BendBubble2: Dear Fellow Wage Slaves

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Dear Fellow Wage Slaves

Good Day Fellow RE Nutjobs,

I have managed to keep alive my 100% unblemished sterling record of wanting to pay my taxes on Feb 1, but not actually doing so until April 15.

So here I am, again, with a bowl of chocolate pudding in my financial underpants.

OK, so I am going to pay my F#$%*(&%$ing taxes today, and probably plotz out a empty-husk of a post when I'm done. It might be Wed before I get there.

Otherwise dear friends, please feel free to ridicule me and revile my lack of planning. Again.

Sincerely,

I Hate To Baste Your Butterball.

Is my W-2 down there?

216 comments:

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Anonymous said...: Wow is this really how BB2 will end? April 15, IRS? Is this what brought homer down??

Why the fuck do people wait? Why not just pay someone to do your taxes back in January?; April 12, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Best time in twenty years to buy a shopping mall in Bend.

Empty stores

By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: April 12. 2009 4:00AM

Last week’s announcement by Wilsonville-based Joe’s Sports, Outdoors & More that it would liquidate its 31 stores, including the one in the Cascade Village Shopping Center in north Bend, was the latest in a series of closures that affects Central Oregon retailers.

Gottschalks, Linens ’n Things and McMahan’s Furniture also have closed or are planning to close stores in Bend and around the country. Additionally, several local retailers, including Aasland’s Fine Furniture and Rising Star Stellar Home Furnishings, have not survived the recession. Aasland’s has closed and Rising Star is conducting a going-out-of-business sale.

While many smaller vacant spaces, particularly those in downtown Bend, have refilled, others are taking longer to get new occupants. The question becomes: How long will it take for some of those spaces, totaling in the hundreds of thousands of square feet, to fill? Especially with consumer spending lagging, tight commercial lending and national retailers overly cautious about expansion plans?

Nationwide, retailers are riding out the economic storm as best they can. Only a few stores, discounters such as Wal-Mart and Ross Stores, posted profits in 2008. Most are cutting costs, hoarding cash and reducing inventory, according to an April 9 New York Times article detailing a disappointing March sales report. Few are expanding.

Malls, in particular, are losing national retailers as a result of corporate decisions that are reverberating across the country. The closing of “anchor tenant” stores — the big stores at malls — is felt not only in lost lease payments, but also lost foot traffic, necessary to keep all stores in the malls going, commercial brokers say.

Some property owners and their brokers are seeking retailers that cater to budget-minded consumers. Others, like the owner of the former Wal-Mart property in south Redmond, are scrapping their retail plans altogether and taking a different approach to fill the space. There, the owner wants to convert the former Wal-Mart building into a family-fun center that could include a multiscreen movie theater, a bowling alley and other small family-oriented retail shops.

‘Survival of the fittest’

Brokers say it could take awhile to fill vacant space in Bend and Redmond.

“It is survival of the fittest right now,” said Stephen Toomey, partner and broker for Compass Commercial Real Estate Services, in Bend. “You would have to think that Bend is overretailed, but how much I don’t know. The market will tell.”

Businesses that survive and expand will be those that cater to consumers’ increasingly budget-conscious mindsets, Toomey said.

“There are existing operators that are doing very well in this market,” he said. “There are retailers that are looking at some of these vacancies, but they are still cautious.”

Retailers in growth mode include discounters like Dollar Tree, Winco and Grocery Outlet, Toomey said.

“I would love to target a Borders,” he said of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookseller. “But nationally, they are just not that strong. You have to get beyond what you think would be a good tenant and look at who has the capital to expand, access to credit and willingness to expand.”

Borders CEO Ron Marshall acknowledged in a March 31 earnings report that the company’s top priority is “getting our financial house in order.“ The company, whose sales fell 9.4 percent in 2008, has obtained financing through April 2010 that it hopes will allow it to survive the economic downturn, according to the company’s Web site.

Attracting national retailers will be difficult at a time of low consumer confidence and an overbuilt retail market, said Scott Gibbs, director of property management at The Lowes Group in Bend and a property manager for The Forum Shopping Center in east Bend. The Forum includes Barnes & Noble, Safeway and Costco Wholesale Corp., and also was home to Linens ’n Things until it closed at the end of 2008.

Nationally, there’s more retail per capita than at any time in history, Gibbs said. “A lot of it was fueled by available cash for developments and a lot of willing consumers,” he said.

So far, the losses in Bend have been spread evenly around the city, Gibbs said. “There could have been a Circuit City at The Forum, next to a Linens ’n Things, next to a Gottschalks,” he said. “But it didn’t happen. Maybe we got lucky.”

Circuit City Stores, a competitor with Best Buy, liquidated and closed 567 stores and laid off 34,000 workers in January after failing to find a buyer. Bend is fortunate that it has a Best Buy at Cascade Village Mall, not a Circuit City, Gibbs said.

Options

Property owners who lose a large tenant can either try to subdivide the building into smaller spaces or find a retailer that is in growth mode, but those are few and far between, Gibbs said.

“The nationals just are not beating down anyone’s door to get in,” he said. “You just have to try to find the retail uses that are prospering.”

Existing exclusions signed into lease deals also make it harder to find new national tenants to replace the old ones, Gibbs said.

“You can’t put a Winco next to a Safeway,” he said. “(Safeway) won’t allow it.”

Other commercial space remains available in Bend and Redmond, including roughly 40,000 square feet in the Brookswood Meadow Plaza in southwest Bend, which was completed last year.

About 7,300 square feet has been leased at the three-building development already and other leases are pending, said Walt Ramage, the leasing broker for DuBois Wicklund Group. in Bend, which is leasing the space.

In Redmond, efforts to find a new tenant at the former Erickson’s Thriftway site at the north end of downtown Redmond have been stymied by the economy and uncertainty about the future of downtown Redmond, said Bob Eberhard, who co-owns the 60,000-square-foot property. Erickson’s closed in early 2008.

“People are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what is going to happen,” he said, referring to efforts to revitalize downtown Redmond.

Another key downtown Redmond property, the 2-acre former site of Parr Lumber, has been eyed by city officials as a potential development site for an entertainment complex that would include parking and a movie theater. Parr Lumber closed its Redmond lumberyard and offices March 16. An adjacent vacant property, formerly occupied by Tum-A-Lum Lumber Co., also could be targeted for redevelopment.

In other parts of Redmond, 12,022 square feet of commercial space still remains available in the southend development at Frank’s Landing, which has Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar as its anchor tenant and recently leased a space to San Ramon, Calif.-based Straw Hat Pizza. Other commercial space remains available around the Wal-Mart Supercenter in north Redmond, around Lowe’s Home Improvement south of downtown, and in the Highland Marketplace, which is off Highland Avenue near Redmond High School.

Plans had been in the works to convert the former 104,000-square-foot shell of a Wal-Mart store at the south end of Redmond into a new mall with two or three separate spaces and additional new buildings in the parking lot. Wal-Mart in September 2007 moved from its smaller store into a 217,000-square-foot space adequate for its new Supercenter.

But the economic slowdown dampened plans to convert the old Wal-Mart into several stores and the property’s owner, a Wyoming businessman, now intends to build a family-fun center at the 15-acre site, said Bob Krohn, a broker with Bend-based Kerr Commercial Group, which represents the still-unnamed buyer.

Krohn is working with two or three different groups who could operate the family-fun center, he said, adding that financing still needs to be obtained.

“It is a combination of two factors,” he said of the shift in plans. “One is the general situation of retail in the economy. Second, and equally important — is an analysis of community needs and the demographics of the city. Does the community really need a new mall or would recreation work better? We believe that the higher and better use weighs it towards the recreation side more than the mall side.”

Jeff McDonald can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.; April 12, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Homie - Shouldn't you just be happy you have an income?

When are the home prices REALLY going to drop?; April 12, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Anonymous said...: We are only in the first 2 years of what will be a 4 year recession.
Anyone who thinks this will turn around in 09 must not read much about economics. Bend is an isolated, mid size city. Expensive to get here, expensive to stay, not much industry. Not a good place to place a bet on recovery.; April 12, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Shit did anybody get the pick, I didn't but this AM @rigobertos the sign said "$2 burritos w/ METH"

A Bend class, didn't have my cell phone, this afternoon all the letters were Bend gone from the sign.; April 12, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Sheeeet sunday @5pm, and five posts, BB2 is Bend fucked? No?

Did everyone get picked up last night at BendBB's under 18 party??; April 12, 2009 at 5:32 PM
Anonymous said...: WOW - NOT your mother's Bend BULLetin ..

Oregon's "New West" tumbles, another sign of hard times

Seattle, Apr 12, 2009

In the last few decades, Bend, Ore., reinvented itself as an outdoor-recreation mecca and became one of the nation's fastest-growing areas. Now, Bend's economy is stumbling amid a collapsing real-estate market and soaring unemployment.

By Hal Bernton

Seattle Times staff reporter

After 24 years in business Rising Star furniture store is closing in Bend, Oregon.

Rosemerry Nelson worked for 32 years at a plant in Central Oregon that weaned itself from old-growth timber to produce veneer products. She was laid off in February, part of a wave that helped push Crook County's unemployment rate to more than 16 percent.
Enlarge this photo

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Rosemerry Nelson worked for 32 years at a plant in Central Oregon that weaned itself from old-growth timber to produce veneer products. She was laid off in February, part of a wave that helped push Crook County's unemployment rate to more than 16 percent.

Bend developer Steve Gudgel had to walk away from the million-dollar home he built and could not sell in a top-end neighborhood.
Enlarge this photo

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Bend developer Steve Gudgel had to walk away from the million-dollar home he built and could not sell in a top-end neighborhood.

Empty lots populate the Woodhill Park development in Bend, where homes used to cost about $260,000 and now sell for around $150,000.
Enlarge this photo

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Empty lots populate the Woodhill Park development in Bend, where homes used to cost about $260,000 and now sell for around $150,000.

Julie Tapia lives in Bend's Bethlehem Inn with 3-month-old Mojave and 9-year-old Joseph. The inn used to be a motel but now houses some of the area's many homeless.
Enlarge this photo

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Julie Tapia lives in Bend's Bethlehem Inn with 3-month-old Mojave and 9-year-old Joseph. The inn used to be a motel but now houses some of the area's many homeless.

Smith Rock, north of Bend, is part of the region's appeal. It draws climbers from all over the country and abroad. Steve Elder, center, and his friend David Hiers get ready for a climb while others begin an ascent.
Enlarge this photo

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Smith Rock, north of Bend, is part of the region's appeal. It draws climbers from all over the country and abroad. Steve Elder, center, and his friend David Hiers get ready for a climb while others begin an ascent.

Related

* Archive | Once A Dying Timber Town, Bend Thrives
* Gallery | Oregon's "New West" Tumbles

BEND, Ore. — Steve Gudgel hoped to see a family move into the three-bedroom house that he built on a hill west of town.

Priced at just over $1 million, the 3,600-square-foot house features copper gutters, slate decks and a huge garage with room for two cars and an oversized boat. But the house never sold, and in July 2008 was taken back by the bank.

It now sits empty, just like hundreds of other homes in the subdivisions that sprouted amid the sage, bitterbrush and pine of Central Oregon. And Gudgel, after 20 years in the building business, has given up, selling his tools and equipment to help raise enough cash to keep his own home out of foreclosure.

"This is sucking me dry," Gudgel said. "I have sold a couple of trailers and my wife went through her jewelry and sold some gold. It's not a pretty picture."

This town that helped define the booming New West economy has hit tough times. Once tied to timber and home to one of the nation's largest pine mills, Bend reinvented itself in the last few decades as an outdoor-recreation mecca. Tens of thousands of new arrivals were drawn to the mountain-rimmed high desert for a lifestyle that included skiing, fishing, golfing and hiking.

This year, Oregon as a whole has been socked by the nation's economic turmoil. In February, the state had an overall unemployment rate of 10.8 percent — the third-highest in the nation after Michigan and South Carolina. And Bend is one of the state's roughest spots, with 12.6 percent of the work force in the city and surrounding Deschutes County without a job.

Most of Bend's new economy — similar to that of some hard-hit communities in Nevada and Arizona — was built on a homebuilding boom. As the real-estate market crumbles, carpenters, plumbers, masons, mortgage brokers, real-estate agents, architects and others must figure out a way to make a living at a time when there is no need for big new subdivisions.

Housing markets here are so glutted that the median price of a single-family home in the Bend area nose-dived by more than 40 percent from a peak of $396,000 in May 2007 to $221,000 in March.

During the same time period, default notices — a prelude to foreclosures — jumped more than 8-fold to 827, according to Deschutes County statistics tracked by The Bend Bulletin newspaper. More than 1,300 homes are estimated to stand empty in Central Oregon's Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Central Oregon.

Bend's trendy downtown area, where million-dollar lofts were sold only a few years back, has been staggered by business failures. One of most high-profile came in January with the closure of Merenda, a white-tablecloth restaurant that had helped launch an era of high-end dining.

"It's just completely out of control," said Mike Hensley, who works for NeighborImpact, a local nonprofit that helps with energy and rental assistance. "There is a completely different type of person requesting our help. A lot of people who were making six figures two years ago, and who haven't seen a paycheck in a long time."

As the vacant-housing stock expands, so, too, do the ranks of the homeless.

More homeless

In the three-county area, a January homeless count tallied 2,237 people. That's a 66 percent rise from the 2006 count, and included 839 homeless children.

Some homeless have found a place to stay with friends or relatives. But many others, including numerous families, have staked out campsites along back roads or secluded stretches of rivers and streams. There, they spend their nights in trailer homes, cars or tents.

"These are our neighbors, our friends and their kids, members of our church, the guy who rotated our tires, the women who fixed our latte," said Corky Senecal, housing and emergency-services director of NeighborImpact, which helped organize the January homeless count.

To help house the homeless, an old motel at the north end of town in 2007 was converted to a shelter operated by Bethlehem Inn, a community group. A few years ago, many of the homeless could quickly find day-labor jobs in the construction industry, and begin to work their way back into rental housing. Now, most of those jobs are gone.

"We were hot"

Gudgel, the builder, is a native of Idaho who spent 10 years in Europe before buying property here in 1988. He was sold on Bend when he first ventured out onto a local golf course and had to shoo the deer off the green.

Gudgel built his own home on a 10-acre tract east of town, and then started building a few houses each year, swinging his own hammer and also hiring subcontractors to help finish the jobs. By 2005, Gudgel says, he was grossing more than $1 million a year as the real-estate market reached a feverish peak.

Gudgel was building houses on spec, with buyers sometimes firming up a deal even before the foundations were in the ground. He was constantly reinvesting his earnings, buying a vacant lot for $70,000 and nine months later reselling it for $170,000.

With a national spotlight turned on Bend's outdoor lifestyle, homebuyers and speculators flocked here from California, Washington and elsewhere. A flood of easy, available credit pushed housing prices up and spurred the building of more housing developments.

"The real-estate market partly was a symptom of the disease. And the disease, I think, mostly was easy money. And you couple easy money with the speculative mindset, and you got the cocktail that results in where we're at — huge overbuying, high leveraging," said Kirk Schueler, president of Brooks Resources, a Central Oregon developer. "We were hot. We were Bend. ... Once the kerosene got on the fire, it took off."

Brooks Resources is one of the area's preeminent developers, with successful planned communities that included Black Butte Ranch in the 1970s and Northwest Crossing, which began selling homes in 2002 as the market started a huge run-up.

Schueler said company officials knew the market would cool — but not as fast or hard as it did. The developer stumbled badly in the timing of a big new venture — a planned community called IronHorse on the edge of Prineville, west of Bend in more rural Crook County.

Lots went on the market in 2007 as the downturn began. The site has room for up to 3,000 homes and projections were for about 50 homes to be built each year. So far, only 14 houses have been built amid a lonely expanse of unsold tracts.

Joseph Cortright, an economist with Impresa in Portland, said that Bend's fortunes have been tied to the collapse of the California housing market. Much of the area's growth was driven by a migration from Oregon's southern neighbor, what he calls the "California Diaspora."

Compared to the rest of Oregon, Bend and the Medford area in the southern part of the state were "much more caught up in the real-estate boom and went south in a much bigger way," he said.

What was left of Central Oregon's old timber economy also thrived in the homebuilding boom.

Wave of layoffs

Even as the old-growth timber from federal forests dried up, hundreds of jobs stayed, tied to plants that made building materials for national markets. One of those, Contact Industries in Prineville, imported wood from all over the world to develop veneer products.

During 32 years with the company, Rosemerry Nelson worked her way up to a supervisor's job. But Contact Industries and other wood-products companies pared back during the recession as homebuilding plummeted nationally and in Oregon. Last year, Nelson took a pay cut and went back to a $12.50-an-hour line job to avoid getting laid off.

"At the time, I was just thankful that they deemed my work record good enough," said the 61-year-old Nelson. "They were trying hard to keep me employed."

In February, Nelson was let go from the line job, part of a wave of layoffs that helped push Crook County's unemployment rate to more than 16 percent.

Builder to truck driver

Developers remain hopeful about Central Oregon's long-term prospects. They don't expect a quick return to the boom days but are hoping for more modest growth that will begin to strengthen the battered real-estate markets.

They predict Washingtonians, Californians and others will pick up the pace of migration to the high-desert sun. They also are hopeful that the local economy — which now includes aircraft, solar-energy-parts manufacturing and some high-tech companies — can continue to diversify. In March, real-estate agents were heartened by a rise of nearly 2.8 percent in the median housing prices for Bend single-family homes, perhaps a sign that the bottom has been reached.

