battman

With $770B of the $1.4T in commercial mortgages maturing in the next five years currently underwater, FDIC revises its rules (.pdf) to allow banks to keep loans on their books as 'performing' even when the underlying properties no longer cover the outlay.

rick, you're right as is dialectical, but you can't just say "that's it" and draw a line in the sand with what has happened. It's not that clear cut. And to think that a government, ANY government, will actually do the right thing is just straight out naive. The government is the most corrupt part of this equation. Until there is some sort of grass root uprising (and not one sponsored by Fox news) it's status quo and the corruption will reign supreme.


On Nov 02 09:28 PM rick flair wrote:

> This is the quintessential reason why america will fail, because
> no one has the nuts left to do the hard stuff.

GM to Keep European Opel Unit (As a Result of Economic Reflation)

Ford did a good job and should be commended. They should be the only American auto maker still standing and be allowed the opportunity to become a serious player and real consistant money maker. By propping up the useless other two, all it does is hurt Ford's long term prospects of survival.
With respect to GM and the skyrocketing costs "not being their fault", sorry but who agreed to the union terms that swelled its costs to the point of forcing them into bankruptcy? Was it me? Was it you? I'm pretty sure they did that to themselves. And they have had these same competitors for over 40 years now, and only NOW they realized they were building a BETTER product cheaper?? So do I feel any pitty? Absolutely not. Their short sighted fat cat mentality caught up to them.
And thanks for asking about my kids, they're still pretty young, but they wouldn't be working in an assembly line anyways. Propping up failing companies so my kids can have a job is counter productive. If Ford would have been allowed to go it alone, it would have bought the "good" plants and would have had to double production to meet demand (a.k.a hiring people). Toyota and Honda would have bought the other "good" plants and would have had to increase production (a.k.a hiring people), so my kids could have still had the opportunity to find that wonderfully overpaid union job. Just because GM and Chrysler shut the doors, doesn't mean the demand and infrastructure magically fade away.
I just realized, if my kids work there, they could become part of the problem rather than just complaining about it! Circle of life my friend, circle of life.


On Nov 04 10:25 PM epistrophy wrote:

> Hey "Battman" FYI read the papers: Ford made almost a billion dollars
> day before yesterday and they took no money from the government.
> You'll be complaining more when your kids have no place to work.
> GM ran into a perfect storm of collapsing economy and events that
> were not all their fault, especially unfundable health care costs
> for retirees that their foreign competitors in both the U.S. and
> abroad did not face. NOT a level playing field either here in the
> U.S. or overseas (check the rules Korea, Japan, and China have in
> place to keep out American cars). If you ask me our legislators were
> sorely remiss in not addressing this. The "free market" is not free!

GM to Keep European Opel Unit (As a Result of Economic Reflation)

How is it a "resurgent" car industry? It is a subsidized car industry that will waddle along until the next hand out when they go broke again in about 15 years, AFTER the legitimate car manufacturers took it in the chin for NOT being subsidized.
I'm glad you're happy, and I hope you'll squirrel away enough money to write them another check when they come knocking again ater the next bankruptcy.

And "back on track"?? How long ago was the American auto industry actually a thriving industry that MADE money??


On Nov 04 11:35 AM epistrophy wrote:

> Good move for GM and also better for Opel in the long run. I'm rooting
> for their success. Opel has a lot of good engineering and a good
> reputation in Europe. This technology has found its way into the
> newer American cars, including the Chevy Malibu which is a real star.
I for one support a resurgent American car industry
> and am happy to see they are on the right track.

GM to Keep European Opel Unit (As a Result of Economic Reflation)

They just can't let go of the "world's biggest" moniker, even if it means having to go broke again. Just goes to show you why the GM guys are a bunch of money losing failures. I hope they get sued over this.
Stupid, very very stupid. But what else did we expect from these clowns.
We can thank the government for this one. Let the failures fail please.

With $770B of the $1.4T in commercial mortgages maturing in the next five years currently underwater, FDIC revises its rules (.pdf) to allow banks to keep loans on their books as 'performing' even when the underlying properties no longer cover the outlay.

It's not Sicily, it's common sense. The entire world, never mind just the US, can not afford for the system to cave in on itself.
Be upset because it's not fair, but don't be so naive as to cut your ears, nose, lips and eyes off just to spite your face.

With $770B of the $1.4T in commercial mortgages maturing in the next five years currently underwater, FDIC revises its rules (.pdf) to allow banks to keep loans on their books as 'performing' even when the underlying properties no longer cover the outlay.

Anything that prevents the banks from going broke (for now anyways) is good for me (and you). The only thing we can hope for is that the banks try and fix things, but fix them for real. However the likelihood of that, as we have now come to expect from these institutions, is extremely remote.
They will take another government hand up and turn it into a temporary profit centre until the s**t hits the fan again.
Will we ever learn? Who knows.

