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Some Very Tragic And Difficult Stories Of Property Owners Who Are In Extreme Financial Distress

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “The contours of the ruin caused in New York City are emerging. City unemployment rate climbed to nearly 20 percent in July with nearly a fifth of jobs wiped out, year-to-year. Many of the jobless have neither the money to pay rent, nor to pick up and move. Squeezed between loan payments and property taxes, many landlords will face bankruptcy. Many of the city landlords don’t have the cash to absorb the losses, especially given that ‘most of the properties are leveraged to the hilt,’ said James Ryan​, founder of anti-homelessness nonprofit Time for Homes.”

“The exodus from San Francisco is putting pressure on prospective sellers. ‘I had one client who spent $50,000 renovating their home in Mission Dolores [San Francisco] – a very desirable, walkable neighborhood,’ Redfin agent Gabrielle Bunker said. ‘They put in new floors, fancy kitchen appliances and a high-power electric-car charger. They got zero offers, and now they’re thinking about moving back in. Buyers here have so many choices right now.'”

“‘While NAR appreciates and is supportive of administration efforts to ensure struggling Americans can remain in their homes, this order as-written will bring chaos to our nation’s critical rental housing sector and put countless property owners out of business,’ National Association of Realtors President Vince Malta said. ‘Absent rental income, these small mom-and-pop property owners must continue to pay their mortgage, property taxes, employees and cleaning/maintenance services,’ National Association of Home Builders Chairman Chuck Fowke said.Without sufficient rental in ‘come, a number of properties would be pushed into foreclosure.'”

“Rich McGimsey, the owner of 315 apartments in Virginia, described the CDC order, and the pressure it puts on landlords, as a ‘burden.’ ‘What are we going to do? If nobody pays the rent, how are we going to pay our banks? How am I going to pay my employees?’ McGimsey said.”

“The nasty breakup between heavyweight builder John Fish and veteran developer Stephen Weiner just got nastier. Weiner has laid low since Fish filed a lawsuit in October that accused his former partner on a Boylston Street luxury condo project of backing out at the last minute, costing Fish tens of millions of dollars. Last spring, ‘despite the writing on the wall that the Project was not going to proceed, let alone succeed,’ Fish wanted to push ahead, according to Monday’s filing by the Weiners.”

“‘The Project had simply become too expensive and far too risky,’ the Weiners said. ‘At the time, and also in hindsight (and even without considering the current COVID-19 conditions), Stephen Weiner did John Fish a huge favor when he saved John Fish from himself.'”

“A mixture of coronavirus and social unrest may be setting portions of Chicago’s real estate market back by a year or more. Properties for sale have flooded neighborhoods such as Lakeshore East. It’s investors who have put much of the current supply on the market. New development has also contributed to oversupply. The city’s most saturated ZIP code, 60601, includes units at a 47-story tower called Cirrus, currently under construction. Vacant luxury condos, including new units at One Bennett Park, Vista Tower and No. 9, have also contributed to the glut.”

“The lender for embattled Costa Hollywood Beach Resorts acquired the property’s unsold condos, avoiding a bankruptcy auction. A federal bankruptcy judge confirmed the plans last week as part of the property owner’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan, according to South Florida Business Journal. The lender, Madison Realty Capital, is paying $43 million for the units. No qualified bids for the 52 unsold units and the common areas for the condo-hotel at 777 North Ocean Drive in Hollywood came by an Aug. 13 deadline, resulting in the acquisition. Madison lent the development group $70 million in 2016. The foreclosure suit against the development group and its principal alleged the group was in default of $41 million.”

“The coronavirus pandemic is speeding up an exodus to Toronto’s suburbs and beyond as white-collar workers, frustrated with the city’s lack of family-friendly homes, bet they will be able to continue working from home after the crisis ends. That exodus is putting pressure on Toronto’s once red-hot condo market at a time when a near-record number of units are under construction, hinting at a potential glut in the making.”

” The latest data shows apartment starts are up 22.9 per cent this year. ‘We’ve definitely seen a problem… with a tall and sprawl development pattern,’ said Cherise Burda, executive director at Ryerson University’s City Building Institute.”

“Low-deposit mortgage deals available to borrowers have plummeted in recent months as lenders play safer during the economic fall-out from coronavirus. Borrowers able to offer 10% of the value of a home as a deposit could have chosen from 779 deals at the start of March. Six months later, the choice was now down to around 60. Amy is relocating from Glasgow and had a mortgage agreed in principle, but has now been told she needs to offer more upfront. ‘I now need to make the difference up with another £20,000,’ the 38-year-old said. ‘It was all totally manageable, I don’t understand, it just seems ludicrous.'”

“During the confinement as a result of the Corona crisis, everything stopped in Spain. ‘The trend that is taking place in the rental housing market is an increase in supply. If we look at the data from the Community of Madrid, before the corona crisis there was an offer of 15,000 apartments for rent and now there are 28,000 homes. An offer that in some places in the center of Madrid has even increased by up to 70% as tourist rentals have moved to residential rentals,’ said David Caraballo, commercial director of Alquiler Seguro.”

“In March, the coronavirus crisis threatened to bring the roof down on the rental market that houses one-in-three Australians, as incomes crashed and evictions loomed. Many landlords are heavily geared — in debt — or have lost jobs or other income. They have been unable to afford to offer tenants lower rent and still meet their mortgages. Landlords, particularly self-funded retirees, have said that during the crisis, they’ve been forced to accept the non-payment of rent that is often their only income.”

“‘Many landlords out there feel like they are the forgotten ones,’ added Antonia Mercorella, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. ‘We are hearing some very tragic and difficult stories of property owners who are in extreme financial distress.'”

“Land prices in 38 of 100 intensively developed commercial and residential districts in the major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and elsewhere dipped in the April to June quarter of this year. Experts say the latest descent could be a major catalyst for change, possibly matching the scale of that seen in 2008 during the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.”