But jobs remain scarce, and foreclosures continue to roust people from their homes.

The congregation at Gudgel's church helped move several families out of houses that had been returned to banks. Gudgel figures he needs to make about $3,000 a month to avoid foreclosure on his own home. He has filed several dozen job applications with the government, insurance adjusters and other positions where he could use his building skills.

Gudgel got no offers, so he has decided to launch a new career as a truck driver.

"I did that when I was 17, and guess I can do it again," he said.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company; April 12, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...: There are 62 priceless comments at ...

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?source_name=mbase&source_id=2009025898&offset=40

"What goes up, must come down as the saying goes. Bend is a great example of what happens when a community tries to erradicate the middle class. The big wheel stops turning."

This fuck doesn't have a clue, what the GOD's of BEND did was eradicate the red-neck, and what is left is/was the parasite class, deja-vu, who would have guessed?; April 12, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Anonymous said...: seattle time is really trying to make obama look bad. the fact is that any president was going to look like crap and it is just like america to wait until the country is completely falling apart to elect a black guy president. this whole thing is like a dark comedy.

*

So fucking TRUE, right out of blazing saddles, rob ameriKKKa to the bone, and then put a nigger in charge of the bank, and then put all the light on the nigger.

"Who would have guessed".; April 12, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Anonymous said...: How long before this kind of shit starts spreading beyond Cali...

April 13, 2009
Piedmont Journal

Houses, Decked Out for a Sale, Are Robbed

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

PIEDMONT, Calif. — The Sunday open house is a sure sign of spring, a seasonal ritual in which marble-countered kitchens, light-filled master suites, spectacular rear gardens and closets galore are decorated to perfection to draw buyers.

It is a common ploy here and elsewhere to have professional decorators “stage” unoccupied homes that are on the market with borrowed furnishings and appointments to help fetch top dollar, especially now that real estate sales have wilted like a week-old flower arrangement.

But along with fragrant jasmine and wisteria in bloom, there is caution in the air here. The same painstaking efforts to attract buyers have also attracted thieves.

An unusual wave of burglaries has hit unoccupied houses for sale in this affluent 1.8-square-mile bedroom community in the hills east of Oakland, and it is testing the forced cheerfulness of real estate agents who are already reeling. Last weekend, two staged houses were burglarized in nearby Orinda, a wealthy suburb, robbed in the morning hours before planned afternoon open houses.

“It’s brazen,” said D. J. Grubb, the president of the Grubb Company, a real estate agency based in Oakland. “These are highly aesthetic crimes. The thief seems to be someone with very good taste, somebody who knows that mauve is out.”

In Piedmont, the discriminating criminals have made off with bath linens, dressers, upholstered chairs and sofas, table lamps, mirrors and end tables (not to mention the flat-screen televisions). In perhaps the most perplexing incident, the perpetrators stole high-end bed linens, a duvet cover and a metal bed frame from a master bedroom — but left the matching dust ruffle.

“They were clearly interrupted,” said Martha Holstlaw, an agent with Pacific Union, another real estate firm.

Last month, the Police Department in Indio, in Southern California, arrested three people accused of breaking into about a dozen houses for sale in Indio, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage. The police recovered about $250,000 worth of stolen goods, including televisions, jewelry, artwork and golf clubs.

“Property crimes are going up in the bad economy,” said Benjamin Guitron, the public information officer for the department.

A spate of 13 crimes also took place this year in Kent, Wash., between Seattle and Tacoma, in which two people are awaiting trial on charges of trafficking in stolen property, said Larry Meyer, a detective with the Seattle Police Department.

Marti Reeder, a real estate agent in Kent who had a client lose a diamond tennis bracelet, said: “Their racket was going into open houses. You want buyers to get a feeling for the house. But this was very creepy and invasive.”

Although the modus operandi has not been uniform, the five Piedmont houses burglarized so far showed no signs of forced entry, said George Phifer, a detective with the Piedmont Police Department. In two instances, Detective Phifer said, the thieves appeared to have cased the homes during open houses and surreptitiously unlocked a window for future access. The other crimes involved the use of cutting tools to remove lockboxes on the doors.

“Notice the nice new brass hardware,” said Sandi Klemmer, an agent with Pacific Union, showing off the front door of a 1950s contemporary home whose door handle had been removed by thieves to get the key out of the lockbox.

The airy home she was showing — at a reduced price of $975,000 — still exhibited the tell-tale signs of staging. To create an idealized décor in an unoccupied house, stagers tend to use new furniture and appliances, without the slightest flaw, and have a penchant for accessories like fake hors d’oeuvres and fantasy shopping lists (“Pick up Champagne, French tulips and cream puffs”).

Bonnie Pearson, a stager based in Emeryville, estimates that she lost $11,000 worth of furniture and accessories in two Piedmont robberies, Ms. Klemmer’s listing among them. Included in the designer booty were silk apricot throw pillows, a damask bedspread, two paisley linen armchairs and a pedestal dining table with upholstered circle-backed chairs. “It’s devastating,” Ms. Pearson said. “I don’t just buy things off the shelf.”

Ms. Holstlaw, like many of her pearl-wearing, flat-shoed colleagues here, has been harboring conspiracy theories. “You go online and you can tell if a house is staged,” she said. “There’s nothing personal in it. In real life, everyone’s knickknacks don’t all blend.”

Katherine Cooper, an agent for the Grubb Company, said a $3.5 million owner-occupied house in Upper Piedmont, with ornate stucco scrollwork and freshly snipped hedges, was burglarized last month. “In the old days, there was an exclusivity getting into these houses,” Ms. Cooper lamented. “Now we’ve made it a Sunday afternoon sport.”

The Oakland Association of Realtors, which has more than 1,000 members and includes Piedmont and Emeryville, sent out an e-mail bulletin last week encouraging “heightened vigilance,” said Judy Rix, the office supervisor. Among the tips: let neighbors know that no one is authorized to take property out of a house, and consider an alarm system to thwart the use of “bump keys,” a burglary tool illegal in California.

The police chief in Orinda, William French, said thieves there drove a stolen truck, indicating that they were more savvy criminals. “They don’t have a trained eye,” Chief French said. “They’re not interior designers. They’re crooks.”

In Piedmont, real estate agents presiding over newly mulched gardens and gleaming granite countertops have begun changing time-honored ways of doing business by putting up “Do Not Disturb Occupant” signs — even though there is not one — and forgoing open houses in favor of showing by appointment only. For the most elite properties, “for sale” signs are vanishing.

In the gracious living room with bay windows, Ms. Holstlaw confronted the new realities, ever so politely. “Could you sign my guest book, please?” she said sweetly but firmly to absolutely everyone who wandered in.; April 12, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Pretty brazen robbery at that Tetherow house. Who can feel safe in these empty neighborhoods.; April 12, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Bewert said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aEk864YrKw&feature=player_embedded

Brit commenting on US news media. The old Billo clip is priceless.; April 12, 2009 at 11:08 PM
St Paddy said...: People were robbing Model homes as well as freshly wired homes during the boom.I new a guy on the eastside who's spec house was stripped of it's wire two times in 2006. A couple of the Newport moderns were also stripped of wire and copper pipes during their construction. Woodhill homes had their SW Bend model homes robbed several times as far back as 04. This shit isn't new, it's just highly publicized now. The criminal mind is always in recession mode.; April 13, 2009 at 8:02 AM
Bewert said...: The Incredibly Shrinking Market Liquidity, Or The Upcoming Black Swan Of Black Swans

"...Key to note here is that Goldman's program trading principal to agency+customer facilitation ratio is a staggering 5x, which is multiples higher than both the second most active program trader and the average ratio of the NYSE, both at or below 1x. The implication is that Goldman Sachs, due to its preeminent position not only as one of the world's largest broker/dealers (pardon, Bank Holding Companies), but also as being on the top of the high-frequency trading/liquidity provision "food chain", trades much more often for its own (principal) benefit, likely in tandem with the other top dogs on the list: RenTec, Highbridge (JP Morgan), and GETCO. In this light, the program trading spike over the past week could be perceived as much more sinister. For conspiracy lovers, long searching for any circumstantial evidence to catch the mysterious "plunge protection team" in action, you should look no further than this.

Following on the circumstantial evidence track, as Zero Hedge pointed out previously, over the past month, the Volume Weighted Average Price of the SPY index indicates that the bulk of the upswing has been done through low volume buying on the margin and from overnight gaps in afterhours market trading.(CACB has been doing this.) The VWAP of the SPY through yesterday indicated that the real price of the S&P 500 would be roughly 60 points lower, or about 782, if the low volume marginal transactions had been netted out. And yet the market keeps on rising. This is an additional data point demonstrating that the equity market has reached a point where the transactions on the margin are all that matter as the core volume/liquidity providers slowly disappear one by one through ongoing deleveraging.

Unfortunately for them, this is not a sustainable condition.

As more and more quants focus on trading exclusively with themselves, and the slow and vanilla money piggy backs to low-vol market swings, the aberrations become self-fulfilling. What retail investors fail to acknowledge is that the quants close out a majority of their intraday positions at the end of each trading day, meaning that the vanilla money is stuck as a hot potato bagholder to what can only be classified as an unprecedented ponzi scheme. As the overall market volume is substantially lower now than it has been in the recent past, this strategy has in fact been working and will likely continue to do so... until it fails and we witness a repeat of the August 2007 quant failure events... at which point the market, just like Madoff, will become the emperor revealing its utter lack of clothing.

So what happens in a world where the very core of the capital markets system is gradually deleveraging to a point where maintaining a liquid and orderly market becomes impossible: large swings on low volume, massive bid-offer spreads, huge trading costs, inability to clear and numerous failed trades. When the quant deleveraging finally catches up with the market, the consequences will likely be unprecedented, with dramatic dislocations leading the market both higher and lower on record volatility. Furthermore, high convexity names such as double and triple negative ETFs, which are massively disbalanced with regard to underlying values after recent trading patterns, will see shifts which will make the November SRS jump to $250 seem like child's play.

When will all this occur? The quant trader I spoke to would not commit himself to any specific time frame but noted that a date as early as next Monday could be a veritable D-day. His advice on a list of possible harbingers: continued deleveraging in quant funds as per the charts noted above, significant pre-market volatility swings as quants rebalance their end of day positions, increasing principal program trading by Goldman Sachs on decreasing relative overall trading volumes, ongoing index VWAP dislocations. One thing is for certain: the longer the divergence between real volume trading/liquidity and absolute market changes persists, the more memorable the ensuing market liquidity event will be. At the end of the day, despite the pronouncements by the administration and more and more sell-side analysts that the market is merely chasing the rebound in fundamentals in what has all of a sudden become a V-shaped recovery, the "rally" could simply be explained by technical factor driven capital-liquidity aberrations, which will continue at most for mere weeks if not days."

More, with fancy technical graphs at the link to RGE.

What is the Chinese word that means something like "with crisis comes opportunity?"; April 13, 2009 at 8:10 AM
Bewert said...: Who is This Gentleman and Why Should You be Frightened of His Resignation?

"...the FHLB is only the 2nd largest BORROWER in the UNITED STATES only behind the US GOVERNMENT and has a total debt as of 12/31/08 of $1.26 trillion...On January 8, 2009, Moody’s said that only 4 of the 12 FHLBs may be able to maintain minimum required capital levels...Charles resigned because of his discomfort in vouching for the banks’ combined financial statements..."

The Top 10 Signs You Are Living in a Banana Republic and My Favorite $100 Billion Omelet

"10. When Zimbabwe (the patriarch of banana republics) and the home of the $100 Billion omelet, praises the recent US FED action of printing over $1.2 Trillion with a T and declares “Banks, including those in the USA and the UK, are now not just talking of, but also actually implementing flexible and pragmatic central bank support programmes where these are deemed necessary in their national interests. That is precisely the path that we began over 4 years ago in pursuit of our own national interest and we have not wavered on that critical path despite the untold misunderstanding, vilification and demonization we have endured from across the political divide.”

And it only gets better from there.; April 13, 2009 at 8:42 AM
Bewert said...: Now this is going to get rich:

Goldman Sachs is attempting to shut down a dissident blogger who is extremely critical of the investment bank, its board members and its practices.

The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan, warning him in a recent cease-and-desist letter that he may face legal action if he does not close down his website.
Florida-based Mr Morgan began a blog entitled “Facts about Goldman Sachs” – the web address for which is goldmansachs666.com – just a few weeks ago.

In that time Mr Morgan, a registered investment adviser, has added a number of posts to the site, including one entitled “Does Goldman Sachs run the world?”. However, many of the posts relate to other Wall Street firms and issues.

According to Chadbourne & Parke’s letter, dated April 8, the bank is rattled because the site “violates several of Goldman Sachs’ intellectual property rights” and also “implies a relationship” with the bank itself.”

The GS666 site is here

In other GS news, rumor has it they are going to report their second best quarter ever, a $12B profit.; April 13, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Ahhhhhhh the BPussy is back in the finest DKos form, and he says he's leaving, but we know he'll never leave.; April 13, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Anonymous said...: There has got to be some conspiracy cases that need his attention in SLC. Surely the Mormans can't be squeaky clean in their dealings.

When you start you SLC blog please end all post entries with hot blonde haired blue eyed big chested morman babes.; April 13, 2009 at 2:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend.; April 13, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend.; April 13, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...: "Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend."

Don't listen to these guys, Bruce.

Go right on ahead. Your posts are the only dose of sanity around here most days.; April 13, 2009 at 3:49 PM
Bewert said...: Re:...back in the finest DKos form

###

Huh?

Please enlighten me. What links, exactly?; April 13, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend."

####

You mean like this?

348 Flint, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8
348 Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8
350 Medford, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.0
350 Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.0
352 Longview, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2
352 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2
352 Palm Coast, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2
355 Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.3
356 Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.4
357 Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.7
358 Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.9
359 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.7
360 Stockton, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.8
361 Bend, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.1

Yeah, you wouldn't want the locals to know we rank 13 position behind fucking Flint, Michigan in unemployment...they might leave you an empty rental.

361 of 372.

You proud of that?; April 13, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Bewert said...: Sorry, forgot the LinkWhich I'm sure you won't bother with, as Rush, Billo, and Glenn are your sources of truth.

Here's another link I'm sure you would rather ignore.

So let's get the real numbers for Deschutes County Notice of Defaults:

YTD 2007: 69
YTD 2007: 104
YTD 2008: 364
YTD 2009: 946

I presume at this point you know how to go to http://recordings.deschutes.org/search.asp to get the nembers.; April 13, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Bewert said...: Sorry for the pissed off typing...

But the denial among some is what drives me to leave. Can't see as rebound anytime soon. Just endless empty housing and partially completed subdivisions.; April 13, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Bewert said...: With no real jobs, or even actual; attempts at real jobs (poaching them from Prineville doesn't count) in this economy forthcoming.; April 13, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Bewert said...: The numbers, since I seem to be unable to type tonight:

YTD 2006: 69
YTD 2007: 104
YTD 2008: 364
YTD 2009: 946

That is meltdown.; April 13, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Just kiddin BP the GS666 thing was cute, but honestly this guy is just cut&paste existing stuff by googling "GS", there has to be a more rational reason, a lot of people have gotten letters like this for using similar marked names, I used to get them all the time, and I worked it out, I didn't pass the letter on to the media.

Did Paulson rob the treasury to protect (enrich) GS? Hell yes, did Cheney rob the US-MILITARY Budget to protect Halliburton? Hell yes.

There is no smoking gun here, just old stuff.

Yes, if you have a website that says "goldmansachsXXX", or "IBMxx" you will get a letter, just a fact.

So fucking what. The guy has NO original material or ideas, just begging for volunteers to do his work for him, sort of like BP, and I'm sure this guy is just like BP, but BP never created a website that infringed on anybodys mark? I don't think that "BendGazette" was in use? Nor "JuniperRidge".

Somebody take above and post it at GS666 site, I don't want to bother, just back from Thailand and I want to go drink monday beer at deschutes.; April 13, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: We love you BP, please don't leave.; April 13, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Bewert said...: Re: We love you BP, please don't leave.

###

OK, that's funny.

So is it worth my time to go down to Deschutes tonight?; April 13, 2009 at 6:18 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Just kiddin BP the GS666 thing was cute, but honestly this guy is just cut&paste existing stuff by googling "GS"...

###

Buster, that is the innate power of the web.

Cut and paste disparate elements into a cohesive whole, for all to see.

It's what truly scares GS, etc.; April 13, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Bewert said...: Conspiracy?

Markos Alberto Moulitas ZÚÑIGA "Worked" at the CIA in 2001aka Kos.

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga
Founder, Daily Kos"...Moulitsas was born on September 11, 1971, in Chicago, IL. The son of a Salvadoran mother and Greek father, Moulitsas spent his formative years in El Salvador (1976-1980), where he saw first-hand the ravages of civil war. i.e. The Reagan death squad years. His family fled threats on their lives by the communist guerillas (sic) and settled in the Chicago area..."

"...After high school, Moulitsas served in the U.S. Army (1989-92) as a 13P -- Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Fire Direction Specialist. He trained at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and served the remainder of his three-year enlistment in Bamberg, Germany..."

Who knows? Who could tell?; April 13, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Bewert said...: Thing is that your chances of getting banned for "improper argumentation" is much higher on chickenhawk sites like Redstate and Townhall than at DKos.

