"Amid a brewing scandal over special mortgage deals given to two U.S. senators, Politico last week asked the offices of all 100 senators to describe the circumstances under which they obtained their own home loans. Seventy-seven senators have complied so far. Twenty-three have not.
Senators are not required to report in their disclosure forms any financial information about their homes unless they draw rental income from the home. But in the wake of questions regarding mortgages obtained by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) loans they received through a VIP program run by Countrywide Financial Corp. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that the disclosure rules should be changed so that senators mortgage details are made public...."
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Rising consumer prices will leave more U.S. consumers unable to pay their debts and may lead to a ``financial tsunami,'' according to Bennet Sedacca, president of money manager Atlantic Advisors LLC in Winter Park, Florida.
(snip)
A battered, over-indebted consumer, if forced to retrench, could create even more problems for the banking system as loan delinquencies would begin to rise even further. All sorts of delinquencies are rising. This is now a systemic issue.''
(snip)
Sedacca wrote that current financial-market conditions remind him of ``someone standing on a lonely beach, armed with only a small bucket, trying to stop a rare tsunami that hits the shores. It is how I feel about our markets and the tools being utilized by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other regulatory bodies. They are overmatched for what they are facing and, worse yet, they helped create the mess in the first place by being far too easy with money and debt creation.''
2:10 Police can't stop them, because they own the home?
I think that is a policeman in the house tossing out porno, but maybe if someone would have said he was growing pot, they would have arrested him ASAP.
20 years ago, my uncle threw all the furniture out of his house, breaking all the windows in the process, then hopped in his car and hit the accelerator without opening the garage door. Nothing to do with foreclosures or even money problems. Just one of those marital disputes that got out of hand, fueled by too much drinking. Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall? This sort of thing is really quite common.
OT: I'm sure I'm late on jumping the Peter Schiff bandwagon, but this clip is hilarious.
You can see Peter Schiff's "salesman's bias". He speaks all sorts of sense until he talks about "decoupling" because his business is dependent on not having that.
That's why I try to avoid forecasts and advice from people who have something to sell.
If government is falling all over itself to be seen as helpful anyway, there's really no problem passing a statute or ordinance making this illegal. Demo your house, you need a building permit; make it a criminal offense to do otherwise. You don't need to send people away for 20 years, just empower police to stop it cold.
Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. Perhaps they could inspect them occasionally while we were out to see if we had done anything they didn't like...cuzz, you know..that would never get abused or anything.
How about a nice misdeameanor charge, 30 days in jail, and a fat fine.
Followed by a nuisance lawsuit forcing the dude into BK if he wasn't there already.
There has to already be a law on the books for this. Dimunition in value of already-through-the-floor assets isn't going to help the situation, and DA's across the country already have the tools (and responsibility) to stop it.
Oh, c'mon, it's his house, what can they really do? The bank may take the property but they have no guarantees on what condition it is left in, really.
I've put a lot of money into remodeling my home. If I were going to lose it, I would take whatever I could out of it too.
The "resort" condo operator that we have rented from a couple of times for vacation in Orlando called today with a "special offer for repeat customers:"
2-bed condo, $89 per night
3-bed condo, $99 per night.
These are roughly about 2/3 of what we have paid in the past. (off peak)
He said the prices would even be good during peak seasons (e.g. t-giving and christmas) if we make a deposit now.
Re: A political blogger is using a technique known as " Google bombing" to enlist the aid of fellow partisan bloggers to boost the search engine rankings of nine news stories that reflect poorly on US Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Chris Bowers, managing editor of the progressive blog OpenLeft, is launching the Google bombs by encouraging bloggers to embed Web links to the nine news stories about McCain in their blogs, which helps raise their ranking in Google search results. Bowers is reprising a 2006 effort when he undertook a similar Google bombing effort against 52 different Congressional candidates.
So what can the lender do to someone who trashes their place prior to foreclosure? Can they get some kind of judgement against the person?
This story was kind of vague on the consequences of foreclosure vandalism. They cited how "all consumers ultimately pay", but that doesn't explain how the individual doing the damage suffers direct consequences.
One would think the banks would have to prove who actually did the damage. Haven't we seen a lot of stories about people breaking into foreclosed homes and ripping them apart?
They failed to convince me that the neighbors would have to foot the bill. Everybody looking for a villain.
Yeah, a pretty weak news clip, but that's why I don't use the boob tube for news.
They could have made the point that a foreclosure sale costs the neighbors by creating a depressed comp, and that a foreclosure sale requiring 20-50 thousand dollars of repair work will be an even lower comp. Or they could have said that having a notorious house in the neighborhood hurts property values. But they didn't.
Currently Smoking Cannabis writes:
Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. Perhaps they could inspect them occasionally while we were out to see if we had done anything they didn't like...cuzz, you know..that would never get abused or anything.
Private property? Nah.... Locke is dead.
Currently Smoking Cannabis | 06.24.08 - 4:40 pm | #
i have a news flash
under the patriot act...thank you mr preznit
the gov now CAN enter your home, while you are away, without a warrant, look around for evidence of what ever, and never let you know they were there nor ever have to present you with a search warrant.
(no, they don't even have to get a secret warrant from some secret court...sheeeesh)
its called sneek and peek
this administration with help from congress has wiped it's feet on the constitution.... i bet the te-rists see this as a vctory
I'd like to hear his explanation for the implosion in Shanghai while US stocks have held up relatively well in comparison.
I have a contact in a hedge fund based in HK, all the traders are Americans. They have made decision to only trade in the US markets 'going forward', the devil you know type argument. I was going to say flight to quality, but that is your call
So a bank holds a thousand of these and another three thousand NOD. Whatcha goin to do?
Stop. Let 'em live rent free....tell the FDIC they're performin' but got a bit of problem that'll work itself out.
No worries... move along, keep whistling...
He should have knocked more holes in the walls. The banks don't give a f@ck, and neither do I. The banks got theirs already, and eventually they will get bailed out by a fascist gubbermint too. Nobody cares.
"Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. "
Right now, my mortgage gives the bank the right to inspect the property, at any point during the life of the mortgage, if it has reasonable cause to believe I am not doing any and all required repairs.
