patrick.net

I just don’t like dishonesty on the part of any salesperson or anyone, for that matter.

I know, the same here.....at some point this will all end and the NAR will have lost all its credibility! Will anyone ever trust this organisation again?

I don’t like addressing someone as ‘Confused’.

Why not just call him RID?...."Realtwhore In Disguise".

I wish David Lehreah's new book was out. I can't wait to go on to Amazon and review it.

Check it out of the library or read it at Starbucks in Borders then review it. You don’t want to participate in deceptive or untruthful behavior.

I don't need to read it to review it! :)

Actually, now that I've de-lurked, I'm starting to find CR moderately annoying. He/she/it is rather redundant. Eternal fluff + perpetually sunny = troll?

FormerAptBroker says: As an undergrad I ended up at Marina Green with a cute (almost white) golden retriever puppy and met so many girls that I went back across the Bay and tried to figure out a business plan for a “puppy rental” business catering to single guys (we had to scrap the plan since we couldn’t figure out what to do with the dogs after they weren’t “cute puppies” any more…

5 words for ya: Seeing Eye Dog Training Program. We used to get the "recruits" into work all the time. They are golden retrievers or yellow/black labs. Most are still in the shoe-chewing stage, but they wear these cute little green bibs that say "Seeing Eye Dog In Training". You get booku points for having an adorable puppy, plus they are training for a noble life helping the blind. How could that not get a prolonged "Awwwwhhh!" from every cutie you meet?

Problem is, I have always had labs or goldens, and I would get horribly attatched to the lil' nippers. I would never be able to give one away after I had bonded with it, not even to some 9-year old blind girl with cancer.

btw, does anyone else think that Ha Ha might be a bot?

SFWoman Says:
I think that I shall start calling ConfusedRenter Carla. May we address you as Carla?

Is that short for "Carlatan"?

SP

not sure whether to be carl or curt? then why not Carlotta...

important message:

The Race Between the Right Wing and the Right Thing ...a message from Michael Moore

Friends,

Tomorrow night, those who sent 2,800 of our soldiers to their deaths -- all because of a lie the president concocted -- will find out if America chooses to reward them -- or remove them.

As good as things look for the Democrats, do not pop the corks and start the partying yet. Do not believe for a second that the Republicans plan on losing. They will fight like dogs for the next 24 hours -- relentless, unforgiving, nonstop action to squeeze every last conservative voter out of the house on election day. While the rest of us go about our day today, tens of thousands of Republican volunteers are knocking on doors, making phone calls, and lining up rides to the polls. They're not sleeping, they're not eating, they're not even watching Fox News. A day without Fox News? That's right, that's how insanely dedicated they are.

But the reason they have to work so hard is that, before they can get the vote out, they first have to completely turn around the massive public opinion against them. Almost 60% disapprove of Bush. Over 60% are opposed to the war. Those are landslide numbers. And the American people are not going to turn pro-war or into Bush-lovers by tomorrow morning. So it should be easy for us, right?

Yup. Just like it was when we won the popular vote in 2000 and when we were ahead in the exit polls all day long in 2004. You know the deal -- the other side takes no prisoners. And just when it seems like things are going our way, the Republicans suddenly, mysteriously win the election.

Well, it's not really that mysterious. They're out there busting their asses this very minute, right down the street from you. What are YOU doing? You're on a computer reading my cranky letter! Stop reading this! We have only a few hours left to wrestle control of the Congress away from these "representatives" who, if returned, will continue shipping our young men and women over there to die.

Here's what I'm imploring you to do right now:

1. Go through your address book on your cell phone and computer and call/e-mail everyone you know. Tell them how much it would mean to you if they vote on Tuesday. If they don't know where to vote, help them find their polling place.

2. Contact MoveOn.org ASAP. They will connect you to the folks who need you to make calls.

3. Contact your local Democratic Party headquarters. There are close races in nearly every state. They'll put you to work -- on the ground or on the phones. Or go to the local HQ for the Dem candidate running for the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate and say, "Put me to work!"

