patrick.net

@tsusiat,

There aren’t any interest only/no doc type lenders here...
...Mind you, they have recently introduced the 30 year mortgage amortization, and zero down options.

Uh, oh. Looks like there's PLENTY of room for Canadians to keep the bubble going with U.S.-style toxic financing. If your central bankers/regulators are anywhere near as corrupt and pro-bubble as ours, Canada RE may have quite a while to go before it finally hits its peak.

Does anyone out there know what happened to "America's Overvalued Real Estate" blog? I just checked it and the old site (with hilarious examples of insanely overpriced crap) was replaced with a commercial real estate site: http://overvalued.blogspot.com/

:?: Hmmm... the conspiracist in me wonders what's going on here. 8O

SP,

Yeah, I didn't mean to get side tracked with a discussion about SEC reporting requirements and if people only knew just how much the cost of compliance really was I wonder if we'd all be as gung ho. The original observation was addressing a leveling of the playing field b/c perma-bulls have their well oiled machine in place wouldn't it be great to have a mechanism (legal) to bring SOME balance to the equation? Maybe the "if I play badly enough they'll want to trade me" wasn't the best way to go about it but think about it. The "flipper revolution" really was grass roots. It wasn't until way late in the game that guys like "Condoflipper.com" arrived on the scene. Wouldn't it be great to have some on-line equivalent to Don Lapre telling people how to make millions from "their tiny one bedroom rented apartment" by driving RE prices down?

This is a couple months old, did everybody already watch this? Not too doom and gloom, maybe he fears for his life.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2640239019877885520

Fyi: Just in case anyone was under the illusion that "Boomtime" was a normal poster, I checked his IP --it matches "CuriousCat" and "WoopAss".

How many times do we get to see that same old Marina overpriced listing as evidence that the boom is still on?

I've got an inside angle on some WebVan stock too. Here's an analyst report: http://news.morningstar.com/article/article.asp?id=847

Oh, shit! I just bought an a$$load of Webvan stock based on the advice of my good friend and financial advisor, Boomtime. Does that mean I better lube up?

LILLL you are OOTWDDGPB. Oh, that's an acronym for Out of This World Drop Dead Gorgeous Plus Brains. Thanks for making this thread so easy to look at.

Harm,

The possibilities are endless.

Let's start our own production company and make lots of hahas on this.

Why does this subject cause me to feel euphoria? Maybe because I'm right.

Mike a.k.a/Sage,

I love it! We should be in talks w/CBS next week at the latest. I'm visualizing a valuable franchise that can be tailored to each boom gone bust market.

America's Most Wanted (mortgage broker)

FB Miami

Instead of a tired re-hash of "Fantasy Island" I'm picturing "Fantasy Mortgage Island" where obviously unqualified FB's get to live way beyond their means (for a time of course) as we get intimate with their reckless spending habits and general mayhem! Now the catch (and comedic relief) comes in that our FB's of the week "aren't in on the joke". Our audience at home will be periodically reminded with an on screen "countdown to eviction!". Now wouldn't that just be hysterical? Laugh tracks provided from select audio clips from Surfer X's various parties would be a nice touch.

Ha Ha Says in Resonse to:

"HaHa… are you interviewing? One of my teams just told me about an engineer they interviewed who wants 1 haha + 5k!"

"I recently accepted a management position — I am not looking.
My compensation package exceeds 165K."

So the new value of the "Ha" is pegged at $165K/2 = $82.5k

Total Compensation Breakdown:

A. Salary $82K per year.
B. 401K matched contribution $6K.
C. Free parking spot $1K per month x 12 months = $12K.
D. Free corporate gym membership $200 month X 12 months = $2,400.
E. Lunch card for free buffets in snack shack $15 per day X 48 work
weeks X 5 days per week = 240 days X $15 = $3,600 per year.
F. Company pension $15K per year.
G. Free phone unlimited phone service in office cubicle $75.00 per month
$75 X 12 months = $900 per year.
H. Unlimited Bic Pens and .05mm lead lead pencils = $50 per year.
I. Potty pass = $25 per month X 12 months = $300 per year.
J. Site license share for use Microsoft Office 2000 = $500 per year.
K. Option to purchase shares at par value = $14,800.
J. American Airlines/Disneyland corporate vacation discount travel
vacation package $690.00.
K. Unlimited coffee and Celestial Seasoning tea and bagels in break room
$250 per year.
L. Free cubicle name plate $10.
M. Medical insurance $8K per year.
N. Dental insurance $4K per year.
O. Tuition assistance for approved accounting classes $5K per year.
P. Shared secretary expenses for engineering team support $3K per year.
Q. Profit sharing plan at goal $4,500.
R. Cubicle with a view of South San Jose Foothills $2K per year.

