From the APP:
NJ’s 2012 job growth was strongest in a dozen years, despite Sandy
New Jersey’s job market withstood the shock of superstorm Sandy in 2012 to post its strongest annual growth since the waning days of high-tech bubble more than a decade ago, the state reported Monday.
The gain required no small portion of resourcefulness from workers, particularly at the Shore, where they battled floods and power outages last fall simply to stay in business.
“Really, we formed, like, a little family,” said Andrea Canton, a hair stylist who moved into S&G Hair Studio in Point Pleasant Beach after her own salon in the borough was severely damaged. “Everybody was leaning on everybody, trying to get back to normal.”The report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is part of annual revision process that it calls benchmarking, providing a more accurate look at the labor market than the preliminary results it releases each month.
…
New Jersey had been lagging the nation since the recession ended. But the state last year added 66,400 jobs – 59,100 in the private sector and 7,300 in the public sector – keeping up with the pace of job growth nationwide. It was the strongest year since the state added 76,800 jobs in 2000.The unemployment rate at the end of 2012 was 9.5 percent, still higher than U.S. jobless rate of 7.8 percent.
January’s figures, also released on Monday, showed the state returned to modest growth. It added 2,600 jobs, and its unemployment rate remained at 9.5 percent.
“It turns out that 2012 was a much better year than we had originally thought,” said James W. Hughes, an economist and dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
…
Either way, economists said New Jersey has a long way to go before it fills the hole left by the collapse of the housing bubble. The state has recovered fewer than half of the 241,000 private-sector jobs it lost during the recession, Hughes said.
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. unemployment rate remains at 9.5 percent
New Jersey’s unemployment rate remained at 9.5 percent in January, while the state added 2,600 new jobs, according to preliminary figures released today by the state Labor Department.
In the first unemployment report of the year, officials also revised upward the total amount of jobs gained in 2012 — from a previously estimated 48,000 to 66,400.
It was the best year for the job market since 2000, the Christie administration said.
“What we saw as firm job growth is now shown to have been even higher,” said Charles Steindel, chief economist at the state Treasury Department.
But the jobless rate also rose from 9 to 9.5 percent during the year, providing a mixed picture of the state’s economic recovery.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.9 percent for January.
Steindel said more people have resumed their job searches in the last year after having given up. Since those who are not actively looking for work are not counted among the unemployed, their re-entry into the job market may be inflating the jobless rate.
“The ongoing surge in the state’s labor force count shows that residents are increasingly willing to search for employment in this better environment,” Steindel said.
Good Morning New Jersey
For all this talk about people leaving the state in droves, it’s worth noting that the state labor force increased by 83,300 between January 2012 and January 2013.
From the WSJ:
More Homeowners Dig Out
Rising home values have lifted more borrowers out of the hole of owing more than their properties are worth, an encouraging sign for an economy still closely tied to the health of the housing market.
The number of “underwater” homeowners in the fourth quarter of 2012 declined by 1.7 million from a year earlier, meaning 1.7 million U.S. households have regained home equity, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic, a research company. Overall, the company said 21.5% of households with a mortgage were underwater at the end of 2012, down from 25.2% at the end of 2011.
…
The declining number of underwater households is one of several changing housing trends that have made real estate a much bigger contributor to economic growth. After dragging on growth since 2006, the portion of gross domestic product that includes homebuilding contributed just over a quarter of a percentage point to the nation’s growth last year.
“All the things that fed on the downside feed positively on the upside,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank.
Of course, some newly above-water households are just barely at breakeven and therefore are a long way off from being able to change their finances in any significant way. And the overall ranks of those underwater remain large, at about 10.4 million, down from 12.1 million at the end of 2011, according to CoreLogic.
It’s all headed toward a sad, sad ending. No one will be spared.
Wait until the depositor haircuts and capital controls start here.
It will happen.
A study released in March by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco reports that nearly half, 44%, of American adults who are in the bottom 20% in income were born to parents who were also in the bottom 20%; nearly half, 45%, of adults in the top 20% had parents who were also in the top 20%. Most Americans who were born in the middle 60% had parents who were also born in the middle 60%.
The cup of inter-generational mobility in the U.S. is thus about half full, and about half empty.
If you were born in the bottom 20%, your chances of ending up in the top 20% are about one in 20: 5%.
If you were born in the top 20%, your chances of ending up in the bottom 20% are about one in 20: 5%.
It’s not entirely a hereditary aristocracy and hereditary serfs; but the circumstances, genes, and connections that a person is born with do have a marked impact in this country.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/social-mobility-is-a-myth-in-the-us-2013-3#ixzz2NyyMw2DN
Don’t I read here all the time that higher rates will dampen demand for housing?
Why higher mortgage rates will help the housing market
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/18/interest-rates-housing/?iid=HP_River
I disagree 100%. I look at all the asian kids graduating CUNY schools etc with medical, accounting degrees etc today. I look at all the Irish Kids in the 1960s to 1080s graduating school same thing. Both sets are children of immigrants who earned nothing yet kids are rich.
However, the african american, mexican, white trash mystery exists. They can be in country for generations and one generations after another often remains in poverty.
Essex says:
March 19, 2013 at 6:02 am
A study released in March by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco reports that nearly half, 44%, of American adults who are in the bottom 20% in income were born to parents who were also in the bottom 20%; nearly half, 45%, of adults in the top 20% had parents who were also in the top 20%. Most Americans who were born in the middle 60% had parents who were also born in the middle 60%.
The cup of inter-generational mobility in the U.S. is thus about half full, and about half empty.
If you were born in the bottom 20%, your chances of ending up in the top 20% are about one in 20: 5%.
If you were born in the top 20%, your chances of ending up in the bottom 20% are about one in 20: 5%.
It’s not entirely a hereditary aristocracy and hereditary serfs; but the circumstances, genes, and connections that a person is born with do have a marked impact in this country.
Juice (from yesterday, #91): Well, mine is a 50-year-old house, but we bought in 1996 with nothing other than a mid-1960’s full dormer with bath and a 1975-1980 “minor kitchen remodel” (cheap laminate cabinet reface and harvest gold appliances) done on the house. Since then, I estimate we’ve plowed about $70K into the house so far (siding, windows, roof, updated/upgraded electric, some minor updating of one bath, basement family room remodel to sheetrock and beef up insulation, some new interior doors, add deck and demolish of old concrete steps, new entry and storm doors.) That doesn’t include 2 sets of new gutters, 1 upgrade of gutters in the back to 6″ gutter, driveway repaving, 2 water heaters, 1 new oil burner, generator transfer switch, and other little electrical things. Nor does it include lawn care and care of our mature landscaping and old-growth oaks, which runs around $5000/year. I estimate we need another $40-$60K to plow into this house (gut-and-remodel kitchen, gut-and-redo upstairs bath which was done cr@ppily in the first place, repairs to upstairs subfloor, new flooring upstairs and refinish 1st floor hardwood. So when all’s said and done, we won’t make a nickel on this house but will have rented it from the bank for 25 years and done it up nicely for the next buyer.
Since your house is in a FEMA sandy zip code you should see if work done to house in 2012 is greater than 10% of your AGI and attempt a bit of a tax write off.
My wife and I dont really like our house to this day. My main floor looks a little messy due to sandy. Paint pealed a bit on bottom 8 inches, floors are slightly warped and you can see some rust on baseboards. I dont want to fix it as I did not have insurance and it is all cosmetic. Any repair work done in 2013 is expensive and flagged as flood stuff. If I hold off one to two years and then do it I wont get tagged by buyers as a flood house. Plus it will match the whole brand new lower level. I also need a bath on third level. I cant get people in to do that work without paying top dollar.
