Monday, April 14, 2008

While Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter...

...sun our buns, we continue to read the newspaper and ran across this little tidbit in the New York Times that will work the last nerve of the less financially fortunate as well as all the Chicken Littles among the children.

Have fun babies. Your Mama will be back to the grindstone on Wednesday afternoon.

92 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what hotel has the lovely and talented Your Mama and the dashing and debonair the Dr. Cooter graced with their ever so cosmopolitan presence? Raleigh? Delano? Perhaps the new Gansevoort? Any guesses yall?

Anonymous said...

The Setai - Over 40 central!

Anonymous said...

I think of it like this...every year in Philadelphia, when the first snowstorm hits, all the local news channels go through the same rigamorole of warnings (don't shovel if you have a heart condition!...carry cat litter in your trunk!...etc), despite the fact that we all live through winter here every year...economies are cyclical, good times always have to be inevitably followed by bad times, and on and on...for some reason we in this country are so short-memoried that whenever we hit a boom or recession, there are always those who think it is never going to end, but it always done...we will ride out this recession just like we've ridden out every other one, there are just indications this one might be longer and more severe than the last few over the last 10-20 years or so...so of course the rich, and the smart, will keep on spending, because they got that way by knowing things are cyclical...right now I've actually upped my investment activity because when everyone's running for the hills is the best time to buy...it's the morons who buy when everyone else is buying who get burned...;-)

Anonymous said...

And, although I by no means consider myself to be "super-rich", I am heading the first week in May for a lavish vacation at the Wynn in Las Vegas, and will probably spend and gamble more than the average American makes in a year, because hey, spending into a recession is the best possible way to support the economy and keep people from losing jobs...;-)

Anonymous said...

looks like the Sydney Kimmell estate is up for sale again

http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/669464

Anonymous said...

That website is always hopelessly out of date...if you follow the link to the realtor's website, it is marked as sold...

Anonymous said...

did anyone save that web pict of ironmans compound ?

Alessandra said...

bdj, I like your analogy and agree that this is the cyclical nature of a free market economy. Personally, a down-market to me feels like an opportunity, but I am something of a contrarian.

I hope when Mama returns, she has something super juicy for us. I want to see a $25+mm property SOLD, hopefully to a buyer who makes the neighbors c-r-a-z-y. Too bad Britney's on the short leash these days...

Anonymous said...

never mind some idiot took a frame from the movie trailer and put it up as a joke, I can't wait to see the movie.

pch said...

7:19, the answer is yes. I put it over here. (Right click to get a new browser.)

Anonymous said...

do you have a large pict of it ?

that is what westside had

I heard they got a call from the studio to take it down, anyone know anything about that ?

I am sure who ever put it up got fired, that was a pretty dumb stunt to do esp these days.

Anonymous said...

that pict was wall paper size, it filled up two of my 70' screens I have to admit that I was drooling,

I wish they never took it down.

Anonymous said...

btw I would pay 200MM for that place, it is unbelievable, I hope someone has the balls to build one of those, hey maybe they can build it up by the hollywood sign where those 20 acres are for sale ?

I say this if these agents and sellers want to get crazy prices for their places now, they should start turning them into smart houses and make the interiors look like the Stark residence.

That place blows away Bruce Waynes estate and I think the movie is going to do very well this summer.

pch said...

Sorry, nothing bigger from me. Just copied from the web page.

I'm not a comic book reader and didn't attach any significance to the names in the description. But now that we know it's connected, in some way, to a movie opening in two weeks, I'd be really surprised if a studio were upset about a little social media buzz. This totally seems like the kind of "clue" a marketing department might plant for the Comic-Con crowd. If there were any actual shenanigans, I'd say it was someone inside W-E-A (namely, someone who can post new listings) who's in trouble with higher-ups who were oblivious to the way their site was being used. Or, news outlets started calling with serious questions about this Malibu house with the crazy price tag. Maybe I'm wrong -- these are only guesses -- but that's my take on the disappearing act.

Anonymous said...

Um, am I missing something? The pic I keep seeing everyone as having posted is a shot of a harbor (looks like Newport Beach maybe) with a little footbridge running across in front...I'm not seeing anything close to a pic of a mansion on Point Dume worth $200-million....? :-(

Anonymous said...

Duh, never mind, it's later here...LOL...I was clicking on PCH's li'l icon pic and not the "here" link...eh, the place is a little to reminiscent of a Cliffside 2260 Sunset Plaza for my taste (LOL)...though I still think the whole thing (the fake listing tied into the movie) is nice and clever...;-)

Anonymous said...

