Las Vegas Foreclosures for Sale

The Following Story is sponsored by Foreclosures Las Vegas

Following is an update on the Hot News Quickies for Monday, June 1, 2009. This is a quick taste of what's happening. You can always catch up on the full stories after you have had your coffee.

These Hot News Quickies are just a taste of what's happening. Be sure to read the full stories for more complete details when you have time.

BREAKING NEWS - An Air France Airbus has vanished somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. This is the same type of plane that crash landed in the Hudson River a few months back.

Susan Boyle - Hot News Quickies, June 1, 2009
In case anyone out there slept through the entire weekend, Susan Boyle did not win Britain's Got Talent, what a shock. However, that lady should be an inspiration to all of us. She had the guts to get out for the world to have a few minutes of pleasure listening to her fantastic voice. Thanks Susan Boyle for giving it your best shot!

Entertainment - Hot News Quickie, June 1, 2009
Susan Boyle was admitted to the Priory Clinic in London. It was reported that she went to the clinic willingly the day after the show so says the British media.

Animal Cruelty - Hot News Quickies, June 1, 2009
In case some of you are not on Thomas Lane's or Tiadora Anderson's subscribe list you should be. They each wrote an article regarding a dog, Phoenix, who was set on fire - yes, set on fire - intentionally. I would rather you go to their articles and read about it. My point in bringing this up is to ask each and every one of you to read the two articles then go to the BARCS website Thomas mentions and donate. Animals are defenseless. It is up to us to protect them - donate to BARCS, every dollar helps.

National - Hot News Quickies, June 1, 2009
The 5 most dangerous cities in the US are:

1. Detroit, MI

2. Memphis, TN

3. Miami, FL

4. Las Vegas, NV

5. Stockton, CA

For this list the term 'dangerous' was based on violent crime.

Five cities people are moving to:

1. Raleigh, NC

2. Austin, TX

3. Charlotte, NC

4. Phoenix, AZ

5. Dallas, TX

Financial - Hot News Quickies, June 1, 2009
Is it possible things are turning around in the housing market? It is being reported that the value of homes rose in April. Existing home sales were up 2.9 percent, most in the lower price range. Mid price range homes are starting to move. On the other side of the coin, foreclosures are still continuing and the unemployment rate still climbs.

Sources:
MSNBC
MSN.com
Money Central

Click our link:Foreclosures Las Vegas for more info

Thanks to Las Vegas Foreclosures for sponsoring the following blog post

The Real Estate Depression of 2007By Alex S. Gabor

In economics, recessions are sometimes defined as periods of economic contraction marked by an extended decline in general business activity, typically two consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product.

During a recession the state of the national economy falters causing a widespread decline in the gross domestic product and employment and trade lasting from six months to a year according to some economists.

It can safely be said that at the beginning of 2006 America entered into a real estate recession and despite all rhetorical pumping and dumping of real estate inventory by mortgage bankers, brokers, Realtors, agents, builders and developers, the statistics show that we are now at the beginning of a long and protracted real estate depression.

Anyone capable of doing math and adding two plus two could see that a real estate recession was coming back at the tail end of 2005 when numerous savvy writers began to publish statistics stating their concerns about the oft repeated concept of a “real estate bubble”. Unfortunately if your job, your income, your net worth, your assets and your life are totally dependent upon the real estate market two things may happen to you.

First you can go into a severe state of denial if someone tells you anything contrary to what you believe to be an endless run up in asset prices thus ensuring your future profits from leveraged real estate, and second, by the time reality sinks in and overrides your false belief system it is already too late. Depression sets it. And yes there is a double meaning to that word in the context of this article.

In a typical national economic recession, if gross domestic product, asset prices, stock prices, or other assets and growth decline in value or quantity anywhere between five to ten per cent, over a six month period, it can be safely argued that a recession has occurred.

When real estate prices begin to drop at rates between twenty five and fifty percent, and inventories of used homes listed for sale double in one year and then double again in the second year, we can be very certain that a real estate depression is well under way as it is now.

But does a real estate depression mean that a national or global economic depression will necessarily follow? This author doesn't see that happening.

In the process of battling inflationary pressures, the Fed will be forced to raise interest rates again in 2007 as the volume of leveraged buyouts by private equity firms doubles the 2006 record $4 trillion in transactions.

If any investor or researcher is interested in following this developing national interest story one simply needs to look at the statistics of where money that was flowing into the residential real estate boom has shifted to understand why a real estate depression does not portend a national or international general economic depression.

A depression is generally defined in economics as a period of drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment. Any student of the current real estate market does not need to look far or wide to find those characteristics to define the current real estate depression.

In the past two months alone over 50,000 jobs have been lost in the mortgage, real estate, housing construction and other industry related businesses, however the official unemployment rate (usually skewed by the fact that people on commissions or self employed do not qualify for unemployment) remains at 4.5% and 167,000 new jobs were added in December of 2006.

Professors of economic theory would argue that a period during which business, employment, and stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity marks a depression. Because the global real estate market has grown to a level that has reached $70 trillion in dollar terms, it can be severely impacted while other business sectors continue to boom.

Thus we can watch a rising stock market in general, even though Real Estate Investment Trusts, mortgage bankers and brokers, and other industry related stocks plummet in value, while the real value of real estate assets also tubes to more practical levels after the bubble has finally let out all of its' hot air.

Typically those who believe in devils advocacy economics will tell you that because real estate prices went up by almost 500% between 1990 and 2005 that a correction of 25 to 50% still leaves smart investors ahead by 250%.

Such hucksters usually fail to mention that almost 80% of all real estate purchased in the past decade has been leveraged with mortgages which have been sold off as securitized assets to a global market that was developed by Wall Street to keep their money machines pumping bonuses and cash into their own coffers - damn the general public.

If you put 20% down on a million dollar property and values drop by 25% you are upside down on your mortgage. You should be so lucky during a real estate depression if you bought within the past five years.

Almost 60% of all new home purchases in the past decade were made using more than 80% financing and at least 40% of the ten trillion in outstanding mortgage debt involved stated income-stated asset loans or 100% financing using option ARM loans - loans that don't amortize but carry negative amortization clauses in the note.

Default rates doubled in 2005 from 2004 and again in 2006 from 2005. This trend will continue well into 2008 as foreclosures double and triple during the same period. A foreclosure in any neighborhood hurts the entire neighborhood and further depresses prices.

During the run up to the real estate bubble pop in 2006 there were very few foreclosures for two reasons: borrowers could lie on their loan applications and pull equity out before they ran into serious trouble, many who lost jobs and still had homes would borrow hundreds of thousands, get any old tax accountant to sign off on their self employed status, and refinance two or three times all while really not producing any valuable product that contributed to real gross domestic product growth.

Second, anyone who still had property equity during the run up, no matter how poor their credit, could either refinance or sell and still pull money off the closing table.

So why are we having a real estate depression in 2007? Here are just some of the factors that have contributed and will continue to contribute to just that state of economic affairs, factors which the individual homeowner has no control over.

Money that was being invested in mortgage backed securities is drying up - European, Asian and Middle Eastern investors are shifting their reserves and liquid cash into the Euro and Euro denominated bonds, while globalized hedge funds are taking advantage of a falling dollar and the rapid decline in real estate asset values.

Securities that are backed by mortgages are suffering from fraudulent loan packages within their portfolios and it will take another two years to sort out the good from the bad and ugly.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, although previously lax in its enforcement of securities laws in the mortgage backed securities market, is stepping up its investigations of companies who have sold mortgage backed securities which contain portfolios of false and misleading loan applications, particularly those containing option ARMs, stated income-stated asset loans, and interest only provisions in their loan documentation.

Congress has forced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, through the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to limit their assets and to slow down the raising of loan limits for conventional loans thus bringing a temporary halt to the monopolization of house pricing by fixing the maximum loan amounts for conventional borrowers.

Both of these federally guaranteed institutions have annually raised loan limits to ensure that their monopoly on conventional loan purchases was maintained over the past three decades, something which the Anti-Trust Division of the Justice Department is yet to crack down on.

The FBI has stepped up and is increasing its' national investigation of mortgage loan fraud which could bring the U.S Justice Department to prosecute as many as 2000 new criminal white collar fraud cases in 2007 where as much as $5 billion in losses will not be recovered by investors and hedge funds.

Private equity funds which now manage over a trillion dollars in liquid investable cash are staying away from riskier investments in the mortgage industry and focusing on buy outs of publicly traded companies such as Harrah's Entertainment, Equity Office Properties Trust, VaxGen, MGM Mirage, Kinder Morgan, Alliance Atlantis Communications, and thousands of other announced deals.

These funds are the best customers of the ten largest banks in the nation which have over $5 trillion in assets and are also shying away from investing in mortgage related business lending and investments.