I feel bad for non-sandy houses that need work in a way. The owners are going to pay top dollar for any work done in 2013. Plus any late 2012 and 2013 renovations of main and lower floors might not even add value. I am a buyer in 2017 and see you did a big renovation in 2013 I am thinking Sandy all the way
Juice Box says:
March 18, 2013 at 7:48 pm
New roof, new siding, new deck, new windows, new doors, new kitchen new bathrooms, new HVAC, new hardwood new moldings new fixtures. How does one figure the cost to replace all of this in a 30 year old house?
Inflation adjusted 1996 is like lowest home price in your life. So you got a great price.
You really put zero into your house, everything you described in maintenance. Maybe the windows and concrete. But unless it is stuff that has a very long lifespan it does not count.
For instance I replaced my oil burner and oil tank in sandy. All new from 55 year old. At a cost of like 8k. That adds zero value to my house. The old one worked fine and they can last 100 years. Fuel savings to date is zero. My old furnace burnt same amount of oil. Going to replace roof this summer, added value is zero, buyer expects a roof.
Wife is considering turning unheated florida room that leaks from roof and floor and windows dont even shut all the way with a broken sliding door. It was like that when I bought it, home inspector was all over it into an actual room. My guy said after sandy he will raise floor, demo room, fix leaks, insulate, sheetrock, put in new windows, door and heat. That stuff would add value. Why it is creating a room out of nothing and done in a way to not raise my taxes a nickle.
Jill says:
March 19, 2013 at 7:40 am
Juice (from yesterday, #91): Well, mine is a 50-year-old house, but we bought in 1996 with nothing other than a mid-1960′s full dormer with bath and a 1975-1980 “minor kitchen remodel” (cheap laminate cabinet reface and harvest gold appliances) done on the house. Since then, I estimate we’ve plowed about $70K into the house so far (siding, windows, roof, updated/upgraded electric, some minor updating of one bath, basement family room remodel to sheetrock and beef up insulation, some new interior doors, add deck and demolish of old concrete steps, new entry and storm doors.) That doesn’t include 2 sets of new gutters, 1 upgrade of gutters in the back to 6″ gutter, driveway repaving, 2 water heaters, 1 new oil burner, generator transfer switch, and other little electrical things. Nor does it include lawn care and care of our mature landscaping and old-growth oaks, which runs around $5000/year. I estimate we need another $40-$60K to plow into this house (gut-and-remodel kitchen, gut-and-redo upstairs bath which was done cr@ppily in the first place, repairs to upstairs subfloor, new flooring upstairs and refinish 1st floor hardwood. So when all’s said and done, we won’t make a nickel on this house but will have rented it from the bank for 25 years and done it up nicely for the next buyer.
Chart Of The Day: Housing Starts – Found In Seasonal Translation… Again
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-19/chart-day-housing-starts-found-seasonal-translation-again
re: # 12 – Tom Keene joked this morning that they always start building in the middle of February.
Grim,
the search engine on this site is not very helpful. So could list the 529 you ended up using?
Many Thanks.
Alaska T Rowe Price
Kids in Newark, Elisabeth, Paterson, Camden, Trenton, and Edison turn 18 every day.
For all this talk about people leaving the state in droves, it’s worth noting that the state labor force increased by 83,300 between January 2012 and January 2013.
Kids in this towns dont look for work.They hang out in the streets all day looking for action.
The Original NJ ExPat says:
March 19, 2013 at 10:55 am
Kids in Newark, Elisabeth, Paterson, Camden, Trenton, and Edison turn 18 every day.
For all this talk about people leaving the state in droves, it’s worth noting that the state labor force increased by 83,300 between January 2012 and January 2013.
FWIW, I hope NJ increases house prices, employment, and everything else. Increases for everyone!
Thanks, Grim. Opening one this weekend.
Why did you end up chosing that one?
15.grim says:
March 19, 2013 at 10:00 am
Alaska T Rowe Price
Attribution? >:-(
grim says:
March 19, 2013 at 10:00 am
Alaska T Rowe Price
“For instance I replaced my oil burner and oil tank in sandy.”
Wouldn’t converting to gas have been a no-brainer?
I couldn’t, I needed a gas line run from the street to house, needed to find a gas burner and then a licensed plumber to install. On top of that gas companies were taking care of existing customers first. I would had to go another month without heat or hot water. My house was getting moldy and sheetrocking and tile work require house at room temp.
It pissed me off, as my electric oven, electric dryer and oil tank and oil burner were all runied so would have been a perfect time to do it.
Now it is not worth it as everything is new. Next owner in 20 years can do it
Statler Waldorf says:
March 19, 2013 at 11:51 am
“For instance I replaced my oil burner and oil tank in sandy.”
Wouldn’t converting to gas have been a no-brainer?
Grim (15),
That’s the plan our baby ‘D’ is now in too. The only thing it’s missing is automated transfer of UPromise earnings. I like when my research matches yours.
You’d get yours ChiFi, if Morningstar, CNN/Money and SavingforCollege.com didn’t recommend it too.
“Attribution? >:-(“
Brian, Google “highest ranked 529”
Then read what the advantages and disadvantages of each one of them are.
Typically, the big two factors are cost of plan and investment options within plan. If you weren’t from Jersey (Wrong), there might be other things to consider, like local tax breaks. In NJ, we only support the government. Not the other way around.
20 – I picked it because of Chi.
Yeah I see the cnnmoney article. Lists the Alaska plan at the top.
Just curious where you guys found the NJBest plan deficient….
Trow vs. Franklin
Cheaper management fees, more investment choices
Palin vs. Corzine
Ignore that last one.
does anyone have a recommendation for a good realtor for the montclair-glen ridge area. Good=honest + does not mind if I may have to check out 30 houses before I buy (3-9 month horizon). Wife saw and liked those towns.
I like realtors that show you a lot of houses. But funny part is no realtor with good listings does that. The one good realtor in my town tops will show you 1-3 till she is done with you. Where I am buying my condo now the good ones will show you at most 3-5.
From a buyer prospective good ones get exclusive listings, dont mind being a little more aggressive in the price since they are getting whole commission and want to sell quick. Other realtor I dealt with, does REO/Short Sales/Estate Sales etc. He does not list a single MLS home. He just markets the heck out of his 3-7 listings. He moves quick. I saw he sold one near me in four hours a few weeks ago.
The odd part is near me the realtor that shows 30 houses may never get a sale. You get a lot of tire kickers.
Redin for instance claims even if buyer brokers take you to a house you are under no obligation to use them, just ask redfin agent to contract house and get cut of commissions.
A buyers broker to work has to be smarter than the seller broker.
maybe buyer says:
March 19, 2013 at 12:56 pm
does anyone have a recommendation for a good realtor for the montclair-glen ridge area. Good=honest + does not mind if I may have to check out 30 houses before I buy (3-9 month horizon). Wife saw and liked those towns.
Forget about Cyprus. JJ have you seen this? There’s a shortage of tight black ladies pants! It’s a national emergency!
America Descends Into Lawless Pandemonium as Lululemon Threatens ‘Shortage’ of Black Yoga Pants
http://gawker.com/5991206/america-descends-into-lawless-pandemonium-as-lululemon-threatens-shortage-of-black-yoga-pants
redfin does not cover NJ
went to the upromise website and looks like a big waste of time
If a realtor shows 25 houses and ends up getting 2.5% if a 500K sale it works out $100 per house which is not bad. And house show is about 45min–less with me.
anon…I’ve put a grand into Gator Jr.s account simply by shopping through their links. It’s really effortless. Quarterly, the earning transfer automatically into his 529.
Once, I signed up for Travelzoo and gave them ten of my friends email addresses. They issued me 10 shares of privately held stock. I sold them 7 years later for about $1,500.
