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The Late Great Housing Bubble - just one big orgy of mortgage fraud, and a
2008-05-10 23:32:00
Silly Americans - you thought those skyrocketing housing prices were because "they're not making any more land", or because of "year-round-golf and pro athletes".Nope. It was just one big orgy of fraud. And you fell for it.Silly Americans.Here's just a sampling of headlines today over at the mortage fraud blog. Just a sampling.Florida woman sentenced in fraud schemeFlorida mortgage fraud laws passedValley (CA) man indicted in HELOC fraud allegationConcord (CA) lender indictedTampa man provided false employment referencesCalifornia man given 16 months in deed fraudThree Ohio men indicted in Kentucky fraud caseMan indicted in Ohio apartment fraud chargesTwo plead guilty in Pittsburg area mortgage fraudTexas realtor sentenced to 18 months New Jersey man pleads guilty to mortgage fraud 5 sentenced in Georgia mortgage fraud schemeTwo plead guilty in $35 million fraud in Minnesota
More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Housing Bubble , Great , Mortgage

BUBBLETALK - Open thread to talk about the housing crash, mortgage meltdown
2008-05-10 10:24:00
Have at it..
More About: Open , Mortgage , Talk , Housing , Crash

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day
2008-05-10 09:28:00
"If you can find another illustration of a company whose stock that's gone down by 95% in one year and is still rated triple-A, I have yet to see it"- Warren Buffet, speaking of about bond insurers Ambac and MBIA laughably retaining their AAA ratings by the corrupt and incompetent ratings agencies likely because of pressure by Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke in order to prevent a financial collapse, May 2008
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Coming Soon: "It's Morning in America Again"
2008-05-10 09:02:00
Indeed, America is still that "shining city on a hill", a nation like no other, a nation that people around the world still admire, even though they loathe its leadership.George Bush, Dick Cheney and the corrupted clowns on Capitol Hill have taken the US down a path that repulses the vast majority of Americans. A nation which launches unprovoked wars, which tortures people, which consumes and pollutes like no other, which favors its rich at the expense of its poor, which ignores its own Constitution, and which lied, cheated and stole during the greatest robbery of all time - the Late Great Housing Bubble.This election in November will be telling. I believe the American people have had enough. I think the majority no longer believes the lies. I believe America is a nation that sees itself on the wrong path, and seeks dramatic change.I recommend voting every single incumbent out of office, except Ron Paul. Every single corrupted incumbent. The American people need to send Congr...
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HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
2008-05-10 08:33:00
Is our work here:* Nearly done?* Half-way through?* Still just getting started?
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I don't think you all understand how bad this is gonna get. Got train? Go
2008-05-09 20:54:00
And god forbid you got Maricopa Arizona, Naperville Illinois or any far-flung exurb.Thank you Ben Bernanke. In order to bail out your banker buddies, you've f*cked America.
More About: Train , Understand , Gonna

Anti-Housing-Gambler-Bailout Quote of the Day
2008-05-09 14:20:00
"The American people don't want to make their neighbor's payment when they're having trouble making their own"- Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, May 2008
More About: Quote Of The Day , Housing , Anti , Quote , Bailout

Got Inflation?
2008-05-09 14:18:00
If REAL inflation is running at 7% to 11%, doesn't that mean that the US economy growing at only 0.6% really signals a pretty massive recession? And that "flat" US average incomes are actually plummeting? And doesn't that mean that the 12.7% reported fall in home prices is more like 20%?One more time - if you believe the government's inflation number, you are a fool. But it's really not a question of whether you believe it or not, just go to the grocery store and gas station. The real inflation report can be found there.
More About: Inflation

