Tag Archives: homes

U.S./Canadian Housing Hooliganism: Drug lords, foreign speculators & LLC monopolizing!

05 June 2022  (14:49-UTC-07 Tango 06) 15 Khordad 1401/05 Dhu l-Qa’da 1443/07 Bing-Wu 4720

Traditional home buyers, families wanting to have a place of their own, have been overwhelmingly outbid by Limited Liability Companies (LLC), speculators and even criminal money launderers, for at least a decade. It is these profit seeking/money laundering operations that have driven-up housing costs, not traditional market forces. It seems that local, state and federal politicians are fine with that.  Especially local politicians because a top source of tax & fee revenues for local governments is real estate.

U.S. tax schemes benefit LLCs:

Traditional investors, like Warren Buffet, do not like the idea of putting their money into real estate, yet there is a new game in town involving LLCs that are buying-up homes across the U.S., turning those homes into high dollar rentals:

A 05JUN2022 report lists more than 55 real estate transactions involving LLCs in Northwest Arkansas!

In California, the City of Berkeley itself is using tax dollars to get into to the rental game by buying-up properties, under the guise of lowering housing costs!

In Pennsylvania, for the week of 05JUN2022, more than 20 real estate transaction in the Pittsburgh Eastern Suburbs involved LLCs!

At least 7 real estate transactions involving LLCs in the Boise metro area, Idaho, were reported on 04JUN2022!

In Nebraska, a 04JUN2022 report revealed that multi-million dollar LLC real estate purchases caused property values to double for Lincoln County, in just one day!

On 01JUN2022, the U. S. President Joseph R. Biden Junior began an “initiative” that will likely drive up the cost of building new homes!

In May 2022, it was reported that Canada’s government is so concerned over foreign speculation driving-up prices in local real estate markets that a ban on home purchases by foreigners is being considered!

Iredell County, North Carolina, reported that for 22-26MAY2022 the top three real estate transactions involved LLCs!

Single family homes in Massachusetts are being bought-up by ‘anonymous’ Limited Liability Companies, more than 6-thousand homes in 2021: “It’s becoming more prevalent in Massachusetts and everywhere. More and more rental properties are coming to be owned not by individuals, but by companies, by business entities.”-Adam Travis, Harvard doctoral candidate studying rental housing and the private market

U.S. Home Owners Associations (HOA), and traditional homeowners, want to ban real estate speculators (‘investors’) from buying housing: “It feels like we are being preyed upon.”-Deborah Smith-Gregory, homeowner in New Jersey

Canada’s The Globe and Mail blames rising real estate interest rates on speculation and investing.

September 2020, investment analyst gives advice to foreigners on how to buy U.S. real estate, it’s all about money:

Associated Press, May 2022: Drug gangs from Latin America, Europe and Asia take advantage of Oregon’s lax drug laws and buy-up properties to create massive illegal drug-farm operations!

In the drugged out state of Oregon (don’t deny it you Beaver Staters) people expressed shock that there was an illegal drug store in their neighborhood, 12 people arrested! It was part of a massive Mexican drug lord operation which also included money laundering by buying up properties with cashMarch 2022, KPTV report about the multi-state (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) drug bust that also included real estate:

In November 2021, Oregon State Police warned state politicians that drug dealers from south of the border had set-up numerous illegal marijuana farms using illegal immigrants as the workers!  Migrant workers describe the drug dealers as operating like an army!

It is not just drug lords setting-up shop to manufacture and distribute drugs, but according to a 2021 Global Financial Integrity survey, in the past five years U.S. real estate has become the number one way for drug lords, and other international criminals, to ‘launder’ their dirty money!  According to the authors of the survey, this massive international money laundering scheme is being facilitated by U.S. attorneys, real estate agents, investment advisers, and employees of U.S. financial institutions who know full-well what is transpiring.

Using U.S. real estate is so prolific that a company called CRES Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance has published a guide explaining how to identify and report real estate transactions that are possibly foreign money laundering schemes.

