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Attack of the California Equity Locusts!


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2006 Jun 20, 3:45am   14,468 views  263 comments

by HARM   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

Attack of the equity locusts!

Randy H Says:
June 18th, 2006 at 10:46 pm e

Hi DS & LiLLL

Good to be back. I will say that I am a bit more disillusioned about the housing bubble after touring the deep rural Midwest. I saw people putting 3BR McMansions in rural Indiana on the market for $800K, and not with 50 acres either, just tiny little yards. I talked to old high school friends who think they’ve discovered the golden goose because they’re flipping homes in little towns of 5,000 people making $10K per pop. People are using the same toxic loans as we are in the BA, second mortgages, negative amortization, interest only and all. There are still nice old homes for $150K, but they haven’t been updated since 1940, have 1 bathroom for every 5 bedrooms, and about 20 cubic feet of total closet space. The biggest boom business is flippers moving into these old homes and turning them into faux McMansions with some cheap, creative drywalling and pergo, then trying to sell them for 150% return.

Similar posts from Ben Jones' blog:

Comment by Brandon
2006-06-16 15:07:53

The condo boom has arrived in downtown Boise:

“The development will consist of 19 three-story buildings. Each unit in a building will be allocated two spaces in an underground parking area. The units will range in size from 1,800 to to 2,600 square feet, and will be priced between $700,000 and $1.2 million.”

Yes folks- San Diego condo prices right here in Boise!
We need more housing in downtown Boise, but 700k plus?

Comment by groundhogday
2006-06-16 15:46:47

In Bozeman, MT we have a flush of new downtown condos coming onto the market - the “mill district” which used to be known as the bad part of town. Small 1-2 bedroom condos 800-1100 sq ft are listed for $350k +
All the way up to $660k for a 3/2 1650 sq ft luxury condo or $1 million for a penthouse loft.

Consider that Bozeman is a town of 30-35 k with a handful of restaurants and bars downtown. And the “mill district” is bounded by the railroad tracks, interstate 90, main street traffic and a poor neighborhood with a bunch of very junky bungalows.

In a word: unbelievable.

Have CA specuvestors fled their own (now depreciating) RE market to ply their evil trade in "fly-over country"? Will they do for the Midwest and South what they did for their own state (f@ck over working families and drive prices to absurd heights)? Is there still enough time to warn people in those regions, so they can organize lynch mobs and destroy the flippers before they wreak too much damage on their (still) affordable communities?

Discuss, enjoy...
HARM

#housing

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249   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 21, 3:22am  

>>I believe sheep fun is illegal in the Divided States of America â„¢.

Just another example of the government controlling our lives and our livestock relations.

250   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 21, 3:31am  

I don't see us as any more divided than we've ever been. There's always 5% on one side and 5% on the other side that think things are splitting in half, with the remaining 90% in the middle being cemented by frivolity such as American idol.

The way I see it, we have zealots on the left and the right who are more similar to each other than the masses. That's one side.

Then we have the masses. That's the other side. They may call themselves Dems, Reps, or Inds, but they are largely all the same. They want their TV, SUV, fast food.

I don't see how a civil war starts here. If it does, it'll be mostly a televised event with good ratings.

251   Joe Schmoe   2006 Jun 21, 3:31am  

A lot of us who are conservative and live in CA are regularly exposed to a differnet kind of fundamentalism, one every bit as unpleasant and intrusive as Christian prostyltizing.

I'm talking about political liberalism. I have to endure anti-Republcian rants pretty much every day, from coworkers, clients, and people I encounter in casual settings. I almost always keep my mouth shut becuase I don't want to start a bitter political argument. But it is bothersome, let me tell you. It's nothing more than a form of prostelytizing.

It's funny, too, the class divisions among voters here in CA are blindingly obvious. In 2004, almost every Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker was on a rich person's car, like a BMW or Mercedes. The Bush/Cheney stickers were all on F150's and crappy, aging minivans and family sedans.

My wife's car actually got keyed -- THREE TIMES -- becuase of her Bush/Cheney bumper sticker. She also got egged twice in the weeks leading up to Election Day, 2004. There was a car seat in the back, and you'd think that people wouldn't abuse a vehicle that transports small children, but the libs vandalized it anyway.

On a related note, you should try driving around in my wife's car sometime. When we go out together on weekends, we get honked at by people who shout expletives or flip us the bird on a regular basis, at least once or twice a day. When we travel to places like West Hollywood or Santa Monica, it happens every few minutes. Serioulsy, I am not making this up or exxagerating. People will honk and make rude gestures at most every intersection!

Interestingly, my car has never been touched, and I have never been honked at, although I too have a bumper sticker. It's probably becuase I drive an SUV and keep it in immaculate condition. People instinctively know that the driver of the vehicle must be some sort of blue collar guy, and they are afraid to start something. But the libs all feel free to honk at and shout things at my wife, a mother of two small children (the kids are always in the car.)

Right-wing Republcians like me are obviously a minority in CA. But you know what? I would never think of moving away because of that. I just live with the differences and annoyances and go on about my life.

I think a lot of Californians could do the same if the circumstances were reversed. If you are a secular liberal, I'm sure you can find a way to get by in Texas. There are liberals in TX, just as there are conservatives in CA, and you won't be totally isolated. The minor cultural diffrernces, such as more public displays of religiosity, are ones that you can live with.

Finally, most people are more interested in the mundane details of day to day life than religion and politics. You can find common ground with almost everyone; even if you have poltiical differences, there are still a lot of other things that you'll share.

