Saturday, October 13, 2007

Wow! What Do They Know That We Don't??



Sometimes a news story gets you spooked. Especially when it's alittle bit out of the blue.

Make sure your bank deposits covered by FDIC



By Eileen Ambrose
October 14, 2007

You can go for years not thinking about federal insurance on bank deposits—and then a bank failure reminds you of how important this protection can be.

That happened Sept. 28, when regulators took over NetBank Inc., an Internet savings and loan based in Georgia.

In a failure, customers whose deposits are fully covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have ready access to their funds. But if deposits exceed the insurance coverage, you may have to wait years to get your hands on the uninsured money, and you might not receive it all back.

Which is why it's prudent, even in these days when bank failures aren't common, to make sure your accounts are fully insured.

...

Most of us have never been through a bank failure, but NetBank can give you an idea of what happens to consumers. It was the second FDIC-insured bank to fail this year.



OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk. Bank failures?? Bank runs?? This is in the Chicago Tribune. I thought the Chicago mass media did not think there was a housing bubble. If housing and the economy is just fine, why should I be worried about my bank account, like it's the Depression all over again??

Further reading:

Google.com: "Northern Rock"

Google.com: "NetBank, Inc."


Thursday, October 11, 2007

Why Would Anyone Want to Live in the City?



The Mayor does not even know:




'It's too much for the average person'



CITY HALL | Daley's call for record property tax hike stuns aldermen

October 11, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
Chicagoans would be saddled with the largest property tax hike in the city's history -- and pay more for everything from liquor, parking, telephone service and city stickers, to bottled water, auto leases and DVD rentals -- under a $293 million tax wallop proposed by Mayor Daley on Wednesday.



With rising home prices, stagnant incomes, highest gas prices in the nation, one of the worst commute times in the nation, government corruption, the falling dollar, rising taxes, failing public schools, reduced police enforcement in the taxpayer's neighborhoods, why would anyone with a brain choose to live within the borders of Chicago? Because of the restaurants? The Bean? The bars?? C'mon.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Is San Diego the Future?




Condo Auction a Symptom of Ailing Housing Market



by Scott Horsley

All Things Considered, October 5, 2007 · Nervous homebuilders were eyeing San Diego last weekend to see just how soft the real estate market has gotten.

One of the nation's largest homebuilders, DR Horton, auctioned off more than three dozen condos that had previously gone unsold. The condos went for an average of 30 percent below the peak price previously advertised.



There are many Chicago are developer auctions. Most are still available if you want to catch a falling knife.