Report: Ed McMahon's home faces foreclosure - CNN.com: "LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The foreclosure problems sweeping the United States apparently have ensnared Ed McMahon, who is best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show... The newspaper reported that ReconTrust, a division of Countrywide Financial, filed a notice of default related to a loan for McMahon's house in Los Angeles County Recorder's Court on Feb. 28. It said his house has been on the market for about two years.
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They say he's $644,000 behind on his mortgage payments. I guess that would lead a lender to start thinking about foreclosure.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
L.A. Land : Los Angeles Times : In Escondido: Buy one (house), get one free.
L.A. Land : Los Angeles Times : In Escondido: Buy one (house), get one free.: "In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a 'buy one, get one free' deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes."
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Pretty soon they'll be giving you a free house as an inducement to buy a tank of gas.
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Pretty soon they'll be giving you a free house as an inducement to buy a tank of gas.
Man loses home over $580 - UPI.com
Man loses home over $580 - UPI.com: "TAMPA, Fla., June 2 (UPI) -- A Florida man who fell behind on dues to his homeowners association because of illness lost his house in foreclosure over a debt of $580.
Gregory Green said the board of directors of The Glen at River Ridge near Tampa showed little compassion when they voted to foreclose on his property, the Tampa Tribune reported Monday.
While Green's case appears extreme, attorneys say many Florida homeowners are losing their homes over a few hundred dollars in delinquent homeowner assessments."
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Here is yet another example of this thing the industry keeps telling us doesn't really happen. Fred Pilot sent me the link.
Gregory Green said the board of directors of The Glen at River Ridge near Tampa showed little compassion when they voted to foreclose on his property, the Tampa Tribune reported Monday.
While Green's case appears extreme, attorneys say many Florida homeowners are losing their homes over a few hundred dollars in delinquent homeowner assessments."
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Here is yet another example of this thing the industry keeps telling us doesn't really happen. Fred Pilot sent me the link.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
New York town repeals ban on clotheslines - Yahoo! News: "The Southampton Town board has lifted a ban on clotheslines that had stood since 2002, when some homeowners complained the laundry on their neighbors' lawns was making the town look shabby."
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Fred Pilot sent this link. I guess for this town saving the galaxy comes before anti-hillbilly laws.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
FT.com / World - US home prices fall at record pace
FT.com / World - US home prices fall at record pace: "The gloom enveloping the US housing market intensified on Tuesday as home prices dropped at the fastest annual rate since records began 20 years ago.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller national house price index fell 14.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier, a decline that threatens to delay any recovery in the broader economy."
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That's a masterpiece of understatement.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller national house price index fell 14.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier, a decline that threatens to delay any recovery in the broader economy."
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That's a masterpiece of understatement.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Skipped dues crunch home associations - USATODAY.com
Skipped dues crunch home associations - USATODAY.com: "AVONDALE, Ariz. — A modest housing tract, set amid pecan trees here in suburban Phoenix, faces big problems: About 40% of its homeowners aren't paying their association fees, leaving neighbors with higher assessments and reduced services"
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to yet another story on HOAs taking a hit due to owners not paying assessments. CAI's Frank Rathbun is quoted as saying, "It's happening all over. It's a national problem."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to yet another story on HOAs taking a hit due to owners not paying assessments. CAI's Frank Rathbun is quoted as saying, "It's happening all over. It's a national problem."
Saturday, May 24, 2008
BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Local concerns over Indian utopia
BBC NEWS: Local concerns over Indian utopia: "Auroville sounds like a throwback to the 60s, advocating no rules and leaders and promising peace and harmony, but Rachel Wright hears claims of exploitation and abuse at the southern Indian community."
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Utopia never turns out to be as utopian as advertised.
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Utopia never turns out to be as utopian as advertised.
