From Fannie Mae:
Consumer Attitudes on Housing Continue Summer Season’s Gradual Upward Trend
Results from Fannie Mae’s September 2012 National Housing Survey show Americans’ optimism about the recovery of the housing market and with regard to homeownership continued its gradual climb, bolstered by a series of mortgage rate decreases experienced throughout the summer. Consumer attitudes about the economy also improved substantially last month, breaking the progression of waning confidence seen during much of this year.
“Consumers are showing increasing faith in the nascent housing recovery,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “Home price change expectations have remained positive for 11 straight months, and the share expecting home price declines has stabilized at a survey low of only 11 percent. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing has caused a large drop in mortgage rate expectations. Friday’s September jobs report, including the strong upward revisions for prior months, a sizable increase in earnings, and a sharp decline in the unemployment rate, should provide further impetus for improving consumer confidence in the housing market.”
Keeping a relatively steady pace with recent periods, survey respondents expect home prices to increase an average of 1.5 percent in the next year. The share who say mortgage rates will increase in the next 12 months dropped 7 percentage points to 33 percent. Nineteen percent of those surveyed say now is a good time to sell, marking the highest level since the survey began in June 2010. Tying the June 2012 level (and the all-time high since the survey’s inception), 69 percent of respondents said they would buy if they were going to move.
With regard to the economy overall, 41 percent of consumers now believe the economy is on the right track, up from 33 percent last month, while 53 percent believe the economy is on the wrong track, compared with 60 percent the prior month. Both the right track and wrong track figures mark the highest and the lowest readings, respectively, since the survey began in June 2010.
From CNBC:
Is Housing Recovering as Much as Everyone Thinks?
The news is finally good: Consumer sentiment in housing is at the highest level since the recovery began.
Realtors say not only are buyers coming back, but much-needed sellers are too. Inventories of distressed properties are shrinking, and mortgage rates are hitting record lows nearly every week.
The housing crisis is over, right?
“While we have seen many dramatic headlines touting the housing recovery over the last 3.5 years, these headlines and the analysts who author them have been over- predicting changes in the housing market (versus what actually occurred).” said Laurie Goodman of Amherst Securities in a new report.
“Recoveries, with attendant price increases, were anticipated in the spring and summer of 2009, 2010 and 2011; by the fall and winter the predictions of price changes were amended to reflect further price declines. In actuality, after netting out the seasonal factors, home prices have been little changed in the past few years.”
Does that mean that we’re headed for yet another housing scare come Halloween time? Is housing’s winter chill just around the corner? Not according to the bulk of Americans surveyed in yet another new report:
“Consumers are showing increasing faith in the nascent housing recovery,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “Home price change expectations have remained positive for 11 straight months, and the share expecting home price declines has stabilized at a survey low of only 11 percent.”
…
Home buying and selling cannot always be qualified and quantified by monthly economic numbers. It is a highly emotional business, which is why sentiment can not only ignore reality, it can effect reality. Going forward, much of the housing recovery will be driven by sentiment. It remains to be seen if that sentiment will hold if this warming recovery hits a new chill.
Good Morning New Jersey
From Barrons:
Could IPO of Real-Estate Broker Go Through Roof?
Housing is probably the hottest theme in the stock market now and that should help the initial public offering of Realogy Holdings, which controls some of the country’s leading real-estate agencies.
Realogy (ticker: RLGY) plans to sell 40 million shares tomorrow in a range of $23 to $27 a share through an underwriting group led by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
The company is involved in a market-leading 26% of home transactions thanks to control of such leading brands as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran Group, and Sotheby’s International.
Realogy shares already factor in a meaningful recovery in both housing sales and prices assuming the IPO is priced at $25 a share, the midpoint of the range. But this IPO could go well because investors are hot for virtually any stock with a connection to housing.
Realogy was taken private in a badly-timed, top-of-the market leveraged buyout in 2007 by Apollo Global Management just before the historic downturn in the housing market began in 2008. Annual pretax cash flow, defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), has been cut in half, falling to $500 million in the 12 months ended in June from over $1 billion in 2005.
Apollo has taken a big hit on its original equity investment of $2 billion. Apollo’s cost is almost $250 per Realogy share, meaning it will absorb a 90% loss assuming the company goes public at $25 a share. Apollo is looking to recoup some of that loss by having invested more than $1 billion in Realogy debt that will be converted into more than 50 million shares of stock in conjunction with the IPO.
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. no longer ranked as least business-friendly state, report says
Gov. Chris Christie vowed last year that New Jersey would not again finish last in the conservative Tax Foundation’s annual rankings of the most business friendly states — and according to the latest report issued today Christie has lived up to his promise.
But don’t pop the champagne just yet.
New Jersey moved up one notch, to 49th, but the survey’s authors says it has little to do with anything the Christie administration has done.
“The reason that New Jersey has moved up one place to 49th best is actually because New York dropped,” the survey’s authors Scott Drenkard & Joseph Henchman write.
New York dropped after Republican lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, struck a deal that overhauled the state’s tax rate structure, raising the rates on the wealthy while giving the middle class a cut.
…
Wyoming, South Dakota and Nevada — all western states witnessing population growth — top the list of the most business friendly states. New York is followed by New Jersey and then California as the least business friendly climates.
The authors’ note that New Jersey would have finished last if Democrats were successful in passing their proposed tax surcharge on millionaires. New Jersey ranked near the bottom in property, income and sales tax rates, according to the survey.
I’ma letchu finish but Jersey finishes first with the loudest guvnor who has crawled so far up his hero Mitt’s @ss that he will have to be surgically removed after four weeks.
From the APP:
Hunterdon County residents react to Merck’s plan to move to Summit
After 20 years of establishing itself as an economic engine for a small, rural Hunterdon County community, Merck & Co. Inc. is moving its global headquarters from the Whitehouse Station section of the township to Summit to be closer to more urban areas.
The move is expected to start in 2014 and be completed by the mid-2015.
The announcement Tuesday caught most of the county’s leadership by surprise, including the director of the Hunterdon County Board of Freeholders.
…
Ron Rogers, a Merck spokesman, said the Summit property was chosen because it has extra work space available, houses multiple operations and is closer to major transportation hubs and urban centers.
The Whitehouse Station property houses about 2,000 employees and contract workers.
…
The Summit location is currently home to 1,800 employees, housing research, manufacturing, animal health and consumer care operations.
“The relocation of our headquarters will help us achieve our future vision, reduce the size of our operating footprint and increase agility as we adapt to our changing business environment,” Merck Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth C. Frazier said in a statement.
Merck is (was) the single largest taxpayer in Readington, somewhere around $9m a year in property taxes. No problem though, just raise taxes, Chubb and Quik Chek are still headquartered there, it should be their responsibility to make up the gap.
Readington hasn’t filed suit against Merck yet? Claiming they’ve heavily invested in public infrastructure (and all of the associated debt) on behalf of supporting Merck, and that Merck should pay an exit tax to the township to help recover some of that investment?
Only thing on the up for my county is food stamp usage.
A wrenching, inexorable final doom is at hand.
“More on Mortgage Applications: Refinance applications fell 2% last week, while purchase applications rose 2% to their highest level since June. Looking at a long-term chart of the Purchase Applications Index, it’s hard to detect a ton of improvement since the depths of the housing bust”
” OPEC cuts its forecast for world oil demand growth this year to 800K barrels/day from 880K previously. 2013’s forecast is left unchanged at 800K. “Risks to the forecast for 2013 are primarily on the downside.” First the IMF, now OPEC. Is there any organization on the planet not prepping for slowing growth going forward? ”
Yes there is, the NAR of course & the perception by and large of the U.S. housing market.
