patrick.net

SQT,

I closed that thread and deleted his messages. One way to handle limiting Trolls is to edit your original post after it's gone quiet and unclick the "Allow Comments" box.

A good indicator is to wait until after weekend readers have had their chance to comment. Often DS and Bap33 will be some of the last to comment ;)

Glen,

Your commentary on deficiency judgments is interesting. While CA law allows deficiency judgments in certain circumstances, I expect that the terms of the loan contract must provide for a deficiency judgment in order for the lender to pursue such recourse. Most states do allow for deficiency judgments, and my loans on properties outside CA have all included a provision explicitly stating that the lender has this right. None of the loans on my CA properties have ever had any such reference. Therefore I assume that the lender has no such right under the contract terms of these loans. This is an academic point for me, as my LTVs are mostly under 25% of value now. However, I wonder if lenders are placing the needed contractual wording in their loan documents to allow them to seek a deficiency judgment, and whether it is even worth the bother for them (prolonged process of foreclosure if a deficiency is enabled). It seems that for most borrowers there are no other assets of consequence to pursue – so the legal right to seek a deficiency judgment would be a moot point, and the lenders would be better served to just take the write-off and move on.

What do you see? Is this evolving?

This week's Barron's has an article titled "The No-Money-Down Disaster" that pretty much parallels what people have been predicting on this blog for years.

I cannot find an online copy, not being a subscriber, or I would excerpt portions. If anyone has a subscription, they should review it here. I think you would all be pleased.

It is in the "Other Voices" section, so doesn't count as an endorsement by a major financial publisher, but the fear is there, or they wouldn't run it.

Barron's website is down for now, I will post some excerpts when it is back up.

New thread: I may buy a condo, finally

If, like Japan, we fail to act, the coming decade could be very bleak indeed.

Prop 1300: Save Homeownership Act
To sustain the American Dream and save the children, the State of California will guarantee that those who buy homes will be able to sell them at a minimum of the original purchase price. Funding for this act will come from converting most public schools to fireworks factories, and to charge all new residents to this state a naturalization fee of 25% of their net worth.

When I was a teenager, I thought tire spikes on all the roads crossing the state line might help slow the population influx. The Population of CA has almost doubled since then.

It would really be a shame to close out this thread with fewer than

100 posts.