Foreclosure crisis completely behind us now?

From HousingWire:

Homeowners keep getting better at paying their mortgage

Consumers are steadily getting better at paying their mortgage with fewer and fewer loans moving into foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey.

The report found that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.71% of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2017. The delinquency rate was down nine basis points from the previous quarter, and was six basis points lower than one year ago.

Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, explained, “Mortgage delinquencies decreased overall in the first quarter of 2017, driven by a drop in both the FHA and VA delinquency rates from the previous quarter as the conventional delinquency rate held constant.”

On top of this, Walsh added that employment growth started 2017 on strong footing, with the economy adding 216,000 jobs in January and 232,000 jobs in February.

“Average hourly wage growth increased 2.8% over the year, and has maintained a generally increasing trend since late 2015. These fundamentals have helped to support the performance of all loan types – whether FHA, VA or conventional loans,” she stated.

The serious delinquency rate, the percentage of loans that are 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure, fell to 2.76%, a decrease of 37 basis points from last quarter, and a decrease of 53 basis points from last year.

Walsh concluded, “In addition, nearly all states had a decrease in the percentage of loans in foreclosure in the first quarter. The overall percentage of loans in the process of foreclosure was 1.39%, its lowest level since the first quarter of 2007. While judicial states still had more than three times the percent of loans in foreclosure as non-judicial states, that measure declined to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007.”

This entry was posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery. Bookmark the permalink.

87 Responses to Foreclosure crisis completely behind us now?

  1. grim says:

    I don’t know what avocado toast is, but I have no problem with anyone spending money on guacamole and tequila.

    Really? Avocados are the problem but Rutgers costing nearly $150k for an on-campus undergrad – this is not a problem?

  2. grim says:

    Suspect the building gap will become the hottest real estate topic for the remainder of the year. From CNBC:

    US housing starts total 1.172M in April, vs 1.26M starts expected

    Construction of new homes fell for a second straight month in April, pushing activity to the lowest point in five months.

    The Commerce Department says housing starts fell 2.6 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units. That followed a 6.6 per cent decline in March and left home building at its lowest point since last November. The weakness was led by a big drop in construction of apartments, a volatile sector.

    Housing construction has been one of the bright spots for the economy. Analysts expect that the number of Americans seeking homes will rebound in coming months, driven by strong employment gains and low unemployment.

  3. Ottoman says:

    Not sure why you don’t understand since you’re one of these idiots who also blames personal failings rather than capitalism for people’s problems.

    “I don’t know what avocado toast is, but I have no problem with anyone spending money on guacamole and tequila.

    Really? Avocados are the problem but Rutgers costing nearly $150k for an on-campus undergrad – this is not a problem?”

  4. D-FENS says:

    A lot of blame can be placed on Federal Student loan programs.

    Ottoman says:
    May 17, 2017 at 7:36 am
    Not sure why you don’t understand since you’re one of these idiots who also blames personal failings rather than capitalism for people’s problems.

  5. Grim says:

    Clearly you are in the avocado toast camp.

  6. D-FENS says:

    Time will tell….

    Gov. Christie: The Lottery Proposal Will Fix NJ’s Single Biggest Fiscal Problem

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu2spxu4rhU

    Published on May 16, 2017
    Transcript:

    Governor Christie: Remember this administration has reduced government employees at the state level by nearly 11,000 in seven years without one layoff, purely by attrition. Watch what happens if past is prologue. These are all things you need to be concerned about, I took care of the Transportation Trust Fund, you’ve got eight years now you don’t have to worry about that. Just go out and do your job, go out and bid these jobs, employ the hard working men and women in this state who do the really great work on our infrastructure and plow ahead on that, it’s taken care of. You can send me the thank you note later, three years, four years from now whenever you want. We now don’t have to worry about refinancing the Transportation Trust Fund again. But I’m here to give you a warning. The lottery proposal that we’re making is a gift to all of you, to spend the last bit of political capital we have before we leave to improve the system for the next person and not through gimmicks, and not through games, but through taking a major asset of the state and committing it to fixing the single biggest fiscal problem we have. I want you to know that you in my opinion have been a force for good in this state, a force for good for the families of this state. A force for good for the education system in our state and a force for good in the future of our economy and the cultural fabric of our state. There’s not a lot of places I’ve done three times in seven years but I’m doing this one because I truly believe in your mission and I believe in the people executing on it. So congratulations on what you’ve done. Thank you for what you’ve supported of our agenda, and for how you’ve helped to make this state a better place. And please don’t stop, because I would like to spend the rest of my life here and I’d love to have my children want to spend their lives here. And for them to want to do that and for me to be able to do that we’ve got to continue to make this state better than it is today. And if we’re going to do that it’s only going to be with your help and your support.

