[CA renter]

How about we target a neighborhood and “mass-lowball” the listings there?

Just flood them with a dozen lowball offers, so they get the idea that they are still overpriced.

Anyone else notice how some properties are listed at fairly decent prices, and right down the street, some bozo lists for 40%+ more? Still a lot of denial, and these sellers need Piggs to show them what reality looks like.

It’s free, fun, and somebody might actually get their lowball bid hit! 🙂

[CA renter]

Thanks for the post, HLS.

I was wondering about this service, so am bummed that it can’t protect a person’s identity.

One thing that bothers me about the whole “keep your SSN a secret” is that EVERYBODY asks for it and claims that they need it.

How many times do people fill-out applications for store credit cards, and some minimum wage clerk (with no background check) now has your SSN. Same goes for medical offices, job applications, colleges (where your SSN used to be your student ID number), etc.

Ideally, we could all get new numbers that would be used exclusively for formal reasons (ID for government entities & benefits, etc.) and our current SSNs should be used for credit and consumer-related things — and should be better controlled through the credit bureaus.

Additionally, if fraud is detected, there should be a way to immediately lock-down any further use of the SSN and clear up any fraudulent activity on one’s reports.

[CA renter]

Thanks for the post, HLS.

I was wondering about this service, so am bummed that it can’t protect a person’s identity.

One thing that bothers me about the whole “keep your SSN a secret” is that EVERYBODY asks for it and claims that they need it.

How many times do people fill-out applications for store credit cards, and some minimum wage clerk (with no background check) now has your SSN. Same goes for medical offices, job applications, colleges (where your SSN used to be your student ID number), etc.

Ideally, we could all get new numbers that would be used exclusively for formal reasons (ID for government entities & benefits, etc.) and our current SSNs should be used for credit and consumer-related things — and should be better controlled through the credit bureaus.

Additionally, if fraud is detected, there should be a way to immediately lock-down any further use of the SSN and clear up any fraudulent activity on one’s reports.

[CA renter]

Thanks for the post, HLS.

I was wondering about this service, so am bummed that it can’t protect a person’s identity.

One thing that bothers me about the whole “keep your SSN a secret” is that EVERYBODY asks for it and claims that they need it.

How many times do people fill-out applications for store credit cards, and some minimum wage clerk (with no background check) now has your SSN. Same goes for medical offices, job applications, colleges (where your SSN used to be your student ID number), etc.

Ideally, we could all get new numbers that would be used exclusively for formal reasons (ID for government entities & benefits, etc.) and our current SSNs should be used for credit and consumer-related things — and should be better controlled through the credit bureaus.

Additionally, if fraud is detected, there should be a way to immediately lock-down any further use of the SSN and clear up any fraudulent activity on one’s reports.

[CA renter]

Thanks for the post, HLS.

I was wondering about this service, so am bummed that it can’t protect a person’s identity.

One thing that bothers me about the whole “keep your SSN a secret” is that EVERYBODY asks for it and claims that they need it.

How many times do people fill-out applications for store credit cards, and some minimum wage clerk (with no background check) now has your SSN. Same goes for medical offices, job applications, colleges (where your SSN used to be your student ID number), etc.

Ideally, we could all get new numbers that would be used exclusively for formal reasons (ID for government entities & benefits, etc.) and our current SSNs should be used for credit and consumer-related things — and should be better controlled through the credit bureaus.

Additionally, if fraud is detected, there should be a way to immediately lock-down any further use of the SSN and clear up any fraudulent activity on one’s reports.

[CA renter]

Thanks for the post, HLS.

I was wondering about this service, so am bummed that it can’t protect a person’s identity.

One thing that bothers me about the whole “keep your SSN a secret” is that EVERYBODY asks for it and claims that they need it.

How many times do people fill-out applications for store credit cards, and some minimum wage clerk (with no background check) now has your SSN. Same goes for medical offices, job applications, colleges (where your SSN used to be your student ID number), etc.

