Disqus - Latest Comments for Pling

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:22:24 -0000

I've been getting indicators from folks I know that investors are just about ready to start jumping into real estate again. If nothing major comes in between, you'll likely be seeing some big institutional buying July onwards.

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:39:24 -0000

This may or may not be relevant, but you should know that there's a big storm brewing in the hotel industry. There's hotels falling into foreclosure in dozens and lenders pulling out of big projects. And this is not old stuff. Started couple of weeks back, and it's gaining ground. Reason I stress on it is that the main cause is the drop in real estate values of the properties, which is making investors think that it's better to cut losses and hand it back to lenders, rather than struggle on in the hope that real estate values will go back up.

Re: An Unofficial NAMB Regulatory Update on HVCC - Oh, And A Call To Action For All Of Us NAMB Bashers.

Pling — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:17:28 -0000

The most difficult part about holding a crappy job like this is that people find it hard to believe that you're sincerely trying to do your job. Just need to let people know that you're doing everything you can, and anyone else doing the same job would be in the same boat.

And posts like these, which highlight the difficulties and call for support, will definitely be a big help for both NAMB and Marc Savitt. I hope so, anyway.

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:52:41 -0000

You better factor in the GM effect. It's not everyday that a giant like GM goes into bankruptcy. And when you're still reeling from a year long downturn, it's going to very hard on Detroit. Should be ok, but I reckon markets are going to be a bit skittish until it's all settled.

Re: A bird Attacked Me In My Car Today!

Pling — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:25:15 -0000

Maybe you could go to the same place again and rile the nutty bird into attacking you again. Get it all on video and then post it on youtube, and as a newsletter attachment. It'll be at least as popular as the 'Battle of Kruger Park' video. :)

Re: Should I Have a Mortgage Website, Blog, or Facebook Page?

Pling — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:38:23 -0000

You could get the best of both worlds, if you advertise on newspaper websites. And if you're talking about your own online space, then I suppose a combination of a website+blog would be best. And wouldn't hurt to spend some time building relations and friends on facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc. So I guess people should have all these things?

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:31:44 -0000

And they made it worse by threatening to yank the UK's rating. Market's all jittery, and peopel are girding up for another slide. These rating agencies were more than happy to charge fees for handing out AAA ratings to anyone who wanted them before the crisis, and that added to the problem. And now, when we're getting back on track, they pull the rug out from under the recovery.

Re: When is Forgiven Debt Taxable?

Pling — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:14:15 -0000

Logic's sound, but doing away with this tax opens the doors for many, many similar situations. If Congress agress to this, they and the IRS would be deluged by a flood of special interests demanding the same for their sectors. I think you're going to have to wait until they go in for a comprehensive tax code overhaul.

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:18:44 -0000

You know, seems like a lnog time since we've had some 'crisis' in the banking sector or the economy. Seems like the boat has steadied, and we've got the recession and the problems firmly behind us. So, when do we start treating things like before? I mean, look at mortgage rates and inflation and other indicators purely based on market forces, without thinking about what the FED or Congress or some government body is planning to do.

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:17:25 -0000

I was wondering where you were. Looking at things the way they are now, I'm getting the feeling that the FED manipulation of MBS may end up being a permanent fixture. Seems like they depend on it much more than cutting rates now.

Re: Mortgage News You Should Read - 2009-05-07

Pling — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:05:17 -0000

It did occur to me as strange that the stress test says BofA needs $34 billion in additional capitalization, and then their stock shoots up. I mean, if the test had said there's no need for any capitalization, then the positive reaction would have been unerstandable.

Re: Mortgage Market Update

Pling — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:31:40 -0000

I just read that Bernanke speech isn't going to rock the boat. Article says that he'll probably be 'cautiously optimistic', whatever that means.

Re: Mortgage News You Should Read - 2005-05-01

Pling — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:26:42 -0000

That last one is really important. Early last year, I wrote a glowing profile about this guy who buys property and leases it out. I didn't really check him out on Google, and after some time, when the market crashed, I started getting emails from people who had seen the profile and wanted to contact this guy. Turns out he wasn't exactly what he said he was, and I had unknowingly given him more free publicity.

Re: Stewart v. Cramer

Pling — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:12:59 -0000

I watched the entire episode on Comedy Central, and also the clips of their back and forth in the days leading up to the episode. Seems to me like CNBC was doing damage control, to try and get Stewart to stop piling on them. And they sent out Cramer as the sacrificial goat to please the volcanic God of the Daily Show and keep him from erupting again. Cramer was desperately trying not to provoke Stewart or respond to any accusations.

Re: Long FAS @ 8.05

Pling — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:06:09 -0000

You're back! That was a pretty long break, and this is a pretty short post. :)

Re: Art *&@(#& Cashin

Pling — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:07:16 -0000

Is that a real name at UBS or did Stewart just cook that up? :)

Re: Watchlist for 10/22/08

Pling — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:47:52 -0000

Don't have much to say about the list, cause I hardly recognize any. But with the markets going down long-term, is it wise to be bullish? Or are there things we don't know about these companies that you know?

Re: SEC Intends to Temporarily Ban Short-Selling

Pling — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:21:51 -0000

Seems like a bad deja vu... I think they tried this out a couple of months back, right?

Re: The Economy Must Be Bad When..

Pling — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:56:53 -0000

Yeah, well. You think this might be an indication that we've hit bottom? I mean, you can't possibly fall any lower after being ripped apart on the Daily Show. :)

Re: Lehman Brothers Filing For Bankruptcy; Bank of America Purchases Merrill Lynch

Pling — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:56:24 -0000

So what's going to happen now? I have been reading about Lehman being about to take a fall for months now. Who's next? Or are we on an upswing now?