From the Star Ledger:
Prudential sells residential real estate division to Toronto-based company
Prudential Financial is ending a more than two decade foray into the residential real estate business with yesterday’s sale of its realty brokerage and relocation services unit to a Toronto-based company.
The proceeds from the sale of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services to Brookfield Residential Property Services, before transaction-related expenses, were approximately $110 million, according to the SEC filing. BRPS is a division of Brookfield Asset Management, and the sale marks its third since coming to the U.S. market in 2008, the company said.
“This transaction creates a global employee relocation services and real estate franchising leader,” said Graham Badun, CEO of Brookfield Residential Property Services. “We have now increased the breadth and depth of our service offering, keeping pace with the evolving needs of our clients around the world.”
The acquisition makes Brookfield the second largest global relocation services provider and third largest residential real estate brokerage in North America, Badun said. Together, the relocation services divisions of Brookfield and Prudential work with more than one-third of Fortune 100 companies, and Brookfield is now the largest provider of relocation services to government, with long term relationships with the United States and Canada.
The Prudential name will stay with the franchise for the time being, but ultimately Brookfield will develop a new branding strategy, Badun said. Employees won’t notice any changes and it will be business as usual, he added.
From the WSJ:
Consumer Expectations For US Home Prices Creep Into Positive Territory -Fannie
Consumer predictions for U.S. home prices moved into positive territory for the first time in six months, according to a monthly survey from mortgage market enterprise Fannie Mae (FNMA).
For its November reading, Fannie Mae said respondents now expect home prices to edge up 0.2% over the next year, compared with the 0.3% decline predicted in October.
Still, concerns about the direction of the U.S. economy remain, Fannie Mae said. Fully 75% of respondents in November’s survey said they believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track, easily outsizing the 16% of respondents who said the economy is heading in a positive direction.
Regarding personal finances, 18% said they expect their financial situation to worsen over the next year, unchanged from October. And 66% reported their income is about the same, the highest number ever to report that response.
“Most Americans expect no improvement in their personal financial situation in the next 12 months and will likely remain wary about undertaking the significant financial obligation associated with homeownership,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae.
Good Morning New Jersey
No. 1 What a dum ass article, one paragraph contradicts the other
From the WSJ:
Housing Calls To Mack-Cali
Mack-Cali Realty Corp., New Jersey’s largest office landlord, announced a joint venture to develop two luxury apartment towers on Jersey City’s waterfront Wednesday.
The deal, Mack-Cali’s first foray into multifamily properties in a decade, comes as the company seeks new ways to expand as demand for office space in the Garden State remains stagnant and competition for office tenants grows fierce.
Meanwhile, the apartment market has been strong, and demand for rental apartments is growing, especially from young, urban professionals priced out of the Manhattan.
Mack-Cali, a real-estate investment trust, is teaming up with the Hoboken-based Ironstate Development Co., which built and owns Hoboken’s W hotel. The Jersey City development plan calls for two luxury towers with 500 rental units; each tower will have one-bedroom and studio apartments, sizes that appeal to younger renters. The towers will utilize two city blocks of vacant parking lots adjacent to Mack-Cali’s Harborside Financial Center office complex spanning roughly 3 million square feet on the waterfront.
“This an opportunity to take advantage of land we already owned and to grow the business by putting that land to work in a sector of the real-estate market where there is very strong demand and where we expect it to be…profitable for us,” said Mitchell Hersh, chief executive of Mack-Cali in an interview. He indicated that this company could announce additional multifamily deals in the future.
From the Philly Inquirer:
N.J. residents are leaving for Pennsylvania in increasingly large numbers
After their youngest child finished high school in June, destined for college, Janice and John Potts lost no time bolting from New Jersey.
By the end of July, the longtime Haddonfield residents were cheerfully ensconced in a three-bedroom rowhouse near Philadelphia’s Washington Square.
Their new abode is much smaller than the 4,500-square-foot home (with swimming pool) that they sold, but it comes with a huge plus.
“We downsized in terms of space, but cut our property-tax bill in half,” said Janice Potts, 52, an outsource-services manager for a Center City firm. John Potts, 54, works for a networking-systems company, often from home.