Ideally, we could all get new numbers that would be used exclusively for formal reasons (ID for government entities & benefits, etc.) and our current SSNs should be used for credit and consumer-related things — and should be better controlled through the credit bureaus.

Additionally, if fraud is detected, there should be a way to immediately lock-down any further use of the SSN and clear up any fraudulent activity on one’s reports.

[CA renter]

Same here.

A couple of years ago, people on bubble blogs would impatiently ask, “when will we know the bubble has burst?”

I replied that we would know when bubble blogs cease to be so popular because people will no longer be obsessed with the housing market. Even bears were “victims” of the bubble, because **we** were looking at every listing, spending all our free time on the internet and thinking about little more than when we would/could buy a house — what it would look like, how we would design or organize it, etc. Obsessing over every move in market prices and sales volume…comparing it to weeks, months, years and decades before.

Now, we are seeing the effects of the bubble wear off. Housing has lost its intense “aura”, and houses we lusted after just a few short years ago look a bit older, worn-out and the yards seem a bit smaller and have more weeds growing all around — and we recognize the amount work (and money!) that’s required to properly maintain a house. We see how buying a house can tie you down during uncertain times.

IMHO, we have entered a more “normal” market. Still not the bottom, and probably won’t be for a few years; but we have finally seen the end of the housing bubble (YAY!).

[CA renter]

Same here.

A couple of years ago, people on bubble blogs would impatiently ask, “when will we know the bubble has burst?”

I replied that we would know when bubble blogs cease to be so popular because people will no longer be obsessed with the housing market. Even bears were “victims” of the bubble, because **we** were looking at every listing, spending all our free time on the internet and thinking about little more than when we would/could buy a house — what it would look like, how we would design or organize it, etc. Obsessing over every move in market prices and sales volume…comparing it to weeks, months, years and decades before.

Now, we are seeing the effects of the bubble wear off. Housing has lost its intense “aura”, and houses we lusted after just a few short years ago look a bit older, worn-out and the yards seem a bit smaller and have more weeds growing all around — and we recognize the amount work (and money!) that’s required to properly maintain a house. We see how buying a house can tie you down during uncertain times.

IMHO, we have entered a more “normal” market. Still not the bottom, and probably won’t be for a few years; but we have finally seen the end of the housing bubble (YAY!).

[CA renter]

Same here.

A couple of years ago, people on bubble blogs would impatiently ask, “when will we know the bubble has burst?”

I replied that we would know when bubble blogs cease to be so popular because people will no longer be obsessed with the housing market. Even bears were “victims” of the bubble, because **we** were looking at every listing, spending all our free time on the internet and thinking about little more than when we would/could buy a house — what it would look like, how we would design or organize it, etc. Obsessing over every move in market prices and sales volume…comparing it to weeks, months, years and decades before.

Now, we are seeing the effects of the bubble wear off. Housing has lost its intense “aura”, and houses we lusted after just a few short years ago look a bit older, worn-out and the yards seem a bit smaller and have more weeds growing all around — and we recognize the amount work (and money!) that’s required to properly maintain a house. We see how buying a house can tie you down during uncertain times.

IMHO, we have entered a more “normal” market. Still not the bottom, and probably won’t be for a few years; but we have finally seen the end of the housing bubble (YAY!).

[CA renter]

Same here.

A couple of years ago, people on bubble blogs would impatiently ask, “when will we know the bubble has burst?”

I replied that we would know when bubble blogs cease to be so popular because people will no longer be obsessed with the housing market. Even bears were “victims” of the bubble, because **we** were looking at every listing, spending all our free time on the internet and thinking about little more than when we would/could buy a house — what it would look like, how we would design or organize it, etc. Obsessing over every move in market prices and sales volume…comparing it to weeks, months, years and decades before.

Now, we are seeing the effects of the bubble wear off. Housing has lost its intense “aura”, and houses we lusted after just a few short years ago look a bit older, worn-out and the yards seem a bit smaller and have more weeds growing all around — and we recognize the amount work (and money!) that’s required to properly maintain a house. We see how buying a house can tie you down during uncertain times.

