[yoko]

"Americas Watchdog has been blasting US homebuilders for years. The issues range from appraisal fraud, to using undocumented workers to build most new US homes since 2001, to the newest outrage--toxic Chinese drywall, that has now put upwards of 350,000 US homeowners at risk (not to mention another 350,000-plus US homeowners, who had their homes remodeled using the toxic Chinese product). "There is one other important part--in most cases, the homebuilders forgot to pay taxes on the workers. They called the undocumented workers 1099 subcontractors. We figure the tax bill is $100,000,000,000-plus." "

www.azocleantech.com/details.asp?newsid-5019

[samjune2009]

The truth always comes out. White washing does not work.

Thanks for the quote.

[Strel]

Please stop watching all reality shows.

Now.


Because they suck.

[aidaolympia]

If that reality show about Foreclosure is ever broadcasted, it means that we are accepting this level of vulgarity. Usually, TV shows are reflections of society. But in the States society is a reflection of TV shows.

Immorality, brutality and betrayal of human trust should never become the "norm". "We are better than this!"

[yoko]

On June 26th, Kellog School published a study

"Moral and Social Restraints to Strategic default on Mortgages".

Based on this research paper:
An initial shock in Foreclosures leads to a reduction of the value of houses which increases the percentage of people with negative equity and reduces social constraints to default that leads to more default and foreclosures.

22% of U.S. households have a mortgage that is bigger than the value of their house and might have strong temptation to walk away from their mortgage even if they could afford to pay (Strategic default).

These households do not default as long as their negative equity does not exceed in absolute value 10% of the value of their house. After that level they start to default at an increasing pace, reaching 17% of household defaulting strategically when their equity shortfall reaches 50% of the value of their house.

The most important barriers to strategic default seem to be moral and social. People who consider it immoral to default are 77% less likely to declare their intention to do do, while people who know someone who defaulted are 82% more likely to declare their intention to do so.

While moral attitudes toward default do not seem to be affected by the surronding environment nor by the anger people exhibit via-a-vis the current environment, the social pressure not to default is weakened when homeowners live in areas with high frequency of foreclosures or know other people who defaulted strategically.

www.financialtrustindex.org/workingpapers.htm

[samjune2009]

I was reading News-press.com about

Commercial foreclosures in Lee County in 2008: 23 warehouses, one mixed-use bldg., 10 stores, 14 restaurants, 2 service stations, 16 shopping centers, 26 office buildings, two night clubs and 3 Motels.

In 2009 number of commercial foreclosures tripled compare to 2008!

In the same article one Cape Coral land speculator was recommending buying land for future development! But a Fort Myers-based realtor said that he would not recommend buying land at all because there is so much commercial development already built and sit unused.

"His rule of thumb: pay no more than 60% of what is would cost to put up the building and don't even consider the value of the land".

www.news-press.com, June 29, 2009


New speculative direction for investment in Cape Coral..land is worthless!
And yet City's way of thinking about land in Cape Coral..it is not cheap enough. So it cut taxes on them to lure new buyers! It only reduced city's revenue from $24 million to $6 Million and no body is staying in any line to buy land.

[yoko]

Sam,

The City has always catered to speculators and that's why we in a gloomy city. Instead of learning from the past experience, the City is still feeding speculators instead of using land taxes to maintain city to be family oriented. Land taxes are given back to speculators and the city is short of money. The city has continuously cut it services and put additional burden on local residence, who are leaving the city in large numbers. We are in a vicious cycle.

[samjune2009]

If Cape Coral cannot overcome its battle with Chinese dry walls, Nile Lizards, pollution of water and other problems, it is completely pointless to invest in Cape Coral since one would be buying into a declining market.

A house costs pretty much the same to build, wherever you build it ... wages are the same, and materials costs are the same. But the selling price will depend on the location. Builders bid more for the best locations. That money doesn't go to the workers building the house, and nor is it spent on improving the materials used. It purely benefits the owner of the land.

The tax on land values is far less of a burden on commerce, industry, and labor than the imposition of other forms of taxation.

By giving back the land tax to land owners who were NOT complaining, now Cape Coral does not have money to invest in Cape Coral to enhance its value of location or to battle its many environmental problems.

When it was asked why the City has cut the tax for speculative land owners, the answer was: "It was not fair to land owners to pay for services they were not using!"

When land owners bought land in Cape Coral, they KNEW they will not use services for which they have to pay taxes.

[yoko]

I was reading an article in The Economist (7. 11th) about

" how sun, sand and seniors are not enough to revive Florida. Tourist arrivals in the first quarter fell by 10.6% from last year. In a global recession, dream vacations get deferred. And Ohioans are finding it rather difficult to sell their houses to live in the Sunshine State.

Mr. Mark Wilson, the head of the Florida Chamber of Commerce believes that Florida needs to shift from an economy based on tourism, construction and agriculture to one with more and better-paid high-tech jobs.

Mr. Wilson mentions opening of laboratories in Florida by three non-profit organizations. He also dreams of high-tech companies like NASA. But those laboratories and NASA are heavily subsidized.

The quality of education, vote for everything initiative and hurricanes slow down any progress.

Vote for everything initiative requires popular votes on changes to local land-use plans.
Two years ago, Mr. Charlie Crist, the governor, cut prices on insurance premiums and subsidized insurance policies. When the next hurricane hits, the repair bill will land squarely on Floridian taxpayers, rather than being spread among global insurers. "

From:
The Economist, July 11th 2009, page 43
Sorrow in the sunshine by Crystal River

[samjune2009]

Since 2006 the median price of houses in Cape Coral-Fort Myers has fallen by 2/3. And yet a developer has spent $ 160 million to build a 18 story high rise building with 184 units of 2 and 3 bedrooms condos. They can be used either as service apartments (furnished) or can be sold as condos.

The developer has said that he is hoping with this “resort” Cape Coral becomes "a tourist destination".

If so, I wish, he would have chosen a better design and/or concept. It is such a boring complex. With its tall building and few trees, does not feel like a “resort” .