January 28, 2008

60 Minutes does a housing crash report: House of Cards. Now get ready for jingle mail all across America as the gamblers turn in the keys and run



The MSM is doing what they do best now - reporting the car crash after the car has crashed.

Pretty honest video with all the usual suspects: foreclosures, overgrown lawns, worthless homes in far-flung suburbs, subprime slime, 105% loans, mortgage fraud, people walking away from their houses, etc.

After watching a report like this, what enrages me is the idea of a government bailout, for people "losing their homes" who got "pushed" into subprime loans. Yes, it's unfortunate, and yes, people are being asked to leave the banks' homes that they can't make the payment on, but THEY'RE NOT THEIR HOMES. THEY CAN'T AFFORD THEM. AND NOW THEY SHOULD JUST WALK AWAY.

Nobody got pushed. They got bribed. They committed mortgage fraud. They took the money. And they're not their homes. They never were. And they need to just walk away and rent. And that's what's happening across America today.

Good. Can't happen fast enough.

78 comments:

Tyrone said...

.
.
Amen, brother.

Anonymous said...

It's time for FBs to crap their pants. Not crazy gloom and doom anymore, is it folks?

Adam said...

Yeah, I saw it: as usual, the MSM is about 2-9 years behind the curve here. I guess "60 Minutes" had to wait until the problem was clearly into full land-slide mode before they were willing to touch the issue. Lame.

It still kills me how people are saying "subprime crisis", when it's clear credit issues have spread to not just sub-prime, but even to prime borrowers, credit cards, auto loans, commercial real estate, etc.

FWIW, Bloomberg had an interesting article on how commercial real estate is getting slammed, and Bernanke's rate cuts aren't helping:

http://tinyurl.com/2e5wo6

Anonymous said...

When do we do the We Told You So dance?

Anonymous said...

Asian markets in the crapper again. Done 2 - 6% across the board right now.

Get ready for a full 100 basis point emergency cut from helicopter Ben.

Anonymous said...

Saw it, though missed the first 5 min or so. Channel surfed, later landed upon "are you smarter than a fifth grader". Shees! Some guy can't figure out how many times "E" appears in "mathematics"? All of Europe is a country? Etc. Anyone know where the producers find these ding-heads? And here's a scary thought: these people vote too!

Well at least there is hope in that our fifth graders are smarter than most game show contestants.

Interesting that two things appeared on TV the same night. Americans are, at least at the mass level, hopelessly fog-brained (i think i want to use another word starting with F) and i think i would be wise to focus on marrying a Japanese girl and moving to the fine country of Europe, heh.

So, some questions:
* Does anyone notice the smarter Americans quietly leaving the country for saner places?
* Would you rather buy a house from a fifth grader or from one of the usual suspects?
* Where in the world can one find the smart grownups, the ones smarter than fifth graders, smarter than seventh graders even?

Adam said...

I'm glad the report also mentioned that many of these people are really losing NOTHING, as they lived in the bank's home rent-free for all this time, and basically had no down payment; many also extracted $$$ from the lender when they had no equity at that point! Many of the lenders got royally screwed, and they thought THEY were screwing the buyers! What a scam.

Oh, as an aside, wasn't it nice of Bush and Congress to change the laws in December 2007, allowing FBs to walk away from their homes, without getting a 1099? Bush et al removed one of the last deterrents to walking away from their loan; aside from screwed-up credit, they've really got no punishment.

The funny thing is, people are actually walking away from their homes rather than paying down their credit cards, since they NEED their credit cards to SURVIVE.

Sad thing is, apparently many legislators are unaware of how easy it is to create a new fake identity and give yourself a "do-over"!! Hate to say it, but identity theft is one answer for ex-FBs, and once again, the Feds are way behind the curve....

Anonymous said...

OT:

WaPO:

Countrywide CEO Forfeits $37.5 Million in Severance Pay


http://tinyurl.com/2bkkbj

Anonymous said...

real estate sucks, im moving on.