The Pottses spent as much to buy their Pennsylvania house as they realized from their Jersey sale. “Basically, we swapped dollars,” she said. “But for us, the move made perfect sense. We got rid of one car. I walk to work. It’s a more convenient life.”
According to the 2010 census, “in-migration” from New Jersey to Pennsylvania is a burgeoning movement that accounted for 80 percent of the Keystone State’s net gain last year of 25,770 residents from other states.
In interviews with demographers, real estate agents, financial planners, and the recently relocated, tax savings, quality-of-life choices, and new commuting patterns emerged as the driving forces behind the influx.
Does that make Pennsylvania the new destination state?
Not of the magnitude of nationally ranked No. 1 Texas. But it is the undisputed leader in the Northeast, where all but three states saw more people move out than in: Vermont, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, by far the most formidable draw.
They’ll grab onto any news that can be skewed with a positive twist, Face the facts. Housing sucks unless you are fortunate enough to have purchased and live in one of a couple very desirable neighborhoods scattered around the country.
Mike [3];
You have to contradict something (facts, yourself) if you’re trying to conclude that the real estate outlook is positive.
Boy! I feel GREAT! Yea, the economy is bad, and I don’t expect it to improve anytime soon. Sure, the nation is on the wrong track and the economic outlook is not positive. Still, I can feel it in the air; my house is going to increase in value. Even if the other schmucks’ houses still go down in value. I should have gotten these rose-colored glasses months ago.
Moose from yesterday…why do you take everything so personally? I made a very matter of fact comment about distressed property comps and you were off to the races complaining about big, bad, powerful real estate agents and their market manipulation. Truth be told, I wish real estate agents had all that power you assign to them in your paranoid little head, but it is nothing more than a fantasy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203413304577085953794621344.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us_business
Jon’s day in the box / will express remorse , he’s got your best in mind . and of course Karla
Wanna know why there are so many real estate agents with fat a*ses? They all carry around a buyer in their back pocket to trump any offer made by the Moose!
Consumer predictions for U.S. home prices moved into positive territory…
That’s great! Weren’t Consumer predictions for U.S. home prices pretty positive in 2006 too?
Been looking to buy, renovate and flip a few houses due to business being slow. Everyday I am out looking at new REO, shortsales and estate sales and such. Been making offers regularly. Almost every house I offer on has multiple offers.
If I were paranoid and small minded I could lose sight of a simple fact. The reason there are other offers on the properties I am interested in is I’m not the only guy with the idea of buying, renovating and flipping and there are only so many properties that fit that description to offer on.
As for predictions: Dow 36,000, anyone?
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/08/9291930-american-jailed-for-insulting-thai-king-while-living-in-colorado
American jailed for insulting Thai king – while living in Colorado
snip
Speaking after the verdict, Gordon said, “I am an American citizen, and what happened was in America.”
‘This is just the system’
He also said he had no expectation of being let off easy. “This is just the system in Thailand,” he said. Speaking later in Thai, he added: “In Thailand, they put people in prison even if they don’t have proof.”
Gordon had lived in the U.S. for about 30 years. He was detained in late May during a visit to his native country to seek treatment for arthritis and high blood pressure. After being repeatedly denied bail, he pleaded guilty in October in hopes of obtaining a lenient sentence.
Thailand’s lese majeste laws are the harshest in the world. They mandate that people found guilty of defaming the monarchy — including the king, the queen and the heir to the throne — face three to 15 years behind bars. The nation’s 2007 Computer Crimes Act also contains provisions that have enabled prosecutors to increase lese majeste sentences.
snip
According to his prepared testimony Corzine will be using the Sargent Schultz defense, “I see noooooooothing”. Good move Jonny – d**chebag.
Here is some baloney. Hope the Congresscritters beat him up good for playing dumb
and lying, call him a liar to his face and then have the FBI haul him off to jail.
In his prepared statement.
“Corzine says MF Global sought to restructure the Europe investments in a way that reduced the risk to the firm.”
Funny his former Risk manager Michael Roseman says otherwise, they actually increased the risk from $1.5 billion in late 2010 to $6.3 billion shortly before MF Global went into bankruptcy.
[16] juice
“Corzine says MF Global sought to restructure the Europe investments in a way that reduced the risk to the firm.”
