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Why Not?


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2006 May 16, 4:16am   24,436 views  230 comments

by HARM   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

realtorduderealtorlogoL

Given how low the barrier to entry is and how many licensed Realtwhores® are already out there (something like half a million in CA alone now), isn't the post-bubble aftermath a perfect time for me to study for my Realtwhore® license?

I know, I know... you're probably thinking: "Hey, isn't this the same guy who takes cheap shots at Realtwhores® every chance he gets? Isn't this the same guy who posts article after article about Realtwhore® deceit and trickery? Isn't this the guy who routinely characterizes the NAR/MLS as a monopoly and quasi-mafia crime syndicate?"

Well... yes, yes and emphatically YES !!! But despite my personal feelings about Realtwhores®, I'm willing to set all this aside for a very important reason: 6%.

Yes, if I become my own Realtwhore®, I don't have to worry about the inherent conflicts of interest, routine misdirection, lies and thievery that comes part and parcel of being represented by one of California's finest (unless I decide to rip off myself, that is)! Not only can I cut 3% --the buyer agent's commission-- right off the top for any house I decide to buy, but I will also have direct unfiltered access to the local MLS --without having to wait for Congress to de-monopolize it.

I can *guarantee* that I will do due diligence to ensure my client is well represented: ME !

I will be my own "agent of change" :-). This way, in a few years --when prices are close to bottoming out-- I will be ready to pounce fully prepared to tender my "insulting" lowball offer with information asymmetry working for me (for a change)!

So, the question is, how best to go about it? Should I take one of those local community college courses, or go the self-study route? There must be a flood of former Realtors® out there (about to become a tsunami) ready to unload their study materials on the cheap. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

I can DO this. Suzanne researched it.
HARM

#housing

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132   HARM   2006 May 17, 11:12am  

Sunday or Monday's fine for me. I just found out I have a commitment on Saturday, so that's out.

133   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 11:13am  

How about a NorCal blog party at the same time with video conferencing?

No Krab!

134   Peter P   2006 May 17, 11:14am  

Why not a sushi party?

135   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 11:19am  

sushi is fine, but I thought you had a prohibition against synthentic seafood

136   Peter P   2006 May 17, 11:20am  

sushi is fine, but I thought you had a prohibition against synthentic seafood

Actually, I am fine with fake scallops. They taste okay as deep fried fish cakes. But they are no replacement for 12-count jumbo sea scallops!

137   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 11:25am  

MMMMM monster prawns, I had some that were at least 2" across, mmmmm.

138   Different Sean   2006 May 17, 11:54am  

oops, need another tiny url... or abolish the post :cry:

139   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 12:01pm  

surfer, are you sure that’s not your 2nd blogspot?

That was truly stunning, a McDebtor took such umbrage to my ramblings that they took the time to spoof my blog. Amazing. I'm sorry you are in such debt Mr. McDebtor, well on second thought, I'm not.

140   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 12:02pm  

@Different Sean, I'd like to show her my "Ute Werner"

141   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 12:03pm  

Actually, I am fine with fake scallops. They taste okay as deep fried fish cakes.

Are they made in China at the great knock-off factories? Perhaps the same ones that make the knock-off LV purses?

142   StuckInBA   2006 May 17, 12:05pm  

OK. My mistake. I did not follow the rule - Google first, ask later.

NYSE Trading Curbs :

http://invest-faq.com/articles/exch-circuit-brkr.html

143   Different Sean   2006 May 17, 12:19pm  

that would be like the famous line from 'young frankenstein':

Ute: Why, he vould have an enormous schwanzstucker!
Surfer-X: That goes without saying...
Ute: Voof

i thought the 2nd blogspot was more authentic X than the real one! (btw, no relation to Robert X. are you?)

144   Different Sean   2006 May 17, 12:24pm  

i think electric shock collars would work better -- shock the floortraders so they are in agony and can't make harmful downtrades...

anyway, i don't see why they are necessary, the market is perfect and beautiful as it is without introducing distortions like collars...whatever it does is always right -- see how well the housing market performs when left alone to work its magic!