Did you guys catch the prices on the crawl at the bottom of the screen.
MS 69.73 -14.15, C51.39, UPS73, WB 51.25, FNM 65.33 Damn I wish I had a way back machine.
Don't get the appliance part of this...did they buy the darn things or are they still make cc payments on them...then I guess they can take them.
Also...completely OT but I like this:
"But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest." - Buddha.
The video simply exempifies an outcome of a general policy for lack of accountability and responsibility on multiple layers and levels of your societal system.
the agent(s) in the report who are saying something to the extent of how this (vandalism) will cause the cost to get passed on to the home owners, fail(s) to mention how his/her/their commissions and "yup, but before it's too late" line was ultimately feeding the first of that chain reaction... bastards... they are. at least the agent we hired to buy our house 3 years ago but we ultimately didn't buy (any) is stuck with his flipper
I'm wondering whether at some point it'd be worthwhile for the bank to donate such a copper-mined, hole-filled hulk to Habitat for Humanity for a tax writeoff.
As long as the frame, foundation, and roof are still good, the HFH volunteers could whip the house back into shape at a pretty low price.
Of course, in order to make a tax-writeoff worthwhile, the lender has to actually be making a profit..l.
"Without our consumption, the rest of the world wouldn't exist."
"America is the shining beacon of the world."
"Our credit is accepted worldwide that billions of peasants worldwide are willing to work in poorly lit, poorly ventilated factories just to get our paper money. Because it's that precious."
"Right now, my mortgage gives the bank the right to inspect the property, at any point during the life of the mortgage, if it has reasonable cause to believe I am not doing any and all required repairs."
Entering into an agreement with another party is one thing. Empowering the government to do the same thing to everyone is another.
Another weird thing, is that when you place a for sale sign on your property, that kinda suspends your right to stop someone from trespassing. I once called the cops on a house next door, which I assumed was being vandalized or broken into and when the cops came, they couldn't do anything, because the house was for sale, and these "kids" said they were just looking at the house -- at 2 a.m. I was told that when you place a sign in your yard, anyone has a right to inspect it at any time -- but then again, cops seem very unwilling to arrest people these days and maybe laws are different in various towns? Lots of discretion to go with paperwork and legal issues, like this video, i.e, can this guy destroy his personal property....why not? The only problem I would have here is violation of some homeowner association CC&R in regard to trash or noise. However, what if a person burns down the house as an act of arson? That is normally linked to collection of insurance under false pretense, but to burn it down and walk away, is that a crime? I would think so, but I'm not a high priced lawyer.
Re: the burning of an unoccupied house did not constitute arson" and further, "[t]he burning of one's own dwelling to collect insurance did not constitute common law arson.
Re: "Malice may be inferred from
an act done in wilful disregard of the rights of another, or an act
wrongfully done without just cause or excuse[.]" RCW 9A.04.110(12).??
I'm surprised that nothing could be done about this. I need a permit to do major renovations on my home
i would classify ripping everything out of the house as a major renovation.
seems as though they could have got him on permit issues.
at least they should clean the land up and bill him for it. having all that junk in the yard is a safety issue, not to mention an eyesore for neighbors.
I'd be uber pissed if my neighbors did that. Luckily I live in a speculator-free neighborhood except for one house (the foreclosure across the way).
it got trashed by neglect. the "owner" never took care of it and the pipes burst and now there's toxic mold in there. but it looks pretty from the outside.
"Re: A political blogger is using a technique known as " Google bombing" to enlist the aid of fellow partisan bloggers to boost the search engine rankings of nine news stories that reflect poorly on US Republican presidential candidate John McCain."
It's pretty common. Last election there were a few guys that made it so that if you typed "waffle" into google, you'd get John Kerry's site.
OT: John "Clueless' McCain's economic stimulus package.
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's model for ginning up the economy isn't Keynesian or Milton Friedmanite. It's EBay Inc.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
This affection for EBay as an engine for job creation, however, confounds economists such as Betsey Stevenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.
McCain's EBay model -- to trade things that are produced in other countries just to swap them'' -- conveys a messagethat America can't produce anything and that's a very dismal view of the U.S. economy,'' Stevenson said.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
Great, we've become a nation of online shopkeepers.
Remember don't mess with the sharp economic mind of John McCain...
McCain has shown increasing disdain for any economist who questions his policy prescriptions ( sounds just the current idiot-in-chief George W. Bush )
Earlier this month, he lashed out at critics of his proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.'
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
It's amazing that a guy who by his own admission is economically illiterate is one of two presidential candidates when the economy is realistically the biggest issue facing the country.
His candidacy provides a handy illustration of why we've got the problems we do.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''
Haha... I actually think this statement has great merit, but saying that some other group of people suck doesn't mean that you don't suck also.
I humbly respect this man's choice for self-immolation.
He is clearly taking "walking away" to new heights (or.. depths?).
It is his constitutional right to do what he wishes to his property, and no government agency should take that away from him.
However, as this video is now public, and shall be forever linked to him, any underwriter worth his or her salt, using Google for five seconds, will stamp a gigantic red "REJECTED" stamp upon his loan application in the future. This man will never get a home loan ever again.
The punishment will be meted out by the market, not by the government. I'm fine with that. That's a worthy punishment for trashing what will become the bank's property.
Completely OT -
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I'm hearing bearish analysts calling a bottoming in house prices. No joke. This is just unbelievable complacency (my nominee for word of 2008). They're also calling a bottoming in the stock markets.
"last I saw him officer, he was hanging around in his back yard."
Secret search true story. I had a room mate back in the late 60's who was being considered for a job as an attorney for the Justice Dept. It took me weeks to figure who had been in my bedroom shuffling through my books and papers. They tried to be neat but it was obvious to me. I guess that was going on even under LBJ.
So "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" McCain gets Google Bombed? We're playing right into his hands, he WANTS you to know he's bringing a Nuke to your neighborhood!
The media is acting as though destructive residential occupants are a new phenomena. I have represented landlords who have suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damages due to non-paying renters who decided to steal fixtures, destroy drywall, and rip out plumbing. This is not new.
