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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Bailouts and False Hopes
2008-03-17 12:30:00
  Bailouts and False Hopes One of the more interesting phenomenon observed during the bubble was the perpetuation of denial with rumors of homeowner bailouts. Many homeowners held out hope that if they could just keep current on their mortgage long enough, the government would come to their rescue in the form of a mandated bailout program. ...

Weekend Chart 3-16-2008
2008-03-16 16:01:00
Los Angeles House Price Predictions based on S&P/Case-Shiller Indices
More About: Weekend , Chart , 2008

Mortgage Default Losses
2008-03-15 12:30:00
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a two part analysis post on Structured Finance and the CDO market. There was one item of import that needed clarification, so I thought I would take this weekends open thread to do it. I hope you are all enjoying the free preview of my rough draft for The ...
More About: Mortgage , Losses

REO Clearance Sale
2008-03-14 12:30:00
Hurry on down to Columbus Grove and get a sweet deal on a honey of a property!!! Over 20% off!!! Wow!!! GOURMET kitchen, PERGRANITEEL, this ONE is TURNKEY!!! This one will not last!!! Hurry!!! Buy now or you will miss your chance!!! These prices will not last forever!!! Real estate only goes up!!! Sugar, Oh, Honey ...
More About: Sale , Clearance , Clearance Sale

Floplords
2008-03-13 12:30:00
During the Great Housing Bubble, many speculators tried to make money through trading houses. The vast majority of these traders were not professionals but amateurs who thought they could be professionals. Most amateurs ended up losing money because they did not understand what it takes to be successful in a speculative market. The first and ...
More About: Rental , Analysis

Mortgages as Options
2008-03-12 12:30:00
Mortgages as Options An option contract provides the contract holder the option to force the contract writer to either buy or sell a particular asset at a given price. A typical option contract has an expiration date, and if the contract holder does not exercise their contract rights by a given date, they lose their contractual ...
More About: Mortgages

Houses and Commodities Trading
2008-03-11 12:30:00
Houses and Commodities Trading Commodities are items of value and uniform quality produced in large quantities and sold in an open market. Although every residential real estate property is unique, these properties became uniformly desired by investors because all real estate prices rose during the Great Housing Bubble. The commoditization of real estate and the active, ...
More About: Fraud , Analysis , Houses

Mortgage Equity Withdrawal
2008-03-10 12:30:00
Mortgage Equity Withdrawal Mortgage Equity Withdrawal or MEW is the process of obtaining cash through refinancing residential real estate using the accumulated equity as collateral for the loan. Before MEW, a homeowner would have to wait until the property was sold to get their equity converted to cash. Apparently, this was deemed an inefficient use of capital, so lenders found ways to “liberate� this equity with home equity lines of credit or cash-out mortgage refinancing. The impact of MEW on equity is obvious; it reduces it by increasing the loan balance. It has been noted that equity is a fantasy and debt is real, and MEW is the process of living the fantasy with the addition of very real debt. MEW has been utilized by homeowners for home improvement for decades, but the widespread use of this money for consumer spending was an innovation of The Great Housing Bubble. Since consumer spending is almost 70% of the US economy, mortgage equity withdrawal was the primary mechanism...
More About: Mortgage

Lazy River ** Update 1 **
2008-03-09 12:30:00
 Our sellers we profiled back in October of 2007 are being very stubborn about their price, but now they have opted to become floplords. $3800 Northpark Beauty At this price, the property is worth $608,000 with a 160 GRM. Anybody want to go pay them $968,000 for it? . Up a lazy river by the old mill stream That lazy, ...
More About: River , Update , Rollback , Lazy

How Big Was the Bubble?
2008-03-08 12:30:00
Weekend open thread 3-8-2008 . The Size of the Bubble Figure 1 - Median Home Prices 1968-2006 ...

Take It
2008-03-07 12:30:00
Oh We’re Not Gonna Take It no, We Ain’t Gonna Take It oh We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore we’ve Got The Right To Choose And there Ain’t No Way We’ll Lose It this Is Our Life, This Is Our Song we’ll Fight The Powers That Be Just don’t Pick Our Destiny ’cause you Don’t Know Us, You Don’t Belong oh We’re Not Gonna ...

Wishes
2008-03-06 12:30:00
When you wish upon a star Makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires Will come to you If your heart is in your dream No request is too extreme When you wish upon a star As dreamers do Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true When ...
More About: Wishes , Rollback

Get Out
2008-03-05 12:30:00
In this dirty old part of the city Where the sun refuse to shine People tell me there ain’t no use in trying Now girl you’re so young and pretty And one thing I know is true you’ll gonna die before your time is due watch my daddy in bed and tired watch his hair been turning gray He’s been working and slaving ...

