[Coronita]

Who are all these people buying houses in the 900K-1 Plus Million dollar range? More to the point, why are all these other people and POSTING their houses in the 900K-1 Plus Million dollar range. Who do they think they're selling their houses to? There just CAN'T be that many Charger Football players looking for a home in San Diego. It's even more incredulous that they think they can sell their homes when lenders are tightening their purses. Unless you have a couple of 100K sitting in your wallet, lenders won't lend you money AND if you don't have pristine credit or if you're not willing to bite on a 7.8+% interest rate, you can just forget it. I hear case after case of people falling through escrow because lenders on a week to week basis have newer and stricter guidelines that make house loans impossible to fund. Don't the sellers know that? Are they confused by their own delusions of grandeur or (more or less likely) are their real estate agents not being real enough with them?

There must still be people floating in the stratosphere with bubbles that haven't burst. It's going to be a long hard crash.

 

There is some flaw in this logic. Funding is still there with people with good credit, good income. All this mess really has done it made it more difficult for people who wouldn't normally have qualified to begin with.

I would expect a lot of housing shakeout soon. More price differentiation between what $900-$1million really is.

 

[Coronita]

I won't even entertain this thread beyond saying this.

 

Isn't PowaySeller the one who "predicted" S&P would be some ridiculously low number by summer 2007? Well summers over.

LOL.

 

[Coronita]

Nor_LA-Temcu-SD-Guy

I don't know anything really, but I work next to two big CoutryWide offices in Calabasas, I took a walk to the market to buy a lotto ticket a little while ago, over heard a few people standing outside one of the offices saying something big was up for tomorrow. They were all (like) Drive safe home now and the like.. Very sad it seemed.

Maybe it's nothing who knows …

 

Perhaps the execution of the 20,000+ layoffs??? 

[Coronita]

I would have to agree with Diego, and Costa Mesa on this. I've said this numerous times, most recently on another posting about CFC a few days ago.

http://piggington.com/countrywide_mozilo_letter_explaining_layoffs

quote :

I'm sure you're also going to have all the former countrywide employees screaming bloody murder when there stock/options are worthless, and there 401k which they elected to buy company stock tanks., just like enron employees. Of course no one complains when things are going up.

Sorry, if folks don't diversify and get burned, it's no one else's fault but themselves. Case in point, I'm 70% long equities. And when,if a recession hits, I'm not going to be blaming anyone if I take it in the shorts. Or, maybe I should ask for a bailout too.

 

 

 

 

This lawsuit is all too predictable.

Here's typically what happens.

1)Company offers 401k plan with the options to buy company stock

2)Employees sees company stock run up.

3)Beyond buying espp shares, having stock options, employee buys stock in 401k plan.

4)Stock keeps going up, employees are estatic and dream of riches. Does not sell any espp shares, does not exercise in the money options, does not sell 401k plan purchases.

5)Stock tanks because of some event. Employees get canned, stock options worthless, espp shares underwater, 401k shares decimated

6)Screwed employees screw bloody murder, blames company for not properly "educating" them about diversification. Of cousre they don't read the espp prospectives, nor the 401k prospectives, nor anything else that is available to them. They consider themselves "victims".

7)Lawsuits started, "victims" testify in front of a judge wailing about how they lost a lot of money

8)No real settlement is reached, and even if so, most of it goes to the lawyers.

 

One problem that all these employees always have when they see there stock go up. GREED. No one complains when things are going up crazy. But someone always has to pay when the stock tanks.

You would have thought people would have learned their lesson from Enron, WorldCon, Adelphia, Lucent, Nortel, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc. Of course, "this time it's different".

 

[Coronita]

FLU, auto labor charges are by the book. They are standardized charges based on the make and year of the vehicle. They don't charge for actual time even if it's more or less than the actual time they spend on your car.

If a lawyer can charge $300/hr and an IT consultant can charge $200 plus expenses, then it's reasonable to me that an auto mechanic charges $85/hr. $400 for a brake job is not expensive if it includes the pads.

 

No way. Labor charges for a mechanic is like $100/hr. Labor isn't anywhere close to being over an hour for changing pads alone. And brake pads are like $100/pair for RACING PADS. Street pads, are closer to like $50. $200 is closer to reasonable. $400 is way overpriced.

 

 

[Coronita]

I was lucky that my friend back home was a VW mechanic, all I had to do was provide beer and be his tool fetcher when we changed mine. Please post back if you find a good one though, I too will need a good mechanic

 

Normally, this would have been a task my a friend and I would have attempted back in the bay area.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng35.shtml

 

Unfortunately, I'm short mechanically inclined friends down here 🙂 And attempting this with one person would be a challenge. Although if I can't find a satisfactory mechanic, I might as well go buy an air compressor and some air ratchets and bite the bullet.

[Coronita]

I think changing a Timing Belt should be within the capabilities of any AAA certified auto repair shop. I have got these done a couple of times without any problem.