They basically showed the guys address on the news report...7600 Scoby Ct., Las Vegas, NV. Hop onto google maps, plop down and do one of those street level strolls, there's the red truck with the spare tire at the tailgate. Not sure if it's moved since the google folks filmed the neighborhood tour...Parked next to it is a nice, lovely fuel efficient Hummer H2. Change to the satellite view and zoom up to see a labyrinth of cul de sac sprawl named "spring valley". They could name a salad dressing after it.
So...maybe the guys' a methhead, maybe he's struggling to make ends meet, maybe he came to vegas with the "career plan" of making money on the Texas Hold'em circuit.
I've actually met folks that claimed to be making a living playing Texas Hold'em...not sure if that's still the flavor of the weak but the one's I met weren't doing all that well with their career plans.
I bet he is a recently unemployed or underemployed (possibly recently divorced as well) construction worker, looking at the truck, his age, and seeing the front door GLUED shut. I bet he used some Liquid Nails in a caulking gun, judging by what it looks like. That is going to be one hell of a mess getting that door replaced... They will likely have to replace the frame as well. I bet there are a lot more interesting little hidden surprises in there...
There are public-nuisance laws on the books, and situations where somebody takes action that drastically reduce neighboring property values seems to me one of the very-rare times that they should be enforced.
I had a room mate back in the late 60's who was being considered for a job as an attorney for the Justice Dept. It took me weeks to figure who had been in my bedroom shuffling through my books and papers. They tried to be neat but it was obvious to me. I guess that was going on even under LBJ.
Ross | Homepage | 06.24.08 - 7:01 pm | #
Back then they really didn't look that hard except to see if s/he was a commie or not... if a red you were dead.
Hell I had hard core hallucinogenic eating computer programmer buddies who worked as a contractor on Cray's for NSA - he spent a year bumming around the Middle East PRIOR to that.
Heck while in Europe he spent time in East Berlin - told NSA ALL OF THIS - still ended up with top clearance (though he had a shadow while on projects).
One pot smoking wild man friend went to Las Alamos & Rocky Flats as an engineer - specializing in handline radio-nucleotides. The feds actually interviewed me for his security clearance. I didn't lie - ya he partied but no more than any of us. He had no problems getting clearance.
I myself was recruited to go to Savanna River and was told I'd have no problem getting the highest clearance - I was already pre-screened & all but cleared. I didn't go, didn't want to make weapons plus I had a few skeletons...
I knew another person who did oceans of LSD in college & still ended up working in 'Justice' in DC. Security clearance no problem.
That all happened in the late 70s & early 80s. Carter & Reagan admins (mostly under RR).
If they were vetting job candidates back then they weren't vetting them real hard or they didn't care.
I'm certain - after neocons & 9-11 & Patriot - that its way different now.
I bet he used some Liquid Nails in a caulking gun, judging by what it looks like. That is going to be one hell of a mess getting that door replaced... They will likely have to replace the frame as well. I bet there are a lot more interesting little hidden surprises in there...
Ya I saw that too - it could have been worse, he could have used marine grade epoxy...
Actually, it's the one I use to trade US markets. It's a cheap and very, very good broker with lots of different markets and products, plus a very nice trading software.
However, the US market drives most of the other markets, so going long outside the US might not be the solution. Also, in markets outside the us stocks are sometimes more correlated, meaning that when the market goes down, almost EVERY stock goes down... not so in the US.
Luskin is such an ass, he makes my blood boil. Looking back on this I doubt if he even believes the crap he's saying, but he gets on the TV shows, so someone is buying it... literally. I wish there were some accountability.. someone keeping score so that hacks like Luskin are ashamed to show their faces, but no.
Kurt, there are a few people making a living on poker, but they don't go against good players. They simply prey on the amateurs, on low pot tables, especially on the web.
i'm actually familiar with that second townhome complex (with the missing appliances). That one seems like a little more nuanced story: the developer went bankrupt after a small number of the units were occupied by new owners--and then no one else took occupancy. So it's a real mess for those owners, who probably don't feel like they're sticking it to the banks (although they are) so much as they've just been stuck by the developer.
You know, on the video, the guy is only clearing out the house and throwing trash in the backyard. It's not clear that he's done any damage to the house, it's only reports from his neighbors. If he was washing something in his garage and knocked over the bucket, that would qualify as a gush of water. I don't get why he's throwing out the trash (you know, the bank would have to have hauled away anyway) but if I were destroying a house, I'm sure I could do a better job with less effort. Jeez, I just thought of a couple things,...but I won't tempt fate by publishing.
Some of you folk are such spoilsports. Judging from your replies, you'd demand that Kevin McAllister, not the robbers, should have been arrested whenever you watch Home Alone.
Anyway, these clips are obviously previews for the new spinnoff of the famed reality show Flip This House, entitled F*ck This Foreclosure.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''
You mean like Ben Bernanke, John? So would you give him the hook?
Would you appoint an economist who did see all or some of this coming? Like Shiller, Roubini, Krugman, etc? Oh never mind.
I don't think it is correct to use the word "vandalism" for people taking the appliances. Also, are they sure it was the previous owners in that case? A lot of different behaviors are being conflated.
I had the same idea except went to the Clark County NV recorders site and looked the property and owner up.
The owner has a few other properties that are currently in foreclouser also. Looks like he got in way over his head speculating that RE prices always go up.
Well, this clip finally gave an address so we can dig up a little more information on this story. (I liked how they did not explicitly give the address but they discreetly showed the street sign.)
This is pretty juicy - the guy who "owns" that house is actually an "investor" who has at least three more houses (currently all with NOTS as well). Obviously we don't know whose stuff is getting thrown out (may have belonged to a renter), but if he is actually the one trashing that house I guess it will happen to three others too!
