I drove by lincoln when i came around sac...I wouldn't live there....why would anyone..i prefer elk grove..roseville..

You're forgetting whole bunches of groups of people. People that lost jobs, people that lost value because their neighborhoods became desolate, people that got fucked by wall street and swindled by Madoff's, people who lost retirement savings.... whole banks went down. Big ones. Mortgage companies went belly-up by the hour. Do you remember any of this? It was brutal. The carnage on Maui was horrific. Pre-collapse there were 1700+ realtors on Maui. That herd got thinned out quickly.

Pinning all this on the few people that gamed the system or whatever is an easy cop-out. The factors that led us to today are more complex than that.


We lived on South Maui in Wailea. It's gorgeous, but it's also ultra super-fuckin-duper expensive. The entry used to be $1 million, not sure what it is today, but you can find whatever you want between Wailea and Makena all the way up to $50 million dollar homes. Only thing that matters is how much you want to spend. Most communites inside Wailea have their own HOAs specific to that particular gated community, but then all are under the WCA HOA as well. So be prepared to live under an iron HOA fist. (I mean it.)

Kihei town on South Maui is cool. It's a happenin' little beach town. I miss Kihei. You can get a place much cheaper in Kihei, in all different styles, without HOAs.... but it's not Wailea. Kihei doesn't have private security patrols or gates.

Maui is expensive all around as well. Consider this: Every single thing they have on that island, with the exception of pineapples & coconuts, comes in on a ship. Everything. Ships cost money. Ships burn oil. Dock workers are susceptible to strikes. If the California dock workers strike, Hawaii runs out of stuff. The first thing to go is toilet paper, so don't stop, head straight to Costco and grab as much as you can.

That's just it. Because of the recession people are loosing their jobs. It's a downward spiral.

"Bob" invests all of his money into opening up a Wendy's restaurant in a town that saw a 200% population increase in the past six years. Easy money to be made there because everyone except for Baddog has a fast food burger every now and then. Two years later the housing market crashes, no one is buying his burgers, and restaurants are closing faster than porn programs. Suddenly he's out of business.

But that's just the beginning.

He had a modest house with a small mortgage payment, but he lost everything he invested into the business, and on top of that he's unemployed. No one is interested in hiring a failed business man, not to mention he is competing with everyone else in the job market. Through no fault of his own, he's out of work and now loosing his house.

What about "Kenny" the guy who flipped the burgers at Wendy's? He barely made minimum wage, but now he's out of a job. For every restaurant in town that closed, twenty people joined unemployment and he's trying to compete against them for their jobs. More people looking for jobs and less jobs to be had.

In the mean time, both Bob and Kenny have less disposable income to buy fast food burgers from Burger King or the Mexican restaurant or whatever. And because so many other people can't afford to buy burgers or whatnot, now other businesses are at risk.

And this is typical. A friend of mine named Ricky got the same. He had a job, and his wife had a job, and though they both had jobs they really couldn't afford their house. They had no payments for the first six months, and had some introductory interest rate that kept their payment low for the first two years. Second year kicked in and bam, they were fucked. They walked away from their house.

@ Atticus:

When the mortgage industry melted down, my wife worked in the mortgage industry. Her career, her company (Countrywide), her income.... all gone, just like that. Wasn't our fault. Nothing we did caused that to happen. But it certainly had an impact on us.

When NUMMI shut down in Fremont over here, all those workers.... that were probably multi-generation career workers..... done. What are they supposed to do? Are there auto manufacturing plants opening up that are going to rehire them? No. So if you've worked on a factory line for 22 years, where do you go apply for a job now? Also, not their fault.

That's why in my post I said "other than people who lost their job or had health issues..." However the excuse that the other houses in the neighborhood dropped in value isnt really valid. Yes, it makes your house drop in value but that doesnt affect whether or not you can make the mortgage payment you agreed on. You either can afford it or you cant.

I love Kihei Town. We always stay in Wailea but end up spending most of our nights at the dive bars in Kihei. Looked at a few places but anything near the beath is currently out of the price range.

When Maui Land & Pineapple shut down production of their fields, and fired everyone.... what are those people supposed to do now? If all you've ever done is work in a pineapple field, and the only pineapple employer within several thousands of miles shuts down, who do you take your resume to? How do you even begin to try find other work when you're stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean.... on the most remote island chain on Earth.

When Molokai Ranch shut down and fired everyone.... those people got it even worse! They're stuck on Molokai! Now what? Molokai Ranch was like, 1 of the 2 employers on the island. Not their fault.

nice pics man, hope you are well

It doesn't affect mom & pop who intend to stay in their home until they go to the grave. But for those not emotionally attached to their properties, trying to make a little profit, it is a very big deal. Especially when you can't get people interested even at a half million dollar loss price. It is a very big deal.