But it is still good to know the backgrounds.; April 13, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
"Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend."Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep...POSTING!; April 13, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Anti-Government Protests Spread Throughout Thailand

--->

Once again BP proves that he has the best cornhole in Bend.; April 13, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Anonymous said...: "Makes me a little sick to my stomach that Bruce might keep posting national stuff here if he leaves Bend."

---<

Makes us all a little sick thinking that without BP this site would get less than ten posts per week.; April 13, 2009 at 9:57 PM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: State jobless rate jumpsOregon now a contender for highest rate in the nation

TUALATIN — Oregon’s jobless rate has taken a dramatic jump to 12.1 percent — a rate seen only once before since the state began collecting uniform data in the mid-1970s.

The increase could saddle Oregon with the highest unemployment rate in the nation when those figures are released on Friday, state labor economist Art Ayre said.

Michigan currently has the highest rate, at 12 percent. Oregon’s comparable figure from February, 10.7 percent, tied it for third.

The state’s jobless rate has risen, now, 14 months in a row, and has averaged a 1 percent increase for the past five months. A year ago the unemployment rate was 6 percent.

“The news, as you might expect, is not good,” Ayre said Monday. “With those large increases, obviously, we are well above where we were one year ago.”

The state Employment Department said the March jobless figure in Oregon matches that of November 1982, which was the high point of the recession of the early 1980s.

The current rate is also well above the national average for March, 8.5 percent, Ayre said.

He said it was the widest gap between the state and national rates since the state began collecting comparable data.

A part of Oregon’s ballooning unemployment rate is a result of a labor force that’s steadily been growing, Ayre said.

While other states, such as Michigan, have seen the number of people seeking work decrease, more and more Oregonians such as spouses who hadn’t been working and people whose investments have been damaged are going into the labor market.

When they don’t find work, they swell the jobless ranks and percentages.

Job losses were clustered in three major sectors: construction; manufacturing and trade; and transportation and utilities.

Although Monday’s numbers offered little hope going into the future — economists don’t expect gains until 2010 — Ayre said the state may have already seen the bulk of the job losses in the current recession.

The latest numbers represent 14,000 more people struggling to find work, for a state total of more than a quarter million unemployed. Of those unemployed, about 180,000 are receiving some sort of state aid.

The lobby was busy at the WorkSource center in Tualatin where the Employment Department announced the newest numbers. People scanned computers looking for jobs. Others waited for job-hunting seminars to begin.

Shirley Elicker, a 61-year-old Beaverton resident, has been out of work for two months. She used to do secretarial work for a church, but as the economy turned darker, she offered to leave. “I willingly stepped into this monster,” she said.

Of course, she knew it was a bad time, but she figured a month on the job market and she’d find something. Now she’s hoping two more months is all it’ll take.

“It can be very overwhelming and depressing,” she said. “But if you keep yourself busy and you keep looking, you have a better outlook.”; April 14, 2009 at 7:08 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Subscription req'd:

Mountain Comfort to close its doorsApril 14, 2009 4:00 am

Mountain Comfort Furnishings, a downtown Bend furniture store that opened in 1999, is going out of....MORE; April 14, 2009 at 7:10 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Mountain Comfort was one of those "phenomenon" that just seemed doomed to me.

Classic BUBBLE ONLY LIMITED TIME OFFER sort of place. Too big, too grandiose, too Bend 2006 to ever survive bad times.

Nice place, but too over-the-top. It was my One furniture-store-bound-to-fail choice for this town.

And with it's 50% Sale recently, I could tell it was in the death throes.; April 14, 2009 at 7:15 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: And there are a lot of "MOUNTAIN COMFORT" retail phenom's in Bend. Could only survive if growth actually did sustain at 30%/yr for 20 years... otherwise they are doomed.

The trifecta of Dinner-Ready-type franchises? Doomed.

Office Max, Office Depot AND Staples? Doomed.

Home Depot & Lowes, and about 2,000,000 local competitors? Doomed.

Cascade Design Center on auto row? DOOMED.

We're seeing the effect of every other person in bend go into furniture retailing. DOOMED.

So many Bubblicious-Only retail concepts started here in the past 5 years are 100% Bend DOOMED.; April 14, 2009 at 7:20 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Of course I'm leaving out the DOWNTOWN HIGH END RESTAURANT locust swarm of 2004-07. Obviously doomed.

What's next? GYMS. This swarm of me-too bastards will lose it all right here in Bend.

Prediction: Every single one (opened in the past 3 years) will close.; April 14, 2009 at 7:22 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Here's a future Casualty of War victim:

OLD NAVY on the east side.

Since Linens & Things went bust, Old Navy has got the Rigeberto's retail AIDS. No one there anymore.

Eastside Safeway? Will continue to kick ass & take names. Always full. Most Eastside skanks are either shopping or shoplifting all their food at Safeway.; April 14, 2009 at 7:26 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: I also think the Boston Pizza down South will survive. Close to Sunriver types, it's actually really stand-alone, using the empty surrounding husk as a windbreak. Gotts going down will probably slow Boston Pizza down, just barely... not kill it.; April 14, 2009 at 7:28 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Been driving down OB Riley recently, and man you wanna see some desperate shit, you go there. Miles of prison-bound housing... Tuscan Buttplugs... it's a disaster.

There's enough supply on a one mile stretch of OB Riley to house all of Oregon for 1,000 years.

And Tuscan Buttplugs is just a sad, SAD stand of tyvek flapping in the wind... all over.; April 14, 2009 at 7:32 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Just so you know, REAL UNEMPLOYMENT IN ORE-GONE IS 12.9% this month.

Of course, this is the highest March unemployment rate EVER RECORDED for the State.

There have only been 2 months in recorded history when unemployment is higher than it is was last month: Jan & Feb 1983, when it was 13.4% and 13.2% respectively.

Let the MASS EXODUS BEGIN.; April 14, 2009 at 7:38 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Just so you know, REAL UNEMPLOYMENT IN ORE-GONE IS 12.9% this month.

Whoops... I meant last month.; April 14, 2009 at 7:39 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Sawyer update: Bend family pays ahead - faces foreclosureApril 13, 2009 05:32 PM

Renters shocked by notice of default; Kevin Sawyer says he was not involved in property management

By Victoria Adelus, KTVZ.COM

An alleged victim of property manager Tami Sawyer and husband Kevin Sawyer is speaking out - and so, for the first time, is Kevin Sawyer, a former Bend police captain who is seeking to clarify and limit his role in the actions and companies under scrutiny by the FBI and the courts.

Since February, notices of default have popped up on about eight more properties under the Sawyers' property management company, Genesis Futures LLC.

William and Brandie Thomas said Monday they moved to Bend from Yamhill County in November to start a great new life together.

To make sure that happened, they say they paid Genesis Futures LLC six months of rent in advance. It was a check that totaled more than $9,000, for a home on Bend's south end.

On Saturday, the Thomases say they got a notice on their door and in their mail. It was a trustee's notice of sale, meaning their home is going up for auction Aug. 13.

The Thomases say their lease agreement states there were no foreclosures or defaults on the property when they moved in and signed the document, a form also showing Tami Sawyer's signature.

But the trustee's notice of sale shows Tami Sawyer hasn't made monthly payments of more than $1,200 since August of last year, three months before the Thomases moved in.

"So they knew when they gave us that lease agreement that this home was going to go into foreclosure," claimed Brandie Thomas, who has been paying rent to Genesis Futures LLC.

Meanwhile, the former manager of Genesis Futures LLC, Lori Maunder, tells me she was not aware of the company' financial situation when she handed the lease agreement to the Thomases.

"The standard operating procedure in our office was that we had a stamp with Tami Sawyer's signature, and I did stamp her signature on the lease agreements," Maunder tells NewsChannel 21.

"However, I was in no way responsible for their finances. I had no knowledge of their financial position in any of their companies. So, the extent of my responsibility was to place renters to take care of the houses, and that's exactly what I did,"said Maunder.

Kevin Sawyer also spoke to me by phone Monday and said he is not personally involved in property management with Genesis Futures LLC, and was not aware of this specific case.

He also says this all happened during the former manager's employment, with her knowledge.

The Thomases, meanwhile, say they just wish someone would have warned them, before they got the news in the mail and on their door.

"This has just put us into a panic, especially with two children," Brandie Thomas said.

Maunder says she resigned from Genesis Futures LLC in December.

Kevin Sawyer says they are renegotiating several loans with lenders, and are working with their attorneys on dealing with the several issues they face.; April 14, 2009 at 7:42 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: The Sawyer's continue to grift noob's outta their life savings.

Funny, but the broadcast version of this story had the victim's blaming "these sorts of people in Bend" or somesuch... like the whole fucking town is full of grifting assholes out to fuck people over.

Truth stranger than fiction.; April 14, 2009 at 7:44 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Folks, if you prepay rent to ANYONE in Bend, or even give them a deposit, you are GOING TO GET FUCKED. Just face it, this town is 100% packed with thieves.; April 14, 2009 at 7:45 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: I almost assume my own deposit in 100% BEND GONE... not because the people took it intending to rob me... but shit's changed and it's THEM OR US time now.

people will do what they need to do. Did you see the threads Tami Sawyer showed up to court in? Yup, she'll use your rent money to stay draped in $1,000 silk sweaters cuz she thinks she's ENTITLED.

That's Bend. People rationalize RIPPING OFF EVERYONE ELSE at all costs. Look at 1033-RIPOFF CENTRAL... using people's deposits to hire lawyers & fight to stay outta jail and BK their investors.

This is Bend Folks... the Wild West. If you get smacked upside the head with a shovel & left for dead, life savings gone... well, it's your own damn fault for even coming here, cuz that's the game. It's the only game we got.; April 14, 2009 at 7:50 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Todays' Bully shows that one of the few bright spots is BULLETS. Nosler doing land-office business...; April 14, 2009 at 7:51 AM
Quimby said...: Why on God's earth would you pre-pay 9K in rent? Stupid dimwits.

And do a little research, especially if you're handing someone 9 grand.

That's not to say that the landlords aren't consciously ripping them off....they are.; April 14, 2009 at 7:54 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Can ya tell?

I FINISHED MY TAXES!!!!!!; April 14, 2009 at 7:56 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: I've pre-paid rent in the past... sometimes a lot.

No More. Never again.; April 14, 2009 at 7:57 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Oregon unemployment rockets past 12%by Richard Read, The Oregonian
Monday April 13, 2009, 10:09 PM

Oregon's startling 12.1 percent unemployment rate will soar even higher,economists predict, possibly topping the nation's as financially strapped retirees and others seek jobs.

While job hunters multiplied and employment declined in March, Oregon's seasonally adjusted jobless rate tied the record set at the peak of the 1980s recession -- the worst since officials began tracking numbers in 1947.

The Oregon Employment Department says the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped 1.4 percentage points to reach 12.1 percent in March, up from February's level of 10.7 percent, which officials revised downward from the 10.8 percent originally reported.

Oregon, which had the nation's third-highest jobless rate in February, has now exceeded Michigan's top-U.S. level of 12 percent for that month.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski called the statistics released Monday "staggering." Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said the state had "runaway unemployment."

The jobless level jumped 1.4 percentage points from February's figure of 10.7 percent, which was revised from an initial estimate of 10.8 percent. The state rate -- which far exceeds the nation's 8.5 percent March level -- has never jumped as rapidly in five months as during the past five, when the monthly increase has averaged a full percentage point.

"I'm guessing when the dust settles," said Tom Potiowsky, state government's chief economist, "we'll be the highest in the nation."

Rapid growth of the state labor force is a trend particular to Oregon that captivates Potiowsky and other economists. Nonworking spouses and others are emerging from the woodwork to seek employment.

Oregon's labor force gained 58,000 between March 2008 and March this year, while the state lost 77,000 jobs during those 12 months. That's a 3 percent increase in the labor force and a 4.2 percent decrease in employment.

"That is a sizable discrepancy that is contributing to the unemployment-rate increases," said Josh Lehner, an analyst at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. "Compare that to the U.S. overall, where the labor force increased 264,000 -- up 0.2 percent -- while employment declined 5.1 million -- down 3.5 percent."

State population growth, or in-migration, is not the main cause.

"We're getting more and more households joining the labor force," Potiowsky said. "Even the 20-year-old that lives in the basement and watches TV all day is being asked to go out and work."

Retirees who might have worked part time or not at all are ginning up resumes. "Folks that had retired are going, 'Oh my gosh, my 401(k) is gone,'" said Jerry Cohen, state director of AARP Oregon, a nonprofit with members 50 and older.

As Oregon's unemployment rate spirals, "You just start to wonder at what point do people start to leave" for other states, said Tim Duy, a University of Oregon economist.

Duy, who publishes the UO Index of Economic Indicators, had thought until Monday that the state rate might top out around 13 percent, considered that scenario fairly pessimistic. With the latest jump, he's thinking more like 14 percent -- or even 15.

Mark McMullen, a Moody's Economy.com director in Lake Oswego, disagrees. "Our baseline outlook doesn't have it rising much higher than it is now," he said, "stopping just short of 13 percent."

McMullen expects the labor force to stop growing as the high unemployment rate scares off potential job seekers. He sees "green shoots starting to show" in Oregon's economy, as tech firms attract investment and as Eugene, for example, ramps up public construction.

"We expect Oregon to have a relatively strong recovery compared to other states," McMullen said.

"Total drought"
The recovery is not coming soon enough for Valerie Church, a Portland interior designer laid off in January. "It's a total drought, an absolute drought," said Church, 32, of the job market in her field.

Church was one of 256,404 Oregonians unemployed as of March. That number is more than double the total from March last year.

In March, Oregon's seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment declined by 14,000 jobs, following a drop of 22,800, as revised, in February. The losses were widespread, the Oregon Employment Department reported, with trade, transportation and utilities down 3,600 jobs and four other big industries each down approximately 2,400 jobs.

Church had been working less than three years for a Portland office-furniture dealer when, one day, she sat at her desk listing tasks on 12 new projects.

"My boss came up at like 4:40 in the afternoon and said, 'Do you have a minute to talk to Brad?'" said Church, who remembers walking toward the partner's office.

"I'm like, 'Why am I the only person going to Brad's office?' And then suddenly it dawned on me, 'I'm getting laid off.'"

Church and her fiance, Joshua Morris, a medical-marketing consultant, are getting married in July. To economize, they're moving from a 2,500-square-foot rental house to an 850-square-foot duplex.

"It gets a little depressing at times," Church said. "But at the same time, there are so many other people in the same situation."; April 14, 2009 at 8:00 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Duy, who publishes the UO Index of Economic Indicators, had thought until Monday that the state rate might top out around 13 percent, considered that scenario fairly pessimistic. With the latest jump, he's thinking more like 14 percent -- or even 15.Huh. Duy finally woke up & smelled the REALITY.; April 14, 2009 at 8:04 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Bloggers f-d up.... Not allowing line breaks after tags... great.; April 14, 2009 at 8:05 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: As Oregon's unemployment rate spirals, "You just start to wonder at what point do people start to leave" for other states, said Tim Duy, a University of Oregon economist.Hey Duy, I'll throw you another bone: THEY ARE LEAVING ALREADY!

Jeebus H Christmas... this state is going to have the greatest outmigration in it's history.

Cuz Oregon is BETTER THAN THE REST. And Bend is BETTER THAN ANYWHERE.

We're so fucked.; April 14, 2009 at 8:07 AM
Anonymous said...: Good to see homer back alive.

Good to hear taxes are done.; April 14, 2009 at 8:17 AM
PopGoesBend said...: >Mountain Comfort Furnishings, a downtown Bend furniture store that opened in 1999, is going out of....MORE

I am really surprised it lasted this long. I heard rumors last summer that they were losing about $50k a month, then about a week later the "Bulletin kiss of death" article came out. They built the building, put condos upstairs, built a warehouse... They needed to pull in so much fucking money to just pay the mortgages, and when stuff goes on sale for 50% off you are just getting cash in with no ability to actually buy more product.

Anyone else been out to the "Let's Make a Space" store? That's my guess on the next one to go.; April 14, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Anonymous said...: A couple years ago I talked about this here.

1.) Never prepay rent in Bend.

2.) Never buy a home on 'contract' in Bend.

In both 1&2 the gig is the 'owner' of the home is collecting money, but not paying his MTG, most landlords will also try to 'rent-to-own' in bad times another thing to watch out.

To me its quite easy to eliminate the pain for your renters, just use DIAL and make sure that the landlord owns the home free&clear, and then you need not worry.

If the landlord owes more than the home is worth, and note we're still in the first inning of this plummet then the odd's are the landlord will pocked the rent money, and not use it to pay MTG, as the fuck is under water.

For prospective landlords the time to buy rental property in BEND is when the prices is near 4X of income, and NOT when it is 6-8X of income like 2004-2007. So all these 'investors' are going to be fucked, and as home writes above, everyone is Bend who is fucked, then fucks everyone else.

This is the town that fucks one another.

Best time to NOT be in Bend in 20 years.; April 14, 2009 at 8:22 AM
Anonymous said...: Interesting conversation last night @deschutes brew older couples here looking for retirement.

They were shocked to hear that Bend had crime, or un-employment, they had been told by a very honest Bend realtor that Bend was the best place in the USA to retire, crime free, and full employment.