  7. D-FENS says:

    I’ll bet you can’t get Avocado toast in Venezuela. Thank a capitalist hipster.

  8. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I don’t know what avocado toast is, but I have no problem with anyone spending money on guacamole and tequila.

    Really? Avocados are the problem but Rutgers costing nearly $150k for an on-campus undergrad – this is not a problem?

    Avocados are not the problem. Just the people who buy them with the latte. College tuition is definitely a problem and an entirely different issue but the guy is right that the young people of this world are completely disconnected with reality. Way too many of them blow all of their disposable income on luxuries and then when it comes time to buy a home, rely on FHA so they could put down less than what I put down on my last car purchase.

    I’ve seen lots of people who live with their parents enter the job market at around $40k, go out an lease a BMW and take a trip to Europe and then plead poverty. I’ve yet to leave this continent. Right now, the home I own is well beyond what anyone else on my income could ever afford. At one point, my wife was literally working for 8 different employers and I was working for 3. No vacation. Rarely eating out. Didn’t have any trouble getting into the home I plan retiring in by age 32 because we could have nearly purchased it for cash outright. Meanwhile, I have friends who’ve been to every Carribean island and country in Europe approaching 40 years of age wondering how they’ll ever put together a 20% down payment.

  9. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    btw, after seeing that clip from No One, I had to watch the South Park episode “The City Part of Town”. Absolutely hilarious and spot on.

    Here was their spoof ad of the lofts.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miXMWJyOdgw

  10. Fast Eddie says:

    Millennials haven’t a clue when it comes to investing and the disciplines required to achieve long-term success. I’m working with a slew of graduate students from top schools and when I start talking about investment strategies, they basically give me the deer in the headlights look. They’re intelligent beyond belief but money management is a foreign concept.

  11. Bystander says:

    BRT,

    I don’t know how different kids are today. When I graduated college over 20 years ago, I knew plenty of kids who made little money, lived at home and blew savings on new cars and beach houses etc. I feel bad for graduates of last 10 years as corpocracy has basically crushed their ability to thrive by saddling them with huge debt then sending them out to globally competitive job market. When I was their age, I had 30k in debt while making 30k a year. Not a bad trade-off. Now, it is $150k and 40k job. They also conditioned to believe that $1000 is the new $100. Things are so gd expensive that I imagine many of them just don’t care.

  12. Fast Eddie says:

    With views of the historic Clam Broth House! lol!

    Hoboken is SoDoSoPa! lol!! Omg, what a scam!

  13. D-FENS says:

    The America I envision will be remembered more for it’s cheeseburgers than it’s avocado toast.

  14. D-FENS says:

    Wisconsin War on Scott Walker was training ground for #TheResistance War on Trump

    http://legalinsurrection.com/2017/05/wisconsin-war-on-scott-walker-was-training-ground-for-theresistance-war-on-trump/

  15. Bystander says:

    Cmon Gary. They just left a world of $2 pitchers and nickel wings. For $5, they worked their way into a smokin’ coeds pants that most of us middle aged guys can only recall as a faint memory. I got shoved into the real world via rent and student loan debt right away. They will too. As for investing, hardly a skill lately when govt. chose winners ie home buyers prior to 2000 and stock investors prior to 2008.

  16. Fast Eddie says:

    As for investing, hardly a skill lately when govt. chose winners ie home buyers prior to 2000 and stock investors prior to 2008.

    I sort of agreed with you up until that point. In fact, it really doesn’t take skill to make money. It just takes time. Time is the only way to build wealth. Take a Vanguard S&P 500 index fund and put money into it for 120 consecutive months. Then take a look at it to gauge where you’re at and do it for another 120 consecutive months.

  17. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    Speaking of cheeseburgers and grilling. I think you guys are sweating this just a little too much. The quality of the ground beef probably matters more than the cooking style. And the truth is, some people like burgers with a little grizzle on the outside and some like it soft all the way through. I’ve cooked them both ways from fresh or from frozen meat. From room temperature to rock solid patties where you can’t get the paper off until it cooks a little. From 80% to 92% lean as well with a little pork or brisket in the mix. They are all different and too subjective to determine what’s better. It really comes down to personal taste.

