(Source GSMLS, except Bergen which is NJMLS)
Pending Home Sales (Contracts)
——————————-
Bergen County
April 2011 – 669
April 2012 – 813 (Up 21.5% YOY)
Essex County
April 2011 – 324
April 2012 – 402 (Up 24.1% YOY)
Hunterdon County
April 2011 – 100
April 2012 – 141 (Up 41% YOY)
Morris County
April 2011 – 397
April 2012 – 472 (Up 18.9% YOY)
Passaic County
April 2011 – 171
April 2012 – 260 (Up 52% YOY)
Somerset County
April 2011 – 284
April 2012 – 339 (Up 19.4% YOY)
Sussex County
April 2011 – 107
April 2012 – 140 (Up 30.8% YOY)
Union County
April 2011 – 333
April 2012 – 360 (Up 8.1% YOY)
Warren County
April 2011 – 75
April 2012 – 95 (Up 26.7% YOY)
Surprisingly, April 2012’s numbers were almost on-par with April 2010, the final month of the First Time Homebuyer credit program.
For those that remember, the expiration of the credit caused a huge spike in April contracts, pulling sales from the remainder of the year forward. April 2010’s contracts peak hasn’t been matched since.
From Bloomberg:
Ranieri Says Housing Market in U.S. Is Reaching Bottom
The U.S. housing market is reaching a bottom, according to Lewis Ranieri, the mortgage-bond pioneer.
While “broad” concern that home prices have further to fall is restraining sales, “many, myself included, think we are at a bottom,” Ranieri said today at a conference hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association in New York.
The second or third quarter will prove the nadir, said Ranieri, who added that in his distressed mortgage business “we can’t buy loans fast enough anymore.” Home prices have slumped 35 percent since a 2006 peak, S&P/Case-Shiller index data show.
Ranieri, chairman of Uniondale, New York-based Ranieri Partners, helped expand the mortgage-securities market in the 1980s at Salomon Brothers Inc., where he was vice chairman. His firm’s investments include Selene Finance LP, which targets soured debt, and home lender Shellpoint Partners LLC
After Spending Freely, Liberal Town Faces Fight on Frugality
Montclair Average Tax is 16k. Jeesh
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/nyregion/in-montclair-elections-cause-town-to-re-examine-itself.html
Inventory continues to drop as well (although still high historically)
Essex County
April 2011 – 4232
April 2012 – 3533
Hunterdon County
April 2011 – 1542
April 2012 – 1427
Morris County
April 2011 – 4591
April 2012 – 4101
Passaic County
April 2011 – 2902
April 2012 – 2736
Somerset County
April 2011 – 3062
April 2012 – 2903
Sussex County
April 2011 – 2445
April 2012 – 2179
Union County
April 2011 – 3721
April 2012 – 3265
Warren County
April 2011 – 1318
April 2012 – 1162
3 – If you are fortunate enough to be able to buy a million dollar home in Montclair, you probably aren’t fortunate enough to afford the tax bill.
Just a quick scan of the for sale listings from $1 to $2 million have property taxes ranging from $30,000 to $85,000* (although this will drop following the recent re-assessment).
* The address is 88 S. Mountain if you’d like to look, nice fix’er up’er at $1.6m.
Montclair = France?
Scratch one of the “Under Contract Houses” from Morris County List.
We agreed on a selling price in April, bank came back with an appraisal for $14,000 less than contract price.
Owner refuses to split the difference, or even give 1 dollar off…We are walking away tomorrow.
Seller thinks price of house is already increasing, so he should not budge. I don’t want to buy a house that is already worth less on the day I purchase. Where is Gary when you need him, taxes are about $11,000.
Jim
Jim
No No No. This cannot be.
I thought there were fewer people at open houses?
Must be using the internet.
Good Morning New Jersey
#8 Brian: I don’t know what people are doing, but there not at open houses; at least not the last 3 weeks I have been out.
#2 No mention of property taxes, that has to be in the equation.
Putting in a cash offer tomorrow about 14% below ask, if they bite OK if not I walk.
I told the agent who naturally says there are higher offers, “let them fall through on financing but my offer may go down.” I do not think they can meet my price , would need money at closing, but that is what I am willing to pay.
3b 11 property taxes firmly in my equation, under 5.
10 –
Typical Hyndai driver.
Grim 1 Pant up demand. LOL!
http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/150501715_Former_Marcal_seeking__25_million_tax_break.html
Another worthless NJ company that should have been closed gets on the gravy train.
Do we ever learn? No
The number of units moving is one thing but, hat about prices on those sales?
Hat, what, ughhh.
Petit jury #34
Pick mee pick mee
Good morning Jim (7),
Kudos to yours & you for sticking w/ price. The sellers have been deluded by the false economic reports (based on artificial econometric formulae and modifications in how they’re applied.) Of course, their realtor may have a sucker lined up for them.
$10 says the realtor calls you back w/ a split the difference offer. If the agent/seller does, I hope you tell them they shouldn’t have quibbled b/c you can only come in at the bank’s appraisal – bu they best decide w/i 24 hrs b/c that appraisal just might be deteriorating as they ponder that counter.
Best of luck.
7. Jim says:
May 7, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Scratch one of the “Under Contract Houses” from Morris County List.
We agreed on a selling price in April, bank came back with an appraisal for $14,000 less than contract price.
Owner refuses to split the difference, or even give 1 dollar off…We are walking away tomorrow.
Seller thinks price of house is already increasing, so he should not budge. I don’t want to buy a house that is already worth less on the day I purchase. Where is Gary when you need him, taxes are about $11,000.
Jim
Hey Gary (18),
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
More precisely – it’s the $500-$700k range as well as the sub-375k range that likely moved. The monkey in the middle gets no banana and is forced to like it. Lies, damned lies and…statistics (average, skewness and kurtosis of these population strata as well as an ANOVA assessment will tell the tale of the tape).
Shore Guy says:
May 8, 2012 at 7:28 am
The number of units moving is one thing but, hat about prices on those sales?
Under contracts? Feh. Let’s see how many close…and at what kinds of prices.
The bloodbath continues, methinks.
Munis Stronger; 30-Year Yield Sets New Low – Whitney could not have been more wrong.
Jim, this is why seller give a better price to cash buyers. People with mortgages back-peddle with bank apaisals coming in too low and home inspection issues and delays why they get financing and sell their own home.
Split the difference on a low appraisal? Are you kidding?
It is unfortunate, but allows you to reopen negotiation using a good cop/bad cop strategy.
Buyer – “Look sellers, we’re sorry, we really love the house, but the independent appraiser says it’s only worth X, and the bank is going to listen to the appraiser and not to me or you, and we just don’t have the money to pay the difference.”
Seller – “I’ll just sell to someone else.”
Buyer – “Sure, but what will you do when the appraisal comes back $14,000 less on the next appraisal? The appraisal is based on comps, and the comps haven’t changed. Even worse, what if you get a real jerk and the next appraisal comes back at $20,000 under? Our hands are tied, we love the house, but we just can’t afford to pay any more, this was our limit.”
Seller – “F*ck you, when do you want to close?”
You guys have no idea what a POS cape or a crapshack is until you come to my neighborhood. 1500 Sqft 3br 2bath house near me sold for $75,000. It’s a run down POS with a new roof slapped on it. I hear the nail guns and the contractor’s saws all day…even on the weekend working on it now. I wonder if it will be a flip job or a rental or something.
Jim [7],
Owner refuses to split the difference, or even give 1 dollar off…We are walking away tomorrow.
Tell them to burn your f*cking number.
For the NY Times to write about the problems in Montclair, the financial situation must really be dire, and it is. In the name of “diversity” or “fairness” or “schools“, or “the children”, the costs of living in Montclair have continued to rise at a torrid pace.
Take the current school budget for next year: Montclair taxpayers will spend a whopping $114,000,000 to teach just 6500 kids. These costs have taken their toll on taxpayers who can no longer afford to live there. Problem is, it has now directly impacted property values because prospective buyers are unwilling to pay such high property taxes.
Montclair, which is largely composed of liberals and run by liberals is a microcosm of the consequences of liberalism run amok. Spend, spend, spend is their mantra.
Result for a town of just 40 thousand residents: sky-high property taxes and 250 million dollars in debt.
Rarely if ever do you hear the simple question to calls for increased spending. “Can we afford it?”
The council elections in Montclair have been especially ugly this year. It’s quite entertaining actually. I think the ultra-progressive vote will split between the two progressives and the run-of-the-mill Democrat (who is still left but preaches fiscal sanity) will end up with the victory. Then there will be little consensus on the council which should make for another 4 years of entertaining Tuesday night television.
Drove my Civic to Union this morning with the AC on high (thanks Mike, she’s still working after your buddy repaired it) and she’s purring like her old self. I replaced a couple belts as well that were long overdue and were getting embarrassingly loud . Someone brought up the safety issue. I’ve never been in an accident in my life nor have I had an insurance claim of any type. I’m a super careful driver (though I don’t drive slow), but I do understand the argument. At least I have a steering wheel and passenger airbag. The other thing that’s nice is that the car is so light that it stops on a dime. If I am going to get smashed, it will most likely be from the rear or the passenger side.
In other news, I ran into Dink (remember him) at Shoprite on Sunday night.
Toodles.
Home prices rise for first time in 8 months: Corelogic
REUTERS — 4 MINUTES AGO
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Home prices rose in March for the first time since last July, helped by tighter housing inventory, data analysis firm CoreLogic said on Tuesday.
CoreLogic’s home price index gained 0.6 percent from February, but was still down 0.6 percent compared with March a year ago.
Excluding sales of distressed properties, prices climbed 0.9 percent on a yearly basis. Homeowners in danger of foreclosure, or in “distress”, often sell their homes at significantly reduced prices.
“This spring, the housing market is responding to an improving balance between real estate supply and demand, which is causing stabilization in house prices”, Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic, said in a statement.
Of the top 100 statistical areas measured by population, 57 showed year-over-year declines, down from 65.
The closely watched S&P/Case Shiller index released in late April showed a rise in U.S. single-family home prices in February for the first time in 10 months, with a gain of 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Should read “reaching around” not bottom. Sellers- we may split the difference in a slightly lower appraisal..or perhaps negotiate a lump sum rather than have you putz around trying to fix all the defects. Raising your price? Realtor strong arming? I don’t think so.
#12 Mike: You? Me? gary? All looking? Has the world gone mad!!
#15 Brian:?
Jason,
You are right about Montclair. Were you aware that there is a paid full-time employee for every five students in Montclair yet the average class sizes are in the mid twenties if I recall correctly? Would you expect anything different from a town that won’t even consider outsourcing sanitation as 1 out of the 4 workers who live in Montclair might lose their jobs? No council has even been willing to solicit a bid from the oustide, even though it’s been demanded by many constituents for the last eight years or so. Montclair is run as a charity for the public workers. The pools suck because the council is afraid to raise the paltry membership fee as those worse off might not be able to afford it, even though they get free membership. This kind of thinking has killed the town for all except the worst off. And the tax increases to pay for all of this nonsense is forcing even the worst off out of town. The number of African Americans living in town has dropped 19% in the last ten years. Hmmmmmm.
Gary looking is not that big of a surprise as we all knew you’ve been dying to move for years. Mike looking, who timed his sale at the peak perfectly…just wow!
30 –
Speaking of airbags, they do need to be serviced after a certain period of time. You may want to have them looked at by a dealership at some point.
