Doing More With Less Since 1972

Tag: wsj

Tormented by the Wall Street Journal

I’ve read two articles in the WSJ this week about the housing market, and now I’m less certain than ever about what’s going to happen in the next year.

Is 2010 the Year of the Short Sale?

If 2009 was the year of the foreclosure (and loan modification), then 2010 may be shaping up as the year of the short sale.

I’d say 2011 is more realistic, unless they are predicting a slew of short sales starting in Q1. Our experience with trying to purchase short sales is that they take a long time. How long? We’re not really sure, because we haven’t made it to the end of the process yet. But five months seems to be a reasonable expectation for a minimum, and that’s just for the bank to get back to you with a yes or no.

I’m interested to see what is going to happen when, by the time the bank responds to an offer with a “yes”, the house is no longer worth the amount that was originally offered. Because, some people think we’re still in a housing bubble:

Rental apartment vacancies are reaching record highs. Many segments of the housing market are still oversupplied. And the core demographic in the country—the baby boomers—are reaching the age where they’re more likely to downsize, buying less house in the years to come.

Throw in the tax credits, artificially low mortgage rates, and the fact that the fed is still buying mortgage backed securities, and it’s hard to make the case that the housing market is not still artificially high.

It seems like the easiest way back to a true(r) market would be for banks to sell off their bad assets as quickly and efficiently as possible through the short sale process. Quick and efficient doesn’t seem to be the order of the day, however.

Delicious Link Dump– December 15th through December 17th

8 More PowerPoint Train Wrecks – I went to a great 2 day coaching clinic last weekend. About 10 minutes of the 2 days included the use of PowerPoint. Coincidence?

In Search Of Clark Griswold’s House – You have to check every single light individually.

Carbonhagen Meltdown – LOL! “…riots, madness, styrofoam cups, people eating meat, real fur coats, CFC-laden hairspray cans, it’s crazy.”

STOP!

45 Free Online Computer Science Courses | – Street Fighting Mathematics? I’m in.

In pictures: Zambia’s leading lady in the ring – My buddy I.B. sent me this. He’s an Indian guy who grew up in Zambia and has a British accent. He also wrote the first code editor I’m aware of that allowed you to highlight and comment a complete block of code.

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That’s a relief. Now we don’t have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

Delicious Link Dump– December 9th through December 15th

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That's a relief. Now we don't have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 – And how do you plan to adjust your strategies?

You’ve Got Mail, But the Mailman Hid It – In the near future, postmen caught hiding mail will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Medical Services as a punishment.

To comment or not to comment on Facebook – Here's a simple flowchart to help you decide

Option Arms: A poison pill for housing – – Would love to see a heat map showing where these were issued. Anyone? Anyone?

Matt Banahan red carded for stamping – Play as much rugby as possible while you can boys. The game will soon be turned into nothing but a series of free kicks.

Twoddler Lets Toddlers Send Tweets – – Uh….no.

Essential Year-End Money Moves – Solid info.

Delicious Link Dump– November 1st through November 4th

Twitter Shenanigans in Brevard County – I suspect someone may be overestimating their relevancy. I just haven't been here long enough to determine who that is in this case.

Welcome to Marikafka County, Arizona – Where the only way you can protect your attorney/client privilege is to waive your attorney/client privilege. This video of a court official stealing documents from a defense attorney's desk is unbelievable. Even more insane is what followed.

Amazon Turns On The Twitter Pump To Fuel Referral Fees – This is a good thing! People who are using their Twitter feeds just to sell will be ignored anyway. But if you're using it to genuinely recommend/refer people to cool products, they should recognize that. Nothing wrong with getting a little juice for helping them out.

Gore’s Dual Role in Spotlight – Back in college they called him "Double Down"–he was known for replacing most of the cards in the deck with aces.

Fire Your Clients! – Maybe good advice for people outside of real estate as well.

Dismantling America: Part II – Thomas Sowell's got smarts real good. If you don't subscribe to his RSS feed, well…you don't got them kinda smarts.

iPhone vs. I Phone – Is it a coincidence I went with an Android phone? Probably, but still…

Google Wave User’s Guide – Alternate title: Sudoku For Optimists

Delicious Link Dump– October 9th through October 12th

I Married a Mad Man – This sounds more like Mad Men: The Movie

The End of the Email Era – Someone faxed this to me. I made photocopies and sent it to several friends via USPS: "Email, stuck in the era of attachments, seems boring compared to services like Google Wave…"

Hot Pink Mess – Oh. My.

Rob Golding » phpBB3 WSOD (White Screen of Death) – Thanks to these guys for the solution. Short answer…log in to the admin panel and clear the cache. This is something they need to fix. Oh…maybe I should check for an update while I'm at it. 😀

10 things you need to stop tweeting about – I don't violate many of these too often. There are so many other ways to get people on Twitter mad at you without even trying.

The Nobel Intentions Prize – I'm so glad BHO won the Nobel Peace Prize. It's brought out the comedic genius in lots of people on Twitter.

Levels of business intelligence – Nice article that 'splains a lot.

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize – "…some sort of bizarre Onion gag?" Now that's funny.

Another Yummy Link Dump — 17:05

Pelosi Open To The VAT – Gasp! Shock! What? She would actually consider a new tax? The hell you say!

Post Rapture Pets – No matter what you do or don't believe, you have to admit this is a smart business model.

There’s No Excuse For This – Windows mobile 6.5 – Just to needle @raowen: "It's an interim product, and a vain attempt to hold onto the thinning ranks people who still choose Windows Mobile despite not being somehow tethered to it until the tardy Windows Mobile 7 comes out, whenever that may be."

Moore proves Libertarians right – And being a libertarian is downright heart breaking: "I'd imagine it's like being a Cubs fan, except there usually isn't much hope for next year."

The iDontFart App – Proceed to AT&T store. There's now a reason to own an iPhone.

UT’s Supercomputer Breaks Petascale – Let loose the Kraken! My sources are telling me that a poor ol' country boy's head just exploded in the UTCC.

Apple Quits Chamber Of Commerce Over Global Warming – Apple isn't stupid. They realize there's too much green to be made in "green" to even begin to question it. This is a marketing and sales decision, not an environment/community decision.

What if Only the Rich Recover? – WSJ – Don't call it a comeback!

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