Lowball – May/June 2008

Welcome to another edition of Lowball!

Lowball! takes a look at home sales from a different perspective. For those new to Lowball!, a lowball offer is when a buyer offers a significantly lower bid than asking in hopes that the seller accepts the offer. We take a list of home sales from the past month and pick out the sales that have the highest percentage difference between original list price and selling price.

To keep the list length reasonable, we’re going to use 15% as the minimum percentage off last list price to be considered a Lowball! Date range was 5/15-6/22, source GSMLS.

Key
MLS – The Listing ID Number
OLP – Original List Price
LP – Last List Price
SP – Sale Price
% off OLP – The difference between the OLP and SP
% off LP – The difference between LP and SP

Caveat Emptor!

MLS# Town OLP LP SP % off OLP % off LP
2445376 Irvington $185,000 $185,000 $115,000 37.8% 37.8%
2399347 Hillside $235,000 $235,000 $150,000 36.2% 36.2%
2496748 East Orange $179,999 $179,999 $120,000 33.3% 33.3%
2393054 Paterson $275,000 $174,900 $120,000 56.4% 31.4%
2489363 West Milford $49,900 $49,900 $35,000 29.9% 29.9%
2408448 Wyckoff $499,900 $399,000 $286,400 42.7% 28.2%
2489049 Vernon $124,900 $124,900 $90,000 27.9% 27.9%
2447807 Denville $424,900 $349,000 $251,500 40.8% 27.9%
2471176 Irvington $186,000 $167,400 $128,000 31.2% 23.5%
2429468 Elizabeth $249,000 $198,000 $152,000 39.0% 23.2%
2428373 Fairfield $339,000 $299,000 $230,000 32.2% 23.1%
2495996 Waldwick $485,500 $485,500 $375,000 22.8% 22.8%
2439337 Millburn $555,000 $555,000 $432,000 22.2% 22.2%
2502706 Linden $639,900 $639,900 $500,000 21.9% 21.9%
2489654 Pompton Lakes $475,000 $459,000 $360,000 24.2% 21.6%
2224253 North Haledon $950,000 $950,000 $750,000 21.1% 21.1%
2453443 Boonton Town $399,000 $399,000 $315,000 21.1% 21.1%
2421292 City Of Orange $359,999 $289,900 $230,000 36.1% 20.7%
2443948 Newark $113,000 $113,000 $90,000 20.4% 20.4%
2485346 Mendham $5,250,000 $5,250,000 $4,190,000 20.2% 20.2%
2471673 Bernards $450,000 $500,000 $400,000 11.1% 20.0%
2448566 Clifton $305,000 $249,900 $200,000 34.4% 20.0%
2460071 Hopatcong $225,000 $179,900 $144,000 36.0% 20.0%
2503446 Hanover $560,000 $560,000 $450,000 19.6% 19.6%
2457470 Byram $239,000 $217,000 $175,000 26.8% 19.4%
2491120 East Orange $285,000 $285,000 $230,000 19.3% 19.3%
2480334 Mahwah $10,995,000 $10,995,000 $8,875,000 19.3% 19.3%
2506166 West Milford $139,000 $139,000 $112,500 19.1% 19.1%
2349974 Franklin $370,000 $370,000 $300,000 18.9% 18.9%
2413793 Roselle $289,000 $209,000 $170,000 41.2% 18.7%
2446157 Rockaway $675,000 $675,000 $550,000 18.5% 18.5%
2401966 Parsippany-Troy Hills $480,000 $325,000 $265,000 44.8% 18.5%
2416190 Mountain Lakes $2,345,000 $2,345,000 $1,915,000 18.3% 18.3%
2455999 Carlstadt $440,000 $440,000 $360,000 18.2% 18.2%
2496223 Wayne $324,900 $324,900 $266,000 18.1% 18.1%
2455932 Hanover $469,990 $469,990 $385,000 18.1% 18.1%
2458446 Passaic $349,000 $299,000 $245,000 29.8% 18.1%
2498374 Bernards $375,000 $365,000 $300,000 20.0% 17.8%
2505536 Linden $219,000 $219,000 $180,000 17.8% 17.8%
2465396 Clifton $255,000 $255,000 $210,000 17.6% 17.6%
2484591 East Orange $339,900 $339,900 $280,000 17.6% 17.6%
2460883 Plainfield $169,900 $84,900 $70,000 58.8% 17.6%
2472462 Wayne $48,500 $48,500 $40,000 17.5% 17.5%
2491675 Roselle $225,000 $199,900 $165,000 26.7% 17.5%
2472009 Warren $1,210,000 $1,210,000 $999,950 17.4% 17.4%
2472867 Delaware $2,975,000 $2,975,000 $2,462,500 17.2% 17.2%
2457900 Middlesex $325,000 $280,000 $232,000 28.6% 17.1%
2471028 Harding $1,869,000 $1,869,000 $1,550,000 17.1% 17.1%
2488165 Parsippany-Troy Hills $376,000 $349,000 $290,000 22.9% 16.9%
2366818 Wantage $349,900 $249,900 $208,000 40.6% 16.8%
2454633 Lodi $255,000 $210,000 $175,000 31.4% 16.7%
2442812 Raritan $499,000 $479,900 $400,000 19.8% 16.6%
2448905 Edison $359,900 $359,900 $300,000 16.6% 16.6%
2485109 Wayne $369,900 $329,900 $275,000 25.7% 16.6%
2468920 Lodi $299,900 $299,900 $250,000 16.6% 16.6%
2471565 Hawthorne $249,900 $239,900 $200,000 20.0% 16.6%
2355768 Vernon $204,900 $149,900 $125,000 39.0% 16.6%
2454880 Belleville $289,900 $289,900 $241,900 16.6% 16.6%
2474943 West Orange $315,000 $299,000 $250,000 20.6% 16.4%
2509787 Morristown $230,000 $215,000 $180,000 21.7% 16.3%
2487414 Bridgewater $429,900 $429,900 $360,000 16.3% 16.3%
2501343 Rockaway $275,000 $275,000 $231,000 16.0% 16.0%
2473355 Hillsborough $250,000 $250,000 $210,000 16.0% 16.0%
2508461 Warren $249,900 $249,900 $210,000 16.0% 16.0%
2463613 Plainfield $339,000 $339,000 $285,000 15.9% 15.9%
2480422 Newark $119,900 $99,900 $84,000 29.9% 15.9%
2425444 Hardyston $374,500 $374,500 $315,000 15.9% 15.9%
2498112 Millburn $2,850,000 $2,850,000 $2,400,000 15.8% 15.8%
2424012 East Hanover $649,000 $599,000 $505,000 22.2% 15.7%
2476549 Kenilworth $439,000 $385,000 $325,000 26.0% 15.6%
2431660 Newark $159,900 $159,900 $135,000 15.6% 15.6%
2471581 Plainfield $249,000 $225,000 $190,000 23.7% 15.6%
2479843 Lopatcong $229,900 $199,900 $169,000 26.5% 15.5%
2479206 Rahway $205,900 $195,000 $165,000 19.9% 15.4%
2408004 Roselle Park $319,000 $319,000 $270,000 15.4% 15.4%
2462011 Bridgewater $259,900 $259,900 $220,000 15.4% 15.4%
2456011 Franklin Lakes $2,950,000 $2,950,000 $2,500,000 15.3% 15.3%
2494749 Maplewood $1,295,000 $1,295,000 $1,100,000 15.1% 15.1%
2499337 Montville $1,175,000 $1,175,000 $999,000 15.0% 15.0%

