tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post7357913674636494540..comments2024-02-26T05:51:17.859-05:00Comments on Economic Disconnect: The Great PretenderEconomicDisconnecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02802078645713106743noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post-37729498849983701452009-01-06T18:20:00.000-05:002009-01-06T18:20:00.000-05:00I paid my house off a few months ago and am totall...I paid my house off a few months ago and am totally debt free (not really, if I stop paying the insanely high property taxes on it they will take it away), I want a new 4X4 truck so bad that I can taste it but have went ahead and took "Ole Red" to a local mechanic that I trust to get it back in perfect working order (one of my goals to do before 2010) instead of turning $24,000 into $5,000 again with the new truck.<BR/>I'm still on the look out for a good used woodstove that could be moved from the garage to the house in a worst case scenario.<BR/>In otherwords I'm keeping the faith out here in the heartland.<BR/>If I turn out not to be a nutcase and TSHF I will give you city dwellers some advice: People from where I live are decent hard working folks with a strong moral background, it would be mighty hard for these people to deny you substance, just please try not to make your way out here all at the same time.<BR/><BR/>Good luck everyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post-88910587153052281882009-01-06T13:01:00.000-05:002009-01-06T13:01:00.000-05:00Just had to drop a note today to my CONgress critt...Just had to drop a note today to my CONgress critter:<BR/><BR/>Hello Senator,<BR/><BR/>Now that we seem to be following the Japanese model of propping up insolvent banks, throwing money at companies that will never make a profit and haven't for years which will rob capital from productive ones, propping up any company such as AIG or GMAC that would cause a counterparty accident which would naturally effect the same insolvent banks, concurrent with the huge taxpayer dollars that will be spent lining river bottoms and the resulting 20 year stagnation that will follow burying the population and future generations under a mountain of debt when too much debt is the problem in the first place which more then likely will end in a currency collapse at some point in the future.<BR/>I would just like your thoughts on whether this is just a function of human nature and the evolution of the political system in that.<BR/>Pretty fascinating stuff really.<BR/>Have a good day.<BR/><BR/>Respectfully,<BR/>Kevin <BR/><BR/>Bet he liked that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post-81475292295097229072009-01-06T09:59:00.000-05:002009-01-06T09:59:00.000-05:00We don't get much snow down here. In fact, I took ...We don't get much snow down here. In fact, I took my mother to midnight mass on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, and when we walked out of the church, it was snowing! For the first time in over 200 years.<BR/><BR/>One night of light snow, all of which melted by noon the next day, and that's about it. Probably won't see that again for another 200 years. Not that I'll be around then, but it was nice that I got to experience snow once in my lifetime.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, more to the point, I don't get this Hyundai buy-and-return thing. It smacks of desperation to move inventory off the lots by way of "creative" financing. And it begs the question: If no one wants to buy a new Hyundai, even a returnable one, why would anyone want to buy a used, returned Hyundai?<BR/><BR/>The answer to that question takes the recycling fallacy to its logical extreme. Buy new, so we can move inventory off our lots, then return, so we can have used inventory that we can't move off our lots. It doesn't make any sense. But, frankly, I'm surprised the geniuses at GM didn't think of it first.<BR/><BR/>You ask when a program like this will be applied to real estate. It already has been. I spent the day yesterday studying Fannie Mae's new financing, called HomePath.<BR/><BR/>Fannie now offers two types of financing for repossessed homes. The first is similar to their previous financing, called ExpressPath: 3% down, no PMI, no appraisal required, sales price used as property value. The second is a rennovation mortgage: 3% down, no PMI, loan amount based on "as completed" value, rennovation funds included in loan amount up to $30,000 or 20% of as-completed value.<BR/><BR/>The latter is actually a good thing. Some of these repossessed homes have been gutted and are unliveable in as-is condition. (We have one on the market that is missing not only lights, vanities and commodes, but an entire kitchen.) Only an investor with cash can buy these homes, since a lender will only loan for the purchase price, not the purchase+rennovation amount. You could take out a loan to buy the house, but you would have to have the cash on hand to pay for the rennovations, and hope you can then sell it for a profit.<BR/><BR/>This new program allows buyers to purchase and rennovate a home, with only 3% down. But it also begs the question: If no one who had the cash would buy and rennovate the home, why would anyone take out a loan to buy and rennovate it?<BR/><BR/>The answer to that question takes the flipping fallacy to its logical extreme. Take out a loan to buy and rennovate, so we can move inventory, then if you can't make the payments, we'll foreclose so we can have a rennovated house we can't sell without losing money.<BR/><BR/>The whole world has gone collectively insane.GawainsGhosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719480047404817864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post-67433999154480525302009-01-05T22:06:00.000-05:002009-01-05T22:06:00.000-05:00Kevin,Good to see you again! Thanks for dropping ...Kevin,<BR/>Good to see you again! Thanks for dropping a comment.EconomicDisconnecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02802078645713106743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1207581886255094115.post-4023087392853717182009-01-05T21:50:00.000-05:002009-01-05T21:50:00.000-05:00Looks like were headed right down the Japanese rab...Looks like were headed right down the Japanese rabbit hole to me. Government spending IS the economy.<BR/><BR/>KevinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com