Why can't I wrap my brain around this NYT article? I read it -- twice. It leads with some guy, Lee Tachman (who is purported to be filthy rich but is a ghost online), who sounds pretty arrogant when describing the extravagant boy-bonding Miami jaunt he hosted. He could be legit. That’s not my point. I have a healthy respect for anyone who has done well financially. But this guy's grand-standing really turns me off. He sounds very immature. IMHO

As for the balance of this piece, TMI, gloom, doom and otherwise. I'm just not into that.

Anonymous said...

Girl At The Bar,

A round for all the children. Put it on Avg. Joe/Anxious Buyer/all his other names tab.

My escrow closed yesterday. Bank still in business, I didn't have to sign away my soul. I didn't have to suddenly pay cash for the house. My broker is looking at a new Lexus today and I have to start packing as she has already lined up someone who wants to lease this house from me.

Anonymous said...

NYMAG have today slated the guys that appeared in this article - Basically along the lines of people who boast about money are the ones who aren't used to money. Also the fact that one owns an apartment in Murray Hill & Miami - think he was termed "meathead"? & the other one for his "tacky" New Jersey spread - Oh, & one drives a Hummer - Enough said!

pch said...

The inherent problem with these articles is that no one with a lick of sense is willing to go on the record -- to the NYT, no less! -- about their lavish recession-defying spending. It's tacky, for starters, it unnecessarily exposes personal finances, and some of these guys seem ignorant of the fact that the IRS has google, too.

So the reporters face a real quandary. They need names and quotes to support a valid thesis, but they can only convince striver schlubs to comply. And because of that, the evidence for the trend comes off as a little shaky. Ironic, eh?

As to the general economic outlook, I think we're in for a long slog. But it'll end eventually, and hopefully we'll all have learned something.

so_chic_darling said...

Nobody who has real money talks about it like the guys in the Times article.I do have some good news to report though it seems like my customers have returned like the famed swallows of Capistrano just as the trees are flowering in the glorious New York spring,and just in time,the first quarter was a BITCH!

Anonymous said...

This is a good reality check. I thought I was being thin-skinned about my take on the article. You guys make me feel less crazy. :)

And, so_chic_darling, You are my bellwether for trends in small-goods luzury spending. So happy for your great news. I know your shop must be lovely.

Anonymous said...

Hear, hear, So_Chic. There's nothing like spring in New York to make you realize how much money there is in this town.

We've all talked about cycles and we'll all keep rolling along. The doom and gloomers are my biggest worry, so y'all just sit tight, don't get your knickers in a twist, and DON'T do anything rash.

Wow, as I'm writing this "The Ghost of Tom Joad" just started playing. I'm all a-goosebump...

Anonymous said...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23453269/

Anonymous said...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/05/
MNI1VS96B.DTL

Anonymous said...

Love you Mama.

Anonymous said...

Also already up north homes are selling for 95% discount yes 95% discount

I wonder what will happen when 30% of this nation is out of work, I don't work, I live off of foreign investments so it does not affect me but this is getting to look like a movie to me now except it is getting real, I mean food prices are up 20% ?

any here is the some of the list,

the banks have no more money to buy homes to keep the prices up in areas outside of the major cities so they are giving them away.

houses in the middle of renovation, some just ran out of cash and could not finish the projects

Just because the bank are asking 25% below market value for their REO you be surprised what they are willing to take.

Even in the Cupertino Foothill Area of Silicon Valley

BEDS: 3 Baths: 1 Sqft: 1,066
Sold For: $13,500 (02/08/2008)
LAST SALE: $560,000 (02/03/2006)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 1 Sqft: 1,066
Sold For: $4,000 (01/24/2008)
LAST SALE: $615,000 (01/05/2007)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 1 Sqft: 960
Sold For: $11,000 (01/14/2008)
LAST SALE: $591,000 (05/22/2006)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 1 Sqft: 960
Sold For: $30,000 (03/06/2008)
LAST SALE: $610,000 (02/05/2007)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 2 Sqft: 1,409
Sold For: $5,500 (03/18/2008)
LAST SALE: $205,500 (05/19/2006)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 2 Sqft: 1,409
Sold For: $38,000 (03/05/2008)
LAST SALE: $1,025,000 (02/15/2007)

BEDS: 3 Baths: 3.5 Sqft: 1,657
Sold For: $5,500 (02/14/2008)
LAST SALE: $879,000 (02/24/2006)

BEDS: 4 Baths: 2 Sqft: 1,491
Sold For: $18,000 (02/15/2008)
LAST SALE: $449,500 (09/22/2003)

BEDS: 4 Baths: 2 Sqft: 1,412
Sold For: $25,500 (01/22/2008)
LAST SALE: $560,000 (11/15/2004)

BEDS: 4 Baths: 2.5 Sqft: 2,651
Sold For: $7,000 (02/14/2008)
LAST SALE: $995,000 (05/31/2006)

this is like a cancer now, I really really hope it stops spreading.