Private Equity Funds will borrow more than $8 trillion in 2007 for mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and consolidations while mortgage originations will fall below $1 trillion for the first time in five years. Clearly this shift of money flows out of residential real estate will add to the dwindling price spirals currently being experienced in many markets, the worst of which include San Diego, Boston, Sacramento, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Several bank failures or major mergers to prevent public disclosure of bank insolvency such as those rumored for the past few years between Countrywide Funding and Washington Mutual and a few others.

The largest Hedge Funds are avoiding investments in residential real estate related mortgages and their industry related stocks but are shorting them where timing is good, and putting more money into prospective merger special situations where the returns on average are greater than longer term investing strategies such as NDAQ/LSE, NWACQ/MAIR, Thales/Alcatel/Lucent, NYSE/ARCA/Euronext and others.

Global Central Bankers and multi-national corporate financial controllers are investing more money into the bonds of the 27 member European Union and buying Euros while selling or shorting the US dollar.

This is forcing US Treasury yields up and their prices down, making it more costly to run the $8 trillion national debt refunding operations of the United States Treasury Department, which for all intents and purposes has become a global ponzi scheme exempt from the national securities laws which govern almost every public corporation traded on Wall Street.

If the Government Accounting Office were forced to publish an audited financial statement of the United States Government and the Federal Reserve Banking System, the dollar, the treasury market, and the stock markets would all collapse from true revelations, triggering a global depression - and no politician wants that to happen on their watch.

Foreign investors are all too wise to this and are shifting their risk based investments out of dollar denominated assets. Many can only hope they get out enough of their money in time to prevent their own economies from collapsing if ever there really is another global depression like the one that began in 1929 and lasted over six years.

Congress is less than a year away from forcing up the national debt ceiling, adding further inflation concerns to the Feds policy making open market committee, which will add more pressure to raise rates to prevent inflation from getting out of hand. The Fed can no longer control the value of the dollar just by raising rates alone as long as confidence in the mortgage markets remains unstable.

There are many regional factors that will create pockets of greater price deflation in certain sectors of the real estate market in the United States and abroad, but in general, the overall decline in residential real estate asset prices will continue well into 2008.

A recent article attributing the bust in the real estate bubble to greedy consumers falsely skews the reality. Saying that economists are blaming the buyers is a complete farce. 90% of what economists say and write is wrong anyway. They are paid by vested interests to argue points in favor of their clients, who usually profit from their “expert opinion”.

If lenders weren't set up to be corrupted in the first place, the programs getting the buyers into the deals would not exist. One loan officer who gets paid $25,000 a month for her overages - none of which are disclosed to the borrowers gets a bonus for ripping people off. She works for a federally chartered institution which encourages all 300 of their loan officers to get as much as they can for their bottom line.

While she makes the 25K each month the institution makes $75K a month from her originations. Blaming consumers for the housing bubble is like kicking the cat for having stubbed your own toe. It's the wrong source and wrong target.

If you offer consumers 100% financing with bad credit to buy over inflated homes, and they are not educated about the risks, your going to have a new sucker every time. Buying a home in today's market is more akin to buying a car. The minute you drive it off the lot it is worth 40% less than what you agreed to pay for it. Only the savvy don't get burned again.

Alex S. Gabor is the author of “Bonanza - Profiting During a Real Estate Depression - How to Make a Killing During a Real Estate Bust”, an electronic book being readied for release in 2007. He is a freelance writer living in Hollywood. He spent 25 years investigating and working in the mortgage banking industry and is an inventor of zero interest mortgages. He is a major proponent of changing the current tax laws to eliminate mortgage interest deductions and replace them with principal reduction credits to encourage debt free home ownership and affordable housing.

Copyright © 2007 by Alex S. Gabor. All World Rights Reserved.

More info here: Las Vegas Foreclosures

A quick shout out to Foreclosures Las Vegas for sponsoring this Associated Content Post!

I recently saw a man wearing a “buy my home” sandwich board outside a local Internet café. He had photos of his house plastered on both sides of the board. As he handed flyers to passers-by, many of them stopped to view his walking billboard. It was one of the most clever real estate marketing strategies I have ever seen.

I have witnessed a lot of crazy 'buy my home' marketing schemes throughout my career as an investor. Recently, I boarded a charter bus and traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada. This wasn't your typical gambling trip. Instead, it was a road show for investors and buyers to visit multiple homes for sale.

It's rather surreal to pull up in the middle of a cul de sac and witness homeowners parading around in their front yard carrying picket signs and shouting, “Buy my home, buy my home.” These people work it too. They have their children manning lemonade stands and offering freshly baked cookies.

Homeowners are going to great lengths to sell their house fast. Some offer pairs of tickets to sporting events and concerts. Others are willing to leave their household furnishings, big screen TVs, and even their pets. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Are homeowners being forced to go to extremes in order to sell their house below market value? The answer depends on how desperate they are to sell their home.

Many sellers are willing to sell real estate under market value in order to obtain financial relief. Others have obtained short sale approval and need to sell their house fast or face foreclosure. Some sellers need to move immediately due to job transfers or aging parents who require additional care.

With the massive number of foreclosure houses many homeowners find they cannot sell their property. Between the housing slump, skyrocketing unemployment and credit crisis few people qualify for a mortgage loan. Those that do must possess a high FICO score and the financial means to produce a large down payment.

Every homeowner is painfully aware of the stiff competition in the real estate market. They realize they must either sell their house considerably under market value or possess valuable real estate that buyers are willing to pay full purchase price for.

One little known secret for selling a house fast is to seek out private real estate investors. Nearly every state has investor networks which can easily be found via the Internet or through realtors and real estate brokers.

Most private investors buy houses with cash. There is no need to enlist the services of a realtor; however, experts recommend hiring a real estate attorney to ensure legal documents and title transfers are properly executed. Selling house for cash expedites closing and saves both parties money in closing costs and escrow fees.

There is no need to walk around town advertising your home. Nor, should you have to endure a busload of people walking through your house. Instead, seek out credible real estate investors and leave the marketing antics to your neighbors.

You'll find more info on our main site Foreclosures Las Vegas

The Following Story is from Associated Content and sponsored by Foreclosure Las Vegas

Guerilla Budgeting: A little adds up to a lot. Everyone at some point arrives at the conclusion that they are spending too much, but often it is hard to identify where all this money is going. When going over a budget, little expenses are overlooked because of the simple, “its only $22 a month” rationalism. Even smaller, weekly expenses, like eating out three times a week, or enjoying that amazing 44oz coca-cola a few times a week, are ignored or forgotten about. Think of this, $22 a month (any bill, it doesn't matter) adds up to $264, add that to three 44 oz. colas per week for a year at $1.49 ($214.56 ) and you have over $478 a year. The colas alone equal a car payment!

Establishing a simple plan to reduce these small expenses isn't difficult, it's making it happen that is. When running around doing our errands, its very easy to stop into a convenience store and pick up a snack and soda. If this snacking, soda drinking habit is necessary, buy in bulk and take them with you. A warehouse store often carries these items buy the crate load and offer massive discounts of up to 70% of the price when you buy many at one time.

Reducing these expenses as well isn't so complicated. A cell phone bill, with a reasonable rate, no matter where you are should fall around $25 per month (obviously this doesn't apply to everyone) but plans with additional features based on your needs are always available, so take advantage of them and change if necessary. If you text a lot (SMS) and are charged .04 per message that adds up very, very quickly. I have a friend that easily goes through 1000 sms messages per month, that's an extra $40 per month spent on messages, a plan that offers free and unlimited messages could eliminate this.

If you make a lot of money, great, these suggestions are by no mean pointing fingers, but imagine how much nicer a vacation would be if you had an extra $1000 to spend on whatever you wanted just because you cut back on a few unnecessary expenses. That money could be used towards a down payment on a new car or a nice (and expensive) pair of shoes from Italy you always. Saving money is good for anything, but a penny saved should be a penny spent, on you, not your phone bill.

This article is the first of many in a series of comments and suggestions based on improving small things around you that will make life just that much easier to enjoy.

Financial difficulties, now a reality for all. With world governments involved in a financial crisis, the United States has felt the blow of the economic downturn and taken heavy casualties. These times are difficult for many and with business closing up or downsizing every day, the reality of financial difficulties is clear and very much a serious topic. Families across the nation are have prepared for this the best they can, but not many expected the level difficulty it would create. Foreclosures are in a record number, with banks now offering incredibly low rates and other offers to stave the catastrophic number of foreclosures happening.

Everyone can still survive this disaster, even if on the verge of foreclosure, making ends meet and getting through these times isn't as gloomy as it seems. Preparing for tomorrow and what will happen the next year or two is crucial to ensuring you and your family's financial survival. The following list is a general compilation of tips and strategies that can help to curb the losses and salvage your finances.

