Won’t fix, won’t sell, why bother?

From the Philly Inquirer:

N.J. municipalities join forces to deal with vacant homes

For Michael Miller and Allison Rupert, 58 Grove St. truly is the evil twin.

A ramshackle residence that shares a wall with the Haddonfield couple’s well-kept home, 58 lost its last human dweller several years ago. Varmints got in through gaping windows, and Miller and Rupert have heard mice scurrying in the walls. They have spent thousands of dollars of their own money for tree removal to get rid of encroachment from 58’s yard, where, in the summer, mosquitoes breed in untended puddles.

With 58’s violation notices, weatherworn paint, and scruffy grounds, it can be embarrassing having friends over.

“So, yeah, it’s a mess,” Rupert said. “It sucks big time.”

They have complained. Boy, have they complained. But it hasn’t been easy figuring out whom to complain to, let alone get results.

“It’s been bouncing back and forth from service company to service company,” Miller said, “and quite frankly they haven’t done much.”

A new initiative could change that.

Several Camden County communities – Collingswood, Audubon, Haddonfield, Haddon Township, Oaklyn, Pennsauken, and the Fairview section of Camden – have joined forces, enlisting the help of two doctoral candidates and a master’s student from Rutgers-Camden’s department of public policy and administration to identify the abandoned or derelict vacant properties in their midst.

The hope is that the coalition will be able to convince banks that may have gotten the houses through foreclosure that it is worthwhile to sell them. At the least, it wants the banks and mortgage companies to do a better job of maintenance.

Many of the properties – nearly 700 have been counted so far – are believed to be the casualties of the recession, the mortgage crisis, or both. Some are so-called zombies – properties in which foreclosure was commenced but not completed and the former owners have moved out. They are in communities of every economic stripe.

The Philadelphia region has the fifth-highest rate of zombies in the nation, according to RealtyTrac, a national real estate search engine. New Jersey’s identified zombies went up 58 percent from the last year.

The towns believe the banks or mortgage companies should be responsible for the properties’ maintenance. “The quality of that leaves a lot to be desired,” said Neal Rochford, Haddonfield’s commissioner for public safety. “We’re constantly on the phone.”

This entry was posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

109 Responses to Won’t fix, won’t sell, why bother?

  1. Juice Box says:

    Fire up the bulldozers

  2. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    An interesting perspective. I’ve considered the effort to force banks to be utilities but the fact that they might not be able to attract investors in another crisis was something I hadn’t considered.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/101851578

  3. 1987 Condo says:

    From the NY Times:

    Income Inequality Is Not Rising Globally. It’s Falling.
    JULY 19, 2014

    By TYLER COWEN
    Income inequality has surged as a political and economic issue, but the numbers don’t show that inequality is rising from a global perspective. Yes, the problem has become more acute within most individual nations, yet income inequality for the world as a whole has been falling for most of the last 20 years. It’s a fact that hasn’t been noted often enough.

    The finding comes from a recent investigation by Christoph Lakner, a consultant at the World Bank, and Branko Milanovic, senior scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study Center. And while such a framing may sound startling at first, it should be intuitive upon reflection. The economic surges of China, India and some other nations have been among the most egalitarian developments in history.

    Of course, no one should use this observation as an excuse to stop helping the less fortunate. But it can help us see that higher income inequality is not always the most relevant problem, even for strict egalitarians. Policies on immigration and free trade, for example, sometimes increase inequality within a nation, yet can make the world a better place and often decrease inequality on the planet as a whole.
    International trade has drastically reduced poverty within developing nations, as evidenced by the export-led growth of China and other countries. Yet contrary to what many economists had promised, there is now good evidence that the rise of Chinese exports has held down the wages of some parts of the American middle class. This was demonstrated in a recent paper by the economists David H. Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Dorn of the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies in Madrid, and Gordon H. Hanson of the University of California, San Diego.

    At the same time, Chinese economic growth has probably raised incomes of the top 1 percent in the United States, through exports that have increased the value of companies whose shares are often held by wealthy Americans. So while Chinese growth has added to income inequality in the United States, it has also increased prosperity and income equality globally.

    The evidence also suggests that immigration of low-skilled workers to the United States has a modestly negative effect on the wages of American workers without a high school diploma, as shown, for instance, in research by George Borjas, a Harvard economics professor. Yet that same immigration greatly benefits those who move to wealthy countries like the United States. (It probably also helps top American earners, who can hire household and child-care workers at cheaper prices.) Again, income inequality within the nation may rise but global inequality probably declines, especially if the new arrivals send money back home.

    From a narrowly nationalist point of view, these developments may not be auspicious for the United States. But that narrow viewpoint is the main problem. We have evolved a political debate where essentially nationalistic concerns have been hiding behind the gentler cloak of egalitarianism. To clear up this confusion, one recommendation would be to preface all discussions of inequality with a reminder that global inequality has been falling and that, in this regard, the world is headed in a fundamentally better direction.

    Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story

    Continue reading the main story

    The message from groups like Occupy Wall Street has been that inequality is up and that capitalism is failing us. A more correct and nuanced message is this: Although significant economic problems remain, we have been living in equalizing times for the world — a change that has been largely for the good. That may not make for convincing sloganeering, but it’s the truth.

    A common view is that high and rising inequality within nations brings political trouble, maybe through violence or even revolution. So one might argue that a nationalistic perspective is important. But it’s hardly obvious that such predictions of political turmoil are true, especially for aging societies like the United States that are showing falling rates of crime.

    Continue reading the main story

    Many egalitarians push for policies to redistribute some income within nations, including the United States. That’s worth considering, but…

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    Furthermore, public policy can adjust to accommodate some egalitarian concerns. We can improve our educational system, for example.

    Still, to the extent that political worry about rising domestic inequality is justified, it suggests yet another reframing. If our domestic politics can’t handle changes in income distribution, maybe the problem isn’t that capitalism is fundamentally flawed but rather that our political institutions are inflexible. Our politics need not collapse under the pressure of a world that, over all, is becoming wealthier and fairer.

    Many egalitarians push for policies to redistribute some income within nations, including the United States. That’s worth considering, but with a cautionary note. Such initiatives will prove more beneficial on the global level if there is more wealth to redistribute. In the United States, greater wealth would maintain the nation’s ability to invest abroad, buy foreign products, absorb immigrants and generate innovation, with significant benefit for global income and equality.

    In other words, the true egalitarian should follow the economist’s inclination to seek wealth-maximizing policies, and that means worrying less about inequality within the nation.

    Yes, we might consider some useful revisions to current debates on inequality. But globally minded egalitarians should be more optimistic about recent history, realizing that capitalism and economic growth are continuing their historical roles as the greatest and most effective equalizers the world has ever known.

    Tyler Cowen is professor of economics at George Mason University.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/upshot/income-inequality-is-not-rising-globally-its-falling-.html?ref=business&_r=0

  4. Juggalo4eva says:

    plume (2)-

    Boo f’ing hoo. Then let them fail.

  5. anon (the good one) says:

    yes, on a GLOBAL perspective, the numbers show that the average population in several countries no liger live on one dollar a day. congrats all around

    1987 Condo says:
    July 21, 2014 at 7:39 am
    From the NY Times:

    the numbers don’t show that inequality is rising from a global perspective.

  6. 1987 Condo says:

    Since we really should be looking at things from a global perspective, perhaps rest of world (IMF?)should tax US citizens 10% on income over $25,000. Maybe similar for Europe and developed nations in Asia.

  7. anon (the good one) says:

    @asymco: Apple users were ghetto dwellers in the enterprise.

