September 04, 2008

Here's a realtor who says the media and blogs should report lies & disinformation about housing, instead of the truth, for the good of the country


Sometimes, I see something that not only offends, it disgusts.

This is one of those sometimes.

Here's ramen-eating Larry Riggs, a local realtor association head, writing in favor of lies and spin in Active Rain. Feel free to LEAVE A NICE COMMENT

Yup, when this is all said and done, the NAR and their army of realtors on commission will be the ones known for truth-telling. And the rag-tag volunteer troops of the bubble blogs will be seen as liars and evil men.

Larry Riggs, on behalf of HP'ers and the millions of homedebtors screwed by the likes of you, I can only say one thing. Go to hell.


So What's the Real Truth About the Market?

It seems like we see some sort of negative comment on the current real estate market almost daily. So what's the real truth. I'm not what you would call a real mystical person but I do believe in the concepts taught in DVD's like "The Secret" and "What the bleep is down the rabbit hole"

Some of the best and worst leaders understood this simple principle. If you say it loud enough and long enough people will believe it. I believe it was chairman Mao that said it was easier to control a million people than ten.

Not to show my political beliefs but I believe the mainstream media has gone from reporting the news to social engineering. If they don't like those in power they will put a certain spin on their reporting and sure enough society will produce the fruit of the bad news they are listening to.

Our job, as real estate professionals is to give our clients the truth to allow them to make choices that are best for them. If we help enough people get what they want, we will get what we want. Hmmm, can't remember if that was Zig Ziglar or Napoleon Hill but it's absolutely true

Want to help get the truth out? NAR has spent quite a bit of time and effort trying to do just that and to support state and local associations in doing the same. If you have clients who are intimidated by all they hear I would suggest you direct them to an NAR sponsored site specifically geared toward the public. The site is www.housingmarketfacts.com

Remember, all that's necessary for evil men to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.

- Larry Riggs, clueless president of the Frederick County Association of Realtors arguing for lies and distortion, September 2008

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

How's those arrest watches going?

Anonymous said...

Official 2008 Republican Party Platform on Housing:

Rebuilding Homeownership
Homeownership remains key to creating an
opportunity society. We support timely and carefully
targeted aid to those hurt by the housing crisis so
that affected individuals can have a chance to trade a
burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that
reflects their home’s market value. At the same time,
government action must not implicitly encourage
anyone to borrow more than they can afford to repay.
We support energetic federal investigation and,
where appropriate, prosecution of criminal wrongdoing
in the mortgage industry and investment sector.
We do not support government bailouts of private
institutions. Government interference in the
markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace
and causes the free market to take longer to correct
itself. We believe in the free market as the best tool to
sustained prosperity and opportunity for all. We
encourage potential buyers to work in concert with
the lending community to educate themselves about
the responsibilities of purchasing a home, condo, or
land.

Maybe Palin can put this guy in jail.

Cow_tipping said...

Bubble blogs are not neccesary, supply and demand will take its course. The blogs just hasten it in the begining. Once it hits critical mass, no one can stop or slow or even speed it up.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

Anonymous said...

"The Secret" and "What the bleep is down the rabbit hole"; what a bunch of Oprah endorsed non-fiction trash trying to pass itself as self help. Those books are probably among the top 10 of the NAR must read list.

Anonymous said...

"...the National Association of Realtors' Surround Sound Campaign..."

You CANNOT make this shit up!

{{{eChO cHaMbEr}}}

Anonymous said...

Like I said many times here before...and I told you there was pumping & dumping action last week. So here it goes:

Attention, attention! Calling all retards to jump in the rigged market, just to be fleeced by the crooks on Wall Street (Biden friends) a few days later. How's that "buying on dips" strategy doing for you, financial wizards? Bwahahahaha

09/04/08:

DOW = -345 pts = -3%; -16% YTD
NAS = -3.20%; -15% YTD
S&P = -3%; -16% YTD

DOPES

DOLTS

Anonymous said...

from NAR's Surround Sound Campaign Message and Talking Points

•REALTORS® add value to the real estate transaction.
•Now is a good time to buy a home.
•Conditions are ideal for buyers...
•Current market conditions won’t last long
•A modest increase in property values is
expected in 2009.
•The market is strong and getting stronger

And my personal favorite:
•If you bought a house six years ago, it would be worth 24 percent more today."

How about THREE YEARS AGO?

Home page.

Anonymous said...

Has Larry Riggs met gregg sawn.They would make a great couple.

The market tanked hard today as you all know.I guess we are going to test the july lows again.I am actually bullish on stocks.By year end we will be up for sure.

Anonymous said...