“According to real estate analyst Kazuyuki Yamashita, ‘the latest data represents a dramatic change and clearly marks a harbinger of weakening real estate prices in Japan.’ Average condominium prices in the Tokyo metropolitan area remained high in July, at above ¥60 million, a Real Estate Economic Institute survey showed last month, on a par with the peak prices seen when the bubble economy burst three decades ago.”

“‘There are various reasons why the real estate prices won’t become cheaper easily, but basically the condominium developers would suffer losses if they lowered the prices of condominiums they built at high costs,’ Yamashita said.”

“Jumbo (and super jumbo) mortgages are those that exceed the maximum amount that can be sold to government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which in most areas is a loan north of $484,350 (though more expensive counties have a higher cut off). Without those mortgage giants, banks either keep the loan on their books or lump it with other non-conforming mortgages and sell them as securities to investors.”

“But as Covid-19 gripped the U.S., that critical securities market reportedly dried up and banks became reluctant to add more risk to their portfolios. The pullback caused one measure of jumbo loan accessibility to plummet 50%-60%, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). ‘There was a huge drop-off,’ said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.”

“Another, tertiary option that could yield a good deal could be seeking advice from your tax team or accountant, who could have lenders to suggest. ‘They would be able to tell you if they may have other ways to structure that deal,’ said Ilyce Glink, CEO of Chicago-based financial health platform Best Money Moves. ‘If you’re very wealthy,’ she said, ‘you always assume you have a better place to park your money than in a house.'”

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  1. ‘‘despite the writing on the wall that the Project was not going to proceed, let alone succeed’…‘The Project had simply become too expensive and far too risky,’ the Weiners said. ‘At the time, and also in hindsight (and even without considering the current COVID-19 conditions), Stephen Weiner did John Fish a huge favor when he saved John Fish from himself’

    But UHS says Boston red-hotcakes? And this deal failed before the CCP virus!

  2. ‘Without those mortgage giants, banks either keep the loan on their books or lump it with other non-conforming mortgages and sell them as securities to investors…as Covid-19 gripped the U.S., that critical securities market reportedly dried up and banks became reluctant to add more risk to their portfolios. The pullback caused one measure of jumbo loan accessibility to plummet 50%-60%, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). ‘There was a huge drop-off’

    Again, these people whine and moan constantly, but when their a$$ is in the sling, they bail without a moments notice.

  3. ‘That exodus is putting pressure on Toronto’s once red-hot condo market at a time when a near-record number of units are under construction, hinting at a potential glut in the making…The latest data shows apartment starts are up 22.9 per cent this year. ‘We’ve definitely seen a problem… with a tall and sprawl development pattern’

    Tens of thousands of new, unsold, on the way, but UHS says red-hotcakes!

    1. Interesting … the condo builders, the condo REIC, and the condo buyers are counting on low 5 yr mortgage rates of 2% or less (Even from the large banks). BTW – Canadian mortgage system is different that the US since they will not have 30 year fixed. Have to get a new quote every 5 years.

      delta carrying costs and empty months of rental will really eat through their calculations.

      —-
      “Our findings reveal that across the City of Toronto, the average condo apartment purchase price from Q2 2020 was equal to about two decades worth of rent,” reads the Zoocasa report.

      “With the average condo price of $661,458 and the average monthly lease rate of $2,501, the price-to-rent ratio in the City of Toronto was 22.”

          2. or roommate.

            Had them once. NEVER AGAIN.

            I had one in college. These days? No thanks, I’d rather live by myself in a van.

    1. BREAKING NEWS
      Japanese conglomerate SoftBank fueled the recent stock market rally with a massive options bet on tech companies, people familiar with the matter say

      Markets

      SoftBank’s Bet on Tech Giants Fueled Powerful Market Rally
      Japanese conglomerate led by billionaire Masayoshi Son placed billions in options bets on fast rising tech stocks
      By Summer Said, Liz Hoffman
      and Gunjan Banerji
      Sept. 4, 2020 11:10 am ET

      Investors watching the vertigo-inducing rise—and Thursday’s fall—of technology stocks are buzzing about a single trade, a giant but shadowy bet on Silicon Valley big enough to pull the market up with it.

      The investor behind that trade, according to people familiar with the matter, is Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., which bought options tied to billions of dollars worth of individual tech stocks. Investors and analysts, aware of the activity but in the dark as to who is behind it, say it has turbocharged the tech sector, whose sheer size drives broader market moves.

      A SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment.

      The stock market rebounded to record highs this year despite serious pain in the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Tech stocks led the charge as work, school and entertainment shifted online, but entered a new phase in recent weeks.

      Before this week’s retreat, Apple Inc. had gained nearly $700 billion in market value since the end of July and Tesla Inc. shares more than doubled, making the electric car maker one of world’s 10 most valuable companies.
      To Read the Full Story
      Subscribe

        2. That’s a Wall Street Journal article.

          Thx, I was wondering what the source was. Very interesting.

        1. I’m pretty sure that a lot of Millennial RobinHood traders took the hit when SoftBank pulled the ripchord.

      4. wow – i was sure that tech run up was because of hedge funds. Interesting that Softbank was capable of driving this.

        Take APPL – the run up has to do with going from a reasonable but still high PE ratio of 20 end-March to 38x end-August. The increase in the price was just people monkeying with the PE ratio they see as acceptable.

        DATE STOCK PRICE TTM NET EPS PE RATIO
        2020-08-26 506.09 – 38.49
        2020-06-30 364.80 $13.15 27.74
        2020-03-31 254.29 $12.75 19.94

    2. Are your enjoying the sight of your tech stock shares getting flushed down the toilet?

      Do you think those jackwads who bought Tesla for $495 a few days ago and watched it fall to $372 are happily HODLing and pleased with their purchases?

        1. They’re just HODLing through the dip until the next market rally to ever greater heights!

          Perhaps so, because I just noticed the stock has done a complete reversal and is on a tear again, up 3% today to $420 after being down almost 9%.

          1. There’s that crazy number again 420…..didn’t musk want to take his company private at the number last year???

          2. There’s that crazy number again 420

            420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is cannabis culture slang for marijuana and hashish consumption, especially smoking around the time 4:20 pm, and also refers to cannabis-oriented celebrations that take place annually on April 20 (which is 4/20 in U.S. form).