1. Know exactly what you need for a period of two months, longer if possible: Include these common household expenses

• Mortgage or rent payments

• Car payments

• Utility bills

• Phone bills

• Food expenses

• Insurance

• And day care or tuition that you may have

2. Credit Cards are essential in times of need. Try not to use them when it's not an emergency, freeing up valuable alternative money when it is needed the most. Keep a credit card with a high limit in a safe place just for this purpose. It is far better to use a credit card than falling prey to 500% interest rates (or more) that payday lenders can offer.

3. Emergency documents should always be kept in a safe spot, specifically in a fireproof safe located in a secure spot. Many safes offer fantastic protection against all elements and will also give you a peace of mind that you are protected. Some copies of documents that should be kept inside include:

• Mortgage documents

• Auto loan and ownership documents

• Insurance documents (car, medical, home, etc.)

• Medical records

• Birth Certificates

• Legal Documents and wills

• Front and back of your credit card

• Drivers license and passport

It would also be advisable to include a list of important numbers as well as a small stash of emergency cash

4. Know what your options are. Have a list of everything you have access to. Keep it simple so you know exactly what you can do and where you can go in the event of an emergency. Know what unemployment will offer you in case you lose your job. Also have all of your creditor and lender numbers available to notify them the moment something happens, this way they may be able to postpone a payment or two to help out.

Being prepared is just the first step, but this step will help you to remain calm when dealing with other events that may take place. Your family's security is priceless; knowing what to do in the event of a financial emergency is too.

Facing your fears. Financial crisis what to do's. As mentioned in the previous section, a financial crisis is here and very real. Having a plan in place is key to helping a family get through a crisis, but it does not prevent it nor make it go away. Knowing what will happen when and if you are actually in the position is just as important. What is important is to keep your cool and focus on what needs to be done, don't panic, it will only make things worse. Here is a list of things to do if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

1) Assess the situation; knowing where you stand will help you in taking the next step.

a) Exactly how much do you owe?

b) Who do you owe it to?

c) When do you have to pay it?

d) Does the lender or creditor offer payment plans?

e) Have you spoken with them about other options?

f) What will happen if you don't pay?

g) When do you anticipate this crisis to be over?

2) Check out your options, known what is available will help you to set your goals

a) Can't pay small bills. Cant' pay your utility or credit card bill? Utility company's don't report to the credit bureau and will usually charge a small fee if you are late. Try to negotiate a payment plan or skip a payment if you will be charged only a small fee, although it is advisable to contact them first to review your payment options.

b) Can't pay large bills? If you can't pay your car loan or mortgage loan, contact the lenders immediately. Usually payment plans can be worked out, but waiting could lend to very severe penalties including loss of your car or home. Try to use savings or borrow from family. If you are continually unable to pay your mortgage, consider contact a certified HUD counselor, they can offer sound advice for resolving mortgage issues.

c) Heavy debt. If you are making decent money but face heavy debt, owing large amounts of money, put together a plan to pay them off, either through a written budget or direct bill from your income, that way the bills are paid and you won't see the money pass through your hands.

d) Debt in collections. Many smaller debts such as credit cards, medical bills, etc, can be sold to collection agencies. Your first step is to request they contact you via mail, they are required by law to comply with this. Then work out a payment plan with them and work quickly to come to an agreement. Debt collectors can often be negotiated to lower a debt if you can afford a lump sum payment, work them, if they are unwilling, request a supervisor to order a settlement.

e) Job loss. In the event you lose your job, immediately see if you are eligible for unemployment. Then contact creditors or lenders to work out a payment plan until you are back on your feet. Immediately begin searching for another job to prevent further financial difficulties.

3) Taking action to solving your financial difficulties

a) Credit cards can be one of the easiest way to solve your financial problems, but they also carry additional risk, possibility making your financial situation worse. They are a good quick source for paying a bill or set of bills. This is best when you have a steady income and can make frequent payments to your cad. Also, Credit cards offer great deals when used to consolidate your debt, or combine multiple debts and put them on one card, creating a single payment.

b) Savings is another good source, even if you think it is a bad idea. This quick fix can save you money in the long run and you won't be paying taxes or interest when using it. If you have a 401k set up with your company, you may be able to access some of that, but often with penalties and taxes.

c) Debt consolidation and other debt solutions can be found through this link and a comparison of their benefits is also listed.

d) Payday lenders can give you cash up to $1000 usually on the spot with minimal requirements other than a check made out to the amount you wish to borrow and proof of savings and income. However, they are usually required to be paid back within two weeks, a typical pay cycle. With fees ranging from 8%-25% this means massive fees with such a short time. Pay them back immediately to avoid even more fees.

e) Personal loans can be taken out if you have a stable income and need a large amount of cash. You are required to pay them back between 1-4 years and usually have an annual interest rate of 5%-25%

f) Home Equity loan is a great source of income if the value of your mortgaged property rises. This will create a large mortgage payment but usually only by a little, of course depending on how much you take out.

Hopefully these options will help those in need during a financial crisis. The most important thing to note is that there is always someone willing to help, even the dreaded collections agencies.

Income tax returns……. Hurray! (Or boo?). Income taxes are something an individual becomes acclimated to very early in life. Often they are frowned upon, but are either way a necessary tax for the government. Whether or not you are for or against this tax (who is for them?) doesn't matter, once a year, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) does an audit of everyone's taxes to see if they paid too much or too little. As a working citizen, it is your responsibility to keep track of these items, however, your employer is required to send you a wage summary for the previous tax year which, if you just worked that one job the previous year, will contain everything you need to make the tax return process easier.

So now you have the documents to file, and you've calculated the amounts, you will come to one of two conclusions, you have to pay more or get a return. There is no average, no way of saying the typical citizen pays too much or has to pay, you are the one that decides based on a variety of factors that can be adjusted at any time during the tax year. If you will be paying, the IRS willing kindly reminds you until you do or they have to arrest you. If you will receive money, the IRS will kindly leave it up to you to let them know.

If you have to pay, be sure to adjust your taxes with your employer to balance out your income and add a bit more tax to avoid having to pay again next year. If you will receive money, send in the tax refund form and when you receive your tax refund, here are some suggestions on what to do with it:

1. Review your “forgotten” bills, bills that are due annually and see if there are any that will be due soon. Some of these bills include HOA (home owners association, ) memberships, premiums, etc.

a. If you do not have any due within the next few months, why not put the return into savings and earn a little interest on the side until the bill comes due.

b. If there are some that will be due soon, write the checks out or set up a payment online and a reminder so that it will be taken care of when the time comes

2. Add it to your emergency savings, your tax return is more or less unexpected money, although you did work for it, it usually is not known what you will get until it is time to file them, therefore, just put it into saving for when you really need it.

3. Pay an extra mortgage payment, in the long run this can save you thousands in interest if you make an extra payment per year

4. If you rent, put the return into savings to buy a home of your own

5. Invest! There are numerous firms that offer great deals to first time investors. Research the market wisely before deciding which brokerage firm to choose and what online programs (if any) are best for you

In addition to these savings options listed above, there are numerous spending options you can also take advantage of with your tax return. These options include:

1. If you've been putting off any checkups or other health expenses, now is the time to make them happen, nothing is most important than your health

2. If you have maintenance that needs to be done, whether your home or auto, do it now! Catching a repair job early can save you big time down the road.

3. Extensions or improvements to your home that could save on utility bills, double paned windows, a deep freezer or a better air conditioner unit could all help to curb costs during the year

4. Take a vacation! Even if you are on a tight budget, it is important to relax and enjoy yourself every once in awhile. Taking a vacation will help you to focus on other things when you return home.

The choices are endless, but impulsive spending could be avoided and your return could be put to better use. Just think of the possibilities!

Taking control of impulsive buying. We all know we do it, it happens on every level, everywhere we go. If we get gas and end up with an additional $6 in snacks and drinks, which is an impulsive purchase. If we go to the mall to get a shirt and walk out with hundreds of dollars in merchandise, that is impulsive buying. Keeping impulsive buying under control is as difficult as saying “no” to inclusive all you can eat buffet in Las Vegas.

Just because there is a sale going on, you are having a bad day or it is simply of purchase of convenience, impulsive shopping is more of an addiction to buying than anything. Often purchases can be rationalized and that seems to be the way to justify a purchase. However, it is important to know that companies depend on this shopper trait, if no one was an impulsive shopper, convenience stores wouldn't exist.