It all adds up. I don’t waste my time with offers that take up more than a few minutes of my time. I’m cheap, but time = money. I don’t even mow the lawn at my multi anymore, nor do I do my own oil changes. :P
I’m going to blog my free first-class trip to London and Paris this Summer. It’s the ultimate Captain Cheapo experience. So far, got the first class tickets for three and all of the hotel rooms (all Category 8 and higher) through credit card promotions. Back of the envelope estimate has me receiving about $20,000 in perks on less than $40,000 in spending I would have done anyway. You can’t scoff at those cash back numbers!!! It truly pays to discover.
Maybe Buying
Use Roberta Baldwin at Keller Williams. DO NOT TELL HER I SENT YOU. She will probably not work with you if you do.
We looked with her for almost three years and surprisingly, she didn’t kill us when we ended up buying a place that was only at 75% of our budget.
At first, she’ll be foofy like most realtors. Once you tell her you understand the process, she’ll be honest with you. When we were looking, she flat out admitted the market sucked for buyers (inventory) and sellers (price). She won’t hit you with those tired real estate lines either. Just do your best explaining to her your expectations. She’s about as no-nonsense of a realtor as you’ll ever find. Don;t let her steer you to her son though. He handles our multi rental listing, but he is not nearly as good as his mother. She was also tough as nails during the negotiations and stood by my willingness to give up on the whole deal over $7,000 in inspection items (knowing that the price was amazing even without it). Though she did say I was,”crazy!” Which I am.
Maybe,
The average viewing for us lasted 5 minutes. I could tell from the street which homes were maintained or not. Not updated, I mean simply maintained. You’re going to rip the whole place apart anyway. Who cares how old it is as long as it was maintained well.
Libtard, thanks. Don’t worry I won’t tell her you send me–I wouldn’t know anyway unless this is your real name.
I don’t have your experience I can’t tell what house is well maintained. I like old houses and montclair is great for this. I like details that I will preserve but true kitchens and bathrooms must go.
“If a realtor shows 25 houses and ends up getting 2.5% if a 500K sale it works out $100 per house which is not bad. And house show is about 45min–less with me.”
A third to half of that 2.5%, depending on the split, goes to the agency, not the agent. There used to be a show on HGTV about realtors in Montclair and South Orange and I’m pretty sure Roberta Baldwin was on it. It was called Bought and Sold. No idea if episodes are online.
Just become a realtor yourself and split your own commissions, apparantly there is no qualifications to become one.
maybe buyer says:
March 19, 2013 at 1:19 pm
redfin does not cover NJ
I forget, did you ever do the open the 0% CC, buy $50K from Treasury Direct, and then redeem the savings bonds in 6 months and pay off the card? They shut down the scam in around 2002-2003 or so. I was able to get about 200K Starwood points out of it and 6 months of interest on the bonds (less 3M penalty) each time.
Libtard in Union says:
March 19, 2013 at 2:06 pm
It’s the ultimate Captain Cheapo experience.
I don’t have time for the Morningstar white paper, but you can go find it. Really comprehensive…..maybe not updated completely each year anymore, but there was a full blown one in 2011.
grim says:
March 19, 2013 at 12:20 pm
20 – I picked it because of Chi.
jj 41
yeah good idea but I think it needs some licensing school hours–absolutely no time. Hardly time to check out the houses
ottoman
right, just checked her out she seems very popular. She has dozens of websites and she is a “team” not an individual. we’ll see. Any other suggestions??
re: 529
are there downsides to feeding a 529 account? Isn’t it decreasing financial aid chances? What if kid does not go to college?
Low Brow, in the mid 1980s American Express had a cash advance machine down in the wall street seaport area. One of the first ever. Guy I worked with friend was a loan shark. He had like 200 cards. Friends and Friends of Friends would take out Amex cards and max out cash advance option. He would then hop the bridge from Brooklyn, bang that machine and rotate cards. When he used your card at month end he would pay 200% of the bill. You are allowed to overpay and get a credit. He had at least 50 cops and firemen in on it. It was like payday when they used your card. But he would never bang a card more than twice a year. Some folks, had wife, brothers, sisters card etc. in on it. My buddy bought his GFs engagement ring this way.
The scam eventually wound down and they send a threatening letter to everyone. The loanshark instructed everyone to throw it out, not contact Amex or police as he would personally take care of it. Funny stuff, my buddy cops were worried about their pension. I have no clue how loansharks take care of things. But apparantly, low level clerks at Amex have legs to be broken too.
Now that is banging your card for cash, as a side note the folks got to keep their points!!!
These same guys used to buy savings bonds back when amex gave you points for doing so and discovered how to located folks who used the amex card to buy refundable business class tickets who did not take trip due to death and then request the funds. That was a data mining bonanaza. Somewhere around the mid 90s computers became more smart and their scams stopped. I asked my buddy what happened to the scammers, I was told they were a group of geeky mama boys wise guy wanna be who lived in their moms basements and never even owned a car or had anything in their name. Basically HS graduations in the early 1980s was last record of existance. They all disappeared like ghosts. Pre internet, pre social media tracking down folks who sleep in Moms basements and GFs beds not worth it.
One of the ringleaders did like it so much he finished his accounting degree, got his CPA and is the CFO of a fortune 500 company. Never took a nickle in his real job. But man oh man no one gets over on him.
chicagofinance says:
March 19, 2013 at 2:39 pm
I forget, did you ever do the open the 0% CC, buy $50K from Treasury Direct, and then redeem the savings bonds in 6 months and pay off the card? They shut down the scam in around 2002-2003 or so. I was able to get about 200K Starwood points out of it and 6 months of interest on the bonds (less 3M penalty) each time.
“Any other suggestions??” – Yeah, don’t buy in Essex County. But seriously, I’m not from that area so don’t know any agents, I just recognized Roberta Baldwin’s name and figured you might get to see her and other local agents in action if you could view that show online.
Isn’t the owner of this blog an agent somewhere around there or is he up in Bergen? Maybe send a message or see if you can catch him in the mornings when he posts all the stories. If he can’t help you, maybe he’d get a referral commission if he connects you to an agent you buy from.
48 ottoman
thanks for the suggestions. Why not essex? Is it because of taxes? We need to commute. The other alternative westchester is just as expensive if not more.
Recommendation for glen ridge and Mtc would be to use grim.
grim what is your contact # or email?
also does anyone know nj realtors may have exclusive listings or they need to go through the mls?
51 – shoot me an email at ja me sb ed n ar at gmail dot com.
(no spaces)
52 – Very few agencies in NNJ do exclusive at any scale – JJ lives in la la land where agents give their buyers preferential access to sweetheart listings at huge discounts to market.
Yeah there are occasional ones and some agencies tend to do it more frequently than others, but the overall number is probably a fraction of a percent. You’ll tend to see it a bit more often in the multi-million range where the owner is a famous person. I know one company that tends to do it often, they are a small unaffilitated shop. The average age of their agents and their clients is in the 70s. They don’t sell much.
I’m not saying some agents don’t do things that might be ethically questionable regarding listings, but believe me, if they are doing it, they aren’t going to give some random buyer that gives them a call on some Tuesday a sweetheart deal.
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I highly recommend Glen Ridge over Montclair. I’ve lived in both towns. One has cache, diversity and sh1tty services. The other has more of a country club crowd and excellent services and schools. Both town’s housing stocks are similar. Glen Ridge has a historical preservation society that makes it difficult to even build a deck on your house. Montclair is going through a lot of teardown/mcmansion replacement right now.
brain (7)-
Keep smoking your Sussex Co. crack. Higher interest rates will be the first step in the collapse of Amerikan society.
Don’t buy a house. Collect arms, ammo and precious metals.
It’s gonna rain shit pretty soon. We are all Cypriots now.
Grim, thanks I will email you
libtard thanks for the heads up. Problem is the walk to the station part of glen ridge is pretty minimal and montclair is somewhat cheaper and has many houses for sale but will look deeper into it.
cannon 58
so true. they experiment on our backs.