Great Wall of Fleetwood: Man builds 16ft garden wall in protest at neighbour's sun terrace ... and now it's a tourist attraction | Mail Online
Great Wall of Fleetwood: Man builds 16ft garden wall in protest at neighbour's sun terrace ... and now it's a tourist attraction | Mail Online: "After spending two months building a sun terrace on the kitchen roof of their seaside home, Dennis and Sandra Hawes settled down to enjoy the view. But not for long. Next-door neighbour Charles Hart was disgruntled that he was not consulted about the terrace, which overlooked his garden. So he decided to exact revenge - and built what is known locally as the Great Wall of Fleetwood. The view from the terrace is now obstructed by a barrier 16ft high and 26ft long between the properties in the Lancashire former fishing port. The wall has caused so much controversy that it has even become a tourist attraction, with taxi drivers pointing it out to their passengers."
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Complete with photo of very high wall and very ticked off man.
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Complete with photo of very high wall and very ticked off man.
Another HOA in decline?
News: Lawsuit pitting homeowners against subdivision manager | homeowners, kanan, plantation : TheMonitor.com: "The upscale gated community has fallen on hard times since its heady beginnings in the 1980s as a country club subdivision with streets named for characters and places in Gone with the Wind.
At the back, decrepit trailers and garden-sized shacks house families, and pricier houses are surrounded by tall weeds."
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Fred Pilot sent this link about another HOA that seems to be in decline.
At the back, decrepit trailers and garden-sized shacks house families, and pricier houses are surrounded by tall weeds."
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Fred Pilot sent this link about another HOA that seems to be in decline.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Canton Council proposes jail time for tall grass
Canton Council proposes jail time for tall grass: "For residents tired of that overgrown lot that resembles a minijungle next door, the city wants to help by trying to put high-grass violators behind bars.
City Council wants to beef up its existing high-grass and weeds law by making a second offense a fourth-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail."
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I guess the HOAs and condo associations may as well surrender. They can't top this.
City Council wants to beef up its existing high-grass and weeds law by making a second offense a fourth-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail."
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I guess the HOAs and condo associations may as well surrender. They can't top this.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Reflections on recent posts
If you look over the recent posts here, you can see that the situation facing homeowners is troubling on a number of fronts.
1. Credit is tight, property values are weak, and it is harder than at any time in the recent past to borrow money or sell--at least, for a lot of people.
2. Owners who are in financial trouble with their homes aren't paying assessments, and neither are the banks when they foreclose. That means associations are hurting financially. That in turn means the solvent owners have to pay for those who are not paying.
3. And the falling property values are reducing municipal tax revenues, which is hitting municipalities and of course school districts and other units of local government.
4. The tax resistance of the average voter has to be at an all-time high. That means voters who have to approve tax increases (due to tax cap legislation in many states) will not want to bail out local governments through tax increases.
5. But we are in an election year where the Democrats figure to win big across the board, due to Bush having thoroughly discredited the Republican party. It looks like there will be gains for the Democrats in the House and Senate and in many state legislatures, and the presidential race currently favors the Democrats (although that could change quickly). The Dems in Congress, and of course Obama, have a host of costly programs in mind that will require substantial federal tax increases. Increasing taxes in the middle of an economic slowdown is bad medicine, but the voters have nothing to say about it after Election Day. If the Dems want to do it, that's that.
6. The cost of college education is going up, up, and up. So is the cost of health care. And I could go on. But pay is not going up, up, and up.
What does this all add up to? I realize the economy will turn around at some point, but the next three or four years or so should be interesting to say the least.
I think we are going to see increased conflict over taxing and spending at the local government level. I think the solvency of CIDs is going to become an issue (I have been predicting this for a long time, but now it is on the horizon). And I expect all sorts of demands for state and federal assistance for public and private local governments. But my guess is that the home-owning middle class is going to be expected to solve its own problems for the most part. As a member of that group, I'm not entirely happy with that conclusion, so please show me where I'm wrong.
If you look over the recent posts here, you can see that the situation facing homeowners is troubling on a number of fronts.
1. Credit is tight, property values are weak, and it is harder than at any time in the recent past to borrow money or sell--at least, for a lot of people.
2. Owners who are in financial trouble with their homes aren't paying assessments, and neither are the banks when they foreclose. That means associations are hurting financially. That in turn means the solvent owners have to pay for those who are not paying.