Re Wayne from yesterday
Interesting writeup thx grim. We looked in Wayne for about ten minutes when we were house hunting five years ago and I just couldn’t make heads or tails of it. One thing I wondered though….why are the property taxes so high there if they have all of that commercial property? Multiple malls, companies, etc. Seemed odd to me.
I’m surprised Merck is moving more to Summit. That site seems so small.
1 No recovery until the move-up buyers come back…which will be never!
A disaster, believe me. They have a game room in place of living room, obscure layout that defies logic and an addition added exposing the outside of the original siding of the house…. except that you’re really still inside. Got it? Oh, and the yard is about 12 feet deep with a swamp that is supposed to be a stream… complete with croaking frogs. So I guess I should just settle and pay the $698,000 because, after all, I wanna be prestigious too:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3088262658-245-Cambridge-Rd-Hillsdale-NJ-07642
Remember when you were 17 and you and your friends found this abandon building or house to take your six pack to and then wreck the place even more? Remember how bad the smell of p1ss, wet concrete and burnt lumber was in the place? Now picture this gem below. If there was ever a case for the dirt alone costing 600K, this is it. You would be better off bulldozing the f.ucking joint and pitching a tent:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3093331402-87-Wierimus-Ln-Hillsdale-NJ-07642
307 Martom gone – 4 days on market
Gary 14 layout well learn to live with it? fix exposed siding (I got a guy!) cheap fix change game to living room no biggie. Now the backyard well that is what it is. All this being said like F**K I would pay anywhere near 689 for it either. I gather from what is being posted that is what they go for in BC so you are SOL.
Here you go come north! http://emailrpt.gsmls.com/public/show_public_report_rpt.do?report=clientfull&Id=78305687_11260
Koch Peak in Washington finally caught a bid too, I’m really surprised that one didn’t go faster.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/739-Koch-Peak-Ave-Township-Of-Washington-NJ-07676/38053737_zpid/
I lived and worked in Wayne, fresh out of college. I used to be so annoyed about this time every weekday morning that it took me 15 whole minutes to drive 3 miles to get to work. It just didn’t seem fair. I guess that’s how 20-somethings think.
#1 grim: A houisng recovery based on sentiment, not reality, well that is just great. Very reassuring.
Do you know how some houses just make you feel like a foreigner? Remember those dates that you just couldn’t wait until it ended? It’s hard to describe… sort of like a low, constant grinding of nails across the chalkboard. Anyway, gotta love the kitchen (gag). I’m wondering if this kitchen also doubles as a free clinic:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3090568666-Single-Family-Home-Harrington-Park-NJ-07640
grim 16 & 18,
One person’s feast, another ones famine. Martom went not for the house but for the address. If you walk in and it feels right, you know it. Lillian, Gabriel and Hampshire were close. Pine is still lingering in my mind, believe it or not.
Mikewaited,
The siding is inside the house. No weather exposure there. You have to walk outside to go inside except you’re always inside.
#21 fast/gary: Apparently it is sentiment, consumers feel better about housing (they don’t know why, but they do). You and I will have to follow the crowd, if we ant to buy something. We got 25% off peak prices, when in my opinion it should have been 40%. As a consolation prize we get fake low rates. Of course when those rates rise (if they ever rise and we don’t QE to infiniti), than it will be a different story. Of course we could have a booming economy, but I don’t see that. I see stagflation.
Meanwhile the stagnant so called recovery is stagnant, and growth is slowing again around the world, so back into recession. But hey it’s consumer sentiment.
What is innuendo? An italian suppository….
The Original NJ ExPat says:
October 10, 2012 at 1:20 am
[199] grim – Good and accurate write-up of Wayne demographics and neighborhoods. Might also be worth mentioning that there is a significant concentration of wealth that may fly under radar (last names that end in vowels) (union leaders).
Looks like taxes are already high, averaging 10K on 3-4 bedrooms in Readington.
3B [24],
I get it with the price. I understand we’re off 25% from peak and interest rates are so low it’s sick. But I’m not dropping 650K for something I don’t want and doesn’t fit. The inventory is not there. Give me 2010 inventory or 2005 inventory or whatever f.ucking year the inventory was semi-normal and I’ll buy the house. ChicagoFinance and a few others here understand exactly what I’m saying. I get all the mantra and all the blah blah everyone is saying. When I find it, I’ll know it. I’ve owned two houses, have equity and a hefty amount of gun powder. There’s a reason that I do. I know what I’m looking for and I’ll know when I find it. If I don’t find the pony, then I don’t f.ucking move.
The End Is Nigh (Now You Know How It Works Edition):
Rich ‘Dad,’ bankrupt Dad
After a long, lucrative career writing financial self-help books and giving seminars, “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki has filed for bankruptcy for one of his companies after losing a $24 million court judgment.
Kiyosaki’s Rich Global LLC filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay nearly $24 million to the Learning Annex and its founder and chairman, Bill Zanker.
US District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin in April ordered Rich Global to pay up $23,687,957.21 after a jury ruled Kiyosaki must give the Learning Annex a percentage of his profits after using their platform for speaking engagements, including a 2002 gig at Madison Square Garden. Rich Global filed for bankruptcy in Wyoming on Aug. 20.
Zanker told us, “I took Kiyosaki’s brand and made it bigger. The deal was I would get a percentage, and he reneged. We had a signed letter of intent. The Learning Annex is the greatest promoter. We put his ‘Rich Dad’ brand on a stage. We truly prepared him for great fame and riches. But when it was time for him to pay up, he said ‘no.’ ” This has taken years in court. I won even more money than I asked for from the jury, then he declared corporate bankruptcy. Oprah believed in him, and Will Smith believed in him, but he didn’t keep his promise to us.”
Kiyosaki published “Rich Dad Poor Dad” in 1994, and has since written 11 other books. He now does business through as many as 10 corporations.
Mike Sullivan, CEO of Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Co., told us that Kiyosaki, said to be worth $80 million, was still doing very well thanks to investments in other companies: “The dealings we had with Learning Annex were with a company that hasn’t been in business for a number of years . . . I am not surprised Learning Annex is upset and angry, the money doesn’t exist in that company, and we can’t bring money out of the group.
“Robert and [wife] Kim are not paying out of personal assets. We have a few million dollars in this company, but not 16 or 20. I can’t do anything about a $20 million judgment . . . We got hit for what we think is a completely outlandish figure.”
Fast Eddie
Whats your deal with Hillsdale? You seem to keep pointing out how high the prices are in Hillsdale. I’m looking for a house in hillsdale. What are your thoughts on Hilldale.
How Federal Reserve Policies Add to Hard Times at the Pump
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2011/05/25/iers-bob-murphy-testimony-on-the-federal-reserve-and-energy-markets/
http://cnnmoney.mobi/primary/article?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2Fmobile%2Fjson%2F2012%2F10%2F09%2Fnews%2Fwells-fargo-fraud.json&category=homepage
“The government is seeking unspecified damages and civil penalties.”
What a shocker
#26 Fast: I understand and agree with you. I was venting my frustration in solidarity with you. I have owned homes in the past too. And I am absolutely appalled at how people live. I am the child of immigrants where the house was my parents pride and joy. We are in the process of getting my Dad’s house ready for sale now. Almost nothing to do, except some minor repairs. Realtors were amazed at the wonderful condition it is in. I go out and I see houses that have not been painted since Nixon was President.
Subprime man [29],
Hillsdale is perfectly fine. I just happened to pull that one up. I’ll give you 15 other towns where fat Mary and sl0w Joe are looking for a suck.er to fund their lifestyle or make a k1lling off their dead parents. I wish I could find something in Hillsdale. Where’s the selection?
