, local attorneys

Loan fraud

Loan fraud is the most serious and disturbing trend, said Karen Radakovich, an attorney with Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein PC in Boulder.

In its simplest form, loan fraud involves the buyer and seller agreeing to exchange a home for much more than it's actually worth. The seller then gives back the extra money to the buyer, who might use the cash to pay off a debt, invest in the market or buy another big-ticket item.

"It's an instance of creative financing run amok, with more people trying to make money off of real estate," Radakovich said. "I think some people think this is OK, but it's not. They are defrauding the lender."

The U. S. Attorney's Office is stepping up its efforts against the crime, she said. Earlier this year, a grand jury in Denver indicted eight people on loan fraud charges. The group was part of a more established crime ring involving fraudulent buyers, lenders and appraisers.

http://bcbr.datajoe.com/
app/ecom/
pub_article_details.php?
id=84675; January 07, 2007 5:11 AM
Anonymous said...: A wave of foreclosures crashed over Colorado this year and left thousands of homeowners out of their properties and in financial ruin.

Foreclosures blighted entire neighborhoods from Pueblo to Greeley. They also caused home values to fall for mortgage-paying homeowners across the Front Range. The issue has cast a shadow over the region's economy.

Colorado's foreclosure rate led the nation for eight months in 2006 and now stands at No. 2 behind Nevada, according to RealtyTrac, a California company that tracks foreclosure filings.

What happened dramatically in Colorado in 2006 could play out in other states if the nation's real estate market falters.

Many said they want new laws or more enforcement of existing laws to put people behind bars for deceiving and cheating homebuyers.

"I think it's a severe problem that calls for regulatory action as well as legislation," said Peter Groff, D-Denver, president pro tem of the Colorado Senate. "I think you'll see some comprehensive legislation coming out of the Senate next year."

http://www.denverpost.com/
business/ci_4923104; January 07, 2007 5:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in America, and Missouri is in the top 10 of states affected, the FBI said.

FBI Agent Jeff Lanza said mortgage fraud has become a popular con.

"It's a growing problem, and especially here in the metro we have a lot of high-profile cases," he said. "If there's two words to describe why mortgage fraud is so pervasive, it's 'quick money.'"

"So you need to get a crooked appraisal, and then you need crooked people in the chain to make things work,"

"Be very, very careful of those things, because no one's giving away free money out there," Lanza said.

The FBI has dedicated five agents to investigate local mortgage fraud cases.

www.thekansascitychannel.
com/news/10682668/
detail.html; January 07, 2007 5:35 AM
Anonymous said...: People living in expensive homes in Los Angeles County and collecting Food Stamp are cheating taxpayers nearly $2 billion a year.

After downplaying the scope for years, Los Angeles County officials have started to quietly acknowledge that scams by county employees and recipients of county services may be costing taxpayers nearly $2 billion a year.

While there are no exact figures, the county grand jury last summer estimated welfare recipients are defrauding taxpayers of $500 million a year. Prosecutors have estimated fraud in the food stamp, in-home care and healthcare programs costs more than $200 million.

It s as though in all the public assistance programs — be it welfare, food stamps, child care or Section 8 housing — someone put a pot of gold in the middle of the street and walked away from it with very little integrity controls, said James Cosper, head deputy in the District Attorney s Office Welfare Fraud Division.

It s bad throughout the entire county. ... We do two or three major sweeps a year where we go out and arrest people. In case after case, they are driving Beemers, Lexus and Mercedes automobiles, or we have evidence they are taking expensive vacations, going on very nice cruises or living in expensive homes.

"Very few people could deny that there is very much a culture of corruption in the county of Los Angeles, both from the public sector side, and certainly with the entitlement mentality on the recipient side"

www.pasadenastarnews.com/
ci_4963836; January 07, 2007 5:47 AM
Anonymous said...: A Brooklyn woman collected more than $170,000 in welfare benefits over a seven-year period, a stretch during which she and her husband owned four buildings, prosecutors charged yesterday.

