Blues Gal's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/138176/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/146639-home-staging-mania-could-signal-housing-bottom?source=feed#comment-572976 572976 "Staging" doesn't always mean filling a house with a bunch of new stuff. It can be something as simple as getting the homeowner to declutter and clean up the place. This isn't manipulation of the buyer, it's helping the buyer (who often can't see past all the "stuff"), to see the house itself. In this market, it's a smart move for the seller to do this, and I don't believe that a buyer who prefers a clean house to a pig pen is a "stupid" buyer.
As for the book, yup, today's sellers are getting desperate, there are alot of homes out there, and they want their's to be the one that catches the buyer's eye. Tim's wry comments hold alot of truth about the situation.]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:48:43 -0400 "Staging" doesn't always mean filling a house with a bunch of new stuff. It can be something as simple as getting the homeowner to declutter and clean up the place. This isn't manipulation of the buyer, it's helping the buyer (who often can't see past all the "stuff"), to see the house itself. In this market, it's a smart move for the seller to do this, and I don't believe that a buyer who prefers a clean house to a pig pen is a "stupid" buyer.
As for the book, yup, today's sellers are getting desperate, there are alot of homes out there, and they want their's to be the one that catches the buyer's eye. Tim's wry comments hold alot of truth about the situation.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/145096-the-assault-on-ethical-home-appraisals?source=feed#comment-561665 561665 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:25:29 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/131213-unraveling-the-housing-glut?source=feed#comment-467316 467316 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:17:17 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/129022-sirius-xm-available-on-iphone-the-wait-is-over?source=feed#comment-449273 449273 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:46:42 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/129022-sirius-xm-available-on-iphone-the-wait-is-over?source=feed#comment-449041 449041 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:07:49 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/124046-long-the-financials-solving-the-mortgage-problems-will-help?source=feed#comment-412633 412633 It is then supposed to be run as a business.]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:38:13 -0500 It is then supposed to be run as a business.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/124046-long-the-financials-solving-the-mortgage-problems-will-help?source=feed#comment-412487 412487 Maybe this is what we've come to. President Obama seems to think so. Giving this much power to Washington can only bring more frustration. Look at how the government operates right now, it functions on deficit spending and can't even run a Postal Service that doesn't lose money. I'm afraid that this doesn't inspire much confidence in me.]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:35:36 -0500 Maybe this is what we've come to. President Obama seems to think so. Giving this much power to Washington can only bring more frustration. Look at how the government operates right now, it functions on deficit spending and can't even run a Postal Service that doesn't lose money. I'm afraid that this doesn't inspire much confidence in me.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/122484-why-is-aig-backing-fannie-freddie-enhanced-mortgages?source=feed#comment-402707 402707 Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:04:52 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/121765-obama-s-foreclosure-plan-a-closer-look?source=feed#comment-397594 397594 It's Obama's Treasury secretary who cheated on his taxes, he doesn't have a Commerce secretary yet. But, aside from that, I totally agree with your point. That whole crew has no clue what this country needs are more jobs that actually produce things that help the GNP, not more subsidized government work programs. Who's paying for all these "jobs"? The American taxpayer who can barely stand up to the load the morons in Washington already have him saddled with!]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:18:30 -0500 It's Obama's Treasury secretary who cheated on his taxes, he doesn't have a Commerce secretary yet. But, aside from that, I totally agree with your point. That whole crew has no clue what this country needs are more jobs that actually produce things that help the GNP, not more subsidized government work programs. Who's paying for all these "jobs"? The American taxpayer who can barely stand up to the load the morons in Washington already have him saddled with!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/117697-housing-affordability-surges?source=feed#comment-371872 371872 Forget about it!]]> Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:24:10 -0500 Forget about it!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/113058-personal-responsibility-and-the-housing-bubble?source=feed#comment-346267 346267 That said, I agree that HGTV did contribute to the bubble, it didn't cause it.
With shows like "Flip This House" and "The Property Ladder" on TLC, a person was led to believe that he could make a quick buck with a bit of labor and luck. Very unrealistic, but made for good entertaiment. Then greed comes in and guess what? Lots of folks who are totally lacking in knowledge of this task, jump in to try it. Oops......harder than they thought, well, lets just let the bank have it back.]]> Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:33:50 -0500 That said, I agree that HGTV did contribute to the bubble, it didn't cause it.