Funny, didn’t he also do that for the State of New Jersey?
[16] Juice,
Looking at the membership of this committee, there are a few dems that will be hard-pressed to throw any questions at Corzine. If they get tough on him, they will look like opportunists that are tossing a close colleague under the bus, and if they lob softballs, they will get hammered in public opinion (not that it matters for some of them).
So I don’t expect any questions from Gillenbrand, Casey, Leahy, or Klobuchar. Harkin will go off on Corzine because he represents farmers, as will Stabenow. Otherwise, I predict you will see uncomfortable silence from the left side of the aisle.
Juice [16];
Hardly likely. Never forget he’s one of their own.
Corzine being Corzine:
“Before I address what happened, I must make clear that since my departure from MF
Global on November 3, 2011, I have had limited access to many relevant documents, including internal communications and account statements, and even my own notes, all of which are essential to my being able to testify accurately about the chaotic, sleepless nights preceding the declaration of bankruptcy. Furthermore, even when I was at MF Global, my involvement in the firm’s clearing, settlement and payment mechanisms, and accounting was limited.
The Members should also understand that the Committee turned down my request to
testify voluntarily in January. I had hoped that, by that time, I would have obtained and
reviewed relevant records so that I could be more helpful to the Committee.
As a consequence of my situation, not every fact of which I am or may have been aware
that may be relevant to your inquiry is contained in this statement. While I intend to be
responsive to the best of my ability today, without adequate time and materials to prepare, I may be unable to respond to various questions members might pose. Other questions, given my specific role in the company, will be questions for which I simply have no personal knowledge. Many of your questions may well be ones I myself have.”
/snip
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/CNBC/Sections/News_And_Analysis/__Story_Inserts/pdf/2011-12-8-Statement-of-Jon-S-Corzine.pdf
30-yr;
You know less than nothing about my situation (as you yourself admitted in out earlier exchange), but you’re more than content to apolgize for the worst dregs of you throughly decrepit profession. I suppose in an industry where credibity is worthless, its not much to venture, but still.
Now sit there any tell me that you’ve never known a listing agent to spike a higher offer when they dual-repped the lower offeror; or that it would be logical for a seller to reject a higher offer without the influence of their listing agent.
Good luck with that house-flipping thing, by the way. Its worked out great for so many this past decade, and what could possibly go wrong with using your own product.
[20] redux
Reminiscent of some other testimony from nearly 40 years ago:
“I have no recollection . . .”
Time to pour another cuppa joe, grab a doughnut and put my feet up for some entertainment.
3
Pennsylvania is much more tax friendly. Especially for retirees. We just had an 80 y/o client with over 10 mil in assets move to PA for tax reasons. And he got married! Of course for love, but may help his estate tax situation in a few years.
[44] shore guy
Gordon should announce that he is gay. Then the Adminstration would ramp up its efforts to protect him and get him out of Thailand.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/us-will-use-foreign-aid-to-defend-gay-rights-abroad-clinton-obama-declare-culture-no-excuse/2011/12/07/gIQAetrhbO_story.html
[23] prtraders
Remember, that is not actually happening. Taxpatriation is a myth. Ask any liberal.
30-yr [8];
Truth be told, I wish real estate agents had all that power you assign to them in your paranoid little head, but it is nothing more than a fantasy.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.
No, you’re not the devil — but among your industry its not for a lack of trying. And if realtors are so inconsequential, if I’m wrong about the essence of their existance being control over the flow of data, then there really should be no objection to opening it up, correct? In that case, I’d be glad to have you on my side of the issue.
30year
just don’t respond to him/her anymore
Corslime hearings a sideshow to the Holder Fast and Furious hearings? Malkin just Tweeted that Holder is not being placed under oath.
Corzine always appears to be a bumbling fool, his defense is perfect.
Corzine is one of these millionaires and billionaires that Oblammy despises so greatly. Right? Right? Right?
Moose remind us what you do again so we can have a go at demonizing your profession?
I’ve been working with a realtor in south Florida in search of a property or 2 in Broward County. His advice is to hold off as he expects the anticipated flood of REOs and instability in Europe will result in an additional 15 percent decline. Met this guy for the first time last month and appreciate his honesty.