        1. All for a company building EVs which are less than 3% of total market share, and a company which is losing market share to other newcomers in the space. This stock price is a sham.

    3. Coronavirus update: Vaccine EUA before Election Day called ‘extremely unlikely’
      Apple’s market cap falls below $2 trillion as stock enters correction territory

      The Tell
      This ‘Nasdaq whale’ may have triggered the stock-market’s brutal rout, claims report
      Published: Sept. 4, 2020 at 11:49 a.m. ET
      By Mark DeCambre
      Referenced Symbols
      DJIA
      -1.64%
      SPX
      -1.88%
      COMP
      -2.61%
      TSLA
      -2.22%
      AAPL
      -2.08%

      The trigger for a seismic stock-market slump Thursday and Friday that has erased weeks of gains for a frothy U.S. stock market, may have been embattled investment firm SoftBank, according to a report by Financial Times (paywall).

      The report from the London-based financial paper says that Japanese investing conglomerate SoftBank has been loading up on options in technology stocks over the past several months that contributed to the rally and now the punishing declines in equity markets over the past 24 hours.

      The FT, quoted one investment banker as describing the options purchases that SoftBank made as “dangerous” bets on the market.

      Experts have said that the boom in options bets in recent weeks helped make the market more vulnerable to massive pullbacks like those being experienced on Thursday and Friday.
      …

      1. The FT, quoted one investment banker as describing the options purchases that SoftBank made as “dangerous” bets on the market.

        Lots of dangerous and systemically risky bets and “investment instruments” being allowed in these Ponzi markets, while captured regulators and enforcers turn a blind eye.

        1. Lots of dangerous and systemically risky bets and “investment instruments” being allowed in these Ponzi markets, while captured regulators and enforcers turn a blind eye.

          Yup, there was no meaningful reform after the GFC. And now the bets are even bigger and there are no doubt even riskier “instruments” out there.

          1. no meaningful reform after the GFC

            Has any single thing been fixed in the past decade or so? There must be something.

  5. ‘I had one client who spent $50,000 renovating their home in Mission Dolores [San Francisco] – a very desirable, walkable neighborhood…’They got zero offers’

    Wa? Zero offers! Sacré bleu!!

    Good thing everybody put 20% down.

    1. ‘I had one client who spent $50,000 renovating their home in Mission Dolores [San Francisco] – a very desirable, walkable neighborhood…’They got zero offers’

      I love these kinds of stories. Historically, remodels were a poor “investment,” returning like $.50 on the dollar. Pimpin’ your shack out to sell it is a new concept – a bubble thing.

      2. It depends on how cheap you can buy the house. If you pay more than 1/3 under comps, you’re going to lose money. It’s even worse in flyover states, where it costs more to renovate than the house is worth.

      3. “Historically, remodels were a poor “investment,” returning like $.50 on the dollar.”

        Bathrooms first, kitchen second. Anything else is a gamble.

    2. I had one client who spent $50,000 renovating their home My brother works in that field, in the Boston area. Years ago one of his clients spent $500,000 renovating his $500,000 home and after that it was only worth $750,000. The involved contractors shook their heads and collected their fees.

      1. It was probably a bid to his house featured on “This Old House”. The projects shown on there are almost always complete rebuilds.

    3. “…Mission Dolores [San Francisco] – a very desirable…? “…They got zero offers…”

      Mr. Market has spoken. It’s not *that* desirable, is it?

          1. Decriminalized shoplifting? Jeebus…

            Wasn’t it several years ago that Clownifornia decided not to prosecute any theft under $1,000? Coupled with the fact that you’re not allowed to physically detain them, the thugs just started brazenly walking out of stores with whatever they wanted, with a “f**k you” to the owner.

            A few years back I was in a Macy’s and the North Face rep was there in the men’s section. She was friendly and chatting me up as she was restocking the items. She told me that the day prior some black guy had grabbed as many jackets as he could physically carry and just walked right out, so the store needed her to come replace them.

          3. Shoplifting is still a misdemeanor in California. What prosecutors can’t do anymore is charge it as felony second degree commercial burglary which carries a three year prison term.

  6. ‘Many of the city landlords don’t have the cash to absorb the losses, especially given that ‘most of the properties are leveraged to the hilt’

    I only pointed this out for years. And it’s nationwide, extending across CRE.

    1. I only pointed this out for years. And it’s nationwide, extending across CRE.

      Pshaw, Ben Jones. Nobody could’ve seen this coming. Every talking head on all the financial networks assure me of this. They have models and stuff, so I believe them.

      1. “…Every talking head on all the financial networks assure me of this…”

        Besides, their all experts, have great hair, and wear expensive suits.

        Who am I to question the intelligentsia?

  7. Many of the city landlords don’t have the cash to absorb the losses, especially given that ‘most of the properties are leveraged to the hilt,’ said James Ryan​, founder of anti-homelessness nonprofit Time for Homes.”

    “Leveraged to the hilt,” huh? And who’s fault is that?

    Speculators gambled and lost. Sucks to be you, bagholders.

    BTW, you notice how none of these “anti-homelessness non-profits,” aka Democrat patronage and graft rackets, ever address the true cause of unaffordable housing: the insane asset bubbles blown by the Fed and its $16 trillion in “stimulus” since 2009?

    1. “… insane asset bubbles blown by the Fed”, aka Magical Wealth Generation Mechanism.

      Please try to keep up.

  8. “‘While NAR appreciates and is supportive of administration efforts to ensure struggling Americans can remain in their homes, this order as-written will bring chaos to our nation’s critical rental housing sector and put countless property owners out of business,’ National Association of Realtors President Vince Malta said.”

    More crocodile tears from the organization that set up millions of “homeowners” to fail by putting them into overpriced shacks they were manifestly incapable of paying for given their income and credit status.