14 Ugh what is up with all that friggin tile all over the place?
With regard to the economy overall, 41 percent of consumers now believe the economy is on the right track, up from 33 percent last month, while 53 percent believe the economy is on the wrong track, compared with 60
41% don’t have a clue!
I wish I could find something in Hillsdale. Where’s the selection?
Came and went?
60 Clinton (this is a cute house), $380k (Ask $399k), gone in 10 days
14 Knickerbocker, $429k (Ask $429k), gone in 13 days (cash buyer!)
496 Piermont (also cute), $425k (Ask $450k), gone in 30 days
25 Westdale, $480k (Ask 479k), gone in 9 days
279 Wierimus, $529k (Ask $529k), gone in 6 days
5 Orchard, $529k (Ask 529k), gone in 6 days
217 Everdell, $540k (Ask $545k), gone in 6 days (This was listed for $575k, withdrawn, relisted at $545k and caught a bid).
28 Josephine, $590k (Ask $595k), gone in 23 days (cash buyer!)
248 Cambridge, $605k (Ask $619k), gone in 18 days
247 Cambridge, $635k (Ask $635k), gone in 6 days
220 Oakridge, $720k (Ask $729k), gone in 12 days
262 Washington, $773k (Ask $789k), gone in 9 days (was on for closer to 60, was relisted at the $789k price down from $799k).
Re delusional sellers….I think a better way to look at a listing price is that it is just the price that will motivate the people to move. “If we get X, then we’ll move.” It doesn’t mean they are morons.
On a separate note, Hillsdale might have the worst listings I have ever seen.
Gary 22 I gathered that just take off & sheet rock, under 5 k size unknown.
Worth noting that every one of the Hillsdale quick solds I posted were purchased pre-bubble. Most of them seem to have been longer term owners (other than the flip).
38 Of course, because the move-up buyer is gone, gone, gone.
Gary I would want to get out of Clifton to dependent on kids ages (school), but it would seem everyone else wants the same thing. Demand for housing in “good” BC towns even sh*tholes.
The reason I bring up Hillsdale is I just purchased a Tandy Allen ranch 2 months ago. My purchase price was less than 600k . The properties you’re pointing out will not sell. Decent priced properties do come on the market and sell fairly quickly.
[30] Joyce,
As one who represented banks before regulators years ago, I can tell you that the regulators were fully aware of every bank practice. the banks wou ld always make sure that they had the blessing of the regulators, or at least the regulators were informed of the practice in question, before it ever went into practice.
Understand also that large banks, like wells Fargo, have what are called examiners in residence. These are teams of examiners who actually work at the bank and have access to all bank records at all times.
This means that, for years, the regulators observed what a bank was doing. Now the administration, in its best Inspector Renault voice, is coming in and proclaiming “I’m shocked, shocked …”
#35 grim: Hillsdale would be perfect for us. In fact our first choice, but everything in our price range is in or near a fllod zone, or the house is ok, but the block looks like deliverance country.
[27] chi fi
Ahh, the value of properly protecting yourself and your assets from the predations of others or, in some cases, idiots and their lawyers and idiot judges.
[27] chifi
And that brings up the word to the wise. Never leave value exposed that you don’t have to leave exposed. You don’t want your future and comfort to be decided by 12 people who weren’t smart enough to know how to get out of jury duty.
[43] 3b,
One of my rules is never look in or near a neighborhood that has a car up on blocks or anyone on the front porch playing a string instrument.
Grim 35) Do you think these people immigrating from NYC? Or they immigrated to the region for a job in NYC?
I think not many people are moving to NJ because of being hired by a NJ company.
See your post #4. Christie shouldn’t get a pony until he moves NJ up at least into the top half of business friendly states. Right now it doesn’t even seem like he’s trying.
It’s really hard to buy up into a higher-tier town. You end up with a same or worse house and you end up paying more for it. For example…Ridgewood. I would love to move to Ridgewood now, great location, good services, nice downtown, etc. Can’t. Do. It. If I had bought there instead of here, I would be fine, but there is something about going backwards in quality of house that is almost impossible to stomach. The thing is…you have to like your house.
[47] Ragnar,
Surprising, considering how much help he is getting from the democratically controlled Assembly and the bureacrats in Trenton. Seriously, what has he been doing while all our democratic friends labor to make NJ business friendly?
Tax news of the Day: Obama misrepresents???? I’m shocked, shocked.
“Princeton Economist: Obama Is Misrepresenting My Study on Romney’s Tax Plan
The Weekly Standard: Princeton Economist: Obama Campaign Is Misrepresenting My Study on Romney’s Tax Plan:
Last night, the Obama campaign blasted out another email claiming that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would either require raising taxes on the middle class or blowing a hole in the deficit. “Even the studies that Romney has cited to claim his plan adds up still show he would need to raise middle-class taxes,” said the Obama campaign press release. “In fact, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein and Princeton economist Harvey Rosen both concede that paying for Romney’s tax cuts would require large tax increases on families making between $100,000 and $200,000.”
But that’s not true. Princeton professor Harvey Rosen tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD in an email that the Obama campaign is misrepresenting his paper on Romney’s tax plan:
I can’t tell exactly how the Obama campaign reached that characterization of my work. It might be that they assume that Governor Romney wants to keep the taxes from the Affordable Care Act in place, despite the fact that the Governor has called for its complete repeal. The main conclusion of my study is that under plausible assumptions, a proposal along the lines suggested by Governor Romney can both be revenue neutral and keep the net tax burden on taxpayers with incomes above $200,000 about the same. That is, an increase in the tax burden on lower and middle income individuals is not required in order to make the overall plan revenue neutral. ”
h/t taxprofblog
#36 Ann said ““If we get X, then we’ll move.” It doesn’t mean they are morons.”
If you want an idea of the market value of your home, call an appraiser. MOTIVE is the key for a real estate agent trying to take good listings. If I get X means that the seller is lacking clear motivation for selling. Making offers to sellers who think like that is like beating your head against a brick wall.
#26 – Fast Eddie – daily lurker here, sold early 2010 and been looking since down in ChiFi’s neck of the woods. Been in nearly every house in a 15 mile radius (Colts Neck/Holmdel) the last 2 years under 650K, and I can attest to what Fast Eddie is saying. On the whole, the inventory is in bad shape, which has definitely put a floor in on homes in good shape. I share your frustration. I tend to lean on demographics and income data over sentiment, but I can see both sides of the coin in this discussion about whether right now is a good time to pull the trigger. But I’ve been in way too many 60 year old 4/2’s that need near complete gutting with 6 handles on them to not wonder if buying now is just the last of the “dumb money”. Keeps me content as I stack more dry powder…
3B [43];
…but the block looks like deliverance country.
Forget the schools, that’s the real reason that people pay big bucks for middle-class tenement housing in blue ribbony haughtyville train towns — you’re buying affluent neighbors who won’t leave a car up on cinder blocks in the driveway. Your kids might end up marrying their ‘high school sweetheart’ — what kind of candidate pool will they be drawing from?
[3b]
I try not to judge others homes. I live in a neighborhood with mixed style housing, capes to ranches to colonials. A neighbor of mine bought a house near mine, knocked it down and built a house double the size of mine. Then his wife asks me when I am going to “fix mine up.” I gave her a reinvestor 101 type response. Now she is complaining about her taxes, which are 3x mine. She can buy my house at my price if she would like to change it. If not she can keep her mouth shut. Some people have sick kids, parents or wives, bad marriages, lousy jobs, poor health, an area full of “variances” where you have to say ” mother may I” just to fix your front door. Your neighbor may have a nice house but not paid on it for 4 years. No one really knows the guy next door, what is really going on, how they got their money or how they became poor. One should move into a development with like housing if they prefer that lifestyle.
