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eikoph
ParticipantI think your concern is not misplaced. Back in September, I switched money from a money market fund that had somewhere between 8-20% exposure to mortgage backed securities and/or collateralized debt obligations, to a money market fund that was solely invested in US Treasuries (the Vanguard fund mentioned in a reply above). The New York Times article below explains the risk that normally "safe" money market funds are facing and that many will likely require bail-outs to prevent them from "breaking the buck".
Investor Safe Haven Becomes a Concern, New York Times, Nov 14
ParticipantI think your concern is not misplaced. Back in September, I switched money from a money market fund that had somewhere between 8-20% exposure to mortgage backed securities and/or collateralized debt obligations, to a money market fund that was solely invested in US Treasuries (the Vanguard fund mentioned in a reply above). The New York Times article below explains the risk that normally "safe" money market funds are facing and that many will likely require bail-outs to prevent them from "breaking the buck".
Investor Safe Haven Becomes a Concern, New York Times, Nov 14
ParticipantI think your concern is not misplaced. Back in September, I switched money from a money market fund that had somewhere between 8-20% exposure to mortgage backed securities and/or collateralized debt obligations, to a money market fund that was solely invested in US Treasuries (the Vanguard fund mentioned in a reply above). The New York Times article below explains the risk that normally "safe" money market funds are facing and that many will likely require bail-outs to prevent them from "breaking the buck".
Investor Safe Haven Becomes a Concern, New York Times, Nov 14
ParticipantI think your concern is not misplaced. Back in September, I switched money from a money market fund that had somewhere between 8-20% exposure to mortgage backed securities and/or collateralized debt obligations, to a money market fund that was solely invested in US Treasuries (the Vanguard fund mentioned in a reply above). The New York Times article below explains the risk that normally "safe" money market funds are facing and that many will likely require bail-outs to prevent them from "breaking the buck".
Investor Safe Haven Becomes a Concern, New York Times, Nov 14
ParticipantWow! I guess you can’t really blame the pictures in this one (as bad as they are). The house itself is butt-ugly.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/apa/358916741.html
The average commercial building has more domestic appeal than this house.
ParticipantWow! I guess you can’t really blame the pictures in this one (as bad as they are). The house itself is butt-ugly.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/apa/358916741.html
The average commercial building has more domestic appeal than this house.
ParticipantI love how people rationalize…
‘”To make a living, you had to push a product you didn’t believe in,” said Aimee Quigley, a Home Center mortgage broker. “It was like being a defense attorney where you know your client did it, but you have to say he didn’t.”‘
“To make a living, you had to lie about where you got stuff,” said Joe Rascal, a fence for an LA burglary ring. “It was like being a mortgage broker where you know your client is unemployed and broke, but to get the loan you have to say he’s making $120k and has $50k in the bank.”
ParticipantMy favorite quote…
‘During the four-year boom that ended last summer, Home Center expanded from 15 agents to 80 in three offices. The roster of agents has since sunk to 52, only about half of whom are active.
“The rest are looking for side jobs at McDonald’s,” said Home Center President Jason Bosch. “It happened overnight.”‘
It’s a good time to buy a Big Mac… would you like fries with that?
Participant“…how do you explain in the last housing downturn of the nineties, when areas like Balboa Island, and Aspen, Colorado were hit hard, some properties were selling for fifty percent off? You would think that people in those areas don’t need to sell, as many paid cash for their multi-million dollar mansions.”
People have a tendency to live right up to the edge of (or slighty over) their income and asset levels. This is as true for rich people as it is for the poor or middle class. When they then hit some type of financial bump in the road and need some liquidity, the vacation home in Aspen or Balboa Island is what goes on the chopping block.
February 11, 2007 at 9:20 AM in reply to: California housing bubble caused by yuppie surfers? #45089ParticipantThe Times in Texas!
“Interesting article in today’s New York Times”
As a sidebar, I just wanted to comment that yes, some people in Texas regularly read the New York Times, despite the fact that the Times doesn’t include any coverage of rodeos, high school football, or monster truck rallies. 😉
Here in Arlington, it’s even possible to get home delivery. Not sure how the papers get here — maybe they throw a bundle off the plane as it’s flying over at 30,000 feet on its way from New York to the west coast.
I’m just funnin’ here, in response to some stereotyping of Texas residents as yokels from a previous post — don’t anybody get your panties in a knot. I’ve lived in 9 states and 4 countries and traveled in many more — when I see such sweeping (and erroneous) generalizations about people, I can’t help poking gentle fun.
