RatWatcher

Homebuyer Tax Credit: Update

'Sucks to be a renter. Great to be a homeowner who never needed help in the first place.'

Sucks to be a landlord (read: homeowner) losing a good renter thanks to the $8K Cash-For-Foreclosures handout.

Will the FDIC Be Able to Withstand 400 Bank Closures?

"Second, did the FDIC ever run out of money during the S&L crisis? No, it did not. So a comparison is kind of ridiculous in my opinion."

Please correct if I am mis-remembering, but weren't the S&L covered by an agency called FSLIC? If so, there would be no reason for the FDIC to run out of money, or be involved at all.....

Not Everyone Likes Windows 7

Simply incorrect. I got Mac mini's for the kids, one several years ago. It runs 'tiger'. For $169 I can upgrade it to 'snow leopard'. I see no need to do this since it is working just fine for my son's itunes, but according to Apple store 'genius' it is just pop in the disc to upgrade. I can say for certain, the mini's for the kids has been great as they never have to call me for IT support...they just work.


On Oct 26 09:12 AM wusseldussel wrote:

> The problem with Mac: when there is a major upgrade of OS you have
> to buy all the hardware new since the new OS does not support the
> old hardware. If you buy a brand new PC with Windows 7 I bet it will
> run without any problems. I think many XP users demand that after
> they buy Windows 7 their old hardware runs better than before. And
> Apple will not manage to do such a trick either.

CIT's Failure Could Threaten Financial Sector's Overall Recovery

'Meanwhile, CIT is also rumored to be recommending that bondholders approve a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan in case the new debt-exchange doesn’t go through'

Minimum 10% equity in the post-bankruptcy CIT to the UAW.....

Time for an FHA Shakeup?

'Allowing people to buy homes through a Federal insurance agency with zero down payments (irrespective of how - whether through SFDPA - which has ended - or through "monetization" of tax rebates) is idiotic.'

Respectfully, this would term the highly successful VA loan program as 'idiotic'. Do you really think VA loans are idiotic, or is this maybe an oversight or exception?

I will note that in many cases, people with VA loans have guaranteed DoD pensions which could (and would) be garnished. Perhaps that 'floor income' makes a difference?

What's a Home Really Worth These Days?

My rental is just about right on 12 mon rent = 15x sale value. Not however a coincidence, its a factor how I set rent. During the boom (2005 ish) I got more $$ per month but LESS than 15x theoretical sale price....now reverting to normal. Can't go lower because rent needs to cover mortgage expense. Irony, if sales price continues dropping, the ratio INCREASES with no one actually involved doing anything at all....

Foreclosures: They're Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

"There are certain desirable home improvements that wouldn’t require skilled labor, such as adding fencing, and improving home security, insulation, and earthquake protection. Millions could be hired to do these tasks after a bit of videotaped training."

What happens to the owner's property taxes after all these improvements? Any way to include a ban on local government using them as an increase excuse?

The Great Depression, Unemployment and Recovery

I particularly like the 1935 comment on the chart, "Supreme Court declares much of New Deal unconstitutional." Any chance we'll get so much as a hearing from our Court? Is anything DC does unconstitutional anymore??

Maximum Social Security Taxes: 4X Increase Since 1970

"Those increases were suppose to be invested but instead repubs used them to hide their massive deficits....."

It is not possible for the government to either 'save' or 'invest' so-called 'trust funds' ( SS, or any other such as the Highway Trust Fund) unless we are willing to stuff a locker with (a) gold, (b) foreign currency, (c) equities or (d) real property titles. The first we (presumably) have at Ft Knox. Currencies such as pounds or yen are a non-starter, though it may be worth considering yuan. Equities, we are now for the first time buying but we buy only trash such as Citibank and GM. Finally, we may end up with so many garbage properties when the foreclosure crap culminates we will be crushed under them.

This is a long-winded way of saying that 'investing' in US Treasuries by the US Govt is an impossibility. And 'saving' the dollars is nothing more than a reduction in the money supply. All this is because the Govt is the issuer of the currency. An IOU in your own pocket is worthless.

The True Cost of the Home Buyer Tax Credit

Need to account for the fact your old landlord was paying taxes out of the rent you paid him, both on the property (to the city) and on the income (to the state and feds). Peeling the onion, YOU were already paying these taxes, they were just hidden from you.