Frank R said...

Ok so the MSM has finally caught on to the crash, but I'm getting a bit tired of them only talking about subprime and blaming it all on subprime.

Subprime is just the tip of the iceberg, folks. What about all those people who had GOOD credit who bit off more than they could chew, and will not be able to continue making payments after the tsunami of 2008 resets hits?

People forget that in places like Phoenix, Orange County, San Diego, Vegas, and so on, most of the bubble came from people with prime credit who simply took on too much debt and will now have to face the music as the loans reset and values crash.

(Ok, well maybe not in Vegas- that's a subprime market if I ever saw one - but everywhere else the prime loans outnumber subprime.)

edd browne said...

Underwriters don't get
enough blame.

Downside said...

The only thing I really wanted to see was some French bank chairman or some Norwegian coal miner's pension fund manager slamming his fist on the table and yelling in accented English about all the people who were going to retire into poverty because of this. Those are the people who really lost. Everyone else in between just had play time with free money.

Anonymous said...

I wanted to see Mozilo tarred and feathered.

How can you talk about the Clownifornia house bubble and crash without mentioning his name?

Anonymous said...

If you are underwater don't pay your mortgage, you are only pi$$ing in the wind.

Chris said...

There is a girl at work who's husband is a Realtor who has not made money in months and sits at home. She works 12 hour shifts and just barely makes enough money to pay the mortgage.

She has a subprime loan on a house she can't afford. She already lost her second home to foreclosure about 6 months ago so her credit is shot.

I asked her why she does not just walk away from her house, and rent something she can afford and be less stressed.

Her answer was... "Because its my dream house"

I wanted to say... my dream car is the Viper, but I don't drive it because I can't afford it.

Its ridiculous, but hey, if she wants to pay 11% interest to barely hang on to a house she can't afford I guess thats her business.

Anonymous said...

When in a hole- Stop Digging - Just walk away!

blogger said...

Andy Rooney did a piece "The New Depression?"

http://tinyurl.com/2exqva

Anonymous said...

Wow. Notice how both of the distressed couples they interviewed consisted of henpecked douchebag husbands and their know-it-all wives. They're confidently calling the shots now, just like they confidently convinced their husbands to buy in 2005. Cause hey, Suzanne researched it!

Ed said...

Frank,

I see you're not content to bash Phoenix, you are now moving to LV as well.

I lived in LV for 5 years. I bought a house. At the time I had a fico of 770. Of course I sold the house before this tsunami of pain happened. I did get an ARM though, knowing fully well I would move before the reset occured. And to their credit both my mortgage broker and real estate agent advised be against getting an ARM since at he time 30 years were going for under 6%.

I'm out of LV now so don't care THAT much. But you and others here have some wild misconceptions about the city. I lived in an middle to upper middle class neighborhood. My immediate neighbors were a high school principal and a lawyer, a retired USAF colonel and software sales rep. Not everyone there is a degenerate gambling addict low life.

I live in Georgia now and believe me, I have seen a lot more "subprime" quality people here than there.

And if I do recall correctly median income in Las Vegas is quite a bit higher than Phoenix.

You are dead on however that in LV as elsewhere the problem isn't subprime. It's too much borrowing by prime borrowers who went H2 and boat buying with their prime HELOCs.

Malcolm said...

What bothered me most about the 60 minutes report was the seeming lack of ethics in these homeowners.

There was one who talked about walking away from their home because it was no longer worth what they paid for it. And they saw nothing wrong with that. As if a drop in value invalidates the contract, the promise that they made.

When my little niece keeps changing the rules of a game so she can win, it’s cute. When grown men and women do it, it’s just criminal.

Towjam said...

Nice story.
About a year late. But nice

Anonymous said...

