Woman helps police catch alleged scam artist | LOCAL NEWS | KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas: "Amber Rogers, a single mom, believed she had found the perfect home for her kids inside a gated community off Barker Cypress.
Rogers says she found the home online. She called the number in the ad and spoke to Jonathan Soto. He claimed he worked for an investor who was saving homes from foreclosure, and then renting them out.
Rogers signed the lease, gave him a $2,500 cash deposit, and was ready to move in.
But when she pulled up to the gated community, she learned that she had been scammed."
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Good work on her part. She hid in the garage and called 911. He was taking deposits from multiple people for the same house.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
How politics works: Senator Christopher Dodd and his cosy Irish cottage :: Toby Harnden: "Dodd became part owner of the 10-acre Galway property in 1994 along with Missouri businessman William Kessinger, whom Dodd knew through investor Edward R. Downe Jnr, who had pleaded guilty the previous year to insider trading charges. The mortgage was listed as 'between $100,001 and $250,000'. Downe was a witness to Kessinger's purchase.
In 2001, Dodd circumvented the US Justice Department to help get his pal Downe a full pardon on President Bill Clinton's last day in office. The following year, Dodd bought off Kessinger's two-thirds share of the 'cottage' for, Dodd said, $127,000.
Ever since then, Dodd has continued to list the value of the property as 'between $100,001 and $250,000'."
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"Cottage"? This is a cottage? This is the same Sen. Dodd who got a sweetheart deal from Countrywide. And the same Dodd who included in the stimulus bill the provision that allowed AIG to pay the bonuses. And who then told CNN he didn't do it. And who eventually was forced to admit that he did.
One would hope that his constituents can read about this in US newspapers and don't have to search the web for a UK newspaper like this one.
Hartford Advocate: News - A Chicken in Every Yard: "There are at least 30 off-the-books flocks in backyards throughout New Haven, and East Rock alderman Roland Lemar has hatched an ordinance to regulate them. He's tentatively planning on presenting the ordinance this spring. Currently hens are tolerated under an unofficial don't-ask-don't-tell policy.
Lemar's ordinance would allow six hens per backyard, but no roosters."
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The Yale faculty has their own chickens. How earthy of them.
Breaking news - newsjournalonline.com
Breaking news - newsjournalonline.com: Man torches skateboard ramp: "ORANGE CITY -- A Volusia County man who had repeatedly asked that a skateboard ramp be removed from the road near his home set it on fire, sheriff deputies said."
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He had repeatedly told the man who built the ramp to get it out of the road. That didn't pan out. So he resorted to self help.
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He had repeatedly told the man who built the ramp to get it out of the road. That didn't pan out. So he resorted to self help.
U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms
U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms: "The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.
The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.
Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process."
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The rationale is: if this had been the law last year the feds could have seized AIG and wrapped up its affairs like a federally-insured bank that failed, instead of buying a big ownership interest in AIG to keep it from failing, and then watching it continue to bleed away the government's bailout money and come around to Congress asking for more.
But the rationale for bank seizure is that the bank accepted federal depository insurance, and as a condition of that insurance, they agreed to be scrutinized at will by federal regulators, who also have the power to walk in at 4:00 on Friday afternoon and shut it down.
The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.
Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process."
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The rationale is: if this had been the law last year the feds could have seized AIG and wrapped up its affairs like a federally-insured bank that failed, instead of buying a big ownership interest in AIG to keep it from failing, and then watching it continue to bleed away the government's bailout money and come around to Congress asking for more.
But the rationale for bank seizure is that the bank accepted federal depository insurance, and as a condition of that insurance, they agreed to be scrutinized at will by federal regulators, who also have the power to walk in at 4:00 on Friday afternoon and shut it down.
Monday, March 23, 2009
FT.com / Asia-Pacific - China calls for new reserve currency
FT.com / Asia-Pacific - China calls for new reserve currency: "China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund.
In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”.
Analysts said the proposal was an indication of Beijing’s fears that actions being taken to save the domestic US economy would have a negative impact on China."
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First Russia suggested this, and now China. Why not go for the trifecta and have North Korea or Iran chime in? Actually, our semi-friendly enemies, or semi-enemy friends, aren't the only ones who think that we are adopting policies that will have a negative impact. Plenty of Americans think that, too. I do not know at this point and am hoping for the best, but when I read the outline of the proposal to create a market for buying the toxic assets, it seemed that the government takes a lot of risk if it fails, but the private investors have the upside potential and don't seem to be able to lose much. Or am I misreading something?