    My favorite way to cook is indirect heat, but with a 45 second sear to start on both sides. Best brand is Pat Lefrieda (love the flavor the brisket adds) but even frozen Bubba Burgers are pretty good. The steak burgers from the mail order steak places like Omaha and Kansas City are pretty high quality too. When I make the patties myself, just pepper, egg, some finely diced onions and a fattier ground beef works best. And no matter how you choose to cook them, one flip is all that’s allowed, unless you don’t like your burgers juicy. Oh, and a little butter on the sesame seed roll before you toast them on the grill. Hungry anyone?

    I made slow cooked (24 hours on low) smoke turkey chili yesterday. Two pounds of boneless turkey gone in one dinner between 5 people. Was absolutely incredible. Fresh (but frozen) hatch chili peppers rock.

  18. D-FENS says:

    @cjtfarrell

    Chris Farrell
    Some leaking schmuck on a phone whispers sweet nothings to @nytimes and the Left enters paroxysms — again. Let’s see the whole document.

  19. D-FENS says:

    Yessir. Beef matters.

    Put on a flaming hot grill. When it bleeds…flip….when it bleeds again…add cheese and eat.

    Steamy Cankles Foundation says:
    May 17, 2017 at 9:38 am
    Speaking of cheeseburgers and grilling. I think you guys are sweating this just a little too much. The quality of the ground beef probably matters more than the cooking style

  20. Fast Eddie says:

    D-FENS,

    I’m waiting to see the document, too.

  21. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Nearly 5.2% yield on VZ right now.

  22. D-FENS says:

    @sean_spicier
    The President didn’t ask Comey to end the Flynn investigation, he asked him to whipe it clean. Like with a cloth

  23. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Steamy,

    Pat La Frieda’s book on meat is a great read. I learned a lot about the ideal cuts going into meat. I like Whole Foods because I can get specific weights of whole muscle cuts to grind myself. The La Frieda blends that he suggests are pretty good. Making a great burger is more about the components of the ground beef than anything. Grilled or griddled, they’ll both taste good if you use a decent combo as long as you have high heat going on.

    My favorite beef blend I’ve done is 50% short rib & 50% hangar steak.

    My favorite all time blend was 50% short bit & 50% bison ribeye.

  24. No One says:

    What’s really dumb is that if you want coffee and avocado on your toast, and you are living on borrowed money, it doesn’t take a lot of money or skill to actually make it yourself. Could easily save $10/day making it yourself and save $3,000 per year.
    My daughter has had dance teachers scraping by, living off family money, but are constantly buying overpriced Starbucks and restaurant stuff seemingly without a thought. The credit card/entitlement mentality is strong in some of this new generation. They call it “valuing experiences over things” with things apparently meaning savings. You know who doesn’t generally do this? First generation immigrants (at least some subset of them), many of whom work and save all they can.

  25. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    oh btw, last year Wegmans brought in Hatch peppers fresh from New Mexico last summer. Absolutely amazing flavor that peppers elsewhere just don’t have.

  26. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I don’t know how different kids are today. When I graduated college over 20 years ago, I knew plenty of kids who made little money, lived at home and blew savings on new cars and beach houses

    I think the difference is that they, unlike their predecessors, are saddled with massive amounts of debt yet that hasn’t changed their habits.

  27. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Dan Rather is not done writing it yet.

    I’m waiting to see the document, too.

  28. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    Yeah…we have a friend in Austin who ships them to us fresh and we freeze them for the year. Way, way cheaper than Whole Foods, but know they have them when in season. They are really great. Kind of like a smoky poblano, but much sweeter and no heat whatsoever. BTW, if you like pickled/sliced jalapenos, Hatch brand are absolutely the best (though not made with Hatch peppers) obviously.

    Finally, my $100 Masterbuilt electronic smoker is the best cooking appliance I own. The quality of it is unreal. Not sure how they can sell it for so little, but they do. And we have everything from fancy burr grinders, to vitamixers to stand mixers to instant pot. That smoker is worth its weight in gold.

  29. Fast Eddie says:

    A questions for the lawyers: If I write on a piece of paper words in quotes that someone allegedly said to me without any existing audio or video, is it admissible and is it proof that it occurred or is it hearsay?

  30. D-FENS says:

    Impeach him NOW!

    BREAKING:

    Former FBI Director Comey has revealed in hand written notes describing his dinner with Trump that he orders his steak well done and puts ketchup on it. GOP and DNC lawmakers now talking of impeachment.