Anonymous said...

Now there is no way it can get like this in the major cities, and I admit I am tempted to buy 20 of these but the city is where I want to be at.

But I am just saying this is why I think prices in the major cities outside of manhattan will come down 50-70% over the next year.

Anonymous said...

anyone living in OC care to comment on this ? is this a lie by the media ?


"Orange County, dead last in the jobs game. Worse than Michigan's shattered auto-factory towns. Worse than Florida's fizzled new villages. Worse than overbuilt, inland California.

they say 20k jobs lost and more are to come ?

Anonymous said...

anon 1137am

you have the wrong guy buddy

pch said...

Hey Joe. I've been trying to figure your angle. I don't get an altruistic vibe off of you -- you seem almost excited by the prospect of financial collapse -- so I don't think you're going on and on about this as a warning for the rest of us. If, however, you really think it's gonna get that bad, and this scenario plays into your investment strategy, I can't see why you'd give everyone your playbook. Or maybe you're hoping it will get that bad so you can build your own real estate empire on the cheap, but feel the need to nudge the process along by repeating dire predictions until people panic and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Then again, you might simply be pleased you called it back in 2004 or whenever, and want to congratulate yourself. I'm not sure. I'd be interested to hear the rationale for your posts.

But, whatever the case, if you're gonna keep beating this drum, I'll make another request for links (specific page) so we can see these comps in their context. I'm no expert -- Big Daddy might have some thoughts -- but most of these figures look more like delinquent tax bills than the desperate off-load price for bank-owned properties.

11:32, an insane amount of new job creation over the last several years in Orange County was related to real estate. An insane amount of consumer spending was fueled by loans taken against instant equity. So there's a serious ripple effect for retail and services. I don't earn money from Orange County sources, so I can't speak on a personal basis. A lot of my friends -- in various industries -- have taken a hit, but none is anywhere close to destitute.

Anonymous said...

PCH

So the media is lying once again, why do they continue to lie ?

I have been to OC many times well not in the last year, but when I was down there it looked fine to me.

Anonymous said...

PCH

My rationale is that yes I am pleased I called it back in 2006, but no matter what I or others post on blogs or what the news says, folks will do what they want, and the govt will have another plan keep the economy from crashing.

I do not want the market to crash to 5% of it's value, I just want the market to go back to 2001 prices when there was no trickery, when the real estate profession was an honest profession, do you know that now some employers have in their ads, "those with real estate experience/mortgage experience need not apply" ?

Further more employers want candidates to be home owners not renters, and certaintly not defaulters.

I wish we could start all over at 2001.

as far as the comps I posted it from HPers

here is the link

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?postID=558761259189328608&blogID=18675105&isPopup=false&page=2

so_chic_darling said...

Dear average joe,
none of the children want to talk to you or play with you.We all want to talk about celebrity real estate and furniture and stuff like that.Please go to one of the panic blogs where you can really get off,then go and fill a cabin in the woods with canned food and bottled water and wait it out,PLEASE.

Anonymous said...

To provide some non-NYC East Coast perspective, here in good ol' Philadelphia, where we had nice (but not insane) appreciation from 2002 - 2005, things are still moving...I know just as many people who have moved up to new homes in the last year (including myself, last May) then I did during the boomtimes...the only difference is, pricing has to be realistic...super lowball offers aren't getting taken, and people with pricetags showing appreciation of any kind over early 2006 levels aren't moving either...but, if you have a good property and list it at around 90-100% of what prices were at the peak in early '06, properties are still moving quickly, and as long as your FICO is 700 or more and you have at leas a 20% down payment, financing is NOT a problem...and, as I've said before, I unloaded 4 investment properties (townhouse condos) in the last 6 months, all purchase prior to 2001 and rented for several years; On each one, I made over a 50% profit on what I paid (not counting rental income profits), and all I had to do was price them realistically (for example, maybe if the "peak" price for a similar unit had been $204,900, putting on market for $189,900 got me a sale in 3 weeks...considering I paid $102,000 for that example unit in 1994, I'm very happy...though I am temporarily out of investment properties, right now I've put half the proceeds into tax-free munis with juicy 5%+ tax-free yields and have the rest of the proceeds in cash, waiting just a little longer before I start snapping new properties up again...;-)

Anonymous said...

