What's that? Stock market booming? Jobs for all?

[PaceAdvantage]

Hey, how about that. While others will pound into your head that the sky is falling, Bush sucks, and the world is coming to an end, the good economic news JUST KEEPS ON ROLLING IN:

Dow, S&P 500 Hit Record Highs on Data
AP - Wall Street carved out a solid advance Friday after data on job creation, manufacturing and inflation injected the market with renewed confidence about the economy and sent major indexes to record closes.

or how about this:

Employers Nearly Double New Jobs in May
AP - WASHINGTON (AP) -- The country's economic health may be improving. Employers nearly doubled the number of jobs they added to payrolls in May, allowing the unemployment rate to hold steady at a relatively low 4.5 percent.

May be improving? Oh really...MAY BE improving? WTF kind of talk is that? How much more evidence do you need? But because BUSH is in the White House, there still needs to be that "May be" qualifier in there....

Or better yet, the "relatively low 4.5 percent" line is another real KICK IN THE PANTS. RELATIVELY LOW? Compared to what?

During the past 50+ years, the unemployment rate has only been this low a HANDFUL of times. It was this low during the last three years of Bill Clinton, then before that, you have to go back to 1970 to find the last time the rate was 4.5 or lower.

But all that aside, I'll stand here and wait for all the Bush bashers to come by and give Bush props for his economic policies and tax cuts that have led to this prosperous point, especially when at the time of 9/11, all the pundits were predicting SERIOUS economic doom and gloom for the US from then on out....

Oh wait, that's right. Bush only gets credit when the economy is performing BADLY, not when it is on a serious upswing....I get it now....

Maybe I won't stand here and wait after all....it might get very lonely.

[Gibbon]

...Hey, how about that. While others will pound into your head that the sky is falling, Bush sucks, and the world is coming to an end......

Global warming, Avian {bird} flu, antibiotic resistant TB, HIV/AIDS, Iraq quagmire, Iran and the bomb, the middle east, Darfur, energy crisis, Virgina Tech, pollution in big Cities, contaminated pet foods, terrorist attacks, violent video games, American automotive industry approaching bankruptcy, voter fraud, NYRA losing its franchise, uninsured undocumented workers, etc, etc, etc...

The experts agree the sky is falling. And we should always believe the experts for they know best. Say, how did we get in this mess? Could the experts be partially responsible? What ever happened to the burning of the Brazilian rain forest. We were all supposed to die due to a lack of oxygen. We must have mutated into Gibbons while we were sleeping.





________________________________
Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without.

[Tom]

Hey PA - you get the POST?
I was reading in Wednesday's POST that the economy was not nearly as good as it looked, that the reports have been overly confident.......
Just skimmed it, didn't read the whole thing, but funny that should come out with those stories you just cited. I'll check it out tomorrow. I saved because they had an article about Fred Dalton, in Kovak's column, I think. Be interesting to see who wrote that one. I suspect it was part of a dem campaign strategy....

[highnote]

Isn't war usually good for an economy?

Spending on military supplies keeps factories busy, which helps people earn more money.

There's a law in economics that says, "the more you earn, the more you spend." When people spend, the economy does well.

Depressions are caused by people not spending due to fear. Then it becomes a vicious cycle. The less people spend, the worse the economy gets.

[Dick Schmidt]

Open any newspaper and you'll see that the stock market is booming and the housing market is in the toilet. Go, go go on Wall Street, doom and gloom in the housing market. This tells me that it's a great time to dump stocks and buy houses. At least, that's what I'm doing. All you need to get wealthy is in the paper, just figure out what they are telling you and do the opposite.


Dick

The statement following is true. The statement prior is false.

[JustRalph]

Dick, I think you are right on.......... If I had any money........ I would be stealing all the real estate I could............


But since I don't have any money because I have two houses and trying to sell one at at 30k loss.....I am screwed..........it is a vicious cycle!!!!

[highnote]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

Dick, I think you are right on.......... If I had any money........ I would be stealing all the real estate I could............


But since I don't have any money because I have two houses and trying to sell one at at 30k loss.....I am screwed..........it is a vicious cycle!!!!

