Who will win Florida Governor's race?

[Lake View Too]

You and 'Leader' certainly have exceptional powers of reading between the lines. What I read into Meggiemom's post was that her friend bought a house in 2006 with the expectation that it wouldn't lose value. Now it's time to sell it and it's no longer worth what it was. Without knowing where the house is, how big it is or anything else this person is called a "damn fool" and some other names. As for your post, I can't figure out what the hell you're talking about. But perhaps you can convince good old Charlie Crist to lower his contingency fees to 15 or 20 percent on all his personal injury cases since you're into low profit margins. After all chasing ambulances is a big business.

I didn't call anybody a fool. I just said people had expectations well beyond reality. Perhaps Meggiemom's friend wasn't aware that the house he bought was appraised at $250,000 less than a year before he bought it. That kind of scenario played out all over the place. It was fairly obvious to half-wits like me that these values were not real and sustainable. It may not be the same in all industries, but in the building business, a profit margin of 20% to 25% is admirable. If you try to go far beyond that, it's not sustainable, and you will lose work. I suspect it's similar in real estate. The more people clamoring to make 100% are just going to inflate the whole balloon. Greed isn't good, contrary to conservative beliefs.

 

[Leader of the Banned]

There was a strange sort of herd mentality going on during that period. Many normal people thinking that it was totally righteous and possible to make 100% profit in a month or two. If everybody had just stayed at a sane 15% or 20% profit expectation... Nobody thought they were risking anything, just jumping on the gravy train.

Yep, and often the people who expect to make an unrealistic profit are willing to pay way way too much because they figure why not? The sky's the limit.

 

[carson]

Yep, and often the people who expect to make an unrealistic profit are willing to pay way way too much because they figure why not? The sky's the limit.

Did I mention cheese? Blue, cheddar, government...love it all!

 

[Leader of the Banned]

I didn't call anybody a fool. I just said people had expectations well beyond reality. Perhaps Meggiemom's friend wasn't aware that the house he bought was appraised at $250,000 less than a year before he bought it. That kind of scenario played out all over the place. It was fairly obvious to half-wits like me that these values were not real and sustainable. It may not be the same in all industries, but in the building business, a profit margin of 20% to 25% is admirable. If you try to go far beyond that, it's not sustainable, and you will lose work. I suspect it's similar in real estate. The more people clamoring to make 100% are just going to inflate the whole balloon. Greed isn't good, contrary to conservative beliefs.

It was just another form of Koolaid drinking.

 

[ricky bobby]

If you'll read my post again Lake View, I stated that MM's friend was called a fool. I didn't say YOU called him a fool. Leader of the Banned called him a fool. See post #72. And how do you know how much this person's house was appraised for at any point in time? I certainly don't know how much the house was appraised for without knowing anything about it. How is it that you and your comrade know? Lots of people bought houses when prices were high. That doesn't make them stupid. Most people don't buy homes as a business venture. Tell me, how is it that you know so much about Meggiemom's neighbor?

 

[Lake View Too]

I want to make clear to you, I don't know Meggiemom. I don't know Meggiemom's friend, and I don't know what the appraisal was. Obviously. I was talking about the general mentality that led to the bubble. I felt like some people's greed, and over-expectations led to a whole lot of people getting burned. I didn't mean to imply Meggiemom's friend was a "frickin' flipper". Many good intentioned people just looking for a nice home were sucked into the bad situation.

 

[Lake View Too]

I also want to make it clear that I don't know Leader of the Banned, and don't know his house appraisal, either. I happen to agree with his views, more often than not, and don't always agree with his language. But I certainly respect his right to say whatever he wants. It's sometimes confusing, in replying to my posts, to lump something somebody said in with your critique. And I prefer Swiss cheese, but don't always agree with their banking practices.

 

[poppy]

His inner Liberal child must have come out that day.

The mess wasn't created in 4 years. It took much longer. Check into the Dems forcing Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac to take on more high risk loans for low income borrowers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

You might actually learn something. Of course, you won't find it among the Dem talking points you normally parrot on here.

EDIT: Even gave you a link to help you on your way.

Damn, you history rewriters make this too easy. Let's use GW's own talking points. This is from his Whitehouse page.