    Hello gentrification.

  8. 1987 Condo says:

    N.J. Salary Cap Is Driving Away Superintendents

    Experienced Educators Are Taking Higher-Paying Positions in Neighboring States
    By Leslie Brody
    July 20, 2014 9:27 p.m. ET

    Brian Osborne said he couldn’t sleep some nights this spring as he wrestled with the idea of leaving his superintendent’s post in a growing New Jersey district to accept a job offer in New York.

    Dr. Osborne had steered South Orange-Maplewood schools through significant changes and wanted to see his work continue to bear fruit. But he couldn’t resist a job in New Rochelle, N.Y., with base pay of $265,000 a year—or $87,500 more than he could earn in New Jersey under a salary cap that would hit him as soon as his contract expired June 30.

    “It was an incredibly difficult choice,” he said.

    With Dr. Osborne’s decision, 10 of the 43 districts in New York’s Westchester County are now run by former New Jersey superintendents who left after Gov. Chris Christie imposed the salary cap in February 2011, saying it would help limit sky-high property taxes.

    Brian Osborne left the South Orange-Maplewood district for the top job in New Rochelle, N.Y Mark Abramson for The Wall Street Journal

    Mr. Christie said superintendents shouldn’t earn more in base pay than his $175,000 salary, with exceptions for big cities, and the potential for merit bonuses. He set a salary scale largely tied to a district’s enrollment.

    Critics called the mandate an incursion of local control and an odd step for a Republican against overregulation, and they warned of an exodus of seasoned talent.

    A recent survey by the New Jersey School Boards Association found that 219 out of 561 districts had turnover among superintendents, sometimes more than once, since the cap took effect.

    In 97 cases, districts cited the cap as the reason for the leader’s departure. Many headed to jobs in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York. Some retired.

    The governor’s spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said the cap will be revisited when it sunsets in 2016. He wouldn’t predict whether it might change.

    “Superintendent salary packages had clearly become unjustifiable and in many cases outlandish and had to be reined in,” he said in an email.

    Superintendents have complained vehemently about the cap and several challenged it unsuccessfully in court.

    The New Jersey Supreme Court said the cap fell within the state education department’s authority to review superintendents’ contracts to weed out excessive perquisites.

    Superintendents say it is unfair to ask them to tackle increasingly stressful jobs for less pay as they oversee the adjustment to new teacher evaluations, new state tests and new standards for what children are supposed to learn.

    Leah Gomberg, who is active in the Parent Teacher Association in South Orange-Maplewood and has three children in the district, said she fears the salary constraint—a maximum of $177,500 for her district—will hurt the school board’s ability to attract a new leader.

    “There’s a hope we’ll get a superstar who wants to make a difference, but there’s a worry we’ll get someone who doesn’t have experience,” she said. “It makes my stomach hurt to think of how it affects my kids.”

    The cap takes effect as soon as a sitting superintendent’s contract expires, so an increasing number of districts are becoming subject to it as their contracts of three to five years run out. If Dr. Osborne, a 44-year-old father of two, had stayed put, he would have had to take a pay cut of $42,500. He said he felt fortunate to get recruited by a district with diverse students and supportive parents.

    A bill approved last month by the New Jersey’s Senate Education Committee seeks to eliminate the cap, an idea supported by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat. The school boards association and principals’ union are among those pushing for the bill.

    Opponents say these groups are out of touch with the pain of taxpayers in a tight economy.

    “For public employees to say they need to make more than $175,000 a year, I just don’t buy it,” said state Sen. Michael Doherty, a Republican. “Many will have six-figure pensions, and very few Americans anywhere retire with a pension of over $100,000.”

    For the average Maplewood home, which is assessed at $395,000, the yearly property tax bill is $13,920.

    Some superintendents who get jobs out of state also tap their New Jersey pensions at the same time. That includes 59-year-old Frank Alvarez, who left Montclair two years ago to run the schools in Rye City, N.Y. He said he draws about $123,000 a year from his New Jersey pension, while making $248,500 at his new job.

    “You have many superintendents who retire from New Jersey and begin drawing pensions much earlier than anticipated, rather than continuing to work and contributing into the pension system,” Dr. Alvarez said. “It doesn’t make sense. This is a failed policy on many levels and the damage will take years to reverse.”

    About the time the cap took effect, 68% of voters thought it was a good way to balance budgets, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Back then Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a similar cap but didn’t push it through.

    Michael Osnato, who runs a Westwood, N.J., superintendent search firm, Leadership Advantage, said the cap has cut the number of applicants for vacancies, and many candidates are younger than before.

    Dr. Osnato said many principals and assistant principals no longer aspire to be superintendents in New Jersey because they already earn more than the cap allows. They don’t face such limits, and some make more than their bosses.

    “It really has changed the dynamic,” Dr. Osnato said.

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/n-j-salary-cap-is-driving-away-superintendents-1405906049?cb=logged0.23600450440148857

  9. Michael says:

    3- What sucks for Americans, this prosperity for the rest of the world comes at a major cost to our citizens and country. I agree with the professor, I would rather live in a better world, but I wish it didn’t have to come at the expense of this country’s quality of life.

  10. 1987 Condo says:

    #9..unless we erect barriers (trade, etc) globalism will result in an equilibrium, it will be “unfair” and wretching….

  11. Michael says:

    8- This makes me sick. These people always win that are politically connected. 123,000 pension and then a 258,000 dollar job. Of course teachers and regular workers will take the hit for this and will lose their pensions. 123,000 pension is more than teachers and regular govt workers make in two years working. Sad situation. Some people just take total advantage of the system.

  12. 1987 Condo says:

    #11..we can fire a couple of teachers to make up for these salaries….

  13. phoenix says:

    I vote for more speed cameras and less police.

  14. phoenix says:

    And raise the speed limit on 80.

  15. phoenix says:

    also some sort of electronic traffic device for one lane road closure instead of two guys with stop and go signs.

  16. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    [10] condo

    Red Ed Schultz is openly calling for protectionism at MSNBC. But readers here have long heard opinions on protectionism, both direct and de facto.

    As usual, NJREREPORT on the leading edge of the debate.

  17. painhrtz - whatever says:

    Nom don’t worry it will work this time we swear. I channeled surfed past it the other day Mika was doing her full on statist clap trap and O’Donnel(?) was wearing a Castro beard. I don’t know how that echo chamber stays in business.

    Jeez does anyone in the left do anything other than dig up the zombified corpses of bad ideas

  18. Juggalo4eva says:

    You can put these good-for-nothing skool superintendents on the same hit list with politicians. Good riddance. South Orange-Maplewood? Two nice neighborhoods, whole lotta gangland. Columbia HS would be a good place for an immigration raid.

    My wife is a skool secretary in our district. She could write a book on the shenanigans that our super pulls in order to achieve “savings” that help her pocket bonuses. The rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul accounting department is also basically a legalized racket.

  19. Juggalo4eva says:

    pain (17)-

    Yeah; they get elected to office and enact those crazy ass ideas.

    “Jeez does anyone in the left do anything other than dig up the zombified corpses of bad ideas”

  20. Libturd in the City says:

    Alvarez is some model example. He busted his contract in Montclair with a year still to go. I guess 250K per year wasn’t enough for his expertise. And the entire time he was there, he kept talking about the great progress he had made closing the achievement gap. Once he left, the truth came out. The gap was exactly where it was when he was originally hired to run Montclair Schools.

    Christie gives liberals some income equality and all of a sudden, it’s a problem.