If you prefer to look at Lowball from a dollar discount perspective, here you go. The cutoff is successful lowball offers of $150,000 or more off the original list price:

MLS# Town OLP LP SP % off OLP % off OLP
2480334 Mahwah $10,995,000 $10,995,000 $8,875,000 19.3% $2,120,000
2397095 Franklin Lakes $5,175,000 $4,299,000 $3,750,000 27.5% $1,425,000
2485346 Mendham $5,250,000 $5,250,000 $4,190,000 20.2% $1,060,000
2426445 Watchung $3,450,000 $3,150,000 $2,700,000 21.7% $750,000
2408177 Berkeley Heights $2,200,000 $1,500,000 $1,450,000 34.1% $750,000
2441948 Bedminster $2,895,000 $2,350,000 $2,200,000 24.0% $695,000
2472867 Delaware $2,975,000 $2,975,000 $2,462,500 17.2% $512,500
2498112 Millburn $2,850,000 $2,850,000 $2,400,000 15.8% $450,000
2456011 Franklin Lakes $2,950,000 $2,950,000 $2,500,000 15.3% $450,000
2492046 Bernards $2,375,000 $2,195,000 $1,925,000 18.9% $450,000
2416292 North Caldwell $2,290,000 $1,999,890 $1,850,000 19.2% $440,000
2416190 Mountain Lakes $2,345,000 $2,345,000 $1,915,000 18.3% $430,000
2406518 Pequannock $1,370,000 $1,100,000 $950,000 30.7% $420,000
2503483 Millburn $3,999,999 $3,999,999 $3,600,000 10.0% $399,999
2479373 Harding $3,395,000 $3,395,000 $3,000,000 11.6% $395,000
2480857 Millburn $1,900,000 $1,599,000 $1,511,000 20.5% $389,000
2398407 Morris $1,295,000 $949,000 $925,000 28.6% $370,000
2490155 Washington $1,450,000 $1,275,000 $1,100,000 24.1% $350,000
2419877 Bridgewater $1,325,000 $1,090,000 $975,000 26.4% $350,000
2463816 Franklin Lakes $2,499,000 $2,350,000 $2,150,000 14.0% $349,000
2467835 Wyckoff $1,649,000 $1,329,000 $1,300,000 21.2% $349,000
2477338 Sparta $1,385,000 $1,095,000 $1,052,000 24.0% $333,000
2435316 Bernardsville $1,325,000 $1,095,000 $999,000 24.6% $326,000
2471028 Harding $1,869,000 $1,869,000 $1,550,000 17.1% $319,000
2476894 Franklin Lakes $2,999,000 $2,999,000 $2,685,000 10.5% $314,000
2397590 Ridgewood Village $1,079,000 $799,900 $765,000 29.1% $314,000
2452596 Summit City* $1,750,000 $1,500,000 $1,450,000 17.1% $300,000
2412975 Chester $1,374,900 $1,175,000 $1,085,000 21.1% $289,900
2413237 Upper Saddle River $1,399,000 $1,249,000 $1,120,000 19.9% $279,000
2440359 Kinnelon $900,000 $675,000 $625,000 30.6% $275,000
2482457 Montclair $1,100,000 $825,000 $825,000 25.0% $275,000
2409821 Montville $1,795,000 $1,695,000 $1,525,000 15.0% $270,000
2484047 Mountain Lakes $1,379,999 $1,169,000 $1,117,499 19.0% $262,500
2437559 Westfield $1,899,000 $1,749,000 $1,640,000 13.6% $259,000
2437714 Bernardsville $1,120,000 $949,500 $862,500 23.0% $257,500
2417811 Fairfield $984,900 $799,900 $735,000 25.4% $249,900
2460289 Berkeley Heights $1,300,000 $1,199,900 $1,060,000 18.5% $240,000
2437690 Scotch Plains $1,228,000 $1,099,000 $990,000 19.4% $238,000
2421033 Roseland $835,000 $640,000 $600,000 28.1% $235,000
2489538 Montclair $3,850,000 $3,850,000 $3,622,000 5.9% $228,000
2489060 Montclair $975,000 $848,000 $750,000 23.1% $225,000
2438076 Tewksbury $1,299,000 $1,150,000 $1,080,000 16.9% $219,000
2401966 Parsippany-Troy Hills $480,000 $325,000 $265,000 44.8% $215,000
2390061 Allendale $1,175,000 $989,000 $960,000 18.3% $215,000
2452827 Franklin Lakes $1,289,000 $1,199,000 $1,075,000 16.6% $214,000
2408448 Wyckoff $499,900 $399,000 $286,400 42.7% $213,500
2472009 Warren $1,210,000 $1,210,000 $999,950 17.4% $210,050
2471951 Millburn $1,479,000 $1,425,000 $1,270,000 14.1% $209,000
2489628 Westfield $2,099,000 $1,890,000 $1,890,000 10.0% $209,000
2487364 Millburn $2,895,000 $2,895,000 $2,690,000 7.1% $205,000
2437485 Randolph $1,125,000 $950,000 $922,500 18.0% $202,500
2224253 North Haledon $950,000 $950,000 $750,000 21.1% $200,000
2330685 Franklin Lakes $2,899,999 $2,799,999 $2,700,000 6.9% $199,999
2324961 Hillsborough $899,900 $749,900 $700,000 22.2% $199,900
2459932 Saddle River $1,999,000 $1,999,000 $1,800,000 10.0% $199,000
2457635 Millburn $2,099,000 $2,099,000 $1,900,000 9.5% $199,000
2476769 Wyckoff $2,299,000 $2,299,000 $2,100,000 8.7% $199,000
2471601 Westfield $1,499,000 $1,399,000 $1,300,000 13.3% $199,000
2494749 Maplewood $1,295,000 $1,295,000 $1,100,000 15.1% $195,000
2493630 Tewksbury $1,695,000 $1,695,000 $1,500,000 11.5% $195,000
2416967 Upper Saddle River $995,000 $895,000 $800,000 19.6% $195,000
2496171 Summit $2,995,000 $2,995,000 $2,800,000 6.5% $195,000
2424441 Morristown $849,000 $699,000 $655,000 22.9% $194,000
2458066 Bernards $1,289,000 $1,289,000 $1,100,000 14.7% $189,000
2488430 Morris $1,437,000 $1,337,500 $1,250,000 13.0% $187,000
2446850 Bridgewater $1,175,000 $1,075,000 $990,000 15.7% $185,000
2511976 Westfield $1,659,000 $1,659,000 $1,475,000 11.1% $184,000
2492878 Livingston $1,429,000 $1,299,000 $1,245,000 12.9% $184,000
2406303 Hawthorne $729,900 $595,000 $550,000 24.6% $179,900
2503753 Madison $2,279,000 $2,279,000 $2,100,000 7.9% $179,000
2499337 Montville $1,175,000 $1,175,000 $999,000 15.0% $176,000
2453239 Elizabeth $525,000 $399,900 $350,000 33.3% $175,000
2465937 Franklin Lakes $1,350,000 $1,325,000 $1,175,000 13.0% $175,000
2474946 Montville $1,450,000 $1,399,000 $1,275,000 12.1% $175,000
2447807 Denville $424,900 $349,000 $251,500 40.8% $173,400
2489166 Millburn $1,195,000 $1,195,000 $1,025,000 14.2% $170,000
2446861 Washington $749,000 $649,900 $580,000 22.6% $169,000
2471827 Bernards $1,595,000 $1,595,000 $1,430,000 10.3% $165,000
2283827 Warren $1,104,950 $935,000 $940,000 14.9% $164,950
2439497 South Orange Village $839,900 $719,000 $675,000 19.6% $164,900
2443225 Hohokus $599,000 $499,000 $435,000 27.4% $164,000
2409478 Livingston $789,000 $695,000 $625,000 20.8% $164,000
2499359 Montclair $1,275,000 $1,275,000 $1,112,500 12.7% $162,500
2402761 Summit City* $551,500 $399,999 $390,000 29.3% $161,500
2440529 Raritan $950,000 $875,000 $790,000 16.8% $160,000
2454542 Livingston $729,000 $649,000 $570,000 21.8% $159,000
2473620 Chatham $2,499,000 $2,499,000 $2,340,000 6.4% $159,000
2456402 Boonton Town $649,000 $499,000 $490,000 24.5% $159,000
2393054 Paterson $275,000 $174,900 $120,000 56.4% $155,000
2499523 Chatham $1,140,000 $1,099,000 $985,000 13.6% $155,000
2488575 Montclair $1,555,000 $1,555,000 $1,400,000 10.0% $155,000
2488647 Boonton $2,300,000 $2,400,000 $2,150,000 6.5% $150,000
2486040 Franklin Lakes $2,950,000 $2,950,000 $2,800,000 5.1% $150,000
2475050 Millburn $2,450,000 $2,350,000 $2,300,000 6.1% $150,000
2473892 Bridgewater $749,000 $599,000 $599,000 20.0% $150,000
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113 Responses to Lowball – May/June 2008