Now we need to have 60 minutes expose all the poor prime borrowers who refinance 5 times in the last 7 years to live beyond theirs means or even not bother to work at all.

http://homeguide123.com/articles/Top_5_Most_Ridiculous_Mortgage_Borrower_Stories_of_2007.html?ref=patrick.net

Anonymous said...

The system encourages gambleing.With no consequences from walking away what do you expect?Did you see that cute girl in the interview talking about walking away because house went down in value.If she represents thses people we are all f@cked.I was amazed w/ all the foreclosures in the rathole known as stockton.What a mess.

Miss Goldbug said...

Adam said: "Oh, as an aside, wasn't it nice of Bush and Congress to change the laws in December 2007, allowing FBs to walk away from their homes, without getting a 1099?"


If I'm not mistaken...only a primary homeowner who has never refi'd their home and is current on their mortgage payments will be able to get out of paying tax on the gain.

Anonymous said...

Ok...Take a deep breath & clear you mind. Now...consider the traditional 30 year mortgage with this example...($200,000 loan , 30 Yr Fixed , 5.5% Rate and monthly payment of $1000 or so) Out of that $1000 payment for the first 12 - 18 years ...the bank skims $800 and puts it right into their pocket. The interest paid on this mortgage over the years will be staggering but its widely accepted and thought of as a "Good" loan. I feel NO pity for the mortgage crooks...they have got away with this scam for years and due to their unabashed greed ...its about time it blew up in their face.

Miss Goldbug said...

Chris sais:"I wanted to say... my dream car is the Viper, but I don't drive it because I can't afford it.

Its ridiculous, but hey, if she wants to pay 11% interest to barely hang on to a house she can't afford I guess thats her business."


Agree. We all like nice things - but some of us are smarter than others and have limitations. Thats the entire problem about this credit bubble - no one has any limits or responsiblity on their spending. People see something, they buy it regardless if they can afford it or not. The entire economy is spiraling out of control because of it...over the last 10 years people wanted their dream home, cars, wardrobe, vacations, weddings etc... no one's going to have money for these kinds of 'dreams' anymore.

Until everyone this woman knows walks away from their own 'dream home' will she do the same. Its just a matter of time...

Like they say, the herd always stays together.

Miss Goldbug said...

Anon said:"Now we need to have 60 minutes expose all the poor prime borrowers who refinance 5 times in the last 7 years to live beyond theirs means or even not bother to work at all."


That's an excellent idea!

Anonymous said...

Blogger Malcolm said...

What bothered me most about the 60 minutes report was the seeming lack of ethics in these homeowners.

There was one who talked about walking away from their home because it was no longer worth what they paid for it. And they saw nothing wrong with that. As if a drop in value invalidates the contract, the promise that they made.

When my little niece keeps changing the rules of a game so she can win, it’s cute. When grown men and women do it, it’s just criminal.

These grown men and women were your little niece at one time. No one bothered to explain the rules of the road to them I guess. The whole mess that is crashing down around us is due to this one factor, no ethics. Greed, selfishness, self-absorption, debt, all comes from the same source. No ethics. I want it all and I want it now.

I too was amazed at these people. That idiot woman sitting at the kitchen table shrieking that the price of their home had quit going up so they weren't going to pay the mortgage is symbolic of the U.S. today apparently. God help the rest of us.

Paul E. Math said...

I think the needle moved a little further from 'denial' and a little closer to 'fear' last night.

Anonymous said...

I'm a bank Loan Officer.

I'm currently working with a borrower looking for a new home.

She just sold a house because the payment was too high. Now she's looked her way right back up to the same price range. Because it's so expensive, she has to go 3% down and pay high PMI.

Now she wants to have a house built from scratch. There are 5 homes in the same neighborhood for sale for 10% less than the cost to build new and they have finished basements, landscaping, and one even has an inground pool. When I point this out to this woman she replied that she didn't like the carpet colors and the rooms needed painting. She said "I'm picky".
Unreal!

Anonymous said...

Another story about the excesses in our society:

I know two people who buy new cars rather than do simple routine maintenance.

Example, the one guy's battery went dead-- he immediately traded it in rather than buy a $50 battery. The other guy told me he's never had a brake job done on a car. If it gets to the point where brakes need service he trades it in for a new car.

Anonymous said...

Skeeter Davis said it best in 1963.."Don't they know, it's the end of the world."

Anonymous said...

Well said, Malcolm.

Anonymous said...

http://tinyurl.com/39a33n

US mortgage crisis creates ghost town

The streets are empty. Trash rustles down the road past rusted barbecues, abandoned furniture, sagging homes and gardens turned to weed.

This is Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland and a town ravaged by the subprime mortgage crisis roiling the United States.

Faded "for sale" signs sit in front of deserted houses. The residents are gone, either in search of new jobs after the factories shut down, or in shame after being evicted for missing their mortgage payments.

A red, white and blue American flag flies over windows and doors which have been boarded up to keep the drug dealers away.

Thieves have stripped many homes of the plumbing, the doors, the windows, the aluminum siding.

Anonymous said...

Homebuilders are so screwed. How can they compete with that inventory glut? Rates at zero? Who cares!

Anonymous said...


There was one who talked about walking away from their home because it was no longer worth what they paid for it. And they saw nothing wrong with that. As if a drop in value invalidates the contract, the promise that they made.


That rubbed me the wrong way too. That said, if they're underwater and can't pay, they're technically bankrupt, and we don't sell debtors into serfdom anymore. The contract provides for the remedy, which is if you can't pay, the bank gets your house. That's the deal, and both parties signed it. Banks are getting a rude reminder in why 20% down payments are a good idea.

Bill said...

I said this just the other night to my brother in law..his nut (ARM) just adjusted up $800 large and again in 6 months ( $3200) a month...I said dude you have great credit..go rent a nice 3 bedroom house for half of what you are paying and walk away..he is so upside down on this place it is not even funny...keep your cash and live there free until they kick you out..or at least refi the place.....he shuns advice...cause he knows it all...and getting grayer by the minute.

Bill said...

60 minutes also said that many of these empty foreclosed homes they don't even know who owns them?

What--say that again.

The banks sold them to others who packaged them as bonds and sent them in all directions around the world---they can't even find who owns the homes.

Some homes were put in many bond packages, so a home might be owned by many investors---surprise--you thought you owned the home--but you got suckered--you may only own 1/4 of it.

Even if you want to buy the home they can't find the owners.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it interesting to see that most of the people who bought these crazy loans are minorities? Well once again the federal government is going to "help the poor minorities that were somehow defrauded". What a joke. Minorities in this country need to take some responsibility. But that day will never come.

Anonymous said...

I would be curious to know the facts about the 2007 repeal of a 1099 from the lender if you "walk" from a mortgage?
I was sure they would report your home as a loss on their taxes, and income to you.

Miss Goldbug said...

Driving a car is a privilege even though people think its their right.

Getting a mortgage is also a privilege. It would still be that way except the banks, mortgage brokers, government & greedy buyers havent been treating it that way for decades.

This country needs to get back to basics and start from scratch.

Things need to go b

Anonymous said...

In the end, the people who are really paying are people from around the world who bought the mortgage backed securities from Wall Street. They are the ones' left holding the bag. I feel no sympathy for them though. I believed that the U.S.A. was fiscally bankrupt in the mid 1990's and I would be very leery of touching anything sold by Wall Street. Yet, people from around the world still believe that America has a transparent financial system. And thus they trust the U.S. Well this ought to teach them a lesson. But then again I am probably wrong because foreigners continue to buy dollars and buy U.S. treasuries. So in the end, they are sending money to a bankrupt nation and in the end they will get NOTHING.

Anonymous said...

QUESTION:

Does anyone have a clue if the Banks will start to rent out their REO's if they can't sell them?