  31. Bystander says:

    Fast,

    Right, not a skill but if you graduated between 2009 – 2017, you have walked into a bear trap in terms of historical highs across nearly all investment classes. I can’t imagine starting out on the road today.

  32. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    BRT,

    I do agree wholeheartedly with your Millennial assessment. When times were tough in the late 70s when we were growing up. Everyone tightened their spending. Now, not so much. I do think a lot of it comes from parents spoiling and coddling their kids too much. I think there is a lot of guilt that stems from both parents working, so they try to make it up through the purchase of love. Once these kids are on their own, they still feel entitled to that same level of love from material purchases. Believe me. I would hate to graduate from college now, but at the same time, I think the squeaky wheels with the correct value systems and upbringing can absolutely slay the employment dragon currently. I only have this insight due to the hiring that I’ve performed. So many millennials really feel entitled to 8 hour days with insane benefits. The last two youngsters I hired didn’t make it over a year. They were both very bright, but had no client-focus or really much of a work ethic. They expected way too much hand holding too and were really lacking self-motivation. Actually, that self-motivation is really the big missing piece with them. I’m not saying that everyone in our generation has it, because I know many who don’t. But I really struggle to find it among anyone in the next generation. I do think a big problem too is that too few teenagers work anymore. I have my 12-year old completely motivated to start working. Then again, I’m not worried about him getting into and overpriced private Ivy. A local state college is just fine and a much better spend of my money. If he wants to pay double, well then he can pay the other half.

  33. Against The Grain says:

    It’s hearsay but depending on things like the content, the roles of the parties and when it was written, could be admissible under one of the exceptions for a business record or present sense impression, and maybe a few others.

  34. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    Bystander. I started maxing out my 401K in 1999. Do you know how long it took for my account to get back to what I contributed to it even with the lofty 7% match we used to have? Like half a decade!

  35. D-FENS says:

    The window for the GOP to pass any meaningful legislative reform is closing. I believe this is the goal of leaks and instability.

  36. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I think a big part of this was because the spending was cash, so the cash a family had was a hard and unmovable constraint. When I was finishing up college I was completely self-sufficient (with some Fed and State grants to pay for college, along with $3K a year right out of my own pocket, but no loans). I was working full time and going to school full time and living on campus and making extra money at $12/hr as a Physics and math tutor). So when I started work on 1/2/84 at $26K I was rich! In hindsight, I was extremely lucky to have taken my time through college (I graduated HS in ’77 at 17 years old) and graduated right into a boom. I read some research a while back that seemed to prove that the economy you graduate into can affect your entire career. It said on average that someone who started their career in 1982 or 83 did way worse than someone who started in 1984.

    I do agree wholeheartedly with your Millennial assessment. When times were tough in the late 70s when we were growing up. Everyone tightened their spending. Now, not so much.

  37. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    D-FENS – exactly right. The Dems want to run in 2018 on a platform of “See? The Republicans had everything and they did nothing! Put us back in and we’ll show you how it’s done!”

    The window for the GOP to pass any meaningful legislative reform is closing. I believe this is the goal of leaks and instability.

  38. Gone Goose says:

    8:57 Yeah because we all know you are the model for lucid thinking. eye roll

  39. Phoenix says:

    Joyce ( a repeat from yesterday)
    A scenario:
    Your neighbor is 80 years old. She is frail. Pees in her bed. Your job is to take care of her. She loved her Camel cigarettes and has a hard time breathing so you need to keep her vertical. She is stubborn and gives you a hard time, wants things her way. Let’s throw in a history of a broken hip and some dementia. Can’t remember what pills she took. You are part of a 24 hr care giving team.

    Q1.You can ask as much money as you want for your salary in dollars per hour. How much do you want?
    Q2. This is your mother now. You really love her.How much do you want to pay to have someone else do the same job you were asked to do for someone else?
    Q3. This is you now. How much do you think your children should have to pay to have someone do this same job to take care of you since your children have important careers and don’t have the time to take care of you?

  40. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see that moron McCain switch parties.

  41. Gone Goose says:

    10:39 shocking another Asian over achiever who got left home prom night spewing elitist bullshit from her bully pulpit- color me shocked.

  42. Phoenix says:

    Ex Pat,

    They might. And the Democrats would be right. If Hillary was elected things would not be better either.

    The list of what is wrong with the system is long…

  43. Fast Eddie says:

    11:01,

    Eye roll… that’s so edgy. Did you learn that from your iShit device? Lucid thinking has enabled me to have compassion for delicate flowers like you.

