Pending sales drop in December, but still top last year

From Bloomberg:

Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Drop by Most in a Year

Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in December by the most in a year, a sign the industry’s recovery remains uneven.

The index of pending sales dropped 3.7 percent after a 0.6 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than initially estimated, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called a 0.5 percent increase.

Fewer available properties, higher prices and still-tight credit are hurdles for some customers as first-time buyers remain reluctant to enter the market. At the same time, employment gains and near record-low mortgage rates will help to underpin demand, one reason builders such as Lennar Corp. expect the industry’s rebound will be sustained.

“Total inventory fell in December for the first time in 16 months, resulting in fewer choices for buyers and a modest uptick in price growth,” Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. “More jobs, increasing consumer confidence, less expensive mortgage insurance and new low down-payment programs coming into the marketplace will likely lead to more demand from first-time buyers.”

Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from a drop of 4.4 percent to an increase of 1.6 percent. The Realtors’ group revised the November data from a previously reported gain of 0.8 percent.

All four regions saw a decrease, led by a 7.5 percent drop in the Northeast, the report showed. Pending sales declined 4.6 percent in the West, 2.8 percent in the Midwest and 2.6 percent in the South.

Compared with a year earlier, the index increased 8.5 percent on an unadjusted basis after a 1.5 percent gain in the prior 12-month period. They were projected to climb 10.5 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

The pending sales gauge was 100.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the lowest since April. A reading of 100 corresponds to the average level of contract activity in 2001, or “historically healthy” home-buying traffic, according to the NAR.

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124 Responses to Pending sales drop in December, but still top last year

  1. grim says:

    Pending home sales up 8.4% year over year/unadjusted in the Northeast.

  2. Liquor Luge says:

    NAR has shown a willingness in the past to falsify staistics. Why trust them now?

  3. Liquor Luge says:

    Feel like barfing yet? It’s a rigged game, folks, and we’re the muppets.

    “The Treasury-created market has benefited a few savvy investors, while saddling taxpayers with a loss. Three private funds, which the report didn’t name, have won almost half the shares available at auction, often netting either a profit on paper or on the resale, according to the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Treasury, which has held 185 auctions to date, said it has raised about $3 billion on TARP investments that were originally valued at $3.8 billion, for a loss of $800 million at the auctions.

    The Treasury “set up this market where investors could come in quickly and flip and profit,” said Christy Romero, TARP’s special inspector general, in an interview.

    – From the Wall Street Journal article: Hedge Funds, Private Equity Win Big at TARP Auctions
    One story that I’ve told several times on this site has to do with the day TARP passed. How I got into work extremely early and starting irately yelling about how TARP represented the end of America as we knew it. There weren’t many people on the trading floor at the time, but my boss was there and he told me to take a “walk around the block.” I politely declined, but continued to seethe at my desk.

    It’s almost shocking to see the horrific transformation that has occurred in the subsequent six years. It’s so bad, that many people now take things that would’ve been considered unconscionable just a few years ago as part of the “new normal.” There will be a horrible price to pay for this perspective.

    The latest scam unveiled by the Wall Street Journal is just the latest example of how and why all the income during the oligarch recovery has gone to, well, oligarchs.

    From the Wall Street Journal:

    WASHINGTON—A government program to rid itself of TARP investments in small banks has proved a boon to hedge funds, private-equity and other private investors, according to a new watchdog report.
    That’s the least surprising thing I’ve read today.

    As the Treasury Department looks to exit from its taxpayer-backed investments in these lenders, private investors like hedge funds and others have stepped in and scooped up about 70% of the shares auctioned by the U.S. government. Other buyers included banks, institutional investors and brokers buying shares on behalf of other entities.

    The Treasury-created market has benefited a few savvy investors, while saddling taxpayers with a loss. Three private funds, which the report didn’t name, have won almost half the shares available at auction, often netting either a profit on paper or on the resale,according to the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Treasury, which has held 185 auctions to date, said it has raised about $3 billion on TARP investments that were originally valued at $3.8 billion, for a loss of $800 million at the auctions.

    The Treasury “set up this market where investors could come in quickly and flip and profit,” said Christy Romero, TARP’s special inspector general, in an interview.

    As the new owners of the bank’s shares, the funds can profit by reselling them back to the bank at a premium. At one auction, the report said, a bidder won the shares for $3 million less than taxpayers had originally paid. Eight months later, the same bidder sold the shares back to the bank at a $1.6 million profit. Banks sometimes repurchase the shares to avoid dividend payments, which are generally at 9% of principal, or because they don’t want to owe money to the outside investors.

    Treasury officials say the risk of losing money at the auctions was necessary to ensure taxpayers weren’t holding the potentially risky bank investments for years to come.
    Yes, suckers, it’s for your own good.

    A Hildene fund that holds the vast majority of the firm’s TARP holdings gained about 18% last year, an investor update shows, five times the pace for hedge funds overall tracked by HFR Inc.
    Further proof, as if you needed any, that crony insider deals is where the real money is.

    EJF Capital LLC, the $6 billion Arlington, Va., hedge-fund firm, also holds a large stake in TARP securities, according to investor documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
    Naturally, based in Arlington. Right in the belly of the cancer.

    “As a banker I was happy, but as a taxpayer I was not at all happy,” said Chief Financial Officer Donald Boyer. “The discount came out of taxpayers’ pockets.”
    Yep, that pretty much sums up everything that’s happened since TARP first passed.”

    http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/01/28/occupied-by-wall-street-the-latest-tarp-taxpayer-screw-job-is-revealed/

  4. 1987 Condo says:

    …hmmmmm…Clot engaging more and more lately with points and articles, not just end of world comments…things must be improving?

  5. Liquor Luge says:

    We are still hurtling toward a fiery and imminent doom.

  6. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    [3] clot

    “The latest scam unveiled by the Wall Street Journal is just the latest example of how and why all the income during the oligarch recovery has gone to, well, oligarchs.”

    And yet, the internet memes from the DNC keep giving Obama credit for this. I find it hysterical that the dems are taking credit for an economic recovery that is only benefiting the folks that they don’t want to see benefit.

  7. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    [4] condo,

    I disagree. The fact that clot can find support for his views (that don’t involve inane tweets with someone else’s uninformed opinion), makes me think he is more right than ever.

    ATEOTD, as much as I want to believe Punkin, I find myself agreeing more or less with Clot.

  8. grim says:

    Homes in NJ are about to get much, much more expensive.

    The political outrage raised by the Edgewater fire will undoubtedly result in building codes and inspections becoming even more expensive and time consuming.

    Reading through online comments, the level of idiotic replies on the topic is amazing. People who have no knowledge of building at all calling for stricter rules and oversight.

    What happens when they get it? Cries of outrage that rental prices are through the roof and the cost to purchase is astronomical. Even worse, when these rules start to apply retroactively to rehab, the cost of doing minor construction skyrockets. The cost to build low-income units will see even less payback, and the non-restricted units will need to further subsidize their cost.

  9. Liquor Luge says:

    Cuisine marches forward. And, it’s right across the river in Emmaus, PA! Folks, I give you Defcon 1 & The Chow Hall:

    “This here is a beautiful marriage of two wonderful things. Half Gun store with a machine shop and half Take out BBQ restaurant.”

    Working at this place could be my next job.

  10. Liquor Luge says:

    grim (8)-

    Everything follows the Rahm Emmanuel playbook: never let a good disaster go to waste.

  11. 1987 Condo says:

    #8….I think those units had Sprinklers..so much for that…seems fire walls would have served a better use.

  12. Toxic Crayons says:

    They have something like that at Gun For Hire in Woodland park. It’s an upscale shooting range with a restaurant and a “FU Mike Bloomberg” smoking area.