It is not just the U.S. that is suffering Housing Hooliganism, Canada news outlet Global News shows you the detailed global money laundering web created by organized criminals from Communist China, who are snatching up homes in British Colombia:

Miami Herald, October 2021: Money laundering remains prevalent through U.S. real estate

United States Department of Justice, April 2021: Court Orders Forfeiture of Real Estate Purchased by Mexican Cartel Leader

Global Witness, 2020: How anonymous companies are used “to stash cash, launder money, and buy-up homes in a tight market.”

May 2019, Canada’s state funded CBC News reveals how money laundering is driving up housing costs:

This is not new; from Housing Wire, 2016: Texas real estate agent takes down Mexican drug gang

Wall Street Journal, July 2016: The U.S. government adds new counties and cities to its list of real estate money laundering hot spots:

2014: The top buyers of U.S. real estate are from China, followed by British empire (Commonwealth of Nations) members!

From the Baltimore Sun, February 1999: When a drug lord is your landlord 

U.S. Wildfires, 2022: BLAME HOUSING DEVELOPMENT SPECULATION GAME!

U.S. Housing Crisis, 2021: IDAHO’s HOUSING COSTS “LITERALLY MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE”! KILLING IDAHO’S ECONOMY! GET READY FOR THE CRASH-N-BURN!

What Housing Market Recovery? 2015: IDAHO HOUSING MARKET LIES!

“I KNOW…A MANAGER…WHO SAID THEY LOSE $200-THOUSAND A YEAR!”

U.S. Housing Implosion, 2014: “EVERYBODY WANTS A BETTER OUTCOME, EVERYBODY BUT THE LANDLORDS.”

Government Incompetence, 2011: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES SAY IDAHO CITY DRIVING DOWN THE ECONOMY WITH THEIR OUTRAGEOUS CONSTRUCTION FEES. IS City of POCATELLO VIOLATING STATE LAW?

Black Horse & Government Incompetence: Mortgage Settlement money to be used to destroy homes, not keep people in their homes! No protection against MERS! Scams already taking place

Recently the Obama administration announced a victory against the too big to fail banks which are causing the home foreclosure nightmare.  Basically the banks admitted they screwed up, and agreed to pay a huge settlement to help people (lucky enough to still be in their homes) refinance their loans.

But now it’s been revealed that money going directly to state governments can be used for anything, and some local governments will use that settlement money to tear down vacant homes!

The Huffington Post is also reporting that Cleveland, Ohio, has already spent $60 million tearing down homes repossessed by the too big to fail banks.  And that money came from city social programs meant to help the poor!

“We would have much rather spent that money helping families and creating homes rather than knocking houses down that we believe are owned by some very well resourced banks.”-Chris Warren, Cleveland, Ohio’s chief of Regional Development

Now, Ohio is set to get $335 million from the National Mortgage Settlement, and $75 million will be used to tear down homes, rather than get people back into them!

Ohio is getting a big chunk of the settlement money, while New Hampshire is getting a smaller share.  In an opinion piece out of New Hampshire, the SentinelSource says “…investigations have turned up enough reckless and unprofessional behavior on the part of big mortgage loan servicers to justify their paying penalties and granting relief — and in sums far larger than the settlement calls for.”

One aspect of this “settlement” is that states get a large amount of money that has apparently no strings attached. In other words they can do whatever they want with it.

In the case of Idaho, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said on top of the money going to help keep Idahoans from losing their homes (and the piddly, and I mean piddly!, amounts of money being paid to people who already lost their homes), the state of Idaho gets more than $13 million!

  • Eligible Idaho borrowers will receive an estimated $74,686,493 in benefits from loan modifications and other direct relief.
  • Approximately 5,000 Idaho borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011, because of substandard servicing practices, will receive $9,998,041 in cash payments averaging $1,500 to $2,000 for each affected borrower. These borrowers have been identified by their servicers and will be contacted by the settlement administrator.
  • The settling servicers will pay $15,172,779 to fund a program that allows underwater borrowers to refinance their loans.
  • The state will receive $13,932,238.

Notice there’s nothing specific about what the more than $13 million going directly to the government of Idaho is to be used for.