Having them go off in your face while driving hurts. My brother and his friend crashed a saturn into one of the sound barriers on RT 80 headon. The airbag went off in his face. He compared the feeling to having a basketball thrown in your face. Stunning.
31
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ
Up 2.0% YOY (Including Distressed)
Up 2.9% YOY (Excluding Distressed)
#36 Lib: Hey!!! I think me looking is also a WOW!!! And I still think prices are going down!!!
3b 34 thought it was something I missed , could not figure that one out either.
Sanitation in my town has best “perk” is you work there. Somehow Union decided that sanitation chief upon retirement knows his job best and got written into contract they get to pick their replacement. Head of Sanitation makes 350K base. His Dad picked him. The current Head has a son he is grooming for spot. Other perk is he is in charge of snow removal. Which means hundreds of hours time and a 1/2 in a bad winter like two years ago. time and a half is really juicy when your base is 350K. Not like when I was a FT worker years ago making 15K a year and told the boss time and a half of nothing is still nothing I am going to beach on Saturday. Today if someone offered me time and a half I would sit here pushing buttons for years on end like the guy on Lost.
Libtard in Union says:
May 8, 2012 at 8:45 am
Jason,
You are right about Montclair. Were you aware that there is a paid full-time employee for every five students in Montclair yet the average class sizes are in the mid twenties if I recall correctly? Would you expect anything different from a town that won’t even consider outsourcing sanitation as 1 out of the 4 workers who live in Montclair might lose their jobs? No council has even been willing to solicit a bid from the oustide, even though it’s been demanded by many constituents for the last eight years or so. Montclair is run as a charity for the public workers. The pools suck because the council is afraid to raise the paltry membership fee as those worse off might not be able to afford it, even though they get free membership. This kind of thinking has killed the town for all except the worst off. And the tax increases to pay for all of this nonsense is forcing even the worst off out of town. The number of African Americans living in town has dropped 19% in the last ten years. Hmmmmmm.
Lib 36 “Gary looking is not that big of a surprise as we all knew you’ve been dying to move for years. Mike looking, who timed his sale at the peak perfectly…just wow!”
Past performance is no indication of future returns! LOL
All kidding aside the decline have covered my rent since I sold and then some. I like 3b think more declines are in order just not enough to justify renting. But I will hold pat for another year if I am not able to buy at a level I am comfortable with.
Montclair’s locally run sanitation has a policy in place that the workers are paid for the route, not how long it takes them. If they get done in 4 hours, then they are done for the day, but paid for 8. Is it any wonder that my cans were always half empty, they left a trail of refuse in the street, and they never even came close to returning the cans to where I placed them out the night before. In recent years, there have been some layoffs and of course it’s the youngest who got canned (see what I did there?). Well the old guys, who either drove the trucks or worked down at the yard, were forced to pick up the trash. Many of the older workers are now collecting disability and making Montclair’s disability insurance much higher than it should be. Yet they won’t even price outsourcing. It’s pure madness.
Mike,
You don’t have to nail the bottom to come out ahead of the vast majority. By nailing the sale at the top, you are already in great shape. I doubt housing is going to violently bounce back so quickly that missing the bottom will really hurt you that much. Especially if you find a deal like Gator and I did which offers you some downside protection.
#40 Mike: beats me.
As I was quoted in the NYT article on Grim’s buy, “I’m sure with your knowledge of the market you are getting a real good deal,” read a post from “Mikeinwaiting.” “As far as bottoms go, well, you take your chances.”
And I am.
Lib 44 all cash so I get a boost from no interest , of course there is investment opportunity lost.
Another thumping at the open. And shiny getting beat down. Time perhaps to break out the dry powder.
You don’t service airbags. there is no standard life expectancy for airbags.Plus illegal to sell used airbags. Once they open it up to look at it there is a chance them screw it up and it still wont work. Airbags in themselves are dangerous. Any God Respecting Bank Robber knows you steal an old 70s or 80s full sized American Car without airbags or antilock brakes. Both are crutches for bad drivers. Cant do bootlegger turns with antilock brakes and the damm airbag going off in your face could happen while car is still operable causing you to crash. The Cops have new cars with airbags. A few bootlegger turns or a slam on brakes and let car rearend you and set off airbags will set you free. Porsches and high end cars have options to deactivate these crutches for bad drivers. I despise my newer BMW with traction controls, anti-lock brakes, all wheel drive etc. The damm car assumes I dont know how to drive. Plus airbags suck. I once got t-boned at 50 mph by a car going 50 mph and I was being dragged sideways into another car. Luckily no safety features in that car not even a seatbelt. I was able to gun it and drag myself loose of him while dragging him made it between a building and a dumpster and then manage a bootlegger turn where you brake and floor gas at same time spin a hard 180 and then feet off gas. Being backwards with car times moving forward stops you much quicker than braking. Plus new cars have black boxes that track your movement. If accident is your fault it will be used against. you. Black box will also determine if you had seatbelt on or were speeding or when you braked. Finally, people forget the faster a car is the safer it is in the hands of an experienced driver. Only two ways to avoid some accidents, either speed up to avoid or brake. A car with a smaller engine you only have the brake options. The other trouble with a small car is weight. A tree or a truck size helps, but other issue is sideswipping, a smaller car when side swipped by a larger car will get dragged with it. Many many years ago I was messing around drunk as a skunk in NYC at five am in my car. Stupid Cab driver caught up to me sideswipped me to drive me into the parked cars. Dummy did not realize that a 1969 full size plymouth with five drunk guys in it has 5,000 pounds of mass. I once connect to him on the sideswipe did a hard left and dragged him to the left while his steering wheel was to right. When I had room I disconnected and he both left with our pride intact. I need to accelerate away, have mass to break free and dont need ABS or airbags get in way. I want to drive the thing. Like when I friend flipped car a few times he was still steering even though car was inoperable. It made him feel better.
Montclair. Only times I and my kids were there was due to travel soccer games. Town is gross. I had to keep a watch on my car once or twice. Typical north east jersey town. People squeezed tight like rats living the rat lifestyle.
Brain #15- 34,40, 45 please share with the class?
Warren Buffet said yesterday gold nuts want everyone to think the world is ending and we will all be living in a cave. He said if that happened I rather have a nice dry cave to live in then gold.
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
May 8, 2012 at 9:16 am
Another thumping at the open. And shiny getting beat down. Time perhaps to break out the dry powder.
Forget gold, how about oil at $97. This may be the first year I could ever recall gas prices dropping into Memorial Day.
I would consider buying after we exit NJ, but with our history of moving every few years, no chance. So I don’t even have to worry about the falling knife.
Will invest in vacation home/nompound instead. Seems more stable than SFH in northeastern suburbs.
By the way lake front we are all going fishing, OK just an excuse to drink.
Not that one is needed but it looks good!
Todays CD rates. Look how amazing low. This is why stocks and housing is coming back.
Issuer Coupon Maturity Yield Coupon Frequency Call Protection
Texas Capital Bank, TX .20% 06/18/2012 .20% Maturity Yes
Bank of Baroda, NY .25% 08/16/2012 .25% Maturity Yes
Discover Bank, DE .30% 11/16/2012 .30% Maturity Yes
Bank of China, NY .45% 02/19/2013 .45% Maturity Yes
Compass Bank, AL .50% 05/16/2013 .50% Maturity Yes
Bank of China, NY .60% 11/18/2013 .60% Semi Yes
Ally Bank, DE .75% 05/16/2014 .75% Semi Yes
GE Capital Financial, UT .85% 11/18/2014 .85% Semi Yes
Discover Bank, DE 1.05% 05/18/2015 1.05% Semi Yes
GE Capital Financial, UT 1.25% 05/18/2016 1.25% Semi Yes
Discover Bank, DE 1.75% 05/16/2017 1.75% Semi Yes
GE Capital Retail Bank, UT 2.20% 05/20/2019 2.20% Semi Yes
GE Capital Retail Bank, UT 2.80% 05186/2022 2.80% Semi Yes
Lib 53 Warning sign if I ever saw one.
JJ is so tough, he has to wear an air bag on his chin to protect the car.
Historically $97 oil is very high. It has room to fall.
Libtard in Union says:
May 8, 2012 at 9:20 am
Forget gold, how about oil at $97. This may be the first year I could ever recall gas prices dropping into Memorial Day.
3b Mike: You? Me? gary? All looking? Has the world gone mad!!
YES, or just us.
[55] mike,
I prefer drinking next to water.
Off to sign offer and hand over check. Did I just say that.
Now shiny getting hammered. Wonder if Buffett is secretly loading up on GLD?
Nom, more than welcome to join the outing.
Stu,
I’m still here. Just changed my handle as I am Dink no more.
Good seeing you and the family at shop rite, confirmed for me that I must be shopping at the cheapest possible grocery store.
Best I can see in my member federal credit unions is 2.5% 5yr cd. The one with the best rates won’t publish them on-line.
#60 Perhaps!!
51 –
Truthfully I don’t really remmember. I was having leftover margaritas from cinco de mayo last night. I think I was trying to pull forward some car humor from yesterday. Not exactly sure. Ever wish you could unpost something? oh well. no more ipad allowed after 8PM :(
Lib 53 Warning sign if I ever saw one.
Yeah…for me too, but sustained lower oil prices result in a boost in equities due to cheaper cost to produce and deliver goods and then we are off to the races once again. If oil was dropping and gold prices were increasing, then I would be applying for membership at the Nompound.
Pete,
Didn’t realize you were still around. And yes, Shoprite is the cheapest, especially with their local coupons. Unfortunately, their produce has gotten progressively worse over the years. Their shellfish is the tops though. I got a dozen large necks for $3.99 which I slurped down with Gator Jr. during the Ranger game last night. Sometimes, they have oysters at $5 per dozen, but they always throw in like 18 of them. And I’ve never had more than one empty shell or a bad one. The funny thing is, my kid won’t touch a vegetable, he barely eats bread, but clams, squid and octopus are all good.
My favorite paragraph from the Montclair article: “Ultimately, it is a fight for relatively little control over the problem. Between the part of the budget that goes to the county and the part that goes to the schools, the Council governs only 20 percent of the overall spending. Many of those costs — pensions, salaries and health care — are locked in collective bargaining agreements.”
Much ado about nothing.
I want a pony too?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-america-starts-mortgage-reduction-100202589.html
Stu is not cheap he is overspending averse. Hey Lib I think I may have to put the old nissan out to pasture she is springing more leaks that the titanic and I may have to do the front end again. would rather drop the 3K into something less used. When the front end goes on Gator’s X just get rid of it
Buy a GM car. As a US Taxpayer you own part of the Company. Circle of Life. US makes more money you pay less taxes.
The best car deal every my BIL got. He bought a brand new Chrysler Mini van in late October 2008. he bought the 7 year extended warranty which was from an insurance company not Chrysler. But Chrysler was in need of cash. So dealer had a special prom for an extra $300 bucks he could buy a lifetime warranty that would fix anything in car for rest of his life for free. My BIL goes what is catch. He goes it is backed by Chrysler, if Chrysler goes BK you are out $300 bucks. BIL says I will roll that dice, gave him $300 bucks. Warranty starts October 2015 and ends when Chrysler goes bk or he dies. If all goes to plan he will be getting free parts put in when he is 100 years old. Now that was a deal of a lifetime. Trouble is non-transferable warranty.But with three kids and a wife someone will be always driving it even if it is only a station car or commuter car. Take that Japs.
