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SHILOH
ParticipantThe bottom line on this run-up of prices was greed in one form or another. If the banks had stuck to fundamentals regarding earnings and affordability…it would have kept prices normal. No one could buy something they could not manage financially.
I read recently that the housing bust is not expected to affect the rest of the economy…that real estate and housing is an entity separate from the rest. But how can that be when there is no discretionary income left to pour into the economy. I am not savvy on economics…so I am uncertain what to expect.
Even if you are a lawyer making a very good living and can actually afford $500K for a cr*P property that you don’t want….those homes are way out of reach for lower income people who might settle for that, just to be independent of a landlord. But the median is $50K….they can’t come close to affording that.
THe city of SD is broke and the middle class there is being squashed.
January 25, 2007 at 3:39 PM in reply to: Great article debunking the house apppreciation arguement #44200ParticipantIn recent years, financial info and trading on the Net has made information available to everyone if they know how to use it. A friend of mine’s husband trades online and made a lot of extra $ trading big companies like Home Depot or Qualcomm. That was over the past 3 years or so. He told me he would have doubled $100K in one year, but she kept on spending everytime he made a profit–so the account hovered over the initial deposit. The profit was money turned to cash and spent on improvements.
By contrast, I’ve had some mutual funds that grew minisculy since 1995. I put them in growth rather than an index because supposedly that was my best strategy. But unless one is saavy at choosing a fund, like me you can end up with duds. There are some I have seen that performed up to 32%. I was hoping to average 8%…but basically earned less than what I could have in a CD. I think it’s difficult for an amateur to maximize their investment unless they are lucky.
I am an amateur, but it seems to me from my experience so far that if you are a very smart investor, real estate appreciation as an investment is less lucrative than stocks. If you watch the stock market all the time and know how to invest, you can achieve higher gains faster. Most people are amateurs and are too busy just living life to constantly be watching what their stocks or mutual funds are doing…and it there goes time and money if you don’t stay on it.
Participant“U.N. climate panel: Global warming to raise Earth’s seas for 1,000 years”
I have little confidence in the UN…but this was a study reported in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2007-01-25-ipcc-report-details_x.htm
ParticipantDoes Exxon have a conscience?
Exxon handed it’s retiring chariman a $400M retirement package….on top of the $6000 an hour he made while not retired…and he “deserved” this because under his influence Exxon’s stock grew 500%.As an average-income conservative, I was listened to the Bush speech and agreed with him on several issues, but was disappointed that he left out some important issues that are in-your-face glaring issues for an average, tax-paying fiscally responsible person like myself. For example, corporate problems which were picked up in the rebuttal by Webb. At least Webb mentioned the outrageous compensation of corporate heads…clearly the Dems were pointing to domestic issues facing the average US citizen. Do the DEMs really care either? I don’t know, but at least it was said. With all the sentiment Bush tactfully used by having examples of great “average” Americans in the audience…it could not masked the reality that the DEM’s rebuttal was more in touch with American life and concerns.
On issues like healthcare…I remember when Hillary Clinton (during Bill’s first campaign) made health insurance her First Lady platform…Apparently she could not reform it and nothing has happened and it’s only gotten worse. But health insurance CEOs apparently deserve all their getting paid also: http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2005/05/how-can-1248-million-year-ceo-make.htmlParticipantUsing adjectives..name calling, creates emotion. Passion is good but still, solutions and action are required. What I’d like to hear is some real solutions…rather than accusing your target as being “dillusional.” Can you offer a solution other than sitting back, doing nothing and speculting on what’s been done? Can anyone offer a strategy to proactively intercept the kind of terrorism that hit 9/11? Or do you believe Bush is responsible for 9/11 too?
January 18, 2007 at 11:14 AM in reply to: Hard for American People to Understand; Cracked Egg #43693ParticipantConservatives believe that the ultimate end for communism obliterates rule-of-law…from which the American Constitution originates. The “Cold War” came to an end because of the strength of the free-world. Citizens in communist countries are killed for speaking out against their government. US citizenship is recognized globally as a prized privilege.
It makes me happy that the person, Saddam Hussein and his entourage are no longer in power anywhere, since he is of the same genre as Hitler -though not as powerful. I don’t understand why anyone would say the world would be the same or better off had we left him where he was…in power as a brutal dictator. The idea of his brand of terror against individuals with his unbridled brutality—-going unchecked—sickens me. The spread of it would be tragic.
Edmund Burke is attributed with saying ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil. is for good men to do nothing.’ That brand of evil that Saddam inflicted on other innocent families…had to be stopped for the sake of doing what is right. This has become American heritage. Saddam reportedly killed over 2 million people and was said to admire Stalin…the Soviet leader who murdered 4 million of his own countrymen.
The problem we face now…terrorism and violence against civilians is part of the modern Muslim cultural psychology –unlike modern “western” culture that views it as barbaric and appauling. Below is from an article I read:
“In a recent survey of 6,000 Muslims in 14 countries published in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, females were more likely to support terrorism than were males. What’s more, married and unmarried persons are equally likely to support terrorism. Age matters less than one may think at first blush. In the same survey, some 47 percent of 62-year-olds surveyed were inclined to support terrorism. That percentage was only 10 points higher for 18-year-olds.
