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Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_10.10.08 - Index

6A | BRENTWOODPRESS.COM COMMUNITY OCTOBER 10, 2008
NUMBER, NUMBERS, NUMBERS…
Well, the Bailout Bill passed. Excuse
me, I should say the “Rescue” Bill. After
it failed in the House the first time, they
stopped calling it a “Bailout” and changed
it to a “Rescue” bill. They quickly found
out that taxpayers were opposed to the
word “Bailout” and we are heading into
an election year.
However, they are still calling it the
$700 Billion dollar bill, even though they
added another potential $100-150 Billion
to it in the newer versions. But are those
numbers even accurate? Here are some
items to mentally chew on…
During the S&L crisis of the 80’s, the
Government’s original estimate of that
bailout was $30 Billion. The final price
tag was nearly $150 Billion. If they are off
by similar amounts this time, $700 Billion
will be a drop in the bucket.
Also, consider this: there are about
10 million homes in California (including
single-family, condos, etc.). On average,
prices have dropped about $250,000
each off our peak. So that is $2.5 Trillion
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dollars in equity that has been lost in
California alone.
Lastly, consider this: due to the
power of leverage, and the sophisticated
financial tools that were created during
the early 2000’s, a home mortgage could
be made to someone who really couldn’t
afford it, but then that loan would be
sold, then stripped apart and sold again
and again. A loan of $400,000 could
be turned into $4,000,000 in securities
through this process. That’s why the
write-downs to value hurt these companies
so much, because it is leverage
working in reverse. (I’ll try to explain this
in more detail next week.) This is what
has caused the urgency behind Congress
needing to do something, anything, and
quickly.
If you have questions on this or any
other real estate topic, call me at (925)
240-MOVE (6683). To search the MLS
for free and view virtual tours of homes
for sale, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.
com. Sharp Realty
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High-tech trauma a
long way from OK
I’m not one of those people who live
through their cell phones and e-mails. This
is somewhat annoying to my friends who
have their Blue Tooth attachment lodged in
their ear canal at all times. Personally, I think
those Blue Tooth things make you look like
HANGIN’ IN
THERE
VICKI
MCKENNA
Lt. Uhura from “Star
Trek.”
My friends will
ask in an irritated tone,
“Didn’t you get my text
about the Pampered
Chef party last night?”
To which I reply,
“No, I don’t even know
how to text!”
I tried it once and
failed miserably. My
kids were watching in
complete horror. “Geez, Mom, just stop it!
You’re too old to text!”
It’s true, I do struggle. Maybe because
I can’t see the little letters on the keypad.
Why are they so small? I need a cell phone
that comes in XL. Have you seen those enormous
remote controls and calculators you
can buy now? I think it’s supposed to be a
gag gift, but hey, I can read those numbers!
I watch my kids text. It’s amazing: their
fi ngers fl y across the keypad with lightning
speed and precision, sending cryptic little
messages to their friends. I can’t even text
“OK.” My phone has this crazy T-9 feature
that tries to guess the word you’re trying to
text. My daughter sent me a text asking me
to pick her up. All I wanted to write back
was “OK,” but my phone kept insisting on
“Oklahoma.”
Now why would someone want to
write “Oklahoma,” for God’s sake? I mean,
how common is that as a reply? So I sent it,
hoping she’d know it was her lame mother
trying to text “OK.” Now, when my kids text
me to say they need a ride home, they look
for Mom’s standard reply: “Oklahoma.” It’s
ridiculous!
The same goes for e-mails. Currently I
have 446 unread e-mails. It takes all day to
go through those things. Who has that kind
of time? I have fi ve kids; I can’t spend hours
in cyberspace, and who would want to? I get
a lot of spam and a lot of it’s distasteful. (I
don’t need anything enlarged, and frankly,
I wish my husband would contract erectile
dysfunction! Maybe then I’d have the time to
go through my 400 e-mails.)
My least favorite e-mails are those
chain letters. Even my mother sends them to
me. I fi nally told her to knock it off. I have
enough bad luck! People that send those
things are cowards, willing to jeopardize
their friendships just in case the bad luck is
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