[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

tkret,

Thanks for the link to the Business Week article. For several years, my subscription to Business Week was a part of the self-educating I was doing. I cut my teeth on Money and Kiplinger Personal Finance and later on [i]Smart Money, but Business Week became my favorite.

I like the style of writing in Business Week. For me the articles have enough depth while not going the esoteric route. I do not like reading stuff that makes me feel like my head is being pinched in a vise. You know what, I think I am going to re-up that Business Week subscription. I know I can read stuff online, but I still like an old fashioned magazine with writing style that works for me and with some great cover art from time to time.

Boomer

Addendum: If anybody is reading this, I apologize for having turned the whole :edit: :edit: thing to italics while trying to just fix some :edit: :edit: :edit: comma or something. I do not know why I insist upon trying to edit something after I have sent it. I will never, never learn. Oh well, I just wanted you to know that "Business Week" is good for me. OK. Maybe somebody else will like it, too. And I also want you to know that these :edit: :edit: :edit: italics are straight from Hell.

Boomer.

I think that you should change your career of brain surgeon, aeronautical engineer, genetic programmer or whatever the heck your current "project" is and become a houses sales rep down here in TV. You are SO knowledgable on the subject and everyone will love you. Plus we all will be able to see and touch you and know if you are real! Plus you will make so much money you can take us out for dinner at least once a week.

Whatdya think? Huh? Huh?

Kind wishes, GG

[tankdvr1950]

For whats its worth....check out the article in today's WSJ.....if Mr Greenspan is right.....we will not see the bottom until possibly the end of next year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218..._us_whats_news

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by tankdvr1950

For whats its worth....check out the article in today's WSJ.....if Mr Greenspan is right.....we will not see the bottom until possibly the end of next year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218..._us_whats_news

tankdvr,

I am leaving today to hang out with people I can actually see, but I will check the article. Somewhere in this vast number of posts that I cannot seem to stop writing, I did a little rant on Greenspan.

Hellooooooo Alan, what were ya thinkin'? I know the drill about the fed's fear of inflation. I was around in the Carter years. (A mere child I was, of course. But around just the same.)

When Greenspan kept dropping that rate, every time he would come out and see his shadow, I used to yell at him. I would holler, "Hey, AG, I know you are a bloomin' genius. But you're lookin' a little tunnel visioned to me. I know you used to party with Ayn Rand. Well, maybe you shoulda been partying with Boomer. Because this ain't gonna work."

Greenspan was way too easy. Boomer always knew better than to be easy. But Alan would not listen to me.

I know. I know. Boomer is but a bumpkin. And I know it is/was a much bigger picture than just Greenspan. An economy that had been allowed to become a house of cards. Plastic cards. And I have no idea what happened to usury laws. I remember when I first began to see those payday loan places start showing up in strip malls. I did not get it. How could that be legal?

I was pretty tempted to buy a little banking stock a few years ago. But I could not do it. Something just was not right. I would rather have had Altria. At least tobacco warns about the poison being picked. Much more honest than banking.

I have got to get out of here. I could do two or three more verses. But it's lunch with the girls today. When I try to talk about this stuff with some of my friends, they look at me like I am from Mars. But I really am from Venus.

Boomer

[tkret]

Originally Posted by tankdvr1950

For whats its worth....check out the article in today's WSJ.....if Mr Greenspan is right.....we will not see the bottom until possibly the end of next year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1218..._us_whats_news

An interesting article and even the author, David Wessel, states that Alan's "crystal ball has been cloudy". Mr. Wessel is being kind. This is what AG "predicted" in 2006

"I suspect that we are coming to the end of this downtrend, as applications for new mortgages, the most important series, have flattened out. I don't know, but I think the worst of this may well be over."
-Alan Greenspan, October 6, 2006


Sorry, but those in the trenches, like RealtyTrac, for instance, say 2009 is too soon! Even with all the government attempts to help struggling homeowners, foreclosures continue to rise. This adds to the imbalance between between buyers and sellers. When this happens in any commodity, that effects the price of the item....too much inventory results in lower prices.

[Boomer]

(gottaleavegottastoplookingingottastoptalkingabout thisstuffgottagotalkaboutdifferentstuff.)

tkret,

I was going to read the article later, but I could not resist and read it post morning rant. I tried to tell AG. Really. I did.

Now, I fear that AG may be guilty of irrational exuberance.

Boomer Cassandra

[tankdvr1950]

i guess....after all is said and done...and all the "experts" chime in......no one really has the (correct) answer to the question.

[Peazoup]

I took the plunge. As there are such good buys in TV, I recently bought a home even though my "up north" home hasn't sold yet. I figure I can rent one or the other until the market picks up.
CIB and others waiting - have you considered doing this? 040

[ConeyIsBabe]

Peazoup........ YES..... I am considering buying & renting out a TV home and having it managed by someone; however, I still haven't visited TV yet. Maybe this winter :dontknow:

I've learned from experience to avoid speculation - therefore, I'll probably wait until I sell in Oregon and then rent for a year in TV and then invest in TV. I know, I know that y'all say that TV is all about the lifestyle - and it is - but it's also an investment and I want to get it right inasmuch as I got it WRONG when I bought my Oregon Dream Home at the height of the r/e market :

[inda50]

It looks to me like prices are continuing to drop. The middle class is shrinking at an alarming rate.

