By Curious

June 15, 2007 7:51 PM | Link to this

Even for old folks like me, with credit card discounts and online EFTs, checks are almost completely obsolete.

By Curious

June 15, 2007 8:37 PM | Link to this

Since this topic is somewhat of a digression from the real estate that we mostly talk about on this forum, it might also be good time to point out that these coming months shall also be a great time to not only shop for deeply discounted deals on real estate, but boats, cars, designer garage sale items and so on, acquired new by the same careless HELOC binge purchasers now facing payback time or bankruptcy.

By John

June 16, 2007 12:06 AM | Link to this

wise words indeed Mr. O.

By Doom for Fish

June 16, 2007 5:23 AM | Link to this

Wise words and Curious have no acquaintanceship.

Once again a foolish generalization, a fantasy, with no data whatsoever behind it.

All that aside, I suggest his next purchase be a book on English Grammar.

By BIG ROB

June 16, 2007 9:14 AM | Link to this

First of all if a company only accepts a check you are likely to be taken for a ride.It is logical to beleve a salesman when they say that they will have to pay an additional 2% when negotiating the best price on something,when using a credit card.Allways research the company when making a large purchase.

By Dumb Lawyers

June 16, 2007 11:04 AM | Link to this

When people seek legal advice, you would expect that the lawyers would know what they are doing. When you see a lawyer giving out out cheap, bad legal advice at the local JCC, you know they are in trouble!

Michale Gelfand of Gelfand and Arpe, is one such lawyer. He specializes in real estate law. This guy is in a lawsuit over a dog in Sandlewood Lakes. He reprsents the community and is suing a lady because her dog is too large. He is not suing other residents who have dogs that are much larger. Sounds like discrimination to me. Maybe his unethical law practices will get him DISBARRED in the state of Florida. There will be an opening for a lawyer in North Carolina in Raleigh soon. How will his wife, Mary Arpe, feel getting a new partner? What do you expect from a schmuck from Highland Park?

By Realist

June 16, 2007 11:42 AM | Link to this

From previous topic

Max,

Why don’t you use your real name? Way too transparent. Anyway, I guess you saying when the tech market tanked you would not have bought any stock? I guess after 911 when the market tanked you would not have bought? You know the folks on the other side of the trade were getting killed financially. Come on anybody knows anything about business know CW advice is right on. Did you know Bill Gates bought the first DOS operating system from some guy who was down and out and made billions!! Welcome to the real world.

By To John Gillen

June 16, 2007 12:13 PM | Link to this

I ain’t Max but since y’all like names it’s Okie Dokie with me.

Never heard that story about Bill Gates. Coming from John Gillen, it probably ain’t true.

Anyway. Seems to me one share of stock is like a million others. No name. No face. Nobody lived in it.

You ain’t too smart, are you Mr. Realist Gillen?

By Realist

June 16, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

Max,

I see, so you are only a “vulture” when you have the guts to make a deal face to face otherwise as long as you don’t face them your “ethics” fly out the window?! Silly boy!

By Outside Agitators

June 16, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this

The fact is, most of the PBC-bashing that you see here is from old creeps sitting around in places like Apopka and Altamonte Springs, or outside the state entirely.

Someone should start a more tightly-controlled blog for the benefit of PBC residents. Roger - can we talk you into it?

By ToJohn gillen

June 16, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

Still no Max, but I guess that comment was for me.

Personally, I don’t own a share of stock. Never did. But I know what it is, and no one’s emotions about home, family, and so on are tied up in a share of stock.

Even my young’uns could figure that out, Mr. Gillen. Are you TRYING to be this dumb? I got a job opening for a scarecrow if you are interested.

By Apopka RE

June 16, 2007 1:22 PM | Link to this

Here’s what a typical house costs in Apopka, FL. Maybe you can now understand the mentality of some of the outsiders on this board.

http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?ctid=42845&ml=3&typ=7&sid=e5e7ca7751214d02a8bccde36a0be26c&lid=1069462611&lsn=5&srcnt=1018#Detail

By Curious

June 17, 2007 7:38 PM | Link to this

I just posted the following on the previous blog but think it is also relevant to this one. I sincerely beg your indulgence for this identical commentary.

I and others here have often said this before: in this type of declining real estate market, patience will usually result in big-time financial rewards for some buyers. Since the buyer determines the selling price and has most of the cards, AND the money, he/she can just sit back, relax, and wait for all the loud nonsense noise and exhausted emotions smoke to clear out.