Have they done this in the past RE crashes?

I figure I may want to rent one...some money coming in is better than none - right?
Thanks!

Watchn' DC drop like a rock!

Anonymous said...

.

Next time I buy a car I'm not going to make any payments because of the depreciating value the minute I drive off the lot!




.

Anonymous said...

Bush signed H.R. 3648 the week before christmas. It eliminated the 1099 to primary homeowner's who go to foreclosure or short sale their home.

Anonymous said...

After watching a report like this, what enrages me is the idea of a government bailout, for people "losing their homes" who got "pushed" into subprime loans. Yes, it's unfortunate, and yes, people are being asked to leave the banks' homes that they can't make the payment on, but THEY'RE NOT THEIR HOMES. THEY CAN'T AFFORD THEM. AND NOW THEY SHOULD JUST WALK AWAY.
===================================
It is the banks that are being bailed out. Nobody in government gives a crap about the bag holding buyers.

Anonymous said...

>> Next time I buy a car I'm not going to make any payments because of the depreciating value the minute I drive off the lot!

Good luck w/that!

Frank R said...

I see you're not content to bash Phoenix, you are now moving to LV as well.

I lived in Vegas for 5 years before moving to Phoenix. No offense, I know there are a small handful of decent people there, but on the whole it's a scum town.

It's full of gangbanger thugs, 2-strikers from CA who are leaving before they get arrested for strike 3, telemarketing scam call centers, and all kinds of shysters and con men.

A lot of outsiders have a perception of glamor there, but anyone who's lived there knows it's a scum town that continues to go downhill. Every time I go back it looks worse.

Come on - there's no way you're serious in trying to tell me Vegas is a nice place to live. Unless you're just playing devil's advocate with me, or you're a Vegas realtor.

There are a few square miles in the NW valley and a few miles in the SE valley that are nice and the rest is trash. And my friends who live there tell me even Summerlin and G.V. have been overrun by subprime trash too.

AndrewHac said...

Hooooo, Weeeee...

Now Joe6Pack + JaneZinfandel of the Americano will be toasted soon, very soon.

Greed, shallow-mindedness, self-conscious S.O.B is what leads to this fiasco in the land of McDonald.

Anonymous said...

Lauravella said:
If I'm not mistaken...only a primary homeowner who has never refi'd their home and is current on their mortgage payments will be able to get out of paying tax on the gain.

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

HR3648 was signed by Bush just after Christmas which in sum provides the following:

"a permanent exclusion for discharges of up to two million dollars of indebtedness (on or after January 1, 2007) which is secured by a principal residence and which is incurred in the acquisition, construction, or substantial improvement of the principal residence."

So, refi debt can now be forgiven if the money was used towards the "substantial improvement" of the property.

Of Course, we all know that the refi money was actually spent on trips to Cabo, hookers and a blinged out Escalade, but these people are all "victims". They will lie to the IRS and get all of the shortfall from the foreclosure or short sale forgiven.

Note: You can still be on the hook for state taxes

Note: You can still be sued by the lender in some cases and that judgment will follow you around for years.

Anonymous said...

"Try not to cry, we're going to get you some assistance."

Anonymous said...

In regards to walking away, I have no problem with homeowners who do it. The middle class and poor have been F*cked over by the rich for far to long. Time to send the shit back upstream.

By the way, just because an owner walks away and gives back the keys, doesn't mean the bank doesn't have to foreclose. They have to foreclose in order to get title back or extinguish other liens that may be on the property.

The only way to avoid a foreclosure is to do a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Anonymous said...

If you notice, the 60 Minutes piece left realtors off the hook. It blamed everyone else involved in the home buying process except the agents.

Anonymous said...

Bob Toll eats crow, twice..... feathers, beaks and all....

“Toll didn’t see it coming. Just before the market peaked in 2005, Toll predicted that boom-and-bust real estate cycles were over and that housing would continue a smooth upward climb. ‘Prices will keep going up in double digits for years,’ he told Fortune magazine.”