  21. grim says:

    Sounds like it is time to consolidate school districts at the county level.

  22. grim says:

    I once knew a guy who was in charge of purchasing for a Hudson County school district.

    I’ll stop there, because I value my life.

  23. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    [20] libturd,

    “Christie gives liberals some income equality and all of a sudden, it’s a problem.”

    Ha! The first thing I thought when I heard about this was “Huh, that’s what liberals have tried in the private sector and it didn’t end well.”

    Can’t have market controls without controlling your market. Talent, like capital, goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well-treated.

  24. grim says:

    I’ve heard one too many superintendent and principal describe their job as being the president or ceo of a company, where the size of that company is the total number of employees and students. I’m the principal of a school with 2000 kids, I should be paid like a the CEO of a company with 2500 employees.

    The only problem is that the students aren’t employees that need to be managed, they are the customers, and I don’t think they realize that yet.

  25. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    [20] libturd

    OTOH, the idea of a salary cap means that the “best” talent goes elsewhere but if your example is the norm, there really is no “best” talent that justifies a premium. Might as well have some schmoe in there to sign papers and greet kids for less money if achievement really isn’t affected.

    There is an old saying “Those that can’t do, teach.”

    I used to follow it with “Those who can’t teach, administer.”

  26. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    [24] grim

    “The only problem is that the students are the customers, and I don’t think they realize that yet.”

    I think that they realize it all too well. My SIL is a teacher and to hear her talk, the kids are the bane of her existence. Then I hear her b1tch about the quality of instruction her own kids are receiving. It’s all I can do to keep my mouth shut.

  27. grim says:

    A school superintendent should be an entirely administrative function, why are decisions of any impact even being made on a district level? This makes no sense to me, they should have absolutely no say on curriculum or education.

  28. Libturd in the City says:

    Grim,

    From what I’ve seen, the superintendent serves two roles. First, when something bad goes down (kid brings gun to school, student offs himself, etc.), they serve as the liaison between the public (press) and the school system. Second, they make the call on weather related school closings.

    Sadly, that’s about it, unless they want to change the status quo about a school system’s educational philosophy. Which is pretty rare.

    Sounds like it’s worth 250K a year.

  29. Toxic Crayons says:

    There is a rising global middle class. One of it’s side effects is some pain for the middle class in the United States. In the US it’s a feeling ripe for exploitation by politicians on their quest for power.

    anon (the good one) says:
    July 21, 2014 at 8:19 am
    yes, on a GLOBAL perspective, the numbers show that the average population in several countries no liger live on one dollar a day. congrats all around

  30. Ben says:

    The superintendent has nothing to do with actual curriculum. For that matter, most supervisors don’t either. Teachers decide on the curriculum they teach themselves. It’s as simple as that. The superintendent doesn’t even know my name, let alone the class I teach. Yet, he’ll be the first one to take credit in the newspaper after my kids hit it out of the ballpark on the AP exam.

  31. Ben says:

    The superintendent is the face of the district. That’s about it. Their primary job seems to be to deny people personal days on a Friday before a vacation.

  32. Ben says:

    The only problem is that the students aren’t employees that need to be managed, they are the customers, and I don’t think they realize that yet.

    A customer would have the option of going somewhere else. That’s what they realize.

  33. grim says:

    Anytime someone in academia with a PhD uses the Dr. prefix, and isn’t actually a medical doctor, it’s pretty much a dead giveaway that they are a pompous asshole. Usually because they are inept and are hiding behind a title.

    Which pretty much describes every NJ school superintendent.

  34. Ben says:

    My SIL is a teacher and to hear her talk, the kids are the bane of her existence.

    Any teacher that talks like that needs to quit their job. If you do the job moderately well and show the kids you care, they treat you like you are their favorite person. The kids are the easiest part of the job. The hardest part of the job is dealing with all the nonsense from the people above you who know absolutely nothing.

  35. Ben says:

    Anytime someone in academia with a PhD uses the Dr. prefix, and isn’t actually a medical doctor, it’s pretty much a dead giveaway that they are a pompous asshole. Usually because they are inept and are hiding behind a title.

    Which pretty much describes every NJ school superintendent.

    They don’t even have a PhD. They have an Edd. And chances are, they did it part time for 3 years from an “online school”.

  36. painhrtz - whatever says:

    Grim being in the sciences for years we pretty much universally deride anyone who refers to themselves as doctor with the following. Really where do you practice medicine?

  37. Libturd in the City says:

    I really have the utmost respect for teachers. Gator Jr. is heading into the 4th grade and so far, he’s had two excellent dedicated teachers, one who was mediocre but learning (non tenured and gave a a ton of homework in first grade), and one who was terrible and simply too old to teach. Their job is truly not easy, especially with all of the ADD derelicts that suck up so much of their time. But at the same time, it’s a pretty good secure gig with Summer’s off and a very limited work schedule. Gator and I try to participate as much as two working parents can in our children’s educations and we have yet to witness a single parent that has shown any sign of anything less than praise for them. But, what really pisses me off, is how often teachers claim they are not respected. Especially from the progressive set who equate any type of effort to diminish an educator’s benefits, as an attack on their profession.
    Such a statement is an empty claim and speaks loudly to the ignorance of a group that cannot think for themselves. I just needed to get that off of my chest. As well as the absolute farce that is supposed to be ‘collective bargaining’ in the public sector.

  38. Libturd in the City says:

    Whoowah. I really need to proof read. Sorry for the many errors there. :P Busy working.

  39. Michael says:

    Sweet….plug went up again. Made another 7% at the moment.

  40. NJGator says:

    Alvarez bailed on Montclair with a another year remaining on his $200k+ contract. He did leave his wife behind in the district to earn over $100k as a Kindergarten teacher.

    So he was pulling in $375k/year in public money between his NJ pension and his NY salary. Add his wife’s salary in and that’s $475k/year in public money plus benefits.

  41. Michael says:

    Agree with most, but kids are kids. They are tough to deal with day in and day out. Ask any parent. Other jobs get a break from personalities, teachers never do. Not staying on top of the kids and there goes a broken window, or a broken nose. Teacher’s never get a break like most of the other adult professional jobs. God bless the adults that deal with kids everyday.

    Libturd in the City says:
    July 21, 2014 at 11:50 am
    I really have the utmost respect for teachers. Gator Jr. is heading into the 4th grade and so far, he’s had two excellent dedicated teachers, one who was mediocre but learning (non tenured and gave a a ton of homework in first grade), and one who was terrible and simply too old to teach. Their job is truly not easy, especially with all of the ADD derelicts that suck up so much of their time. But at the same time, it’s a pretty good secure gig with Summer’s off and a very limited work schedule. Gator and I try to participate as much as two working parents can in our children’s educations and we have yet to witness a single parent that has shown any sign of anything less than praise for them. But, what really pisses me off, is how often teachers claim they are not respected. Especially from the progressive set who equate any type of effort to diminish an educator’s benefits, as an attack on their profession.
    Such a statement is an empty claim and speaks loudly to the ignorance of a group that cannot think for themselves. I just needed to get that off of my chest. As well as the absolute farce that is supposed to be ‘collective bargaining’ in the public sector.

  42. Michael says:

    You teach ap students in one of the best districts. Of course the kids are good. They pretty much teach themselves, and you got them by the balls because they need straight A’s. Go teach some general class in a ghetto district and you will never ever say that the kids are the easy part.

    Ben says:
    July 21, 2014 at 11:33 am
    My SIL is a teacher and to hear her talk, the kids are the bane of her existence.