@Maybe Buyer re Essex–yes the taxes, plus the good parts are too close to the bad parts, but that’s like Westchester anyway. Check the express train schedules from South Orange and Maplewood too. Both beautiful towns with similar housing stock to GR and Montclair and decent downtowns, more low key tho. You’d be adjacent to Irvington and Orange but if you try to stay on the west side of the train tracks you won’t notice.
My choices would be Millburn, Summit, New Providence, Chatham and Madison but they’re probably too far.
When Mortgage Rates Rise, Will Home Prices Fall?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2012/12/18/when-mortgage-rates-rise-will-home-prices-fall/
“Some commenters suggested that home prices would fall after mortgage interest rates rose, adding further difficulties to those who might otherwise want to sell their homes and move.
Home prices, however, are not likely to fall after interest rates rise. There’s logic for thinking so, but it’s incomplete logic.”
58.Scrapple Cannon says:
March 19, 2013 at 10:04 pm
brain (7)-
Keep smoking your Sussex Co. crack. Higher interest rates will be the first step in the collapse of Amerikan society.
” increasing mortgage rates generally do not occur in a vacuum, but often occur due to improving economic conditions and/or rising inflation expectations. Even though an increase in interest rates should logically drive down home prices, other factors in the economy that generally accompany those rising interest rates usually prevent that from occurring.”
https://njrereport.com/index.php/2012/09/20/appears-that-the-bottom-is-now-behind-us/#comment-523937
Dodd-Frank Qualified Mortgage Rules Will Create a New Bubble
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/01/16/dodd-frank-qualified-mortgage-rules-will-create-a-new-bubble
What is the difference between REO needs repair price going south and Grand Pa’s home needs repair price moving north? Answer: NJ is different
home prices for REO properties in need of repair – the type banks look to unload after a foreclosure – have not been rising along with prices for non-distressed properties. They have been moving in the opposite direction.
According to HousingPulse results, the average price for a damaged REO property sold in January was just $88,100. That was not only 17.1 percent below the average damaged REO price recorded a year ago – $106,300 – but also the lowest level ever recorded by HousingPulse in its four-year history.
Yes, home prices are on the rise for non-distressed properties, which accounted for 65.0 percent of total home purchase transactions tracked by HousingPulse in January. In fact, average home prices for non-distressed properties were up a healthy 5.1 percent on a year-over-year basis – rising from $264,700 in January of 2012 to $278,200 in January of 2013.
http://campbellsurveys.com/housingreport/press_022613.htm
I have visited Crete……I’d rather be a Cretin…..
Scrapple Cannon says:
March 19, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Don’t buy a house. Collect arms, ammo and precious metals.
It’s gonna rain shit pretty soon. We are all Cypriots now.
Hey I have to tell lawyer whose name I want my investment property titled in
Should I do an LLC, Should I do a trust for kids?
Two objectives,
1) not get sued by tenants/make it hard for tenants to figure out who owns place
2) College Financial Aid down the road. Want it coded as not an asset for college.
jj provides “services” on a barter basis for those discounts…..I think he earns every penny of it……
grim says:
March 19, 2013 at 6:40 pm
52 – Very few agencies in NNJ do exclusive at any scale – JJ lives in la la land where agents give their buyers preferential access to sweetheart listings at huge discounts to market.
We all make $400K a year on these threads…..we will not be eligible anyway…..
JJ says:
March 20, 2013 at 8:05 am
2) College Financial Aid down the road. Want it coded as not an asset for college.
Mortgages Make a Comeback in August, Latest HousingPulse Results Show
WASHINGTON, DC (September 24) – The use of mortgage financing in the housing market jumped sharply in the month of August, reinforcing a three month trend away from the of use of all cash to buy properties, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.
“Conventional mortgages are making a comeback while FHA mortgages are not,” commented Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “Reasons for the growth in conventional mortgages include low rates, increased underwriting of high LTV mortgages by private mortgage insurers, and a price structure including insurance premiums that is cheaper than the FHA alternative.”
Mortgages were used to finance 68.9% of home purchase transactions in August, up from 67.5% in July. Significantly, not all mortgage financing products saw the same gains in market share. FHA-financed transactions rose only slightly from 25.5% in July to 25.9% in August. Back in January, FHA transactions accounted for 27.3% of all home purchase transactions.
Real estate agents responding to the latest HousingPulse survey indicated mortgage availability has improved over the summer months, especially for homebuyers with less than 20% cash downpayments. “Mortgages for home buyers with less than 20% down were available more than in previous months,” commented an agent from California. “Contrary to media reports, there is no shortage of mortgage money available for buyers with down payments less than 20%,” reported an agent in Texas.
Real estate agents also commented on historically low interest rates. “Amazing rates — less expensive to pay mortgage per month than to rent. Unbelievable opportunity and buyers know it,” exclaimed an agent in California. “The money is almost free, with 3.785% being about average for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage with 3.5% down,” contributed an agent in Washington State.
One reason for the resurgence of financing has been a surge in the purchases of non-distressed properties that are typically bought by owner occupants using mortgages. According to the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI), the proportion of home purchases involving distressed fell to 40.4% in August, down from 42.2% in July and the lowest level recorded since January of 2010.
Investors buying distressed properties continued to rely mostly on cash. In August, 77% of investors used cash to make their home purchases.
The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey involves approximately 2,500 real estate agents nationwide each month and provides up-to-date intelligence on home sales and mortgage usage patterns
I cant find the recent first time home buyers participation rate.Investors are moving out of the housing market. Can rising prices be sustainable?
http://campbellsurveys.com/housingreport/press_082812.htm
#71, college planning, yep, “hiding” those assets won’t mean much, if you make $100k you’ll get about $20,000 “credit” (federal estimate to run a household of 4 for a year) and your expected annual contribution towards tuition will be 49% of remainder or about $40,000.
Philly Property Tax:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323293704578334683069909640.html?KEYWORDS=philadelphia+real+estate+tax
PHILADELPHIA—A shake-up of the way this city levies property taxes has sparked divided reactions among Philadelphians, as homeowners in recently gentrified neighborhoods fear hefty increases in their bills but other residents—and some owners of commercial buildings—are enjoying the prospect of paying less.
A sharp increase in some home valuations means 29,000 to 36,000 homeowners could see their tax bills rise by more than $1,000 next year, depending on where the final property tax rate is set, according to Mark McDonald, spokesman for Mayor Michael A. Nutter, who was behind the reassessment.
While some may welcome higher values for their homes, the trade-off could be increased taxes, and people who don’t intend to sell soon are concerned about their ability to pay. Others fear the tax boosts could force out working-class and fixed-income owners.
The contentious impact of the overhaul is due in part to Philadelphia’s historically haphazard property-taxation practices. Pennsylvania is among a handful of states that don’t require local governments to conduct thorough property revaluations at fixed intervals, meaning some buildings go decades without meaningful updates. Most states have set schedules, such as once every three years.
Enlarge Image
Close.The last reassessment of any scope in Philadelphia was in 2004, and it didn’t hit every parcel, leaving the valuation of many properties significantly out of date.
Last month, the city began mailing new valuations to owners of 580,000 parcels. The valuations were based on a citywide reassessment done after a 2010 voter referendum effectively stripped the assessment function from an agency that critics said was mismanaged. The effort, by a new department, is said to reflect properties’ full market value—another factor that could lift bills. (The earlier taxation formula had a higher tax rate to make up for the fractional assessments.)
Kit Leary said annual taxes on his home in the city’s Spring Garden section could nearly triple to more than $7,000. The semiretired engineering consultant bought his house for about $65,000 in the mid-1980s when Spring Garden was marred by rundown homes and drug-dealing, but the neighborhood has since improved, lifting home values. His newly assessed value is $575,000, compared with an assessment of $86,000 that the city had used to determine his bill since 2008.