In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”.
Analysts said the proposal was an indication of Beijing’s fears that actions being taken to save the domestic US economy would have a negative impact on China."
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First Russia suggested this, and now China. Why not go for the trifecta and have North Korea or Iran chime in? Actually, our semi-friendly enemies, or semi-enemy friends, aren't the only ones who think that we are adopting policies that will have a negative impact. Plenty of Americans think that, too. I do not know at this point and am hoping for the best, but when I read the outline of the proposal to create a market for buying the toxic assets, it seemed that the government takes a lot of risk if it fails, but the private investors have the upside potential and don't seem to be able to lose much. Or am I misreading something?
Introducing www.evanmckenzie.com
Today I am opening up my new eponymous domain, evanmckenzie.com. The web site is still under construction, and a whole lot more content will be going up on it, but all the sections work and I invite people to drop in, register, and submit articles for publication there. I will keep The Privatopia Papers here on Blogspot for the near future at least, so nothing here will change.
Eventually the site will have a lot of things for free to anybody who drops by, and another level of access for registered users that will contain more.
I expect to have another book on CIDs in print this year, and I will have more to say about that when I get more information on the timing. The publisher has sent it out for review and that process has to be completed. I will also be creating more .pdf files of other articles I have published to go with the three that are already up.
Drop in at www.evanmckenzie.com and give me your feedback.
Las Vegas Now | Legislation Introduced to End HOA Corruption
Noto and others say Park Avenue and several other HOA's were allegedly part of a wide-reaching plan by Leon Benzer and his associates. He is a developer who is said to have used friends to take control of HOA boards and funnel questionable work to his construction company. Sources tell the I-Team, that money could add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Noto says the problem started with questionable elections, "There are hundreds of millions of dollars for them and if they can manipulate the law in their favor, then they're going to do it."
State Senator Mike Schneider proposed two bills Wednesday that would clamp down on HOA boards to open up the books and reveal any conflicts of interest. It would also bar people from tampering with board elections and if they do, it is a category C felony -- up to five years in prison.
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So here is one state where one legislator is taking HOA and condo association corruption seriously. We will see who gets behind this and who tries to stop it. Anybody in the industry who is thinking in the long term should support this, because on top of all the other risks that go with buying a CID unit, if you add in the potential for Chicago-style election theft by outsiders, people may decide once and for all to reject this form of housing. I don't know who did what in the case that gave rise to this proposal, or even if anybody will be convicted, but there are just way too many cases of property manager embezzlement, board misbehavior, and abuse of owners. Calling them isolated examples is beside the point--all crimes are isolated examples, because most of the time people behave themselves. Crime is still a major social problem. And the need to clean up privatopia has never been more acute. This is especially true for condominiums, which always get hit hardest by recession and are now sliding into crisis all over the nation.
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update: The state of the condo market today reminds me of a great scene from the movie There Will Be Blood. The oil man, Daniel Plainview, wants to lease land from a lot of farmers so he can drill for oil. The farmers meet in a house to talk about the proposition, and the whole place erupts into a chaotic group argument. Here is what happens next:
Prescott: [Plainview has just stormed out of a town meeting] Mr. Plainview? No! Mr. Plainview, where are you going?
Plainview: I don't need the lease, thank you.
Prescott: We need you, we need you to...
Plainview: Too much confusion! Thank you for your time.
Prescott: No, no, no! There's no confusion! If you just...
Plainview: [stops in his tracks, stares down Prescott] I wouldn't take the lease if you gave it to me as a gift.
Plainview decides the whole situation is just too much trouble and too much risk, even though there is money to be made. And if the chaos and dysfunction in privatopia do not abate, soon you will not be able to give away a condo unit as a gift, because people will think it is just too much trouble and too much risk. For a housing sector that sells itself as carefree living, this would be not only ironic, but fatal.
So, I think CAI and other industry organizations should be working overtime to clean out the crooks and the sharpies. Prosecuting the crooks and sending them to prison would be a great place to start.
