prudential: Short Sales Take a Long Time
- 04/23/09 03:37 AM
I always wondered about dimwits who go on holiday, then spend the entire trip a fingerbreadth from the hotel television. But there I was--fingers, breath and all--in my beachside room screaming at Nancy Pelosi and Henry Paulson on “All Bailout, All the Time” TV as they ran around like Chicken Little telling Americans that money no longer grows on trees and that the great oaks we call banks would perish if they didn’t get some greenbacks fast. The green was then plucked from our modest front yard flora and rushed to the banks, but the banks then stubbornly refused to shelter … (0 comments)
prudential: Rent Control Rehab for the Well-Heeled
- 07/19/08 03:26 AM
For those who don't need it, rent control can become an addiction, resulting from too many years of a sweet deal. It can leave the real estate muscles paralyzed and the investment portfolio sick. "Penny wise" might have a "pound foolish" problem.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about those who live in rent-controlled apartments because they cannot afford to move; I'm referring to the thousands of well-heeled ones. The affluent --with greater job stability—move less frequently than the needy, thus retain the treasured units. Those who can least afford it must re-rent at higher rates. … (2 comments)
prudential: Much Ado About Mansionization?
- 07/19/08 03:21 AM
Is there a perpetual shadow hovering over your house? Do you feel as though you live in a Batman movie? You may be the victim of a neighboring McMansion or a new development trend called mansionization, the housing industry's equivalent to bigger portions and fast food. These mansionizers—who are frequently "spec" builders--buy small or dilapidated homes, raze them and erect massive structures, often resembling sterile apartment buildings. Except for meager set-backs, they swallow up the entire lot, dwarf their Liliputian neighbors and invade the privacy of adjacent yards with their second-story windows. It's sort of like jamming five hotels onto "Baltic … (3 comments)
I always wondered about dimwits who go on holiday, then spend the entire trip a fingerbreadth from the hotel television. But there I was--fingers, breath and all--in my beachside room screaming at Nancy Pelosi and Henry Paulson on “All Bailout, All the Time” TV as they ran around like Chicken Little telling Americans that money no longer grows on trees and that the great oaks we call banks would perish if they didn’t get some greenbacks fast. The green was then plucked from our modest front yard flora and rushed to the banks, but the banks then stubbornly refused to shelter … (0 comments)
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