With $770B of the $1.4T in commercial mortgages maturing in the next five years currently underwater, FDIC revises its rules (.pdf) to allow banks to keep loans on their books as 'performing' even when the underlying properties no longer cover the outlay.

bbro, you could have financed 100% out of a deal before which would have required no equity, so you could have had a mortgage for the entire value if it was justified through its cash flow. There was no shortage of banks lending money two years ago. Not to say this always happened, but my 10 mill to 6 mill was a hypothetical, so you can't base your arguement on my hypothetical.


On Nov 01 12:32 PM bbro wrote:

> A 10 million loan implies the property was worth 13.3 million
> (75% LTV) and the property is now worth 6 million...55% decline in
> value...they must have bought higher than the market highs....<br/>

With $770B of the $1.4T in commercial mortgages maturing in the next five years currently underwater, FDIC revises its rules (.pdf) to allow banks to keep loans on their books as 'performing' even when the underlying properties no longer cover the outlay.

I think the banks will now ask for an equity injection from the borrower to try and make things more "on side". A $ 10 million loan for a property now worth $ 6 million, would probably need a $ 4 million injection of fresh capital. This could prove problematic and create an even more lucrative mortgage market for 2nd and 3rd "high risk" mortgages (or simply the dreaded default they're trying to avoid). Would the "performing" mortgage be offside now with a new 2nd mortgage at a 3% or 6% higher rate and all its associated fees?
While there is definitely a lucrative 2nd and 3rd mortgage market now, things change when you've bought a property based on a certain pro forma, and that pro forma no longer works with higher interest charges that you hadn't counted on.
One thing I can say for sure, while the banks should be quite happy with the relaxing of the rules, they are certainly not going to do you any favors when their butts are on the line.

China Ritar Power: So Depressed It Makes Me Cry

With the price drop, what would you do now? What's the buy in point?

Bank failures in 2009 roll over to 100 - for the first time since 1992 - with the closure of Partners Bank of Naples, Fla. The estimated cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund is $28.6M. Time to revisit the WSJ interactive timeline of two years of failures.

Interesting. Glad to see you're so confident. Of course it helps when the government writes a $ 700 billion check.
Had any of the big banks failed when Lehman failed we would have easily eclipsed 1300. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're not failing, but their non failure has nothing to do with the strength of the bank or the system as it does with the government intervention, which will create far worse problems in the very near term.


On Oct 23 08:02 PM Tack wrote:

> Over 1300 failures in the S&amp;L crisis, but now 100 gets us all
> excited.
>
> Give me a call when we get to 500, or even 300. (I don't think I'll
> wait up for the call.)

Permanent Job Loss

The world is definitely changing. For the better? Who knows.

Is Saving Really for Suckers?

Many people don't have the kind of time needed or experience to properly invest their money and help it grow. This Jon Markman clown is only hyping what he knows what ultimately put money into HIS pocket by promoting stock funds.
Besides, the best investment you can make is real estate, but you need to have enough money to do it wisely.

L.A. Commercial Real Estate: No Signs of Life

At this point I don't know why there would be any signs of life. As unemployment rises, it obviously has an impact on physical space tenants and manufacturers need. We also have more poeple working out of their homes, which reduces the space required by tenants.

Next Step in Florida's Real Estate Meltdown: Lawsuits

JMcCabe, first off, you're talking about some not all condo projects. You will always find bad apples in the bunch. Secondly you talk about the potential losses of a purchaser. What about the potential losses of the developer? You want me to sympathise with the purchaser but you're not prepared to offer the same sympathy for the developer. Chances are if the developer goes broke, employees will lose their jobs and many many families will suffer. A single purchser has more limited repurcussions. (Not that either case is good).
You talk about falling values and difficulty trying to finance for the buyer, what about the financing for the developer that is required to put an additional 25% equity into a project. An amount that could equal multiple multiple millions? Then he has to worry about the pruchasers walking from the deals and potentially suing him? It goes both ways.
Risk is inherent on both sides.

On Oct 17 06:11 AM JMcCabe wrote:

>
> During the boom years between 2002-2006, there were a number of condominium
> developers in South Florida that did cancel pre-construction contracts
> on the basis that labor and material costs had increased so much
> they couldn't make a profit. The units were then re-sold to other
> buyers, primarily speculators, and substantially higher prices.<br/>
>

Next Step in Florida's Real Estate Meltdown: Lawsuits

Well said Teresa, one thing I always say is it doesn't matter what you sign, it's the intentions of the people signing it that matter. If you deal with an honest person you can shake hands and not worry, if you deal with a crook, you could sign papers until the cows come home, you're going to end up in court.


On Oct 17 10:13 AM TeresaE wrote:

> I wish someone would do a study about the real cost to taxpayers
> concerning lawsuits.
>
> How much of our economy feeds directly into a handful of pockets
> and the growth of government?
>
> We need to seriously re-evaluate our society here. Contracts are
> pretty specific about refunds of deposits. These "poor" buyers should
> have read, and understood, what they were signing.
>
> As for the developers lying, well, get in line. Real estate agents
> lied, mortgage brokers lied (to you and FOR you), appraisers lied,
> finance companies lied, the national association of realtors lied,
> the "news" lied, governments lied and millions bought it.
>