
In the bleak future wasteland that is 3rd quarter California 2006, one has to ask “Where have all the Realtwhores gone?” .
Have they gone to the Hummer dealer?
Have they gone to have more plastic surgery?
Have they gone to buy more lube?
Did they run out of Viagra and/or gas for their SUV/Muscle Car?
Where did they all go?
Watch
Follow
Befriend
8 threads
1,513 comments
I just googled for the meaning of FOB that atrid and owneroc keep using.
http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?Acronym=FOB&p=dict
"Fresh Over the Border". I would have never guessed it. There are some other interesting meanings, click to find out.
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
To BA, if applied to 1/2 of Surfer-X, yes, Fresh over the border, if applied to Asians I believe the term means "fresh off the boat". Also, I think this is a bit of a racial slur. Me, I don't mind as I would like to be South of the Border.
Follow
Befriend
1 threads
3,248 comments
uhh, it actually means Fresh Off the Boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_off_the_boat
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
Owneroccupier,
I sympathsize. I don't like the interior of current builders, not only do they look the same, but they tend to very poorly thought out. I hate postage stamp lots, and I don't understand why anyone would pick them over townhouses. At least with townhouses, they would be insulated on two sides and save on energy bills.
I like high density housing though. I love some of the layouts coming out of Europe and Japan. I especially like the use of interior court yards in urban houses. That just really appeals to my more practical sensibilities.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
I thought it was also a play on the incoterm term "free on board."
Follow
Befriend (4)
117 threads
17,655 comments
Premium
I love some of the layouts coming out of Europe and Japan.
I like spacious rooms though. Most people do not need 4 bedrooms. It is much better to have two large bedrooms and a small den. Must have lots of big bathrooms! :)
Follow
Befriend (4)
117 threads
17,655 comments
Premium
Wow. I guess they’ve run out of names or something. That is just plain weird! (I guess not so weird if you’re not from L.I….)
They should name subdivisions after bubble bloggers. Perhaps we will all rush to buy. :)
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
I like small bedrooms. I think of bedrooms as places to sleep and I want to make use of the main living area the rest of the time.
But then, I'm not planning on kids. If I had kids, I may have to build a second structure to house them.
Follow
Befriend
8 threads
1,513 comments
I plead guilty. I like some of the new construction - and yes, including the granite countertops !
The plans in newer construction have largeer kitchens and large bathrooms. Since I spend most of my time cooking, eating and taking long showers, I like these plans.
They often have more windows and of larger size. Bright and airy.
My main problem in these narrow and tall townhomes is smaller rooms. Watching TV is next on my list after eating. I need a big room where I can put a big TV. I mean BIG. Size matters. They say it doesn't, but it does.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
I like stainless steel countertops. They're much easier to clean up and I like the minimalist look. They also coordinate with stainless steel appliances.
Though, if I was doing any indoor cooking, I really must have an industrial strength ventilator, otherwise, the smell and the heat is too much for the rest of the house.
Follow
Befriend
472 comments
Idyllwild, CA
Tampa Renter
Kinda like Enron accounting....
Follow
Befriend
8 threads
1,513 comments
On the topic of sales data. DQNews has sales data till 4/11, almost halfway through April.
http://www.dqnews.com/ZIPSJMN.shtm
The sales numbers are looking worse for April - at least for now.
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
Fuck, must I have to resort to this
May others plan their future, I'm busy lovin' you (1-2-3-4) Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today And don't worry 'bout tomorrow, hey, hey, hey Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today Live for today
It's the fucking boomer mantra.
Follow
Befriend (5)
44 threads
4,602 comments
Los Altos, CA
Premium
newsfreak,
sorry about the name collision. i made up "ginger" to protect the identity of the real-life realtor(tm) from which i lifted the picture. i should have figured that any name i could've picked would be someone here's RL name.
astrid,
i found it searching ca RE pages. i'm not going to divulge where because i don't want anyone harassing the RL "ginger". i guess there's a chance that if you randomly go through googles of realtor's(tm) pages you'll find her eventually.
Follow
Befriend (5)
44 threads
4,602 comments
Los Altos, CA
Premium
X,
Just crank up some old DK, Kalifornia Uber Alles. That'll cleanse the old pallet.
Follow
Befriend (5)
44 threads
4,602 comments
Los Altos, CA
Premium
@newsfreak, Ginger? Hmmm, I’ve always prefered Mary Anne, but then again just as long as I’m not the Skippers little buddy, i’m ok.
OK, I just snorted Cabernet through my nose. I always picture X as Lovey.
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
True true Randy! :)
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
Randy,
Understood. :-)
Surfer-x,
I see you've ripped through Robert Cote's site.