    Liquor Luge says:

    January 30, 2015 at 8:49 am

    Cuisine marches forward. And, it’s right across the river in Emmaus, PA! Folks, I give you Defcon 1 & The Chow Hall:

    “This here is a beautiful marriage of two wonderful things. Half Gun store with a machine shop and half Take out BBQ restaurant.”

    Working at this place could be my next job.

  13. grim says:

    The sprinklers in that type of building are for life safety, not property. They are intended to suppress the fire to the point at which persons can escape. They did exactly what they were intended to do.

    Unlike in the movies, when a sprinkler trips, it’s only the specific head that was tripped, while deluge systems exist, they are very rare as a false alarm would cause a massive amount of damage.

    Much of what exists in code it’s to build a fireproof structure, it’s to allow sufficient time for occupants to safely escape the fire.

  14. Toxic Crayons says:

    8 – It’s so much easier and safer to use those fittings that just push on or a compression fitting. The plumber who installed my hot water heater didn’t even bother soldering. Just used push on fittings.

    New work for the bathroom was all PEX (or similar) with brass fittings.

    The few times I attempted to solder pipe in my own house I used a fireproof screen you hang on the wall (not more than $10 at home depot) and I was so nervous I had the fire extinguisher within reach.

  15. Ragnar says:

    Luge,
    The The Chow Hall sounds like a good place for the next gtg, assuming you rate the BBQ favorably. But take out only? Pork BBQ should keep the vegetarians and Hezbollah away.

  16. Toxic Crayons says:

    15 – Give your business to the guy in Jersey….as an added bonus it’s like a giant middle finger to all of the liberal weenie democrats that surround him.

  17. Ragnar says:

    Central bank will probably try to keep the economy propped up through the next presidential election, but I’m pretty confident the next president will have to deal with all the cans that have been kicked down the road.

  18. Liquor Luge says:

    The proximity of guns makes BBQ taste better.

  19. Liquor Luge says:

    “Urban Defense Institute”. Has a nice ring to it.

  20. The Great Pumpkin says:

    That is comical. Proof that they play for the same team.

    Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:
    January 30, 2015 at 8:31 am
    [3] clot

    “The latest scam unveiled by the Wall Street Journal is just the latest example of how and why all the income during the oligarch recovery has gone to, well, oligarchs.”

    And yet, the internet memes from the DNC keep giving Obama credit for this. I find it hysterical that the dems are taking credit for an economic recovery that is only benefiting the folks that they don’t want to see benefit.

  21. Toxic Crayons says:

    2nd lawsuit filed in New Jersey apartment building fire

    Posted: Jan 29, 2015 5:02 PM EST

    Updated: Jan 29, 2015 6:12 PM EST

    EDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) – A second lawsuit was filed Thursday against the owners of an apartment building that burned to the ground last week, while in Trenton a state lawmaker proposed a moratorium on all approvals of multi-family developments until state building codes can be reviewed.

    A mother and daughter who lived in the Avalon at Edgewater sued AvalonBay Communities for damages Thursday, asserting they suffered mental anguish and emotional distress in addition to economic loss.

    Last Wednesday’s blaze was started by workers doing plumbing repairs. About 500 people’s apartments were destroyed and about 500 more were displaced.

    On Monday, two other former residents sued and are seeking class action status for the lawsuit. The suit filed Thursday doesn’t seek the same classification; attorney Michael Epstein, who represents plaintiffs Sarah and Lisette Jacobo, said in an email that he felt a class action was not appropriate “because every victim has independent and different losses.”

    A spokesman for AvalonBay Communities said the company had no comment on the lawsuits.

    Also on Thursday, Assemblyman Scott Rumana, R-Passaic, Bergen, said he would propose a bill that would impose a moratorium on approvals for multi-family housing developments until the state’s building code is revised.

    There have been no allegations of building code violations at the apartment complex, but fire officials and lawmakers have questioned the use of lightweight wood that many say is more flammable than other types of wood.

    “The Edgewater inferno makes it clear that we need new and improved building standards in New Jersey in order to protect residents and first responders,” Rumana said. “Until those new standards are in place, a moratorium on new building is urgent. We need to ensure that better construction standards, designed to save lives, are in place before any new multi-family housing is built.”

  22. jj says:

    Or they could just not use gas heat in apartment buildings.

    grim says:

    January 30, 2015 at 8:40 am

    Homes in NJ are about to get much, much more expensive.

    The political outrage raised by the Edgewater fire will undoubtedly result in building codes and inspections becoming even more expensive and time consuming.

    Reading through online comments, the level of idiotic replies on the topic is amazing. People who have no knowledge of building at all calling for stricter rules and oversight.

    What happens when they get it? Cries of outrage that rental prices are through the roof and the cost to purchase is astronomical. Even worse, when these rules start to apply retroactively to rehab, the cost of doing minor construction skyrockets. The cost to build low-income units will see even less payback, and the non-restricted units will need to further subsidize their cost.

  23. The Great Pumpkin says:

    My brother, who owns his own plumbing business, called them hackers. He said that they have a torch out that won’t cause fires. Been around for 10 years. Once again, you want a cheap plumber that is not up to date on the times and lacks the knowledge to do things correctly and this is what you get. You are taking a major risk to save some money. Once again, I’m a firm believer in you pay for what you get. I will never hire a hacker to perform work on my properties.

    Toxic Crayons says:
    January 30, 2015 at 9:01 am
    8 – It’s so much easier and safer to use those fittings that just push on or a compression fitting. The plumber who installed my hot water heater didn’t even bother soldering. Just used push on fittings.

    New work for the bathroom was all PEX (or similar) with brass fittings.

    The few times I attempted to solder pipe in my own house I used a fireproof screen you hang on the wall (not more than $10 at home depot) and I was so nervous I had the fire extinguisher within reach.

  24. jcer says:

    Newer build large multifamily dwellings made of wood are insanity. What happened to cinder block, cast concrete slabs, poured concrete, steel frame? I live in a high rise condo and the only thing flammable in the construction besides wood cabinets and the wood floors is probably the PVC DWV, oh and it has firwalls so the contents burn only in one apartment. I mean there is a big difference between using wood in a small multifamily house and a 500 unit apartment complex. Common sense, but our government has little, I can’t wait to see how there will be draconian legislation that effects 3 family houses but somehow AvalonBay will still be building 6 story apartment buildings out of toothpicks.

  25. jj says:

    Cheap plumbers are fine if all you can get is a water leak. For gas lines and gas heat where you can get a BOOM not so much.

    The Great Pumpkin says:

    January 30, 2015 at 9:58 am

    My brother, who owns his own plumbing business, called them hackers. He said that they have a torch out that won’t cause fires. Been around for 10 years. Once again, you want a cheap plumber that is not up to date on the times and lacks the knowledge to do things correctly and this is what you get. You are taking a major risk to save some money. Once again, I’m a firm believer in you pay for what you get. I will never hire a hacker to perform work on my properties.

  26. jj says:

    NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The 10-year yield fell to its lowest level since May 2013 Friday as month-end buying, worries about deflation in Europe and a weaker-than-expected reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth drove investors into the safety of the bond market.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down six basis points to 1.693%, according to Tradeweb, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury hit an all-time low, down 7.5 basis points to 2.243%.

  27. grim says:

    Sure, steel and concrete can be safer, but in order to provide a suitable ROI, the buildings will need to be made taller with a greater number of units. We need to go 8 stories instead of 6.

    Is that OK for you?

  28. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You really have no idea how bad a hacker can f up your house, huh? Consider yourself lucky that you have not been totally screwed by using some unlicensed hack who knows how to work with his hands, hence he is an expert plumber/electrician.

    jj says:
    January 30, 2015 at 10:00 am
    Cheap plumbers are fine if all you can get is a water leak. For gas lines and gas heat where you can get a BOOM not so much.