I suggested that their 'honest realtor' should be verified by taking night drives up on Awbrey where they wanted to BUY for the VIEW, cuz up there most of the streets are dark, as everybody has moved out on Foreclosure.

I have a friend in Widgi, and he's the only house on the street with someone living on.

I didn't even feel like telling these people about Costco or Safeway knife-point robberys of women holding infants.

Bend has no crime, and has full employment, and Realtors here are gold and can be trusted like a Jesuit son. Who would have guessed?

Best time to retire in Bend in twenty years. Lastly, of course ALL the couples I met last night were from Florida, Jewish, and in their 70's. Jewish out-migration of Florida, ... who could have known.

All these people want a view, need not worry Bend has always been 'poverty with a view'.

So the media MUST be working, cuz they're getting Jewish retirement hoards looking for a 'view' in Bend.

In my humble opinion fuck the view, go live anywhere and hike or bike everyday and see the mountains or whatever. This idea of sitting on your ass with a picture window, ... ohh then over 50% of the time there ain't no fucking view anyhow cuz of the clouds, rain, or SMOG.; April 14, 2009 at 8:29 AM
Quimby said...: >> Can ya tell?

>> I FINISHED MY TAXES!!!!!!

Gotta love those midnight basis calculations eh Homer?; April 14, 2009 at 8:30 AM
PopGoesBend said...: I talked to someone this weekend who within the last year took over managing a restaurant that's been here for a long time. Before he did they were losing $25k-$35k a month. He has upped their profit margins by about 66%, which means.... they are still losing money.

More confirmation that there are very few people doing well.; April 14, 2009 at 8:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Dunc's blog today/yesterday has a quote from the owner of Starz about Bend being made up of 'strange' delusional birds.

For months every week the SORE (hbm source ) has been plugging an ad for 'little tina' the 3ft porn midget coming to Bend late April, the biggest act @Starz this year.

What is it with Bend that Porn Midget is the big act? Who is the owner of Starz to be saying that Bend is weird? Does he have a fetish with nude midgets or Bend?

Is Bend to become a 'wizard of oz', where naked horny midgets roam wild, and the 'big people' pay to watch??; April 14, 2009 at 8:35 AM
Anonymous said...: I live in PDX, but I'm coming to Bend for show in April to see "Little Tina" at the Bend Starz.

Most of the hotels in Bend are already booked for the event.

People from all over the Northwest including Burns are coming for the show. It's not clear where Bend will house all the people. Perhaps people will rent out rooms in personal homes.; April 14, 2009 at 8:39 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm kinda startled there'd be Jewish from Florida looking at Bend. I thought they'd stay there forever. Or at least on the East Coast. They have relatives from Jersey to Michigan. Can't imagine them moving west. Weird.; April 14, 2009 at 8:45 AM
Anonymous said...: As Oregon's unemployment rate spirals, "You just start to wonder at what point do people start to leave" for other states, said Tim Duy, a University of Oregon economist.

*

I'm seeing people I have know for 20+ years lose their job, and what's most striking is their wife is also losing her job. In the next two years your going to see the most foreclosures in ORYGUN history.

Most people can tolerate the loss of one income, people I know that are seeing their wives lose the job are just shocked. It always seemed lately like the wifes job was the bastion of security, and health insurance.

This is what I mean by the fact that we're only in the first inning, we got to play out the ARM-RESETS to 2012, then toss in the 18 month Bend lag, ... but the massive job loss means most people will do the BP, e.g. go back and live with relatives in the mid-west where there is real income.

The problem is largely high-tech came to Orygun cuz it could be anywhere, but now TECH purchasing has plummeted. There are no sales, and everybody is losing their job. Even government shit is down 40%, stuff like State payroll processing, a lot of government service has nothing to do when their are no jobs.

Many of the couples I know will lose the homes not for the fact that they lost the job, but for the fact that they flipped homes in the last ten years and took out equity, had they kept their 10+ year old home they would be sitting on a $500/mo MTG, but most people are sitting on a $2k/mo or more MTG, and everything was cozy with two good $100k jobs,

I have friends on $500/mo or less MTG, and going on second year of un-employment, and they're doing well, about $1200/mo income, and there appears to be no end in sight. These people own their car, and have a small MTG.

Bend is just fucking depressing compared to the valley.; April 14, 2009 at 8:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Crime, Puerto-Ricans, traffic, ... Most of Florida ain't what it used to be 20+ years ago.

Like HBM says its really too cold here for old people.

It's the view folks, its the view, the view is how they sell BEND to the Florida retirees.

My point with there Florida people is that they have survived the lows of the Florida RE collapse, its already done, if they move to Bend now, they'll be entering an RE market where for the next three years they'll see their purchase plummet. The attitude is "I'll write a lowball", but everything is bend is lowball.

People in Florida are afraid of crime, and crowds. Bend is being sold by COVA to Floridians as a Retirement Mecca of safety and views.

The NOMADIC old-fart in ameriKKKa is a very interesting phenomenon. They have Florida, Arizona, ... & Bend, ... these national magazines are always rating where you can get the best deal for your retirement dollar. All the national mags for months have been talking about what Deals & Views can be had in Bend.

But like I said what's the point of a VIEW on Awbrey if you have no neighbors and all the homes on your street have been foreclosed??

Bend is a basecamp, get a little home to store your shit, if you want a view hike up Powell Butte, frequently travel away from Bend. Bend is a base-camp, it is NOT a retirement mecca.

Well I hope COVA is happy it appears to be working, ... Best time to BUY View property in Bend in Twenty Years. But like I told these people last night, "GO SLOW", and Remember if you BUY BEND RE your stuck with it 5+ years.; April 14, 2009 at 8:58 AM
PopGoesBend said...: When I first saw the predictions from Credit Suisse last year that 1 in 6 mortgages in the US would go tits up by 2012 I was a bit alarmed. I figured that since Bend was more fucked than the rest of the country that meant we would be looking at 1 in 4 mortgages here, or 1 in 5 homes. Well, we just hit the rate of NODs that we need for that to happen, and with the number of unemployed fuckers out there I can only see the NOD numbers going up from here.

Bend. Where at least 2 two homes on every block are bank owned.; April 14, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Yesterday Bend was Real Estate, Coldwell, and Bend every hair-lip got rich flipping.

Todays Bend is "$2 Meth Burritos" at Rigobertos-II, and "Little-Tina" Bend's poster girl, a 3ft porn midget.

My how times have change.

Who could have guessed we could have gone from Merenda's and beautiful people to porn midgets and meth in four months, the future is going to get really interesting around here.

Tomorrows Bend?? Crime, Crime, Insurance Fraud, arrests of realtors and cpa's. METH skyrocketing, people afraid to be out at night. Vast housing tracts empty of light at night. 25% or more real un-employment. Kids bored, homeless wondering streets, beggars going door-to-door.

What does one expect from a town where city-hall and city-staff is disconnected from reality.

The dog days of summer will be here soon, and only people like marge will be ready.; April 14, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Quimby said...: I've got some extra rooms for the "Little Tina" migrants/groupies....

I honestly don't know why she's doing the Starz thing. She could pack the Les Schwab Amphitheatre. Big screens for viewing pleasure and Old Mill cuisine right around the corner.; April 14, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Jelement said...: >Anyone else been out to the "Let's Make a Space" store? That's my guess on the next one to go.

You mean the ridiculous Ikea reseller store? Wandered in there one day and was surprised to see Ikea labels on things, then find out they bring a selection of items over from PDX to their store, and can also order other Ikea items for you but not over $75. WTF, I could drive to PDX, or visit ikea.com on my own. Lame concept for a store and hopefully will be the next to go.

Bend may be 361/372 on Bruce's list, but I still see Santa Cruz up there as 344/372, and the median home price for Santa Cruz county is all the way down to $370k. That's still a ridiculous mortgage payment as far as I'm concerned, even with 20% down.

Of the 11 metro areas on Bruce's list that are worse than Bend, 9 of them are in California. So all these people came to Oregon from California, and now they've both gone to shit employment wise, so where to they go when they leave this time?; April 14, 2009 at 11:15 AM
PopGoesBend said...: Anyone else have evidence of rents dropping in Bend? A buddy of mine has been in his place for abut 6 years and after a few rent increases over the years he has just negotiated a rent that is cheaper than when he moved in.

Another place I am familiar with was rented last year for $1100/mo. I saw it advertised at $1200/mo 6 weeks ago but it's now down to $1000 and still no bites.

I haven't really followed the rental market to know if those are blips, or the norm these days.; April 14, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Are there a lot of rentals open? I haven't even been checking. The situation seems so fluid. I'll see a house with a For Sale sign up, then a For Rent Sign. Then both. Then neither. The house'll just be empty. Then a For Sale sign again. It's nuts. WTF?; April 14, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Jelement said...: Overall I think things are a little cheaper to rent than a few months ago. The place I moved into has dropped prices a little bit, but pulled their free rent offer that was going during the winter, so it ends up about the same over the course of a year.

Sawyers are also getting really desperate to try and get their homes rented out, so they've been dropping rental prices as well. The places they own on Hurita have come down about $100 to $150 over the last month or so. I imagine there's a lot of others out there who have homes facing foreclosure that would still like to get someone in for a few months and make some income.; April 14, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Are there a lot of rentals open? I haven't even been checking. The situation seems so fluid. I'll see a house with a For Sale sign up, then a For Rent Sign. Then both. Then neither. The house'll just be empty. Then a For Sale sign again. It's nuts. WTF?

*

Well as a landlord, and occasional home-seller, ...

You have to put your dick in the pool and see what bites, what I do is look at craigslist, and start $100 less than average of what-everybody else is asking in that area, for that size of house, of course it also helps that my houses are in the best area, and best condition.

On the sales front it only takes 1 month of a 'for-sale' sign to realize that with ZERO offers, not even a fucking 'lowball' that its a waste of time about two years ago I had a commercial that I was having a hell of a time renting so I put up a for-sale sign, and got less action then I went back to rent sign and slapped on new paint out&in, and new apppliances and had the bitch rented, but I rented it as a home rather than commercial, as these days NOBODY is starting biz.

I don't know shit about apartment, I only buy homes, I always only buy single family homes, since I have rented this commercial as a home the renters have begged to buy it from me but I say NO, I'm in the rental business, its funny but I would have sold it in a nano-second back when I couldn't rent it as commercial biz, but now that its a home and I'm getting the $1k/mo rent check I wouldn't think is selling the bitch.

My like getting $1k/mo checks from all the houses, and me own houses free&clear. So far I have not dropped prices on any homes but given that I always start $100 less than the similar craigs average, they're already cheap.

People never move, right now my average is $995, but I got one nice house that would go for $1400/mo on craigs and it is rented by an acupuncture guy for 8 years for $895, and I don't raise rent on tenants, cuz if they move it takes 3months MIN to find new blood, and that means I lose $3k, so its cheaper to have cheap rent and make sure they never move.

SO there's my two cents, have other questions please feel free to ask.

The WORST fucking thing to me is to have a home sit empty, that's why I'll temp go into sell mode if it isn't rented QUICK.

Why does it take 3months to get a renter? Well it takes on average 6 weeks of advertising on craigs to find a 'qualified applicant', e.g. somebody that meets the screen critera ( state legal terminology ), then they have to give 30 day notice to their current, so now you got ten weeks, and then it usually takes about two weeks of over-lap. So it always takes 2-3 months to re-occupy a home, that's fine, as given my average occupancy is 5-10 years, its good to paint and totally replace everything every 5-10 years and it can take 2-3 months to do this,

None of the above is rocket-science just common sense, like they used to say, "Take care of a rental, and it will take care of you".; April 14, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Rental Pricing Theory

Given there is some real interest I'll share the conundrum with the fellow KUNTS here.

Sure a landlord like me could rent a nice home for $500/mo they're paid for, but here's the problem, you go too cheap and you scare away 'good tenants', they don't think its true.

Imagine CraigsList "Nice home, near Drake Park, 3bd2bth, yard, garage,parking, $600/mo", good people think METH house. Its really fucking sad, but its a fact.

See from a landlord point of view, I only care about ONE THING, the house doesn't get fucked up, cuz that will cost me $50k or more to fix, paint&fixtures is one thing, but a dumb-ass criminal renter can easily DESTROY a home with water-damage, and given he's a loser, there's no point of civil lawsuit, cuz there's nothing there.

So first of all you want to rent to people with JOBS who have something to lose. You want people with GOOD NAMES, who don't want their credit fucked.

So to get these 'good people' you have to find the sweet spot for rental pricing, you have to be up there what most people are charging, but I like to be $50-$100 less, so I get all the traffic,

But MOST important for a simple $100 less a month, they NEVER FUCKING MOVE, cuz there is NO-WHERE in town they can find a home as good as they have for less.

Now if & when somebody says to me, "Hey drop the rent", well its NEVER fucking happened.

Back in the 1980's during our last crash in ORYGUN, I had friends that let people go months without paying rent cuz the people had lost their jobs. I have never done that, cuz under ORYGUN law, once you let them live their for free, then you have modified the 'rental-agreement', you have opened a horrible can of worms.

Note on SAWYER above, ... and a lot, and I should say MOST of BEND, most of these people have NO FUCKING business being in the landlord biz.

When any of my tenants have a problem say a washer, or water-heater it ALWAYS gets replace the same day, I don't fuck with fixing shit, and the renters know they have someone who cares, and thus they care.

The worst thing in the world is NOBODY cares, cuz if landlord don't care, then renter don't care, and then the home becomes a shit-hole.; April 14, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Another fucking issue is foreclosures a month ago me and marge had the debate about what I call 'unloved homes', e.g. NOD's, Foreclosures, and short-sales.

So last night entertaining my Jewish Floridians @Deschutes who are here for two weeks looking for a retirement home with a view, I mention "Foreclosures", and they said every fucking "foreclosure" they looked at up on Awbrey Butte was a shit-hole.

Imagine fucking that!!!!

I kept asking why Awbrey? They keep telling "Cuz Awbrew has the best views in Bend", and who says? They're fucking realtor who is a solid gold good kid, ....

Well there's my point that I have always tried to TEACH here, that these UN-LOVED homes, nobody wants them, the secret is make sure that homes are loved, that they don't become NOD's, .. cuz in the END they go back to the bank, and nobody fucking wants them, they go to the auction block, where some fucking reseller buys them.

Yes, this old guy in his 70's last night told me he's been shown homes up on Awbrey in the nice areas with a view with the COPPER pulled from the fucking walls "Foreclosures".

Best time to buy a home in Bend in 20 years.

My fucking feeling is that OLD people have no business up on that hill, in the winter its slip and slide, and the way the city budget BK is going they'll have no money to plow, its a fucking mess.

I told them to go to the Juniper-Ridge fitness center take some classes, meet some old active farts there, and find out where they live, that living up on Awbrey on a street of empty lights would be fucking lonely, and if you got robbed nobody would hear your scream.; April 14, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Anonymous said...: I imagine there's a lot of others out there who have homes facing foreclosure that would still like to get someone in for a few months and make some income.

*

You know that its really beginning now when this shit happens.

Typically it takes about six months after you quit pay the MTG before the BANK posts a note on the house telling the occupant that home is being foreclosed.

Expect to see lots of landlords renting homes for dirt-cheap say $800/mo, but wanting the YEAR up front, nice scam, virtually impossible to get the money back.

Deju-Vu reminds me of 1983 ORYGUN, but the best is the guy who sells you the home on 'contract' no recording you just give him say $10k cash to move in and pay MTG to you, say I SELL you a home I'm losing, say I sell you the home for $300k, and 10% down $30k, and 5% contract, or $1200/mo, so I get $30k on a home I paid zero-down ( three years ), and I get $1200/mo, until you find out that the home is being foreclosed.

YOUR FUCKED, this happened to TONS of people all over ORYGUN back in the 1980's.

I have said this before here, and I'll say again, NEVER buy a home on contract or pre-pay rent.; April 14, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Most Eastside skanks are either shopping or shoplifting all their food at Safeway.

####

Truth

####

I also think the Boston Pizza down South will survive.

####

Got roped into going there with T's best friend a couple weeks ago. One of the worst dining experiences of my life.; April 14, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Then we can talk 'renter scams' since this hasn't come up.

A favorite is to rent a house, and then sell the house, this works well if landlord doesn't live in town, and then what you do is you sell the house to a dozen people.

Works like this, you rent the house, and then put an ad in craigs "for sale nice home $200k, ...", then you take $20k deposit for down-payment from a dozen or more people ... You give them all the keys and tell them they can have occupancy say May 1, 2009.

Then on May 1, a dozen people show up at the new home to move in, its a fucking riot, in the meantime the renters has skipped town with over $300k cash.

Not a fucking thing you can do.

If its too good to be fucking true, well it ain't true.

NEVER buy a home on contract.

As a landlord I see this shit all the time, and I see these types of renters all the time, of course these renters don't have jobs, they always want to rent the house without an application, and they want to pay CASH for the home up front and get the keys today!!!! Some landlords do it, and then ALL the people WHO got fucked try and sue the landlord, ... it happens all the times folks.

Like we say here, ... BEND IS THE TOWN THAT FUCKS PEOPLE.

If your a landlord, .. screen, screen, screen, and screen.

I do a FULL FBI background check on all applicants, and if they fail, I give them their $30/applicant back.; April 14, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Bewert said...: Re:
Sawyers are also getting really desperate to try and get their homes rented out, so they've been dropping rental prices as well. The places they own on Hurita have come down about $100 to $150 over the last month or so.