Juice [32];
For the purposes of this blog, I buy houses — but for the interference of those who purport to facilitate the sale of them.
Moose – Buy houses(s) as in you are flipper? We can have fun with that one.
Why always be critical of the people who come to this blog to give and receive advice? Have you not received any valuable advice here?
My point being we have Realtors who come on here and are very honest about what goes on in their profession. I have found most of them 30 Year, Meat, Grim, and others to be helpful and straight foward. The put up MLS data, don’t ask to represent any of us and generally give us their opinion no charge. The Realtors here have helped many of us from making bad decisions about home purchases. The advice here is really invaluable, and if you are going to continue to harangue realtors every time you come on here well you are just going to chase people away. Is that your goal? You spend allot of time on here, perhaps you can head over to ActiveRain and go and beat up the Realtors over there instead or just behave like an adult already.
Have a real estate question for anyone who wishes to answer. I live in Warren County and there has been a proposal to build two large solar farms on town-owned farmland that is pretty close to residences (about 150 – 200 feet). Have there been any studies done on how this can effect propery values? I’m sure some may be familiar with this issue.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/express-times/index.ssf/2011/09/franklin_township_has_large-sc.html
Thanks!!
Thanks!!
Gary #31 From todays headlines
Corzine and his slime pots steal 1.2 billion and go before congress to plead the 5th or half ass explain that the money vaporized, result no jail time
Rob Blagoyavich gets 14 years for 18 counts corruption and trying to sell a senate seat He’ll probably do 6-8yrs.
Jodie Fosters father gets 25 years for bilking investors of a paltry $200k
You and I would get the death sentence for stealing a pack of gum.
Just goes to show where the average guy stands in the great scheme of things
Hi fiveeee
Juice [34];
Taken under advisement.
Obama loves Corzine. They both want to raise your taxes and blame you at the same time for their sloppiness.
Today’s testimony from Terry Duffy, CME’s chairman.
Looks like someone has some explaining to do.
Duffy traced for lawmakers a timeline of MF Global’s final days, which included an unannounced Thursday, Oct. 27 audit by CME officials who examined MF Global’s customer money held at close of business the prior day. That examination turned up only “immaterial discrepancies” and no funds missing as of Wednesday, Oct. 26, he said.
But MF Global’s condition grew more dire and CME returned to conduct a second audit on Sunday, Oct. 30, after the exchange operator was told by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that an internal report from MF Global then showed a $900 million shortfall in client funds driven by an “accounting error.” A day’s worth of investigation found no such error, Duffy said, and at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning, MF Global disclosed to its regulators that customers’ money had been transferred into the firm’s own accounts.
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201112080720dowjonesdjonline000389&title=cmes-duffymf-global-broke-rulestapped-customer-funds
Moose #21 – I know the most important piece about your situation. You are unable to be objective about anything related to your attempt at purchasing a residence. Vilifying real estate salespeople makes you feel better.
An essential part of a listing agent’s job is to obtain the highest price for the seller! If I have a buyer who could possibly pay more than the highest offer currently available and I do not go after it, then I have not done my job. Needless to say it is much easier for listing agents to find that buyer with a higher offer, ready, willing and able to act in an instant in a hot market.
The fact that you are continually being bested in the worst real estate market in any of our lifetimes is likely due to a few possible factors. You are seeking the same thing as everyone else and are willing to pay less…too stubborn or stupid to work with the listing agent…it is all in your mind…
30 Year (8)-
Don’t forget that you’re talking to a person who is a crook and a bankster lackey. He won’t disclose what he does for a living here, because the minute he does, his thin shred of credibility is shot to hell.
His comebacks when I ask him to disclose are also increasingly pathetic.
I don’t think I’ve ever asked for anyone to be banned here, but I think moose should be banned until he discloses what he does for a living.
Meat – we should always welcome divergent opinions even yours.
I agree with Moose on a lot of points. I disagree that he should be banned. In the past I have vented my frustration about real estate agents, lack of full disclosure, criminal and unethical behavior, and poor skills and training.