Other factors, such as perception of a threat to Islam and opinions about the role of religion in government, have a significantly greater impact on support for terrorism than age or gender. The bottom line? Ideology and beliefs matter more than social or economic status, age or gender. Focusing outreach and counterterrorism efforts on young, unmarried Muslim males will only overlook enormous sections of Muslim populations who support terrorists.”
excerpt from ‘Think Again: Islamist Terrorism’
By C. Christine Fair, Husain HaqqaniJanuary 18, 2007 at 9:55 AM in reply to: Preforclosure to forclosure rates — steady? going up? #43684ParticipantSubmitted by lostkitty:
“As someone yelled on another thread about hoping all the people from other states would just get foreclosed on and “go home!”, this may very well happen to some of these foreigners, but is this the way we want to interact with the world?
Talk about a lack of morals… the mortgage industry needs some serious disciplining, and the average US citizen needs some cross-cutural sensitivity training.”One day Japan’s culturally promoted “honor” system, which is what likely helped you there, may succumb to the seedy culture of greed that has plaqued the real estate market now. We are exporting our current eroded version of “freedom” and one of its beliefs is to “Do anything and whatever is required to conveniently benefit myself.”
Aside from that…bankers/brokers and realtors should be legally held to a professional standard that does not allow them sneaky ways to harm people by ripping-them-off. Without these laws, they apparently will operate with the same values as a thief.
The average US citizen is trying to live a decent life on an average income and survive. Most Americans are not CEOs & CFOs who make disproportionately huge salaries and bonuses. http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch. God help us if the average American is like those corporate leeches.
ParticipantNo one I know in SD has ever told me about a project for park to bay area. I’ll have to find out more.
ParticipantCommenting about the cost of living in Boston…vs San Diego.
The state sales tax is 5.5% compared to 7.75%…and in MA there is no clothing sales tax at all. Probably because you need so many more clothes here.
In New Hampshire there is no sales tax, period. So a lot of people commute to Boston from NH….although the NH property tax is reportedly higher.
I would say that when I compare Boston to SD, condos and detached homes are more expensive in SD. The Boston real estate market is also declining and is still overpriced –but SD is completely unrealistic. The market in Boston is a lot of renovated old buildings/homes and SD is mostly new….but still, SD prices are unrealistic especially considering the median income.
In Boston, it was reported that the med/pharm/bioresearch sector was losing out on the “best” qualified professionals since the cost of living…housing…was too high. The quality of life is not outstanding here, other than it being a mecca of higher education. That equals a lot of desperate students everywhere…and even resident docs and fellows don’t make that much $.
The BIG DIG: BIG DIG has been a money drain…From what I have seen on both coasts…Caltrans does a superb job compared to the engineers who planned the Boston roads. Maybe some of the CA engineers should be recruited to come to MA. By now, most people would have heard about the woman who was killed when her car was smashed while driving thru the brand new tunnel ….hit by a falling concrete panel. That and the subsequent repair costs–all caused by glaring engineering flaws –bolts that were too weak to hold the concrete up.
Add to that $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ there are tolls to pay for the roads and bridges coming in and out of Boston…and on the MASSPIKE which is like being charged to use I-5 or I-8.Housing & Income: I make more $ in New England….rent is slightly cheaper, but heating an average winter is $200 a month for forced air…about 5-6 months for a small 500 sq. ft apt.
Commuting: I could find something in the Greater Boston area on public transportation (ie subway or rail) that I could afford, which is a plus. For example, I live about 25 miles outside of Boston and my rail commute is 30 minutes on the train..I drive to the train 10 minutes…
That commute in the morning by car would be minimum 45 minutes and parking would cost at least $100. 8 Months out of the year you can expect bad weather -add to that old conjested freeways… Public transportation with subways and rails is excellent for commuting. and even though we have a subway and commuter rail (which cost anywhere from $65 -$150 per month)December 29, 2006 at 1:59 PM in reply to: nesting young 4s Ranch experiences and puzzling questions #42406ParticipantJust out of curiosity…do you really need 3100 square feet??
Over the holidays I was in a home near SouthBend, Indiana, but in Michigan, owned by a surgeon and his stay-at-home wife & mother of 3.
The house was like two homes in one…it was in an expensive area I suppose. The house was very nicely built, had a home theater room, family room with pool table, bar, etc. It must have been at least 6000 square feet. I don’t foresee ever being able to afford a home like that, but some people simply want large homes I guess…and it has nothing to do with need.Participant“distressed homeowners will simply refinance out of whatever mess they are in.”
I think this is a strategy also…I wonder if the banks know this –or the gov’t or both…even newer exotic loans to cushion foreclosures.
However, in a scenario like this — banks still want a profit. Refinancing to someone who cannot afford the house in the first place, does not guarantee the bank will make their $ in the long run. Is it that easy to refinance out of a mess –ie, a $500K house that you cannot afford in the first place? It seems to me it could only work if the banks reduce the payments, keep interest rates very low and wait 100 years for the home to be payed for.
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