Good luck in homeownership! Don't default and leave us out $8K for nothing......lol


On Sep 02 04:29 PM Smrt1 wrote:

> Just to present a differing view and point of interest. I am of modest
> means and my wife and I both have secure jobs. I am one of those
> quoted in the article as being an additional purchoser of a home.
> I live in a state where much of my taxes are derived from property
> taxes. I probably would not have purchased my home without the tax
> credit. Not because I am without the means to purchase a home but
> merely because I enjoyed apartment living. It was very conceivable
> to my wife and I to stay in an apartment for the next 5 years easy.
> My additional tax burden as a result of buying this house for the
> next 5 years will be approx $ 20,000. Now if you account for my tax
> credit of $ 8k then that is $ 12 K in added taxes. Divide $ 12k by
> $ 8k and you get 1.5. The government is getting a 50% return from
> me on its investment of $ 8 k. I would love an investment with a
> virtually guaranteed 50% ROI. Who wouldn't?

Bernanke's Renomination: Hold the Applause

Hello,

Is it at all possible that Mr Bernanke simply knows too much to be let go, free to write a tell-all book of where all the bailout money went? Ockham's Razor approach to the otherwise stunning re-nomination of Paulson's enabler.

Increased Deficit Spending: We Can't Afford It

Yessir. The gov separates 'Debt Held by the Public' (owed to bondholders) from 'Intragovernmental Holdings' (the SS Trust Fund, owed to retirees). The former is $7.4T and the latter is $4.4T. Add together you get $11.8T.

The trick is, the people who buy Treasuries (China, eg) don't care if we honor the SS Trust Fund piece. Debt to GDP is based only on the Debt Held by the Public figure.

The problem is, the gov is currently (massively) selling bonds to the public. That is what is and will continue to push the Debt/GDP ratio.

Here is a safe, government link that may explain better:

www.treasurydirect.gov...



On Aug 26 05:20 PM JJJ wrote:

> I keep hearing that our debt to Gdp ratio is around the 40% range
> from the CNBC talking heads, and that this latest revised 9 trillion
> 10 budget deficit will bring us near 80% debt to GDP. Just looking
> at our current national debt of about 11.3 trillion and a GDP of
> around 14trillion(rounded up), Isn't the debt to gdp ratio already
> above 80%(11.3t/14t)? Am I missing something here.

Reappointing Bernanke: Obama’s ‘Heck of a Job, Brownie’ Moment?

" and nominated William Jennings Bryan to run for the presidency in
> both 1900 and 1908 – which elections he lost to Republican William
> McKinley. "

McKinley was assassinated in 1901. The '08 election went to WH Taft. Makes the entire quote suspect.

BTW Bryan also ran in 1896, source of the relatively well known 'cross of gold' speech.

4 Dividend Stocks to Hedge Against Social Security Failure

"First of all, the bonds held by the fund were not issued by the govenments of Kosovo or Somalia, they were issued by the United States, an entity that has never defaulted on either its principal or interest obligations."

Sorry, no. The SS Trust Fund is nothing more than a US Gov IOU in the US Gov's own pocket. This is neither savings nor debt; it is an unfunded promise to make future payments, but the expected payment recipient has no legal right to the funds.

You can try this at home. Each month, momentarily set aside some money for your kids' college education. Write the number in a notebook. Spend the money. Once a year, momentarily set aside extra money for interest on the notebook account value. Spend that too.

When it's time for college...what to do? The money's not really there, but the account notebook shows plenty of money, maybe even Ivy League sums. You don't actually have the money, but being a 'good' parent, you find enough money from current sources for community college. Junior has no choice, no recourse, but to suck it up.

That is the Social Security Trust Fund. Future seniors will get bare minimums (or zero) and have no recourse.

"When planning for retirement, my underlying assumption is that Social Security will go broke before I ever receive a dime." Yessir, that's exactly correct if you are under 55.

Prime Mortgages Are Also Going Sour

I think this is correct. It is simply the difference between a realized and unrealized loss. The TARP is buying time for values to recover. Unfortunately, the situation seems to be one in which values will remain low longer than banks can hold out. Watch out when the dam breaks.


On Aug 20 09:26 PM Dialectical Materialist wrote:

> I am certainly no expert, but I have read that there are financial
> reasons for banks to delay. As the property sits in foreclosure,
> it's value is still subjective. Once it is sold in a distressed
> sale the loss on the mortgage is fixed. Also, it costs money to
> bring the process to fruition. So processing a lot of foreclosures
> is costly in two ways -- the losses realized and the money to process
> the sale.
>
> On Aug 20 07:36 PM Suncatcher wrote: