Property Grunt

Thoughts on a Sunday

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was wondering when this was going to happen.

Home Auction in Scardale

The sellers of 20 Sage Terrace, just around the corner from the Greenacres Elementary School and a 12 minute walk to the train and shops, are auctioning their beautifully renovated home.

Are there sales happening in Scarsdale? Yes. But regardless what you are hearing, it is slow and painful. And with the current economic climate, there are going to be more acts of desperation in the future.

Speaking of our current economic climate, if you go Gawker, it seems that happy days are here again. Do not believe the hype. As this NYT articles indicates people are holding onto to their cash.

In Cautious Times, Banks Flooded With Cash

Purely anecdotal, but the model during a down real estate market is that the people with the cash jump in to start cherry picking for bargains. That is happening but I do know of people with the big money are sitting this one out. It is not due to a lack of bargains, but the fact is this economic climate is not the most pleasant for real estate investing. With the climate as chaotic as this, it might be best to stay as liquid as possible instead of locking it up in an asset.

The term "work out" is being thrown a lot these days. The big players who are barely holding onto to their properties are in talks with their lenders. It is in everyone's best interest to keep the peace and figure out a solution that does not involve turning in the keys.

Occupy Wall Street. I empathize their cause and outrage. However their approach is quite flawed.

First of all, they are too late because there is no money out there. This whole debacle could have been avoided a long time ago if these people had organized and began putting in the economic fail safes in place. Right now they are just racking overtime for NYPD and hurting small businesses.

They claim they are against corporate greed however they are playing into the hands of corporations. With all the bad publicity they bring against banks, there are forces out there who are taking advantage of chaos and are shorting bank stocks. There is definitely something or someone influencing the situation.

And try as they might, they do not represent the 99%
Occupy Wall Street Struggles to Make ‘the 99%’ Look Like Everybody

It is not the bottom of the economic barrel that is rebelling, it is the layer above who have had the rug pulled underneath them. But the rug was being pulled inch by inch until it was too late.

I am not the biggest fan of the Tea Party, but they got their s**t together real quick and devastating with their actions.

Occupy Wall Street Protest Reaches a Crossroads

What they have now is not sustainable. Eventually, they will need a vertical command structure and they will have to move beyond Zucotti Park.

10 Years Ago Today

2011-09-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

We will never forget.

Losing our s**t is no excuse for losing our manners

2011-07-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

Let this be your wake up call.

Recently I had the displeasure of experiencing some rather rude and passive aggressive behavior from complete strangers. I won't go into details since I have no desire to relive those moments but these people acted out because they either did not care or they felt the need to lash out in some way.

The last incident was the final straw and I responded to the perpetrator with the same behavior the douchebag inflicted on me, with extreme prejudice. The piece of trash was not happy about the lesson and it almost got very ugly. But luckily for both of us it did not escalate to a point where legal and medical attention was needed.

Right now we are going through a make or break period for our economy and all signs point to break. All the high rollers in real estate that I know of are s**tting bricks. They are either at the mercy of their lenders or desperately trying to dump their inventory.

Along with the Debt Ceiling showdown there is $23 billion in commercial mortgages coming due. It is understandable why people are feeling the squeeze.

However, what I have noticed is people are reacting to it by not giving a damn about the negative results of their actions or they are just being plain old rude and obnoxious because they are angry at the world.

To all those people who feel justified in acting that way, I have one thing to say to all of you.

F**K YOU!

There are people out there in the world who have so much less in assets but so much more in liabilities but you don't see them acting like a bunch of babies.

I am done with you people. I have no desire to correct your behavior because I have no time or energy to deal with you. Also I know that nothing good will come from confronting people like you. If there is a way to walk, I'll walk.

However, nothing good will come of this if all of you keep this up. You are going to piss off someone who is angrier than you are and who cares a helluva a lot less about what happens to them. They are looking for an invitation to ride up on someone.

If that happens, you are going to find yourself a host to your smackdown.

$104,313

2011-07-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

That is how much it costs to live in this house.

That will be all.

The Bunny

2011-07-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

The rich are getting nervous. And this isn't just chatter.

A short sale in Scarsdale.

You will see more of these. Bank on it.

Jared Kushner is not alone. All the big time players who were gobbling up properties like the way Lindsay Lohan chugs Red Bulls are now desperately trying to get rid of them or getting to know their lenders as they renegotiate the terms of their mortgages.

Real estate was such a nice fluffy bunny. Now it bares its fangs.

Second Wave

2011-05-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Running low.

Go to Google news and you will find a lot of articles about how the real estate market is going through the double dip.

Every real estate expert/journalist is giving their opinion about this matter. I am no different.

There is still a huge divide between buyers and sellers in terms of what a property is worth.

Sellers are over leveraged and they need to get as much as they can out of their properties. They do not want to be on hook for anything that is owed. It is also a matter of pride. A seller who blew a wad on a property has no desires to cut and run.

Cash is king. But only if you have it. And even if you do have it that does not mean you want to spend it. In a recent article about Jamie Dimon, his company is still hurting from the mortgage meltdown.

Easy financing is available, but you need to put at least 60% down. And if you are going to be putting down that much, you might as well buy the whole thing in cash. And buyers are not willing to commit that much money to a property and the only way a deal can happen is if prices fall.

From residential to commercial, everyone is hurting in some degree. Be very wary of anyone claiming that everything is honky dory. It is not.

If this debt ceiling crap is not resolved, this will be a summer that won't be forgotten for quite sometime.

"Macho Man:"Randy Savage

2011-05-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

So many memories of watching you on TV as a child.

Thank you.

Elizabeth is waiting for you in heaven.

Barrier of Entry

2011-05-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

A barrier of entry to live in Scarsdale and other elite areas of Westchester are the property taxes. This is a key reason why Westhchester has not truly stabilized. Buyers aren't balking at the prices, it is the property taxes that they are screaming about.

One of the rights that a homeowner has is to appeal their taxes by filing a tax grievances. And according to this NYT article a record number are successfully accomplishing that. It has also created a booming industry for contingency-fee assessment reduction.

I recommend reading this article because it explains why property taxes are a complete FUBAR in Westchester. Although there is no direct explanation, if you read between the lines, you can understand why towns like Scarsdale are against a property tax cap.

Flawed as it is, the current system allows a tremendous amount of flexibility. Since the current system issues a aggregate valuation increase each year applying to all properties. There is no individual assessment of properties. Placing a property tax cap would prevent taxes from going up, but it would also prevent them from going down.

According to Howard Rattner, the city’s finance commissioner of New Rochelle, he feels that once the housing market stabilizes, the grievances will drop because prices will be so low.

He is very wrong. Even after the market stabilizes, it is still going to cost an arm and a leg to pay for property taxes and as long as the tax grievance process is easy as pie, there will be no end to this.

Drop It Like It's Hot

2011-05-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's dropping. But not because it is hot.

This broker's link, displays all the price reductions of they have listed from Scarsdale.

As you can see, it is getting hot out there. Hot in reductions. Regardless, it is still not enough for buyers to come out of the woodwork. There are deals out there, but there is also a lot of homes that need work or in no way in hell reflect the seller's price.

It is going to be a FUBAR of a summer in the burbs.

About Time.

2011-05-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

I hope this brings you all some peace.

Peering over the Abyss. Again

2011-04-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

The waters are starting to churn a bit.

Killer Combo of High Gas, Food Prices at Key Tipping Point

Here are the key takeaways.

Food and gasoline prices are rising at a rapid clip.

That is bad because it will push us back into the recession.

Honestly folks, I am all out of jokes. But I will say that we should all walk very softly.

Taking stakes in buildings beats sitting on sidelines

According to this article because of the lack of inventory and large number of buyers, investors are jumping into partial investments where stakes are bought out or investors are injecting much needed cash into a property while allowing the owners to maintain their positions.

Scott Latham, a vice chairman at Jones Lang LaSalle claims that this is a good sign for the commercial market since it shows fluidity and that the demand is there because of the lack of properties, investors are more than happy to take up partial stakes.

I beg to differ. First of all, the reason why investors are purchasing partial stakes is that they do not have enough money to buy properties outright on their own. Also the the credit market is still licking its wounds. OPM are three initials you do not hear very often.

As for the the lack available properties, well, it depends on who you ask. You have to consider the shadow inventory and there is shadow inventory in the commercial market. It is being held back and it is being shown to select parties.

I have also been hearing a lot chatter about Manhattan's suburban counterpart Scarsdale. It is not all good. That town is hemorrhaging cash and there is talk to resetting the tax limit. When that happens, everyone is going to get hit in that town. Some harder than others. A huge barrier of entry in that town is the property taxes and they have gone out of control. There are a lot of people who missed out on the last bubble who are now putting their homes on the market. Property taxes are just not cutting it anymore as the town is seeking other forms of revenue. For more information on the tax situation go to this link. Or go to this link.

As some of you may have realized, my postings have been more erratic than usual. I am embarking on a new journey that is unrelated to real estate which requires a lot of my time and energy.

Despite these changes, I still feel the need to put in my two cents in this blog. I make no money from this blog and whatever fame I have incurred is miniscule and fleeting. But for some reason, I feel I have something to say.

For those of you who are sticking around, thank you. I really appreciate it.

Scardale's version of the November 2010 Elections.

2011-03-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Not Quite.

More like this.

If you want further details go to this link and do search in the Scarsdale Patch.

During these harsh economic times, even Scarsdale has been taken a beating. But apparently some people did not get the memo. This includes the geniuses who wanted an indoor pool/community center courtesy of the taxpayers. And outrage over larger class sizes. It was probably a little disheartening when a certain middle school principle told a group of parents that when he was worried about it, they should be worried about it.

Despite having sky high property taxes, Scarsdale is hemorrhaging money and is looking for other ways to raise it.

So a bunch of "Scarsdalians" (Yes. They call themselves that.) got together and formed a coalition to take over the Village.

2011 is going to be, wait for it,

Justice for Annie

2011-03-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

We have closure and justice for Annie.

Raymond Clark Pleads Guilty to Murder of Yale Grad Student Annie Le

There were certain details that were revealed about the crime that are even more sickening. But somehow it gets even more twisted.

Outside the courtroom today, Clark's father Raymond Clark Jr., said, "It is a heavy heart that I stand here before you today. We will live out our life knowing that he is behind bars. But we are proud of Ray for taking responsibility for his actions and pleading guilty. I want you to know that Ray has expressed extreme remorse from the very beginning. I can't tell you how many times he sobbed uncontrollably, telling me how sorry he is; telling me how his heart is tortured by the reality the he caused the death of Annie."

You're proud of him? Are you f**king kidding me? No wonder your kid grew up to be a sociopath. You probably encouraged this type of behavior. If you had any sense of decency, you would have done the right thing the moment your son admitted to you the truth.

The best thing you can do for your son is send him a couple of dresses. The crimes he has committed puts him on the lower end of the prison hierarchy. And with the publicity surrounding this piece of trash, there is going to be a line out his cell for inmates to establish "relations". Maybe the plea deal was a bad idea. A trial would have delayed the inevitable and he might have ended up with the death penalty. Which sucks but it might have kept him away from general population.

The Times They Are A-Changin

2011-03-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Let's take a moment. A moment to breathe. A moment to remember those who have been lost. A moment to figure out where we are.

Yes. The times are changing. And we should change with them. But before we make those changes we should make the effort to see where we stand, where we have been and where we are going.

Starcrossed Lovers

2011-02-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

Cue Romeo and Juliet trailer.

The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and stupid. Correction just stupid. There are no innocent people in this story.

Over a year ago, two roommates realized they were in love with each other This was no easy feat for these two people had been involved in a tumultuous love triangle involving another party. Both roommates decided to cut ties with that party and decided to focus on each other.

According to them, the intensity of the relationship was just too much. So they decided to part ways and live in separate homes while seeing each other.

Cue dramatic music

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder but in this case it just made them yearn for each other even more and it was decided that they would move back in together. One of the roommates had already had a place in the city and it was decided that the other roommate would join them.

Cue rain of flower petals

They eagerly displayed their love for each other online. They would post pictures of their adventures together. They publicly extolled their love of each other. The roommate who had moved in even brought the other roommate to their home to visit their family during the holidays. It was bliss. At least on the surface.

Cue Hank Williams.

One day, the roommate who had moved in received information from an anonymous source that the love of their life was cheating on them. And the acting home wrecker was the person that was the third piece from their love triangle. Someone that they thought they had cut ties with. Or at least the roommate who had been betrayed thought had cut ties with.

The roommate confronted the other who confessed to everything. To add insult to injury, the acts of betrayal took place on the same bed the two roommates shared.

Cue End of Days

Upon hearing that information, the betrayed roommate went on a rampage and began to destroy everything in site, particularly items of strong sentimental value. The betrayed roommate rage was so strong that the thought of napalming the violated bed entered their mind.

The betrayed roommate decided to pick up stakes and go back home.

Cue Kevin Bacon movie

Now with the betrayed roommate gone, the original roommate who was renting the apartment under their name was now in a bind. They were already a month behind rent and would have to move elsewhere.

Cue Which One?

Who is the loser?

The betrayed roommate?

The roommate who cheated on the other roommate?

The third party in the love triangle?

Answer: None of the above. The loser is the landlord.

The landlord is getting screwed because of the rent is not getting paid on time and eventually they will have a vacant apartment and will most likely never recover their rent. The landlord should have never rented out to this couple in the first place.

Traitor roommate is currently focused on their collegiate career which means they have no money and lots and lots of debt. Parental support is minimal at best.

Betrayed roommate has no parental support whatsoever and at the time was working not one but two entry level jobs.

These are the type of clients that landlords dread since they either have no income or very little coming in.

I have no idea how they got this far, apparently a broker was involved so it would not surprise me that broker exercised creative accounting in order to make them more presentable to the landlord.

When it comes to prospective tenants. Look at the numbers and their sources of income. Is the income stream stable or erratic? Certain types of occupations should raise red flags. As long as a landlord is aware of that, then they are able to lower their eviction rate.

The Shack gets sacked

2011-02-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

Have a problem with with those franchise stores taking over the city?

No problem.

Over at 866 Broadway, the Radio Shack or Shack is leaving at the end of this month.

That's right, the store with an identity problem is on its way out.
Why? Two words: Rent increase. Of about $10,000.

Which is pretty much par for the course in Manhattan.

Don't cry for the landlord. It appears that the ghost of George Steinbrenner will haunting. According to the chatter a Yankee store will take its place.

Gentrification. You have to love it.

Don't fret though.

Scarsdale is f**ked: Changes in the AP

2011-01-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

Think about it.

There have been some developments with the College Board in regards to the Advanced Placement curriculum.

Rethinking Advanced Placement

Next month, the board, the nonprofit organization that owns the A.P. exams as well as the SAT, will release a wholesale revamping of A.P. biology as well as United States history — with 387,000 test-takers the most popular A.P. subject. A preview of the changes shows that the board will slash the amount of material students need to know for the tests and provide, for the first time, a curriculum framework for what courses should look like. The goal is to clear students’ minds to focus on bigger concepts and stimulate more analytic thinking. In biology, a host of more creative, hands-on experiments are intended to help students think more like scientists.

The changes, which are to take effect in the 2012-13 school year, are part of a sweeping redesign of the entire A.P. program. Instead of just providing teachers with a list of points that need to be covered for the exams, the College Board will create these detailed standards for each subject and create new exams to match.
Trevor Packer, the College Board’s vice president for Advanced Placement, notes that the changes mark a new direction for the board, which has focused on the tests more than the courses. The rollout of “the New A.P.,” as the board describes it, will actually start this year with a new curriculum taking effect in two smaller programs, German and French language. Major revisions to physics, chemistry, European history, world history and art history will follow, with the hope of being ready for exams in 2014 or 2015.

“We really believe that the New A.P. needs to be anchored in a curriculum that focuses on what students need to be able to do with their knowledge,” Mr. Packer says. A.P. teachers made clear that such a shift was impossible unless the breadth of material covered was pared down. Courses in English and math are manageable, Mr. Packer says, and will not be revised until later.

The new approach is important because critical thinking skills are considered essential for advanced college courses and jobs in today’s information-based economy. College administrators and veteran A.P. teachers familiar with the new biology curriculum believe the changes could have significant reverberations for how science is taught in introductory college classes and even elementary school classrooms, and might bring some of the excitement back to science learning.
“I really think this is a game-changer,” says Gordon E. Uno, a botany professor at the University of Oklahoma who has helped plan the biology changes.

