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I’m Not Going To Give You This Money…Your Money’s Gone

A report from WFLA in Florida.”Floodwater from Hurricane Debby started rising in the Sarasota neighborhood on Monday. People who live there said the water was still rising on Tuesday. Mike Vance said his neighborhood has never flooded for 20 years, until now. He said no one in the neighborhood was prepared for this. ‘This is not a flood zone, never was, and what is sad is that no one bought flood insurance because we never had to,’ Vance said. ‘Yea, it’s really bad, and it shouldn’t have happened,’ Tara Schermerhorn said. She said they had just finished remodeling their dream home. ‘We moved here a little over a year ago,’ she said as she broke down in tears. ‘It was a foreclosure that sat for seven years, and we put our blood, sweat tears and all of our savings into this house and now it’s gone.'”

The Miami Herald in Florida. “Miami-Dade County’s median monthly condo association fee of $900 from April through June this year is up more than 59% from the $567 fee over the same stretch in 2019, according to Redfin. Broward faced a similar wave of condo costs. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to stay here if things keep going up,’ said Ingrid Vassell, who owns a condo in Plantation. ‘Right now, I’m in a very tough spot,’ she said. ‘A lot of my neighbors are selling. I cannot sell right now. I want to keep it as long as I can so when I have to sign for [my kid’s college] school loans, I have something. If I quit now and leave after a year of getting a property, I’m going to lose.'”

“Arkadiy Kats returned as a real estate agent. He had to. Costs kept climbing at his Caribbean Breeze Condominium at 250 180th Dr. in Sunny Isles Beach. Today, he pays $340 a month for a special assessment and $897 a month for monthly condo HOA fees. Starting in January, the association expects him to contribute another $731 a month toward reserves. ‘Everyone agrees to the maintenance, ‘Oh, it’s normal.’ It’s not normal,’ said the 71-year-old Kats. ‘Increase the reserve plus maintenance. It’s not normal.’ This is the most he’s ever paid for his home of 24 years, the same place he bought with his wife to raise their son. He wants to stay, but said he has to make a big sacrifice to do so. ‘I cannot retire, because I have no money for food, car insurance, gas,’ Kats said. ‘All of these payments — HOA, reserves, special assessments — is from my Social Security.'”

“Bill Hughes, an expert at the University of Florida, said he recognizes the ‘painful transition,’ especially in a region with the largest concentration of condominiums and coastal high-rises in the state. ‘What has happened is many of those people who are finding this troublesome have underpaid the cost of where they have been for a long time,’ Hughes said. ‘It’s hard when you establish your life pattern on a cost that is too low, because at some point that catches up.'”

Hawaii News Now. “The crisis came ashore for older high-rise condominiums first, especially those with neglected maintenance or safety issues. Now, townhome owners across the state are being hit with massive premium increases. In just one case, neighbors in Xandria Trent’s subdivision in Mililani Mauka were told in July that their insurance policy premium was going up more than 300% and $4,670 is due September first. ‘A lot of people are just upset,’ she said. ‘One said they’re not going to be able to get that kind of money. I don’t keep it in my checking account. Unfortunately, another person had to take out a loan. And for myself and my husband, we’re going to have to take it out of our 401K.’ The increases are so dramatic and widespread, it’s already impacting resales of condos and townhouses, according to Chad Takesue, Locations LLC, Chief Sales Officer. ‘This insurance piece, is adding to that affordability issue,’ he said. ‘So, we’re seeing that drop in sales.'”

The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio. “Bonnie Mitchell thought there must have been some mistake when she received her new property-tax bill at the start of the year. Her new appraisal for the 1,554-square-foot 1927 family house just south of Nationwide Children’s Hospital that she has lived in since 1970 and inherited from her now-deceased parents was up 343%. Her monthly tax installment payment was going from about $60 to around $365, taking up about 27% of her sole income, Social Security. Her ‘pre-payment’ bill alone was $1,478, just to get her tax escrow balance back to even.”

“‘Honestly, I thought it was a mistake,’ said Mitchell, 65. ‘Then when I realized that it was real, I thought something nefarious was going on. … And I was really in a panic. It’s horrible. I was just panicked to think that I may no longer be able to afford the home that I grew up in, just very frightening. And it still is very frightening. It’s not fair, and there’s nothing fair in this whole situation,’ Mitchell said. ‘What can I say, but it’s unfair, and I don’t understand the law. They’re squeezing blood out of people. They’ve gone beyond squeezing people.'”

The Review Journal in Nevada. “The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday upheld $55,000 in civil penalties against a homeowner it accused of illegally operating a short-term rental, despite warnings that he was violating the city’s short-term rental ordinance. The daily fines of $500 account for 110 days the city alleges X Management LLC, had rented a house near Oakey Boulevard and Arville Street. ‘$55,000 on top of my mortgage is putting the place into, basically foreclosure,’ owner Jonathon Foulks told the council. ‘It’s way too steep of a fine for what I did.’ Foulks told the council Wednesday that he had stopped renting the property until he established an LLC, which he thought had protected him. ‘It’s off the books, as soon as this all happened it’s done, the property is actually losing a ton of money right now, it’s unrented, can’t find anybody to rent it,’ he said. ‘As soon as I realized that the LLC wasn’t a good idea, I stopped it.’ ‘It’s over the top,’ Foulks said about the $55,000, ‘It’s basically gonna make me bankrupt.'”

“Mayor Carolyn Goodman told Foulks that she understood his financial situation. ‘It’s a sad situation, but it is what it is, and that motion to appeal has been denied,’ she said.”

NBC Chicago in Illinois. “A new lawsuit filed against the lender behind the controversial real estate coaching company ‘iFLIP Chicago’ alleges that the company took advantage of inexperienced Black investors in an effort to seize land near the future home of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. ‘We are at risk of losing over $200,000,’ Ameera Haamid, an iFLIP Investor who shared her story with us earlier this year said. Haamid is one of at least 20 amateur investors who were recruited by iFLIP Chicago. Under Ramo Bey’s guidance, the investors said they signed up for high-interest commercial loans to purchase investment properties on Chicago’s South Side, and to fund the needed renovations.”