You better hope shit turns around there Rochard, or you're going to wish the mexican neighbors running a business out of their home came back.

the whole system is designed to fail, the entire chain is commission based and assuming the value of a property will always increase. I just hope lessons will be learned this time but so far I have several indications it will be same old same old

you pretty much nailed it here :)

and since bob can't pay his mortgage, among thousands of people in the same situation, suddenly the bank gets in trouble as the bundled mortgages they sold or lend out to other financial institutions are now worthless.

Bob also cannot afford his insurance, suddenly AIG is in big trouble (stocks went from $18 to $0,35 NO KIDDING !), the US government needs to put a stunning 170 billion into AIG to keep it alive

And it goes on and on.

I see a lot of people in this thread who did not save during the boom expect those who did to foot the bill for bailing them out. "Because it was no fault of their own".

Yes it is their fault. They did not save for the rainy day.
Yes it is their fault they lived beyond their means.
Yes it is their fault they chose a debt they did not COMPLETELY plan for.
Yes it is their fault for buying on the top side of the bubble.

So do not come crying to the tax payer for your bail out. Do not come crying to those who saved, those who did not buy on the bubble, and those who prepared. Those who go crawling to the government for any help only make this country weaker and this recession deeper.

You can either afford to pay your mortgage or you cant. The value of the home now doesnt matter. Just because the homes in the neighborhood have all dropped by half doesnt change the fact that you could still afford the mortgage that you agreed to.

If you purchased the home 3 years ago with the intention of flipping it for a profit than boohoo. Doesnt give you the right to get a handout because your investment didnt turn out. What disgusts me are the "strategic defaulters". The borrowers who can still afford to make the payments but choose to walk away instead because the home has dropped in value. Then that home either becomes a short sale or gets foreclosed on, becoming an eyesore, and lowering the property values of other peoples homes, who chose to stick it out and do the right thing.

Do not hate the player hate the game.

stfu fox news moron.

You must have the biggest shit eating grin on your face right about now.

You've been trying to tell these fools about the economic destruction that was about to go down for years now, but all they wanted to do was pass out tin foil hats. Now that we are IN the GREATEST DEPRESSION (not recession), it must be bitter sweet to be vindicated.

For those of you that are now interested in the truth, and for those of you that are staring to understand how badly you've been mislead by the media and the puppets in government, please understand, THIS HAS ALL BEEN "PLANNED FOR YOU" AND IS GOING TO GET FAR worse! Be prepared for a complete economic melt down in 6-18 months. Get your money out of the markets and converted to GOLD, SILVER, FOOD, SUPPLIES, and DEFENSIVE WEAPONS. Start researching, get reading, ..learn WHAT has been planned for you, and WHO is doing this to you. The time for denial is over. ...Don't walk, RUN!

This single phrase is the cause of many many problems. The "right thing" is to treat it like a business asset or liability, and not attach some sort of warped moral code to a piece of property or a debt. Too many people are brow-beaten and pressured into continuing to make payments they cannot afford because someone gave them the mental image that unless they "honor" the note, they're some sort of scumbag. It's simply not true. But the banks would sure love for everyone to stay signed onto that program.

There are people living without electricity or running water, just so they can try to keep paying their mortgage. It's insanity.

If your asset becomes an anchor, cut it loose. :2 cents:

You love to take things people say and twist them to suit your views dont you? It's called a strategic default. Meaning the person has the means to pay the mortgage but because it is no longer a good business decision they cut it loose and stop paying. I thought I made that pretty clear. This has nothing to do with people who "live without electricity" not being able to pay. Talk about bringing emotion into the discussion.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that if you signed a contract with someone else and they just up and decided they didnt want to "honor" it and went on a vacation instead you might have an issue. If they proceeded to tell you to fuck off, you might even deem them a "scumbag".

And on a side note, since when is borrowing money from someone and telling them you'll pay it back a "warped moral code"?

I guess the pubs and nightclubs are hopping,although I don't see any.I couldn't live in a place like that although our housing prices are tripled and costs a left nut to live here,you don't see that where I live.sad situation everywhere

something very immoral about those photos - you have a community there that to 95% of the world is the American dream - and it's a ghost town. surely it would be better to have people living in those homes even if they were only paying the utilities and a nominal rent, until a house is actually sold people shouldn't be forced out, as long as they take care of the property. even if they're jobless and on social assistance, better to have them in that community, so the remaining businesses get some of that money. this solution depicted in Rochard's photos serves NOBODY well. they now have home staging companies for a reason - an empty house is much harder to sell than a lived in home. who would choose to move into a neighborhood like that now, it's too depressing.

It reminds me of that Charlton Heston movie The omega man.

You sound more and more like a teabagger everyday.

That babble is getting old.

Real old.

So the concepts of buying what you can afford, saving money instead of spending it all, and living within your means makes you a 'teabagger' ?

Damn .. well I suppose you can call me a 'teabagger' too whatever that means.