“We’ve done all this work on our homes, and now we have to foot the bill,” Mr. Leary said
Mr. Nutter said the reassessment will repair a “broken system that unfairly undervalued or overassessed properties for decades.” Assessments were outdated and inconsistent, sometimes causing disparate bills for similar homes on the same block.
Mr. Nutter on Thursday proposed relief measures, such as exempting $15,000 of a home’s valuation and providing up to $30 million in tax breaks for long-term, low-income owners in gentrified areas and small-business owners.
Another complication: The state constitution has been interpreted by courts to require all property be taxed at the same rate—residential and nonresidential. Many other big cities, such as Boston and Washington, can tax commercial property at higher rates than homes.
Under the new effort, Philadelphia plans to collect the same property-tax revenue in fiscal 2014 as this year, or about $1.2 billion. However, the additional income brought in by the new assessments will allow the city to lower the rate at which it taxes owners to reach that total, from 9.8% to a 1.32% rate proposed by Mr. Nutter to the city council on Thursday.
For many whose properties have changed little in value or have long been assessed at closer to market value—such as commercial-property holders and some residents of the city’s highest-valued neighborhoods—that means bills are likely to fall.
About 40% of owners will pay the same or less, according to Mr. Nutter, though that figure will depend on the final tax rate the city sets. Mary Bell Cote said she could see a $200 tax decrease for her home in Chestnut Hill, one of the highest-valued areas. Ms. Cote, a teacher, is breathing “a sigh of relief.”
Some commercial owners may also benefit. The BNY Mellon Center, a downtown office building, could see its bill fall over 40% to about $3 million next year, city records show. Owner CommonWealth REIT CWH +0.87%declined to comment. Commercial owners say they have been overtaxed, as the city was more diligent about keeping commercial valuations current than residential ones.
For #69 – JJ if you want absolute privacy. Then you want an “off the shelves” corporation to own it and another corp to be its manager. Both can be owned by a trust or another corporate layer which can be “off the shelves” too. But do you really want to do all the paperwork – when a good insurance policy will do, unless you are going to play fast & loose. All the legalese are expensive to set up & manage.
An “off the shelves” corporations/partnerships,etc., are corporation set up by lawyers in different jurisdiction (in and out of the US) and time seasoned. When you registered a corporation – the ownership of it is public. In an “off the shelves” the founding lawyers info is the one going public. the transfer of corporation’s shares/ownership to you is a private matter. Only informational tax returns will show new owner. With a management company – all financial transactions go to a third party.
Best listing I have read in a while, especially given the $685,000 ask: MLS 3009482
“Home in need of much work. Electric in half house is inoperable. Possiblel oil contamination from underground tank. Pool has not been opended in 2 years…tiles missing, filter & heat do not work. Possible structure issues due to multiple holes in stucco. Seller advises there is mold in several rooms. Lead paint may be exposed due to cracked walls and peeling paint! Seller advises view at own risk! Seller and agent make no representations regarding the property. Buyer responsible for any and all certifications from city, county, state, etc to purchase. PROPERTY PURCHASED “AS IS”!!! Tax freeze for senior…city taxes are presently underassessed!”
For MLS 30009482
http://www.coldwellbankermoves.com/property/details/3398609/MLS-3009482/113-Connecticut-St-Westfield-NJ-07090.aspx
yome, maybe the mustang comes with the house? still doesn’t justify the price. but, it is Westfield and Cake Boss is coming to Westfield so maybe it all make sense.
Not sweetheart deals, but a little bit off. But offer A through MLS is 420K, offer B is 415K. Realtor gets more commission with offer B.
Offer A is a buyers broker, Offer B is direct, which offer is realtor going to take.
Also realtors are required to present all legitimate offers. Offer B buyers realtor met, qualified, talked to buyers etc. Offer A comes in from a stranger. Who knows about offer A.
Other thing I find funny, is my neighbor told me he sold 30-50 properties over the years. He used to have his friend the realtor MLS it for him. His friend did not own a real estate agency. He used to have friend hold open houses and encourage them to call his friend direct. If it was a cash offer to make everyone happy he would pay realtor in cash direct. Realtor would be very happy with 1.5% cash payment for getting customer.
Open houses and MLS listings are all fishing expeditions. Cruise Realty on LI who specilizes in bank reos has to mls them all. Good luck with that using another realtor.
They close the vast majority of them on their own.
Plus good realtors, the one I know will give real buyers their IDs and passwords and let them directly enter bids into homepath, bank sites etc.
My good realtor gave me code to homepath,
chicagofinance says:
March 20, 2013 at 8:07 am
jj provides “services” on a barter basis for those discounts…..I think he earns every penny of it……
grim says:
March 19, 2013 at 6:40 pm
52 – Very few agencies in NNJ do exclusive at any scale – JJ lives in la la land where agents give their buyers preferential access to sweetheart listings at huge discounts to market.
Alot of money for the soil,not counting oil clean up and total renovation.
I plan on making zero income on rental. Since I plan on using it once in awhile it will most likely break even each year. I just dont want the house itself counted as an asset.
Primary home is exempt. I dont think vacation homes are. My youngest daughter is in kindergarten so odds are my the time she gets to college I might not even be working anymore.
1987 Condo Buyer says:
March 20, 2013 at 8:25 am
#71, college planning, yep, “hiding” those assets won’t mean much, if you make $100k you’ll get about $20,000 “credit” (federal estimate to run a household of 4 for a year) and your expected annual contribution towards tuition will be 49% of remainder or about $40,000.
250k, it would appear the agent wants to spend absolutely no time showing the house, to anyone, until the asking price is lowered to actual market value ($400K?).
250k says:
March 20, 2013 at 8:41 am
Best listing I have read in a while, especially given the $685,000 ask: MLS 3009482
“Home in need of much work. Electric in half house is inoperable. Possiblel oil contamination from underground tank. Pool has not been opended in 2 years…tiles missing, filter & heat do not work. Possible structure issues due to multiple holes in stucco. Seller advises there is mold in several rooms. Lead paint may be exposed due to cracked walls and peeling paint! Seller advises view at own risk! Seller and agent make no representations regarding the property. Buyer responsible for any and all certifications from city, county, state, etc to purchase. PROPERTY PURCHASED “AS IS”!!! Tax freeze for senior…city taxes are presently underassessed!”
For MLS 30009482
http://www.coldwellbankermoves.com/property/details/3398609/MLS-3009482/113-Connecticut-St-Westfield-NJ-07090.aspx
C’mon, it’s the dirt! You’re paying for the dirt! There’s a price to pay to be prestigious.
Real estate is normally treated as an investment asset, not a business asset, unless it is part of a formally recognized business that provides services beyond utilities and trash collection, such as maid service. However, incorporating a business and transferring the real estate to the business bypasses this restriction, since a corporation is a separate legal entity. When combined with the small business exclusion, this can cause real estate to change from being reported as an investment asset to being entirely excluded from assets.
We went to 4 open houses this past Sunday; 3 we’re in the Peoples Republic of Montclair and the other one was in Cedar Grove. The 3 in Montclair were on the “other” side of Bloomfield Avenue.
The Montclair homes all had old world charm to a degree but one of them was a complete dump with a $21,000 property tax attached to it. The other one was pretty nice but was on the corner of two main streets. The third house was huge! The upper level was bigger than most houses alone. It was listed in the high 500s but was in a “suspect” part of town and needed work in a lot of areas.
The Cedar Grove house was small but well-kept and behind it was a commercial parking lot. Other than that, not much to see. The listings in the Sunday paper and online reflect mid-winter inventory in numbers. There’s nothing out there. It would be great if the banks just dumped all the inventory on the market but I don’t see it happening.
Eddie,
But the dirt may be contaminated with oil. It may not be clean dirt. When the unicorns s**t their skittles will anything grow there? Will the butterflies still come?
re : #82 – odds are JJ you will be working.