You sure that article wasn't written by Frank "I Hate Scottsdale"? It has all the sneering right wing contempt for facts and truth. Perhaps his book sales have dropped and he is now a Realtor.

PS: Why is Frank still posting on here when he SWORE he was leaving over the left wing/communist pro Obama postings by Keith?

Anonymous said...

Stocks tank — Dow ends day nearly 350 down. Ha ha!

Anonymous said...

RE: If you say it loud enough and long enough people will believe it. I believe it was chairman Mao that said it was easier to control a million people than ten.

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

Just like the housing scam and GOP/DEM fake attack on 9/11. It was all one big 100% lie with scientic proof to put many criminal officials behind bars.

So, what you're saying is, that it's OK to ignore consumer theft and mass murder - as long as you ignore it long enough??

As long as they DONT KNOW it's a scam, it's OK?

You're a bone head.

Anonymous said...

Zig Ziglar? why would he quote another con artist??

man, you gotta love those realtors.

Refuse to buy overpriced said...

He should read Robert Schiller's "Irrational Exuberance", 2nd edition.

Or he could check out these links:
1. From 1998-2006, home prices increased at a rate unprecedented in modern US history
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/08/26/weekinreview/27leon_graph2.html

2. The price increases were disconnected from economic fundamentals. In particular, the median US home price increased much faster than the median US household income. The average home became unaffordable for the average family.
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2007/metro_affordability_index_2007.xls

3. Utterly reckless lending enabled the price increases. No down payment mortgages temporarily disguised the unaffordability of homes, and set the stage for todays foreclosures.
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2006/08/is_a_housing_cr.html

Anonymous said...

I hope Andrew Hac goes to his site and posts one of his tasty meanderings.

Anonymous said...

"Yup, when this is all said and done, the NAR and their army of realtors on commission will be the ones known for truth-telling. And the rag-tag volunteer troops of the bubble blogs will be seen as liars and evil men."

Dont mock - at the end of the day that might not be too far from the truth.

The reason I say that is some bubble blogs (not this one mind you) seem dedicated to keeping this thing going at all costs.

I say that because sometimes a good report comes out - say it says sales in XYZ area is up and inventory is down. Some bubble blogs - those dominated by truth tellers will say - "hey guys this MAY be legit, this MAY indicate the BEGINNING of the bottom because of ABC, and it MAY be a false bottom because..."

Other bubble blogs - those dedicated to keeping this thing going at all costs dismiss ANY POTENTIAL (not actual but potential) good news as NAR spin, outright lies, knifecatchers, etc. They are being exposed for what they are - reverse spinners dedicated to keep this doom and gloom party going at all costs.

Bottom line is some day, years from now, this will be over...I dont want to be a knifecatcher, but I do want to buy and get on with my damn life. Thus, I am now being much more careful about which bubble blogs I listen to, and which ones are just as full of crap as is the NAR - something to think about....

Anonymous said...

Yes, "The Secret." Do you understand the significance of this?

I started speculating months ago that this "create your own reality" shizzle was the underlying cause of these bubbles. "The Secret" and various "Oprah" new-age philosophies took hold in the finance and RE communities and they proclaimed a "New Economy" which would never again contract.

I got confirmation of this when people reported and discussed the groupthink at the Berkshire Hathaway be-in this year.

Carioca Canuck said...

The page is gone. Just like B. Hussein Obama's chance.

Lost Cause said...

10,587.59 -- That was the DOW close the day before Bush took office. (Let's not mention inflation or the falling dollar.)

Anybody want to bet that it will fall BELOW that? In other words -- dead money for eight years.

Anonymous said...

>

>

Remember, all that's necessary for evil men to triumph is for good men (and women) to purchase a crap box house that's only worth 60% of the REALTORS™ asking price. :)

>

>

Anonymous said...

Love that Sarah Palin....Obama is toast

Unknown said...

"If you say it loud enough and long enough people will believe it."

Like Bush telling us how great the Iraq war was going year after year?

There really is a whole lot of stupid in this world.

FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...

Eff em. Details do not matter at this point. We know.

Anonymous said...

did the dream job post disappear? I was curious to see what creative jobs people came up with

Anonymous said...

National City offers bonus for closing home equity lines

http://tinyurl.com/57fk2d

"Months after banks across Ohio and the nation started freezing people's home equity lines, National City Corp. is dangling a $200 carrot.

The Cleveland-based bank is offering the cash incentive to an undisclosed number of customers in various parts of the country if they voluntarily close their equity lines"

Anonymous said...