Another thing to consider in the coming months is that the LEO auction sales will quickly drop comps in most areas and allow wise patient buyers to show more reasons for their lower but realistic offers. (You should also be able to quickly identify that it is a complete waste of time to try to deal with the especially ignorant and myopic sellers who think that any offer for less than what they expect is from someone trying to “steal” their property.)

Secondly, regarding those here on this blog who have to stoop and seek refuge by using the Ad Holmium logical fallacies, we should remember that when they make such desperate personal attacks on other contributors they are simply displaying that they have lost, and are sending up the universally recognized white flag of surrender, in a bizarre psychologically protective way – seemingly unique to our specie?

By Stupid Redneck Funnies

June 18, 2007 1:00 AM | Link to this

First, the megalomaniacal dwarf whose stupidity never fails to entertain, Curious the Clown. What does Curious have to say today, trying not to sound like the imbecile he is?

“Secondly, regarding those here on this blog who have to stoop and seek refuge by using the Ad Holmium logical fallacies…”

“seemingly unique to our specie?”

That’s “ad hominem,” and you can drop “the” — and it’s “species,” you unbelievable fking idiot. The harder you try not to sound like the boob you are the worse you make it.* Then there’s Old B*h Realtor, who sounds a lot like Realist:

“I might make mention that 2 of them were formerly owned by dumb yankees “

I and might make mention of the fact that those dumb damn Yankees usually have about 10 years more schooling and 20 points more IQ than Southern crackers, who are a national embarassment(a la George Bush) and the dumbest motherf**kers alive. And the reader can take that literally.

By the way, shitheads, which one of you made yourself as Rich as that Yankee Trump with your real estate wisDUMB? By the time you realize the decline is over we will be near record prices again.

By cw1900

June 18, 2007 10:53 AM | Link to this

Ok, ok, ok, you people are riled up this weekend, but I read some good discussion.

I have now been deemed the biggest a-hole in Palm Beach County. I can’t resist saying it….Ok, I will anyway, I must like the abuse….

“I don’t care what you call me, just make sure you spell my name right?!”

Sorry, back to it.

I still contend if I can make a decent deal and the other party accepts and the deal is followed to conclusion, then that’s it. It is strictly business. If no laws were broken, I don’t see the problem, and your angry comments won’t change my ways. I have what I have because of a few traits that you all know about. Look, I don’t consider myself wealthy by a long shot, but I’m doing ok. I think there are some people on here with real money, and I don’t consider myself in their league.You know what I think? I think Max is what he claims. I don’t think he is BS’ing us. I believe he is loaded, and brilliant. I do think sometimes he is a little misunderstood. Remember, for a time way back, I thought he was the biggest a-hole around, but then later, I read some other posts that made me think differently about him. If you read between the lines and put up with a few insults to the people he disagrees with (like just above), Max does have a wealth of knowledge to share on real estate. I also think FL Ren is a person you can learn something from, if he was still around.

There are also, however, people here with boatloads of debt, wanting to keep up with the Jone’s type that, for those of you learning and impressionable, I plead with you to not take advice from these people who have such lousy personal financial skills. What could they possibly teach you? They are living in a house of cards, and though it may look fine on the outside, ladies and gents, it is a train wreck waiting to happen. Some, if not most of these fools probably even make more money than I do, but my networth is higher and will always be higher because of my better decision making on business and personal financial matters. I will win because I have the financial discipline the majority of people do not have. That will make some of you mad, but the truth hurts and it’s not my problem.

Remember, it’s not how much you make, it is how much you keep.

Here’s one comment about me this weekend, and Max is not right every time…

“People like CW have something wrong with them. They are so jaded they do not realize that moral and ethical — or even humanistic transgressions can not be excused by it being “business.” If the low-brow Easyasabc were still around, even he would recognize this as a joke. People with moral defects like CW take this joke to be authentic, and adopt it as their credo.”

Wrong. I know the movie, everybody does, but over the years, a statement like that is true. It is “just business”. It’s the “Art of the Deal”, or whatever catch phrase you want to say, but the bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with parting with as little money as you can possibly can if you have broken no laws.

It’s called negotiation. If you don’t like it, pay full retail, that’s your business, but I won’t if I can help it.

Someone just said, “Buying and selling a house is just another transaction, and it has absolutely nothing to do with character.” I agree.