Here are some tips and hints on curbing your impulse purchases and allowing for more educated purchases:

1. Make a list of things you want and the things you need, by doing this you can prioritize what can be bought next. By putting things in a visual perspective it will help to influence your purchasing habits
2. If possible, avoid malls, by going to supermarkets two or three times per month you reduce the amount of chance that you can make impulsive decisions.
3. Time yourself, when you walk into a supermarket, give yourself 30 minutes to get everything, this way you will be rushed to get only the things you want and will help you stay focused.
4. Know what your budget is, if you are constantly aware of what you can spend, you are less likely to spend your money on things you don't need. In addition to this, you will also be able to buy the things you want, not need, by sticking to this plan
5. If a few days have passed and you think of something you really need, think about whether it can wait a week, whether you can buy it or not or whether it really is that important, if after some time has passed you really do need and can't borrow it, then go ahead and get it.

By heeding a few of these tips, hopefully you can reduce unnecessary spending and save more towards the things you really want or need.

Be sure to visitForeclosure Las Vegas at the main site!

The Following blog post is sponsored by Las Vegas Foreclosure

In a November 12th press release of the National Association of Realtors, the organization summarized some of the highlights of the address by its president, Pat V. Combs, who promoted to her fellow realtors that they educate the public on the value of real estate as a long term investment. The occasion was the 2007 Realtors Conference and Expo held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference started on November 12th , and will continue through November 16th, according to the press release, which also indicated that thirty thousand members are expected to attend the conference.

Ms. Combs was quoted in the press release as stating: “Take time at the Realtors Conference and Expo to consider evidence and gather the information you need to help realtors in your state refute inaccurate stories and build confidence in the market. Real estate is alive and well…” She then further remarked on the viability of the current market for both consumers and realtors .

In addition to the address by Ms. Combs, the group also heard from Lawrence Yun, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors . Mr. Yun pointed to the low interest rate which is currently at 6.4 per cent, and expected to remain low through 2008, as a favorable factor for the real estate market. He also stated that property values are strong, according to the press release, .with only two years - 2005 and 2006 - having higher property values.

Other topics discussed in the conference or soon to be discussed include a bill that has passed in the House and is now in the Senate to eliminate the tax on forgiven loan or a foreclosure - the tax with the nickname “phantom” income tax; a bill passed by the House and now in the Senate for flood insurance for home owners, renters and commercial property owners; the effects of natural disasters on insurance; the rising cost of insurance on homes; and mortgage insurance backed by the federal government, stated the press release.

More than two hundred conferences are scheduled and seven hundred and forty four exhibitors are expected, stated the press release. The show room has over four hundred thousand square feet.

Source

URL:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-12-2007/0004703723&EDATE=

Visit our sponsor Las Vegas Foreclosure today!

This Blog Post is from Associated Content and sponsored by Las Vegas Foreclosures

Deception is a product of contempt. So is betrayl, cynicism, dishonor, selfishness, duplicity, lying, mendacity and pretense. All derive from weakness and ultimately create despair.

Swiss psychologist Alice Miller theorized that contempt is nurtured by abusive parents, ultimately creating a narcissistic ego. That ego lives for a perceived external glory, while internally he cannot face his truth. The foundation of a narcissistic world is paiper mache. For a limited time, the ego can prosper. Yet, because it survives within internal conflict, it ultimately is doomed to failure. Thus, survival tactics are necessary to support its contemptuous world. Gradually, they destroy others.

From 1996-2000, the technology sector of the United States stock market was attracting a horde of investor cash. Yet, its companies were being built upon flawed business plans by twentysomethings whose computer savvy minds created internet portals destined to become creators of massive cash flow through acquisition of advertising dollars. Analysts began setting stratospheric price targets. In the case of one company, the price target was raised from $200 to $400. That target was reached in one day.

When Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of “irrational exuberance”, the world scoffed. Yahoo! bought Broadcast.com, making Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, its founder, a billionaire. Global Crossing was perceived as a sure winner, spanning cable across the oceans. JDS Uniphase became “Just Don't Sell Us.” Intel and Texas Instruments became national heroes as their stock prices soared.

In late 1999, the blowoff began, when the combination of the Federal Reserve Board lowering interest rates to accommodate a potential Y2K global computer crisis. Cynicism began to consume investors. Cisco Systems sped past General Electric to become the market cap leader in America. Then…reality bit! Speculation fever dominated, until March 10, 2000, when the Nasdaq peaked. The paiper mache foundation began its collapse.

Despair dominated as the market plunged. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and collapse of Enron and WorldCom ultimately convinced the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates to one percent. The seeds of contempt were planted for an historic era in the real estate market.

Housing and land prices began soaring in 2004. In the name of social engineering, Congressional Democrats spent the mid-1990s insisting Bill Clinton compel Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide funds for subprime mortgages to raise the percentage of home ownership in the United States. Combined with miniscule interest rates and creative loans, the relationship between supply and demand was skewed. All in the name of social engineering, Fannie and Freddie insisted morgage companies loan the funds they received, with the threat of withholding capital for future loans. The con was on.

Borrowers were not investigated for employment, income or fixed budget qualifications. Creative loans allowed borrowers to pay interest only for five years, with lenders, promising they could refinance at the end of the term. Great way for a lender to guarantee future business, isn't it? Buyers became convinced organic and immigrant population growth would guarantee prices never would return to their purchase point.

Speculators soon entered the market, buying and flipping homes in Southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida. Widows in Mississippi were given loans requiring no collateral to buy condominims which did not exist, for the sole purpose of reselling them. Luxury condominum complexes were planned throughout Las Vegas. Buyers were salivating like dogs whose master just yelled, “Alpo time!” They bought; they flipped.

In 2006, cracks began creeping into the exploding markets. The last flippers discovered the pool of suckers had evaporated. Home prices in San Bernardino and Riverside, California began plunging as commuters faced filling their sport utility vehicles with soaring gas prices. Foreclosures began lowering the values of other homes in once thriving neighborhoods. Those who bought at the peak in mid-2006, realized they faced a decline below their purchase price. But how far and how fast?

Foreclosures began consuming the Las Vegas and Phoenix markets. Condominium projects in Las Vegas were abandoned. Analysts questioned whether retailers were doomed due to the dwindling impact of home equity loans, especially while the price of gasoline neared $3.00 per gallon. Suddenly, the night speculation died arrived. Final puveyors of greed became responsible for homes they never could afford. Many were forced into bankruptcy. Global hedge funds which purchased many subprime mortgages, collapsed. The Enron syndrome had repeated itself.

Meanwhile commodities which thrived during the house building boom collapsed. Copper plunged from $4.00 per pound to less than $1.00. Oil, which had soared to more than $140 per barrel, began a steep decline in June 2008. Gold, which neared $1000 per ounce, slumped to near $700. Shares of gold and copper miners plunged.

And how is this sad tale of contempt ending? The federal government, which purposely induced but never regulated the overheated market, is primarily responsible for this disaster. Now it is investing in publicly traded companies to save the economy, clearly violating the tenets of American capitalism. The debt cannot possibly be repaid before mid-century, assuming the government finds some way for the private sector to restructure the health care system. Universal health care ultimately will create a similar burden as Social Security. Socialist answers to capitalist problems never work. They simply burden ensuing generations with massive debt.

The moral of the story is the narcissistic facade always will collapse. Paiper mache as a foundation cannot withstand the weight of a complicated life, especially its bad decisions. Narcissistis always will use capitalism to create manias to replace their emptiness with a grandiose self image. The rest watch the love flow until they are suckered into the frenzy. The alternative to this scenario is a restraint which won't allow it. But not in this America.

There simply is no honor.

Visit our sponsor Las Vegas Foreclosures today!

The Following Blog Post is from Associated Content and sponsored by Foreclosures Las Vegas

When a home is foreclosed upon, the community at large suffers. After all, there's no one to cut the grass, maintain the fence or keep out unwanted vagrants. For these reasons, and many others, foreclosures are magnets for crime on every level - from graffiti to drugs and prostitution. And, this is why it pays to hire foreclosure cleanup companies - they keep neighborhoods safe.

How Foreclosure Cleanup Companies Keep Neighborhoods Safe

Foreclosure Cleanup Companies Give Properties a Lived-In Look: Many times, when residents vacate a property, they may leave behind trash and other unsightly materials that cause a property to scream - abandoned!

According to the Las Vegas Sun article, Clean up foreclosed home, or city will, “Anger over the blight caused by foreclosed and abandoned homes is evident in the number of complaints reported by the Southern Nevada Health District.”

Foreclosure cleanup companies give a property a lived-in look; or at least a well-maintained one. All trash and debris is removed. Because these companies do so much - from lawn care and maintenance to trash hauling, it removes the outward signs that a property is not occupied.

Foreclosure Cleanup Companies Provide Locksmithing Services: As mentioned just above, these companies provide many services. One of them is locksmithing.