 

not if you own a german car.

[Coronita]

procrastinator,

 

Thanks for the info too.

I have to say, being also an acura owner, honda's have their own seperate issues. The problem is these days that honda really isn't honda of japan. It's really honda of north america, with parts and labor sourced from north america. We've had our fair share of issues with the acura even though it's still under warranty. Getting warranty work done on it is like pulling teeth sometimes. Stealerships often assume, "hondas are so reliable, it must be a user operator error".

I guess I've been lucky with my A4. Like I said, mine's been pretty reliable since the stealership stopped touching it. And it's a car that's pretty easy to maintain, minus this big timing belt thing I need to do (arguably 20k miles earlier than really necessary). Parts are also pretty cheap, because of the platform sharing with VW. Locally, I found great source OEM parts are europarts-sd (http://www.europarts-sd.com/) in RB and puremotorsports in temecula (http://purems.com/). Usually 60-70% off from what the stealership charges. I also found out that it was worth investing in a nice tool called vag-com. In addition to diagnosing the check engine lights (should you hack around your car like I do), you can recode a few things, like auto-closing of windows/sunroofs with the remote, the way the alarm arms, auto door locking after reaching a certain speed, etc. http://www.ross-tech.com/

As such, I love the driving dynamics, and refuse to part with it. And my hobby has been to tinker with it, until the daughter arrived.  Ok, truthfully, I'm trying to hold out 2 more years for the S5.

[Coronita]

Mikes Foreign Auto. Not sure if he does Audi or if he is all VW. If not, he may know someone.

Used to be on Adams but moved a while back.
Should be able to find him using Yahoo/Google/Yellow Pages.

He is neither cheap nor expensive. A good, basic mechanic with an amazing ability to diagnose things by the way the car sounds when you drive up to the shop.

 

Thanks, I'll give him a call. If he does V-dubbs, he should be able to do audis too. Same engine for my year.

[Coronita]

FLU – it is obvious that you are an educated stickler when it comes to maintaining your vehicle(s). I am like you but to a much lesser degree. The most that I have done was to replace the fuel filter and brakes on my own vehicles.

I don't know of any reputable shops that might be able to help you with your vehicle. My one piece of advice would be to consider selling your Audi/VW and purchasing a vehicle that requires less maintenance.

I've owned both German (Mercedes) and American (Ford) vehicles in my time and both required more repair than I was willing to tackle. After much thought I decided to go with a brand (Honda) that had a much better track record in terms of longevity, reliability, and resale value. Just my $0.02.

 

Actually, I found that my trusty audi to be extremely reliable once I stopped taking it to the stealerships. The first 4 years had occasional issues. Coincidently, the first 4 years is when I went to the stealership because all maintanence was free. I was convinced that mechanics in the stealerships were intentionally creating problems so that they could bill the manufacturer for warranty work. And I can't count how many times after returning home, I found a mechanic have left a screwdriver, socket, or wrench lying on somewhere in the engine compartment. Nice adds to my tool collection though.

After my free maintenance was over and I stopped going to the stealerships, suddenly all the problems just went away. I've had about 4 years since without any really maintenance, except routine oil changes every 7500 miles (synthetic of course), brakes and tires (which i wear out excessively because the way I drive). Surprisely, I found routine maintenance on this car in many ways to more simple than a japanese car. For instance, replacing brake pads/discs are snap, since they aren't pressed on like Hondas . And since parts are so cheap, I don't even bother to resurface the discs – New rotors every time. I don't understand how stealerships (*cough* miramar) quote $400 for brake pad replacement alone on this car. At most this is a 1 hr job. Must be all the blinker fluid they are adding to the car 🙂

 

Unfortunately, I need to get the Timing Belts done, which is a routine thing on any car belt driven. And my last acura required the same kind of dismantling to get ths work done. I really was going to tackle this problem, since I bought all the parts, but just ran out of time.

[Coronita]

I don't know about the rest of you, but as I've been saying for the past couple of months, regardless of this mortgage mess, there seems to be a resurgence in the tech sectors. Companies in the bay area are staffing up again (more head hunter calls to me on a daily basis). And, talking with others in the industries, strong companies have been spending a lot on upgrading hardward/software/services. We've spend a couple of tens of million just last quarter in development only (excluding operations, support,production). Namely because, tech budgets at companies have been cut so long that the infrastructure has not choice be to be upgraded. The general state of some of these tech companies seem to confirm this.

Some news over today and early last week seem to confirm what I'm seeing.

Hopefully, Tech is Back in Black 🙂

———————————————————

Intel Raises 3rd-Quarter Revenue Outlook Amid Strong Demand

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker, raised its third-quarter revenue outlook on Monday due to stronger-than expected demand for its microprocessors.

The company now expects revenue between $9.4 billion and $9.8 billion, up from its previous range of $9 billion to $9.6 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect revenue of $9.4 billion.