Realist said it best, “I guess after 911 when the market tanked you would not have bought?” That was a good line, and very true. I bought some stock after 911. Am I an a-hole for that? Some might call it the patriotic thing to do. Others will say it is profiting off of other’s misfortunes. It is not. I own Altria. Is it my fault that cigarettes are a legal substance? No, but it is a damn good investment.

Next…

This new topic…..Jeff, where do I start? Jeff, yes, I know about the protections of using a credit card in some transactions, but come on, don’t encourage over-spenders and wannabes here on this blog to go deeper in debt. You know most of the people do not pay off a balance every month, and you are encouraging them to risk even more of their financial future. You should have prefaced that with “for those of you who have the financial discipline….” or something like that.

Look, if I could pay my mortgage with a credit card, I would, but I have the financial discipline to pay my bills in full every month, and I’m not spending money I don’t already have. If I can’t pay for it in cash, I don’t buy it, even though that purchase is usually going on a credit card.

Actually, what am I saying? The first thing to be said here, is that people shouldn’t even be considering a large purchase like a permanent generator if they already have a pile of debt to contend with. Here’s a public service message to all of you people who spend frivolously and have racked up the big credit card debts and have those high car payments to make yourself somehow feel “rich”. I would pay down some credit cards or pay off the car before I ever considered a purchase of an expensive, bandwagon item that has a statistically high probability of never needing to be used.

As to the physical generator issue, all I’m going to say is this. 5 years from now or sometime out in the future, when we get a decent hurricane and the power is out for a few days, all the local news channels will be running stories on all these people who spent thousands on these permanently installed generators, and half of them won’t work. They’ll parade a bunch of people in front of the camera claiming they were ripped off, “I spent $7000 on this hunk of junk, and when I need it, it won’t work!!!!!”

The reason none of them won’t work will be simple. For the past 5 years, not one of them were ever serviced or even turned on. They just sat there, and of course, they won’t work. I don’t hope for a hurricane, but you know those funny stories will be all over the place, and I have no doubt it will bring us much needed comic relief.

cw

By Where did the buyers go?

June 18, 2007 10:59 AM | Link to this

Check out the latest IPRE stats. May was a complete bust in terms of numbers of sales.

What happened to the Spring Buying Season? Where did all those snowbirds go?

The AVERAGE price did increase, but when you look at the breakdown there’s a higher percentage of 500k+ and 1million+ homes sold. The volume from 300k to 500k is abysmal.

Any hope for a turnaround from homestead increases (if you want to call it that) will be negated by rising mortgage rates.

And now that Hurricane season is here, the numbers this summer will just get worse.

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

CW,

One thing with the permanent generators.

I have the Gardian system in my house. It’s a 16KW, and it works well.

The system is designed to maintain it self with respect to reliability.

Every Friday morning the unit turns itself on and runs for 12 minutes to charge the battery.

The unit came with synthetic oil and does not need to be changed as often as natural oil.

I believe the oil needs to be changed every 30 months or so.

I had the same system when I lived in SoFla and it worked great during both Francis and Jeane. I was without power for a couple of weeks with Francis and about 9 days with Jean.

The unit could not run the central A/c, but I kept window units for this purpose.

It runs on either LP or natural gas, and I have a rather large tank underground and it’s checked monthly by the Gas Company.

Just a little FYI.

By Understatement

June 18, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

CW, While I do agree with some of that last post, to say about Max “I do think sometimes he is a little misunderstood.” has got to be the understatement of the year!

By BUSTED

June 18, 2007 11:30 AM | Link to this

Hey Rich, Why would you need a generator in N.C.? Busted, Once again. Welcome to Florida.

By From the Sidelines

June 18, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

(In the CW battle.)

CW, a couple of people took you to task on the “It’s just business” thing.” They can’t all be max. I am not sure any of them are max. But there was also 1 person maybe more trying to draw a difference between you and your friend curious, and you won’t have it, you just won’t have it. Forgetting his comical errors when he tries to look big, you really are a lot smarter than him. Why be tarred with the same brush as him?

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 2:06 PM | Link to this

I have the generator here because power goes out sometimes during bad storms, and there are occational ice storms up here. I am spoiled and will not live anywhere without a generator.

Not busted, you idiot!

By RICH THE CON-ARTIST

June 18, 2007 2:54 PM | Link to this

Rich, You’re a con-artist. You thrive in hearing about peoples misery in the housing market. You’re sole purpose in this blog is to try in a subtle way to sell you’re property in N.C. You have no sincere intentions in trying to help people. Once again, always trying to advertise your e-mail address as a hook. At least be honest about what you’re doing instead of being a snake about it. You’re a FRAUD and a CON-ARTIST. BTW dumbass, if there’s a bubble in Florida, guess what, there’s a bubble in N.C.

