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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=ocrenter]4S and SEH is perfect for middle class families that put good schools on top of their list. $400-$600K range is what 4S/SEH homes should be at. Essentially, we are looking at folks that make around combined $125k range.

If you are in brackets over that, it isn’t your cup of tea.

The problem of course is the bubble pushed the prices beyond the $600k barrier even though the houses remained in that $400-$600k quality. Especially the north side where the houses are even more tightly packed in as the builders hurried to jam in homes as the bubble was ready to pop.[/quote]

ocrenter, is $400-$600K currently what the average listing price range is in 4S and SEH? And if a typical lot in this price range is only, say, 3800 sf, what size is the house, can a mid-size car fit in the driveway w/o hanging over the sidewalk and what would be its typical list price of today?[/quote]
To answer your question BG, I bolded the answer in OC’s comment.

The houses are NOT in that price range – they got pushed up by the bubble and didn’t return to what they should have.

[UCGal]

I have a question. Perhaps a dumb one.

Where does it say in the Rooney rule that teams must hire a minority candidate… or even have a single minority employee on their coaching or head office staff?

It says they need to interview a minority candidate.

It doesn’t preclude them from interviewing 100’s of white guys.

Do I agree with the rule… not completely. But is it reverse discrimination…. hardly.

When you’ve got attitudes like former “color commentator” Rush Limbaugh suggesting that McNabb was QB because of affirmative action… there’s some entrenched issues that need to be considered. By having at least one minority candidate interviewed, it doesn’t force any hiring, but it might change some attitudes.

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It’s very frustrating.
There’s moral hazard everywhere around us.
There are no consequences for bad decisions.

From the banks who gave out crappy loans to the buyers who bought more than they could reasonably afford. Neither side is paying the price for these stupid transactions.

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Another Bloomberg story out – how Paulson was telling the Hedgies about the Fannie/Freddie take over, before the fact.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/how-henry-paulson-gave-hedge-funds-advance-word-of-2008-fannie-mae-rescue.html

I have to say – Bloomberg news is using the FOIA requests to uncover some serious muck.

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[quote=briansd1]

At least Elizabeth Warren at the Consumer Protection Agency would have exacted a price from banks. Tell me which side opposed Elizabeth Warren’s nomination. Only by nominating and electing decent people like Elizabeth Warren can we improve the system.

[/quote]
Brian… this is an example of why people get frustrated arguing with you. I’m a liberal. I voted for Obama. But even I can see that Obama and most of the dems did NOT back Warren. Obama never put her name in the hat. Hard to say he backed her…. he killed her chances, blocked her completely, by refusing to put her name in.

Obama and most of the dems are just as much entrenched in maintaining the status quo. Just as beholden to corporatism. Open your eyes, dude.

[UCGal]

I’m thankful for my extended family.
Thankful for my awesome friends.
Thankful that both my husband and I are working and able to hit our savings goals.
Thankful the kids are healthy.
Thankful that the pie I baked for dinner came out great.

[UCGal]

Enjoy your home (and huge garage)!

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I like Brian’s idea of giving rebates to folks who don’t use the services.

As a fatty – who doesn’t go to the doctor… I’d get a rebate. Seriously… Insurance, IMO, is overused by most – and you’re around sick people when you go to the doctors… so why go willingly.

FWIW – Kaiser Permanente nags you till you do the maintenance stuff. I just did all the female related checks because they kept calling until I cried uncle and made the appointment. Not fun but it had been several years. Despite my high BMI, I still have low cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose levels. I guess I defy the fatty statistics. Yay me.

So under one model proposed here – I’d be required to pay more (because of my weight) and by another model proposed here – I’d be rebated money because I’m profitable – pay the insurance and don’t use it.

[UCGal]

The state of North Carolina has charged a premium to smokers and obese employees for almost 2 years now. Actually – they charge the same for everyone – then refund back to non-smokers and folks with a BMI below a certain level. They phased it in and offered smoking cessation programs and weight reduction programs.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6025882/

[UCGal]

I may be opening up a can of worms here but…..

SS is a defined benefit retirement program. Does everyone here who argues against defined benefit plans want to give up their SS?

Not limited to gov. employees.
It’s got potential shortfalls.
And our government, in their ‘wisdom” has decided to under fund it more by cutting the payroll taxes on the employee side by 2% for 2011.

Contributions should probably be increased, not cut, IMO. I am counting on it being there when the time comes… and at my age it will/would be hard to take that expectation out of my personal retirement calculations.

I’ll restate something I’ve said before… defined benefit plans used to be the norm even in the private sector. I’m a fan of them. But they need to be funded. I am grandfathered into two (small) frozen pensions… One is extremely underfunded and is under a plan imposed by ERISA to bring funding up. At the same time funding was dropping they hired a second CEO who topped the highest paid list for the year. The idea that money not spent on pensions somehow magically makes it down to employees…or even shareholders is a JOKE. The money not spent on pensions made it into the bonuses of the c-execs.

[UCGal]

I assume the order is a little different than you describe…. they get the 2nd before they file BK… I’m pretty sure that debt obtained after you file is excluded from the BK.

I’m sure there are folks doing this but it seems easier to do it the old fahpshiond way – LOTS of credit cards.

[UCGal]

The protests even have Paul Ryan (about as conservative as they come) discussing the income inequality.
http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/CBOInequality.pdf

I don’t think he’d even acknowledge the income inequality if it weren’t for the protests the last two months.

A picture referenced in his paper says it all.
[img_assist|nid=15573|title=CBO Income inequality|desc=Cumulative Growth in Average After-Tax Income, by Income Group|link=node|align=left|width=431|height=450]

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LOL – I just put Sheldons info in the other thread. Here it is again.

http://www.homeloansheldon.com/

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[quote=paranoid]Who is Sheldon and what’s his contact?[/quote]
Sheldon is someone who posts here sometimes. User name HLS.

His contact info can be found on his website
http://www.homeloansheldon.com/

He did our refi 2 years ago, based on referrals from here. We ran into a quirky snag and he totally worked through the issues and made it right. This was at a particularly challenging time – they’d just changed the rules on the way appraisals were handled and our loan got caught in the middle. Sheldon rocked.

I’ve referred several friends to him since. They’ve all been pleased, too.

[UCGal]

Wow – I got props from Allan. Today is a good day. 🙂

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