Oh, and before anynaysayers chime in, lest we forget, before the "subprime" mania of the last decade, a FICO over 700 and a 20% downpayment used to be considered the bare minimum to buy real estate and get a mortgage, that's what everybody forgets, all this 0-down-payment and lending to people with bad credit is what caused this mess in the first place...things are just back to where they should be, which means you shouldn't loan huge sums of money to ANYONE who can't scrape up a decent down payment and also has a credit history that shows they can't even pay their credit cards on time, Christ, what were these lenders thinking?

Anonymous said...

3 bedroom houses for under $20,000 in California?
Now I know average joe is crazy.

Anonymous said...

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_8905314

hey maybe average joe has a point and your point is well taken thank you average joe

now go on back to your other blogs we do not need you here.

Anonymous said...

Rachel, your article link brings up a good point...just as I've pointed out the relative health of the market here in Philly...Orange county is a special case, because it is the home of the subprime industry and has suffered job losses disproportionate to the rest of the country...just as Detroit is suffering because the auto industry is cratering...there will always be pockets of the country where thigns either truly were overbuilt (think Las Vegas and less desireable parts of Florida) or where a downturn in the local dominant industry has cause greater than average local job losses, but it is definitely not a picture of the nation as a whole...hell, from what I hear Pittsburgh area, which I'm somewhat familiar with, was so undervalued for so long that prices are actually still on the rise there now!...;-)

Anonymous said...

The converse is also true... many of my neighbors (I am the poor house on the block at $1.2mm) are cutting back. Funny enough, met a neighbor at the German Car Care place the other day, we were talking about how we were going to keep the cars for one more year instead of getting into a new one.

Anonymous said...

Miami Architect

are there any foreclosures on your block ? any deep discounts or is everyone going to wait another 5 years for the market to turn around and not bother selling their homes ?

FYI that list I had up earlier, what was explained to me is that the banks are taking the huge losses on the homes and applying them to the multi billion dollar write downs, which would explain why a 900k house would sell for 7k, in the end we the taxpayers have to pay for the savings these buyers are now getting and I think it really sucks.

That would explain the billions of dollars of write downs in recent months.

I also found out that the 7k home still has a 18k tax bill based on the 900k asking price, the govt is going by bubble prices for the tax bill not the final selling prices.

lol

Anonymous said...

Time for some comic relief


There is a questionaire on another blog the poster is asking folks if and how they will survive the job market, of course a lot of them were arrogant in their responses and I thought this guys response was funny



mhrist said...

For the mortgage dudes: I guess the Nazis weren't like bad 'cause they got orders. See, they actually were trying to do a good day cleaning of society. Just doing their job and following orders with only love in their hearts. I mean how can you pretend that you were doing an honest day's work by selling something that the buyer cannot afford? And please, don't give me this crap where you only sold to people that could. Probably the only people that could afford the houses you people sold in the last few years are in Forbes 500 richest people. And I can't bet you didn't sell to any of them, rather to a bunch of strawberry pickers down Bakersfield.

Next, to the cop dudes: First off all, yes, crime will rise. This means you prolly won't lose your job, but rather your life or limb. And even if you won't get laid off, with your great unions, the gov will just depreciate the dollar as much as they need to decrease your salary.... once you have a hard time to even afford neccesities and everyone is hungry and wants to shoot you then you will start taking bribes. Many of you will get fired because of that and because of retirment or death/disability. No new recruits will make it because of the budget crisis in cities so there will be less police. More criminals on the street, smaller and corrupted police force... sheesh, go check out the untouchables.

To the trader dudes: you are trully the funniest. Let me break it for you, in a situation where people are strugling to eat today, businesses get torched or raquetered, and most of the important industries such as power, resources and food are nationalized what are you gonna trade? I'll tell you the next trade of day traders - their backs on the docks. Hope those puffy muscles from the gym help you lift the cement bags.

IT (in which I am kind a in) dudes: considering that probably everyone in the industry is not needed for operations, and that most people got a job not because of any great IT skills you prolly will be out too. I mean it usually takes me like a week to line a few offers, now I've been two weeks and I am trying real hard with only 1 offer for just 120k and another for 70-80/hour and I cannot see those companies making it thru what is happening and going to happend.

To the risk managment/fraud protection clown: hahaha, if there are no credit cards and mortgages what risk are you going to manage? What's your chance to get soup at the soup kitchen if you get there at 5 in the morning? Don't think this will be sought after skill. You can prolly sell your spot at the soup line tought :)

I mean people, what you have today would not matter even a bit in a case of financial collapse except canned food, skills besides how to slide the card at the market or get the equity line of credit with a signature. The 40k you have in the bank? Gone. Yea, FDIC will pay them back. Have you ever applied for welfare or unemployment benefits. By the time you get anything it won't be worth s***t or you will be either ok or dead from hunger. I mean sheesh it took a week after Katrina for a bottle of water and at least a month before the first check for disaster relief. Gold? Well, you can get all the gold confiscated like back in the 30s. Stocks? Give me a break, I doubt there will be a stock market as we have today.
Basically, when the sh**t hits the fan you need organization, you need people(read friends) and you need intelligence and know-how. Knowing how to cook, and under cook I don't mean buying a new york stake and throwing it on the bbq. I am talking of buying a pound of rice and feeding 10 people, jesus-with-the-fishesh type of deal.

