bubbleinfo.com

We’ve been following this story for years about the 16,330sf house in Olivenhain, and now it’s finally on the market, listed for $2,700,000.  The basics are covered in the video, but this article fills in some of the extra details: Link to NYTimes article

The Wall Street Journal ran the story yesterday about the San Diego MLS sending in the wrong sales data to C.A.R. for the last year.

I don’t know what’s funnier; that Sandicor never checks their own work, or that apparently no one in the western world cares enough about what C.A.R. has to say to notice a major discrepency for a year.

Nothing about this escapade is surprising though, if you know Ray Ewing, CEO of Sandicor.  The realtors are the actual owners of Sandicor, who runs our Multiple Listing Service, and we need somebody to run it.  Enter Ray Ewing.

Back in 1992 when Sandicor was formed by the eleven SD association of realtors, it was the first, and the largest in the country to do so.  If Sandicor would have boldly set out to provide the a first-rate MLS website and assist realtors with helping their clients, they could served a greater good. It has never happened.

Instead, in May, 2008 the Sandicor folks changed the entire MLS system, allegedly ‘upgrading’ from Tempo 3 to Tempo 5.  It was an unmitigated disaster, and still to this day a vastly inferior product.

When a certain blogger complained about the new system, it caused a local news reporter, Zach Fox, called Ray Ewing for comment.

Ray was happy to look up the records and tell Zach that I had taken one of the last Tempo 5 training classes (gave Zach the date and time) and suggested that if I would have gone to additional training I might know what I am talking about.

It is that type of arrogance that is undermining our realtor community every day.  

Sandicor has not developed their own public website, like many other MLS providers have done around the country.  Instead, people like Redfin, Zip, and even one of our own realtors who developed sdlookup.com have kicked Sandicor’s butt with a better distribution of MLS information. 

Ray is good about issuing fines though, and bad-mouthing agents to the press.  Apparently his control over the MLS and the data he provides is still a challenge.

I AM GRATEFUL for Ray’s work.  He is expediting the demise of realtors as we know them.

Consumers are sick of the lack of transparency, the lack of data analysis, and lack of real-time facts to make decisions with.  Ray’s failure to provide any of the above will hasten the creation of an upstart public MLS, and make Sandicor, and most realtors, useless to the community.

I look forward to that day. 

I’ll still have a job helping people analyze properties and their value, and putting deals together.  How about you Ray?

And Ray, what are you going to say to the thousands of realtors who you have failed so miserably who will be out of work? 

from Bloomberg.com

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aGvwttDayiiM&refer=home

By Mark Pittman

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.

Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests.

“If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,” said Carlos Mendez, a senior managing director at New York-based ICP Capital LLC, which oversees $22 billion in assets.

The Fed stepped into a rescue role that was the original purpose of the Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The central bank loans don’t have the oversight safeguards that Congress imposed upon the TARP. 

Total Fed lending exceeded $2 trillion for the first time Nov. 6. It rose by 138 percent, or $1.23 trillion, in the 12 weeks since Sept. 14, when central bank governors relaxed collateral standards to accept securities that weren’t rated AAA.

‘Been Bamboozled’

Congress is demanding more transparency from the Fed and Treasury on bailout, most recently during Dec. 10 hearings by the House Financial Services committee when Representative David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, said Americans had “been bamboozled.”

In response to Bloomberg’s request, the Fed said the U.S. is facing “an unprecedented crisis” in which “loss in confidence in and between financial institutions can occur with lightning speed and devastating effects.”

“There has to be something they can tell the public because we have a right to know what they are doing,” said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Arlington, Virginia-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

“It would really be a shame if we have to find this out 10 years from now after some really nasty class-action suit and our financial system has completely collapsed,” she said.

Those of you who follow the defaults in Carlsbad saw an old friend come back on the list last week – 3745 Adams.  The ‘house’ was hand-built of adobe bricks by the owner back in the 1950s, and looks it – there are parts that have no floor.

Bit it’s on nearly an acre of land, and though it is close to the freeway, it is still valuable – especially to my church next door, who has been hoping to expand.

