There is crazy, and then there is Liberal Crazy

Jon Caldera and the Independence Institute

A Colorado conservative treasure, he skews (P)regressives on a regular basis with facts and humor. You can find him here.

https://i2i.org/

A brave man, he continues to live in Boulder and admits to being University of Colorado alumni. An example.

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There should be a law

During my mortgage delinquency work I often find a renter at the address where I’m sent. Said renter has no idea their landlord is in default. I think there should be criminal, not just civil, consequences for property owners who use rental income for purposes other than paying mortgages and taxes. Profits, yes, do what you want.

 In 2009 Congress passed the Mortgage Re-form and Predatory Lending Act after the sub-prime collapse. Some modifications have been made since but conflicts exist with state laws. I doubt many renters have the means to hire lawyers and get into protracted legal battles.

This is why I believe there is a need for criminal penalties. Perhaps someone with legal expertise can explain what can be done.

Every Blade of Grass Gift

This past Christmas Dr Jim and SLW invited Sisty and I to dinner at their home. Jim gave me three train posters that I finally got around to framing and putting up. Much appreciated.

 My apartment has a chest high half wall separating the living room from the kitchen with a blank gray wall on the living room side. I think the posters look good in that location.

I confess to being a train “nut”, especially the old steam engines.

 For the OCD among you, the picture is somewhat distorted. The space between the posters is within ¼” of being equal. Close enough for me.

As always, YMMV

Aimless Wandering

OCD

If you are afflicted this post may not suit you as it is an aimless ramble.

352 Miles

The company that employees me as an agent often can’t find people willing to travel outside their self imposed comfort zone. Me? If the money is right I will go most anywhere. Monday was a trip through Northeast Colorado and the Nebraska Panhandle, returning by way of Cheyenne.

Highway 34/Weld County Road 49

Blocked this morning by  truck vs car crash. Not uncommon and I know the detours so my delay was minimal.

Briggsdale

Being dead center in the oil patch, and the only place for miles, this place does a brisk business. They make their own burritos in the back and I’m a sucker. The food plan goes out the window.

Pawnee National Grasslands

Bladder call, and I noticed this plant in the ditch. There were several along the road. I can’t remember noticing one before and I don’t know what it is. Any ideas?

Chimney Rock

Alongside the highway between Bridgeport and Gering/Scottsbluff this was an important landmark for wagon train travelers. I’m too cheap to pay the $20 admission to view it close up.

Good Excuse

When nobody answers the door I leave an envelope taped to the door with the owner(s) name and stamped CONFIDENTIAL.  As I was taking my notes a young lady across the street, retrieving her garbage cans called out, “Sir, you won’t get a response. He passed away”. Just a guess on my part but that might be why the payments are in arrears.

Things seen

There is always something interesting to see in most small towns.

Banner News

Now ten years old, he has a lot of gray hair. Next month is his annual physical. Poor dog, he will require several shots and a new rabies shot. Along with a year’s supply of heart worm medicine, it won’t be a cheap visit. He is worth it.

Delayed Hike

I think we will wait for colder weather before exploring this area.

Should you make it this far, thank you for reading. Perhaps the muse may visit me and something more pointed will get written, probably political.

I feel blessed that I can still, at 78, do useful and productive work. The knees hate stairs and the bladder rules the clock but I can still work around the challenges.

Motherhood Rant

I’ve mentioned my part time employment as, legally, a collection agent. Specifically, I hand deliver a letter on behalf of the mortgage company and file a report with photographs.

One recent assignment left me disgusted. A single mother with a filthy house (as seen through the open door from the porch), lawn full of weeds not maintained, and clutter everywhere. A surly teenage male came to the door then very rudely called out to his mother. She came to the door and started a “poor little me” well practiced spiel.

Why she has allowed that worthless son to grow up in this fashion baffles me. He should be keeping that yard and that house looking good instead of sponging off his mother.

I know many strong women who haven’t let life’s events and lousy choices in men keep them from living a productive life and raising decent children. My respect for them runs deep as does my loathing of quitters and whiners.

My assignments range from million dollar trophy homes to single wide wobblies in the boonies.  A common sight is expensive toys and vehicles (most likely leased) on the premises. I stay emotionally detached, for the most part, but on occasions my hard heart is touched. “Oxygen in use” sign is one trigger.

My visit is, to the mortgagee, stressful. I’ve long ago lost any need to “Lord it Over” anyone so my time on their porch is as brief and impersonal as I can make it.  Other than the occasional crazy, it works for me.

The economy? Every month my assignments increase. Most now involve refinancing offers. I anticipate most of those refinanced homes will be seeing a visit from me in six months or so.

Micro Economics

 For the past three years, to supplement social security, I’ve been working as an agent. Legally I’m a debt collector but none of my work involves money directly.

I’m seeing a surge of re-financing offers to be delivered.

The company who employs me provides various services to the mortgage industry. Most of my work involves going to the collateral address with a letter than, in essence, says, “Hey, you can’t keep missing payments and still live in this property. Contact us at the provided phone number immediately”.

Using a tablet I prepare a brief report, property description and three or more photographs. I’m seldom at the address more than 15 minutes. Pre COVID I made $800 - $1,000 for two to three hours work one or two days a week. With all the forbearance COVID programs that income dropped to 1/3 to ½ of what I was making.