And here is one indication of how pumped up the College Board is about the revitalization: If Mr. Packer were a high school junior next year, would he take the old A.P. biology or wait till his senior year for the new one?
“I would absolutely wait,” he says.
One of the fascinating aspects of this article is this point

Several elite private high schools have also dropped A.P. courses. In defiance, the public school district in Scarsdale, N.Y., created its own in-depth courses called Advanced Topics. (For college credit, students still have to do well on the A.P. or another placement exam.)

Scarsdale High School sees some synchronicity. “It appears to be clearly much more in line with what we are trying to emphasize this year,” says Beth Schoenbrun, the school’s’ co-director of Science Research. “It certainly seems to allow for a good deal more flexibility in terms of what is covered in the classroom.”

As many of you know, I have had my reservations regarding the Advanced Topics Program as indicated by these entries below.

Breaking News: Scarsdale is f**ked

Scarsdale is f**ked: Scarsdale launches charm offensive.

With all these changes that have occurred, one would think that the Grunt would take his place at the table have himself a plate of humble pie.

Nope.

Changes have been made to the AP curriculum and Scarsdale may have played a role in it. However, Scarsdale took the wrong approach in making these changes.

As good as these Scarsdale High School teachers are and their educational programs, they are ill prepared to devise a proper curriculum to replace the Advanced Placement courses. If you want further details on my analysis, feel free to go to my previous entries. I will however add some further anecdotal evidence that I have learned regarding the Advanced Topics program.

After the pilot phase of the AT program was completed, there was a town hall meeting where students discussed their experiences. One frightening story was from one student who took the AP American History exam. There was a question about the Vietnam war which was not covered by the AT program. Fortunately, he had studied the Vietnam war on his own, unfortunately, many of classmates did not. This story can be confirmed in the Scarsdale Inqurier archives.

The following is a story that I have confirmed personally about the Advanced Topics Psychology class. Now part of the exam for Advanced Placement Psychology is statistics. The teacher responsible for decided to eliminate statistics from the Advanced Topics course, even though it was going to be on the test.

Why?

The teacher had a strong dislike for math.

It does not matter how much you are paying these teachers and what resources are at their disposal. The primary job of a teacher is to teach their students. Not to create a curriculum that rivals a half century exam program designed by a group who have an army of professionals at their disposal.

One could argue that these changes in the AP curriculum would not have occurred without Scarsdale taking the initiative in creating their own curriculum. That is all well and good, but at the cost of the students of Scarsdale High School? A lot of the parents work themselves to the bone in order for their kids to live in that school district. And the Scarsdale School System has decided to play a game of chicken with the College Board by sticking these kids into a mustang without seat belts.

If the changes bring a positive reaction, there will probably be more modifications to the AP curriculum. Even if these modifications meet Scarsdale Standards, it is doubtful that Scarsdale will discard their precious Advanced Topics program.

No one will admit this, but the Advanced Topics program is a marketing tool for Scarsdale High School.

Share of lower scores grows with popularity of Advanced Placement tests

Across the country, all high schools are eager to lap up the AP pool. Which increases the competition for Scarsdale and makes it harder for their students to standout. Therefore they have to do something drastic so that they shine in this sea of Advanced Placement.

Now the only way the Grunt will sit up to the table and feast on humble pie is if the Scarsdale School System, College Board or both release the scores of all the students and see the effectiveness of the program. Since the measure of effectiveness of the AT curriculum is the AP test then lets see where which AP tests students achieved 5’s. And let’s see where they scored the lowest.

But full transparency is highly unlikely from the Scarsdale School System. If there are weaknesses in the curriculum, those scores will point them out. It will be even worse when the strengths of the AT program are revealed.

Think about it.

If word gets out that students were able to score 4’s and 5’s in certain subjects from the Advanced Topics curriculum, there will a riot as the next class of students register for those particular classes. While the weak classes will just wither and die.

Sooner or later someone is going to get really perturbed and expose on has happened behind the scenes. And when that happens, property values are going to get hit.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

The music is from the Warriors.

See.

If you have been under the covers avoiding the storm, just go to this link below and you will find out the clusterf**k this city is experiencing in the aftermath of the storm.

On personal note, I almost got into a physical alteration with a fat bald douchebag who hasn't seen his penis since he was born.

The subway was packed, so there was no way physical contact could be avoided, as I walked on he started pushing me, I pushed back and resulted in a verbal fracas where I owned him. It wasn't a real challenge since the guy was a candidate for gastric bypass surgery.

I smiled to myself when I saw the massive crowd of people waiting on the platform at my stop while the obese douchebag was still on the train.

Of course, douchebags are everywhere.

The answer to all of this are the layoffs.

The weakness of the infrastructure will be further revealed as more acts of god occur.

As this perception grows, a "Turk 182" feel of us against them is going to grow.
Can't wait for 2011.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

2010-12-10T01:33:00.000-08:00

When it comes to Williamsburg, there is no love lost for the Grunt as this past entry will show.

I would never live there, but I would definitely invest there and take advantage the of the hipster population. They are more focused in appearance rather than common sense which makes them ideal consumers but not savers. But I always thought that are would peak in some way and the hipster would be swept by the wayside. Of course the New York Times proves me wrong.

Mixing Drinks, Adding Class

The following are the nuggets of this goldmine.

HER studio apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is just shy of 400 square feet, barely enough room for an Ikea open-shelf bookcase, a chocolate-brown tufted couch, a full-size bed and her brindle-coated Shih Tzu, Charlie.

So when Claudia Argiro, 33, gave a holiday party last Saturday night, she pared down her guest list to about two dozen of her closest friends, hid the TV behind an industrial column wrapped with holiday lights and turned the media console into a bar.

But one thing she had to have was a bartender. “I’m an adult now, living by myself, and this is my sh-bam, my moment,” said Ms. Argiro, who runs a clothing boutique nearby called Charlie and Sam.

So basically this is her Bat Mitzvah?

She called up Tealicious, a catering company in Queens, which sent over Eric Villani, a 33-year-old bartender, who was stationed in a two-foot-wide triangle in the middle of the room. For the next four hours, Mr. Villani stood there, not to make special cocktails, but to pour a vodka punch or a rum eggnog into clear plastic cups, trimmed with sugar-coated cherries and cinnamon sticks.

This is not a bartender, this is a server. A bartender does more than pour drinks, they also mix them.

His presence did not go unheralded in the apartment, in a new warehouse conversion along the Brooklyn waterfront, although the intimate cluster of guests could have easily served themselves. “In my opinion, if you don’t have a bartender at your party, you’re a loser,” said Dustin Terry, who lives a floor below Ms. Argiro and said his job was to get models and Saudi royalty into hot clubs. “The bartender brings class and sophistication.”

“If you can’t afford to hire a bartender,” he added, “you shouldn’t be having a party.”

Well, if it means that people like Dustin Terry will never step foot in your home, then by all means never hire a bartender.

That seems to be the consensus of a growing crowd of 30-something New Yorkers who wish to signal they’ve graduated from post-collegiate squalor to young professional coming of age. No matter how small their abodes, they won’t invite friends over for cocktails without the assistance of a bartender — even if there’s barely room for the bartender to stand.

Hired help telegraphs a new maturity and polish, said Marc Levine, who runs Premier Party Servers and Model Bartenders, which cater parties in New York and other cities. “You’re bringing your party to the next level, stepping away from the college kegger,” he said, “and actually entertaining in your New York City apartment.”

Hiring a bartender for a party of this size and space only telegraphs how stupid you are. Of course Marc Levine is going to differ on this because he is in the business of supplying bartenders.

Next level? Yeah the next level of delusion. I have been to a couple of these parties in the past and if people actually consider this a step up from the college kegger, well then we all should stay in school. As far as I am concerned it is the same thing as a kegger except there is no key. A cramped studio apartment is no different than a dorm room.

And there’s a practical consideration. “Hosts don’t want to have to look after their guests’ needs,” said Matt Solan, a bartender who works many such small locations. “But they also want a level of prestige.”

Prestige? Prestige is when you are able to hire a high end catering company to supply you with a bartender, at least 3 stions for food and waiters with champagne and hors d'oeuvres. That's prestige.

Mr. Levine estimates that the number of people calling him to book bartenders for extremely small apartments has gone up 20 percent in the last three years. “With the recession, they don’t want to rent an expensive loft space,” he said. Instead, they are having house parties, he said, and hiring bartenders as a way to splurge within their means.

Mr. Levine is completely correct. This is clearly an indication of the economy. People want to have a lavish party but do not want to pay for it. However, his customers are fooling themselves.

For four to five hours of work, as well as perhaps an hour of prep and cleanup, bartenders charge about $100 to $200. Bartenders can also expect a tip — anywhere from 20 to 100 percent — from the host, not the guests. (Putting out a tip jar, said Lyndsey Hamilton, a New York events planner, is a definite “faux pas.”)

For $200 You could have two parties. Of course it would consist of pizza, beer, soda and snacks. It would not be high end, but it would be fun.

The job may also include helping the host clear tabletops throughout the night, answering the door and hanging up coats. Despite that, Mr. Solan said, “People’s expectations can be somewhat low,” especially when the hosts are young and self-conscious about hiring help. “They’re happy when you just circulate, grabbing garbage,” like dirty cups and cocktail napkins.

Such gigs can also carry minor humiliations that may not be so common at larger, more formal affairs. Mr. Solan once dressed up as a Roman king at a Halloween haunted-house party, where he periodically had to dodge a mechanized ax-murderer mannequin. David Shiovitz, who runs Columbia Bartenders, which sends out Columbia University undergraduates and graduate students, said that, were his bartenders asked, say, to strip or dance, “They have the right to say, ‘That’s not in my contract,’ ” he said.

If I am paying $200 bucks plus covering their tips, I am going to want my ROI. The bartender is going to be doing more than serving drinks but will not be outside of the scope of their work.

There’s also the challenge of making cocktails in a small, crowded space. Mr. Solan recalled a Halloween party with about 25 people in an 18-by-18-foot room. “I was expected to work the room, based out of a little kitchen with a sink I filled with ice,” he said.

Martin Mrowka, who owns Blue Bowtie, a small bartending company, had to work outside once. The West Village one-bedroom was so small that he had to serve drinks from a tiny balcony, under a tent, just in case it rained. (It didn’t.)

In some ways, that claustrophobic feeling is inevitable for bartenders. “Everyone is going to stand within a 10-foot-square radius of the liquor whether it’s a 10,000-square-foot or 200-square-foot apartment,” Mr. Levine said.

Luckily, things never became quite that crowded at Ms. Argiro’s party. Her guests were an arty-chic crowd of D.J.s, stylists and publicists, as well as her brother, Marco, a Bushwick musician, and sister, Daniela. They munched on Ms. Argiro’s homemade panko-crusted chicken bites and jalapeño poppers while dancing to tracks by the Cure, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gorillaz.

At one point, Mr. Terry raided Ms. Argiro’s private stash of tequila and entreated Mr. Villani to mix shots with fresh lime juice for him. Mr. Villani obliged. “I’m a chameleon,” said Mr. Villani, who has been bartending for 15 years. “I can cater to Donald Trump or somebody in a rock band.”

The person who benefits from this arrangement is the bartender. If they are able to establish a large and loyal clientele, they will always have a job. But it is not easy money but they will be working.

The party cost Ms. Argiro about $600, of which $195 was for Mr. Villani’s services. (Tealicious also supplied bar trimmings and an Italian holiday sponge cake filled with Nutella.) Mr. Villani was also given $80 in tips.

$680? For cake, decorations, bar stuff and the bartender? she would have been better off putting that into a money market account. Or putting it away for an event that truly announces one's place in adulthood. A wedding.

For Ms. Argiro, it was worth every penny. The bartender added what she called a chic, “Mad Men” vibe to the party. In fact, she said she’d just seen the movie, “A Single Man,” set in the mid-1960s, and had chosen her party dress — a floaty, sleeveless black silk and chiffon minidress — to channel Julianne Moore in that film.

Another guest, Eric Carson, 32, a stock trader who lives in nearby Greenpoint, agreed that the bartender added class. “I feel very sophisticated at this party,” he said. “And I usually feel like a complete dirt bag.”

Of course you don't feel like a dirt bag. You did not pay for this.

I have been to a variety of social occasions ranging from hole in the wall bars to high end hotels. What I have learned is that when you go big, go big. Don't bother creating the illusion of luxury because it is not going to work and you will be wasting your money. the besy way to sum up this article is putting lipstick on a pig.

Reading about these "trends" drives me up the wall. First of all it is an attempt to instill this mentality into the social consciousness of New Yorkers which is already messed up enough as it is. It also creates insecurity and hostility amongst those who do not have the means to have such luxury. Correction, illusions of luxury.

That's what New York City is all about. Whether it is true or false, creating the appearance of being a metropolitan. The only people who benefit from this arrangement are those who supply the accouterments for creating the illusion.

The fact that Claudia is part of the Williamsburg herd shows how viable that area is. A residential base that is more focused on consumption rather than saving or investing is highly attractive to real estate investor because businesses will fight tooth and to tap in this market. And if there is a constant stream of these individuals, it makes the property all the more valuable.

It has been awhile since my first Williamsburg party and I always though this demographic would fade away. Apparently a fresh crop as taken their place who share the same values.

Scarsdale: Suicide is not the Solution Part IV

2010-12-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Well it has been officially announced through the local media channels. Below is the link if you want further information or want to attend.

Village Offers Support in Response to Tragedies

Scarsdale: Suicide is not the Solution Part III

2010-12-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

It appears that Scarsdale is taking the initiative in dealing with the past events. Below is an email that was sent out to the community. Parts of the email have replaced with ****** for privacy reasons.

From: *******@****.com
To: *****
Sent: 12/8/2010 3:52:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Scarsdale Forum News - Community Meeting Dec 15th.

Dear Scarsdale Forum Supporter,

As a public service, the Scarsdale Forum would like you to know about the following event that we feel is important to Scarsdale's residents:

Within the last few weeks, Scarsdale has experienced a number of deaths under tragic circumstances. Times like these raise difficult questions with no easy answers.

In response, the community is planning a number of town meetings to be held on Wednesday, December 15th at:

1:00 pm - ************************************
7:00 pm - ************************************
8:30 pm -************************************

Scarsdale mental health professionals, clergy and civic leaders will provide leadership and facilitate discussion. The meetings will focus on ways we can support each other and the community. In addition, resources and information on suicide, including a discussion about how to talk to children of all ages, will be presented.

To attend, please RSVP by clicking on the following link, or by calling Scarsdale Family Counseling Service at ********.

http*****************************

I have also attached a file with a link in it if you can't click on the one above. Please feel free to circulate this to your friends and neighbors.

Thanks for your support,

**********

Below is test of the RSVP itself. Edited for privacy.

1:00**********; 7:00***********, 8:30 *********

1.
Yes, I want to attend one of the Scarsdale Community Meetings on 12/15/10. My FIRST CHOICE time slot is...*
Select at least 1 response and no more than 1 response.
1:00 pm
7:00 pm
8:30 pm

2.
Yes, I want to attend one of the Scarsdale Community Meetings on 12/15/10. My SECOND CHOICE time slot is...*
Answer "None of the Above" if you have no second choice Select at least 1 response and no more than 1 response.
1:00 pm
7:00 pm
8:30 pm
None of the above

3.
Yes, I want to attend one of the Scarsdale Community Meetings on 12/15/10. My THIRD CHOICE time slot is...*
Answer "None of the Above" if you have no third choice Select at least 1 response and no more than 1 response.
1:00 pm
7:00 pm
8:30 pm
None of the above

4.
How many will be attending?*
Select at least 1 response and no more than 1 response.
1
2
3
4

5.
First Name*

6.
Last Name*

7.
Email Address*
We are requesting your e-mail to send a confirmation only.

Usually when the community groups reach out to the people, it is because of taxes, school issues or property values. Mental and emotional health issues are left in private so everyone is left to fend for themselves. So for these organizations to take this step just goes to show how completely freaked out people are.

As I have stated before, Scarsdale is not paradise. It brings its own set of obligations that can be quite traumatic if people are unable to fulfill them. It seems only now that the residents are beginning to understand the gravity of where they live.

Scarsdale: Suicide is not the Solution Part II

2010-12-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

It looks like it did not go unnoticed by the New York Times.

Loss Binds the Mortals of a Village

The death of Mr. Steel, who, with a classmate, wrote one of Harvard’s fight songs, and who lived in Scarsdale for eight years before his death on May 12, 1927, did not occasion much sociology — mostly sadness, puzzlement, and concern for his three children.