I also agree that the breed of RE agent that posts here is not the same quality of RE agent that I am seeing on the street. I basically had one RE agent tell me that you shouldn’t show your own home (the RE agent should do that) because someone could come in and then take you hostage/steal your things.
I have been lied to and seen severe breaches of dual-agency which I would consider criminal as well as unethical from a buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent works for the buyer right?!? Afraid not, they all work for the seller and the compensation is structured that way. No amount of “really, trust me, I work for the buyer” statements are going to change that.
The knowledge level required to be a RE agent can be obtained in about 16 hours of classes and prepares you for nothing (I can only talk about MD RE agent training). I have a sister-in-law that became a RE agent in which the company she worked for loaned her expensive clothes, jewelry, and cars which she checked out each day so that she could sell property. I consider this fraudulent, unethical behavior as well.
In an industry full of not-to-be-trusted sharks, I’m not sure that Moose is all that unfounded in his opinions or statements. I have talked at length about why I think the RE agency has suffered in the last 10 years.
I have used good RE agents also so I don’t believe that all RE agents are criminals.
[14] In solidarity with Mr. Gordon, let me say that King Bhumibol Adulyadej is an effing mother effer who abuses animals, wears lipstick, and dresses up in ladies clothing. Now come and get me you damn Thai monarchists. You will end up begging for your lives and for the opporunity to make a damn offer on REInvestor101’s damn house.
I agree with a lot of what Nicholas and Moose say here. I like the realtors on this site very much but some that I’ve met I wanted to strangle. Their total disregard, insults and blatant attitudes sometimes bordered on lunacy.
This whole moose vs. the realtors thing is really getting pedantic. I think we can all agree that we ALL really don’t care what Moose thinks about realtors or vice versa. The people reading this blog regularly know where Moose stands and where the realtors stand and I don’t think it’s changing, so let move on with productive discussion and leave this bickering behind.
30-yy [41];
If I have a buyer who could possibly pay more than the highest offer currently available and I do not go after it, then I have not done my job.
But if, hypothetiaclly, you dual-represented the lower offeror as well as had the listing, you would have almost doubled your commission as penalty for “not doing your job”.
The fact that you are continually being bested…
Incorrect. In the most recent case, I was not “bested” I was undercut by a lower bid for undisclosed reasons. Only 2 of 7 properties I’ve bid on have sold for more (1 has apparently now sold for less). That’s hardly being “bested” — in four cases that’s the market shouting at sellers who won’t hear (sellers whose ears are being bent by their listing agents) while their properties rot – often vacant.
Would love to move on, except even the most peripheral reference to RE agents in any topic thread here prompts a screed of infantile self-interest from Mr. Bullwinkle.
Just can’t help but thinking much of moose’s thinking is part and parcel of his bankster overlords telling him, “eat my bread, do my will”.
Teach your children well?
http://sueadler.com/short-hills-halloween-house-is-ready-to-spook-the-glenwood-trick-or-treaters/
“One year, the day AFTER Halloween, my daughter and her friend decided to visit every house in Glenwood with their emptied pillowcases, telling the unsuspecting homeowners, ‘We were sick on Halloween and couldn’t go out. Do you have any extra candy?’ …. and of course – this is the day after Halloween when homeowners were anxious to get rid of their excess candy, people emptied entire bags of candy into their pillowcases. Pretty smart 4th graders, eh?”
The money? The missing money? Uh. Uh. My dog ate it. No, the cat threw up on it. No wait, my wife washed my pants and it got destroyed in the wash — no other laundering going on, I assure you.
Meat [60];
even the most peripheral reference to RE agents in any topic …
Lets see where we began the day: No. [8] of today’s thread: Moose from yesterday…
What color is the sky in your world?
Moose,
I haven’t tried to buy a home in over two years due to the crap that I saw being pulled last time but I definitely can see your point. There is definitely a conflict of interest presented with RE agents. In some cases it is possible to remove that conflict of interest by incentivizing the RE agents to deal in your favor but only for more expensive properties. In lower cost properties it doesn’t make financial sense as the realized gain might not be enough to offset the incentive paid to the RE agent.