  1. Orion says:

    frist!

  2. willwork4beer says:

    NJPatient from previous thread

    I was at Waterfront Park seeing the Double A subway series, Trenton Thunder vs. Binghamton Mets. Yankee farm club won 3-2. I agree with your “newfangled” assessment, but I love baseball, the minors in particular. And Waterfront Park has Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, and Spaten Lager and Oktoberfest on tap. YUM!!! ;)

  3. willwork4beer says:

    Grim,

    Great work on the lowballs. Maybe these will be more to Frank’s liking… ;)

  4. willwork4beer says:

    Ruggles from previous thread

    Never one to back away from a challenge, but I dont think you have been understanding my posts. You came on this board complaining that you had to make a large downpayment in order to secure financing for your purchase. I simply pointed out a few reasons why the lenders may have been hesitant. Beyond that, I told you I thought you got a pretty good deal. Twice.

    Now please calm down and relax. Have a Hoegaarden. It worked for me.

    And please say hello to Aunt Edward (the seller of your property in 2004).

  5. Clotpoll says:

    beer (2)-

    I’d go to that ballpark, just for the Stella.

    Mmmm…beer.

  6. jack says:

    lets get back to real estate. is the spring
    selling season over , and is it a bust?

  7. jamil says:

    re MA vs NJ taxes..

    Interesting ballot measure in MA (to end the state income tax). There is a very realistic chance that the state income tax is repealed. Last time (2002) it got 45%, so it will be close. Politicians and unions are in panic mode..they tried to disqualify signatures and run TV ads against it.

    When in NJ ?

    “The initiative is brutally simple: A 50 percent decrease in the income tax rate effective January 1, 2009, and the rest abolished one year later. That takes the state from its current revenues of about $28 billion down to the $17 billion it had in 1995.”

  8. kettel1 says:

    Jamil,

    I lived in Mass before and am considering going back to boston as opposed to stayig in the tax and graft wonderland that is NJ. Mass is no paradise, but its a step up from NJ and depending n your field has very similar opportunities (or better) to northern NJ

  9. grim says:

    is the spring selling season over , and is it a bust?

    Yes, yes.

  10. kettel1 says:

    # still_looking Says:
    June 22nd, 2008 at 4:24 am

    ket,

    It was me asking about Gmen.

    Aren’t there repercussions if these folks use tapping/taping for personal use? Don’t they require warrants???

    WTF?

    sl

    SL.

    you can thank the patriot act and various other little riders that have essentially removed all/any restraint from the governments( police/fbi/irs/nsa…. etc)ability to ap/record/track the citizenry at will.

    In theory if you could really prove it was for personal use then you might have a case, but it is literally the case that all they have ti say is that the heard you make a threat or some other unsubstantiated accusation. The courts will take their word over yours unless you have 100% rock solid evidence.

    Welcome to the fascist police state of america. Oh and these are just my rants due to missed medication, so take with a grain of salt.

  11. jamil says:

    kettle: I lived in Boston, too..I moved out when the frequent nightly rapes and violent robberies hit too close (intruder broke into the apartment right below us and tried to rape the girl there). No increased police patrols or anything like that deemed necessary. For a while it was good (secret service had secured the whole block) but when the loser lost the election 2004 they left the next day. I really appreciate the safety of NYC (which is probably going to slip after the next NYC elections – good time to move again).

    Anyway, when will people of NJ rise and vote the bums out (or better yet, vote the income tax out) ?

  12. kettel1 says:

    more Gman fun….

    they can track you by your cell phone, even if you are not talking on it. as long as it s turned on it can be used to track you.

    If you have onstar or similar in your car…. the police have used it to record conversations, as they can remotely activate the mic in the car and listen to what is going i the car. this is documented not consipracy theory.

  13. bi says:

    b.c. bob, please teach your buddy futures 101.

    “Offshore drilling would not lower gas prices today; it would not lower prices tomorrow; it would not lower gas prices this year; it would not lower gas prices five years from now,” Obama said.

    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-obama2108jun21,0,1135472.story?track=rss

  14. jamil says:

    btw, kettle: I hope you never have to visit Sweden, France or any other European or Asian country. They all have much wider warrantless wiretapping and detention laws than the US.

    “The Swedish newspaper DN (in Swedish; translations welcome) compares the implications of the proposed law with activities carried out by East Germany’s Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (STASI).”

    “Under the new law, Sweden’s intelligence bureau will no longer need a court order to begin surveillance, unlike the police.”

  15. jamil says:

    bi 14: If more oil (=more drilling) does not affect prices, why was it so important for dems to use the US strategic reserve (minuscule amount of oil there) or ask Saudis to pump more oil?

    Only non-US produced oil lowers price?

  16. Laughing all the way says:

    # Pat Says:
    June 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm

    Laughing, have you ever gone up this road:
    http://tinyurl.com/3rgakx
    ?

    Pat – Hadn’t seen that house. Weird look, no? It’s … yellow? At any rate, 2143 sq feet is only 200 more than we have now, and in the next five years, we plan on adding two kids. Like the backyard (a lot), but don’t love that the place is about 45 years old, and really dont like that it was sold for $254k in 2002. So they think the price has doubled in six years? Sure they’ve done some massive renovations, but still …

    This may sound nerdy, but we’ve even looked into the school districts. Yardley is one of the biggest schools in the state, or we would have seriously considered that town. But it looks like the Council Rock School get strong reviews, so we’re really only focusing on that school district.