“And I am absolutely appalled at how people live. I am the child of immigrants where the house was my parents pride and joy. We are in the process of getting my Dad’s house ready for sale now. Almost nothing to do, except some minor repairs. Realtors were amazed at the wonderful condition it is in. I go out and I see houses that have not been painted since Nixon was President.”
[53] moose,
“Your kids might end up marrying their ‘high school sweetheart’ — what kind of candidate pool will they be drawing from?”
Eveyone, and I mean everyone, I know from high school that married their high school sweetheart is divorced. And after attending a reunion a couple of years ago, I am sooo glad I didn’t often date girls from my high school. I’d be divorced or miserable today.
R.I.P. Alex Karras.
re: “end up marrying their ‘high school sweetheart’ maybe in fly over country back a generation or two when people actually married young. The median marriage age in New Jersey these days is 28 for women and 30 for men.
#54 Phoenix: I don’t question how people live, or what there circumstnaces may or may not be. Nor do I care about the size or the style of a house. However, basic maintenance is I do not think asking too much. I am to believe that some one has lived in house after house I have looked at, and in all those years, could not afford to paint it, fix a broken step, replace a crumbling vanity in the bathroom, clean the carpets, make sure the windows can open and close and are not cracked and broken?
Then the house is put on the market by either the owners or their heirs, and they are insulted by the bid they get? I come from a large family, I know what it is to scrimp and save. But my parents did not live in a dump. They took pride in where they lived, and took care of it. I don’t think that is asking too much.
BearsFan [53],
Thank you, thank you! They have no idea. I don’t give a flying f.uck what anyone says, the inventory is way over-priced for the dumps they’re trying to push.
#53 Hillsdale IS a blue ribbony town!!
Exactly, but I think there are a lot of listings out there right now that are in the “If we get X, then we’ll move” category. But the sellers aren’t crazy or morons, that’s just their thought process and it can be perfectly rational (although a waste of time). The fact that it doesn’t cost people anything to list makes it easier.
There are also a lot of buyers wasting their time out there too right now. They think everything should be free lol.
#36 Ann said ““If we get X, then we’ll move.” It doesn’t mean they are morons.”
If you want an idea of the market value of your home, call an appraiser. MOTIVE is the key for a real estate agent trying to take good listings. If I get X means that the seller is lacking clear motivation for selling. Making offers to sellers who think like that is like beating your head against a brick wall.
This is why we need more public school choice in the suburbs. It’s an enormous burden on middle-class families that they have to pay these RE prices just to get access to a high school for their kids that doesn’t have a gang presence.
“Forget the schools, that’s the real reason that people pay big bucks for middle-class tenement housing in blue ribbony haughtyville train towns”
Re maintenance and keeping your house up….Now that we are underwater, I have a different perspective on this….Of course, I will always keep up with basic maintenance, the roof, heating and cooling systems, that kind of thing. But screw keeping up with paint and carpet and kitchens and bathrooms and even exterior stuff. If we want to redo stuff for ourselves, fine. But I don’t really give a hoot about some buyer in 25 years when we finally exit this house. If we wear it out to to the ground, fine. Buy the dirt then as grim would say. This is a rental. Certainly gone are the days where I care what the neighbors think of my landscaping etc.
42
Comrade,
Regulatory capture. It’s one of many systemic failures we are experiencing. The various ‘regulators’ endorse or approve of heinous behavior which otherwise would be criminal.
By all means, stay blind and blame everything bad on the current administration. It’s more likely that this is just one of the many show trials that happens occasionally where they admit no wrongdoing, pay a tiny fine that is about 1% of the ill-gotten gains.
Throw the government out of the education business and quality and choice will improve 500%.
Think of every government run cafeteria you’ve been to, and compare that with the wide array of restaurants free markets provide.
It’s really hard to buy up into a higher-tier town. You end up with a same or worse house and you end up paying more for it.
Yep, because you are basically trying to execute two move ups at the same time.
I hate to bring up dirt again, but you are moving up to more expensive dirt and a more expensive house.
If I listed my home for a Million and its only worth $350 and the realtor listed it,who is the moron?
3b (23)-
Stagflation is a rosy-case scenario. My call is still for utter societal collapse.
“Of course we could have a booming economy, but I don’t see that. I see stagflation.”
45
Comrade,
What percentage of all cases do juries decide? 0.0001%?
My wife wanted to feel,how much she can sell our second home.She talked to a realtor that want to sell the house $40k more than a bigger home next door that has been for sale by owner for 2 years and another house that is bank owned listed for over 2 years.The bigger homes are not moving and she want to price it $40k more so she can get the listing? What is the realtors motive?
Take off your blinders for two seconds, please.
49.Comrade Nom Deplume in PA says:
October 10, 2012 at 10:31 am
[47] Ragnar,
Surprising, considering how much help he is getting from the democratically controlled Assembly and the bureacrats in Trenton. Seriously, what has he been doing while all our democratic friends labor to make NJ business friendly?
@57 juicebox, those 28 and 30 years olds are still living at home today, still sucking the life out of mom and day just like in their high school days!!
box (57)-
We’re moving into a girly-man age where no one will marry. Period.
That will give a distinctly Japanese flavor to the utter collapse of our society.
That is how I feel too.If the home I am selling is over 50 years old the buyer should know,what I am really selling is the dirt.The house only have a 50 year life span.Just like a 10 yr old used car it can keep on going if you keep throwing money in it. And besides with no equity loan available this homes will just keep on getting worse as time passes by.I think after the good ones are gone,)this are the ones that took equity loans and made the house looks like from the rich and famous).Once this are gone,The house that Gary is complaining about today will be much better 5 years from now.
Ann says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:19 am
Re maintenance and keeping your house up….Now that we are underwater, I have a different perspective on this….Of course, I will always keep up with basic maintenance, the roof, heating and cooling systems, that kind of thing. But screw keeping up with paint and carpet and kitchens and bathrooms and even exterior stuff. If we want to redo stuff for ourselves, fine. But I don’t really give a hoot about some buyer in 25 years when we finally exit this house. If we wear it out to to the ground, fine. Buy the dirt then as grim would say. This is a rental. Certainly gone are the days where I care what the neighbors think of my landscaping etc.
ann (62)-
The skools that don’t have outright gang activity just have lots of well-dressed kids doing tons of drugs. Take my blue-ribbony house of indoctrination; my 9th grader has gotten a lifetime of learning about chronic, blow and pills in less than eight weeks.
yome (74)-
My house was built in 1888 and is in far better condition than the Toll/KHOV POS around the corner. For that matter, most of the best housing stock in Hunterdoom is pre WWI.
Please stop talking out your ass.
Fast Eddie, yesterday I showed you a cream puff in Essex Fells priced to sell, and today you’re posting ridiculously priced shacks located in nowhereland.
Hillsdale high school is ranked 73rd, Essex Fells HS is ranked 16th.
The best are the kids who are visibly high in class, yet no teacher seems to notice.
Just making up numbers, but let’s say a buyer is trying to move-up in terms of towns….They have to be willing to pay 50% more for the quality of house they are already living in.
If you’re trying to do two move-ups (town and house), then you’re paying 3-4x more.
Re:Housing recovery
Actually,I think this is more of the problem I see than babyboomers retiring.More and more parents are willing to let their kids live in their house with their spouse and kids.We are turning to Indians (no disrespect).Two,three starting families living in a SFH.Why not if they can save money.I am willing to let my kids do this.What else will I do with those extra bedrooms if they are gone.It will be lovely to the ears to hear my grand kids everyday. I think.