Actually,
Painhrtz – I ain’t dead yet says:
May 8, 2012 at 9:57 am
Stu is not cheap he is overspending averse. Hey Lib I think I may have to put the old nissan out to pasture she is springing more leaks that the titanic and I may have to do the front end again. would rather drop the 3K into something less used. When the front end goes on Gator’s X just get rid of i
These costs have taken their toll on taxpayers who can no longer afford to live [insert town]. Problem is, it has now directly impacted property values because prospective buyers are unwilling to pay such high property taxes.
This is the f*cking battle cry. The public sector needs to really go f*ck themselves. Look at the payroll and benefits of every single public worker in any town in Northern Jersey and tell me you don’t want to puke.
The U.S. housing market is reaching a bottom, according to Lewis Ranieri, the mortgage-bond pioneer.
What effect does runaway property taxes have on this prediction, Mr. Ranieri?
Gary, Can I have a “Sell To Who?” Please Warn Notice May 2012
CME Group Monmouth Junction 07/02/2012 110 Jobs
MetLife Morristown 06/30/2012 496 Jobs
72 –
Pain you have a frontier right? How many miles?
I’ve got 150,000 and hoping to make it to at least 200,000. (knock on wood)
Well our Xterra is approaching 100K. The Honda 150K.
Mike [76],
It’s funny you posted that. I was just about to say that the job prospects are absolutely atrocious. Even immediately after the 2008 Wall Street crash, I was getting at least one interview per week. Now, I’m trying to contact everyone and anything I can and the pickens are very slim.
In the IT realm, they’re looking for someone that can fill one role and handle everything from issue management to coding. If you don’t have 10 out of 10 on the checklist, forget it. And these roles are predominately temp positions.
In the immortal words of BC Bob: Sell? Sell to whom?
Of the 22 closings so far today in Monmoth County MLS 15 are rentals. Lots of renting going on at the shore.
Gary (75):
Taxes are not the only problem with buying a house. The economy is about to enter another serious downturn. People buying houses better have a big rainy day fund. No amount of QE or ZIRP is going to help these knife catchers if they got zero in the bank and lose their jobs.
Hype [81],
It’s bad… I know. These sellers that are underwater are dying a slow death. And the administration is so f*cking clueless, I don’t think they realize how bad it really is.
Barry Oblama: The political equivalent of Tim Tebow.
#83 gary
No they are different. O will still have his job as No 1 starter when his second season starts in November.
Fabius [84],
And we deserve everything we get as a result.
#75 gary It is never, ever addressed, and in our area it is more imortant than price at this point.
3B [86],
Two of the realtors I spoke to at open houses over the weekend mentioned the “R” word when I brought up property taxes. As in, “well, you can always file for tax reassessment.” I felt like saying “prices always go up as well”, but held back. I kindly explained that anyone who buys with the intent of getting their taxes reduced shouldn’t be buying.
49 – JJ
The manual of my old Nissan Hardbody said the airbag needed to be serviced or replaced after ten years.
Can anyone provide the name and contact number for the”uber home inspector”?
#87 gary:I kindly explained that anyone who buys with the intent of getting their taxes reduced shouldn’t be buying.
And you wonder why they don’t like you!!
3B,
That’s their version of, “it’s a great time to buy.” And that’s my version of, “prices will continue to drop as everything else sky rockets.” ;)
Peter is dar uberinspektor
http://www.afullhouseinspectionco.com/
Gary,
Just say that you expect to pay 18,000 a year as it clearly means you have made it. Declare it is an honor to pay for the great teachers, administrators,politicians, police and public work folks who have made the area exclusive. I am sure you will get nods from the NAR parrots.
Japs have gone soft, today they would use airbags in a Kamikaze attack.
Brian says:
May 8, 2012 at 11:40 am
49 – JJ
The manual of my old Nissan Hardbody said the airbag needed to be serviced or replaced after ten years.
Sometimes people overfocus on RE taxes. I know I do it just pisses me off. But my damm quarterly estimated tax payments are my real killer as well as AMT. RE Taxes is just something I pay and get pissed and can see the local teacher or cop goofing off while I go to work and I get mad I am paying their salary. Meanwhile a whole roomful of welfare moms live off my federal taxes but since I cant see it I dont get pissed.
Bystander says:
May 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Gary,
Just say that you expect to pay 18,000 a year as it clearly means you have made it. Declare it is an honor to pay for the great teachers, administrators,politicians, police and public work folks who have made the area exclusive. I am sure you will get nods from the NAR parrots.
Brian yep 254K from 4 that were originally on it 12.5 years. she has been a good girl and earned a well deserved retirement. funny thing is I get offers all the time so I’ll probably sell her for something reasonable and get something newer.
JJ i just don’t like american trucks
96 –
The US manufacturers didn’t make a “compact” pickup with the features I liked in ’04
Mine’s an ’04 and the Frontier was the best deal at the time. With rebates, my trade in, a large down payment, and some serious haggling, I walked away with a small loan that I paid off quickly. 2004 Toyota’s were expensive, Chevy S10 4dr was ugly, and the Ford Explorer sport track’s bed was tiny.
The new Frontiers are completely different and pricey. Personally I’m not sure I’d buy another one.
Give the Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon a serious look. They’re basically Isuzu’s anyway.
OT Alert: Small world edition
I was just on a conference call for a federal advisory committee that I sit on. There was one member of the public participating, a tax attorney in California.
At one point, after we discussed how he could get members of my committee on his television show, I mentioned going to meetings in Philly and NYC b/c I was in Jersey.
He asked me where I was from and I said that I lived in Westfield. He burst out laughing and said he was born in Westfield and had graduated Westfield High in 1957. Went to his website and it was there on his bio.
I meet so many people who grew up in The Brig, it’s scary.
[85] gary
Fabius is a european and, as such, views americans as uncivilized and unenlightened, particularly those americans that espouse “traditional american values.” He would prefer we have the sort of economic and political systems and atmosphere that they have in civilized, enlightened Europe. And he simply cannot fathom why so many americans don’t want that.
jj (73)-
GM = Circle of Life = Faces of Death
Was in Summit last week, lots of commerce on Springfield Ave.
Bloomfield Ave in Montclair, my town, is full of so many empty store
Fronts its sad. The difference was stunning.
20% discount on brand new house
Last LP: $865,000 ML#: 1126378
Addr: 83 CHARLES PL RES/S
Twn: OLD TAPPAN Zip: 07675
Cty#: 02 CtyLoc: 100 Area#: 0243
Orig LP: $989,000
Sold: $790,000
SD: 3/30/2012 UCD: 2/27/2012 DOM: 237
Downtown Montklair is a lot closer to looking like Detroit than like Slummit.
Some idiot restaurateur recently paid over 800K for a liquor license there. Good luck amortizing that, chump.
Montklair politics are also fast approaching the Animal Farm level. They blew past European-level in about a nanosecond.
#99 Com: And EU-rope is doing such a wonderful job of it all.
105 – it is actually the repubs who want austerity here in the states and that is what is making europe sink even faster.
but let’s talk RE:
this is currently listed
MLS# 1214443
Price: $929,000
Town: OLD TAPPAN
Address: 28 BIRCHWOOD RD
here is what their neighbor sold for 2 years ago – looks like a very similar house but i am guessing 28 Birchwood comes with roughly $225,000 buried in the backyard:
Addr: 29 BIRCHWOOD RD RES/S
Twn: OLD TAPPAN Zip: 07675
Cty#: 02 CtyLoc: 100 Area#: 0243
Orig LP: $634,500
Sold: $675,000
SD: 10/21/2010 UCD: 8/24/2010 DOM: 9
Nom [99],
I guess that’s why the French opted for more heroin a.k.a more taxes and more spending.
106
what is your solution to europe’s woes?
your comment implies that it’s OK to sink, just not that fast
Do people in NJ just drive around in circles all day? 245K miles is like a gyspy cab in the Bronx type mileage. My 1996 Camry I sold 8 years ago I was walking by the other day and noticed it has 89K miles on it now. My wife had it four years, passed it to me who had it four years, who sold it to neighbor who had it four years and drove it to work every day and then gave it to his daughter for college and she drove it to school every day for last four years. Now it is back down the block from me as girl is graduating. 16 years, four owners and driven constantly. What do you drive to Florida for Key Lime Pie every weekend? Are you afraid of Planes? Have some phobia against mass transportation? Or are you smuggling people in from Mexico? At my rate of driving it would take me 250 years to drive 245K miles. The no drinking and driving stuff really cuts back on driving too as I take train a lot to dinner in city, Jets games, Knicks game as I dont want to drink and drive, cant drive to work too much traffic so take train and usually take a plane on vacation. Hard to put on milage. You need to save the planet. That guy I sold my Toyota too is eying my BMW he asked for it when I am done. He is getting rid of my Toyota in five to ten years and by then I can pass him my BMW.
Painhrtz – I ain’t dead yet says:
May 8, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Brian yep 254K from 4 that were originally on it 12.5 years. she has been a good girl and earned a well deserved retirement. funny thing is I get offers all the time so I’ll probably sell her for something reasonable and get something newer.
JJ i just don’t like american trucks
French=Smelly
Frogs don’t want austerity so where will the money come from for all of those socialist jobs? The banks going to lend it to them or something? Hahaha ,should have kept your printing press Frogs!!
108 – you can imply what you want
[106] seif,
So US republicans who want austerity in the US are causing debt crises in Europe?
Okay, I’m not seeing it. Can you elucidate in one syllable words so we kinsuratives can follow along?
joyce (108)-
Urrp’s solution is easy: default.
In the end, we will all default. Fiat is dead.
Those who recover the fastest will be the ones who default the fastest…and who do so in an all-in manner. Screw the dolts who hold the paper; in most cases, they took the risk knowing full well the paper was worthless.
I have an hour commute and I put my motorcycle on the back of the truck and drive it to Daytona, FL once a year and Wildwood, NJ once a year. Daytona is over 900 miles one way. the miles add up quick.
NJ is also very spread out when you get away from the city. You pretty much need to drive everywhere.
I also like to drive offroad in circles since it is a 4×4. I think you can also do this with a prius or a camry but it doesn’t work quite as well. Could be fun though if they were rentals.
109.JJ says:
May 8, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Do people in NJ just drive around in circles all day? 245K miles is like a gyspy cab in the Bronx type mileage. My 1996 Camry I sold 8 years ago I was walking by the other day and noticed it has 89K miles on it now. My wife had it four years, passed it to me who had it four years, who sold it to neighbor who had it four years and drove it to work every day and then gave it to his daughter for college and she drove it to school every day for last four years. Now it is back down the block from me as girl is graduating. 16 years, four owners and driven constantly. What do you drive to Florida for Key Lime Pie every weekend? Are you afraid of Planes? Have some phobia against mass transportation? Or are you smuggling people in from Mexico? At my rate of driving it would take me 250 years to drive 245K miles. The no drinking and driving stuff really cuts back on driving too as I take train a lot to dinner in city, Jets games, Knicks game as I dont want to drink and drive, cant drive to work too much traffic so take train and usually take a plane on vacation. Hard to put on milage. You need to save the planet. That guy I sold my Toyota too is eying my BMW he asked for it when I am done. He is getting rid of my Toyota in five to ten years and by then I can pass him my BMW.
#11 Juice: If that leftist party that won in Greece is able to form a government, they are going to tear up their austerity/bailout agreement with Europe (Germany). Greece exits the Euro, and who is next?
112
I can infer what I want, only you can imply
I feel like I’m watching an episode of The Office
(109)
The mileage is so low because they’re in the shop every other month for repair of their smashed windows.
plume (113)-
Evidently, Angela Merkel secretly became a card-carrying Rethuglican.