####

J, good info. That's what this place is about.; April 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Got roped into going there with T's best friend a couple weeks ago. One of the worst dining experiences of my life.

*

Shitty food, east side, if its cheap it sounds like a recipe for success.

A few months ago I went to the SE-8th side restaurant wholesale place to buy some cooking shit, got talking with the owner, he told me that the busiest place in town was the new burger joint downtown where the old blue-fish was, he said the burger guy was doing well and had bought lots of equipment.

Goes to show that if you can have a product for $5-10, and keep your costs below $1, that you can still make money in Bend.; April 14, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Kevin Sawyer says he was not involved in property management

####

Even Barney wouldn't say that, so they got Victoria to.

That denial is why I gave up. It's just fucking stupid.

We've got 20+ years of housing stock and stubbed subdivisions. With an average wage of maybe $10/hour.

It's fucking economic suicide.; April 14, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Anonymous said...: J, good info. That's what this place is about.

*

Well BP, you probably will not be here in six months, but the shit going down then will make the shit now look tame.

Figure by fall of 2009 cannibalism will be common in Bend.

Somebody said why leave Florida or Bend? Cuz in Florida they hide under cars and cut your achilles and drag you under and harvest your organs for the black-market and leave you to die, and believe me that shit will come to BEND.

When you read about someone @walmart, costco, ... parking lot in Bend with a kidney, or lung missing, then you'll know that Bend has hit bigtime.; April 14, 2009 at 2:12 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Goes to show that if you can have a product for $5-10, and keep your costs below $1, that you can still make money in Bend.

###

Yes, you can. Not riches, but a living.

In this place both the food and service sucked. Kind of like our experience at El Jimado's(sp?) downtown after the crit last year--a sullen waitress brings us the worst nachos, so bad even I couldn't even choke them down.

Soggy wrecks made an hour earlier.

And it is still snowing outside my window as I type this. The Bend PR machine may deny it, but the reality machine rules in the long run.; April 14, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Goes to show that if you can have a product for $5-10, and keep your costs below $1, that you can still make money in Bend.

###

Yes, you can. Not riches, but a living.

In this place both the food and service sucked. Kind of like our experience at El Jimado's(sp?) downtown after the crit last year--a sullen waitress brings us the worst nachos, so bad even I couldn't even choke them down.

Soggy wrecks made an hour earlier.

And it is still snowing outside my window as I type this. The Bend PR machine may deny it, but the reality machine rules in the long run.; April 14, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Re: Kevin Sawyer says he was not involved in property management

*

That really is fucking funny, figure with his police captains salary, he was the CO-SIGNER for all his wifes deals.

Yeh, I wasn't in the biz, but my signature is on all the deals.

Pay no attention to the paper, look at my face.

I think this is why he had to resign the cop shop, there was NO way in hell that that city-hall could have covered his arse.

The wife clearly had fucked her credit and name, and hubby was used to get the deals done on paper.

Only in Bend does your signature have nothing to do with a purchase.

Yep, Sawyer was a police captain, too busy keeping fellow pigs out of jail for DUI, and speeding, he didn't 'manage' property, that would be getting his hands dirty, instead he just signed paper that he never read, sounds like a decent alibi.; April 14, 2009 at 2:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Re: Goes to show that if you can have a product for $5-10, and keep your costs below $1, that you can still make money in Bend.

###

Yes, you can. Not riches, but a living.

*

Ok, let's do the number, flip the tables every 30 min, making $30/table, 8 tables, for say 4-6 hours, ... thats $2400 an evening, not counting lunch. Figure perhaps $3k/day, float $500/day off the as cash into your pocket, and your making damn good money in Bend.

Don't fucking think these folks aren't making money. Are they keeping the money?

Still if they're putting $15k/mo in their back-pocket, and putting the money away, their ahead.

Damn better than working for $10/hr in Bend at two jobs.; April 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Bewert said...: Re: When you read about someone @walmart, costco, ... parking lot in Bend with a kidney, or lung missing, then you'll know that Bend has hit bigtime.

###

Now that's fucking dark: ) I love it. See LC's "The Future". Dark.

You either fight it or succumb to it.

And sorry about the double post. don't know WTF happened.; April 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, you can. Not riches, but a living.

*

I don't think anybody EVER made 'riches' in Bend BP, perhaps HOLLERN, but he inherited the mill-town, company town. That's not working for riches.

Nobody gets rich in Bend, sure a lot of dumb fucks came to get rich, ... but the gold rush analogy is quite tired.

Even me teaching of the land-lord racket, ... It's still just a simple way to live, ... a lifestyle so you can have a nice income and not have to work.

But being 'RICH' that is largely subjective, its how much you spend.

Being a tight-ass who never spends money, well except for deschutes happy hour monday and that's a big $10, ...

"Your rich in proportion to that which you can afford not to buy" - Emerson

No BP, nobody gets rich, but its not hard to live in BEND and be very comfortable.; April 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Bewert said...: After the darkness, here's hope. Imagine it.; April 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Talking about MAKING money, .. did any of you see the WSJ article last week about mobile hot-dog stands?? They're like $20k, and can't make them quick enough.

People can make $1k/day, and the carts are back ordered like a year.

I like story's like this, in spite of all the doom and gloom, never forget that even in the worst of times some people are living quite well.; April 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Bewert said...: Re: I don't think anybody EVER made 'riches' in Bend BP.

###

Truth. Only the big owners, whether the mills or their heirs.

Got to go do some EBay shipping.
Later.; April 14, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Bewert said...: Before I head out, have to say it's nice seeing life here. Even if I sometimes disagree, most posting are doing so with ideas worth thinking about.; April 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Re: When you read about someone @walmart, costco, ... parking lot in Bend with a kidney, or lung missing, then you'll know that Bend has hit bigtime.

*

It's true, in Miami in large parking lots, organ harvesting is quite common. This is why demand for handguns is so big there for protection, this is why old people are fleeing florida.

But this shit will come to Bend, its inevitable, for no other reason that the harvesters will follow the easy pickings.; April 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Hell the snow is really coming down now, and sticking.; April 14, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Organ harvesting is quite common in Bend, too. Just ask Bewert. He had his testicles harvested quite some time ago. That's why he has to move back to Srewtah. He can't quite handle it here without them.; April 14, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Quimby said...: >> He had his testicles harvested quite some time ago.

No Mercy..... LMAO!; April 14, 2009 at 3:02 PM
Anonymous said...: >>It's true, in Miami in large parking lots, organ harvesting is quite common.

Sigh.; April 14, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Anonymous said...: BP's testicals are safe.

Bend Mountain Oysters will fetch you about $1/LB here in Bend, not worth anybody's time.

On the black market a pair of Bend Mountain Oysters is so little that it will not even get a cup of warm spit.

Kidneys, and other internal organs are worth $1,000's of dollars on the black market. That's the good stuff.

If BP's balls had street value Trudi would have cut them off years ago.; April 14, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Number one who is going to attend the tea party tomorrow? and another revolution of sorts 0ww2 is recalling their dictorial board led by linda johnson. Their main complaint- 97000 dollars spent to cascade bookeeping sorry folks but this corruption we can do without. It could get really ugly .If and this is a big If. linda would resign and so would the 3 board members of 5 and one of their board members that supports the recall is an ex cop from salem who investigated fraud. Linda give it up. the oregon attorney general is also involved.; April 14, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Bewert said...: Re:
I'm seeing people I have know for 20+ years lose their job, and what's most striking is their wife is also losing her job. In the next two years your going to see the most foreclosures in ORYGUN history.

Most people can tolerate the loss of one income, people I know that are seeing their wives lose the job are just shocked. It always seemed lately like the wifes job was the bastion of security, and health insurance.

####

Back when I was growing up, none of the wives had jobs. And everyone seemed to have health insurance. The 60's and 70's. Old times.

Just saying.; April 14, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Their main complaint- 97000 dollars spent to cascade bookeeping

####

That is rather interesting. Get the actual records and I'll publish them.; April 14, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Organ harvesting is quite common in Bend, too. Just ask Bewert. He had his testicles harvested quite some time ago. That's why he has to move back to Srewtah. He can't quite handle it here without them.

####

Dude, if I didn't get the licensing checks every quarter, unlike you, I would be stuck and angry, too.

Facts:

9 Logan, UT-ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.4%

27 Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.2%

27 Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.2%

348 Flint, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8%

361 Bend, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.1%

####

I'm dumping this place for Utah, and I'm stupid?; April 14, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Bewart the meeting is at noon at thousand trails this saturday and you will get all the info you want to publish. With all the numbers.; April 14, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Bewert said...
I'm dumping this place for Utah, and I'm stupid?I never said you were stupid, I just said that you have no testicles. And I'm happy as a clam you putz. House bought and paid for. Lots of money in the bank. Beautiful wife and kids. I was born happy in Bend and I'll die happy in Bend.; April 14, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Lots of money in the bank. Beautiful wife and kids. I was born happy in Bend and I'll die happy in Bend.

->

How old is the wife? Post 45 & in menopause, then the sex is BEND-OVER, now what??

Oh your going to put her on testosterone, and then she'll get breast cancer, intelligent women really like that.

Happy in a sexless marriage like 50%+ of most ameriKKKan men??

OH my, and you wonder why the BPussy is going back to Utah, where its legal to have an old wife for security and a young wife for sex.; April 14, 2009 at 7:46 PM
MDHN09 said...: "Todays Bend is "$2 Meth Burritos" at Rigobertos-II, and "Little-Tina" Bend's poster girl, a 3ft porn midget.

My how times have change.

Who could have guessed we could have gone from Merenda's and beautiful people to porn midgets and meth in four months, the future is going to get really interesting around here."

Ok while I disagree with a lot of what you bubble heads have to say, who ever wrote the above..CLASSIC; April 14, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Anonymous said...: >> I was born happy in Bend and I'll die happy in Bend.

Sounds like that 'The Natives Are Restless' dude. I'm a PROUD mutherfucker, Y E A H H H ! !; April 14, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Anonymous said...: At least someone is happy here.; April 14, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Quimby said...: >> At least someone is happy here.

Dude, it's tax time. I just wrote 2 huge checks to the State and Fed Gubbmint. Either you're pissed you gotta pay or you're pissed because you don't gotta pay (i.e. no income). Pretty depressing out there either way. I know my money ( aka blood/sweat/tears ) is just going down a rat hole.

Fucking Taxes.....

PS-Word Verification is pallin....mmmm, Sarah P.; April 14, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Bewert said...: Where us the local tea party today? I want to take some pics.; April 15, 2009 at 5:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Bend (Oregon) April 15th. Tea PartyAdded by Jack Woodson
View Events
Event DetailsTime: April 15, 2009 from 3pm to 6pm
Location: Troy Park, next to McMenamins Old St. Frances School
Street: 600 NW Bond St., Bend, OR 97701
City/Town: Bend
Contact Info: 541-610-6010
Event Type: tar-n-feather, washington, tea, party!!!
Organized By: Jack Woodson
Latest Activity: 1 day ago
Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)
Event DescriptionTea Party Rally and March, sponsored by Patriotic Resistance (resistnet.com) and Americans for Prosperity
< Previous Event
Next Event >; April 15, 2009 at 6:47 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: "Who could have guessed we could have gone from Merenda's and beautiful people to porn midgets and meth in four months, the future is going to get really interesting around here."

Agreed... Awesome!

Is Rigeberto's actually open? Cuz I drive by & see OPEN on the window. Not a soul there of course....; April 15, 2009 at 7:49 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Why the fuck do people wait? Why not just pay someone to do your taxes back in January?
I actually used to do this, but I STILL end up doing 80-90% of the work, and they end up as a high-priced data entry slug... the accountant actually is like a doctor, they spend 5 min on your taxes & charge $2,000. No way.

P.S. break tags seem to work for whitespace...; April 15, 2009 at 7:51 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Why "Hoping For The Best, And NOT Planning For The Worst" will doom this place over and over and over and over....

Sisters schools face deep budget holeBy Jim Cornelius
News Editor

Sisters schools are heading into their budgeting season for the 2009-2010 school year dragging a heavy anchor.

As of last Wednesday, the district was operating under the belief that it would have to budget for a $970,000 shortfall. That figure was based on Governor Ted Kulongoski's proposed two-year education budget of $6.12 billion

As of this week, that number has fallen to $5.9 billion, meaning the district will have to budget for a $1.5 million shortfall. If the number plunges to $5.4 billion, as some are predicting, the Sisters School District will be trying to dig out of a $2.47 million hole.

The shortfall is a result of a recession-fueled plunge in state funding and an expected drop in enrollment in Sisters schools next year.

Superintendent Elaine Drakulich, her staff, and an advisory budget reduction committee made up of staff and concerned citizens, has already identified areas where savings might be made.

The largest part of the deficit will be made up by declining to hire for expired temporary positions and letting open positions go unfilled.

"About half of the $970,000 - very close to that - can be made up by not replacing attrition," Drakulich told the Sisters School Board Wednesday night, April 8.

The district can also use a portion of its reserves or "carryover" from this year's budget to plug next year's gap. About $200,000 is available for this move.

In an interview with The Nugget, Drakulich acknowledged that the district may choose to keep the fifth-grade class at Sisters Elementary School next year as a means of saving some $80,000.

The fifth grade was moved to Sisters Middle School in 2005, to relieve overcrowding at Sisters Elementary School. That crowding is not a factor now, because of declining enrollment.

According to Drakulich, savings will come through reduced clerical time devoted to the fifth grade and efficiencies available by having them at the elementary school.

At the school board meeting last Wednesday, Drakulich walked the board through ideas raised by the informal budget reduction committee. No dollar figures have been attached to these ideas, because the budget session does not formally open until April 22. The budget must be finalized by the end of June.

Ideas included saving money through central purchasing of supplies and saving energy costs by blacking out buildings at night. Drakulich said that the idea of closing the district administration offices and moving to the middle school was floated but that it would not save money.

She said there was no interest in cutting out co-curricular programs, going to a four-day school week or making cuts to staff. There was, however, considerable interest in exploring a salary/benefit freeze.

Drakulich said that such a move would require opening contract negotiations with the associations that represent certified and classified staff.

Cutting school days received heavy consideration, but Drakulich said that such cuts would be part of the "next level" of cuts if the shortfall exceeds $970,000.

It appears this week that that next level of cuts may be necessary.

The committee also recommended trying to generate more income through grant writing and siting more cell phone towers on school property to tap lease revenue.

The board meets on April 22 in a work session for budget committee orientation. Drakulich will submit a draft of the balanced budget to the budget committee on May 6, but it is not clear what effect the continuing slide in state revenue forecasts will have on Sisters' budget planning.

Across the state, school budget committees are postponing action until they have a clearer picture from the state.; April 15, 2009 at 8:04 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: As of last Wednesday, the district was operating under the belief that it would have to budget for a $970,000 shortfall. That figure was based on Governor Ted Kulongoski's proposed two-year education budget of $6.12 billion

As of this week, that number has fallen to $5.9 billion, meaning the district will have to budget for a $1.5 million shortfall. If the number plunges to $5.4 billion, as some are predicting, the Sisters School District will be trying to dig out of a $2.47 million hole.
Awesome. Leave the WORST CASE SCENARIO off the table, and scramble like a muthafucka at the last second.

Not a single scenario has worked out better than WORST CASE... it's been WORST CASE 100%... but still our schools are HOPING FOR THE BEST AND IGNORING THE WORST....

NOTHING is safe folks. NOTHING.; April 15, 2009 at 8:06 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: The committee also recommended trying to generate more income through grant writing and siting more cell phone towers on school property to tap lease revenue.

Fuck, why not WHORE OUT THE STUDENTS?

Cell phone towers? Fucking what's next? Peep shows? Midget porno?; April 15, 2009 at 8:08 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: The largest part of the deficit will be made up by declining to hire for expired temporary positions and letting open positions go unfilled.

"About half of the $970,000 - very close to that - can be made up by not replacing attrition," Drakulich told the Sisters School Board Wednesday night, April 8.

What? Why is this woman even TALKING about a $970K shortfall? It's going to be MILLIONS!

There will be an outmigration from Sisters the likes of which has never been seen... when the schools there go into the shitter, even the illegals will dump that deficit-ridden shithole & head to Redmond. Or Madras [shudder].; April 15, 2009 at 8:12 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: The only kids still going to Sisters are those of deluded Boss Hogg's, and a vast swarm of illegals & mentally crippled.

Sisters schools are overwhelmed by NO CRIPPLE RETARD ILLEGAL MEXICAN LEFT BEHIND statutes.

White flight will be the new growth industry. That, and METH MULE.; April 15, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Anonymous said...: They're using the 'BUST' word,...
Boom to Bust in Bend, Oregon
By , 04-13-09
A reader sent us a link to this Seattle Times story on the economic misfortunes of Bend, Ore., and commented, “Sounds a lot like the Flathead Valley, only we are a couple steps behind.”

I agree that Bend and the Flathead Valley have much in common: growth attributed to newcomers drawn to the outdoors; strong ties to the timber industry; and, with both now tapering off, high unemployment.

The difference – and I only base this on anecdotal evidence from visiting Bend and the Times story – is that Bend truly is an overbuilt, high-end market. In the Flathead, the economy slowed before many of the valley’s subdivision were even finished. Overall, Bend seemed much further along in redefining itself as an outdoor mecca for second homeowners that have since tightened their wallets. That may just be blind optimism on my part.

