Thursday, June 23, 2011

Buying A Home Now Is A Real Crap Shoot

Here is some follow up information about the Shadow Inventory of homes why it is impossible to predict the trend of house prices.

I talked about the Banks and the Politicians messing up the marketplace. I should have included the courts.

Courts may reshape mortgage industry
NEW YORK – June 17, 2011
– A New York appellate court last week ruled that a Reston-based company that electronically tracks and transfers millions of mortgages did not have the right to foreclosure on a property or assign a mortgage it doesn’t actually own. The decision came only days after an appeals court in California took a different view, ruling that the firm indeed has the power to act on behalf of lenders.

The two cases, like dozens of others already decided or playing out in courtrooms across the country, highlight a protracted legal wrestling match that could determine the validity of foreclosures already in the pipeline and shape the mortgage market for years to come.

The cases also underscore the uncertainty that continues to surround Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), which has allowed the financial industry to transfer and reassign millions of mortgages quickly and cheaply since the 1990s. The company also has acted as a proxy for banks in many foreclosure proceedings.

The MERS business model has increasingly come under fire since revelations last fall of widespread problems in foreclosure filings around the country – including forged documents and lingering questions about who actually owns the homes being foreclosed. Embattled borrowers and their attorneys continue to challenge the legitimacy of MERS, which doesn’t actually own any of the 65 million loans in its vast registry.

Those challenges have had limited success so far. But as cases are reviewed on appeal, the rulings could call into question countless foreclosures that have taken place since the housing bust. Perhaps more significant, if judges ultimately deem the MERS model invalid, it could mean massive lawsuits against banks that improperly bundled and sold mortgages to investors and could hinder the private securitization market, making it tougher for average Americans to get home loans in the long run.

“We know that MERS is a problem; we don’t know exactly what that’s going to mean,” said Adam Levitin, a Georgetown University law professor. “We still don’t have really definitive law on any of the issues involved. It’s going to take awhile before we really know the answers.”

MERS, which was created by the mortgage industry in the 1990s and became a key component in the securitization process during the housing boom, has had a range of legal wins and losses.

“The law must not yield to expediency and the convenience of lending institutions,” Justice John M. Leventhal wrote in the New York appeals court ruling last week, adding, “Proper procedures must be followed to ensure the reliability of the chain of ownership.”

Earlier this year, a Michigan court of appeals ruled against MERS, saying state law requires a foreclosing party to have a stake in the loan itself, which the firm did not. Those decisions came after other blows to MERS from courts in Maine, Kansas and California. In March, the company asked banks and servicers to stop foreclosing in the MERS name.

These are “extra precautionary steps that we don’t think are legally necessary, but may reduce some of the administrative headaches,” Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum, said of the decision to end MERS foreclosures. Still, he said, “ I just don’t think it’s possible for the court system to roll back” the current system. “If you don’t allow electronic transfers of mortgages, it takes us back to the stone ages.”

At the same time, the company has won numerous victories in scores of other courtrooms, from Hawaii to Virginia – a tally that it publishes in quarterly and monthly publications. In Minnesota, legislators passed a law stating that MERS explicitly has the right to undertake foreclosures. And the company has spent more than $1 million in lobbying in recent years to garner support among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“The court decisions have overwhelmingly leaned in favor of MERS and validating MERS’s business model,” said Janis Smith, vice president of corporate communications for MERSCORP, the firm’s parent company. “Overall, the record is pretty clearly established.”

The company is fighting a multi-front war. It recently received a subpoena from the Delaware attorney general seeking information about its practices. New York’s attorney general also has undertaken an investigation into all aspects of the mortgage lending and securitization business, an examination that likely will involve inquiries into how mortgages were assigned and bundled.

In addition to its legal fight, MERS faces competition from Delaware-based Global Debt Registry, which plans to launch an alternative registry service later this summer.

“The more we researched it, the more it seemed there was a need for an alternative [to MERS],” said Mark Parsells, the firm’s executive chairman. “We see the need for a proper alternative that alleviates any ambiguity” related to the ownership of the underlying mortgages.

Copyright © 2011 washingtonpost.com, Brady Dennis and Renae Merle.

The shadow inventory of repossessed and soon-to-be repossessed homes

This is a follow-up to my Blog about the Shadow Inventory of homes that will eventually get to market. What the politicians do and how the banks respond will determing whether we have an immediate flood onto the market with major price drops or, if they trickle in-a long,gradual drop in house prices. It all depends. This article gives the numbers. They are enormous!

