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Category: Big Mother (page 11 of 15)

October 14, 2009

Some Updates from the Marble Tower

by

CEO, PA Association of Realtors

Author website

Here are a few pieces of kibble from NAR that I thought the Pound might want to chew on…

 

Pent-up Demand Seen in Purchase-Ready Renters

There are more than 16 million renter households in the U.S. with enough income to buy a home at the national median price, far more than in 2000, before the housing boom, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. This large number of renters with the financial wherewithal to buy is one indication of the pent-up demand in the housing market that can be tapped if Congress extends the home buyer tax credit. It’s also an indication that the tax credit won’t just be attracting households that would buy anyway. Hear Yun’s remarks on market conditions and the tax credit in an audio podcast.

 

New FHA Condo Process Could Face More Delay
HUD is looking at delays to its new FHA condo approval process. Changes outlined in Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 slated to take effect for case numbers assigned on or after Oct. 1 have been delayed to apply to case numbers assigned on or after Nov. 2, and that start date could be pushed back as well. Other condo rules, including permission for lenders to offer spot loans, remain in effect. NAR continues to press for changes to federal policy to make FHA financing more viable for condos. Among other things, NAR wants a reduction in the owner-occupancy requirement and an increase in or outright elimination of the concentration limit.

 

2008 HMDA Data: FHA Credit Quality Remains High
FHA’s market share of home loan originations expanded to 30 percent while the credit quality of its loans improved, latest federal mortgage data gathered under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) finds. In 2008, FHA’s FICO scores increased significantly while loan-to-value (LTV) ratios decreased. More than 60 percent of FHA’s increased purchase volume was to borrowers with prime quality FICO scores (above 660), while FHA insured mortgages with LTVs above 95 percent fell from 72 percent  to 67 percent.

October 7, 2009

Big Brother attempts to control Bloggers

by

Realtor, Media Mogul

Author website

The Federal Trade Commission, in the name of protecting America’s consumers, released new guidelines on Monday requiring bloggers and social media users disclose paid endorsements starting December 1, 2009.

The regulations are being described as unnecessary, too vague, totalitarian and a digital double standard since they don’t apply to traditional media at TheAtlanticWire.com.

After December 1, be careful out there when you blog about a listing or even the latest software product that you run across that you want to share.

As usual, there is always an opportunity.   Does someone want to come up with the shortest legal disclosure for use with the 140 character limit on twitter?  Oh yeah, I received no monetary  compensation for this post on my review of the FTC’s new requirements.

September 29, 2009

Save the world from home in your spare time!

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I’ve known for more than a year that I want to write a book about what we’re getting wrong.

As a species, that is.

Through all of human history.

Surely that’s a man-sized ambition — and perhaps also a new high-water mark for the abstract concept denoted by the word “hubris.”

That’s as may be. In truth, this is an undertaking I would rather not undertake. For one thing, I’m busy and, in consequence, I’m physically tired much of the time. For another, this is less a thankless job than it is a task for which I can reasonably expect to be punished. Not officially punished, one may hope, but it seems likely that I will be derided, hectored or hounded, as I proceed with this project. I don’t shun that sort of thing, not ever, but it’s not something I actively court.

But none of that matters. The ideas I want to talk about drive me wild — in the best of all possible senses. I abhor every form of the claim of unchosen duty, and yet I feel that I must go through all this, that I cannot live in peace, much less die in peace, until I have transcribed every bit of everything that races through my brain.

But I can laugh at myself, too, so much am I alike, in my incipient dotage, to Dostoevsky’s Underground Man: “I am a sick man. I am a spiteful man.” Saving the world is a madman’s obsession, after all, a belfry awaiting its loyal complement of bats.

[Continue reading here, if you like. This project is way off topic even for a blog as topically-liberated as BloodhoundBlog, so if you want to follow along at home, the main action will be at SplendorQuest.com.]

September 28, 2009

The “I” News

by

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

Happy Monday everyone.  Sean here, with the “I” news team bringing you a few under-reported items from last week.  Stay tuned for the Inspirational, the Inscrutable and the Indefensible.  You decide if any of it is Indispensable.

The Inspirational:
James Krenov died last week.  He was an artist, writer and philosopher who left an indelible mark upon this world.  You may not know him, but you have most likely seen the influences of his work in your work.  He was a creator of sublime furniture and leader of one of the most highly regarded woodworking schools in the nation (if not the world).  Take a moment from your busy day to click here and enjoy a little beauty.

