Agreed. Sadly, most of my friends that keep farming have had to continue to sell their land to cover their losses. Now they lease the land the used to own. It won't be long before they have lost everything. A friend of mine has a cousin that won an Oscar off a short film he made on the subject called "the Accountant." Hilarous and sad at the same time.

My wife never lost her scholarship and she finished in 4 years. I lost mine the first semester when I posted a lovely 0.3 GPA and of course, I well, took a little bit longer than 4 years to finish...:)

Now I know why I want to go. 30 classes to complete the M. Div. through Gordon-Conwell. I want to knock it out in the next 2 years while the market is slow...

I grew up working fields with an old Ford diesel tractor pulling either a disc, a brush hog or a spreader. Of course what I really hated was digging fence post holes and repairing barbed wire, especially after we switched to Angus heifers. All that hard work taught me an early lesson in using my brain and mouth to feed my family instead of my back and feet.

I was a horrible student who wouldn't let himself go to UF because I would have flunked out due to my, shall we say, weekday/weekend festivities. So I went to the beach, cruised to a finance degree from UNF, and now am doing just fine in the business world constantly reinventing myself. Of course, my first chance to engage some yanks on an academic level starts in January when I start working on a Masters from a school out of Boston. Do try to remind me that I need to go to class, okay good professor?

But what if I'm trying to pick a "football fight" with the farmer with him being somewhat of a Big 10 fan and me being a farm boy bleeding Orange & Blue down here in the good old SEC?

Do they play football up there in the mid-west? I thought those were knitting leagues or some kind of social club... ;)

They're not playing hard ball up here as long as you know who to talk to. Banks aren't in the business to own property. They just want to clear the loan off their books and move on to re-lending that money to someone else. Hope it works out for you, but you're going at it patiently and non-emotionally, so it should.

Have a great thanksgiving Coy and everyone else on this "friendly board." Good housing market or not, most of us have plenty to be thankful for...

Mike

I feel you on the taxes. I don't mind them right now because taxes drive up prices and drive out renters, and since I'll probably move here at the beach a couple more times, I'll take the equity appreciation once the market turns. Plus, with the baby girl getting closer to school age, I don't mind paying a few extra dollars to help her education. No way I am sending her to private school unless she ends up having special learning needs. My wife and I both feel that our kids are going to live life surrounded by criminals/hooligans so they might as well get used to surviving their tactics/distractions from a young age.

The Pacific NW is still the fastest appreciating area in the country, but Coy is right on one accord. Lot's of CA investors I deal with are moving equity out of their declining value properties in CA and buying flips up in your area. This leads to the same old artificial housing boom that investors first created in FL/CA, then AZ, then Vegas. Now investors are driving prices in the NW and the Gulf coast.

The funny thing is that the concept for making money in Real Estate is no different than the pinks. Don't believe the story. Buy when no one else wants it. Sell when every mom and pop is rushing in to buy. Rinse and repeat. Of course it took me several thousand dollars to learn that in the pinks first. And of course in Real Estate, there are tons of tax and leverage advantages for creating wealth that stocks simply don't offer.

Again, like Real says, its highly regional. In my area, all the investor/flipper/speculators that can't sell their residential homes have decided they are going to "ride the market out" and therefore rent them. That extra supply of rentals is currently driving rental rates down in the immediate short-term. This raises the CAP rate for sellers/owners of multi-unit residential and therefore lowers their overall market value. After all, one of the "laws" of real estate investment is that in a market prone to fast appreciation, it's next to impossible to find a rental property (whether single or multi-unit) that will cash flow. Therefore, unless you find a 'steal of a deal,' or put a large down payment on your purchase, a property is not going to cash flow in a market like FL, CA, AZ, NV etc. The best multi-unit residential buys I have ever found are always in stale, stagnant or snail-paced markets like the Rust Belt or the plain states.

Even when the market is in decline like it is now, typically prices are so far out ahead of rental rates that you can't make the numbers work. So to answer your question further, in my area income producing residential properties are suffering. Commercial retail, office and light industrial is doing average. Heavy industrial is doing spectacular since Jax port is expanding so rapidly (we actually are close to a negative vacancy rate for industrial).

Not a bad idea. If I was in the market I would be looking to rent if I couldn't buy at $.60-.70 on the dollar. But then again, I try to buy everything that way regardless of the market.