Noto and others say Park Avenue and several other HOA's were allegedly part of a wide-reaching plan by Leon Benzer and his associates. He is a developer who is said to have used friends to take control of HOA boards and funnel questionable work to his construction company. Sources tell the I-Team, that money could add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Noto says the problem started with questionable elections, "There are hundreds of millions of dollars for them and if they can manipulate the law in their favor, then they're going to do it."
State Senator Mike Schneider proposed two bills Wednesday that would clamp down on HOA boards to open up the books and reveal any conflicts of interest. It would also bar people from tampering with board elections and if they do, it is a category C felony -- up to five years in prison.
-------------
So here is one state where one legislator is taking HOA and condo association corruption seriously. We will see who gets behind this and who tries to stop it. Anybody in the industry who is thinking in the long term should support this, because on top of all the other risks that go with buying a CID unit, if you add in the potential for Chicago-style election theft by outsiders, people may decide once and for all to reject this form of housing. I don't know who did what in the case that gave rise to this proposal, or even if anybody will be convicted, but there are just way too many cases of property manager embezzlement, board misbehavior, and abuse of owners. Calling them isolated examples is beside the point--all crimes are isolated examples, because most of the time people behave themselves. Crime is still a major social problem. And the need to clean up privatopia has never been more acute. This is especially true for condominiums, which always get hit hardest by recession and are now sliding into crisis all over the nation.
---------
update: The state of the condo market today reminds me of a great scene from the movie There Will Be Blood. The oil man, Daniel Plainview, wants to lease land from a lot of farmers so he can drill for oil. The farmers meet in a house to talk about the proposition, and the whole place erupts into a chaotic group argument. Here is what happens next:
Prescott: [Plainview has just stormed out of a town meeting] Mr. Plainview? No! Mr. Plainview, where are you going?
Plainview: I don't need the lease, thank you.
Prescott: We need you, we need you to...
Plainview: Too much confusion! Thank you for your time.
Prescott: No, no, no! There's no confusion! If you just...
Plainview: [stops in his tracks, stares down Prescott] I wouldn't take the lease if you gave it to me as a gift.
Plainview decides the whole situation is just too much trouble and too much risk, even though there is money to be made. And if the chaos and dysfunction in privatopia do not abate, soon you will not be able to give away a condo unit as a gift, because people will think it is just too much trouble and too much risk. For a housing sector that sells itself as carefree living, this would be not only ironic, but fatal.
So, I think CAI and other industry organizations should be working overtime to clean out the crooks and the sharpies. Prosecuting the crooks and sending them to prison would be a great place to start.
reportonbusiness.com: Ottawa, banks take action to rescue mortgages
Canadian banks urge borrowers to renegotiate mortgages if necessary Ottawa, banks take action to rescue mortgages: "As the recession deepens, Canada's big banks and its federal mortgage insurer are moving to head off a rise in defaults by homeowners. Ottawa is launching a campaign to urge the cash-strapped to approach their banks for mortgage relief, as the banks adopt more flexible practices aimed at preventing borrowers from falling behind on payments. The measures by the banks and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the federal agency that guarantees mortgages, signal growing concern about increasing levels of household debt. With house prices dropping, job losses rising and the economy not yet showing signs of recovery, both the government and lenders are pushing consumers to be proactive if they think they might have problems paying their debts."
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What a concept.
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What a concept.
Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Schenectady mayor considers options, martial law over police woes
Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Schenectady mayor considers options, martial law over police woes: "Schenectady's Corporation Counsel John Van Norden said, 'If you abolish the police department you still have a need - not an obligation - but a need to police the community. You would need something in transition. Declaring martial law would be one way to bridge the gap.'"
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It seems that the city is having so many problems with their police officers that they are considering abolishing the department, declaring martial law, and having the National Guard to the policing until they re-establish the department. I see declaring martial law in peacetime as an ominous precedent, so I hope they decide to go another route.
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It seems that the city is having so many problems with their police officers that they are considering abolishing the department, declaring martial law, and having the National Guard to the policing until they re-establish the department. I see declaring martial law in peacetime as an ominous precedent, so I hope they decide to go another route.
It’s Not Easy Turning Co-op Boards Green - NYTimes.com
It’s Not Easy Turning Co-op Boards Green - NYTimes.com: "The politics at residential buildings, which are notoriously contentious, have become even more so as environmental issues have entered the fray. At many co-ops and condominiums, the members of energy and green committees lobby and cajole their neighbors to embrace projects that sometimes require upfront money, like solar panels, but more often just demand interest and effort on the part of residents, like recycling correctly.