Once a property officially reverts to a bank as a foreclosure, one of the first things they do is change the locks. This prevents the previous tenants - and anyone they may have given a key, from accessing the property.

Foreclosure Cleanup Companies Provide Ongoing Property Maintenance: Many foreclosure cleanup companies do more than provide one-time cleanup services; they provide ongoing care, eg, lawn maintenance.

And, at the rate it's taking to sell properties in the current real estate market, this can be a real crime deterrent. For, the more likely a property looks unoccupied, the more likely it is to be a crime magnet. In a good economy with a thriving real estate market, a home typically sells within 90 days. If it's on the market longer than that, it's considered to be a “slow mover.”

But, in a recessed economy with a poor real estate market, it's not uncommon for homes to sit vacant for six months or more.

A foreclosure cleanup company can helps realtors and banks not only clean up the initial mess, but maintain the property until it's sold. This is vital to keeping neighborhoods safe.

You'll find more info on our main site Foreclosures Las Vegas

This Blog Post is from Associated Content and sponsored by Las Vegas Foreclosures

I bet most Americans believe the current mortgage crisis came on suddenly and might even be wondering how so many smart people in the financial sector could be so shocked by the enormity of it. In fact, all of it was seen and predicted by many honest people. The following is the article I wrote and published in October 2006. Make no mistake, the mortgage crisis like so much else happening in the nation is a consequence of the decline and corruption of American democracy.

—————

We the people once owned our democracy. We elected “representatives” to run it for US. Have you noticed? Somewhere along the way we lost our democracy.

It was foreclosed by wealthy and power elites that corrupted our “representatives” who literally sold us out. Our homeland was foreclosed right in plain sight. Sure, we citizens still reside in the USA, but we no longer own our democracy. We pay rent through our taxes. But we no longer have any equity. Our democracy is owned by the rich, and their partner foreign elites and governments, which is why in a strict sense it no longer is a democracy, but rather a plutocracy.

Modern day aristocrats - an apt terms considering the many political dynasties in our ruling class - maintain the charade that America is still a democracy by letting us vote. They also give us many freedoms to distract us from our dire political conditions. They're smart, so they limit our choices to the main parties that constitute the two-party duopoly. Even smarter, they convert consumer spending (that they spur) into economic inequality, making them, the rich, even richer and everyone else, all of us, poorer.

Donald Trump says we hardly have any middle class left. He ought to know. Lou Dobbs says there is a war on the middle class. He does not say what would only depress his audience, even more. We the people have already lost the war. We have a large Upper Class, for whom prosperity is real, and an expanding Lower Class, for whom economic slavery based on compulsive borrowing, debt and spending is all too real.

How We Lost Democracy Ownership

People born into American citizenship or sworn into it have inherited a democracy debt - a kind of political mortgage - that requires payment, not in dollars, but in engaged and responsible citizenship, ensuring that those elected to manage the government do so in the public interest. People like Thomas Jefferson told us about the burden placed on Americans. But paying our democracy mortgage has declined over the past fifty years.

I postulate that the decline started after World War II with the advent of urban sprawl, speeding up with accelerating suburban sprawl. Now, political divisiveness coexists with sprawl on steroids, with gated non-communities of McMansions for the Upper Class. As to the politics of sprawl, Americans traded democracy ownership for home ownership. They stopped paying for democracy through engaged citizenship and started paying for compulsive consumption. True citizenship was replaced by social isolation and loss of social capital as people cocooned themselves in their private space where they could gratify themselves with more and bigger possessions.

With sprawl and all the enabling automobile addiction, roads and chain stores, the power elites knew exactly what they were doing. They made Americans time poor and too tired to be politically active. Through distraction based on borrowing and spending they suckered Americans into defaulting on their democracy debt. Democracy was foreclosed, without any notice letter being sent to us. Ownership was transferred to the rich and powerful elites sitting atop the corporate state and, not coincidentally, making tons of money from land development and home building. Wal-Mart was elected corporate wage-killer-in-chief.

Delusional Ownership

Which brings us to our current new twist on Foreclosure USA. Millions of Americans have experienced, or will soon experience, foreclosure on what once was hyped as the cornerstone of the ownership society - they are losing their homes. The bursting of the housing bubble is often talked about in terms of slower home sales and lower prices. The latest data: In September, the number of existing single-family homes sold dropped 14.2 percent, compared to September 2005, and the median price dropped by $5,000.

But something much worse is happening and accelerating in virtually every community in all the states. In a delusional democracy with delusional prosperity we now are witnessing the proof that the ownership society is also delusional. Apparently no one has told George W. Bush.

Up to 4 percent of America's mortgaged homeowners might lose their homes to foreclosure in coming months, one of the nation's largest lenders predicted recently, as those homeowners find themselves trapped by heavy debt and the housing slump. That's four times worse than the historical average of 1 in 100 mortgaged homeowners who fail to keep up payments. First American Loan Performance, a mortgage-data company based in San Francisco, says overall the national foreclosure rate has climbed 27% from a year ago with an estimated $110 billion worth of homes expected to go into foreclosure. Rick Sharga, a vice-president at RealtyTrac, said recently “Over a trillion dollars is going to readjust in the next 15 months. We had almost 850,000 foreclosures last year and we are at 913,000 through September.” He predicted that national foreclosures could hit 1.2 million to 1.3 million by the end of this year. Guess George W. Bush has not heard about this, only about great economic growth.

You probably have heard about the incredible amount of sprawl housing growth around Las Vegas. But not this: The number of foreclosures in Nevada has more than tripled in the past year and jumped 83 percent since May. Nevada recorded 2,016 foreclosures in August. That was 83 percent more than in May and 255 percent more than in August 2005. Foreclosures are rising at a faster rate in Nevada than the rest of the country, where they are up 24 percent since May. In California, foreclosures increased 43 percent since May.

And what about the ever-sprawling Sunshine State? Florida has one new foreclosure filing for every 254 households, more than four times the national average. Foreclosure activity in the third quarter of 2006 rose by 14 percent compared to the second quarter of the year. It was 39 percent higher than the same period last year.

How about the Northeast? In Massachusetts, 1,812 new foreclosures were initiated in August, which is 72 percent more foreclosures than August of last year, and 266 percent more than in August 2004. The July to August increase was 34 percent, making it the largest month-to-month increase in the past three years. When comparing foreclosures during the year ending Aug. 31 (15,309), to the previous year (10,517), foreclosures increased statewide by nearly 46 percent.

Nationally, in August, 115,292 new properties were listed on the database of online foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac, a 24 percent increase over the level in July. More significantly, RealtyTrac currently lists 650,000 properties nationwide in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, up from 75,600 just one year earlier, when the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The volume of bank seizures is immense. Foreclosure.com, another online tracker of distressed properties, currently lists more than 1.27 million properties in some stage of foreclosure, bankruptcy, or bank auction. Approximately 5,000 properties are added to the listings each day.

Getting behind in mortgage payments is one thing, called default. It's estimated that nearly 20 percent of homeowners in default earlier in the year lost their homes to foreclosure in the third quarter. That's a more than a three-fold increase over last year, when the default-to-foreclosure rate was only 6%. Meaning: People are having a harder time coming up with cash to cover mortgage debt. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

Are things going to get worse? You better believe it. Industry forecasters recently estimated that more than $200 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages will “reset” at higher rates in 2006 and more than $1 trillion will reset in 2007. This situation, compounded by the expected slowing of the economy and the down housing market, which includes a growing inventory of unsold homes, will almost certainly push more homeowners into the foreclosure process.

Despite a lot of talk about the mortgage issue and warnings, Americans are still diving in. Are they falling for the economic hype coming out of the White House? Incredibly, 39 percent of new mortgages in the first half of this year were non-traditional, high risk mortgages compared to an average 2 percent over the last decade.

Consumer debt burden is ballooning. Statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the personal savings rate has been running in the red for 16 months. Additionally, the Federal Reserve recently found that consumer debt has outpaced, by 18.7 percent, the amount of income left after the payment of bills each month, meaning that for millions of families the cost of living is substantially higher than their monthly incomes can accommodate. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

An enormous portion of the total personal debt is mortgage debt. Since 2000, mortgage debt in America has doubled, approaching $9 trillion. This year, $400 billion of this debt is coming due in the form of mortgage readjustments. Research firm LoanPerformance forecasts another $1 trillion in mortgage debt will come due next year as the rates on millions more loans reset, sending individual monthly mortgage payments hundreds of dollars higher, or even worse.

In one, not unusual, case in the Washington, D.C. area, a family started with a “teaser rate,” just $1,700 a month. They thought it was fixed, but it wasn't. Rising interest rates and deferred interest have now ballooned that payment to $3,700 a month. They can't pay it, and they're not alone. They will lose their home. Credit counselors say they're getting 10 times the concerned calls they used to.