And all this time, I thought European austerity was the result of issuance of faulty, fraudulent debt that now must be paid.
I tried bringing my motorcycle on the plane to florida but I couldn’t get past the metal detector.
What a dolt I am! Any fool knows the debt will never be paid. Look at the collectivist sheep vote themselves more bread and ciruses.
This will all end in a pile of smoldering rubble.
114
Meat,
I agree default and restructure is the solution. I was just curious what seif would choose because I didn’t think default was going to be the answer.
I should include after the default changing certain monetary, fiscal, and legal policies to have more sustainable growth in the future is the solution.
That being said, this criminal racketeering govt won’t choose to do anything the honest way … it’s been their playbook for many a decade.
3b (116)-
Don’t be surprised if the first country out of the Euro turns out to be Germany.
Just saying.
No JJ it works out to 20K or so a year between commuting and weekend activities that require some driving like hunting fishing snowboarding and mountain biking it was not hard to put the miles on.
Brian the last Gen Cayon/Colorado was typical GM junk underpowered with the inline 5, overpowered with the V8 and the interior was crap. It consistently has some of the worst reliability and owner satisfaction ratings with a 35K price tag when loaded. Stay very far away from them
the new ones are supposed to be much better designs by their Thai and Australian design teams who know small trucks. There is also the possibility that they will either have direct injection motors or diesel. Depending on how they look and rate, i may pick one up used after they come out especially if the diesel is decent. Only thing good about Chevy trucks are the D-Max and Allison trans in the heavy duties
joyce (122)-
seif is a collectivist sheep. Hitting the reset button isn’t in their playbook. It means an end to getting something for nothing.
All I know is that Oblammy wants to move Forward!! Like, let’s move forward past capitalism into a commune and protest until we all get a pony!
my head and body are aching from 5 days in New Orleans…and no one here ever convinces anyone to change their mind on anything politically. i am much more interested declining RE prices.
[123] meat,
Interesting. I hadn’t given much thought to how being a euronation makes you a bag holder of your neighbors debt but it makes sense except that if would lead to demise overnight. So any benefit is illusory since the peg would be artificially low. Better to roll out an alt currency that will bleed the euro. Same result but gives the smart and quick a chance.
Brian 115 Do you take your bike down to Daytona for Bike Week? There’s a local carrier in Linden that tranports them down for the bikers at a reasonable rate since he’s hauling quite a few. Good for the bikers that rather fly down.
That was in 80s, now they are train station cars at best.
Europe nations that are currently in the EU have defaulted on their bonds 30 times in the last 100 years. USA has not defaulted EVER on their bonds. Germany alone defaulted twice in the 20 century. And that is one of their highest rated countries
xolepa says:
May 8, 2012 at 2:17 pm
(109)
The mileage is so low because they’re in the shop every other month for repair of their smashed windows.
#23 There: I am sure most Germans would be finw with that>
You will REALLY enjoy this open house – plus you paid for it !!!
http://www.jbmdlopenhouse.com/
130
the USA has never defaulted … and inflation is only 1%
Just heard Harry Reid call business owners “tax dodgers”. Nothing equivocal about it either.
re#116 – 3B – Austerity and s*hI*T sandwiches for everyone in Europe, the Chinese even balked at bailing out Italy when they first said they would help. Seems to me there is no money to be had other than the printing press.
[135] juice,
When the euro tanks, they will be overrun with Americans. Fabius and seif had better visit now before the place starts to look like Tenafly on the Seine.
nothing equivocal? interesting translation. imply, infer…we all have off days.
May 08, 2012
Reid fires back, says GOP “clear message” is to “protect wealthy tax dodgers”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fired back Tuesday at Republicans who are blocking a freeze on student loan rates, charging, “They’re sending a clear message they would rather protect wealthy tax dodgers than help promising students achieve their dreams of higher education.”
Democrats want to pay for the lower rate by closing a tax loophole. House of Representatives Republicans prefer cutting money from a preventive health fund. The impasse has stalled any progress on keeping the student loan rate at current levels.
“Republicans will try to explain away their no votes by claiming they oppose the way the legislation is paid for,” Reid, D-Nevada, said Tuesday. “They propose radical cuts to a preventive health care fund instead – a proposal they know Democrats oppose.
“The prevention fund is already helping states fight chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes,” he said. “Chronic diseases like these are responsible for 7 out of 10 deaths in American. And they make up three-quarters of the nation’s health care spending.”
Read more here: http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/2012/05/reid-fires-back-says-gop-clear-message-is-to-protect-wealthy-tax-dodgers.html#storylink=cpy
Nom – Ahh class warfare and race baiting when you can’t run on your record look for someone else to blame. honestly this crap is getting real tired lets just string them all up and be done with it.
They’re sending a clear message they would rather protect wealthy tax dodgers than help promising students achieve their dreams of higher indentured servitude.
There Harry fixed it for ya
What spiteful Harry doesn’t want the little snowflakes to know that unfettered access to easy money, backed by the feds that can not be cleared bankruptcy, is a whole lot of the reasons that your degree in puppetry costs 60K
Nobody asked these kids to take out student loans. Nobody asked these kids to major in jobs they cant get jobs in. 99.999999999999% of Bosses want a hardworking kid who worked during college, stayed at home, helped his parents out, is responsible went to a local inexpensive school, graduated with no debt and still lives at home. First generation kids the best. What we get are snot noised spoiled punks that ran up huge debt in college want a place in city right away and want me to pay them double so they could afford their debts. That is why I run a credit check. People with high debts are soon to be embezzlers or drug dealers.
Oh and Harry death is the cause of death for 10 of 10 Americans how they get there are a combination of factors such as genetics, lifestyle choices and bad luck. government paid programs never prevented a death they may delay it but treating people as children through tax based re-education programs is only a nice way to keep your cronies nests feathered.
And your a Douche
A select group of struggling mortgage borrowers are about to get an offer that sounds too good to be true. Executives at Bank of America say they will begin mailing 200,000 letters offering certain customers mortgage principal reduction.
“If people get these things and toss them, they won’t be eligible,” says Ron Sturzenegger, the Bank of America executive charged with providing solutions to borrowers in need of mortgage assistance.
But the offer is real, and eligible borrowers could get as much as $150,000 knocked off the balance of their mortgages. It is all part of the $25 billion settlement reached this year between federal and state agencies and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over fraudulent foreclosure document processing (so-called “robo-signing”).
Anyone still feel like playing by the rules? Are there any f*cking rules? Does this epitomize the very essence of select morality?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xzga0qB3EpY
no one gives a sh*t about the rules
I’ve only been reading this blog for a couple weeks but have to say I love it. There is a lot of talk about property taxes and I just have to throw my gripe out there. I moved down to the shore in the mid-90’s when I was in my late 20’s. Bought my first house on the beach in Loch Arbor for $185K so I’m definitely not complaining about that, the house’s value is probably about 6-7x what I paid for it but the taxes have gotten out of hand. Part of the reason I moved down here was bc the taxes were so low in comparison to the rest of the state and still are in surrounding towns (Allenhurst, Interlaken, and Deal). Our local council totally screwed us along with Corzine back in 2010. There are 22 school age kids in town in public school in Ocean Twp. The village paid $12,500/student to send kids to Ocean Twp. schools in 2009. That number jumped to $66K/student in 2010 and is now $81,000/student based on Corzine’s revised “formula” for out-of-town school budgeting. Corzine isn’t the only one to blame, local council had the opportunity to change to Asbury schools like all the other surrounding towns (Allenhurst, Deal, etc.) and keep the school budget virtually unchanged. Everyone on the council had at least one kid in Ocean Twp. schools and never brought the referendum up for vote or even made residents aware until it was too late.
This is a long post, I know, my point is my property taxes jumped from $11K in 2009 to $20K in 2010 and are now $31K. I can’t believe something like this can be legal. It’s completely sunk a bunch of residents who have lived here for 20+ years, unfortunately mostly seniors. It’s such a shame that the local council can’t be held liable for something like this and that the state would allow this to happen. Only in NJ…
This is not the best week to be putting cash into new fixed-income investments. But if you already own bonds, enjoy the gains. Herewith some current headlines:
High-Grade Bond Yields Hit Record Low: Average yields in the Barclays U.S. Investment-Grade Index hit 3.25%, a record low for the index that dates back to 1973, writes Patrick McGee in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Junk Bond Yields Match All-Time Low 6.95%: This blog has been tracking the downward march of speculative-grade bond yields, which hit 6.95% at the end of last week, matching an all-time low set in 2005. Average yields crept slightly higher yesterday to 6.959%.
30-Year Muni Yield Sets New Low: Average yields on 30-year muni bonds reached a new all-time low of 3.13% Tuesday, beating the 3.14% mark set in Feb. 2.
Treasury Yields Reach 3-Month Lows After Auction Demand: The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell four basis points to 1.83 percent earlier Tuesday, its lowest level since Feb. 3, while 30-year bond yields fell to 3.02%, also the lowest since Feb. 3. Yields backed up a bit in the afternoon, with the 10-year yield at 1.845% and the 30-year yield at 3.037%.
Faced with such rock-bottom interest rates, investors with cash to put to work might consider putting it into a home, as 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit a record low of 3.84% last week, besting the 3.87% mark set Feb. 9.
gary wait until they get the tax bill for the 150K writedown : )
no, no one plays by the rules this is Just BOA coming up with a way to keep the rotting crapshacks somewhat current. giving the government their pound of flesh with a wink and a nod that it will be a tax write off, while placating the masses.
Personally I see it as a turning point this is when the productive in responsible finally start the f*ck you process to the rest of the leeches or the the whole thing turns to complete sh!t and the guns start blazing
either way got popcorn?
and for more government efficiency, can imagine why no one trusts them to provide fair and equitable health insurance
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/city-detroit-paid-65-000-2004-dodge-intrepid-173443388.html
It seems that lots of people think that it’s impossible for economies to grow while at the same time their governments live within their means. Most of Europe and most of the NY Times editorial board, including the Krugmutt.
That’s pretty dumb. Unless you believe Santa and Unicorns will always lend you more money.
This quote from Ayn Rand seems appropriate:
“Inflation” is defined in the dictionary as “undue expansion or increase of the currency of a country, esp. by the issuing of paper money not redeemable in specie” (Random House Dictionary). It is interesting to note that the word “inflated” is defined as “distended with air or gas; swollen.”
This last is not a coincidence: in regard to social issues, “inflation” does not mean growth, enlargement or expansion, it means an “undue”—or improper or fraudulent—expansion. The expansion of a country’s currency (which, incidentally, cannot be perpetrated by private citizens, only by the government) consists in palming off, as values, a stream of paper backed by nothing but promises (or hot air) and getting actual values, the citizens’ goods or services, in return—until the country’s wealth is drained. A similar activity, in private performance, is the passing of checks on a non-existent bank account. But, in private performance, this is regarded as a crime—and most people understand why such an activity cannot last for long.
Today, people are beginning to understand that the government’s account is overdrawn, that a piece of paper is not the equivalent of a gold coin, or an automobile, or a loaf of bread—and that if you attempt to falsify monetary values, you do not achieve abundance, you merely debase the currency and go bankrupt.
#45 Pain: I bet the writedown will be forgiven.
[137] seif,
Step into my parlor said the spider to the fly . . .
Infer? I infer nothing. First, you printed the quote. Harry said the republicans were “clear[ly]” protecting “tax dodgers.” Equivocal? I think not.