  9. “Rich McGimsey, the owner of 315 apartments in Virginia, described the CDC order, and the pressure it puts on landlords, as a ‘burden.’ ‘What are we going to do? If nobody pays the rent, how are we going to pay our banks? How am I going to pay my employees?’ McGimsey said.”

    What are you going to do? Why, stamp your little feet, what else!

    (You screwed-over mom & pop landlords might also start taking an active interest in government overreach and its unintended consequences.)

    1. What are you going to do? Why, stamp your little feet, what else!

      I actually feel for these people. Imagine owning a rental and having the government declare that your tenants no longer have to pay you and you can’t kick them out. That’s not cool at all. This is BS.

      1. It also would seem to be blatantly unconstitutional in that this is both a taking and nullify a contract between two private parties. The ramifications should ripple further than just real estate. If you are a foreign investor looking at this would this not cause you to reconsider and have a closer look at the Freedom Index to see just how close the US of A is to ‘shit hole’ status? And f’ this administration for not doing the right thing on so many counts. The only person in government who has steered through this correctly is the governor of South Dakota. Anyway electing Trump will give us a little more time to stock food and ammo and maybe organize a bug-out location. The election results just changes the timeline of when the rivers of blood begin to flow. We are all Kulaks now.

        2. nullify a contract between two private parties Where in the US Constitution are the feds not allowed to do this? The USSC is on record as permitting the federal nullification of a certain kind of contract back in 1933 or so.

          1. I get it but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_Clause See Modification of private contracts. Also see the 5th Amendment regarding Taking.

            Don’t discount that your standard of living is partly due to the government not acting like a GD Banana republic on a daily basis. We will succeed to the extent freedom is given a chance to flourish or to the degree that we can find a way around the government (grey and black markets).

        3. If you are a foreign investor where else would you look? The USA still seems like the best rotten apple in the whole barrel of rotten apples.

          1. My reading of the Contract Clause is that it only applies to state governments modifying contracts, says nil about what the feds can do. As far as “takings” go, I look at what the USSC has so far allowed, and it seems to be the feds can take anything they want.

        4. The election results just changes the timeline of when the rivers of blood begin to flow.

          The WaPo came out with one of their hyperventilating editorials saying if Biden didn’t get elected, there would be a catastrophe, cats and dogs living together, etc. Yawn.

          For all the talk of civil war, I don’t know of anyone who lives in the real world who actually wants one. The so-called Boogaloo Boys might chest-thump on the Internet, and they make a great boogyman for the globalist media, but I think 99.9 percent of that movement is sh!t-posting and standard teen boy anti-authority spouting off. We survived Clinton and Obama; I think we’ll survive Biden, if he gets elected. One key difference between the Right and the Left: the vast majority of people on the right will accept the results of the election even if it doesn’t go our way, and will wake up the next day like we always do and go about our business. No hysterical weeping videos and vicarious displays of grief on YouTube for us – we’ve got families to take care of.

          2. We also survived 8 years of Bush. I admit I had a mini-meltdown when Kerry lost. I think it’s ok to be upset over things — we’re all passionate. It’s okay to weep hysterically in front of friends. However, the idea of recording yourself while you’re upset and then posting it online for friends and strangers alike to see is rather foreign to me. I guess I’m old school.

          3. One key difference between the Right and the Left: the vast majority of people on the right will accept the results of the election even if it doesn’t go our way, and will wake up the next day like we always do and go about our business.

            You are forgetting Bush vs Gore, lots of people out protesting that one on the right.

      2. your tenants no longer have to pay you and you can’t kick them out.

        Remember those tenants were getting $2400 on top of that. And I don’t expect them to have to pay back that rent ever either. No wonder they are living their best life.

      3. I actually feel for these people. Imagine owning a rental and having the government declare that your tenants no longer have to pay you and you can’t kick them out. That’s not cool at all. This is BS.

        Agreed.

        1. I love how Federalism is a concept that’s too hard for people who sh*tpost, but want to pretend they understand what’s up with C19.

  10. ‘I now need to make the difference up with another £20,000,’ the 38-year-old said. ‘It was all totally manageable, I don’t understand, it just seems ludicrous.’”

    Amy is too stupid to figure out she just dodged a bullet.

  11. Many landlords are heavily geared — in debt — or have lost jobs or other income. They have been unable to afford to offer tenants lower rent and still meet their mortgages.

    Time to channel Elvis:

    We’re caught in a trap
    We can’t walk out….

  13. “‘Many landlords out there feel like they are the forgotten ones,’ added Antonia Mercorella, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. ‘We are hearing some very tragic and difficult stories of property owners who are in extreme financial distress.’”

    Boo f**king hoo. These self-same speculators were bragging at cocktail parties of yesteryear how well their leveraged bets on real estate were swelling their net work, while the responsible and prudent were priced out of decent housing. Now I can’t wait to see everyone who went all in on the central bankers’ fraudulent “wealth creation” get their heads handed to them.

    1. Boo, what about the ordinary folks that looked at the investing landscape with 0% yield on what was considered ‘safe’ investments and decided to deploy their capital into investment property vs say the stock market?

      After the Fed’s monkey f’ing the dollar and interest rates, the only options left from an investment standpoint are speculative by definition of the risk profile for most of these types of investments when compared to their respective rates of return. Not playing at all and being eaten by inflation is of course another avenue as is the insurance bet of buying precious metals… but you get my point?

      I’m not saying there are not dirtball investors but there sure as hell are dirtball renters taking advantage of the CDC and previous CAREs Act to live as a dead beats on the backs of mom and pop investors by not paying rent when they could have. The fallout should be interesting to say the least regarding qualifying renters after this is over.

      1. Boo, what about the ordinary folks that looked at the investing landscape with 0% yield on what was considered ‘safe’ investments and decided to deploy their capital into investment property vs say the stock market?

        Anyone who levered up on debt to buy into a housing bubble is part of the problem. True, the Fed is the central villain of the piece, as its War on Savers forced yield seekers to play in rigged “markets” where they could be fleeced by its insider cronies, or (worse) to buy insanely overpriced real estate or other asset bubbles. But there was always a third option: refuse to play the Fed’s rigged game out of principle, and out of a prudent assessment that the Fed’s Ponzi markets and asset bubbles were unsustainable in the long run – which has turned out to be a lot longer than I ever thought possible.