145   Michael Holliday   2006 May 17, 12:45pm  

Thanks everyone for the input on the trailer home.

Interesting perspective!

146   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 1:33pm  

@LILLL, odd that the ramblings of a drunk surfer got under the trolls skin so much. Must have had their ARM reset. ahahahhahahaha fuckers

147   HARM   2006 May 17, 2:02pm  

anyway, i don’t see why they are necessary, the market is perfect and beautiful as it is without introducing distortions like collars…whatever it does is always right

Well, well --bravo, Sean-boy! It's about time you finally saw the light! We finally made a market fundamentalist out of you, eh? :twisted:

148   HARM   2006 May 17, 2:16pm  

X-man, LILLL, Joe Schmoe & Peter P,

Please check your inboxes.

149   Different Sean   2006 May 17, 2:28pm  

We finally made a market fundamentalist out of you

yes, now when i see a distorted market, i reach for my revolver...

i want to see no taxes, no govt*, no regulations, just pure, perfect market from here to the horizon... that way, everyone will be better off, even when they're worse off, and if they're worse off that only proves they deserved it -- and god clearly blesses the prosperous, they're not shrewd, just holy, righteous people... goddam commies, stealing my profits! :x

*except for the marines, we need gunboat diplomacy to open new markets and persuade the locals to rethink their position - no mcdonalds without mcdonnell douglas :evil:

150   SJ_jim   2006 May 17, 3:09pm  

Blog party? Blarty?
Hey, I'm gonna be in SB (Goleta) Memo weekend, right after camping in Kings Canyon (by the way, anyone know where "Lady Lake" is?).
If I'm in SB's "ghetto"...I'll be sure to look for all the cruisers w/flashing lights bustin' up the blog fun :)

151   Mike/a.k.a.Sage   2006 May 17, 5:39pm  

Watching the housing bubble burst in slow motion is so much more fun than if it would happen quickly. I get to say, I told you so, for a couple of years more. I fear though, that this time, it will happen more quickly than the last.

152   surfer-x   2006 May 17, 5:52pm  

SJ_Jim, stop on by!

153   SJ_jim   2006 May 17, 6:05pm  

"All I can say is this…I was watching a live Streamed Quote Ticker as the Dow was dropping. Between minus 230-249, it had a very fast and furious fall, and then as it pushed up against -250, it just amazingly stopped & reversed. I’ve never seen anything like it and found it to be very unusual. "

I was rather amazed; I'm pretty well diversified, and everything seemed to be down down down today (except for very small caps that are (seem to be) very very random). Anyone know of *anything* that was up today?

154   SJ_jim   2006 May 17, 6:07pm  

"Watching the housing bubble burst in slow motion is so much more fun than if it would happen quickly. I get to say, I told you so, for a couple of years more. I fear though, that this time, it will happen more quickly than the last. "

Mike, LOL! Where are you, BTW?

155   SJ_jim   2006 May 17, 6:12pm  

"SJ_Jim, stop on by! "
Wld love to crash the Blarty! But w/shame I must confess that I hate the t'killa w/out mas de lime flavor + ice + salt; but I bet that could be arranged! Si?
But how to get the location info? Someone must be able to get/give my email addy.?

156   Different Sean   2006 May 17, 7:11pm  

Anyone know of *anything* that was up today?

commodities seem to be crashing everywhere. meant to be due to higher interest rates, but i think it is investor fear of WWIII breaking out after dubya told the world's press that the australian prime minister had no hair and was ugly...

The Australian share market should open sharply weaker as US and European stocks were routed overnight on concerns of higher global interest rates.

The Dow Jones fell almost two per cent while UK shares dropped nearly three per cent on inflation concerns, with the Australian market also expected to be hit by weaker base metal and oil prices.