The story is definitely worth a read. An excerpt:

This town that helped define the booming New West economy has hit tough times. Once tied to timber and home to one of the nation's largest pine mills, Bend reinvented itself in the last few decades as an outdoor-recreation mecca. Tens of thousands of new arrivals were drawn to the mountain-rimmed high desert for a lifestyle that included skiing, fishing, golfing and hiking.

This year, Oregon as a whole has been socked by the nation's economic turmoil. In February, the state had an overall unemployment rate of 10.8 percent — the third-highest in the nation after Michigan and South Carolina. And Bend is one of the state's roughest spots, with 12.6 percent of the work force in the city and surrounding Deschutes County without a job.; April 15, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Anonymous said...: BP CSPAN is going to be in Bend today @KBND, get there and get your 15 min of fame.; April 15, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Anonymous said...: C-SPAN Bus Tour in Bend Today and Tommorow

Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 (PST)
The C-SPAN Civics Bus will visit Central Oregon today as part of its 100-Days, 100 School Tour across America. The political network is journeying across the nation as part of the first 100 days of the Obama Administration. The bus will be at Summitt High School today from 9 to 11am, at the Old Mill District Thursday from 11am to 12:30pm and at Central Oregon Community College from 1 to 3pm Thursday.; April 15, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://insanebigcocks.net/interracialpornblog/wp-content/plugins/hot-linked-image-cacher/upload/images.members-access.com/pif_images/episode/3528_01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://insanebigcocks.net/interracialpornblog/interracial-porn/&usg=__WF_sD88bPF8i7lkyHVQUdeGbmD4=&h=225&w=237&sz=13&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=kRQFy9f6v-X9wM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=109&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlittle%2Btina%26as_st%3Dy%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

Little Tina likes Bend, and Bend likes little women who like big black cock.

http://tinyurl.com/cwvetv

We got to find a "little tina" TITTY pic for homer, cuz 'little tina' is Bends poster girl.; April 15, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Anonymous said...: http://tinyurl.com/crz6ac

The above link is the photo that has been in the SOURCE (BEND) every week for the past three months, thus homer should put it in his blog, as its Bend's girl, of course there are other pic's of Bend's girl that are only suitable for Sisters school yards.; April 15, 2009 at 8:54 AM
Anonymous said...: http://tinyurl.com/dchptl

Little Tina, Bend's best little girl in 20 years, ... has a Bend special conjoined with St Charles, you get a big dick, and a dying of that dick with the color 'black' of course, all special 'Bend Price', during the "Little Tina Bend Tour 2009".; April 15, 2009 at 8:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Bend (Oregon) April 15th. Tea PartyAdded by Jack Woodson
View Events
Event DetailsTime: April 15, 2009 from 3pm to 6pm
Location: Troy Park, next to McMenamins Old St. Frances School

*

Let's all remember that these "TEA PARTYS" are far from a NON-PARTISAN event, they are 100% PUG controlled, and created. The PUG's had 8 years to do something about taxes and fucked up big-time, now they're trying to BLAME OREO for the fucking mess, ....

It's all too fucking lame, we need a 'THIRD PARTY' to be sponsoring tea-party's not the lame-ass PUG party.

Its so fucking weird, they don't even want to call themselves 'republicans' or GOP now, today they're calling themselves 'Tax Protestors',... Yeh, put them back into power, and see your taxes evaporate, ... yeh I wish somebody would go to these events with a sign that says "PUGS are lying hypocrits"; April 15, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Homer,

No 'Rigobertos' is CLOSED, the DEA is going after the owners, so I heard from a neighboring biz.

This past sunday the sign from 5am until noon said "$2 burritos with METH", by 3pm the sign letters were gone, wish I had gotten a picture, I'm sure somebody did.

It was a Bend classic.; April 15, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Where us the local tea party today? I want to take some pics. - BP

*

Hey big boy your a DEM right? So you say, ... now your going to get all wrapped up in a PUG anti-OREO crusade on tax day? and take pic's, ... make up your mind BP are you a pussy or a KUNT??; April 15, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Fuck, why not WHORE OUT THE STUDENTS?

*

Actually I was predicting writing about this 30 years ago, ...

I see all these children becoming 'wards of the state', and that there highest and best use going in this direction, ... I think its the root problem of government and imprisoning their parents for 'drug-use' and then institutionalizing the kids, even if the State didn't say have lottery like biz to put the kids in STATE-OWNED PROSTITUTION, most of these kids end up on the streets of PDX as sex-slaves anyhow, ... just a fact, and if you don't understand or know this shit, then you haven' been in the REAL ORYGUN for very long.

"The essence of government is beating, killing, and imprisoning" - von mises

The way I see it the US government & Israel are perfect examples of 'government' perfection.

Just wait, it will happen, the STATE will be stuck with so manys 1,000's of kids that they will be abused, it happens in Cambodia, Laos, Turkey, ... and has always happened here in Louisana, when you whole sales ten's of thousands of children in institutions you they become abused, where the older boyz may 'pimp' the weaker boyz/girlz, or the 'guards' explicitly rent the children.
Folks the real issue here is that the government is DESTROYING the FAMILY with PURPOSE.
This entire issue has always troubled me that the STATE, any state ORYGUN or CALI, or NY will take children from their parents and up them in JUVI or a foster-home, where most often they're molested, this shit has been going on heavy in the USA since the 1950's.; April 15, 2009 at 9:24 AM
Anonymous said...: OH my, and you wonder why the BPussy is going back to Utah, where its legal to have an old wife for security and a young wife for sex.

##

BP, I got an idea, you stay, and help liberalize Bend towards your Mormron ways.

Pleeeeeze BP.; April 15, 2009 at 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...: >>Why the fuck do people wait? Why not just pay someone to do your taxes back in January?

I never get all the revised paperwork March.; April 15, 2009 at 9:58 AM
Anonymous said...: >>Is Rigeberto's actually open? Cuz I drive by & see OPEN on the window. Not a soul there of course....

It was open for about a week or 10 days after the bust. The twins' father was running it. Very few brave souls seemed hungry, and the Open sign turned off at the beginning of last week.; April 15, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Anonymous said...: >>Why the fuck do people wait? Why not just pay someone to do your taxes back in January?

I never get all the revised paperwork March.

*

Lame arse excuse, ... yes for years I did that shit when I was young, filed extensions all the way to Oct 15, ...

Now I just pay somebody to do et-al, dump all the years tax records in a box, and pay $1k for fed,st,county, & local. I have CORP 1120's, 1040, , and dozens of schedules, when I used to do it myself it took two weeks of agony.

Best $1k I ever spend, and lastly ever since I started paying, I pay very little tax, well except property tax, that's the only one you can't get out of.

I always file my taxes by Feb 30, why not, write my own W-2, by law everybody should have sent you their paperwork.

The real issue here is the 'working slaves', they're the ones who bitch & moan, and their the ones that actually pay taxes.

The hardest part of this shit is finding a good CPA, that's why I always refer to the book "What happened to the woolly mammoth", book was written by a CPA, and he notes that CPA's tend to be more lazy, and more corrupt than lawyers.

Find a good CPA in your lifetime, and never let go.; April 15, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Anonymous said...: What the hell happened to H. Bruce Dickhead?; April 15, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Anonymous said...: ORYGUN tea party's just more fucking PUG WASTE ...

April 15, 2009
Fox News’ Republican Tea Parties to Waste Tea

Now we here at Teapot Diversions aren’t ones to mix politics and tea, but with 12 million unemployed and foreclosures up 81%, how can we stay silent when a group of individuals are going to waste tea.

Fox News, the Republican Party, and a host of right-wing radio show hosts and conservative organizations like FreedomWorks have been organizing so called “Tax Day Tea Parties” where attendees protest high taxes for the rich and corporations. Part of their stunt is to dump tea into rivers mimicking the historic Boston Tea Party which was done as an act against taxation without representation.

The fact that mystifies most is that the tea partiers of today have the right to vote their representation into Congress; However, it seems that they don’t have the political majority to do so. Though we are all fine with them throwing a teabag temper tantrum, when it comes to dumping perfectly good tea into rivers, we must voice our dissent.

We just got wind of a group here in Oregon, organized by conservative talk radio show host Victoria Taft that plans on dumping 150lbs of tea into the Willamette River in downtown Portland this evening at 6:00. 150lbs of tea? When so many Oregonians have fallen on hard times and can’t even afford tea, this group would rather waste that tea to make some obscure political point. There are groups of individuals in other states planning to do the same thing.

Tea for most is a source of comfort--something that gives us enjoyment at the end of a long busy day. It may even keep many going throughout the day. For others, with the reported health benefits, it may be viewed as medicine for a better life.

As it goes now, so many Americans are losing their jobs. They are finding it too hard to pay their bills let alone put food on the table. And buying tea for them is just out of the question. The tea that will be wasted nationwide at Fox News inspired Republican Tea Parties could bring comfort to many facing economic hardship in their lives.

That is why we are calling on ALL tea drinkers nationwide to take boxes of tea to your local food bank.

Those who live in the Portland Metro Area can take boxes of tea to The Oregon Food Bank located on 7900 N.E. 33rd Drive (Between Columbia Boulevard and Marine Drive). Directions can be found by linking here:; April 15, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Anonymous said...: H. Bowel Movement aka SORE-EYE kid, finally came to the realization, that being @BB2 wasn't good for his image of being one of GOD'S BEND CHOSEN.

My guess is he's still here, but as anonymASS.

Consider this for over a year here, he's gotten most of his sore-eye material from this site.; April 15, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Anonymous said...: CPA's tend to be more lazy, and more corrupt than lawyers.

##

Incompetent lawyers who can't rob their clients, become Judges.

Welcome to Oregon.; April 15, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Anonymous said...: H. Bowel Movement aka SORE-EYE kid, finally came to the realization, that being @BB2 wasn't good for his image of being one of GOD'S BEND CHOSEN.

My guess is he's still here, but as anonymASS.

Consider this for over a year here, he's gotten most of his sore-eye material from this site.No shit. He ain't quite the hard hitting, young cub reporter that he used to be.; April 15, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...: >>Lame arse excuse

No, seriously. These damned brokerages and partnerships send out amended forms as late as March. I got 4 revisions this year. PITA. You can do it in January as long as you hold on to it for revisions.; April 15, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Then we can talk 'renter scams' since this hasn't come up.

####

Genesis Futures; Kevin & Tami Sawyer (Central Oregon)
Reply to: comm-mdak9-1097476938@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-03-29, 9:09AM PDT

I have posted this in the Rant and Rave section and thought I would get some good advice in this forum too,,,,thanks everyone! I know this is getting old but we are so angry and wanted to see if we can find some good advice!

Sorry to bring these people up yet once again but, they SUCK! We rent a home from them that they do not own and want out! We did not pay our March rent because we sent them a Certified Letter on 3/13/09 giving them our 30 days notice to vacate and as of today...the letter has not been picked up, Go Figure! We told Tami that we have every intention of settling up with them after we move out and will add up our March rent and the 13 days in April then deduct our deposit and pay them what is left. Tami had nerve to tell me that we cannot do that because it is against the law....Whatever! They proceeded to tape a 72 Hour Notice to our door last Sunday with it expiring last Wednesday and the left us a pleading vm to 'Do the right thing and pay our March rent so that they are not forced to file a FED against us.' Well, we got the FED taped to our front door this morning around 8:00! Does anybody know anyone out there that is in our same situation? We have talked to a few neighbors that are in our same situation! These people are TOTAL scums! We have contacted The Bend Bulletin and KTVZ, and KOHD, and we are not alone....Several other people have too! Any helpful advise would be great...Thanks Craig Lister's, you all rock!; April 15, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Bewert said...: Ah, an entrepreneur in Bend, seizing a niche in local conditions:

Are you looking for a Unique Career Opportunity, not just another job?
Reply to: comm-cpvbr-1089229191@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-03-23, 9:30PM PDT

Immediate opening for an experienced entry level person for the Central Oregon area. Min. 1 year cust. service exp/mortgage knowledge is helpful but NOT required! Selected individuals will demonstrate a professional demeanor, appearance and the ability to think on his/her feet. Previous phone experience is mandatory.

We offer a competitive wage and hire only select individuals who have people skills, very professional demeanor, those who are reliable and demonstrate a strong commitment to succeed. This is NOT a rotating-door position.

QUALIFICATIONS:
*Excellent communication and listening skills.
*Trustworthy professional with a persistent work ethic.
*Organized individual who excels in problem solving and multi-tasking.
*Motivated hard worker who displays self-confidence and a strong desire to learn.
*Energetic self-starter with a track record of determination, effort and achievement.

To learn more about our company and this unique career opportunity please contact us at:
Call 1-541-350-2112

####

ATTN: YOUR MORTGAGE CAN BE RESTRUCTURED
Reply to: serv-dhpyy-1089146539@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-03-23, 8:05PM PDT

REDUCE your monthly payment by 30%-60%. No Equity is required, No minimum credit scores, No qualifying, Late Payments are not a problem, No appraisal is needed!
ARE YOU FACING:
•A home loan you can no longer afford due to the increased payments or future payment increases?
•Is your interest rate adjustable or about to adjust?
•Do you owe more on your home than it’s worth?
•Have you fallen victim to predatory lending practices?
•Have personal and financial hardships?
•Have received a Notice of Default from your lender, or worse, may be facing a sale date!

IF YOU ANSWERD YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS CALL US NOW!

CALL NOW:
(541)350-2112

####

http://newlifehomerescue.com/become_us.html

Interested in Offering Our Services?

We offer the following to help anyone add our credit/financial services to their small business.

* A brand new personalized Web site featuring your new credit product offerings.
* Web Hosting for one year
* A customized database to help you keep track of your customers and credit repair accounts
* Legal Contracts for each product professionally prepared by attorneys
* Assistance obtaining a corporation, LLC, DBA, merchant account or ACH account for billing your credit repair customers.
* Upfront and ongoing training for each product, forms and documents, database management, presentations, objection handling, competitor analysis and marketing strategies.
* Unlimited attendees allowed at our training events (your employees regardless of the number now or in the future).
* Marketing materials used by us to generate retail business including html pages, print ads, PowerPoint slideshows, radio spots and more.
* A legitimate business plan to generate new business every month without spending any money in advertising.
* Administrative assistance to help you set up your database and get started.
* Sales assistance to help you explain and close your first sales.
* Hot Line – to get answers on files being handled on your behalf.
* Wholesale pricing on all products regardless of your volume.

####

Actually, at least two entrepreneurs, one to build the model and franchise it, and one local.; April 15, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Bewert said...: Also, any one knows a good renter needs a place in mid-May, email me.

3b/2b $850, westside, near Reed Market and the parkway.

(Just trying to make the landlords life easy. He's a ex-rodeo cowboy preacher in Prineville that is a good guy. And has a hot wife.); April 15, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Bewert said...: Whoops, forgot to add this at the end of the craigs NewLife posting:

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
*
* License info: New Life Home Rescue

####

Legit? Who knows? Someone that needs their services might be able to tell us.; April 15, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Bewert said...: Re: Gotta love those midnight basis calculations eh Homer?

####

(small giggle)

The one good thing BushCo did was strip the IRS of resources...

Wonder what the Big O is going to come up with from the new tax commission. Hopefully something that takes most all the burden of anyone with less than ten employees.; April 15, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Bewert said...: Hopefully something that takes most all the burden off of anyone with less than ten employees.; April 15, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Bewert said...: Lastly, for you trogs that are headed to the teabag party (hope you brought a condom!) this is the kind of shit that makes DKos truly different. It's a rant from a truck driver, on how not to kill yourself/get yourself killed on the freeway:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/14/720033/-Youve-Seen-It-Before;-READ-IT-AGAIN-DAMMIT!!-(Redux); April 15, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Bewert said...: Before we dive into how one can best avoid a fate worse than quick death, let's review some physics. Most passenger vehicles on American roads typically weigh between 3,000 and 4,500 pounds. The biggest passenger vehicle generally encountered, the H1 Hummer, weighs just over 10,000 pounds. My Freightliner, pulling an empty 53'dry van trailer, weighs between 32,000 and 33,000 pounds. Empty. Under Federal (and State) regulations my maximum legal gross weight is 80,000 pounds, 20 times that of a minivan, eight times what a Hummer weighs. My tires weigh about 120 pounds each, and are inflated to between 100-120 psi. Just my fuel tanks, when full, weigh as much as the average passenger car. If we get tangled up, whether it's your fault, my fault or nobody's fault at all, you will lose. Every time.Amazing how even so many blue collar people inhabit DKos. With brains.; April 15, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Once again the BPussy proves to all he can play a stooge for DEM(dkos), and PUG(limbaugh).; April 15, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Anonymous said...: preacher in Prineville that is a good guy. And has a hot wife.

###

Is she a horny midget like "tiny tina"?? If so Bend could be turning around.; April 15, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, we got the FED taped to our front door this morning around 8:00! Does anybody know anyone out there that is in our same situation?

##

At that point its been signed by a judge, and if your not out by the date, then the sheriff can toss you and your shit on the street, had you wanted to 'fight' your FED, you could have been there @court the day it was brought before the judge for signature, you obviously ignored the original summons/demand.

Ignore the demand, and your going to jail, violating a court order is a crime, and not just a civil issue like FED.

If you like jail, then go ahead ignore the FED.; April 15, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Anonymous said...: We know that preachers are leaving Bend, but would have known they were coming with horny midget wives?