        1. Great post, and I generally agree.

          However, note also that we appear to be approaching the Fed’s End Game, as we have recently learned that they have been pumping in north of $1 billion of Unlimited Quantitative Easing per hour, and plan to keep interest rates pinned to the mat for another five years ahead. Their historically unprecedented and extremely distortionary policies threaten to destroy the system of market-based incentives that have made the U.S. economy an engine of growth and widespread prosperity for a couple of centuries.

          Hence I don’t expect the current regime to last for much longer.

      2. Shill, you’re on point, people have been forced into participating in the housing bubble. Just about everyone needs a fixed abode, certainly if they’re working at a steady job.

        Don’t tar everyone with the same brush. The rental community I live in is still owned by the family-owned company that built it in the 80’s. If they are financially ruined by this BS, what happens then? Does some giant corporation that still has money come in and buy the place, then raise rents to meet their ROI targets? How does that scenario help those of us who live there?

        1. Well, if they built it in the 1980’s then the houses SHOULD be paid for, so they should be able to easily survive dealing with some dead beats.

          Now, if they cashed out to use the equity for something else: oh well.

    2. I remember a young realtor in 2006 explaining to me How Leverage Works. I was amazed. He had three rentals!

      Couple months later he just up and split town saying he had to make some quick money. He was running for office, too.

      Never saw him again.

      1. Couple months later he just up and split town saying he had to make some quick money. He was running for office, too.

        You left a lot to the imagination here. Did he stop paying and lose the properties?

      2. I remember the Escondido based loan officer who helped me sign the paperwork on a 2005 car purchase ask me for advice on whether it was time to cash out of her investment condos. Hopefully for her, she acted on my suggestion to take the money and run.

    3. Boo, what about the ordinary folks that looked at the investing landscape with 0% yield on what was considered ‘safe’ investments and decided to deploy their capital into investment property vs say the stock market?

      I managed to avoid it…why couldn’t they?

      Sorry, but these people still made a choice, with risks. If they didn’t understand they were “investing” (gambling?) with leverage, then it’s an expensive lesson for them to learn now…

      1. I predict many, many more vaccine announcements lie ahead than actual vaccines. And Wall Street traders will cash out some change on each one of them.

    2. “I don’t think there will EVER be a vaccine…”

      Here’s a November trial batch; now roll-up your sleeve…

  15. Are there any legal eagles around here paying attention to these eviction moratoriums and the legal ramifications? Can’t landlords still sue tenants for unpaid rent and seek a judgment? In such case, the deadbeats would still owe tens of thousands and would hopefully be haunted by this back rent.

    1. AFAIK, recourse via the courts is halted because of the moratoriums. Once the moratoriums are lifted, the flood gates open. Practically speaking, landlords might have better luck getting blood from a turnip.

      1. Practically speaking, landlords might have better luck calling 1-800-GOT-GOONS. This possibility has been mentioned here before.

      2. But doesn’t the point when moratoriums are scheduled to be lifted offer another opportunity for government authorities to kick the can further down the road? And frankly, I have a hard time imagining COVID-19 going away by early 2021, regardless of who occupies the WH by then. Landlords could collectively be pretty broke by whenever the can kicking excercises conclude.

    2. Even if a landlord was successful in suing and securing a judgement against the deadbeat tenant, which will take forever, the chance of the landlord actually collecting on the judgment is going to be nil. This is in reality a joke of a remedy.

      1. If somebody owes me tens of thousands of dollars, you can bet your asz I’m going to get a judgment. From there, I will go after wage garnishment. It may be a joke to you, but it’s not a joke for those who it happens to. They will be forced to go BK, or be haunted by horrific credit and a shrinking paycheck.

        1. Being “forced” into bankruptcy and the resulting fresh start is actually the best thing that could happen to a lot of debtors. Its not much of threat as far as landlords are concerned.

        2. Your concept works fine on an individual basis, but may fall apart when millions of tenants collectively stiff their landlords under cover of government decree.

          One thing is for certain: The large number of renters who have stopped making the monthly in order to conserve cash needed to pay for food and electricity will not somehow be able to magically cough up a year or more in rental payments to make their landlords whole when the moratoriums end.

  16. ‘Court documents reportedly show that convicted child sex offender Joseph D. Rosenbaum, one of the Black Lives Matter rioters that 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting last week, was convicted of molesting, abusing, and sodomizing five boys aged 9 to 11 years old.’

    ‘Rosenbaum first drew suspicion when the mother of one of the victims noticed burn marks on her son in March. When the boy was asked about the injury, he revealed that he had been sexually molested by Rosenbaum.’

    https://nationalfile.com/docs-pedo-shot-by-kyle-rittenhouse-sodomized-molested-multiple-boys-as-young-as-9-years-old/

    1. A lot of these people are just crazy. The antifa guy who shot that person in Portland recently got killed by arresting police last night. He was a nut job too.

        1. who was just down there to stir up trouble. I am pretty sure this applies to the vast majority of the rioters in Portland and Seattle. Ignore stated intentions and watch the behavior.

          1. When the riots are over, where do these outside agitators go? They must have come from somewhere, and they must go somewhere once it’s over. Has anyone tried to track any of them?

          2. When the riots are over, where do these outside agitators go?

            I think it’s sometimes know as the wrong side of the tracks.

          3. “When the riots are over, where do these outside agitators go?”

            Back to their parent’s basements to open the collection letters on their student loans.

      2. He executed that guy in Portland. He knew he was going to prison for life, or at least a very long time, which is why he went out in a hail of gunfire – suicide by cop.

      3. A lot of these people are just crazy. There are alot of “just crazy” people on the loose, and that’s been true for decades now. Most of them are harmless, except to themselves, most of the time. In times of discord, fear, and free-floating hatred like these, violence tends to emerge.