Don't yah love the anonymous ad hominem attacks there :P
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
@astrid, like Leibniz and Newton, I came up with my idea independently
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
And plus, I never attack people with corn.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
Surfer-x,
I make no claim on that sort of genius. Anyways, I hope you didn't think I included you in my category. You never hide under anonymity :P
However, I will refrain from further arguments with Robert. Constitutional arguments gave me a big blurry headache.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
goober,
Only if you offer to babysit ;)
Follow
Befriend
23 threads
2,038 comments
surfer-x's website
@astrid, it appears that we have a fake Surfer-X, I went over to Senor Cote's site and that is not me, not even a bizarro me.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
SFWoman,
Stone is nice too. I'm not fond of marble and granite countertops (including the fake ones) because they have too many colors in them, I find the effect rather muddled.
I guess it's nice to be from the "Hamptons," but does anyone actually live in the Hamptons? Other than caretakers?
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
Surfer-x,
Hmmm...oh, I give up! Anyways, back to kitchen counters.
Follow
Befriend
472 comments
Idyllwild, CA
I like concrete counters, myself.
Follow
Befriend
263 comments
I think that SFWoman emailed her photo to RandyH and they agreed to post it as "Ginger" above. As I suspected she is Hot, Hot, Hot. Not a trace of that "frumpy housewife peering into a petri dish* motif. Turn up the James Blunt and sob.¹
¹ Above comments intended only for amusement.
Follow
Befriend
536 comments
Too much hatred of realtors on this board. I have a lot of angst against certain types of people and certain kinds of happenings in this world et dans ma vie.
Positive attitude in face of the absurd abyss which is what we call la vie. Think about how to profit or improve your life.
Those who borrow and buy may not be stupid. High wage inflation will take care of their problems. In a democracy, the masses are never wrong, because pandering to das volk wins VOTES!
I hate the market place, which is everywhere. How to sell yourself to your employer, your prospective investors, your prospective spouse, to the TV spectators, to millions of teenagers, to sports addicts, everything and every one.
One thing people never talk about on this board is a desire for aristocratic leisure. With leisure, you can do many things you like, including love affairs, and bring the game to a consummate height. Today, even sex life and love pursuits is filled with a market-man mentality. I never understand the concept of "score." Numbers? Only marketmen are good at numbers.
Follow
Befriend
232 comments
Those who’ve followed my odd ramblings at Patrick.net probably heard the sardonic note in my posts on this thread. As Nixon used to say, “Let me make myself perfectly clear.” In my adaptation of Henry VI, Surfer-X is cast as Dick the Butcher, a pandering demagogue.
I love self-effacing humor. (Q: What’s black and brown and looks good on a lawyer? A: Doberman.) If you’re a lawyer, realtor or politician with thin skin you need a new career. Personally I’m not offended by this thread so I won’t belabor the point. I’ll just note for the record on appeal that this thread is in fact offensive. And maybe I’m just having another one of my “episodes” but methinks I hear a special note of contempt for female realtors.
Follow
Befriend
232 comments
The object of Dick's affection is Cade, the Leveler.
Drum. Enter CADE, DICK the Butcher, SMITH the Weaver, and a Sawyer, with a mob
***
CADE
Be brave, then; for your captain is brave, and vows
reformation. There shall be in England seven
halfpenny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped
pot; shall have ten hoops and I will make it felony
to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in
common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to
grass: and when I am king, as king I will be,--
ALL
God save your majesty!
CADE
I thank you, good people: there shall be no money;
all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will
apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree
like brothers and worship me their lord.
DICK
The first thing we do, let's kill all the [Realtors]!
CADE
Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable
thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should
be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled
o'er, should undo a man? Some say the bee stings:
but I say, 'tis the bee's wax; for I did but seal
once to a thing, and I was never mine own man
since. How now! who's there?
Enter some, bringing forward the Clerk of Chatham
SMITH
The clerk of Chatham: he can write and read and
cast accompt.
CADE
O monstrous!
SMITH
We took him setting of boys' copies.
CADE
Here's a villain!
SMITH
Has a book in his pocket with red letters in't.
CADE
Nay, then, he is a conjurer.
DICK
Nay, he can make obligations, and write court-hand.
CADE
I am sorry for't: the man is a proper man, of mine
honour; unless I find him guilty, he shall not die.
Come hither, sirrah, I must examine thee: what is thy name?
Clerk
Emmanuel.
DICK
They use to write it on the top of letters: 'twill
go hard with you.
CADE
Let me alone. Dost thou use to write thy name? or
hast thou a mark to thyself, like an honest
plain-dealing man?
CLERK
Sir, I thank God, I have been so well brought up
that I can write my name.
ALL
He hath confessed: away with him! he's a villain
and a traitor.
CADE
Away with him, I say! hang him with his pen and
ink-horn about his neck.
Exit one with the Clerk
I think Cade must've signed a HELOC. Notice that the clerk is executed because he can read and write, and signs his own name instead of using an X.