  29. grim says:

    I think we need to also outlaw candles, smoking indoors, cooking with open flames, any sort of frying or use of large quantities of cooking oil, as well any kind of cooking with that uses alcohol as an ingredient. No birthday candles either.

    We also need to limit the amount of combustible materials stored in the living space, so closets packed full of paper and clothes are now considered fire hazards. We need to designate the maximum fill percentage of closets, probably no more than 50% by volume, with restrictions on fabrics that are more combustible than others.

    Likewise bulk storage of plastics (kid toys) should be outlawed.

    Would also outlaw any wood furniture capable of sustaining a fire.

    Curtains as well, only non-flammable aluminum mini blinds should be suitable for residences.

    Storage of large quantities of alcohol (bottles in a bar), should be forbidden as well, no more than 5 liters storage of alcohol in a residence.

    Bedding, mattresses, and pillows are a significant problem as well.

    Hardwood floors need to go as well, only noncombustibles like tile should be used. Absolutely no wall to wall carpet.

    Books and bookcases would need to be thrown out, removed entirely.

    We would also need to limit furniture placement such that nothing flammable is placed in proximity to a structural wall, which should be kept bare and open.

    Storage of any kind of bulk paperwork would need to be banned outright, or stored only in fireproof cabinets.

  30. grim says:

    Have fun living in a jail cell.

  31. Fast Eddie says:

    NAR has shown a willingness in the past to falsify staistics. Why trust them now?

    Of course! It’s not even a doubt! Go out there and see experience the madness for yourself. What’s being reported and what’s going on the real world (our area) is two different things.

  32. Toxic Crayons says:

    32 – you’ve got a deal so long as we can all still have firearms, gunpowder and other ammo reloading supplies in any quantity we choose.

  33. jcer says:

    25 Pumpkin what are you talking about, PEX is perfectly fine. In fact the manifold systems with home runs to each appliance or room make it even better than copper. Plumbers don’t like this stuff because it takes a re-plumbing job that used to cost 15-20k and makes it cost 5k.

  34. grim says:

    Most plumbers that have been around long enough didn’t like PEX, because there was a similar product 25 years ago that was an absolute failure (Polybutylene).

    However, most plumbers these days would rather pull PEX anyhow.

  35. jcer says:

    29, that’s nonsense the additional cost compared to the sales price is inconsequential. Larger wooden apartment complexes seem to be a new phenomenon, 20 years ago most builders minimized wood use, put in firewalls, etc. Builders have learned they can make it out of toothpicks and the buyers won’t discover the issues until it is way too late. Again 3 story building made of wood with firewalls is ok, 5 story building, not so much.

  36. Toxic Crayons says:

    37 – Heck the new gas mains they ran in my neighborhood a block over were some sort of plastic they laid into a trench that was coiled onto a large wooden roller like a hose. Not metal.

  37. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    [17] toxic

    Never been there but Eddie Falcon, who is, or was, an instructor there, is a friend of mine.

  38. JJ says:

    Actually unlicensed has nothing to do with unqualified.

    Years ago my main electric box was replaced by a friend of a friend who works for LIPA installing Powerlines.

    The Plumber who did work on my main line is a Full Time Union Plumber for a major REIT in Manhattan and does the plumbing for huge office towers.

    The guy who did my electrical work is a licensed contractor in NYC and had a guy licensed in NYC check his work. However, not licensed in Long Island.

    My neighbor down block did plumbing repairs I could not handle in my house in last three years not related to Sandy. He gave me the “fishing money” price, off the books no receipt and his on the books price with a receipt and proof a licensed plumber did work. I always picked fishing money price which is cash in his hand no receipt and handshake he come back if an issue. I have his home address and he is close enough he can walk over.

    Actually he walked over last time. His wife is noisy and if truck left driveway she might ask him for the cash. Walking over he got fishing money wife did not know about.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    January 30, 2015 at 10:04 am
    You really have no idea how bad a hacker can f up your house, huh? Consider yourself lucky that you have not been totally screwed by using some unlicensed hack who knows how to work with his hands, hence he is an expert plumber/electrician.

    jj says:
    January 30, 2015 at 10:00 am
    Cheap plumbers are fine if all you can get is a water leak. For gas lines and gas heat where you can get a BOOM not so much.

  39. grim says:

    36 – I’ve seen estimates anywhere from 25-40% less expensive to utilize wood construction over steel and concrete.

    Because of that cost differential, it becomes more cost effective to build taller with steel and concrete, as cost per square foot falls as the total units increase.

    So you end up with a kind of U relationship, you either build low/mid rise wood frame buildings, or you build taller steel structures, but the middle of the U is barren, as the cost per unit would be too high for Steel, and you hit height limits with wood frame.

  40. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    I digress. Eddie started his own biz, but he may still be affiliated with Gun For Hire

    https://www.facebook.com/Home.Defense.Site

  41. The Great Pumpkin says:

    They were using a torch to solder pipes. That is how the fire started. My brother told me that they should have been using a torch that came out about 10 years ago that will not start a fire.

    As for pex, my brother enjoys it. He doesn’t have to inhale the chemicals from the solder. He said it depends on the application on whether you should use pex or copper.

    jcer says:
    January 30, 2015 at 10:27 am
    25 Pumpkin what are you talking about, PEX is perfectly fine. In fact the manifold systems with home runs to each appliance or room make it even better than copper. Plumbers don’t like this stuff because it takes a re-plumbing job that used to cost 15-20k and makes it cost 5k.

  42. jcer says:

    42, yes 25% is a reasonable difference. Now in Cleveland where you have no margin that’s one thing. In NJ especially on the Mold Coast where construction is 1/3rd the cost a 25% increase is easily absorbed. The thing is that zoning dictates land value, what would occur is because you could only build 5 stories and would be required to use steel and concrete, or build smaller with conventional wood, the value of the land becomes lower. The projects still get built, but the land becomes less valuable because the ROR on the investment is lower. I am not advocating overkill with regards to the building code but a project like that Avalon building should not be permitted. Unfortunately a lot of projects like that are currently under construction.

  43. grim says:

    Magic torch? If you are working with copper you are using a torch, period.

    Most plumbers use acetylene torches. They are faster than propane torches. If you’ve ever seen anyone try to sweat a pipe using a shit benzomatic torch you’d realize why plumbers don’t use propane/butane, you need to sit there heating the pipe up for a good minute, or more. Acetylene, zip zip, hot and fast. The longer it takes to heat, the longer you have a torch in a wall, and more of the pipe heats up as a result.

    Also, any good plumber doing a repair is going to drain the pipes before trying to repair. Idiot plumbers don’t, and they spend minutes heating up pipe and causing any water in the piping to absorb heat and boil. Makes for a repair that takes long, and a shit joint.

  44. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Hey, you want to take the risk and be responsible for unlicensed work, so be it. Understand that it is cheaper because if anything goes wrong, you will be getting sued as opposed to the licensed contractor. Also, if the guy messes up the job bad, do not expect to ever hear from them again. You will end up costing yourself two or three times the cost of the original licensed estimate. Also, you never realize how bad they messed up your house until years later down the line. Then you will realize what the cheap route got you.

    Same thing with cars. Some people claim they will only buy used cars, that new ones are a ripoff. I disagree. The used car price is much cheaper because you have no idea what you are getting. I know a lot of people that do not take care of their car. They go 10,000 miles over the oil change. Some don’t even change the oil. I’ll pass on that risk. I keep cars for 10 years, so it doesn’t bother me that it costs more upfront. If you keep it long enough, it brings the avg cost per year down by a lot.

    JJ says:
    January 30, 2015 at 11:03 am
    Actually unlicensed has nothing to do with unqualified.

    Years ago my main electric box was replaced by a friend of a friend who works for LIPA installing Powerlines.