If Florida ever becomes affordable again, all you dumbass rednecks will be coming back.

Hopefully not.

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 3:39 PM | Link to this

I will NEVER move back to SoFla. I grew up there and it’s just not the same.

I have never offered to sell anything on this site and I am not here to help anyone.

We are here to debate the RE issues, nothing more.

There is no bubble in NC, values are increasing at a sustainable rate and you just can’t handle it.

You must stoop to name calling and your ignorant and arrogant attitude is exactly the reason I left that hellhole.

I don’t take any enjoyment in hearing of people’s problems, but it’s not my fault that you made a bad business decision that can cause you finacial ruin. That’s your fault.

This is were the education thing comes into play.

Don’t beat me up, instead get educated and act according to the market and react to it in a calculated and educated fashion.

If you choose to live in SoFla, then take your licks and don’t hassle me. I was smart enough to leave at the right time.

I lived in SoFla for 40+ years, and it was my parents that decided I was to be born down there, not me.

Grow up!

By To: CON-ARTIST RICH

June 18, 2007 3:59 PM | Link to this

Here’s an interesting thought, If Florida is such a hellhole why do you consume so much of your time here? I guess it’s hard to let go. If N.C. is so great, why don’t you discuss N.C. RE in N.C. If you have nothing to sell here, why do you advertise your e-mail. Only serving purpose is a point of contact.

Once again Rich, Everybody see right through you. You’re a FRAUD and a CON-ARTIST.

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 4:30 PM | Link to this

I do discuss NC RE in NC.

I hired an Executive Director to run my business and all is working out well and now I have allot of time on my hands to enjoy life and this blog.

I ride this blog because I want to, it’s that simple. If you don’t like it, that’s just a shame. I suggest when you see my post, simply scroll down and don’t read it.

I’ve been on this blog since almost the beginning and I don’t care what you think. I make my own decisions because I can. I am not trapped by debt, don’t have to work, but choose to, and I control my own destiny. Much different then most in SoFla trapped in the spiralling debt cycle that’s out of control.

I will say that in my opinion the ones that want to bash me, more then likely fall into the catagory that I illustrate. Debt ridden, living beyond their means and have no control of their future as it’s all financed and just spinning wheels to pay the interest. Have at it. Bash me if you like, fine by me.

Keeping up with the Jones’s is stupid. Remember, the Jones’s are broke too.

It will really suck to be old and broke. Think about that now, for your sake. Nobody will care if you have to decide between food or medicine. It’s all up to you, not me.

It’s not my fault you failed at financial responsiblity. Your kids will suffer though, as you teach them the same madness by virtue of example.

If you truely love your kids, you will change your ways and teach them better.

Best of luck to all.

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 4:36 PM | Link to this

Answer to your question.

I posted my email address to answer any question folks my have as to how to sell FSBO. No commission or fees to me. Just pass on knowledge I’ve gained over many years of doing it.

Never offered anything to sell on this blog. EVER.

I don’t like RE people as most are just idiots and just want you to list with them, then they disappear. No need to waste money on a Realtor if you know how to do it.

I saved over $100K doing FSBO when I departed SoFla. If you are so stupid you HAVE to pay them, so be it. I simply offered advise. That’s why I posted my email address.

Since most of the regulars on here know my email address anyway, it’s no big deal. If you check the archieves, I believe you will see the email address for each poster (unless they too have been blocked).

Ok, I’m done now….

CW, chime in anytime now. LOL

By sorry rich

June 18, 2007 4:55 PM | Link to this

B.S.

By Rich R

June 18, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this

Not BS, but Reality.

By John

June 18, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this

May inventory levels are at an all time high! Went to my eye doc’s office in wellington; he stated that he had a few positions to fill in the office and several of the applicants were REALTORS!!!

By More Rich R. Funnies

June 18, 2007 7:43 PM | Link to this

“I saved over $100K doing FSBO when I departed SoFla.”

There are liars, big liars, and Rich R. Some of his whoppers are so stupid, so comical, so outrageous they don’t need any explanation, other than: it’s Rich R.

By Old Dog Realtor

June 19, 2007 9:03 AM | Link to this

CRASH!!!!!! Let it fall! lmao….