OK, turn off the computer -- and I will, too. There's serious work to do. The good news? There's more of us than there are of them. Let's prove that, once and for all.

Is there anything more important that you have to do today? Nothing less than the rest of the world is depending on us.

Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

SP,

Exactly! Imagine the NASD coming out with a full page ad blitz saying "Now is a good time to buy OR sell a stock"? When you put it in that context it's hard to imagine a a more ridiculous statement!

Which stock? Am I buying it or selling it? Does it really matter?

This has to go down as one of the dumbest ad campaigns in in the history of advertising. Doesn't it strike anyone as a little odd that rather than individual RE firms saying "Buy through us, we always get the best price" what we get is the broader trade organization speaking for all firms?

SFWoman,

Very interesting article. I'd read one similar a few weeks back where an upscale FL home had been on the market for about a year with NO offers. All of a sudden an offer comes in at 300K OVER asking! Well go figure?

Turns out when folks can't get the MEW they were looking for to support their lifestyle they simply sell it to their neighbor! (And vice versa). See how everything just works out in the end?

Yeah, well the full page ad definitely sent a flood of emotion over me! So much so that I'm ready to write an offer on Ann's listing in the post above!

"probably leveraged up to his eyeballs"

When Carlotta said for us not worry about him, "he bought in 2002 and 2003" I almost fell out of my chair laughing! Seriously dude/dudette?

Translation? Try 2004 and 2005, or as likely as not "in escrow" on the second buy! I've moved to ban but I can only talk until I'm blue in the face.

What's so sad about our local market (Silverton, OR) being hailed as the "Carmel of Oregon" is that I don't care if you're looking for a mid-60's single wide you'll find the most expensive one in the state here!

Fixers in particular (and not just here by any means) should be viewed with a healthy amount of skepticism. In a seller' market (yes I still consider this a SM) there is all the room in the world for owners of grossly neglected properties to price up to just a bit below what a "turn-key" home would sell for and yet somehow position the whole debacle as a "bargain"!

Without so much as the aid of a clipboard or calculator seasoned homeowners that have done rennovation quickly conclude that by the time you've sunk another 25-50-100K+ into this money pit what you'll have is a home that is every bit if not MORE expensive than one bought new. Only in this case there will be 2 years out of your life that you're not going to get back. I can't wait to stay away from it.

Hey gang don't forget to cast your ballots tomorrow. Just sent my absentee express overnight. We need to let congress know that can no longer take thier seats for granted.. If enough of us do this maybe we'll see some positive changes.

Different Sean Says:

let’s see what happens in the polls tomorrow. altho i’m worried that somehow the repugs will be returned with an even higher majority through some strange artifact…

Be afraid, be very afraid.
Don't know if its reached your side of the Pond (if it ever will), but HBOs documentary "Hacking Democracy" shows up what a total cluster*uck the last election was, due to Diebold's patented vote counting machines....

http://tinyurl.com/sauln

When most realtwhores have added no significant value to transactions in the last few years, they cannot really differentiate their services on a value-added basis.

....but this listing is special, John

"they choose to gang up as a cartel"

Besides, why is it so important to the average American to be buying and selling with such velocity? The natural progression for most couples would have been fixer/starter (ages 25-35) intermediate home (ages 30-45) "dream house" (ages 40-55) downsize home ages (50-55+).

Th panic that you see among realtors is that they have "pulled all their sales forward"! Sure, I could make a ton of money this month by going to each and every client and absolutely "tapping them out" but (A) that may well be not what is in "their" best interest and (B) what will I do next month?

Their problem is that they've totally compressed the chronology of a LIFETIME of housing needs all into the span of about 5 or 6 years! Everybody that could afford a starter (and legions that couldn't) have already been put into a starter! Those that could afford (or not) a move up home or second or vacation home have all already been way over extended. It's not that there isn't more money to loan, it's that believe-ability of anything resembling a manageable debt load has been exceeded. And that's what is so frustrating to them.