Raul says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:37 am
@57 juicebox, those 28 and 30 years olds are still living at home today, still sucking the life out of mom and day just like in their high school days!!
re#55 – Nom amazing how some people never even leave the town you grow up in, and when I say leave I mean get on an airplane and go somewhere. The fat dufus that lives on the street I grew up on is still living with both of his parents and grandmother. He is going on 40 never had a girlfriend and lives in the basement. He was an ok kid growing up just not too smart, never made it past becoming a cable TV installer after high school. My theory is he became addicted to the free Cable TV pron he was able to get himself before the internet was around and basically dropped out of society. Once his parents kick the bucket I am sure he is going to want 600k for the POS cape that his parents bequeath to him and his sister.
#68 Ernest: I agree in the end it all collapses.
The house only have a 50 year life span.
Not sure if I follow. A good portion of the NJ housing stock is already over 50. These are things that require continual upkeep and maintenance. I’d say a 50s built home in NJ, maintained, would have a useful life of well over 100 years.
Look at towns like Glen Ridge, beautiful housing stock built in the 20s and 30s, much of that is already approaching 100 years old and in good shape.
I can point to some nice examples in Somerset that have already passed 100.
Not saying that at some point in time bathrooms would have been remodeled, kitchens remodeled, heating/cooling installed or upgraded, windows, siding, etc. Likewise, lots more may have been changed due simply to preference, style, trends, new products (clapboard to aluminum to vinyl to fiber composite).
Now, if what we’re talking about are preferences or trends, I might agree, but that is very different than useful life.
It is better because of the upgrades you or the previous owner did. Do you still have aluminum wires?I dont think so.Do you still have 1800 plumbing? Keep on throwing money in it.Just like a 10 year old car it will keep on going until you say enough.
Ernest Money says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:45 am
yome (74)-
My house was built in 1888 and is in far better condition than the Toll/KHOV POS around the corner. For that matter, most of the best housing stock in Hunterdoom is pre WWI.
Please stop talking out your ass.
#62 Ann: Just wait until all these people that bought these blue ribbony towns for the schools actually see what and who is teaching. In many cases the elementary schools are fine (not all), but they shift downward in middle and high school. And I am talking about the so called honors and advanced classes. School choice is the way to go IMO.
Is there not an estimated lifespan on your contract when you buy the house. Take a look
#83 grim: My parents house is 90 years old. Plaster walls and ceilings throughout, not one crack or peeling paint anywhere throughout the house.
re: old housing. A friend of mine gutted his 1800’s Brownstone in Hoboken and turned it into a 5,000 sq ft palace. Too bad he has no parking.
You talk about a house being paid off cheaper to live in (taxes, insurance, etc) than renting the equivalent.
What about a paid off car? How much does it cost to keep it running as compared to a brand new car payment or lease? Thought so.
Regarding young people living at home: some do so because they’re lazy, et al; some do so because they’re parents allow it and continue to make things to easy for them; some do it becaues they can’t afford to live elsewhere due to student loans or no/bad paying jobs… if someone asked me for a % for the groups, no clue.
84.yome says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:54 am
Keep on throwing money in it.Just like a 10 year old car it will keep on going until you say enough.
i’ll pray for them
80.yome says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:49 am
It will be lovely to the ears to hear my grand kids everyday. I think.
I live in a house that was built 130 years ago. Do I like keeping up with it?No. I will prefer this home anytime than my brand new second home. All I am saying is that there is an end life to everything.
As per the car to keep it running probably the same.It depends who fixes it.My sons honda civic is almost 6 years old.Just changes the oil now at 66,000 miles
joyce says:
October 10, 2012 at 12:05 pm
You talk about a house being paid off cheaper to live in (taxes, insurance, etc) than renting the equivalent.
What about a paid off car? How much does it cost to keep it running as compared to a brand new car payment or lease? Thought so.
84 – The car analogy just doesn’t work here. It is predicated on being able to purchase a new car for less than the cost of maintenance on an existing car. That scenario simply doesn’t exist in the housing world.
A couple of reasons the analogy is invalid:
Foundation and framing are largely permanent these days, save for extensive water damage or fire. Tearing down framing simply to replace aluminum wiring? Nonsense.
Replacement parts are universally interchangeable and based on new technology. When the 1960s boiler breaks, you don’t replace it with a 1960s boiler, you replace it with a current technology unit and gain those benefits. Likewise, you replace single pane windows with high efficiency double pane units.
Most all upgrades brings construction up to current code standards. When I did my extensive electrical reno, we brought the house up to 2011 code standards, identical to what would be found in new construction (safety and function).
Not all current building methods are based on the best construction techniques, in fact, many current materials are inferior, but used due to the higher cost of the older materials. Good example of this is Pex vs Copper. Pex is cheaper from a materials perspective, and cheaper from an installation perspective. Is it better? Hmm, maybe not.
Your example of aluminum wiring isn’t valid, I’d call aluminum largely an experiment gone wrong. There have been other examples of this, asbestos tile, the predecessor to pex (plastic tubing). The BX copper wiring you’ll find in a 50 year old house is nearly identical to the copper wiring that exists today.
re: #80 yome “Why not if they can save money” All data points to them spending more not saving more. Perhaps they should make credit contingent upon owning real property? This would force savings and stop leasing $50k automobiles and $10k vacations on credit cards.
Clot,
For some reason this made me think of you.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/argentina_rejects_singer_in_ransom_2dopDeU8S34wEZTK8dkXYO
My Mom who is 80 now says ,shes happy that she has someone to talk to and someone is always at home Specially hearing her grand kids everyday.I remember at the old country my grandma built a compound for her kids to build around the old houseThere was an article about Japans solution to elder health care.Keep on walking and talking
I will disagree.When I first came to this country,me and my wife lived with BIL for 5 years with my eldest son.That is why I understand the Indian families.(Some save to buy a business.)Saved for a down payment then bought a home.This is how the 3rd world is.You are assuming kids are all like what you describe.
The old US culture is gone.You want the 3rd world.This is it.Welcome to the 3rd world.
Juice Box says:
October 10, 2012 at 12:15 pm
re: #80 yome “Why not if they can save money” All data points to them spending more not saving more. Perhaps they should make credit contingent upon owning real property? This would force savings and stop leasing $50k automobiles and $10k vacations on credit cards.
Most I know who live at home are selfish. They want Iphone 5’s new cars, nice clothes, vacation, lawn service, maid service etc. And guess what on 75K a year you can have all that and live at home. Also today you dont need a place to hook up, facebook, texting, dating sites. Plus friends dont come over they game online with each other.
Regarding young people living at home: some do so because they’re lazy, et al; some do so because they’re parents allow it and continue to make things to easy for them; some do it becaues they can’t afford to live elsewhere due to student loans or no/bad paying jobs… if someone asked me for a % for the groups, no clue.
My house is 55 years old. It is better today than 55 years ago. Maintained homes that have good bones last forever. My Mothers home which was a Craftsman home bought out of the 1923 Sears Catalog will be there in 100 years from now. While the toll brothers and Hov junk thrown up in a hurry in the last housing boom will be long gone and their Chinese Sheetrock in a house.
BTW my aunt likes to point out somewhere around the late 1960s and 1970s they stopped building houses. They assemble houses. She said when she was a newlywed and they saved up for a house they had it build. Irish Carpenters, Italian Tile Workers, German Engineers etc. She said her Kitchen the Irish Masters Carpenters came with just wood and two saw horses and custom build the kitchen on the spot.
She since sold that house and bought a retirement home in a new development and laugh when brochure said custom built and all she saw was stock cabinets being screwed to sheetrock walls they did not even bother painting. They assemble homes today and unskilled HS dropouts and illegals led by some dumb as a brick fat italian guy yelling out orders between donut breaks.