    The Plumber who did work on my main line is a Full Time Union Plumber for a major REIT in Manhattan and does the plumbing for huge office towers.

    The guy who did my electrical work is a licensed contractor in NYC and had a guy licensed in NYC check his work. However, not licensed in Long Island.

    My neighbor down block did plumbing repairs I could not handle in my house in last three years not related to Sandy. He gave me the “fishing money” price, off the books no receipt and his on the books price with a receipt and proof a licensed plumber did work. I always picked fishing money price which is cash in his hand no receipt and handshake he come back if an issue. I have his home address and he is close enough he can walk over.

    Actually he walked over last time. His wife is noisy and if truck left driveway she might ask him for the cash. Walking over he got fishing money wife did not know about.

  45. jcer says:

    44, didn’t realize your post was in response to the fire I thought it was in response to the person who had the remodeling done with PEX. They run a cheap operation at Avalon, it probably wasn’t even a licensed plumber. Plumbers love pex if they own the business, because lower skilled apprentices can do a lot of the work unsupervised.

  46. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [3] Liquor Luge

    That has been the world works all the time. Anytime the government (regardless of who is the President) does something they think will address a particular issue, you have some very smart individuals who are working on how to legally work around those boundaries. A perfect example is when the government wanted to increase corporate taxes….the work around was that companies started moving headquarters offshore. All perfectly legal I might add.

    I’ve met so many lawyers who were played a part in the RTC workouts that saw easy money and got into the mortgage business. They were purchasing performing loans for cents on the dollar. No one was defaulting on their loans. He77, I remember one guy telling me that he purchased his own loan (mortgage on his house) from a defaulted bank for 60 cents on the dollar. If you are privileged and in the know, you can make money. Joe the Plumber (or Professional) isn’t part of that group.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    Romney announces he will not run for president in 2016.

    From my perspective, Romney is accomplished, smart, dedicated, earnest, and competent. All qualities that Americans have almost never wanted in their president.

    He does have faults: For all of his wealth, he isn’t nearly selfish enough: If people don’t want you to lead them or provide for them (except to write checks), then DON’T. If I had his money, title, and family, there’s no f’ing way I’d give any of that up to run this mess of a country. For someone like Mitt, being president is a demotion.

  48. grim says:

    Plumbers love remodeling with pex.

    They tear the copper out and stop at the scrap yard for beer money on the way back to the shop.

  49. Juice Box says:

    When the Avalon burned to the ground the 1st time back in August 2000 it was ruptured gas line that caused the massive inferno. Don’t know what happened this time to cause it to spread so fast but it could be gas again. Sue the gas company…

  50. Toxic Crayons says:

    46 – I had a friend help me once who had an acetylene torch. Made it look easy.

    The work I did myself I used MAPP gas, and a bernzomatic torch. Supposedly the MAPP gas is better than plain old propane.

    Still, if I have the misfortune of having to do repair work again in the middle of the night I’m opting for those push connectors.

    http://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings-Push-to-connect-Fittings-Connectors/N-5yc1vZbux3

  51. Toxic Crayons says:

    There’s also that massive gun control bill he signed as Governor and the whole Romneycare thing. I’m surprised you like him at all.

    Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:
    January 30, 2015 at 11:28 am
    Romney announces he will not run for president in 2016.

    From my perspective, Romney is accomplished, smart, dedicated, earnest, and competent. All qualities that Americans have almost never wanted in their president.

    He does have faults: For all of his wealth, he isn’t nearly selfish enough: If people don’t want you to lead them or provide for them (except to write checks), then DON’T. If I had his money, title, and family, there’s no f’ing way I’d give any of that up to run this mess of a country. For someone like Mitt, being president is a demotion.

  52. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Ok, I spoke to my brother. My mistake. I was confused. He says you don’t need to use a torch, but rather some copper crimp tool. I think it’s called pro-grip or something like that. I have to ask him the details, but he is busy working right now.

    grim says:
    January 30, 2015 at 11:20 am
    Magic torch? If you are working with copper you are using a torch, period.

    Most plumbers use acetylene torches. They are faster than propane torches. If you’ve ever seen anyone try to sweat a pipe using a shit benzomatic torch you’d realize why plumbers don’t use propane/butane, you need to sit there heating the pipe up for a good minute, or more. Acetylene, zip zip, hot and fast.

    Also, any good plumber doing a repair is going to drain the pipes before trying to repair. Idiot plumbers don’t, and they spend minutes heating up pipe and causing any water in the piping to absorb heat and boil. Makes for a repair that takes long, and a shit joint

  53. jcer says:

    I like to tell my Democrook friends the thing I liked about Romney was in all likelihood he wasn’t going to touch social issues. He seemed to me to be centrist and pragmatic, at least from his time as governor in MA and his career at Bain. Also I think he’s pretty much a capitalist above all else and would have sold his mother to make a buck, capitalism I think trumps religion for him. The telling thing about the past 4 terms of president is that neither Bush nor Obama have ever really worked a job, the people in the oval office are so out of touch with how business and the world works it is astounding. Neither Obama or Bush has ever really held a real job, one a failed businessman set up by daddy, the other a community organizer(whatever that is) and pretend law professor/author? I wouldn’t trust either of those guys to run a gas station yet somehow we’ve entrusted them to run the executive branch of the greatest country in the world.

  54. Fast Eddie says:

    From my perspective, Romney is accomplished, smart, dedicated, earnest, and competent. All qualities that Americans have almost never wanted in their president.

    Just the appearance of leadeship qualities in the guy made me vote for him. Everyone clamors for the perfect candidate but I want someone that at least has some sort of resume. The f.uck we have now is just a complete conman and a disaster. Hey, I didn’t vote for Clinton and he angerd me at times with his bulls1t empathy but the guy had leadership qualities. What angers me the most about this piece of sh1t in office is the fact that Amerikans have really become so f.ucking stup1d to be fooled not once, but twice!

  55. Grims overreacts says:

    Grim, you are over reacting and not taking into account the area.

    By area, I mean just a little bit north of Hudson County. Edgewater for all practical purposes is a run by and for the interest of developers. Daibes Bros being one the bigger fishes. You are naive to think Avalon Properties does not adapt and play to the local level.

    Just look west where the Calabrese family has ran Cliffside Park and its real estate fiefdom, or the newly nascent Sokolich little twin slowly developing north in Fort Lee.
    Or south into Hudson County proper along River Road in North Bergen with State Senator & Mayor Sacco having over ten underlings indicted, found guilty and gone to jail, but never spilled and contaminated on him, Sacco is rumored to have a great hazard pay package for his people. Or Weehawken, where the late Arthur Imperatore, owner of APA Trucking, the only non-unionized trucking outfit until the late 90’s in NJ, until the Feds took over the Teamsters in mid-90’s, was the main developer, and one of his son-in-law is a town councilman in Fort Lee.

    Tougher standards are needed, because the local crooks will go to the minimum and then take a little bit more off. Years ago there was a development on the Union City/Jersey City border that “looked” like it had sprinklers. A few years later, an insurance company try to test them and the whole system was fake with sprinkler heads just dotting from the ceiling.

  56. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [50] Comrade

    Too bad Romney isn’t running. With all the bi-partisan crap or lack thereof that’s seems to be the norm in DC, we need someone in the White House who can work around rules and get things done. Mitt didn’t sit on his hands after losing in his presidential runs, he just went back to making money. There is no denying he is a successful businessman.
    ———
    Mitt Romney Has a Huge New Conflict-of-Interest Problem

    In 2012, Mitt Romney’s career as a businessman who earned many millions of dollars became a net loss, as political foes slammed him for running Bain Capital, a private equity firm that invested in US companies that downsized and shifted jobs overseas and that obtained financial stakes in foreign companies that depended on US outsourcing for profits. At the same time, Romney, who refused to do a full release of his tax returns, was hit with questions (he didn’t answer) about mysterious personal investments in offshore accounts. Should he mount a third presidential effort, as he has told GOP funders he is considering, all of these issues are likely to return. But there’s another matter that will be be added to the pile of financial controversies for Romney to face: Solamere Capital, the $700 million private equity firm cofounded by his son Taggart that Romney has helped run since March 2013. Who has Romney been investing with, and what has he been investing in? These are questions that Romney 2016 will confront and that, no doubt, the firm will not want to answer.

