Harvey Korman: You will be missed.

Make the Angels laugh!

Fear

You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.

Eric Hoffer

Greetings good people. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. And what a great way to start the summer with some more real estate chaos.


New York Times has published a detailed story on the Tishman Speyer crackdown on violators of rent stabilization laws. Its not pretty.

Tishman Speyer has hired an army of lawyers and private investigators on tenants who are targeting abusers of the rent stabilization system. The problem is that alot of innocent tenants are caught in the cross fire.Here are two quotes that are of interest.

Tenants and their lawyers say they do not doubt that in some cases in which tenants gave up their apartments, the tenants had been abusing the rent-stabilization system. But they also believe that many of them were legitimate tenants who wanted to avoid, or were intimidated by, a potential legal battle with their landlord.

Referring to Tishman Speyer, Mr. Fishman, Ms. Shapiro’s lawyer, said, “They realize that a certain percentage of tenants will get this notice and simply pack, because they’re afraid.”

The objective of this pogrom is simple. Get the rent stabilized tenants out and replace them so you can charge market rates for the rent. But it begs two questions. Why is Tishman acting in this manner? Does it really make sense to do that in a market where New York City economy is getting eviscerated? Rent stabilized tenant or not, you need a cashflow if you are a landlord. And if you have a vacant apartment then you are not getting any cashflow no matter how much rent you are charging. The second question is Tishman really doing this?

I speculate that Tishman is in the process of preparing for a sale in the future. Yes. I know they just bouught Stuy town but I suspect the reason why they are going through with this pogrom is to beef up their balance sheets and to also make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Or it could be they need more money and that by clearing out the rent stabilized flotsam they could get a better loan.

It is a risky manuver because these tenants could ban together and file a class action suit. Or worse. Intiate a rent strike. Then Stuy town will never get these people out.

And another surprise is that more Wall Street jobs have been wiped out.

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- It's as if the entire workforce at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley vanished in less than a year.

From Tokyo to London to New York, financial companies announced plans to shed more than 83,000 jobs since last July as revenue and compensation pools evaporated, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. The dismissals range from 90 jobs, or 0.1 percent of the total, at London-based HBOS Plc to about 9,160 jobs, or 66 percent of the workforce, at New York-based Bear Stearns Cos., which is being acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The cuts add up to 3.3 percent of employees at the 28 firms eliminating positions. That's significantly less than the market slump from 2000 to 2003, when 17 percent of banking and securities jobs in New York were wiped out, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Given the record-breaking losses of the past year -- banks and brokers have taken $383 billion of writedowns and credit losses -- some economic forecasters and industry veterans expect the number of dismissals to increase.

``My guess is there's probably more to come,'' said Sanford ``Sandy'' Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., who worked on Wall Street for 53 years, in a May 21 interview. ``I think this is tougher'' than the last market decline, Weill, 75, said.

New York-based Citigroup, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, has announced 15,900 job cuts worldwide, about 4 percent of its employees.

The big surprise is that this appears to be just the beginning of something bigger and scarier.

``My guess is there's probably more to come,'' said Sanford ``Sandy'' Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., who worked on Wall Street for 53 years, in a May 21 interview. ``I think this is tougher'' than the last market decline, Weill, 75, said.

Since reading The True Believer, I have become quite an avid reader of his work. He has knack for being able to cut the social that holds up the meat of society.

Hoffer's quote about fear definitely applies to these two articles. It appears these Masters of the Universe are simply laying down the hammer in their respective domains. Their minions scampering away to find cover, running past the carcasses of the unlucky ones.

But remember, tables can turn on these Masters of the Universe. Remember, they are doing all of these things to deal with their desperate times. We are all scared.

New Bern NC High School

New Bern High School was recently mentioned in a recent Sports Illustrated Magazine as the top high school athletic program in North Carolina. After making it to the state finals for 3 out of the last 4 years New Bern finally won the state championship with a herculean effort against a team that had won 7 straight championships. Just a few weeks ago New Bern also won the state championship in track and field. This was the 3rd year in a row that the track team won the championship.In addition, the girls remained undefeated in the Coastal Conference for the 14th consecutive season. The baseball team, basketball team, and wrestling teams consistently have successful teams. No doubt,these are all worthy accomplishments.

Now that New Bern has their athletic program in high gear, I think it is time to gear up the academic programs. New Bern High lags behind the other high schools in Craven County as well as much of the state. There is no reason why academics should not be stressed as much, or more, than sports. Few if any of our athletes will ever make it to the professional level whereas almost all of our students could go to college if they apply themselves to their studies.