    2. I recently read a NYT piece on the QAnon movement. While I’d been vaguely aware there was such a thing, I was floored by the movement’s size and growth – millions of adherents, and since lockdown Q-related FB pages have seen explosive growth. I’m no fan of Hillary Clinton and I think most of the Democrat top echelons and their donors are corrupt, vile people, but to accusing them (literally) of taking part in Satanic rituals and cannibalizing babies seems bat-sh!t crazy. I couldn’t believe that so many otherwise sane people are buying into this whole Q conspiracy, with the most ludicrous part being, they expect mass arrests of these high-level malefactors by the FBI – like that would ever happen. Still, when you see the prevalence of pedophilia and occult symbology among these people, and how pedos like Jeffrey Epstein were allowed to operate with impunity for years, you have to wonder.

      1. Could be a relief valve pysop for the Red Team. I will say that when there is smoke there is fire. You could just scratch the surface on the DC Pizzagate scandal and figure out that James Ale fantis should not have gone from zero to hero unless he was well connected. He and the Podesta’s have extremely messed up taste in art and hobbies and I’m only referring to what these guys made public over the years.

        There might also be some gas lighting injected and other obviously nutty stuff to make people look no further.

        1. I will say that when there is smoke there is fire.

          Not always. People deserve the benefit of the doubt. If there are suspicions or accusations, they need to be evidence-based. REAL, credible evidence, not wild accusations or fabrications on the Internet.

      2. IF they expect mass arrests of these high-level malefactors by the FBI they are terminally ignorant. The FBI is our highest level of maleficence.

      3. I decided I don’thave to wonder any more, having worked so long in ERs. This is a fallen world, and what I do still wonder about is just how things aren’t even worse than they really are. I stopped counting how many non-patients have confessed to me of being raped or otherwise sexually abused as children. I must have “Tell me” tattooed on my forehead or something.

        1. I stopped counting how many non-patients have confessed to me of being raped or otherwise sexually abused as children.

          Sadly, not surprising. From yesterday:

          https://www.kfvs12.com/2020/09/04/us-marshals-find-missing-teen-girls-clevelands-west-side-part-operation-safety-net/

          CLEVELAND Ohio (WOIO) – About 200 children are missing right now in Northeast Ohio.

          Operation Safety Net recovered nearly 30 missing children so far, and the sting is continuing right now.

          The task force, led by U.S. Marshals, is working with local partners to get endangered kids to safety.

          “These are kids that have been abused, neglected. Some involved in human trafficking,” said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott.

          Two more children were found late Thursday afternoon on Cleveland’s West Side.

          The 14- and 15-year-old girls were reported missing from Jackson Township on Aug. 28.

          The girls were turned over to Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services

          U.S. Marshals will continue asking for support from the community in locating missing children from across Ohio.

          Tips about where these kids may be can be called into the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-866-492-6833.

          1. Lots of those “missing” children are teenagers who ran away from not so great homes and foster homes. Younger ones are often the subject of custody battles and/or parental custodial interference.

            Notice how the missing children recovered by police news articles never give any details. There’s a reason for that. Police PR people want the public to assume the worst and support their next request for increased funding.

        2. A large percentage of sexual abuse memories are total BS. Kids are fed all sorts of lies by parents fighting for custody and by wack-a-do therapists. After a while they start believing the allegations.

      4. The fact that every single lamestream media outlet goes out of its way to discredit the QAnon phenomena (which is pretty underground IMO) only confirms that there is some truth to the claims. Pizzagate, the Podesta art, the spirit cooking – something is going on. Plus time and time again politicians, media spokesholes and criminals, all of whom suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, get busted for being pedos. Didnt the failed economist Krugman even claim he was QAnon’d when he got nabbed? This thug that was deaded in Kenosha is just the most recent example.

        Makes you wonder about a certain po$ter here, doesnt it?

    4. ‘Court documents reportedly show that convicted child sex offender Joseph D. Rosenbaum, one of the Black Lives Matter rioters that 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting last week, was convicted of molesting, abusing, and sodomizing five boys aged 9 to 11 years old.’

      This is why black voters are flocking to Trump in droves. Between Hiden’ Biden telling them they’re not black if they don’t vote for him, and a bunch of white nut jobs calling themselves “Antifa” co-opting the BLM movement, blacks are waking up to the sham.

      1. If any group of people gather around a principle of violence, they are going to draw mentally unstable individuals. I had some conversations with people the past few months who were making way too much of this riots thing. They were over-reacting, thinking it was civil war, etc. I said to them this is a small group of paid, violent lunatics and it’ll burn itself out. Yesterday one of them admitted to me Soros handed the election to Trump.

        1. ‘Operation Legend, a federal initiative to combat murder and violent crime in major U.S. cities, has recorded over 2,000 arrests and seized large quantities of narcotics since the program’s July inception, according to the Department of Justice.’

          ‘A total of 147 people have been arrested for homicide, 544 firearms have been seized, and around 182 pounds (83 kilograms) of narcotics—including heroin, cocaine, meth, and fentanyl—have been removed from the streets during the operation, according to a Thursday Department of Justice press release.’

          https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/09/03/operation-legend-made-2000-arrests-seized-around-182-pounds-of-drugs-since-july-doj-says/

        2. It’s like that quote you posted about never interrupting your enemy when they’re making a mistake. The Dems totally sh!t the bed again. They just don’t get it. Their policies stink, and their lies are transparent. As a result, they lose elections.

          1. It follows my theory on oppositions doubling down after Brexit and 2016. A good example is illegal immigration. Now Biden wants open borders (after he an Obammie deported 3 million). Yet Tucson, a fairly liberal and largely Hispanic city rejected sanctuary city status by a wide margin. Did they learn anything from that? Oh hell no.

            People on the border know who the cartels are. They are running the human smuggling and make billion$ every year doing it. These people are some of the worst individuals who have ever lived. If you don’t believe me spend a few hours looking it up. It’ll ruin your day.

          2. “The Dems totally sh!t the bed again. ”

            Yet people still vote for them. They spend all their energy is race & gender issues. They are just wiped out after that. It shows.

