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Lickitysplit
Participant“Lsplit – you condemn the hijacking, and then embark full force.”
Hardly anywhere near full force, and done without insulting any champions of the liberal or anti-war movements, without any insinuation of lesser mental faculty in these people or those who agree with them.
ParticipantPD, thank you so much for your posts. As I don’t have the time to write all that I’d love to say, I’ll be brief and to the point(s).
– PS, this thread and those like it are exactly why I suggested we refrain from political discussion. Here we have a thread supposedly on property tax, and now the majority of the posts here are regarding politics/foreign policy. I agree RE does not fuction in a vaccum, but you’d be hard pressed to say this thread, like so many others, has not been highjacked. This highjacking seems to becoming more common, and, I believe that often you are the first to steer the posts off into politics/foreign policy. This is in no intended as an attack, merely an observation.
– “Just abandon Isreal and the world will love us”
This worked out so well for both Poland and the world when Hitler fixed his eye on the Sudatenland. “We need breeding room!” he cried. “Well, we don’t want a fight, so lets just give it to him so he’s happy,” said the world/League of Nations. Anyone remembered what followed? What do you think would happen to Isreal and its people if the US offically withdrew support? What would Palastine (Hamas, Fatah, PLO, Islamic Jihad), al Quada, Iran, etc do? Call for more peaceful “cultural understanding?”– “What we need is more education, more international travel, more understanding”
This is a wonderfully feel-good sentement that works in some regards and fails miserably in others. I’m fairly well traveled for my age, having visited a dozen or so other countries. I’m no where near my folks in this regard, who have circled the world twice since Y2K and can’t agree on how many countries they have been to in that time (I think it’s something like 60-70… if they can’t keep count I sure can’t). Much of this travel has been “off the beaten path” in places ranging from Kenya, South Africa, Isreal, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, India, small pacific kingdoms, etc etc etc. Neither of my folks has love of war, particuarly my rather liberal mother. What they have directly seen in key Muslim countries has made them both very sad. They have seen the schools were young Muslims are made to memorize the Koran, with emphasis on jihad and the command to kill the infidel (aka non-Muslim) and reclaim all land ever controlled by Islam. They have watched as the children are taught to demonize westerners and all things non-Muslim. To claim that we lack understanding of their culture is to completely misunderstand the struggle in which we are involved. Perhaps, and this is a big perhaps, the struggle could be peacibly resolved if they understood the rest of the world better. Perhaps… but this would require a not-too-small overhaul of a world religion. Assuming this has merit, how do we go about increasing the information availible to Muslims in direct competition to such indoctrination? Internet, print, TV, student visas, etc. All things we are trying to do… although I would argue that the political leanings of much of the free world print and TV results in propoganda better spun for the jihadi intrests than for the improvement of Muslim understanding of western culture.-“France, Germany, Russia, China aren’t worried/are doing business, so why should we worry?”
Look into the history of the UN’s Oil for Food program for an easy example of why we should worry-“Germany, Switzerland, etc spends more on social programs and less on military”
Many of these countries are basically defended by US bases. Have you compared the average economic growth of these countries to ours? Hint: social welfare programs are a heavy burden on a nation’s economy.ParticipantPerryChase & PowaySeller –
In regards to your views on merit-based state regulation of human reproduction… these views are called eugenics. These ideas have a long history in this country and elsewhere. I’d encourage you to look into the history of these ideas and the outcomes of their application.
ParticipantPS – You hit the nail on the head. If the media can’t accurately view, research, or report the very ground under their feet (aka RE), why in the world would we assume that their acumen is better in other reported areas? I use to date a girl who teaches university-level communication classes. Not communications, aka telecom, but communication, i.e. journalism, public relations, etc. As she did her schooling she was disgusted with what she learned about journalism. The vast, vast majority of the news comes from press releases, made by PR people from the company, special interest group, government agency, political party, etc that have a vested interest in the perception of the situation. It is then regurgitated to you in your medium of choice, often with little to no work on the part of the journalist. True, honest, impartial investigative journalism is far from the norm. Fact-check anything and everything… you can assume the journalist didn’t.
ParticipantThe village drive house wasn’t just flipped once… it was flipped twice.
09/29/2004: $625,000
08/01/2003: $461,000
01/31/2002: $344,500Listed @: $559,000
ParticipantI’d certainly make an effort to attend an evening or weekend meet.
ParticipantIf you want something done….
For those of us (myself included) who aren’t yet savvy enough to understand the innerworkings of shorting a stock:
ParticipantIt’s actually the “Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2006”
Links:
House of Rep. HR 5121
Washington Post“H.R. 5121, Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2006:
“Introduced by Rep. Ney on March 6, the bill would modernize the 72-year-old Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in order to decrease premiums for borrowers and increase access to homeownership.
“H.R. 5121 would base mortgage insurance premiums on the borrower’s credit history, loan-to-value ratio, debt-to-income ratio, and on FHA’s historical experience with similar borrowers. The legislation amends the National Housing Act to change the factors for determining the maximum single-family mortgage amounts insurable by FHA. In addition, FHA would be allowed to insure up to the full median house price in the area, as opposed to 95 percent of the median house price.
“Additionally, the bill would amend the National Housing Act to provide more flexibility to cash downpayment requirements by eliminating the three percent requirement allowing the HUD Secretary to determine the appropriate cash requirement based upon the likelihood of default.
“Rep. Ney said, “H.R. 5121 seeks to bring FHA back into business and to restore the FHA product to its traditional market position. American families need safe options when purchasing a home, at a fair price. Families need a way to take part in the American Dream without putting themselves at risk. Families need FHA and through this comprehensive legislation FHA will be made more efficient and streamlined which will improve competition in the prime home loan mortgage industry.”