Roll Call: The Reality Check

Reality for this family began when the camera crew left and the bills started piling up.


Folks. Reality shows are not reality as this recent article about Extreme Makeover has indicated.

Extreme Home for sale

By MARLISA KEYES
Staff writer
Hebert can’t afford upkeep nor time for maintenance

SANDPOINT — Eric Hebert’s Extreme Home Makeover home is for sale.

Although grateful to the community for building the home, Hebert said owning it is more than he can manage time-wise and financially as he raises his late sister’s 11-year-old twins, Keely and Tyler.

His personal priorities changed four years ago and his primary concern is raising two children, Hebert said.

“It’s a little too much for the three of us,” he said.

Hebert is concerned that community residents who helped build his home in November 2006 will think he is selling it to make a profit.

“I’m not doing it (selling) to make a profit. I’m doing it not to lose money,” he said. “I just hope people understand the reality of it.”

Upkeep on the 3,678-square-foot challenge also is difficult. Hebert, who is single, works full-time and spends most evenings taking the kids to baseball and soccer practice. He said wants to enjoy his time with his niece and nephew. The cost to maintain the home is expensive and Hebert is worried about the economy, the price of gas and the cost of food.

Since moving into the new home, Hebert said his bills have tripled. This winter his electrical bill for forced air heating was no less than $300 a month, in addition to him paying for propane, Hebert said.

Sullivan Homes co-owner Lori Sullivan said she understands Hebert’s plight, calling him a great guy. Sullivan Homes was the primary contractor on the project. A number of other contractors from Bonner County and the Spokane area also helped, along with hundreds of local volunteers.

“Home ownership is tough for a lot of people all over the country right now,” Sullivan said.

She does not regret her involvement with building Hebert’s home, she said.

“It’s too bad it’s a burden for him,” Sullivan said. “We’re sad for Eric.”

When his subterranean home was replaced by the existing structure, Hebert was working in construction. However, he was given the opportunity to work at a sales job on 100 -ercent commission.

That did not work out and Hebert went back to his old job in construction. It has been humbling to discover that some things in life just do not work out, Hebert said.

“It took awhile for that reality to set in,” he said.

Hebert would not trade the Extreme Home Makeover experience for anything. He believes it has changed his life and the children’s for the better, citing their opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and lobby the American Heart Association, the chance to meet so many caring people in the community and to own a nice home.

Hebert also is realistic and knows there will be some “I told you so’s,” from people who questioned whether he could make his new situation work.

He doubts he will ever live in a home as nice as the one in which he is currently living, but he also does not see a home like the first poorly-built structure that put him on Extreme Home Makeover’s radar in his future either.

The 3,678-square-foot house and the one-acre property it sits on are listed for sale for $529,000 with Jim Watkins of Tomlinson’s Sandpoint Sotheby Realty. Hebert also owns another two acres adjacent to the home and has listed that property for $160,000.

Bonner County has appraised the house at $552,244 and the acreage at $125,000, according to the Bonner County Assessor’s office.

Although Hebert is hopeful someone will buy the property by the end of this summer, he also knows selling it may be a challenge given that there are 48 other homes for sale in the county within the same price range.

Hebert said he loves the home’s layout and its private Baldy Road location, but after six months of thinking about what to do, he said he had to be realistic and put the home up for sale.

The three-bedroom home is spectacular inside and out. It includes three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a bonus room, an office, a master bedroom with access to a deck that includes a fireplace and hot tub.

Two large windows in the two-story great room overlook a tree farm. The floors are covered with hardwood and slate.

Hebert spent six months thinking about whether the decision would be good for the kids who already have lost their mother who died of heart disease.

Fortunately, the kids understand his decision and are “resilient,” he said.

Although Keely’s room and its adjoining bathroom are plush, it is difficult for her to keep the room clean. They spent last weekend cleaning her room to prepare for showing buyers. However, Hebert did not have time to put away the vacuum cleaner and it sits in the middle of the upstairs hallway floor.

The dining room is rarely used — Hebert refers to it as the poker room and a light dust layer covers most surfaces.

Hebert is unsure what he will do once his home sells. He may stay in the area because he has a lot of friends here as well as an aunt and uncle in Kootenai with whom he is close. However, he also has friends in Montana.

“One thing at a time,” he said. “But I like it (Sandpoint). It’s a great place to raise kids.

