Testy RE "Professionals"
Synthetik you rascal. There you go stirring up the hornet's nest again.
I thought they banned you over there?
I thought they banned you over there?
synthetik wrote:Can't wait to see what will happen when rates go over 7%!
Comments
Whatever. I don't rely on salesmen to tell me what I can afford or what choice I should make.
I wonder if they'll ever realize how desperate and crazed they make themselves out to be. It's like they don't understand a "market". Supply *and* demand create pricing. There seems to be some unspoken attitude that pricing is a random, uncontrollable phenomenon that will creep up regardless of the buyer pool, financing options, or the economy.
[Actually, I believe that most people who derive their income from the REIC realize that they need to make hay while the sun shines, and that the sun might be dimming for any of a variety of reasons, soon. I believe their behavior is cynical, even if not consciously so.]
The other somewhat sickening thing is the attitude that anyone who would, you know, try to find a *bargain* from a distressed seller who never should have bought is some sort of parasite or abuser. To the contrary, that rational behavior from buyers is the *only* thing that makes a market WORK! The definition of "market" isn't a bunch of people scratching each other's backs and never lowballing a seller. A market is a device to find the correct price of an asset.
I guess that since they can't understand markets, this explains why they are unable to understand market failure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure
LHR: I love Ardell's crack-smoking assertion that a sensible way to save for a real estate purchase is... to buy real estate. Sorry, homegirl... CASH can be exchanged for goods and services, it doesn't need to be converted into 'housing tokens' in the form of condos or sh*tbox ballard ramblers to enter the market. And some of us are sitting on plenty of cash, and feeling sorry for the people who jumped on the Equity Train (to the tune of a $2000 monthly mortgage payment and hundreds of dollars in association fees, or taxes, or fees+PMI).
Not a perfect analogy, but a fun jab: Did realtors, who often drive "status" cars such as BMW, cadillacs, or Lexuses (Lexii?) get on the automotive-equity-rocketship by buying every intermediate model of car from the low end all the way up, so they could "get in the market"? No. They skimmed off precious dollars from owners who in many cases didn't realize that when they financed their American Dream, they were also taking a loan out to partially pay for the Realtor-Mobile(R). IE, they bilked someone out of CASH for it.
I loved Ardell's assertion that price appreciation was set by appraisers. Like they all get together and say, "this week we're gonna appraise above comps" so the market can go up. Yup. That's how markets work alright.
I'd say she's very good with the trees. When it comes to the Forest, not so much.
I love the semantics...she says "I'm not seeing price declines, I'm seeing price reductions." Hmmm...I suppose she would also use wording like "fixer upper" as opposed to "POS." Or a house overlooking I-5, she'd probably write "easy access to I-5." ha ha
And they couldn't give a straight answer and start to give some BSs and some anecdotal evidences. Wow, the sale pitch to get the last sheeple in the slaughter house.
Apparently if you don't want to put your family of 4 in a starter condo just so you can ride the equity roller coaster to bigger and better things, well then you don't belong on the RCG.
Whatever, I'll enjoy visiting that blog once the day of reckoning has come.
(eg, RCG)
In response to lead future Ramen eater Ardell's "oooh! Goodness, it's so creepy and wrong that someone would look up my public information and call me out and my BS! Goodness!!!"
My prediction: RCG and their cronies won't exist in 2 years time. Top Ramen will be flying off the shelves at the local Safeway.
I'm not so sure about that one. As long as realtors own and control the MLS - they have a strategic asset through which they'll maintain their monopoly. Like any good monopolist they'll give at the edges (e.g. rates are flexible) to preserve the core. It's going to take regulatory action to break that logjam. I think we'll get there in the long run, but I don't see the critical mass there today to drive change quickly.
And I think that in 2 years...redfin/whoever the hell they are hooked up with will rock the industry.
JMO.
We're a year behind now - imagine what the bubble markets in FL, CA, NV, etc will look like in one year. They're already in "bloodbath" mode.