  44. LurksMcGee says:

    BRT,

    Nail on the head description of millennials. With that said, I always wondered why personal finance was something of an afterthought as a pre-requisite to a HS diploma. The people that benefit are those that were raised in homes that had proper personal finance standards.

    i.e. If your parents never properly planned, the deck is stacked against an otherwise bright but financially illiterate child of that household. Not saying they CAN’T learn and have some initiative to do so, but it probably comes much later – and time against their side when it comes to investing if they learn much later.

  45. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    ” It said on average that someone who started their career in 1982 or 83 did way worse than someone who started in 1984.”

    Started in 93 making under 19K. After 5 and one half years busting my ass, I was up to 33K I think. I’m talking frequent 70+ hour weeks. I voluntarily left for the “greener” pastures of a corporate job, but put a line in the sand as to the minimum the company would have to pay me (this was in the tech bubble) which was above what new hires were getting and over double my current salary. After nearly a year of wining and dining me before they hired me, they offered me 5K less than my line in the sand. I told them I wasn’t interested. A week later, I got my line based on a performance based trial for the first six months which I easily met. Had I not done this, I would have really been screwed as I am still working for this employer today.

  46. Nomad says:

    So within an hour or two of the new college grad getting their sheepskin, I suggested they start to think about retirement planning. Employed in a few weeks, trying to convey the importance of saving a portion of each paycheck and investing it.

    To that end, Captain Cheapo, Chi and any others, the plan is to put a few of my bucks into a new brokerage account and do some index fund investing (mutual fund or ETF). Any brokerages you all suggest to use or stay away from? I was thinking the lines of Vanguard, TDA, ETrade. Low fees for the ETF or Mutual Fund are a must but other than fees, any pros & cons of ETF vs Mutual Fund?

    Thanks

    PS – on BBQ subject, anyone own the Big Green Egg?

  47. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    For 7th grade, one of my son’s potential electives is “The History of Sports.” There’s also Stem, performance singing and a few other completely useless subjects. No finance classes of course. At least when I hit middle school, there was economics. I had a great teacher who focused a lot more on personal finance and much less on the macro and micro. But I also had parents who shared their finances with their children with an open book policy. This was extremely helpful to obtaining the 7 kids’ successful independence.

  48. Bagholder says:

    ‘The window for the GOP to pass any meaningful legislative reform is closing. I believe this is the goal of leaks and instability.’

    The odds of them passing much was low to begin with. Once they had all the problems getting health care thru the House, it signaled to me they weren’t going to get much done. Maybe trading tax cuts for infrastructure spending would work.

  49. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    Nomad. I’m very happy with the TD Ameritrade no commission ETF choices. It’s absolutely free and TD offers excellent research and tools, that you will probably use sparingly. Since you GET the finance thing. During your first 10 years of your career, bank just 50% of every increase. You can increase your discretionary spending with the other half. You will retire like a king due to compounding. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? It’s really, all you need to do.

    Lots of people love their Green Eggs including some BBQ pros. Though, I still think you are much better off with a $100 smoker and a used Weber from Craiglist. For $300 you get a lot more flexibility and cooking space.

  50. LurksMcGee says:

    Totally off topic, but I’d like everyone’s input.

    Do you think Trump’s proposed tax reform plan (at the basic level of just 3 tax brackets) will pass before the end of the year?

  51. Gone Goose says:

    11:08 tell me more I’m enthralled.

  52. Bystander says:

    Stu,

    Yep. Same here. I started 401k in ’97 and also had ESPP during first real job at communications start-up in DC. I had absolutely no money after rent and student loans but I was proverbial blind squirrel and sold company stock at 72 a share in ’99 and made 7k. What did I stupidly do? Use money as DP on pre-owned Audi 90. Worst car ever. It broke down on me on NJT while driving to NYC to start my life over and leave DC. Taboot lost my job, 401k went into sh*tter. I basically had nothing in 2001 after 5 years of working. Had to completely start from scratch again. That is a tale of Gen X.

  53. Gone Goose says:

    This is Essex by the way Chowderhead. We genXers are not known for iDevices but we like to get violent.