    Here’s a few i really like:
    http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=9073581
    (issues w the backyard)
    http://www.zillow.com/HomeDetails.htm?zprop=9058161
    (dont like how it backs a main road)
    http://www.mlsfinder.com/nj_trend/kwsouth/index.cfm?action=listing_detail&property_id=5344748&searchkey=b08abe20-e4c0-e749-741b-dfda9ee66373&npp=10&sr=1
    http://www.mlsfinder.com/nj_trend/kwsouth/index.cfm?action=listing_detail&property_id=5359253&searchkey=b08abe20-e4c0-e749-741b-dfda9ee66373&npp=10&sr=21

    Since we’re transplants to the area, and plan on being here for awhile, one of the things we want is a pool.

  17. kettel1 says:

    14 bi,

    you might want to do a little researchthere buddy….

    World supply cannot meet world demand, even if every single drop of oil was drilled in the US! unless you nationalize the oil business, then any oil produced in the US will go to the highest bidder, and that may or may not be the US. besides the amount of time to come on line and the quantity involved means that any effects are negligible.

    try reading this bi…

    http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html

    the oil party is over bi and everyone is scrambling for the last beer.

  18. jamil says:

    kettle 13: Cell phone tracking depends on the technology. Usually triangulation works but it is not accurate (e.g. ~5-10 mile accuracy).

    I don’t know about onstar but some early digital landline phones had indeed capability that the mic can be opened remotely. They were rare (terrorists didn’t had isdn phones) so I doubt they were ever used by law enforcement. Such arrangement may be useful in car (if serious accident).

  19. kettel1 says:

    Political segregation
    The Big Sort

    Jun 19th 2008 | BETHESDA, MARYLAND, AND MCLEAN, VIRGINIA
    From The Economist print edition
    Americans are increasingly choosing to live among like-minded neighbours. This makes the culture war more bitter and politics harder

    http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=11581447

  20. kettel1 says:

    Jamil,

    a lot of the newer cell phones are capable of report GPS location data on request

  21. njpatient says:

    Willwork4beer

    I’m completely loony about baseball. And beer. We’d get along.

  22. frank says:

    grim,
    Great work on the low balls but you are showing one side of the story, there must be just as many high balls because median price has only declined 3% in the first quarter.

    “During the first quarter, the median home price for New Jersey was $350,700, down from $361,300 in the first quarter of 2007.”

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/nj_home_sales_plunged_30_perce.html

  23. frank says:

    If you rent to illegal immigrants, watch out.

    “A federal lawsuit challenging the right of landlords to rent to illegal immigrants has stoked tensions over immigration that have been rising for years here.

    A group opposed to illegal immigration filed suit against a Plainfield property management company this month, seeking to set a legal precedent by using a federal law normally employed against racketeers to punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/nyregion/22immigrant.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

  24. grim says:

    frank,

    Here are some simple stats off the dataset I used.

    Total Sales: 2917

    Based on Last List Price (15%):
    Highballs: 6
    Lowballs: 80

    Based on Original List Price (15%):
    Highballs: 6
    Lowballs: 352

    List/Sales: 95.6%
    OLP/Sales: 92.6% (actual is likely to be significantly lower due to relisting)

    Sales 5% or greater off Last List Price: 997 (34.2%)
    Sales 5% or greater over Last List Price: 67 (2.3%)
    Sales at asking: 228 (7.8%)

  25. SG says:

    Great Job Grim on Lowball.

    I was wondering any way to quantify these lowballs. The only thing I could think is if we could compare to some standard estimate such as Zillow’s number. That way we know if house sold below assessed value or higher.

  26. grim says:

    And now for my favorite lowball analysis

    DOM to Discount – The longer the property remains on market unsold, the greater the amount of overpricing. The closer the home is priced to market, the faster it will sell. Overpriced homes will sit on the market longer and sell at a significantly greater discount to OLP.

    0-30 Days: 2.31% under OLP
    31-60 Days: 6.38% under OLP
    61-90 Days: 7.87% under OLP
    91-180 Days: 9.86% under OLP
    181+ Days: 15.58% under OLP
    (365+ Days: 19.32% under OLP)

    Note: Actual discounts are likely higher due to relisting

  27. frank says:

    grim,
    Then how do the NJ Realtors come up with the $350,700 median price? Is it total bs and will be revised by 30% again?

  28. chicagofinance says:

    willwork4beer Says:
    June 22nd, 2008 at 7:48 am
    I was at Waterfront Park seeing the Double A subway series, Trenton Thunder vs. Binghamton Mets.

    ww4b: I need a scouting report….any comments on these players for the BMets….
    Eddie Kunz, Mike Carp, Nick Evans, Dan Murphy, Fernando Martinez?

  29. 3b says:

    #7 jack Spring selling season will be over, right before 4th of July, so we are almost there. And by all measures it was a bust.

  30. chicagofinance says:

    By the way, I was just hanging out with the in-laws yesterday…..

    #1 Wife’s parents slipped me a bottle of JW Blue for my 40th

    #2 I was talking to my brother-in-law (a.k.a. Matt Yallof’s brother)…he said one of the major reasons Willie got axed is that ratings for the pre- & post-game shows had fallen off a table in the last month and the Wilpon’s told Omar that every day Randolph was in there was gushing potential revenue out of their pockets….

  31. BC Bob says:

    bi [14],

    Not my buddy.

    Speaking of oil, the expiring July contract went out, Friday, up $2.69. Well, the dolts can’t blame this on the specs. Speculators had to be out of the July contract, on Friday, unless they arranged for delivery of 42,000 gallons of crude, per contract. Well, if the specs were selling, who is buying, causing the price to rally? HMMMM.

  32. frank says:

    Yesterday I went to Westfield and I realized that our public employees make too much money.
    It turns out that policeman and firefighters can afford Westfield. Meanwhile my friends that work on Wall St. can afford this town.

  33. jack says:

    cops and fire ,, plus teachers,,

  34. jack says:

    of course, some may be part time,.,.

  35. grim says:

    Speculators had to be out of the July contract, on Friday, unless they arranged for delivery of 42,000 gallons of crude, per contract. Well, if the specs were selling, who is buying, causing the price to rally? HMMMM.

    Uh oh…

    Is anyone interested in leasing me your swimming pool?

  36. willwork4beer says:

    28 ChiFi

    Only Carp (1-3, BB, RBI) and Evans (2-4, 3B, R, SB) played. They looked sharp. Murphy is hurt and his replacement made three errors in relief. Ouch.

  37. willwork4beer says:

    21 njpatient

    Next GTG – ballpark versus brewpub…

  38. frank says:

    Has anyone tried live blogging from the pool? I am looking for a waterproof laptop.

  39. Frank says:

    Is Hoboken the crime capital of NJ?

    “Hoboken cops to drivers: Don’t leave your GPS in your car”

    http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/06/hoboken_cops_to_drivers_dont_l.html

  40. syncmaster says:

    Edison’s Choi speaks out against Piscataway transit village plans

    Mayor Jun Choi denounced the Piscataway transit village plan on Stelton Road, which borders the south Edison residential area and threatens to aggravate the traffic situation near the Edison train station.

    He said … “We can work the county angle to see what we can do to slow down that project.”

    Mayor Brian Wahler of Piscataway said that Middlesex County is ready to go to bid in about 18 months for the improvement projects on Stelton Road, all the way up to the Kilmer Avenue intersection.

    He added that once those plans are underway there will be increased capacity of vehicle traffic along Stelton Road, more jughandles, separate walkways and bike paths going to the train station, which will alleviate the traffic situation.

    The project is considered a transit village because it would provide residents with shuttle service to the Edison Rail Station, which is about a mile away.

    Choi said … that it is a sham to call the Stelton Center project a transit village because by nature a transit village has to be at the train station.

  41. HEHEHE says:

    Offshore drilling, drilling in Anwar, etc will not solve our oil needs BUT it may buy a little more time as the country shifts to oil alternatives and lifestyles/living standards adjust accordingly.

    This whole problem is/was caused by China/India growth over the past three decades and the growth of internal demand in exporting countries. We could safely consume most of the world’s oil cheaply prior to those developments.

    What the US needs is the equivalent of a New Deal for alternative energy resources and an energy plan that is not drawn up by the biggest campaign donors. This would lead to an increase in middle class and lower class employment and lead to the US being a leader in something again.

    What the world needs is an end to oil subsidies so that demand/use is in line with actual supply/price. The 18% increase the Chinese just instituted still only results in the equivalent of $3 a gallon. Until the subsidies are gone oil depletion wil continue at the current pace without the type of necessary pain that will crimp demand.

  42. skep-tic says:

    I’d say that’s a hot market.

  43. Stu says:

    Hehehe(43):

    I agree with your assessment of the oil issue wholeheartedly. Rather than risk the environmental destruction of our shores and open spaces, it might make more sense to actually force the auto manufacturers to increase their fleet MPH standards. Although this was tried in the past, the U.S. auto lobbyists got the increases lifted. Of course all of the Japanese car manufacturers had already met all of the raised fuel economy standards by this point.

    On the night of 9-11, I turned to NJGator and said this was the greatest opportunity a U.S. president ever had to achieve greatness for himself and for America. I said the best way to fight the fundamentalist Muslims was to stop buying oil from them. Then they could not blame us for their woes and could bring up their cause against an India or a China. Instead, Bush chose the only path to diplomacy that he knew. He went after the Taliban (a joke of a regime) and chose to occupy Iraq to make sure we would have access to their oil in perpetuity.

    The cost of the war so far is approaching $2,000 per U.S. citizen. A few more years of this and the government could have just bought us all hybrids, or as Hehehe stated, paid for the New Deal of alternative energy. Instead, we are no more safer, we have lost or injured many of our compatriots and are in significantly worse standing with our neighbors now than we were after 9-11.

    Partisan politics aside, Bush may go down in history as the worst president ever.

  44. jamil says:

    uh…
    Are you seriously saying that Al-Qaida, which was running a state along with Taleban, should have been left alone after 9/11? Even Obama refused that kind of lunacy. I fully support then VP Al Gore, Hillary and every other dem and what they were saying about Saddam in late 1990s and around 2001-2002.

    Once US stopped treating terror as law enforcement problem, terror attacks stopped.

    Anyway, celeb endorsement to Obama continue..After Hamas and Fidel Castro, now North-Korean Kim Jong Il has endorsed Obama.

  45. njpatient says:

    I see the jamil/bi clown show continues.

  46. njpatient says:

    39 frank

    I was going to liveblog today’s strawberry picking in Chester, but it turned into thunderstorm spectating at the Black Horse Tavern instead.

  47. pl says:

    I was very disappointed and shocked when I saw the average sales price and the median sales price was only down about 1.9% for mar-may 08 compare to previous quarter from the website Trulia.com http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Fort_Lee-New_Jersey/
    (I am looking in Fort Lee)

    But when I look at the house sold in May fromt the website http://www.trulia.com/sold/Fort_Lee,NJ/
    I start wondering about the how accurate of the information about median/average sale price. Because one of the house 2469 Hammett Ave, Fort Lee NJ was listed sold on May 6th, 2008. Which was a foreclosure in May with the judgement value as 419K at the sheriff department#762415. The house is now for sell at $339,900 as bank owned http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/Fort_Lee,NJ/300000-400000_price/resale,new_homes,foreclosure_lt/3_p/#for_sale/Fort_Lee,NJ/300000-400000_price/4_p/

    MLS #2819178 $339,900

    2469 HAMMETT, FORT LEE, 07024
    3 bedrooms / 2 baths

    So, I was wondering does nj.com and other housing website include all the foreclosure house that was bought back by bank when they compute the average and median price. If that is the case then that really mislead buyer and seller. It will only prolong the housing price correction.

  48. Laurie says:

    Grim
    Once a house goes “under contract” there’s no way to tell the selling price until it’s sold, right?? A real POS bi-level on Forest Road in Mahwah came up for sale about 4 or 6 weeks ago and it’s under contract. This is the worst looking pos house you’ve ever seen, along with the sullen teens who hang out in front fixing the pieces of junk that are their cars.No kidding, on any given day there are 5 or 6 cars parked all over the place and I’ve never seen a bonafide adult at that house..and it sold!!! For what?? There’s SO many other nicer houses in the area and that’s the one that sold??? Another real POS in my neighborhood was thankfully taken off the mkt, it had been 18 months on mkt and I felt sorry for them…OK OK it was priced 100k too high, it started 150k too high

  49. jmacdaddio says:

    Stu,

    Regarding your point, govt mandated fuel economy requirements don’t work – CAFE is a joke since Detroit wrote the legislation and the loopholes. The Big 3 filled acres and acres of storage lots with shoddily built econoboxes (Ford Ka, Chevy Aveo, Neons) because CAFE is calculated based on production capacity and not actual sales. They only had to build enough econoboxes to prove they had the capacity to balance out SUVs if there was demand for it. Since very few buyers wanted these sardine cans, naturally they gravitated towards SUVs with high profit margins. This according to my old boss whose in-laws were GM lifers. SUV profits were so strong that financially this move was a no-brainer. As for the cars, most likely destroyed or shipped to developing nations for sale. This practice may very well have changed with the sudden death of the SUV.

    At risk of being labeled one of those “everything is better in Europe” people, the EU has it right with gas taxes and taxes on more powerful engines. Insanely high taxes establish a price floor and create the demand for efficient engines. I don’t think either presidential candidate gets it – McCain is ready to drill in our schoolyards and national monuments, while Obama seeks to confiscate the profits of oil companies. We need a gradual rise in fuel taxes to something like EU levels combined with development of workable public transit.

  50. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    Geologists estimate the oil reserves in ANWR amount to 10.4 billion barrels of readily recoverable crude.

    At the current rate of world consumption (80 million barrels a day), ANWR would add around 125 days to the world’s supply. This consumption figure does not take into account the rapidly escalating thirst of the Chinese population.

    It would be sold to the highest bidder, so there’s no guarantee that it flows out the end of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline directly to your local refinery.

    That’s it folks……a 3 month supply.

    Meanwhile, there are massive verified coal reserves in mainland US. We just need to put our technology to work to mine it safely and burn it cleanly.

  51. syncmaster says:

    Fiddy #51,

    Lies! I know so because Rush told me. Rush told me oil will NEVER run out and I believe Him!

    Stop tryin’ to skeer me, libruls!

  52. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    Libruls gasp at the very word “coal” as they think of all the down-trodden miners and the enviromental damage.

    And don’t dare utter the word “nuc-u-lar” to a Librul. They’ll faint dead away.