“In hindsight, he says, ‘We miscalculated the extent of the speculation that was taking place in the market.’”

“Toll also wrongly predicted at the end of 2006 that the industry’s excess number of newly built homes sitting on the market would all be bought up in the spring selling season of 2007.”

“‘I said that?’ he asks. ‘So foolish.’”

http://tinyurl.com/2v839u

Anonymous said...

"Martha, they said on 60 Minutes that home prices are dropping everywhere. We're going to retire soon and you know this house is everthing we have. Better put it on the market so we'll have enough to retire on."

...heard nn many boomer households last night. this spring the real housing panic begins. we haven't seen anything yet

Anonymous said...

"Andy Rooney did a piece 'The New Depression?'"

it's amazing that Rooney makes this financial mess look so complicated because it's easy to understand: fraud;

so, instead of slapping the financiers on the hand for finding creative ways to "put their hand in the till," he's creating cover for washington dc and wall street excuses!

they should have called keith or patrick to do the segment and help americans understand the new bread of "crooks and lereahs!"

Anonymous said...

Hey Republicans and hicks alike, get your Made in China flags to watch the "leader" you voted for TWICE, lie as he says tonight: "The state of the Union is strong!"

You bunch of geniuses are now telling us who to for. No but no thanks, you have as much credibility as that caveman Adkin at Faux News.

Ed said...

"Come on - there's no way you're serious in trying to tell me Vegas is a nice place to live. Unless you're just playing devil's advocate with me, or you're a Vegas realtor."

It's as nice as any other place. Lots of shitty areas, some nice areas. Describes most American cities.

Read my whole post before asking if I am a Las Vegas realtor.

Sheesh, disagree with someone here and automatically you are a troll, a realtor or troll-realtor. Get some thicker skin man.

Anonymous said...

Well, on the bright side of things, if enough people turn in the keys, prices will crash unabetted.

That'll effectively, flood the market with a lot of inventory which'll effectively make it a true buyer's market.

Malcolm said...

>In regards to walking away, I
>have no problem with homeowners
>who do it. The middle class and
>poor have been F*cked over by the
>rich for far to long. Time to >send the shit back upstream.

Then using that logic, you wouldn’t have a problem with your boss not paying you, since he decided after the fact that you didn’t work as hard as you could?

No one held a gun to these people and said “you have to buy a home, and more home than you could afford”.

No one held a gun to the head of the people that bought these SIVs. In fact, they bought them specifically with the knowledge that there were risks involved.

All of this reminds me of the people who buy clothes, wear them to a party once, and then return them to the store.

Stealing isn’t right, just because you can “get away with it”. We have a whole generation who doesn’t understand this, and that’s why we’re in this mess in the first place.

Anonymous said...

>> Stealing isn’t right, just because you can “get away with it”. We have a whole generation who doesn’t understand this, and that’s why we’re in this mess in the first place.

Oh, perhaps you haven't heard - it's only illegal when you get caught.

Anonymous said...

It isn't stealing if it's legal. It's legal for them to walk away. I guess they can be sued, but since there are no debtors prisons, why would they care?

The banks have themselves to blame for lending 100% LTV and assuming houses would never decline. Serves them right. I would sue Moody's if I were the bondholder.

The couple who wanted to walk away were going to see their interest rate go up to 11%. Now this I don't get. If it were 6%, MAYBE they could pay it. But putting it up to 11% insures they walk away. What kind of logic is that for the bondholder? Would you rather get a fair rate of interest or a high rate of interest and a foreclosure which you sell at 50 cents on the dollar.

And as for the guy talking about how the mortgage is robbery cause it's all interest initially. It's called INTEREST. It's the price for renting money. It's not a scam. If you leave money in the bank at 5% interest and take out $200 for every $100 you put in (after 10 years say) is that robbery by the consumer?