My friend's husband was a minister and real estate agent. Market fell. They held on for over a year making their payments and trying to figure out another way, they called the bank to try to work something out-( Countrywide) they were told the bank wouldn't even talk to them until they were in delinquient status. They were advised to discontinue paying their mortgage so they could speak to someone in the that department. After much stress and soul searching, they did. two days after they payment was 30 days, they called again. They were then told there was nothing the bank would do for them. Due to the location the home was located in, the bank just didn't care and the borrowers had to be in delinquient status before they could tell them any of that. WTF? Decent people just trying to do the right thing getting screwed... guess that's the new "American Way"
You better believe they'll be taking any of the brand new appliances they put inthat house to try to sell it over the last year. I don't blame them. Their replaceing all the fixtures with builder grade too. I don't have a problem with it. It's ridiculous. They won't trash the house though- that's absurd.. but I got to say, I can almost understand why one would.
Let's admit, the banks who wrote this guy's neighbor's bad loans are a teeny-weenie bit responsible too...white guy makes a good income, buys a house on a risky loan thinking that he qualified for a risky loan because his credit score was 825, but little did he know that they gave all of his Latino neighbors got the same loan, probably for more, based on no documentation, no SS#, sub-prime credit score, stated income, they walk away, his house drops 40% in 1 year, no equity, loan resetting in 1 year, can't refi, can't sell, imminent foreclosure, destroyed credit for 7 years, all lost. Yeah, I'd be pissed too. Get ready for lots more of this. Hopefully, the banks will stop getting bailed out soon or else we will be living in New Arabia.
I love how they target a white guy in this story, when 90% of the foreclosures in California are to Latinos. Just look at the last names in the pre-foreclosure listings. Damn media.
I did forget to mention, my friends checked into declaring bankruptcy and were told it will cost minimum of $2K. Well geez, if they had $2K lying around, they may not have quite as much trouble paying their bills.... The whole thing is just sad. Yes, there are people who take advantage of others and the system but it just sucks when THIS people ruin it for those of us who really WANT to do the right thing.
Can't make his payments but he has a huge-ass truck outside in the driveway. Can't feel sorry for someone who appears to make terrible financial decisions.
I wouldn't call his Toyota with a flat tire exactly a "huge truck". His financial decisions were tacitly based on his trust of financial institutions, just as the financial institutions trust that borrowers will pay them back. The financial institutions hold ALL of the power in deciding who to lend to- NOT the borrowers. Also, the borrowers did not bundle good with bad loans into financial instruments and sell them in the vast black hole of derivative markets, which has caused the liquidity crisis that destroyed people's ability to borrow money. So, I wouldn't go totally blaming this guy for the problems. Also, we're all being affected by it, some more than others, so it's not just their problem. The whole system is corrupt with greed. Unless someone starts picking off people who are pulling strings at the top, we will see more and more of this crap.
I hope you aren't saying my friend wanted to put the blame elsewhere. They had themselves set up the way we're all told to do it- 6 months of savings in reserve etc. The guy is a real estate agent and minister, the wife is an interior designer and mom. The went through their savings trying to keep it all together while they waited for the market and tried to work it out. It was only after they were in the most dire straights that they tried to call the lender b/c that is what "they" tell you to do- inform your creditors and they'll work with you- I call BS. They didn't. The house had been on the market for nearly a year- they saw the financial turmoil and were trying to do the right thing and downsize etc- it didn't sell. Not one offer. Foreclosure is honestly their only option at this point. They've tried everything they can and don't have the 2K to declare bankruptcy anyway. They aren't blaming anyone but themselves but at the same time, they tried to do it the "right" way and had the door solidly slammed in their faces.
More butter please:)............
Future value baby! Numero Uno!
there will be more rage
77 senators report
23 of both stripes refuse:
from politico
"Amid a brewing scandal over special mortgage deals given to two U.S. senators, Politico last week asked the offices of all 100 senators to describe the circumstances under which they obtained their own home loans. Seventy-seven senators have complied so far. Twenty-three have not.
Senators are not required to report in their disclosure forms any financial information about their homes unless they draw rental income from the home. But in the wake of questions regarding mortgages obtained by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) loans they received through a VIP program run by Countrywide Financial Corp. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that the disclosure rules should be changed so that senators mortgage details are made public...."
The guy destroying the house on camera, yeah, the bank may have a case. Beyond that, good luck.
but the fun is just beginning:
from bloomberg
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Rising consumer prices will leave more U.S. consumers unable to pay their debts and may lead to a ``financial tsunami,'' according to Bennet Sedacca, president of money manager Atlantic Advisors LLC in Winter Park, Florida.
(snip)
A battered, over-indebted consumer, if forced to retrench, could create even more problems for the banking system as loan delinquencies would begin to rise even further. All sorts of delinquencies are rising. This is now a systemic issue.''
(snip)
Sedacca wrote that current financial-market conditions remind him of ``someone standing on a lonely beach, armed with only a small bucket, trying to stop a rare tsunami that hits the shores. It is how I feel about our markets and the tools being utilized by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other regulatory bodies. They are overmatched for what they are facing and, worse yet, they helped create the mess in the first place by being far too easy with money and debt creation.''
Residential copper mining continues...
At 1:04 I saw a porno mag.
1:44 Obama sign?
2:10 Police can't stop them, because they own the home?
I think that is a policeman in the house tossing out porno, but maybe if someone would have said he was growing pot, they would have arrested him ASAP.
OT: I'm sure I'm late on jumping the Peter Schiff bandwagon, but this clip is hilarious.
YouTube
- 7/2/2007- Peter Schiff On Kudlow & Company
I wonder if this guy would have even gotten a loan in a responsible lending environment.
I hope it's not controversial to suggest this kind of "get even" behavior wouldn't traditionally be associated with creditworthiness.
20 years ago, my uncle threw all the furniture out of his house, breaking all the windows in the process, then hopped in his car and hit the accelerator without opening the garage door. Nothing to do with foreclosures or even money problems. Just one of those marital disputes that got out of hand, fueled by too much drinking. Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall? This sort of thing is really quite common.
Is it vandalism if you trash your own house? And if it wasn't his house, kick him out for trespassing.
They failed to convince me that the neighbors would have to foot the bill. Everybody looking for a villain.
"Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall?"
Speaking strictly for myself, no.
OT: I'm sure I'm late on jumping the Peter Schiff bandwagon, but this clip is hilarious.
You can see Peter Schiff's "salesman's bias". He speaks all sorts of sense until he talks about "decoupling" because his business is dependent on not having that.