Greedy Elites Conned Us

How has this come about? Clever elites running and ruing our country discovered all kinds of ingenious ways to sell mortgages to Americans still believing in the American dream. They had help from the Federal Reserve. So called unconventional or exotic mortgages were crafted to lure people in and make billions of dollars for the financial sector. The whole trick was to get home buyers to pay as little as possible initially. No cash down, no payments toward the principal and low adjustable interest rates were the main ways to pump up the housing market (the bubble) and, therefore, the whole economy. Yet another gambit was to give mortgages to people that really could not afford them, making them pay higher interest. These “sub-prime” mortgages create a debt to income ratio that is out of whack, which means mortgage payments that take too big a chunk of income. When interest rates rise and other costs of living creep up, people quickly sink and drown in debt.

The maximum percentage for household debt which would include a mortgage, credit cards and car payments is supposed to be around 36%. But now many homeowners find themselves paying most of their income - more than 50 percent - to their mortgage, especially after those monthly payments increase sharply. And they are going up because of rising interest rates, which is happening as wages are at best stagnant and other costs of living are rising. Once, homeowners in a hot housing market could refinance and take money out. In fact, from 2001 to 2005, they took out $500 billion in cash from their home ATMs. This propped up consumer spending as wage incomes stagnated, keeping the economy looking good. Now, with home values declining, they can find themselves forced to pay a lot more or lose their home.

Look at the larger picture. In 1980 household debt, including mortgages, car loans and other borrowing, was $1.4 trillion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had skyrocketed some 745 percent to $11.8 trillion. In 1980 credit card debt totaled $69 billion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had mushroomed to an amazing $1.8 trillion - a 2,500 percent increase! In 1980 credit card debt was just 5 percent of household debt; by 2005 it had jumped to 15 percent. This has happened when people also got suckered into risky mortgages.

Maintaining consumer spending has been the chief economic goal of the plutocracy. And to keep it growing it required Americans to be convinced that they should borrow more and go into greater debt. What kind of political leaders would want to do this to their citizens? The worst kind: Democraps and Republicrooks. Corrupt politicians care more about making corporations profitable and the rich richer. Economic inequality is like a cancer. They are willing to destroy the middle class on behalf of elites and the Upper Class.

Last Episode

What is the next installment in Foreclosure USA? Our enormous national debt owned in large measure by foreign interests can foreclose whenever they wish. Just as we the people lost our sovereign control of our nation, so too will our corrupt government lose sovereign control. With globalization, so heralded and hyped by New York Times elitist and plutocrat Tom Friedman, moving forward, American sovereignty will surely be foreclosed. Thus ending the Foreclosure USA saga.

What can we do to stop Foreclosure USA? Will electing Democraps do it? I doubt it. We the people must take back our ownership of our democracy. With too little political choice, our votes will not do the job. Our money is more powerful. We must politicize consumer spending. We must have some radical, dissent-driven leadership from true progressives to send signals to the tens of millions of disgruntled Americans to cut their discretionary spending to achieve specific' political reforms.

Money and greed have ruined our country. Money and citizen re-engagement can save it.

——————–

Since I wrote this article I became convinced that constructive actions needed to restore American democracy must include: convening the first Article V convention (check out www.foavc.org) to rally the nation behind constitutional amendments to reform our corrupt political system, boycotting the federal 2008 elections to remove the legitimacy and credibility of the rigged political system, and unearthing 9/11 truth to dramatically reveal the extent of government corruption.

More info here: Las Vegas Foreclosures

Thanks to Foreclosures Las Vegas for sponsoring the following blog post

I bet most Americans believe the current mortgage crisis came on suddenly and might even be wondering how so many smart people in the financial sector could be so shocked by the enormity of it. In fact, all of it was seen and predicted by many honest people. The following is the article I wrote and published in October 2006. Make no mistake, the mortgage crisis like so much else happening in the nation is a consequence of the decline and corruption of American democracy.

—————

We the people once owned our democracy. We elected “representatives” to run it for US. Have you noticed? Somewhere along the way we lost our democracy.

It was foreclosed by wealthy and power elites that corrupted our “representatives” who literally sold us out. Our homeland was foreclosed right in plain sight. Sure, we citizens still reside in the USA, but we no longer own our democracy. We pay rent through our taxes. But we no longer have any equity. Our democracy is owned by the rich, and their partner foreign elites and governments, which is why in a strict sense it no longer is a democracy, but rather a plutocracy.

Modern day aristocrats - an apt terms considering the many political dynasties in our ruling class - maintain the charade that America is still a democracy by letting us vote. They also give us many freedoms to distract us from our dire political conditions. They're smart, so they limit our choices to the main parties that constitute the two-party duopoly. Even smarter, they convert consumer spending (that they spur) into economic inequality, making them, the rich, even richer and everyone else, all of us, poorer.

Donald Trump says we hardly have any middle class left. He ought to know. Lou Dobbs says there is a war on the middle class. He does not say what would only depress his audience, even more. We the people have already lost the war. We have a large Upper Class, for whom prosperity is real, and an expanding Lower Class, for whom economic slavery based on compulsive borrowing, debt and spending is all too real.

How We Lost Democracy Ownership

People born into American citizenship or sworn into it have inherited a democracy debt - a kind of political mortgage - that requires payment, not in dollars, but in engaged and responsible citizenship, ensuring that those elected to manage the government do so in the public interest. People like Thomas Jefferson told us about the burden placed on Americans. But paying our democracy mortgage has declined over the past fifty years.

I postulate that the decline started after World War II with the advent of urban sprawl, speeding up with accelerating suburban sprawl. Now, political divisiveness coexists with sprawl on steroids, with gated non-communities of McMansions for the Upper Class. As to the politics of sprawl, Americans traded democracy ownership for home ownership. They stopped paying for democracy through engaged citizenship and started paying for compulsive consumption. True citizenship was replaced by social isolation and loss of social capital as people cocooned themselves in their private space where they could gratify themselves with more and bigger possessions.

With sprawl and all the enabling automobile addiction, roads and chain stores, the power elites knew exactly what they were doing. They made Americans time poor and too tired to be politically active. Through distraction based on borrowing and spending they suckered Americans into defaulting on their democracy debt. Democracy was foreclosed, without any notice letter being sent to us. Ownership was transferred to the rich and powerful elites sitting atop the corporate state and, not coincidentally, making tons of money from land development and home building. Wal-Mart was elected corporate wage-killer-in-chief.

Delusional Ownership

Which brings us to our current new twist on Foreclosure USA. Millions of Americans have experienced, or will soon experience, foreclosure on what once was hyped as the cornerstone of the ownership society - they are losing their homes. The bursting of the housing bubble is often talked about in terms of slower home sales and lower prices. The latest data: In September, the number of existing single-family homes sold dropped 14.2 percent, compared to September 2005, and the median price dropped by $5,000.

But something much worse is happening and accelerating in virtually every community in all the states. In a delusional democracy with delusional prosperity we now are witnessing the proof that the ownership society is also delusional. Apparently no one has told George W. Bush.

Up to 4 percent of America's mortgaged homeowners might lose their homes to foreclosure in coming months, one of the nation's largest lenders predicted recently, as those homeowners find themselves trapped by heavy debt and the housing slump. That's four times worse than the historical average of 1 in 100 mortgaged homeowners who fail to keep up payments. First American Loan Performance, a mortgage-data company based in San Francisco, says overall the national foreclosure rate has climbed 27% from a year ago with an estimated $110 billion worth of homes expected to go into foreclosure. Rick Sharga, a vice-president at RealtyTrac, said recently “Over a trillion dollars is going to readjust in the next 15 months. We had almost 850,000 foreclosures last year and we are at 913,000 through September.” He predicted that national foreclosures could hit 1.2 million to 1.3 million by the end of this year. Guess George W. Bush has not heard about this, only about great economic growth.

You probably have heard about the incredible amount of sprawl housing growth around Las Vegas. But not this: The number of foreclosures in Nevada has more than tripled in the past year and jumped 83 percent since May. Nevada recorded 2,016 foreclosures in August. That was 83 percent more than in May and 255 percent more than in August 2005. Foreclosures are rising at a faster rate in Nevada than the rest of the country, where they are up 24 percent since May. In California, foreclosures increased 43 percent since May.

And what about the ever-sprawling Sunshine State? Florida has one new foreclosure filing for every 254 households, more than four times the national average. Foreclosure activity in the third quarter of 2006 rose by 14 percent compared to the second quarter of the year. It was 39 percent higher than the same period last year.