In some ways, there’s a similar dynamic at work now, after four apparent suicides in two months reverberated through New York City’s most famous suburb, with its seductive Tudor village and its easily caricatured culture of strivers and hyperachievers.

Suicide: It is not a solution

2010-12-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

It is not painless for those left behind.

Suicide is something that should not be taken lightly. If you or someone you love is at the brink, seek help immediately. My condolences for the families of the victims that are mentioned in this entry.

Scarsdale is no different than any other in town in that it has stress points. When those points are attacked, there is no telling how people will react. Sometimes it leads to decisions where people decide to opt out permanently.

Below is a list of suicides that have recently occurred in Scarsdale.

Long-Time Tarrytown Resident, Scarsdale Schools Employee, to be Buried Tuesday
Corinne “Corie” Vidal, took her own life on Thursday.

The funeral service for Corinne "Corie" Vidal will take place this Tuesday, 10 a.m., at the Transfiguration Church in Tarrytown.

Vidal was an assistant at Scarsdale High School and was a long-time resident of Tarrytown since her birth in 1969. She died on Thursday, Oct. 21, after committing suicide.

She is survived by her parents Antonio and Irene Vidal of Tarrytown; her older sister and brother-in-law Christina and Paul Clarke of Sleepy Hollow and her younger sister and brother-in-law Carla and Kevin Sapienza of Cortlandt Manor. She is also survived by her son Albert "Ryan" Rivero.

In an obituary, Vidal was described as always loving her job and her students, and always "tried to listen and brighten up someone's day even if it was just with a smile."

Scarsdale High School is offering counselling services to students who may need to speak about the matter. Visitation for Vidal will continue on Monday, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at Coffey Funeral Home in Tarrytown.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to charity.

Another Tragic Loss in Scarsdale

A mother’s suicide on Tuesday has left Scarsdale searching for answers as to why four people in the community have taken their own lives (one unconfirmed) in the past seven weeks. The mother of two jumped from the Tappan Zee Bridge, leaving grief-stricken children, parents, friends and neighbors seeking to explain the inexplicable.

Lynne Spencer was a former school psychologist and the mother of a fourth grader at Heathcote Elementary School and a sophomore at Scarsdale High School. According to the Journal News Spencer drove her Toyota Highlander onto the bridge around noon on Tuesday, got out, and jumped 150 feet into the Hudson River. Miraculously a construction crew that was under the bridge to sandblast one of the piers saw her fall about 50 feet in front of them. Three men from the crew jumped into a boat and pulled Spencer out of the water where she was floating face down.

In terms of media coverage, this particular suicide was given special dispensation.
http://fwix.com/westchester/article/194668ed19/long-time_tarrytown_resident_scarsdale_schools_employee_to_be_buried_tuesday

Below was the original report from one site
Scarsdale Emergency Workers Respond to Suicide Attempt

An attempt at the third suicide in our area in the last week was made early Sunday morning in Scarsdale Village while children were painting Halloween windows outside. Whether the impetus for the suicides was the economy, the change in seasons or personal demons is anyone's guess. At 10 am on Sunday October 23rd local police learned that a Scarsdale man had called a suicide hotline, and they were able to track the call to Scarsdale Village. Police rushed to Scarsdale Wrapping and Shipping on Harwood Court and forced their way into the locked store. In the basement they found storeowner David Emmer, who had attempted to take his own life. Police and emergency workers responded and reported that he was still alive. The Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps transported Emmer to the emergency room at White Plains Hospital and his condition is unknown. Emmer, aged 49, is a well-liked retailer in Scarsdale Village who has been in town for as long as anyone can remember. He is 49 years old, and married with two children. Emmer's attempt follows the purported suicide of Thomas J. Hill in Hartsdale on October 19th and the death of Corie Vidal, a favorite member of the SHS staff who took her own life on October 21st. A sign on the door of the Scarsdale Shipping Center on Harwood Court says Closed Until Further Notice.

Then it was changed.

Scarsdale Emergency Workers Respond to Suicide Attempt

An attempt at the third suicide in our area in the last week was made early Sunday morning in Scarsdale Village while children were painting Halloween windows outside. Whether the impetus for the suicides was the economy, the change in seasons or personal demons is anyone’s guess.

At 10 am on Sunday October 23rd local police learned that a Scarsdale man had called a suicide hotline, and they were able to track the call to Scarsdale Village. Police rushed to a village store and forced their way into the locked store.

In the basement they found the storeowner who had attempted to take his own life. Police and emergency workers responded and reported that he was still alive. The Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps transported the man to the emergency room at White Plains Hospital and his condition is unknown.

The victim is a well-liked retailer in Scarsdale Village who has been in town for as long as anyone can remember. His attempt follows the purported suicide of Thomas J. Hill in Hartsdale on October 19th and the death of Corie Vidal, a favorite member of the SHS staff who took her own life on October 21st.

Note: Due to the sensitive nature of the incident, the victim's name, which appeared in the original report, has been removed.

Below is his obituary.

David Emmer, 49, business owner and local volunteer

David Emmer of South Salem died Oct. 30. He was 49.

Mr. Emmer was co-president of the Jewish Family Congregation in South Salem and served on its board of trustees.

David Emmer
He was named an “honored volunteer” of the Child Abuse Prevention Center for 2008-09. He was the owner of Scarsdale Wrapping and Shipping Center and had previously owned Arcade Stationers.

Mr. Emmer is survived by his wife Jane; sons Andrew and Matthew; mother Bea; brother Jeffrey; and sister Susan.

The funeral was held today at the Jewish Family Congregation, with burial at Sharon Gardens in Valhalla.

Donations may be made to a college scholarship fund for Mr. Emmer’s two sons, Andrew and Matthew: Andrew and Matthew Emmer College Trust Fund, c/o Richard M. Cohlan, Trustee, 199 Main Street, Suite 500, White Plains, NY 10601.

If you do a google search under this person's name along with suicide, the results will include "attempt".

Unless you read the previous report, you would never be able to connect the dots to in determining the cause of his passing. Probably the only way to verify the facts is to do a series of FOIA requests and examining public records.

It appears that the local media have no problem reporting the identity of the other individuals. Why did they do that in this particular situation? Because this incident took place in the Village during on their most popular event. Better to make things as vague as possible for the sake of appearances.

There is a certain cachet associated with Scarsdale. Excellent schools, snobbery, high property values and spoiled rich kids.

When you first move to Scarsdale, you have not made it. You have just begun to fight to establish yourself in the social order. And the fight will seem eternal, or at least until your kids graduate from high school.

In other words Scarsdale is the Manhattan of Westchester County. Like, Manhattan, it requires a lot of money to live there. And God help you if you don't have it.

Was money the reason behind these suicides? I don't know. There were probably other variables that will be only be known to the parties involved. What I do know is that the current state of economy has had a negative impact on all of our lives. Even on a place like Scarsdale. In fact Scarsdale might be one of the places hit the hardest.

Another Update

2010-12-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

I have not forgotten about this blog. It has just been extremely busy for me which is why I have been absent. In the near future I will be doing a series of entries on one of our favorite suburbs. More on that later

Breaking news

2010-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

US home ownership stuck at 11-year low

WASHINGTON — US home ownership remained mired at an 11-year low in the third quarter as the real-estate sector struggles to emerge from a deep slump, official data showed Tuesday.

The rate of home ownership stood at 66.9 percent in July-September, the same percentage as in the second quarter, the Census Bureau said.

It was the lowest number of households that own their home in more than a decade, when the rate hit 66.7 percent in the first quarter of 1999.

Home ownership peaked in 2004, two years after then-president George W. Bush called for expanding the "American dream" of owning a home, especially among minority groups.

Bush's policy has been criticized for spurring loose lending that allowed people with poor credit histories to obtain home mortgages, causing a housing price bubble that collapsed in 2006.

Also rain is wet.

Of Things to Come: Gritting their teeth or smiling?

2010-11-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

When Obama was first elected, I posted this entry on what the he would be facing in the next 4 years.

And I was pretty much right on the money.

As this election began to unfold yesterday, I came to a startling conclusion. This is what he expected.

This man isn't an idiot. He knew that he was being handed a s**t sandwich. He also knew that without a common enemy, his party were going to be fighting with each other and lose focus.

During the last Presidential election, Obama was a shining light of hope and everyone followed. But after the election when it became clear that the Democrats were in control of everything, there is no doubt that a lot of them felt they could do what they want with or without Obama.

Not anymore.

Remaining Democrats have no choice but to band around Obama if they want to survive to see another election.

Which brings me to the current Speaker of the House.

Her teeth are clenched so tight, you can practically hear the enamel being scrapped off.

She followed orders and in return the position she fought so hard for has been stripped from her grasp. It would not surprise me if she thinks she got played. In a sense, I think she was.

This is all completely hypothetical, but think about it. One of the most difficult goals of Obama's administration was health care and passing it would only happen if the Democrats were the ones in control. He knows that the economy is completely screwed and the recovery that does happen will probably occur after his presidency. Which is why this volatile issue took precedence over the economy.

After Obama was elected I wrote him off as a one term wonder. Now, it is a completely different ball game. First of all his adversaries now have to share in the blame for any failures. In fact they will be burdened by any clusterf**ks that come their way and there will be a lot of them landing on their heads.

For their sake, the Republicans better remember how they got here. The same forces that put them into power are the same ones that can take them out.

And with Palin's picks entering the field, there is going to be a lot tension between them and the established Republicans. They could start tearing each other apart or the Palin's picks will assimilate themselves as card carrying members of the GOP. Either way works out for Obama.

If they waste their time fighting each other, Obama has more opportunities to do what he wants. If Palin's picks become Boehner's boys, well then Palin will look like sap and her party will look like complete sellouts.

Which brings me to Palin. Initially, I thought this woman was an idiot, but she is smart or at least the people who are around her are smart. And it has gotten to the point that the GOP is running of scared of her.

If she is nominated as the candidate for the GOP, Obama's chances of being re-elected are off the charts.

What does it mean for America?

I'll sum it with this conversation I had on the train with another passenger.

Grunt: Next two years are going to be really interesting.

Passenger: Yeah, good luck to us.

Update

2010-10-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hi folks.

Been very, very busy the last couple of weeks. But I am still posting. In a more limited fashion but posting nonetheless.

This is what Scarsdale should have done in the first place

2010-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am one the growing masses that is not exactly crazy about the new Scarsdale AT curriculum.

Unfortunately, in this competitive age of education, school systems need to determine the best course for their students and it appears that one school has been able to reinvent themselves despite being a large school with a bad academic reputation and a strong teacher's union.

4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong

There was one point that I found quite interesting.

Brockton’s performance is not as stellar in math as in English language arts, and the committee has hired an outside consultant to help develop strategies for improving math instruction, Mr. Perkins said.

These people had the balls to ask for outside help. They were not caught up in their own hubris that they could do a better job on their own, unlike Scarsdale which decided to look into their own pool of resources which maybe deep but not finite.

Only time will tell. Let's see what happens in the next 10 years.

No one is in control

2010-09-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

You can't control a sinking ship.

Recently the New York Times announced that the worm has turned for landlords.

Landlords Are Back in Control

TO the chagrin of many renters in New York City, the balance of power in the rental market has tipped back toward landlords — if not far enough for landlords to start celebrating quite yet.

At the beginning of the year, renters could demand and receive a month of free rent and maybe even get the landlord to pay their broker’s fees. Those concessions, now the exception rather than the rule, are mainly found in brand-new apartment towers whose owners are hoping to fill them quickly. Overall vacancy rates are again hovering around 1 percent, where they were during the boom. Some landlords have started to push for rent increases.

But it is not because of improvements in the rental market.

The true reason is that landlords are very aware of the current economic situation.

The New York City Independent Budget Office has projected slow employment growth in the city through 2011 and does not anticipate a return to pre-downturn levels until mid-2013.

The budget office’s data on the size of the city’s labor force, which includes everyone who is employed or looking for work, also mirror the strengthening rental market earlier in 2010 and the recent weakening. The size of the labor force had dropped through most of 2009 and had finally started to grow again in February 2010, approaching 4 million people. But the number fell by 14,000 in July, and in August grew by only about 2,000. (In August 2008, the last month before the economic meltdown, the city’s labor force grew by 7,500.)

Landlords who were emboldened to stop offering rental concessions earlier in the year “maybe were sensing the jobs picture improving and may have been reacting to that,” said Doug Turetsky, a spokesman for the budget office. The growing vacancy rate in August may also be a reaction to the falloff in the labor force in July, he said.

The reason why landlords were rolling out the red carpet and champagne for renters was that they needed to boost up their tenant base. The objective was to lock in as many people as possible and then pull the red carpet and end the party. And when renters realized that they can't go elsewhere because there are no deals out there and they were better off staying put.

What landlords are doing is textbook accounting. They are increasing their revenue, which is their rent and cutting back on their expenses which are all the concessions they presented in the past.

If you think they are being greedy or taking advantage of renters, they are not. They are actually scared out of their minds.

Job Loss Looms as Part of Stimulus Act Expires

Tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs within weeks unless Congress extends one of the more effective job-creating programs in the $787 billion stimulus act: a $1 billion New Deal-style program that directly paid the salaries of unemployed people so they could get jobs in government, at nonprofit organizations and at many small businesses.

Analyst: Wall St. layoff wave coming in '11

Pink slips will be coming back into fashion next year on Wall Street, one banking analyst is forecasting.

Meredith Whitney, whose reports trumpeting hard times for US banks were stunningly on target as early as 2007, said financial services firms could see as many as 80,000 job losses, or about 10 percent of current payrolls in the sector, between now and early 2012.

"Over the next 18 months, Wall Street will go through yet another iteration of resizing not seen since the post-dotcom era," Whitney recently told clients of her eponymous research firm, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group.

It is a simple equation. If you do not have a job, you are not going to be able to pay the rent let alone look for an apartment.

How New York City landlords are acting is a bell weather of the future of our economy and it should not be taken lightly.

All these developments probably explain my inbox getting carpet bombed with ads from Property Campaign.

Pendulum or noose?

All cards on the table

2010-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Watch closely from 5:31-6:11.

So let us review. Back in August of this year the latest housing report was released and it did not give any of us a warm fuzzy.

More and more families are showing up at homeless shelters. It appears there has not been any changes since 2006. And this trend is everywhere.

And it appears that the flames of the island of fire are about to be blown upon with Wall Street layoffs that are looming on the horizon.

So where do we put our money? If you ask the New York Times, not the bank.

Which leaves with the unthinkable. Letting it all fall apart.

In reference to that clip on Nightline, it is just another indication that only time will resolve this issue. Those who are looking for a quick fix, well, it is not happening.

We have to ride this one out. But do not simply run to the fall out shelter. Even if you do not have the money you should at least look around. In this massive pawn shop called the real estate market, there are deals to be made, opportunities to take advantage of. There are people who need to liquidate.

Most important of all, count your blessings. No matter how bad you have it, there are people out there who are worse off.

We will never forget

2010-09-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

9 years ago everything changed.

Pretty Girls in High Places

2010-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I knew girls like Nicole John. They weren't just pretty, they were flames that drew all the guys. They were also a human tornado of mental and emotional issues. Using their feminine charms and looks, they left path of destruction littered with broken hearts, psychotic ex-boyfriends, bottles of vodka and lots and lots of drugs.

Somehow these girls turn themselves around by collecting an M-R-S degree at the end of their 4 years and marry a doctor or lawyer. There was one girl I knew who got engaged in college, yet treated her college experience like Vegas. What happened at college, stayed at college. Besides having a wild streak, her husband to be was living halfway around the world. Her fiance knew she was screwing around his back, but they still got married and had kids.

Nicole John will never ever be able to turn around.

Even before her demise, Herald Towers did not have the greatest reputation in the world. And it appears it is doing its part to keep it that way.

Ilan Nassimi is the unlucky man in the middle of this hell storm. Go to his Linkedin profile and you will see a list of accomplishments. His academic credentials include attending SUNY Stonybrook and Zicklin School of Business at Baruch. I do find it interesting that there is no mention of when or whether he graduated from these institutions.

He currently works as a Commercial Broker at Metropolitan Property Group and is the President and Owner of Llann Enterprises. What is Llan Enterprises exactly" It appears to be an amalgam of ventures which are the following

Third Degree Jean Company

theLimed.com

Venture Capital & Private Equity industry

My take on Nassimi is that, assuming that he did graduate from these esteemed institutions, that he showed up ready to rock the job market. Problem was there were no jobs to rock. Whatever was out there was far and few and were going to the top tier graduates. Don't get me wrong. SUNY Stonybrook is a great school with an outstanding medical program. As far as business schools go, Zicklin is the best deal in New York City. Unfortunately, Manhattan is a brand centric society and with the economy the way it is, Wall Street's standards are higher and tighter.