So that's my prediction. In 2 years time, Ardell will be eating Top Ramen and wondering why she was buying into her own nonsensical bull@hit. RCG won't exist because without buyers what is the point of their blog?
Do you suppose that there might be a demand for such a service, if it existed? I'm picturing a site with a spiffy UI and a map-based home search tool for buyers, along with a simple-to-use tool for sellers to enter a home for sale (for a small flat fee) and a library of resources that explain all the necessary paperwork and perhaps lists local real estate attorneys.
With the number of homes for sale skyrocketing, and an ever-increasing number of sellers that can't afford to pay the exorbitant 6% realtor-tax, I could really see a site like this taking off.
Thoughts?
What has the barrier of entry been for an MLS competitor?
FSBOs would use such a listing site as a great hosting vehicle, but advertise their listing in a variety of other places (e.g. Craigslist, Ebay, etc).
Eventually, if enough FSBOs are using this hosting site, it will become useful as a destination in and of itself, and could become a serious MLS competitor, but I think that would just take time.
I originally thought this operation was a scam. I tried them out in 1998 and paid about $1700 - an MLS listing was not part of the package or even available. Needless to say, I wasn't able to sell the house that way.
The way I see it, if you post your home as "for sale" on a non-MLS site with a national net, there may be 10,000 listings, but people looking to buy a home in your area may only see a few dozen, and will therefore likely ignore the site when looking for homes. On the other hand, if a site has non-MLS FSBO listings only for a specific area, 2,000 listings would be a good-sized database, worth looking at for buyers.
She made a big deal several months ago about how her home purchase was responsible and she is safe even if prices drop.
I think she is terrified. It explains her dogmatic insistence that prices will always go up. She is personally invested in the equity train that is heading for the blown out bridge and she keeps hoping that Superman will show up to keep the train from falling into the ravine.
As for RCG...I did have one edgy post that probably could have been better stated, but I think Dustin was just looking for a pretext to can me for some time. I think he had his fill of me going over there and bitch slapping Ardell all over cyberspace with some basic math and risk management concerns.
Also, as the Ten Year Treasury has cratered in the past few weeks, I made it a point to go over there and "shake the cage" about interest rates and credit risk.
As for my second "Dishonorable Discharge" in as many weeks...
There is an even more pathetic blog dedicated to Kitsap.
http://soundbiteblog.com
Apparently, the webmaster didn't like my website (which is also dedicated to Kitsap):
http://clearcutbainbridge.blogspot.com
My guess is my current lead article put sand in his pussy.
I was a good boy and didn't put any of the normal "Eleuaisms" in any of my posts. I would just go over there and ask questions.
No warning. No explanation. No nothing.
So, if anyone has a few free minutes on their hands, and wants to get into a blog-based dust-up, you might want to go visit soundbiteblog for me and let them know what you think.
Linking to articles on CLEARCUTBAINBRIDGE might not make friends, but it could be quite a bit of fun.
Just a thought...
I'm thinking about trying to defeat the block they have on my IP and giving it another go.
Have fun.
E
Fast Times at 2200 Westlake - Update: BBQ Rule open for interpretation!
To me, huge skeptic and all. It feels like her whole story is way to romanticized and rosey to be real. Kind of like the thing on youtube a few months ago with the teenage girl that turned out to be an actor.
The set up is great. Young, single, grad student etc.. They are setting this up so there will some great story about buying a downtown condo as a single woman in Seattle.
Well...she is kinda cute.
But Bree (lonelygirl13) was freakin HOT!
Of course, she may not be using her real name.
I guess I'll be creepy now too because I googled her. :P
Even more interesting: Try to lookup the last name "KIRR" in the white pages. There are no listings for anyone with that last name in either WA or IL or even California.
http://dw.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa=ho ... rms=accept
It was really the style of writing that got me wondering. Way to polished to be a casual account of the life of a new Seattleite.
Backed 100%!! Id hate to see the rest of said photo... Probably from the glamour shots place in the mall.