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All Of Our Money Is Tied Up In This Albatross

A report from the New York Times. “Ten years ago, Howard and Sheila Konetz bought themselves a Florida dream: an 1,820-square-foot condo in a leafy gated community north of Miami. The $478,500 purchase would usher them into blissful semiretirement, they thought. With enough cash in the bank, the couple didn’t need a mortgage and downsized from their house in Miami Beach. Seven years later, on June 24, 2021, the Champlain Towers South condo building in the nearby town of Surfside partially collapsed. Suddenly, the Konetzes found themselves facing a $224,000 bill — their share of a special assessment to renovate and repair their 36-year-old building. Unable to secure a loan or sell the unit, the couple now fear bankruptcy. ‘I don’t want to end up on the street, but, consequently, that’s what will happen,’ said Howard Konetz, who is in his 70s. ‘All of our money is tied up in this albatross.'”

“In 2009, Thereza Teixeira paid $146,000 for a 1,565-square-foot unit at the waterfront Plaza Del Prado condo in Aventura, just north of Miami. The condo would be a smart investment, she thought: Interest rates were low after the housing bubble had burst. But she hadn’t factored the building’s age into her decision. Last year, the condo board’s new assessment forced Teixeira to come up with an extra $338 a month. Her property maintenance bills, now $1,390 a month, are $500 more than her mortgage payment. She has been forced her to take on extra work in addition to her day job taking care of vacation homes while their owners are gone, and she has slowed down contributions to her retirement account. The condo is ‘like a bad marriage,’ she said. ‘It’s too expensive to divorce your husband.'”

“Two years ago, the Konetzes listed their two-bedroom in the Williams Island master community in Aventura, asking $659,000. Despite dropping the asking price by $160,000, they still haven’t received an offer. ‘I don’t know where we’re going to live,’ Howard Konetz said. ‘Our funds that we had put away to pay everything are dwindling rapidly.'”

WCTV in Florida. “Hope Webb spent the weekend cleaning up her Dekle Beach home after Hurricane Helene hit Thursday night. The Category 4 hurricane destroyed her neighborhood just months after hurricanes Idalia and Debby hit just down the coast, also damaging the beach. She said her insurance claim has been anything but easy. ‘We’re battling insurance from Idalia,’ Webb said. ‘Battling claims that still haven’t been paid out, and now where do we go from here?’ With a third hurricane to hit Taylor County in just over a year, Webb is worried that more insurance companies will drop policies, leaving people to pay for the damage themselves. ‘Many people here were self-insured because you could not just afford to carry insurance and even when you do, you can’t get any money,’ Webb said.”

The New York Post. “For the residents of Carnegie House, a once-sought-after co-op located across from Billionaires’ Row on 57th Street, life is about to get a lot more expensive — and a lot more uncertain. Despite units in the building sometimes going for as low as $99,000, the homeowners could soon be forced out as a looming ground lease renewal threatens to send their monthly costs skyrocketing, Crain’s reported. Barbara and Lou Grumet, both 80 and longtime residents of the building, left their Riverdale home in 2011 for a two-bedroom co-op, drawn to the building’s location near Broadway and top-tier hospitals. But now, they fear being priced out of the place they’ve called home for over a decade.”

“‘We’re not talking about a 10% increase in annual rent; we’re talking about a 6-fold increase that would likely displace the majority of us from our homes,’ Hirsch told The Post. ‘The landowners continue to show us that they are not interested in finding a compromise that keeps residents in their homes; their goal is to force us out of our homes to maximize their profit.'”

Fox 5 in Nevada. “They were told by the City of Henderson they had two weeks to fix their broken pipes or 85 families would have to leave their townhomes. Then the city agreed to step in and make the necessary repairs at Somerset Park Townhomes. As those repairs are now underway, for the first time we are hearing from the new HOA management company that stepped in after the last one disappeared taking the community’s money with them. ‘The previous management company had closed their doors and when we took on the account, we got very little to almost no paperwork, financial paperwork,’ recounted Mozell Williams, Vice-President of Association Services for CAMCO. Williams works directly with Somerset Park. Williams reported when CAMCO took over, there was only $25,000 in the community account and they owed $300,000. ‘They should have $800,000 to $1,000,000 saved up,’ Williams explained.”

“With faulty pipes constantly leaking for years, the average water bill for the community: $20,000 to $30,000 a month. ‘That is almost three to four times more than most associations this size,’ Williams reported. Recognizing the finical crisis, CAMCO stopped landscaping and closed the pool trying to cut costs. ‘Yes, it is unfair, we know it is unfair. The residents are not at fault,’ Williams stated. They say what is happening at Somerset Park could happen to other HOA’s in the Vegas Valley in the future that were also managed by the same prior management company that disappeared. ‘I have talked to other management companies that have taken on accounts from that previous management company, and we are all in the same boat. We all have the same issues. So, there might be more unfortunately,’ Williams revealed.”

From WFAA TV. “Nestled about 16 miles northwest of Fort Worth, sits Haslet, Texas. A place long known for horses and cattle, a small town people moved to to get out of the city. It’s what Georganne Polizzo and her family did more than two decades ago. Back then, it was a quiet, rural escape. But like much of the Metroplex, Haslet and the surrounding area is now experiencing a boom in population growth. ‘The more houses that come, the less calm and country there is,’ Polizzo said. ‘And more traffic.’ At any given time of the day congestion slows traffic to a crawl. If I can’t travel a mile or it takes me 20 or 30 minutes, there’s something wrong with this picture,’ Haslet Mayor Gary Hulsey said. ‘And that is the difficulty that we have now out here.’ Hulsey says it’s a challenge that so far has no real solutions. ‘It’s a matter of funding,’ he said. ‘Where’s that funding come from?'”