Second, harry was talking about the defeat of this bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.2343: It calls for tax hikes on S corporations and partnerships that provide “professional services” Again, unequivocal and undeniable.
So, when Harry chastises the republicans for blocking a bill that raised taxes on those businesses, he said that the republicans were protecting “tax dodgers” His words, not mine, nothing to infer here.
Now, since nearly every professional service in america is organized as an LLC, S corp, or partnership, he is calling nearly everyone in the fields of “health, law, lobbying, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, investment advice or management, or brokerage services” who will make over 250K a “tax dodger”.
I say he said it. I infer nothing.
Now for someone who watches as much MSNBC and Current as you must, I would expect something better in terms of snarknalysis. Please your game or go back to lurking. Or blame it on being tired; I’ll accept that.
s/b “please raise your game” Friggin android
3B the only nice thing about the IRS in these situations is they are like a pimp in a bad 70’s flick b!tch betta have my money! there is no way they will let them ride on free money.
they think the banks are bad wait when they owe the government 25K, they will be screaming for mercy from Chairman O on that one also
Gary [141];
So let me get this straight: if we accept the settlement at face value as pennance for ‘robo-signing’ in teh foreclosure process (which isn’t even alleged to have affected the debts owned in the slightest; only to whom they were owed), the plan for restitution is to pay people who haven’t even been foreclosed on by way of mortgage principal reduction.
I’ll take the Blue Pill now, please.
152
if you pay off your mortgage in full, to the wrong person, you have paid nothing and acquired zero title free and clear
umm, so i guess it does matter to whom the debts are owed
gary (141)-
I’ve said it since ’08: you’re an idiot to pay your mortgage.
Guess mortgages and notes and hypothecation and clear title will mean nothing when we’re all roaming the country in armed packs and sleeping in the open.
[151] pain
“they think the banks are bad wait when they owe the government 25K, they will be screaming for mercy from Chairman O on that one also”
They already are.
Whatever happened to debtors’ prison?
Boy, I’ve been in a pissed off mood recently
So Montclair voted the entire ultra-progressive slate in. The next four years should be as entertaining as ever. Needless to say, I think Obama has the election wrapped up already. Romney would do better to just pay his campaign contributions forward to whoever is running against Ms. Clinton in 2016.
[159] libtard,
I have long theorized that once we hit a certain inflection point with respect to economy, fiscal policy, and welfare statism, we would see a more or less permanent run of democratic leaders holding office. That is to say, when the underclass is able to tip the balance and “vote themselves rich”, they will continue to do so, and as the predictable economic cascade intensifies, the underclass grows larger and continues to vote in democratic leaders who promise redistribution. It will be the beginning of the downward spiral, and only in hindsight will we be able to say, yeah, that was it. But we keep trying to see the future, and right now, a goodly number of americans think they see that tipping point in the election of Barack Obama.
The reason, the real reason, that so many americans feared Obama had little to do with him personally, or even his politics. He was the person designated to fill a role, a role of the politician that, through his words and policies, first signals to the masses that we may be at that tipping point. We hate what he represents and what he represents is a reflection of ourselves as a profligate, dysfunctional society. We hate the man in the person of Obama staring back at us in the mirror because his reflection tells us “You fcuked up. If you managed this better, I wouldn’t be here.”
FWIW, it was on this board that I postulated that Israel would be one of the new tax havens for expatriate americans. Seems I am not alone in thinking that. . .
http://www.taxlawyers.co.il/en/articles.asp?ArticleID=1228
John: the resident expert for your area, and NJ RE Report caterer, is NJCoast…. she is here often, but only reviews posts from time to time….the true regulars scan most of the posts. JJ (aka Boogie Down John) is weekday/business hours only…..
John says:
May 8, 2012 at 4:16 pm
I’ve only been reading this blog for a couple weeks but have to say I love it. There is a lot of talk about property taxes and I just have to throw my gripe out there. I moved down to the shore in the mid-90′s when I was in my late 20′s. Bought my first house on the beach in Loch Arbor for $185K so I’m definitely not complaining about that, the house’s value is probably about 6-7x what I paid for it but the taxes have gotten out of hand.
BTW: JJ blew off the S&P muni thing….I will post more tomorrow….
Was “The Scream” really about onerous taxes?????
“Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” recently sold for $120 million at an auction conducted by Sotheby’s in New York. … Jeffery Yablon, a partner at the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm in Washington who tracks memorable tax quotations, notes this one from Munch (as quoted in Sue Prideaux’s Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream, Yale University Press, 2005):
‘This tax problem has made a bookkeeper of me too. I’m really not supposed to paint, I guess. Instead, I’m supposed to sit here and scribble figures in a book. If the figures don’t balance I’ll be put in prison. I don’t care about money. All I want to do with the limited time I have left is to use it to paint a few pictures in peace and quiet. By now, I’ve learned a good deal about painting and ought to be able to contribute my best. The country might benefit from giving me time to paint. But does anyone care?’
Nor did Munch stop there. As Prideaux writes, he also penned ‘hyperbolic rants’ to the tax authorities, ‘who were accused of wanting to tax the skin on his brain, the hand of the artist, the voice of the tenor, and the thoughts of the philosopher.’”
From Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/n-j-revenue-trails-budget-as-christie-touts-comeback.html
N.J. Revenue Trails Budget as Christie Touts Comeback
By Terrence Dopp – May 8, 2012 11:08 PM ET
New Jersey receipts from income and corporate taxes fell short of Governor Chris Christie’s budget targets last month and appear to be on track to trail the same period a year earlier, according to legislative analysts.
Preliminary information indicates collections from both levies fell in April, according to a May 3 memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Office. The e-mail to lawmakers, which isn’t public, said a detailed figure won’t be available until May 14.
Christie, a first-term Republican, has traveled the state to tout the beginning of a “Jersey Comeback.” His budget forecast an increase in tax collections last month compared with April 2011.
No Jersey Comeback. No recovery. No hope. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Train off the tracks at 140 mph; bridge abutment dead ahead. Thelma and Louise moment approaches. Smoke ’em if you got ’em. Some Montklair animals are more equal than others. Prepare the reset button.
Another day in hell.
Only in the mind of a politician can a state that is still systematically destroying its tax base, grinding its citizens into powder, subsidizing a massive welfare state and paying nothing more than lip service to sound fiscal policy be in any way “recovering”.
Some of us may like the song that Christie sings- and at least he’s not the pea-brained nincompoop Corslime was- but if you think he’s your shining man of conservative principle, I have a nice KHOV 2.5/2/with garage and 11k tax bill I’d like to sell you.
I promise you can appeal those taxes, and the taxes will never go up. Honest.
We’ll come to our senses when the Irvington hordes are at our suburban slum gates, looking to loot the wealth that we lost long, long ago.
Please call your local realtor today,don’t wait as the spring season is in full swing.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/09/real_estate/realtors-agents.moneymag/
Lugar from Indiana got destroyed in the primary by the T-party candidate. That’s what you get for reaching across the damn aisle and shaking hands with stinking liberals. This is a shot across Romney’s bow also. He had damn well better get someone on the hard right as the damn veep with substantial duties. By that I mean Palin, Bachman or Santorum. He damn near has to switch places with them and be the veep and the let them be the damn presidential candidate if he has any hope of getting my damn vote. We are sick of RINO’s and suck ups to the liberal establishment.
Be procative. Join us in the big cities now and start pushing the poor out to the suburbs where they belong. We’ll keep some of the hearty poor around to help build the hard perimeter. A Nomtropolis is better than a Nompound.
We’ll come to our senses when the Irvington hordes are at our suburban slum gates, looking to loot the wealth that we lost long, long ago.
better yet, be proactive instead of procative.
170 –
Palin, Bachman or Santorum? Ugh Gag.
I have the feeling most voting in the presidential race in November will be for or against Obama. Not really for Romney so much.
Don’t worry. Hollande is a politician. That means he is a politician first, and a socialist second. Self preservation comes first. When he realizes that overspending will destroy the already delicate french economy, he will compromise on all of his false campaign promises and blame his failures on the right.
He is a politician, he will screw over the socialists that elected him.
111.Juice Box says:
May 8, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Frogs don’t want austerity so where will the money come from for all of those socialist jobs? The banks going to lend it to them or something? Hahaha ,should have kept your printing press Frogs!!
brain (174)-
Doesn’t matter. Urrp has been completely busted out for almost two years. Nothing anyone does will fix it. All that’s left to do is pull up a deck chair, mix a fruity drink, watch the ultra-violence and wait for them to hit the reset button.
As soon as all the tears are shed in Urrp and Japan, we’ll follow the same script here.
175 –
Meat you have to be a bit more positive about life. I don’t share your pessimism. There won’t be anarchy or riots, only a long slow slog of tepid growth and austerity in Europe.
You see? that’s the glass half full way of looking at life. I’m worried about you buddy, all this debbie downer pessimism is no good for your health.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/04/how-the-power-of-positive-thinking-won-scientific-credibility/256223/
http://www.mensfitness.com/gear/fashion-and-trends/positive-thinking-has-heart-health-benefits
143 –
John, get and appraisal and grieve.
Brian [176],
Meat is stating the obvious and inevitable. It’s not completely out of bounds to say that whoever is locked and loaded has an advantage. I must be out of my f*cking mind to buy another house in North Jersey but I figure, f*ck it. Why not try to enjoy what amenities are left for my family’s sake. When it all fades and when I can’t afford to pay the extortion taxers any longer, then I’ll do my own version of busting the place out. I’ll then pack up the pick-up truck and head west like Tom Joad. People are angry… I see it on the roads, I see it here in work and I see it in stores. People are getting edgy and are getting that “circle the wagons” mentality.
Where is Captain Sunshine today?
Gary my strategy for survival will be to find out where meat lives then storm his home and steal all of his MRE’s and Deer jerkey. I won’t need any guns because I’ll bring Chuck Norris, the guy from the Dos Equis commercials and JJ. Hopefully meat is also hoarding beer.
John from Loch Arbour looks like you’re SOL. The only hope on lower taxes is merging with Allenhurst so you can be part of the Asbury Park school system and pay tuition on a per student basis. Allenhurst residents will never vote for a merger because they are afraid that instead they’d be pulled into the Ocean Twn. School system with Loch Arbour. They’re also still miffed that Loch Arbour won’t contract for their police as they did in the past.
Loch Arbour is a perfect example of how rising property taxes cause falling prices. Listing prices are dropping like a stone there.
179 Chained up in Meat’s basement
Don’t worry so much guys – most people still survive financial panics and economic stagnation. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia. Even under Chairman Mao only about 20% of the people died due to him. It’s the Maoist/Stalinist type of government we need to worry about – that’s at least 50 yrs of suffering. But I don’t think Americans would tolerate a total police state.
#78 gary Agreed:
Nomtropolis. I like it.
Truth be told, I think the hamlet (“nomlet”?) model will work best. Cities are very vulnerable things.
[182] mike,
POTD!!!
nomlet sounds like fried eggs….
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
May 9, 2012 at 9:14 am
Truth be told, I think the hamlet (“nomlet”?) model will work best. Cities are very vulnerable things
Interesting
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/nyregion/among-russian-immigrants-in-new-york-affinity-for-republicans.html?_r=1&nl=nyregion&emc=edit_ur_20120509
snip
Even as New York is expected to overwhelmingly support the re-election of President Obama this fall, his presumptive Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, and other down-ticket Republicans can expect considerable support from enclaves of Russian speakers, like those in the Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay neighborhoods of southern Brooklyn.
snip
One reason these voters tend to support Republicans is that they see them as more ardent warriors against the kind of big-government, business-stifling programs that soured their lives in the Soviet Union. Their conservative stances on issues like taxes and Israel seem to outweigh their more liberal views on social issues like abortion.