So Mr. Nassimi decides to put his business skills to use. Gets a real estate license and gets entrepreneurial. And he parties. Parties very hard.

In its simplest form, a real estate broker makes money by taking a piece of the action from a transaction between a buyer and seller. It is the same wherever you go. How a broker acquire these deals is through their networks which can come from church, volunteering or friends. Judging from Mr. Nassimi's extracurricular activities, he was probably searching for deals through the Manhattan night life scene.

Baller Brokers like Mr. Nassimi are not uncommon. They are Type A personalities, who went Greek all through college. They often hit the hottest clubs and restaurants with a fistfuls of business cards and cash. They get an exclusive spot in the VIP section and make friends by dropping rolls of paper for bottle service. As the old adage goes, "You have to spend money to make money." When a baller broker blows an equivalent of one semester of tuition at NYU for one night, it shows that he has it going on. And when people see that he is a high roller, he attracts other high rollers. Bernie Madoff used a similar strategy by using his country club as a way to get new customers. In fact he was a master since everyone came to him in droves.

It is not a foolproof plan, however by using an exclusive social gathering as a way to qualify customers, they can land some pretty sweet deals. It is tantamount to the strategy I described regarding landing rich Chinese customers.

So what was Mr.Nassimi's motivation in inviting Nicole to an after hours party? Was it for a one night stand? Perhaps, but I believe it was purely for social and business purposes. Pretty girls like Nicole bring the boys in droves, particular boys with big bank rolls. There is no doubt she was probably one of many pretty girls invited back his apartment for the after hours party. And it does not hurt a man's reputation to be in the presence of beautiful women. How do you think Raffaello Follieri was so successful?

Just to being able to party on his level indicated that she had her own juice and with her family connections and money, it appeared she had a lot of it. Just a sip from her cup would have made Mr.Nassimi's position in the business world very strong.

As you may notice, I am not ragging on Mr. Nassimi. Professionally speaking, I applaud him for his efforts. He was doing what every young and hungry business man would do. If this accident never happened, there is no doubt that Mr. Nassimi would have made a name for himself.

Of course the future of these two is all speculation at this point.

A combination of unfortunate circumstances and an environment that was not conducive to good judgment has resulted in this horrible accident resulting in a tragic loss for a family. I am not unsympathetic to Mr. Nassimi.He will be hurting for awhile, but he should consider himself fortunate. He's still alive.

Oh Hell No!

2010-08-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, I have issues with Philadelphia. Here is something to add to the list.

Philly requiring bloggers to pay $300 for a business license

Moonlighting

2010-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you google Commercial Mortgages, you get a lot of stories, a lot of them bad.

I have heard chatter that it is so very difficult to get a commercial mortgage that I know of one broker who is moonlighting in another industry.

Further signs point to an L shaped recovery.

Yes, it sucks but at least we know what we are dealing with right now. More importantly it indicates where everything stands.

The one thing that stands is Cash is King. If you have enough paper, you have more leverage than most people and have more flexibility. People in that position who are real estate centric are right now looking and taking notes. Recoveries do not happen over night, so they have the luxury of waiting to see what is available at their price point.

The upcoming winter will be quite a show.

To Be The Shepard

2010-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

When someone commits a social transgression against you. It hurts. It is especially painful when you made the effort to follow societal norms while that person has decided to ignore them. That pain releases in your head a cacophonous set of emotions which include rage and frustration. You feel like kicking ass and taking names. And of course if you are a normal person, which most of us are, you hold back and try to let it go. Until the next time it happens again.

Perhaps it is a sign of old age, but I find this cycle tiring and unnecessary. I desire now to get beyond that. And some recent news has come to my attention that reinforces that position.

It recently came to my attention that a former noisy and obnoxious neighbor recently sold his home and the evidence indicates that he had to engage in a short sale. He either could not hold onto it or the rapid deprecating value of his home was driving him nuts. Or it was a little bit from column A and column B.

A while back, I wrote about the awful tragedy of Annie Le and compared her murderer to an entitled miscreant that used to bully me in high school. It recently came to my attention he has the proud distinction of owning a home in an area where the housing market's prospects of recovery are between zero and negative 10. Due to this and many other factors effecting his finances, it is highly unlikely that we will ever cross paths again which is fine by me.

As much as I want to be the harbinger of justice, I realize that in certain situations it is not my place. Something else is in play that will deal with these cretins. It is also a strong reminder to myself that what has befallen these individuals can take me down too. Especially if I stray from my path.

Which is why any personal satisfaction has dissipated and replaced with a strong sense of humility and compassion.

Besides, life is very short. So why should I waste it on people who really don't matter to me? Why should give into tyranny when I can try for something so much better?

One should always stand up for themselves. But be aware when it is time to walk away and let nature take it's course. And have the fortitude to let go.

I mentioned the following quote in a previous entry. And I think it is more than appropriate to conclude this entry with it.

In the long run, every man will pay the penalty for this own misdeeds. The man who remembers this will be angry with no one, indignant with no one, revile no one, blame no one, offend no one, and hate no one.

-- Epictetus

For those of you who are drunk

2010-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

If this does not sober you up.

I have no idea what will.

Heat

2010-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is going to get hot.

Scarsdale has been in the news recently and not for the best of reasons. The link below will give you the rundown.

Honky Trek: Scarsdale?

The biggest development for Scarsdale is the Affordable Housing Plan. Recently there have been new developments for this plan.

Housing Implementation Plan Update

Housing Settlement

According to the August 13, 2010 Scarsdale Inquirer, Bill Ryan, who represents Scarsdale on the Board of Legislators "was disappointed" that the legislators were put out of the loop. In his opinion, the County Executive Office has locked them out and is dealing with the federal government directly.

It is understandable why the County Executive Office is maintaining a tight rein on this issue and making sure there are no nut huggers dragging them down. This is an extremely volatile issue that needs to be handled with kid gloves. The last they want is any more attention upon themselves, especially from the Federal Government.

There is one bit of information that has been brought to my attention which is at best a rumor but can't be ignored.

There is talk there is certain factions creating a work around for affordable housing in Westchester that satisfies the requirements and respects the sensibilities of the communities involved. The workaround is to build affordable housing in Somers.

IF YOU'RE THINKING OF LIVING IN: SOMERS

Somers is not a Scarsdale. Which makes Somers more flexible and in certain minds more appropriate for affordable housing.

A major barrier to entry for this to occur is that there is no direct Metro North Service to Somers. If you want to commute to Somers from Manhattan, you need to either go to Katonah or Goldens Bridge.

Apparently Somers resistance towards an MTA line is due to this rumored plan to consolidate affordable housing in that town.

Whether it is true or not, none of this is going to end well. And those seven years are going to go very fast.

Yes. There will be a new season.

2010-08-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Among the many truths that have been confirmed to me this past year is that time is finite and bad things happen to good people.

Fortunately all is well with me and my family.

However it has made me think very closely about what the next stage of this blog will be.As I have stated before new developments have presented themselves to me which puts this blog on the lower priority list.

I really enjoy working on this blog and I do have plans on elevating it. It is just that there are other issues that I need to deal with at this time.

Where'd You Go?

2010-08-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last posted. What's my excuse? I've been busy.

Pretty lame huh?

Seriously. There have been a series of development in my life which I have had to address and which unfortunately has dropped this blog down the list of priorities.

I did promise some news and hear it is. I was recently contacted by a source who has been quite reliable in the past and has pointed me in the right direction with my posts. For last couple of years this source relocated to Shanghai for work. This source was now in China, Shanghai specifically and is now strongly considering pulling up stakes. I inquired why they would do that since China is where it's at?

The source responded with the following statement: China is tapped out.

Now, there have been reports that China is trying to reign itself in.

China Stocks Rise as Slower Economy Spurs Easier Policy Outlook

And there is still a huge demand for jobs in that country.
With Asian Industry Astir, More Job-Seekers Go East

Now this source has never been wrong in the past and I find this source quite knowledgeable.

If China's economy does implode, what will the flight to quality be like? One word.
Exodus.

I'll be back shortly folks. Thank you for your patience.

Something is going on

2010-07-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

Can't give you full details since I don't have any. But I have had some gut feelings that are slowly being confirmed through personal chatter.

What I feel is another shake up is coming. Bigger than the last.

Holding out for what?

2010-07-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

I was looking for this quote but I think everyone will get the point with this clip reel.

American Dream Is Elusive for New Generation

This is a story of Scott Nicholson who has an impressive list of accomplishments at 24 years old.

a graduate of Colgate University,

winner of a dean’s award for academic excellence
Has as a landscaper
volunteer fire figther

Now Scott is like a lot of people, which is that he is unemployed and constantly searching for a job. Something amazing happened.

Over the last five months, only one job materialized. After several interviews, the Hanover Insurance Group in nearby Worcester offered to hire him as an associate claims adjuster, at $40,000 a year.

End of story? Nope. Just a beginning of a tragedy in the making.

But even before the formal offer, Mr. Nicholson had decided not to take the job.

Yes. You read that correctly. He turned the a job that most people give theri left nut for.

Why?

Rather than waste early years in dead-end work, he reasoned, he would hold out for a corporate position that would draw on his college training and put him, as he sees it, on the bottom rungs of a career ladder.

“As frustrated as I get now, and I never intended to live at home, I’m in a good situation in a lot of ways,” Scott said. “I have very little overhead and no debt, and it is because I have no debt that I have any sort of flexibility to look for work. Otherwise, I would have to have a job, some kind of full-time job.”

It certainly does help when your grandparents are paying for your college tuition and your parents are allowing you to live in the house rent free.

This reminds me a of a story of a young lady I met recently. She had been laid off for a about a year when she landed a new job. Several months later, I ran into her and asked how teh new job was working out. She said it wasn't. She decided it wasn't for her, quit and went back onto unemployment.

"You probably think I am crazy to do this in this economy." She said to me.

"No. You should not do anything that makes you unhappy." I replied.

"Oh. Thank you." She said with relief.

Secretly I was thinking that she was out of her mind. I feel the same way about this idiot.

The truth about your first job out of college is that it is rarely the job that you want. In fact it may have absolutley nothing with your life goals. But that first job is the first step in becoming not just a successful person but as an adult. It is not just about getting a paycheck but learning certain skillsets in the workplace. I don't care what type of work you do. A cubicle is a cubicle wherever you go. And the longer you wait to learn those skillsets the harder it is to get your life together.

“The conversation I’m going to have with my parents now that I’ve turned down this job is more of a concern to me than turning down the job,” he said.

Concerned is an understatement. He should be s***ing in his pants right now.

A real estate market for Doomsday

2010-06-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

As a child of the cold war, I remember watching The Day After, which gave me nightmares and even to this day the movie scares the crap out of me.

When the Iron Curtain fell which signaled the end of the cold war, I figured that Nuclear War was something that was left to Sci Fi films.

Nope. Y2K came along. And went.

Everything is honk dory right? Not after 9/11.

Below is a segment from Nightline , about luxury survival condos.

What should raise a couple of eyebrows is when a developer who specializes in these shelters is asked if he is being paranoid. He asks if the government is paranoid because they have been feverishly building these shelters in the last ten years. And he knows this because they use the same engineers.

Three things we can learn from this.

1. Fear never leaves.

2. Fear has a market.

3. Real estate can manifest itself in the oddest of places.

Just checking in.

2010-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Made a break out of town.

Hi folks. It has been a awhile. I have been taking care of some personal business so I have been unable to blog and I think it will be awhile before I can pop in regularly. Before I leave, I would like to comment on this article.

Housing Market Slows as Buyers Get Picky

This is really oversimplifying the situation which is surprising since this was published in the New York Times.

This real estate market is f**ked up for a variety of reasons which include sellers, lenders, foreclosures and the economy. To simply place the blame on one group is just plain stupid.

Which leads me to my next completely unscientific gut feeling. We are going to get hit again by the real estate market. The cause will be the consequences of the double dip and it will also be caused by something that none of us saw coming.

And then it will another decade or so to sort that out.

Take My Breath Away.

2010-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a graph from Calculated Risk to take your breath away.

"If I didn't know it was me,'' he says, "I would have been the one digging out the pitchforks and torches and knocking on my door.''

2010-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

What did you expect? A parade?

In a previous entry, I covered the NYT article about people taking advantage of going into foreclosure. Well apparently these idiots are now pissed off about all the attention they are getting.

Florida Couple Upset At NY Times Mortgage Article

"If I didn't know it was me,'' he says, "I would have been the one digging out the pitchforks and torches and knocking on my door.''

Alex Pemberton

Even the subject of the article admits he understands why people are pissed off at him. So why should they be upset about the storm of negative comments they are getting? Do they think that people would hoist them on their shoulders and parade them all over town?

The Pemberton and Reboyras gamed the system and are now reaping the benefits. But by admitting what they have done in public they have only themselves to blame for the backlash.

They are either ignorant, stupid or just don't care about their surroundings. What they should have done is shut the f**k up. Because by announcing what they did is tantamount of eating an ice cream cone in front of a group of starving children.

In times like this, good fortune, and I use the term loosely for what Pemberton and Reboyras did, is not something one should show to the world. Because one person's cause for joy is another person's cause for resentment. And there is a lot of resentment in the world.

If you got something good going. Keep it to yourself.

Your bag

2010-06-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

To the a$$$holes of the subway, having a very large bag does not justify you letting to swing around and hit other people while on the train.

Sooner or later your bag is going to touch someone who has a very low threshold for physical contact and they will touch you back. And not in a good way.

Same s**t. Differnt Day.

2010-06-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

No need to explain.

This is the latest New York Times article on the difficulties of finding an apartment.
How to Be a Brainy Renter

I have discussed this topic ad nauseum in the past and all I have to say is that the clock is ticking on the viability of rental brokers due to the arms race to circumvent the rental broker.

With the current state of the economy, money is very tight and that is not a good thing for rental brokers as I have indicated in this interview with Joyce Cohen

Affording the Broker's Fee

It happens all the time where people have to choose between covering the fee or the capital outlays for renting an apartment. Whether they don't have the money or just don't want to give it up, this current economic climate does not give them any incentive to pay up.

Of course the broker are not to crazy about that. So what does broker do? Kill the deal. I'm serious. They cut their nose to spite their face. If they can't get theirs, why should anyone else.

Do landlords care about this? It depends on the landlords. If the landlord has armies of qualified renters knocking down their doors, they are not going to care. If the bank is knocking on their doors asking about the rent roll, it is likely they will be pissed at their broker.

What will determine how much of a haircut rental brokers will get is if they are acting as a barriers of entry for landlords because they are unable to collect their fees. Once that happens, the s**t is really going to hit the fan.

That is when these alternative sites will start to pick up more steam and then someone decides to pull a Firefox and create a free site that lists all the rental buildings in Manhattan. Which is entirely feasible. All the information is out there and all it takes is a couple of programmers, a case of red bull and renter's rage to consolidate it all in a site that is accessible to the public. When that day comes, there will be blood on the streets.

Leverage

2010-06-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone has it.

The article below is about owners who have stopped paying their mortgages and are not worried about it. In other words they are engaging in another variety of strategic default.

Owners Stop Paying Mortgages, and Stop Fretting

Comments

Let me list the reasons why this is possible.

1. Banks are in the lending business not the real estate business. They are not landlords. The last thing a bank wants to do is take over a property because it costs too much to manage it and get rid of it.

2. The foreclosure process is not an immediate. Even before the meltdown, there were always a ton of hoops a lender had to go through to foreclose on a house.

3. Banks are overwhelmed by the copious amount of homeowners in default. They obviously did not have the proper system set up to deal with it.

4. The new regulations in foreclosure is making the process more difficult for lenders.

5. People are pissed as f**k.

There is a massive state of rage amongst the have nots about being screwed over. And a lot of them have been.

Blacks in Memphis Lose Decades of Economic Gains

Two years ago, his doorbell rang, and two men from Wells Fargo offered to consolidate his consumer loans into a low-cost mortgage.

“I thought, ‘This is great! ’ ” Mr. Banks says. “When you have four kids, college expenses, you look for any savings.”

What those men did not tell Mr. Banks, he says (and Ms. Thomas, who studied his case, confirms), is that his new mortgage had an adjustable rate. When it reset last year, his payment jumped to $1,700 from $1,200.