06/22/2011 By: Carrie Bay

The shadow inventory of repossessed and soon-to-be repossessed homes not yet visible to the market has been trimmed, according to new data released by CoreLogic Wednesday.
The company reports that as of April 2011, the industry’s shadow supply fell to 1.7 million units, down from 1.9 million units 12 months earlier.
CoreLogic attributes the decline to fewer new delinquencies and a high level of distressed sales – a combination which has helped to reduce the deluge of foreclosure properties that threatens to upend an already fragile market beset by a supply and demand imbalance.
CoreLogic estimates current shadow inventory, also known as pending supply, by calculating the number of distressed properties not currently listed on multiple listing services that are delinquent by 90 days or more, in foreclosure, and real estate owned (REO) by lenders. Shadow inventory is typically not included in metrics of unsold inventory.
The company’s April 2011 estimate is 18 percent lower that the shadow inventory peak of 2 million units hit in January 2010.
Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic said, “The shadow inventory has declined by nearly one-fifth since it peaked in early 2010, in large part due to a reduced flow of newly delinquent loans in recent months. However, it will probably take several years for the shadow inventory to be absorbed given the long timelines in processing and completing foreclosures.”
Of the 1.7 million properties currently in the shadows, CoreLogic says 790,000 are seriously delinquent, 440,000 are in some stage of foreclosure, and 440,000 are already in REO.
The overall sales pace has slowed so even with 200,000 fewer homes in the dark, the current shadow inventory represents five months’ worth of supply, according to CoreLogic’s calculations. The larger shadow inventory from a year ago also constituted a five-month supply. At the peak in January 2010, the supply was 8.5 months.
The total shadow and visible inventory was 5.7 million units in April 2011, down from 6.2 million units a year ago, according to CoreLogic. The decline occurred in both the visible and shadow inventories. The shadow inventory accounts for 29 percent of the combined stock.
CoreLogic notes that in addition to the current shadow inventory, there are 2 million borrowers who are current on their payments but “upside down” or in negative equity by more than 50 percent, or $150,000.
The company says these loans have increased risk of entering the shadow inventory if the owners’ ability to pay is impaired while significantly underwater.

The Russians Are Coming? No, The Russians Are Here!

I was reading eBay for Dummies this morning, getting ready to convince a power eBay seller her in Palm Coast to use my new site, PalmCoastGarageSale.com to sell his stuff. See my pilot site at http://www.creativepages.net/ted/

I was thinking about unique stuff to sell. Maybe do the site in Russian. I have a young Russian couple with two kids next door and an old Russian couple next to them on our four-house cul-de-sac (the fourth house is an old Italian couple, but they just left=snowbirds.)

We have a very large Russian community here in Palm Coast. The former Maffia ghetto on Coney Island has become the largest Russian community in the US.

We have three Russian grocery stores here and they all seem to be doing well. The Russian speaking real estate agents were doing great. There must be something I can sell that will have great appeal to this market.

Well, I haven't found the million dollar product yet, but I did find a very interesting Russian thing, a Russian massage gizmo. A Venic. Looks like fun! Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

And if you have an idea of something our Russian Community would really like to be able to buy locally, but it isn't avaiable, please let me know. Our social security checks are not hacking it.

http://russian-bath.com/venik/















http://russian-bath.com/venik/

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

False Indicator of Improvement in Housing Market

This News Release will give the impression the housing market is improving. It is not. Read the next one, issued the same day on my market report, that shows how many mortgages are waiting to go into foreclosure (Unless the Government continues to with the marketplace)

Distress Claims Smaller Share of Dwindling Existing-Home Sales
Distressed properties accounted for just 31 percent of existing-home sales in May, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. The ratio of distressed homes - typically bank-owned or pre-foreclosure short sales - was down from 37 percent in April and 40 percent in March. A pick-up in non-distressed sales volume is typical for the spring and summer seasons, but last month, overall sales of previously owned homes dropped along with the distressed percentage to hit a six-month low.

NOW HEAR THIS...


Industry's Past Due Mortgages = 6,350,000
Data released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) Tuesday puts the number of home mortgages that are delinquent or in foreclosure at 6,350,000. The company's assessment is based on mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database through the end of the month of May. In April, LPS reported that there were 6,388,000 mortgages going unpaid.