“Here’s where the investors contend things went wrong – in lawsuits, investors said once they had the commercials loans, they were hit with thousands of dollars in unexpected default interest fees, despite making their monthly payments on time. It was enough of a setback to send several investors into foreclosure, like Haamid and local realtor Tatianna Barnett. ‘We’re just stuck in a limbo with properties that we bought, that were unable to finish,’ Barnett said. So where did the money go? ‘We have no idea where the money is. I have lost $169,000,’ Barnett said. ‘I have a lender that’s saying ‘I’m not going to give you this money…your money’s gone.'”

The Real Deal on California. “John Kralik, a real estate investor that the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged misused funds designated for fix-and-flip deals, is now at the center of a federal criminal probe. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is conducting a federal criminal investigation related to the same conduct as the SEC’s allegations, according to court records. ‘Mr. Kralik now faces both this civil action and the looming threat of a criminal indictment,’ his lawyers said in a memo this week. Last month, the SEC charged Newport Beach-based Kralik and his firm JKV Capital for allegedly lying to investors and misappropriating their money. From 2017 through this year, Kralik funneled more than $1.6 million of investor cash into a Mercedes-Benz, paying off his home mortgage and a vacation in Mexico, the SEC alleged in its complaint.”

“That money was supposed to go to buy distressed homes, renovate them and flip them for a profit — a goal Kralik had told potential investors in prospectuses and memos, according to the SEC. Kralik raised money through Regulation D, a securities rule that lets investors fundraise without regulatory oversight. But the SEC dinged Kralik for not doing what he told investors he would. Instead, money allegedly went to his mortgage, a waterfront social club, a vacation in Cabo San Lucas and a nanny for his children.”

London Free Press in Canada. “London’s housing market began the second half of the year the same way it ended the first: on a rather sluggish note. The drop in year-over-year sales for the region, which also includes Strathroy, St. Thomas, and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties, comes as the average resale price of a home dropped by more than $16,000 last month. July’s average resale price was $654,593, down from June’s $671,309, LSTAR reported. From one that heavily favoured sellers, where properties were regularly selling above asking price, London’s market has moved into more balanced territory.”

“Kathy Amess is chair of the local real estate association. She said the market’s performance may seem especially weak now that the frantic pace has slowed, but the same trends are being seen across the country. ‘I’m not really concerned that the market is in a poor position,’ Amess said. ‘I think that we’re just in a more balanced position, and that’s not somewhere that we’re used to being, because we’ve been in these high periods for a few years. I think there’s some mental adjustment that needs to happen with people’s perception of some of the numbers.'”

CTV News in Canada. “A 37th-floor luxury condo in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district that sold for a $320,000 loss is an example of a condo market that hasn’t been this tough in decades, Realtors and observers say. The three-bedroom unit, on King Street near the site of the Toronto International Film Festival faced an uphill battle to be sold this week at $1.23 million – and that was after several previous attempts failed, said the listing realtor, Rebecca Romeo. ‘We’re in a buyer’s market all right,’ Romeo said in an interview, pointing out that many other agents in the same building faced the same headwinds, as Realtors felt pressure to up their game to make any sale at all.”

“Her client, she said, was happy with the deal even though it was about 21 per cent less than the $1.55 million he paid for it in 2021, as it allowed him to finally move his equity elsewhere, she said. ‘The client wanted to change that chapter of his life and move on. He was happy with the sale price,’ she said. The glut of condos for sale in the Greater Toronto Area has plenty of other owners unable to sell as a combination of factors allow buyers to be choosier. One factor in the glut is that the builders of newer condos were marketing to investors, rather than to the end user of the building. ‘We’re getting a lot of product at a bad time…some of the people are unfortunately taking losses in the next few months,’ said Pouyan Safapour of Devron Developments.”

Domain News in Australia. “Home sellers are dropping their asking prices as buyers struggle to keep up with sky-high housing costs, pointing to further declines later this year. It comes as Sydney and Melbourne buyers have more homes to choose from after a rise in overall listings in the year to July. Auction clearance rates have dropped below 70 per cent in recent weeks, meaning more than three in 10 homes fail to sell at auction, signalling a more balanced market. ‘Asking prices have been a good leading indicator of actual prices, so our expectation is a fall in housing prices for the September quarter,’ said SQM Research director Louis Christopher. ‘[Asking prices] is a representation of vendor confidence. When vendors lose confidence, they’re willing to negotiate more, that’s fundamentally what’s going on.'”

“He said with the expectation of rate cuts evaporating earlier this year did confidence in the market. ‘Let’s remember when we started the year, there was a great expectation of a rate cut in the March or June quarter. But that never happened. That’s why confidence sapped,’ he said. PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said sellers were forced to cut their expectations because of cautious buyers. ‘The buyers are there… Sellers are cottoning on that the prices they were asking for before is getting a look in, but it’s not translating into proper sales,’ Mardiasmo said. ‘That’s why asking prices have dropped because they obviously want their property sold and sold in less time than it currently takes…we’re seeing longer days on market,’ she said, noting discounting was on the rise too.”

“Menck White auctioneer Clarence White said Sydney’s property market has been stagnant for some months. ‘It’s been tricky with buyers. There’s been very low confidence with buyers. It is a market gripped by price caution and buyer uncertainty,’ White said, adding many were waiting for a rate cut. He said many sellers who were going to auction with too high an asking price were failing to get engagement from buyers. ‘There is a strong penalty if they’re not pricing right. That’s sort of forcing agents and vendors to put attractive price guides on properties. Buyers are price cautious, and they’re looking for value.'”