Oh, btw it seems to me that while most couples have come to appreciate the modern conveniences and prestige of their "dream" home they often recall their first home the most fondly! Weird huh?

they often recall their first home the most fondly! Weird huh?

We recall our first home very fondly. I could go on and on about every little detail, but it really has nothing to do with the house itself. It has to do with nostalgia about a time when we were younger, and as youth tends to go, more optimistic. I can also fondly wax about my high-school car even though it was a 1978 Ford Granada, one of the worst vehicles ever produced.

gr8vino,

There are several guys that work the "Rose City" airwaves and while I can't think of the firms offhand the one guy does such a great job spinning the latest economic numbers he should have written "stock pitch scripts" for the boiler room I started out at years ago!

No matter what the data that comes out IT'S ALWAYS a great time to re-fi! Is that Spartan Mortgage or some other guys? Usually when you're listening to 750 KXL or 1190 KEX.

Randy H,

Our oldest daughter's first boyfriend had a 1978 Granada and when he "totaled it out" let's just say I'm not sure it was completely accidental?

Yeah, I'm not sure why our first home warrants such a revered status in our memories? Maybe it's b/c of the low taxes and dirt cheap payments (by today's standards) or that so many "firsts" took place there?

On Sunday the Mrs. and I weren't sure where we wanted to eat but one thing we were sure of; neither of us wanted to cook. We wound up at the Olive Garden and the entire UCLA Womens Soccer Team came in! I guess they had just beaten our OSU Beavers 3 to 1 and were "monster" hungry. I just wanted to say that they were really gracious about winning, respectful of their coach and team captain and were a real joy to be stuck in line with! Great kids! (See, not everyone from SoCal is RUDE!)

"Realtors have canabalized themselves"

Exactly! AND (not to beat this to death......too late) their "new best friend" our ridiculously generous tax code while meaning greater appreciation and sales volumes up front also ran it's course in an ugly fashion. The REIC loves to focus on int. rates but this thing would have run out of gas with or without higher rates of any kind!

The Tampa article you linked earlier should provide clear proof of how addicted to this cycle we've become! (If we can't have "genuine" appreciation, we'll just pencil ourselves in for some!). The one buyer wanting an obscene amount of cash sent to some clandestine "overseas" construction "company"? Oh please.

Pummeling Junior U. is usually considered an endorsement for the opposing school.

You really can't blame the SoCal drivers for driving the way they do, the traffic there is much worse than BA traffic. I laugh when BA people complain about traffic, BA traffic is even better than DC or Seattle.

skibum,

Well there's a reason I don't go to a lot of games all that much anymore and most of it is for the very reasons you describe. I just thought it was a time to give credit where it's due and the UCLA gals conducted themselves w/class. When you're that young getting to go anywhere IS exciting. College athletics has gotten a bad name and it was refreshing to see that some of the student-atheletes don't take their program for granted.

This is funny. Blanche "the douchebag" Evans has a piece in RealtyTimes trying to boost the morale of the army of realtwhores out there:

http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/20061106_bailout.htm

Hey realtors (ConfusedRealtwhore included), hang in there!

"Some of the most successful people in real estate today started their careers during the last real estate downturn in the 1990s," he adds. "They figured out a way to remain in the business during difficult times. If you're passionate about a career in real estate, and approach it with the right mindset, you can do the same."

Pummeling Junior U. is usually considered an endorsement for the opposing school.

@astrid,

These days, achieving this is not a very difficult task.

I laugh when BA people complain about traffic, BA traffic is even better than DC or Seattle.

No way. I go to Seattle a lot and that's just bunk.

Seattle's traffic is bad, but it's understandable because they have a puny 4 lane bridge (520). Yeah I can understand why it would take ~1 hour at rush hour to go from the Eastside to the Westside. And traffic can be bad nearing the Boeing plants at 5pm.

