Chinese property hunters to raid US
By Geoff Dyer in Beijing
Published: December 5 2008 20:10
Chinese bargain hunters are preparing to descend on American cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, where homeowners have suffered some of the steepest price falls in the US.
SouFun, the biggest real estate website in China, is organizing a trip next month to look at properties in California and possibly Nevada. Liu Jian, the company’s chief operating officer, said about 300 people had expressed interest in the idea in the three days since it was advertised, though the company would take only a small group on the first trip.
The surge in home forclosures that is. Bush used to boast about “record home ownership”. Now he avoids talking about “record home foreclosures” as hard as McCain tries to avoid being seen with bush.
What about the surge in bank failures? Two more have failed this week, First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach California. It’s still a long ways down. There’s an estimated $1.3 trillion worth of write-downs before we’re done.
What about the surge in oil prices? It was $25/barrel when he took office. It was at $146/barrel recently.
What about the surge in the national debt. It has nearly doubled to over $9.5 trillion in the time bush has been in office.
considering their loaning to illegals?
More Information on the Role of Illegal Aliens in the Financial Crisis
The Sub-Prime Mortgage Mess and Illegal Aliens
Politically Correct loans and low interest mortgage policies(remember Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae, and anti-redlining?) helped fuel the financial crisis by making race-based loans regardless of the borrowers’ financial status or ability/desire to ever pay the mortgage. Even worse, there is evidence that the core of the problem may have been illegal aliens and the rush by business to get their government guaranteed money, the GOP desire for amnesty because these new homeowners might vote Republican (the Bush-Rove Strategy, see link below), and the Democrats seeking new voters, legal or not.
It is no accident that the bulk of the foreclosures, and thus the financial crisis, originated in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Florida; states burdened with the most illegal immigrants.
What happened to the old moderate McCain that we all liked? Isn’t this the type of flip-flopping that got Kerry into trouble with the last presidental election?
Here are a few issues:
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”
4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it. Now, he’s for it again.
8. McCain supported moving “towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a “rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.
16. McCain was against additional U.S. forces in Afghanistan before he was for it.
17. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”
18. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
19. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
20. McCain staunchly opposed Obama’s Iraq withdrawal timetable, and even blasted Mitt Romney for having referenced the word during the GOP primaries. In July, after Iraqi officials endorsed Obama’s policy, McCain said a 16-month calendar sounds like “a pretty good timetable.”
Domestic Policy
21. McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
22. On Social Security, McCain said he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Soon after, asked about a possible increase in the payroll tax, McCain said there’s “nothing that’s off the table.”
23. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
24. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
25. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
26. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
27. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
28. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.
29. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.
30. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
31. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.
32. McCain was both for and ag
My husband’s trade is carpentry, and it’s all but died down in Northern Nevada. We knew this was going to happen a year and a half ago as his work became more and more sporadic. We listed our house on the market at that time and have come down considerably in the last year and a half in the hopes of relocating out of state to where building is thriving. Unfortunately, many houses in our neighborhood have foreclosed or short saled and we did not receive one offer because of them. Now, my husband is only guranteed work through the summer and we need to move soon. We cannot rent out our home as we have a HELOC on our mortgage that makes it more than what we can rent it for. We are now looking to foreclose or do a short sale. What should we do? I’ve been told that a foreclosure looks just as bad as a short sale on a credit report, and what are the tax implications for both? How can we get rid of our HELOC?
mortgage is. I know a few realtors who tell me now is the time to buy another house, and to do a shortsale on my older one. What can happen if I let it go to foreclosure, in case it doesn’t sell? Can I get a deficiency judgement? Will I pay taxes on the unpaid amount if it sells short? Can the bank come after me when they know I bought another house? Can they put a lien on the new house? I am so confused, i don’t know what to do! Should I consult a lawyer? or a Tax Expert? I need an accurate answer, please! By the way, I live in Nevada…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09242008/pos…
There’s one villain that has slipped notice: how illegal immigration, crime-enabling banks and open-borders Bush policies fueled the mortgage crisis. It’s no coincidence that the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave – Loudoun County, Va., California’s Inland Empire, Stockton and San Joaquin Valley, and Las Vegas and Phoenix – also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime. A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.
Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal-immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics were at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills passed this spring.
