Are you joking??? You cut admin jobs and the world will come to an end. We all know that they are what makes the world go round....

Hunter mowed 2 acres with the DR Filed mower today. He earned his $15. It isn't lazy kids, it is lazy parents.

i totally agree with lazy parents making lazy kids...i just think that the parents should pay for sports...my parents had to and i had to help...i dont think that the obesity in children has anything to do with it...their parents are the ones that need to motivate them...im not saying to not have the after school sports, just for the parents to pay for them more than they do now...i didnt pop out some kids and expect everyone else to pay for thier entertainment...not trying to be rude, just think they need to step up...after all education is what school is for...c

Plenty of schools have gone "Pay to Play" for their sports. It is pretty easy to do in districts that have higher median incomes. If the district has 20 or 30% free and reduced lunches (i.e. welfare) it is much more difficult to do. Again, it comes down to the parents and what they can give up so their kids can play the sport. My wife's family lives in Irvine, CA and they are a Play to Pay school. The median income in the area is pretty high, and at the beginning of the school year they have to pay for everything. They fill out a check list and turn it in when they register, it has dances, sports, clubs, cheerleading, everything. My wife's uncle writes a check for a 3 or 4 thousand each school year.

So, if your stance is the poor kids shouldn't get to play sports, then that makes sense.

no i dont think poor kids shouldnt get to play sports, just think Pay to Play is a good idea...when you are looking at laying off teachers and you still have sports being paid for by the schools that should be something they look at...i didnt have money, and you could pretty much call me poor when i was younger but we came up with the cash for me to travel for swimming...belive me, i know what it feels like to qualify for Olympic Trials and not be able to afford to go...had we had more time we could have raised the money...poor kids work harder IMHO and can make it happen...most schools the richer kids are the ones who play most of the sports to begin with...c

Chuck -

Open the .pdf

Copy the text

Paste the text in the reply box... unless it's 50 pages worth... then we'll just take your word for it.

What pays for things like JV sports, music programs and other extra-curricular activities?

I'll give ya a hint... conservatives hate them.

I hate to side track, but I will anyway. Sorry to hear about the cuts in Washington. The schools down here in California have had a steady diet of cuts for the last 40 years it seems. Hankster can probably spin that up to a problem with the democratic party but that is another topic. When I was growing up the class sizes were in the 30s, teachers being on the bubble has not been uncommon. But my real question is Dogfishes thread heading, how many of us are actually getting hit by the current financial situation. For my wife things are tenuous we are watching and waiting. For me it is an uptick my boss is retiring and I am taking over his position of running field operations for a construction company that does almost 300 million a year... so kind of a mixed bag. So come July 1, 2009 I am changing my screen name to sir and you may address me as such.

Wife's job is secure, juvenile probation officer. I took a $20,000 pay cut this year. No effect on me.

Poor economy = non-traditional loans. Loansharks are busting more kneecaps.

It is definitely affecting me directly in two different ways. #1 is that my firm does a lot of real estate development engineering and since no one is loaning on real estate, no one is developing it. Every now and then someone wants to use their cash feserves to plat out some lots, but not nearly like a couple of years ago. So, we have pushed hard on the other markets (commercial, industrial tennant improvements, and a little public works) and managed to keep body and soul together. But it has been a pretty stressful few months.

SHAZAM!!! While I was typing in this thread, I just got a phone call from a site manager that a major tennant improvement project that I had a proposal out on got approved. This project will fund 20% of my firms gross for the next 2 years.

#2 is that I am currently remodeling a home, and since so many of us are looking for work, I am getting good pricing and great service on my little projects. I have a plumber installing my hot water heater, and gas lines for it, the range, 2 fireplaces, and the pool right now, and his bid came back below my budget number. First time in the entire project that happened!

