Crooks, thieves, and liars: the nefarious characters of the housing bust

 MISSION VIEJO, NEWS
Dec 142012
 
Crooks, thieves, and liars: the nefarious characters of the housing bust

Have you noticed that most of the human interest stories from the housing bubble have no heroes? The housing bust has brought out the worst in mankind. Every party involved seeks to avoid any financial responsibility while simultaneously looking for ways to game the system to their advantage. The cast of characters includes lenders, realtors, delinquent mortgage squatters, holdover tenants, mortgage brokers, basically anyone involved with real estate. Today’s featured article describes some of the nefarious characters, looks at their motivations and false beliefs of entitlement, and illustrates what happens when everyone is wrong, greedy and stupid. Owner leaves his [Read More...]

Reasons people buy homes and reasons people rent, including the bad ones

 GARDEN GROVE, NEWS
Nov 212012
 
Reasons people buy homes and reasons people rent, including the bad ones

The need for shelter is basic, often closely followed by the desire for community. In the United States, this often translates into a desire to take on a very large mortgage to buy real estate. These basic human emotions drive much of the activity in real estate markets. Most people buy because it is the right time for them. Their career, age, family circumstances all come together to push people toward ownership at different times. Some are fortunate and buy at the bottom of the real estate cycle. Some are not so fortunate and buy at the peak. The most [Read More...]

New study contends renting is superior investment to owning for most Americans

 GARDEN GROVE, NEWS
Aug 082012
 
New study contends renting is superior investment to owning for most Americans

Despite being an outspoken renter over the last five years (I’ve actually been a renter since 2001), I still believe there are virtues to home ownership. The emotional benefits are palpable, and there are financial reasons to own. The main financial reason I plan to own again soon is to lock in a cost of ownership lower than the cost of a comparable rental. A secondary reason is to obtain the “forced savings” benefit of a conventionally amortized mortgage. I know a lender would give me a HELOC if I asked, but I have no intention of it. At some [Read More...]

Renters deserve better than to subsidize loan owners

 BUENA PARK, NEWS
Jun 082012
 
Renters deserve better than to subsidize loan owners

As a renter, I find the behavior of lenders, loan owners, and politicians galling. Lenders and loan owners inflated a massive housing bubble and priced me out of home ownership for over a decade. To make matters worse, politicians decided my tax dollars should go toward bailing out both parties and subsidizing this atrocious behavior. Politicians are compelling me to pay money to the very people whose avarice made it impractical for me to obtain a family home. True homeowners, responsible buyers with equity, should also be incensed by this foolishness, but since the housing bubble folly served to increase [Read More...]

REO-to-rental investors will restore balance to the housing market

 LADERA RANCH, NEWS
May 162012
 
REO-to-rental investors will restore balance to the housing market

Statistics across most markets show rents are going up. The monthly OC Housing market report has shown steadily declining prices and steadily increasing rents over the last two years. Resale prices are falling because loan owners are being forced out of homes they can’t afford, and the resulting REOs and short sales are deflating the housing bubble. These same former loan owners end up becoming renters which increases demand for rental houses. Ordinarily, if loan owners were becoming renters, prices in the rental market wouldn’t be disturbed because the REO would be converted to a rental and supply would equal [Read More...]

Renting is the next boom in real estate

 NEWS, ORANGE
May 082012
 
Renting is the next boom in real estate

I have enjoyed being a renter over the last five years. I moved several times being a renter, and I never felt anchored or chained to any housing situation. I rarely stressed about paying my rent, and I never once fretted about the decline in the value of my property. Further, I never worried about my prosperity being hindered by some bank refusing to extend me a Ponzi loan. Being a renter has caused me to pass many of my peers on the basis of my net worth — though small, mine is still positive. Renting is the future of [Read More...]