The Washington Post noted in 2005: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real-estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos! Sin verificacion de documento!” – which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’ ”
Fraudsters also have engaged in house-flipping rings using illegal aliens as straw buyers. Among many examples the FBI cites: a conspiracy in Las Vegas involving a former Nevada First Residential Mortgage Company branch manager who directed loan officers and processors in the origination of 233 fraudulent Federal Housing Authority loans valued at over $25 million. The defrauders made and submitted false employment and income documentation for borrowers; most were illegal immigrants from Mexico. To date, the FBI reported, “Fifty-eight loans with a total value of $6.2 million have gone into default, with a loss to the Housing and Urban Development Department of over $1.9 million.”
Thanks to lax Bush administration policies allowing illegal aliens to use “matricula consular cards” and taxpayer-identification numbers to open bank accounts, mortgage fraud has grown. Money-lenders still have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans.
In an interview about rampant illegal-alien home-loan fraud, a spokeswoman for the US General Accounting Office told me five years ago: “Considering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens, I don’t think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions.” http://www.americandaily.com/article/232…
While offering credit cards to people who are here illegally and lack Social Security numbers, Bank of America has been offering checking accounts and even mortgages to illegal aliens for years. Lending giants Wells Fargo and Citibank are among those who have also extended home loans to illegal aliens.
In 2005, President of Immigration Matters Marti Dinerstein, angry over this practice, told CNN: “It’s institutionalizing illegality. Now there’s no distinction being made between the people that follow all the rules and those who break our laws by entering the country or overstaying their visas.”
An American cannot obtain a mortgage loan for a home unless he or she has government issued identification, established credit, and verifiable income. However, for several years, the banks have been giving mortgages to illegal aliens who lack all of these things.
Now they have a bailout so will illegal aliens ultimately benefit? Off our tax dollars?
So I know this question has been asked on here a couple of times, but I have yet to find the same situation as I am in. I have had a suspicion for the past couple of months that the owner of the rental house I am in has been in default. I have contacted my rental agency on numerous occasions questions the owner default and have always been told “it will be taken care of, the owner assured me of this”. However, for the past week, I have been having many knocks at the door with people dropping off ads to help stop foreclosure. I checked realtytrac.com today just to ensure my suspicions were correct and sure enough, I was right. Only, it turns out our rental home will be going up for auction next Wednesday! I have not been notified about anything and I understand that this is normal, but I am exremely frustrated. I am meeting with my agency tomorrow to discuss my findings, but I wanted to get some opinions. Is it normal for an agency to return a deposit when one of their clients goes into default? My contract is with my rental agency, not the owner, so I would assume my circumstances will differ a bit than it would through the owner. Also, if the house is being auctioned on Wednesday, does this mean I have until then to vacate? I understand that sometimes whomever purchases the home will sometimes decided to keep the renters, but I do not want to chance being told to vacate with a 3 day notice. Also, I have heard from a couple of people that I can collect any rent that I have paid since the owner has been in default. I’m not sure I believe this, but someone on here knows? Has anyone experienced this or have any advice? BTW, I am in Nevada, so I’m not sure if the law differs here with regards to foreclosures. Thanks for any help in advance.
Yesterday I found out my lanlord is three to four months behind on the house I rent and a notice of default was placed on the house. So the process of foreclosure has begun. So can I get out of lease before the house is taken or do I have to fullfill my lease. My lease ends in 6/08. The landlord says he still owns the house so therefore I need to to fullfill my lease regardless of the house begining the foreclosure process. So has he breached our contract. I live in the state of nevada(las vegas)
Foreclosure Rate Lookup Charthttp://www.realtytrac.com/foreclosure/fo…
When you look at this chart, you discover the states with enormous problems with illegal aliens are the places where the foreclosues are going strong. California, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin have big illegal aliens populations. Notice Oklahoma, who has strong defenses against the illegal aliens also has forclosers that are higher than other states. Oklahoma passed all the good laws to get the illegal aliens out of town. I would attribute Oklahoma as being as it is because homes bought for renting to illegal aliens have finally reached their just reward.
But here we are with states that were really hot with the ITIN Loans being buried with the foreclosures.
An easy to read graph that reflects per capita foreclosure.. per person.http://www.realtytrac.com/MapSearch/Free…