Total Ha Ha one-year, big pimpin', Silicon Valley employment compensation package = $165K or $82.5K per "Ha."

Michael Holliday,

Freakin hilarious! I remember back in the day when I told my old boss (not that I have a new one) that I was thinking about going independent and he dredged up many of the ridiculous "benefits" you mention here. I'll go one better though. Many of the "benefits" I provide myself are of my choosing (not what they got a "deal" on) and become for the most part tax deductible. Please to keep your stale bagels and ex-stripper receptionist.

Michael,

That was worth a Ha Ha Ha all by itself. Whenever talk of compensation moves beyond salaries, it always gets iffy. I like your valuations too - not too excessive, just really hilarious.

newsfreak!

Just the person I want to see! My boyfriend and I are going to the Colorado Plateau for 2 weeks.

HARM Says:
Does anyone out there know what happened to “America’s Overvalued Real Estate” blog? I just checked it and the old site (with hilarious examples of insanely overpriced crap) was replaced with a commercial real estate site: http://overvalued.blogspot.com/

athena Says:
Harm… it was hijacked.

how does a blogspot get hijacked??? 8O

and how do you get it back? are google blogspots hackable by just anyone?

Actually, I had another great idea to lower the development costs of these masterpiece homes. Instead of having to outfit them with expensive fake appliances, why not just have applied giant stickers with interior photos attached to the windows? The dramatic effect would be houses that look like they have beautiful interiors, when in fact they’re just hollow shells. Saves the trouble of having batteries at all.

sounds like my old model railway village setup. i spent hours on that thing (from 12-14 yoa i should add) :cry:

all electric points, and electric lighting in the hollow houses...

DS,

Domain names can be hi-jacked, but I'm not aware of blogspot or typepad blogs being hi-jack-able. Someone could try to take capitalism2.org from me, for example, if they could convince my registrar that they are me and wish to transfer it to someone else. This kind of attack used to work a lot better in the past, but now there are protections available (which most domain owners use, including me).

Blogspot or Typepad names are privately administered, so there is a central authority to appeal to if someone somehow steals your blog address. I don't know how this could be spoofed without the victim simply complaining and getting their blog back.

More likely, they sold or traded it.

Someone can always break in and change the whole thing. But, unless it's a dead-blog, the owner will notice and take action.

If you want advice for securing your blog or domains, feel free to email me.

SP,

Damn, you got this drill down cold!

(liners included)

(Are you ready for Y3K?)

Man that's COLD! Oh btw, someone mentioned they were at a certain social function where layoffs at a certain tech company were in the works? Now if I could just remember..........

DinOr & Astrid:

Regarding Ha Ha's compensation, the stuff employers try to pull is friggen' off the hook, and sometimes downright zany!

Nice additions to the itemized list of "freebies" at prestigious worksites.

*unlurks*

Ah, finally catching up to some of the more recent threads..too much travel. I was still reading last week's threads copy-pasted into my memory stick at work today.

Linda looks about as pretty as I've imagined her. I've seen Surfer-X's mug shot on that other URL provided on an earlier thread. Hard to think he can be so profane with the trolls (but he is). I always thought HARM was a much older guy, but guess not! (or he just looks young). I'm going to have to call for a blog party the next time I go to Cali...(fortunately? for all of you that probably won't be for another few years, by which time maybe we'll have to disband Patrick.net because the bubble will have completely burst and we'll have exhausted our schadenfreude). I'm sufficiently clueless about California cities that I'm wondering why Astrid isn't in the photo because I can't remember what California city she's from.

I'd invite you to the Great White North for a blog party but that would require to much travel for all. And Tsusiat is on the other end of the country!

*relurks!*