Bend is becoming a Mormon paradise before our eyes.; April 15, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Bewert said...: Re:
If you like jail, then go ahead ignore the FED.

###

Just one more empty STD....; April 15, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Anonymous said...: sorry not stupid but just what does the fed mean; April 15, 2009 at 7:41 PM
Anonymous said...: 'FED' is "forced eviction detainer"

It's where the OWNER (bank) files an order with the COURT ( deschutes county courthouse ), to get out the fucking 'occupant'.

Oregon tentant law is very complicated and procedural. There is an explicit process of FED, before you go before the court for judge signature. You must POST&MAIL by specific time-window. Such as put a notice to occupant on the door, and by mail in a particular number of days with the demand.

Once the time has passed you the OWNER can go before a judge who will sign the FED, the occupant at that time if present, can easily 'BUY TIME' if he/she asks. If dumb fucking lazy stupid occupants fail to show at court, then the FED is usually within 3 days of the signature, after that point if the person is NOT out, then you can go to the Sheriff ( county ), and he'll toss the occupant on the street at gun-point, you then put the occupants shit in storage or on the curb.

Normally when somebody quits paying a MTG, it takes about 1-2 years before the FED process is signed by a judge, thus the occupant has plenty of fucking time.

There should be no BP crocodile tears.

As a landlord if I did an FED for non-payment of rent, which I have NEVER done, as I don't rent to fuckheads, ... the process would be if they're five days late on rent, then I post&mail a notice of eviction for violation of rental-agreement, and then when the time has elapsed ( 5 more days ) I go before the court and get the judge to sign, a 'smart' renter would be there with a free state paid legal-aide tenant rep, and could themselves lots of time.

My buddies who do this shit all the time, because they only rent to BEND meth-whores, tell me that the renters NEVER show up at court, so they always get their FED signed, and the fuckhead is always out of the house/apt within days.; April 16, 2009 at 7:44 AM
Anonymous said...: It's funny that to renter/losers like BP&HOMER that a FED is a STD.

No an STD is an un-loved home, a FED can be a home where the real owner wants to protect the home so it doesn't become an un-loved home.

An un-loved home, is a home that has had its copper wires and the toilets stripped.; April 16, 2009 at 7:47 AM
Bewert said...: Hilarious. Saw ex-mayor Abernethy, walking head down, didn't want to go. It's funny how many people can get together to rant about socialism in a public (socialist) park, after driving and parking on public (socialist) streets.

What was kind of interesting was the woman who organized it saying that she was approached two and a half months ago...; April 16, 2009 at 7:48 AM
Anonymous said...: Well, we got the FED taped to our front door this morning around 8:00! Does anybody know anyone out there that is in our same situation?

*

See so what this could really be is that fuckhead BP and his renter buddy from craigslist really got was the initial 'post', if fuck-head read the post he would see that there is a time/date summons to 'appear', which simply means you go to the county courthouse, and tell them you want to speak to the judge and tell your story, you can buy tons of time.

Sounds to me that the OWNER has started the clock ticking, we'll never know if this person was smart enough to read the fucking summons, if he doesn't show up, then this post becomes an FED, then the sheriff knocks on the door, and presents the 'notice to vacate', if you refuse to abide, then your in violation of a court order and your white ass goes to jail.

Welcome to ameriKKKa.

Lastly, me thinks that because our craigs 'asker' here got his 'post' @8am I suspect that it posted by a landlord, me thinks what your really have here is a deadbeat thats not paying his/her rent.

That they're using the MTG crisis as a source of sympathy, that's just what this sounds like. As normally in a case of a foreclosure, and the home is occupied by a renter, the occupant is on the mailing list for the entire 1-2 years of all correspondence that goes to the home in question is the name of 'occupant'. The Foreclosure is between the BUYER & SELLER, and the OCCUPANT has NO FUCKING legal rights whatsoever, as 'squatting' is NOT legal in ameriKKKa.; April 16, 2009 at 7:55 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Real estate losses burying Northwest's banks
Posted by areifent April 15, 2009 20:41PM

Zombie banks are not limited to Wall Street anymore.

As the economic downturn worsens, some Oregon banks also are beginning to look like the walking dead.

Massive money-center banks such as Citigroup are plagued by their huge portfolio of mortgage-backed securities and other exotic investments. Oregon banks are feeling the pinch from a more mundane asset: the enormous portfolios of real estate they have come to own or control.

Accounting rules require that banks periodically write down the value of that real estate to a "net realizable value," or what it would likely fetch on the open market. At a time when real estate, particularly raw land, has plummeted in value, this mark-to-market requirement has become an anchor, slashing earnings and depleting their capital.

"The banks are in a precarious position," said Peter O'Kane, managing partner of O'Kane Capital Advisors in Seattle. "In a lot of cases, there is a very limited market for some of the real estate assets. The values have gone down so much so fast, if they mark it down to what an investor would pay in today's economic environment, then it will likely impair their capital beyond what they had planned for."

To be sure, it's not all bad news. Some of Oregon's largest banks, Umpqua of Portland and Eugene-based Pacific Continental Bank, for example, avoided their peers' heavy reliance on construction and development loans and the worst of the resulting loan problems.

And even some banks now sitting on huge portfolios of repossessed real estate can argue that they are proactively trying to deal with problem loans as opposed to sticking their collective heads in the sand.

Still, the double-barreled impact of loans gone bad and falling real estate values has already helped killed off three Portland-area banks. The Bank of Clark County in Vancouver, Pinnacle Bank in Beaverton and Silver Falls Bank in Silverton all have been put into receivership since January. More banking fatalities are almost sure to follow.
Houses as collateral

To understand how real estate values can wreak havoc with a bank's finances, it helps to understand how central real estate is to the typical loan transaction bank.

Banks almost always require that a borrower put up collateral as security. More often than not, the collateral is real property. Most homeowners, for example, put up their house as collateral when they obtain a mortgage.

If a borrower falls behind on payments, the lender tries to work out a new arrangement or give the borrower more time. Or they repossess the collateral.

The economic crash of the past year has transformed several Northwest banks into major landowners. At the end of 2008, Oregon-based banks were sitting on more than $200 million worth of so-called "Other Real Estate Owned," the industry's polite term for repossessed property.

West Coast Bank of Lake Oswego and Bank of the Cascades in Bend alone boasted year-end real estate portfolios of $70 million and $53.5 million, respectively. That's up from zero at both institutions in 2005.Banks often lose money when they repossess property. The real estate they come to own is often the site of a failed or failing business venture. Banks are motivated to get rid of the property, even if it means taking a haircut.

For years, Northwest banks have been relatively insulated from these problems by the region's healthy economy and the long run-up in Northwest property prices.

Brad Williamson, director of the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, worked for a bank in the late 1990s and early 2000s and saw a number of foreclosures up close.

"We never lost a penny because real estate prices kept on rising," Williamson said.

But those days are long gone.

As of March, the median house price in the Portland area had declined 18 percent from the boom-time peak of $302,000 in August 2007.

Raw land prices have fallen much more. "They are finding no buyers in some cases," said Dick Rencken, Oregon's top banking regulator.

"Oregon has turned toxic in the last six months," said Joey Warmenhoven, a banking industry analyst with McAdams, Wright Ragen in Lake Oswego. "It seems like we're in free-fall. We're taking the hits now that some other states took one or two years ago."Diminishing recovery

Rencken described the scenario now playing itself out at banks across the region:

A bank becomes concerned about whether a developer is going to be able to repay his $400,000 loan.

The loan, extended during the height of the boom, once seemed like a sure thing. The developer intended to use the proceeds to build a $500,000 house.

With its loan at 80 percent of the ultimate market value of the house, the bank figured that it was well protected.

As the economy sags and housing demand weakens, the builder falls behind. The bank declares the loan impaired, which requires that it obtain a new appraisal of the property.

The appraisal indicates that the house's market value has fallen from $500,000 to $400,000.

That's terrible news for the bank. Its cushion is gone, and it will likely take a bath if it forecloses and has to sell the property.

The hassle and cost of selling the property make the hit even larger. Administrative and selling costs typically equal 10 percent of the property's value, which means in this case the bank's likely total recovery is now $360,000 on a $400,000 loan.

Time passes. Property values continue to decline. A new appraisal indicates the house will now fetch $350,000. Deduct selling costs and the bank's likely recovery is $315,000.

"We've had land depreciation in some parts of Oregon of 40 to 50 percent," Williamson said. "When a developer's land takes a 50 percent hit, it's really hard for them to survive. If the banks take the property back, they're potentially underwater too, particularly when you add selling costs."

It will likely be months before the bank repossesses the land and manages to sell it. But it must take the financial hit upfront.

Banks must write down the value of the land with each new appraisal that indicates a lower value -- known as "mark to market" in the accounting industry. That takes a direct hit on earnings and the bank's capital, the vital financial cushion that banks are required by law to maintain.

"We've not had a situation in our lifetime when every quarter you do a new appraisal and the property values continue to drop," said Ken Roberts, a Portland attorney who works for many Oregon banks. "The regulators are pushing these banks to do these appraisals on a more frequent basis, and they keep chasing the values down."The Financial Standards Accounting Board (FASB) recently decreed that banks will no longer have to mark to market the mortgage backed securities and other exotic financial instruments they hold. That's great news for large banks that are sitting on billions of dollars worth of toxic assets.

But so far, no similar relief is in the works for banks when it comes to their real estate.

Some regional banks have already seen their financial positions weakened by the economic downturn. Further real estate value declines "will put increasing pressure on capital levels at a time when banks no longer have any cushion," Roberts said. "They're already down to minimal levels."

SIDEBAR:

Simple gauge used to check banks' vital signs

Is there a way for consumers to know whether their bank will be around next year?

One key gauge of a bank's health is the so-called Texas Ratio, a measure of a bank's credit problems relative to its capital. And by that gauge, some of Oregon's largest locally based institutions face serious challenges. Four Oregon banks have Texas Ratios over 100 percent, which some analysts consider dangerously high.

The Texas Ratio is so-named because it was devised by a Texas analyst during the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1990s. It is calculated by dividing a bank's nonperforming loans by its tangible capital plus allowance for loan losses. The higher the ratio, the weaker the bank.

Bank executives hate the Texas Ratio, arguing it's too simplistic.

Robert D. Sznewajs, President & CEO of West Coast Bancorp, protested that the Texas Ratio is misleading in several ways. Among other things, it penalizes banks that have proactively identified bad loans and taken steps to address the problem.

"This ratio is very one-dimensional," Sznewajs said. "It ignores the mix of deposits, ignores the capital ratios, it ignores the type of assets classified as nonperforming." Sznewajs pointed out that over the past two years as West Coast has aggressively dealt with a residential loan program gone awry, it's managed to increase it capital.

Robin Freeman, CEO of Prineville Bancorp, also questioned publishing the ratios, saying that will lead to unfounded concerns among depositors.

"We're still adequately capitalized. We continue to make loans. We're still growing our deposits," he said. "We intend to keep on doing the traditional things that community banks do."

Joey Warmenhoven, a community bank analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen in Lake Oswego, cautioned people about reading too much into a bank's Texas Ratio. Still, he said, it is a decent indicator of a bank's condition.

Warmenhoven and his team computed Texas Ratios for banks up and down the West Coast as of year-end 2008. Here are some numbers from the largest Oregon-based bank holding companies:

Umpqua Holdings, Portland: 26.1 percent

West Coast Bancorp, Lake Oswego: 92.8 percent

Cascade Bancorp, Bend: 101.73 percentPremierWest Bancorp, Medford: 51.3 percent

Columbia Bancorp, The Dalles: 102.45 percent

Pacific Continental Corp., Eugene: 7.7 percent

Columbia Commercial Bancorp, Hillsboro: 74.9 percent

Citizens Bancorp, Corvallis: 5.65 percent

Merchants Bancorp, Gresham: 106.1 percent

Prineville Bancorp, Prineville: 137.4 percent; April 16, 2009 at 7:57 AM
Bewert said...: Re:
No an STD is an un-loved home, a FED can be a home..etc.

###

"real owner"? You mean the bank who filed the FED?

###

Yes, it can be. But more likely it is someone underwater who wants out.; April 16, 2009 at 7:58 AM
Anonymous said...: The only legal right a renter has if his home is foreclosed, is that he can sue the HOMEOWNER, but as you all can assume the the HOMEOWNER probably is BK, and it costs a fortune to sue somebody in civil-court, and can take 5-10 years for your case to be heard.

Normally the 'smart thing' to do if your in a foreclosed home as a renter, and you get a notice from the bank, is too talk to a lawyer ASAP. In most cases they'll tell you to quit paying rent, and wait out the FED process which can take 1-2 years. It gets quite tricky if your renting versus not paying the MTG, the bank MTG process is slow, but even if the landlord is in foreclosure the rental-agreement he has with you is a legal-document, and he can evict you, and then of course rent the home to another bend-sap, and then keep collecting rent until the FED is signed by the judge.

Sorry about suggesting that you see a lawyer, but the law's are quite complicated and most fuckheads never tell the truth, a lawyer can you usually sniff out the truth pretty quick by looking at the demand letters, like in this above case it sounds to me more like a non-payment of rent issue than a foreclosure/fed issue.

Imagine that you get an FED if you don't pay the rent? Who could have guessed? In Bend?

I think we're going to see a LOT of deadbeats in BEND in the future bitching & moans about eviction for non-payment of rent, classic CALIF sympathy story.; April 16, 2009 at 8:02 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Robert D. Sznewajs, President & CEO of West Coast Bancorp, protested that the Texas Ratio is misleading in several ways. Among other things, it penalizes banks that have proactively identified bad loans and taken steps to address the problem.
I can agree with this in a way.

But it's like defining Statutory Rape: There has to be a line somewhere. It's 18 (or 21) across the board, too early for some, too late for others.

It's not a panacea, but there's gotta be a line. Texas ratio may not be perfect, but it's pretty good.; April 16, 2009 at 8:02 AM
Anonymous said...: "real owner"? You mean the bank who filed the FED?

*

BP we don't know WHO filed the FED, it could have been the landlord, a bank, or a rep,..

All we know is some fuckhead renter got a notice posted on his door, to get his little white ass down to the courthouse ASAP.

Instead of following directions, our craigslist white-ass dumbfucks run to the internet for help, ... and most likely other meth-head fuckups sympathize like your tax tea-party from yesterday, where everybody wails and moans about the problems of life.

Anybody can FILE an FED, its all part of the process for instance once the FED is 'posted' the occupant can go to the court and prove he owns the home, or has a rental agreement, or has been paying the rent, the judges have sympathy for the occupant, and oregon tenant law is 90% in favor of the occupant.

THE WORST FUCKING THING YOU CAN IS NOTHING, go to the court, which is just a fucking clerk, usually an old fucking white-woman behind bullet proof glass who will eat up any SOB story, and you can buy tons of time.

This WHOLE fucking issue is that people would rather type on the internet, than walk over to the courthouse.; April 16, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Bewert said...: And in this case you are pissing on me about, is is a fucking STD owned (at the present time, anyway) by the Sawyer's. Get your fucking facts straight.

Yeah, I had plenty of opportunities to buy a house after I moved here in the spring of '05. Fucking mortgage brokers begging me to. It's never going down! You got to BUY NOW!

I'm just fucking glad I got a brain.; April 16, 2009 at 8:07 AM
Anonymous said...: Among other things, it penalizes banks that have proactively identified bad loans and taken steps to address the problem.

*

Well you either got the non-performing loans or you don't.

Being penalized for coming out and telling the truth or hiding, the banker has a good point, a smart banker will hide the truth.

Given that the majority of banks carry a majority of non-performing loans, the last man standing will be the profession liar ( I mean lawyer ).; April 16, 2009 at 8:08 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Coastal home sales capsizeHigh-end properties in Florence aren’t selling because Californians are being priced out of the market

By Diane Dietz

The Register-Guard

FLORENCE — They were a hot commodity three years ago. Million-dollar houses with frontage on the ocean, a lake or a river around Florence. Californians looking for a clean, quiet place to retire couldn’t seem to get enough.

“The market rose markedly,” said Tawfik Ahdab, analyst with the Pacific Valuation Group. “They brought with them lots of money and drove up prices. We have limited inventory, but we had a lot of demand. A lot of demand.”

But today, 67 high-end homes priced from $500,000 to $2.5 million are sitting on the Florence real estate market. At the current pace of sales, it would take 75 months to clear out that inventory. Even then, some of the properties might linger: Not one home in the $1 million-plus range in Florence has sold in more than a year.

Florence real estate agents say months go by before they find a prospective buyer to even look at the high-end properties.

Million-dollar houses in the Lane County coastal community are severely overpriced, Ahdab said. “There’s no market response to them. They’re going to have to come down.”

The houses are big — 2,000 to 5,000 square feet — and they’re custom- crafted with sophisticated interior wood and stone work. They’re perched on streets such as Sea Watch, Ocean View or Clear Lake. Some have breathtaking views.

Their owners have no intention of selling for less than they paid, Florence area real estate brokers say. More than half of the high-end homes are owner-occupied and the rest are vacation or investment properties, they say.

Upward of 90 percent of Florence high-end buyers came to the Oregon Coast from California, where they sold homes when the market was hot, said Dan Scarberry, principal broker at Coldwell Banker Coast Real Estate. Because they had comparatively large sums of cash, many put down upwards of 50 percent cash on their Florence properties. That means they can wait out the market now because their payments are low.