3. And the falling property values are reducing municipal tax revenues, which is hitting municipalities and of course school districts and other units of local government.
4. The tax resistance of the average voter has to be at an all-time high. That means voters who have to approve tax increases (due to tax cap legislation in many states) will not want to bail out local governments through tax increases.
5. But we are in an election year where the Democrats figure to win big across the board, due to Bush having thoroughly discredited the Republican party. It looks like there will be gains for the Democrats in the House and Senate and in many state legislatures, and the presidential race currently favors the Democrats (although that could change quickly). The Dems in Congress, and of course Obama, have a host of costly programs in mind that will require substantial federal tax increases. Increasing taxes in the middle of an economic slowdown is bad medicine, but the voters have nothing to say about it after Election Day. If the Dems want to do it, that's that.
6. The cost of college education is going up, up, and up. So is the cost of health care. And I could go on. But pay is not going up, up, and up.
What does this all add up to? I realize the economy will turn around at some point, but the next three or four years or so should be interesting to say the least.
I think we are going to see increased conflict over taxing and spending at the local government level. I think the solvency of CIDs is going to become an issue (I have been predicting this for a long time, but now it is on the horizon). And I expect all sorts of demands for state and federal assistance for public and private local governments. But my guess is that the home-owning middle class is going to be expected to solve its own problems for the most part. As a member of that group, I'm not entirely happy with that conclusion, so please show me where I'm wrong.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Associated Press: U. of Okla. freshman, 19, elected mayor of Muskogee
The Associated Press: U. of Okla. freshman, 19, elected mayor of Muskogee: "MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Oklahoma was elected mayor Tuesday of Muskogee, a city of 38,000 in the northeastern part of the state. With all precincts reporting, John Tyler Hammons won with 70 percent of the vote over former Mayor Hershel Ray McBride, said Muskogee County Election Board Secretary Bill Bull."
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"I'm proud to be the Mayor of Muskogee,
A place where little kids can have their say.
We all ride our skateboards down at the courthouse,
And chug Red Bull while we listen to Green Day."
--with apologies to Merle Haggard
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"I'm proud to be the Mayor of Muskogee,
A place where little kids can have their say.
We all ride our skateboards down at the courthouse,
And chug Red Bull while we listen to Green Day."
--with apologies to Merle Haggard
Foreclosures filing set record in April, RealtyTrac says - May. 14, 2008
Foreclosures filing set record in April, RealtyTrac says - May. 14, 2008: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. foreclosure filings reached a record high in April, rising almost 65% over the previous year and putting municipalities at risk by cutting into the value of taxed property, according to a study released Wednesday."
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The ripples continue to spread. Foreclosures are hurting CIDs and now municipalities, along with mortgage companies.
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The ripples continue to spread. Foreclosures are hurting CIDs and now municipalities, along with mortgage companies.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
As Dues Dry Up, The Neighbors Pay - WSJ.com
As Dues Dry Up, The Neighbors Pay - WSJ.com: "Here's another consequence of the troubled housing market: Some homeowners associations are running low on cash."
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The problem is that for quite some time before people default on their mortgages and get foreclosed on, they stop paying assessments. After foreclosure banks usually don't pay the association either.
Nice to see the Wall Street Journal taking note of this problem that I have been writing about for quite a while now. The people who hate associations may think this is great, but it will hit owners. Why? Because of owner A doesn't pay, owners B-Z have to pay instead. That applies all the way up to association bankruptcy, appointment of a receiver, to infinity, and beyond.
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The problem is that for quite some time before people default on their mortgages and get foreclosed on, they stop paying assessments. After foreclosure banks usually don't pay the association either.