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This Post Has 75 Comments

  1. ‘$55,000 on top of my mortgage is putting the place into, basically foreclosure…It’s off the books, as soon as this all happened it’s done, the property is actually losing a ton of money right now, it’s unrented, can’t find anybody to rent it…It’s over the top…It’s basically gonna make me bankrupt’

    You’ve been disrupted Jon. I am curious how in the heck you came up with the ‘LLC is gonna change the law’ thing.

  2. ‘What has happened is many of those people who are finding this troublesome have underpaid the cost of where they have been for a long time,’ Hughes said. ‘It’s hard when you establish your life pattern on a cost that is too low, because at some point that catches up.’”
    Very true words. Kicking the can down the road until you can’t anymore. Living beyond your means eventually catches up, unless you get lucky (?Is that lucky?) and die first. Gonna happen to the US some day, not sure when but the question is: Will I die before the US goes BK?

    1. +1 MWR. No country can survive if the elders care only about what happens during their own lifetimes.

  3. ‘As soon as I realized that the LLC wasn’t a good idea, I stopped it.’
    Let me translate. As soon as I got caught, I quit doing something I knew was against the law.

  4. “Her client, she said, was happy with the deal even though it was about 21 per cent less than the $1.55 million he paid for it in 2021,
    Maybe it is just me, but if I lost 21% and a boatload of holding costs in a 3 year time period I would be many things, but HAPPY would not be one of them.

    1. When will the vaporization of CRE values start taking down banks & pension funds?
      And when will cities stay the layoffs and serious service curtailments.

  7. He said no one in the neighborhood was prepared for this. ‘This is not a flood zone, never was, and what is sad is that no one bought flood insurance because we never had to,’ Vance said.

    When the Fed & uniparty cause a financial collapse, millions of indescribably stupid sheeple will bleat that they never saw it coming.

  8. [Note: I enjoyed posting an article similar to this several days ago. It is my pleasure to post another one.]

    ‘It’s beyond scary’: This California single mom was shocked to discover she owes $180K on ‘zombie mortgage’.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/beyond-scary-california-single-mom-101800185.html

    Teresa, a Los Angeles single mother, had never heard of Statebridge Company until January of this year when she received a letter stating she owed them $180,000.

    The notification said she needed to make an initial payment of $50,000 or risk losing her home. The culprit? An old second mortgage she thought she’d paid off years ago.

    As she told CBS In 2009, Teresa (who asked that her last name not be used) modified her mortgage loan after a divorce and said she never received a monthly statement for her second mortgage. She just assumed it had been rolled into her primary mortgage payment.

    “It’s beyond scary,” she said. “To know that there might be a moment where we may have to move. And given the real estate prices and the rental prices in southern California … I can’t afford to live in California anymore if I can’t stay in my current home.”

    Teresa tried to negotiate with the company but says Statebridge is currently refusing to negotiate on the 15-year-old debt.

    Teresa is one of a growing number of Americans facing so-called zombie mortgages, or second mortgages that resurface after borrowers think they’ve paid them off. These mortgages are often sold to debt collectors, who demand payment months or years later — often with retroactive interest and fees tacked on.

    Many of those borrowers, like Teresa, thought the loans were resolved years ago and received no communication that the loans were still active.

    “When I looked at this, and I, I mean, I didn’t recognize it. I didn’t know what it was from,” Teresa told CBS News.

    Teresa says between 2009 and January 2024, she never received a statement or communication about this debt. While federal law requires lenders to send statements for home loans, however, some don’t.

    And it’s a problem all across the country. An NPR investigation found at least 10,000 old second mortgages in New York with foreclosure activity in the last two years.

    And in Maryland, NPR found at least 500 loans that had been in default and unpaid for more than a decade — but now a company has taken the first step toward foreclosure.

    1. “assumed it was rolled into her primary mortgage”

      Translated:

      Stopped hearing about it so I assumed I got one over on the bank after the 08 crisis and figured it was gone and I shouldn’t make waves or they might find out.

      Seriously these people are like 8 years old.

    1. “Youngkin mandates all paper ballots for presidential elections in Virginia … Other security protocols include offline ballot counting machines, monitored drop boxes and more”

      “…Other aspects of the Virginia voting security protocol include the use of DMV data to verify voter identity, offline counting machines and more.”

      “…Former President Donald Trump celebrated the codification of Youngkin’s protocols.”

      This will be interesting to watch. Back in 2020 there were definitely some oddities in VA. According to the tally websites, Trump looked very close to winning VA. But then the media outlets went completely silent on the state. Nothing verbal, no website updates, for at least 2 hours. Then suddenly 150K+ votes for Biden appears, and the news media quietly updated the state, still staying verbally silent. I’m not sure the reporters ever called the state on screen. Without knowing more, I can’t say with certainty that it was a shenanigan, especially since VA is a pale blue state. But lets’ see what happens this time.

      https://www.foxnews.com/politics/youngkin-mandates-all-paper-ballots-presidential-elections-virginia

      1. I heard a while back that Trump was working on this with Youngkin. He’s been working on similar things in the mid-west, Arizona and Nevada.

    1. [A comment from the link:]

      “Our court system in this country is broken, our only hope is wider and deeper rivers.”

  11. “‘Honestly, I thought it was a mistake,’ said Mitchell, 65. ‘Then when I realized that it was real, I thought something nefarious was going on…”

    You are correct Bonnie, taxes are nefarious.

    1. A sharp reversal in the stock market’s fear gauge means the worst is over for investors, Fundstrat says
      Matthew Fox Aug 7, 2024, 9:42 AM PDT
      Fundstrat’s Tom Lee
      Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Yahoo; iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI

      – Wall Street’s fear gauge has reversed course after a historic surge earlier this week.

      – The VIX hit its third-highest level ever on Monday due to a violent unwind of the yen carry trade.

      – The degree of the VIX’s reversion since then shows the worst of the scare is over, says Fundstrat’s Tom Lee.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-vix-increase-decline-growth-scare-tom-lee-2024-8

  13. I wonder if the puppet masters realize that manipulating job numbers and markets only hoses them for their much needed rate cuts.