  54. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Wow! I was always like that when it came to my market value, even right out of school. Based on the starting salaries of engineers I personally knew, my line in the sand was $27K for my very first job. Raytheon interviewed me on campus then flew me up to Boston for my 2nd interview. They paid for my flight, of course, picked me up in a Limo, put me up at the brand new Sheraton Tara, gave me a generous meal voucher for dinner, then picked me up again by limo the next day to take me to my interviews. It was an all day long affair where I interviewed with 3 different departments. A young cool guy (custom picked because he was young and cool, obviously) took me to lunch at noon to give me the inside skinny on how great Raytheon was, then back for more interviews. At the end of the day I sat down with HR and they told me that all 3 departments wanted me and I could pick any of the 3 jobs. I told them which one I preferred and then we talked money. They offered $24.5K I think, WTF? I said no, I need $27K. They said “everyone” starts at $24.5K. I told them no, I needed $27K. I think we ended with a “we’ll see” and the limo picked me up to take me back to Logan for my flight back to NJ. I was so impressed and was sure they would break. I received a rejection letter thanking me for coming to Boston. WTF, indeed. It wasn’t until years later that I realized they had a great system for impressing you first and receiving years of increased value by hiring you cheap. Why not spend $500 on a limo, 2 meals and 1 mid-week night at luxury hotel to start a guy $2K cheaper? I wan’t anyone special, I was one of several hundred interchangeable cogs to be hired that year and they certainly didn’t need to overpay one and take on the risk of the news getting out.

    I held tight to my $27K request and received offers, but no one met it. I was quite pissed that I had to settle for $26.6K from Singer-Kearfott, but I ended getting to $30K before the end of the year and $35K in less than 3 years. Lots of Reagan defense money going around, why risk losing an experienced guy who already has US and NATO clearances, I guess? It was really like an extension of college as we hired something like 80 engineers every January and 160 more every June. We were referred to as “fresh outs”, because we were fresh out of college.

    Started in 93 making under 19K. After 5 and one half years busting my ass, I was up to 33K I think. I’m talking frequent 70+ hour weeks. I voluntarily left for the “greener” pastures of a corporate job, but put a line in the sand as to the minimum the company would have to pay me (this was in the tech bubble) which was above what new hires were getting and over double my current salary. After nearly a year of wining and dining me before they hired me, they offered me 5K less than my line in the sand. I told them I wasn’t interested. A week later, I got my line based on a performance based trial for the first six months which I easily met. Had I not done this, I would have really been screwed as I am still working for this employer today

  55. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    BTW, one of my favorite interviewing techniques is one I pull out when I really like the company and the job but we still aren’t quite there on money. I then tell them I’ll take the job at their salary (or near it) under the condition that I receive performance and salary review at 6 months. When I first thought this up, I thought it was a very reasonable compromise. I probably took 4 jobs offering exactly that. Of those four jobs, only one took me up on it. The other 3 just upped their offers in response.

  56. chicagofinance says:

    I’m confused…..is this you or a some kid who just graduated? The subject changes….you are going to hand them money?

    The most important thing is stick it in a Roth…..I don’t have the time or inclination to get into a big argument over passive versus active, except to note that there is clearly a passive investing bubble, but it won’t reverse in the near future, so set that issue aside.

    If you are investing small amounts each month, then you need to use a mutual fund or else one of the discount brokerages may offer some kind of inexpensive auto-invest option for ETF’s…….if you are going to fund the $5,500 in one shot, then an ETF is fine…..

    focusing on expenses is fine, but I would spend more time thinking about allocation to asset classes and countries…..

    If the investment pool goes north of $5,500, then why not agree to pay some expense of theirs with the offset of raising the percentage of their 401(k) at work…use the Roth option there…..I’ll pay your cell bill auto insurance etc, in exchange for you setting contribution % at 10% instead of 6%.

    Nomad says:
    May 17, 2017 at 11:17 am
    So within an hour or two of the new college grad getting THEIR sheepskin, I suggested THEY start to think about retirement planning. Employed in a few weeks, trying to convey the importance of saving a portion of each paycheck and investing it.

    To that end, Captain Cheapo, Chi and any others, the plan is to put a few of MY bucks into a new brokerage account and do some index fund investing (mutual fund or ETF). Any brokerages you all suggest to use or stay away from? I was thinking the lines of Vanguard, TDA, ETrade. Low fees for the ETF or Mutual Fund are a must but other than fees, any pros & cons of ETF vs Mutual Fund?

    Thanks

  57. Phoenix says:

    Ex Pat,
    Sounds like a win-win for a prospective employer.

  58. Phoenix says:

    No doubt many posters here have had to pull themselves up by their bootstraps more than once.
    Many stories of times they had to “reinvent” themselves to make it.
    Many stories of those that are constantly nipped at the heels by their careers.

