I’ve spoken about these issues before in this post. I’ve certainly heard of plenty of abuse on both sides of this equation, and there is plenty of motivation for lenders to abuse the situation by requiring a higher than “real” appraisal value. Still, I think that by reading only the comments from various appraisers one …
Category Archives: Historical
Petroleum and Energy
(This was initially written in 2005. It’s dated, but still accurate and every bit as important) Judging by all the furor about the cost of gas recently, nobody remembers the Arab Oil Embargo in 1973 and 1974. The cars back then were just as big, and they got worse gas mileage than modern SUV’s. And …
Hurricane Katrina Insurance Issues
A few points as to what’s likely to happen with this. Hurricane is not a named peril on most policies. Fire, Lightning, and removal (i.e. moving stuff to a safer area after a partial destruction) are three named perils that are universally covered under National Association of Insurance Commissioner (NAIC) rules. You can get more …
The 2006-8 Housing Bubble
“Housing Bubbles” were invented by stock brokers, and real estate remains, and will almost assuredly remain, your absolute best investment.” (me again) Actually, California pricing has reliably gone through cycles within my lifetime. We have hit the peak of the fifth one I remember (1991 was the last peak, which makes this the longest period …
Updated Parameters for Solving Kelo
Back on July first, I posted Solving Kelo – Seeking Parameters for a Solution. As I wrote then: When you’re in my current profession, you can’t help but learn that public condemnation of private property for private use has a long and not entirely dishonorable history in this country. Yes, it goes back to 19th …
Mortgage Loan Rate Locks
(NOTE: This is a historical post. Things have changed a lot in the mortgage business since it was written. For one thing, the Feds wrote new laws and regs adding about 3 weeks to the time it takes to do a loan, so a 45 day lock has become the default. For another, lenders are …
Cold Hard Numbers
When the Kelo decision was rendered in 2005, I had just recently attended a talk by Gregory Smith, then county assessor, on the future of home values in San Diego. Historical text: He expects prices to continue to rise by 5-10% per year, citing scarcity as the reason. Basically, too few homes are being built, …