The Associated Press on California. “When London Breed was elected as San Francisco’s first Black woman mayor, it was a pinch-me moment for a poor girl from public housing whose ascension showed that no dream was impossible in the progressive, compassionate and equitable city. But the honeymoon was short-lived as a COVID-19 pandemic shuttered stores and tech workers retreated to home offices. Tent encampments surged and so did public drug use. Breed now finds herself in a pricey campaign as she battles for a second term. The moderate Democrat faces four main challengers on the Nov. 5 ballot, all fellow Democrats, who say Breed has squandered her six years in office. They say she allowed San Francisco to descend into chaos and blamed others for her inability to rein in homelessness and erratic street behavior, all while burglarized businesses pleaded for help.”

“Streets have become cleaner and homeless tents much harder to find, but the daytime shooting in September of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in a popular central shopping district reignited the public safety issue. Her closest competitors appear to be Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor and venture capitalist who is the most conservative of the group. He envisions a San Francisco where police feel respected and older residents don’t have to hire private security when the city has a $15 billion annual budget. The Nov. 5 vote in a presidential election year is happening amid a national debate on public safety and a statewide vote on a tough-on-crime proposition that would, if approved, reclassify some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies.”

CBC News in Canada. “‘If we build it, you will love it,’ boasts Karwood Contracting’s website, the home construction company’s slogan superimposed over a picture of an idyllic cul-de-sac lined with duplexes. But one of the people actually living inside those homes disagrees heartily with that message. The corner of Thomas O’Brien’s Paradise street is marred by mounds of dirt with sharp jutting rocks, blowing yellow tape and a lone piece of heavy machinery that’s been left to sit idle for nearly a month. Residents say it’s the remnants of construction work to build sidewalks and pave driveways — plans that were abruptly abandoned weeks ago. ‘Every day I come home, I leave the house — I’m just immediately aggravated,’ O’Brien told CBC News. While he likes his home, O’Brien cautioned people about his experience with Karwood. ‘If you’re thinking about buying a house with Karwood, make sure you’ve got a big bottle of Tylenol, because you’re going to have some headache,’ he said.”

“”I’m kind of at my wits’ end,’ said O’Brien, adding he’s considering bringing the matter to small claims court. ‘It does impact the enjoyment I even feel coming and going to my house. And everyone always comments on it too,’ he said. ‘They’re like, ‘Why is no one’s lawn done? Why is no one’s driveway done?’ CBC News asked Paradise town council for an interview regarding safety concerns that O’Brien raised. In a statement, spokesperson Diane Keough said while this is an issue between Karwood and its clients, the town is keeping an eye on it.”

From Global News. “Warning lights are flashing in Canada’s ‘economic engine,’ and experts say even a stop from pop music’s biggest superstar Taylor Swift next month might not be enough to keep Toronto’s flagging economy out of a ‘T-cession.’ Like the broad, extended contractions marked by a recession, a T-cession refers to a protracted economic slowdown localized to the Greater Toronto Area, including nearby cities such as Mississauga and Oakville. ‘Toronto is the economic engine of Canada. I know the rest of Canada doesn’t like to hear that, but it’s true,’ says Moshe Lander, an economist with Concordia University. ‘As Toronto goes, essentially, so does Canada.'”

“While the Canadian unemployment rate has risen to 6.6 per cent in recent months as hiring appetite slows and the labour pool expands, Toronto’s unemployment rate stood at 8.0 per cent as of August, behind only Windsor, Ont., and Edmonton. Much of what’s driven Canada’s jobless rate higher is not a wave of layoffs, but the rapid rise in population, with youth and newcomers in particular now struggling to find work. But Toronto is also the first destination for many immigrants arriving in Canada, Lander notes, putting more upward pressure on the unemployment rate. Despite the anticipation from Swifties, Lander says the Eras Tour has a ‘massively overstated’ economic impact. ‘Taylor Swift’s not saving Toronto from this one,’ he says with a laugh. ‘You can say lots of things about her, economic saviour’s not one.'”

Radio New Zealand. “More than 50,000 property investors are losing money on their rentals, Inland Revenue data shows. Information released under the Official Information Act shows that there were 53,350 taxpayers who reported negative rental income – where the rent they received did not cover their expenses – in the 2023 tax year. Their average loss was $9020. That is likely to understate the amount investors are losing though because it is after allowable deductions are claimed from income. In that tax year, they could only claim 75 percent of their interest costs as an expense. A year earlier, 51,740 taxpayers had an average loss of $7450.”

“For many, the situation will have got tougher since the end of the 2023 year, as interest rates increased and the amount of interest that could be deducted dropped. In New Zealand, losses from rental properties are ringfenced so they can only be offset against current or future rental profits – in the past, and in some other countries, they could be used to reduce tax on other income. Interest deductibility is being phased back in, so that investors can claim progressively more of their interest cost to reduce their tax bills.”

“Kelvin Davidson, chief property economist at Corelogic, said recent investors would predominantly be the ones making a loss. ‘If you bought a rental property in the last 12 months or 24 months, it’s pretty unlikely you’re going to be making a profit. But of all the landlords, most didn’t buy in the last year or two. Most have been investors for a long time.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “Homeowners are slashing prices on properties for sale across the country, with buyers bagging discounts of up to $1m in some cases. Home seekers are bagging properties for an average of up to 15 per cent below the list price in pockets of Sydney, with some huge discounts helping buyers save over $1m, with more discounts expected to come as spring listings pile up. Digital Finance Analytics director Martin North said there was evidence of ‘deeper drops’ in asking prices as listings began to rise. ‘Five to eight per cent vendor discounts seem common, and more at the top end of the market — 15 per cent in some cases, which is very different from a year ago,’ Mr North said. ‘We are also seeing more ‘forced’ sales due to mortgage pain/arrears, where vendors have to sell.'”

“Melbourne homebuyers can get discounts as high as 13 per cent, with houses in Safety Beach, Roxburgh Park and Hampton Park recording average price drops of between 13.4 per cent and 9.2 per cent. Those looking for a unit should consider Malvern East, Clayton and Hadfield, where the price being sought initially can drop more than 10 per cent. In Queensland, sellers are reducing asking prices by hundreds of thousands of dollars — or up to 32 per cent in some cases — as spring listings begin to rise. Data provided exclusively by SQM Research reveals the state has more than 1600 distressed listings — the highest in the country, with discounted properties ranging from a house in Shailer Park that has had its price cut by $250,000 to a unit in Airlie Beach that is now $155,000 cheaper.”