Yome – 3Rd world? No quite yet, there needs to be a shift in power first. I am still waiting for the Indian gangs to fight it out with La Familia in NJ. Yet to see it happen.
Paying for the dirt?
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1235771&dayssince=&countysearch=false
Now this is really paying for the dirt!!
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1234934
Vegitarians would not win any fight. I would pick that day where they fast all day and attack right before sunset.
Juice Box says:
October 10, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Yome – 3Rd world? No quite yet, there needs to be a shift in power first. I am still waiting for the Indian gangs to fight it out with La Familia in NJ. Yet to see it happen.
Describes my senior in college girlfriend discussing herself in high school. She used to be on the gymnastics team (5′ 0″ under 100 lbs) and told me she would snort coke before meets because it helped her out…..whatever…..she became a corporate lawyer and is no adjunct faculty at a Law School not too far from here, but not in NJ.
Ernest Money says:
October 10, 2012 at 11:46 am
The best are the kids who are visibly high in class, yet no teacher seems to notice.
now adjunct faculty
I declare this the worst condition beach house I ever saw with a high asking price, high taxes and ad shows pictures of every room it looks like a meth lab blew up in every room, and they are having an open house. Look this one up and see the pictures, in this case you are not buying the dirt but buying the sand.
66 Ulster Ave ATLANTIC BEACH $439,999
Colonial, 1 Family
7.0 Rooms
4 Bedrooms, 2.0 Baths
Garage: 1.0 Att
Total Taxes: $7,078
Lawrence School District
Year Built: 1929
Lot Size: 40 X 85
ML#: 2532734
#77, I agree, nice area, nice house, reasonable taxes, but I guess not in the geography that Gary needs. Shows the upcharge that Bergen County gets, better dirt!
Clot, friend of yours?
http://gma.yahoo.com/man-wearing-body-armor-busted-luggage-full-weapons-002641934–abc-news-topstories.html
[69] joyce,
All of the meaningful action in litigation is handled before a jury is ever seated. But what determines if you get sued and for how much is your exposure. So your point about the fact that few cases are decided by juries is not relevant to whether or not you get sued in the first place. In fact, the reason cases settle is because a) there is an unpredictable jury at the end of the road, b) the defendant has something to lose; c) the defendant could lose to an unpredictable jury (or judge since there is no right to jury in civil cases) even though his or her position is meritorious; and d) damages often don’t bear relation to actual harm, hence the view that trials are arbitrary and dangerous places to be.
Now you may not need to worry about this but I assure you that there are people who need to.
[71] joyce,
Blinders? Okay, I’ll bite. What am I supposed to be missing with said blinders?
[26] I understand we’re off 25% from
peakfraud…3B [85];
In many cases the elementary schools are fine (not all), but they shift downward in middle and high school.
That’s because of the successive aggregation at the middle and high school level. You can buy a tony neighborhood in Wayne (for example), and your kids will attend the neighborhood elementary school, with kids from families in your immediate vicinity of roughly similar means, and the school does fine. When three or four elementary schools combine into a middle school, you draw in other neighborhoods that may not represent the same background. The same thing happens again at the high school level. The school then teaches down to the lowest common denominator.
Short term, we have a colder than normal winter coming, fiscal cliff, stock mkt entering a near term correction, start of slow season for Real Estate and we dont even know if the mortgage and RE property tax deduction will exist if Mitt wins.
Other than that buy away.
Isnt that a racist comment. I see my kids study all night long and get As. I fully support them spend a lot on it, chauffeur them around it does not make them any smarter. They just know a lot about a narrow subject of school.
When I was my daughters age, I was repairing cars, repairing bikes, had a paper route, did home repairs, played ball out in street all sorts of things. I recall the richer kids thinking they were smarter. Well I got home from school, Dads Alternator was shot, we replaced it in driveway got car washed and back on road by 7pm, then dinner, then chores, then paper route before school and then take a test I get a 75 on the others got a 95 on who is smarter, I dont know. All I know is I never had time to study in my life and all I know is I would not want to be caught in the wilderness with the book smart kid. Sometimes, it was stressful to me in middle school having to teach down to the lowest common denominator, but I finally gave up. These are adult idiots I see who call triple AAA and wait two hours to have their car jumped cause they dont know a red cable from a black cable.
Anon E. Moose says:
October 10, 2012 at 1:25 pm
3B [85];
In many cases the elementary schools are fine (not all), but they shift downward in middle and high school.
That’s because of the successive aggregation at the middle and high school level. You can buy a tony neighborhood in Wayne (for example), and your kids will attend the neighborhood elementary school, with kids from families in your immediate vicinity of roughly similar means, and the school does fine. When three or four elementary schools combine into a middle school, you draw in other neighborhoods that may not represent the same background. The same thing happens again at the high school level. The school then teaches down to the lowest common denominator.
CEO to Workers: I May Fire You if Obama Wins
Interesting approach, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceo-workers-youll-likely-fired-131640914.html
Siegel’s email to his employees ends like this:
So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn’t? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the “1 percenters” are bad, I’m telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the “1%”; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.
You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
Signed, your boss,
David Siegel
Re house lifespans, take an average NJ cape/split/ranch that’s been lived in for 50+ years and the people stopped renovating back in the 80s. You’ll have to redo almost every inch of that house to get it to decent place. New windows, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, maybe a roof, deck, maybe add central air, fix the driveway, paint the outside, rip out the landscaping, replace the rotting garage door, and start over on and on. Now maybe the house structure itself is still standing, but you’re rebuilding it IMO.
My house is newish, has a poured concrete foundation, the structure will still be here in when it is 40+ years old too. But every inch of it will have to be redone by that point too. And of course, someone will walk in in 25 years and say “This kitchen hasn’t been redone since the Obama administration!” all shocked and insulted lol.
Leave AAA alone, they are awesome.
yome (86)-
Was there a lifespan estimate given to your parents when you were born? Or did they just send you home with a death certificate stapled to your forehead?
“Is there not an estimated lifespan on your contract when you buy the house. Take a look”
[107] Nom – He owns a 3 family in Dorchester. Probably just preparing for an eviction:
http://www.cityofboston.gov/assessing/search/?pid=1202496000
Clot, friend of yours?
http://gma.yahoo.com/man-wearing-body-armor-busted-luggage-full-weapons-002641934–abc-news-topstories.html
#118 – More to the story Yongda Huang Harris .
Google Street view shows a Sun Realty & Insurance business at that address run by his mother.
His dad may have passed away last week.
http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?47104
What’s the big deal about wearing Kevlar and flame retardant leggings onto a plane? The guy is just trying to be prepared.
[103] chifi – Up until a month or two ago I thought that short girls became good gymnasts because they were short, but there’s evidence to suggest that gymnastics actually *makes* gymnasts shorter than they would otherwise be. I guess coke will keep them thin, which also contributes to their stature:
http://www.quora.com/Gymnastics/Why-do-gymnasts-have-stunted-growth
AAA is ok…..their imprimatur can be bought, which I never knew for a good long while….so you got to watch it…….
Ann says:
October 10, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Leave AAA alone, they are awesome.
117
I dont know what youre talking about but i can put one
in your forehead
I give her credit for being flexible in certain valuable ways…..
The Original NJ ExPat says:
October 10, 2012 at 2:20 pm
[103] chifi – Up until a month or two ago I thought that short girls became good gymnasts because they were short, but there’s evidence to suggest that gymnastics actually *makes* gymnasts shorter than they would otherwise be. I guess coke will keep them thin, which also contributes to their stature:
(108)
Comrade,
This is in response to your entire post but especially the comment about no right to a jury trial in civil cases (see below). Now I have no doubt what you said happens on a daily basis. I have first hand knowledge as well. That being said, it doesn’t negate the harm that judges, lawyers, politicians, etc have imposed on us by blatantly ignoring words in the law (see below again) that require no interpretation.