“Most of them are going to ride it out and see what happens,” said Dennis Johnson of TR Hunter Real Estate in Florence.

Besides, in the upper strata of properties, dropping prices a few $100,000 may not stimulate sales the way it would for the average house, Johnson said.

“If you have someone with a place, for instance, for $1.7 million, dropping the price to $1.5 million isn’t going to sell it. You’re talking to the same customer, and if they really like it they’ll pay the $1.7,” he said.

The problem is that well-heeled buyers from the Golden State are hard to come by in Florence these days.

“They can’t sell houses in California to escape California and move up here,” Ahdab said. “A lot of people are upside down in California, and they were the ones feeding this (Florence) high-end market. They may not be coming back for a while.”

For home sales, Florence depends on its in-migration, Adhab said.

“The source of housing demand in coastal communities is not the fundamental things like employment, wage increases or family formation,” he said. “What creates households in Florence is people coming in from other areas. If these people aren’t coming, we don’t have much of a market at all. This has been the situation.”

Those Californians who do turn up have sold homes for from 30 to 50 percent less than they would have three years ago, so they can’t meet the sellers’ stubborn price point, he said. With less cash, they have to try for a jumbo loan to finance any half-million-plus house.

“The jumbo loan market is not what it used to be,” Ahdab said. “It’s evaporated pretty much.”; April 16, 2009 at 8:09 AM
Anonymous said...: It's always about BP 24/7/365, and nobody else, never forget that.; April 16, 2009 at 8:10 AM
Anonymous said...: HOMER make sure you put the photo of 'little tinas' tits and face on your BLOG, she's coming to BEND next week. This is the biggest thing in BEND this year.; April 16, 2009 at 8:10 AM
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Their owners have no intention of selling for less than they paid, Florence area real estate brokers say. More than half of the high-end homes are owner-occupied and the rest are vacation or investment properties, they say.

Somebody been shipping Bend-Brand Kool-Aid to Florence?; April 16, 2009 at 8:10 AM
Bewert said...: Re: BP we don't know WHO filed the FED, it could have been the landlord, a bank, or a rep,..

###

It's the Sawyer's. Read the fucking post.

Doesn't anybody actually fucking read something before they fucking comment on it?

Sorry, but after listening to all that stupid fucking BS yesterday, my patience is gone.; April 16, 2009 at 8:11 AM
Anonymous said...: It's the Sawyer's. Read the fucking post.

*

I would not believe that, it would preferrable that the person scanned and posted the 'post' so we can see who the plaintiff really is, I'm NOT taking your word in this case that the plaintiff is SAWYER.; April 16, 2009 at 8:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Like I have already said, anybody can file a fucking FED, anybody, hell BP, you could file an FED on the house that homer lives in, its such that if homer were to counter-sue, you would get in trouble.; April 16, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Bewert said...: Re: the banks/TX ratio?etc.

###

Not on the BULL website yet, so typed from looking at the BULLBS section:

PremierWest adjust year-end financialsMedford-based PremierWorst(sic) Bancorp, parent company of PremierWest Bank, announced Wednesday it is restating its fourth quarter and year-end statements for 2008 to increase its loan loss provision.

The company said its retated earnings will show a loss of $7.3 million for 2008. It had stated it's 2008 income was $648,000, which was a 95.71 percent decline from its 2007 net income of $15.1 million, according to its annual report.

PremierWest Bank has one branch each in Bend and Redmond. Company shares closed Wednesday at $4.33, up 19 cents per share or 4.59 percent."

###

At this moment it is trading at $4.07, well above CACBS, which has creaked its way over $2 since we stopped watching. But then PW got $41.4 million in taxpayer dollars less than two months ago.

While CACBS ain't got nothing yet.; April 16, 2009 at 8:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Are you being intentionally dense, Bruce? We don't live in a pure capitalist system. We live in reality. We try to keep the socialism down to increase freedom, but mostly we just have to be practical. When people complain about socialism, it's a matter of complaining about degree and approach.

I'm not 100% sure what the teabaggers are about, but I'm against the AMOUNT and DIRECTION of our government spending. I'm against the bailouts, as they don't seem to help much in the short run but they look to cause a lot of trouble in the long run.

You'll assume good intentions and braininess from any dolt who posts on KOS.

You need to up your game a bit. You're sounding like a bigot, painting lots of people with a broad brush. Thinking all your opponents are the same is the worst sort of political thinking.; April 16, 2009 at 8:24 AM
Bewert said...: God, why can't you get fucking Google to fix the fuciking blank space bug! It driving me (and I'm sure Tim too) absolutely fucking crazy!; April 16, 2009 at 8:25 AM
Bewert said...: Re: Are you being intentionally dense, Bruce? We don't live in a pure capitalist system. We live in reality. We try to keep the socialism down to increase freedom, but mostly we just have to be practical. When people complain about socialism, it's a matter of complaining about degree and approach.

####

Totally agree. But those ranting yesterday were not.

Although some were actually thoughtful, talking to them individually.

The whole teabag party thing is Fox and the Repugs, and when the organizer gets on stage quotes Glenn Beck who the fuck can take it seriously.

Oh, I know. The guy with the sign that said "Watch FOX News and learn the truth!"

What pisses me off the most is the rant building up about socialized health care. We pay more per capita than any country in the world for health care. And we rank in the mid-30's on outcomes, next to Cuba. Yet you hear about how awful France and Canada are, with "socialized" health care.

Fuck, they do it for half of what it costs us. And they cover all their people for all their costs.

We've got 50 million with no coverage, and the rest of us with coverage have huge deductibles.

And that's better?; April 16, 2009 at 8:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Are you being intentionally dense, Bruce? We don't live in a pure capitalist system. We live in reality.

*

He's our PUSSY, cuz playing DENSE has always been his forte.

His wife earns the bread and pays the rent, yet he's an expert on renting and owning.

You may live in reality, but BP lives in a 'Bruce-in-Wonderland'.

Always BEND this way, always will.; April 16, 2009 at 8:45 AM
Bewert said...: Re:
His wife earns the bread and pays the rent

###

Whatever.

Wish you would have paid my double FICA yesterday...; April 16, 2009 at 8:46 AM
Anonymous said...: The whole teabag party thing is Fox and the Repugs, and when the organizer gets on stage quotes Glenn Beck who the fuck can take it seriously.

Oh, I know. The guy with the sign that said "Watch FOX News and learn the truth!"

*

The worst part is people spent MILLION's on tea, only to use it to pollute US water, thankfully most jurisdictions didn't allow the pollution to take place.

Most bad news is that now tea prices have skyrocketed and now will collapse.

PUGS are the most wasteful fucking breed on the planet.

Insult to injury our DEM-KOS Bpussy bites the fucking FOX-LIMBAUGH bait like it was an OREO-COCK, or a mormon porn tranny midget.; April 16, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Bewert said...: Yeah, yeah, I know half is deductible. And it goes for a good socialist cause, retirement "security". But it still fucking hurts when you write the check.; April 16, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Bewert said...: See, without me you'll have no one to rant at, anyway.; April 16, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm not 100% sure what the teabaggers are about, but I'm against the AMOUNT and DIRECTION of our government spending. I'm against the bailouts, as they don't seem to help much in the short run but they look to cause a lot of trouble in the long run.

*

Tea-Baggers were about 'less taxes for the rich', bought and paid for the people who own the US government.

Deja-Vu, nothing new under the sun.; April 16, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Without BP, nobody would have the time to TROLL.

What we all need is more man-wives, so we can have more BP's.; April 16, 2009 at 8:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Absolutely our health care is currently ridiculous. Some of that is the fact that we subsidize the whole world's cheap meds and equipment with our R&D. Pharma charges the richest countries the most, and we're sitting ducks. Then they get whatever they can out of other countries.

I'm all for changing this so other rich countries (Canada, France, Germany) end up paying their fair share of the R&D bill.

Totally agree that something has to be done with heath care. We've engineered the weirdest health care system ever. It's breaking our corporations, costing more and more, and putting our population at risk.

I'd prefer we get away from capitalist and socialist jargon on this and just fix it, as both sides play the issue for gain.

Seems clear to me we have to separate health insurance from employers.; April 16, 2009 at 8:58 AM
Bewert said...: Bend City Council Meeting Highlights

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Work Session

Juniper Ridge Management Board Joint meeting

City Council held a joint work session with the Juniper Ridge Management Board and received an update on Juniper Ridge. Focus has been on employment land in Juniper Ridge.

Bend Code requires master planning for parcels in excess of 20 acres. The Board and staff are currently working on Code text. Infrastructure planning for water, sewer and stormwater is underway and should be complete by the end of May. A Planning Commission work session is planned in May. The full package should be complete in July and the public hearing process should begin in September.

Finance Director Sonia Andrews gave an update on expenditures on Juniper Ridge and explained how it is being funded.

Recommendation on Transit Options
The recommendations of the Public Transportation Advisory Committee (PTAC) were presented in a memo to the Council which was included in the agenda packet. PTAC recommends maintaining a funding level of $1.1 million. The budget projects funding transit at $950,000 which would result in elimination of weekend service.

Council asked staff to provide information about taking the shortfall of $150,000 out of long range planning and engineering. They also requested that EDCO weigh in on how important weekend service is to economic development. The information will be presented at the April 29th Budget Committee meeting.

Regular Meeting

Numerous visitors spoke in support of funding for transit. A visitors also spoke on home loan assistance.

During Good of the Order Council:

*

Heard a report on a recent visit to Sister City Condega, Nicaragua,
*

Approved proclamations
o

Declaring April 19th through 25th as the Week of the Young Child,
o

Recognizing May 8, 2009 as Oregon Military Family Appreciation Day,
o

Proclaiming April 19 through 26th as Days of Remembrance in memory of the victims of the holocaust, and
*

Approved a Resolution of Support for Oregon State University Cascade Campus

Council authorized the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for $1,231,419 for street overlay projects funded by the federal stimulus legislation
The federal stimulus funds are allocated by the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) according to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Council conducted a work session on March 4, 2009 to review the projects and provide direction to the MPO City Councilors. Council was supportive for the MPO to approve the overlay projects.

Council authorized a Resolution Adopting a Policy and Program for Identity Theft Prevention as required by the Federal Trade Commission and Oregon State Statute
Legislation requires financial institutions (including utility suppliers) and creditors to implement safety measures to protect the personal information of the institution's customers. The Federal Trade Commission also developed rules that require organizations to adopt programs that help identify "Red Flags" in an effort to thwart identity theft. Adoption of a policy is required by May 1, 2009.

Council held a public hearing and discussed the Ordinance Amending the City of Bend Development Code by Changing the Text of Chapters 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0, 3.6, 4.1, and 4.2 to Clarify Definitions, Eliminate Inconsistencies, and Ensure that the City's Development Review Procedures Conform to State Law and the City's Customer Service Objectives

Most of the recommended updates in Development Code Tune-Up Package #1 are housekeeping changes to clarify definitions, eliminate inconsistencies, and ensure that the City's development review procedures conform to state law and the City's customer service objectives. Several substantive changes are also included, with the intent of providing more efficient processes. All of the text changes are presented in the agenda packet for this meeting.

The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing and deliberated the proposed changes and made its recommendation to the City Council. During the Commission's community involvement process, extensive refinements to the proposed text amendments were made in response to comments made by local developers, land use attorneys, neighborhood associations, and interested citizens.

During the public hearing 3 citizens spoke with concerns about accessory structures, 1 citizen spoke with concerns about height restrictions for accessory structures, and 1 citizen spoke with concerns about permit duration for existing permits and concerns about accessory structures related to telecommunication facilities.

Staff will bring this ordinance back with amendments related to accessory structures and height of accessory structures as directed by Council.

Discuss and consider whether to conduct the first reading of an Ordinance Amending the City of Bend Development Code (Ordinance No. NS-2016) by removing the Text "Church Park 2.4 ac" and Park Shading from Figures Contained in Section 2.7.300 of the Bend Development Code – Applicant: Westside Church (This item was continued to the May 6th Council meeting).

Council authorized the City to enter into a contract with the Police Association as discussed in Executive Session.

The City will reinstate a customer parking validation program in the downtown.

###

Re:"Most of the recommended updates in Development Code Tune-Up Package #1 are housekeeping changes to clarify definitions..."

And the new council voted to spend $700K on this crap, to hire a consultant. Didn't hear anything about that kind of issue yesterday in the park, though.

This town is the most fucked up place I've ever lived. It's like a condo association run by a couple of owners.

Oh, yeah. Buster's right.

And Texas wants to secede.

As T said when I told her: "Where are they going to secede to?"; April 16, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Bewert said...: RE: Seems clear to me we have to separate health insurance from employers.

###

Totally agree.

I also think we should look at all the other systems and try to learn something, as a starting point.

The employer/health care tie is a relic of WW2, and the wage caps. Health care was used as a way to entice workers when you couldn't pay them more.

Hell, enticing workers is a relic in the US today.; April 16, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Anonymous said...: And Bruce, the BEST you can ever hope for when talking to people at any protest, left or right, is to find "interesting" people. Not rational ones.

The bulk of protestors are drawn by animal spirits, not rational arguments.; April 16, 2009 at 9:21 AM
Bewert said...: I would not believe that, it would preferrable that the person scanned and posted the 'post' so we can see who the plaintiff really is, I'm NOT taking your word in this case that the plaintiff is SAWYER.

###

Link: http://bend.craigslist.org/vnn/1097476938.html

###

This one's for Homer:

http://www.xxxmidgetsex.com/

"If you like pictures & movies of midgets and dwarfs
you will like this site.

If you like pictures & movies of midgets having sex
you will love this site!

If you would like to meet hot young female midgets who want to get it on with a regular guy then check out our personals page!!!

Now with new midget sex videos!
WARNING:

This site contains extremely explicit pictures of midgets and dwarfs engaged in sexual activity.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER"; April 16, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: There's only one midget that matter's and that's Bend little girl 'tiny tina' she holds the keys to our fair city.

She's got all of Bend's boss hogg's by the balls.; April 16, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Mee thinks that Bend's obsession with midget fucking, is really a legal obsession with child-fucking?

What you kunts think?

I cannot imagine why adults find watching a child-like midget getting fucking in all orifices by BEND-HUGE black cock amusing.; April 16, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Anonymous said...: The 'midget sex' performance is 'STARZ' Bend's best advertiser for the SORE&BULL.

The reason our HBM has been absent for the past month is that he can not not will not defend the practice of the SORE promoting 'Tiny Tina'.

A few days ago the owner of Starz was quoted as saying that Bend is "weird", this was posted in one of dunc's daily columns.

Yes, its fairly obvious that Bend is weird, and its quite clear that the owner of Starz is giving the good people of Bend what they want.; April 16, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Anonymous said...: Link: http://bend.craigslist.org/vnn/1097476938.html

##

BP you god damn fucking moron, that is not a link to the actual fucking 'POST' on notice of FED, its a fucking rant by a CL lunatic like yourself.; April 16, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Anonymous said...: The reason our HBM has been absent for the past month is that he can not not will not defend the practice of the SORE promoting 'Tiny Tina'.You've got to be kidding me. Are you trying to say that H. Pud Puller has now developed a conscience? Maybe he's trying to get in touch with his inner lib.; April 16, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Anonymous said...: BP's OREO is now a confirmed NAZI fucking asshole.

...

Obama's no prosecution vow meets resistance
AFP - ‎1 hour ago‎
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Civil rights groups reacted with dismay and disappointment Thursday over President Barack Obama's insistence that CIA officers not be prosecuted for the use of torture in "war on terror" interrogations. Obama's director of national ...; April 16, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Anonymous said...: BP you god damn fucking moron, that is not a link to the actual fucking 'POST' on notice of FED, its a fucking rant by a CL lunatic like yourself.

##

A 'post' is what was posted on NUTJOB CL's door, I asked you to get the photocopy/scan of that document, so we could see who is the plaintiff.

DIPSHIT PUSSY.; April 16, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Mee thinks that Bend's obsession with midget fucking, is really a legal obsession with child-fucking?

What you kunts think?

*

Let me make this MORE fucking CLEAR.

My point is that the CIGAR SMOKING & GOLFING PUG's of BEND, now that POSSESSION of child porn is a major fucking criminal offense, that these PUG ASSHOLES have turned to midget porn to get their fucking fix.

The premise is that HBM/SORE is their gateway.

The reason that HBM has not been around, is that this shit is un-conscionable, that said that without midget fucking advertising the BULL&SORE would be Bend dead.; April 16, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Obama's no prosecution vow meets resistance
AFP - ‎1 hour ago‎
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Civil rights groups reacted with dismay and disappointment Thursday over President Barack Obama's insistence that CIA officers not be prosecuted for the use of torture in "war on terror" interrogations. Obama's director of national ...

***

Just like NUREMBERG, everyone who participated went down, its fairly clear that the OREO's job is to protect team BUSH/CHENEY from going to prison, and all those who enabled them.

It's obvious that TEAM-BUSH has something on OREO.

Just like a few weeks ago dropping the STEVENS case, team-oreo is willing to sell its SOUL, in order to get all of PAULSON/GEITHNERS programs, e.g. robberys passed, by the pugs.; April 16, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Come on. No one ever thought Obama would prosecute these guys. No one thought he'd get the guys home from Iraq. It's all winks & nods. It's posturing. Everyone plays the game. Only people who might have believed him are kids too young to have seen the same story over & over.; April 16, 2009 at 8:41 PM

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