I wouldn't let the cultural differences stop anyone from moving to a red state.

252   Randy H   2006 Jun 21, 3:35am  

New Thread: Whack-an-Author

253   DinOR   2006 Jun 21, 3:36am  

buffpilot,

True, true. I've never had the delusion that I would be rubbing elbows with the Heinz family I just sigh every time I see yet another drive-in movie get plowed under to make room for another grocery anchored strip mall no one asked for. It's been brought up before that it's become so hard to tell who does and doesn't have money these days. With gonzo bubble bucks there for the HELOC'n and 24/7 access to the Housing ATM Machine is it any wonder that we're not interested in "simple pleasures" any more?

254   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 21, 3:44am  

My uncle, a traveling sign salesman, has been saying for 15 years that there's going to be a revolution.

"Who's going to start it?" I ask.

Well, he's talked to a lot of people in trailer parks, and they're not going to put up with disparity any longer.

ORLY

255   surfer-x   2006 Jun 21, 3:56am  

But the libs all feel free to honk at and shout things at my wife, a mother of two small children (the kids are always in the car.)

Maybe they were just your run of the mill baby haters.;)

256   edvard   2006 Jun 21, 4:03am  

Joe,
I 2nd the good post. I got so damned tired of all the "save tibet", save this, save that, do this, do that, and my favorite:" If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" that I finally just made my own sticker: " Super-self-righteous bumper sticker." I didn't get any evil looks or anything because I wasn't saying anything about anyone in particular, but they knew...
And as far as secular liberals finding meccas in other states, here's the thing: Can you name a single "liberal" area that isn't overpriced? Sometimes I wonder if half of the housing problem is really thanks in part to fanatic libs who just know they can't live anywhere but "x" and when "x" gets too expensive because so many of their kind clog up the region, they start desperatly looking for other possible areas. Once these " new" areas are discovered, they are rapidly overun, overpriced, and overpopulated by like-minded individuals. That's why Austin concerns me. I already hear tons of people say " the little blue dot in the big red state" is on their radar. Austin, watch out, because here they come- save tibet stickers and all, to essnetially ruin their economy and yuppify the whole place up, as if it isn't already.
Honestly? All the crap that happened in the last election turned me off on politics in general. I'm a traditional southern guy, but I swear I'm thinking of voting 3rd party next time, even though I know these guys will probably never be taken seriously.

257   skibum   2006 Jun 21, 4:50am  

cruiser,
You're very good at making wrong assumptions. As a matter of fact, I consider myself republican/libertarian

Funny though, when anybody disagrees with you, out they go. Not very inclusive at all, really.

Did anyone here tell you to go away? Bring it on, I say.

Superficial stuff. Disposable people and relationships. You can screw over other people and disappear into the huge metropolis like a shadow. In smaller places, your reputation follows you around. That’s generally why we’re more honest here.

Where did you get this stuff from? It reads like a bad novel, and can you make more stereotypes?

What I can never understand is why so many self-professed followers of Jesus, who preached humility, kindness towards others, and all that good stuff, turn out to be so darned judgemental, rude, arrogant, and mean-spirited.

"Jesus, please save us from you followers."

258   requiem   2006 Jun 21, 5:35am  

Wow. Holy wars!

Cruiser, my objection to religion is that once someone asks their priest "What does god think about X" they usually get an answer. Over time, those answers need to be made semi-consistent, and thus you get doctrine. If Christians were able to follow the Law that Jesus gave them, they wouldn't ask such questions. But they do ask, because they want everything to be laid out for them in black and white. And so the doctrines are extended while the original Law is forgotten, and eventually there are areas where the two conflict. And like the Pharisees before them, who held their doctrines superior to the Law as Moses taught them, so do a great many Christians today base their judgments on doctrinal sophistry.

259   Randy H   2006 Jun 21, 8:48am  

Cruiser,

Sorry for trying to engage you in an actual discussion. As for your righteous preaching: spare me. I heard enough of that crap last week between Angola, Liberty Center, Swanton and Wilmington. I'll bet I had dinner with folks who would tell you you're bound for hell for using the devil's tool known as the Internet. Have fun trying to out-jeebus one another.

260   surfer-x   2006 Jun 21, 10:29am  

I dressed up like Jeebus Christ in Clown Suit last halloween. It was great, long brown flowing hair, crown of thorns, sigmata, sacred bleeding heart on chest, and a clown suit, big shoes.

I had a bracelet that said WWTCD, "what would the clown do"?

261   HARM   2006 Jun 21, 5:37pm  

I certainly don't agree with Cruiser's sweeping judgements directed at Randy H & others, but I must admit, this part of his rant was pretty darned funny:

I just know the preachy liberals would hate a Christian reference. They all got a different religion that’s got nothing to do with a God. How’s that working out for you in the Bay Area? That religion of money, passive entertainment, and being overrun by a horde of “diversity”? Can’t wait to get out form the high taxes, bad neighborhoods and schools? How’s that dirty air smellin? Clouds and sunsets are pretty, though.

262   Randy H   2006 Jun 22, 4:56am  

Cruiser is a Jukubot. Don't bother responding to him, it's just pattern generated inflammatory responses. That's why "he" doesn't appear to be responding to anyone's points directly or with any clarity.

If "he" replies to this short bit, then it is probably just evidence that the operator is attempting to salvage his little experiment in this thread/blog.

263   Randy H   2006 Jun 22, 1:31pm  

Man, those bots are getting a bit of an ego these days. I wonder if the goldbugs have deployed sentiment manipulators of their own in an attempt to get back something before margin call?

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