Credit Crunch: The Sequel
This time, it's squeezing not only Wall Street but Main Street. Will it trigger a recession?
By Luke Mullins
Posted September 4, 2008

"...And as bond investors demand higher yields on their debt, more and more economists and investors believe Treasury Secretary Paulson will have to deploy his recently acquired authority to bail out Fannie and Freddie. "The game is over," billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC last month. If bond investors keep buying their debt, Fannie and Freddie might be able to avoid government intervention. But that's looking doubtful. With demand for its debt waning among Asian investors, Fannie was forced last month to pay a record-high interest rate to attract buyers."

Anonymous said...

Keith,
Will you ever run for office?
Thank You for looking out for our best interest!!
You are awesome!

Anonymous said...

>Not to show my political beliefs

Please, you do it all the time, worshipping Obama and bashing McCain and other republicans.

And when are you going to stop the social engineering too? You know both major parties screwed us over, but instead, you won't bash Obama in the same manner you bash the republicans.

Anonymous said...

If you're job depends on deceiving people as best you can, what incentive do you have for telling the truth?

Anonymous said...

"Furnished condo with direct beach access. Good for 1st time buyers or investors. No offers submitted without proof of funds and/or loan preapproval."

In other words, you have to prove you can pay for things, now. Ha, Ha, Ha....the good old days.

Anonymous said...

Holy sh*t, I live in Frederick County, MD and have been seeing this guy's BS FCAR articles in the local free paper ("The Gazette") in the "Homes" section for the last 3 years or so. It's wonderful to have him blasted here at HP.

Anonymous said...

I should also point out that on one of Frederick's local stations (103.1), they keep running an ad for the Frederick County Association of Realtors, saying about interest rates are at historic lows, and the other NAR BS that you see on that stupid NAR TV commercial.

Anonymous said...

Tar and feathers...

Anonymous said...

heres the comments so far on his activerain post though id post before he removes

9 Comments on Frederick County real estate - It's not what the media says! Is yours?


Hey Larry, I may endup there yet, water or no, with that number of shorts. way to stay on top of things!


08/29/2008 01:29 PM by Jane Page Thompson (The Carolina Real Estate Company)



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


That's crazy. I can rent for less than buying the same property. Paying a mortgage would take a huge chunk of my paycheck.

Housing in my neighborhood doubled in price in 6-8 years. That's a major affordability issue. Wages did not increase that much in that time, so how can the payment ratio be the same as it has for years? A house that cost $150K 6 years ago will list now for almost $300K. That's a huge difference.

So I rent and save the difference until housing prices return to normal. Lending is going to become stricter (as it should be). I welcome the day banks require 20% down again .... prices will come down, because how many people have that much money in the bank? We need to return to fundamentals ... 2 1/2 -3 x salary, with 20% down. There's a reason that was a standard for so long ....

The media cheered the rising prices all the way up ... did they question affordability? I didn't see anything about that. So now they are reporting on the prices going down ... what's wrong with that?

We have a household income of just under $100K, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with a mortgage over $200K (2.5 x with 20% down) ... that's affordable and allows for savings, etc .... There aren't any houses in that price range near me - and I'm talking about 1700 square foot rowhomes. When professionals with a 6 figure salary can't buy a home, there's a major affordability issue. I realize you are in Frederick, and I don't know about that area, but come in closer to BAltimore and the prices are INSANE.


09/05/2008 09:06 AM by JR



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Why lie ?

even if we could the internet lets the truth out time and time again



main reason this nation is in for a long recession, depression



they say housing will not recover until 2022

I found another career last year, I am not waiting around for 14 years to sell a home


09/05/2008 10:10 AM by Bob



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If this were about equity-shares, it would not only be illegal, but grossly unethical.



'For the good of the country', yeah, sure. For the good of your own pocketbook at the expense of everyone else is more like it. What a pack of whores.



Thank god I could smell the stink on NAR statistics a mile away and knew to get out in 2006. Those who were dumb enough to believe industry lies and deception deserve what has happened. What kind of moron believes hype from those who profit from a decision to buy?


09/05/2008 10:50 AM by John



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Larry,

I can get you a great deal on Ramen, hardly ever on sale, and now is a great time to buy.

RayNLA


09/05/2008 11:32 AM by RAYNLA



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Here's the real ethical question: If a house was going to go up in value as your client was looking at it, you would tell him that since it was in his best interest to make an informed decision, right? In fact, that seemed to be the main selling point up until mid-2006: Buy Now or Get Priced Out of the Market Forever! I doubt there is a single real estate agent that would NOT share that information.

Now if, as a real estate professional, you know prices are going DOWN in a particular neighborhood, would you not also be ethically bound to tell your client that as well and let them make a decision based on ALL of the information? Or, are you saying that you would be better off painting a rosey picture for him and let him find out on his own a year from know that you knew better and didn't tell him . . . even if it costs you a commission in the short run?