ParticipantRodeos, high school football, and Monster Truck rallies
I guess if I wanted my life to revolve around rodeos, high school football, and Monster Truck rallies I would move to Arlington.
Having been a Piggington’s reader for a while, I know the emphasis is on presenting data to back up your assertions. So I’ll point out that while I’m personally not interested in Monster Truck rallies, if I was, it would be easier to see one if I lived in San Diego than in Arlington, Texas. A check of the Monster Jam truck rally schedule shows four upcoming dates in California, including one at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. According to the schedule, Monster Jam isn’t coming anywhere near to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, much less Arlington.
Are there rodeos here — yes there are (well actually, none here in Arlington itself, but in Fort Worth and Mesquite, yes). Again it’s not something I’m particularly interested in, and so far nobody has forced me to attend any against my will. And in 16 years, rodeo is certainly nothing that’s come up in conversation with my colleagues at work or with friends or acquaintances. Maybe I’m just hanging out with the wrong crowd.
I’ll go out on a limb here, but I’ll hazard a guess that high school football is also played in San Diego. Same as nobody forces you to go to the games if you aren’t interested, it’s the same here. This is not Odessa, the small west Texas town of “Friday Night Lights” fame. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex has a population of 5.1 million and is the fifth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Arlington itself has a population of over 330,000. Maybe you were thinking of Major League baseball, since the Texas Rangers play in Arlington. I do usually go to a couple of Texas Rangers games every year. Again, in 16 years here, I can’t recall any colleague or friend that has brought up the topic of high school football. Lots of talk about the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Mavericks though, but I’m guessing they probably talk about the Padres and the Chargers occasionally there in San Diego.
And how can you stand those Texas summers?
Texas summers are hot — I conceded that in the original post. I also pointed out that summers wouldn’t be any cooler in the Palmdale/Lancaster area, which is where I could find a comparable home at a comparable price to the one I have in Arlington — except that then I’d have a two hour commute each way to a job in LA. I’ll add, having also lived in Florida, that I’d rather spend the summer in Texas than in Florida (a lot less humidity here). Are the summers cool and refreshing if you live in La Jolla or Coronado and catch the Pacific breezes — you betcha. However, I couldn’t afford to buy a house in either place, so that’s a moot point.
There is a reason people live in Arlington and a reason people live in San Diego: People live in Arlington because they have to; people live in San Diego because they can.
Actually, with marketable IT job skills, I could pretty much live wherever I wanted. Per the original post, I turned down a job offer in LA — I live in Arlington because when I weighed all the factors that mattered to me, it clearly offered the best quality of life.
I was in no way bashing San Diego — I’ve caught rays out at Pacific Beach, body surfed at Mission Beach, jumped off the cliffs by La Jolla Cove and swum into the caves — I had some great times. Something tells me though, that if I’m working overtime (or more likely two jobs) to afford a $3000+ a month mortgage nut and/or spending 15-25 hours a week commuting, I’m not going to have too much time to hang at the beach.
ParticipantApparently, there are still areas of the nation where the first question out of someone’s mouth when they meet you does not involve what you do for work, where you live and what kind of car you drive.
Actually, in Dallas, it does matter what kind of car you drive and where you live; in Fort Worth, it doesn’t. I didn’t understand the micro-environments when I first moved here, and it’s funny how that stuff works. I go into Fort Worth all the time, Dallas only when I have to.
ParticipantRelated follow-up:
In January 2007, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) apparently distributed a letter regarding the FinCEN Mortgage Loan Fraud report to “FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)”.
Their Financial Institution Letter FIL-4-2007 lists the highlights of the report:
- FinCEN analyzed a sampling of SARs to identify any trends or patterns of suspected mortgage loan fraud.
- The assessment reveals that suspected mortgage loan fraud in the United States has risen substantially in the past year.
- Many of the SARs reviewed included more than one characterization of suspicious activity in addition to mortgage fraud. “False statement” was the most reported activity in conjunction with mortgage loan fraud, while “identity theft” was the fastest growing secondary characterization reported.
- Mortgage brokers or correspondent lenders initiated loans in nearly 37 percent of the sample.
- Emerging mortgage fraud schemes identified include asset rental and debt elimination fraud.
- The assessment may be useful to law enforcement, regulatory authorities and financial institutions offering mortgage loan products.
Their suggested routing (at the banks) is to “Chief Executive Officer, Chief Loan Officer, and Security Officer”.
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