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Really nothing you don't already know . . but an excellent report about "how we got here". Program information link.
"In a special two-hour report, CNBC's David Faber takes an in-depth look at the causes of the ongoing collpase of the housing industry.
* Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 7p/10p ET
* Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 9p ET
* Monday, February 16, 2009 at 6a/8p/12a ET
* Saturday, March 1, 2009 at 12a ET
* Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 9p ET"
Agreed on the excellence. Gotta love the guy who "short" the mess. Wish I had more money and understanding on how to "short" a few years ago, as I had a feeling this was coming after I saw a report that only 5% of the population of San Diego could realistically afford a the MEDIAN house value (and that was 5 years ago or so).
I think it is a program many people should watch in order to understand what happens when you borrow more than you have for something not worth the price you are willing to spend.
The deal is.....hindsight is always 20/20. In 5 years, they can do a new program called "Why the Bail Out Didn't Work"....and the next generation will ask us why we were so stupid.
After watching that program I was amazed. One thing I couldn't believe was the people who refinanced their homes to do the patios and pool and pay off credit card debt.These people certainly were not stuipd but actaully thought of their home like a savings account it seems with no risk.You have to ask the question of now many people actually take a accounting of what they can and can not afford to buy and what the risk is.
David Faber from CNBC has done some excellent documentaries on the business world in the past few years, and House of Cards ranks up there on top, The topic is obviously important enough to have CNBC allocate 2 hours of program time. Faber has done great reports in the past on Wal Mart, Enron, Worldcom. Sure, the program is for mass market consumption but what I like is that Faber himself avoids long winded talking or opinion making. He asks other people some questions and lets them tell the story.
I live in Orange County, CA, the home of many of the kingpins of the subprime mortgage fiasco that were featured in House of Cards. The reporter from the Orange County Register that they briefly spoke with in the film wrote a great article in 2005, basically a top ten list of warning signs that something was wrong with the huge (at that time) home loan industry that had become a monster money power in the county. The big hint that something was really wrong: People that were former starbucks baristas were making 50-100K per month writing home loans for everyone they knew and worked with. In other words, they were in a big paper pushing game and kept doing refi loans over and over because the prices of their inflated properties kept rolling up and up. Game over.
After watching that program I was amazed. One thing I couldn't believe was the people who refinanced their homes to do the patios and pool and pay off credit card debt.These people certainly were not stuipd but actaully thought of their home like a savings account it seems with no risk.You have to ask the question of now many people actually take a accounting of what they can and can not afford to buy and what the risk is.
People get caught up in the hype. The news is full of success stories, the neighbors are talking it up and the brother in law made a fortune. Sounds a lot like the current stimulus bill that passed tonight. We have about a 99% chance of regreting this. Under the banner of "creating jobs" we are causing such a debt that repayment is unlikely. No doubt it will make a few people extremely rich, but for most of America, it is a bubble that will burst leaving us worst off. Much like the housing bubble........
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House of Cards