  14. ——
    “investors said they signed up for high-interest commercial loans to purchase investment properties on Chicago’s South Side, and to fund the needed renovations.”

    “…once they had the commercials loans, they were hit with thousands of dollars in unexpected default interest fees, despite making their monthly payments on time. ”
    ——

    This is confusing to me. The write-up sounds like Haamid borrowed money, used the money to buy properties, and was paying it back. Then the company just pretends Haamid wasn’t paying and demands late fees, which they pocket. What an odd way to invest. Why not buy the houses themselves? Is this one of those generational wealth thingies?

    [On a side note, the best generational wealth is a little post-secondary education, a six-figure job, a stable spouse with a stable job, and well-raised children. ]

  15. A reader sent these in:

    Construction job postings lowest since January 2021

    Watch the blue collar 🚧

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1821250897487556617

    @Claudia_Sahm (who has blocked me) is also lying in this piece. The source of the rise in unemployment rate is NOT new entrants. As always, it’s primarily job losers. Recent microdata research into this suggests that the BLS is understating job losers as well.

    https://x.com/profplum99/status/1821242700584137016

    She blocks anyone with a differing opinion. Too busy donating to Biden.

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1821266980151947690

    No need for lectures… I’ve got the Vegas data.

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1821239987381403789

    Central Banks aren’t Jesus. They won’t save you… respect the lag. My 2C

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1821242025792172079

    I’m pleased to see @POTUS’s Inflation Reduction Act saving money for millions of Americans on their monthly utility bills.

    https://x.com/SecYellen/status/1821183271822074130

    What happens when your political dogma interferes with your economic methodology?

    Stupidity. 👇🏼

    https://x.com/MauiBoyMacro/status/1821215828068729210

    If you think the BOJ actually fixed anything, you’re NGMI. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    https://x.com/MauiBoyMacro/status/1821194059291201875

    Have been hearing over the past few days from people who are pretty aggressively long the market (and Bitcoin)

    They’re worried. And that worry is turning into shock w/ today’s sell-off

    I fear they have a lot of company

    What reactions are you seeing in the folks around you?

    https://x.com/menlobear/status/1820457353982234888

    I’m not in the business but my husband works in finance for the 2nd biggest Toyota Dealership in CA and they were extremely slow in July and August has also had a horrible start. Stress seems to be very high.

    https://x.com/tanya_t___/status/1821287306743181624

    Very very slow. Phoenix.

    https://x.com/SNohrden/status/1821277210390753462

    Midwest Stellantis dealer. Curled in a fetal position and crying under my desk. I have no idea what to expect next.

    https://x.com/DMack316/status/1821283769690787866

    Dutch Bros, one of the fastest growing coffee chains in the world, PLUMMETS OVER 20% in the aftermarket after reporting earnings

    The company raised its full-year guidance, but it still fell well short of analyst expectations

    https://x.com/TripleNetInvest/status/1821327680475951341

    Let me preface this with I love Lyn and she is smarter than me.

    Please don’t be mad I heart you.

    “Our food bill just went up 50%, our car broke down, we can’t afford a new one, the rent is now $2000 instead of $1500, our pay has only increased by $5,000/yr to $75,000. But Lyn said there’s more M2 lets go buy a $500,000 house!”

    – No families ever

    https://x.com/VladTheInflator/status/1821271827169341813

    Another *ugly* 10YR US Treasury auction.

    – Tail over *3 bps*
    – Foreign bidders *only 66%*
    – Bid to Cover was a *measly 2.32*
    – and Dealers were stuck with *18% of the auction*

    So much for flight to safety and imminent rate cuts. This auction was nothing short of *abysmal*.

    https://x.com/jameslavish/status/1821238707300745634

    Big Bear is a mess. Or…an opportunity at some point. It’s nice enough up there.

    https://x.com/tobyzapf/status/1821230208818770399

    An old coworker, cocktail waitress, turned RE agent just posted this lol it’s such a good Airbnb investment that the owners are selling it. How nice of them!

    https://x.com/c_bone14/status/1821228052187377984

    25 cabins for sale in one square mile (Big Bear Lake, CA). How many buyers are currently looking for vacation homes? Like six?

    https://x.com/BigBearBummers/status/1821227040210641289

    from a house in my neck of the woods

    https://x.com/vvrabbi/status/1821221800099139657

    24.5% of people trying to sell their homes received a price cut in June, the highest rate for this time of year in Zillow records dating back to 2018.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1821181248964030656

  16. There is more trouble for an Orlando company that Action 9 first exposed earlier this year when complaints poured in from all over the country. One Fat Frog bills itself as the largest food truck manufacturer in the United States. Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal learned Florida Attorney General’s Office is investigating the company and that One Fat Frog has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

    The Action 9 team also continues to get complaints about One Fat Frog.

    After the tragic loss of her young son, Zhyarah Rivera moved to central Florida.

    Speaking in Spanish and translated to English, Rivera said, “So much sadness and so many situations have led up to this point.”

    She decided to pursue her dream of owning a food truck business featuring her family’s Puerto Rican recipes.

    She even had a name for the business picked out. “La Cocina de Ella… y ella soy ya,” she said. That translates in English to “Her Kitchen… and I am her.”

    Zhyrah Rivera turned to One Fat Frog, the Orlando company with a spiffy website, that touts it’s the nation’s largest food truck manufacturer.

    Rivera told Action 9, “I went and made the purchase and after that they never called me, not even to tell me it was delayed.”

    She claimed she paid a $7000 deposit in August of last year, then continued to make payments of more than $1500 for each of the next seven months.

    But said One Fat Frog failed to deliver the truck as promised, so she halted payments and recently contacted Action 9.

    “I never thought I was going to be deceived or that they wouldn’t supply the food truck,” she said.

    And she’s not alone. Earlier this year, Action 9 received complaint after complaint from across the country about One Fat Frog not delivering after taking people’s money. Muyideen Olowu paid around $40,000 up front.

    Olowu told Action 9 in January, “They’ve killed the dreams of so many people.”