As an example, as a buyer you could incentivize your agent to work on your behalf. Enter into an agreement that has him turn over his percentage of the commission (3%) in exchange for an agreed upon sliding scale that is based upon how cheaply he can get the house for you. Say the listing is for 1 million dollars and you say, “I want to pay 750,000$ for this house and if you can get it for that price then you get 6 percent which goes proportionally to zero percent at 900,000$ or above”.
This then gets the buyers agent busting their rear to try and land that extra 15k in commission. You will see him hawk every offer and work that seller agent over and then take him to task if something looks shady. You can default to a fixed commission in the event that he lands somewhere in between 900K and 1Million to compensate him for his efforts.
Obviously this doesn’t work on smaller commissions because no one is going to bust their rear for an additional 500$ where speed to closing is more important than a few hundred dollars.
The point is that understanding the weakness in the compensation process for RE agents can be turned around in your favor. You just need to structure it so the reward system points prices and outcomes in your favor.
I think we should ban Borat, until he reveals what he does for a living.
“Hi fiveeee”
Jonny takes, the chair, looks worried as hell:)
I hope they ask Jonny about his decision to invest State pension dollars in Lemon Brothers days before it collapsed.
He looks like hell; so many flash bulbs went off when he took the oath it sounded like a giant flock of pigeons taking off.
Nicholas [54];
I’ve thought about the reverse sliding scale buyer’s side commision. In general, I think it cannot account for the very arbitrary way that listing prices are set. I haven’t thought through how the guild might respond in setting the ask under such a system.
I have thought that since the gubmint IS the mortgage market, they can strongly influence the sale process. You want to buy using an FNM/FRE/FHA/VA mortgage? Seller will have to conform to a no BS sales process – must disclose all prior listings under current owner; must disclose any prior reports (e.g. – inspection reports from the prior sales that fell through). Right now I’m thinking sealed bid — Show it; Open a bidding window; House sells to the highest bid – or seller can decline to sell; if they re-list it, they have to disclose all prior bids.
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Con’t [59];
The benefits to buyer is, well, the no BS.
The benefit to sellers is that they will begin to sell their homes (or not, as they wish), but buyers would no longer be reticent to bid into a rigged game. Sellers could always opt out and do things the old fashioned way (or any other way they please) and take non-subsidized buyers as they come.
The benefits to agents is that 6% (or 5% or 2.5%) of nothing is nothing.
I have heard of people that have worked the reverse sliding scale to good effect, at least in their opinion, so I can say that at a minimum that it can work.
I’m all for private deals being private. I don’t necessarily think that the seller should have to disclose deals that they chose not to take. A seller may not sell for any number of reasons that don’t have anything to do with price. Perhaps the seller doesn’t want to sell their property to a mega mall or a farmer who doesn’t want to sell to agribuisness. They flatly refuse to see those offers and it is their buisness. Perhaps they are racist and don’t want to sell to minorities, that is well within their legal right. There are no EEO rules when selling your property.
I think that it is an American misnomer that the sale goes to the highest bidder when actually there are quite a few other non-monetary factors that go into the process. Ability to close the deal comes first to mind which would trump the highest bidder. An all-cash buyer may be more attractive because he is assured the ability to close the deal.
I do think that fixing the compensation system would go a long way in removing the bias from the RE market. I’m not certain that I can come up with a better method method for all purchases that ensures equity though. I think the system might have ended up this way because it was the best alternative. The internet age might have changed those calculations though so I think this bears more thought.
just a body sitting there on Sunday afternoon telling people to sign your name on the sheet than directing you upstairs (that’s where the bedrooms are in case you don’t you know).
Jonny looking very uncomfortable on the stand. Ironic considering all the hedging he is doing there. In fact, compared to MF Global, this is his best hedging performance to date.
good research re: speculations role in metldown:
http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2011/12/flip-this-house-investor-speculation-and-the-housing-bubble.html
Man JC is squirming
This is up there with the definition of “is”
Congressmen doing a reasonably decent job of grilling Jon boy, although he did not answer the question on who authorized the wire transfers.
Sure he answered – “it was not my intention for anybody to misconstrue anything I said to do anything illegal” – kind of like ordering the code red;)
Congressmen follow the money who authorized the wire transfers at MF Global of $900 Million on October 30th from customer accounts?