Follow
Befriend
819 comments
nomadtoons's website
Billf,
You'll have to forgive me if I sound totally igonorant about Austin, but it seems to me that unlike the Bay Area, the prices there in Austin drop like a rock as soon as you leave the immediate Austin city limits. Austin itself is a little high. The homes inside the city are all in the 300's, which is still a chunk of change for me, but perhaps manageable if I landed a job at one of the ad agencies there. Otherwise, I've been looking at Bastrop, Round Rock, Phlugerville, and a few others around there. I've seen prices for as low as 70k for a not-so-great- house, but still- the mortage would be zilch on that. I could afford that straight out now. Looking on a map, these towns seem to be around 30 minutes away from Austin, which I'm perfectly OK with. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I went to Austin 10 years ago. I really dug the place. Lots of art, good food, cool people, and interesting architecture. I grew up in the south, so the people seemed to be similiar in character. The scene was a lot younger there too. Mostly 25-30-somethings, which makes sense because they can actually afford it. Austin is my alternative city of choice, but it seems that a lot of other californians are making the same call. What I am hoping for is that I can recall that last time I was there, there was NO SHORTAGE of land whatsoever. it went on forever. As long as the outer limits of Austin stay affordable, it will be a very likely canidate for me-that and the creative industry is getting to be bigger and bigger there. I know of at least 2 major design firms there, so finding work might be easier.
Follow
Befriend
232 comments
Breaking news: Drudge has posted a headline that Bernanke says higher oil prices signal more rate increases in his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress taking place right now. No details so take it for what it's worth.
On the other hand I saw a David Lereah quote today. It was just a snippet but it sounded like oil prices will be his alibi for the startling and inexplicable -- no inconceivable -- events that are occuring in residential real estate.
Follow
Befriend
819 comments
nomadtoons's website
speaking of Austin,
I just did a quickee search on RE for sale there, and the first 5 or 6 posts were all bold faced FORECLOSURE listings. So... what's going on in TX? Last time I heard, it was booming, but seeing all those foreclosures makes me wonder. None of these were particularly pricey either. 70-130k range.
Follow
Befriend
819 comments
nomadtoons's website
Jesus.... 330 foreclosures in Austin alone! what in god's name is going on there?
Follow
Befriend
1 threads
6,749 comments
Premium
newsfreak,
I'm sure Randy H didn't mean anything when he dubbed our realt-whore "Ginger". You made mention that in the "real world" your name IS Ginger. I think it's lovely, but I have to take exception to your depiction of this blog as anything other than reality. We ARE reality! In fact, let me say in the words of the great Francis Ford Coppola:
This isn't a blog about the housing crash,
THIS IS THE HOUSING CRASH!
Follow
Befriend
1 threads
6,749 comments
Premium
nomadtoons2,
I've heard it's much worse in Houston! There's an article linked today that covers the auction down in FL on the "Treasure Coast" where some properties were being sold for HALF of what the buyer recently paid!
Can anyone help us out with how these losses will be ultimately "written off?" Will there be an outcry to raise the cap loss amount? Or will we just carry this forward on the books to infinity (or at least a couple of generations at least?)
Follow
Befriend
819 comments
nomadtoons's website
Dinor.... all I can say is....
wahahahahaha! Boy...Austin is like the one beacon of "progressiveness" in TX that draws Californians like flies. If Austin appears to be plunging, I can't imagine Dallas and Houston. Just like dad used to say at the dinner table when I turned down mom's cassarole.. This just means more for me. Keep on droppin' baby! Srew NC, if TX drops like a rock, I'll go there since it was my first choice anyhow.
Follow
Befriend
15 threads
5,071 comments
astrid's website
Premium
Nomad,
As long as you take account of Austin's weather and relatively high property taxes, then more power to you. And don't forget all those ex-Californians, no one knows what they mutate into when they hit Texas.
Follow
Befriend
1 threads
6,749 comments
Premium
nomadtoons2,
You would LOVE Austin! I have a high school friend that moved there 20 years ago and has been nothing but happy. He played and travelled with many bands over those years and has semi-retired. Although the "honky-tonks that made Austin famous have largely dried up there is still a very active art scene and you can still get a "Keep Austin Weird" bumper sticker!
Follow
Befriend
819 comments
nomadtoons's website
Astrid,
Where I grew up, the humidity got upwards towards 90%, and 100 degrees in the shade. I'm not sofened up by SF weather, and after the last 2 years of insane rain, I think Austin would be just fine for a change of weather in my book. The property taxes just got dropped recently. And as far as what Californians turn into when they get to TX? I'm not part of the "motherland" superiority complex Californians have with their state. I'll gladly pledge my allegience to the republic of TX as soon as I cross the border and hang the CA plates in the garage.