The resources sector is expected to come under concerted pressure, particularly the majors BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Woodside.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index was 100 points weaker at 5112.

157   DinOR   2006 May 17, 11:39pm  

I absolutely hate when they put the "curbs in!" We all understand the implications of programmed trading but this is a FREE MARKET damn it! No one is held captive here against their will. If you want to sell..... then sell. One of the things that caught my eye yesterday was the sense that traders are now betting that the FED won't step in to prop up the bubble. With all of the talk about how rising rents will impact CPI it was as if the market was looking for immediate reassurance that rates would be contained. They were looking for a "hug".

This makes almost no sense. All throughout the rate reduction cycle the FED was unconcerned (or oblivious, which I doubt) that home prices were escalating at unprecedented rates. Now somebody's rent goes from $1,000 to $1,050 and they may be forced to act to "contain" it?

158   edvard   2006 May 18, 12:22am  

That is one nasty looking curve today on the Dow.

159   DinOR   2006 May 18, 12:36am  

Mike/aka Sage,

I'm really torn as to wether I would prefer to see this thing implode over night or if we should be pulling for a protracted "dull aching pain"? On the one hand if we were to see the rightful "correction" of 20 to 50% by Monday, that would be great! At least we'd have a pauper's chance to see genuine appreciation of the sort to give our net worth's and retirements meaningful and lasting contribution. Done and done.

On the other hand the "bubbletainment" factor is nothing to trifle at! Just knowing what we know about bubbles (while aware of it in 2000) this thing has been a stone gas baby! If we do encounter the classic "two hit fight" (one where homedebtors get hit once and then they "hit" the floor) I would be almost immediately thrust back into the role of dutiful homeowner with all of the luggage that implies. With comments from BB like the "the cooling in housing is orderly" (or words to that effect) and realtors saying things like "there is now some balance in the market"or "we needed a breather" I'm just having way too much fun. Just think, if it all crashed tomorrow what would we talk about a X's blog party?

160   edvard   2006 May 18, 12:43am  

Dinor,
For me, I'd much rather see a swift fall. For one, I'm only here for 3 more years, which is tied to the cost of housing. If the prices came down enough in 3 years, I might( and the key word there is might) buy something. But if not, I'm outta here. So a slow fall would take years. it would be nice to know that at least I had a fighting chance so that my choice was well informed.
From personal observation I can say that the early spring bustling activity I saw around my neighborhood seems to have slowed down already. 2 houses that were pending are now back up, and nothing else has sold. Seems to me like the time period of unsold inventory is on it's way back to February levels.

161   edvard   2006 May 18, 12:44am  

I might also ad that a fast fall would be better for the local and state economy in the long term. There is a lot of businesses and individuals packing bags, so if the key reason for moving is out of the equation, the sooner the state can get back towards a substainable economy.

162   DinOR   2006 May 18, 12:54am  

Wait a minute. I may have just answered my own question.

When your rent goes from $1,000 to $1,050 you just have to "take the hit". Perhaps skip that mid morning latte and a movie or two? Ask for a raise or take on a part time job.

When your mortgage payment resets from $3,900 to OMG I can't believe it! Simply call a mortgage broker for the 4th time in 3 years, do a cash out re-fi "to get caught up on some bills" take that much deserved vacation and slide further into debt with the standard procession. From 30 yr. FRM to 2/28 ARM to IO to ? This is pretty much how it's worked. The mortgage stats pretty much speak for themselves.

163   edvard   2006 May 18, 12:59am  

SP,
Not sure if I'd equate flyers in the box being grabbed to the sucess of a home being sold. People are like little raccoons. They like shiny things, so naturally, they'll grab something that's just sitting there. The boxes in front of all the homes that've been sitting for sale all winter always stay empty, yet there they sit, unsold. Sometimes I wonder if some of these yuppity people have been so obsessed with housing that driving around looking at flyers and homes is their only form of self entertainment.

164   edvard   2006 May 18, 1:00am  

- whoops. I meant to say that of the friends of mine who BOUGHT, they seem to be the ones that buy more stuff.