With shows like "Flip This House" and "The Property Ladder" on TLC, a person was led to believe that he could make a quick buck with a bit of labor and luck. Very unrealistic, but made for good entertaiment. Then greed comes in and guess what? Lots of folks who are totally lacking in knowledge of this task, jump in to try it. Oops......harder than they thought, well, lets just let the bank have it back.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/106407-the-28-33-mortgage-payment-rule-confronting-reality?source=feed#comment-308807 308807 in unaffordable mortgages find new housing that they can afford. There is
a growing amount of housing that is being abandoned, at all price levels.
Lets move the folks down a notch into a house that has payments that are
within their budget! The banks probably already have houses in their own
portfolios of delinquent loans that they could work these people into.
]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:33:28 -0500 in unaffordable mortgages find new housing that they can afford. There is
a growing amount of housing that is being abandoned, at all price levels.
Lets move the folks down a notch into a house that has payments that are
within their budget! The banks probably already have houses in their own
portfolios of delinquent loans that they could work these people into.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/102430-changing-the-nation-s-mindset-about-housing?source=feed#comment-294159 294159 teacher and "How to Budget" and the lessons a person needs to be able
to handle their money are a part of her courses. But, she has found that
the students are more interested in what's going on after school than in
what will be going on in their future. And she is not a dry and boring
instructor. Many parents are not holding their kids responsible for their
behavior, we are babying them into thinking that everything will be handed
to them on a silver platter. So, we now have 2 generations of people who
think the world owes them everything they want, the kids and these parents!
Don't know if the present financial crisis will spur more people to find out
about how to handle personal finances, I sure hope it does, it's high time!]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:34:10 -0400 teacher and "How to Budget" and the lessons a person needs to be able
to handle their money are a part of her courses. But, she has found that
the students are more interested in what's going on after school than in
what will be going on in their future. And she is not a dry and boring
instructor. Many parents are not holding their kids responsible for their
behavior, we are babying them into thinking that everything will be handed
to them on a silver platter. So, we now have 2 generations of people who
think the world owes them everything they want, the kids and these parents!
Don't know if the present financial crisis will spur more people to find out
about how to handle personal finances, I sure hope it does, it's high time!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/94472-fannie-freddie-bailout-disastrous-fiasco?source=feed#comment-249193 249193 That's our government working for us. ]]> Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:53:00 -0400 That's our government working for us. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/88189-bush-housing-law-cheap-compared-to-the-alternatives?source=feed#comment-219285 219285 come back down to the 2002 or 2003 levels. A decrease of only 10 to 25% doesn't bring them back to affordability for the average american worker. We've gotten ourselves to the place now, that as a nation, we need two wage earners in a family, to be able to afford a place to live. If the government bailout goes forward as described by the author of this article, houses will still be unaffordable for many. The reason for this is that wages never increased at the pace that house prices increased. So, you still have the average wage earner making only a bit more than he did 5 years ago. Even if
home prices decrease by 25%, that will still be more than the wage earner is able to prudently buy into. Lets stop kidding ourselves and
admit that this royal screwup caused by greed, lack of common sense, and legal and financial sleight of hand, will be with us for at least one generation, maybe even two.]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:44:57 -0400 come back down to the 2002 or 2003 levels. A decrease of only 10 to 25% doesn't bring them back to affordability for the average american worker. We've gotten ourselves to the place now, that as a nation, we need two wage earners in a family, to be able to afford a place to live. If the government bailout goes forward as described by the author of this article, houses will still be unaffordable for many. The reason for this is that wages never increased at the pace that house prices increased. So, you still have the average wage earner making only a bit more than he did 5 years ago. Even if
home prices decrease by 25%, that will still be more than the wage earner is able to prudently buy into. Lets stop kidding ourselves and
admit that this royal screwup caused by greed, lack of common sense, and legal and financial sleight of hand, will be with us for at least one generation, maybe even two.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/82623-the-current-market-atmosphere-easy-money-hard-to-come-by?source=feed#comment-192516 192516 not all as knowledgeable as Zen is! Thanks for the info.]]> Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:21:00 -0400 not all as knowledgeable as Zen is! Thanks for the info.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/82147-bearish-report-sends-satellite-radio-lower?source=feed#comment-189816 189816 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:17:44 -0400