“The FHA was created by the National Housing Act of 1934 to provide stability and liquidity in the market in order to broaden homeownership, to protect lending institutions, and to stimulate the building industry. Prior to its creation, mortgages did not exceed 50 percent of the home value and did not extend past the fifth year. At the end of the five years, mortgages had to be paid or renegotiated.
“The FHA provides only mortgage insurance for those loans that meet FHA-established underwriting standards. Since 1934, FHA has insured more than 33 million loans and is the largest insurer of mortgages in the world.
“FHA is one of the few government agencies to operate entirely based on the fee-income derived from its programs, which means the taxpayer does not pay or subsidize the agency.
“The Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing April 5 on the Administration’s proposed reforms for FHA’s single-family mortgage insurance activities.
“A manager’s amendment offered by Rep. Ney that was agreed to by a voice vote would: increase loan limits for two, three, and four-family residences; mandate a study to examine the mortgage insurance premiums charged for home equity conversion mortgages or reverse mortgages; invite state licensed mortgage brokers to participate in FHA as determined by the HUD Secretary; and encourage HUD to use a portion of the funds FHA receives from premiums in excess of what it pays out in claims to upgrade FHA’s current technology and report on the progress to Congress.”
ParticipantI’d join.
ParticipantPerhaps someone could point in the direction of some good online tutorials on practical techniques for investing on a falling value and the risks associated with each method? This would be quite beneficial for those of us who are currently rather unsophisticated in our investing but would like to improve.
Thanks in advance 😉
ParticipantI don’t believe I saw it posted before, but the Sycamore Heights house is MLS#061016027. Zillow’s “Zestimate” claims $1.21M, lol… almost the highest in the immediate neighborhood (one higher at $1.24M). I guess Zillow hasn’t gotten the hint that the party’s over, we’re past last call, the lights are on and the bar’s near empty.
Assuming I have the right property (3142), zillow makes these additional claims:
2005 tax assessed value is claimed @ $924,900.
Prior sale 02/15/2006: $774,591.Not sure what to make of that.
ParticipantI’d attend, timing permitting.
For what it’s worth I’m a young investor (late 20’s), and I’m staying in the market. All my current investing has perks too good to pass up. For instance:
401k – company matching. The market would have to tank 50% for me to “loose”. However as this is a retirement fund it is difficult to access until then.
Roth IRA – annual contributions limited by the gov’t. If you stop contributing, you can’t make up prior years (although you can contribute prior year until tax day). As I’m sure most know, Roth IRA’s are capital gains tax-free, but again they are retirement funds and difficult to access until then. I currently have this 100% in a Fidelity Freedom Fund, which is in theory risk-indexed to my expected retirement date and diversified appropriately across holdings. I don’t like the fund much, but I’m not sure where to move it to, and as I started this account last year there isn’t much in it yet which greatly limits my diversification options. I plan on continuing to max out the Roth annual contribution regardless of market state. If it’s down, I consider it “on sale”.
Company-sponsored stock plan – I buy at a minimum 15% discount, sometimes much more (last offering period saw 40%). Even in a downward market this is a no-brainer. The only question is whether or not to sell immediately or hold. As I work for a highly regarded medical technology & supply company and the boomers are getting older, a good argument can me made for holding on to it for a few years to get more favorable tax standing.
I do have an small financial windfall I need to find a home for – the result of an inattentive driver smashing into my side (no, not my car’s side. my side). I had planned on plugging it right into the market. The doomsday talk here has me reconsidering.
Participantbadgers.com… it is a “vanity” email address that forwards to my google account. I don’t keep a website or blog these days. I like the WSJ editorial page as a starting point, I also like Power Line and Michelle Malkin for blog commentary. I like the WSJ editorials not only because I agree with many of its policy preferences, but also there’s a bit of a personal connection.
The current WSJ editor, Paul Gigot, went to the same small midwestern elementary and high school as I did, and my folks know his folks. I’ve dated the niece of his predecessor, Robert Bartley, for the last few years, and had the pleasure of spending last New Years with his widow Edi and daughters in Brooklyn Heights. I like Bob’s writing better than Paul’s, but Bob did have 30 yrs in the saddle to draw from. The OpinionJournal website was Bob’s idea and makes availible the articles and letters to the editor from the page for free, plus some additional exclusive content.
ParticipantThat’s a nice ROI – 100k equity turned to $1.1m minus costs… not a bad few years (non-)work. If a buyer can be found. Thanks for the link, I’ve bookmarked it.
I would argue that your two pillars have fatigued and would have given way earlier except that a new pillar was propped in – exotic mortgages.
Simplifying a bit, ultimately a sale is a transaction between one buyer and one seller, and as long as one willing buyer can be found the trend continues. One bit I often find myself overlooking is that each buyer’s situation is different. Someone with an existing SD home has the bubble benefit in his existing property and is somewhat insulated from the froth. A home-owning buyer relocating from a non-bubble area does not have that benefit, but they have whatever equity they built at their last location. It is worst for people like us, young professionals looking to buy for the first time without millions on paper from which to draw.
I recall talking to my neighbor across the street about my frustration with the housing market impeding my desire to buy. She told me that she was the same way when she was young. She wanted a house of her own, but her husband and she could not afford it. So, she started babysitting and saved up enough for a down payment. Yes, babysitting. I think I politely pointed out in this market a 20% down payment on the smallest house on the block would be ~$130k, and while I don’t know what babysitting pays these days, assuming $10/hr that’s around 13,000 hrs of babysitting. If babysitting 4 hrs a day, every day, it would take 10 yrs to get the down payment. I think maybe she started to realize just how far we are out of whack, but it did nothing to diminish her optimism… like you said, her attitude was you just have to “make it work.”
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