Phoenix [87],
A nuclear hol0caust could occur and the cheerleaders will still convince a s.ucker to sign on the dotted line.
If I get packaged out in a few years, I might just teach a few classes, consult, join some boards etc. Considering most parents my age kids are in college now or even graduated college I am a little behind. My buddy is a little worse than me, he is 50 and his oldest kid is three. He will be 52 first day of kindergarten, 64 at HS graduation and 68 when his oldest graduates college. Odds are he will get packaged out by 62, he works a demanding job in asset management at a broker dealer and he is already ten years older than most guys in his dept.
Juice Box says:
March 20, 2013 at 9:36 am
re : #82 – odds are JJ you will be working.
Non-inflation adjusted if you back out insurance, RE taxes, weather related events, economic factors and maintenance costs Real Estate always rises in value over the long term.
Fast Eddie says:
March 20, 2013 at 9:39 am
Phoenix [87],
A nuclear hol0caust could occur and the cheerleaders will still convince a s.ucker to sign on the dotted line.
Fast Eddie but it has peach Stucco?! and white railings. What do you think this is 2008 market is up up and away.
“We went to 4 open houses this past Sunday; 3 we’re in the Peoples Republic of Montclair and the other one was in Cedar Grove.”
It’s now obvious you have no intention to buy. People concerned with high property taxes, don’t even waste time looking in Montclair. Tax info should be known before leaving your house, and would therefore not require wasting a Sunday afternoon. A simple Google maps search would also show a “commercial parking lot” next to an address.
Was the point of wasting a Sunday to re-convince yourself that “NJ real estate is overpriced and over taxed”?
When you’re actually serious about buying, and become familiar with ONE town where you seek to live, the house will be “sold” the moment you see the MLS listing, because you will already know the street, the taxes, the approximate condition, and the price (and will have recognized that a good value arrived). Also, when that right house shows up, be ready to write a hefty deposit check that day. Until then, you’re wasting your time.
IMF Chief Christine Lagarde’s Home Searched by French Police
Unicorns?
JJ – Donald Trump is 67 and still works. His two youngest kids are 20 and 7 yrs old.
You won’t be packing it in unless you decide to become a school bus driver or a crossing guard since you are going to need to health benefits for you and your kids.
Grim,
In NNJ, when does the inventory peak?
Not worried about Health Benefits I have Obama care.
I read an article about a couple who retired to Ireland yesterday in the WSJ. Folks think they are rich. Turns out they claim best deal ever. They rented a small renovated house in town for $600 a month. Utilities are a total of $300 a month. Long Term residents who are not citizens pay $1.500 a year medical insurance and folks over 70 buses and trains are free. Couple says they catch a bus to airport for free, hop cheap flights to visit Europe, kids and grandkids like to visit as it is cool and they spend like 1-3 months a year in states when they visit their kids.
Also liked fact it is never really hot or really cold so almost no heating or AC bills.
Forget Florida. This couple says you can do Ireland on SS income alone and live a nice lift.
Juice Box says:
March 20, 2013 at 10:06 am
JJ – Donald Trump is 67 and still works. His two youngest kids are 20 and 7 yrs old.
You won’t be packing it in unless you decide to become a school bus driver or a crossing guard since you are going to need to health benefits for you and your kids.
you just have to “lean in” to real estate.
Eeeen-teresting
Former Federal Prosecutor Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking, Prostitution, and Murder of FBI Informant
>On Monday, a federal jury in Newark found Paul Bergrin guilty on all 23 counts at his trial including charges of drug trafficking, prostitution, and murder of an FBI informant. Bergrin has been called the “baddest lawyer in the history of Jersey,” and his current trial is the second effort of the federal prosecutors after their first attempt was declared a mistrial.The almost two-month long trial allowed the prosecutors to provide added evidence, including secret recordings that showed him discussing the plan to kill a witness and make it appear as a home invasion. In the case of McCray, the FBI informant was a witness against one of Bergrin’s clients. Shortly after Bergrin telling the client, “No Kemo, no case” McCray was shot to death on the streets of Newark, in broad daylight.<
Eeeen-teresting
Former Federal Prosecutor Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking, Prostitution, and Murder of FBI Informant
Mistrial the first time around. I wonder if it was a hung jury. You only need to bribe– uh… convince, yeah convince — one juror to stand his ground and vote not guilty.
re # 97 – JJ “I read an article about a couple who retired to Ireland yesterday”
It may seem like a deal but you will really need to love rain to retire there, most healty retirees do travel around Europe quite a bit and come back to the US to visit their kids etc.
I unfortunately know way too much about health care in Ireland. There are long waiting lists for procedures somewhere from 2 – 5 months. If you show up needing a new something or an emergency something you aren’t getting it. They will make you comfortable though as you wait and wait.
“I plan on making zero income on rental. Since I plan on using it once in awhile it will most likely break even each year. I just dont want the house itself counted as an asset.
Primary home is exempt. I dont think vacation homes are. My youngest daughter is in kindergarten so odds are my the time she gets to college I might not even be working anymore.”
If you own a property other than your primary residence, you won’t get any financial aid. They expect you to sell it or take out a home equity to pay for college. Also, if you’re looking at any of the ivies, they have a forensic accountant go over your financial aid application and usually tell you you can afford to pay more towards college than the FAFSA. In fact, they will consider the worth of your business and/or primary residence and expect you to take out a loan against them to pay for college.
#102, not sure why JJ is concerned, I think he already said he is sending the kids to CUNY
#84: Not in that part of town it shouldn’t.
Statler [93],
Was the point of wasting a Sunday to re-convince yourself that “NJ real estate is overpriced and over taxed”?
No, I’m already convinced. I was just looking for some Sunday afternoon comedy.
What is wrong with CUNY?
Honestly from my two classes at a community cuny college I think it is the best deal. Attend an easy CUNY school like BMCC downtown. Do the two years in like 16 months. Two summer sessions right after HS, one year school then next two summer sessions. As long as you pass all is cool. Then go to a CUNY four year school in year two like Baruch and do their joint MBA/Undergrad program. That is another three years. You then graduate at 21 with a MBA and no debt at all.
Then once you are working make company pay for a Wharton mini MBA type thing to throw on resume.
One kid I was sitting next to was pretty smart. Told me he started as a NYC city employee at 18, ten year vesting for free medical, small pension. Told me plan was to finish up college and grad school at cuny part time for free and graduate before his 28 birthday. College degree then masters gets him automated increases at work.
At 28 if city job is dead end he quits. He got ten years of full time work, paying into pension and 401k. He can go to industry for a few years then if he wants go back to city in his 40s some bs job since he is already vested and add a few more years into pension.
A 28 year old ivy league art history major is living in Moms house 100K in debt at 28.
1987 Condo Buyer says:
March 20, 2013 at 11:39 am
#102, not sure why JJ is concerned, I think he already said he is sending the kids to CUNY
[84] eddie,
That close to a high volume freight line, and unable to get out of your street without a traffic cop? You aren’t paying for the dirt, you are paying for the zip code.
Tyler Mathisen is a MontKlarian
He just gave a shout out to a website “located in [his] town”, Baristanet.
Re jj and CUNY; you had to go there…oy
The reason Cuny is not highly rated is with so many Jews going there, very few students have very little skin in the game
Tiny Violin says:
March 20, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Re jj and CUNY; you had to go there…oy
#107, nothing wrong with CUNY, I am a Staten Island boy and went to the College of Insurance on William Street on Prudential’s dime. Since CUNY is relatively inexpensive, figured you did not have to worry about tuition!!!
http://www.markit.com/assets/en/docs/products/data/indices/credit-index-annexes/IG%209%20v4.pdf
list of investment grade bonds in 2007. Wamu, countrywide, CIT all the best
I am going to start a company off shore, issue stock, buy all the stock, take a massive loss get financial aid for free and them move off shore to where my company is located.