    Any teacher that talks like that needs to quit their job. If you do the job moderately well and show the kids you care, they treat you like you are their favorite person. The kids are the easiest part of the job. The hardest part of the job is dealing with all the nonsense from the people above you who know absolutely nothing.

  43. NJGator says:

    And figure in retirement, the Alvarez family will pull in about $200k in pension per year from NJ….plus he’ll collect an additional “small” pension from our friends across the river in NY.

  44. Michael says:

    This guy makes me sick. People like this give public workers the bad rap that they receive. Now everyone who reads this will think public workers are killing it, when that is so far from the truth.

    NJGator says:
    July 21, 2014 at 12:24 pm
    Alvarez bailed on Montclair with a another year remaining on his $200k+ contract. He did leave his wife behind in the district to earn over $100k as a Kindergarten teacher.

    So he was pulling in $375k/year in public money between his NJ pension and his NY salary. Add his wife’s salary in and that’s $475k/year in public money plus benefits.

  45. grim says:

    Made another 7% at the moment.

    I’m out of equities as of this afternoon, bookmark this post.

  46. Michael says:

    You guys could have made it too, I told you it was going to go up on monday and prob for the week, but you guys made fun of me instead.

    grim says:
    July 21, 2014 at 12:34 pm
    Made another 7% at the moment.

    I’m out of equities as of this afternoon, bookmark this post.

  47. Michael says:

    plug is a stock you want to play right now because it has potential. The rest of the market is pretty much at its all time high. Just because a correction is due, doesn’t mean you stop buying stocks.

  48. Michael says:

    up 9..15% now, don’t say I didn’t tell you.

  49. Michael says:

    48- Up 9.15% on the day….sorry for the extra period

  50. NJGator says:

    On a slightly more positive note, if you’d like your faith in humanity restored…This past weekend, a number of students from a charter school in Newark got together to volunteer their time to raise funds for a young father of three in Glen Ridge who has pretty much drew the worst possible card you can pick from the cancer deck. Some of these kids have even been donating their allowance to the family anonymously.

    I believe during the last election in Newark, we were told that schools and communities like these were a problem.

    http://fertigsfightcancer.weebly.com/blog/sat-jul-19-2014

  51. Michael says:

    not trying to be annoying about it….but it is now up to 10.5% on the day. Maybe, just maybe, I will finally get some respect around here.

  52. Michael says:

    Awesome!! They are only a problem when there is money to be made off them. Just like the education system, it’s only broken when a politician wants to make money off of education dollars.

    NJGator says:
    July 21, 2014 at 1:02 pm
    On a slightly more positive note, if you’d like your faith in humanity restored…This past weekend, a number of students from a charter school in Newark got together to volunteer their time to raise funds for a young father of three in Glen Ridge who has pretty much drew the worst possible card you can pick from the cancer deck. Some of these kids have even been donating their allowance to the family anonymously.

    I believe during the last election in Newark, we were told that schools and communities like these were a problem.

    http://fertigsfightcancer.weebly.com/blog/sat-jul-19-2014

  53. NJGator says:

    BTW Lib and I don’t know this family personally, but GR being the small town that it is, they happen to be the folks who outbid us over the last house we seriously pursued before we bought ours. They have three young kids and the dad just got a stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis. They are actively seeking leads on treatment options, clinical trials etc. For those of you reading that are connected in the medical/pharma world here, if you know of any options, would you please consider submitting them to the family through the form that is linked to this page? Much appreciated.

    http://fertigsfightcancer.weebly.com/blog/turning-stones-for-todd

    http://fertigsfightcancer.weebly.com/blog/turning-stones-for-todd

  54. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Are banks ever responsible for maintenance on a building prior to the sheriff’s sale? If not, I don’t see them every completing foreclosure in some areas. If the banks en masse have 100% of the mortgages on a lower middle class neighborhood I could see them letting 10% of the homes go delinquent for many (more?) years without taking/completing foreclosures. Why realize the losses AND tank the local market if the current free-loaders are still paying utilities and not cutting out the copper pipes?

  55. Fast Eddie says:

    I see companies like Plug Power and snicker outwardly. This is the type of investment tailor-made for Ralph Kramden..

  56. Libturd in the City says:

    Maybe it was that asbestos covered furnace in their basement that did it Gator.

    In full disclosure, I drove in this morning and took an hour door to door. Still more comfortable than the train, but not any quicker today.

  57. Libturd in the City says:

    Hey Passion Fruit. Tell us all the moment you sell, won’t you? Because if the market corrects tomorrow, Plug will drop 50% before the blue chips drop 5%.

  58. nwnj says:

    #35

    You forgot “paid for by the school district” which I believe is a conflict of interest on the “university’s” behalf. Good luck finding one person who ever failed out of one of these programs so long as their tuition check showed up on time.

    “They don’t even have a PhD. They have an Edd. And chances are, they did it part time for 3 years from an “online school”.

  59. Fast Eddie says:

    I went to see this house yesterday. Yes, another Tandy Allen disaster and I really should be punished beyond the punishment I inflict upon myself. Everything about it was ugly; everything about it was illogical; the décor was poor; there is no formal anything; that indoor f.ucking hot tub should be burned; that extra behemoth of a family room or whatever the f.uck it is (see pictures below) was about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. 650,000 f.ucking dollars and a property tax payment on par with a mortgage payment. I have a better chance of sleeping with a super model than this thing selling remotely in the ballpark of this price. You want a truly deflating experience? Go see these houses.

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1425517&dayssince=&countysearch=false

  60. Ben says:

    You teach ap students in one of the best districts. Of course the kids are good. They pretty much teach themselves, and you got them by the balls because they need straight A’s. Go teach some general class in a ghetto district and you will never ever say that the kids are the easy part.

    Go f. yourself. We’ve been through this before. Regardless of how good my students are, they far outperform anyone of similar demographic. FAR FAR FAR outperform. And no, they don’t teach themselves. I teach them. That’s why they outperform.

    And FYI, if you teach in the ghetto, the kids still are the easiest part. The criminal admins are the ones stealing from them and you and they terrorize the teachers left and right.

  61. Ben says:

    btw, Michael, I love how you know all about poor people, minimum wage earners, and struggling. Did you learn all about them during your tennis lessons or when you were being handed a home at age 19?

  62. Fast Eddie says:

    Here’s house number two that I went to see yesterday:

    I could almost live in this house and fix things as I went along. The realtor was nice but talked about 100 miles per hour. They removed the carpet in the upstairs bedrooms but the hardwood was a wreck and needed to be sanded. The realtor said the dog scratched the floors. I wanted to ask her if the dog put the paint stains on the floors as well.

    The master bedroom was an architectural disaster. Look at the master bedroom and list the things you see that are f.ucked up. No hardwood in the master as illustrated by the carpet. The house at least made sense in flow. At 650K and 18K in taxes, there’s where you separate stup1didty from logic. If the taxes were human, this one might have been discussed further.

    If you want to know where those superintendents get their paycheck, lookup the lucky one who buys this place.

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1425456&dayssince=&countysearch=false

  63. clotluva says:

    (56)

    Pump and dump baby. Lots of folks probably got in at $10 and are trying like hell to get their $ back. I typically stay away from mature companies with a P/E of infinity.

    I hope Michael lets us know when he closes his position. Maybe he’ll get a good tip right before their next quarterly earnings report.

  64. Fast Eddie says:

    My wife is a teacher. The kids love her because she cares about them dearly. This is parochial school, btw, where you get twice the success at half the price. Why? Because they’re involved with the kids at home and the teachers are involved at school. Plus, you don’t get the koola1d dem0crat-loving administrators robbing the till.