Also, the settlement does nothing to protect homebuyers from MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registry System).  Recently the Attorney General of New York filed suit against the too big to fail banks on the grounds that MERS was causing many of the foreclosures, illegally: “…brought foreclosure proceedings en masse based on deceptive and fraudulent court submissions, seeking to take homes away from people with little regard for basic legal requirements or the rule of law.”-Eric Schneiderman, New York Attorney General

To make matters worse, several states, like Alabama and Virginia, are reporting scams: “The caller requests the consumer’s bank account number and alleges that he will direct deposit settlement money into the consumer’s bank account…  Mortgage borrowers should contact their mortgage servicers directly…”-Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, Virginia Attorney General

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

 

What Economic Recovery? East Idaho home sales suck, so sellers are turning vacant homes into temp rentals, boom for Home Tenders

“People don’t build a 5,000 square foot home to turn it into a rental, but we have a number of those in the community right now.”-Clint Collins, Idaho Falls Rentals

The home sales market is so bad in eastern Idaho that many sellers are turning to temporarily renting out their vacant houses.  To give you an idea of how bad; in October, 2010, Idaho Falls Rentals took on four houses for rent.  Then in July, 2011, eighteen homes, then in August another seventeen.  That’s just one east Idaho property management company!

The plus side for “Home Tender” renters is that they can get a big home for less than the usual rent, but the down side is they have to move out as soon as it sells.

 

What Economic Recovery? Idaho makes top ten foreclosure list, Bonneville County leads Eastern Idaho in foreclosures

“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo signing and other documentation problems.  It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process.”-James Saccacio, CEO RealtyTrac

The latest RealtyTrac survey put Idaho in the top ten for foreclosures.  One in every 348 Idaho homes were in foreclosure in August 2011. The report also says one in every 570 homes in the United States was facing foreclosure in August 2011.

The three most populous counties in eastern Idaho broke down like this; Bannock: 238 foreclosures.  Bingham: 132 foreclosures.  Bonneville: 320 foreclosures.

Nevada still holds onto the number one position for home foreclosures, for the 56th straight month!

California is number two with a 55% default rate, and one out of every 226 homes being foreclosed in August!

Arizona was number three for the second month in a row.

The rest of the top ten list is made up of Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Utah.

 

 

What Economic Recovery? Fannie Mae wants another $5 Billion bailout from taxpayers

The mortgage lender Fannie Mae reported a huge 2nd quarter loss of $5.2 billion. Now they want another $5.1 billion from taxpayers.

Let me remind you that Fannie Mae asked for $8.5 billion back in May!  So far the mortgage lender has gotten about $99 billion in bailout money from the U.S. government (taxpayers).

Fannie Mae officials say the answer to the continued housing finance crisis is jobs: “We’ve got to clear the mortgage market of the excess inventory and employment needs to recover, I believe, before we’re going to see a stabilization of home prices.-Susan McFarland, Fannie Mae Chief Financial Officer

Wells Fargo Making Profits, How? Magic?

Another big bank involved in foreclosing on homeowners, is reporting record profits.

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 22:  A customer uses an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank office July 22, 2009 in Oakland, California. Wells Fargo reported an 81 percent increase in second quarter profits with earnings of $2.58 billion, or 57 cents per share compared to $1.75 billion, or 53 cents per share one year ago.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

According to the Mercury News, Wells Fargo posted a $3.3 billion profit for the 3rd quarter.  That’s 3.1% higher than last year, and yet, the bank’s actual revenues were down from the previous year, by 7.1%.  How do you get profits that are up from the previous year, when your revenues are down from the previous year?

Time for some math.  The formula for figuring profits is:

Profit = Revenue – Costs, or, Revenue – Costs = Profit

However you look at it, basically you can not have an increase in profits with  decreased revenue.  Unless you’ve somehow come up with a way of eliminating your costs, or some other accounting Magic?  (take some economics or accounting courses and you will find lots of Magic being used)

As far as foreclosures go; John Stumpf, Wells Fargo’s chairman and chief executive, says they are following the rules.

SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 27: A Wells Fargo security guard attempts to move a protestor from the front of the building during a demonstration outside of the Wells Fargo Bank shareholders meeting April 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Hundreds of people held a demonstration outside of the Wells Fargo Bank shareholders meeting to protest Wells Fargo's alleged involvement in the financial collapse and excessive CEO and executive bonuses. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In a CNN/Fortune article Wells Fargo tries to make themselves look like the lesser evil in the housing foreclosure conspiracy.   Wells Fargo claims they are foreclosing only 1 in 12 mortgages (oh that’s not a lot?), compared to Bank of America with 1 in 7 mortgages being foreclosed.

CHICAGO - APRIL 09:  A Wells Fargo sign hangs on the door of a Wells Fargo home mortgage office on April 9, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. Wells Fargo & Co said it expects to post a record $3 billion first-quarter profit exceeding analysts� expectations. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Housing Start Numbers BS say Contractors

According to a CNN report, despite housing construction start numbers being up, contractors says actual construction is flat.

The official Federal government housing start numbers only indicate the number of construction permits approved by local governments.  Contractors say that banks are refusing to finance most new construction.

NORTH LAUDERDALE, FL - AUGUST 11: A building permit is seen on the wall as workers refurbish a home that Habitat for Humanity bought in a foreclosure sale on August 11, 2010 in North Lauderdale, Florida. In the nationwide program the organization purchases bank-owned homes and turns them into safe, decent, affordable place to live. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“Remember a couple of weeks ago when they came out and said guess what the recession was over? That rumble you heard was the construction industry laughing their ‘friggin’ brains out,” says contractor Paul Kinney, owner of a top 500 home building company in the United States.  Another problem is that some U.S. banks agree to fund a project, then, as the project is about to start, they cancel the funding.

Contractors are saying that most big construction projects that do get built, are being built with foreign money.

Idaho in Top 5 for Foreclosures, Right Behind California

The latest Realty Trac survey puts Idaho in the top five states for home foreclosures.  Idaho is ranked number 5, right behind California at number 4.

Realty Trac says Idaho saw a 13.67% increase over the same time last year, and a 19.74% increase since the 2nd quarter of this year. For the 3rd quarter of 2010, one out of 86 homes in Idaho are in some stage of foreclosure.  California, while seeing a drop in foreclosures, still has one out of 70 homes in foreclosure.

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 12: A 'bank foreclosure sale' sign is posted in front of townhomes on August 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. U.S. banks repossessed homes at a near record pace to drive up July foreclosures. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The top 5 states, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California and Idaho, make up 50% of foreclosures in the United States.

This news comes as the big banks involved in the foreclosure fiasco are reporting big profits for the same quarter.

Lies, Lies and More Lies. Snidely the Illegal Forecloser Returns.

When the scandals of arbitrary home foreclosures were revealed, it was reported by some news sources to involve only people who missed payments (money.cnn.com).  Lies!

I have seen several reports where homes were foreclosed with no payments missed. In one example, a man paid cash for his home, no payments to make, and Bank of America foreclosed his home (www.sun-sentinel.com).  A foreclosure attorney admitted that mistakes “happen all the time”, and that they just aren’t reported.

Here’s some info to cause concern.  Those foreclosure fiasco cases are only being reported in states that require a court process to complete.  Almost half of the states do not require a court process, including Idaho (where I live) and California (where most of my relatives live).  The problem is, that the same financial Snidelys that are illegally foreclosing on people, in the states requiring Judicial Process, are also operating in the states with Non Judicial Process.  If you are getting unfairly foreclosed on you can do an internet search under ‘fighting foreclosure’.  You’ll probably have to hire an attorney anyway.

Here’s some data (updated October 12th, 2010) on the number of foreclosed homes for sale in selected Idaho counties.  Ada: 885.  Bonner: 342.  Bonneville: 85.  Twin Falls: 76.  Bannock: 38. (www.foreclosuredataonline.com)

Idaho’s foreclosure numbers may not seem like much, but compare Idaho’s  population of 1.5 million people, to California’s nearly 37 million (U.S. Census Bureau). According to a Bloomberg.com article, Idaho’s foreclosure rate increased 822% in the second quarter of 2010.  How many of those are bogus/illegal?  We’re seeing the return of the melodramatic bad guy, a Snidely who loves to foreclose the homes of little old ladies and ruin families.