165   DinOR   2006 May 18, 1:02am  

SP,

Take heart! I think the fact that this was a rental is the cause for all of the interest. It just seems to want to scream distressed property! I haven't been there so I can't say for sure but my guess is your "lookers" are wanna be flippers just gravitating toward it b/c they are in "survey mode". Like I say the specuvestor is very much a mom and pop operation. To my knowledge there are no national chain, franchises or major players in the business of flipping houses. No evil corporate types. These were your neighbors.

166   edvard   2006 May 18, 1:03am  

SP- one more thing about foolish money. The fact that construction companys can still get away for passing a loft off as a house that can be sold for 600k is proof enough that if you can sell what a few years ago was considered starvin' artist housing to uber-yuppie SF metropolitanites that people are easily brainwashed.

167   DinOR   2006 May 18, 1:09am  

WWII,

Your comments regarding consumption are spot on and appear to be fairly universal. Btw, I really dug your restoration job! I definitely know what you mean about going back and re-doing some of your earlier efforts. In the process of restoring my boat I learned that laying fiberglass is very contingent on temperature, humidity etc.

168   edvard   2006 May 18, 1:16am  

Dinor, thankee.
The car was way more time consuming than I imagined. I didn't do a complete teardown of it, but if I had, it would've been twice the work. Luckily, it was in good enough condition to start with without killing myself. I had never done any bodywork before, so it was challenging. I had to do most of it in the street and a small driveway. No fun!
I'm now helping my housemate restore a 63' Corvair convertible. This is his first classic too, so mistakes were made, just as I did on mine. My biggest mistake was putting the thermostat in backwards, which caused the radiator hose to blast off a mile from the house. Luckily it was fine.
2 nights ago, my housemate drilled 3 holes right throught his gas tank. So I helped him drain 13 gallons of gas out of it at 11:00 at night and hopefully not pissing of the neighbors. It's good to have something that's totally opposite of an office job. I highly reccomend an old car or something of the like for anyone stuck behind a desk all day. very rewarding!

169   DinOR   2006 May 18, 1:22am  

WWII,

What makes installing a thermostat incorrectly frustraing is that there are only two ways that it can go in so it's a fifty-fifty deal! We've all done it. I thought the Corvair was an "air-cooled" engine though like a Volkswagon?

170   edvard   2006 May 18, 1:39am  

Dinor,
Yup the Corvair is air-cooled. I put the therm in backwards on mine. It makes you feel like an idiot because the thermostat can only go in one way, and it's super-obvious. I don't tell mecahnics I did it either.
The Corvair engine is actually pretty cool. It is actually very lightweight and has been used as a substitute for a cheap airplane engine for hobbyists. There is a healthy following for Corvairs. Parts are still made for it by small tooling companies, except the parts they make are good quality vs the crap GM made. A few fully revamped corvairs I've seen are all new parts, complete with a new suspension system that compensates for the problems the original had. A fully restored Corvair gets great gas mileage, is easy to repair, and has few problems.
The biggest complaint I have is that this engine has 2 carbs connected via a single connecting rod. They must be perfectly synced and tuned together.I had never done that either. The eventual solution was sticking a rubber hose in your ear and listening for the hissing sound the carbs made, and adjusting them until they sounded the same. Silly, but it worked. All in all, it is a shame that Nader trashed this car. It could've meant a totally diffrent direction for american cars. The same same can be said for the Fiero, which just like the Corvair was penny-pinched to death by GM bigwigs.

171   DinOR   2006 May 18, 2:02am  

WWII,

You know I never really thought of it that way! The Corvair definitely had a loyal following even in it's day. They were impractical in northern climates b/c it was difficult to keep windows defrosted and have adequate heat in the winter months. However they could have had a completely different application in warmer climates and were just fine during the summer months. I understand that the Fiero is a favorite for conversion by "electric car" enthusiasts.

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