    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/mitt-romney-new-private-equity-problem-solamere-capital

  57. Grims overreacts says:

    grim unmod me

  58. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    I couldn’t agree more.

    [56] jcer
    The telling thing about the past 4 terms of president is that neither Bush nor Obama have ever really worked a job, the people in the oval office are so out of touch with how business and the world works it is astounding. Neither Obama or Bush has ever really held a real job, one a failed businessman set up by daddy, the other a community organizer(whatever that is) and pretend law professor/author?

  59. Xolepa says:

    I torch my copper using Mapp gas. Better than the stock stuff, but not acytelene, which I don’t need because I don’t do it often enough. And Snake bites are unreliable.

    BTW, in NJ, the guy doing the job does not have to be licensed. Only the owner has to have it. Same for electricity. They will not change that because there will be no one out in the field to do the job anymore.

  60. Xolepa says:

    excuse me, Snake bites = Shark bits

  61. Juice Box says:

    re # 54 – Who really wants another draft dodging war monger in the White House? Romney has never served or sent a single son, much less four or five of them, to war. The commander in chief of the most powerful military this world has ever seen should have more skin in the game.

  62. JJ says:

    just had some free shake shack burgers outside NYSE> Cool

  63. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [63] Juice Box

    I thought only the baby Boomers cared about military experience? Not so sure it matters to people as much today. Especially considering that the latest candidate have all have significant money that they wouldn’t have that experience.

    I wonder when we will see the first Manchurian candidate who served in Afghanistan / Iraq run for President? Will probably run for Congress/Senate first then make the run.

  64. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [64] JJ

    Really? I’m walking down there now.

  65. JJ says:

    Licensed contractors do not come back and do free repairs. Other issue with them out by me when they pull permits and get COs every crook comes in for a fee. Then the tax assessor gets ahold of it and raises your taxes.

    Most licensed guys know this and the last few I used never filed permits. So no inspector checked their work so no clue if it was right.

    Also they have this thing with engineers or design professionals when you move walls that really jacks up prices.

    Right now there are folks who did the right thing after Sandy and hired all licensed folks and took out all permits got all inspections as they had insurance so why not do it right. They are starting to get slammed with higher property tax one by one. The system is rigged.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    January 30, 2015 at 11:21 am
    Hey, you want to take the risk and be responsible for unlicensed work, so be it. Understand that it is cheaper because if anything goes wrong, you will be getting sued as opposed to the licensed contractor. Also, if the guy messes up the job bad, do not expect to ever hear from them again. You will end up costing yourself two or three times the cost of the original licensed estimate. Also, you never realize how bad they messed up your house until years later down the line. Then you will realize what the cheap route got you.

  66. Hughesrep says:

    62

    Shark bites work well, don’t think you can put them in a wall by code though.

    Pex works well for anything less than 1″, it’s not as pliable bigger than that.

    The polybutylene fiasco was due to the fittings, they were cracking. Pipe was fine, but it caused lots of problems, especially in the mobile home industry.

    Press fittings are the way to go. Propress, Viega, etc. most copper fitting manufacturers make them. Cheap plumbers don’t like them because they require an expensive mechanical tool. They are shortsighted. Pays for itself in a couple of jobs. You also know immediately if you have a leak. I’ve had a lot of calls about my press line the last few weeks.

    If there is any brass involved in sweating, such as a valve, the new lead free laws have changed the type of soldering you need to do. You need a higher temperature to make a good joint. Propane probably won’t cut it.

    The guys at Avalon weren’t plumbers, they were maintenance guys. The original plumbers was a union contractor, but one known for being liberal with the rules and paying everyone accordingly.

    And all new gas lines underground is run with HDPE plastic.

  67. Libturd at home says:

    Shake Shack is complete Hipster. I’ve had them five times (3 times at CitiField) and to this day don’t know what the attraction is. Sure it’s better than BK and MCD, but then again, so is White Castle.

    Check out the TNX…$1.67?

    Speaking of these wooden apartment structures, I was remarking with Lisa about a week before the fire how I thought those buildings were huge fire dangers. When did we stop pouring cement above the first floor? I hate apartments as it is, though it seems that is all that is being built these days. Everywhere you look, these massive wood over cement structures are sprouting up and with great density. Worst of all, they are ugly as sin and as these buildings age, what should have been the nice patina of aging brick and cement will now be replaced by bubbling and warping veneers of krap.

  68. jcer says:

    JJ is actually on the money a lot of licensed guys like to do smaller jobs sans permit or on the side. They know that they can knock it out in a few hours, collect their money and not deal with the idiots working in municipal building departments. Do some small electrical work or plumbing work and see if the tradesman wants to pull permits, often they don’t. Now for larger work they tend to pull permits, unless you get a guy working off the books on the weekend. JJ is also right that licensed and permitted does not mean the work is good and if they have to come back 6 months or a year later they will charge you. Now if you really don’t know what you are looking at you could wind up getting a non compliant job which could really cost you down the line. If you have any construction background the risk is relatively small depending on what you save.

  69. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [64] JJ

    Too long of a line for an average burger. The “Occupy Wall Street With Jesus” guy was funny.

  70. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Okay, my brother just got in touch with me and said it’s called pro press no torch.

  71. The Great Pumpkin says:

    73- He said the tools are expensive as hell, but this is the way to go. I’m not sure if I heard him correctly, but I think he said it costs like 4,000 for the press. Or something like that. Don’t quote me on that.

  72. jcer says:

    69. Bingo we have the glue sniffing maintenance guys at an apartment complex operating a torch doing plumbing. I saw that one coming, building maintenance in rental buildings seem to do all kinds of things they should have no business doing, things a condo complex would not allow maintenance to do. I am partial as a DIY to use the PEX clamps with the clamping tool, seems to be pretty reliable in my limited experience.

    Union plumbers are a scam, I saw in my neighbors place the job done by the union plumbers. It shouldn’t have passed inspection, even I knew that the way the pex was done didn’t comply with the manufacturers recommendation. Very sloppy, pipes not braced at all, it was no wonder the hammer caused the fitting to come detached. I think the original plumber came back to fix it a $500 dollar call to the plumber and 20k in water damage.

  73. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Like I said, sure you are saving money, but understand that major risk comes with that. That’s why you are saving money. It’s as simple as that. You just haven’t been burned yet, so you don’t know any better. You might never be burned, but if you do get burned, you will never use some hacker off the street. Believe me, if they are doing it cheap, they are a hacker. No doubt about it. That’s why they are doing it cheap. They can only attract jobs by suckering in people on price. They are not getting hired based on previous quality work or experience. They are saying, give me that job because I will do it for almost nothing. Now ask yourself why they are willing to do it so cheap? There’s always a catch!! You just haven’t been screwed over yet.

    JJ says:
    January 30, 2015 at 12:19 pm
    Licensed contractors do not come back and do free repairs. Other issue with them out by me when they pull permits and get COs every crook comes in for a fee. Then the tax assessor gets ahold of it and raises your taxes.

    Most licensed guys know this and the last few I used never filed permits. So no inspector checked their work so no clue if it was right.

    Also they have this thing with engineers or design professionals when you move walls that really jacks up prices.