    Gotta keep going. What choice do you have?

  59. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    When you make it the first time, you are vulnerable and probably under the misconception that you are great at everything.
    When you lose it all and make it back a second time, then you have some skills and reasoning ability.

    The first rental property I owned got me into investing with the profits made when I sold it. My girlfriend and I bought a condominium in 1984 (new construction, but made out of a 1910 granite school building). We were not going to live there together, I was keeping my own place and my gf was going to live there (I was 24, she was 22). I think we paid $66,000 for it. I got the bright idea to put it all in my name and that way my gf could be my tenant and I could write off just about everything, including my weekend trips there to “inspect” my property. This was before the ’86 tax reform and owning real estate was just a huge money maker. Anyway, when we broke up a couple years later I sold it to her under market (I think it was worth $90K by then, I sold it to her for $70K), but that meant her hidden portion of the down payment transferred to me without gains. I walked away with $18,000 cash and added $2K more to that and had the $20K you needed back then to open up a real brokerage and cash management account at Merrill Lynch. (Back then if you din’t have $20K, you pretty much couldn’t enter the stock market). Good times, good times. Then I thought I was such a RE genius that I quit my engineering job to work as a realtor. That part didn’t turn out so good as 1987 was *not* a good time for RE. Live and learn.

  60. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I seem to remember that girlfriend was always saying something like, “This isn’t a hotel where you can just show up ever weekend, ____ me, and leave your dirty clothes all over the floor expecting them to be cleaned and folded the following weekend.”

    It’s tough being a landlord, especially with the priorities most guys have in their mid-20’s;-)

  61. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    Pura Vida!

  62. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    LOL. I had to look that up. No wonder you like Costa Rica;-)

  63. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    LOL. This is what I would do:

    Senate Judiciary Committee has demanded that The FBI hand over all Comey’s memos “memorializing interactions” with Trump, Obama, Sessions, Lynch, Rosenstein, Boente, and Yates…

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-17/senate-judiciary-committee-follow-chaffetzs-lead-demand-comeys-memos-practically-eve

  64. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    If you guys haven’t been there, I highly recommend you go and make sure you get out of the cities. The first time I went was on a cruise like 15 years ago. We stopped in Puntarenas, which really, is just a beach. Gator and I paid a driver (he was actually a painter when the cruise ships were not in port) to give us a quick tour and we offered to buy him an Imperial (quite decent by the way). We ended up spending the entire day drinking with the dude. At the time, his property taxes were under a $100 for the entire year and he had a nice house. I remember him telling me to stay away from the expat developments since they were a rip off and always were getting robbed. He also said, come down here for 2 or 3 months and rent a room in 5 or 6 different regions since each one is very different. He said to make friends with the locals and they will tell you how to buy a house off the books or build one from scratch. He also said that you could live down there for 1/5th of what it costs to live in California. Since then, I’ve been reading up on it and it really is a dream retirement area. Stable government. English first language. Locals are highly educated and health care is fantastic. Only two issues are theft and the high cost of driving. The roads are incredibly dangerous and the drivers there act like there are no laws. The cost if insurance is very high from it. Much better off on a moped, or better yet, a dirt bike.

  65. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I think when the S&P 500 finishes up 18% from here by December it will be known as the Russian Rally

  66. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I wonder if Comey will be getting the Seth Rich treatment or will he go down in flames and bring Obama and Clinton with him?

  67. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    BTW, if there are no WH “tapes”, and I kind of think there aren’t, I think the story will be that Trump believed the Obama leftovers were still surveilling him.

  68. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    LOL. I watch CNN just for gems like this. A few minutes ago Brooke Baldwin talking about Fox News: “Are they living in an alternative universe?”

  69. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    For me, that’s a plus. I mentioned in the past that I was jailed in Glen Ridge for a short time, right? I was speeding down Ridgewood Avenue a day or two after my nearly $300 Passport radar detecter was stolen from my ’77 stick shift Camaro. Ironically, I was on my way to get a physical in preparation for qualifying for my SCCA racing license. I saw the cop car parked on the other side of the road and never lifted off the gas because my radar detector never went off. Doh! Being pretty adept at dealing with cops, I think the cop somehow thought I was too smooth. He was right. I had two NJ Drivers licences at two different addresses and he had them look me up a couple different ways and found out. BTW, both of my NJ DLs had the exact same number…except for the last digit. I went and got a 2nd one just by changing my eye color from blue to hazel. Are NJ DL’s still the same? The last 5 digits should be month of birth, year of birth, and 1 digit for eye color, 4 -blue, 5 – Hazel, 2 – brown. There might even be other ones for green and black. I used to pay for two different lawyers at the same Morristown law firm back then. One for RE, one for moving violations.