Systemic Risk in the Housing Market
2008-03-04 12:30:00
I’m sitting looking out the window like damn Tryna fix this situation that’s at hand You still running through my mind when I’m knowing that you shouldn’t be, Me all on yo mind and I’m knowing that it couldn’t be Cause you ain’t call and I ain’t even appalled I still got allot of pain I ain’t dealt wit it all To get you outta ...
More About: Market , Housing , Risk

Structured Finance 101
2008-03-03 12:30:00
I never believed in things that I couldnt see I said if I cant feel it then how can it be No, no magic could happen to me And then I saw you I couldnt believe it, you took my heart I couldnt retrieve it, said to myself Whats it all about Now I know there can be no doubt You can ...
More About: Finance , Analysis

WOT 3-1-2008
2008-03-01 12:30:00
This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end Ill never look into your eyes…again Can you picture what will be So limitless and free Desperately in need…of some…strangers hand In a…desperate land Lost in a roman…wilderness of pain And all the children are ...
More About: 2008

A New Drug
2008-02-29 12:30:00
I want a new drug One that wont make me sick One that wont make me crash my car Or make me feel three feet thick I want a new drug One that wont hurt my head One that wont make my mouth too dry Or make my eyes too red One that wont make me nervous Wondering what to do One that makes ...
More About: Drug

Affordability
2008-02-28 12:30:00
It’s time you made a stand For a fee, I’m happy to be Your back door man, hey Dirty deeds done dirt cheap Dirty deeds done dirt cheap Dirty deeds done dirt cheap Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap, yeah Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap — AC/DC . . Affordability Affordability is a measure of people’s ability to raise ...

Rent
2008-02-27 12:30:00
You dress me up, I’m your puppet You buy me things, I love it You bring me food, I need it You give me love, I feed it And look at the two of us in sympathy With everything we see I never want anything, it’s easy You buy whatever I need But look at my hopes, look at my dreams The currency we’ve ...
More About: Rentals , Rent

New Market
2008-02-26 12:30:00
Theres a brand new day on the horizon Everythings gonna be just fine Theres a brand new day on the horizon And the whole worlds gonna be mine Im gonna tell old trouble, hed better be moving on Happiness is going to take his place around here from now on The old dark clouds are gonna roll away The sun is gonna shine And the ...
More About: Market , Rollback , New Market

The Credit Crunch
2008-02-25 12:30:00
Fine Line: Sub-Prime Decline - The Richter Scales . . The Credit Crunch In 2007, the financial markets were abuzz with talk of a ?credit crunch.? It was portrayed as some unusual and unpredictable outside force like an asteroid impact or a cold winter storm. However, it was not unexpected, and it was not caused by any outside force. ...

WOT 2-23-2008
2008-02-23 17:55:00
There was a discussion this week over at Calculated Risk on the Bailout Plan du jour (BTW, has anyone else noticed the pattern of periodically introducing a bailout plan that fails? Denial reinforcement?) I was writing about this possibility last April in the post How Homedebtors Could Avoid Foreclosure. Below the Calculated Risk post ...
More About: 2008

Should I Stay or Should I Go?
2008-02-22 12:30:00
Darling you gotta let me know Should I stay or should I go? If you say that you are mine I’ll be here ’til the end of time So you got to let me know Should I stay or should I go? Always tease tease tease Should I Stay or Should I Go? — The Clash This is the question every underwater, subprime ...
More About: Rollback

Hung Upside Down
2008-02-21 12:30:00
Look what’s happening to me, I’m going blind, please help. There I sat until three, gettin’ further behind myself. Bymyself. Someday I will be free, and there’ll be times, you just wait. I will come to you, see, what I’ll bring you when I get straight, Oh it’s too late. And I’m hung upside down. And I’m hung upside down. Hung upside down, said I’m hung upside down, ...
More About: Rollback , Upside

Old Spice
2008-02-20 12:30:00
Take or leave it or just don’t even bother. Caught in a craze it’s just a phase or will this be around forever. Don’t you know it’s going too fast Racing so hard you know it won’t last. Don’t you know what can’t you see, Slow it sown, read the sign so you know just where you’re going. Stop right now, thank ...
More About: Rentals , Spice

Walkaway
2008-02-19 12:30:00
Somewhere in a roadside motel room Alone in the silence she wakes up too soon And reaches for his arm But she’ll just keep reachin’ on For the cold hard truth revealed what it had known That boy’s just A walkaway Joe Born to be a leaver Tell you from the word go, destined to deceive her He’s a wrong kinda paradise She’s gonna know ...
More About: Rollback

Selling for Less
2008-02-18 12:30:00
I’m a loser, I’m a loser And I’m not what I appear to be What have I done to deserve such a fate I realize I have left it too late And so its true pride comes before a fall I’m telling you so that you wont lose all I’m a loser and I lost someone who’s near to me I’m a ...
More About: Selling

More Avenue One Price Drops - UPDATE #1
2008-02-17 21:30:00
Originally posted December 27, 2007 Address: 1124 Scholarship, Irvine, CA 92612 Plan: 1A 725 sq ft - 1/1 MLS: P609516 DOM: 46 Sale History: none Current Price : $334,990 See our previous posts on Avenue One. This brand new home is for sale by the builder, K Hovnanian. The builder listed a similar property in October 2006 for ...
More About: Update

WOT 2-16-2008
2008-02-16 12:30:00
Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Goodbye Housing Bubble . . There are several terms unique to bubble blogs. The following is a list of some of the more common terms compiled from a list provided on Patrick.net: Housing Bubble Glossary · Schadenfreude ? Feeling joy in the ...
More About: News , 2008

Hell in a Bucket
2008-02-15 12:30:00
Well I was drinkin last night with a biker And I showed him a picture of you I said, pal get to know her, youll like her Seemed like the least I could do. Cause when hes chargin his chopper Up and down your carpeted halls You will think I am dressed up quite proper Never mind how I stumble and fall. You ...
More About: Hell , Rollback