    Right now there are folks who did the right thing after Sandy and hired all licensed folks and took out all permits got all inspections as they had insurance so why not do it right. They are starting to get slammed with higher property tax one by one. The system is rigged.

  74. Toxic Crayons says:

    Can’t a person in NJ get a certification that allows them to work as an apartment maintenance person and do apartment plumbing and electrical repairs? Why is NJ.com saying they were “unlicensed” plumbers? Did they not have this certification?

  75. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yes, exactly why my brother called them hacks.

    “The guys at Avalon weren’t plumbers, they were maintenance guys. The original plumbers was a union contractor, but one known for being liberal with the rules and paying everyone accordingly.”

  76. Toxic Crayons says:

    http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/01/construction_work_to_ramp_up_at_american_dream_in.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

    HACKENSACK — Triple Five Vice President Tony Armlin gave a status update on American Dream Meadowlands on Wednesday at a meeting of the Bergen County Freeholders, saying the number of construction workers at the site will increase from 200 to 2,000 by next year, the Record reported.

    Armlin also said workers would cover the multi-colored exterior with gray and white by the fall.

    Up to $800 million in bonds to go toward construction costs could be issued by June, once construction contracts are completed, Armlin said. But East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella told the Record after the meeting he couldn’t guarantee that the Borough Council would approve its $524 million share of the bond issue.

    Members of the council have asked for guarantees that the borough won’t face any risk in the deal.

    Triple Five, the developer of the mall and entertainment complex, has claimed in brochures handed out to retail executives that retailers like FAO Schwartz, Victoria’s Secret and Gap plan to lease space. The $2 billion project also includes an indoor water park, aquarium, amusement park and Imax theaters.

    The developer projects 40 million people will visit each year. American Dream is scheduled to open in fall 2016.

  77. grim says:

    79 – April Fools!

    Too early?

  78. Toxic Crayons says:

    Attkisson: Obama Officials ‘Bully and Threaten’ Journalists, Free Press

    http://www.mrctv.org/videos/sharyl-attkissons-testimony-loretta-lynchs-confirmation-hearing

  79. Toxic Crayons says:

    http://www.sharkbite.com/faqs/

    Sharkbite says their fittings are “certified” for use in concealed walls and for underground use. Maybe some local codes prohibit their use in concealed walls?

  80. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Fast eddie, would you be interested in wayne? This is a great buy. They just dropped the price 100,000 to 569,000. They updated the house not too long ago. It’s def turn-key at a great price. It’s a double yellow road, but it’s not busy, it’s just a county road.

    http://www.zillow.com/homes/118-colfax-rd-wayne-nj_rb/

  81. Libturd at home says:

    PF,

    You own multiple properties, right? You are crazy if you are willing to pull permits and use the expensive guys to do any renos or repairs. They are making mint off of suckers with no experience/knowledge. The same guys are hired by contractors doing new construction for 1/2 to 1/4 of what the sucker will pay. Trust me, I know. And paying more has absolutely no impact on the quality of the work. I know, I’ve experienced it first hand. in 2005, I had two bathrooms redone and got quotes from three top local guys. Their work sucked, but it didn’t matter as they had endless jobs during the housing bubble. In 2011, I virtually renovated my whole house for what I paid to do those two bathrooms from a cheapo contractor. Work was mediocre, but better than those overpriced pros. In 2011, my buddy was killing to find jobs. Those old pros were still buzzing along ripping off the wealthier Montclair and Glen Ridge folk.

  82. grim says:

    My DIY work is better than 90% of the contractors in NJ.

  83. grim says:

    I also think that most everyone in NJ has no idea that “licensed contractor” applies to the owner of the business, and not the guys working for him. In many cases, the guy doing to the work could be completely green. They almost always don’t have licenses, because if they did, they’d be working on their own.

    The guy in the spotless F-150 with his name on the side, the one that never once picked up a hammer, yeah, he’s the “licensed contractor”. Manuel and Jose, the guys who actually know how to do the work, are not.

    Usually the people I hear justifying it, are the folks that got suckered into paying big bucks so that mr contractor could afford his $50,000 King Ranch pickup.

  84. Libturd at home says:

    Like that plumber I once used in an emergency who drove the yellow Lamborghini. He had to have 20 people working for him. Though in this case, the work was good and I was impressed that he actually stopped by to inspect the work his green thumbs performed. Though it was a relatively simple job. Fixing the damper on an old furnace.

  85. Juice Box says:

    re # 86 – When things were hot in 2006 most of those contractors up sized to the Hummer H-2.

  86. Libturd at home says:

    Of course, I could have done it myself, but I never suspected that the motor for the damper was the cause of the lack of ignition. Those things are stupidly expensive too.

  87. jcer says:

    86, Grim it’s always the apprentice or worse Manuel and Jose. Even our Polish contractors are using Manuel and Jose, the Poles are too expensive now. The polish guys do all the finish carpentry, really good craftsmen, they can make anything from wood. You’ll find the best subs working for the high end luxury home builders, they don’t like dealing with home owners and want the big jobs they can finish quickly. Most licensed contractors are hacks, Pumpkin the only thing you have right is if you are doing significant electrical and plumbing you want someone who is good, licensed or not or you’ll having nothing but problems.

  88. Libturd at home says:

    Actually, I’ve become a bit of an expert with the steam furnace after three different calls over the years to overpriced plumbers. The worst was that little pigtail on the front. I think I paid $200 to have a clogged pigtail replaced. He said he could have easily cleaned it out, but considering what his service cost was, he would replace it for free. What a doll. Repair took 3 minutes. This past week, I proudly wired an external transformer to create a common power supply to wire up a new thermostat that has wifi. I’m sure an electrician would have charged $300 for the job. It was real easy since I could use the existing thermostat wires to pull through the new 5 way cable. Was robbed blind at the local hardware store for the wire, but didn’t want to drive the 40 minute round trip to the HD to save $10. Bought a $100 Honeywell. I can program a thermostat just fine so I wasn’t going to spring for the Nest. Plus, I would have had to paint and spackle to cover the holes in my plaster that were behind the old thermostat. Best of all, when the power goes out, I can plug the external transformer into the generator circuit and I’ll still have heat. Try doing that Nest owners. Unless of course it’s wired to steal power off the furnace transformer. I wasn’t keen on putting any extra load on my old furnace transformer, so went the external route. Now if I was Passion Fruit, I should have paid some electrician $300 to do the job. I wish I had his kind of dough.

  89. Fast Eddie says:

    I wish I had his kind of dough.

    Maybe grandma will give you the money. :)

  90. Libturd at home says:

    After she sells that house in Wayne maybe.

  91. Ragnar says:

    Libturd,
    Maybe I can hire you to do my home repairs on weekends. Then you can buy a pickup truck too. But if you want a Hummer, you’ll have to ask Pumpkin.

  92. Liquor Luge says:

    Grim, don’t make April Fool jokes now. What if the planet doesn’t make it to 4/1?

  93. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Wow, pretty biased over here. You have no problem with other businesses making money, but because it’s a “trade” business, they can’t make money. Wow, just wow.

    Just look at what these white collar businesses charge. A lawyer charges how much for a signature? Doctor charges how much for a signature? Dentist charges how much? All three of these fields have cheap help that does all the work. Dentist doesn’t clean your teeth, assistant does. Lawyer doesn’t prepare all the paper work, the secretary does. Doctor comes in after assistant has done all the grunt work.

    Let’s not even get into the bankers or the financial consultants and what they charge.

    At least a plumber comes to your house and does some very dirty work. When was the last time a dentist, lawyer, or doctor come to your house? How much would it cost for them to come to your house. You know the lawyer charges by the minute, God knows what the bill would say.