And then, right on schedule, rents started plummeting
2008-05-09 09:56:00
Forget living like Jack Tripper or George Jefferson bitter renters. Now's the time to live like Donald Trump, but for pennies on the dollar, in a nice new house or condo - not an apartment complex.America has millions of vacant homes, millions of failed flippers and desperate accidental landlords, millions of foreclosures and bank owned properties, and millions of reasons why rents will be low and going lower for years to come. And don't be fooled by the government inflation numbers, which will be surpressed by falling rents for years to come.Enjoy bubble sitters. Enjoy bitter renters. You're sitting pretty now.Rental Rates Begin To Drop With Home Prices - Rent Concessions Can Include Up To Three Months Of Free RentIf one were to describe house prices to falling rocks, then, it would be safe to say that rents in South Florida are dropping like boulders."We're just trying to stay competitive," said Frank Leonor of Design Place to CBS4 David Sutta.After years of price increases, p...
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Burma
2008-05-09 05:24:00
I'd ask you to contribute to the relief cause for Burma (and yes, it's Burma, not Myanmar), but as long as their evil dictator and his henchmen remain in power, the relief likely won't get to the starving and desperate survivors. I'm not sure what to do myself...Once again, it's the failings and complicity of the evil communist rulers in neighboring China that is the root cause of the fresh atrocities in Burma. Inaction and immoral complicity on China's part will now lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents in neighboring Burma.So, what can you do?1) Boycott China and Chinese goods, and know that when you buy Chinese you support evil2) Donate to the Burma relief agencies, in the hopes that one day relief may be allowed into Burma3) Hope for the violent overthrow of the corrupt Burmese government by their starving and desperate people, or even their own soldiers. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I hope to see General Than Shwe and his thugs swinging f...

Will Bernanke and Paulson let Countrywide Toxic Mortage fail (after BofA pu
2008-05-08 22:38:00
It's coming.You can just feel it.Countrywide is about to go belly up, Angelo Mozilo is about to be indicted, and BofA is about to make a run for it.No way this deal goes through as announced. No way. So the question is - is Countrywide "too big to fail"?I don't think so. We're not talking trillions in counter-party risk like Bear Stearns. And we're talking about a company that everyone pretty much knows is going belly up anyway.If you have ANY money in Countrywide, GET IT OUT AND GET IT OUT NOW. Stick a fork in it. This orange pig is toast.Beware Collapse of Bank of America-Countywide Deal
More About: Bernanke , Toxic

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day
2008-05-08 22:21:00
?They really weren?t building homes, they were building mortgages that they could put in to their investors or lenders to put into mortgage-backed securities and in turn sell them to investors in China, France, other parts of this country"- Jay Butler, professor of real estate at party school Arizona State, pulling his head out of his ass long enough to finally realize that an epic, historic and corrupt housing Ponzi Scheme took place under his nose, May 2008
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HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
2008-05-08 15:28:00
Ever make the mistake of thinking someone with a big house, nice cars, expensive clothes and a lavish lifestyle was rich (when indeed they were simply jacked up to their eyeballs in debt)?
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George W. Bush is the greatest president in the history of the United State
2008-05-08 06:26:00
I've changed my mind.All this time, I thought W. was an incompetent boob.But today - brilliance. Rock-solid genius.George W . Bush - you are my hero. OK, just on this one thing....Bush says he will veto housing-relief billAs the House prepared to vote on a housing-relief bill offered by Democratic leaders, President George W. Bush on Wednesday told the lawmakers, in effect, not to bother."I will veto the bill that's moving through the House today if it makes it to my desk," the president said at the White House, after meeting with Republican House leaders. "I urge members on both sides of the aisle to focus on a good piece of legislation that is being sponsored by Republican members."The president's remarks were not surprising, given that the administration issued a statement on Tuesday evening declaring its opposition and saying that White House advisers would urge the president to veto it.But Bush's personal pledge to veto the measure championed by Representative Barney Frank,...
More About: History , George W Bush