Tatiana Varzar came to the United States in 1979, at age 21, from the Ukrainian seaport of Odessa. She worked as a manicurist and then opened a small restaurant on the boardwalk that grew into Tatiana Restaurant, a spacious magnet for foodies who like a whiff of salt air and a sea view with their pirogen. Today it is a destination for high-powered Russians, like some of the executives who own the Brooklyn Nets.
“I am what I am because of capitalism,” Ms. Varzar said, “and Republicans are more capitalistic.”
snip
[188] chifi,
Yeah, I know. Needs work.
“Chained up in Meat’s basement”
Enough about his recreational activities.
The End Is Nigh (Melanoma Edition):
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/tan_nut_mom_doll_5Ak1Z0kyyf3fNbLnudcnAK
Can I get a an egg-white nomlet?
Yields on 30-year notes declined 4 basis points to 2.995%
30 year bond under 3%, ouch ouch ouch to grandma and grandpa rolling 5 year cds and 10 year treasuries.
Old jewish folk when I worked in bank just bought 1/3 five years FDIC insured CDs, 1/3 ten year treasuries and 1/3 ten year insured NYS Munis. They never touched principal and lived off the coupon interest. They were protected from years like 1993 or 2003-2004 when rates dropped as it was a ladder and they always had some high yielding bonds.
OMG now they have five year CDs from May 2007-2012 and ten year bonds from May 2002 to May 2022. With every maturity comes a gut wrenching decision to go to cash at zero or let it re-roll at all time low rates.Or go to junk, non-insured B rated Munis or a longer duration all which presents great risk. I guess they should be happy they did not leave it in savings as those folks have been broke since 2008. This low rates are finally killing the folks with bond ladders.
What was the ultimate safe
[165] cobbler,
IMHO, Christie isn’t the problem. It’s that he’s outnumbered. I like the guy but I am voting with my feet because, like Greece, NJ is fcuked, and for the same reasons.
Nom,
Do you have a firm plan or just a strong interest in leaving?
[191] shadow,
Meats basement isn’t a rec room. It’s a pantry.
Chifi, sorry I blew off whole muni bond thing. I have too many balls in air this week with board meetings and stuff interferring with my blogging and drinking.
What do the muni bond folks think of muni yields at 30 year lows? It should not be sustainable, but if tax rates go higher in 2013 and issuance falls which means less supply who knows, we might get new lows in interest rates.
[196] shore,
Firm. Going across the river.
Tonight, Nom’s gonna take that ride
‘Cross the river, from the Jersey side
And then he’s gonna count the cash
That he will save, and he can stash
Zions Capital Trust B 8% Capital Secs.
Chif TRUP of the day, about to hit 25, par and has a 5/29 ex-date.
Dont laugh.
[198] JJ,
Did you at least find time to sex up a couple of supermodels?
“Some Montklair animals are more equal than others”
http://www.baristanet.com/2012/05/scenes-from-election-night/#comments
[200] shore,
Will still have my NJ practice but all the revenues will be free of NJ tax.
One thing I plan to do is work with PA groups to take business from NJ. Much as I love Christie, a guy’s gotta eat, and he’s got no hope of getting a pulse before the EEG flatlines.
News from the job front: I’ve never seen it so bad in my whole working life. Just wow. I can’t say it enough. If I haven’t invested and saved over the years, I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like. Absolutely horrible. The recruiter who got me this current gig stopped by my cubicle yesterday to say hello. I asked him, “how’s it look?” He said, “nothing but contract and it’s starting to cross over into all industries now.” He just shook his head.
You guys have to see the floor I work on; nothing but paper name plates with names of people I can’t pronounce. 3 out of 10 side offices where managers used to sit are empty and I don’t see them being replaced other than the occasional person setting up temporary shop during conferences and/or meetings. Remember, I’m working at one of the “largest” insurance companies in the world… that’s all I’m going to say. I hide in empty conference rooms or stairwells when I get a chance during the course of the day calling recruiters, contacts, ex-colleagues and anyone else I can possibly think of looking for a lead.
We’re at halftime folks… wait until you see the 2nd half of this game. Sell? Sell to f*cking whom?
Gary, whatever happened with that person that wanted to hire you that posted her? did that pan out?
Hey Meat (157),
There’s still a debtor’s prison for the father (they don’t get custody) who doesn’t pay the bloated child support – which is based on a calculation almost always done unfairly b/c every superior court house gets a 20% payment from the Social Security Fund Title IV on every dollar collected. There’s a jobs program for the county court house employee, as well as for the probation officer (paying child support makes you a criminal), and of course for the carpenters and masons/stone workers who install all that lovely marble, granite and wood working down at the county courthouse.
Makes you wanna up-chuck.
New Improved Meat says:
May 8, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Whatever happened to debtors’ prison?
Brian [207],
No one wanted to hire, they simply asked for a resume to forward. :)
maybe Christia can stop shoveling money into Atlantic City and let it grow on it’s own (or die) … and maybe he can light a freakin’ match to Xanadu rather than try to prop that horrific project up, again
Gary,
Bummer.
Hey just a heads up, Dice is hosting a job fair in Manhattan tomorow at the Raddison Martinique on Broadway.
it’s at 49 West 32nd Street in NYC.
You have to pre-register:
http://www.dicecareerfairs.com
My take on current real estate inventory in North Jersey? 90% of the market is 20% overpriced.
I was doing a market analysis for a seller of a luxury home in Emerson. The highest price paid for a home in town in the last 2 years is $765,000. In the last 12 months it is $630,000. In the last 6 months it is $550,000. Seller is asking $839,000. Any objective person can see that the asking price has got to be no higher than $749,000. To have any hope of being under contract in less than 90 days $699,000 is likely the right number. Needless to say, the seller can’t understand why I want them to give their home away…
joyce,
Xanadu is showing signs of aging and it hasn’t even opened. They should fly a predator drone over that thing.
Shore,
Ironically, the wife is looking very hard at a town where I recently learned that an old girlfriend from my MHC days now lives. She said no problem so long as I don’t go all JJ.
You wife is looking very hard in a town you used to be very hard in.
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
May 9, 2012 at 10:13 am
Shore,
Ironically, the wife is looking very hard at a town where I recently learned that an old girlfriend from my MHC days now lives. She said no problem so long as I don’t go all JJ.
212 – do they give you reasons for why they feel their home i worth the inflated amount?
Only exciting news celebwise is I got some Coaches Club seats to a Jets game next year and turns out they are connected to Hayden Panettiere’s season tickets. Usually Kate Upton who is also a Jets fan sits near there. If Kate does the Dougie again by me I may go viral. If it was 20 years ago both Hayden and Kate would be knocking out my babies nine months later. Instead I will just fest on their beauty. If game has a delay due to discharge on the field, my bad.
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
May 9, 2012 at 9:45 am
[198] JJ,
Did you at least find time to sex up a couple of supermodels?
#216 self – Their neighbor sold for $885,000 in 2007. In addition, they are special and their house is special.
Brian [211],
I know, I’m weighing it. But if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Not crying about it, just stating life as a temp worker.
30 year realtor [212],
Excellent. Thank you so much for the honest truth.
[215] JJ,
Actually, never been there. The ex was someone I dated off and on while I was at UMass and she was at MHC 30 years ago.
[217]. JJ,
I would expect a bit more self control from a stud like yourself.
#18 30 Year: I guess they do not understand that 2007 was 5 years ago. Even in 2007 Emerson was not a town that would command that kind of price premium IMO.
it is astounding how many people know that the economy/housing has tanked, times are tough, RE down 20-30% from peak, etc. but when it comes time to price their house they think it should still be at peak prices.
Brian,
More on that Manahattan job fair: You need to get there at least 2 hours early to get in line in order to get a chance to get in the place. If you happen to at least put a resume on a stack that’s already one foot high, consider that a success. Again, not crying over it, just stating the obvious. The last two job fairs, I got in but couldn’t talk to anyone because I couldn’t see even see the tables with the hosting companies. And btw, the unemployment rate is not 8.1%. That figure is just for the repeaters (reporters) to have something to read without starting an uprising.
seif [224],
They are special people with special houses living in prestigious areas. ;)
3b – there is a home under contract with an ask just over 800 in Emerson.
The answer about high priced homes and towns like Emerson is: There are plenty of homes with good supporting values in the 700-900,000 range, why would you spend that much to live in Emerson, Westwood, Waldwick, Fair Lawn, etc, etc…
#27 30 Year: I don’t get it either, unless you want to be the big fish in a small pond. Meanwhile in RE it appears after the reassesment most of the Mc Man’s now have a yearly tax bill of 25k to 30K a year!!! The owners believe (and I agree), that these taxes will destroy their values.
225 –
Didn’t JJ say he was hiring too? You should stop by his office and drop off your resume. From reading his posts he sounds like he would be a kind, understanding and generous boss.
#24 seif: Agreed. Somehow they believe it should not affect their house, and many are still insulted (whatever that means) if they get what they perceive to be a low ball offer.
There is a house we are following that if they lower it again (which I believe they will), we will put in a bid which I am sure they will consider low ball. It is not worth putting it in now, as they will only reject it.
Hey Gary, Thorlabs is going to be there. Their global headquarters is in Newton. They have an IT manager position open. Knock on the front door ask for HR and hand them your resume.
Heck I’m thinking of doing it myself.
OT but is anyone BTFD in PM’s?
Tons of people are hiring. Lots of jobs. But trouble is people are too picky. It is like goldilocks. Also firms are still reluctant to hire the long term unemployed. Catch 22 as they are the ones who want jobs most.
Kinda like a 30 year old never married girl has a good chance of landing a husband but a 40 year old never married girl people assume something is wrong with her. That is difference between being out of work under one year and over one year. Over one year people assume you are a serial killer or something.
Brian says:
May 9, 2012 at 10:53 am
225 –
Didn’t JJ say he was hiring too? You should stop by his office and drop off your resume. From reading his posts he sounds like he would be a kind, understanding and generous boss.
Idiot. At 5:15PM they had full top-shelf on 50th floor with food (steak, chicken, fish on skewers). I asked for JWB and went on autopilot. I created contacts with WSJ Reporter, S&P, Moody’s and Bloomberg…..booya….
JJ says:
May 9, 2012 at 9:31 am
Chifi, sorry I blew off whole muni bond thing. I have too many balls in air this week with board meetings and stuff interferring with my blogging and drinking.
btw – it was completely free and ostensibly no particular criteria to screen people
JJ: also flat out avoid PR bonds and HY munis; out of the mouths of BlackRock, Nuveen, S&P, Wilmington Trust, MSSB…..
Pensions are an issue, but it was really bad in 2009 and 40 of 52 states have fixed the problem by 2012….the rest to follow….
Cigarette Bonds are going to end up with cash flow issues because the states tapped the well too much, created high taxes and there have been people quitting. Don’t go out more than the end of this decade…..
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Just how unpopular is President Barack Obama in some parts of the country? Enough that a man in prison in Texas got 4 out of 10 votes in West Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary.
Yes… We… Can.
Mostly this writer sounds like a douche bag, but there are elements of truth in here….
WSJ
GLOBAL VIEW
May 7, 2012, 7:31 p.m. ET
Stephens: To the Class of 2012
Attention graduates: Tone down your egos, shape up your minds.