Orna Baruch, 37, was charged with grand larceny, welfare fraud and filing a false instrument in connection with the food stamps and Medicaid benefits she received between 1999 and last year. She was released on her own recognizance.

A joint investigation by the Brooklyn DA's Public Assistance Crime Unit and the city's Human Resources Administration found that Baruch applied for the benefits in 1999, claiming she had no assets or real property.

But city records show she and husband Chaim Baruch owned four Brooklyn buildings over the period, in Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park and Mill Basin.

Six-figure mortgages on two of the properties, including the Mill Basin mansion the couple currently inhabits, were entirely paid off, the records indicated.

http://www.nypost.com/seven
/01062007/news/regionalnews
/welfare_frauds_4_buildings
_regionalnews_alex_gimsberg
.htm; January 07, 2007 6:07 AM
Anonymous said...: Didn’t HR Block get in trouble for providing low income customers with Sub Prime loans?

H&R Block will now offer food stamp advice, anyone wonder why.

H&R Block Inc. said Tuesday it will begin helping low-income customers in Kansas determine if they’re eligible for the state’s food stamp program and file the paperwork for them.

Beginning this month in Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties, the nation’s largest tax preparer is teaming up with Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services to increase the number of eligible residents taking advantage of the Food Assistance Program.

State officials estimate a third of those eligible for the program aren’t participating, which they blamed on a lack of information or difficulty in understanding the requirements and application process. The program provides an average of $4,000 a year in food assistance for a family of four.

H&R Block said its tax preparers will use financial information gathered in preparing the clients’ tax returns to determine if they’re qualified for food stamps and electronically file the paperwork to the state. A state case worker will then take over.

Company spokeswoman Denise Sposato said H&R Block for the past two years has advised clients in 12 states if they appeared eligible for food stamps, but this is the first time the company will begin the application process for them.

www.kansascity.com/mld/
kansascity/news/local/
16367645.htm; January 07, 2007 6:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Group of local mortgage brokers, loan officers and appraisers accused of being a den of thieves.
The Ace Loan Company has a small fifth floor office on Euclid Avenue. But prosecutors say the company was a big player in a local mortgage fraud scam.

Six of the employees, business associates and agents of the company were busted in the Cleveland area. The president of the company, Neal Wolf, was arrested just after dawn. Detectives tracked down another mortgage broker, Corritha Wells, in Windermere, Florida.

County Prosecutor, Bill Mason, has teamed up with the County Treasurer's office and the Sheriff's Department to put the shady real estate companies out of business for good.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/
news_article.aspx?
storyid=61323; January 07, 2007 6:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Some home sellers settle in for long wait

Sellers: Charley and Gerda Zenith.

House: 5,200 square feet on 1.7 acres in Cave Creek. It's in a scenic spot with views of the Boulders resort from their kitchen. It has two master bedrooms and a convertible room.

Price: Original listing: $1.8 million. Now under contract for a little more than $1 million.

Days on market: More than 500.

http://www.azcentral.com/
arizonarepublic/news/
articles/
0106sellerintro0106.html; January 07, 2007 7:12 AM
Anonymous said...: "The real estate construction industry in San Diego County is in slowdown mode,"

Nevin said in a report released yesterday and discussed in a teleconference among California journalists and industry officials. "It is one of the two areas of California -- the other is Sacramento -- that has seen a severe reduction in permit activity."

He said San Diego permits were down 23 percent from 15,258 in 2005 to an estimated 11,744 last year. Sacramento saw a 28.3 percent drop to an estimated 13,255 units, but the number is projected to rise to between 13,500 and 16,500 this year.

Wes Keusder, a Southern California builder who is chairman of the state association, said the construction slowdown here and around the state seemed to be tied to high prices and chronic affordability issues.

www.remodeling.hw.net/
industry-news.asp?
sectionID=149&articleID=
418037; January 07, 2007 7:24 AM
Anonymous said...: TODAY'S BUBBLE BUSTER - PHOENIX, ARIZONA

www.thebubblebuster.com/; January 07, 2007 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Stocks fall because of interest rate concerns
An increase in jobs and wages raises investors’ fears that the Fed won’t be cutting rates soon.