You Worry Me!

I couldn't help but editing and passing along this message I received from a good friend. A Marine, he flew Phantom jets in Viet Nam and was a pilot for Continental. He is a passionate patriot and I respect and thank him for his service.

A Muslim threat is not the hot topic here in Palm Coast. I don't know if we should care more; maybe we should. But I do think it fair to encourage peace loving, American Muslims to speak out. Read this and see if you agree:

YOU WORRY ME!
By Captain John Maniscalco,
American Airlines Pilot

I've been trying to say this since
911, but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down
the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still
blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country. But
you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me.

I notice you because I can't help
it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been
attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years
now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate, but I know that
nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks.

On September 11, ARAB-MUSLIMS
hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in
front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of
those planes and crashed them into buildings, killing thousands of proud
fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends,
favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers.


The Palestinians celebrated, the
Iraqis were overjoyed as was most of the Arab world. So, I notice you now.
I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage,
hate and prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists But I
need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and
family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference
between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist.

How do I differentiate
between the true Arab/Muslim Americans and the Arab/Muslim terrorists in our
communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR
communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next
attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children?


The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my
responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of
its religions, with ALL of its different citizens, with all of its faults.
It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.


I want to know, I demand to know
and I have a right to know, whether or not you love America . Do you
pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your
house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah
will bless this nation; that He will protect it and let it prosper? Or do
you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your Jihads? Are you thankful for
the freedom that this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the
blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this
country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by also paying the
ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America? If this is your commitment,
then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.

Your Muslim
leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts
on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a
religion to protect the United States of America . Please, no more benign
overtures of regret for the death of the innocent, because I worry about who you
regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked
attacks, because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not
interested in any more sympathy; I am interested only in action.
What will you do for America - our great country - at this time of crisis, at
this time of war?

I want to see Arab-Muslims waving
the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting 'Allah Bless
America '. I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military.
I want to see a commitment of money, time and emotion to the victims of this
butchering and to this nation as a whole.

The FBI has a list
of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these
people live and socialize right now in Muslim communities. You know
them.
You know where they are. Hand
them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of
action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community
close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have
posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened
lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals.


The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media
were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making
sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking
action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims
from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they
did with supporting our country and denouncing 'leaders' like Khadafi, Hussein,
Farrakhan, and Arafat.

If the true teachings of Islam
proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people, then I want chapter and
verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it
up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good, pure, and
true, when your 'leaders' are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and
intolerance? It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if huge numbers of
the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere
to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated
to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a
foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are
recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as
young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year
after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our
presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A
form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms
against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A
form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show
their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.


We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that
matter, to take away that which is so precious to us -our rights under the
greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab Muslim
in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true
citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of
thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution
that is protecting you and your family.

I am pleading with
you to let me know. I want you here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend,
as a fellow American. But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding
your allegiance, and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand. Until
then, "YOU WORRY ME!"

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Legislation to Delay Banks from Foreclosing

The Housing Market Is Unpredictable

Passing legislation at the federal level (it already exists in Florida) that lengthens the time it takes a bank to forclose will motivate more borrowers to strategically default; stop making their payments and either live in their houses for free or rent them out and pocket the proceeds.

But it will also artificially prop up sale prices and make us think we have hit bottom. The flood of foreclosure properties that would normally be coming onto the market will be delayed, but they will eventually appear. This will give a false sense that the housing market is improving and will be spun hard by the OBama team that things are getting better, not just being postponed.

Government action to assist those threatened with foreclosure will have a tremendous impact on the value of your home...one way or the other.

Here is the article explaining the pending legislation. I have put in bold the parts I think sum it up.