    Libturd at home says:
    January 30, 2015 at 2:29 pm
    Actually, I’ve become a bit of an expert with the steam furnace after three different calls over the years to overpriced plumbers. The worst was that little pigtail on the front. I think I paid $200 to have a clogged pigtail replaced. He said he could have easily cleaned it out, but considering what his service cost was, he would replace it for free. What a doll. Repair took 3 minutes. This past week, I proudly wired an external transformer to create a common power supply to wire up a new thermostat that has wifi. I’m sure an electrician would have charged $300 for the job. It was real easy since I could use the existing thermostat wires to pull through the new 5 way cable. Was robbed blind at the local hardware store for the wire, but didn’t want to drive the 40 minute round trip to the HD to save $10. Bought a $100 Honeywell. I can program a thermostat just fine so I wasn’t going to spring for the Nest. Plus, I would have had to paint and spackle to cover the holes in my plaster that were behind the old thermostat. Best of all, when the power goes out, I can plug the external transformer into the generator circuit and I’ll still have heat. Try doing that Nest owners. Unless of course it’s wired to steal power off the furnace transformer. I wasn’t keen on putting any extra load on my old furnace transformer, so went the external route. Now if I was Passion Fruit, I should have paid some electrician $300 to do the job. I wish I had his kind of dough.

  94. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Don’t use those guys. Get the licensed plumber who does the work himself. Those are the real plumbers. Going to some cheap slave driving contractor is just asking for trouble. He is highering hackers, hence the work will be a “hack” job.

    jcer says:
    January 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm
    86, Grim it’s always the apprentice or worse Manuel and Jose. Even our Polish contractors are using Manuel and Jose, the Poles are too expensive now. The polish guys do all the finish carpentry, really good craftsmen, they can make anything from wood. You’ll find the best subs working for the high end luxury home builders, they don’t like dealing with home owners and want the big jobs they can finish quickly. Most licensed contractors are hacks, Pumpkin the only thing you have right is if you are doing significant electrical and plumbing you want someone who is good, licensed or not or you’ll having nothing but problems.

  95. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Lib, you are good with your hands. Most are not these days. Doing it themselves will just lead to major problems. The older generations were handy, not the new generation.

    Libturd at home says:
    January 30, 2015 at 2:29 pm
    Actually, I’ve become a bit of an expert with the steam furnace after three different calls over the years to overpriced plumbers. The worst was that little pigtail on the front. I think I paid $200 to have a clogged pigtail replaced. He said he could have easily cleaned it out, but considering what his service cost was, he would replace it for free. What a doll. Repair took 3 minutes. This past week, I proudly wired an external transformer to create a common power supply to wire up a new thermostat that has wifi. I’m sure an electrician would have charged $300 for the job. It was real easy since I could use the existing thermostat wires to pull through the new 5 way cable. Was robbed blind at the local hardware store for the wire, but didn’t want to drive the 40 minute round trip to the HD to save $10. Bought a $100 Honeywell. I can program a thermostat just fine so I wasn’t going to spring for the Nest. Plus, I would have had to paint and spackle to cover the holes in my plaster that were behind the old thermostat. Best of all, when the power goes out, I can plug the external transformer into the generator circuit and I’ll still have heat. Try doing that Nest owners. Unless of course it’s wired to steal power off the furnace transformer. I wasn’t keen on putting any extra load on my old furnace transformer, so went the external route. Now if I was Passion Fruit, I should have paid some electrician $300 to do the job. I wish I had his kind of dough.

  96. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I don’t even want to say this, but I’m an honest man. I really don’t pay for labor when it comes to doing repairs. It pays to know people. Now I’m going to get trashed by certain individuals.

  97. homeboken says:

    Re 99: The Great Pumpkin says:
    January 30, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    There is zero reason to state that, we all know your M.O. already. Everyone else should be top dollar for repairs, or homes or for employee wages. But you deserve discounted houses and free trade-labor all from family members benevolence.

    The value of your opinions is nil.

  98. JJ says:

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid eight basis points Friday to 1.673%, according to Tradeweb, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury hit an all-time low, down 7.5 basis points to 2.243%. Yields fall as bond prices rise.

  99. chicagofinance says:

    I am sure that he didn’t even earn his first hummer…..I’m sure his grandmother set it up for him……

    Ragnar says:
    January 30, 2015 at 2:40 pm
    Libturd,
    Maybe I can hire you to do my home repairs on weekends. Then you can buy a pickup truck too. But if you want a Hummer, you’ll have to ask Pumpkin.

  100. jcer says:

    96 here is the difference, I’m taking a huge risk with my health by using a discount doctor or dentist and making a potentially huge liability for myself by using a bad lawyer. With plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and carpenters I know enough about what they do to know if the person I’m using is any good, so I CAN and WILL shop price. With Doctors, Dentists, or Lawyers I don’t know how to do their jobs so i don’t know if I am getting good work or I’m going to drop dead. I have no problem with trades people it’s just that I’m not going to get ripped off. My uncle was an electrician as was my grandfather and when they were alive they did a lot of work in my parents house, I saw it first hand and have a pretty good handle on electrical work. So I am not going to get sent to the cleaners, I can either do it myself or find a union guy who will do it on the weekend for extra cash. We’ve even moved some plumbing using PEX at my parents shore house by ourselves….without a permit. Guess what it’s been 7 years and never an issue, so I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as you think. Yes sometimes it pays to hire a pro and sometimes if you know people in the trade it is even better. For the rest of us statistically we are probably as likely to mess up as some of the so called “Pros”. I don’t know about you but a doctor needs to be smart and has had to take a considerable amount of education, comparing their rates to a plumber or a mechanic is not really equivalent. A plumber of a mechanic has very valuable skills and training but it should not be in the same ballpark. As for lawyers, they are crooks, unfortunately you have no option so you will be billed out the eyeballs.

  101. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realmj says:

    [105] jcer

    “As for lawyers, they are crooks, unfortunately you have no option so you will be billed out the eyeballs.”

    Well, that’s a gross generalization. And an unfair one. Think you’re getting boned on a bill? Get a second opinion.

  102. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Lib was questioning who did repairs for my properties. So I gave an answer.

    homeboken says:
    January 30, 2015 at 4:16 pm
    Re 99: The Great Pumpkin says:
    January 30, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    There is zero reason to state that, we all know your M.O. already. Everyone else should be top dollar for repairs, or homes or for employee wages. But you deserve discounted houses and free trade-labor all from family members benevolence.

    The value of your opinions is nil.

  103. Liquor Luge says:

    Punkinhead (99)-

    This is a 100% tell that the person you’re dealing with is a crook.

    “I don’t even want to say this, but I’m an honest man.”

  104. Liquor Luge says:

    Chi (103)-

    More likely, she performed the task herself.

    “I am sure that he didn’t even earn his first hummer…..I’m sure his grandmother set it up for him……”

  105. Liquor Luge says:

    Punkinhead, should we construe any of your above statements as a sort of coded message in which you’re trying to tell us your forehead is suitable to use as a hammer?

  106. chicagofinance says:

    “The most painful outcome, but perhaps also the best, would be a forced Greek exit from the eurozone that serves as a dramatic warning to the rest of Europe’s lackluster reformers about what happens to countries that take their economics lessons from the op-ed page of the New York Times.”

    By BRET STEPHENS

    Whenever I think of Greece and its economy, I can’t help but recall the stool-sample story.

    Sorry to begin on a sc^tological note, but here’s a revealing tale about a country that, by electing the radical left-wing Syriza party over the weekend, just voted itself down the toilet. In 2011, Greek entrepreneur Fotis Antonopoulos and his partners decided to start OliveShop.com, an online store specializing in organic olive-oil products.

    Before they could start their business, they first needed the right paperwork. As recounted in the Greek newspaper e-Kathimerini, authorizations were required from the government tax office, the local municipality, the fire department. Also the bank, which insisted that the entire website be in Greek—and only in Greek—despite Mr. Antonopoulos’s attempts to explain that he intended to market his products to foreign customers.