”

It was a nice gesture on part of the show, however it jutt goes to show that the designers were more interested in building a showcase of a home instead of building home that suited the needs of the Mr. Hebert's household. Of course Mr. Hebert's timing could not be worse.

And it looks like even politicians are now getting in on the foreclosure act.

Update: Congresswoman denies foreclosure report

Update: California Rep. Laura Richardson today denied a published report that her $535,000 Sacramento home had slipped into foreclosure, saying she had renegotiated her loan to keep the home.

The house "... is not in foreclosure and has NOT been seized by the bank," Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, said in a statement. "I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the terms of the agreement -- with no special provisions." (Richardson's entire statement is at the bottom of this article).

In other words she got a workout. However it still does not inspire alot of confidence in her constituents that someone that they elected nearly lost her home.

Last Saturday night..

I was taking the Metro North with a family member into Westchester when we got delayed at one stop. The conductor announced the delay was caused by train traffic caused by a fatality at Scarsdale. The moment he said that there was a murmur of speculation in the car.

As we stopped by Scarsdale we saw the train on the northbound track and a ladder that led to the rails and which I assume where they found the body. Standing on the platform in between the ladder and the train was a conductor with a grim look on his face.

Later on that night, I would learn that someone did jump in front of the train but didn’t know the full details until Monday morning.

SCARSDALE - Students walked to Scarsdale High School silently this morning, their somber faces reflecting the widespread shock at a freshman's suicide over the weekend.

Akshay Menon, 14, jumped in front of a Metro-North express train at 9:10 p.m. Saturday, about a mile from the Post Road school building. The tragic news quickly spread to his classmates, more than 200 of whom are connected to him through the Facebook social networking Web site.

The school is offering mental health services today for its students, particularly the school's 375 freshmen, said Victoria Presser, district spokeswoman.
"Administrators are going into the classrooms, particularly the ninth-grade classrooms, throughout the high school just to listen to the students and help them with the process of dealing with this," she said. "We provide as much support as we can."

Scarsdale High School has about 1,450 students in grades 9 through 12. Presser said she did not know how long Menon had been a student in the district.
Chloe Baum, 16, a Scarsdale High sophomore, said she did not know Menon well, but mutual friends had told her he felt pressured to achieve top grades. Still, she said, no one had thought he was depressed enough to kill himself.
"They didn't see any signs," she said. "A lot of people seemed to like him and thought he was a funny kid."

Look at this beautiful face.



Akshay Menon was just a baby. A child. He was a young boy that barely knew life, what demons tortured him to take his own life? I can’t imagine what his parents are going through right now. They have my heartfelt condolences.

Remember my rant against going to my reunion? So it is no big surprise that I hated high school. There was many a day when I felt my life was falling apart because of my grades, my social life,getting into college and other incidents. When I look back on it now, it all seems rather foolish. But back then it was all I knew. It is all any of us know when we are at that age.

For a lot of people, high school is the highlight of their lives. For some of us the fact that we simply survived 4 years is good enough for us. I was in the latter category.

You know what I learned? Life does not end with high school; in fact it does not even begin there. It is just 4 years of your life. After that you have the rest of your life to see what is really out there and what you are really about.

I am alive

I haven't been able to post due to an old injury. Nothing major. More posts this week.

My top 7 reasons to retire to New Bern NC

1. History-settled in 1710 New Bern is full of history and historic buildings such as the city hall shown on the left. Check out http://www.newbern-nc.info/New-Bern-history2.html for more information on New Bern

2. Climate-mild winters allow for golf and other outdoor activities pretty much year around.

3. Water-The Trent and Neuse Rivers converge in downtown New Bern. The Atlantic Ocean and the crystal coast are only 35 minutes away.

4. Golf- Plenty of inexpensive golf courses located in and around new Bern. No waiting for tee times and most of the courses are kept in immaculate shape.

5. Boating-Sailing- The Neuse River http://www.newbern-nc.info/Neuse-River.html is the widest river in the United states and offers sailors and power boaters ample opportunity to test their skills. The intercoastal waterway is only about 20 miles from downtown New Bern.

6. Lots of things to do- Check out these links http://www.newbern-nc.info/aroundthetown.html and http://www.newbern-nc.info/New-Bern-happenings.html to see what is happenning around New Bern.

7. Home Prices- home prices are considered reasonable by most standards. There are many quality subdivisions in the New Bern area. From waterfront and golf communities to the historic downtown area you are certain to find a community to suitt your needs.

Steve Tyson is a real estate broker and a native of New Bern. He can be contacted at Tyson@Century21.com