If your looking for bank owned, see if you can find out if Wells Fargo is auctioning any of their REO properties in your area soon. I think I mentioned it before, but I just helped one of my clients buy 2 houses from Wells, one for $141k that appraised for $209k and one for $134k that appraised for $195k. Both of which I consider a good purchase for my area.

Scariest news I've heard from the financial sector yet...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/20/news/companies/freddiemac/index.htm?postversion=2007112007

This statement is the scariest..."Wall Street was spooked by Freddie's announcement that its capital surplus had fallen by $1.2 billion, to only $600 million above a mandatory target set under a consent decree with regulators."

What we're all shocked by is the fact that Freddie does no sub-prime or Alt-A lending, so why the write-downs? Yes, their default rate is up .10%, but that's almost 3% below the standard thresh-hold.

Anyway, Countrywide having problems was an eye-opener. This Freddie news about insolvency is almost akin to the Fed saying, "Hey, we're bankrupt..." If Freddie goes down, the turn around to the housing market will take an extra 18-24 months above what it's already going to take IMO...

Ever feel like turning your computer off until Jan 1? I think my Scottrade Account needs to start listening to "Paint it Black" by the Stones to get itself moving in the right direction again...

Speaking of TURDS, what do you guys think about the 7-3 Jax Jaguars? Considering the injuries and the division, it almost feels like we have a decent team...

As for the pro games, the only ones I like are NO/CAR and INDY/ATL, but neither feel like a "5 Dime Pick" as you like to call it. I do think that INDY is absolutely going to pound Atlanta this weekend, Harrison or no Harrison. I would take Indy at -11.5.

For college games, I really like Vandy +1 and GA -3.5.

As for the Gators, may this season rest in peace. Can't believe that we add Miami and Hawaii to our schedule next year. So much for an off week...

Agreed. Same problem with SPZI. Not enough volume to signal a true reversal yet.

That's strange, neither can I.

Only game I like this week is Penn State at Mich. State. Michigan State has lost some close ones but played well against Wisconisn, Ohio State and Michigan. Penn State continues to be one of the most over rated teams in college football with their one win against a quality opponent being against Wisconsin. I like Michigan State for the win +3. Everything else this week scares me...

One thing scary about that game is that if you look at McFadden's production through out the year, he'll have a huge game and then a so-so game. Last week vs. TN he was mediocre for his abilities. Which means he might have another blow out game this week like he did against South Carolina. 11 points is pretty steep for an unpredictable Ark team but they could still cover that quite easily if Lopez and McFadden have big games...

Can we talk about philosophy or science or economics or even the WNBA, anything but politics. I grew up in a little backwoods Southern Baptist Church and though I have plenty of friends who are amazing people and Southern Baptist, all I heard growing up was the world is coming to an end so you better vote Republican. ;)

BTW Realperson...signs of the coming Apocalypse...Joseph's Pizza on Baymeadows shut down and is now "Guiliano's." I almost slammed into the car in front of me in traffic today out of shock and panic. So much for the pizza I was going to send you out there in the wild west...

Something I've been meaning to give you all a heads up on. Rumors that BOA is going to buy out Countrywide have been pretty rampant for over a year now. When BOA took a $2B equity position in Countrywide on Aug. 23rd, those of us in the industry saw it as a big step towards the merger. Well, about a week ago, Bank of America suspended all of their Wholesale lending operations permanently. They gave no explanation. Just a "we're out." That means they are only offering mortgages via their retail branch locations and not through mortgage brokers even though BOA wholesale had quite a strong product offering and market share. Plus BOA has the added liquidity of being able to portfolio many of it's loans. Anyway, most of us in my area/industry feel that the only logic for doing so would be the long-desired merger with Countrywide. CFC's stock is beat to hell right now and with continued negatives in the financial news from mortgage related write-downs, BOA can pick up Countrywide on the cheap. If they do, BOA wouldn't need a wholesale lending arm as Countrywide is the largest wholesale lender in the country. If they do merge, I would expect that it would be good for Countrywide's stock price as the $2B equity bail out was initially met with favor from Wall Street.

Anyway, I'm not a big stock guy as I'd rather put big money in RE instead of equities, but I know that some of you are. Countrywide isn't going anywhere and is trading at a low equivalent to Jan. 2003 right now. Might be worth a look for an IRA or 401k...