South China Morning Post. “To the unsuspecting outsider, Beixiazhu looks like any unremarkable Chinese village. But for years, this was the place to be for ambitious merchants hoping to strike gold in the country’s booming live-streaming e-commerce industry – until the competition simmered to a boil, driving out sellers as quickly as they arrived. The frenzy began around 2019, as live-streaming e-commerce took off on short-video platforms. Beixiazhu, sitting on the outskirts of eastern Zhejiang province’s Yiwu city, the global wholesale capital, became an ideal launch pad for go-getters eager to tap into a growing industry that promised fame and fortune just a live stream away.”

“Today, the legacy from that period still lingers in the 99 houses once occupied by live-streaming sellers in Beixiazhu. Signs advertising ‘super supply chains’ and ‘viral hot-selling live-stream products’ remain displayed on storefronts. On a weathered wall, one can still make out a fading painted slogan: ‘Without dreams, why come to Yiwu?’ But the bustling crowds have vanished. Shop owners, once hurriedly packing orders, have slowed their pace. A business owner, pointing at a narrow path outside his shop, said the place used to be jammed with cars and live streamers. If one product went viral, everyone would jump on it, selling it a lower price to beat each other out. Eventually, it came to a point when no one was making any money, and everything fell apart, he said.”

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This Post Has 100 Comments

  1. We’re battling insurance from Idalia,’ Webb said. ‘Battling claims that still haven’t been paid out, and now where do we go from here?’ With a third hurricane to hit Taylor County in just over a year, Webb is worried that more insurance companies will drop policies, leaving people to pay for the damage themselves. ‘Many people here were self-insured because you could not just afford to carry insurance and even when you do, you can’t get any money’

    Insurance doesn’t work if they have to pay out Hope.

    1. Insurance doesn’t work if they have to pay out Hope.

      Any day now, self-described Champion of the Middle Class Fauxahontus will descend in all her fury to battle this fraud on consumers. Just as soon as she gets done depositing her campaign contributions from FIRE sector lobbyists.

    2. I hate insurance companies as much as anyone, but most of this “battling” stuff is because people don’t read the damn policies.

      They sign up and pay the money and have ZERO idea what they are paying for (and what they are not). They don’t even care to know, and then when it goes bad and insurance is needed, they are shocked, shocked to find out that what the policy clearly says is covered is all that is covered.

      They just expect to get way more back than they were at despite never paying for it. Been seeing this for 30 years, it’s just gotten worse. (and the stakes are higher cuz everything costs so damn much)

      disclaimer: property (cars, houses, etc) only, medical insurance can sit and spin.

  3. The condo would be a smart investment, she thought: Interest rates were low after the housing bubble had burst. But she hadn’t factored the building’s age into her decision.

    heckova due diligence, Thereza. Pray tell, what gave you the idea a condo in an aging building would be a “smart investment”? Lemme guess: you trusted the REIC touts and shills in the garbage legacy media for “expert financial advice.”

    1. The condo is ‘like a bad marriage,’ she said. ‘It’s too expensive to divorce your husband.’

      C’mon Thereza, you’re supposed to insert that blood thirsty proboscis into your husband and drain him dry!

    2. C’mon, she bought it in 09. FIFTEEN years ago. She paid bottom dollar and has certainly voted against every single dues increase to handle things. She could sell it for what she paid for it easily (probably double or triple even with the fees) and walk away, what’s the issue?

        1. Exactly. And there ain’t no maybe to it. She likely at least refi-ed once when rates were almost nothing. And hey…..why not tap some of that sweet equity while you’re at it. After all it’s almost free, right?

      2. Shame on you for failing to see that this VICTIM deserves our COMPASSION and a taxpayer bailout. And you better feel JOY while you’re paying for her irresponsibility.

  4. Roughing it with nature has wore me out ….Almost a third of upstate SC residents still have no power , and let me assure you , it’s a lot harder then it is cut out to be…..we got our power back on on day 6 , this is now day 9, shut the generater off and wound up all the power cords ,etc,,Our fridges were slowly giving out , because we didn’t have the inverter on the generator …..which is very important …People were all so nice, checking on each other ,and helping out …..

    2. My cousins got their power back on day 6 also. Lucky for them they had an adequate water storage tank.

    3. Here in Tampa it looks like we are facing another hurricane on Wed.

      I have 2 little rental properties across the street which are gutted. I’m debating just rebuilding to code vs going through them possibly flooding again. The main house we have is built up 5 feet but the garage flooded. I just can’t convince the wife to move to Idaho or Montana…

      If only the Big Fat Bastard was still around to talk some sense into her while sharing his patient words of wisdom. Sigh….

  5. In a statement, spokesperson Diane Keough said while this is an issue between Karwood and its clients, the town is keeping an eye on it.”

    Translation: Karwood’s stuffed brown envelopes to city officials ensures the latter will “study the problem” but not lift a finger to help out defrauded shack purchasers or hold the company accountable for screwing over its customers.

  6. “More than 50,000 property investors are losing money on their rentals, Inland Revenue data shows.

    Die, speculator scum.

  7. ‘If you bought a rental property in the last 12 months or 24 months, it’s pretty unlikely you’re going to be making a profit.

    I take special delight in seeing the FOMO lemmings who bought during the scamdemic-era run-up in shack prices getting their heads handed to them.

  8. “Melbourne homebuyers can get discounts as high as 13 per cent, with houses in Safety Beach, Roxburgh Park and Hampton Park recording average price drops of between 13.4 per cent and 9.2 per cent.

    But…but…muh generational wealth!

    1. This isn’t ultra-wealthy. This is $950K for 5,518sf in McAllen, TX. $950K gets you 1200-1300sf (no basement, no attic) in my zip code.