[ojm]

It would seem that there are some incredible values to be had in real estate right now. And at some point buyers will recognize this. That is the good news. The bad news is that along with tighter loan standards, inflation seems to be returning with a vengeance and mortgage rates could take a sharp upturn shortly. Adding to that, the barrage of bad news had had its effect and a lot of buyers are scared of commiting to a new or larger mortgages. Meaning, I don't have a clue when the real estate market will stabilize and I rather doubt anyone else does either. Tell me what the interest rate of a 30 year fixed rate mortgage will be a year from now and I'll offer my 'expert' opinion.

[lag]

I commend your articulate writing skill I loved your quote on unrestraind greed Oh so true !! What a big mess we are in. Can You imagine running for the office of President of the US?
Yes It's not over till the fat lady sings I hope she's tuning up her vocals at least .
Hope this reply is not a mess to view

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

OK, folks. This is what's up. I did not know I was going to write this. I did not plan to stay so long at the keyboard this morning. I tuned in to this thread. And whoops! I was off and running. (typing) I am not a cutter nor am I a paster. I just tell stories. You do not have to read them. But here goes:

I wish I could find out who said, "Unrestrained greed is not only bad morals, it is bad economics."

I am a fan of business. But lending industry practices that we have witnessed recently do not resemble ethical business in any way, shape, or form. The bloated in DC have been so wined, dined, and propped up by lobbyists that they can no longer recognize ethical business practices, if they ever could.

The CEO of one of the largest lenders was selling his stock through programmed stock sales. Yeah, I know. That's legal. He set it up ahead of time. And he and so many other lenders set up those wide-eyed American Dreamers.

I am weary of hearing, "But the borrowers should have known." Yeah, they should have. But they did not. And their lenders knew they did not. And their Congress knew they did not. There seem to be no laws to protect the American people from the lending industry. Things have happened that should never have happened. And we will all pay.

I don't care about the speculators. I do care about those first home buyers who walked right into it, trusting the guy with the briefcase and the big desk, telling them what they wanted to hear. Vile stuff out there. And we will all pay.

I saw it coming. And I am certainly not a learned economist.

In the fall of 2006, I actually rescued a good friend's daughter from one of these loans. We are talking about a smart young woman with a good job who was walking right straight toward the wall, the cliff, whatever. Her parents could not get her attention. She was hell-bent on doing this "on her own." And thought she understood it. She is in her 20's. And she knows how to do some serious math. Whoda thought?

I asked if she would at least let her dad introduce her to someone at their local, longtime, conservative, bricks and mortar bank to see what that lending department could offer her. It worked out fine. I have no idea why she listened to me. But she did.

There is another circumstance that I have seen up close. A couple in their late 30's who are family friends transferred west. Both have excellent jobs. They bought last fall in a nice neighborhood, getting what they thought was a good deal.

They had to sell their SC house for less, but they felt they were buying for less and the new jobs dictated a move.

This couple knew not to get into the wrong kind of mortgage. And they did not. This young couple did everything they were supposed to do.

And they settled into their new and quite lovely neighborhood.

Now they are watching their neighbors walk away. They are watching their neighborhood turn to rental where possible. They are watching growing grass and general property neglect. They are surrounded by yards that have unmaintained pools. They are even seeing multiple families live in one house. And we are talking about those Ken & Barbie houses. And this young couple did things as they should have been done.

I care about the people in my little stories. I care about those who are like them. Those I do not know. And I care about the fact that we will all pay in one way or another, or in many, many ways. And I care that those who should pay, will not.

So anyway, you did not have to read it. If you are reading this sentence, I guess you did. I did not intend to write it. But I did. So I will hit send. And I will move forward with my life. But I will still care very much. And I still believe that "Unrestrained greed is not only bad morals, it is bad economics." And I still wish I knew who said it. And I wish I had.

I just looked back and saw that I did not give my opinion, directly anyway, on when the overall housing market will bottom. Well, I do so love my sayings. And one of my favorites is "It's not over 'til the fat lady sings." And I'm sad to say that I don't hear her. And I'm really sad to say that I'm not even sure she is approaching the stage. I guess, truth be told, I don't even think I see her limo pulling up to the theater.

Boomer

[tkret]

Originally Posted by dreamweaver

Are there any financial/economist/predictors out there? What are your opinions on the housing slump that has affected many parts of the country? How long do you think it will last before prices are on the rise again? So many of us are just hanging in waiting for our northern homes to sell so we can finally make it down to TV. Opinions????

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug...ly/news-money/

[tony]

bump for tkret

[inda50]

I think home prices are starting to stablize

[Keedy]

It was interesting reading through these posts that are a year old. Still, we do not know if prices have bottomed out. I don'y see the bottom yet here in Taxachusetts. Not many houses moving, either.