Ren

Strange thought I had this morning listening to sports talk...

Let's say FL and GA both win out. GA goes to the SEC championship to play LSU. If GA loses they would probably play in the Orange/Sugar bowl (right?), that would make FL eligible for the Capital One Bowl. Now if Ohio State loses to Michigan this coming week (Heisman statement game for Mike Hart), then they would be tied for #2 in the Big Ten with Illinois, though Illinois would have the tiebreaker on them. Either way you could have a BCS National Championship rematch of FL vs. Ohio State at the Capital One Bowl, or maybe even a FL vs. Illinois, Meyer vs. Zook game. Either would be worth the drive to Orlando for me...

Either way, it was great watching that 8 minute drive on Saturday by Juice Williams...

Good luck. Keep in mind that I just like to pick them but don't actually put money down on them. But I do like them in this game. They can be very explosive on offense.

Okay, really got to go. 'Til Monday...

The ones available via iHub are up though delayed...

They have more talent, but 30 degree temps on an away game with a young team that's been sitting in a hotel all day dealing with nerves against a superior coach is not a safe bet. Anything can happen IMO. We could beat them by 25. We could lose.

LOL.

Don't know about you fella's (and gals), but it's a beautiful day outside and an ugly day in the markets. My work is wrapped up so I'm off for the weekend. Have a good one everyone, and here's to the Gators beating Darth Visor tomorrow night!

Ren

Don't you think Navy is liable for a letdown (like UCONN)?

Only one I really like is Bowling Green. Bowling Green has played well against some quality opponents and has a balanced offense that puts up points. While their defense is suspect, E. Michigan isn't much of a power house there.

The Auburn & Arkansas picks are probably more wishful thinking since I need them to lose to be able to position the Gators to win the SEC East. They are playing GA & TN teams that are super inconsistent. Sometimes they show up big, some times they don't show up at all. I also wanted to pick Wisconsin over Michigan b/c I think the pollsters are over-ranking Michigan so they can make their loss to Ohio State next week look that much better for Ohio State. However, Wisconsin, like GA & TN have been more than inconsistent this year...

Just my thoughts...

Ren

My College Picks this weekend...

Bowling Green -3
Auburn +2
Arkansas (pick)

Liking the volume and the bid/ask spread. This could be the day though. I want to get in around .05/.055...

Thanks for the info. I'll get serious about my DD when I get closer to my buy point (or if work slows down). If work flow is a sign of a market recovering, the RE market in my area is turning the corner. We've been slammed since Oct.

I won't get too greedy with it. Somewhere between .05-.07 is fine with me based on technicals and such...

The float is pretty tight on that one right?

Given the state of the rest of the market (my portfolio in particular), I think I will be patient too.

ALRY alert for me just went off. Will buy near .05 if chart looks right...A close below .07 and next support seems to be at .05. Thoughts anyone?

Ah yes, the proverbial "soon." At least we already have AFs and no sign of the Haydens...

True. IMO they shouldn't have sent the better coach packing to the Univ. of Washington. Their current coach is too busy spending summers fighting legal battles over botched cosmetic surgeries...

Hmmm...interesting. Don't know about Texas, but I could see Notre Dame going Big 10 now simply because they are so terrible. Might help recruiting - semi-legit conference ;) and what, like 10 televised games a year?

Being a southerner, I blame it on a secret conspiracy by Notre Dame who refuses to join the Big 10 (I mean 11) giving the Big 10 (I mean 11) 12 teams and a championship game. It certainly would be revenue producing, I just don't think the President's have figured out how to carve up the profits yet.

I certainly do. Sadly, these last 2-3 weeks of the regular season are the best games but also mark the end of the season. How awesome would an 8 team play off in December be?!

If I were you, I'd be somewhat sleepless over Illinois. The Zookies might sneak up and beat you like they did Wisconsin and Penn State. As for me, I am sleepless over playing South Carolina. Darth Visor (que Empire music from Star Wars) is pretty good at out coaching Urban Meyer. If not for a game winning blocked field goal last year, my defenseless Gators would have never been able to romp "THE" Ohio State...

PS FWIW one of my best friends is an Ohio State grad. He was foolish/crazy enough to marry a UF grad. She's been giving him a hard time for 10 months now about how good "THE" Ohio State's defense is...;)