  13. Lucky Lopez – Auto Loan Crisis
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwoEbrz1VwY

    From the comments:

    @SendItMediaCo-
    I own supermarkets and I have never seen so many people have their cards decline for non sufficient funds in the last 15+ years. People just don’t have money right now.

    @lazysundayz-
    I work for one of the larger banks in the nation. One of the departments on my floor is a specialty group where retail auto financing flows up to. It’s no secret that we’ve had layoffs but damn that auto group is near non existent now. I was told their losses are massive and they laid off something like 70% of the team and the remaining guys are just there more or less to help wind down the exposure rather than put on new loans.

    1. “People just don’t have money right now.”

      “If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down” —Dubya, Sept 2008

    1. Of course it’s always (((Israel))) to blame although the investment is returned in missile defense and technology, but there are other countries as well listed below.

      The real issue here is that the FEMA funds were embezzled to facilitate the illegal alien invasion and the govt’s refusal to help red state communities.

      But the histrionic blood curdling screams about (((Israel))) is to blame sound like a pogrom in gaza. Europe gets lots of money also so why not scream your head off about that?

      Ireland: While Ireland does receive some U.S. aid, it is relatively modest compared to other countries. The aid is often focused on economic development and support for peace initiatives, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland.

      Other European Countries: Many European nations receive U.S. aid primarily through programs like the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) and NATO support. However, the amounts have decreased significantly since the Cold War, with most aid now directed towards Eastern European countries for development and security assistance.

      Latin America

      Colombia: Colombia is one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid in Latin America, primarily for counter-narcotics efforts and security assistance, receiving around $500 million annually.
      Honduras and Guatemala: These countries receive U.S. aid aimed at addressing issues like poverty, violence, and migration, with amounts varying but often in the hundreds of millions.
      Mexico: Mexico receives significant aid, particularly for security and anti-drug trafficking initiatives, with annual assistance often exceeding $300 million.

      Asia

      Afghanistan: As mentioned earlier, Afghanistan has received substantial aid, especially for reconstruction and security, amounting to tens of billions over the years.
      Pakistan: Pakistan continues to receive significant U.S. aid, primarily for military and counter-terrorism efforts, often around $1 billion annually.
      India: While not as large as other recipients, India receives U.S. aid focused on economic development, health, and education, with amounts around $200 million annually.

      1. Inconvenient fact: every member of the uniparty with the sole exception of Rep. Thomas Massie has an AIPAC minder telling them how to vote. AIPAC members are unregistered foreign agents for the state of Israel. So in fact, “our” representatives answer to a foreign power instead of their notional constituents back home. The USA gives aid to multiple foreign countries, but none exert the degree of control over the captured uniparty that Israel does through it’s AIPAC proxies. We the People have literally no representation or voice in our own government.

    2. Wow. That was an epic rant. Under pressure he actually put together a well said and connected series of relevant observations.

      1. +1

        I’m going to re-post that short clip on the next few daily threads, it needs exposure, not everybody reads the HBB on weekends.

  16. There appears to be no legal protection for buyers from getting wiped-out by condo fees and/or insurance rate hikes.

    Never ever buy a condo.

  17. A reader sent these in:

    The labor market seasonal adjustment by the BLS was the largest ever recorded:

    “The so-called seasonal factor, which is calculated by dividing the total seasonally adjusted payrolls count by the unadjusted figures, was the largest for any September in records back to 2002.”

    https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1842275740504514625

    Year-over-year shift in active housing inventory for sale:

    Hawaii -> +62%
    Vermont -> +61%
    Florida -> +59%
    Georgia -> +49%
    North Carolina -> +48%
    Washington -> +48%
    Arizona -> +45%
    United States -> +34%
    New York -> +0%

    https://x.com/ResidentialClub/status/1842034828234850604

    The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate just popped up to 6.53%

    That’s a BIG one-day move

    Spread: 256

    https://x.com/NewsLambert/status/1842237262299365381

    The housing power dynamic has shifted towards buyers in Florida

    Active inventory: +59% year-over-year (YoY)
    Actives: +9% above pre-pandemic

    The power dynamic remains in favor of sellers in Connecticut

    Actives: +19% YoY
    Actives: -72% below pre-pandemic

    https://x.com/NewsLambert/status/1842223438292738092

    The Great Stay – a story told in mortgages.

    People used to keep mortgages for 5.5 years on average. Maybe you move or refi or pay it off.

    Then we all refi’d in 2021.

    Then we stopped refi-ing and stopped moving.

    https://x.com/mikesimonsen/status/1842283570884431931

    One of the biggest single day jumps in mortgage rates of the past few years with 6.26 moving up to 6.53. This article discusses some reasons that movement can be so abrupt between rates ending in 0.125 and 0.625.

    https://x.com/MG_MBS/status/1842237081990631527

    The Fed needs to sell off the $3T MBS they illegally acquired during the lockdowns. That instantly solves affordability 👍

    https://x.com/LexTweetr/status/1842284976945127887

    Does anyone actually believe this number?

    Consensus was 150K btw.

    https://x.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1842182517748547789

    Ah, I see:
    “Before adjustments, the private sector shed 458,000 jobs in September. Government employment, on the other hand, jumped by an unadjusted 918,000.”

    https://x.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1842198357390786921

    Since the ‘data dependent’ Fed cut rates by 50bp three weeks ago, commodity prices have soared, priced paid have increased, the labor market, according to the official data, is on fire & yields have ripped higher. Bravo. $TNX

    https://x.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1842195179572248770

    1. How the heck is NY 0%?
      I see some of the HI increase on the ground – but looks to be mostly condos – which makes sense given folks that bought 2nd homes

      Hawaii -> +62%
      Vermont -> +61%
      Florida -> +59%
      Georgia -> +49%
      North Carolina -> +48%
      Washington -> +48%
      Arizona -> +45%
      United States -> +34%
      New York -> +0%

  18. Breed now finds herself in a pricey campaign as she battles for a second term. The moderate Democrat

    Moderate? Wasn’t she proposing to pay reparations to people who were never slaves, until the city accountants told her they were out of money?