          3. “As a result, they lose elections”

            You should review the U.S. National election returns of … 2018

            “Oh Nancy Pelo$i!” … Ouch!

        3. this is a small group of paid, violent lunatics and it’ll burn itself out. Ben, I want you to be proven right on this topic.

          1. I do to. Small groups of lunatics have been change agents throughout recorded history, especially in the age of the Internet.

          3. I’m crossing my fingers for burn out and a lot of arrests of the nuts . The ones that think they are in a Revolution are a little more concerning to me because they are more organized and funded than your average nut. Also, it looked like a lot of homeless were in the rioters groups, so I don’t know if they just got pulled into the movement because they are Street people with nothing to lose ,or what.

        4. “If any group of people gather around a principle of violence, they are going to draw mentally unstable individuals.

          So True Mr. Ben!

          H.G. Wells:
          “The first man to raise a fist is the man who’s run out of ideas.”

          Blue Lives Matter supporters arrested with slew of firearms outside Kenosha after police received tip about possible shooting, DOJ says

          ABC News / ALEXANDER MALLIN and MEREDITH DELISO
          September 3, 2020

          Two Missouri men were arrested on firearm charges after a tipster warned law enforcement the pair were traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with assault-style weapons, according to court documents.

          Michael M. Karmo, 40, and Cody E. Smith, 33, were arrested at a hotel near Kenosha on Tuesday and charged with illegal possession of firearms, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. According to the criminal complaint against them, they were found with a major cache of firearms and weapons in their vehicle and hotel room that included an AR-15, a shotgun, handguns, a dagger, a saw and magazines.

          According to the complaint, the Kenosha Police Department advised the FBI on Tuesday that a law enforcement agency in Iowa had received a tip that Karmo and an unidentified man were traveling with firearms from Missouri to Kenosha. Karmo allegedly told the tipster on Aug. 31 that “he was going to Kenosha with the intention of possibly using the firearms on people,” the complaint stated.

          Text messages between Karmo and the tipster allegedly included a photograph of Karmo holding a rifle with a drum-style magazine in it along with the message, “This is the game changer,” the complaint said

          FBI officials tracked down Karmo and Smith Tuesday evening outside a Toyota Highlander in the parking lot of a hotel in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the complaint said. Items allegedly recovered from the car and their hotel room included an Armory AR-15 assault rifle, a Mossberg 500 AB 12-Gauge shotgun, two handguns, a “homemade silencer-type device,” a twisted cable survival saw, ammunition, body armor and a drone, according to the complaint.

      2. Also remember that the Dems abandoned the Blacks in favor of illegal Browns. Who do you think was mowing the lawns and cleaning houses in, say 1985? Who’s doing them now? Illegal tax cheats. The Dems think they have the Black vote the same way Hillary thought she had the Rust Belt vote.

        2. Insult to injury, they get a token black as a vp candidate.
          They have no freaking clue how insulting that is to any thinking man/woman/neutral.

          1. Because if the liberals are going to focus on someone’s DNA, then the conservatives should be able to do the same.

    1. There’s really nothing to fear, as EVERYONE knows that each market swoon is merely a prelude to even higher near term prices…EVERYONE!

      1. What would these Ponzi markets look like if the Fed wasn’t pumping $1.4 billion EVERY HOUR into asset purchases?

        2. That number is truly mind boggling. It’s hard to imagine their virtual printing press running at that rate indefinitely!

    2. There’s a fairly powerful downwards pull on share prices today. I wonder if it could reflect margin calls in the wake of collapsing leveraged investment schemes?

      1. At some point the deteriorating fundamentals and staggering debt burdens are going to overwhelm the Fed’s ability to prop up the Ponzi.

  19. Oh dan, I mean dear…

    Leaked Reports Reveal Financial Crisis in China’s Dalian City

    ‘China’s gross domestic product (GDP) numbers have long been questioned by the international community due to its lack of transparency. Data from recently leaked government internal documents from Dalian city of Liaoning Province reveal a grim picture of China’s economy amid the resurgence of COVID-19 in different regions since July.’

    ‘While the global economy has declined sharply this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and most countries’ economies have had negative growth rates, China has reported a 3.2 percent rise in its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, according to its National Bureau of Statistics.’

    ‘However, the leaked documents obtained by The Epoch Times reveal that Dalian city’s economy took a dive in the first half of 2020 and government debt was ten times above the international warning level set by the European Union.’

    ‘The internal report shows that in the first four months of 2020, the absolute number of “social fixed asset investment” decreased by 25.7 percent year-on-year, and the city-wide growth rate was -17 percent. In the first five months of this year, the year-on-year growth rate was -14.3 percent. The city’s growth rate is at -8.9 percent.’

    “Total retail sales of consumer goods” fell 20.1 percent year-on-year in the first four months, with a citywide decrease of 24.6 percent; in the first five months of this year, there was a year-on-year decrease of 64.2 percent and a citywide decrease of 21.4 percent.’

    “Commercial housing sales” in the first four months decreased by 53.8 percent year-on-year, and the city’s growth rate dropped 14.8 percent; in the first five months of this year, the year-on-year growth rate was -48.1 percent, and the city’s growth rate was -21.9 percent.’

    ‘The “total retail sales of consumer goods,” which has the greatest impact on GDP, has continued to decline, even falling below 60 percent in Lushunkou. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that consumption has contributed as much as 60 to 80 percent of China’s GDP in the past three years.’

    ‘The real numbers are disclosed in Lushunkou’s “Report on Work to Prevent and Resolve Government Debt Risks,” submitted to the Dalian municipal government: “As of the end of June 2020, the total debt balance of Lushunkou was 27.68 billion yuan, including the 13.292 billion government debt and the 14.388 billion hidden debt.” “Our district debt ratio is 736.30 percent, and the hidden debt risk level is red,” it noted.’