    And then there was the health department, which informed Mr. Antonopoulos that company shareholders would be required to furnish chest X-rays and, yes, stool samples. Greece has standards, you know.

    It took OliveShop.com 10 months to get all the right stamps, certificates and signoffs. The problem with the bank was resolved only when Mr. Antonopoulos opted for PayPal instead. Registering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, by contrast, took him all of 24 hours and one five-minute digital form.

    The stool story is a useful reminder that, when it comes to understanding the economic life of a nation, it’s worth looking at the micro-side first. As told in the pages of most Western newspapers, Greece’s economy is best measured in debt-to-GDP ratios (174.9% in 2014), external debt (still north of €400 billion), bond yields (9.3% on the 10-year) and so on.

    These are all useful data points, assuming you know how to draw the right conclusions. But the study of economics—the word derives from the Greek oikos, meaning “house,” plus nemein, meaning “manage,” to form oikonomia, or “household management”—needs to start with the basics. Like: What does it take to start a business in Greece? What does it take just to get by?

    The OliveShop tale is a case study in what it takes to start a business legally. Yet the whole purpose of these peculiar regulatory roadblocks is to create opportunities to grease the skids with a fakellaki—the little envelope, stuffed with cash—that gets you the necessary certificate, or the government contract, or the timely medical appointment. When I interviewed Syriza leader (now Prime Minister) Alexis Tsipras in New York two years ago, his first question to me was: “Here in the United States, why do you not have this phenomenon of passing money under the table?”

    My answer was that you’re less likely to seek a bribe if you can make an honest profit instead: Capitalism is the only real cure for corruption. Mr. Tsipras demurred, arguing that what was really necessary was a “revolution in conscience.” Good luck to him with that.

    The reality of Greece—and the one that now confronts Mr. Tsipras—is that the country has been playing economic make-believe for decades. The state offers national health insurance: People then pay bribes in order to obtain treatment. The state imposes stiff tax rates to comply with the expectations of Brussels or the demands of the International Monetary Fund: People then figure out how to evade their taxes. The state makes a show of maintaining a First World regulatory architecture: The regulations are subverted through bribery, misreporting and other fixes.

    How do people get by? They cheat. That cheating is less a moral indictment of the cheaters individually, or of the character of the Greeks generally, than it is of the system that gives normal people no other good choice if they want to survive.

    ***
    Margaret Thatcher once quipped that the problem with soc!alism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money. For Greece, “eventually” took an especially long time, since it always found a way of freeloading off of someone else: Washington, after the Truman Doctrine was declared in 1947; Brussels, after it joined the European Community in 1981; Frankfurt, after it lied its way into the eurozone in 2001; Berlin, after the onset of the euro crisis in 2010.

    Now the game might at last be up. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made it clear that she will not allow Athens to renegotiate the terms of its bailout, which is what Mr. Tsipras had been counting on in the conceit that the EU would never let Greece fail. A bad bet.

    Mr. Tsipras will now have to choose between buckling to the demands of his paymasters, doubling down on soc!alism, finding another rescuer (maybe China, since Russia is no longer available), or belatedly discovering the virtues of free markets that allow the rule of law to take root.

    My guess is that Mr. Tsipras will find a face-saving way to buckle, and Greece will continue to stagger along. The most painful outcome, but perhaps also the best, would be a forced Greek exit from the eurozone that serves as a dramatic warning to the rest of Europe’s lackluster reformers about what happens to countries that take their economics lessons from the op-ed page of the New York Times.

    The vote for Mr. Tsipras and his radical leftists is Greece’s final flight from reality. Elections have consequences. The Greeks are about to discover theirs.

  107. Liquor Luge says:

    The Greeks are so stupid and corrupt, they don’t realize they’d prolly have one of Urrp’s most dynamic economies within months of defaulting.

  108. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I agree with what you are saying. I was just trying to make a point. I understand doctors are dealing with human beings and can’t mess up, so they deserve what they get. I don’t think plumbers should get paid as much as doctors.

    Basically, I’m stating that if you are the complete opposite of handy, don’t go the cheap route. You will regret it. If you don’t know how to fix cars, don’t go the cheap route and get a used car, you are taking on too much risk and will regret it.

    jcer says:
    January 30, 2015 at 5:40 pm
    96 here is the difference, I’m taking a huge risk with my health by using a discount doctor or dentist and making a potentially huge liability for myself by using a bad lawyer. With plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and carpenters I know enough about what they do to know if the person I’m using is any good, so I CAN and WILL shop price. With Doctors, Dentists, or Lawyers I don’t know how to do their jobs so i don’t know if I am getting good work or I’m going to drop dead. I have no problem with trades people it’s just that I’m not going to get ripped off. My uncle was an electrician as was my grandfather and when they were alive they did a lot of work in my parents house, I saw it first hand and have a pretty good handle on electrical work. So I am not going to get sent to the cleaners, I can either do it myself or find a union guy who will do it on the weekend for extra cash. We’ve even moved some plumbing using PEX at my parents shore house by ourselves….without a permit. Guess what it’s been 7 years and never an issue, so I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as you think. Yes sometimes it pays to hire a pro and sometimes if you know people in the trade it is even better. For the rest of us statistically we are probably as likely to mess up as some of the so called “Pros”. I don’t know about you but a doctor needs to be smart and has had to take a considerable amount of education, comparing their rates to a plumber or a mechanic is not really equivalent. A plumber of a mechanic has very valuable skills and training but it should not be in the same ballpark. As for lawyers, they are crooks, unfortunately you have no option so you will be billed out the eyeballs.

  109. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I agree, but only when they are trying to sell you something. I’m not trying to sell anything. I made that comment because I know people are on this board. I live with the “grandma discount” on a daily basis here. That is why I stated that post the way I did.

    Liquor Luge says:
    January 30, 2015 at 6:13 pm
    Punkinhead (99)-

    This is a 100% tell that the person you’re dealing with is a crook.

    “I don’t even want to say this, but I’m an honest man.”

  110. The Great Pumpkin says:

    115- * I know how people are on this board

  111. The Great Pumpkin says:

    114- A lot of people n this board are of the old generation where everyone was “handy”. New generation knows nothing about being handy. That is why I’m stating to not go the cheap route. I have heard so many horror stories. If you are handy, then by all means go the cheap route. You will know if the guy is messing your house up or doing a good job. Go ask the avg person if they know what a good piping or wiring job looks like, they have no clue. Going the cheap route for these people is just asking for trouble. They won’t even know what to do when a pipe bursts. They will just watch the water fill up and destroy their home. Not worth the risk at all. Go with the 100% guaranteed job that is more money.

  112. Liquor Luge says:

    Punkinhead (115)-

    What about the inane line of bullshit you keep flacking here on a daily basis?

    “I agree, but only when they are trying to sell you something. I’m not trying to sell anything.”

  113. Liquor Luge says:

    Punkinhead (115)-

    Just tell us how many times granny let gramps take your ass, and I promise to lay off you.

    “I live with the “grandma discount” on a daily basis here. That is why I stated that post the way I did.”

  114. Liquor Luge says:

    Good God, I’m trying to engage with a complete cipher. Time to drink some more.

  115. joyce says:

    Used car salesmen are crooks too.

    Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realmj says:
    January 30, 2015 at 5:48 pm
    [105] jcer

    “As for lawyers, they are crooks, unfortunately you have no option so you will be billed out the eyeballs.”

    Well, that’s a gross generalization. And an unfair one. Think you’re getting boned on a bill? Get a second opinion.

  116. joyce says:

    All of a sudden “licensed” = 100% guaranteed?

    Please… grim… please. do what’s necessary

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