Not news, certainly around here, but charts are fun!
http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2011/12/flip-this-house-investor-speculation-and-the-housing-bubble.html
I f_ckin hate John Corslime. God I f_ckin hate that bearded son of a b_tch.
moose (53)-
#8 wasn’t my post. And even if it was, what is your point?
Where is our Saddam, who would drag Corslime out of the committee room and execute him on the public square?
JPM, Goldman Among Best Workplaces for Gays
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/jpm-goldman-among-best-workplaces-for-gays.html
Jon boy full of it, ” have to find the missing assets” when everyone knows the money was wired transferred out in the days leading up to the bankruptcy, he has a better chance of finding Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman killer.
Gerald Celente calling for economic martial law 1st quarter 2012. Thats a big call. We shall see.
3 more weeks and I am getting into final readiness mode.
It’s all gone. Every stinking dime.
Juice,
This MF Global scam stinks like a g_v operation. Fascism is here. Last I heard JP Morgan had the money. How does 1.2 billion simply disappear?
Meat [73];
Going against my previous advice, since everyone else can see it, I might as well let you in on the point: 30-yr called me out by name (not just “the most peripheral reference to RE agents in any topic”), only to have you slag me for answering the bell.
Not that it really maters, but it is what it is. At least you haven’t threatened to kill me lately.
80. love can kill.
AG – Who gave the margin call to kill MF Global and their 30-1 leverage same as was done with Lehman back in 2008? It apparently originated in the UK.
MF Global wired some of the missing money from customer accounts to their general prop desk account in the UK and used for margin calls on the European bond positions financed via repo transactions.
I would think those Repos were with JPM.
AG – to elaborate a bit more I hear the Jamie D is not backing O for his second term and wants Romney in. Was this orchestrated to hurt O? I would think Corzine had a few heavy hitters who he could have called to back his margin calls. I gather they did not pick up the phone when Jon Boy called looking for capital injections.
Could it be that $1.2B might be stuffed into one giant teddy bear buried in cargo container on freight ship named My Farewell headed to Cayman Isles?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/philadelphia/camden-named-2nd-most-dangerous-city-america-164956103.html?bouchon=501,ny
Camden! Bike trails, anyone?
83,
Certainly possible. Romney wont beat Obama anyway.
Hey I’m planning to move to Jersey City in the spring. Will be working in Manhattan. Salary $140,000. Target bonus $100,000.
Must decide to buy or rent. Want 2 bedroom. Willing to pay $3,000-$4,000 in monthly rent, or $500,000-$600,000 for a condo. Condo holding time would be 5+ years. Monthly cost will be about the same for similar units, assuming 20% downpayment if I buy. I realize job security sucks in New York, but I have enough savings to survive more than a year without income.
I’m concerned about renting because rents are rising at a 5-10% annual pace based on what my renter friends there tell me. And worried about buying because prices might go down. But based on Case-Shiller, condo prices in New York metro are in clear uptrend. So I don’t want to have to pay 20% above current prices if I decide to buy in a few years.
Recommendations?
On agency: When I got my license every agent in NJ was a seller’s agent. Seller pays the commission and back then an agent had a fiduciary obligation to the seller. Agency laws were changed, but the seller is still the one signing the contract with the commission agreement in it. The entire notion of buyer’s agents paid by the seller is flawed.
moose (80)-
I’d kill you if I thought I could get away with it.
guy (87)-
Doesn’t matter how high your lease is. At the end of the term, you can walk away.
OTOH, you cannot walk away from your underwater purchase. And trust me, sooner or later, a JC/NYC purchase will be underwater.
The apple rots from the outside in. If you look closely, the market in JC has collapsed. Mocco, Hamilton Park, Beacon, CanCo…all of them are selling at cut-to-the bone discounts, enacting draconian cost cutting and scuffling to keep it going.
NYC will collapse as soon as the WS casino taps out for good. Which it will.
Is this guy releated to Baghdad Bob?
“They’ve used terms like ‘likely,’” Hock said today in an interview. “What they’ve come up with here is a probability. It’s not a definitive conclusion.”
Synthetic chemicals discovered in the aquifer are just as likely “the result of contamination from their own sampling,” he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/gas-fracking-chemicals-detected-in-wyoming-aquifer-epa-says.html