The Inscrutable:
Football season is underway and those wacky kids running the NFL are at it again.  Texas receivers Andre Johnson & Jacoby Jones were fined $7500 & $5000 respectively for their roles in a fight during a game last week.  In related news, Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown was fined $10,000 for wearing a Halloween mask to pre-game introductions.  Apparently, the NFL feels that a little embarrassing publicity by one player is twice as offensive as the violent offenses of two players… They do say image is everything.

The Indecent, Incredible & Indefensible:
The increasingly authoritarian nature of our Federal government continues unabated.  It is becoming widely understood that the Neo-Progressives bridle under scrutiny and brook no criticism; but this is outrageous even for them.  It seems the U.S. government is now sending threatening letters of warning to private companies who have the temerity to disagree with the administration’s proposals.

Humana Healthcare notified its customers that proposed health care plans before congress could reduce their benefits.  This, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, is simply a matter of fact.  The Department of Health & Human Services then sent a letter to Humana as well as all the other private insurance providers of the Medicare Advantage programs essentially saying: “Shut-up… or else.”  Click here to read all the gruesome details of central power run amok.

That’s all for now.  While you’re out there today, take the time to admire and appreciate Read more

September 26, 2009

Looking for a reason to buy real estate? How about free ice cream?

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

This from my Arizona Republic real estate column (permanent link):

When I was a kid, my Uncle Jack, my mother’s oldest brother, told me a story I’ve never forgotten. He was at a little county fair way out in corn country. Nothing special, just beauty contests for hogs, cheesy little rides and sticky, sugared confections.

Late in the day, the ice cream vendor decided to pack it in, announcing that he was giving away what was left of his inventory. People elbowed their way to the front of the crowd, so eager were they to get something for nothing. They walked away with the ice cream piled into their bare hands, rushing off to their cars, leaving a trail of melted drips behind them.

The lesson I took from my uncle’s story was that those folks didn’t really want ice cream. They were willing to get themselves dirty, and to get their vehicles dirty, just to have something for free. Most of them probably didn’t even eat the ice cream, and they certainly couldn’t have enjoyed it. Imagine trying to inhale a glutton’s quantity of chocolate-fudge-swirl before it melts all over your clothes.

Could that be what’s going on right now with the $8,000 first-time home-buyer’s tax credit? I happen to be carrying three listings that are undeniably “investor’s specials” — which means they’re a good buy, but they need a lot of work. Even so, my phone is ringing off the hook with agents trying to sell those houses to owner-occupants — folks with very little cash trying to get an FHA loan so they can buy a house, thus to get $8,000 in “free” money.

Do those buyers really want homes, or do they just want that free money? What will happen to the properties when the $8,000 is spent? Should we dial the clock back to 2006 to see if anything looks familiar?

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors is campaigning for even more “free” money to bribe even more otherwise-unmotivated buyers. The only thing that could make the deal sweeter would be a double hand-full of “free” ice cream.

 
Spread the word: Click here Read more

September 24, 2009

If you’ve ever found yourself fuming by the side of the road, muttering to yourself that cops are assholes…

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

…prepare yourself for the asshole cops…

Just think: If you just keep voting for more and more government, eventually the nanny-state might find a way to stuff you back up into your mammy’s womb. Or, failing that, they’ll exterminate you and everyone you know and love. Either way, the world will finally be rid of the pestilence of pesky humanity.

Black humor? No shit. But at least you don’t have to wonder who’s the asswipe now…

September 2, 2009

Love in the Time of Obama: Life after the Cybersecurity Act of 2009

by

Rust Belt Realtor

Author website

-Amazing Grace, I once was lost, but now I’m found. This was a goner in the meltdown and for some reason I didn’t keep a copy. Thank you, Cheryl Johnson for finding it in the Google cache. It’s not brilliant writing, but it is something I’m pleased with, so, I’m reposting. Thanks for your indulgence.  -TL

A letter to Brian Brady, sent via private courier since the government has seized control of the internet.

Dear Brian-

So sorry to hear Maggie didn’t get into the college of her choice. It’s okay, though. I’m sure the government school she’s in will give her the education she needs to function well in our new society. Never forget we need highly-skilled workers, Brian.