The markets shuddered at the Labor Department’s report that U.S. employers increased their payrolls by 167,000 in December and boosted workers’ hourly wages by 0.5 percent. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, held steady at a historically low 4.5 percent.

The report suggests the economy won’t be slowing as much as investors anticipated — news that should prove positive for stocks in the long term, but which raised concerns Friday that the Federal Reserve might use it as a reason to raise interest rates. A rise in rates could crimp consumer spending and further weaken the housing market by making mortgages pricier.

www.kansascity.com/mld/
kansascity/business/
16394740.htm; January 07, 2007 7:35 AM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: US Interest Rates & Bond Market forecast for 2007 Interest-Rates Forecasts & Technical Analysis
Jan 01, 2007 - 04:47 AM

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Interest-Rates
The US Bond market had a volatile year, as the market wrestled with a resurgence in inflation during the first half of the year, and then rallied in the 2nd half on a weakening economy and speculations that US interest rates had or were near their peak.

The Fundamental Economic Picture - The US economy ends 2006, with slowing economic growth, a weak housing market, rising inflation and a declining dollar. The economic picture this paints both call for higher and lower interest rates. Where we need to look at for further clues is to the Fed. What would the Fed do ?, More importantly what has the Fed done in the past. The answer to this is clear - Cut interest rates and print money to ignite economic growth. Thus, even with rising inflation, and a falling dollar, the Federal reserve is likely to focus more on attempting to boost a slowing economy by cutting US interest rates as the danger is clear that another leg lower in the US real estate market on the back of record amounts of mortgage debt could tip the US into recession during 2007. That's the fundamental picture.
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article192.html

Will China lead a Stampede out of the US Dollar ?
Dec 03, 2006 - 03:34 AM

By: Gary_Dorsch
Is “Stagflation” on the horizon for US Economy?

In the months ahead, the Federal Reserve could face the dreaded nightmare of “Stagflation.” Weaker home prices and a sinking US dollar on one hand, and rising gold prices on the other hand. Fed chief Bernanke observed on Nov 27th, “In the case of inflation, the risks to the forecast seem primarily to the upside. A failure of inflation to moderate as expected would be especially troublesome.”
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article145.html; January 07, 2007 5:59 PM
Anonymous said...: so this blog is now just one big cut and paste press release...YAAAWWWNN!!

Anyone have some actual thoughts or analysis in addition to cut and pastes of articles?; January 07, 2007 7:03 PM
Anonymous said...: First They Came for the Jews

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemöller; January 07, 2007 7:41 PM
Anonymous said...: The Sunday Times January 07, 2007

Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran
Uzi Mahnaimi, New York and Sarah Baxter, Washington
ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.

The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years.

Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said.

Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack.

Some analysts warned that Iranian retaliation for such a strike could range from disruption of oil supplies to the West to terrorist attacks against Jewish targets around the world.

Israel has identified three prime targets south of Tehran which are believed to be involved in Iran’s nuclear programme:

# Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges are being installed for uranium enrichment

# A uranium conversion facility near Isfahan where, according to a statement by an Iranian vice-president last week, 250 tons of gas for the enrichment process have been stored in tunnels

# A heavy water reactor at Arak, which may in future produce enough plutonium for a bomb

Israeli officials believe that destroying all three sites would delay Iran’s nuclear programme indefinitely and prevent them from having to live in fear of a “second Holocaust”.

The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2535310,00.html; January 07, 2007 7:42 PM
Anonymous said...: "A recent ruling by an Australian court has sent shockwaves through the ranks of providers of low-doc and no-doc loans to sub-prime borrowers.

The court ruled in the “Khoshaba versus Perpetual Trustees Case” that the agent who wrote the loan had acted illegally because he had failed to establish that the borrower in fact had the capacity to repay the loan and would not default.

