Hat tip to jpinpb for sending this along, from msnbc.com:
‘Occupy’ protesters and housing rights activists are planning to help families resist eviction from foreclosed homes and take control of vacant properties in some 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday, an effort aimed at focusing attention on the ongoing housing crisis and giving the movement a new focus after the dismantling of many of its encampments.
The protesters have been crafting proposals – often quietly to prevent police from learning about their intentions beforehand — to defend families facing eviction or return others home. In Minneapolis, for example, they plan to help a Vietnam War veteran stay in his home, in New York, protesters will try to help a family get back into their house, and in Chicago, two sisters and their seven children will be moved into an abandoned single-family home, activists said.
“It’s part of a national day of action that we hope will kick off a wave of defenses and home re-occupations,” Max Berger, 26, told the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly late Thursday while requesting $6,400 in funding to buy tools for the project. “This is not just about one event; this is a huge frontier for us. We can do these kinds of actions all the time, and we should. And it doesn’t have to be just us. We got to do this one right so we can inspire people to do it theirselves.”
“This movement is about taking back this country for regular people and that’s exactly what we’re doing with these actions,” he later added. “We’re not going to let the power of the banks keep people from having what they need.”
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Another here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/occupy-yall-street-ows-moves-into-atlanta-suburbs_n_1125645.html
Perfect timing for the holidays. Jim can you please send me a list of vacant, La Jolla reo’s? Pack the bags Ma!
There’s a nice one on top of the hill with views both ways……. 😉
The CEO of realtor.com talks business – apparently Redfin isn’t on his radar:
http://lansner.ocregister.com/2011/12/03/facebook-ipads-to-change-homebuying/154975/#more-154975
Us: What will house hunting be like in five or 10 years?
Steve: I think it’s going to be very much of a mobile, social experience.
At the end of the day, I don’t believe a person will buy a home without walking through it. I don’t think that part will change. I think the tools will continue to evolve.
I think it’s going to be a much richer, more integrated experience. You’re going to have so much focused information about the schools, the neighborhood, walking distances. You may even be able to have information about your neighbors because people will bring the social aspect of it. You’ll be able to see their Facebook page and know if they have kids. It’s pretty scary, actually. But think about what’s happening today and how much we know about everybody.
Think about it. If video games are so real, there’ll be technology in which the home itself will be rendered. You’ll be able to walk into the home, and on your iPad say, “What will the kitchen look like if I remodeled it this way? How much will that cost me?” All of that stuff will be at your fingertips.
Us: How will the role of the real estate agent change as consumers do more of the searching themselves online?
Steve: If you look at the evolution of any business, I think their roles evolve. Historically, in the past, it was very much about knowing what was for sale. But there’s so much local information. A good real estate agent is a local expert, which means they know things that you just don’t know.
When I bought a house, he knew that there were five kids in the house. He knew that the house had been totally repainted. He knew that the office had been used as a kid’s room, which meant that there’s going to be more underlying damage to the house. He was able to tell me more. I don’t think that local knowledge changes. They now need to find a way … to put that information (together) in a format that differentiates that. There’s a real value to that.
Nothing new here, the same things happened in the 1930 when either the sheriff was blocked from holding an auction for a farm, or it was made clear that the maximum bid was $1 and to bid more was going to be very unhealthy to the bidder. (The $1 bidder turns around and gives the property back to the owner).
It will be interesting to see how much mobile devices and other technology changes the role of a Realtor. Will you have fewer Realtors doing more volume. Would you be able to replace Realtors completely. Realtors serve many roles but their marketing functions seem to be the biggest thing that’s being replaced by technology right now. A local area expert might not be replaceable but what a local area expert is worth in terms of a purchase price is debatable. Navigating the process of a sale or purchase is another area where Realtors add value, but that function will probably be the next to be replaced by more automation and boilerplate.
This is not a capitalist country if stupid investors are blocked from losing money. Bad investment (overpriced house) = investor (home owner) should lose the asset!!
“resist eviction” ???? You bought it unwisely, now get evicted! Don’t blame banks for poor consumer decisions!!
Looks like we may be reading a lot more about Occupying foreclosed homes:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/09/opinion/kohn-occupy-homes/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Basically a squatter movement. This was big in Europe – and may still be for all I know – but another nail in the coffin of private property rights.