1987 Condo Buyer says:
March 20, 2013 at 12:42 pm
#107, nothing wrong with CUNY, I am a Staten Island boy and went to the College of Insurance on William Street on Prudential’s dime. Since CUNY is relatively inexpensive, figured you did not have to worry about tuition!!!
Fed decision: 11-1 to maintain policy until substantial job improvement shown.
Chi,
I started the T-Rowe Alaska plan 529 today based on your recommendation to others.
After reading your posts, I feel confident that my child will do well using this plan.
Assuming we don’t “crash and burn” as Scrapple would say.
If that happens, the 529 will be the least of my problems.
Anyway, thanks.
[113] JJ
Why move? The only reason for doing so would be to expatriate and avoid HEART Act exit tax, and if the loss was legitimate, you aren’t expatriating for tax reasons.
Unless the loss was fabricated???
#108..heard that in the car….sounds like a good idea (the website)
[102] I’m going to mortgage my paid off home at age 57-1/2, then promptly retire after the loan is closed. Two years later I will be 59-1/2 when my oldest applies to Harvard and I will have spent all the money from the mortgage, having only my already mortgaged home and retirement assets. That should pass the smell test, right?
If you own a property other than your primary residence, you won’t get any financial aid. They expect you to sell it or take out a home equity to pay for college. Also, if you’re looking at any of the ivies, they have a forensic accountant go over your financial aid application and usually tell you you can afford to pay more towards college than the FAFSA. In fact, they will consider the worth of your business and/or primary residence and expect you to take out a loan against them to pay for college.
#118…..that should work ,also if your income is below $50,000 and you can file 1040 EZ or 1040A, there is no asset test.
[118] expat,
That’s my plan.
[118] expat,
If you can, move to Cambridge. Harvard is required to hold X number of spots for Cantabridigians.
Selling the rental to pay for college.
Between the downpayment and the upgrades, I will have sunk 171K cash into our multi which is currently worth about 450K. Anyone want to ponder what it will be worth when I sell it 10 to 15 years from now? At 3% annual interest it’s $600K to $700K.
Now had I lobbed that 171K into a 529, I would have had to average close to 6% per year returns for the same amount of time to get that same return. And the 529 doesn’t offer me any depreciation tax write offs nor did it provide me the ability to essentially live in a $2,300 apartment at $1,300 rent for nearly 8 years.
Yes…there’s a bit more risk (ChiFi would remind me anyhow) going my route and I do have to play landlord to the tune of a day a month on average, but my crazy plan seems to be on track for being very clever. Especially if the stock market was to implode again.
And JJ’s right about hiding assets. We are all too rich to qualify for major scholarship. Better off teaching Greydon how to kick field goals.
http://www.ascot-advisory.com/Second_Passport.htm
Sell your home, buy 600K worth of gold and carry it around in a backpack for safekeeping. It’s only 25 pounds or so. Then rent a shack when your children applies for college. Problem solved. Or just move your family to Camden your sophomore year. Kid will finish in top 1% and can choose which school to attend. Don’t forget to accidentally check off the minority box on the application.
#122…if the basis is down to zero by then you are going to have a sizeable tax bite on that $700,000 gain…
At least this is RE related.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-neighbors-won-t-193132052.html
No wonder O gives the agencies permission to look in your bank accounts. Dual citizens can send money to a foreign bank by remittance up to $4999 without receipt. IRS not knowing it. Above that amount the store needs to let IRS know. How much will the total be if you are sending that amount 2x a month or even once a month.
In yome’s mind it’s automatically a crime to transfer money. Sorry, the full-on capital controls have not been employed yet.
Joyce we all should change banks at least once a year.
[128] joyce,
I didn’t get the sense that Yome was calling for full capital controls or universal CTR and EFT reporting.
This doesn’t surprise me, knowing the habits of enforcement in New Jersey. The homeowner handled it very well but then he had the state’s preeminent 2A attorney on speakerphone.
http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CDA54FG9O0%40news.ap.org%3E
The cops won’t be back, but DYFS will.
[129] Juice,
Frequently changing banks will get you noticed for investigation of “structuring”, the crime that Elliot Spitzer clearly committed but never got prosecuted for.
Comrade,
His post seemed to take issue with the fact that some people can transfer money out of the country without the IRS knowing… also the post seemed to say it was OK or a good thing for the ‘agencies’ to have access to financial records (access that comes without a warrant or any semblance of probable cause).
130.Just Comrade Nom Deplume says:
March 20, 2013 at 1:58 pm
[128] joyce,
I didn’t get the sense that Yome was calling for full capital controls or universal CTR and EFT reporting.
OT Alert
Was catching up on news and reading about this nutjob when something occurred to me:
Nothing in the democratic-sponsored legislation would have done anything to prevent Lane from getting a gun or banning the gun he did use. Except maybe in New York.
http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CDA5499DG0%40news.ap.org%3E
[133] joyce,
I can see that but I didn’t get the sense that it was a ringing endorsement. Also, as one knowledgeable in banking law and regulation, tax law, and BSA\AML issues, my immediate response to his concern would be “So what? It isn’t like there isn’t already disclosure.”
(102) All those assumptions about getting no aid from Ivies if you have rentals IS NOT TRUE. Ask me how I know.
Greenspan who? All hail King Ben, Lord of the Press.
Oh, what the heck – I’ll continue on this. Both my sons graduated from Ivies and although they didn’t get large amounts of assistance, it did help. I am an employee of a multi-national, earn six figures, have rental properties and a S-corp retail business. The paper losses cover a good percentage of the W2 income. That’s where the bottom line is. BTW, with today’s RE market, those rentals are ‘underwater’. Even though they supply 5 figure positive cash flows annually.
(138) The properties are ‘underwater’ because the towns reassessed the properties to low valuations in order to stem the surge of tax appeals. Being ‘underwater’ subtracts from your assets when it comes to filing financial statements for your kid’s school.
Nom I saw that this morning when I saw Nappen’ name I chuckled. He used to advertise in the hunting regs compendium that is issued every year. Know the name so well I hope I never have to use it. If this is what is considered child abuse these days, then my whole hunting club is f*cked. We have pictures with kids with guns and dead animals. Obviously we are a training them as future school assailants.
The first thing that popped into my head though was if that were me they would have shot my dog, then starting lecturing.
Joyce,
It is a crime if you are hiding assets and claim medicaid or the subject was getting the govt pay for college. Lots of people are doing it
yome,
Do you have probable cause to suspect a crime? Enough to get a warrant to examine the financial records & transactions?
118. So if I mortage my home and liquidate any other verifiable assets, where do I “put” the proceeds without it being subject to count to my ability to pay for college?
Joyce
The subject is how to hide assets and claim benefits. It is one way of hiding assets that the govt is catching up. I said above that $4999 the store needs to report the amount to the irs less than this amount they dont have too. I will give you an example. A dual citizen almost senior sends most of his earnings to his country but never above the amount that irs wil know. He got sick and needs care. Medicaid rule is you heed to give up all your assets to qualify. They check bank account he does not have any money. They check house it is in his kids name. He
gets approved
Did he commit a crime? It is not a crime until it is proven. How do you check for the money send out of the country?
Harry Reems < Abe Vigoda
Attended a presentation by Harding Loevner yesterday. They described Argentina as the only country from a U.S.-investors perspective to move from Developed status, to Emerging Market status, to now Frontier status. I thought clot would be so proud.
Why does it cost so much in tolls for the bridges and tunnels?
You have to pay people such as this….