As these programs expire, many of the mortgagees are way behind. I see deficiencies of $4,000 to $9,000+ on house payments under $1,200 a month. One lender we do work for if offering to refinance the homes clearing the deficiencies. Most of the lenders are demanding payment, period. More profit foreclosing and reselling in a hot real estate market would be my guess as to their motivation. On some of the upscale $800,000+ homes, the deficiencies are up to $40,000.

There is a lot of information floating around about hedge funds buying up homes and turning the country into a nation of renters. I don’t discredit any of this information but have not seen it in my little corner of the world.

Please don’t ask me for advice. The only pat answer I have is, if you are having problems making your payment, reach out to the lender first. Don’t wait for them to contact you.

Forbearance

 

My part time gig is contacting people behind on their mortgage. Beats repo work. I bring them solutions, not foreclosures. They might not like the solutions, but they are the ones who put themselves in their situation.

Part of the job involves writing a report. Generally I’m, “just the facts, sir”, but occasionally I let the Tank’s full asshole persona loose. Saw the blog picture lying on a front porch (yard sign) today in Fort Collins as I made my call. Would it surprise you to learn I spent some extra time on a “detailed” report?

All the COVID-19 forbearances are coming to an end. I’m slammed with work. Thank you, Speaker Pelosi, for the turd of a new stimulus package you put forth. No way would it fly.  

Should the swamp rats and pigs get back into the White House, my part time gig may end up full time.

Road Tripping

 

Back from an 800 mile business mile trip in the wilds of the Nebraska Panhandle and Northeast Colorado. While not a Texas trip, there are a lot of miles to be covered. Sorry, no pictures.

Saw exactly three Biden signs. Scads of Trump/Pence signs and flags.

I did see something that reminded me of the values flyover America retains. A more disliked Supreme Court Justice than Ginsberg would be hard to find in the area, yet flags everywhere were at half mast out of respect, and not just government buildings.

What Sisty calls over thinking and what I call thoughtful analysis,  is something I do while driving. Better, for my alertness, than listening to “tunes” or talking mouths (since we can’t see their heads) on the radio.

One random idea I kept mulling over is the number of “educated” university graduates with staggering student debt and degrees for which there are no real jobs. At their core, they know they have been gamed. Their salvation is make work government funded “social sector” jobs. The same party that created the mechanism for their dilemma is the party they expect to save them.

Another random idea is the impact all these wildfires will have on water supplies. My city has some of the finest drinking water in the country but draws water from five reservoirs that collect runoff from areas now burning. How much of a problem will that be for California?

Still another thought was the number of dying towns I drove through and the number of small, but seemly prosperous, towns just down the road in the heavily agriculture areas I traveled. Most, but not all, prosperous towns are in areas with ample water supplies. Most, but certainly not all dying towns are in areas where dry land farming is practiced.

Back in the day I worried this particular bone in trying to decide places to hold our offsite sales. I never developed a template and instead asked questions here and there. At the Chamber of Commerce; are you getting more new members than you are losing? At the town clerk (permits, permit, permits up the wazzo) are you delinquent  taxes higher this year? What I wanted to determine was the prevailing attitudes, positive or negative. Was the local newspaper eager to accept my advertising?  Local radio station willing to run my adds and do a live remote?  As to advertising, we had a direct mail guy that put something into every address in a zip code.

One more thought on water. Most of the Nebraska Panhandle is pumping from the Ogallala Aquifer. It isn’t being replenished as fast as it is being depleted. A portion of that replenishment is from the Rocky Mountains runoff, where the fires are currently burning, ie the North and South Platte Rivers and tributaries.

Retirement means I don’t need to make these trips. The company I work for as an agent is hurting and I don’t mind helping. Plus, I do get paid. We are seeing the end of some of the Chinese Flu short term programs. Unless some or most of the programs are renewed, I think I may be very busy this fall contacting delinquent mortgagees.

Fiscal Prudence

A client has me deliver delinquency notices to people with home mortgages. Along with the notification is information that will help them avoid foreclosure.

I’ve become jaded as I routinely approach $450,000 McMansions with $60,000+ vehicles in the driveway or garage. Toys of all kinds, motorcycles, ATVs and boats sitting there soaking up available income just makes me shake my jowls.

2008 – 2014 were tough years in this area along with the collapse of the subprime ponzi. The car business sucked and I found a market for my other skills in construction and photography securing and documenting abandoned properties. Job losses and medical bills along with a shrinking economy caused many, many families to lose their homes. Having been there at one point in my life, I had empathy for those folks.

I have three sons who are careful with their finances. Perhaps the best compliment my ex ever gave me was when she said to my youngest, “You are cheaper than your father”.

As an aside, you have a problem spouse when you list Nordstrom Stores as a dependent, and the IRS accepts your return.

I no longer do any property work. My knees aren’t up to the task. Sadly, even in this now robust economy there is a need for that service.

I still have empathy for folks who fall on hard times. The information I deliver can help them (if they will help themselves). The client offers more money if I sit down and counsel people. 

Sorry, no. That opens a whole can of worms with Colorado laws. The client doesn’t think so but I know better. Plus, I plain don’t want to do it. If they want to replace me with someone else, no hard feelings.

As for those who are financially stupid, tough shit. Learn some financial discipline. When you are an adult, participation trophies aren’t free.