Here's the slide from David Lereah's October 2005 NAR presentation, mocking
2008-05-08 05:39:00
I wish David Lereah could be jailed.I wish David Lereah could be sued.I wish he could be taken out back and tarred and feathered.But alas, he can't. He, the NAR and the 1.2 million realtors lied, America got screwed, commissions got pocketed, and they all get off scott free. David Lereah, Lawrence Yun, Nicholas Retsinas, Kendra Todd, Mike Norman, Greg Swann, Blanche Evans, the list goes on and on...Sure, they'll have to live the rest of their lives knowing they screwed their fellow man for a commission. Sure, Lereah and Yun are unhireable as forecasters or economists, and sure, realtors will NEVER be trusted again. But there's still something missing - some punishment, some retribution, some penalty.I guess we'll just have to go with the public flogging by blog, and be done with it.
More About: Slide , Presentation , October

Blanche Evans, Senior Editor at the laughable and discredited Realty Times,
2008-05-07 17:56:00
Here's Blanche, poor, poor Blanche, finding herself in a massive gaping historic obvious hole, and digging like a crazed fox.Come on Blanche, "blame the media" or "pretend there is no housing crash" is sooooooooo 2007. Ya gotta come up with a new schtick babe. You're embarrassing yourself. Maybe do a Lereah, and come clean. More lies won't make the bad truth go away hon.Her great advice HP'ers? (after being so so so so wrong these past couple of years) "Stop listening to the media. Go buy a home." To which HP says "Never trust Blanche Evans , Realty Times or any realtor on commission ever again."Why Buy Now? Media Is Wrong About Housing SlumpWhy buy a house now? You've been getting bad information. Here's why.The financial press is worried that they might have gone too far -- paralyzing the nation into recession by piling on housing. So they're finally beginning to question the indexes where they get their data, and whether the news is really as bad as it seems. Slowly but s...
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David Lereah, the most discredited economist in world history, finally admi
2008-05-07 05:35:00
No, this is not a joke. David Lereah, the thoroughly discredited former Chief Cheerleader for the evil National Association of realtors, publisher of the hilarious comedy "Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust", and pinata for this blog among others, has come out of his self-imposed hole.Hey, a guy has to make a living somehow, right?So Lereah has these gems in Newsweek - and no, THIS IS NOT A JOKE."We're not at the bottom," he says. "[People] want it to be near the bottom, but we're not there yet. The leading indicators are still very bad. Pending home sales are still in bad shape. Mortgage applications are low ? There's still supply out there in abundance ? This thing is going to get worse before it gets better.""We're probably going to end up with a 20 percent [decline], but if I'm wrong it will be even more than that" "I didn't think this would turn into an all-out bursting of a balloon for the whole nation""That (lending) got so out of hand, and none of us realized the m...
More About: Economist , History , World , Finally

Ding dong the witch is dead. Now on to the general election of McCain vers
2008-05-07 05:19:00
Thanks for playing Hillary, you power-mad psycho.Now go away.And in the future America, no more sons of presidents and wives of presidents, OK?Now on to the general election - McCain versus Obama. And Americans stuck with two corrupt and incompetent political parties unwilling to address the serious issues that face America, leading the country to ruin.McCain versus Obama - who gets your vote and why?
More About: General , Election , General Election , Dead , Dong

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day
2008-05-07 05:18:00
"Fannie Mae has gone from bad to worse to below rock bottom, and the mortgage company expects losses to be in the depths of fiery hell by next year"- Maurna Desmond, Forbes, May 2008
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HousingPANIC Make You Puke Quote of the Day
2008-05-06 11:38:00
"And when the history is written, it'll be said that we lived in a safer country, and a more hopeful world, because George Bush was President of these United States."- Dick, and I mean Dick, Cheney, May 2008(Bonus questions - will Cheney or Bush be indicted for war crimes by an international tribunal in the future? Will Bush pardon Cheney before leaving office? Will Obama pardon Bush or Cheney? And can Bush hit single digits before January?)
More About: Quote Of The Day , Make , Quote