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/swagell/2007/0107.html

Oohhh Yeahhh!!!; January 08, 2007 12:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Here behind the Orange Curtain (yes, the OC) republniks just love the facto extra layer of government and hidden taxes HOA and Mello- Roos, and tollways. It is John Birch Country. Pay your taxes. And pay some more. Suckers.; January 08, 2007 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Orange County will be ground zero for the housing collapse. It is a center for the sub-prime industry, which will be laying off in droves. The largest industry in the county is real estate.; January 08, 2007 8:52 AM
Anonymous said...: lost cause,

Can't speak for OC redidents since I don't live there. I do however live in a guard gated community with a very hefty HOA. The nearest expressway is a tollway. There is no public transportation that I know of within a 10 mile radius of my home.

I gladly pay the toll and the HOA fees. I like the security it provides and sleep well at night knowing the likes of you will never get through the front gate.; January 08, 2007 3:29 PM
Anonymous said...: better plant potatoes, for the day there is no gasoline, due to rationings, making your toll road unusable, and your taxes unpayable; January 08, 2007 6:24 PM
Anonymous said...: and depression proof all your holdings, but with an attitude of your sort, there may be many rooting for you to be the bagholder taking it up the butt; January 08, 2007 6:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Smell of gas shuts down Manhattan and a bomb test comes back positive in Miami's Port.; January 08, 2007 7:49 PM
Anonymous said...: OH NO!!!!

RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!

THE APOCALYPSE IS HERE!!!; January 08, 2007 7:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Gaseous cloud headed for Dalles, residents are told to shelter in place.
Austin shut down in a 10 block radius, workers told to stay home after 80 dead birds are found downtown.; January 08, 2007 8:38 PM
Anonymous said...: If you're interested in the real estate problem, check out http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=4907; January 08, 2007 9:40 PM
Anonymous said...: You gotta check out this article from the San Diego Union Tribune on Sunday. Casey Serin has competition in his nomination for a Housy Award for "Best Use of Liar Loans"

http://tinyurl.com/yhgwqo; January 08, 2007 10:32 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; January 08, 2007 11:27 PM
FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...: What is going on, gas cloud in New York from Manhattan to NJ. No cause.

Gas cloud in Houston, residents to stay in.
Gas cloud started in Sugar Hill.

Unknow Bird Kill Downtown Austin where a 10 block area was closed, 80 birds dead, and all workers told to stay home, no explanation, except not Bird Flu.

Bomb scare in Miami Port, was just pluming parts, with a 6 bomb micro tests positive for weapons grade material.

These stories were all today, between noon and 2:00 pm est..

Dry Run comes to mind, but I ain’t nobody.; January 08, 2007 11:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Millionaire Second Life Property Owner In The News

An article about Anshe Chung who claims to own more than $1M in "Second Life" virtual real estate. www.secondlife.com

Why should anyone care? The problematic press conference was held after Anshe Chung's makers claimed their assets, such as islands, would now be worth more than $1m, if traded in. I confess a prejudice against the Graefs ever since their avatar appeared on the front cover of Business Week magazine last May. Anshe Chung, as "land baroness" of Linden Lab's Second Life, is the ultimate symbol of the bubble: a crude 3D representation of a geek's Asian fantasy, generating money only by the sale of worthless assets to greater fools; the poster girl of a company, Linden Lab, that prospers only as long as the press remains credulous and marketers clueless.

And you thought "REAL Estate" was worthless...

The youtube video where her Second Life interview was hacked where she endured a parade of flying penises...

Too funny!!!; January 09, 2007 2:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Anon @ 3:29:16 PM

Sorry that you have such fear to overcome by spending money. I am really nobody to fear.; January 09, 2007 3:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Did 4th Qtr 2006 California foreclosure rate just beat 1st Qtr 1996?