But what the hell? It sometimes takes 1+ hour to go from Downtown Palo Alto to Downtown San Jose. And that's using an 8 lane road!

"Blanche "the douchebag" Evans" LOL! Damn!

Notice how they describe "alternate careers" within RE vice say......chucking it in! "Since 30% of homes sold in 2004 and 40% in 2005 were second homes these people could use a lot of help to keep these properties cash flowing". Rally? Cash flowing? How's is dat?

Ahem, renting that "distance McAlbatross" at Lake Woebegone isn't going to yield you zip, point, squat! So of the 38 homes at the lake you are able to find a "writer" that wants to lease ONE for 6 months? Oh yeah, that sounds enormously lucrative! GFL.

Ahem, renting that “distance McAlbatross” at Lake Woebegone isn’t going to yield you zip, point, squat!

Ah yes, Lake Wobegone, where the realtors are smart, the McAlbatrosses are plenty, and median home prices above average.

I think this guy should be dressed like a sheep instead!

Ooops, This guy

gr8vino,

Yeah! That's the ticket! This guy could "find the pony" in a room full of....... Anyway to hear Hayes talk you'd think the re-fi craze was still in full swing! It's so bad that some of my pals tell me there were MB's that had never actually done a "purchase" mortgage!

While we don't typically have the "nose bleed" prices the BA gets to brag about Portland consistently ranks among the most overpriced markets due in large part that our median income is about half of the BA!

I just keep wondering what's going to happen to all that over development in the "Pearl District" and high end stuff downtown? The realtors are still putting on this "bravado" but then you see the same listing on Craigslist offering discounts and we'll pay one years HOA etc. It's just so sloppy now it's easy for either side (bears or bulls) to make their case. We'll know more by spring.

skibum,

Firstly it's really weird here right now. It's like 69 degrees and supposed to be 75 on the coast. Here in the valley were looking at 5" of rain in the next 48 hours and the coast as much as 10"? Up on Mt. Hood this usually means much fun!

Yeah, Lake Woebegone. I always kid clients that are/were contemplating a 3,500 sq. ft. "weekender" about what a weekender was supposed to have been about! (Getting AWAY from it all?) Remember? If you look on Cabella's web site they have great 400-1,200 sq. ft. cabin kits starting around 8 grand. Why don't you start there? See how you like it.

Does anyone know who DCI Pacific is?

Seattle and DC seem to be sandwiched right in between SF/Oakland and San Jose. At least on a gross area-wide basis.

Cool - we're both right. :)

It's kind of telling that SF/Oakland has to be broken apart from San Jose - goes to show how awful traffic is both ways. No wonder our house prices are so expensive - bad traffic = high house prices. It's a No Brainer.

3. Contact your local Democratic Party headquarters. There are close races in nearly every state.

Sadly, as Jim Kunstler notes in this entry - even if the Democrats win, we're still on a path to screwedness:

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/2006/11/the_time_remain.html

What a great quote:

http://www.kunstler.com/Mags_Bruegmann.html

This sad fact explains why the chronic disappointment of suburbia inspires ridicule even among those who live in it. It hasn’t delivered very well on its promises for a long time now. In its florid, climactic incarnation today – the McMansion precincts of Dallas, Atlanta, or Northern Virginia – it presents the worst elements of urban and rural life in the same package, with few of the benefits of either. The megaburbs have all the congestion of a city and none of the human contact. They have all of the isolation of the country, but no real connection to nature.

What an apt description of McMansionvilles

Did anyone see CNBC this morning? Apparently Nouriel Roubini was on Squawk Box bitch-slapping the NAR president:

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/155898

Does anyone have any comments on this? I wish I had a chance to catch it!

Simply stunning, now is a great time to buy or sell a house.

1-1=0

"The only thing going up in the housing market are delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures" (Roubini)

Now why I couldn't I have said that? Oh and advertising expense!

I was unaware of the "Orwell connection" but glad he didn't let one little thing slide. (Btw, this is how I used to sound at parties).