I don’t know if you are aware, communication being dicey right now, but we have moved to some acreage in a remote part of Ohio. Like so many Midwest cities, ours went bankrupt, was taken over by the State and our neighborhood was rezoned as a Construction Reuse Reclamation Area under eminent domain. Thousands of our brick homes were recycled for government buildings and stimulus projects. We were given free homes within the city of Dayton as part of it’s Vacancy Infill Plan, but we chose to move elsewhere. We can manage as a small self-sufficient farm and are hidden from the road, since our carbon offset tree plantings are located there. We’ve begun bartering with neighboring farms, and use horseback to travel, as our carbon emissions quota is limited and we need them for our farm equipment, and our cows keep farting. I won’t complain, though. We get to see the land this way.

The only problem we have is when the Czarina of Food Safety shows up to our farm. I know she thinks she is doing the right thing, but the problem is that she grew up in southern California and never set foot on a farm until she was Gulaged decommissioned relocated here to be an inspector. I’m not sure, but it feels like she is unhappy living in Ohio farm country and takes it out on us. I guess when she Read more

August 15, 2009

Embracing Compliant Speech

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

August 14, 2019  is a sad day for me because I realize that I ruined my family’s future.  Oh, how I wish I would have kept my mouth shut  !

My daughter, a brilliant and accomplished student was rejected by all the Ivy League colleges despite her stellar work in high school.  Each rejection letter said the same thing; ideologically undesirable.  Fortunately, she was accepted at my Alma Mater but her inability to access student loans (she was branded as “ideologically undesirable”) left her with no money for college.

She’ll have an opportunity to attend a State-sponsored college if she successfully completes her mandatory service in Organizing for America.  She’s going to have to keep her mouth shut and tow the line, though.  She is atoning for her 9th grade paper entitled “God Will Provide:  Why We Shouldn’t Fret About Climate Change“.  Her teacher reported her to the Government website and that, combined with my record of dissent, determined her future.  We almost lost her to the Child Education Services Agency with that little transgression.

President Robert Menendez signed the Good Children Can’t Be Left Behind Act of 2017.  That Law taxed the money I’d saved in her 529 plan, at 75%, to support the education of disadvantaged youth and I protested on Twitter.  I suppose my protest was misguided in retrospect.

President Menendez was elected by a sweeping margin when he ran against former Senator Mel Martinez in the first ever race-neutral Presidential election.  Former President Obama signed the Neutrality in Elections Act of 2013 and it was agreed that Presidential elections would be held with a specific race/ethnicity as the qualifying factor, every eight years, so as to offer opportunity to all Americans.  We  The G.O.P originally nominated George P. Bush but his ambiguous ethnicity disqualified him for this particular election; he’ll have his chance in 16 years.

I called that reverse discrimination on Facebook.  A so-called “friend” reported that status update to the Government website and I was heavily fined for that comment six months later.

I mentioned that I was short on cash.  Fed Chairman Summers capped real estate and mortgage brokerage fees at $500/file under the Consumer Financial Protection Act.  I had Read more

August 10, 2009

The National Association of Realtors, in perfecting the idea of Rotarian Socialism, not only sanctified the criminal violation of the property rights of innocent people, it also robbed us of the highest and best uses we might have achieved with our real property…

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Kicking this back up to the top because it fits so well with the recent posts from Al Lorenz and Doug Quance. –GSS

 
I’ve understood since I was 18 or so how real estate develops organically, in a truly free market, so I have known all my adult life how horribly the real estate market has been disrupted by the idiotic intrusions of Rotarian Socialism. It’s all about who can steal a few bucks by strong-arming his neighbors, and no one ever stops to wonder what gets mucked up in the process.

So: I said:

tell me in twenty-five words or fewer why relatively fungible non-commercial real estate should ever be thought of as an investment.

And Brian Brady said, in a comment to that post:

When it’s a 1-4 unit property, held for investment purposes.

Ten words. What am I missing?

What he’s missing is the definition of commercial real estate. If Brian owned 1-4 rental tuxedoes, should he call that his personal wardrobe? Just because the tax laws engender dumb distinctions, we don’t have to ignore reality, do we? Rental property — including a solitary rental house — is commercial real estate. It is owned in pursuit of profit, not as the residence of the owner.

So again:

tell me in twenty-five words or fewer why relatively fungible non-commercial real estate should ever be thought of as an investment.

The answer is that it should not. Hundreds of thousands of elderly people are going to suffer because — at the bidding of the National Association of Realtors — they took their eye off the ball. There is nothing rare about a tract home. If it gains in value ahead of other consumer goods, there has to be a cause — usually one that originates in the criminal use of force against people innocent of all wrong-doing.