    Gabbard and RFKJ r and “moderate” Dems, which means they are heavily proabortion and rainbow flag wavers. I’m not pleased that they are on the Trump Express, but I understand why they are.

    1. Gabbard and RFKJ r

      They’re definitely onboard with 1A but I’m not so sure about 2A. Only brainwashed libtards care about abortion at this point.

  19. Florida’s Bradenton Beach 90-95% Destroyed By Hurricane Helene, Officials Say

    Officials say most of the city of Bradenton Beach was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating damage to Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

    The barrier island lies between Sarasota and St. Petersburg near the mouth of Tampa Bay, with Bradenton Beach at its southern end. The beach town is known for its family-friendly pace, waterfront eateries, and tiki hut picnicking at the park.

    According to a report from 10 Tampa Bay, sand dunes were piled up to 6 feet high on Bradenton Beach’s main road by the time Helene left town. Though the bridges survived, some homes lost foundations or floated away. A Community Emergency Response Team declared that 90% to 95% of Bradenton Beach was destroyed.

    “The sand was unbelievable. The beach and the sand dunes are on the streets, on the road, in our neighborhoods, in our houses,” Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie told 10 Tampa Bay.

    Police opened a checkpoint on October 3—a full week after the storm—to allow residents and business owners to return and assess the damage. Residents are being asked to stay off the beach for now because of unsafe conditions, and a nightly curfew is in effect. Outsiders are being told to stay away until the city is ready to accept help.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/floridas-bradenton-beach-90-95-destroyed-by-hurricane-helene-officials-say/ar-AA1rIyn2

  20. A week after Helene hit, thousands still without water in U.S. Southeast

    Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 5-gallon containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water.

    Flooding tore through the city’s water system, destroying so much infrastructure that officials said repairs could take weeks. It also damaged water utilities so severely and over such a wide inland area that one federal official said the toll “could be considered unprecedented.”

    As of Thursday, about 136,000 people in the Southeast were served by a nonoperational water provider and more than 1.8 million were living under a boil water advisory, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Western North Carolina was especially hard hit. Officials are facing a difficult rebuilding task made harder by the steep, narrow valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains that during a more typical October would attract throngs of fall tourists.

    Even water that’s unfit to drink is scarce. Drew Reisinger, the elected Buncombe County register of deeds, worries about people in apartments who can’t easily haul a bucket of water from a creek to flush their toilet. Officials are advising people to collect nondrinkable water for household needs from a local swimming pool.

    “One thing no one is talking about is the amount of poop that exists in every toilet in Asheville,” he said. “We’re dealing with a public health emergency.”

    It’s a situation that becomes more dangerous the longer it lasts. Even in communities fortunate enough to have running water, hundreds of providers have issued boil water notices indicating the water could be contaminated. But boiling water for cooking and drinking is time consuming and small mistakes can cause stomach illness, according to Natalie Exum, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-week-after-helene-hit-thousands-still-without-water-in-us-southeast/ar-AA1rJWln

  21. Squatters continue to target east Las Vegas home

    Squatters continue to break into an east Las Vegas home, even after county code enforcement has kicked out intruders and boarded up the property twice. Clark County officials tell FOX5, code enforcement currently has another open case at the property in the Paradise township near the intersection of Pecos Road and Hacienda Avenue.

    Neighbors shared a recent photo of the backyard: the plywood has been ripped off and the inside of the property has been breached. Neighbors also shared surveillance footage with FOX5, showing the squatters returning recently.

    This last time, neighbors yelled and drove the squatters away. Several neighbors tell FOX5, they have taken such steps to make sure the squatters know they are unwelcome in the area.

    On two previous occasions, July 30 and September 10, code enforcement took steps to board up the property and kick out squatters with the help of Metro Police. A lien of $1,350 was placed on the home for the July 30 abatement.

    According to Clark County Assessor records, the home is in the name of a senior who is more than 80 years old; the home is also in a trust in the senior’s name. The home has sat vacant for months.

    Why can’t police simply kick squatters out? LVMPD previously told FOX5, in a situation when the landlord is unavailable, code enforcement must take extra steps (if the landlord was present and requested police assistance, Metro Police could easily charge squatters with unlawful entry).

    Sometimes, court action is required for Clark County officials or police to intervene and deal with a vacant property. For LVMPD officers and code enforcement to enter into the property on July 30, county officials had to obtain a warrant.

    Neighbors get frustrated with the timeline for action, which typically takes weeks. “Government: they work too slow. Laws are protecting vagrants,” a concerned neighbor tells FOX5. “I want the bank to take it back over, clean it up and sell it to a decent family that wants to buy a home,” he said.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/squatters-continue-to-target-east-las-vegas-valley-home/ar-AA1rGrWU

  22. Can San Francisco fix its public image? Mayoral hopefuls vow to restore the iconic city

    All four candidates – Mayor London Breed, Aaron Peskin, Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie – were in agreement about the severity of the homelessness problem in San Francisco, but they all differed in approaches to solutions.

    Former interim mayor Mark Farrell said it’s going to take a leader who can help rapidly solve some of San Francisco’s biggest issues before the city’s reputation can actually be restored.

    “Unless you fix the underlying issues that are truly making it tough for people who live here – but also people that visit here – to me, it’s like lipstick on a pig, right? We need to have sustainable growth, sustainable difference in San Francisco,” Farrell said.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/can-san-francisco-fix-its-public-image-mayoral-hopefuls-vow-to-restore-the-iconic-city/ar-AA1rIMsK

    1. “Unless you fix the underlying issues that are truly making it tough for people who live here – but also people that visit here – to me, it’s like lipstick on a pig, right?

      The underlying issue is that SF’s libtard quotient ensures this doom loop city will continue on its present trajectory.

  23. Eco-warriors Prince Harry and Meghan Markle travel whopping 83,000 miles this year

    The couple, who stood down as senior working royals in 2020, continue to promote a number of causes through their organisation, Archewell, and have travelled across the world promoting these issues.