I tracked down the owner’s daughter the last time they  hit the NOD list, and luckily she remembered that our kids were in the same class a few years back.  I expressed my willingness to help her with the situation – but she felt she had it all handled.  She still wanted to "develop the property".

She got into a bind the first time around because she had taken out a $640,000 loan, and had trouble making the payments (She doesn’t work, her husband is a truck driver, and mom is in the rest home in Washington).  So she took out a small second with a hard-money lender, who, according to her, promised to advance more funds to help develop the property.  Apparently he mis-understood, and instead tried to foreclose on her.

I offered her $1,000,000 for the property, on behalf of a coalition of parishioners who would turn it over to the church once the expansion plans were in place.  She refused to consider it, insisting that she would endure this hardship and carry on with her deceased father’s plans to build it out.

Knowing that she was into more than she could handle, and thinking she might reconsider, I helped her with the paperwork to escape the foreclosure.  Literally the day before she was about to lose the property, she got a court injunction to stop the trustee sale, due to ‘elder abuse’.

The lender rescinded his foreclosure proceedings, after an attorney threatened to sue him.   The most unbelievable part of the whole story was that the lender then cancelled his second note and trust deed, and let her walk with around $40,000.

I offered my deal again, but she refused, because she had another lender willing to give her $90,000 – enough to make payments on the first, plus some walking-around money.  That hard-money lender insisted though that she sign over the grant deed – which she did, under the agreement that she could buy back the property in six months.  Why she thought that deal was better than our million dollars is beyond me.

But somehow she pulled it off, and in October the property reverted back to Mom.

Yesterday I got this email from her:

Just Seven months ago a group of volunteers formed the Kokopelli Board of Directors and gave birth to a wonderful non-profit community benefit project. The Kokopelli Community Workshop project, was created to open a educational workshop and educational Center in Carlsbad California.

A large adobe complex, located on a acre of land on Adams Street in Old Carlsbad was donated the project, by 84-year old longtime Carlsbad homeowner, Betty Bryan, (Betty is guaranteed lifetime occupancy by the project, in private rooms located adjacent to the main building)

The original eight kokopelli board members included; two college teachers, (one teaches copy writing and one teaches finance) an attorney, and her legal assistant, an editor, a journalist, (that’s me) a computer design expert, and a well known holistic health professional, who works successfully with cancer patients.

We also been busily involved planning fundraisers, collecting books for our library and meditation center. We have all contributed many nights and week-ends, to remodeling the large adobe structure located on an acre of land located adjacent to St.Patrick’s Church in Carlsbad.

Over the last months we have accomplished the following; we have landscaped the grounds and rented a back-hoe and replaced the leach-lines, which run directly under our planned community aquaponic organic farm project located directly behind the adobe structure.

THE CURRENT CRISES ;
Last July an investor from Oceanside, a man named Mr. Rick Ardissoni was introduced to us as someone who was interested in helping the Kokopelli Community Workshop Project.  He was introduced to our project as an investor who could potentially advance the needed funds for our project to keep rolling, if he could be repaid at the end of January 2008 when our project funding would begin to become available.

Mr. Ardissoni joined our board of Directors, attended our meetings and seemed to show benevolent interest in our project.  So we convened a special meeting our our finance committee and voted to execute a $600,000 "line of credit" trust deed to be recorded against Betty Bryan’s property, naming Mr. Rock Ardissoni as beneficiary.

On October 10, 2007 the trust deed was recorded at the San Diego County recorders office securing Mr. Ardissoni’s interests to enable our "line of credit. "   We were led to believe that this security would enable Mr. Ardissoni to provide sufficient funds to keep our project rolling. In this way we hoped to keep the headquarter’s mortgage paid and be able to continue our remodeling work until our grant money could begin to benefit the kokopelli project at the end of January 2008.

At the end of November 2007, after Mr. Ardissoni had advanced the project a grand total $34,000, when he suddenly refused to attend board meetings and apparently lost all interest in the Kokopelli project.

Mr. Ardissoni also refused to advance us any further funds.