I know what the answer to that is and it is exactly the reason that "Realtors" will never be on the same level as other professions, much as you try to con us into thinking so. In a strong housing market you are nothing but order takers and in a weak market you will lie through your teach to make a sale. Without ethics, you are just slick salesment in bad suits with photoshopped pictures on your business cards.


09/05/2008 12:00 PM by Bob Reno



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You are lucky JR.

At least a REAL HOUSE still costs under 500K. In my neck of the woods, you can't even get an apartment (AKA Condo) for less than 200K. Real houses start at 600K for a new one (built before 1990).


09/05/2008 12:42 PM by Jip



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Dear Larry,

I listened to what my realtor told me in the summer of 2004. His message coincides with what HousingFacts.com is still saying this year. Only today my situation is very different. I lost my home and am living in a 3 bedroom apartment with my wife and 2 children. My realtor told me back then "Don't worry, hey, you can always refinance". Well, my rate adjusted in August 2007 and our finances fell apart. I went from a $1982.00 home payment to a $3741.00 home payment. We foreclosed with the bank and the last 12 months have been hellish to say the least. The only solace I can take is that I'm not alone in this nightmare. There are a lot of people, a lot of realtor clients, in the same boat rigtht now. Facing foreclosure and a financial ruin.

I take responsibility for signing the mortgage and not realizing the impact of a higher adjusted rate, but my realtor in 2004, a NAR member, who I will not name, sold us down a river, Larry. I'd take legal action against him for providing us misleading information and misrepresenting us, but I don't have the cash to pay a lawyer right now. He got his sales commission. On to the next client.

What did I get? I got a 3 bedroom rental apartment, a wife preparing to divorce me, and a destroyed credit rating for the next 7 years.

The media is not the problem, Larry. Realtors need to look in the mirror. The NAR has been supplying the media with market trends and information too, as you rightly state above. The issue is that the media (news agencies, internet news outlets, blogs) are finally fact checking the "inside information" the NAR has been feeding consumers. And it doesn't add up, Larry. Realtors should tell the truth, but you're advocating above that the "party line" be maintained. The housing market is crashing down and realtors like you are saying "nothing to see here, move along, read our pamphlets. It provides the real truth". This has to be a joke. Is it too much to ask that the NAR and realtors like you take action to be forthright and not always say things to generate a sales commission now?

Good luck to you and your business endeavors. But don't be surprised if some of your clients revisit you in the coming years, as I intend to do with my own realtor, and ask the question "So what the hell was that all about?".

-Mark James, Riverside, CA


09/05/2008 01:07 PM by Mark James



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Mr. Riggs' comments are, fortunately, a minority view of Realtors in the greater Frederick County area. He forgets that for every buyer, there is a seller. These sellers grasp desperately at any positive news, false or otherwise, that will keep them from lowering their listing prices. Should Mr. Riggs et al, decide it's time to tell the truth to these sellers then the market would likely respond. We find his assertions that media attention to an economic fact can somehow alter that fact does nothing, but further damage the beaten reputation of Realtors. This is why there are calls for new leadership at many Boards across the country.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if this jackass is even aware that "24% over six years" equals about 3.65% annually if you're using simple interest, and doubtless is some other (lower) figure if you're compounding monthly or daily or what have you? (Too lazy to figure out the half remembered formulas, sorry.)

IOW, the best cherrypicked number they can come up with is a number that might rougly equal inflation, assuming anyone here is stupid enough to swallow the swill being pumped out by the BLS or whoever it is that reports inflation.

I suppose what pisses me off about this is that for about three seconds I was sucked in. 24%, wow that ain't that bad...the doubletake hit when it finally dawned on me that this was over six years.

Jesus Christ, what a bunch of pimps and ho's.

Anonymous said...

I'm done attempting to communicate with these asshole used-house peddlers. I am convinced, a real estate license is like AIDS, one you have it you never can get rid if it...

I'll NEVER use a real estate agent for anything, ever. The only way to look at at realtor is DOWN. My last attempt to communicate with a realtor ended this way:

"Please seek professional help. You are in denial. You may wish to try some of the new shock therapies or strong drugs to combat the problem. I have no positive comments for your response to my prior mail, so I will not even adress it, as it doesn't merit a response.

If you are of the opinion that you, or your commission-based fellow used-house peddlers, or, the NAR know more about housing economics than Professor Nouriel Roubini of NYU well, I just plain feel sorry for you/r clients. Make sure you keep a strong E & O policy in force.

I suspect you will need it.

Good Luck in the future, but I doubt it. You seem perfectly suited for your profession."

Anonymous said...

"Remember, all that's necessary for evil men to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing."

Precisely Larry...that is why we have RE Blogs!!!