Hundreds of economists tell Clinton and McCain that their gas tax holiday i
2008-05-06 05:43:00
You wonder what a couple of pandering idiots like Clinton and McCain were thinking.Just two more short-sighted politicians, doing and saying anything to get elected. Even if it's stupid. Even if it makes zero economic or social policy sense.America deserves better. I'm not sure if most Americans understand things like the gas tax either, but that's why we need leaders who do.HP's recommendation? Raise the gas tax $1 a year for the next five years. Use the money to fund massive transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges, trains, light rail, etc) and launch a Green Manhattan Project. The only way to get Americans out of their SUV's and away from imported oil and massive carbon emissions is to give them the incentive and ability to do it.Clinton and McCain - two idiots who don't understand Econ 101 or what's best for America, running for president and failing.Economists Criticize Clinton, McCain Gas-Tax PlansMore than 200 economists, including four Nobel prize winne...
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HOMEDEBTORS OF AMERICA - EVERY ONE OF YOU - STOP PAYING YOUR MORTGAGE IMMED
2008-05-06 04:35:00
Every homedebtor and housing gambler in America now has the incentive to stop paying their home loan, immediately.People who pay as promised get nothing. No cut in principal. No reduction in interest rate. Nothing.People who DON'T pay get everything. Not because Big Daddy Government cares about them, but because it wants to make sure the banks don't fail and home prices don't fall to their natural levels. Bankers and the REIC gave all that money to Dodd and Frank for a reason you know.Play by the rules and act ethically - the government tells you to go F yourself.Break your contract, stop making payments, don't honor your commitments - the government is there to shower taxpayer money on you to make sure you don't walk away from your depreciating debt-trap.This is what's become of America folks. A country whose corrupted Democratic and Republican leaders screw honest, hard working and ethical people every chance they get, doing the bidding of their bank and REIC masters, redis...
More About: Mortgage , Stop

FLASH FLASH FLASH: BofA looking to cut Countrywide bid to $0 to $2, leading
2008-05-05 15:35:00
Tomorrow's news today, here on HousingPANIC. So when BofA walks away, Countrywide goes bankrupt, and Angelo Mozilo is indicted, there should be no surprises.Remember when we said 1 penny was too much to pay, and that this deal would NEVER EVER go through? Countrywide is every STD in the book. BofA would have to be the stupidest company on earth to hook up with them. And the Countrywide lawsuits and liabilities for years to come will be staggering.This gem hot off the wires just now:BofA may lower Countrywide bid to $2/share or belowBank of America Corp. is highly likely to negotiate a sharply lower price for Countrywide Financial Corp, and should just walk away from the deal altogether, an analyst said Monday.Bank of America could face $20 billion to $30 billion in write-downs of Countrywide's mortgage loans after it closes its acquisition of the troubled mortgage lender, FBR Capital Markets analyst Paul J. Miller Jr. told clients in a research note."BAC should completely wal...
More About: Flash , Leading

Angelo Mozilo's time as a free man is running low. Countrywide Toxic Mortg
2008-05-05 12:34:00
Will Angelo go OJ on us soon? A white Ford Bronco with an orange man in the back headin to Mexico? Or will he pull a Ken Lay and just conveniently die?Anyone who thinks the housing crash and mortgage meltdown is over is fooling themselves. The next great chapter is coming - The Arrest of Angelo Mozilo and the Fall of COUNTRYRON. And the charges against Countrywide that will come will give BofA a convenient reason to walk away from that moment of stupidity too as CFC goes bankrupt and folds up shop.What's frustrating is that HP'ers knew what was going on for months and months, it was all just so OBVIOUS. And yet it took the government years to finally getting around to do something about it, after the real damage had been done.Government Intensifies Mortgage InvestigationFederal agencies are intensifying a criminal investigation of the mortgage industry and focusing on whether some lenders turned a blind eye to inflated income figures provided by borrowers.In March, the Justice De...
More About: Running , Time , Free