  65. Irene says:

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  66. homeboken says:

    Eddie (63) – The agent you mentioned, was she multi-tasking while showing you the house and yapping into the cell phone she felt necessary to include in her Realtor ™ pic?

  67. Fast Eddie says:

    homeboken,

    That wasn’t the same person as in the picture. But, it was tough getting in a sentence at times. :)

  68. Michael says:

    All I am saying is that your students are driven. They are going to ivy league schools. Those kids are easy to teach to when you compare teaching to ghetto kids with parents that have drug addictions. Most ghetto kids lack a drive when it comes to education. They don’t see how they can improve their life through education. Your kids will do anything to get an A. Try teaching the kid that tells you fuc! you, I don’t feel like doing work today. Try being held accountable for that type of student. Call the parent and the parent asks why you are bothering them. Ghetto teaching sucks!!!! That’s all I am saying. I’m not attacking you, I’m just saying that when you say kids are easy to deal with, you are coming from the point of view of someone teaching kids that actually want to learn. Wasn’t meant to be an attack on you. I have love for teachers. I was one of the only few who was not attacking them from 2010 to 2013 ( you know when christie used the teachers as a political power grab that the public ate up….your taxes are high because of the big bad teacher’s union…..what a joke for anyone that believed that crap).

    Ben says:
    July 21, 2014 at 1:22 pm
    You teach ap students in one of the best districts. Of course the kids are good. They pretty much teach themselves, and you got them by the balls because they need straight A’s. Go teach some general class in a ghetto district and you will never ever say that the kids are the easy part.

    Go f. yourself. We’ve been through this before. Regardless of how good my students are, they far outperform anyone of similar demographic. FAR FAR FAR outperform. And no, they don’t teach themselves. I teach them. That’s why they outperform.

    And FYI, if you teach in the ghetto, the kids still are the easiest part. The criminal admins are the ones stealing from them and you and they terrorize the teachers left and right.

  69. Toxic Crayons says:

    I do hope you are wrong Grim. Time will tell.

    grim says:
    July 21, 2014 at 12:34 pm
    Made another 7% at the moment.

    I’m out of equities as of this afternoon, bookmark this post.

  70. All Hype says:

    Hey Pain (36):

    Years ago before you joined our old company there was a person who had an EdD who asked that we call them doctor. You can guess what the MDs thought of that.

  71. Michael says:

    I’m still holding out. Bought in last at 4.83 on friday. Might wait till end of the week. Think this stock has more room to grow. If it crashes and hits 5.20…..I’m taking my profit.

    clotluva says:
    July 21, 2014 at 1:32 pm
    (56)

    Pump and dump baby. Lots of folks probably got in at $10 and are trying like hell to get their $ back. I typically stay away from mature companies with a P/E of infinity.

    I hope Michael lets us know when he closes his position. Maybe he’ll get a good tip right before their next quarterly earnings report.

  72. Michael says:

    Love how everyone is ripping this company. If you are making money, who gives a shi! about the long term future of the company. This stock has a lot of good news around it. There is money to be made. This stock has been around for a long time. They are finally seeing the light, hence, why the stock price is jumping. Love all these idiots who just blast the stock because it has never made profit. They are missing the big picture, this company is finally close to making a profit. I’m not saying this company is the greatest guarantee, but there is money to be made from it right now. Hence, why I have been making a shi! load of money on it. It’s really insane. They could bust right now, and I would still be up on them.

    So keep hating the fact that I’m trying to make money here. At least I was nice enough to share. How many of you have given a stock tip like that? I’ve been following this board for a while, and don’t see any of you big mouths giving advice like this. Too bad you guys hate me so much that you didn’t even listen. Your lost. You could have bought and sold today, making a quick 5% return on your money. But instead you guys rather just make fun of me.

    Same thing will happen with housing. You guys laugh at me when I say you pretty much can’t lose if you buy a good property right now and decide to sell 10 years from now. Wage inflation will come, the millennials will all jump into the market at once, setting up big gains in housing, and that’s when you sell. But don’t listen to me, I’m an idiot. Housing is dead forever. You will never be able to make money on real estate again….lmao

  73. Bystander says:

    I continue to low-ball. 15-20% for anything 60+ DOM. I saw this place on Sat. Swear I could have shot Hoarders there. First off, a mangy, flea-bag greeted us at the door. Poor thing looked neglected. It was sign of things come. Horrible kitchen, rotted bath with water damage below. Old windows. Garbage piled everywhere, piss smelling rug,dank basement, broken patio and overgrown plants everywhere…attic was packed with garbage bags. Place had charm if ypu could get through all work. A newer, bigger place sold for $435k last year (44 Rosemere). Agent said that does not matter and they have several offers above 400k? I call BS. You would be a fool. I offered 300k.

    http://m.coldwellbankermoves.com/property/details/4018901/MLS-B997009/114-Rosemere-Ave-Fairfield-CT-06825

  74. Libturd in the City says:

    For the most part, I was relatively successful in timing the stock market drops of both the tech bubble bursting as well as of the financial crisis. In both cases, my timing getting out was good, but in the financial crisis I took a little too long to get back in. I doubt I can go three for three as market timing is a fools game. Though, I’m not complaining.

    Yes, the market is due for a correction. It’s all the financial media has been talking about for the past six months or so and lately, it’s been way over the top. Just as Greenspan was too early by a number of years, I think this current bull will continue to run for a while longer. Considering that interest rates are still near record lows, there’s really no place else for anyone to go. I wouldn’t be surprised by a 10 to 15% haircut in the indexes, but I really doubt we get much past a 20% drop as everyone and their mother with any dry powder will probably load on in around 15%. As JJ likes to point out, a heck of a lot of people missed this bull run and they’ve been patiently waiting for the correction to get in.

    By far, my largest investments are Gators and my 401k. Currently, we are both at 80% stocks, 20% bonds. If earnings continue to roll in this quarter like they have so far, I don’t plan to change a thing. If earnings show signs of stumbling, I’ll probably go down to 60/40 S/B respectively. Though I really don’t see this happening based on what I’ve seen so far. Heck, if wage growth somehow comes, all bets are off and I might even go 100/0.

    Of course, all of this is just a janitors guess. Heck, CNBC has been calling for the correction for like two years already, but I tend to listen to Bloomberg as they are not nearly as sensational, though the staff is much harder on the eye.

  75. Libturd in the City says:

    Bystander. That’s the move. Especially after 6 months on market, once the selling contract with the realtor expires and they move on to another one.

  76. Ben says:

    All I am saying is that your students are driven. They are going to ivy league schools. Those kids are easy to teach to when you compare teaching to ghetto kids with parents that have drug addictions. Most ghetto kids lack a drive when it comes to education. They don’t see how they can improve their life through education. Your kids will do anything to get an A. Try teaching the kid that tells you fuc! you, I don’t feel like doing work today. Try being held accountable for that type of student. Call the parent and the parent asks why you are bothering them. Ghetto teaching sucks!!!! That’s all I am saying. I’m not attacking you, I’m just saying that when you say kids are easy to deal with, you are coming from the point of view of someone teaching kids that actually want to learn. Wasn’t meant to be an attack on you. I have love for teachers. I was one of the only few who was not attacking them from 2010 to 2013 ( you know when christie used the teachers as a political power grab that the public ate up….your taxes are high because of the big bad teacher’s union…..what a joke for anyone that believed that crap).

    FYI, I’m spending the summer developing a science course for a school in Trenton right now.