    In total, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have travelled 82,908 miles by plane for work events. The figure does not include internal flights on their visits to Nigeria and Colombia, nor private holidays.

    This equates to more than three trips around the world – as the circumference of the earth is 24,901 miles.

    The whopping number of air miles also totals 33,357kg of carbon dioxide emissions – with 972 trees needed to offset the flight carbon, according to Saving Nature.

    The website explains that flight carbon dioxide emissions are based on 90kg of CO2 per passenger each hour, an 80 percent flight occupancy rate, and a radiative forcing factor of two.

    Harry has been outspoken about the environment for years, launching Travalyst in 2019 to create a “bold global initiative to change the impact of travel, for good.” As a result, he has often come under criticism for using private jets.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/other/eco-warriors-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-travel-whopping-83-000-miles-this-year/ar-AA1rJn5R

    2. In total, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have travelled 82,908 miles by plane for work events.

      And I’ll bet that most, if not all of those trips were on private jets.

  24. Can France cut its spending without stoking recession?

    France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier is facing the mammoth task of getting the 2025 budget through a parliament where he doesn’t have a majority. And the pressure is mounting, as this year’s budget deficit will now exceed 6% of the country’s economic output — as opposed to the initially predicted 4.4%.

    The topic was at the center of Barnier’s general policy speech in the National Assembly on October 1. “A sword of Damocles is hanging over us. It could push us to the brink of the abyss,” he told lawmakers.

    Michel Ruimy, professor of Economics at Paris-based Sciences Po university, puts the rise down to two main factors. “The government spent a lot of money helping households and companies during the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020,” he told DW. “Paris also heavily subsidized electricity prices, after they skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.”

    Henri Sterdyniak, co-founder of a left-leaning collective called Devastated Economists, also blames other measures taken by Macron for the gaping hole in France’s public coffers. “He lowered taxes for households and especially companies by €60 billion saying that these cuts would be financed through higher growth. But the latter never materialized,” Sterdyniak told DW.

    One possible indication of how nervous markets are is that the country recently and for the first time since 2008 had to pay higher interest rates than Spain on 10-year bonds.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/can-france-cut-its-spending-without-stoking-recession/ar-AA1rHhaa

    1. saying that these cuts would be financed through higher growth. But the latter never materialized

      Who in his right mind would invest in France?

  25. Rumours of China’s economic resurgence are greatly exaggerated

    If you’d invested $100 in the Chinese stock market at the start of last week, you’d be nearly $25 richer today. When the Chinese government decides to jolt its moribund economy back to life, as it did with an injection of stimulus to markets last week, it doesn’t take half-measures.

    With interest-rate cuts, liquidity-support measures and what amount to some targeted bailouts for indebted local governments, the Chinese authorities pumped money into stock and property markets, leading to a sharp run-up in prices. The fact that the ruling Politburo held an emergency meeting to do so has been taken as a signal by some analysts that the government is getting serious.

    And that might give the rest of the world a lift. If what the world’s second-biggest economy did last week is just an entrée ahead of the main course, the global economy may be able to look forward to an early Christmas gift from the East.

    Still, as dramatic as the turnaround has been, it’s too early to say the Chinese economy is roaring back to life.

    Although China’s annual growth rate, just shy of 5 per cent, which is considered the floor by domestic authorities, might be one that Canadians dream of, Canadians have a lifestyle most Chinese dream of. Despite moving to the forefront of technological innovation, China is still a developing country. With a per capita income roughly a third of Canada’s, China is still playing catch-up, and doing so more slowly than 15 years ago, when its annual growth rate was pushing 15 per cent. Given how rapidly China is aging, there’s a growing fear that the country may now never draw level with its Western rivals.

    If the ruling Communist Party is to fulfill its implied social contract with the people, whereby they trade individual freedom and democracy for Western-style standards of living, it must find a way to restore the country’s dynamism. China’s basic problem is that its economy is unbalanced. The country initially followed the path of other successful East Asian developers, such as Japan and South Korea, and industrialized rapidly by repressing wages and thereby steering nearly half of the economy’s output to reinvestment. It then used that investment to build export industries that sold to the world.

    But with much of the world now turning against globalization, it’s getting harder for China to keep exporting its way to growth.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-rumours-of-chinas-economic-resurgence-are-greatly-exaggerated/

  26. Housing schemes shape B.C. election debate but questions remain over their efficiency

    Last week, as part of their election platform, the BC NDP announced a new scheme to help first-time buyers get into the market. Government would offer a low-interest rate loan on 40 per cent of the purchase price. The loan would come due either when the property is sold or after 25 years.

    The loan would be open to homebuyers with an annual median household income of up to $191,910. When the homeowner sells, they repay the loan plus 40 per cent of any lift in value. Premier David Eby said it the program would help about 25,000 people get into the market.

    Funding for the scheme was pegged at $6.45-billion over five years, and would require partnerships with non-profits, First Nations, local governments and private developers.

    But some critics have said such government acquisitions are typically inefficient because they overpay. BC Housing purchased the North Star Inn hotel in Prince George for $10.535-million last year, from owners who’d paid $3.25-million just five years prior. The same owners sold the province the Lotus Hotel in Prince George for $2-million, after paying $700,000 two years prior. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the prices were based on independent BC Housing appraisals, and the North Star sale included furniture. He also said assessed values don’t necessarily reflect market value.

    Last year, the crown corporation purchased an old 42-unit apartment building on Cherry Avenue in Kamloops for $12.8-million that had been assessed at $4.2-million.

    UBC economics professor Tom Davidoff says that the high cost of land, construction and everything else makes it extremely difficult for government to efficiently deliver nonmarket housing. Government policy by its very nature requires overpaying, he says.

    “They’re overpaying, but the whole point is to overpay. They pay market prices, and you get discounted [rents] so low-income people can afford it. And that’s a lot of housing policy. We call it the second welfare theorem in economics, like you should not take a fancy $1 million apartment and give it to a household that is only willing or able to pay $250,000, because that’s a $750,000 gap. And that low-income household would clearly be better off with a $750,000 cash gift than a subsidy.”