Anonymous said...

I applaud 60 minutes for their coverage. But they are still fixating on the subprime portion of this housing messing. That ship has already sailed. We are into Alt-A and prime territory now. They should have spent more time talking about that.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know its sexist, and it certainly isnt all womens fault, but the one white chick in that video really drove home the mentallity of the average human being at this point in the decline of our once great culture.

For them, ideas, principles and values are like tools you use to get what you want in the moment. When that moment passes, we are in a new moment where we can use one of the other tools to justify our whims whether it contradicts what we did a moment ago or not.

Just do and say whatever you have to to get through today. Pay the bills you swore you would do your best to pay? What you mean according to the contract I lied on?

"Why can't our mortgage broker work with us?"...

These people are locusts. They would eat their way through a farmer's stock seed, insisting the whole time that they don't see a problem... Until they get hungry again and then suddenly they seem to understand better than anyone else what step is next.

They must be stopped or they will eat us alive, next...

Anonymous said...

Happy renters DONT live on their own planet, watching the mortage-crises unfold, from a perfectly safe distance. Dont missunderstand me: Im a happy renter myself.

But if/then the huge consumer-economy in US goes belly-up and the dollar goes hyper-inflated, then its really just a matter of "slightly less hot rum in hell" - even for "happy renters".

Anonymous said...

'But if/then the huge consumer-economy in US goes belly-up and the dollar goes hyper-inflated, then its really just a matter of "slightly less hot rum in hell" - even for "happy renters".'

If 20% of your porfolio is already in PMs, starting as of a few years ago when it was ~$550-650, then it doesn't matter. When true hyperflation kicks in, ala ~10% per month, that'll give you plenty of time to convert the remaining USDs in your porfolio to Loonies (Symbol: FXC) to come out w/o too much of a scar.

Realize, there are plenty of ways to get out of USDs, in a hurry, but don't wait till general hyperflation to buy PMs because that's when it goes hyperpolic and dealers (as oppose to the ETF) won't be accepting USDs for payment. When we're in normal times, however, buy gold mainly during corrective phases.

Ed said...

"Hey Republicans and hicks alike, get your Made in China flags to watch the "leader" you voted for TWICE, lie as he says tonight: "The state of the Union is strong!"

Hey Democrat Douche:

Guess which president have China MFN status that allows China to sell those flags for 12 cents?

Stumped?

Here's a hint: this president likes BJs from fat chicks who wear blue dresses

Anonymous said...

Please walk away!
I can't say I blame home debtors from walking away from "their" house. Everybody was gaming the system to the best of their ability. Banks, realtors, rating agencies, mortgage brokers, so why not home debtors? The more people walk away the faster prices will fall. The faster prices fall the more people will walk away, etc.
In the end prices will revert back to the fundamentals as dictated by income. The question is how long will this take? Government & Fed are doing everything in their power to drag this process out for as long as possible through interest rate cuts, liquidity injections and by raising the jumbo loan limit. On the other hand you have people simply stop making payments on their house b/c they see its futility. Right on! The only sensible thing to do once your suck in an upside down house. Thanks for removing the last deterrand by not sending out 1099s anymore. Nicely couteracts the efforts by the Fed and rainsing the loan limit.
In the end, the more government tries to mico-manage this disasters the worse it will turn out for all involved.

Anonymous said...

**THE REPO BUS!!**

LMAO!!! 70% Off Home Tours!

HEY DOPES! Maybe you could get a job as a hot-dog and refreshment vendor!

Bwaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

MALCOM,

Yeah, nobody held a gun to their head, except maybe a president who said Go Forth and Shop! after 9/11, or the PR from the realtors telling them to buy now or forever be priced out, or the loan officer who tells them they can afford it or maybe every single friggin bit of un-escapable advertising that saturates our daily lives telling us how much we need to have something! But a gun? No.

And btw, I work for myself and I get the money upfront.