    ‘The district government has actually gone bankrupt, as China current affairs commentator Li Linyi said, after analyzing the data shown on the internal report. The district government stated in the report that in 2020, it needs to repay 3.48 billion yuan debt; however, it only has “100 million yuan in budget ” to pay for it. The Lushunkou district government listed many tactics to find money to pay the remaining 3.38 billion yuan debt, including “withdrawing money” from the banking industry and land financing—“make full use of idle land” and “taking land to finance through the newly formed State Development & Investment Corporation,” the document stated.’

    ‘Li believes that this means that the higher-level CCP authorities are fully aware of the government debt risks, knowing that they could capsize at any time. Thus, they are trying to find out the real internal numbers. This also confirms that the CCP’s debt crisis is far beyond the outside world’s imagination and has already exceeded the critical line of a financial crisis, he added.’

    ‘The resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak since July has caused several areas in Dalian to be locked down again. Residential communities in Dalian were continuously sealed off by authorities. Many residents became unemployed and economic production came to a halt. Li pointed out that the CCP’s lockdown measures have worsened Dalian’s economic decline.’

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/leaked-reports-reveal-financial-crisis-in-chinas-dalian-city_3486304.html

    1. ‘As of the end of June 2020, the total debt balance of Lushunkou was 27.68 billion yuan, including the 13.292 billion government debt and the 14.388 billion hidden debt’

      Now that’s some bean countin’!

    2. I don’t know how China has managed to keep it together. Their bubble is so epic that it’s like the 8th wonder of the world.

      1. Epoch Times is what media should be: bringing the truth to light, instead of covering it up like Real Journalists do.

        1. “Real Journalism” is about covering stories that make the left look bad … with a pillow, until they stop moving.

    4. “Commercial housing sales” in the first four months decreased by 53.8 percent year-on-year, and the city’s growth rate dropped 14.8 percent; in the first five months of this year, the year-on-year growth rate was -48.1 percent, and the city’s growth rate was -21.9 percent.’

      Is that a lot?

      Hey Elon Musk, here’s an idea: Create a generator to harness the energy released by the stamping of little feet on Butt-Hurt Island, where HBB castaways like ABQ Dan and Bill the Anarchist-Capitalist self-exile after repeatedly being called out on their b.s. here on the blog. That would be like a perpetual motion machine and could power a small city.

    1. Twelve years and running since 2008…and something like thirty years thus far for Japan.

      But who is counting?

  26. Are you concerned about a possible repeat of the 1929 stock market crash that ushered in the 1930s Great Depression?

    Unfortunately, it was immediately preceded by a similar stock market blowout top with no fundamental support to the one that has played out over the past six months, and before that by the Roaring Twenties, a period of similar asset market euphoria to the Fed’s Quantitative Easing bubble from 2009-2020.

    2. Are you concerned about a possible repeat of the 1929 stock market crash that ushered in the 1930s Great Depression?
      I am far more concerned about the situation on 4 Mar 1933 when FDR took office. Not a bank in the USA was open that day. That made the stock market crash look like no problem at all.

    3. Asset Management
      ‘We are clearly seeing a correction and tech bubble will burst’, warns top fund manager
      By Shruti Tripathi Chopra
      September 4, 2020 10:51 pm

      What does today’s stock market seesaw mean? A correction is here and the “tech bubble” will burst, according to top investor Rob Arnott who is known as the “godfather of smart-beta” investing.

      “We are clearly seeing a correction, Arnott said, pointing to the FANG+ stocks [Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft among others] taking a beating this week.

      “This morning, the FANG+ index was down 11% in just one-and-a-half days”, the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, a global asset manager, added.
      …

      1. Two possibilities:

        1) The FAANG bubble is indicative of broader bubbles, and all of them , including real estate, with deflate.

        2) The FANNG boom is real, based on a permanent replacement of internet work/shopping/education etc. to the point where people will locate in low cost-dispersed location.

        That means the money it captures will be at the expense of any real estate priced above the rock bottom, as things even out across the country.

        Commercial real estate can only cash in at the expense of a bust either way.

        1. 2) is a nice story, but can’t begin to justify the insane levitation in FANG+ share prices we have witnessed this year.

  28. There is a new Documentary Film out called “Riding The Dragon.” I guess you can get it free under BidenFilm.com.

    Apparently this film exposes that Hunter Bidens over Billion Dollar Deal with China aided the Chinese Military. Some news outlets are just starting to report on it.
    But it has never stopped bugging me that a US V.P. Son was making deals with China , and now the Film is saying the deals were for the benefit of China Military.

    This has been weird from day one that a 78 year old senile old man Biden was running for President.

    Add to that how they tried to take Flynn out because he thought China was our enemy. The bizarre Russian Hoax. The Bizarre Impeachment of Trump over just the inquiry into the Ukraine dealings with Hunter Bidens Company, etc ,etc.
    Clinton buying Russian disinformation on Trump,
    Biden and Obama looking like they were involved in the spying on the Trump Campaign. Higher ups in FBI involved in fake investigations. Bidens non stop endorsement of China while he was VP.
    Fake news non stop slander.
    Globalist with ties to China backing Biden.
    Now rioters ,which Biden was supporting at first.

    It’s all very weird. .
    Did Biden sell out for money and is he a traitor.

    1. BLM trash were out in Denver last night harassing diners at sidewalk tables. The temperature will be almost 100 today and tomorrow before dropping below freezing Monday night.

      Old Man Winter is coming early this year to send you thugs back to mommy’s basement 🙁

  30. The evidence shows that BLM is a Commie group that uses racism as a ploy to attack America.

    The Big Money interest already hijacked the Politicians, and they have been looting USA for a long time now. The financial systems and economy is just rigged. Monopolies are big power now. Capitalism isn’t operative anymore when Big Money and Commies have hijacked Big Government.

    No other choice but to undo the Politicians betrayal of US Citizens and take out all these un American creep Politicians that want Big Government to control your life. Like if I want creepy and Corrupt Joe Biden, who isn’t even functioning, to control my life.
    I just don’t get how they keep saying Joe Biden is a good man. The evidence shows he’s a bad man, and creepy on top of that, and add on senile.

    The Big money looters teaming up with the Commie street Looters.

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