Nice to see the Wall Street Journal taking note of this problem that I have been writing about for quite a while now. The people who hate associations may think this is great, but it will hit owners. Why? Because of owner A doesn't pay, owners B-Z have to pay instead. That applies all the way up to association bankruptcy, appointment of a receiver, to infinity, and beyond.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Vallejo Votes For Bankruptcy - Politics News Story - KNTV | San Francisco
Vallejo Votes For Bankruptcy - Politics News Story - KNTV | San Francisco: "After nearly five hours, the Vallejo City Council voted unanimously late Tuesday night to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. The city faces a $16 million deficit in the 2008-2009 budget starting July 1 and unsuccessfully negotiated with its police, firefighter and electrical workers unions for contract concessions through 2012. Public safety salaries comprise 74 percent of the city's general fund budget...Vallejo joins a small number of municipalities that have declared bankruptcy should officials decide it's their only option. Orange County declared bankruptcy in the 1990s after then-Treasurer Robert L. Citron borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars while speculating in high-risk securities investments that depended on low interest rates. The county lost $1.64 billion. Desert Hot Springs also filed for bankruptcy in 2001."
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Local governments are under considerable pressure these days. Nobody wants to pay taxes, the federal government is dumping responsibilities (unfunded mandates) on them, people move around like crazy, and the housing finance meltdown is still making big ripples.
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Local governments are under considerable pressure these days. Nobody wants to pay taxes, the federal government is dumping responsibilities (unfunded mandates) on them, people move around like crazy, and the housing finance meltdown is still making big ripples.
Backyard pizza oven cooks up trouble with community ban -- OrlandoSentinel.com
Backyard pizza oven cooks up trouble with community ban -- OrlandoSentinel.com: "An east Orange County man is using a law designed to encourage modern energy-saving devices to save his old-world backyard pizza oven.
The Waterford Lakes homeowners association told Gary Dobis the oven had to go because it breaks the community's ban on accessory structures. The group sued him in January."
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Thanks to Beth Young for this link. Check out the photo of this awesome oven.
The Waterford Lakes homeowners association told Gary Dobis the oven had to go because it breaks the community's ban on accessory structures. The group sued him in January."
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Thanks to Beth Young for this link. Check out the photo of this awesome oven.
Father who flew Jolly Roger for daughter's birthday prosecuted by council | the Daily Mail
AAARRRR, matey! Father who flew Jolly Roger for daughter's birthday prosecuted by council | the Daily Mail: "One particular pirate prop was a must for David Waterman as he organised a themed party for his daughter's birthday.
With cutlass-wielding youngsters running around in eye patches, he thought, a Jolly Roger flag would add the perfect finishing touch - and he duly hung the Skull and Crossbones from the side of the family home.
Unfortunately the local council didn't see the jolly side and Mr Waterman has been threatened with prosecution unless he removes the 5ft by 3ft banner."
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Flag banning: it's not just for HOAs anymore.
With cutlass-wielding youngsters running around in eye patches, he thought, a Jolly Roger flag would add the perfect finishing touch - and he duly hung the Skull and Crossbones from the side of the family home.
Unfortunately the local council didn't see the jolly side and Mr Waterman has been threatened with prosecution unless he removes the 5ft by 3ft banner."
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Flag banning: it's not just for HOAs anymore.
Confirmed! Bureaucrats have no sense of humor, funny stop signs nixed - Autoblog
Oak Lawn, IL, comes up with a creative policy that the Illinois Dept. of Transportation sadly decides to rain on.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The Housing Crisis Is Over - WSJ.com
The Housing Crisis Is Over - WSJ.com: "The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.
How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor."
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I hope this writer has it figured out, but there are isn't one housing market. There are many different geographical areas and within each there are sub-markets for different types of housing and price ranges. It may be that we have hit bottom in the aggregate, but is that true of the entire Sun Belt?
How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor."
------------
I hope this writer has it figured out, but there are isn't one housing market. There are many different geographical areas and within each there are sub-markets for different types of housing and price ranges. It may be that we have hit bottom in the aggregate, but is that true of the entire Sun Belt?
CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police | UK news | The Guardian
CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police | UK news | The GuardianMassive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.
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That seems counter-intuitive, but if you look at the recommendations from Scotland Yard, the problem may be related to difficulty in identifying people on the videos.
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That seems counter-intuitive, but if you look at the recommendations from Scotland Yard, the problem may be related to difficulty in identifying people on the videos.
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