Increasing Homeownership

• The US homeownership rate reached a record 69.2 percent in the second quarter of 2004. The number of homeowners in the United States reached 73.4 million, the most ever. And for the first time, the majority of minority Americans own their own homes.
• The President set a goal to increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade. Through his homeownership challenge, the President called on the private sector to help in this effort. More than two dozen companies and organizations have made commitments to increase minority homeownership - including pledges to provide more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage purchases for minority homebuyers this decade.
• President Bush signed the $200 million-per-year American Dream Downpayment Act which will help approximately 40,000 families each year with their downpayment and closing costs.
• The Administration proposed the Zero-Downpayment Initiative to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyers without a downpayment. Projections indicate this could generate over 150,000 new homeowners in the first year alone.
• President Bush proposed a new Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit to increase the supply of affordable homes.
• The President has proposed to more than double funding for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), where government and non-profit organizations work closely together to increase homeownership opportunities.
• The President proposed $2.7 billion in USDA home loan guarantees to support rural homeownership and $1.1 billion in direct loans for low-income borrowers unable to secure a mortgage through a conventional lender. These loans are expected to provide 42,800 homeownership opportunities to rural families across America.

http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/achievement/text/chap7.html

More GW talking points.

Bush Ties Policy to Record Home Ownership

Published March 26, 2004


President Bush on Friday promoted his efforts to help Americans, especially minorities, "realize their dreams" of home ownership as he wooed the large Hispanic population of a state he barely lost four years ago.
"We want more people owning their own home in America," Bush said. His goal is to have 5.5 million minority homeowners in the country by the end of the decade.
Touting his tax cuts as the economy's savior — and pointing to the strong housing market as proof — Bush said "more people own their own home now than ever." More than 50 percent of minorities owned their own homes in the last three months of 2003 for the first time ever, the president said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/03/26/bush-ties-policy-to-record-home-ownership/

More of GW taking credit.

Bush ties tax relief, homownership

CRAWFORD, Texas — Focusing on the dream of home ownership for the nation’s minorities, President Bush on Saturday credited his tax relief program for being a key to driving the housing market to record levels.

“Because of tax relief, Americans have more to save, spend and invest — and that means millions of American families have moved into their first homes,” Bush said in his weekly radio address as he spent the weekend at his ranch.
In a swing through the Southwest on Friday, the president highlighted three of his economic policies he said can help nearly 400,000 low- or moderate-income families become home buyers.
One of the approaches, the American Dream Down Payment Act, will help low-income Americans afford the down payment and closing costs on their first home. Bush is asking Congress to provide $200 million a year for the program. He also proposes to make zero down-payment loans available to first-time buyers whose mortgages are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration.
In addition, Bush is proposing a tax credit to encourage builders to provide 200,000 affordable homes over five years for low-income families.
These and other steps, he said, will push the nation toward his goal of adding 5.5 million new minority home owners by the end of the decade.
But housing advocates say assistance for renters is just as critical a component to addressing the housing needs of families with limited financial resources.

Or maybe you will like this.

Bush drive for home ownership fueled housing bubble

Eight years after arriving in Washington vowing to spread the dream of home ownership, Bush is leaving office, as he himself said recently, "faced with the prospect of a global meltdown" with roots in the housing sector he so ardently championed.There are plenty of culprits, like lenders who peddled easy credit, consumers who took on mortgages they could not afford and Wall Street chieftains who loaded up on mortgage-backed securities without regard to the risk.
But the story of how the United States got here is partly one of Bush's own making, according to a review of his tenure that included interviews with dozens of current and former administration officials.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/b...iht-admin.4.18853088.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

We can go on like this all day. It's true many factors were to blame, but it was Bush who spent a large amount of his time taking credit for the housing bubble. Polly want a cracker?

 

[m1a1mg]

We can go on like this all day. It's true many factors were to blame, but it was Bush who spent a large amount of his time taking credit for the housing bubble. Polly want a cracker?

Blah, blah, blah......then make my point for me. I didn't say Bush didn't play a part. But to blame Bush solely is stupid. You ONLY talk about the bad that R's do. Other posters here are willing to concede that their party of choice isn't always great. All you ever come back with is more bashing of the right.

At the end of the day, a lot of people made a ton of money off the housing bubble. Then the politicians agreed to let the banks off the hook with our tax dollars.

 

[carson]

Fannie and Freddie, is that revisionist? It takes two to tango and both parties screwed the pooch at some point. To blame a party or a single person is ridiculous. Too many factors for one person to take down the economy.