    If we as a country don’t do something about our consumption of foreign oil….we are doomed. Our Energy Policy seems to be “consume mass quantities of oil (while not looking for alternatives), and import this oil from the countries that hate us the most”

  53. jmacdaddio says:

    Grim – help! I’m being moderated (51)

    Reuters ran a story about how MPG math misleads car buyers and that thinking in terms of gallons per mile or gallons per 100 miles is a better way of evaluating savings at the pump. A 15 mpg vehicle needs 6.7 gallons to go 100 miles, while a 30 mpg vehicle needs 3.3. A 45 mpg hybrid would give 2.2. With this math it’s a much better move to go from a 15 mpg SUV to a 30 mpg station wagon than from a conventional sedan to a hybrid, even though the MPG metric is the same for both moves (15 MPG difference). The hybrid would save about a gallon of gas, $4 (at current prices) for every hundred miles driven vs. a conventional 30 mpg car, requiring 125,000 miles of driving with the hybrid just to break even (assuming a $5000 hybrid premium). The station wagon vs. the SUV example would save 3.3 gallons for every 100 miles, or $14 roughly, or nearly $17 grand over a 125,000 mile vehicle lifetime at current prices. An SUV vs. hybrid comparison would result in an earlier break-even point and $15 grand in savings over a 125,000 mile lifetime, but at the cost of cargo, passenger, and towing capacity – not often used, but important to some drivers.

    We can thank Detroit for spending their lobbying dollars to get information displayed the way they prefer.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1925607520080619

  54. willwork4beer says:

    Sign of the times…

    Left stately Beer Manor this afternoon and ventured forth to run a few errands for Mrs. Beer. My route took me past a house with a for sale sign, two open house 1-4 PM signs (with balloons attached) and a giant flag proclaiming OPEN HOUSE flapping in the breeze.

    Number of cars in the driveway at 1:45 PM:

    Zero.

  55. Tom says:

    Laurie,

    Be happy when a POS house sells, it might be that whoever picked it up is going to be better than the previous owners.

    A lot of POS houses go to investors or others that are interested in getting a deal and putting in the time to increase the value.

  56. alia says:

    51,53: fiddy… I have not been impressed with recent mine safety initiatives… My dad grew up in a coal town that ran out of coal…well, there’s still coal there… but they accidentally dug into a large body of water, and the mines flooded out. Killed many many people directly. Indirectly, lots of black lung in the family; it stunted the health (and shortened the lifespans) of several generations in the town. If memory serves, there’s a town in PA where the mines caught fire and the coal is still burning.

    I know the point of “work” is that it’s hard. But it shouldn’t kill you.

  57. njpatient says:

    In Chester today, we saw a Weichert mascot (fella in a “Weichert Open House” sandwich board costume with Mickey Mouse gloves and shoes) standing out in front of the Weichert headquarters frantically waving at traffic. We were tempted to run him down (would’ve been ok; there were no bystanders whatsoever). And somewhere between Morristown and Mendham we saw a Weichert HQ that was FOR RENT.

    This morning, we saw the CEO of Coldwell Banker on CNN telling the audience that demand for rentals is rising, which means that rents are rising, which means that it will soon be more economical to buy, which means that home values are about to rise, which means that NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!

  58. njpatient says:

    “Beer Manor”
    “Mrs. Beer”

    I’m jealous. Should have thought of those names.

    Coulda called my girls the “Three Little Beers”.

    Damn.

  59. willwork4beer says:

    njpatient

    The brew of the moment is “Ommegeddon” from Brewery Ommegang. They call it their “true Belgian-style Funkhouse Ale”.

    Very yummy.

  60. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    Like I said…”mine it safely and burn it cleanly” This is the 21st century, let’s use our technological advantages.

    I also don’t profess that coal is the only answer to the dilemma. But letting Dick Cheney’s Energy Policy Team make the decision for us will lead us nowhere.

  61. willwork4beer says:

    60 njpatient

    Its always a GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!

    House prices always go up.

    PS. I guess your not the only one who daydreams of running those idiots over…

  62. njpatient says:

    62 Mr. Beer

    I’ve actually toured the Ommegang Brewery (as I’m sure you have, being as you are a baseball fan and the brewery is in the Cooperstown area). I haven’t tried the Ommegeddon, but I’ve got a couple of bottles of their signature brew in the house (buddying up to my 25 oz bottles of Delirium Tremens).

  63. willwork4beer says:

    njpatient

    Tried Delirium Tremens and loved it. I have a few things laid down but I have to admit that I have a hard time delaying my gratification…. ;)

  64. bi says:

    even obama’s fellow libs start to turn away from him:

    David Brooks, op-ed page New York Times: “Barack Obama is the most split-personality politician in the country today. On the one hand, there is Dr. Barack, the high-minded, Niebuhr-quoting speechifier who spent this past winter thrilling the Scarlett Johansson set and feeling the fierce urgency of now. But then on the other side, there’s Fast Eddie Obama, the promise-breaking, tough-minded Chicago pol who’d throw you under the truck for votes.”

    Associated Press: “Barack Obama chose winning over his word. … He tarnished his carefully honed image as a different kind of politician–one who means what he says and says what he means–while undercutting his call for `a new kind of politics.’ … So much for being a straight shooter.”

  65. John says:

    Bottom line this is going to kill BC train towns, in 2009 – no bonus, and that crowd spends her paycheck on living, the bonus is the main source for big ticket items

    June 22 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc., the bank that’s lost more than any other in the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market, plans to fire as much as 10 percent of the about 65,000 employees worldwide in its investment-banking division, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    The first notices in the round of dismissals may begin tomorrow, the newspaper said, citing people it didn’t name. The New York-based bank, which has more than 350,000 employees, cut at least 9,000 workers as of March 31, the Journal said.

  66. Jaywalk says:

    David Brooks is a lib? Hello???

  67. 3b says:

    #69 jay : You beat me to it.

  68. jamil says:

    I think bi’s point was that even ultra far-left media, such as AP and other Drive-By outlets are mad and disappointed about this.

  69. ruggles says:

    #4 above – Aunt Edward was married to Uncle Catherine, smartypants. or maybe you found an armslength sale for the house in 2004 in the mls that I don’t have access to? I may not be as privilaged.

    you can search her name in google with the word “buffalo” for a fond remembrance from days gone by. take care

  70. jamil says:

    Interesting article about rising (violent) crime rates in mid-sized US cities, such as Reading, PA.

    American Murder Mystery

    “Why is crime rising in so many American cities? The answer implicates one of the most celebrated antipoverty programs of recent decades.”

    Maybe massive public housing projects are the best solution, after all..

  71. SG says:

    NYTimes article,


    What Happens if We’re Wrong?

    Article Tools Sponsored By
    By PETER L. BERNSTEIN

    IN 1995, home prices in the United States rose by 1.7 percent. They kept climbing over the next 10 years at an accelerating rate. The climax was in 2005, when the increase was 15.7 percent, putting home prices at more than double their 1995 level. Except for the early years after World War II and during the great inflation of the 1970s, home prices in the United States had never doubled in the short space of 10 years.

    If more people had recognized that, as in the past, home prices could also go down, buying a home would have appeared much riskier. Few, if any, lenders would have issued mortgages with minuscule down payments, and there would have been no outbreak of liars’ loans or complex financial paper bought by institutions as a matter of faith in questionable triple-A ratings. The banking system would not be in such a mess and the world economy would be on sounder footing.