Anyway, there are 3 things that can help in an even of depression or financial collapse:
1) Family and friends - the more pople together the easier it is to deal with what comes. As long as at least a few of the people in the group have income everyone is ok.
2) Proffesions are gone. It is like having a plumber mexican. See, the mexican is what you want him to be when u pick him infront of Home Depot. So you will be whatever you can get paid for today.
3) You need to be able to do something most people can't and they need. Now, for instance if you are in computers you can be the guy that sells the computer and the guy that fixes the computer. The first one is going hungry, the next one will be ok.

The economic collapse I endured some years ago was over 1500%, yes FIFTEEN HUNDRED PERCENT, inflation for a single night. And nobody was selling anything in the morning because if you sell something for 10$ today, you will buy it from the distributor for 150$ tommow. You don't want to do that. So think of what your preparations are worth if you need 500% more dollars to buy the same thing, or 1000% or 1500%. Even if prices double, which they did for the past year. What you gonna have then?

Anonymous said...

First off I do not know what you are talking about

and

actually I came from this one

http://housingpanic.blogspot.com

folks on their own properties, oodles of money, degrees, ect.



but thanks for the other link also it looks like a sales pitch site, but I will check it out.

btw you should take some anger management
classes, would not want you to end up in jail or prison taking your anger that you have towards me in cyberspace on someone else in real life.

You need to chiiiilllll, go on and have a drink and relax.

don't take things so seriously, like I said no matter what folks out there say, what I say, it does not apply to me or you.

and good luck to you

btw can someone please put up a wall paper pict of ironmans hideout ? even the movie trailer does not have that good of a picture, I tried to snip it from the trailer and it is all out of focus, kudos to the one that made that great pict, and yes that is point dume in the movie where is compound is.

oh and enjoy your top ramin, I am going to enjoy my steak dinner that my chef Henri cooked up.

Anonymous said...

Oh and one more thing

in all truth and fairness, the high end estates that are owned by the rich, ultra rich will most likely get taken off the market, they can afford to ride it out for the next 5 years, so I am beginning to accept the fact that if I want a high end property in LA or NY I am going to have to pay for close to their asking price.

This is my last rant that is unless the high end prices in LA or NY drop like a stone.

good night

average joe

good night.

Anonymous said...

I love how these economic collapse and 70% fall in the housing market chicken little's always seem to ignore my posts where I try to acknowledge a recession yet simultaneously point out that the sky is indeed not falling, and the proof that I provide...the truth is, this guy/these guys are losers who probably did buy when everyone else was buying, probably bought houses with no money down and 550 FICO scores, and then lost their shitty jobs in the sleaze-ridden subprime mortgage industry, so now they just want to make everyone feel as miserable as they are...well I got news for ya fellas, all you have to fear is fear itself...you will be losers who are "not economically viable" (to quote the movie Falling Down, which I feel is apt since these guys are convinced the sky is falling)...you will be losers no matter what the economy does because you run so far behind the herd you will never catch up...I'll think of you all when I'm losing $500 a hand at blackjack at the Wynn in a couple of weeks and laugh, and laugh, and laugh...sorry to be so mean and bitter, but these guys just bring it out in me I guess...;-)

Anonymous said...

no more insults although I could and I promise no more rants, the WALLPAPER pict of the iron man compound on point dume please ?

many thanks

good day

Alessandra said...

Where has all th glamor gone?

What we need is for some platinum ingenue to waft in, draped in pearls and trailing ostrich feathers. She can whisper in a soft, husky voice for a bottle of champagne and then settle herself in a provocative, yet innocent, pose in an over-sized club chair while she allows the mule of her dainty right foot to dangle precariously.

Perhaps a jasmine scented breeze will tickle at her throat as she swallows delicately and looks about the room with a gently practiced eye to find a gentleman who will have a discreet case of Dunhills on his person and be willing to share later in the garden...

In other words, let the band play on and enough Forbes talk.

pch said...

I dig your drift, Alessandra. Except my sensibilities are a little more screwball -- I'll take Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth...

Anonymous said...

What we need is our Mama back!!!

Anonymous said...