Alarmed we scrambled to find another investor, because our financial director warned us that the property must be maintained in good standing, in order qualify any potential grants.   Finally we were thrilled to locate a benefactor who was willing to step into Mr. Ardissoni’s position.

Early in December, the alternative investor, a genuine benefactor, offered us $100,000 in private money so that we might repay Mr. Ardissoni $ 44,000 from a new loan. (This amount included $10,000 interest on the original investment of $34,000)

Kokopelli project planned to use the balance of the new loan funds to reinstate our mortgage, and then make timely mortgage payments until our grant funding and other fundraising projects could make additional funds available.

Mr Ardisoni’s existing $600,000 trust deed would need to be re-conveyed as a funding condition. Then a new trust deed for a lower amount ($120,000) could be issued to the new investor , which would allow Mr.Ardissoini to be reimbursed $44,000 from the closing the new loan escrow.

When Mr. Ardissoni was informed that he could be immediately repaid, much to our dismay, he let us know that he was not interested in being repaid only $44,000, and also that all further communication must be to his attorney ( Mr. James Maynard, of Carlsbad.)  Attorney James Maynard contacted us only once to communicate that his client was "not inclined’ to re-convey the $600,000 trust deed. Now attorney James Maynard does not seem to answer his office phone or bother to return our calls.  

As of January 2008, Betty Bryan’s home and property was put into foreclosure status.

Mr. Ardissoni’s refusal to re-convey our equity has now additionally prevented Betty Bryan from qualifying for a federally guaranteed FHA refinance loan, that would have resulted in a much lower more affordable mortgage payment.

Betty Bryan qualified for this special FHA govenment program as one of approximately 2.2 million homeowners who borrowed against their homes between 1998 and 2006 and most have a subprime mortgage.  Many of these borrowers now face the loss of their homes to foreclosure. Earlier this year, 80% of subprime home loans which had fixed rates initially, became adjustable. That is, the interest rates jumped higher on either the 25 month or the 37th month. This jump in the monthly payment caused "payment shock" for the affected homeowners. Many of the loan payments increased by about 40%. Unable to make these new higher payments, these homeowners face foreclosure.

As of January 2008 Betty Bryan’s home and property is recorded as being in foreclosure, and due to the stolen equity this 84-year old, 50 year resident of Carlsbad no longer qualifies for a loan, and may soon be made homeless.

We have tried to explain to Mr. Ardissoni that if he allows the property to go into a mortgage default Kokopelli project would not qualify for any of the grants everyone worked so hard to submit. In response, Mr. Ardissoni said he would just have to protect his interests and referred us to an attorney James Maynard who does not return any of our calls.

Kokopelli Community Workshop project has now retained the service of an attorney, who is a specialist in fighting predatory lending.   We are very fortunate that Mr.Fransen has taken our case on contingency,  BUT…… unless we can pay the court costs and get the property out of default, senior Betty Bryan stands to become homeless in a couple of months, and a valuable community project; Kokopelli Community Workshop will to be lost to these loan predator’s tricks.

SO PLEASE HELP US SAVE BETTY BRYAN’S HOME AND OUR COMMUNITY WORKSHOP PROJECT!

We want you to know that any help you can give will make a huge difference. Please make Betty a donation, even if all you can only spare a dollar or two. If everyone who reads this email sends Betty just $5.00 we will be able to save her home.

please send to all donations by mail to;
Betty Bryan
PO box 1410
Carlsbad Ca 92018

In any case thanks for reading all about this crises!

We must create community awareness of these predatory tactics to often used to steal peoples homes and real estate.  Kokopelli Community Workshop will also implement a special foreclosure workshop to help individuals and families whose homes are in foreclosure or who have mortgage loans about to enter an adjustable rate understand their options; including but not limited to all government programs, bankruptcy options, short sale opportunities, legal stays against foreclosure, and to help those in need to thoroughly review understand and review the financial and legal consequences of all potential loans or other creative financing schemes that may have under consideration, in a protected and legally sanctioned environment.

Also remember to keep a copy of your donation as it is tax deduct-able.