This is just one of millions of stories of people being taken of advantage of. And there are millions of stories of people making really bad life decisions.

Nobody gives a damn now. Who can blame them?

Low Hanging Fruit

2010-05-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

The next wave is here.

It was after the first couple of months of the financial meltdown, that I began to receive emails from a site called Property Campaign. At first I blew these emails off as a spam, but then I discovered that these people were definitely legit. Which brings me to the commercial real estate bubble.

Greenspan: Commercial Real Estate Bubble Has Already Popped

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan believe a bubble in commercial real estate has already popped. “Real estate prices generally are down 50%,” Greenspan told me in my exclusive “This Week” interview. “With prices already down and adjusted, if we were going to get severe secondary reactions, they would have occurred, and they would have occurred if it weren’t for the fact that the rest of the economy is showing some degree of buoyancy.”

I have to agree with him on this matter. Yeah. I know it is a first.

These ads alone below is enough evidence for me.

The American auto industry has been taken a beating since the financial meltdown, on an anecdotal level I recently met someone who got one of those deals of the century. He basically got an insane deal for a car and was only required to pay the principal in a very attractive monthly payment plan. Although the model he bought was quite recent, the dealership had to clear the decks for new inventory.

The rental car industry has been hit severely because revenue streams are reliant on the traveling/tourism industry. Besides the usual reasons why people would travel to Florida, the real estate bubble in that area was a huge boon for the rental car industry for speculators who needed to look at properties. Now everything has dried up.

You would think that a warehouse would be the last place that would get hammered by the economy but it has taken more than a fair share of its lumps. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If consumer spending is down, there is no reason for retailers to purchase stock, if there is no stock to be purchased, there is no need to store it any where. And if the economy is recovering, the owner of this property is going to get out while they still can.

This listing does not surprise me. As everyone knows the restaurant industry has been taken a severe beat down, so these particular investors are getting the hell out of dodge.

A common theme with these properties is Florida, so it is not surprising that investors in that state are in dire need of liquidating.

Condo development is completely out of vogue, especially in California. No surprises here.

I have also been getting a lot of ads for strip malls.

Blame consumer spending. The owners of this property are unsure of how sustainable their tenants will be in the near future, so why take a chance? Take the money and run.

These seem like good tenants, in fact one could argue they qualify as anchors. But their viability depends on consumer spending which is on very shaky ground.

Now this is where things start to get out of whack.

Now mind you, this is the first ad for medical space I have seen, but it concerns me because medical office space is considered to be bullet proof. In fact if I had a ton of cash, I would dump it into this market. However, it is understandable why people are on edge about medical space due to the Obama Healthcare plan.

Now here's where it gets s**tastic.

I got a bunch of these types of ads for properties for sale. What concerned me is that these tenants are ideal for any commercial landlord and what makes them more valuable is that they are near a Wal Mart.

From what I have been told the real estate model for Wal-marts is they find a location, build it and then bundle it up with other super centers and sell it to a syndicate.

I find it quite disconcerting that someone wants to unload a Wal-mart because those stores are annuities. Hell, they are blue chips in the real estate world. As far as I am concerned there is nothing safer. But here we are.

Is this a great time to invest in commercial real estate? Absolutely. But there is a lot of low hanging fruit out there and you better be someone who has a lot of liquidity and an excellent track record for not getting in over your heard.

Unless you have plans for development or have a tenant ready to go, it would be prudent to exercise extreme caution in properties that are associated with restaurants, cars, California and Florida.

Don't be afraid to low ball. You are taking just as much risk as everyone else is.

Happy Hunting.

DON'T F**K WITH A DOORMAN

2010-05-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

As I have said before in previous entries, the Doorman is a powerful presence in real estate.

In my experience, I have never seen a Doorman get violent. Until now.

Before

After

I am not taking sides but as someone who has worked with paparazzi and understands their nature, this volatile situation does not surprise me.

The Doorman is the last person you want to go toe to toe with. If they are union, they will have better benefits, insurance coverage and access to better lawyers.

John Wayne Bill Indeed.

2010-05-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

What they are asking for is science fiction.

When it comes to gun right, I am pretty much indifferent, but I strongly believe that people should make an effort to educate themselves in how to properly utilize them and the consequences of using them.

Police Officers are unique because they not only do they receive the education in using firearms but they are also to required to learn from the streets.

Which brings me to this article.

Bill May Forbid Cops From Shooting to Kill

I understand the logic behind this bill but all they are doing is further hamstringing from doing their job. Contrary to popular, the general consensus amongst is that the lost thing a cop wants to do is pull their weapon and use it. When a cop uses their gun int eh line of duty, a big party is thrown where Internal Affairs, the District Attorney and depending on the situation other government officials and community activists. It requires a lot of paperwork and meetings. Lots of meetings. It is a huge pain the ass. I haven't even touched the mental and physical consequences.

In fact some of the best cops are the ones who are not associated with having a body count.

I understand the logic of this bill but this is not the answer. If this bill passes you are going to count on having more dead and wounded cops. If criminals know their chances of survival in a gunfight with the police have increased, they will definitely take that advantage and you are going to have more dead and wounded cops.

What the politicians should do is require more training of police officers and examine and address unjustified police shootings. Issuing these types of restrictions is just going hamper cops from doing their job.

Awhile back, a officer from the NYPD explained the bizarre nature of shootings. He told me that it was natural that a cop will go through an entire magazine even though it will feel like they fire maybe 3 shots. The adrenaline dump will hit them so hard that it will create tunnel vision. It is also not uncommon for police officer to mistake a ricochet or even debris caused by a bullet as being shot at.

And this is just scratching the surface of what cops have have to deal with. This bill is not going to help them any more.

Yesterday, a mother from China picked up the body of her daughter who beaten to death and raped.

And we are still dealing with the repercussions of that douchebag bomber of Times Square.

Are these people completely unaware of what is going on now?

How not to be a power broker

2010-05-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

From D.C to any school board,power and influence are commodities that are bought and sold. I do not think what Sarah Ferguson did was wrong. It is her execution that was completely sloppy and unprofessional.

First of all, if she was really serious about this she should have just set up her own lobbying firm and joined forces with people who have experience as power brokers. Not only to lead her but to also to give her access to other networks of influence. She should also have hired herself the most powerful attorney to make sure that not only her interests were protect but also to make sure she did not do anything incriminating.

The Queen Mum is pissed but not at her but at her son Prince Andrew. Even though they are divorced, he should have taken more responsibility to ensure that his ex-wife the loose cannon was strapped down securely. And with Fergie's history of embarrassing the royal family, Prince Andrew should have been better prepared. Even though he was not on the take, it still does not look good for him.

If Fergie has done this in the past, he should have suspected she was not helping certain parties out of the goodness of her own heart.

“I have not got a bean to my name,” she is quoted as saying. “I’m a taxpayer, a British taxpayer, and I left the royal family for freedom, and in freedom it means I am bereft. I’m hopeless.”

-Sarah Ferguson

This woman needed cash. Why else would she shill for Weight Watchers?

What Prince Andrew should have done was upped her alimony to the point where she did not have to shill for herself. And the moment he noticed that she was hawking access to him, he should have set up a company for her and hired people who were loyal only to him and give them strict instructions to watch her so she did not f**k things up.

More importantly, he should have also hired someone to manage her finances to ensure she did not burn through all her cash.

The sad thing about all of this is that if Fergie had actually made the effort to fully understand her position, mastered the the nuances and subtleties of being a power broker and aligned herself with the right people, she would have been force to reckon with that even the Queen Mother would have to respect. Now she is just a f**king joke.

Notice the trend with Eliot Spitzer and what is going on in Albany?

People are not making the effort to understand the rules of the game. For whatever they either ignorant or do not care to learn. And they pay dearly.

Lost

2010-05-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Jin and Sun: Never Forget

I have a lot on my plate which I have been able to clean off but now the next course awaits me. However, I will still maintain my presence on this blog.

No, I have not been away nor have I been doing this. I have just been, how should I say, recalibrating myself.

But I have been keeping tabs on what has been going in the world and I have a lot to say about it.

No Malicious Intent

2010-05-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

But no common sense either.

Last night, a large area of Gramercy Park went into lock down because of a report of a suspicious vehicle. And there was good reason to be concerned due to the similar description of the Times Square bombers vehicle. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

It turned out the owner was a gardener who had left the gas cans in his car while attending a Buzzcocks concert.

This was his reaction.

By midnight, the owner of the vehicle, who had been at the concert, returned and was none too happy -- especially when he saw that cops had blown out his windows with two controlled blasts.

"What happened! What happened!" he kept asking police. "What's wrong? I didn't do anything."

What the f**k is the matter with you? Do you not have any f**king common sense? Do you not read the f**king news?

You did nothing wrong but that is no excuse for not being aware of your surroundings.

Remember that person who invited me to that event? This is something he might do. He had a tendency of not thinking things through and when he was faced with option he refused to take it out of pride.

Here's an example.

Awhile back a friend of mine invited myself and "that friend" to a lunch party. Now I wanted to leave at least 45 minutes before it was time but he started pissing and moaning that there was no need for us to leave that early and that we would get there in plenty of time since the restaurant was nearby. I acquiesced because I just wanted to shut him up.

Now the restaurant was nearby but "that friend" forgot to factor public transportation not cooperating with us. We ended up being about 10 minutes. And guess who looked like an a**hole? Moi. Why? Because this was the first time both friends were meeting each other and I was acting as the intermediary.

Now "that friend" did not have any malicious intent in that situation but his inability and unwillingness to use common sense put me in a very poor light.

I am sure this gardener is a very nice guy. But that is no excuse for not thinking things through.

People, it is not about just about being aware of the bad guys but also being aware of whether your behavior is going cause unnecessary friction. Mind you, there are certain things that are out of our control, however, it isn't very difficult to think
"I should leave those gas cans at home."

Teachers

2010-05-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

They are definitely putting the heat on teacher. But not in a good way.

Teaching is probably one of the most undervalued professions in this country. Which is ironic since teachers develop what is perhaps our most valuable resource: Our children.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not an easy job. It appears that teachers work from 9am-3Pm and get summers off. But it is more like teachers work from 7am to 6pm because they need to prepare their day before classes start and they need to deal with other business after the school day is over. And even though they are paid during the summer, a lot of teachers pick up extra work to supplement their salary because they are not being paid in Wall Street bonuses. I know of one teacher who worked as a truck driver during the summer. And I haven’t even begun to talk about the rigors of dealing with children.

Which leads me to this unsurprising trend of teachers taking pay cuts due to the current economic climate.

In New York’s Suburbs, Teachers Feel Budget Ax

Here are some key takeaways.

School superintendents and board members say they have been caught in the middle, left with no choice but to reduce teacher payrolls — either through salary concessions or layoffs — to offset sharp revenue drops from state aid cuts, declining property values and resistance to higher taxes. “At a certain point, there’s nowhere else to go” to achieve savings, said Michael V. McGill, the superintendent in Scarsdale, whose 460 teachers are among the best paid in the nation, earning $54,442 to $135,000. Faced with the prospect of 20 layoffs, a majority of Scarsdale’s teachers voted to reopen their contract to shave one percentage point off an expected raise of 3.25 percent in each of the next two years. That would save $1.9 million.

I want to clarify something, if the teachers did not agree to these conditions, the board of education would have no choice but to break out the machetes and hack away at anything in their path. Why? Scarsdale is a UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT. In other words the teachers have no leverage in this situation. Therefore there was never a “prospect of layoffs.” It would have been inevitable.

So why would any teacher want to consider working in Scarsdale?

“At a certain point, there’s nowhere else to go” to achieve savings, said Michael V. McGill, the superintendent in Scarsdale, whose 460 teachers are among the best paid in the nation, earning $54,442 to $135,000.

M-O-N-E-Y

Obviously teachers are not happy with this and have been standing their ground. And they have pissed off a lot of people.

But Robert J. Rader, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, noted “a lot of concern, and a lot of anger” over teachers’ unions that have steadfastly refused to make concessions even as practically every other school group has.

In Waterford, Conn., the teachers’ union rejected a proposal to replace two professional-development days with unpaid furloughs next year but reversed itself after the district agreed to provide some training at other times, said Randy Collins, the superintendent. In Pelham, N.Y., where schools are the center of town life, some residents began speaking up at school board meetings last year to ask why teachers were not doing more to help.

This quote just, well, just read it.

“I have never heard such accusations against teachers,” said Frank Orfei, a social studies teacher for 32 years. “Many teachers feel like we’ve been made scapegoats of an economic crisis that we didn’t have anything to do with.”

Gee. You just figured that out just now? Whether we like it or not we are all bailing water on a sinking ship. And anyone not towing the line is dragging us down.

It sucks, but it is what it is.

Of course to add more fuel the fire for New York State teachers is this new development.

Agreement Will Alter Teacher Evaluations

The agreement, reached in time for the state’s second bid at $700 million in federal education grants, would scrap the current system whereby teachers were rated simply satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Instead, annual evaluations would place teachers in one of four categories — highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective. While the deal would not have any immediate effect on teacher pay, it could make it easier for schools to fire teachers deemed subpar.

“We believe that if done correctly this will change the landscape dramatically,” said David M. Steiner, the state education commissioner. “This is not a gotcha system. This is about creating professional development that can really improve education.”

Teachers would be measured on a 100-point scale, with 20 percent points based on how much students improve on the standardized state exams. Another 20 percent would be based on local tests, which would have to be developed by each school system. After two years, 25 percent would be based on the state exams and 15 percent would come from the local tests.

Scarsdale teachers earn their pay and then some. After all they were pretty much forced to cobble together a curriculum that that could compete with the APs.
Unfortunately just like any other school district, it has its share of people who have no business being teachers. However these developments make a non-union school district a very, very unattractive place work in.

Think about it. If you are a jerk off teacher who is more interested in spending time with a select few and marginalizing those that you feel that are not worth your effort or enjoy tormenting students, you are not going to last to long in Scarsdale.

Complaints are going to be made and you are going to be ordered to actually do your job. And nothing is more dangerous to a teacher than parents with money. You are better off working in a district that has a union because you will have a more secure position in dealing with the headaches.

Now this is a possible a win-win for the unions because if there is an exodus of teachers who feel that the high salaries of the union free school district are not worth it, they are going have their pick of the best and brightest. Or whoever has the best connections.

Now if you are a teacher who actually loves what they are doing and is willing to give their all especially to the runts of the litter. You have nothing to worry about.

This is further evidence that no one is safe. Security is an illusion and everyone needs to make every effort to ensure their survival.

All Hail The Death Dealer

2010-05-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

You will be missed Frank Frazetta.

Walking Tall?

2010-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

I wonder what Buford Pusser would say.

Strategic Default: Walking Away from Mortgage

Watch CBS News Videos Online

This has been going on for quite awhile. I am not surprised.

People were basically emotionally hijacked when they jumped into the real estate market. They did not take a hard look at their finances and the repercussions of the deals they were making. They just wanted a house at any cost. A lot of these people who are leaving can afford to stay in their homes, but after doing the math, they realize they owe more money on the mortgage while the value of their house is declining. So they turn in the keys and walk.

If you think about it, what keeps people paying their mortgage? Besides needing a place to live, it is protecting their credit and their sense of honor.

But consumers are no longer feeling emotionally attached to their homes and to their obligations. Wall Street and Corporate America has shown that walking away is the cost of doing business. And those people sleep pretty well at night.

The purpose of business is making a profit. If it is not making a profit, you either figure out a way to make a profit or cut your losses.

All these people are doing is taking a page from the same book that Tishman Speyers read in the Stuy town deal. There is no money in this deal for them, so they are pulling out of the deal.

Of course these their credit is going to be mangled beyond recognition but they figure that the money they save will make up for that and time will heal their credit. And as long they have a non-recourse mortgage, they should be alright.

However, this is just a further indication of how f**ked up the housing and credit markets will be in the near future. The foreclosure process is not the most efficient of procedures and there will be a lot of low hanging fruit in our future.

And with the relative ease of how one can walk away, lenders will definitely go back to the drawing board on figuring out how to increase the pain of owners who walk even though they have the money to pay their mortgage. I predict non-recourse clauses will either be stricken or be made extremely expensive to install.

Despite the fact that Federal programs to modify mortgages have pretty much failed. The Federal government will no doubt dump more cash into this money pit. And where do you think they will get that money? Here's a hint. Look in the mirror.