Mama needs to take The Dr. Cooter's wide belt to Joe's hide and send him to bed without dinner.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I should just remain perched in my 2260 Sunset Plaza "women seduction home" in the hills and laugh at all you wankers that will suffer in the next 5 years. I can survive the up and coming storm.

Anonymous said...

anon 9 25

NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU

NEXT !!!

Anonymous said...

Aunt Mary, we need a literary suggestion. Girl at that Bar, we all need a drink. Average Joe, would you like a Xanax? Anon 7:58, I'd suggest a joint - something heady with a bit of a giggle twist - and a buttery Chardonnay.

Things are getting loose.

Mama?

Anonymous said...

You know the next little (I mean little in the middle of this big declining market)will be smaller homes - a la Bird Streets.

Anonymous said...

I am counting the nano-seconds 'til Our Mama's return.

Alert: Shameless plug follows. Please ignore if you're not interested in a good mystery read!

Off topic and loosely prompted by Bentley's comment, read within hours of an e-mail from my absolutely favorite mystery author. I mentioned him last week, with a link to a short story published in the NYTs, The Keys to My Father. I was dying to say his name and upcoming release, Hold Tight. But, I'm ethical and didn't want to do a shameless plug. Somehow, on the heels of recent posts...don't see the harm in helping us shift gears. We need to move on here. :)

He’s Harlan Coben, an author I discovered one summer vacation. Promise Me had just released; my addiction began, I can't shake it -- and don't want to.

At that time, he had a handful of other books out; the Myron Bolitar series…Myron, sports agent; his psychopathic WASPy friend Win…Windsor Horne Lockwood III; his office manager, ex-wrestler Esperanza, formerly known as “Little Pocahontas”; and his other office “person,” soft-spoken, very large and protective …cough-tranny-cough… Cindi. That summer, I bought up the back list and devoured them end-to-end. Then I painfully endured the many months until his next release (consistently in April).

It has been my treat to watch this totally captivating guy rise in both his publisher’s handling (now white glove) as a very valuable property, and in a cult-like-in-a-good-way readership.

His new release is here. I’ve introduced this author to so many friends, who are now also hopelessly hooked.

P.S.S. If any of my fnice friends here try Harlan and don’t get my passion for this author … no, strike that. You will—I know you will. Trust me. :)

Parker said...

sandpiper, thanks for the recommendation. I'd much rather hear about a good book or author than listen to average joe rant about the misgivings of life. It's a gorgeous day today, and I'd rather enjoy it with good news and discussions than with pessimistic garbage.

Anonymous said...

Hi Parker,
I was a little nervous to do the post. No way to really know what I mean without experiencing the read. He usually has a couple comp chapters on his site. I have nothing to gain from this, except for sharing a fantastic author I personally hold near and dear.

It is a super nice day out for those of us thawing out from our snow-covered abyss. Snark away and rub it in, lucky warm weather dwellers!

Anonymous said...

All these chicken little's need to do is wake up and realize that their hysteria is what causes problems, not reality...case in point, Bear Stearns released their 1st quarter earnings the other day, and guess what? They still managed to turn a PROFIT! What caused them to almost go under and need to be bailed out by JP Morgan was the fact that the chicken littles, like so many of our doom and gloom friends here, spread hysterical rumors that caused a run on an otherwise healthy, profitable financial institution...to quote the great Peter Sellers film "Being There"...."Life is a state of mind"...and if all you do is spread hysteria and gloom, you will cause more problems than the ones that actually exist that you are trying to warn people about...economies are cyclical, we will pull out of this the way we've pulled out of everything else, the rest of the world has too much invested in the USA to allow an economic collapse here, because that would cause a global collapse, and that just ain't gonna happen, the Chinese communisst government and the oil sheiks who really run the world nowadays will see to it that things don't spiral out of control...;-)

Anonymous said...

Sandpiper, I'm emailing my library now to reserve copies. Love me a good mystery writer. Others worth mentioning: Martha Grimes, Ruth Rendel (aka P.D. James), Margaret Yorke, Dorothy Sayers, Patricia Highsmith.

Hmmmm.... I just noticed. These are all women. Women have such diabolical minds.

Should we turn Mama into Child Services for neglect?

Anonymous said...

It was time for Aunt Mary,and Mr Darling to take action again.A few months ago in a daring early morning raid they had burst into the filthy office of housingpanic.com and destroyed the early 1990s IBM computer from which a torrent of misinformation and lies had spewed.After that sucesssful operation nothing much had been heard from them for a while,but it seems that Ed and average Joe had managed to get a Capitol One visa card somehow and purchase a used computer on ebay despite the $400 credit limit.
With the help of the ever reliable Linda Hoof they had been able to track down the location of the don't panic new office,although office would be a kind word to describe a small room behind a kim chee factory in Korea town!
This time though they were going to try a new angle,torture!