  72. BC Bob says:

    “I was at Waterfront Park seeing the Double A subway series, Trenton Thunder vs. Binghamton Mets. Yankee farm club won 3-2. I agree with your “newfangled” assessment, but I love baseball, the minors in particular. And Waterfront Park has Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, and Spaten Lager and Oktoberfest on tap. YUM!!! ;)”

    That’s It!! Next GTG, A foreclosure bus tour hosted by Clot, final stop, Waterfront Park.

  73. Pat says:

    Hi, Laughing. That reference house I posted was Council Rock. Not sure if you realized I searched kw limited by school district. That house to me had two things: strong work showing on a solid house, and low cost provider status. If you have a chance, drive up the street. That’s the kind of place I’d live in for eight years and then sell to someone trying to get into the neighborhood on the next leg up. But I’m cheap.

    No more from me on your Council Rock search. Sounds like you have a very specific type of house in mind, like the porch one, so you’d probably benefit from a real estate agent in Newtown who knows each house.

  74. SG says:


    Are we really ready for this financial storm?

    So, just how bad is this financial crisis going to get? Well, according to Bob Janjuah of the Royal Bank of Scotland: “A very nasty period is soon to be upon us. Be prepared.” It’s not like the RBS to go around making alarmist statements but it has warned of a “global equity and credit crash” this autumn. Morgan Stanley bank has forecast a “catastrophic event”. The hedge fund guru John Paulson says global losses from the credit crisis, currently $300bn, may reach $1.3 trillion.

    Disaster 1: The housing market crashes wiping up to 40% off the value of your property.
    Disaster 2: 1000s of businesses go bust as the credit crunch hammers consumer spending.
    Disaster 3: Unemployment leaps by 30-50% as a 1980s-style crisis devastates the job market.
    Disaster 4: Sterling collapses by 10% and the price of everything from petrol to food skyrockets.
    Disaster 5: Shares, investments and cash all lose value destroying wealth and crushing retiral dreams.

  75. PGC says:

    Interesting chat with a friend over the weekend. He works in food production and makes products that are in most peoples houses. He said that they were holding prices steady at the moment as their wheat futures go out one year. After the current cheap contracts mature and deliver all bets are off. Get ready for a BIG spike in prices next year.

  76. grim says:

    From the WSJ:

    Citi to Slash
    Investment
    Banking Jobs
    World-Wide
    By DAVID ENRICH and DENNIS K. BERMAN
    June 23, 2008

    Citigroup Inc., in the latest sign of bloodletting on Wall Street, is set this week to embark on an aggressive round of layoffs within its investment-banking division, people familiar with the matter said.

    The New York bank, which has suffered $15 billion in losses over the past two quarters and is likely to rack up billions of dollars in additional write-downs in the second quarter, will dismiss thousands of investment-banking employees world-wide as part of a plan to cut the roughly 65,000-employee group by 10%, the people said. Pink slips are likely to be handed out Monday.

    “Citi indicated earlier this year that it would be resizing this business in response to market conditions and as part of our ongoing re-engineering efforts,” spokesman Dan Noonan said, without confirming specifics.

    Across Wall Street, investment banks are adjusting to meager times as they deal with drop-offs in everything from mergers to initial public offerings.

    Citigroup, which has more than 350,000 employees around the world, had fired at least 9,000 workers as of March 31. Still, the coming cuts are unusual in their scope and severity. Mergers-and-acquisitions bankers are expected to see especially sharp cuts, in part because their ranks were not trimmed as much as other units earlier this year. But no major department is likely to be spared, aside from some businesses in emerging markets and Citigroup’s lucrative transactions-services arm.

    Entire trading desks in New York and other cities are expected to be eliminated. And unlike Citigroup’s other recent reductions, this round will feature layoffs of dozens of senior managing directors, the people said.

  77. njrebear says:

    this round will feature layoffs of dozens of senior managing directors

    It’s good that layoffs will be limited to Shanghai, Mumbai and California.

  78. d2b says:

    75 BC-

    As long as it doesn’t stop at Citizen’s Bank Park. Went to the Philles game today. Beautiful park, but I really felt ripped off. Sellout so they don’t need my money. Phillies will always be a second-class organization.

  79. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    Put me down for a seat on the Foreclosure Tour & Waterfront Park GTG.

    The B-Mets next visit the Yankees Farm on Friday July 11 thru Monday July 14. Monday is Busisness Man’s Special with a 12 Noon start. The rest of the schedule is a bunch of Bowie Bay Sox and Portland Sea Dogs for the rest of the summer.

    The Magical Mystery Foreclosure Tour should include only high-end homes in true distress. I love to see broken windows in a McMansion!!!

  80. BC Bob says:

    “Disaster 5: Shares, investments and cash all lose value destroying wealth and crushing retiral dreams.”

    SG [77],

    I agree, the next bubble will be/is the wealth destruction bubble.

  81. BC Bob says:

    “The rest of the schedule is a bunch of Bowie Bay Sox and Portland Sea Dogs for the rest of the summer.”

    Fiddy [82],

    The schedule is secondary. We’ll arrange for the half price Stella night.

  82. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    With a bunch of high-rollers like ourselves, the Thunder ought to give us one of their luxury boxes for the evening.

    Anybody on the forum connected to the team?????

  83. BC Bob says:

    “the Thunder ought to give us one of their luxury boxes for the evening.”

    Now we’re talking. We can start the bidding with a lowball.

  84. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    With the demographic on this board….I see some sponsorship opportunities.

    Contact Stella to see if they want their logo displayed prominently on the bus.

    Naming rights for sale!!

  85. jamil says:

    The most ethical congress in History..

    Dodd Must Clear Air Over Deals

    “When cornered, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd maintains an ambiguous relationship with the truth. His clumsy and contradictory explanations of the favorable mortgage deals he received from Countrywide Financial continue to shred his credibility.”

    “He had quietly luxuriated in two sweet deals for nearly $800,000 in mortgages…And then someone inside the biggest miscreant, Countrywide, Dodd’s indulgent lender, leaked the details of Dodd’s special deal. ”

    “..Then, Dodd needed to find a way to admit the truth without acknowledging his insistent lies. Dodd declared, “I would not argue I was there, and I would not argue I was not there. I wouldn’t deny I was there now.”

    “Since Dodd became chairman of the Banking Committee in January 2007, he’s received more than $70,000 from Bank of America and its executives. And Bank of America is the big winner in Dodd’s expensive legislation.”

    Had Dodd been a Republican, this scandal (along with Obama’s and Harry Reid’s shady land deals) would have been front-page news in NYT and other far-left outlets..

  86. S.S says:

    You can read comments from people going through the foreclosure process.
    ireport
    http://tiny.cc/xdyTn

  87. BC Bob says:

    “His clumsy and contradictory explanations of the favorable mortgage deals he received from Countrywide Financial continue to shred his credibility.”

    Jamil [88],

    I’m confused. When did Dodd ever have any credibility?

  88. still_looking says:

    ket,

    Thanks. I’m gonna go line my windows with tinfoil, cut all my electronic transmissions and hide.

    sl

  89. lostinny says:

    Does the foreclosure tour have to end at a baseball game?

  90. S.S says:

    ***Copy/Paste from ireport***
    The governments Hope Now Alliance is a joke! They cant do anything for me. Their people seem to not know what to do. I got stuck in a crummy sub-prime mortgage after the tech bubble burst and I was out of work for 1 year. My only option was to refinance into a 2/28 thinking that in 2 years I could refinance into something better. That didnt work because the market has tanked. I have lost $210k + in equity and now my house is worth less than what I paid for it 7.5 years ago.
    My rate adjusted and my payment went from $3300 to $5600/mo! I can afford the original payment no problem. But, now the bank has filed a notice of default and does not care to work anything out. You would think they would want to help me help them back??
    Hope Now told me today to start packing slowly and get out. Wow, they are a alot of help! I have spent over $250k out of my pocket in the last 7.5 years and the bank still wins.
    I could now care less what the government does because its too late for me and many others. I do feel sorry for the people who worked hard for their home like me, but got ripped of by greedy people. Many of us can still afford our homes, but the banks dont care.

  91. grim says:

    From the FT:

    Job fears mount as Goldman sheds staff

    Bankers fear the pace of job losses in the investment banking industry is set to accelerate over the summer after it emerged that Goldman Sachs, the sector’s star performer, cut staff at its investment banking division last week.

    The Wall Street bank is now expected to cut up to 10 per cent of staff in the division that handles mergers and acquisition advice and corporate fundraisings over the course of 2008, with a fresh round of trimming starting last week.

  92. Pat says:

    Lost, it’s O.K.

    They can go on over to the ballgame. You can hit Katmandu -just about the same parking lot.

    As long as you don’t wander too far from the Stadium, you’re fine. If you do, log in here and I’ll get you.

  93. lostinny says:

    Thanks for looking out Pat.

  94. frank says:

    “Job fears mount as Goldman sheds staff”

    Citi is doing their thing starting tomorrow.

  95. willwork4beer says:

    lost

    Just make a left out of the stadium. If you dont hit water, you’ll get to KatManDu… ;)

  96. lostinny says:

    I can just imagine the trouble I’ll get in.

  97. willwork4beer says:

    86 Bob

    I was at a Sussex Skyhawks game last year where they were auctioning off luxury boxes. If I understood it correctly, the minimum bid of 50 bucks had a chance…

  98. willwork4beer says:

    82 Fiddy

    Already have my seats for the 12th. Between home and the first base dugout. Shady-side. ;)

  99. chicagofinance says:

    Uncle Matt hooked me up tomorrow…got me some Felix vs. Johan and only 2 in the loss column……….$8 beers on me…

  100. willwork4beer says:

    72 oops

    You’re right, as usual.

    Edward is married. To Elanora. The records make that pretty clear.

    Now go back to lurking. Please.

  101. alia says:

    63: i think we agree more than disagree. i just don’t see how mining *can* be done safely.

    i have no personal experience with modern mining technology, so i admit that’s my ignorance rather than me saying it can’t be done.

    but i just did a google search for “mine accident” and found the gov’t website about mine injuries, circa 2006.

    in 2006, among coal miners, there were 42 deaths, 4451 injuries (excluding office workers. office workers didn’t die, but they did have 6 injuries)… no idea how this compares to other dangerous jobs. but even with our modern tech, it looks like it is a dangerous, sometimes deadly job.

    http://www.msha.gov/accinj/accinj.htm

    …now i may have to go research the accident rate of other jobs. darn you, fiddy, making me curious enough to back up my opinions with actual numbers! bah… ;)

    the link above is interesting for the bureucratic handling of accidental death and dismemberment, if you’re in that sort of a mood…

  102. Laughing all the way says:

    That’s the kind of place I’d live in for eight years and then sell to someone trying to get into the neighborhood on the next leg up. But I’m cheap.

    This is interesting. Had this thought where, since we’re two years away from kids, and won’t be sending kids to school for at least 6-7 more years, why not get a starter house in not the greatest school district and then upgrade in a decade?

    Logic: We’ve saved forever. I’m a negative nancy and think that if one thing falls into place over the next month (it’s about 85% done), we’ll probably be better financially now than ever.

    I fear that if we – or anyone – buys a place now, it might not rise in value at a significant rate in a decade. Not to be too negative – but what if you sink 20% down now, and in 10 years go to sell the place and all you can make is 150k? Factoring in kids, randomness, all that … coming up with that DP in 10 years for a bigger house might not be that easy.

    Our strategy – maybe dense – is to sink a 25-30% downpayment now on a slightly bigger house, and keep our mortgage payment on the 30yr loan in the 2500 range.

    We don’t have conventional jobs – nor do we really seek them – like many on this board, and where you’re a VP or whatever in company x, working a safe 10-6 for the rest of your life, clocking x salary. Thus the all-in now mentality.

    (also, that 20-30% down wouldn’t clean us out now and leave us with no reserve – we have that 6 months “emergency money” stashed away. renting and being “thrifty” or “cheap” for the last few years, plus parents who took care of the wedding, really helped.)

  103. Laughing all the way says:

    man, i had no clue that was that long!

  104. jmacdaddio says:

    You know, Hugo Chavez could probably win a major post here because in Venezuela, gas prices are subsidized to 12 cents a gallon. Or something like that.

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/protesters_in_newark_rally_aga.html

  105. njpatient says:

    It’s a long way to Wally World.

  106. ruggles says:

    103 — well then its his daughter or executrix. whatever. I actually dont think i care as much as you do. she still gets junk mail here and she has the same last name as the seller in 04 but I guess thats just a coincidence. let me know what else I can tell you about myself, you seem quite consumed with me and trying to catch me in lies.

    You’re the one who brought up the 2004 sale as if it was proof of your argument and then have tried to shoot me down everytime I give an explanation. I’m guessing you think you’re perfect. I wonder if you ever admit you are wrong. probably not on blogs.

    I’m still waiting for comps to show that my house is worthless and now I’d like a copy of the mls listing for the 2004 sale. or maybe you have the fsbo sign that was hanging on the door in 2004 in one of your databases?

    I will gladly say I’m sorry if I could see proof of my mistakes. I certainly could be wrong but the story I was told is that the seller got the house from his aunt, we’re getting the mail of a woman with the same last name as the 04 seller, and they knew her at the library. whatever the case, as far as i know, it wasnt an arms length transaction which means its not a comp–somehow the house sold by itself without the benefit of competition from buyers. maybe it was witchcraft.

    Also, please let everyone know what the house next door to me is under contract for. hopefully she will get over 300k for it but maybe not. not with that comp you mentioned around the corner from us and not with my house that I couldnt get a mortgage on.

  107. GetAClueNJ says:

    I didn’t see my neighbors house on there, but it could be. I don’t know the listing number, but it’s in Hillsborough. OLP was $365,000 and it took about 14-15 months to sell, and finally sold at $302,000

    I think it was under contract 3 times but the buyers couldn’t get financing, and the 4th time was the charm.

  108. Jill says:

    CF #31: Thanks for the answer to a question I’ve been wondering every time I watch the Mets on SNY. :)

    I’m not surprised about Willie. I love Willie but his monotonal platitudes were getting to me too. At least Jerry Manuel is a middle-aged guy talking about “gangsta.” That’s colorful, that’s what Noo Yawkers (i.e. the “Jerome Zone”) want. :rolls eyes:

  109. Hiworld1 says:

    Great Data… can you please post excel spread sheet containing row data?
    thanks,

  110. NJmind says:

    great data…..how much % ‘low-balling’ should one do if making an offer in Union City. I might be interested in making an offer on – 4301 Park Avenue: Hudson View apartments…

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