I believe in free will. Take whatever actions you want but be ready to accept the consequences. For those of you who decide to walk. Just remember, no one put a gun to your head to buy that house. And if you think you are going to walk away scott free with just a black mark on your credit report, you are going to still have to pay for it one way or another. In Manhattan, if a landlord sees a foreclosure on a credit report, they won;t even return your phone call. And if they decide to take you on as a tenant, you are going to have pony up a lot more to stick around. The result will be that any type of transaction that requires a credit report is going to amount to a considerable expense for someone has taken a strategic foreclosure. Of course there will a huge growth in services that repair credit.

Strategic foreclosures are not something be to taken lightly. If you live in an area that is recovering and has everything you need, you might want to consider sticking around.

We did not dodge a bullet, we dodged an idiot.

2010-05-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

We are very lucky, We avoided what could have been a very deadly event."

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

One lesson I have learned about life is that no matter how bad things are for you, there is always someone who has it worse.

Another lesson that I have learned is that person who is worse off than you, sometimes they can accomplish things that are quite surprising.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I give you Sheila Radziewicz

There is a ton of coverage on the Times Square Bomber but what irks me about this bomber is that he was given every opportunity to make something of himself.

From the NYT.

They took their places in the wood-paneled courtroom, 58 people from 32 countries. They listened as a federal magistrate banged the gavel and said it was “a wonderful day for the United States”— the day they would become Americans.

The magistrate talked about Thomas Jefferson and told the group that they could run for office — only the presidency and the vice presidency were off limits, according to a tape recording of the proceedings in a Bridgeport, Conn., courtroom last year, on April 17. On her instructions, they raised their right hands and repeated the oath of citizenship.

In January 2002 Mr. Shahzad obtained an H1B visa, a coveted status meant for highly skilled workers and good for three years, with a possible extension. Records show that Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics giant, applied for a visa for Mr. Shahzad; he worked there as a temporary clerk in the accounting department in 2001, through an employment agency called Accountants Inc., according to a timecard found in his trash.

Do you know how hard it is to get a H1B visa let alone citizenship in America? It's a f**king pain the ass. I have a friend of mine who has stay out of the country for two years in order to better their chances at getting a green card.

This piece of s**t, I am not saying his name, got everything he needed an immigrant desires from America. An education, residency and a place to raise a family.

Life wasn't perfect for him. It has been reported that he was part of the teeming masses that were in foreclosure. And like many people he was unemployed.

But are these reasons to go up and attempt to kill a massive amount of people in Times Square?

According to reports he was unremarkable, but even if though the POS got his MBA from a lower tier schools and his work experience wasn't at Goldman Sachs, in certain parts of the world that will take you very far.

All the POS had to do was pull up stakes and star new somewhere else. With his background he could have been a super star in his homeland.

But does he do that? NO! F**ktard goes back home and decides to spend time a club Taliban and learns, no, make attempts to learn how to be a terrorist. And F**King fails.

I don't know what the f**k they teach these a**holes but they have to stop it. I mean end it now because obviously they are not doing it right.

If watch a lot of crime films like the Getaway , Reservoir Dogs and Heat, that after pulling off a caper that attracts a lot of unwanted, you get immediately get the hell out of dodge. Yuu don't wait over two days to leave.

This guy was a numb nut of the highest order, he left his house keys in the car bomb and had to get the spare apartment keys from his landlord.

One can only hope is that the longer they keep up this up, sooner they will end up blowing themselves up.

Which brings me back Sheila Radziewic. This woman has arms. Yet she is on her way to getting a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. This is a woman who was destined to have a rough life. But does she give in to resentment or anger? Does she give in to despair?

No.

She began living on her own at 19. She lives in Salem now and helps women navigate the court system as a local advocate coordinator for HAWC, Healing Abuse Working for Change, which helps victims of domestic violence.

At 23, Radziewicz earned her driver's license. The state helped fashion a car for her that she drives with her feet.

One of the things that pisses me off is when someone gets everything in life and then does something really stupid. This is why this POS really makes me angry and I hope they make an example of him. The ramifications of his actions are going to be felt by innocent hard working people who are trying to make a life of their own.

It is also imperative we do everything we can to discourage this type of activity for own good.

Bruce Lee once said that the most dangerous person to fight is a person who has no background in fighting. This is because those types of people are completely unpredictable and have a strong tendency to do anything. This pretty much applies to clean skins.

America needs to send a message to potential clean skins that it is in their best interest to stay clean.

Day Trader's Paradise.

2010-05-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

WTF

Markets Plunge, Then Stage a Rebound

Did Trader's Mistake Cause Wall Street's Big Drop?

Mistake, accident, whatever.

Someone just made a s**tload of money.

Greece is the word: For Junk

2010-04-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

S&P downgrades Greece ratings into junk status

This is going to be an affordable place to have a vacation. That is if the food riots don't break out.

Rich on the Run Part 2

2010-04-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship

WASHINGTON — Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship.

“What we have seen is a substantial change in mentality among the overseas community in the past two years,” said Jackie Bugnion, director of American Citizens Abroad, an advocacy group based in Geneva. “Before, no one would dare mention to other Americans that they were even thinking of renouncing their U.S. nationality. Now, it is an openly discussed issue.”

In a previous entry I discussed how the rich are staging a tactical retreat due to taxes. Usually this sort of thing is temporary. But with taxes and confusing anti-terrorism rules that are being applied to honest hard working people outside of the United States.

Anyone who thinks that this is temporary and that things will change for the better have to stop getting high on their supply.

Just read the article below.

Hundreds Wait Days For Elevator Tech. Job Applications

These types of stories began popping up 2 years ago and they are just an indication that things have clearly not changed.

Carl Macek

2010-04-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not Anime Fans, Carl Macek is a pivitol figure in the world of Anime. His mark on the American Anime scene. Shows like Pokemon, Digimon, Naruto and pretty much the first programming line up of Adult Swim is because Carl Macek when he brought Robotech.

Go to this link to see episodes for free.

I have many happy memories of waking up early in the morning watching this anime. And I every time I watch these episodes, I still feel the same way as I did as a kid.

Godspeed to you Carl Macek.

Don't get mad, get even.

2010-04-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

When people get pushed too far, they push back. And they push back hard.

Learning How to Fight the Collector

A former bill collector himself, Mr. Katz rebelled after a debt buyer damaged his credit score with what he says was a bogus bill. Mr. Katz sued, and in 2003 he collected his first damage award, a $1,000 check that he now keeps framed behind his desk.

“The bill collectors, when they call, make you feel like the only option you have is to lay down and play dead. That’s not true,” said Mr. Katz said, who does not charge for his advice. “Nothing validates this more than getting a check.”

Call this movement revenge of the (alleged) deadbeats. Even as collectors try to recoup debts from millions of Americans struggling to pay their bills, a small but growing number of lawyers and consumers are fighting back against what they describe as harassment, unscrupulous practices — and, most important to their litigiousness, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In fact, 8,287 federal lawsuits were filed citing violations of the act in 2009, a 60 percent rise over the previous year, according to WebRecon, a site that tracks collection-related litigation and the most litigious consumers and lawyers on behalf of debt collectors.

What did you expect? People are losing their homes, losing their money and losing their s**t. The debt collection industry is booming these days as debts are being bought and sold.

In the real estate industry the circumference of debt collection ranges from mortgages, foreclosures to property liens. Property tax liens is a multi-billion dollar business and if you think your run of the mill debt collector is a pain the ass, a person who specializes in property tax liens is far more vicious.

As the story of Job has shown us, we can everything right in life and still be severely punished. Even if we avoid the financial pitfalls of life and maintain fiscal responsibility, s**t happens. So it is good to know the rules of the game in case someone breaks them and tries to get take advantage of us.

Mr. Katz said his Web site was not intended to help people avoid paying legitimate debts. But if they do so, so be it — he feels no need to apologize.

He said Congress gave consumers certain rights, and he is simply making people aware of them, sometimes colorfully.

We are always going to have douchebags who use the rules of the game to their advantage. How do you think we got into this mess in the first place?

Same fight. Different street.

Amen to that Brother

2010-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Funky Winkerbean

Fighting the Good Fight

2010-04-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

"He’s given up everything to do this over the last six or seven years," he said. "He has no block left. He has a family to look out for."

Last Atlantic Yards Holdout to Leave for $3 Million

Honestly, I can't blame the guy. The fact that he lasted this long and was able to blockade the Atlantic Yards project shows how much of a badass he is.

For those of you who think he sold you can go f**k yourself. This was always going to be a lost cause the moment the word "billion" was mentioned. Hats off to you Goldstein.

NO STRIKE!

2010-04-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

Deal Reached That Averts a Walkout by Doormen

HUZZAH!

Deadline

2010-04-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

I just watched V. I don't know why. I always thought the original was far more superior. Jane Badler's Diana was the Queen of the lizards.

Within the next hour we are going to know if a doormen strike is going to happen. Go to Gothamist for more background on the situation.

If you read the two entries below you will know my opinion of doormen.
Doormen: The Gatekeepers of a building

Not my problem.

What it basically comes down to is that RAB wants to pass as many costs as they can to the building workers as much as possible. Same s**t, different day. However the current state of the economy is being used as leverage.

There is a bit of grumbling amongst the public that doormen and building workers take in more than their fair share of their bounty due to holiday tips and other gratuities. Now I am sure there are a number of workers who make bank by exploiting this arrangement to their advantage but in my experience all those building workers deserve those tips. What they do is physically and mentally demanding work. It also requires a very cool head and a high aptitude for problem solving. And the bigger the building, the bigger challenges. And they do this every day.

The last thing anyone wants is a strike. Unlike the UAW, the union for the building workers do not provide a very large stipend for striking workers and they are definitely not collecting their pay during a strike.

Rock on!

2010-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Because that is all we can do.

I attempted to blog last weekend but the entry I was cobbled together at best, I decided to let it go for now.

Besides the fact that I am determining the next phase of this blog, it is just that I see no change with the current trends in real estate. Everything is f**ked.

I am not panicking. I am beyond panicking. I am pretty much numb at this point. It is like living in a desert.

What's on the ground?

Sand.

What will be on the ground tomorrow?

Sand.

Next week?

Sand.

Next year?

My guess, sand.

I guess what is amusing is how this is transpiring.

For instance, Nicholas Cage has been dealing with a ton of financial troubles and joined the growing throng of the foreclosed.

One of his mansions were put on the chopping block but guess what? No one could afford to bring a meat cleaver.

The same thing happened to this genius. What do you expect from an Orioles fan?

Remember the days of cheap money where all you needed was a pulse to qualify for a loan? Remember when you could gang bang your house with enough refis that could make Paris Hilton blush? Those days are long gone.

Interest Rates Have Nowhere to Go but Up

And whatever the government does to help, it does not seem like it is working.

Defaults Rise in Loan Modification Program

Want to see more? Go here.

Now the SEC is going to toe to toe with Goldman Sachs.

U.S. Accuses Goldman Sachs of Fraud

The most fascinating part of this article?

Mr. Paulson is not being named in the lawsuit.

I am sure this will be resolved by the next boom/bust.

Cowards

2010-04-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Cops Investigate Attacks Targeting Asian Women In L.E.S.

Here's the rundown. A group of punk ass kids are jumping elderly Asian women on the L.E.S. Here's the sickening video.

To the pieces of trash who are doing this. I suggest you turn yourselves in. No one likes it when elderly people are beaten and if you are caught in action by wrong crowd, your family will be on TV news crying their eyes out saying what good kids you are and it is a damn shame that such young lives were taken away.

Even the comic book industry is not safe from foreclosures.

2010-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Bruce Wayne would have been proud.

Back in 2004, Stephen A. Geppi, the head of Diamond Comic Distributors Inc., bought the place $4.8 million and then things got hairy.

One of the Baltimore area's most historically significant residences is headed for a foreclosure auction today, more than two years after owner and prominent businessman Stephen A. Geppi put it up for sale for $7.7 million amid the slumping housing market.

The mid-19th-century mansion in Green Spring Valley known as Cliffeholme, with eight bedrooms and nine fireplaces, is scheduled for sale at the Baltimore County Courthouse with an outstanding mortgage debt of $3.25 million, court records show. The Maryland Historical Trust includes the house in its Inventory of Historic Properties, a catalog of notable properties at least 50 years old.

It should not be surprising that he is heading towards foreclosure, after all he is an investor in the Baltimore Orioles.

3 shots to the drum and cymbal crash.

MTA: EPIC FAIL

2010-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

With the MTA service cuts, token booths have have also joined the casualty list.

Recently, I was in the downtown area when I saw the footprint of a token booth that once was, when I noticed something very, very odd.

Do you see it? Here's a closeup.

It appears the crew taking down the booth did a good job. Too good of a job because they LEFT A GAPING HOLE FOR ANY TURNSTILE JUMPER TO JUMP THROUGH.

And let's just say that they actually put up a barrier to fully cover up that hole, well THEY SHOULD REMEMBER THAT PLYWOOD IS THE ALUMINUM FOIL OF WOOD!

Now the MTA has been doing a big song and dance that they need to cut costs to save money. Note to MTA: LACK OF COMMON SENSE CAN WASTE MONEY RATHER THAN SAVE IT!

The location of this turnstile will not be revealed for the following reasons:

1. Why make it easier for turnstile jumpers?

2. Why make the MTA's job any easier? This will force to them to look at every token booth they have taken down to find where this gaping hole exists and hopefully evaluate themselves in doing a better job.

And they wonder why we are angry.

Tuff Turf

2010-04-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is my life.

The original objective of this blog was to educate people about real estate, particularly about the nuances of New York City real estate. It is 2010 now and the past 5 years have been a helluva ride. One thing I have learned about real estate is that it is not what it appears to be.

The cliche has always been "Real Estate is always local." As the past two years have demonstrated, that is not the case. Actions that taken place in Washington D.C and Wall Street have had huge ramifications on all real estate markets across the globe. And those are not the only theaters where economic warfare is being waged.

This realization is one of the the main reason why this blog seems so schizophrenic.
We are all connected in some way whether we like it or not. Tea baggers and militia are on the rise? Blame the recession. You have a lot of free time on your hands when you have no job. Drywall turning your home in a death trap? Probably got a newly built home courtesy of China. Good luck in getting restitution from that economic powerhouse. Wonder how they got so rich and powerful? Look at the drywall. During the real estate boom the cost of goods skyrocketed and developers had to figure out cheaper alternatives in order to keep their margins in check. So they knocked on the door of Mao's homeland. You want to buy canned American sardines. After April you won't be able to. Blame globalization and outsourcing.

Ideas have circled around my head in how leverage this blog into a profitable business model. Some of the ideas are now in play by other people. Am I kicking myself? No. Upon doing my own feasibility study, I realized that there was no barrier to entry for my concepts and I also did not have the capital nor the manpower to pull them off successfully.

In fact I have strongly considered pulling the plug on this blog and letting it be a reminder of days gone past when real estate was shiny and new. But a little voice in my head is telling me the following.

"You've only just begun."

Which brings me to this link.

I can't justify killing this blog because I can't call it a failure. How can you say you failed at something when you never even tried.

The game has changed drastically in the last 5 years. There are more real estate bloggers on the scene and some of them do not even work in the industry. Despite that they are putting out a high quality product.

The only resource I have is myself. That's it. It is kind of overwhelming. But I remember something my martial arts teacher once told.

"You are always going to be the last line of defense."

When he first told me that, it really scared the s**t out of me. Because the reality is that you have no one to rely on other than yourself. And when you can't rely on yourself, you fail yourself.

However, if you succeed. It is your success. No one can take that away from you.

I will be maintaining this blog but there there will changes in the near future. I can't say what and when they will be but it will happen.

To all of you who read my blog, thank you. I really appreciate all of you.

Breaking News! Propertyshark has been bought out!

2010-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from Brian Scully over at PropertyShark that they have been acquired by Yardi Systems.

Who? What? Where? How? Why? When? This should answer everything.

Yardi Systems Acquires PropertyShark for Real Estate Data

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yardi Systems announced today that it has acquired PropertyShark, creators of PropertyShark.com, the premier real estate data website.

“Yardi acquired PropertyShark to expand the service nationally, strengthen our suite of products, and provide our clients with fully integrated access to detailed property information.”

Yardi acquired the New York-based company to integrate deep property data into the Yardi suite of real estate investment management and property management software.

"PropertyShark’s aggregation of real estate data from hundreds of sources into a single property research website has changed the way real estate investors, professionals, and consumers educate themselves and make decisions about property in hubs like New York and Los Angeles,” said Gordon Morrell, Yardi’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. "Yardi acquired PropertyShark to expand the service nationally, strengthen our suite of products, and provide our clients with fully integrated access to detailed property information.”