It can be a thankless job that sometimes is met with indifference, skepticism and even outright hostility. But environmentally motivated residents say they operate on the theory of, “If I don’t do it, who will?” as it was put by Sharon Lee Ritchie, who started a green committee in her co-op in Harlem."
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This "Green Building Movement" is coming at a time when many people are more concerned about keeping their home than saving the planet. Municipal buildings are heavily into this way of doing things, and the stimulus legislation has megabucks in it for this, but I think the CID buildings are on their own. Considering that there is usually a huge fight over raising assessments to fix a leaky roof, I wonder how far this movement can get.
It can be a thankless job that sometimes is met with indifference, skepticism and even outright hostility. But environmentally motivated residents say they operate on the theory of, “If I don’t do it, who will?” as it was put by Sharon Lee Ritchie, who started a green committee in her co-op in Harlem."
-----------
This "Green Building Movement" is coming at a time when many people are more concerned about keeping their home than saving the planet. Municipal buildings are heavily into this way of doing things, and the stimulus legislation has megabucks in it for this, but I think the CID buildings are on their own. Considering that there is usually a huge fight over raising assessments to fix a leaky roof, I wonder how far this movement can get.
Foreclosures hit communities hard | news-press.com | The News-Press
Foreclosures hit communities hard | news-press.com | The News-Press: "'The biggest issue we're seeing now is collections,' he said. 'It's causing tremendous amounts of heartache for the associations.'
To make matters worse, Kaplan said, when a condominium unit goes into foreclosure the lender trying to get it back is liable for only the first six months of assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage, whichever is less. For homeowners' associations, it's 1 percent or 12 months."
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The press seems to be understanding the financing crisis of condos and many HOAs the same way they finally got the issue of BOD abuse of owners in the mid 1990s. However, what they do not grasp in either case is that this is all the logical outcome of the decision by governments and developers to privatize the functions of local government and pass the costs on to home buyers. Until that issue is dealt with, the problems will continue. And in the current economic situation, condo ownership is a minefield.
To make matters worse, Kaplan said, when a condominium unit goes into foreclosure the lender trying to get it back is liable for only the first six months of assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage, whichever is less. For homeowners' associations, it's 1 percent or 12 months."
----------------
The press seems to be understanding the financing crisis of condos and many HOAs the same way they finally got the issue of BOD abuse of owners in the mid 1990s. However, what they do not grasp in either case is that this is all the logical outcome of the decision by governments and developers to privatize the functions of local government and pass the costs on to home buyers. Until that issue is dealt with, the problems will continue. And in the current economic situation, condo ownership is a minefield.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
FT.com / UK - London homes lose top slot: "London has been pushed off its top spot by Monaco as the most expensive place to buy residential property, with the capital and the home counties suffering some of the biggest price falls in the world.
Monaco is now the world’s most expensive residential market, where prime property is being sold for €50,000 (£47,000, $68,000) per square metre (up 2.1 per cent in 2008), followed now by London, at €28,000 per square metre, and then Manhattan, at €16,500 per square metre (down 4.1 per cent)."
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And you thought property was expensive where you live. At $68,000 per square meter, even a knuckle-dragging Yankee like me can see that this is some seriously pricey real estate. Put me down for six square meters so I can pitch a tent.
Get ready: Here comes the 'prosumer economy'
Get ready: Here comes the 'prosumer economy': "Kelly believes - and this is a Fortune 100 adviser, mind you - that material consumption is being replaced by, for want of a better word, spiritual consumption. In a nutshell, quality supersedes quantity, a trend I believe we are already starting to see. For companies, that implies 'a massive emphasis on co-creation with consumers,' evolving into what Kelly calls the 'prosumer economy.'
It also presages, he believes, a transition from traditional models of competition to shared 'webs' of innovation. 'Companies are going to have to be more agile, more collaborative.'"
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I wonder how that mentality will affect the real estate development industry. CID housing epitomizes the consumer economy, with not just the home, but the neighorhood itself being turned into a mass-produced and highly standardized commodity. Will developers pay more attention to what people really want, as opposed to what they can be convinced to buy and put up with?
It also presages, he believes, a transition from traditional models of competition to shared 'webs' of innovation. 'Companies are going to have to be more agile, more collaborative.'"
-----------
I wonder how that mentality will affect the real estate development industry. CID housing epitomizes the consumer economy, with not just the home, but the neighorhood itself being turned into a mass-produced and highly standardized commodity. Will developers pay more attention to what people really want, as opposed to what they can be convinced to buy and put up with?
My Way News - Treasury's toxic asset plan could cost $1 trillion
My Way News - Treasury's toxic asset plan could cost $1 trillion: "WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration's latest attempt to tackle the banking crisis and get loans flowing to families and businesses will create a new government entity, the Public-Private Investment Program, to help purchase as much as $1 trillion in toxic assets on banks' books."
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That "public-private" in the name has a nice neoliberal ring to it, but if you read it over it looks like a great deal more regulatory power for the public partner. I guess the concession to the private sector is that the federal government doesn't flat-out nationalize the banks.
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That "public-private" in the name has a nice neoliberal ring to it, but if you read it over it looks like a great deal more regulatory power for the public partner. I guess the concession to the private sector is that the federal government doesn't flat-out nationalize the banks.
Rural Mexican villages dig moats to repel gangsters | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Rural Mexican villages dig moats to repel gangsters | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
The chaos in Mexico is horrific. The article says 6000 people were killed in the drug wars last year, and this year is expected to be as bad. These tiny villages were raided by 15 SUVs full of armed bandits who kidnapped five people. It is like something out of The Magnificent Seven, except it is happening in 2009.
The chaos in Mexico is horrific. The article says 6000 people were killed in the drug wars last year, and this year is expected to be as bad. These tiny villages were raided by 15 SUVs full of armed bandits who kidnapped five people. It is like something out of The Magnificent Seven, except it is happening in 2009.
Officials question Gary spending on videotaping meetings / nwi.com
Officials question Gary spending on videotaping meetings / nwi.com: "In a era of tax caps zapping municipal budgets, several local leaders, reform advocates and the governor question the wisdom of cash-starved Gary paying the mayor's son nearly $40,000 annually to videotape sanitary district meetings."
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Seems like a reasonable question, especially given the amazing coincidence that the mayor's son is getting paid more for this than anybody else in northwest Indiana--according to the article.
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Seems like a reasonable question, especially given the amazing coincidence that the mayor's son is getting paid more for this than anybody else in northwest Indiana--according to the article.
A Green Zone » California Homeowner Association Fails To Block Installation Of Low Cost "Blue" Solar Panels
A Green Zone » California Homeowner Association Fails To Block Installation Of Low Cost "Blue" Solar Panels
The Rancho Palos Verdes HOA art jury didn't like the way the panels looked. The city of Palos Verdes said "tough." The panels stay.
The Rancho Palos Verdes HOA art jury didn't like the way the panels looked. The city of Palos Verdes said "tough." The panels stay.
Lousy Rating Agencies To Make $1 Billion Rating Bailout Debt
Lousy Rating Agencies To Make $1 Billion Rating Bailout Debt: "Remember the rating agencies? S&P? Moody's? The folks who rated all that subprime paper Triple-A?
Well, the Fed's baillout program is going to be issuing a lot of new asset-backed securities, which means the rating agencies are about to be busy again. In fact, the Wall Street Journal estimates that they'll make $1 billion of fees rating the paper produced in the latest bailout programs."
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I suppose this could cause a backlash, but if it does, maybe Obama can just dispatch the mobs to their houses, too.
Well, the Fed's baillout program is going to be issuing a lot of new asset-backed securities, which means the rating agencies are about to be busy again. In fact, the Wall Street Journal estimates that they'll make $1 billion of fees rating the paper produced in the latest bailout programs."
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I suppose this could cause a backlash, but if it does, maybe Obama can just dispatch the mobs to their houses, too.
Richard White: Condominium association's underfunded reserves causes red flag situation : Columns : Naples Daily News
Richard White: Condominium association's underfunded reserves causes red flag situation : Columns : Naples Daily News: "Her neighbor recently applied for a reverse mortgage, but when the bank reviewed the condominium’s association’s financials, the family was turned down because the association has a deficit and no reserves."
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Condo owners are finding out that the screws are being tightened on every side.
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Condo owners are finding out that the screws are being tightened on every side.
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