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Water world

By Michael J. Smith on Tuesday November 24, 2009 08:57 PM

From the Wall Street Journal:

One in Four Borrowers Is Underwater

The proportion of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth has swelled to about 23%, threatening prospects for a sustained housing recovery.

"Housing recovery"? What sensible person could wish for such a thing? It's like wishing for a tulip bulb recovery.

Comments (5)

op:

the house lot bubble
has proved a very effective torture rack
the hedge row by hedge row fighting to resolve this gruesome debt harness
throw it off ..no carry it longer
not enough strategic defaults so far
only that by the millions
and of course refusing eviction
count as points for the helots
it is a wonder more pundits haven't suggested a massive public housing plan
that would be remarkably labor intensive especially if it amounted to retro fit greening and rehad of our vast semi abandoned
" urban projects "
those grim sober massifs
of an earlier more naive era
those slums ala mode de corbu
reborn as green housing for the rabble
coming couple by couple
into this ark
yup
pouring back into the cities
like the peasant han
for ... two jobs and a cheap dwelling

I know I've brought this up a lot, but it always amazes me that the prices of houses and housing are falling, and all the TV talkers are yammering on as if it's a bad thing. Finally, the price of housing is dropping to something resembling normal reality -- damn' close to affordable, even -- and those doorknobs on TV are like, "oh, noes! Our McMansions are losing value!"

op writes:
...it is a wonder more pundits haven't suggested
a massive public housing plan
that would be remarkably labor intensive
especially if it amounted to retro fit greening
and rehad of our vast semi abandoned
"urban projects"...

Nahh, hell, man; that'd make too much goddamn' sense.

Speaking of strategic defaults, you're right on there, op. We do need for millions of people to purposely default -- to turn mortgage default into a form of civil disobedience, a form of nonviolent suicide bombing, to give the banks the payback they deserve.

(hmmm. wow, Mortgage Suicide Bombing... y'know, there might be a cartoon in that...)

Son of Uncle Sam:

Some people are still waiting for CMGI to make a come back too.
Piles of old lumbar and cast iron pipe, most of which is out of code with illegal additions and basments designed to keep beets and turnips in so you can't stand up in em'.
I've touched on this, in a previous post. It goes something like this-

Scrap the copper pipes, steal the furnace and take a shit on the floor is what I say- let the toilets freeze and leave some cheese for the rats! Make some work- drive down commodities, increase manufacturing and get those unemployed working before you head to dodge city.
I can only urge those losing their houses not to be hard on them selves. Millions made the same mistake, it could happen to anyone.
Now go to the garage, get a hammer, and take all that anger out on those expensive over priced mexican Travertine tiles and those stupid renewal by Andersen windows before you break the faucets and take the doors off the hinges.
Normally I'd never regurgitate from the past but if Henny Youngman can get away w/ it....
Don't just Forclose...forclose in style! If the bank wants to sell that house lets make the house need more rehab then a hollywood Star, before anywhere USA will issue an occupancy permit.
I remember the words of my great grand pappy, Its easy to prove it's arson... It's not so easy to prove who did it! Of course, I'm told after The Great War fires made him horney and he'd forget to roll down the window before trying to spit a quahog out of the car. This was before paper towels too so you didn't want to borrow any shammy cloths out of the glove box.

op:

s of s
"If the bank wants to sell that house lets make the house need more rehab then a hollywood Star"

taking down all ten pins
by going brooklyn

Sean:

Here's a man with a plan to ensure housing values stay high:

US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html

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