    The company had an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau, and it is no longer even rated.

    Still, Action 9 continues to receive complaints as the company goes through the bankruptcy proceedings. Court documents show in a June hearing it was revealed the company owner was in the hospital on life support and even though the company took millions of dollars in deposits from 600 customers to build food trucks, the company had just $40,000 cash on hand.

    That’s left customers like Zhyarah Rivera frustrated and wondering if they’ll ever see their money or the food truck they paid One Fat Frog to build.

    Rivera fought back tears and said, “Emotionally, I feel depressed. It was a dream. I don’t have an answer. I feel lost.”

    https://www.wftv.com/en-espanol/i-feel-lost-food-truck-builder-files-bankruptcy-after-taking-millions-customers/ZQVSLSX4QVDEXJLUS3ISF4E2GI/

  17. Election deniers exact revenge in 2 Arizona GOP primaries

    With no hot municipal races like its neighbors and a yawner of a legislative campaign for both parties, the Primary Election last week in Ahwatukee was as exciting as watching the Club West Golf Course.

    But the Republican races for County Recorder and the Maricopa County supervisor’s seat that includes Ahwatukee turned Tuesday night into a bloodbath for the incumbents.

    In those races, Republican voters who question the outcomes of the 2020 and 2022 election got their revenge for the incumbents’ defense of the process that helped give Arizona to President Biden and the governor’s seat to Katie Hobbs.

    Mesa state Rep. Justin Heap defeated incumbent County Recorder Stephen Richer 43.35% to 34.65% – a margin of nearly 35,000 votes, according to unofficial results. A third candidate, Don Hiatt, was never a serious threat with only 22%, or 82,017, votes.

    And in the County District 1 supervisor race, termed-out Chandler Councilman Mark Stewart throttled incumbent Jack Sellers 65.87% to 34.13% – reflecting a whopping 45,436 lead with few ballots left to count by the Ahwatukee Foothills News’ print deadline.

    https://www.ahwatukee.com/news/election-deniers-exact-revenge-in-2-arizona-gop-primaries/article_10b85202-535d-11ef-adff-6f3e4cc6c87c.html

  18. Former Chandler Councilman Jack Sellers said he knows why Republican voters denied him another term in the July 30 Republican primary for the District 1 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

    “To the election deniers who have dedicated so much time, energy, and money to defeat me and others, I say: be careful what you wish for,” Sellers said in his post-election statement. “At some point, you will have to answer for your efforts to undermine our democracy.”

    Termed-out Chandler Councilman Mark Stewart nearly doubled Sellers’ vote total 65.24% to 34.76%.

    Stewart will now advance to November’s general election where he will face Phoenix firefighter and former three-term Tempe Councilman Joel Navarro.

    Four Republican members of the Board of Supervisors certified the election results in the 2020 and 2022 elections, earning death threats and widespread criticism by fellow members of their party.

    Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer received those same death threats for being very vocal in saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were legitimate and there was no fraud in them.

    Richer also lost his bid for a second term to Mesa state Rep. Justin Heap 42.45%-35.76%.

    Navarro is a 16-year Tempe City Council member who said he originally got into this race because he feared Sellers, whom he likes and respects, would lose in the Republican primary.

    He is not pulling any punches in his race against Stewart.

    “The choice is now clear,” Navarro said in a statement. “My opponent is supported by MAGA extremists who want to end elections in Maricopa County as we’ve known them in response to unfounded claims and conspiracy theories.

    “He said that he would abolish vote centers and eliminate secure drop boxes. And he refused to say whether he would certify the election of President Biden in 2020 or Governor Hobbs in 2022.”

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/slugfest-coming-county-supervisor-race-164900879.html

    1. “At some point, you will have to answer for your efforts to undermine our democracy.”

      He must have been getting a steady stream of brown envelopes.

      1. He just lost a fair and square election. Undermine that, loser. Election deniers sweeping Maricopa county GOP proves the 2020 election was rigged.

    2. So it appears that there is at least some activity on the local level to collect and count votes fairly. I don’t know if it will be enough tho.

      Meanwhile Trump is down at Mar-a-Lago, whining about Georgia 2020 and crowd sizes, as usual. JD Vance’s testosterone-laden troll-on-the-tarmac played well with his supporters, but of course triggered a fresh round of weird couch humping from paid Harris semi-bots on X. The only serious adult in the room appears to be Vivek, and these days he’s all black-pilled doom and gloom.

      Ugh, make it stop. And it won’t help for me to take a break either. Because that won’t help come Thanksgiving.

  20. With a sixth consecutive quarterly loss in the books, Zillow is swapping out its CEO.

    Rich Barton is stepping down as chief executive and being replaced by Zillow’s chief operating officer, Jeremy Wacksman, the firm announced Wednesday.

    Barton will now join his co-founder, Lloyd Frink, as co-executive chair, and will advise Wacksman and other leaders at the company.

    It’s the second time Barton has stepped down as CEO. His first stint ended in 2010, six years after the company’s founding. He began his second stint as chief executive in 2019 as the company built its iBuying business, which failed miserably and shuttered in 2021.

    News of the shakeup came just an hour before Zillow discussed second-quarter results. The company logged another quarter without a profit, though it narrowed its losses from the previous year. Zillow lost $17 million last quarter, an improvement from $35 million of red ink in the second quarter of 2023.

    https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/rich-barton-zillow-ceo-224508479.html

    1. Almost 44% of Americans say they don’t make enough to cover daily expenses

      How any will vote D anyway?

      1. Almost all of them. They believe the D’s will bail them out. Plus, there’s just so much Kamala joy.

  22. I think there’s some mental adjustment that needs to happen with people’s perception of some of the numbers.

    This quote should be a classic.

    1. It struck me when I read it. I could have used it as a title but I thought it may be confusing. Unlike yer money is gone!

  23. Can anyone please explain the meaning of this statement from 19 years ago?

    “History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.”