Anonymous said...

anon 840am

first off the bird streets are never going to go down by much if at all, those homes are owned by the rich, ultra rich, they have more than enough to survive 100 depressions,
so it is not going to happen unless they want it to happen, hell any of them can ask for 100MM for a home up there and at some point they will get it.

The pricing of Sunset Plaza, Manhattan, Malibu, Miami, SF and other high end areas are not driven by the economy and while the chicken littles are broke and crying "we've been robbed, the sky is falling" the rich, ultra rich are having their martinis, enjoying the views and are off to Vegas, The race track, or taking another vacation and they just keep on spending and spending, like I said before we should have never tried to get in on the game of poker, ie using our homes as ATM machines just so we could keep up with the Joneses, how stupid was that ?

Now I was lucky, I rent so I do not have to share your same fate.

Bottom line if you want to live in a high end place in a major city in a prime area, you have to pay the price, there is no way around that.

and BigDaddyJ

what happened at Bear Sterns is that they were caught with their pants down, investors had a timely investment, that investment expired and they, the investors, took out 2 billion in cash in one day, that is what caught the mighty Bear off guard.

It had nothing to do with the chicken littles crying on the internet, I used to work in stock market and these things happen, why Bear Sterns was cash poor is beyond me but I believe that they had their hands in too many investments and the ones that provided that liquidity came in and cashed out and Bears temporary coffers went from full to empty in one day and the SEC has rules about that.

It was an anomaly that happened, that is it.

btw the Dow went up 200 points so far today yippee !!!!!

Anonymous said...

btw the crappy areas are going to drop like a stone, but who wants to live in a crappy area ? even if it is in a castle ?

I don't, so I have to continue saving until I have enough to buy, not rent as I am currently doing, but buy on the bird streets.

Anonymous said...

"OK you creep",screamed Aunt Mary as Mr Darling kicked open the door to the don'tpanic.com office,"I've got a gun in my Coach bag and I'll use it if I have too".Linda Hoof proceeded to tie up average Joe while Mr Darling started to cover every wall of the disgusting room with images torn from high end European shelter magazines and full page ads from the New York Times showing multi million dollar apartments at the Plaza for sale.
"You're going to have to sit here and look at THIS till Ed gets off work at walmart and lets you go"groweled Linda Hoof.The sight of so much beauty and luxury would be torture for him as they all knew.
Once again the gang made a quick escape in Aunt Mary's Volvo and celebrated with giant lattes at the Coffee Bean.Hopefully they had knocked some sense of style and luxury into his thick scull!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Ms. Frivolity, is it truly you? Don't toy with me if you are some loathsome imposter! So_Chic! She's back! There's going to be a caper!

Anonymous said...

Wahoo. Where the hell is Linda Hoof? I bet old hag in a hose is in on it, too.

pch said...

Love the typo, Bentley.

I feel like the kid in the back of the car, bouncing up and down and asking if we're there yet. This has been one looooong week without Mama.

Parker said...

If Mama doesn't hurry home then it will be back to the wonderful topic of cars...
I hear a lot of restless children.

Anonymous said...

Dear Average Joe,

No harm or confrontation intended. But, for me, can you please pause for a moment and fully appreciate that this is a fun and recreational blog.

I do know where to go for hard news. I am aware of the less savory aspects of today's real estate downturn. Holding true to that, I also try my best to selectively decide what to read and when. I do not electively go to places that bring me down. Yes, there are worse things happening in society, but that does not diminish my freedom to decide when and where I go to see that content. My recreation-side website visits are deliberate and targeted to places that garner my interests, in this case, Our Mama.

I come here of choice to escape harsh reality. This is my personal take, but often your unexpected comments here cause me to feel a little violated.

Average Joe, could you please honor me a personal favor? Pause, breathe and find it within yourself to think about what could be percieved contrary to this site's objectives. Ergo causing needless angst to Our Mama's collective flock.

Always, Average Jue, I personally encourage you to join in for mindless and fun exchanges on the properties Our Mama presents for our perusal.

Average Joe, I beg you to respect the peaceful tone of this nice place Our Mama makes possible.

For me? Could you listen to my request? I know you're a decent person. I'd love to see your lighter side. Try it!? You'll see how much fun it can be.

Best to you, Joe, and I hope my request reaches your sense of what is fair here.

Anonymous said...

Oops. Not hiding. Forgot to say I'm Sandpiper on 12:42 post.

Parker said...

average joe, I echo what Sandpiper very kindly just wrote...

Alessandra said...