Article from DSNEWS.COM:

Bankers Advocate Opposition of Mortgage Servicing Amendment
06/17/2011 BY: CARRIE BAY
The American Bankers Association has sent a letter to key lawmakers in the Senate, urging them to reject foreclosure legislation proposed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

Their bill, tagged the Regulation of Mortgage Servicing Act, has been introduced as an amendment to the larger economic development legislation (S. 782) currently making its way through Congress.
It addresses several reforms already included in regulatory consent orders, such as a single point-of-contact for borrowers and ending dual-tracking. It also requires an independent, third-party case review prior to foreclosure. This last point is a major sticking point for the bankers group.
In offering up the amendment, Merkley said, “This economic development bill is designed to help get people back to work, but we won’t get the economy moving again until we deal with the foreclosure crisis.”
He added, “Since foreclosures bring down the prices of surrounding homes, everyone loses when a family is not given a fair chance to refinance. This mortgage servicing amendment will help to keep families in their homes, producing a win-win benefit for families and local economies.”
But the American Bankers Association (ABA) says, “The Merkley/Snowe provision would further destabilize the mortgage and housing markets by suspending legitimate foreclosures already in process imposing new requirements on existing loan terms, and increasing costs for all homeowners as lenders factor in costs imposed by the new requirements.”
In the ABA’s letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the group went on to say, “The on-going price declines in the housing market, foreclosures relating to job losses, and other impacts of the recent recession are devastating to borrowers and lenders alike. This legislation, however, will only exacerbate an already difficult situation. Delaying legitimate foreclosures and increasing costs associated with them will only prolong the pain of the current situation.”
ABA also stated that the legislation is “ill-timed,” noting that both the state attorneys general and federal banking regulators are already engaged in discussions on how to impose both servicing and foreclosure standards on lenders.
“This legislation would presumably trump and potentially conflict with those efforts, adding further confusion, delay, and cost to an already troubled housing market,” ABA said.
While Snowe argues that the amendment would help to stave off “unnecessary foreclosures caused by confusing communications with loan servicers and misfiled or flawed paperwork,” ABA again stressed that it will only prolong the market correction by slowing down “legitimate foreclosures” and they urged Reid and McConnell to lead the Senate in rejecting the amendment.

Here is the link to the Florida State Law on the same thing:
http://bit.ly/jCoFqq

Friday, June 10, 2011

Strategic Defaulters Rejoice-HAMP'S Been Humped!

They can't get it done!

Yesterday my accountant told me how effective he has been helping folks get their mortagages mitigated. That is, having the bank reduce the principle amount they owe thus reducing thier monthly payment to something they can afford and eliminating the need and cost for the bank to foreclose.

The government has a program they call HAMP-Home Affordable Mortgage Program-to payoff the banks for the loss they will take in doing a loan modification.

But our government is broke, so they needed to find a way to delay paying the HAMP money. Easy. Evaluate the lenders and then claim they are not performing good enough. Classify them as needing “substantial” improvement and then withold payment of the bailout money.

Nothing more disappointing to Banks doing HAMP deals based on the government giving them bailout money, and then finding out the government won't pay! Common sense says you better stop doing these HAMP deals until you start getting the money you were promised.

Read the article. If you are in Strategic Default you will be delighted to learn which banks are taking forever to foreclose.

If you try to get the taxpayer to pick up the loss the bank will take if they foreclose on your house by using the HAMP bailout money, then you probably lose. These loans will dry up.

Sort of forces delinquent borrowers to not pay anything to their lenders and do a strategic default; rather than try to get a double-crossed bank to modify their loan via HAMP, don't cha think?

Here is the article where I got the poop on the government defaulting on its obligation to the banks:

Treasury Puts Performance of 10 Largest HAMP Servicers on Display
06/09/2011 BY: CARRIE BAY DSNews.com

The U.S. Treasury has released its regular monthly report card on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). New this time is an assessment of how the 10 largest HAMP servicers are performing.

Four servicers have been designated as needing “substantial” improvement: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ocwen Loan Servicing, and Wells Fargo.
For three of these – BofA, JPMorgan, and Wells – Treasury is withholding all future financial incentives until they make specific improvements. Should they fail to correct identified problems in a “reasonable time,” Treasury says it may permanently reduce their financial incentives. As problems are remedied, incentive payments will resume.
Treasury will not withhold servicer incentives owed to Ocwen because officials say Ocwen’s compliance results were “substantially and negatively affected” by its acquisition of HomEq Servicing just before the compliance testing period, which covered part of the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.
“Treasury will withhold servicer incentives from Ocwen if future compliance results do not indicate improvements,” according to the department’s report.
The remaining six of the largest servicers have been tagged as needing “moderate” improvement: American Home Mortgage Servicing, CitiMortgage, GMAC Mortgage, Litton Loan Servicing, OneWest, and Select Portfolio Servicing.
These firms could have incentives withheld in the future if they fail to make certain improvements, Treasury explained.
All withholdings apply only to incentives owed to servicers for their participation in the federal program. Incentives slated to go to homeowners or investors will still be paid through the servicer.
No servicer has been identified as needing only “minor” improvement.
According to Treasury’s report, there are currently 608,000 permanent HAMP modifications in active status.
Servicers converted 29,000 trial mods to permanent during the month of April and started another 29,000 trial plans during the month.
Treasury notes that of trial modifications started since June 2010, the average length of the trial period has been 3.5 months and 70 percent of those have been converted to permanent modifications.
The median payment reduction among permanent mods is 37 percent, or more than $500 a month, and Tim Massad, assistant Treasury secretary, says re-defaults have been “lower than anyone expected.”
Treasury says it plans to issue program assessments of the top 10 servicers on a quarterly basis.