That's why I try to avoid forecasts and advice from people who have something to sell.
Waste management, and lock smith stocks are up...
If government is falling all over itself to be seen as helpful anyway, there's really no problem passing a statute or ordinance making this illegal. Demo your house, you need a building permit; make it a criminal offense to do otherwise. You don't need to send people away for 20 years, just empower police to stop it cold.
"Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall?"
I lik smaaaashing my kyboard on ocaaaaaaasion so som of th kys don't work so good.
Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. Perhaps they could inspect them occasionally while we were out to see if we had done anything they didn't like...cuzz, you know..that would never get abused or anything.
Private property? Nah.... Locke is dead.
How about a nice misdeameanor charge, 30 days in jail, and a fat fine.
Followed by a nuisance lawsuit forcing the dude into BK if he wasn't there already.
There has to already be a law on the books for this. Dimunition in value of already-through-the-floor assets isn't going to help the situation, and DA's across the country already have the tools (and responsibility) to stop it.
Oh, c'mon, it's his house, what can they really do? The bank may take the property but they have no guarantees on what condition it is left in, really.
I've put a lot of money into remodeling my home. If I were going to lose it, I would take whatever I could out of it too.
Darn it! It's my house.
Whether I decorate or demo it, it's up to me!
"The bank may take the property but they have no guarantees on what condition it is left in, really."
You never read your mortgage, did you?
OT, anecdote on the economy:
The "resort" condo operator that we have rented from a couple of times for vacation in Orlando called today with a "special offer for repeat customers:"
2-bed condo, $89 per night
3-bed condo, $99 per night.
These are roughly about 2/3 of what we have paid in the past. (off peak)
He said the prices would even be good during peak seasons (e.g. t-giving and christmas) if we make a deposit now.
They must really be hurting for business.
CR,
Can you get on this in the next posts?
Blogger launches 'Google bomb' at McCain
Blogger launches 'Google bomb' at McCain - PC World
Re: A political blogger is using a technique known as " Google bombing" to enlist the aid of fellow partisan bloggers to boost the search engine rankings of nine news stories that reflect poorly on US Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Chris Bowers, managing editor of the progressive blog OpenLeft, is launching the Google bombs by encouraging bloggers to embed Web links to the nine news stories about McCain in their blogs, which helps raise their ranking in Google search results. Bowers is reprising a 2006 effort when he undertook a similar Google bombing effort against 52 different Congressional candidates.
Police can't stop them, because they own the home?
I find it a bit interesting that somebody can "own" a home they have no ability to pay for.
Kind of makes a mockery of the concept of ownership rights.
Peter Schiff talks up my country and aussie all the time.
He is heavily invested in our stock market, our markets suck!
So what can the lender do to someone who trashes their place prior to foreclosure? Can they get some kind of judgement against the person?
This story was kind of vague on the consequences of foreclosure vandalism. They cited how "all consumers ultimately pay", but that doesn't explain how the individual doing the damage suffers direct consequences.
One would think the banks would have to prove who actually did the damage. Haven't we seen a lot of stories about people breaking into foreclosed homes and ripping them apart?
Peter Schiff talks up my country and aussie all the time.
He is heavily invested in our stock market, our markets suck!
I'd like to hear his explanation for the implosion in Shanghai while US stocks have held up relatively well in comparison.
They failed to convince me that the neighbors would have to foot the bill. Everybody looking for a villain.
Yeah, a pretty weak news clip, but that's why I don't use the boob tube for news.
They could have made the point that a foreclosure sale costs the neighbors by creating a depressed comp, and that a foreclosure sale requiring 20-50 thousand dollars of repair work will be an even lower comp. Or they could have said that having a notorious house in the neighborhood hurts property values. But they didn't.
I'd like to hear his explanation for the implosion in Shanghai while US stocks have held up relatively well in comparison.
The HSI is still above the S&P 500 looking at 3m, 1yr, 2yr, and 5yr compos. The S&P is up on the 6m range.
Over the past 2 years, the HSI is up 50%. The S&P 500, not so much.
Currently Smoking Cannabis writes:
Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. Perhaps they could inspect them occasionally while we were out to see if we had done anything they didn't like...cuzz, you know..that would never get abused or anything.
Private property? Nah.... Locke is dead.
Currently Smoking Cannabis | 06.24.08 - 4:40 pm | #
i have a news flash
under the patriot act...thank you mr preznit
the gov now CAN enter your home, while you are away, without a warrant, look around for evidence of what ever, and never let you know they were there nor ever have to present you with a search warrant.
(no, they don't even have to get a secret warrant from some secret court...sheeeesh)
its called sneek and peek
this administration with help from congress has wiped it's feet on the constitution.... i bet the te-rists see this as a vctory
I'd like to hear his explanation for the implosion in Shanghai while US stocks have held up relatively well in comparison.
I have a contact in a hedge fund based in HK, all the traders are Americans. They have made decision to only trade in the US markets 'going forward', the devil you know type argument. I was going to say flight to quality, but that is your call
So a bank holds a thousand of these and another three thousand NOD. Whatcha goin to do?
Stop. Let 'em live rent free....tell the FDIC they're performin' but got a bit of problem that'll work itself out.
No worries... move along, keep whistling...
He should have knocked more holes in the walls. The banks don't give a f@ck, and neither do I. The banks got theirs already, and eventually they will get bailed out by a fascist gubbermint too. Nobody cares.
Sorry, that was Hong Kong. Shanghai had something of a bubble blowoff, but over the past 2 years is still up 100%.
"Yeah, we need to give the government more power over what we do inside our homes. "
Right now, my mortgage gives the bank the right to inspect the property, at any point during the life of the mortgage, if it has reasonable cause to believe I am not doing any and all required repairs.
Did you guys catch the prices on the crawl at the bottom of the screen.
MS 69.73 -14.15, C51.39, UPS73, WB 51.25, FNM 65.33 Damn I wish I had a way back machine.
Don't get the appliance part of this...did they buy the darn things or are they still make cc payments on them...then I guess they can take them.
Also...completely OT but I like this:
"But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest." - Buddha.
Best to all
The video simply exempifies an outcome of a general policy for lack of accountability and responsibility on multiple layers and levels of your societal system.
the agent(s) in the report who are saying something to the extent of how this (vandalism) will cause the cost to get passed on to the home owners, fail(s) to mention how his/her/their commissions and "yup, but before it's too late" line was ultimately feeding the first of that chain reaction... bastards... they are. at least the agent we hired to buy our house 3 years ago but we ultimately didn't buy (any) is stuck with his flipper
I'm wondering whether at some point it'd be worthwhile for the bank to donate such a copper-mined, hole-filled hulk to Habitat for Humanity for a tax writeoff.
As long as the frame, foundation, and roof are still good, the HFH volunteers could whip the house back into shape at a pretty low price.
Of course, in order to make a tax-writeoff worthwhile, the lender has to actually be making a profit..l.
Haha...
"Without our consumption, the rest of the world wouldn't exist."
"America is the shining beacon of the world."
"Our credit is accepted worldwide that billions of peasants worldwide are willing to work in poorly lit, poorly ventilated factories just to get our paper money. Because it's that precious."
To paraphrase someone else, "we're all subprime."
i made a mistake in my previous post about sneak and peek...all was correct except
a secret warrant IS required,
but as said before you don't get presented with it nor are you informed about gov agents searching your home.
"Right now, my mortgage gives the bank the right to inspect the property, at any point during the life of the mortgage, if it has reasonable cause to believe I am not doing any and all required repairs."
Entering into an agreement with another party is one thing. Empowering the government to do the same thing to everyone is another.
Another weird thing, is that when you place a for sale sign on your property, that kinda suspends your right to stop someone from trespassing. I once called the cops on a house next door, which I assumed was being vandalized or broken into and when the cops came, they couldn't do anything, because the house was for sale, and these "kids" said they were just looking at the house -- at 2 a.m. I was told that when you place a sign in your yard, anyone has a right to inspect it at any time -- but then again, cops seem very unwilling to arrest people these days and maybe laws are different in various towns? Lots of discretion to go with paperwork and legal issues, like this video, i.e, can this guy destroy his personal property....why not? The only problem I would have here is violation of some homeowner association CC&R in regard to trash or noise. However, what if a person burns down the house as an act of arson? That is normally linked to collection of insurance under false pretense, but to burn it down and walk away, is that a crime? I would think so, but I'm not a high priced lawyer.
Re: the burning of an unoccupied house did not constitute arson" and further, "[t]he burning of one's own dwelling to collect insurance did not constitute common law arson.
Re: "Malice may be inferred from
an act done in wilful disregard of the rights of another, or an act
wrongfully done without just cause or excuse[.]" RCW 9A.04.110(12).??
mock turtle: You're absolutely right. And it makes me sick.
"They" don't have to hate us anymore. We're not really free.
hmm...
I'm surprised that nothing could be done about this. I need a permit to do major renovations on my home
i would classify ripping everything out of the house as a major renovation.
seems as though they could have got him on permit issues.
at least they should clean the land up and bill him for it. having all that junk in the yard is a safety issue, not to mention an eyesore for neighbors.
I'd be uber pissed if my neighbors did that. Luckily I live in a speculator-free neighborhood except for one house (the foreclosure across the way).
it got trashed by neglect. the "owner" never took care of it and the pipes burst and now there's toxic mold in there. but it looks pretty from the outside.
"Re: A political blogger is using a technique known as " Google bombing" to enlist the aid of fellow partisan bloggers to boost the search engine rankings of nine news stories that reflect poorly on US Republican presidential candidate John McCain."
It's pretty common. Last election there were a few guys that made it so that if you typed "waffle" into google, you'd get John Kerry's site.
please... google bomb?
people are so histrionic I swear. they make it seem like death and destruction will befall McCain because of this so-called 'bomb'.
"Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall?"
Is Elvis out there ??
I think this one is for you .
OT: John "Clueless' McCain's economic stimulus package.
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's model for ginning up the economy isn't Keynesian or Milton Friedmanite. It's EBay Inc.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
This affection for EBay as an engine for job creation, however, confounds economists such as Betsey Stevenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.
McCain's EBay model -- to trade things that are produced in other countries just to swap them'' -- conveys a messagethat America can't produce anything and that's a very dismal view of the U.S. economy,'' Stevenson said.
Anonymous said: "This sort of thing is really quite common."
Not on the planet I live on.
"It's legal since it's his own home"...
How can you really be the owner of a home if you are still paying the mortgage?
How can you really be the owner of a home if you are still paying the mortgage?
mal | 06.24.08 - 5:47 pm | #
You own the house - you rent the money.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
Great, we've become a nation of online shopkeepers.
Remember don't mess with the sharp economic mind of John McCain...
McCain has shown increasing disdain for any economist who questions his policy prescriptions ( sounds just the current idiot-in-chief George W. Bush )
Earlier this month, he lashed out at critics of his proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.'
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.
It's amazing that a guy who by his own admission is economically illiterate is one of two presidential candidates when the economy is realistically the biggest issue facing the country.
His candidacy provides a handy illustration of why we've got the problems we do.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''
Haha... I actually think this statement has great merit, but saying that some other group of people suck doesn't mean that you don't suck also.
I humbly respect this man's choice for self-immolation.
He is clearly taking "walking away" to new heights (or.. depths?).
It is his constitutional right to do what he wishes to his property, and no government agency should take that away from him.
However, as this video is now public, and shall be forever linked to him, any underwriter worth his or her salt, using Google for five seconds, will stamp a gigantic red "REJECTED" stamp upon his loan application in the future. This man will never get a home loan ever again.
The punishment will be meted out by the market, not by the government. I'm fine with that. That's a worthy punishment for trashing what will become the bank's property.
Completely OT -
I'm a lowly programmer who has previously invested in global ETFs and MFs. In the future, i would like to invest directly in foreign stocks. I need professional help in foreign stocks. Euro pac looks interesting but 3.5% is a sticker shock after having done $7 trades. Would you recommend other brokers? or should i just stick with ADRs, MFs and ETFs?
Thanks in advance.
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Would you like to exchange blogroll links with me?
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and leave your URL for your blog there. I'll link to you within hours. Thanks.
I'm hearing bearish analysts calling a bottoming in house prices. No joke. This is just unbelievable complacency (my nominee for word of 2008). They're also calling a bottoming in the stock markets.
REBear
http://www.cmcmarkets.com/
ac - I would point out that thesewere Republican economists - like Phil Gramm, McCain's chief economic adviser.
Greenspan (Nixon appointee/Rand devotee), Bush, the Republican congress, have gutted our economy.
Trickle UP works. Enrich the lower and middle classes and they spend the money, enriching everyone.
Shovel it out to the door to the rich and they use it to play a lot of ultimately unproductive games - and we all see the result.
Thanks Andy!
cmcmarkets US seems to deal only with forex.
REBear
Bugger, try this?
CMC Markets Australia
Neighborhood solution: Tall tree, short rope!
"last I saw him officer, he was hanging around in his back yard."
Secret search true story. I had a room mate back in the late 60's who was being considered for a job as an attorney for the Justice Dept. It took me weeks to figure who had been in my bedroom shuffling through my books and papers. They tried to be neat but it was obvious to me. I guess that was going on even under LBJ.
REBear,
Last time,
CMC Markets Canada > CFD and Foreign Exchange
Trading
coffee time for me.
Thanks Andy!
So "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" McCain gets Google Bombed? We're playing right into his hands, he WANTS you to know he's bringing a Nuke to your neighborhood!
The media is acting as though destructive residential occupants are a new phenomena. I have represented landlords who have suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damages due to non-paying renters who decided to steal fixtures, destroy drywall, and rip out plumbing. This is not new.
great video! Very enjoyable. Keep on the trash-out story since nobody is doing the details of this story except you two.
They basically showed the guys address on the news report...7600 Scoby Ct., Las Vegas, NV. Hop onto google maps, plop down and do one of those street level strolls, there's the red truck with the spare tire at the tailgate. Not sure if it's moved since the google folks filmed the neighborhood tour...Parked next to it is a nice, lovely fuel efficient Hummer H2. Change to the satellite view and zoom up to see a labyrinth of cul de sac sprawl named "spring valley". They could name a salad dressing after it.
So...maybe the guys' a methhead, maybe he's struggling to make ends meet, maybe he came to vegas with the "career plan" of making money on the Texas Hold'em circuit.
I've actually met folks that claimed to be making a living playing Texas Hold'em...not sure if that's still the flavor of the weak but the one's I met weren't doing all that well with their career plans.
I bet he is a recently unemployed or underemployed (possibly recently divorced as well) construction worker, looking at the truck, his age, and seeing the front door GLUED shut. I bet he used some Liquid Nails in a caulking gun, judging by what it looks like. That is going to be one hell of a mess getting that door replaced... They will likely have to replace the frame as well. I bet there are a lot more interesting little hidden surprises in there...
There are public-nuisance laws on the books, and situations where somebody takes action that drastically reduce neighboring property values seems to me one of the very-rare times that they should be enforced.
I had a room mate back in the late 60's who was being considered for a job as an attorney for the Justice Dept. It took me weeks to figure who had been in my bedroom shuffling through my books and papers. They tried to be neat but it was obvious to me. I guess that was going on even under LBJ.
Ross | Homepage | 06.24.08 - 7:01 pm | #
Back then they really didn't look that hard except to see if s/he was a commie or not... if a red you were dead.
Hell I had hard core hallucinogenic eating computer programmer buddies who worked as a contractor on Cray's for NSA - he spent a year bumming around the Middle East PRIOR to that.
Heck while in Europe he spent time in East Berlin - told NSA ALL OF THIS - still ended up with top clearance (though he had a shadow while on projects).
One pot smoking wild man friend went to Las Alamos & Rocky Flats as an engineer - specializing in handline radio-nucleotides. The feds actually interviewed me for his security clearance. I didn't lie - ya he partied but no more than any of us. He had no problems getting clearance.
I myself was recruited to go to Savanna River and was told I'd have no problem getting the highest clearance - I was already pre-screened & all but cleared. I didn't go, didn't want to make weapons plus I had a few skeletons...
I knew another person who did oceans of LSD in college & still ended up working in 'Justice' in DC. Security clearance no problem.
That all happened in the late 70s & early 80s. Carter & Reagan admins (mostly under RR).
If they were vetting job candidates back then they weren't vetting them real hard or they didn't care.
I'm certain - after neocons & 9-11 & Patriot - that its way different now.
what's with the reporter's poor grammar? local news can't hire english speakers?
I bet he used some Liquid Nails in a caulking gun, judging by what it looks like. That is going to be one hell of a mess getting that door replaced... They will likely have to replace the frame as well. I bet there are a lot more interesting little hidden surprises in there...
Ya I saw that too - it could have been worse, he could have used marine grade epoxy...
REBear, you can use a US broker to trade a lot of foreign markets:
Online Trading - Interactive Brokers - Options Broker - Discount Broker
Actually, it's the one I use to trade US markets. It's a cheap and very, very good broker with lots of different markets and products, plus a very nice trading software.
However, the US market drives most of the other markets, so going long outside the US might not be the solution. Also, in markets outside the us stocks are sometimes more correlated, meaning that when the market goes down, almost EVERY stock goes down... not so in the US.
That Schiff video is absolutely classic.
Luskin is such an ass, he makes my blood boil. Looking back on this I doubt if he even believes the crap he's saying, but he gets on the TV shows, so someone is buying it... literally. I wish there were some accountability.. someone keeping score so that hacks like Luskin are ashamed to show their faces, but no.
Shame all around
I understand that pieces of frozen chicken hidden throughout the house become very aromatic after a few weeks. The toilet tank is my favorite.
Kurt, there are a few people making a living on poker, but they don't go against good players. They simply prey on the amateurs, on low pot tables, especially on the web.
"Haven't any of you readers out there ever thrown a brick at your computer or tossed the thing against the wall?"
Speaking strictly for myself, no.
Although as the late George Carlin once said, "Want to is a sin all by itself."
i'm actually familiar with that second townhome complex (with the missing appliances). That one seems like a little more nuanced story: the developer went bankrupt after a small number of the units were occupied by new owners--and then no one else took occupancy. So it's a real mess for those owners, who probably don't feel like they're sticking it to the banks (although they are) so much as they've just been stuck by the developer.