“When I founded PropertyShark in 2002, I wanted access to the hard-to-reach property information held by sellers, city agencies and brokers so I could make informed decisions about real estate investments I was considering,” said Matthew Haines, PropertyShark’s founder. “To see the concept taken from one neighborhood in New York City into the hands of one of the largest and most successful real estate software companies is a victory for everyone involved in buying, managing, and selling real estate based on transparent and comprehensive research.”

It sounds like a match made in heaven. It is a very, very smart move on Yardi's part because there is no barrier to entry for the product they provide. Having Propertyshark as part of their portfolio will bring more added value to their products.

The good news is that Yardi is keeping everyone. Brian was very kind and gracious in thanking me for the coverage I gave for Propertyshark. It is very much appreciated. However, I have to acknowledge that there were bigger and better sites that shined the light on Propertyshark.

Propertyshark also had their own special fire which never got snuffed out, even with the appearance of Zillow. In fact Propertyshark just got stronger and better.

I wish Brian and his team the best. They are a good crew that put out a quality service.

Not my problem.

2010-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been clearing out the draft folder and found this ditty from 7/26/05. Wow. It has been 5 years. This blog is old.

In a previous entry the Grunt discussed the importance of owners authorizing access for brokers in order to show. Well guess what happened again. The Grunt was on the verge of ripping apart a doorman but the then Grunt had a moment of clarity. This wasn't the Grunt's problem. You see the doorman is doing his job. If the doorman claims the Grunt does not have authorization and will not give access to the Grunt, then the Grunt will take the word of the doorman. Now whether this can be verified is another story.

For now the Grunt looks like an idiot in front of a group of people who want to see the apartment however the person who gets hurt the most is the seller. A very simple rule in real estate. You can't show, you can't sell. Since it is not the responsibility of the Grunt to get the authorization it falls on the seller's shoulders.

Now here's where it gets interesting. If the seller gave the Grunt authorization then doorman has a lot of questions to answer. If he doesn't have a justifiable reason for his actions then he is going to have one pissed off resident and the most dangerous thing to a doorman is an angry resident. Especially one who's trust has been violated by a doorman.

There are doormen who hide behind their authority and policy to make brokers lives aggravating. Sometimes its personal, sometimes it's their way to school the broker into acknowledging their authority. Grunt doesn't care either way. If I can't get in I can't get in. When the seller asks WTF? I will just point to the doorman.

A smart doorman will understand the dynamics of accountability. If they prevent a broker from entering they better damn well sure they are in the right and are doing to for the welfare for the building. If it is simply out of malice and the evidence supports that position they are going to be in a world of hurt.

But it is not sweat for the Grunt, because I am not the one at fault.

FLASH FORWARD TODAY

I do not remember much about the doorman but I do know that he got reamed badly by the owner.

This doorman was definitely the exception rather than the rule. Doormen are a vital part of a residential building as I have stated in my entry.

Doormen: The Gatekeepers of a building

Remember, show respect to them and they will respond in kind.

Triage

2010-03-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Our world.

Despite the fact the loan modifications aren't exactly working and evidence that the Obama administration's last efforts to stem the hemorrhaging haven't been working very well. In fact it may have done more harm than good.

U.S. Plans Big Expansion in Effort to Aid Homeowners

Many of these loans have been bundled together and sold to investors. Under the new program, the investors would have to swallow losses, but would probably be assured of getting more in the long run than if the borrowers went into foreclosure. The F.H.A. would insure the new loans against the risk of default. The borrower would once again have a reason to make payments instead of walking away from a property.

Many details of the administration’s plan remained unclear Thursday night, including the precise scope of the new program and the number of homeowners who might be likely to qualify.

One administration official cautioned that the investors might not be willing to volunteer any loans from borrowers that seemed solvent. That could set up a battle between borrowers and investors.

This much was clear, however: the plan, if successful, could put taxpayers at increased risk. If many additional borrowers move into F.H.A. loans, a renewed downturn in the housing market could send that government agency into the red.

We are in a vortex of s**t which now includes Social Security which arrived earlier than scheduled.

I am trying to write something witty, but I can't. All I see is grin and bear it.

Why do we bother?

2010-03-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again

I need a drink.

How about a magic trick.

2010-03-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Trust me. It is as simple as that.

When it comes to picking a home, particularly one in the suburbs, it is common practice to pour over statistics, examine demographics, ratings and sorts of reports. Buyers desire the best place to buy especially if they want to raise a family.

But before you even start looking at homes let alone putting in offers. I would like to present a trick that will give you an idea if you where you want to live is the best place for you.

On a weekend get dressed in your Sunday best. Nothing too fancy but definitely above casual. The most important thing is that you look presentable. Then go to the desired neighborhood. If they have public transportation, all the better. Take that Metro North or bus into that area.

If your desired location is near a town or in a town, definitely walk through it. Look at the commercial strip. Examine what type of business are located in that area. If there is a Starbucks buy a cup of coffee. Take a seat and read a newspaper.

When you are walking on the street, ask directions to places you already know like the train station. Do it in different areas in town far out of sight of the location.See how people react. Do they make an effort to help or do they blow you off? Gauge the responses and see if there any similarities.

What makes a town appropriate for an individual is the people, it is absolutely imperative to get a feel for the people.

When you are partaking in these activities, observe the reactions of the people around you. Even simply walking past someone can give you an idea of whether the area is a place that welcomes new comers.

If you people are giving cold stares as you walk past them or move away from you when sit down in a chair or don't bother saying thank you when you open the door for them or they respond to a simple question about where the train station is with a I don't know, then this place might not be for you.

Remember this, it is not your fault. Contrary to popular belief America is not a melting pot. People can be just as a provincial as everyone else, it is their right. They can't engage in acts of discrimination which include steerage and red lining. But they have the right to be cold and rude to others who are different from them. It is a pretty stupid way to live but it is their lifestyle and they are free to live it. For those of you who don't give a f**k and want to live where you want, my hat's off to you. But there is nothing wrong with taking the path of least resistance and finding a place where you will be welcome.

For those of you who act in a provincial manner, consider this a warning. World is changing in more ways than we can imagine. Those who are unable or willing to adapt to outsiders, please do not say you were not warned. The barbarians are at the gate and they are armed with lots and lots of cash. And with money comes power. Something a lot of people in America are lacking these days.

It is not about we shall overcome. It is we shall overwhelm.

Only in America

2010-03-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

NJ Lady With 1,000 Pound Dream Has A Manager Now

Donna Simpson, the 604-pound NJ woman whose "fantasy" to be 1,000 pounds, is now the toast of the town. According to the Star-Ledger, "Two days after the 42-year-old Simpson announced she intended to eat her way into the record books, 'Entertainment Tonight' was at her door. Her manager was fielding phone calls from 'Oprah,' 'Dr. Phil,' and 'Inside Edition.' And she’s been offered a reality show and book deal."

In other words, she's keeping it real.

Awhile ago if I read this I would shake my head. Now, nothing surprises me. Now is the time for her to cash in because who knows how long she will be alive.

Yeah, things are really looking up.

2010-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

New York State Tax Refunds Put On Hold

Gov. Paterson Freezes $500 Million, Says Financial Situation The Case, Won't Start Sending Again Until April 1

That Soda Tax is starting to look really good now isn't it?

Volunteers

2010-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been digging around the old draft folder and found some entries that I would like to see the light of the day. This was written up last year.

In a previous entry I spoke of a certain development in my life that I need to address. I don't want to go into details out of respect for the parties involved but I can't remain silent on the regarding my own aggravation because it has been taking up a lot of my own cognitive space as the deadline looms closer and closer it has become more of a burden for me.

I have been invited to an event of sorts. This type of event is known to be a very joyful yet complicated one that requires presence of a variety of volunteers to assist with the event. Now I was basically drafted as a volunteer for this event by one of the organizers. I figured it would be one day. I was wrong. It turns out the event would entail more than one day. It would also require that those who have been selected would need put up their own capital for housing and transportation needs.

Now I have mention the location of this event is quite out of the way and the location is known to have very limited public transportation during certain hours of the day which coincidentally is when the event takes place. This requires the use a private motor vehicle that charges by a certain rate of distance from the main hub of transportation to the location where the event is to take place.

After seeing the terms that were presented to me by the organizing parties and seeing my capital outlays go beyond what I was comfortable with my initial investment. I realized the optimal strategy would exercise the single day option where I would be there for only the event itself. This would eliminate my housing costs and save time.

Even if we weren't experiencing a recession, I would still exercise these options because they are more feasible for me. When I stated my plan of action to one of the organizers, they basically outright rejected my proposal, stating that because of my role, I was required to spend the entire duration including the event .

I reminded them my role was only needed for the event itself. Not for the other days that that were also included with the event. Our discussion went on for several days through various forms of communication. It would be an understatement to say they were intense. The organizer finally conceded to my proposal.

There was no malice in what I was asking, in fact I think I was being quite reasonable because the terms they were presenting for the participants and volunteers of the event were unequal, in fact the majority of those individuals would greatly benefit from the arrangement due to their close proximity to the location therefore their operating expenses from housing to travel would be considerably reduced.

The organizers were coordinating the best possible arrangement that would benefit them and as many people as possible which I strongly believe is the appropriate action to take and I do not begrudge of these people who are taking advantage of the situation.

However, it does concern me when the organizers are unwilling to be sympathetic to the hardships for individuals like myself.

Yes. I have thought of pulling out, but I have made a commitment and I plan on keeping it.

FLASH FORWARD TODAY

At the end of the summer the organizer abruptly cut off all communication with me even though it appeared that all seemed civil between us after the event. I did attempt several times to re-establish ties but to no avail.

Any regrets? Absolutely not. I learned a long time ago that when you are not comfortable doing something, then don't do it at all. And if the people around aren't willing to understand or at least empathize with your plight then to hell with them. Why suffer needlessly?

Besides, I addressed the situation in a proper manner way before the event was to be held and not at the last minute which this organizer has done to me in the past. The organizer was more than well compensated for the event and by another party that I represented.

Now when it comes time to organize my own event, will I invite this person? Absolutely. It is the right thing to do. Whether they accept or not is up to them and after how they acted towards me I don't really give a damn what they say.

He accepted his final mission

2010-03-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Peter Graves, ‘Mission: Impossible’ Star, Dies at 83

Peter Graves, the cool spymaster of television’s “Mission: Impossible” and the dignified host of the “Biography” series, who successfully spoofed his own gravitas in the “Airplane!” movie farces, died on Sunday. He was 83.

Secret of the self destructing tape.

It's in their nature

2010-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

I absolutely recommend all of you to watch these 3 stories from 60 minutes since not only gives the rundown on Wall Street's role in the current economic mess. And it is very f**ked up.

And it confirms the following.

The theory of the 880 lbs gorilla has been proven.

Whatever fail safes that were in place, if they were ever in place at all, have completely failed.

Nobody did their due diligence or cared even to do it.

Just because you help someone out of a hole does not mean they will change their ways. And as Wall Street demonstrated when they were bailed out, they jumped right back in.

We are not out of the woods yet and this will happen again. In fact, I would bet that there are forces at work right now who are preparing to take advantage of the double dip, and probably engineering another Greece.

In Wall Street as long as money is being made, nobody gives a f**k. It's their nature. Like a scorpion.

It is also in the people's nature to not take this lying down.

Greetings and Salutations

2010-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

As some of you notice I haven't been blogging much as lately. I figure that is a bit disappointing to all 5 of my readers, give or take 1 or 2. Anyways, I have taken on some more responsibilities in my life. Nothing major but there are certain tasks that require my attention if I want to get ahead in life.

So for now, I will be Jason Dean sitting with my trench coat in back of the cafeteria, watching and waiting for the opportunity to meet my Veronica.

Give me back my dollar you bastards!

2010-03-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Not the same commercial but you get the idea.

Recently McDonald's began their two filet o fish sandwiches for 4 bucks deal which the Grunt took advantage of. The latest development of this deal is that they are offering 2 filet of fish sandwiches for 3 bucks.

Too good to be true? In Manhattan it is. Yesterday I was going to take advantage of that deal when I noticed that the advertisements for that deal still listed it for 4 bucks. I asked an employee about that and was told the following.

1. Yes and no. There is a deal for 3 bucks for 2 filet o fish sandwiches but not in Manhattan.

2. If you want the 2 filet o fish sandwiches for 3 bucks you have to go to the Bronx.

So basically it is a bait in switch in Manhattan and all the boroughs except for the Bronx.

So the Grunt took his business to another lunch destination which was actually a really bad idea which will be discussed in a later entry.

One last thing.

YOU SUCK MCDONALD'S. THE BURGER KING WHALER IS A BETTER DEAL FOR FISH SANDWICHES SINCE THEY ARE SO MUCH BIGGER THAN YOUR WUSSY FILET O FISH SANDWICHES AND EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN ONLY BUY TWO WHALERS FOR 4 BUCKS ON FRIDAY.

And you thought Peter Parker was having a bad day

2010-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

Looking for a scandal? you throw a rock into the New political scene, you are bound to hit one.

Nothing new here. Paterson is getting slammed. How so you say? Take your pick.

Do You Suffer from Scandal Fatigue? Paterson Hopes So!

Paterson Aide Forged Gov's Signature on Check to Yankees

As Scandal Continues, NY State Police Chief Resigns

Despite a defiant front, Rangel is getting his.

Rangel to "Temporarily" Step Down from House Chairmanship

Rangel Might Reconsider Running For Reelection

Desiree Rogers has decided to step down.
White House Social Secretary Steps Down
Perhaps if she realized what the duties of her position were and made every effort to fulfill them instead of seeking the spotlight in selling the Obama brand, some fame whores would have never got in and endangered the life of the president. Perhaps she would not be in fear of the White House putting a hit on her career.

As I have stated before, a major part of politics is the game of ass. And these individuals failed to understand or abide by the rules. They felt that their position alone was able to protect them from even their own hubris.

On a lighter note, Naomi Campbell was able to avoid another trip to the clink.

Don't feel bad about Peter Parker. In fact be proud that the House of Ideas has brought him back to his roots.

EXCELSIOR!

More of the same.

2010-03-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Another Anakin.

The NYT did an extensive article on Adam Craig Hochfelder

Hochfelder’s Fast Rise and Fall in Real Estate

Never heard of the guy, but I am not surprised. Even with his considerable pedigree.

With every boom there comes a series of Emperors who rule the roost and with every bust people see that the Emperor has no clothes.

But do not shed tears for the bare assed emperor. You see, even though this guy is probably going to be living with 3 hots and a cot, once he is released from club fed, there are going to be a some offers for him lined up. Even now people want to do business with him.

His reputation is mud but mud can be washed off. And money is an excellent cleaner which this guy has proven to be able to generate.

In other words this guy is just another Anakin.

I like this ending better.

ALL HAIL QUEEN KIM YU-NA

2010-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Damn, what a night. Kim Yu-Na gets gold and John Park stays on American Idol.

Did anyone notice Mao's body language when Kim Yu-Na hugged her? She was obviously pissed about getting Silver.

I have to admit. I am a little bummed out. I would have loved to see an all Asian sweep.

Roll Call: MONEY MONEY

2010-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

NSFW. NUDITY, VIOLENCE, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

Vancouver is freaking out as bills begin to pile up for the Olympics. No sympathy here. It is not as if this was a big surprise.

Natavia Lowery murderer was found guilty. You already know where I stand.

An MBA student wrote a pissy email about being kicked out of a class for coming in late even though he was just sampling the class. The Professor responded by ripping him a new set of orifices and parading it out to the world.

If the MBA student is reading this, there is something called "Due Diligence." It does not just apply to business but life as well. All he had to do was send an email or call to know what the rules for attendance were. Remember, professors are like judges and the classroom is their court. The professor in this situation was more than fair.

I was just reading this article on the Greece debt hole and how the parties who helped them out with the debt are now trying to bury them in that hole in order to make a profit. A whole country being destroyed and not a single shot being fired. If this is not an example of "Business is War" than I don't know what is. What makes this ironic is that Ancient Greek history is studied all over America and is considered as one of the foundations of Western Civilization. I wonder if their financial woes will be covered on the exam.

This reminds me of an IM conversation I had last year.

Me: Even the rich are going ghetto
Family Member: um if you're selling your gold you're not wealthy, just saying

KIM YU-NA!

2010-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

KIM YU-NA BREAKS THE WORLD RECORD FOR THE OLYMPIC SHORT PROGRAM!