  77. painhrtz - whatever says:

    Hype knowing the characters that some of those MDs had I’m sure it was priceless

  78. chicagofinance says:

    All you need to know is that the company issues stock to fund working capital………does that mean anything to you? No? In “idiot” terms, they cannot issue public debt, and no bank or financial institution will lend them money without restrictive covenants. As a result, they do the most expensive thing possible…..they dilute shareholders……if everything after the word “All” is meaningless to you, you are an “idiot”.

    Michael says:

    July 21, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    Love how everyone is ripping this company.

  79. chicagofinance says:

    Here is some homework for Wednesday morning at 10AM…….does this bore you too much? then you are an asswipe….
    http://www.b2i.us/profiles/investor/NewsPDF.asp?b=604&ID=70824&m=rl&g=795

  80. Fast Eddie says:

    Bystander,

    Keep it going… good move!!

  81. clotluva says:

    80.

    “As of December 31, 2012, we had an accumulated deficit of $786.6 million.”

    “We have incurred losses, anticipate continuing to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability.”

    “We require significant additional capital funding and such capital may not be available to us.”

    So…this confirmed the suspicions I mentioned yesterday. Day traders to the rescue!

    Some more reading:

    http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/afv_fueling_infrastructure_deployment_barriers.pdf

  82. chicagofinance says:

    The End Is Nigh (clot Edition):

    The plot to poison the world’s best wine for a $1.3M ransom

    His lair was a hole in the ground, no larger than a shallow grave. Across the top a tarpaulin was pulled taught and camouflaged. The hole smelled like cheese.

    For weeks in the late fall of 2009, he had emerged from this fox’s den in the dead of night, skulking around among the endless rows of grapevines in the Burgundy wine region of France.

    Now it was time. At 1 a.m., with the nearby village dark and still, he clicked on his headlamp and picked up a battery-operated drill and a couple of turkey-baster-sized syringes.

    In rubber boots and a long, hooded rain jacket, the shadow emerged from his lair and pulled the tarp tight to again make it indistinguishable from the forest floor. In the glow of the moon, he descended a brambly path for a half-mile. He hopped a stone wall and entered a vineyard, ducking low and gliding along rows of vines months past harvest and barren of any leaves or fruit.

    He got down on all fours, dug away handfuls of rocky soil and then carefully pressed the drill’s bit into the vinestock. Into the pied de vigne — the foot of the vine — he quietly drilled with just a faint whirring.

    As journalist Maximillian Potter describes in his new true thriller, “Shadows in the Vineyard,” the mysterious man injected the contents of one syringe into the vine’s root, sealed the drill hole with a tiny wooden plug and smoothed over the dirt. He repeated the act one vine over.

    The domaine

    Everyone’s heard of Bordeaux, the famed wine region in southwest France. The premier crus of Bordeaux were the tipple of choice of Napoleon, Louis XVI and even Thomas Jefferson.

    But the wines of Burgundy are debatably better. Bordeaux does cabernet sauvignon and merlot blends, while Burgundy’s reds are the pinot noir grape. Remember the rhapsodizing in the film “Sideways” by Paul Giamatti about the precision of growing pinot in little tucked-away parts of the world — but how when that pinot is skillfully nurtured to its fullest potential, the wine is the most “brilliant” and “haunting”? That’s Burgundy, the Cote d’Or.

    What’s not debatable is that Burgundy is a far smaller growing region than Bordeaux and therefore produces a fraction of the grape yield and thus far fewer bottles. As such, Burgundies are the most coveted wines in the world. And the consensus is that the most coveted Burgundies are from Domaine Romanée-Conti, known commonly as DRC or even just “The Domaine.”

    It’s rare to even find DRC on store shelves. What little is produced at the tiny, postcard-quaint — you might even say “petite” — 4-acre vineyard is snapped up by distributors, private collectors and friends of the vineyard itself. On the “gray market” of secondary sales, the least expensive bottle of DRC could likely be had for under $1,000, but most would cost you closer to $10,000. A single aged bottle from a particularly good vintage, such as 1945, has gone for $124,000 at auction.

    The DRC has been called a “cathedral” of a winery, and it’s common for oenophiles to make the pilgrimage on foot or bicycle from the village train station just to stand by the domaine’s stone wall and gaze at the vines.

    On that wall is a sign in French and English that reads: “Many people come to visit this site and we understand. We ask you nevertheless to remain on the road and request that under no condition you enter the vineyard.”

    Pinot held hostage

    The “Grand Monsier” of Domaine Romanée-Conti, the septuagenarian Aubert de Villaine, arrived home one night in January 2010 and leafed through his mail. Included was a cardboard cylinder, the type used for blueprints, and inside was a small note and a larger sheet of rolled paper.

    It was a highly detailed map in pencil on grid paper, which Villaine recognized immediately as the DRC vineyard. As the man who directed the pruning of the vines, the picking of the grapes, Villaine knew immediately that this map was meticulous and accurate. Each grouping of the vineyard’s 20,000 vines was represented. A map this detailed didn’t even exist at the Domaine itself.

    The note, printed from a computer, read, in part: “You just received a map of a part of Romanée-Conti in which you can see a circle . . . the vines inside this ring have been drilled a few centimeters under the surface of the ground . . . You will know why in about 10 days. In just enough time for you to realize this is not a joke.”

    The next day, Villaine followed the map to the circled area and discovered the two poisoned vines. A week later, another tubular parcel arrived. This lengthier note explained that a sabotage operation had been under way for “a year” by a “team of six” conspirators. An unspecified number of vines had allegedly been poisoned deep at the roots and well concealed. In spring, as water and nutrients begin to rise from the soil, the poison would flow through the vines and leave them shriveled and dead.

    The vines had been “kidnapped,” and the ransom was 1 million euros.

    For that, the blackmailer would reveal the exact location of each sabotaged vine. But, Villaine thought, exactly what was the threat? Even if it was true, no grapes would be picked from visibly poisoned and withering vines, which in turn would be uprooted and replaced. That vintage’s yield may be lessened, fewer bottles of wine produced, but that’s hardly different than a year with unusually lousy weather.

    The blackmailer had considered that.

    “The target,” said the ransom note, “is the reputation of Romanée-Conti. If you wish to save the reputation of the vineyard, you need to neutralize the poisoned vines before the sap starts to rise. Know that it is possible to solve the problem in a fast, efficient and discreet manner.”

    It was a fiendish yet brilliant caper. The world’s most legendary — practically mythological — vineyard could either buy secrecy or it could risk the inestimable damage of being labeled the poisoned pinot of France.

    The drop

    Working discreetly, lest DRC’s competition catch wind of the extortion plot, the French version of the FBI, the Police Nationale, began its investigation. Given the precision with which the saboteur had mapped the vineyard, the initial focus was on present and past employees. It had to be an inside job, the sleuths reasoned.

    Cameras were installed around the Domaine. The phones were tapped. Nothing. For a month, the investigation was fruitless, not counting the occasional glass of wine offered to the police as a thank you.

    The final note arrived in the mail with a time and place for the ransom drop. It was to be February 12, at dusk. The 1 million euros were to be left at a cemetery a short distance from the Domaine.

    On the day of the drop, 1 million phony euros — as well as a GPS transmitter — was put in a duffel bag to be delivered by Villaine’s most trusted assistant. Officers in unmarked cars and vans and on foot patrolled the village. Others hid among the vines and in fixed positions in the woods.

    “You’re doing great,” an agent told the DRC worker through an earpiece as he anxiously left the bag in the cemetery, as instructed, behind a row of bushes near the front gate. “We’re watching. We’re right here.”

    For 30 minutes the police awaited the unknown: Would it be a motorcycle to snatch the bag and speed off cross-country, a van full of criminals packing AK-47s?

    To their shock, through green-tinted night-vision goggles, the spotters watched as one man casually strolled out of the woods right past their positions. What hole in the ground could this guy possibly have crawled out of? He nonchalantly picked up the duffel bag and began walking down the country road.

    Sour grapes

    Jacques Soltys was the name police found on the credit cards in his wallet. And he was no master criminal. He carried no weapons. He had no accomplices, other than having talked up his schemes to a mostly indifferent son and wife he rarely saw.

    After six unmarked police vehicles swept in and Soltys was arrested at gunpoint, police searched him on the roadside and found little more than a headlamp, a few hundred dollars worth of cash and a train ticket to Dijon.

    Investigators couldn’t believe that what seemed like such a sophisticated extortion plot was perpetrated, basically, by a small-time smash-and-grab guy.

    “I come from wine country,” Soltys said as he was grilled after the arrest. “I came up with the idea myself.”

    Soltys had done some time for a bank robbery and a failed home invasion. It was during his nine-year stint for the home invasion that he’d come up with the Burgundy plan. The botched robbery was in Bordeaux, which he chose somewhat arbitrarily because he figured there were lots of rich chateau owners there. During the bungled theft, at one point he held hostages and demanded ransom.

    In his cell, he began to think: Next time, don’t kidnap the vineyard owner. Kidnap the vineyard. He was so thrilled about his perfect-crime plot that upon being released from prison in 2008, he visited Burgundy for a quick look around even before returning home to his family in Epernay, about 300 miles away.

    From magazines, he researched the top winemakers, those who would consider their reputation of paramount importance and be inclined to buy silence. At hardware stores, he bought the herbicides, drill, headlamps and other gear that he’d need to carry out his operation. Then, basically, he dug a hole in the woods of Burgundy and made himself comfortable.

    In actuality, there were no other vines poisoned at DRC beyond the two revealed in the original threat note. It was all a grand bluff. As he awaited trial in the summer of 2010, 57-year-old Jacques Soltys twisted some clothing into a rope and hanged himself in his prison cell.

    A few weeks later, on the slopes of Domaine Romanée-Conti, the grapes were picked and then pressed, blended, aged, bottled and cellared. It turned out that 2010 was a good year after all.

  83. Theo says:

    Strongly disagree on the Dr. thing. All doctor means is teacher, which seems pretty appropriate for a college professor of whatever discipline you are studying. Medical “doctors” were generally seen as charlatans and quacks until very recently in human history.

  84. grim says:

    85 – Dr Theo I presume?

  85. Michael says:

    Foolish bottom line
    Plug Power’s troubling EPS is a product of complex financial instruments such as stock warrants and genuine and informed need to raise capital through equity in order to drive growth. Going forward, the company will need to issue more shares to expand.

    This will lead to a bigger plunge in earnings per share. However, if this future capital is used in the fashion we have seen so far, Plug Power will be able carve out a bigger niche for itself in the rapidly growing fuel cell market. Plug Power’s share price, too, will record a corresponding rise. This is because growth investors will have faith in the company’s ability to prudently invest, increasing the demand and price of its stock.

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/15/plug-power-dilution-bears-missing-the-point.aspx

    chicagofinance says:
    July 21, 2014 at 4:46 pm
    All you need to know is that the company issues stock to fund working capital………does that mean anything to you? No? In “idiot” terms, they cannot issue public debt, and no bank or financial institution will lend them money without restrictive covenants. As a result, they do the most expensive thing possible…..they dilute shareholders……if everything after the word “All” is meaningless to you, you are an “idiot”.

  86. Michael says:

    I understand what you guys are saying, but there is always two sides of the story. I’m not long on this stock, but I could understand if someone is.

    “As an investor, it is important to understand the other side’s perspective. Here are the scenarios that the pessimists and optimists are calling for and why they believe those scenarios will unfold.

    The pessimist’s case
    The pessimist don’t believe management can change. A leopard can’t change its spots, and Plug Power management won’t suddenly begin to execute after nearly a decade and half of not executing. Bearish investors point to management’s history of optimistic guidance and disappointing results. They also point to the approximately $850 million in total losses and the 14 years of failing to make the business model work.

    The pessimist believe that given Plug Power’s high valuation, the odds are very much against Plug Power. Given that the company didn’t win many contracts until recently, the pessimist don’t believe the company can win enough new contracts to justify the valuation as there is not enough market demand for Plug Power’s products.

    As a consequence of the company not winning enough contracts, the pessimists believe that Plug Power will continue to burn through cash. They believe that as management continues to disappoint in the coming earnings releases, more and more optimists will leave the stock in frustration, sending Plug Power significantly lower.

    The optimist’s case
    The optimists believe that this time is different. They believe, specifically, that there are enough tailwinds in terms of a larger market and more interest in fuel cell fork lifts that Plug Power can turn a profit.

    And although Plug Power is overvalued versus other fuel cell companies such as Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP ) , the company does have 85% of the fuel cell-powered material handling equipment market. While the market is very small, given the right execution, there is potential for significant growth as the total addressable market may be anywhere between $4 billion and $20 billion.

    For the optimists to be happy, Plug Power does not necessarily have to make profit right away; the company does need to win an order of magnitude more contracts in the coming years while at the same time controlling costs. The optimists hope that Plug Power will have enough positive cash flow to fund its growth without issuing more shares while at the same time improving its product.

    If all of this happens, Plug Power can continue to rally.

    The bottom line
    The investors on the sidelines are waiting to see whether Plug Power management can really execute. If management does manage to win significantly more contracts that justify the market cap while at the same time reducing production costs, those investors may consider investing in Plug Power.

    If that scenario doesn’t happen, those sideline investors are content watching Plug Power’s stock price grind lower as the optimistic investors give up.

    In my opinion, being on the sidelines and enjoying the show is probably the best bet for now. ”

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/11/plug-power-a-tale-of-twofutures.aspx

    clotluva says:
    July 21, 2014 at 5:24 pm
    80.

    “As of December 31, 2012, we had an accumulated deficit of $786.6 million.”

    “We have incurred losses, anticipate continuing to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability.”

    “We require significant additional capital funding and such capital may not be available to us.”

    So…this confirmed the suspicions I mentioned yesterday. Day traders to the rescue!

    Some more reading:

    http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/afv_fueling_infrastructure_deployment_barriers.pdf

  87. Michael says:

    No kidding, this is why I stated it would go up Monday and prob for the week, there is most likely going to be some good news coming wed. I was not touting anyone to buy and hold long term. All I stated on Friday was that I have been making a lot of money off this stock and wanted to share because I thought it was due for another run based on my info. So far it’s correct, but of course things could change in a blink of an eye.

    chicagofinance says:
    July 21, 2014 at 4:53 pm
    Here is some homework for Wednesday morning at 10AM…….does this bore you too much? then you are an asswipe….
    http://www.b2i.us/profiles/investor/NewsPDF.asp?b=604&ID=70824&m=rl&g=795

  88. Michael says:

    I agree. Pretty much everyone is banking on a correction for the past two years. Why? Not fundamentals, but because all rallies in history had never made it past 5 years. That’s just stupid. It’s simply insane how many people have been getting killed on shorts the past two years. Yes, people have been losing tons of money expecting this rally to end. You would think everyone is killing it based on how well the market has been doing, but dummies think the market is due for a correction and keep getting killed trying to short it. When everyone and their mother expects a correction, it’s not happening anytime soon. So far it’s been right.

    Libturd in the City says:
    July 21, 2014 at 4:08 pm
    For the most part, I was relatively successful in timing the stock market drops of both the tech bubble bursting as well as of the financial crisis. In both cases, my timing getting out was good, but in the financial crisis I took a little too long to get back in. I doubt I can go three for three as market timing is a fools game. Though, I’m not complaining.

    Yes, the market is due for a correction. It’s all the financial media has been talking about for the past six months or so and lately, it’s been way over the top. Just as Greenspan was too early by a number of years, I think this current bull will continue to run for a while longer. Considering that interest rates are still near record lows, there’s really no place else for anyone to go. I wouldn’t be surprised by a 10 to 15% haircut in the indexes, but I really doubt we get much past a 20% drop as everyone and their mother with any dry powder will probably load on in around 15%. As JJ likes to point out, a heck of a lot of people missed this bull run and they’ve been patiently waiting for the correction to get in.

    By far, my largest investments are Gators and my 401k. Currently, we are both at 80% stocks, 20% bonds. If earnings continue to roll in this quarter like they have so far, I don’t plan to change a thing. If earnings show signs of stumbling, I’ll probably go down to 60/40 S/B respectively. Though I really don’t see this happening based on what I’ve seen so far. Heck, if wage growth somehow comes, all bets are off and I might even go 100/0.

    Of course, all of this is just a janitors guess. Heck, CNBC has been calling for the correction for like two years already, but I tend to listen to Bloomberg as they are not nearly as sensational, though the staff is much harder on the eye.

  89. Michael says:

    Lmao, here is an example of shorts getting killed.

    “About a third of PLUG’s shares are sold short, so today’s rally surely is more than a little bit helped by a short squeeze.”

  90. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    The markets are rigged and will stay rigged in dollars. Here’s your proof (triple-leveraged is a buy and hold? Any experienced investor knows that is a crock.):

    http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=FAS+Interactive#symbol=FAS;range=my

    OTOH, if you want to deal in only dollars, I recommend you add this holding to your portfolio.

  91. Michael says:

    Wow, maybe plug is actually in a good position right now. Read this article that just came out and it has me thinking. I really don’t know what to think of this company, but getting orders from companies like Walmart, fed ex, bmw, and Mercedes all in the past year must mean something is up. I mean they have been around since 98 and just now all these big companies jump on. Those companies wouldn’t sign contracts unless it’s with a company that they can count on and believe in. So something must be up. I don’t know what to do with this stock now, but I’m honestly starting to see some strong potential for really big earnings.

    This comment from that article might lend a point to where this company can go with their patents. Anyone with technological background feel these patents lend plug an advantage?

    “OMG: The Fool is finally starting to get what Plug longs have realized since the Walmart order made the company viable. This why Japan, The UK, and Germany have all announced subsidies to make wider use of fuel cells.

    And by the way, as the hydrogen economy expands, who has the patents on refueling all these hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen powered homes? Why Plug Power of course.

    In business since what 1998, and all previous sales in total = what Plug has done this year.

    Congrats fool, you are awake.”

  92. Michael says:

    93- sorry forgot the link

    SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY ) and SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) are at the forefront of the rooftop solar movement that’s increasingly taking shape in this country. However, solar power only works when the sun shines. That’s why hydrogen cell maker Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG ) could be the missing link for wider rooftop solar adoption.

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/21/plug-power-the-perfect-compliment-for-solar.aspx

  93. NJGator says:

    NYC Lets Developer Build Apartment Complex With Separate ‘Poor Door’

    New York City has approved a real estate developer’s plan to construct an apartment complex with a separate entrance for its less fortunate residents, the New York Post reported Monday.

    The Department of Housing Preservation and Development signed off on the application from Extell to build a 33-story building on the Upper West Side. The building will have 219 luxury condos that overlook the waterfront, according to the Post, and 55 “affordable” units that face the street. They will have separate entrances, which, as Gawker noted, sparked outrage last year when the plans were first revealed.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nyc-apartment-building-poor-door

  94. NJGator says:

    Gawker’s take, as always, is a little more colorful.

    NYC Approves Apartment Building With Separate Entrance for Poor People

    It would be difficult to come with a more on-the-nose metaphor for New York City’s income inequality problem than the new high-rise apartment building coming to 40 Riverside Boulevard, which will feature separate doors for regular, wealthy humans and whatever you call the scum that rents affordable housing.

    http://gawker.com/nyc-approves-apartment-building-with-separate-entrance-1608352680

  95. Libturd at home says:

    Passion Fruit. The only thing worse than Motley Fool as a source is Seeking Alpha.

  96. pete says:

    I cant believe there is a day trading stock tout on the board again. I would suggest he puts a disclaimer on after his touting but I don’t think anyone takes him seriously.

    I do shudder at the fact that he probably does have friends and family that listen to him though.

  97. grim says:

    Yeah, Michael, shut it down.

  98. grim says:

    If nobody has coined “Apartheidment” to describe the situation, I’d like to do so.

  99. grim says:

    Technically, I believe the developer is in the right. Nobody has any expectation that the “affordable” units will be comparable in size and finish to the high dollar penthouses. They are usually ground level, undesirable views/no views, located in closer proximity to mechanicals/noise, etc.

    This isn’t the lottery.

  100. grim says:

    Well we’re movin on up,
    To the east side.
    To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
    Movin on up,
    To the east side.
    We finally got a piece of the pie.

    Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
    Beans don’t burn on the grill.
    Took a whole lotta tryin’,
    Just to get up that hill.
    Now we’re up in the big leagues,
    Gettin’ our turn at bat.
    As long as we live, it’s you and me baby,
    There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

  101. Michael says:

    Won’t bring it up anymore.

    Here is your disclaimer. Anyone who read any of my posts mentioning a stock, do not purchase based on what I have said. I am no professional stock investor, just a guy trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents. Only reason I mentioned the stock was due to the emotional high that comes with making a lot of money off a stock. I was feeling good, and dropped one line about the stock that turned into a debate in which the seasoned investors on this board laughed at the stock. It was a back and forth debate that helped me gain a better understanding of the stock. All those posts with links from the fool were not meant to get people to buy the stock, but to show the other pt of view on the stock. Nothing for nothing, this board has a very pessimistic view of things. This is not exactly ground zero for the optimists club. So I was just trying to show the pessimists that there is an optimistic side of the stock.

    grim says:
    July 21, 2014 at 8:32 pm
    Yeah, Michael, shut it down.

  102. Juggalo4eva says:

    Ben is my new favorite person here.

  103. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Grim – are you closer to 45 then 35? I thought you were a little further South of our (Clot, Nom, JJ, me, etc.) league.

    Well we’re movin on up,
    To the east side.
    To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
    Movin on up,
    To the east side.
    We finally got a piece of the pie.

    Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
    Beans don’t burn on the grill.
    Took a whole lotta tryin’,
    Just to get up that hill.
    Now we’re up in the big leagues,
    Gettin’ our turn at bat.
    As long as we live, it’s you and me baby,
    There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

  104. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    than. I hate when I do that.

  105. Juggalo4eva says:

    Chifi (84)-

    Know this story well. I sell the wine made by the family who supplied the vines to replace the poisoned ones at DRC.

  106. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    Is it just me, or is being a bankster almost as hazardous as being a gangster?

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-21/goldman-sachs-managing-director-nicholas-valtz-found-dead.html

Comments are closed.