The cycle of inflation followed by deflation has been happening for hundreds of years. It happens because your banking and monetary systems are designed in a way that produces such an effect. What is happening today was inevitable. Only the timing of it was uncertain.

I believe, the fundamental cure, which could correct more than 50% of the cycle of inflation/deflation is .......... outlaw/repeal the fractional reserve lending system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional-reserve_banking

The fractional reserve lending system allows banks to create new bank credits (out of thin air), and then loan them out as if these credits are real money.

This kind of system is only stable when it is growing (inflating). Anything other than growth, can result in a cascade failure which leads to rapid deflation.

Here is a fun movie to explain the history and problems with the current banking/monetary system.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...2717158469419#

Paso Robles, CA.
 

I'm so sorry this is happening in your town but I think everyone out there can identify. I live in a little town called Paso Robles which is south of you about 3 hours I believe. Same story, really I could write the same story using your pics and words.
We all just gotta do our best and ride the storm out.
Good luck,

Here is what we are up against. A population so inured, so hopelessly dependent upon the current monetary/banking system, that they will fight to protect it.

Don't encourage people to move to DC! Too much traffic already!

Every one of those finger wagging clichés could just as easily have been addressed to the shyster wall street outfits and the too big to fail banks that dragged the economy down.

But, of course... they weren't.

What's more, how many individuals do you know that have saved enough scratch to survive a layoff in today's job market?

According to his logic, if you haven't banked enough green to pay all your bills for six months to a year, with virtually nothing coming in, then you're some kind of irresponsible fool.

Most of us here are lucky enough to work for ourselves. Not everyone is so fortunate.

I really planned a big post expressing my opinion but you have saved me all those keystrokes Lance.

Overspending on a personal level and toxic lending within the financial sector have put the US in the financial straights it's in. That's at the grassroots level. It WILL get worse in the very near future IMO. Our (US) economy needs to crash completely so it can self-correct.

It looks like the house was already in a ghost town when it was built. The houses would have been painted in bright colors are not so depressed dark.

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing!

thats pretty bad! they are some nice looking houses also, where i am, we dont have many vacant houses like that, but when you go in to town, every other shop store is now vacant, really is in a bad state!

To live lol. What is wrong besides the color and bad landscaping?!?!?

Nothing a repaint and new garden wouldn't fix but i'd want to be seeing it for the first time as a nice bright colour rather than seeing it like it is now.

When things start coming out of the TV during the night it's time to move out :1orglaugh

You are making a huge assumption that I do not point the finger at wall street or the bail out of banks. None of that should have happened either. But since we have had corporatist in the white house for the last 100 years the lobbyist got together with law makers to create laws and deals that put the tax payer on the hook for high risk loans. The fact is the only reason the banks got to big to fail is because they were in bed with big government who created huge safety nets for them.

shit, this is nothing compared to some areas.

I'm glad the recession didn't hit the European countries that hard. I'm not talking about Greece of course, but most of the others have been quite ok, compared to the US.

I hope you are being sarcastic. What is currently happening isn't anything even close to a depression. Go to an old folks home and find some people who really lived through a depression BIGGGG fucking difference. Its really an insult to those who had to suffer so greatly that we are now so spoiled that people like yourself think this is a depression.

Single car garages on those? :Oh crap

My point isn't that "my town is worse off then yours" or compare my area to any other area. My point is this is an average town in the United States with nearly half the houses on vacant because they foreclosed, and businesses are going out of business left and right.

This is why our industry is doing so poorly now. All industries are suffering.

You know what's interesting? I was just talking to a mortgage broker yesterday. She said that banks right now in CANADA are looking to lend mortgage loans to entrepeneurs. That old requirement that you have 3 - 5 years of tax forms to prove your income if you're self employed? They don't care any more. If you've got enough gumption to strike out on your own, the banks LOVE THAT and want to get you into a mortgage.

Now, call me crazy, but that sounds like Canada's own version of a subprime / nodoc/l lowdoc crisis.

Shit I just took out my first loan in 10 years (car loan) and they wanted to look up my ass and give them a DNA sample. I did get a good rate though. 2.95 on a used car.

That could be a tourist attraction in 100 years as reminder to he crisis.

http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/wp-c...host-town1.jpg

In Holland you don't have ghost town. There is always a shortage of houses and we have good wellfare systems.

have u tried to get a mortgage tho? i had to give them every piece of my info for the last 5 years, and i put down a very large down payment.. its not easy to get a mortgage no matter what a mortgage broker says, its their job to get u to do it.. so of course shes gonna say its easy

The good old days are gone for sure. I bought a townhouse in WPB, FL lived in it for two years and sold it for a 100% profit. From their I rented, with an option to buy, a bigger townhouse and before the option came due flipped it for a 60% profit. My friends told me I was crazy for renting but since I locked the option price in at the time the lease was signed it was like being paid to live there.

Bet you've never been to bosnia..

Houses like he pictured would be considered mansions in bosnia...

You should see Vegas.... ugh :(