Anonymous said...

Can you believe that during the last downturn, some people actually went out and bought a second dirt cheap home and then they walked away from their primary residence.

By the way, yes you can rent these REOS if you want to. Get the address of the home then go to your county recorders website and do a property search. It is public info. and should be able to look at who is the owner of the property. With this info you can do an internet search to locate a contact name and phone #. Ask for the REO services dep or non-performing assets mgr.

During the Great Depression, some banks actually let FB's stay in the property rent free. They were afraid that their "ASSET" would raped and pillaged.

ICEMAN

Anonymous said...

No one held a gun to the head of the people that bought these SIVs. In fact, they bought them specifically with the knowledge that there were risks involved.

They thought the risks were AAA risks though. At the very end of the food chain, they relied on the rating agencies as well as lending standards. They are victims of negligence (by rating agencies) and massive fraud (by mortgage brokers and buyers).

Anonymous said...

Who can really blame these people. Any sane and rational person would do the same thing. Why go down with the ship for a principal? Do you get a medal? Go to heaven? Hah!

They weighed their options and sending "jingle mail" was the least painful consequence.

Some people call it "moral hazard." All this shows is that consumers will take what options they're given. Business do the same thing, which is why pro-business politicians always wreck the economy--their policy is to eliminate moral hazard for corporations. For once, consumers had moral hazard.

Anonymous said...

The bad loans are all over my mutual funds, but 1% here 3% there. It's like the urban legend about the truck disposing of hazmats by letting it trickle down the highway.

Between investments, retirement, taxes, and the inevitable bailouts (FBs, lenders, central banks) guess who is going to end up paying for this? The only ones who were not gaming the system. HPers!

I am older now, and I have learned to expect a certain degree of disappointment in life. The best things so often dangle before us, out of reach. OK, but this is insult on top of injury.

Anonymous said...

1. I noticed Realtors and Appraiser were never mentioned as part of the problem.

2. Best quote: Bernake said that the it was contained. Seems like it was contained to planet earth.

Anonymous said...

WHEN CRAMER DID HIS FAMOUS "JUST WALK AWAY!" IF YOU'RE UPSIDE DOWN RANT, YOU GUYS CHEERED...

NOW THAT THE FB'S ARE WALKING AWAY, YOU GUYS ARE PISSED BY THEIR "LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY!"

DOPES!!!

Anonymous said...

.


How many of those foreclosures in Stockton were from the wetbacks, I mean the Illegals?


.

AndrewHac said...

OK... Joe6Pack & JaneZinfandel, let's get this simple fact into that fried-burger brain one more time.

Owning a house is not for every one in the planet Earth, particularly in the land of the Americano AKA the land of the Snapper Turtle. If a person, a married couple or a family are poor, ignorant, uneducated, illiterate, buck-teeth, obese, fat, ugly or just looking like a piece of human crap, then that entity or organism is not entitled to own a house, or allowing to think of owning a house, or even dreaming of owning a house. Got it ? A very simple truthful fact to understand. It is a privilege based on a scientific research by Charles Darwin's famous theory: "You don't own jack if you ain't got jack..."

Furthermore, if that particular Americano had voted for "Little Boy + Fat Man" AKA "Dubya Shrub + Penis Shooter" in the last 8 years, then homeboy and homegirl HillBillies and Homer Simpson all alike out there should not consider a house as a place to live in. His and/or her adobe is to be in the horse ban, the chicken shack, the ass stall, or more fittingly, the Snapper Turtle lodge.

So, Hicks and CrackerNutheads out there, the 64 millions dollars question is:
"Is the Americano roasted yet, and if not, how long before the Americano will be roasted slowly, nicely and juicely like a snapper turtle skewered on a Chinese bamboo stick from mouth to ass sizzling, fat popping on a bed of white hot charcoal ?"

Are we there yet ? Is Joe6Pack still alive, breathing and kicking ???