Ralph, have you thought of trying to rent it with an option to buy?

Maybe you could even hold the mortgage and offer a no-money or small down mortgage at a higher interest rate and a higher price -- maybe even more than your asking price? If the people default you will still own the property.

Once you have that in place, you might be able to sell the mortgage later, or perhaps the mortgage holder can refinance and pay you off in full.

In the meantime, at least you're getting a return on your investment and if prices improve or interest rates drop, your mortgage holder will want to refinance.

[JustRalph]

Swety, thanks for the advice. There are a few options similar to that on the table. But, there are hundreds of homes for rent in the same area, due to the same problem. tons of foreclosures too. The main competitor now is the new home builders. they are giving homes away now, and paying closing costs etc. These are the same people responsible for pushing the sub prime loans and making this mess possible. They paid all the "entry" fee's for those who really couldn't afford it and sold them an adjustable rate etc. Now they can no longer afford their houses. I am not a sub prime type or anything like that, but there are several foreclosures (as close as two doors away from my home) that can be bought for a song and they are sitting empty. So I am competing with the New home builders, the foreclosures and the regular homes that are for sale. We are an owner transfer (job transfer) type and their are 8 of those in about a ten block area around my house. Not to mention the other 22 for sale for various reasons. Mine is now the Largest (3200 sq feet) for under 200k in the zip code. We shall see what happens...........

Entering the rental market puts me into competition with a whole other group.......and it's a tough business. It may come to renting it, but it is back on the market again........at a seriously reduced price. we shall see what happens............

[highnote]

Ralph,

Maybe it's better to take the loss and put it behind you. It could be 10 years before the market turns around. You could probably find better ways to put your money to use in that time span and hopefully make back some or all of what you lost.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by swetyejohn

Ralph,

Maybe it's better to take the loss and put it behind you.

exactly what I am probably going to do...........

[highnote]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

exactly what I am probably going to do...........

You're closest to the situation so whatever you do is probably the right thing. Good luck.

[chickenhead]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

Mine is now the Largest (3200 sq feet) for under 200k in the zip code.

It is hearing things like this that make me want to move sometimes. I saw a house near me for $199K the other day. It was 750 sq. ft., built in 1920, 1 bd. 1 bath, and a tree had fallen through the house, demolishing the bathroom and deck. They put a tarp up to try and keep the racoons out.

A bargain!

One of many reasons there is such an exodus of middle class folks moving out of CA...

[chickenhead]

Dick, If you don't mind me asking, what are you buying and where? condos, sfr, mfr..are you renting them out, cash flow pos/neg, etc. I'm just curious.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by chickenhead

It is hearing things like this that make me want to move sometimes. I saw a house near me for $199K the other day. It was 750 sq. ft., built in 1920, 1 bd. 1 bath, and a tree had fallen through the house, demolishing the bathroom and deck. They put a tarp up to try and keep the racoons out.

A bargain!

One of many reasons there is such an exodus of middle class folks moving out of CA...

It works both ways. I moved to California in November of 2002 and bought a home for 215k in Palmdale. One year later I sold it for 267k and moved back to Ohio. It was a transfer in the wife's job so we paid no penalty at all etc. So I guess I get to lose it all back in the house we are discussing in the thread. Kind of makes up for it a little.......but not really

[Dick Schmidt]

Chickenhead,

My most recent purchases were in Cour d'Arlane Idaho and Jacksonville FL. A house and 4 plex in Idaho and a house in Florida. I always find some nice people to take care of my houses and pay the mortgage for me. This time all were rented within 30 days. Cash flow is minimal, as I put down as little as possible, but this makes the return on appreciation over 100% a year. Like most landlords, I don't make much while I own them, only when I sell. The 4-plex is a different animal, my first multi-unit building. It brings in about $1200 a month when fully rented.

People are talking like the market is going to stay depressed for years. It never does. I expect an upturn by the end of the year and a strong market by mid 2008. Markets can turn around in short order. I watched the Southern Calif HUD list of foreclosures shrink from 5,500 to about 300 in a year.

Dick

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.