TAKE THAT YOU JAPANESE BASTARDS!

And now a word from Alan Greenspan

2010-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Greenspan: U.S. Recovery "Extremely Unbalanced"

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the U.S. economic recovery was "extremely unbalanced," driven largely by high-income people benefiting from recovering financial markets and large corporations.

Greenspan, speaking to a Credit Union National Association conference, said small businesses and lower-income people are still suffering from the aftermath of a credit crunch that was "by far the greatest financial crisis globally, ever."

Greenspan said he believed that staffing levels at U.S. firms remained below what was sustainable in the long run, pointing toward a modest recovery in job creation. But he added the unemployment rate may remain stubbornly high.

Thank you so much. The people of America are grateful.

Craigslist comes to Scarsdale but not in a good way.

2010-02-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

It is as funny as it is real.

This is the story.

Here is the Lo Hud version.

Family scammed by online 'house for rent' ad

SCARSDALE — A Stamford, Conn., man thought he had found a great deal on Craigslist — only to be surprised — and out $3,000 — when it turned out be a scam.

He saw a house at 956 Post Road on the Web site and wired $3,000 — half for a month's rent and the other half for security — to someone in Nigeria who said he owned the house.

He showed up on Super Bowl Sunday with his family set to move in. He realized he'd been duped when he was met by Anne Moretti of Sotheby's International Realty, who was setting up an open house on behalf of the real owner.

"They were really sort of in shock," said Moretti, the Scarsdale agent.

The would-be tenant could not be reached for comment, but Moretti and Scarsdale police Detective Lt. Bryant G. Clark related this account:

Village police were called to the Dutch Colonial house at 1:12 p.m. Feb. 7 on a report of suspicious people there. That was the Stamford family, who had a key and a van full of furniture, but no lease.

"Needless to say it was a difficult situation," Clark said.

The key may have been stolen and copied by a former worker at the house, investigators said.

Moretti said she felt sorry for the family and called them, "a nice young couple." She noted that people should be wary about renting or buying items off Internet venues like Craigslist.

"This should be a warning to people," she said. "Unfortunately, it happens way too often."

Pelham Manor police this month reported that a resident there had sent three payments totaling $1,495 to someone in London to secure an apartment she saw listed on Yahoo.

By Feb. 9, after seeing the apartment still listed and not able to reach anyone about it, she reported the apparent fraud to police.

Moretti, an agent for 14 years, said people should meet the person they are dealing with before giving them money.

Prospective buyers should research who owns the property, and use a legitimate real estate agent who can help them bypass scams and frauds, she said.

"If there is a deal out there and it sounds like it is too good to be true, it is too good to be true," she said.

Congratulations Scarsdale, you have now joined the Craigslist scam club.

You can read the articles but my take is so much more entertaining: a realtor was holding an open house when a family from Connecticut rolled up to move into the house. This is obviously a worst nightmare for any realtor especially in this market.

The Rube, I mean the Father told the realtor he had answered an ad in Craigslist and sent $3000 for the first month rent and security deposit to Nigeria. In return received a spare key which worked. Here's f**king hint that this business transaction was not kosher. NIGERIA.

The Realtor called the owner, who I assume no longer lived in the house, who's response was "Watchu talkin about Willis." The realtor did some further digging around for the spare key which was nowhere to be found. Can we say inside job? If I was the owner of this home, I would demand a full investigation to determine how the hell that spare key got loose. If I was the realtor I would backtrack and figure out who was in the house.

The cops were called and told the father what was common knowledge at that point; he got scammed and they had not rented the house. So the family turned the keys over, mover their stuff out and left.

I can only imagine how long the bats**t insanity that ensued. I envision the family moving in during the open house while the realtor is screaming at them to stop. It would not surprise me to see the guy blowing his top and the police repeatedly telling "Dude, you got ripped off. Take your s**t and leave."

Seriously, it is easy to ridicule this guy, but honestly, we are all targets. To any of you who own vacant homes, keep track of your spare keys, get an alarm system and would not hurt to invest in a remote surveillance system which would allow you to watch your home via the internet.

Oh Canada. You lost at a sport you are supposed to be good at.

2010-02-22T03:35:00.000-08:00

Waking Its Neighbors, U.S. Upsets Canada

Perhaps this karma for being such douchebags

I am actually not a fan of hockey but I have met more than my fair share of arrogant, obnoxious Canadians whot think their hot s**t because of their free health care and Mike Myers. So if this hurts them in any way then I am happy.

This is the now.

2010-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I take absolutely no satisfaction in saying this but if you read my previous entries, this is something I was I was extremely afraid of and why I was annoyed that Wall Street did not show more humility.

Man Crashes Plane Into Texas I.R.S. Office

From what I can tell, this guy was not some nutjob hiding in a shack in the woods. He was an intelligent, normal guy who had his own business. He got a hit with a combination setbacks which literally set him off.

“The main thing I want to put out there is that this is an isolated incident here; there is no cause for alarm,” said the Austin police chief, Art Acevedo, in a televised news conference at midday. Asked how he could be sure, Mr. Acevedo said, “You have to take my word at it, don’t you?”

Actually there is a cause for alarm because this economy is not forcing peoples back to the walls, it is putting them through it.

Below are two articles that are another indication of the economic mood in this country.

Police say man who jumped from bridge was unemployed Rye resident

Rye's Highland Hall resident found dead.

Rye is a very prominent area. It requires a tremendous amount of capital just to even buy a home. And now some residents in these areas are starting to lose their f**king minds. It used to be the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But now everyone is getting hit. Let's be frank. The poors are better prepared for this type of TARFU. The riches have no f**king clue what to do now that they are waist up in the s**t. And what is even more f**ked up, these articles probably represent a fraction s**tstorm that is hitting everyone.

It's not terrorism, it's not Y2K, it's not a flu pandemic, it is the lives we are living that we should in fear of. This is now a George Romero world and the zombies are people who have been beaten down by the economy and their own personal finances.

I have no solutions. No advice. Just watch your backs, your bank accounts and be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Keeping It Handy

2010-02-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL PLANNER/LAWYER/ACCOUNTANT OR MONEY ADVISOR. THE FOLLOWING IS JUST MY OPINION. THAT IS IT.

Awhile back, I had a conversation with a well know real estate photographer. The subject of the 9/11 came up and he told me that his preparation for emergencies were some energy bars and a couple thousand dollars in cash.

Cash in its physical form does nothing. It is just money in suspended animation. It does generate interest when it is in bank accounts or marketable securities. The ROI is not much but the advantage is its liquid state.

Which brings me to this classic movie of the 1990's

NSFW for language.

One of my favorite quotes from that movie is from Clarence when his friend asks him why he is bringing a gun to a drug deal. It occurs near the end of the clip.

If there's one thing this last week has taught me, it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.

Clarence Worley

I am not promoting drug dealing or guns. However, if any of you are involved in either of those two subjects, that's your business and please keep it to yourself.

Right now cash is the gun. Any financial jam that we are now in, cash will solve it becasue credit sure as hell won't. We have countries like Greece that need a bailout and Iceland is now applying to the EU because their financial system is completely screwed.

Which begs the question, if you have a large amount of cash on hand and a mortgage, should you pay off your mortgage?

Honestly, it depends on your situation. But for argument's sake, let's say everything is secure in terms of employment, costs are under control and there is a reasonable rate on the mortgage. I'd be a little hesitant. First of all I am not a big fan of debt but we live in very uncertain times. I don't care what the experts say, whether we are in a recovery or depression, s**t is just bad.

That money used for the mortgage might be needed for something else that comes up. And even if you have perfect credit, loans are very, very hard to come by these days.

It all comes down to the basics, which is to look at the numbers. Can you survive making the monthly down payments? Would you breathe easier without the debt or without the cash at hand? What are your options if you need cash but there is none available.

I'll be the first to say that I hate any debt. Mortgages, credit card and student loans are on my hit list. I am all about the clean slate. But sometimes a clean slate will just clean you out.

This is not bad customer service. This is just plain bad.

2010-02-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Bank of America forecloses on house that couple had paid cash for

SPRING HILL — Charlie and Maria Cardoso are among the millions of Americans who have experienced the misery and embarrassment that come with home foreclosure.

Just one problem: The Massachusetts couple paid for their future retirement home in Spring Hill with cash in 2005, five years before agents for Bank of America seized the house, removed belongings and changed the locks on the doors, according to a lawsuit the couple have filed in federal court.

Early last month, Charlie Cardoso had to drive to Florida to get his home back, the complaint filed in Massachusetts on Jan. 20 states.

The bank had an incorrect address on foreclosure documents — the house it meant to seize is across the street and about 10 doors down — but the Cardosos and a Realtor employed by Bank of America were unable to convince the company that it had the wrong house, the suit states.

"Their own real estate agent told them, and nevertheless Bank of America steamrolled right ahead," said Joseph deMello, an attorney in Taunton, Mass., who is representing the couple. "This is a nightmare for anyone, and it affected my hard-working clients a lot."

The Cardosos are seeking unspecified damages from Bank of America. The company showed negligence, trespassed and caused the couple emotional distress and financial hardship, especially because a tenant renting the home at the time got worried and left, according to the complaint. It's still unclear if the couple's credit rating has been affected, deMello said.

This is the type of bulls**t that gives me nightmares. Some rubber stamper just follows procedure even though it is plainly obvious that there is something dreadfully wrong.

This is not an oversight. This is not a simple mistake. Someone just did not give a f**k and went forward because it was standard operational procedure.

BOA doesn't give a s**t. Why? Because what will happen is that they will cut a check to settle which won't even cover the pain, suffering and loss the Cardoso family experienced. And of course that money has TARP written all over it.

I get pissed off at this type of indifference besides the fact it is just wrong, it gives more creedence to ideas like, revolution, overthrowing, scape goating other ethnic groups which leads to massive amounts of violence.

America maybe a civilized country, but it has a very tragic history of violence and the banking industry better understand past performance may not be a factor investing but this is not investing. These are people's lives you are dealing with.

Year of the Tiger

2010-02-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

God. I miss you John Belushi.

America got hit pretty bad and now the Greeks are leading the charge their own financial fubar as Europe is trying to figure out how to bail them out. Of course Wall Street had a roll in the Greece's current position.

If you got to Recessionwire and click on the Screwed tag, it looks like the layoffs will never end.

I do not think it is coincidence that 2010 is the year of the Tiger.

Year of the Tiger

The coming 2010 year of the metal Tiger is around the corner. It looks like we've got mood swinging, vigorous and hard-working year ahead. As you might guess, coming 2010 year of the metal Tiger is passionate, honest and modest. Sun sign horoscope for the 2010 year of the Tiger like his animal sing is naturally forgiving, rarely holding grudges for long, it symbolizes eternal family values, rate highly friends support and care. Yearly 2010 forecast and horoscope 2010 for your zodiac sign.

The attributes listed above will needed not just survive but to succeed for the New Year. We have to be willing to take the world by the balls but at the same time not be reckless and watch for ourselves and our own. We have to be straight with ourselves and other people. Modesty should be exhibited for more than just respect but for survival.

One big ball of suck out there. And it is easy for people to get sucked into it and letting circumstances take control. But circumstances are just circumstances. You may not think you have control but you have a say. A huge say in what goes on in your life. So you can be like the rest of the world and be bitter about life or Tiger up.

3 Strikes you are out

2010-02-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

In a previous entry I talked the about my customer service experience at this coffee joint I went to.

Since then there have been a series of incidents of bad customer service. The third one happened this morning. So I am done with them.

I have had better service from a Starbucks and despite the fact their coffee sucks, I will probably take my business there. Actually, I think I will switch to tea which I can make on my own. I will save a lot more money in the long run.

Eventually what is going to happen is that place is going to have a major incident. It is only a matter of time before one their idiot employees f**ks with the wrong person. And then the owner is going to have send this guy in.

I am not joking. There are people who specialize in tightening up failing businesses and they do not suffer fools. These are not Ryan Binghams, they are Blakes and they will not cut their nose to spite their face, they will cut their own heads off.

So best of luck to you a**holes amd have fun being reamed. And thanks again for the douchebag customer service. Because of that I will be able to save my 5 bucks and invest in something that has a real ROI other than a head rush.

Greetings

2010-02-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

There have been some changes in my life. Good changes. The kind of changes that you welcome. Hence, the lack of blog posts. I will be back shortly. I have a lot to say.

IT'S A MADHOUSE!

2010-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

New Rewards for not walking away.

When I read this, I was like, now this is beyond ridiculous unfortuanetly is another indication of how f**ked up things are.

Banks are not in the real estate business. Their infrastructure is not designed for that type of industry. They are in the lending business which is their core profit center. Unfortunately playing the landlord is becoming more of a cost center for the lending industry.

There is also another angle regarding these foreclosure prevention programs that seem to do more harm than good.

Top TARP Cop Warns: The Bubble Is Back

SIGTARP -- not a Bond villain but Barofsky's shorthand title -- sums up all the sundry spending in one handy place. The Federal Reserve has been buying mortgage-backed securities and other mortgage-related debt in enormous volume, projected to reach $1.2 trillion by the time the effort expires at the end of March. Treasury is spending hundreds of billions more to capitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so the agencies can continue to finance home mortgages. Congress has extended the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and added a $6,500 credit for existing owners buying new homes. And while Treasury's $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program is designed to forestall foreclosure for homeowners, its direct (and intended) effect is to keep home prices high.

I have been hearing a lot of chatter from one individual who works in the finance industry who claims that the Obama administrationjust are artificially propping up housing prices as long as possible. That perspective is starting to gain more creedence.

What this means is that we haven't reached bottom at all. And this recession/depression is going go a lot longer than we actually thought.

Walk away

2010-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Back in November of 2009 I mentioned this article where a college professor argued for homeowners who are barely treading water to jump ship and walk away from their homes.

I was a bit shocked when I read this considering this came from an academic. I also view foreclosure as the atom bomb of real estate. It puts an end to everything and the financial ramifications can be present for years. A foreclosure pretty shows up anywhere credit checks are required.

There is also a huge social stigma attached to it. The F in foreclosure pretty much means failure. And losing a home to foreclosure says the world that you have no idea how to control your life.

However, it looks like no one give a flying f**k.

I'm walking from my underwater mortgage

I stopped paying my $1,450-a-month mortgage on my 200-year-old, four-bedroom home in September 2008 -- after making the hard decision to walk away from my mortgage because it is hopelessly underwater.

It is not an easy decision to walk away from your home, and in the beginning I actually felt like a loser. That was the hardest part.

You see, I was raised to live up to my financial responsibilities. I was taught plenty about personal responsibility. But in this case I had no practical solutions to my financial dilemma -- I lost my job, was turned down for a mortgage modification and owed a lot more than the house is worth.

From what I can gather Ms. Speer is a responsible person who got slammed with unemployment, medical bills and being a single parent. Basically stuck in the proverbial rock and hard place. And she has no shame. And why should she? A lot of these factors were completely out of her control.

Tishman Speyer Walked Away From Its Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village Mortgage. Why Can't You?

NEW YORK — Tishman Speyer Properties walks away from 11,232 Manhattan apartments because it can't pay its mortgage. That's good business.

Rick Gilson, a college custodial supervisor in South Dakota, wants to walk away from the mortgage on his mobile home. If he does, he'll be a deadbeat.

Back in the late 1980's when the last real estate bubble popped, a lot of commercial owners simply walked into the bank and turned in their keys. Professionally speaking, a lot of these owners never recovered. Personally, they were fine since they were protected by an LLC or had the proper legal protections in place so their lenders could not go after them for their personal assets.

This looks bad for Tishman, but the way the deal was structured, a fraction of the money that was put in was their own while the rest was OPM. Of course, the investors could slap together a lawsuit but it would probably be futile at best because Tishman probably put the proper fail safes in place so any legal fall out would not come their way.

That is why personal homeowners like Rick Gilson are more at risk because they have no protection at all if they decide to walk away. They can either lose money on a rapidly depreciating asset or face the reality of never being able to get a credit card or cell phone service if they walk away.

Ditching your home.

As indicated from the link above, walking away from a home has become an industry unto itself with companies providing kits in how to properly give up your home. The only reason why a company like this would exist is if there is demand for these types of services. And demand is waaay up.

So what does this tell us?

Any recovery is going to long, slow and painful.

This is a buyer's market.

This is a great time to talk to the real estate department in any bank.

If you are not one of these people who are walking away, be thankful.

If you one of these people walking away, keep your head up. You are not alone.