If they were vetting job candidates back then they weren't vetting them real hard or they didn't care.
I'm certain - after neocons & 9-11 & Patriot - that its way different now.
No, it is not much different today. Too many jobs to fill. I have plenty of direct knowledge.
You know, on the video, the guy is only clearing out the house and throwing trash in the backyard. It's not clear that he's done any damage to the house, it's only reports from his neighbors. If he was washing something in his garage and knocked over the bucket, that would qualify as a gush of water. I don't get why he's throwing out the trash (you know, the bank would have to have hauled away anyway) but if I were destroying a house, I'm sure I could do a better job with less effort. Jeez, I just thought of a couple things,...but I won't tempt fate by publishing.
Some of you folk are such spoilsports. Judging from your replies, you'd demand that Kevin McAllister, not the robbers, should have been arrested whenever you watch Home Alone.
Anyway, these clips are obviously previews for the new spinnoff of the famed reality show Flip This House, entitled F*ck This Foreclosure.
You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange.They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''
You mean like Ben Bernanke, John? So would you give him the hook?
Would you appoint an economist who did see all or some of this coming? Like Shiller, Roubini, Krugman, etc? Oh never mind.
I don't think it is correct to use the word "vandalism" for people taking the appliances. Also, are they sure it was the previous owners in that case? A lot of different behaviors are being conflated.
Kurt:
I had the same idea except went to the Clark County NV recorders site and looked the property and owner up.
The owner has a few other properties that are currently in foreclouser also. Looks like he got in way over his head speculating that RE prices always go up.
Well, this clip finally gave an address so we can dig up a little more information on this story. (I liked how they did not explicitly give the address but they discreetly showed the street sign.)
This is pretty juicy - the guy who "owns" that house is actually an "investor" who has at least three more houses (currently all with NOTS as well). Obviously we don't know whose stuff is getting thrown out (may have belonged to a renter), but if he is actually the one trashing that house I guess it will happen to three others too!
My friend's husband was a minister and real estate agent. Market fell. They held on for over a year making their payments and trying to figure out another way, they called the bank to try to work something out-( Countrywide) they were told the bank wouldn't even talk to them until they were in delinquient status. They were advised to discontinue paying their mortgage so they could speak to someone in the that department. After much stress and soul searching, they did. two days after they payment was 30 days, they called again. They were then told there was nothing the bank would do for them. Due to the location the home was located in, the bank just didn't care and the borrowers had to be in delinquient status before they could tell them any of that. WTF? Decent people just trying to do the right thing getting screwed... guess that's the new "American Way"
You better believe they'll be taking any of the brand new appliances they put inthat house to try to sell it over the last year. I don't blame them. Their replaceing all the fixtures with builder grade too. I don't have a problem with it. It's ridiculous. They won't trash the house though- that's absurd.. but I got to say, I can almost understand why one would.
Let's admit, the banks who wrote this guy's neighbor's bad loans are a teeny-weenie bit responsible too...white guy makes a good income, buys a house on a risky loan thinking that he qualified for a risky loan because his credit score was 825, but little did he know that they gave all of his Latino neighbors got the same loan, probably for more, based on no documentation, no SS#, sub-prime credit score, stated income, they walk away, his house drops 40% in 1 year, no equity, loan resetting in 1 year, can't refi, can't sell, imminent foreclosure, destroyed credit for 7 years, all lost. Yeah, I'd be pissed too. Get ready for lots more of this. Hopefully, the banks will stop getting bailed out soon or else we will be living in New Arabia.
I love how they target a white guy in this story, when 90% of the foreclosures in California are to Latinos. Just look at the last names in the pre-foreclosure listings. Damn media.
I did forget to mention, my friends checked into declaring bankruptcy and were told it will cost minimum of $2K. Well geez, if they had $2K lying around, they may not have quite as much trouble paying their bills.... The whole thing is just sad. Yes, there are people who take advantage of others and the system but it just sucks when THIS people ruin it for those of us who really WANT to do the right thing.
Can't make his payments but he has a huge-ass truck outside in the driveway. Can't feel sorry for someone who appears to make terrible financial decisions.
I wouldn't call his Toyota with a flat tire exactly a "huge truck". His financial decisions were tacitly based on his trust of financial institutions, just as the financial institutions trust that borrowers will pay them back. The financial institutions hold ALL of the power in deciding who to lend to- NOT the borrowers. Also, the borrowers did not bundle good with bad loans into financial instruments and sell them in the vast black hole of derivative markets, which has caused the liquidity crisis that destroyed people's ability to borrow money. So, I wouldn't go totally blaming this guy for the problems. Also, we're all being affected by it, some more than others, so it's not just their problem. The whole system is corrupt with greed. Unless someone starts picking off people who are pulling strings at the top, we will see more and more of this crap.
Maybe all that is needed is a good judge:
Topic Galleries -- themorningcall.com
(story about a guy that gutted his $1.2M MacMansion leaving it worth $180K. He got convicted for doing it.)
Howdy
I feel some times folk's are just so upset, they don't really know what they are doing at the time.
Then you have the one's that only want to put the blame else where.
Have a good one!
I hope you aren't saying my friend wanted to put the blame elsewhere. They had themselves set up the way we're all told to do it- 6 months of savings in reserve etc. The guy is a real estate agent and minister, the wife is an interior designer and mom. The went through their savings trying to keep it all together while they waited for the market and tried to work it out. It was only after they were in the most dire straights that they tried to call the lender b/c that is what "they" tell you to do- inform your creditors and they'll work with you- I call BS. They didn't. The house had been on the market for nearly a year- they saw the financial turmoil and were trying to do the right thing and downsize etc- it didn't sell. Not one offer. Foreclosure is honestly their only option at this point. They've tried everything they can and don't have the 2K to declare bankruptcy anyway. They aren't blaming anyone but themselves but at the same time, they tried to do it the "right" way and had the door solidly slammed in their faces.
I think that stinks.
And THAT, my friends, is commonly known as a smackdown.