US CONSTITUTION
Amendment 7 – Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved
NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I
9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; but the Legislature may authorize the trial of civil causes by a jury of six persons.
Another goddam Mr. Mom, with dog and stroller. This one looks like he bathes about once a week. Jeez, he talks like he’s half a woman.
Pathetic.
yome (123)-
492 Jersey Av, JC. Pack a lunch. And bring a body bag for yourself.
126 Men weren’t meant to walk around with strollers and babies and dogs all day.
[126] So now you’d rather have Snooki drop by?
Another goddam Mr. Mom, with dog and stroller. This one looks like he bathes about once a week. Jeez, he talks like he’s half a woman.
Pathetic.
Ernest i am 15 minutes away.please be there
JJ (113),
You taught middle school? You taught while in middle school?
Life skills are good. Getting an A in spelling is also good. It doesn’t have to be either/or. But try to avoid neither/nor.
re #130 Yome – don’t bother you will be driving around
the block for hours since there is no parking anywhere in that neighborhood.
I have a brother and sister who live in homes built in the 90s. I own two homes currently. Both were built in the 20s, so approaching 100. I can say with certainty that my repair bills are 1/2 that of theirs. My 1950s Caloric stove has most likely never needed a repair. And if it did, I could probably do it myself. This is not the case with the fancy new GE computerized cooktops. Even my 25 year old gas furnaces are built rock solid and if they do break, they are user serviceable. Good luck with your forced air system. Both of our kitchens and baths will need replacing at the same time. I’m not sure I understand the argument here. My 60-year old aluminum siding on my multi might be faded, but it’s not sagging like all of the crap vinyl siding that was stapled onto every house built since 1990. Even the stucco on my house is original and in excellent condition. Good luck getting someone to do work like that today. The houses built between 1870 and 1930 in our country will most likely remain unsurpassed in quality forever. I can’t say the same for 50s housing stock and definitely not for the high-end new construction. And I’m not saying this with bias. My brother who owns a high end home in Moorestown (lived next to McNabb from the Eagles) calls me frequently to fix things that should not be breaking. It is pathetic. Even the garage on my multi has wooden barn doors. These will never need more than a painting.
Ernest that address dont exist
juice (132)-
I get the feeling yome is the type who parks in loading zones and handicapped spots.
Ernest no such address
yome (134)-
Sorry. I guess I’ve been living in some sort of parallel universe for the last 15 months.
Thanks for bringing me back to my senses. Dolt.
I guess yome’s feeling would be hurt if I called him a spambot. Even though he writes like one.
It is easy to be tough eh?
yome, I was going to ask if it was tough being you.
From my father-in-law…..
“My Uncle Charles was a staunch conservative, and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat.”
http://www.jerseywinemerchants.com/
spelling aint my thing. I have a bit of ADD and hyperactive. Which means I can think superfast but means I cant spell as my mind does not work that way. Also means I have like a 1-3 second attention span which is great. Monday night I was at my finest ADD wise at Jets game, I was carrying on a conversation with my friend, talking to guys to right girls to left folks behind me, player on field was on the big screen while using my smart phone, drinking a beer, eating a pretzle and watching the game. Meanwhile I could not remember the name of the player I met after being reminded three times. Details are for staff.
You can play or get played, I drive indians and chinese crazy with 90 subjects a minute. Realtors too, I get bored in a few hours and move on and for some reason they are still trying to close with me.
Ragnar says:
October 10, 2012 at 2:43 pm
JJ (113),
You taught middle school? You taught while in middle school?
Life skills are good. Getting an A in spelling is also good. It doesn’t have to be either/or. But try to avoid neither/nor.
Ernest…Want me to give Bebo a call? I’m sure he can provide protection.
Bebo like fire.
3b [85]
Public school choice outside of own’s district is a terrible idea as it makes people disinterested in how their school taxes are spent by the district. Especially now, when in most towns the vote on the school budget had been eliminated, if the most caring parents are gone, the decay, nepotism and corruption in the district will quadruple – and long term, as the students remaining get progressively worse as a group, this will be a part of a crime increase.
#112 JJ: we dont even know if the mortgage and RE property tax deduction will exist if Mitt wins.
Or the muni deduction.
There’s talk that the Realogy IPO expected later today may price at the high end of the $23 to $27 price range. The company, which controls the largest group of real-estate agents in the country, may turn out to be another hot housing IPO following the success of the Zillow (Z) and Trulia (TRLA) deals.
Management has called Realogy the “purest play” on a housing recovery and investors appear to be excited about the story. Realogy plans to sell 40 million shares, potentially sizing the IPO at $1 billion or more. Barrons.com wrote about Realogy yesterday. Goldman Sachs, the lead underwriter, declined to comment.
cobbler,
I guess I could agree with that statement. However, you’re assuming “school choice” is very narrowly defined.
I personally dont think it is legal to stop the muni deduction on already issued bonds. They might get away with capping it at a 28% tax rate. Most likely they will do nothing. Slight chance they do something but dont make it retroactive. Years ago they stopped issuing bearer bonds as no one reported the interest. It said pay to bearer and you could clip coupon and take it to bank no questions asked.
If this happens one who holds a large amount of munis will be rewarded as their bonds will be more valuable. But since most munis mature within 2-10 years when issued the joy will be short lived.
Most blue collar folk dont realize when borrowing costs rise for local schools, fire depts etc.when muni break goes away their property taxes will go up. Their joy at rich losing tax write off also will be short lived.
3B Buying says:
October 10, 2012 at 4:22 pm
#112 JJ: we dont even know if the mortgage and RE property tax deduction will exist if Mitt wins.
Or the muni deduction.
we dont even know if the mortgage and RE property tax deduction will exist if Mitt wins.
It will continue to exist, no question about it. The only question is whether or not it will exist in the same form as today. And, if it does change, how.
Vacation homes? Seems silly to provide for a deduction for a vacation home, no?
Deductability on mortgages up to $1m? Seems awfully rich to me, you could probably make an argument that this should be cut in half.
JJ, from yesterday.
Damn, you are brutishly handsome.
http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2011/0707/life_a_kjames_sy_288.jpg
On the quality of housing stock in northern jersey (in general), I can recall conversations on here regarding the quality (or lack thereof) of certain era’s and types (bi-level of this decade(s) or condos of that decade).
If anyone remembers and can remind me of ‘must-avoid’ types, I would appreciate the help. I remember like 1970s-1980’s bi-level or something was considered very poor quality construction. (I don’t mean to insult anyone) -thanks
I would argue makes more sense to keep vacation home deduction and get rid of primary home deduction. People are going to buy a home anyhow. They dont have to buy a vacation home so you need to encourage them. One million mortgage is crazy anyhow. If you are really rich it is a useless deduction. Think about it a 3.5% one million mortgage is only 35K a year, what does that do for someone making 10 million a year not much.
grim says:
October 10, 2012 at 4:31 pm
we dont even know if the mortgage and RE property tax deduction will exist if Mitt wins.
It will continue to exist, no question about it. The only question is whether or not it will exist in the same form as today. And, if it does change, how.
Vacation homes? Seems silly to provide for a deduction for a vacation home, no?
Deductability on mortgages up to $1m? Seems awfully rich to me, you could probably make an argument that this should be cut in half.
It is called a split level. What you are describing would be house for bisexuals
joyce says:
October 10, 2012 at 4:39 pm
On the quality of housing stock in northern jersey (in general), I can recall conversations on here regarding the quality (or lack thereof) of certain era’s and types (bi-level of this decade(s) or condos of that decade).