    — Alan Greenspan, August 2005

    1. Financial Times
      Opinion
      The QE retreat
      Market gyrations reflect fears about the unwinding of QE
      The yen carry trade is a symptom not a cause of investor anxiety
      Gillian Tett
      Illustration of a red herring with dollar coins instead of scales
      © Efi Chalikopoulou
      Gillian Tett
      5 hours ago

      Last week, before the global market meltdown, three dozen luminaries of American finance gathered for a summer lunch, where they conducted informal polls about the outlook. The results were pretty dull.

      The majority at the table voted for a so-called “soft landing” for the US economy, with rates of 3-3.5 per cent in a year’s time, and a swing of 10 per cent, or less, for stock prices (evenly split between up and down).

      The only notable, truly spicy detail was that these luminaries now view the US election race as a toss-up — while three weeks earlier there was near-unanimity at another lunch that Donald Trump would win. No one projected an imminent market crash.

      There are two lessons here. The first is that not even ultra-well-paid financiers — be they hedgies, private equity players or bankers — can really forecast the precise moments of market meltdowns. Yes, fundamental strains and cracks can be identified. But judging when these will cause a market earthquake is as hard as real geology; humility is required. And doubly so given that the rise of algorithmic trading is creating dramatically more price volatility and feedback loops.

      Second, this week’s market rout was driven not so much by panic around the “real” economy as by financial dynamics. Or, as Bridgewater wrote in a client letter: “We view the widespread deleveraging firmly as a market event and not an economic one,” since “periods of structurally low volatility have always been fertile ground for the accumulation of outsize positioning” — and eventually they unwind.

      Or, to put it another way, these events can be viewed as (yet another) aftershock from the unwinding of that extraordinary monetary policy experiment known as quantitative easing and zero interest rates. For while investors have normalised cheap money in recent years — and to such a degree that they barely notice the distortions this has caused — they are now belatedly realising how odd it was. In that sense, then, the dramas have been thoroughly beneficial — even if electronic trading has made that lesson more dramatic than it might have been.

      The immediate display of this is the yen carry trade — the practice of borrowing short in cheap yen to buy higher-yielding assets such as US tech stocks. Cheap yen loans have fuelled global finance ever since the Bank of Japan embarked on QE in the late 1990s, albeit to a degree that has fluctuated, depending on US and European rates.

      But the carry trade appears to have exploded after late 2021, when the US moved away from QE and zero rates. Then, when the BoJ (finally) also started to tighten earlier this year, the rationale waned.

      It is impossible to know the scale of this shift. The Bank for International Settlements reports that cross-border yen borrowing rose $742bn since late 2021 and banks such as UBS estimate there was around $500bn in outstanding cumulative carry trades earlier this year. UBS and JPMorgan also think that about half of these have been unwound.

      But analysts disagree on how far these trades pumped up US tech stocks, and thus account for recent declines. JPMorgan and UBS think it did contribute; Charlie McElligott, a Nomura strategist, considers the carry trade to be a “red herring”; he and other observers think concerns around overhyped US tech caused yen funding to be cut — not the other way round. Either way, the key point is that insofar as free(ish) money was fuelling asset inflation in America and Japan, this is coming to an end.
      …

  24. ‘‘This is not a flood zone, never was, and what is sad is that no one bought flood insurance because we never had to,’ Vance said. ‘Yea, it’s really bad, and it shouldn’t have happened,’ Tara Schermerhorn said. She said they had just finished remodeling their dream home. ‘We moved here a little over a year ago,’ she said as she broke down in tears. ‘It was a foreclosure that sat for seven years, and we put our blood, sweat tears and all of our savings into this house and now it’s gone’

    I’d bet most of these poor bashtards have mortgages. Sound lending!

  25. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to stay here if things keep going up…Right now, I’m in a very tough spot…A lot of my neighbors are selling. I cannot sell right now. I want to keep it as long as I can so when I have to sign for [my kid’s college] school loans, I have something. If I quit now and leave after a year of getting a property, I’m going to lose’

    Yer a year in and everything is riding on this airbox Ingrid.

  26. ‘Arkadiy Kats returned as a real estate agent. He had to. Costs kept climbing at his Caribbean Breeze Condominium at 250 180th Dr. in Sunny Isles Beach. Today, he pays $340 a month for a special assessment and $897 a month for monthly condo HOA fees. Starting in January, the association expects him to contribute another $731 a month toward reserves. ‘Everyone agrees to the maintenance, ‘Oh, it’s normal.’ It’s not normal,’ said the 71-year-old Kats. ‘Increase the reserve plus maintenance. It’s not normal.’ This is the most he’s ever paid for his home of 24 years, the same place he bought with his wife to raise their son. He wants to stay, but said he has to make a big sacrifice to do so. ‘I cannot retire, because I have no money for food, car insurance, gas,’ Kats said. ‘All of these payments — HOA, reserves, special assessments — is from my Social Security’

    I have to keep reminding you winnahs! Arkadiy, it’s the expensive food that will sink you.

  27. ‘Bill Hughes, an expert at the University of Florida, said he recognizes the ‘painful transition,’ especially in a region with the largest concentration of condominiums and coastal high-rises in the state. ‘What has happened is many of those people who are finding this troublesome have underpaid the cost of where they have been for a long time,’ Hughes said. ‘It’s hard when you establish your life pattern on a cost that is too low, because at some point that catches up’

    The root of the failure for Florida condos Bill, was it had a commie urban living dream world approach where nothing had to ever be fixed nor money put aside. Everybody talked about it constantly for at least 20 years. Nothing was done until it’s too late. Was the Surfside collapse the first hint? Oh hell no. There’s decades of disasters large and small to discredit this reckless real estate concept.

  28. ‘In just one case, neighbors in Xandria Trent’s subdivision in Mililani Mauka were told in July that their insurance policy premium was going up more than 300% and $4,670 is due September first. ‘A lot of people are just upset,’ she said. ‘One said they’re not going to be able to get that kind of money. I don’t keep it in my checking account. Unfortunately, another person had to take out a loan. And for myself and my husband, we’re going to have to take it out of our 401K’

    As Hawaiian loanowners, you sure sound like broke a$$ losers Xandria.

