If you are bored and interested (mortgage mess background)-

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Spock · #1 Post by **Spock** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:25 am

http://appraisersforum.com/

The specific bored of interest is the:General Real Estate, Mortgage, and Economic Discussions

http://appraisersforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=205

I am not sure if you have to register to read or not.

There are long threads there going back for years "Housing Bubble Bursting" is the best example.

To sum up-The honest residential appraisers saw this mess coming for years from the inside.

I have been following the thread(s) off-and on for a couple of years.-not so much lately.

gsabc · #2 Post by **gsabc** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:32 am

Wow! Almost 6700 messages in one thread! That's a bit intimidating for trying to read up on the subject.

nitrah55 · #3 Post by **nitrah55** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:36 am

The best primer on the mortgage mess that I've heard is an episode of "This American Life" a couple of weeks back that walks through everything. I think you can still get the podcast at npr.org.

cindy.wellman · #4 Post by **cindy.wellman** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:26 am

nitrah55 wrote:The best primer on the mortgage mess that I've heard is an episode of "This American Life" a couple of weeks back that walks through everything. I think you can still get the podcast at npr.org.

Cross post from another thread... I really liked it too. One mortgage broker's story in particular was unreal. It is funny when things happen that are away from your life, and the people you know. I often wonder, "What were they thinking?" Well, in this broadcast, they talk to a few of the 'theys'.

cindy.wellman wrote:The show, "This American Life" on public radio, had a very well-rounded episode in June called, "The Giant Pool of Money". Much of the content I was familiar with, but I did learn quite a bit when I listened to it

nitrah55 · #5 Post by **nitrah55** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:52 am

cindy.wellman wrote:
nitrah55 wrote:The best primer on the mortgage mess that I've heard is an episode of "This American Life" a couple of weeks back that walks through everything. I think you can still get the podcast at npr.org.

Cross post from another thread... I really liked it too. One mortgage broker's story in particular was unreal. It is funny when things happen that are away from your life, and the people you know. I often wonder, "What were they thinking?" Well, in this broadcast, they talk to a few of the 'theys'.

cindy.wellman wrote:The show, "This American Life" on public radio, had a very well-rounded episode in June called, "The Giant Pool of Money". Much of the content I was familiar with, but I did learn quite a bit when I listened to it

The answer, of course, is they weren't thinking. Greed and stupidity.

I mentioned this in another post, but I strongly reccomend everybody read "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," written by Charles MacKay and published in 1841 (that is not a typo).

He has three chapters on economic bubbles, the most compelling of which is the story of the Tulip Bulb Mania that hit Holland in the 1600's. Tulip bulbs were bought and sold at such a pace that the price soared, and fortunes were made. Until, of course, the market collapsed- probably when someone realized that tulip bulbs have little intrinsic value- and fortunes were lost.

minimetoo26 · #6 Post by **minimetoo26** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:57 am

My sister is one of those honest appraisers. She had a bunch of pressure on her to inflate values, and just refused, so she didn't get a bunch of work when it wasn't the Boom Times since she is self-employed. Her income could be as low as $5000 some years.

Now she works for her old law firm, doing foreclosures. They are slammed beyond belief and let her set her own hours and work around her appraisal appointments. She had all the bases covered, I guess!