Sandpiper, thanks for the literary plug. A good mystery is my favorite type of reading. Am digging "The Tenderness of Wolves" right now. So, Harlan Coben, eh? I'll have to look for him.

And more story, Ms. Frivolity! It's great!

I was originally going to recall Nick and Nora, pch, but then decided to take a more Veronica Lake route.

Anonymous said...

Woops! I can't stop laughing. Old hag, oh dear...

I miss reading purely for pleasure. This blog is my guilty pleasure, and I'm here far more than I should be/have time for. Apres moi la deluge, right?

My two dogs are Asta and Charlie. No two people made better use of the martini than Nick and Nora Charles.

Anonymous said...

well put sb.

gotta love the ree.

Anonymous said...

point taken

I thought my last comment was a positive spin

well I tried.

good day

Anonymous said...

Enough! Let your mama's mama tell you if your mama and sister woman carried on like you all are do'in amongst yourselves on this blog, the wooden spoon would have been flying out of the kitchen drawer or from under the front car seat of the Cutlass and those children of mine would be doing "the dance of the wooden spoon". Some of you all need to get you priorites in order. Perhaps you need to think of how you could improve the situation we as a people and country find our selves in, and decide how in some small way you could bring positive improvement and change. This world is not all about you! It is about us! How mama puts up with you children is beyond me. No wonder there is never any gin in the bottle or tonic in the refrig!

Anonymous said...

TO

anon 2:22

bonehead bonehead bonehead your such a bonhead

LOL

Alessandra said...

Bentley, Nick and Nora are just so perfect, in all their gin-swilling zaniness. Nick's debonair attitude, in particular, always makes me feel better when I get a little blue.

How can anything go wrong if one has a good martini in one's grasp?

Anonymous said...

Hey Laughing Larry, that was Your Mama's Mama you called a bonehead.

Show some respect.

And if you're going to go around calling people boneheads you might want to spell correctly and learn the difference between your and you're.

Anonymous said...

Mr average has been evicted from his office space he no pay me rent 2 months now.

Anonymous said...

Uh-ooo 2:22...
That was so not cool. Maybe you glossed over and spke too quickly. The commenter you sassed up IS Our Mama's Mama.

Yikes.

Anonymous said...

Typo..."spoke"...sorry.
[Dealing with a doozy migrane and flu.]

SP

Anonymous said...

You children have worked my last good nerve.

I don't drive a Cutlass. Your mama gave me one of the old BMWs.

I never used a wooden spoon on your mama and sister woman.

I have a bejeweled oak paddle that your mama made in bible camp one summer. I have used it on sister woman but your mama was such an angel that no paddle was ever necessary.

Now I don't like to speak ill of my children..and I am truly pleased your mama found the Good Doctor Cooter..but your mama messed around with all the wrong types before the Dr. Cooter. I have NEVER seen such a bunch of ill mannered children in my life. I can't believe your mama and the Dr. Cooter lay claim to you at all. I told them to sell all you boys to the White Lady and all you girls to Leona Helmsley (rest her soul).

Now git out of my way! I have to get dinner on the table.

And one of you take JoeEd out in the back yard. I am so tired of his smart mouth that I am about to backhand him.

pch said...

The idea of Mama at Bible Camp...wish I coulda seen that...

Anonymous said...

I told you that lautner house would sell close to full boat


think of it like this, highend properties are like vintage ferraris, they keep on going up in value and the rich ultra rich keep on buying and selling them to each other, just like a high end game of poker at 100k a hand, and unless you have played a few hands of high end poker with 10 players at the table you will never know what I am talking about.

Anonymous said...

AVERAGE JOE! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN BEFORE I KNOCK YOU INTO NEXT WEEK!

Anonymous said...

To

Your Mama's Real Mama

are you for reeeel ?

NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU TODAY !!!

NEXT !!!!

Anonymous said...

avg. joe-

You are like a hemmeroid that won't heal.

Anonymous said...

AVERAGE JOE..I DON'T CARE IF YOU TRY AND POST AS ANONYMOUS. I WILL TAKE THAT BEJEWELED PADDLE TO YOUR HIDE AND MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN. YOUR OWN MAMA WOULDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE YOU. YOU AREN'T EVEN ONE OF MAMA'S B*STARD CHILDREN SO GIT OUT OF MY SIGHT!

MOVE BOY!

Anonymous said...

Please don't feed the trolls.

Anonymous said...

Laughing Larry why don't you get some lovely free medication from the national health service?

Anonymous said...

Because the US doesn't have a national health service. Laughing Larry is you-know-who still wacking off to photos of old photos of Pam Anderson in his mommie's basement.

Anonymous said...

I would like to know how Mr. Parmar gets away with no front Jersey tag on his luxury vehicles. I hate that!