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day
2008-05-05 10:55:00
"Detroit ended up making investments in SUVs and large trucks because that's where they perceived a competitive advantage and that's where they felt they could make the most profit. "I think it was a mistake for them not to plan earlier, and now we're seeing a huge growth in fuel-efficient cars that is benefiting the Japanese automakers and Detroit is getting pounded some more."- Sen. Barack Obama, May 2008(The question is - who's dumber and more shortsighted: Detroit auto execs, or America's homebuilders?)
More About: Quote Of The Day , Quote

Donald Luskin at SmartMoney calls housing bottom, his only argument being "
2008-05-05 08:59:00
Here's Luskin calling bottom in housing, with no mention of price-to-rent, price-to-income, fraud, the global credit freeze, the change in consumer psychology, massive oversupply, job losses, or really anything of substance to back up his call, it's just that HP'ers are "arrogant". Luskin has a blog "The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid" and I'd say the ones who are on the way to being poor and stupid are the ones who listen to such an idiot.Here's Mish slapping him down, and he also provides the nice chart above.Why do "experts" like Luskin, Larry Kudlow and Mike Norman keep embarrassing themselves by trying to call bottom on housing? If you're going to call bottom, at least try to make a compelling argument. Luskin, on the other hand, makes this his central argument as to why home prices will not fall any further:"They simply cannot go down forever"Feel free to comment over at smartmoney too - he apparently hates it.Yes, I do agree, one day, one distant, fine day, real...
More About: Calls , Housing , Donald , Bottom

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
2008-05-05 06:24:00
Did HP'ers and your fellow bubble busters save your ass? Care to put a number on it?
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In light of the mainstream media's continued refusal to cover the issues th
2008-05-04 18:22:00
America gets the media it deserves.I guess it deserves sh*t right now.I don't get the chance to watch a lot of CNN/Fox/MSNBC anymore, but what I do catch is frankly garbage. It's all about "the race" and not about the issues that matter. Unless there's a missing white girl, then even "the race" gets second billing. The last straw was the sickening and sad Democratic "debate" performance by Gibson and Stephanopoulos.I've gotta figure there are a good number of intelligent, informed Americans who would appreciate a news channel that actually covered news. Or TV programming that wasn't total and absolute crap (reality TV, housing porn, etc).I think blogs have taken off like they have, and newspapers and TV are dying, simply because Americans are looking for honest, quality information and debate. What's in blogs can find its way to TV and the MSM programming if someone in the biz is smart enough to make the jump. America deserves better. And without the Fourth Estate on gu...
More About: Issues , Cover , Light

What do you do when you're the most tasteless and tactless person in the wo
2008-05-04 13:16:00
Charity? Nah!Taste? Of course not!Humility? No chance!Puke. I hope to see the Indians torch this place one day, French-Revolution-style.Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar HomeForbes estimated Ambani's net worth at $43 billion in March. Reliance Industries was founded by Mukesh's father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966, and is India's most valuable firm by market capitalization. The couple, who have three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower that the family has spent years remodeling to meet its needs.Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively.Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion, says Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at Hirs...
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Well, now we've seen everything. Welcome to Sh*tPANIC
2008-05-04 02:12:00
But what should we have expected? When you give farmers taxpayer money to grow food to put in Hummers, and then create hyperinflation to mask an epic housing crash, all kinds of bad thing happen...Shortages Threaten Farmers? Key Tool: FertilizerSome kinds of fertilizer have nearly tripled in price in the last year, keeping farmers from buying all they need. That is one of many factors contributing to a rise in food prices that, according to the United Nations? World Food Program, threatens to push tens of millions of poor people into malnutrition.Protests over high food prices have erupted across the developing world, and the stability of governments from Senegal to the Philippines is threatened.In the United States, farmers in Iowa eager to replenish nutrients in the soil have increased the age-old practice of spreading hog manure on fields. In India, the cost of subsidizing fertilizer for farmers has soared, leading to political dispute. And in Africa, plans to stave off hunger by...