How about the Northeast? In Massachusetts, 1,812 new foreclosures were initiated in August, which is 72 percent more foreclosures than August of last year, and 266 percent more than in August 2004. The July to August increase was 34 percent, making it the largest month-to-month increase in the past three years. When comparing foreclosures during the year ending Aug. 31 (15,309), to the previous year (10,517), foreclosures increased statewide by nearly 46 percent.

Nationally, in August, 115,292 new properties were listed on the database of online foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac, a 24 percent increase over the level in July. More significantly, RealtyTrac currently lists 650,000 properties nationwide in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, up from 75,600 just one year earlier, when the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The volume of bank seizures is immense. Foreclosure.com, another online tracker of distressed properties, currently lists more than 1.27 million properties in some stage of foreclosure, bankruptcy, or bank auction. Approximately 5,000 properties are added to the listings each day.

Getting behind in mortgage payments is one thing, called default. It's estimated that nearly 20 percent of homeowners in default earlier in the year lost their homes to foreclosure in the third quarter. That's a more than a three-fold increase over last year, when the default-to-foreclosure rate was only 6%. Meaning: People are having a harder time coming up with cash to cover mortgage debt. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

Are things going to get worse? You better believe it. Industry forecasters recently estimated that more than $200 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages will “reset” at higher rates in 2006 and more than $1 trillion will reset in 2007. This situation, compounded by the expected slowing of the economy and the down housing market, which includes a growing inventory of unsold homes, will almost certainly push more homeowners into the foreclosure process.

Despite a lot of talk about the mortgage issue and warnings, Americans are still diving in. Are they falling for the economic hype coming out of the White House? Incredibly, 39 percent of new mortgages in the first half of this year were non-traditional, high risk mortgages compared to an average 2 percent over the last decade.

Consumer debt burden is ballooning. Statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the personal savings rate has been running in the red for 16 months. Additionally, the Federal Reserve recently found that consumer debt has outpaced, by 18.7 percent, the amount of income left after the payment of bills each month, meaning that for millions of families the cost of living is substantially higher than their monthly incomes can accommodate. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

An enormous portion of the total personal debt is mortgage debt. Since 2000, mortgage debt in America has doubled, approaching $9 trillion. This year, $400 billion of this debt is coming due in the form of mortgage readjustments. Research firm LoanPerformance forecasts another $1 trillion in mortgage debt will come due next year as the rates on millions more loans reset, sending individual monthly mortgage payments hundreds of dollars higher, or even worse.

In one, not unusual, case in the Washington, D.C. area, a family started with a “teaser rate,” just $1,700 a month. They thought it was fixed, but it wasn't. Rising interest rates and deferred interest have now ballooned that payment to $3,700 a month. They can't pay it, and they're not alone. They will lose their home. Credit counselors say they're getting 10 times the concerned calls they used to.

Greedy Elites Conned Us

How has this come about? Clever elites running and ruing our country discovered all kinds of ingenious ways to sell mortgages to Americans still believing in the American dream. They had help from the Federal Reserve. So called unconventional or exotic mortgages were crafted to lure people in and make billions of dollars for the financial sector. The whole trick was to get home buyers to pay as little as possible initially. No cash down, no payments toward the principal and low adjustable interest rates were the main ways to pump up the housing market (the bubble) and, therefore, the whole economy. Yet another gambit was to give mortgages to people that really could not afford them, making them pay higher interest. These “sub-prime” mortgages create a debt to income ratio that is out of whack, which means mortgage payments that take too big a chunk of income. When interest rates rise and other costs of living creep up, people quickly sink and drown in debt.

The maximum percentage for household debt which would include a mortgage, credit cards and car payments is supposed to be around 36%. But now many homeowners find themselves paying most of their income - more than 50 percent - to their mortgage, especially after those monthly payments increase sharply. And they are going up because of rising interest rates, which is happening as wages are at best stagnant and other costs of living are rising. Once, homeowners in a hot housing market could refinance and take money out. In fact, from 2001 to 2005, they took out $500 billion in cash from their home ATMs. This propped up consumer spending as wage incomes stagnated, keeping the economy looking good. Now, with home values declining, they can find themselves forced to pay a lot more or lose their home.

Look at the larger picture. In 1980 household debt, including mortgages, car loans and other borrowing, was $1.4 trillion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had skyrocketed some 745 percent to $11.8 trillion. In 1980 credit card debt totaled $69 billion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had mushroomed to an amazing $1.8 trillion - a 2,500 percent increase! In 1980 credit card debt was just 5 percent of household debt; by 2005 it had jumped to 15 percent. This has happened when people also got suckered into risky mortgages.

Maintaining consumer spending has been the chief economic goal of the plutocracy. And to keep it growing it required Americans to be convinced that they should borrow more and go into greater debt. What kind of political leaders would want to do this to their citizens? The worst kind: Democraps and Republicrooks. Corrupt politicians care more about making corporations profitable and the rich richer. Economic inequality is like a cancer. They are willing to destroy the middle class on behalf of elites and the Upper Class.

Last Episode

What is the next installment in Foreclosure USA? Our enormous national debt owned in large measure by foreign interests can foreclose whenever they wish. Just as we the people lost our sovereign control of our nation, so too will our corrupt government lose sovereign control. With globalization, so heralded and hyped by New York Times elitist and plutocrat Tom Friedman, moving forward, American sovereignty will surely be foreclosed. Thus ending the Foreclosure USA saga.

What can we do to stop Foreclosure USA? Will electing Democraps do it? I doubt it. We the people must take back our ownership of our democracy. With too little political choice, our votes will not do the job. Our money is more powerful. We must politicize consumer spending. We must have some radical, dissent-driven leadership from true progressives to send signals to the tens of millions of disgruntled Americans to cut their discretionary spending to achieve specific' political reforms.

Money and greed have ruined our country. Money and citizen re-engagement can save it.

——————–

Since I wrote this article I became convinced that constructive actions needed to restore American democracy must include: convening the first Article V convention (check out www.foavc.org) to rally the nation behind constitutional amendments to reform our corrupt political system, boycotting the federal 2008 elections to remove the legitimacy and credibility of the rigged political system, and unearthing 9/11 truth to dramatically reveal the extent of government corruption.

More info on Foreclosures Las Vegas can be found on our main site!

The Following Story is from Associated Content and sponsored by Foreclosure Las Vegas

I bet most Americans believe the current mortgage crisis came on suddenly and might even be wondering how so many smart people in the financial sector could be so shocked by the enormity of it. In fact, all of it was seen and predicted by many honest people. The following is the article I wrote and published in October 2006. Make no mistake, the mortgage crisis like so much else happening in the nation is a consequence of the decline and corruption of American democracy.

—————

We the people once owned our democracy. We elected “representatives” to run it for US. Have you noticed? Somewhere along the way we lost our democracy.

It was foreclosed by wealthy and power elites that corrupted our “representatives” who literally sold us out. Our homeland was foreclosed right in plain sight. Sure, we citizens still reside in the USA, but we no longer own our democracy. We pay rent through our taxes. But we no longer have any equity. Our democracy is owned by the rich, and their partner foreign elites and governments, which is why in a strict sense it no longer is a democracy, but rather a plutocracy.

Modern day aristocrats - an apt terms considering the many political dynasties in our ruling class - maintain the charade that America is still a democracy by letting us vote. They also give us many freedoms to distract us from our dire political conditions. They're smart, so they limit our choices to the main parties that constitute the two-party duopoly. Even smarter, they convert consumer spending (that they spur) into economic inequality, making them, the rich, even richer and everyone else, all of us, poorer.

Donald Trump says we hardly have any middle class left. He ought to know. Lou Dobbs says there is a war on the middle class. He does not say what would only depress his audience, even more. We the people have already lost the war. We have a large Upper Class, for whom prosperity is real, and an expanding Lower Class, for whom economic slavery based on compulsive borrowing, debt and spending is all too real.

How We Lost Democracy Ownership

People born into American citizenship or sworn into it have inherited a democracy debt - a kind of political mortgage - that requires payment, not in dollars, but in engaged and responsible citizenship, ensuring that those elected to manage the government do so in the public interest. People like Thomas Jefferson told us about the burden placed on Americans. But paying our democracy mortgage has declined over the past fifty years.

I postulate that the decline started after World War II with the advent of urban sprawl, speeding up with accelerating suburban sprawl. Now, political divisiveness coexists with sprawl on steroids, with gated non-communities of McMansions for the Upper Class. As to the politics of sprawl, Americans traded democracy ownership for home ownership. They stopped paying for democracy through engaged citizenship and started paying for compulsive consumption. True citizenship was replaced by social isolation and loss of social capital as people cocooned themselves in their private space where they could gratify themselves with more and bigger possessions.