If anyone remembers and can remind me of ‘must-avoid’ types, I would appreciate the help. I remember like 1970s-1980′s bi-level or something was considered very poor quality construction. (I don’t mean to insult anyone) -thanks
146 Yeah, school choice wouldn’t work with our property tax system in the suburbs.
I would hire Bebo to be our spokesperson.
I don’t mind if Romney throws out the home mortgage deduction for “rich” people.
Better than raising my tax rates. I’ll just pay off the last of my mortgage.
Here’s real school choice. Hey baby momma. Schools and pampers cost money. Think a little bit about that before you spawn.
You decided to choose a kid after all? Ok, now choose how much of your OWN money you want to spend on that kid’s school, and where you want to send your kid.
School should work the same way as food, clothes, cars, and every other product that has become better and more affordable over time. Ever wonder why school has become worse and less affordable over time? It’s the obvious – government dominates that industry, so makes a high cost low quality product. But oh no, we have to make sure everyone has a Government issue Lada.
[159] Ragnar
I chose to have my child later in life. You know, after I have paid for other kids to go to school for the last 30 years. Gotta love it, I finally am blessed with my own child, and the neighbor that I helped pay to put their kid through school does not want to pay towards putting mine through school. That one got the reinvestor 101 type reply also.
I paid for your pony to go to school. Now it’s your turn to pay for mine.
actually its “I helped pay for your 3 ponies to go to school.’ It’s your turn to help pay for my 1 pony you greedy bas***d.
#160 phoenix: because those of us who have put our kids all the way throgh know what a joke in many cases the public schools are including the blue ribbony ones. I advocate school choice for people like u who are just starting out with kids so u get to decide and pay for it. Not that you are forced to pay for it through property taxes. Let those who want public pay for it. Those who do not then they decide how their education dollars will be spent. Once u actually have some encounter with public schools you might see things differently
I live in a nice town, light blue ribbony. I am fine with public school and expect the old goat whose kids graduated five years ago to reciprocate the good will for my kid that I did for his three. Enough of the I got my pony now i am leaving crap.
Name me one thing the government does efficiently? This is why public schools are failing.
Can anyone provide contact info for the uber-inspector? Thanks
Name me one thing the government does efficiently?
It exploits the ignorant in exchange for votes knowing they’ll fall for empty promises from now until infinity.
lib[163]
Public schools are failing when the proportion of the students who don’t care about studying (and whose parents don’t care about them studying) reaches certain level. Magnet schools are not failing, neither are schools in places like Ridgewood or Millburn, as well as many others. Students that don’t care wouldn’t enroll into private, parochial and charter schools because their parents don’t care – even if they get a voucher for the full fare, they will not move a finger to do anything. They get into the public school where they prevent other kids from learning. It’s not an issue of government efficiency – the efficient way of dealing with this would be to restore the alternative schools, which nobody is even suggesting.
#166 I don’t know about ridgewood or milburn. Nor am I talking about failing schools. I am talking about blue ribbony schools in towns that are considered the better towns. The bare minimum is taught and the bare minimum expected. My children excelled because we demanded it. When some of you folks have kids at the high school level you will see it.
3B – High School can be better given choice.Bergen County Academies in Hackensack the old Votech High school where the kids who wanted to be AC repair men and auto mechanics is top rated. Average SAT is 2126 the second highest in the nation. When I was in high school back in the 80s it was considered a step down to go there. No kids scramble to be accepted.
No = now
uber inspektor is http://www.afullhouseinspection.com/
I just checked his site and he refers to this blog. Nice! Major props to the indelible ChiFi.
Yes…the kids whose parents didn’t care ended up at votech in East Brunswick. We called it slowtech. That model was effective. Though, it seems like progressive thought is to not even track students.
Recently, I hired an accountant, who is also a tax attorney, to do my taxes. Just because I am a tax attorney doesn’t mean I have the software (not Turbotax) or the experience in individual taxation that makes me an expert. So I hired one.
Turns out that he works for a law firm that I interviewed with a long time ago. They dinged me. And today, I get an email questioning why I didn’t make contributions to my solo 401(k) during the tax year. He said that it was a mistake and that I could still do a SEP but the limits were lower. I replied that I had until the filing date to make the contributions. He told me that his wife had a solo 401(k) and that his financial guy said that contributions had to be made by year end.
I sent him the IRS publication and a TE/GE presentation that stated clearly that I had until the filing date to make a contribution. He changed my returns.
And this firm dinged me. Yeah.
#168 Juice: Bergen Acadamy is excellent.Had I to do it again, thats where mine would have gone,assuming they got in.
3b (167)-
Even with me helping my daughter fight the brainwash for four years of her blue-ribbony, drug dealer-infested HS, it has taken her until the middle of her 2nd year of college to finally be able to think on her feet well enough to make an A on an essay-heavy test. I give the school a lot of credit for this, since it is an actual college and not a host for a nine-month kegger.
Even from this decent college, I hear far too many reports of profs who demand slavish regurgitation of their collectivist ideology.
I live for the day when the edumacation bubble bursts, and these bolsheviks are left high, dry and broke.
#65 Ragnar
That’s a bit of a pointless question. I would say every cafeteria has been sub contracted out to the lowest tender. The subcontractor will have the balance their profit margin against the how high on the Sysco quality menu they order. All non-essential services are sent to tender. Dick Cheney developed the model and Al Gore expanded it.
#163 Lib
USPS, leaving out the pension BS dumped on them. Delivering a letter, for 42c to any address in the US mostly within 36hrs. FedEX, UPS could not come close to making that work. It would come down to what routes are profitable and forget the rest.
That is my biggest beef with the GOP. When you get Mitt saying his Bain experience will help solve the issues or Herman Cain putting up what he did with Godfather pizza, it’s a apples to bananas argument. Herman took a company with 500 stores, closed 200 and returned the company to profit. Great for him, what’s the plan for the country? Take 50 states, secede 20 and go with the Top 30. The one thing that seems to get missed in all these arguments is that government, USPS and the public school systems have to serve everyone. If Herman returned the company to profit, maintaining the 500 stores, that would be a better qualification.
Well, Gluteus, at least this genius didn’t give out the number to a funeral home:
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – In an embarrassing mistake, Florida Governor Rick Scott gave out phone sex hotline number to Floridians seeking information on a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak.
Scott was providing an update on the outbreak at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday when he announced what he said was the hotline’s toll-free phone line, but gave out the wrong number.
The governor’s office was alerted by a public radio station in Tampa, WUSF, which was monitoring the cabinet meeting and posted the number on its website. The station said it was “quickly notified by a reader that the number instead connected to an adult telephone line.”
Callers are greeted with the recording of a woman’s voice saying: “Hello boys, thank you for calling me on my anniversary.”
YANKEES!!
Fab – Mitt talks about arming the rebels in Syria when we all know the Russians are supporting Assad, it is as if the Monroe doctrine extends everywhere. If he wins make sure your kids are off on Missionary work because we will be back in the sandbox.
[125] joyce,
Jury trial is the right of a plaintiff. I am not a litigator but my recollection is that civil defendants may not request a jury, that it is the right of the plaintiff. But it has been a long time. I could be wrong, need to check.
But in my experience, a civil defendant never wants a jury so it is a right that is largely pointless.
[64] joyce,
Regulatory capture? Your experience with regulators is different than mine.
I found some states that were notorious for being friendly to banks to be friendly to banks. Other states (NJ) were just plain lazy. But the feds were not captured or easy to get to see your point of view. Perhaps you were more persuasive than I was but that wasn’t my experience.
[134] yome,
Trying to find Money’s shop? I’ve been there a few times. And parking is bad, but not NYC bad. More like center city phila. bad.
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