patrick.net

Lawrence, you touched on the major reason for credit bubble: Chicks. They NEED stuff. New clothes, 3000$ Gucci handbags, 1000$ Manola's, BMW's, jewelry. Oh and of course a 5000 sq ft home (or at least one bigger than their friends); preferably more than one. This is why most of us go to work, right? I couldnt imagine what she would say if I sugested we "downsize".

doc1,

You know, it could just be your wife. Maybe she'd rather not having you around the house so she goes high maintenance to tie you to your office.

Jon: greatest post ever. FormerAptbkr: 2nd greatest.

DinOR,

Ask and ye shall receive:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/community/message/thread.asp?board=YourMoney&ThreadId=60637&BoardName=Hide&header=SearchOnly&Footer=Show&BoardsParam=Page%3D5&LinkTarget=_parent&pagestyle=money1&ForumId=18

Message #59 and take a peek at his first post about his house. It sounds like he's trying to brag and then switches gears and starts to whine.

If you want my absolute favorite one, check out page 19, #226:

She says:

"I put my West Seattle skyline view (from the deck AND the bedroom), 4th floor of 5, CORNER end-unit, IMMACULATELY clean, light, bright and open spaced 780 sq. ft. 1br condo (built in 1997) on the market 19 days ago for $265K - I've had 2 people look at it, and no offers or lookers the past THREE weekends! So I've dropped the price TWICE now - as of today, it's listed at $254,990 - I've already rented an apartment in a closer-in Seattle neighborhood for move-in the 2nd week of October, and I'm FREAKING. The unit 2 doors down from me, with NO VIEW (unless you stand out on the deck) and crappy carpet and weird use of space sold 3 months ago for $246K after FOUR DAYS . . . the ugly, no view studio unit next door (which smells bad and has been unoccupied for 1.5 years!) sold also in FOUR DAYS, for about $229K. Am I frustrated? You BET CHA, considering that "Brand! New! 1br Condos!" are being sold across the street from me STARTING at $270K!! And they don't have half the amenities I have!! Grrrrr. I got the place 3 years ago for $177.5 - $250 is my minimum, and it better sell QUICKLY - I will NOT be buying again at any time soon! Thank you GW and all the rest of your useless cronies for screwing over the American Middle Class once again! "

I know she'll get lots of support from our friends in SF because they think Bush is responsible for EVERYTHING bad in the world. I gotta say, I really enjoyed my last visit to Berzerkely when I got 'em wound up by talking loudly about how Bush was "God's favorite president and could do no wrong".....I'm evil.

Doug H,

These "I'm not giving it away even though I bought 5 years ago for half the listed price" people deserve their own level of hell. If you stuff them elsewhere, that layer of hell would get really crowded really quickly.

Astrid said:
"...that layer of Hell...."

I think Dante covered it quite well. I think a good topic would be which level for realtors, brokers, media type, and so on.....LOL

Bap33 said:
"why is that gal selling??"

Dunno, I doubt she's dumb enough to allow foreclosure with that much equity....but....she just might not have the equity she claims. Ever notice how people "massage" the facts when it comes to getting themselves in a bind. Let's check on her progress or maybe I'll "bait" her to see what she says. One of my hobbies is baiting 419 scammers so I've got a little practice with "social engineering"......evil grin.

Ah, Doug H, you bad, bad man...;-)

Please let us know what goes down - even though I've never met her, I dislike her already.

Bu ,bu bu, but the OTHER condos sold for more, and I WON'T take less than 250K!"

Come over here and let me slap you, you dozy mare.

Hell, if she's fully legit, she probably HELOCed herself a decent pair of silicone and she can dance the debt off.

I just found my parents' nasty former neighbor (who was a slumlord who broke all kinds of zoning and HOA rules) is selling his 1998 construction AS IS. The agent says "highly motivated seller" but the asking price (came down $15K from initial asking price about 30 days ago) is about $20K higher than non-trashed houses.

This guy bought in 2003 for $470K and now he wants $600K. If he was motivated, how about selling for $270K (the builder's original selling price in 1998)? I'd consider that motivated.

Even underwear?

From the People's Republic of Portland:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/115932211250650.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

I've finally seen somebody go on the record about something I've been worried about since this crazy crap began....on page 2 the U.S. Attorney said it reminded him of the S&L mess. If so, every taxpayer in the country will be paying the bill for all the fraud for years to come in the form of higher taxes. The more we learn, the worse it gets.......

Alex,

Unfortunately, "blowing up" the housing market now is a forgone conclusion. The bust is already here --and it was market excess itself that precipitated it, not any so-called regulators (who were effectively asleep at the wheel or cheerleading the bubble all along). Anything Congress or the Fed does from now on re: housing will very likely be damage-control related, and even then only to help bail out the GSEs and banks --not Joe & Jill Homedebtor. F@cked borrowers are screwed.

As far as writing your Congressman goes, I think that's a good idea, but I wouldn't expect too much of a response. Let's face it, 7 out of 10 people "own" their homes (or are owned BY them), plus homedebtors tend to vote regularly in much greater numbers than renters. Congress will pander to whichever group brings it the most votes and money (homedebtors, NAR, mortgage companies, banks, etc.), so don't expect much as a result.