By BRET STEPHENS
Dear Class of 2012:
Allow me to be the first one not to congratulate you. Through exertions that—let’s be honest—were probably less than heroic, most of you have spent the last few years getting inflated grades in useless subjects in order to obtain a debased degree. Now you’re entering a lousy economy, courtesy of the very president whom you, as freshmen, voted for with such enthusiasm. Please spare us the self-pity about how tough it is to look for a job while living with your parents. They’re the ones who spent a fortune on your education only to get you back— return-to-sender, forwarding address unknown.
No doubt some of you have overcome real hardships or taken real degrees. A couple of years ago I hired a summer intern from West Point. She came to the office directly from weeks of field exercises in which she kept a bulletproof vest on at all times, even while sleeping. She writes brilliantly and is as self-effacing as she is accomplished. Now she’s in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.
If you’re like that intern, please feel free to feel sorry for yourself. Just remember she doesn’t.
Unfortunately, dear graduates, chances are you’re nothing like her. And since you’re no longer children, at least officially, it’s time someone tells you the facts of life. The other facts.
Fact One is that, in our “knowledge-based” economy, knowledge counts. Yet here you are, probably the least knowledgeable graduating class in history.
A few months ago, I interviewed a young man with an astonishingly high GPA from an Ivy League university and aspirations to write about Middle East politics. We got on the subject of the Suez Crisis of 1956. He was vaguely familiar with it. But he didn’t know who was president of the United States in 1956. And he didn’t know who succeeded that president.
Pop quiz, Class of ’12: Do you?
Many of you have been reared on the cliché that the purpose of education isn’t to stuff your head with facts but to teach you how to think. Wrong. I routinely interview college students, mostly from top schools, and I notice that their brains are like old maps, with lots of blank spaces for the uncharted terrain. It’s not that they lack for motivation or IQ. It’s that they can’t connect the dots when they don’t know where the dots are in the first place.
Now to Fact Two: Your competition is global. Shape up. Don’t end your days like a man I met a few weeks ago in Florida, complaining that Richard Nixon had caused his New York City business to fail by opening up China.
In places like Ireland, France, India and Spain, your most talented and ambitious peers are graduating into economies even more depressed than America’s. Unlike you, they probably speak several languages. They may also have a degree in a hard science or engineering—skills that transfer easily to the more remunerative jobs in investment banks or global consultancies.
I know a lot of people like this from my neighborhood in New York City, and it’s a good thing they’re so well-mannered because otherwise they’d be eating our lunch. But if things continue as they are, they might soon be eating yours.
Which reminds me of Fact Three: Your prospective employers can smell BS from miles away. And most of you don’t even know how badly you stink.
When did puffery become the American way? Probably around the time Norman Mailer came out with “Advertisements for Myself.” But at least that was in the service of provoking an establishment that liked to cultivate an ideal of emotional restraint and public reserve.
To read through your CVs, dear graduates, is to be assaulted by endless Advertisements for Myself. Here you are, 21 or 22 years old, claiming to have accomplished feats in past summer internships or at your school newspaper that would be hard to credit in a biography of Walter Lippmann or Ernie Pyle.
If you’re not too bright, you may think this kind of nonsense goes undetected; if you’re a little brighter, you probably figure everyone does it so you must as well.
But the best of you don’t do this kind of thing at all. You have an innate sense of modesty. You’re confident that your résumé needs no embellishment. You understand that less is more.
In other words, you’re probably capable of thinking for yourself. And here’s Fact Four: There will always be a market for people who can do that.
In every generation there’s a strong tendency for everyone to think like everyone else. But your generation has an especially bad case, because your mass conformism is masked by the appearance of mass nonconformism. It’s a point I learned from my West Point intern, when I asked her what it was like to lead such a uniformed existence.
Her answer stayed with me: Wearing a uniform, she said, helped her figure out what it was that really distinguished her as an individual.
Now she’s a second lieutenant, leading a life of meaning and honor, figuring out how to Think Different for the sake of a cause that counts. Not many of you will be able to follow in her precise footsteps, nor do you need to do so. But if you can just manage to tone down your egos, shape up your minds, and think unfashionable thoughts, you just might be able to do something worthy with your lives. And even get a job. Good luck!
File under: Real Estate is Tough All Over: Piano Man Edition
Billy Joel seeks to unload his $14.75 million Miami pad
Asking only $14.75 MM, compared to the purchase price of $13.5 MM in 2006 when, as everyone knows, the market was depressed, which makes the tidy increase perfectly justified, and in actuallity a real bargain. <:0p
Ten-year notes reached an intra-day low of 1.797%
ChiFi [239],
Awww… but those millennials are so cute when they text. They sort of remind me of a puppy grasping a doggie cookie. And you should the reaction when you scratch their tummies!! :o
Samivel 101
–
Downtown summit has had net absorption of maybe 1 storefront in the past 3 years since I started working here. Down the end by Winberries is a ghost town, and has been since 2007.
#227 30 year:
Or here, too:
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1216433&dayssince=&countysearch=false
Home Prices Rise in Half of U.S. Cities as Markets Stabilize
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/home-prices-rise-in-half-of-u-s-cities-as-markets-stabilize.html
gary – [219] I remember those days and that situation. Back in the mid 90’s I was contracting out in Hauppauge, LI and living in Nutley, NJ with my girlfriend, 120 miles driving per day, but my rate was worth it. When Winter came I calculated the probable loss of income for each day I couldn’t make it to work. I ended up getting an $800/month studio in Huntington Village, 8 miles from work for the Winter months, staying there M-Th. One day of work paid for the apartment each month and I got to work every day that Winter. In Blizzard conditions only myself and the security guard (who was snowed in from the night before) were at work, but I got paid. The following Winter I still had work there so we just moved to LI for a year.
I know, I’m weighing it. But if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Not crying about it, just stating life as a temp worker.
Is JJ even real?
Libtard:
What is your assessment of the Montclair elections? Just curious….
Expat [246],
The only difference now? The pay scale has dramatically decreased.
Hey, do you gals and guys want to scream? Do a search through this link below for posts by Pretorius (Pretentious), you’ll laugh out loud. What a clueless, smug m’fer:
https://njrereport.com/index.php/2007/09/28/weekend-open-discussion-82/#comments
John says:
September 28, 2007 at 10:24 am
I don’t understand why anyone on this site is buying a home even in a short sale. The market has to collaspe before prices truly tank and saving the flippers and IO people through short sales is just prolonging the agony. Do not buy any house unless there is positive cash flow. You are only delaying the pain and preventing the bottom from occuring quickly. We need a buyers strike. Back in 1992 you cut prices and no-one came. Millionaires were renting in NYC and the Hamptons cause only a fool buys a house is what they thought, when we get that mindset that is the time to buy.
By the way NC is going to get spanked, it is a fools market. Once home prices fall here why would anyone go there, the only drawing point is cheap houses. Back in 1992 to 1998 when homes were 180K to 300K I didn’t hear of anyone moving there. Now that homes are 600k to 900K NYers are moving left and right but that will be short lived. They will be underwater in their home in NY or they will be a first time buying getting a bargain here so why move the hell down there. Reminds me of Harlem, Newark and Shirley – when there prices get high you know the market is ripe for collaspe!!
[232] OOStater – I haven’t yet, but I have my dealer on speed dial. If I see a 27 handle on Ag spot I think I’ll have to jump on it. I usually like to practice what I call the “5 day rule”. Over decades it seems like my buying instincts always peak about 5 days early, so I try to wait 5 days and then see if it looks like a good entry.
OT but is anyone BTFD in PM’s?
[247] Lib – Everybody knows it’s really grim’s alter ego, but we just play along ’cause it’s fun.
Is JJ even real?
[249] – gary – Yeah, it really blows now. In August I’ll be 2 years FT here in the same place I contracted for 3 full years preceding. I could read the writing on the wall back then so I dove under the corp umbrella for protection. We’ve since been acquired and though we’re still hiring, anybody new gets sh*t benefits while they the rest of us have been put on an 8 year transition plan to sh*t benefits. July 1st we get a sh*tty health plan to replace our Cadillac 100% paid plan. At least there’s no premium and no deductible for the rest of this year, but next year the deductible starts and the following years until 2020 they phase in our payroll contribution to the new plan de crap. Employees who opted out of our health insurance used to get almost $6K per year for opting out of Cadillac plan. Now those people immediately drop to $675 per year for opting out. That’s an immediate $5K pay cut for those people and some of them are non-exempt at $15/hour. That’s a huge kick in the balls for them. Next year our bonus plan and 7% 401k match gets traded in for a non-matching 401K and a really crappy KSOP that you have to work 5 quarters for before you find out the arbitrary amount of stock they’ll “give” you. It’s still a good “job”, whatever that means these days.
The only difference now? The pay scale has dramatically decreased.
All Hype,
I post regularly under my real name Stuart W. both on Baristanet and on the Patch. My opinion is that the town is in big trouble and hopelessly misguided. And I’m left of center which is why I moved there in the first place. The real problem in Montclair is that the leaders think they are helping maintain the towns so-called successful integration and affordability in an effort to maintain the diversity. After all, it’s the ultimate progressive ideal to follow in the footsteps of Meathead and Gloria. Unfortunately the leaders strategies include providing charity to the public workers, the pre-K, the oversized library (which is really an aftercare center for those not well off) which is way more expensive than utilizing the privatized alternatives that the rest of the world have switched to. To afford to pay for all of the charity, they must raise the property taxes more than their neighbors do (except for Bloomfield which is just completely F’ed due to years of endless corruption) which is actually speeding up the gentrification of Montclair. In the past decade, the African American population had dropped by 19% even with the most progressive councils I can ever remember in place. So what I’m saying in a nutshell is that you can’t overpay your workers and support the progressive pro-public union stance and maintain the diversity of the town simultaneously. Property taxes are regressive and the small increases on the poorer residents of the community take a much larger bite out of affordability than it does on the wealthier residents. And it’s a vicious cycle. The more the town subsidizes services for the poor, it becomes increasingly more difficult for the poor to stay. Ultimately, I should be happy that the ultra-progressives got elected. They will unknowingly speed up the gentrification which will eventually result in higher property values as the schools will improve and the cost of the subsidies will lower. But what do I know. I supported the least leftist candidate who might have actually made Montclair more efficient and affordable. Keep in mind, Montclair has never even put a bid out to outsource our sanitation for the fear that 1 of the 4 workers that live in Montclair could end up losing their job. The fact that every resident in town now owes $7,000 in capital debt (mostly unfixed as Montclair has the second most short-term debt as a percentage of total debt in the state), added to the fact that the platform of the ultra liberals just elected is to not consider outsourcing appears to have made my decision to the get the F out of dodge a smart one. Especially considering that the platform of the slate that just got elected is anti-outsourcing, pro-development (in a town that is terribly business unfriendly and has a Hoboken like parking problem) and thinks that Montclair can sell their non-privatized public services to its neighbors who could get the service much cheaper from a private source not beholden to pensions and gold clad health benefits. If interest rates go up, Montclair is going down. Their debt load is just too large. I’m just glad that I won’t have to suffer through the continued erosion of the lackluster community services. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my tenants. :P And our 2nd apartment rented in a little over a week for $325 more than we were getting from the former tenants of 8 years. Not bad, and I’m only losing 5 days of rent during the switchover. The new tenants are repainting the place too. I’m just paying for supplies and paint. Huzzah. Captain Cheapo to rescue!