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/article-housing-schemes-shape-bc-election-debate-but-questions-remain-over/

  27. Paper straws stir up B.C. election campaign as leaders gibe over taxes and communism

    British Columbia’s main party leaders wanted to talk taxes Friday during the provincial election campaign, but couldn’t divert the conversation away from plastic straws and communism.

    New Democrat Leader David Eby fielded questions in Vancouver about the possible return of plastic straws and being called a communist by a business leader at an event his party organized to discuss plans to increase a housing tax to spur more rental properties.

    B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad waded into the housing tax debate, but not before saying he agreed with Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, who placed a large sign at the front of his Vancouver waterfront home saying Eby and his New Democrats are “communist.”

    “Well, I happened to see that sign,” Rustad said at a news conference in Kelowna. “I don’t disagree with them when he calls David Eby a communist. But however, having said that, you know, people are free to do whatever they want to do, in terms of that.”

    The sign was posted outside Wilson’s waterfront home, which BC Assessment says is worth more than $81 million.

    Rustad rolled out a promise Thursday to get rid of paper straws and bring back plastic bags to stores.

    “By bringing back plastic straws, cutlery, and removing the bag fee, we will restore freedom of choice and focus on real solutions for our environment,” he said in a statement. “The ban on plastic straws has been nothing but a nuisance for families and businesses across B.C.”

    Eby acknowledged there are inefficiencies associated with the effectiveness of paper straws, but said there are more pressing issues in the Oct. 19 election than promising the return of plastic straws, like taxes.

    “The big challenges that British Columbians face right now are around affordability, which is why we have the middle-class tax cut,” he said. “Yes, I mean, paper straws suck. You know they do, but like there are issues in this province, and when I think about how to make life better for people it’s about having access to a house, affordability.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/paper-straws-stir-up-bc-election-campaign-as-leaders-gibe-over-taxes-and-communism/ar-AA1rIfud

  28. Justin Trudeau’s Pivot to the Right on Immigration

    When Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was first elected in 2015, he embraced immigrants, literally. Images of the prime minister hugging refugees filled newsfeeds, a stark contrast to the border-building rhetoric of Donald Trump in the United States and deportation-happy Brexit leader Nigel Farage in the UK. While much of the rest of the West was closing its doors, Canada stood out by accepting more refugees.

    Nearly a decade later, the tone has shifted. Immigrants are now scapegoated in Canada, with the Liberals blaming international students for the housing crisis. Deportations have skyrocketed and pathways to permanent status have been cut. Those that remain are subject to the worst exploitation — what the United Nations classifies as modern-day slavery.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/justin-trudeau-s-pivot-to-the-right-on-immigration/ar-AA1rHtaA

  29. Bay Street has a secret addiction – to LinkedIn. And it’s getting toxic

    After a work trip to London last month, venture capitalist Peter van der Velden flew home fuming about an investor presentation. Unable to shake his frustration, he decided to vent – on LinkedIn.

    His 500-word missive read like palace intrigue. Mr. van der Velden, the founder of Toronto-based life sciences investor Lumira Ventures, was rattled by a presentation given by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, an organization he used to chair.

    His post, which talked mostly about how the CVCA hadn’t focused enough on talking up its venture capital firms, ended on a note of exasperation. “OMG. This event had 1 purpose, build engagement & attract foreign capital to Canadian VC general partners & companies, & the CVCA CEO just threw the entire sector under the bus,” Mr. van der Velden wrote.

    For most of its existence, LinkedIn was a place for suits to peacock about their professional accomplishments. They could make virtual connections on the platform as well, but the value of those were debatable. (One user would send another an invitation, and after it was accepted, they wouldn’t say a word to each other online.)

    Yet since the COVID-19 pandemic, LinkedIn has gone through a revolution. What started as a place for white-collar workers stuck working from home to interact with one another has blossomed into a hub for business insights. And after Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X) and removed most of that app’s guardrails, the resulting exodus has led to LinkedIn’s engagement skyrocketing.

    On X, anyone can have influence simply by purchasing a blue check mark, which gives them good promotion in the app’s algorithm. And because users don’t have to disclose who they are, they censor themselves less. LinkedIn, on the other hand, has historically been seen as a place for civil discourse. Users post under their real names, and they openly identify where they work. But even with that transparency, as the social platform grows, its tone and content are changing. LinkedIn is no longer just about networking or pleasantly sharing accomplishments – it’s at risk of becoming just another place for clickbait and, sometimes, unhinged rants and accusations.

    Some of LinkedIn’s tonal changes stem from its own updates. Because TikTok users have been posting more videos with career and financial advice, LinkedIn is fighting back by replicating some of TikTok’s features, such as a video carousel that displays short clips with titles such as “Get THOUSANDS off your next car.” LinkedIn is also experimenting with games.

    Complaining about bike lanes, for instance, has become big on LinkedIn, and the posts can garner angry comments. Recently, below a post about limiting bike lanes, Jim Trak, who retired from the commercial real estate industry, wrote: “Don’t listen to the BS – get out & look for your selves. Is this insanity worth it??? NO!!!! Think for yourself – wake-up & open your eyes.”

    And while it used to be that the digital and real worlds were seen as separate – “Twitter isn’t real life” was a popular saying – what happens online keeps bleeding into everyday life.

    Even posts that aren’t political to begin with can be torqued that way, sometimes with the type of outrage and name-calling more commonly seen on X. “If Tiff Macklem cuts rates – that’s LinkedIn worthy,” said Duncan Rowland, the founder of Toronto-based financial technology company Migrations.ml and an avid LinkedIn user. But, he added, “people are then going to turn that into, ‘Chrystia Freeland is an idiot.’ ”

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-linkedin-bay-street-corporate-world/

  30. One year in, war casts a shadow over every aspect of life in Israel

    At a busy Tel Aviv entertainment district, diners spill into outdoor seating and clink glasses as music fills the air. There’s laughter, there’s life. But all around the patrons, staring down from lampposts and shop windows, are pictures of hostages held in Gaza, stark reminders that Israel is at war and forever scarred by the deadliest attack in its history.