    Pura Vida!

    The roads are incredibly dangerous and the drivers there act like there are no laws.

  70. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    BTW, I bought an SCCA showroom stock class C Honda CRX race car with some of the money from selling the condo to my previous gf. The new gf had to come to Glen Ridge to bail me out.

    Pura Vida!

  71. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I traded in an innkeeper for a pit crew;-)

    Eventually my crew chief bought a ski condo, so she became my new weekend innkeeper;-)

  72. No One says:

    Steamy: What about Panama? Pros/Cons?
    I’ve got a cousin who was associated with a Belize real estate development, but that looked way too far out in the boondocks to interest me. Focused on environmental/self-sufficient living, building a neighborhood in the middle of some pasture with not a lot nearby other than little towns. Carmelita Gardens

  73. Gone Goose says:

    2:24 good luck with that….

  74. Nomad says:

    Stu & Chi,

    Thanks for your input. The money is for a family member who just graduated. They are new to a professional job and saving (although has worked a slew of PT jobs to this point) we thought 3 mutual funds or ETFs would be a good start one of which naturally will be an S&P 500. Not putting anything into the market just yet. Need a pullback first and todays 1.82% drop isn’t enough. Will incentivize to pay off college loans early and max out 401k. Plan is to help do a budget a targeted savings amount each month. Going to suggest reward coupons such as Starbucks – i.e. allocate yourself xx visits per year to Starbucks, make up your own coupons and only use them for a reward or help to get through a tough day and hopefully it teaches the lesson do I really want or need that today. Will work this plan for a few months and either it sinks in or doesn’t. Spouse and I are the good role models, unfortunately, the people that created the kid are not.

  75. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Nomad – This is just stupidity fraught with the exact illogical emotion that causes common people to lose money in the stock market all day long, year after year, generation after generation. If you invested evenly in the 50 stocks in the S&P 500 that most recently made 52 week highs you would absolutely kill the returns of picking 50 from the other 450 by any other means except a time machine.

    Not putting anything into the market just yet. Need a pullback first and todays 1.82% drop isn’t enough.

  76. Grab them by the puzzy says:

    @zachbraff

    If this plays out quick enough
    NBC could slip Celebrity Apprentice into the fall schedule.

  77. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    BTW, about a year ago when the Stock Market made brand new highs for the first time in over 13 months, how big a pullback would you be waiting for then? Plug that answer into your pullback algorithm and tell me when you would have entered the market. I’m pretty sure the algorithm would be telling you, “not yet”.

  78. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Buy and hold isn’t fancy but made warren buffet a billionaire on the backs of average American companies.

  79. Steamy Cankles Foundation says:

    The truth about Buffet is that he made his tough money making oversized bets on insurance companies, which is really smart because insurance companies never lose. They just raise the premiums to cover past losses if there are any. Once he got the giant mastered, he was able to use big money in ways which you and I are not able to, such as a negotiating deals with companies to buy and sell their stock only if certain things happen.

  80. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    One more moronic comment from our favorite moron. Buffet buys whole companies, not shares of stock like a retail investor (sure, the own Apple). The majority of their portfolio isn’t even publicly traded stock, it’s a frickin’ holding company idiot. Do you what they mostly own? Insurance companies. Do you know how a well-run insurance company makes money? Collect a dollar in premium on well underwritten risk, invest the dollar, pay back 82 cents on a claim. Think about that. If I had the reserve to meet claims all I need to do to run a successful insurance company is take in dollars and keep 18 cents and do whatever the f.uck I want with it and just make sure I don’t lose the other 82 cents on stupid stuff like AIG did.

    Buy and hold isn’t fancy but made warren buffet a billionaire on the backs of average American companies.

  81. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    In 2010, Buffett claimed that purchasing Berkshire Hathaway was the biggest investment mistake he had ever made, and claimed that it had denied him compounded investment returns of about $200 billion over the subsequent 45 years. Buffett claimed that had he invested that money directly in insurance businesses instead of buying out Berkshire Hathaway (due to what he perceived as a slight by an individual), those investments would have paid off several hundredfold.

  82. This post is really fantastic! Thanks for all the effort that you do to make this blog succeed.

Comments are closed.