Foreclosures increased 94 percent last year to 157,417 homes in California.

http://www.bizjournals.com/
eastbay/stories/2007/01/08/
daily8.html?from_rss=1

1st Qtr 2006 18,668
2nd Qtr 2006 20,752
3rd Qtr 2006 26,705
4th Qtr 2006 91,292

Year of 2006 157,417

1st Qtr 1996 59,897

Default notices (NoDs) peaked in 1996's first quarter at 59,897. The low was last year's third quarter with 12,145.

www.dqnews.com/
RRFor0805.shtm; January 09, 2007 3:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Four people plead guilty in mortgage fraud conspiracy
By David Olinger
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/06/2007 04:25:56 PM MST

Four people accused of participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that stole millions of dollars and left a gated community in Arapahoe County ravaged by foreclosures pleaded guilty in federal court Friday.

The participants included Taiwan Lee, who managed to get 100 percent loans for five houses sold at inflated prices - including two he bought while living behind bars in the state prison system.

Lee was among a group of former prison inmates and others accused of buying 17 homes for inflated prices and taking $2.1 million from the excess loan proceeds.

In plea agreements, Lee and another member of the group, Talita James, each pleaded guilty to one felony count of wire fraud. Two others in the group, Ronald Fontenot and Nicole Puller, each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

As part of a series on Colorado foreclosures, The Denver Post reported last year that Lee, a state prisoner who had vanished while on parole, bought three houses in Arapahoe County for $1.9 million while police looked for him.

He bought two more after he was caught and jailed. Until the foreclosures began, he owned five houses in the affluent The Villas at Cherry Creek, thanks to distant lenders who put up 100 percent of the inflated sale price on every house.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham hesitated to accept Lee's guilty plea after the 25-year-old defendant said he really didn't understand what he was doing when he signed the loan documents.

"All I know is I signed my name," Lee said. "I thought it was legit. I don't know much about real estate."

On parole and unemployed when he started buying houses, Lee maintained that he did not read or comprehend the mortgage loan documents. He also denied knowing that more than $20,000 placed in a bank account for him came from the excess loan proceeds of a criminal conspiracy.

He said his uncle, Fontenot, had promised him money to get by.

"I was fresh out of prison. He was trying to help me get back on my feet," Lee said.

Fontenot agreed. "He's speaking the truth. He doesn't have a clue as to what was going on," he told the judge.

After conferring with his lawyer, Lee reiterated a guilty plea that the judge decided to accept. Again, Lee struggled to admit how he committed fraud.

"It sounds like to me you don't think you did anything wrong," Nottingham said.

"I'm guilty," Lee said.

No sentencing date was set.

According to a series of complaints and indictments, Fontenot and Torrence James, a man he met in federal prison in Colorado, recruited buyers, supplied false loan application information and arranged to buy homes "above the listed sales prices," sometimes with Nicole Puller's help.

Fontenot and James also set up businesses purporting to make home improvements, which they instead used to siphon money at loan closings to themselves and pay kickbacks to the buyers, an indictment in Denver's U.S. District Court alleged.

Five of the buyers were former inmates who bought a dozen homes in four months at The Villas at Cherry Creek, a gated community overlooking Cherry Creek State Park.

Lee bought five for a total of $3.1 million, all without down payments. On his fifth purchase, and second while in prison, a company controlled by Torrence James allegedly collected $168,139 from the loan proceeds.

Neighbors noticed these homes remained strangely vacant until hundreds of young people poured through the gates for a raucous party at one villa on New Year's Eve 2005.

One neighbor, Carolyn Brinkmeyer, assembled a list of homes that had sold for $100,000 to $150,000 more than others nearby. Last January, she and 28 others signed a letter urging a criminal investigation.

Vacant homes abounded in a neighborhood of new villas that had attracted retirees and couples with grown children to a scenic suburban setting.; January 09, 2007 3:46 AM
GowdTeef$ said...: Some Malibu homedebtors decided to get rid of their overpriced houses the old fashioned way:

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_008203623.html; January 09, 2007 4:10 AM