Happy New Year 2009

Best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

The best is yet to come…

A SHORT SALE IN BEL AIR CA

Asking price: $999,999

Here is the Short Sale ad from Craigslist.com

“SHORT SALE IN BEL AIR, subject to Banks approval. Below Market price, MUST SELL. Upper Bel Air, minutes to 405 FWY and UCLA. 3Bed/2Bath home 1828 Sq Ft of living space on a 12,400sq ft of lot with gorgeous canyon views. Park like setting backyard. One story, original home, built in 1952. Great for entertaiing. Roscomare Road ELementary school. Must see to believe. Seller’s loss, buyer’s gain. Bring offers.”

The ad does not give the exact location but just a general area.

WordPress Blog Hacked

I manage several blogs and one of them was recently hacked. The hacker put an iframe in a post, so when my blog page page loads, it will load a webpage from another domain via the iframe. This foreign web page tries to install a spyware application, NOT Nice… Apperntly this hack is common with WordPress. You can read more about the hack here.

I removed the code manually. I then ran a scan on the code and database using this plugin: http://ocaoimh.ie/exploit-scanner/

I scanned for the following terms: “iframe” and “” Both of these terms where used in code malicious code.

Finally I upgrade to the latest version of WordPress. Let’s hope this will close any security holes.

BTW- WordPress 2.7 is pretty cool.

NY Times does an in depth review of the Housing Crisis

Did President Bush’s push for higher home ownership fuel the fire of the housing crisis we are now in? The NY Times thinks so.

“No one wanted to stop that bubble,” Mr. Lindsey said. “It would have conflicted with the president’s own policies.”

Read the full story here.

226 CARROLL CANAL VENICE, CA 90291 – Short Sale

Carroll Canal is located in Venice California, blocks from the beach. Venice Beach is the home of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite 60’s hang out, Muscle beach and the new hit Showtime show, “Californication”. This is one of the most prime areas in all of Los Angeles and we are seeing a short sale?

Home details:
3 bed
2.5 baths
MLS: 08-308995

“Enjoy the serene setting of the Venice canals from this charming 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. This wonderful property features a spacious floor plan with hardwood floors in the living, dining and kitchen areas. Living room boasts vaulted beamed ceiling, fireplace, and beautiful canal views.”

Redfin Link

November Home Sales and Prices in Deep Plunge

According to cnnmoney.com, the number of home starts in November dropped 8.6% even when home prices are dropping at a record rate.

“Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist said that price drop was the largest the Realtors had ever recorded and probably the worst decline since the Great Depression.”

Other points of interest:
- There are 4.2 million unsold homes on the market. That represents a 11 month supply.
- Existing home sales are at 1997 levels
- In Nov. the median existing home sold for $181,300 or down 13.2% from a year ago.

Read the full article here.

Fortune’s 10 worst Real Estate Markets in 2009

Fortune’s 10 worst Real Estate Markets

1. Los Angeles, Ca
2. Stockton, Ca
3. Riverside, Ca
4. Miami, Miami Beach
5. Sacramento, Ca
6. Santa Ana, Anaheim Ca
7. Fresno, Ca
8. San Diego, Ca
9. Bakersfield, Ca
10. Washington, D.C.

Eight of the top ten are in California, Yikes!!

17165 Randall Ave Fontana, CA 92335

The borrower owed $238,000 on this property. We offered $187,000 as a short sale. The bank turned down the offer. A few months later the bank foreclosed on the property and took it back at $143,500.

The bank pissed away $43,500 in profit and they still have to re-market and sell the property. Silly.

Good luck Wachovia.

BTW the median home in that zip code list for: $128,375…

Another Wild Week

A week in review.
The White House Stepped in to save the Auto Industry
The Dow went up 200 points this week but ended .3% up
Ford Shares gained 3.9%
GM shares were up 22% on news of a $17 billion dollar tax payer bail out
Crude Oil fell under $34 a barrel
Gov. Blagojevich refuses to step down. He will fight to stay in office.
Mortgages hit 37-year low
Housing starts plunge
Obama names labor, trade, transportation chiefs
Madoff’s Ponzi scheme took in $50 billion

Anyone See 60 Minutes Mortgage Meltdown Video?

60 minutes did a story on the next wave of defaults coming in 2009 and 2010. ALT-A and “pick a payment” loan resets will make the subprime look like childs play. Read my Mortgage melt down post here.

Watch CBS Videos Online

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