    As Israel’s war with Hamas reaches its one-year mark, it can seem on the surface that much of life in the country has returned to normal. But with many still reeling from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, hostages remaining in captivity and a new front of warwith Hezbollah in the north, many Israelis feel depressed, despondent and angry as the war stretches into its second year.

    Uncertainty over the future has cast a pall over virtually every part of daily life, even as people try to maintain a sense of normalcy.

    “The conversation about the situation is always there,” said activist Zeev Engelmayer, whose daily postcard project featuring illustrations of hostages or Israel’s new reality has become a fixture at anti-war protests. “Even those who are sitting in coffee shops, they’re talking about it, in every single situation I see it. It’s impossible to get away from it. It has entered into every vibration of our life.”

    Many have been rattled by the war’s evolution. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, with less than 70 believed to be alive. Israelis have experienced attacks — missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, explosive drones from Yemen, fatal shootings and stabbings — — as the region braces for further escalation.

    They’ve watched as Israel is accused of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza and becomes increasingly isolated internationally. “I’m almost 80 — we grew up in this country with a feeling that we have short wars, and we win them quickly,” said Israeli historian Tom Segev, who described new feelings of utter hopelessness. “We’re not used to a long war.”

    “I think that history is going backward,” he said of the past year. “Everything we have achieved on our way to becoming a normal state isn’t happening.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/one-year-in-war-casts-a-shadow-over-every-aspect-of-life-in-israel/ar-AA1rJogH

    1. It feels like we should always be carrying now.

      Regarding the present system of a Dialectic democracy people should check ou the videos on Counter Spell Group’s website. It lays down an understanding that our gov MO and everything happening are features. The analysis of Plato’s ‘Demos’ is instructive regarding how all groups are pitted against one another for the benefit of the few controllers of tyranny. This is the Dialectic writ large and it predates Marx and Engles. Endless wars are also a facet.

      …A Republic if you can keep it. Personally I would prefer going back to the Articles of Confederation and I’m a decendent of John Adams.

      1. Personally I would prefer going back to the Articles of Confederation

        As would I, and the authors of the Anti-Federalist Papers.

    1. Any government official who attempts to implement a mask mandate needs their head separated from their body.

      Do not comply, and this time, let’s just kill all of them instead.

  36. Do you remember the many articles about all the savvy under-40 buyers, just before many were wiped out financially in the 2007-2012 housing market collapse?

    So do I!

      1. Kind of like the various religions, e.g., you’re going to live a life of sloth and “all you can eat buffets” while brushing away endless virgins, but ‘ya gotta die first.

    2. Do you remember the many articles about all the savvy under-40 buyers,
      And if I recall correctly, women were out buying men and the MSM made a point of bragging about it.

  37. ‘We’re not talking about a 10% increase in annual rent; we’re talking about a 6-fold increase that would likely displace the majority of us from our homes,’ Hirsch told The Post. ‘The landowners continue to show us that they are not interested in finding a compromise that keeps residents in their homes; their goal is to force us out of our homes to maximize their profit’…‘The previous management company had closed their doors and when we took on the account, we got very little to almost no paperwork, financial paperwork’…when CAMCO took over, there was only $25,000 in the community account and they owed $300,000. ‘They should have $800,000 to $1,000,000 saved up’

    Two more HBB Pitfalls of Commie Urban Living™. The first with a NYC co-op.

    1. The first with a NYC co-op.
      A friend of mine owned in a Manhattan Co-op in the 1990-2000’s and back then she said she was paying around$5500/month in Co-op fees.
      Now she did have 24 hour doormen and other bennies but still.

  38. ‘He envisions a San Francisco where police feel respected and older residents don’t have to hire private security when the city has a $15 billion annual budget’

    And they talk about becoming the ‘crown jewel of the west coast’ again.

  39. ‘Every day I come home, I leave the house — I’m just immediately aggravated…If you’re thinking about buying a house with Karwood, make sure you’ve got a big bottle of Tylenol, because you’re going to have some headache…I’m kind of at my wits’ end…It does impact the enjoyment I even feel coming and going to my house. And everyone always comments on it too,’ he said. ‘They’re like, ‘Why is no one’s lawn done? Why is no one’s driveway done?’

    It was still way cheaper than renting Tom.

  40. ‘The frenzy began around 2019, as live-streaming e-commerce took off on short-video platforms…an ideal launch pad for go-getters eager to tap into a growing industry that promised fame and fortune just a live stream away…If one product went viral, everyone would jump on it, selling it a lower price to beat each other out. Eventually, it came to a point when no one was making any money, and everything fell apart’

    The ADV China guys have a lot of videos on this. Now Chinese young people are lined up in subways and under overpasses sitting on the ground doing live streams. Dozens of them here and there. Not even selling anything, just trying to get people to watch/follow/like for hoped for ‘viral’ moment future internet revenue. Trying on hats, putting on makeup. It’s kind of pathetic.

  43. Whistleblower Warns FBI Will Deploy Plainclothes Agents to Maricopa County Polling Stations to Monitor Trump Voters

    by Jamie White
    October 5th, 2024 12:44 PM

    An FBI whistleblower has come forward warning that the Bureau plans to deploy plainclothes FBI agents to polling stations in Maricopa County, Arizona, to monitor Trump voters.

    Arizona State Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R) sent a letter Thursday to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding an explanation for the whistleblower’s claims that the deployment of plainclothes agents is meant to ensure Trump voters don’t “get out of line,” a move that could possibly lead to widespread voter suppression.

    “My office has recently received a report that the FBI will be stationing plain-clothed agents in polling stations throughout Maricopa County. According to the whistleblower who attended the security briefing, the purpose of his deployment is to make sure Trump voters don’t ‘get out of line,’” Kolodin wrote.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/whistleblower-warns-fbi-will-deploy-plainclothes-agents-to-maricopa-county-polling-stations-to-monitor-trump-voters

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