IMHO, we have entered a more “normal” market. Still not the bottom, and probably won’t be for a few years; but we have finally seen the end of the housing bubble (YAY!).

[CA renter]

Same here.

A couple of years ago, people on bubble blogs would impatiently ask, “when will we know the bubble has burst?”

I replied that we would know when bubble blogs cease to be so popular because people will no longer be obsessed with the housing market. Even bears were “victims” of the bubble, because **we** were looking at every listing, spending all our free time on the internet and thinking about little more than when we would/could buy a house — what it would look like, how we would design or organize it, etc. Obsessing over every move in market prices and sales volume…comparing it to weeks, months, years and decades before.

Now, we are seeing the effects of the bubble wear off. Housing has lost its intense “aura”, and houses we lusted after just a few short years ago look a bit older, worn-out and the yards seem a bit smaller and have more weeds growing all around — and we recognize the amount work (and money!) that’s required to properly maintain a house. We see how buying a house can tie you down during uncertain times.

IMHO, we have entered a more “normal” market. Still not the bottom, and probably won’t be for a few years; but we have finally seen the end of the housing bubble (YAY!).

[CA renter]

FLU’s theory about money being taboo is interesting. Never thought about it that way, but think he’s on to something.

The best thing my parents did was not cave in to my wants. We were expected to work and had no problem doing so.

My parents had me pay rent (about $150/mo in the 80s) from the time I was 15, and I worked my way through college.

Friends who were given cars for their 16th b-days (yes, MBs, BMWs and fancy trucks) crashed every single one of them — over and over again.

Parents need to teach their children about money from early on, as schools will never do as well nor get as detailed as parents can. You can use real-life examples and show kids what your budget is and how money can be saved vs. spent. Also, it’s good to teach them which side of credit/debt they want to be on (want to lose money or make it?).

[CA renter]

FLU’s theory about money being taboo is interesting. Never thought about it that way, but think he’s on to something.

The best thing my parents did was not cave in to my wants. We were expected to work and had no problem doing so.

My parents had me pay rent (about $150/mo in the 80s) from the time I was 15, and I worked my way through college.

Friends who were given cars for their 16th b-days (yes, MBs, BMWs and fancy trucks) crashed every single one of them — over and over again.

Parents need to teach their children about money from early on, as schools will never do as well nor get as detailed as parents can. You can use real-life examples and show kids what your budget is and how money can be saved vs. spent. Also, it’s good to teach them which side of credit/debt they want to be on (want to lose money or make it?).

[CA renter]

FLU’s theory about money being taboo is interesting. Never thought about it that way, but think he’s on to something.

The best thing my parents did was not cave in to my wants. We were expected to work and had no problem doing so.

My parents had me pay rent (about $150/mo in the 80s) from the time I was 15, and I worked my way through college.

Friends who were given cars for their 16th b-days (yes, MBs, BMWs and fancy trucks) crashed every single one of them — over and over again.

Parents need to teach their children about money from early on, as schools will never do as well nor get as detailed as parents can. You can use real-life examples and show kids what your budget is and how money can be saved vs. spent. Also, it’s good to teach them which side of credit/debt they want to be on (want to lose money or make it?).

[CA renter]

FLU’s theory about money being taboo is interesting. Never thought about it that way, but think he’s on to something.

The best thing my parents did was not cave in to my wants. We were expected to work and had no problem doing so.

My parents had me pay rent (about $150/mo in the 80s) from the time I was 15, and I worked my way through college.

Friends who were given cars for their 16th b-days (yes, MBs, BMWs and fancy trucks) crashed every single one of them — over and over again.

Parents need to teach their children about money from early on, as schools will never do as well nor get as detailed as parents can. You can use real-life examples and show kids what your budget is and how money can be saved vs. spent. Also, it’s good to teach them which side of credit/debt they want to be on (want to lose money or make it?).

[Author]

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