As we have discussed, the precipitating cause of the real estate boom in the southwest was criminal land-use restrictions in the costal metroplex of Southern California. The land there is not inherently scarce, but governments made its development difficult or impossible, driving prices up faster than they would have gone otherwise. Investors falsely believed Read more

July 2, 2009

Rotarian Socialism in action: Taking lessons from the NAR and the NAMB, Wal-Mart is using compulsory health insurance as a weapon to destroy its smaller competitors

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Today is July the Second, the date of the actual drafting of the Declaration of Independence. By now the United States is just another National Socialist oligarchy, a savage jungle of predatory pressure groups, each one looking to plunder the national treasury at the expense of all the others, each one hiding behind an elaborate camouflage of high-blown rhetoric.

Whatever the putative purpose of some piece of legislation, the actual purpose is to advantage some pressure groups to the disadvantage of others. The putative purpose and the high-blown rhetoric are for the children — for the dumb-ass voters, that is — while the legislators and the lobbyists know that its all a matter of getting in enough snout-time at the public trough.

Freedom means freedom from government — nothing else. We trade our freedom away a drop at a time, like a never ending blood transfusion, never pausing to think that the pigs at the trough might not stop at just a little blood, might not stop at the replacement rate, might not stop until every drop of blood, every dollar of excess production and every last liberty of the American people are completely exsanguinated.

The American patriots bellowed, “No taxation without representation!” We have since learned that this actually means, “We yearn to be fools and jackals in our own behalf!” And the cackle we deliver up to black humor is a premonitory death rattle. For it is obvious that the man being taxed is not represented, and the man with his snout in the taxpayer’s trough is represented in ways you know nothing about.

Consider this atrocity of Wal-Mart’s, a company once deserving of great respect, brought to us by Cato @ Liberty:

A couple of years ago, I shared a cab to the airport with a Wal-Mart lobbyist, who told me that Wal-Mart supports an “employer mandate.”  An employer mandate is a legal requirement that employers provide a government-defined package of health benefits to their workers.  Only Hawaii and Massachusetts have enacted such a law.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  Wal-Mart is a capitalist success story.  At the time of our conversation, Read more

June 28, 2009

“Repeal Proposition 13 Or File Chapter 13 !” To Be California Leftist Politicians’ Cry

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

I’ve been critical of California’s Proposition 13 because of its progressive nature. It penalizes immigrants and younger families to favor older, wealthier nativists.  Howard Jarvis’ intent was to stop the California’s Legislature from its runaway spending; the Legislature did no such thing. In fact, the California Legislature has increased spending, over the past 31 years,  in spite of the intended purpose of Proposition 13.

As much as I think Proposition 13 is bad public policy, I’m glad it’s on the books. The inevitable bankruptcy of California will cause its citizenry to take a hard look at the cost of the Great Social Experiment its Legislature pursued. Jeff Brown and Sean Purcell are subject to my cautionary warnings that the wealth-eating zombies in Sacramento won’t stand for their citizens’ impudence; I believed that one of those ghouls would try to repeal Proposition 13, citing its’ progressive nature.  I was wrong; they hired a henchman.

Meet San Francisco Recorder-Assessor Phil Ting; he wants to change Proposition 13. Phil Ting is spinning his attack on Proposition 13 as corporate welfare. Ting claims that Proposition 13 unfairly benefits commercial property owners at the expense of residential property owners:

Paradoxical to the law’s initial intent, the commercial property loopholes in Proposition 13 have actually shifted the tax burden away from corporations and onto the backs of residential property owners.

For example, look at San Francisco, where I currently serve as assessor- recorder. Thirty years ago, commercial property owners contributed 59 percent of property tax revenues and residential property owners contributed 41 percent. Today, we see a virtual flip: commercial property owners contributed just 43 percent of property taxes in 2008, while residential property owners contributed 57 percent.

Sounds reasonable,  right?  Bear in mind that Ting called the Catholic Church a tax deadbeat for reapportioning its parish properties to local control, a measure all California Catholic Dioceses are enacting.  This politically-motivated measure was payback for the Church’s involvement in a ballot initiative this past November.  Ting’s the perfect hired gunslinger for the California Left.

Liberal, spend and try-to-tax legislators are trying desperately to figure out how to circumvent Read more

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Inventing Real Estate 2.0

Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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