________________________________________

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

AGAIN: Throw the Bums Out!

This supports my opinion in my last blog that the most important reform we need is to eliminate term limits and the self-serving politicians they breed. Let's attract successful people willing to contribute Public Service for a few years.

FROM TEAPARTYPATRIOTS.COM

"We're talking about the Four Big Lies that Republicans, Democrats, Congressmen, Senators, Reporters, and the President will tell you over the next few weeks as they try to convince you to let them raise the debt ceiling"...
There's no way to cut enough spending. So we must raise the debt ceiling. If we don't raise it America will not be able to pay back its creditors and the rest of the world will never trust us with money again. It will be a disaster!!!"

Fact
The problem is not that congress can't cut spending. The problem is that congress
doesn't want to cut spending.
There's a big difference.
The United States Government is addicted to spending money. It is a gluttonous, greedy, vulgar addiction that makes drug addicts look stable by comparison.

If you lock a heroin addict in a nice room, provide him with everything he needs to live, but give him no more heroin, what happens? He panics. He will become totally irrational, scream, cry, beg, plead, bargain, lie, steal, and (given the chance) maybe even kill to get more drugs. It would be difficult to watch him go through the painful process of breaking the addiction. But if you care about his future, you know that you cannot trust the words that are coming out of his mouth. It's the addiction talking. You stand strong and cut off his supply until the addiction is broken.

It's time to lock the government in a nice room. We will care for it and give it everything it needs to live. And because we love America, we're going to stand strong and force it to break the addiction.

The truth is that the spending can be cut quickly and in a large enough amount to avoid blowing past the debt ceiling.
At the end of President Clinton's term in office (just 10 years ago) the government was operating with a budget surplus. Some debate the specifics; but no one can debate that spending was far lower than it is now, and the economy was much better than it is now.

During President Bush's term in office federal spending climbed and climbed. Government grew faster and bigger than it should ever be allowed to do.

President Obama has had the credit card for only 28 months. And in that time the government has grown more than it did under all previous Presidents added together!

Common sense dictates that if it can be pumped up that quickly, it can be cut back quickly too.

Many of the things that will have to be reduced are popular government programs that politicians fear cutting. But we cannot continue to survive as a country if we fail to properly manage massive government programs because they're considered "sacred cows".
The "sacred cows" have run off into the wild and are going to starve to death if we don't bring them back into the barn.

We've also got a few diseased "mad cows" (like Obamacare) that just need to be put down in order to save the herd.

Mr. President, Senate, & Congress; We are not going to let youraise the debt ceiling. So stop asking. Now move on"

WHY TO NOT VOTE "REPUBLICAN"

Here is a paragraph from John Mauldin's newsletter that is very enlightening...

"Europe, America and Japan draw their economic managers from the ranks of professionals sliding back and forth between the banks and finance ministries – what the Japanese call “descent from heaven” to the private sector where worldly rewards are greatest.

It is not merely delayed payment for past service. Their government experience and contacts helps them influence the remaining public bureaucracy and lobby their equally opportunistic replacements to promote pro-financial fiscal and monetary policies – that is, to handcuff government and deter regulation and taxation of the financial sector and its real estate and monopoly clients, and to use the government’s taxing and money-creating power to provide bailouts when the inevitable financial collapse occurs as the economy shrinks below break-even levels into negative equity territory."

I have a college degree, have earned Mercedes level income and have always voted Republican.