Port Authority security contractor busted for smoking weed while on duty at GWB
By PHILIP MESSING
A Port Authority security contractor whose job is to look out for possible suicides and terror attacks on the George Washington Bridge was busted for smoking weed on the job this afternoon, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
A PAPD cop on patrol noticed an overpowering smell of weed when he popped in on the guard at the south tower security booth around 1:45 p.m.
When he asked the guard about the stench, Sami Omar, 26, of North Bergen, he initially denied it, then said “I think it’s a passing skunk,” a source said.
Cops found a half-smoked blunt in his boot and a small bag of marijuana, the sources said.
The four-year employee of FJC security has been on the bridge for the last three years. He also spent one year guarding the PATH trains.
He has two different Port Authority ID cards – one of which grants him access to “sensitive areas” of the bridge, a law-enforcement source said.
[141] yome,
In your examples, there is a substantial paper trail. Unless you add that the dual did an all cash business and sent money via hawala, there are records that any noob auditor could follow. If you know someone doing this to evade taxes or scm Medicaid, it’s a painfully amateurish attempt.
[146] chifi,
I thought Reems died decades ago.
Nom
Just like you said it was sent from a store called halawala. Halawal just need a bank account number where it is going. The store text the account number,the money will be in the account a few minutes later.The bank account number can be named to a relative.No paper trail.Only trail is cashing pay check from the bank.He can always say I spend it all
Nom
And Halawala’s business is all legal.Money remittance business.Loop hole is up to $4999 the store dont need to report the remittance to the IRS
[153] yome,
And where did the money come from? It leaves a trail and that’d good enough even if partial.
Money came from a paycheck that was cashed in the bank and spent
Halawala will have a currency exchange business in the country it is going.When he text the account and routing number,his currency exchange in that country will just use the cell phone to transfer the money in that account.Dollar stays here.
Energy firms, environmental groups agree on tough new fracking standards
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy-firms-environmental-groups-agree-tough-new-fracking-standards-1C8975363
yome,
So we are to assume anyone sending money overseas is guilty of something or trying to scam something?
Do you even understand how the Justice system is (supposed to) work in this country? Probably cause, warrants, innocent until proven guilty… any of that ringing a bell? I doubt it [your post at (145)].
joyce,
you keep on talking about crime.The subject is about hiding assets legally and taking benefits.
I do know how the justice system works.Is there a a crime on the example I just stated.There is a loop hole in the system that somebody can use and it is all legal.
I am not talking about a crime being committed.The businesses are all legit the money sent is hard earned money came from a paycheck.
Do you even understand what we were talking about? Or you are just plain mad because I said O is catching on.
Speaking of creativity around asset dispositioning and college admissions … didn’t the Alaska recommender tell everyone not to open the 529 under the parents names, but via grandparents, uncles, aunts, others?
159
Ok, sherlock. Your first post said nothing about claiming benefits. Let’s get that straight. Then you mentioned hiding assets and claiming benefits….. Comrade already said (to the non-reading comprehension impaired) that structuring IS A CRIME.
Go to sleep you child.
If this part of the article is true, chalk up another thing completely back@sswards with the legal system:
“You can’t be prosecuted for making an allegation of child abuse –even if it’s false,” she said.
131.Just Comrade Nom Deplume says:
March 20, 2013 at 2:00 pm
This doesn’t surprise me, knowing the habits of enforcement in New Jersey. The homeowner handled it very well but then he had the state’s preeminent 2A attorney on speakerphone.
http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CDA54FG9O0%40news.ap.org%3E
The cops won’t be back, but DYFS will.
And another thing, don’t lie and say you know how the justice system (is supposed to) work. The executive doesn’t have the authority to give anyone unfettered access to private records (the lack of authority hasn’t mattered for several years). You have no clue about the 4th amendment and unreasonable searches if you think this is just fine and dandy. Lastly, throw whatever hypothetical example out there that you want… if there is no crime, than what are they investigating?
159.yome says:
March 20, 2013 at 7:43 pm
joyce,
you keep on talking about crime.The subject is about hiding assets legally and taking benefits.
I do know how the justice system works.Is there a a crime on the example I just stated.There is a loop hole in the system that somebody can use and it is all legal.
I am not talking about a crime being committed.The businesses are all legit the money sent is hard earned money came from a paycheck.
Do you even understand what we were talking about? Or you are just plain mad because I said O is catching on.
Its all turning to sh_t once again. Cyprus is the start of something real ugly. I know the legislation is ready for forced loans. We just need the crisis.
I would never mess with KGB money. IMF’s Lagarde should be sleeping with one eye open. Might want to hire a food taster too.
brain (65)-
That statement is true…when the economy is coming out of a cyclical recession, and not a generational depression caused by a complete deflationary collapse.
” increasing mortgage rates generally do not occur in a vacuum, but often occur due to improving economic conditions and/or rising inflation expectations. Even though an increase in interest rates should logically drive down home prices, other factors in the economy that generally accompany those rising interest rates usually prevent that from occurring.”
250K (79)-
Feh. Cake Boss makes shit cannoli and a bunch of cakes and pastries that have enough chemicals in them to raise the dead.
chi (147)-
Hey, at least Argentina still has Messi and the world’s best contract killers.
Is word preceeding cannoli a noun or an adjective? …..if it is a noun, I want to see an example…..
Scrapple Cannon says:
March 20, 2013 at 10:04 pm
250K (79)- Feh. Cake Boss makes shit cannoli
Chifi, 147
Where was the presentation? Do you read our quarterly letters?
JJ (97),
With Ryanair they should be able to fly over Europe for less than $100.
rag: Moody presented to FPANJ at the Hilton in Metropark.
How is West? He hasn’t posted in quite a while. I guess since he moved he changed his focus (logically)……
#163 Joyce
GWB put the 4th amendment under the bus. It is worthless now.
Yome, for the servicer it is legal to move the money without reporting. For the person moving the money they have to report the foreign accounts on their taxes. At the moment FATCA is really only focusing on HNW and the likes of the Swiss banks. Look for this to expand down to the small folk in high immigrant countries. There is so much to say on this topic, but it would be a better topic for a GTG. But as a good example. I am sure that you could head down to the likes of Brighton Beach (insert any minority stronghold) and hand someone a large wad of cash and have the same amount (minus commission) be deposited in an account in the homeland.
[173] Fabius,
Your source for the GWB quote is . . .?
(And please, oh please, say Patriot act)
[172] chifi,
You didn’t see him? You were just in his crib, if memory serves.
JJ (97)
My father is putting his bus pass to very good use. Retirement didn’t suit him so he took a part time job that has him working Thur-Sun every two weeks. He books himself into 5 star golf resorts on their senior citizen midweek rates. He gets room and an evening meal in the dinning room for about $30 a night.
Last week he took a free bus Sunday morning to Galway using his pass and stayed in a beautiful place until Wednesday when he took the bus back home for work. he could have driven down, but with the price of gas over there. filling the tank would be more than the room rate.
Oy, all the wannabe lawyers tonight. You are all making my head explode.
#174 Eddie Ray
I think this sums it up.
The Patriot Act also expanded the practice of using National Security Letters (NSL). An NSL is an administrative subpoena that requires certain persons, groups, organizations, or companies to provide documents about certain persons. These documents typically involve telephone, email, and financial records. NSLs also carry a gag order, meaning the person or persons responsible for complying cannot mention the existence of the NSL. Under Patriot Act provisions, law enforcement can use NSLs when investigating U.S. citizens, even when law enforcement does not think the individual under investigation has committed a crime. The Department of Homeland security has used NSLs frequently since its inception. By using an NSL, an agency has no responsibility to first obtain a warrant or court order before conducting its search of records.
#178 Redux
Apologies, forgot to link the source.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fourth_amendment
On a side note, a friend of mine opened a coding shop in Saigon about 15 years ago. I went to visit a few times and this is right on the money. The quality of code his team was turning out even then was outstanding.
http://neil.fraser.name/news/2013/03/16/