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Citi economist Willem Buiter said the world’s major central banks — the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan — could and should do much more, including “helicopter money drops.” He said the BoE and the ECB should take rates all the way to zero, that more imaginative forms of quantitative and credit easing should be enacted, and called for combined money-fiscal stimulus in all four regions.
Expat,
Welcome to the lower quality of life. We are adjusting into a new normal. I’ve had a 1.2% salary increase in total over the last 5 years. My commuting costs have nearly doubled, more than eating away my paltry increase. I also have triple the responsibilities. Thought the sh1ts about to hit the fan as moral is in the toilet and management can no longer get much productivity out of the workers. Unexpected sick days are taken on Mondays and Fridays. Experienced workers are scheduling vacations at our busiest work peaks. Nothing gets fixed, the work environment sucks (old PCs, little development) and layoffs appear with regularity. You want to can these guys, but they are super experienced, work accurately and quite frankly, I don’t blame them. India, here we come.
Wow..sorry about all of those errors. Just too busy to proofread and work simultaneously. Toodles.
reading old posts…fun trip down memory lane
whatever happened to Kettle1?
#255?..situation was the same in 1993 when i was looking for houses, my realtor was under strict orders, no west orange, no montclair. Montclair was where my fellow new york friends moved to! I like to think that i am so “liberal” that i am conservative…how can we honestly help the poor in the future if we wadte resources and money now and have nothing for the future..i always thought that being so “generous” up front with no regard to sustainability was a bit ingenuous
Correct to waste and disingenuous!
[257] Lib – I just calculated my last raise, it was 1.1% and that was after a year and a half. I don’t see much upside here either, just *some* protection from the downside.
Speaking of outsourcing in Montclair, do you know if they still outsource their school bus contract? I worked my way through my last few semesters at college driving school buses and limos for the company that had the Montclair bussing contract in the early 80’s, Cherry Hill Bus Co. of Paterson (defunct, I believe). Montclair was a big damned deal to them. I was lucky enough to be the vaunted “radio bus”, which meant I got paid about double what the other drivers made and most days I didn’t have to do anything. I just had to drive to Montclair and park my bus on Oxford Street, one block from Claremont & Grove. I would sit there drinking my coffee and eating my buttered roll from the deli on Grove listening to the radio on my Boom Box. If a driver missed a stop, or if a bus broke down, or if a driver didn’t show, I would run their route or pick up missed kids and drive them to their school. Most mornings I didn’t do anything because nothing went wrong. They used to only put the most reliable drivers on Montclair routes because the contract was the bus company’s biggest by far, but I have no idea what the number$ looked like.
Straight from Marlboro…..
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b7e6f00184/the-bensonhurst-spelling-bee-with-kelly-ripa
Stu / Hehehe: They just renamed Washington Street in Hoboken between Observer and 1st …..CARLO’S BAKERY WAY…..
Good old days….
READ MY LIPS: Money for Nothing is over. Got it GOT IT! says:
September 28, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Sleepless nights for many…Owning 2 -3 homes bought on spec and caught in a housing downdraft that will last for several years.
Good luck with the taxes interest payments and upkeep. You have just entered the Twilght zone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y
BOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHA
Bob
Obama just won the gay vote http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/09/11621156-obama-backs-same-sex-marriage?lite
Expat…The bus contract is still a big deal and a huge cost to the schools. It is still outsourced (surprisingly). By the way, my multi was pretty darn close to where you parked that bus.
ChiFi, the Cake Boss is the real deal. I’ve only watched his show once, but he is as nice as they come and has not let fame get to his head, yet. I thought I read somewhere that he was moving his bakery to a larger space.
Chifi – 15 minutes of fame for f*cking pastries that aren’t even that good. What ever, he was smart enought to take advantage of it. how about that pandering by the hoboken town folks : ) State is a f*cking joke.
stater (232)-
Too soon. Not buying any more PMs until you see everyone selling them to meet margin calls.
Ex/Lib/Gary- all mumbo jumbo losers who make less than NJ garbagemen. You did not work hard in your 20s, become director by 30, network, and generally tear the competition down. Everyday you show up, you are a cost to the company. No steak dinners or Knicks for you. Back to work or I will pay a measly 200k to some 25 year old and replace you. This is the gospel according to to JJ. Praise be to JJ.
ONJEx [252];
I usually like to practice what I call the “5 day rule”.
That’s the Japanese Inspection… http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099371/quotes?qt=qt0209734
Nom,
Some off-the-grid ideas for the eventual Nompound…
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/
Now checking the Book of Revelations for Montklair references…
Scared of Equities’
Junk bond returns of 107 percent since the end of 2008 are double the 53 percent gain in stocks worldwide.
You nancy boys I was preaching Junk in your Trunk all of 2009-2010, risk free double your money. Sadly retail investors have jumped on the Junk in the trunk and it cant double again as junk bonds are already trading above par.
Chifi was like a Debbie Downer to his own fixed income clients, oh no Junk is scary stay away. Nothing scary about doubling your money in three years. I actually was buying Junk on Margin for a crazy period of 2009 till mid 2011 which I think I lost my mind on my risk on trade. But I am not in margin now, and plowing maturities, interest and calls into stock and muni bonds. Not selling my Junk cause where else can you get that yield and I dont want the tax hit three years running. Uncle Sam taking 30K in estimated tax payments every year on top of taxes out of my paycheck is getting old. Hey Uncle Sam who said you are my silent trading partner getting 1/3 and putting nothing in. OH YEA I forgot you bailed everyone out which is only reason I made money trading junk.
Brain thinks I’m Debbie Downer? Check this:
“In one of his most passionate speeches (which says a lot), UKIP’s Nigel Farage, on the May 9th celebration of the Euro, tells his European Parliament colleagues of his grave concern at the recent elections – which are very reminiscent of the elections in Germany in 1932. He warns that Europe faces the very real prospect of mass civil unrest and even revolution as the Euro project itself could even be the cause of (in it perfect irony as the initial solution to) a rebirth of national socialism in Europe. Farage pulls no punches but in three minutes provides a clear picture of just how concerned anyone who is not merely a head-in-the-sand status-quo muddle-through’er should be with regards Europe: “It is a European union of economic failure, of mass unemployment, and of low growth”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/nigel-farage-eu-titanic-has-now-hit-iceberg
I own a little of this Junk Bond fund, Fidelity Capital & Income Fund, I am always amazed at how it performs over time. Right now it is sporting a ten year average yeild of 10.82
I think is is pretty amazing from April 2002 to April 2012 to keep an almost 11% annual return going for ten years straight. Of course it is too late to join the party but still impressive.
10 Year 10.82 9.03
It all works until it doesn’t, jj.
jj (274)-
Now that I re-read this, I think Webster’s should use it as their definition of “malinvestment”.
“I actually was buying Junk on Margin for a crazy period of 2009 till mid 2011 which I think I lost my mind on my risk on trade. But I am not in margin now, and plowing maturities, interest and calls into stock and muni bonds. Not selling my Junk cause where else can you get that yield and I dont want the tax hit three years running. Uncle Sam taking 30K in estimated tax payments every year on top of taxes out of my paycheck is getting old. Hey Uncle Sam who said you are my silent trading partner getting 1/3 and putting nothing in. OH YEA I forgot you bailed everyone out which is only reason I made money trading junk.”
WTF is this? Democrats and liberals mouring Lugar’s loss:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/05/democrats-mourn-lugar-defeat/1#.T6rRJsXl_XM
This is prima facie evidence that Lugar was nothing but a stinking RINO of the kind that people like AWest love. There is no room in my party for a two faced dirtbag like Lugar. There is no room for any pantywaist Rockefeller Republicans. These kind of people make me want to throw the hell up. We taking this party hard right and Romney better watch his ass. HE’D BETTER NOT GET A VEEP OTHER THAN FROM THE T-PARTY. It must be Palin, Bachman or Santorum. These RINO’s think they’re slick. They wanted to get us all hot and bothered at the mid-terms and then want to act like you don’t know us. Guess what? This ain’t no damn one night stand and no, we’re not gonna be quiet and go along with the stinking Romney/RINO/Awest program.
All I want is the race war I’ve been promised.
270 Bi-Stander – LOL, you have me part right, though I guess you’re baiting us tongue-in-cheek. I was a Director in my 30’s, 3 Managers and their departments reporting to me. A lucky confluence of events allowed me to take nearly 5 years off from work when my oldest was an infant and my youngest was born two years later. Sure, I gave up somewhere north of $600K to miss those years earning, but when the kids went to school I went back to work with a completely different perspective. Nobody can rattle me or pressure me any more because I won’t allow it, my priorities are different now. It’s a rare man whose final words on their death bed are: “I wish I worked more.”
Ex/Lib/Gary- all mumbo jumbo losers who make less than NJ garbagemen. You did not work hard in your 20s, become director by 30, network, and generally tear the competition down. Everyday you show up, you are a cost to the company. No steak dinners or Knicks for you. Back to work or I will pay a measly 200k to some 25 year old and replace you. This is the gospel according to to JJ. Praise be to JJ.
I wish I could work more. Trouble is I am so efficient what takes a normal worker ten hours to do I can do in ten minutes. If fact I read war and peace and solved the financial crisis during a single fart this morning.
The Original NJ Expat says:
May 9, 2012 at 4:37 pm
270 Bi-Stander – LOL, you have me part right, though I guess you’re baiting us tongue-in-cheek. I was a Director in my 30′s, 3 Managers and their departments reporting to me. A lucky confluence of events allowed me to take nearly 5 years off from work when my oldest was an infant and my youngest was born two years later. Sure, I gave up somewhere north of $600K to miss those years earning, but when the kids went to school I went back to work with a completely different perspective. Nobody can rattle me or pressure me any more because I won’t allow it, my priorities are different now. It’s a rare man whose final words on their death bed are: “I wish I worked more.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirleygraceanne/5093766403/
Re 281 I have a picture from your Hausfrau years.
meat will there be nice cars in teh race war like death race 2ooo
Oh the charles manson type yeah that will probably happen to
[283] JJ – How sweet, sharing some snaps from your spank bank with the group. What a softy you are.
I was havin some fun, on second look is that a man!
The Original NJ Expat says:
May 9, 2012 at 4:58 pm
[283] JJ – How sweet, sharing some snaps from your spank bank with the group. What a softy you are.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/former_nj_gov_mcgreevey_hails.html
As jimmy moves in from the shadows
Hairstyling mogul Vidal Sassoon dead at 84
I expect a moment of silence from all you big hair Jersey Shore girls from the 1980s
Freedy, 287
It’s really amazing the kind of rejects, crooks, and morons NJ people elect or have assigned to them as governor. Considering that, it’s understandable that NJ’s confused populace would also be willing to spend $800k on pos capes with $20k/yr property tax bills, while paying 7% sales tax and 9% income tax.
Maybe Montclair could hire Mcgreevy to offer organic aromatherapy to confused young people in their public school system.
JJ is Limitless..s’up Bradley. My only foray into job search abyss landed me a phone call with a good hedge fund. 10k less but 5m commute and better bonus. Never heard back so guess that was a no.
Just checked; we are still hurtling toward a bridge abutment at 140 mph.
Back to normal programming…
Well that’s some pending home contract. I hope the contract will go through easily and there won’t be much damage done by inflation. Keep up hopes high.
I think I am going to start a blog and call it….
zillionhedge
There will only be happy news about our wonderful economy.
Stop by everybody for some delightful news!
I finally escaped from Mr. Meaty man’s basement!
Boy he is mean! He really wanted to hurt me! Yikes!