Converting REO to rentals projected to be a $100 billion industry in 2012

 ANAHEIM, NEWS
Apr 202012
 
Converting REO to rentals projected to be a $100 billion industry in 2012

A couple days ago, I postulated that lenders would utilize REO to rental programs to the extent feasible: … First, it gives them immediate capital. They don’t have to wait as they slowly liquidate on the MLS. Opponents of these programs — mostly realtors who fear loss of commissions — postulate lenders will recover less when selling in bulk. Lenders will have to discount the properties more to liquidate in bulk, but they also eliminate a 6% commission to listing agents, so the net may be the same. And since lenders are recovering their capital more quickly, the benefits outweigh [Read More...]

Two good reasons to keep renting

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, NEWS
Apr 132012
 
Two good reasons to keep renting

I still rent. I own investment properties, but I still rent my primary residence. In all likelihood, the properties at the mid to high price points common in Irvine will continue to come down over the next few years, so there is little urgency. I am enticed by the low interest rates and the historically low cost of ownership, but there are advantages to renting that shouldn’t be overlooked. There are two good reasons to rent in today’s market: (1) prices are still going down, and buying may result in a loss of equity, and (2) buying today sacrifices mobility. [Read More...]

Are OC rents a bubble due to pop?

 NEWS, SANTA ANA
Mar 162012
 
Are OC rents a bubble due to pop?

Rents have been rising in Irvine and in Orange County since early 2010 when we began to pull out of the recession. The trick is to identify the reason for this increase. If it’s due to a recovering economy, then the recent rent increases are normal and sustainable; however, if it’s due to another cause, the recent uptick in rents may be a bubble waiting to pop. Some amount of the increase in rents is likely due to improved economic conditions. For as bad as the recession was, and for as weak as the recovery has been, the economy is [Read More...]

With prices at 10-year lows and falling, renting is back in style

 FOUNTAIN VALLEY
Feb 242012
 
With prices at 10-year lows and falling, renting is back in style

When the housing market nears the bottom, despair dominates. Prices have fallen for five straight years and hover at 10-year lows, and real estate is out of favor as an investment class. Evidence of the market’s despair crops up in articles extolling the virtues of renting. Articles about renting were common from 1994 to 1996, and at the time, renting was a good idea; prices had been falling, and there was little reason to believe they would be going up soon, just like today. However, in the big picture, people who bought in 1994 to 1996 were rewarded. They suffered [Read More...]

Renters and home owners are ripped off by banksters and loan owners

 CORONA DEL MAR, NEWS
Feb 152012
 
Renters and home owners are ripped off by banksters and loan owners

Home owners and loan owners are different. Both experience changes to their net worth from fluctuations in the resale prices of houses, but beyond that, people who own property don’t benefit from the various bailouts designed to keep loan owners paying their mortgages. Most people who own a loan erroneously think of themselves as home owners. They are not. They are money renters who hold title only as long as they continue to pay the rent on the money they borrowed. Let’s review from Money rentership: housing and the new American dream: Over the years, the slow erosion of property [Read More...]

OC rents rise more than 4.6% for 12 consecutive months

 NEWS, ORANGE
Jan 192012
 
OC rents rise more than 4.6% for 12 consecutive months

Rents are rising again. In fact since turning positive in late 2010, rents have been rising steadily and consistently in a healthy range. This is a sign of an improving economy. It’s also one of the reasons rental parity calculations show improvement. Unless the US economy slips back into recession, rents will not turn negative again. As long as rents go up and prices go down, affordability will continue to improve. Renter Nation Rages On As New Reality Published: Thursday, 5 Jan 2012 | 12:52 PM ET By: Diana Olick — CNBC Real Estate Reporter Despite record low mortgage rates [Read More...]

Potential buyers wisely choose to rent during a bust

 NEWS, SAN CLEMENTE
Jan 052012
 
Potential buyers wisely choose to rent during a bust

When house prices were going up, everyone wanted to own to capture appreciation. When house prices started going down, those who recognized the trend wisely chose to rent instead. As the bust drags on even the most kool aid intoxicated are beginning to see the wisdom in renting. Better to throw your money away on rent than to throw it away on interest to support a depreciating asset. 6 Reasons Why Buying A Home Is Like Throwing Away Money Girls Just Wanna Have Funds | Jan. 1, 2012, 10:04 AM Most people see buying a home as a part of [Read More...]