Gross margin percentage is expected to be in the upper half of the previous range of 52 percent, plus or minus a couple of points.

Intel is scheduled to report its results for the quarter on Oct. 16.

Shares rose 8 cents to $25.55 in premarket trading.

—————————————–

TAIPEI, Sept 10 (Reuters) – TSMC (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) (TSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest contract chip maker, posted an 8 percent annual rise in August sales and raised its third-quarter sales forecast on Monday, showing further improvement in the chip sector's recovery.

The annual gain lagged that of smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) (2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) (UMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which on Friday posted a 10.8 percent annual rise in August sales amid growing demand for new computers and consumer gadgets.

 http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKTP3165020070910?rpc=44

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), which sells most of its chips to clients in the United States, including Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), had unconsolidated sales of T$29.20 billion ($882 million) last month, up from T$27.00 billion a year ago and T$28.77 billion in July.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/techhardware/10378599.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

—————————————–

I personally can attest this next article hits one of the growing issues, as the software industry is moving to a SAAS (software as a service).

Networks Driving Data Storage Growth By Daniel Del'Re TheStreet.com Staff Reporter 9/7/2007 6:25 PM EDT Click here for more stories by Daniel Del'Re

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The generally staid market for data storage is starting to quake as tech titans wrestle for a share of this fast-growing tech sector.

Storage firms are seeing demand for their wares increase as more companies use storage networks rather than standalone units. These networks are replacing the typical arrangement of having an individual storage device back up a single server so data is accessible even if a server fails.

Storage networks are also gaining popularity among companies using virtualization software to improve the efficiency of their servers.

In the second quarter of this year, the networked storage subset of the data storage market grew 13% to about $3.1 billion, more than twice as fast as the total storage market, according to data from IDC.

"We're seeing a strong shift to the networked concept of storage," says Vasu Kasibhotla, an analyst with asset manager Trilogy Global Advisor. "We expect that trend to gain moment in next few years."

—————————————–

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070906/national_semi_outlook.html?.v=1

National Semiconductor Expects Sequential Sales Growth for 2nd Quarter

SANTA CLARA (AP) — Chip maker National Semiconductor Corp. said Thursday it expects fiscal second-quarter sales to grow 4 percent to 7 percent sequentially.

The company posted first-quarter revenue of $471.5 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are expecting sales of $495.9 million, a 5 percent increase.

Shares rose 13 cents to $26.63.

[Coronita]

Eh…YES! That's one of the first things my wife looks for in a 2-story. Is the laundry room upstairs. With 3 kids, hauling laundry up and down the stairs all weekend long gets old real quick. Never thought about the leak issue, but then agaiin the same problem can happen in a bathroom.

More likely in the laundry room than a bathroom. The hose connecting your washer to the faucets typically are hoses slightly better than your garden hose. Ok, that's an exageration. But those hoses (typically rubber), crack over time and burst. It's much more likely for this to happen. 

[Coronita]

I hope I can pick up a couple of extra properties in the CV and Del Sur area if 2-3 years.

[Coronita]

I guess if you're unemployed, there's nothing better to do than to protest 🙂

[Coronita]

Just for fun…Let's find all the REO's in Carmel Valley. (also some additional ones here: http://www.thedirectoriescompany.com/reos.htm)

When I get some spare time, I'm going to put together something that searches all sites and consolidates this.

 

Asset Link: Not searchable.

 

Coldwell Banker:

 

 

12656 CAMINITO RADIANTE [Map]

List Price: $910,000

REO#: 2000322498   Type: SFH City: SAN DIEGO   Beds/Baths: 4/3.5 State: CA   SqFt: 3197 County: SAN DIEGO   Year Built: 1999 for more information regarding this property, please contact: MIKE ILLEMAN Phone: 619-299-2515 Fax: 619-299-4842 EMail: [email protected] Voice Mail: 619-517-6621

 

 

Fidelity National: None

 

Nationwide: None

 

REO World: None

 

 

Countrywide(oh my, so many listing nationally: 29 pages X100 per page):

http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

LOL: this was the forclosure i was looking at the Crest. Now it makes sense. Countrywide..Duh! (FYI: Sale pending)

SAN DIEGO

12627 EL CAMINO REAL #A, SAN DIEGO, CA 92130

SFR

CHRIS TOWNSON

866-4737356

$549,900.00

 

 

 

 

Premiere Asset services (for wells fargo)

http://www.premierereo.com/reo/

Address 4015 CARMEL VIEW RD #181 SAN DIEGO, CA 92130 List Price $349,000 Property ID 1158020250A Property Type Condominium Approx. Square Feet 964     Agent Contact Information Agent Name Elaine Cook Agent Address Encinitas CA Telephone Number (760) 752-2812

 

Bank of America: None

 

 

 

Citibank: None

 

 

 

Indymac: None

 

 

Chase: None

 

 

 

hsbc: None

 

 

 

us bank: None

 

 

 

[Author]

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