I did not have time to learn how some "conservative" values were self-serving. If you had extra money and were an "investor", if you had a "financial advisor" you were a Republican and a patron of our financial institutions.

However, our current Republican Congressmen are in bed with Wall Street. They depend on them for contributions and get-me-elected-again, support. They have nearly ruined our country using debt to finance pork and political payoffs .

I am now a local "Tea Party" Independent. Until and Unless I find out Tea Party candidates are just as self-serving and corrupt as the ones we already have.

I think the only real answer is term limits. "Throw The Bums Out" Don't let the bastards make a well-paying career out of "public service". Kill their health and retirement benefits. Our current politicians are a ruling class, not public servants.

(My quote is from The Stark Choice for Europe - John Mauldin's Outside the Box E-Letter)

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Can't Decide What to Fear Most-Local Crime and Gangs or Jihadists

I stopped into a gun store opening up here in Palm Coast. That will make four in town I think. After the visit I decided to start writing a new Blog "Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition" to give myself a chance to rant about local crime and also how slow we are to recognize the danger of Jihad. Here is a revised blurb on something I read on another blog:

Join the movement to stop Islamic expansionism in the West! We are now a rag-tag coalition. We come from different world views, religions, races, lifestyles and political parties.

But remember those wonderful World War II movies that depict American units composed of an ethnic mix from central casting--a New York Jew, an Irishman, a Southerner, a Midwesterner--each with starkly different family backgrounds and beliefs, waiting for combat. They were welded into a rough, durable unit by the common threat they faced: diabolical racist aggression by Nazi Germany.

Split as we might have been on Dec. 6, 1941 about the wisdom of taking part in the Second World War. Resentful as Irish-Americans might have been of Great Britain. Torn as Italian-Americans felt about invading Italy. Suspicious as Christians might have been about sending aid to Stalin's Russia... when our nation was openly attacked we pulled together for the duration of the fight.

We did not highlight our differences or broadcast the grudges(some of them justified) we held against each other. We shrugged them off and soldiered on. That is what we must do now against the new threat to our nation, Muslim Jihadists. Join me. Stand up! Speak Out!

About Local Crime: I need to put together contacts who can help me expand on the short, local "Cops Corner" weekly column in the Palm Coast Observer. To get data on who and where the four Gangs we are purported to have in Palm Coast are located. To track and report on which areas of town are or are becoming Crime Ridden. Do you know anyone I can talk with? At the Palm Coast Police Department? Sheriff's Department? Drop me a comment.

God Bless America! Long Live God!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Inflation, Outliving My Money, Jobless Realtor=Ebay!

Desperation is the mother of innovation. I need a fun way to earn some money.

I contemplate...

(a) Palm Coast does not have its own Craig's List. We have to use Daytona's or St. Augustine's.
(b) I used to give stuff to a pack n ship guy who put things on Ebay for a fee; but he closed up shop.
(c) I have been giving good stuff to GoodWill

IDEA!
Wife wants to give away an extra set of dishes. Online research suggests they are worth almost a thousand. I look around the house. There's all kinds of chatchkees we could be getting rid of.

AND...My friend is thinking about bankrupty and wants to unload a bunch of stuff first and spend the money before he files.

AND...I have a hand gun I want to sell so I can by a shotgun.

CONCEPT: Open an Ebay store to sell and ship. But also sell large stuff like furniture and lawnmowers for pickup in Palm Coast.

Recognize the Recession! People are interested in good used stuff at cheap prices. Combine Craig's List convenience and inspection advantages with Ebay's ability to reach lots of people. Let people know about interesting and useful things for sale at bargain prices. Classify them as to whether they can pick the thing up in Palm Coast or whether it needs to be shipped to them.

I don't plan to buy stuff at garage sales and flea markets and places like that for resale. But I will take interesting stuff on consingment and sell it for a small fee plus out of pocket costs if I think will help draw visitors to my store.

Think I can do it?

I do! I am busy taking pictures of those dishes!

AND I am looking for someone with Ebay expertise to train me on the nuances of running an Ebay store.

Got Something to Sell? Drop me an email with a photo: tedleshersr@gmail.com. Use TALK TO TED for the subject line or it will probably get deleted before I read it.

Also send me an email and use TALK TO TED if you want me to hire you for your Ebay expertise or if you really know ebay and would like to make some extra money helping me post items. ($10 hr to start. Remember I am a starving, 74 year-old retiree!)