With sprawl and all the enabling automobile addiction, roads and chain stores, the power elites knew exactly what they were doing. They made Americans time poor and too tired to be politically active. Through distraction based on borrowing and spending they suckered Americans into defaulting on their democracy debt. Democracy was foreclosed, without any notice letter being sent to us. Ownership was transferred to the rich and powerful elites sitting atop the corporate state and, not coincidentally, making tons of money from land development and home building. Wal-Mart was elected corporate wage-killer-in-chief.

Delusional Ownership

Which brings us to our current new twist on Foreclosure USA. Millions of Americans have experienced, or will soon experience, foreclosure on what once was hyped as the cornerstone of the ownership society - they are losing their homes. The bursting of the housing bubble is often talked about in terms of slower home sales and lower prices. The latest data: In September, the number of existing single-family homes sold dropped 14.2 percent, compared to September 2005, and the median price dropped by $5,000.

But something much worse is happening and accelerating in virtually every community in all the states. In a delusional democracy with delusional prosperity we now are witnessing the proof that the ownership society is also delusional. Apparently no one has told George W. Bush.

Up to 4 percent of America's mortgaged homeowners might lose their homes to foreclosure in coming months, one of the nation's largest lenders predicted recently, as those homeowners find themselves trapped by heavy debt and the housing slump. That's four times worse than the historical average of 1 in 100 mortgaged homeowners who fail to keep up payments. First American Loan Performance, a mortgage-data company based in San Francisco, says overall the national foreclosure rate has climbed 27% from a year ago with an estimated $110 billion worth of homes expected to go into foreclosure. Rick Sharga, a vice-president at RealtyTrac, said recently “Over a trillion dollars is going to readjust in the next 15 months. We had almost 850,000 foreclosures last year and we are at 913,000 through September.” He predicted that national foreclosures could hit 1.2 million to 1.3 million by the end of this year. Guess George W. Bush has not heard about this, only about great economic growth.

You probably have heard about the incredible amount of sprawl housing growth around Las Vegas. But not this: The number of foreclosures in Nevada has more than tripled in the past year and jumped 83 percent since May. Nevada recorded 2,016 foreclosures in August. That was 83 percent more than in May and 255 percent more than in August 2005. Foreclosures are rising at a faster rate in Nevada than the rest of the country, where they are up 24 percent since May. In California, foreclosures increased 43 percent since May.

And what about the ever-sprawling Sunshine State? Florida has one new foreclosure filing for every 254 households, more than four times the national average. Foreclosure activity in the third quarter of 2006 rose by 14 percent compared to the second quarter of the year. It was 39 percent higher than the same period last year.

How about the Northeast? In Massachusetts, 1,812 new foreclosures were initiated in August, which is 72 percent more foreclosures than August of last year, and 266 percent more than in August 2004. The July to August increase was 34 percent, making it the largest month-to-month increase in the past three years. When comparing foreclosures during the year ending Aug. 31 (15,309), to the previous year (10,517), foreclosures increased statewide by nearly 46 percent.

Nationally, in August, 115,292 new properties were listed on the database of online foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac, a 24 percent increase over the level in July. More significantly, RealtyTrac currently lists 650,000 properties nationwide in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, up from 75,600 just one year earlier, when the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The volume of bank seizures is immense. Foreclosure.com, another online tracker of distressed properties, currently lists more than 1.27 million properties in some stage of foreclosure, bankruptcy, or bank auction. Approximately 5,000 properties are added to the listings each day.

Getting behind in mortgage payments is one thing, called default. It's estimated that nearly 20 percent of homeowners in default earlier in the year lost their homes to foreclosure in the third quarter. That's a more than a three-fold increase over last year, when the default-to-foreclosure rate was only 6%. Meaning: People are having a harder time coming up with cash to cover mortgage debt. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

Are things going to get worse? You better believe it. Industry forecasters recently estimated that more than $200 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages will “reset” at higher rates in 2006 and more than $1 trillion will reset in 2007. This situation, compounded by the expected slowing of the economy and the down housing market, which includes a growing inventory of unsold homes, will almost certainly push more homeowners into the foreclosure process.

Despite a lot of talk about the mortgage issue and warnings, Americans are still diving in. Are they falling for the economic hype coming out of the White House? Incredibly, 39 percent of new mortgages in the first half of this year were non-traditional, high risk mortgages compared to an average 2 percent over the last decade.

Consumer debt burden is ballooning. Statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the personal savings rate has been running in the red for 16 months. Additionally, the Federal Reserve recently found that consumer debt has outpaced, by 18.7 percent, the amount of income left after the payment of bills each month, meaning that for millions of families the cost of living is substantially higher than their monthly incomes can accommodate. Guess Bush has not heard about this.

An enormous portion of the total personal debt is mortgage debt. Since 2000, mortgage debt in America has doubled, approaching $9 trillion. This year, $400 billion of this debt is coming due in the form of mortgage readjustments. Research firm LoanPerformance forecasts another $1 trillion in mortgage debt will come due next year as the rates on millions more loans reset, sending individual monthly mortgage payments hundreds of dollars higher, or even worse.

In one, not unusual, case in the Washington, D.C. area, a family started with a “teaser rate,” just $1,700 a month. They thought it was fixed, but it wasn't. Rising interest rates and deferred interest have now ballooned that payment to $3,700 a month. They can't pay it, and they're not alone. They will lose their home. Credit counselors say they're getting 10 times the concerned calls they used to.

Greedy Elites Conned Us

How has this come about? Clever elites running and ruing our country discovered all kinds of ingenious ways to sell mortgages to Americans still believing in the American dream. They had help from the Federal Reserve. So called unconventional or exotic mortgages were crafted to lure people in and make billions of dollars for the financial sector. The whole trick was to get home buyers to pay as little as possible initially. No cash down, no payments toward the principal and low adjustable interest rates were the main ways to pump up the housing market (the bubble) and, therefore, the whole economy. Yet another gambit was to give mortgages to people that really could not afford them, making them pay higher interest. These “sub-prime” mortgages create a debt to income ratio that is out of whack, which means mortgage payments that take too big a chunk of income. When interest rates rise and other costs of living creep up, people quickly sink and drown in debt.

The maximum percentage for household debt which would include a mortgage, credit cards and car payments is supposed to be around 36%. But now many homeowners find themselves paying most of their income - more than 50 percent - to their mortgage, especially after those monthly payments increase sharply. And they are going up because of rising interest rates, which is happening as wages are at best stagnant and other costs of living are rising. Once, homeowners in a hot housing market could refinance and take money out. In fact, from 2001 to 2005, they took out $500 billion in cash from their home ATMs. This propped up consumer spending as wage incomes stagnated, keeping the economy looking good. Now, with home values declining, they can find themselves forced to pay a lot more or lose their home.

Look at the larger picture. In 1980 household debt, including mortgages, car loans and other borrowing, was $1.4 trillion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had skyrocketed some 745 percent to $11.8 trillion. In 1980 credit card debt totaled $69 billion. Guess what it was in 2005? It had mushroomed to an amazing $1.8 trillion - a 2,500 percent increase! In 1980 credit card debt was just 5 percent of household debt; by 2005 it had jumped to 15 percent. This has happened when people also got suckered into risky mortgages.

Maintaining consumer spending has been the chief economic goal of the plutocracy. And to keep it growing it required Americans to be convinced that they should borrow more and go into greater debt. What kind of political leaders would want to do this to their citizens? The worst kind: Democraps and Republicrooks. Corrupt politicians care more about making corporations profitable and the rich richer. Economic inequality is like a cancer. They are willing to destroy the middle class on behalf of elites and the Upper Class.

Last Episode

What is the next installment in Foreclosure USA? Our enormous national debt owned in large measure by foreign interests can foreclose whenever they wish. Just as we the people lost our sovereign control of our nation, so too will our corrupt government lose sovereign control. With globalization, so heralded and hyped by New York Times elitist and plutocrat Tom Friedman, moving forward, American sovereignty will surely be foreclosed. Thus ending the Foreclosure USA saga.

What can we do to stop Foreclosure USA? Will electing Democraps do it? I doubt it. We the people must take back our ownership of our democracy. With too little political choice, our votes will not do the job. Our money is more powerful. We must politicize consumer spending. We must have some radical, dissent-driven leadership from true progressives to send signals to the tens of millions of disgruntled Americans to cut their discretionary spending to achieve specific' political reforms.

Money and greed have ruined our country. Money and citizen re-engagement can save it.

——————–

Since I wrote this article I became convinced that constructive actions needed to restore American democracy must include: convening the first Article V convention (check out www.foavc.org) to rally the nation behind constitutional amendments to reform our corrupt political system, boycotting the federal 2008 elections to remove the legitimacy and credibility of the rigged political system, and unearthing 9/11 truth to dramatically reveal the extent of government corruption.

More info here: Foreclosure Las Vegas