  29. ‘Her new appraisal for the 1,554-square-foot 1927 family house just south of Nationwide Children’s Hospital that she has lived in since 1970 and inherited from her now-deceased parents was up 343%. Her monthly tax installment payment was going from about $60 to around $365, taking up about 27% of her sole income, Social Security. Her ‘pre-payment’ bill alone was $1,478, just to get her tax escrow balance back to even…’They’re squeezing blood out of people. They’ve gone beyond squeezing people’

    You have to roll with it Bonnie.

    1. she has lived in since 1970 and inherited from her now-deceased parents was up 343%.
      Sounds t me like she has never paid the mortgage on the house and lived there her entire life. Children’s Hospital is in a central location in Columbus and Columbus has (or at least had) a real decent bus system so she may never have needed a car. Where did all your money go or did you just not work?

  30. Virginia Gov. Youngkin Secures Elections Via Executive Order, Thwarts Democrat Illegal Alien Voter Scheme

    by Kelen McBreen
    August 8th 2024, 12:28 pm

    Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an Executive Order Wednesday placing a thorn in the side of Democrats planning on using illegal immigrants to inflate their voter rolls.

    Youngkin’s office explained Executive Order 35 codifies election security procedures put into place during his administration, “including stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing, and best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance.”

    Governor Youngkin wrote in a statement, “The Virginia model for Election Security works. This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines. In Virginia, we don’t play games and our model for election security is working.”

    “We use 100% paper ballots with a strict chain of custody. We use counting machines, not voting machines, that are tested prior to every election and never connected to the internet. We do not mass mail ballots. We monitor our drop boxes 24/7. We verify the legal presence and identity of voters using DMV data and other trusted data sources to update our voter rolls daily, not only adding new voters, but scrubbing the lists to remove those that should not be on it, like the deceased, individuals that have moved, and non-citizens that have accidentally or maliciously attempted to register.”

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/virginia-gov-youngkin-secures-elections-via-executive-order-thwarts-democrat-illegal-alien-voter-scheme/

  31. ‘John Kralik, a real estate investor that the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged misused funds designated for fix-and-flip deals, is now at the center of a federal criminal probe…That money was supposed to go to buy distressed homes, renovate them and flip them for a profit — a goal Kralik had told potential investors in prospectuses and memos, according to the SEC. Kralik raised money through Regulation D, a securities rule that lets investors fundraise without regulatory oversight. But the SEC dinged Kralik for not doing what he told investors he would. Instead, money allegedly went to his mortgage, a waterfront social club, a vacation in Cabo San Lucas and a nanny for his children’

    This obammie era revolution was all the rage among the REIC underbelly when rammed through.

  32. Texas DPS
    @TxDPS

    As part of Operation Lone Star (OLS), DPS arrested a human smuggling scout wearing an ICE Tracking Watch during a traffic stop in El Paso. The scout, Maikel Diaz-Guerra, 24, of Venezuela, is a confirmed Tren de Aragua gang member and had been arrested only a few days prior for another smuggling attempt. He was just released by ICE.

    Guerra was serving as the lookout for the other driver involved – 17-year-old Gildardo Perez III. Inside his vehicle, DPS found three illegal immigrants concealed in the rear seat. Guerra and Perez were booked into jail for smuggling of persons.

    5:15 PM · Aug 6, 2024
    ·
    https://x.com/TxDPS/status/1820931617134698581

    1. “a confirmed Tren de Aragua gang member”

      There’s a whole apartment “complex” ie a project in Aurora that’s been taken over by them.

  33. ‘The three-bedroom unit, on King Street near the site of the Toronto International Film Festival faced an uphill battle to be sold this week at $1.23 million – and that was after several previous attempts failed, said the listing realtor, Rebecca Romeo. ‘We’re in a buyer’s market all right,’ Romeo said in an interview, pointing out that many other agents in the same building faced the same headwinds, as Realtors felt pressure to up their game to make any sale at all’

    I don’t like the tone of this article so far. It’s suggesting the widely accepted shortage of igloos might be erroneous!

    ‘Her client, she said, was happy with the deal even though it was about 21 per cent less than the $1.55 million he paid for it in 2021, as it allowed him to finally move his equity elsewhere, she said. ‘The client wanted to change that chapter of his life and move on. He was happy with the sale price’

    Acceptance <- Client you are here.

  34. ‘Home sellers are dropping their asking prices as buyers struggle to keep up with sky-high housing costs, pointing to further declines later this year. It comes as Sydney and Melbourne buyers have more homes to choose from after a rise in overall listings in the year to July…‘Asking prices have been a good leading indicator of actual prices, so our expectation is a fall in housing prices for the September quarter’…[Asking prices] is a representation of vendor confidence. When vendors lose confidence, they’re willing to negotiate more, that’s fundamentally what’s going on’

    Yer saying I don’t need that love letter I’ve been working on Louis ?

    ‘He said with the expectation of rate cuts evaporating earlier this year did confidence in the market. ‘Let’s remember when we started the year, there was a great expectation of a rate cut in the March or June quarter. But that never happened. That’s why confidence sapped’

    Jerry broke it off in yer a$$ Louis.

    ‘Menck White auctioneer Clarence White said Sydney’s property market has been stagnant for some months. ‘It’s been tricky with buyers. There’s been very low confidence with buyers. It is a market gripped by price caution and buyer uncertainty,’ White said, adding many were waiting for a rate cut. He said many sellers who were going to auction with too high an asking price were failing to get engagement from buyers. ‘There is a strong penalty if they’re not pricing right. That’s sort of forcing agents and vendors to put attractive price guides on properties. Buyers are price cautious, and they’re looking for value’

    For months? If you read the HBB you would have known that.

