10 Comments for this entry

1. nvattorney says:

   February 28, 2008 at 3:18 AM

   Oh bull. He’s been “losing” neverland for 10 years.
2. entropy says:

   February 28, 2008 at 5:43 AM

   Actually Mr. Jackson has been stuck/lost in neverneverland for decades now……..what a strange fellow.

   To Manfre…..My wife was particularly interested in San Antonio, says she likes that city. Could you please tell me where the better areas around San Antonio are? Any other info you could provide will be appreciated.
3. twist says:

   February 28, 2008 at 6:33 AM

   NVAttorney-

   Exactly. The issue for Jackson is too much debt on a bad investment, not middle class vs. poverty.

   I found this quote from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal interesting:

   Do the poorer households that were the targets of these initiatives actually benefit from homeownership? Carolina Katz Reid, then at the University of Washington, looked at the question systematically, using subjects who bought houses between 1977 and 1993. For most low-income households, homeownership proved a bad bet, even in a rising market. Mortgage costs ate up their incomes and tied them down in subpar neighborhoods with bad schools and inferior job opportunities. Their capital gains were subpar or nonexistent even if they managed to hold onto their houses for a decade. Lacking much income, they didn’t benefit from the mortgage-interest deduction.

   So much for subsidizing our way to greater "social stability" by luring marginal borrowers into debt to own a home.

   If this study is correct, homeownership has been a drag on low income Americans.  Maintaining a property can be expensive, even for someone like Michael Jackson. Foreclosure for many Americans may represent a chance to get ahead.
4. toysarefun says:

   February 28, 2008 at 9:20 AM

   This probably does not fit here, but it’s interesting news.
   http://www.wra.org/online_pubs/press_releases/2008/pr0227_class_action.htm
5. twist says:

   February 28, 2008 at 9:51 AM

   Toysarefun-

   You have to get way off-topic to get a reprimand around here, and that is a great link. : )

   
   

   A federal appeals court is nearing a decision on a battle between Chevy Chase Bank and a Wisconsin couple that could for the first time enable homeowners across the country to band together in class-action lawsuits against mortgage firms and get their loans canceled.

   The case is alarming Wall Street’s biggest banks, which could bear the hefty cost of reimbursing all mortgage interest, closing costs and broker fees to groups of homeowners who uncover even minor mistakes in their loan documents.

   It sounding more and more like maybe crime and irresponsibility may pay after all.
6. Hutch says:

   February 28, 2008 at 8:39 PM

   “The advertised 1.95 percent rate lasted only one month. It quickly soared to above 8 percent.”

   If it looks too good to be true…read the fine print and get help if you don’t understand it.

   “the district court judge in Wisconsin found those forms were confusing.”

   Igor say pox
7. sandman says:

   February 28, 2008 at 9:29 PM

   Every foreclosure means a family is falling out of the middle class into poverty.

   How about:

   Every foreclosure means a middle class family is leaving the illusion of an upper class lifestyle.

   I can’t believe people are claiming that middle class people with $0 down I/O loans are suddenly poor when they lose homes that they never had a penny of equity in.
8. twist says:

   February 29, 2008 at 7:51 PM

   Sandman-

   It’s entirely possible that these foreclosed on borrowers could go rent a comparable home for much less. They may find it actually easier to maintain that illusion now that they don’t have pay such a whopping mortgage.
9. Yossarian says:

   March 1, 2008 at 12:03 AM

   “Loook!!! My mortgage broker says that every time a cash register rings, a realtor no longer has to eat ramen!”
   Anyway, foreclosure doesn’t just affect the foreclosureee (can that be a word?)… it affects all of the comps in the neighborhood, the bank or mortgage company, etc.
   And there’s no solving the ‘foreclosure problem’ .. it just has to play itself out. Period.
10. manfre says:

    March 1, 2008 at 4:58 AM

    Entropy,

    San Antonio’s better newer neighborhoods are all pretty much NW, N, and NE. It also depends on what you desire, convenience and a normal sized lot, or country living in the hill country on acreage. Most of the violent crime is inside the 410 loop. We, like most other cities are experiencing increasing inventory and declining sales, mind you, we are no Phoenix.

    The best MLS website I use for the San Antonio area is http://www.halfpriced.com.

    Feel free to email me at dan_manfre@yahoo.com if you would like to follow up and/or have more specific questions.

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