Rocket, the developers that have available funds are getting the best GC bids I have seen in decades, people around here are so hungry, the bigger subcontractors are buying jobs right now just so they don't lose valuable crew members, once they are gone they are gone.. Normally after our pricing comes in we have to "value engineer''cutting scope to fit into our owners budget, now we are doing just the opposite adding scope to fill the owners budget. Keep in mind these owners already have the money if the lenders would just open their doors a little it would make great strides in getting construction rolling. As those who know, know construction is the bell weather of the economy...

One of my sons lives near Columbus, Ohio, and his sparring partner is a real estate agent that is swamped with business. first time home buyers mostly but you have to fill up the top of the funnel first.
We had the biggest order day, both sales and refis, Monday since the real estate market tanked. Still not sure we've hit the bottom price wise but things seem to be on the up swing.

The issue with some of the lenders, especially the community banks, is that what were once "guidelines" for the percentage of capital employed in lending for acquisition and development (A&D) loans has now become a number written in stone.

An example is that we could lend up to 500% of our capital (equity) if times were good, but as markets slowed we would move back down to that 300% figure. Essentially based on that we could lend as much as $250 million, and then cut back to $150 million as it slowed.

Now we can ONLY lend $150 million, and because we have a number of stale developments where things have halted somewhat due to markets crashing in Whatcom County and the Oregon coast, keeping our use of capital at 374% in A&D loans ($187 million), we can't add new projects until we clear off at least $37 million in old projects, plus the amount of whatever new projects are out there that want to be added.

Now this is an oversimplification of the actual process, but it is the general idea. Our little bank is on the low end of the scale as far the employment of capital at 374%. There are many banks that are above 500%, so that is partly why banks haven't opened the purse strings. The other is why would they invest in a soft economy when there are already so many stalled developments out there.

The solution is to sell the glut of projects to first time home buyers, which is happening, but that takes time. The media is also of little help as they instill a bunker mentality, scaring people into inaction. Also, there are those who are trying to time the market, which few will do successfully.

Not just one issue. Many.

Andy, you have given me a better understanding of lending practices I agree timing the real estate market is like trying to time the stock market. It is generally a mistake .With income property it is more of a gut feeling, interest rates are at historic lows. Tons of real estate on the market priced to sell. I think it is a pretty good time to buy real estate. I continued to buy in the stock market through the mess and am in recovery in more ways than one. If I happen to find the perfect real estate I will pick it up. Recovery hurts the people sitting on the sidelines waiting for the perfect time.

Andy gave me that speech on the phone the other day and it really helped me out. I, in turn used the knowledge to explain banking behavior to some contractors. They were impressed that I was so smart about that stuff, thanks Andy.

Cash is king right now. I am involved with some projects where the current owners/proponents are realizing that they don't have the horsepower to complete, and they are going to have to look for someone with cash. Unfortunately, all the hard work, sleepless nights, and brutal meetings are going to end with them getting raped by someone with the cash to complete the work.

I had another project that just ran into a bunch of problems during construction. They had to go back to the bank a couple of times during the process. The second time the bank said no, which basically would have killed the project. The owner realized this and told the banker either he got the money, or they became owners of the problems. The banker realizing he had no choice went in and stood up to his board. They relented, the project turned out to be a success, selling lots right after recording, and the banker who was about to be fired, got offered a senior partnership at his bank.

Did you notice that one of the banks you were talking about was taken over by the Feds last Friday? Be prepared for a few more.

Yeah, I did notice that.

I had heard that rumor a couple of weeks ago, and the rumor was true.

Some banks, like ours, are offering excellent discounted pricing and terms on financing lots in our inventory to clear out the "deadwood". This financing usually only applies to lots currently in the inventory of the bank, not some other lot you find on the street.

Our lots, for example, can be financed at 4.99% fixed, 25% down (cash), 30 year amortization with a 5 year call. 1% fee. Compare this to a lot at 8%, 2 year note, if not in our inventory.

Other requirements are a credit score of 675+, DTI under 40%, and the lots are required to have an appraisal.

There are some good deals out there for folks looking to build in the future.

Spots I know of include Bellingham, Clatsop County, OR, Westport beach access lots. Just sayin'.

Explain 5 year call?

balloon