  35. Is This The Calm Before The Storm? (York Region Real Estate Market Update)

    Team Sessa Real Estate

    42 minutes ago VAUGHAN

    In this episode we take a look at the current Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices and real estate market trends for week ending July 31, 2024. We also discuss how things, though quiet now, seem to be on the verge of change either for the better or for the worse.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxJR0dEuKDw

    11 minutes.

    1. Raw bodycam footage from Trump assassination attempt: Officer calls family amid shooting at rally

      Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

      40 minutes ago

      Raw police bodycam footage from the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania shows a Butler Township police officer securing the scene and making phone calls to check on his children. The officer told another responder that his kids were at the rally.

      Witnesses at the scene told the officer in the footage that they saw the shooter on the roof of the building on the Butler Farm Show grounds.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL0HPQL48Zc

      10:35.

  37. Livin’ it up large in the InstaLife.

    New York Times — How an Instagram-Perfect Life in the Hamptons Ended in Tragedy (8/8/2024):

    “Mr. Miller, 43, died on July 3 at a Southampton hospital. A suicide note indicated he had killed himself while his wife and children were on vacation on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, according to a Suffolk County law enforcement official. He said Mr. Miller wrote that a business deal he had hoped would ease the family’s financial strain had collapsed.

    His family was stunned. When Ms. Miller was contacted for comment, a family spokesman said she and the children were overwhelmed by grief. “Candice is devastated by the loss of her soul mate, and her two young daughters’ lives are forever impacted by the loss of their beloved daddy,” he said.

    The Millers’ downfall has become the focus of obsessive talk in the Hamptons and among internet sleuths who have scoured Ms. Miller’s social media presence for clues to what went wrong.”

    https://archive.ph/3w77C

    1. The total home value in this California city just crossed $1 trillion
      Marc Sternfield
      5 hours ago

      Anaheim’s housing market has reached a significant milestone, joining the exclusive group of U.S. metro areas with a total home value exceeding $1 trillion.

      According to real estate portal Redfin, Anaheim’s home values have surged by 12.1% over the past 12 months, reflecting a broader trend in the U.S. housing market.

      The number of trillion-dollar housing markets in the nation has doubled over the past year, with Anaheim joining more established metro areas: Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Boston.

      Chicago, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., also crossed the trillion-dollar mark over the past year, and San Diego isn’t far behind.

      “The value of America’s housing market will likely cross the $50 trillion threshold in the next 12 months as there are not enough homes being listed to push prices down,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Mortgage rates have started falling, but many potential sellers and buyers are waiting to make a move, meaning we are likely to continue seeing a pattern where prices slowly tick up.”
      …
      https://ktla.com/news/california/the-total-home-value-in-this-california-city-just-crossed-1-trillion/

    2. Florida Condo Market ‘Catastrophic’ As Owners Rush To Sell Homes
      Published Aug 08, 2024 at 9:08 AM EDT
      Updated Aug 08, 2024 at 8:36 PM EDT
      By Giulia Carbonaro
      US News Reporter

      Listings for condos in Florida are surging as changes requiring regular checks on older properties come into force and homeowners association (HOA) expenses continue to rise.

      Experts have warned that the number of condos up for sale is likely to continue skyrocketing, especially in South Florida, where the tragic Surfside condo collapse took place on June 24, 2021. Craig Studnicky, CEO and broker at ISG World, told NBC Miami that he’s “very concerned” about the condo market in South Florida.

      ISG World recently reported that there were 20,293 condo listings in the Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, in the second quarter of 2024, up from 8,353 in the same period last year. Nearly 90 percent of those units are in buildings over 30 years old.
      …
      https://www.newsweek.com/florida-condo-market-catastrophic-owners-rush-sell-homes-1936363

      1. Experts have warned that the number of condos up for sale is likely to continue skyrocketing, especially in South Florida,
        South Florida is so screwed and, from a friend who moved to rural FL recently, the traffic is a complete disaster.

  40. Financial Times
    Sovereign bonds
    China names and shames buyers of its government bonds
    Authorities are trying to push yields up from record lows after warning of sovereign debt bubble
    The People’s Bank of China has repeatedly warned that a bubble is forming in the sovereign bond market © Bloomberg
    Cheng Leng and Arjun Neil Alim in Hong Kong 4 HOURS AGO

    China has adopted an unusual tactic to discourage banks from buying government bonds, as authorities try to halt an uncomfortable decline in yields and prevent a bubble forming: naming and shaming the buyers.

    China’s interbank regulatory body this week announced an investigation into four rural commercial banks for “manipulating sovereign bond prices in the secondary market”.

    The probe is widely seen as a reprimand to smaller regional lenders who snapped up government debt after larger state banks unexpectedly began selling.

    It comes as the battle between Chinese authorities and the country’s bond investors intensifies this week. Ten-year sovereign bond yields, which move inversely to prices, fell to record lows on Monday in a sign that markets are increasingly concerned about low growth and deflationary forces in the economy.

    While buying of their sovereign bonds may be welcomed by many countries, the People’s Bank of China has repeatedly warned that a bubble is forming in the sovereign bond market, with regulators saying that regional banks’ appetite for long-term government debt risks triggering a Silicon Valley Bank-style crisis if there is a sudden surge in yields.

    “The local PBoC branch called us and advised us not to buy bonds when state lenders are selling,” one bond trader at a local lender in Jiangsu province said this week.
    …

  42. Business
    Economist signals a ‘reckoning’ looming over markets: ‘Pain ahead’
    By Kristen Altus, Fox Business
    Published Aug. 8, 2024, 3:21 p.m. ET

    Nearing the end of a wild week for the stock market, one U.S. economist cautioned this may be just the beginning of a “reckoning.”

    “There’s a lot of pain ahead of us, both for the economy and this reckoning for the markets that have been really behind the curve, like the Fed,” Macromavens President Stephanie Pomboy said Thursday on “Mornings with Maria.”
    …
    https://nypost.com/2024/08/08/business/us-economist-signals-a-painful-reckoning-looming-over-markets/

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