Forum Post: Empty Homes in my neighborhood
Posted 12 years ago on June 17, 2012, 9:17 a.m. EST by Riley2011
(110)
from New Britain, CT
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I wanted to say something from the heart. I do not know if anyone lives in small town America. I do. Today, I had a chance to go to the local coffee house and on my way, I slowed down and looked at the sheer number of houses for sale. It is a nice town, really, where I live, right outside of New Britain, CT Kids ride bikes and there are concerts on the green, etc. For the first time, i have noticed something different that I had not noticed at all, even when the recession really hit us. Emptiness, pure and simple. A number of homes have no sign, but the grass is high and junk is laying around the property. So, if we are out of the recession, is this only my town that this is happening to? I feel that things are getting worse. We went out for a rare dinner last night...the family restaurant/national chain, average price for a dish? 16.00. Ridiculous. Food prices? My shopping cart total is going up, not down... How is it going in your neck of the woods? We are staring to look more like Europe (economically)where I live...
Amazing how the laws of supply and demand never seem to be reflected in the retail prices of products. Prices should be going down in a recession, not up.
That is what I learned in school.... However prices even for bread and eggs is going up 2 to 3 cents a week Doesn't seem like much but it adds up
eggs, milk and gasoline have dropped in the recent week in san diego
chocolate remains high
In my city real estate companies are turning the empty homes into conversion apartments because a growing number of people can no longer afford to buy a house.
They want renters for life. Land is the most valuable item there is.
That is true ..in alot of cases the banks are still making their money More even by becoming landlords
the banks do not want to have defaulted house on their books. in nj foreclosures are over 100 % from last year
why haven't the politicians responded?
I thought they represented the banks
in nj they want to make these homes, in good neighborhoods , into section 8 housing. it will bring down the property values even more.
Wow ..I didn't know it was that bad there We are probably right behind you in ct
Its bad, but the MSM is reporting on important things, like lindsay lohan.
Hey when she crashes yet another car...that's news! :-)
the " news" is what the papers and msm make it to be. if they dont report on it , it never happened.
Good post Riley.
Living in small town in northern Nevada, where many homes sit vacant.
Inflation is intense. Needed a small pharmacy item that was $1.89 about 18 months ago, and now is $5.69 at same store. Groceries going up constantly. Never go to restaurants. Cost of auto maintenance products, ridiculous.
Have tools, and am good at fixing things, which helps a lot. Finding ways to do without many things. Growing vegetable garden. Dial-up for computer.
Thanks for posting back. You hit the heart of the matter, I just picked up a tube of neodporin which now sells for twice the price than it did a year ago, a box of 40 band aids is 4 dollars. I too plant vegetables and pick fruit now. I use cash only and dont eat out as well, I commute so gas ...well tge media acts like 3.50 is a bargain but not when it cuts into food.
Here is a link to the misery index. It combines unemployment with inflation to give you a total. This is a very long chart because it is by month since 1948.
Scroll to the bottom to see the current situation. Inflation has been kicking in lately because the government has been printing more money to cover the debt.
It is still not as bad as it was in the 1970s.
http://www.miseryindex.us/indexbymonth.aspx
naw
inflation happens when the people are willing to pay more
It is not that simple. Sometimes they don't have a choice. The value of the dollar is directly proportional to the supply of money. When the Fed prints more money to devalue the debt they cal it quantitative easement.
The good thing about QE is the value of the dollar goes down relative tho the yuan, euro, yen... so in effect we owe them less. The bad about it is the value of the dollar goes down. The other bad thing is if you do it too many times nobody will buy US treasuries because you are in effect cheating them by paying them back with a weaker currency.
Unfortunately the chart in my previous post does not show the times that QE occurred however inflation (the red) happened every time.
IN the 1930s the Wiemar republic did it so often that it became cheaper to burn money than to buy coal. I would not expect that to happen today however a loaf of bread was almost $4 today at the store and that hurts. http://surfingthenewnormal.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/hyperinflation-case-study-1-weimar-republic/
I get bread at $1 a pound
What state is that in? Fresh bread or date expired?
http://www.shoprite.com/pd/Pepperidge-Farm/Bread-Enriched-White-Sandwich/16-oz/014100071143/
grocery store wheat or white (fresh) CA
C'mon,
Even the crappy store brand bread is two bucks and that is a "Special" for club members THIS WEEK expires 6/24 in California at Safeway.
I guess your wife or domestic partner does the shopping at your house. Or do you live in your mom's basement?
I shall take a picture of a receipt next time
For best results, Matthew, you'll need to remove your fingers from your orifices before you do so. Good luck, son...
Well if it is true you must live in a very unique area because the rest of the country is paying about $3.00 or more. In the Northeast "Wall Street" area the average is about $3.58 a loaf unless it is store brand on a sale day with a coupon or expired.
don't believe in "on sale" only the price I'm willing to pay
LOL,
So when you check out you tell the cashier the price. I get it.
So if it is marked $3.29 you say "Oh no hold on there, I am only willing to pay $1.00" to which they respond "OK sure, since you are MattLHolck".
saw the dollar bread just yesterday again
I thought you were going to take a picture.
I forgot my memory card
I think high gas prices have also caused inflation. It costs more for the trucks to to deliver the goods.
It is amazing how high the basics like a loaf of bread has become. Need to use those coupons and buy the brand on sale...
I depend on coupons to keep us going I feel like those crazy folks on tv...nothing is cheap or reasonable That is for sure
gas scare makes people more willing to pay higher prices
Sounds like we are on the correct economic path! Vote for more of the same, "Hope & Change"; vote for Obama!
The last several months I'm seeing more people asking for money on the street where I live.
We are having food donation shortages now at our church First time since I can remember
I moved from NJ to Deltona FL and was shocked, 7 to 8 homes in a row empty, many people begging for food. 2011-2012, getting better?
I think it is getting worse. I just noticed that a neighbor had not done anything with his lawn- house is empty. I like what Salta said in the thread below. Something doesn't feel right- feels worse. Definitely check to check here....
yep
neighborhoods are becoming over grown with unoccupied foreclosed houses
I keep thinking of Detroit. Nothing against it, but this is how it all started decades ago. Blocks can fall in a year. I must be off on this one, but I think that it is psychological. Really....I think that people are struggling really bad to pay huge mortgages...staying up at night. When they see the guy across the street literally "chuck it" and drive away, say "screw it" and just go...I don't know, maybe it is just catching. Folks up here are all underwater. People just owe too much and salaries are not going up. It is scary-
Hi just up the road from you in boston, the recession didn't hit us as hard though most people here our upside down on there morgage. our unemployment is a bit lower.
the recession hit me on a much more personal level. I was living in fl. when it hit in a town called panama city. now down there it was absolutely dessolate real unemployment must have been close to 20% at the time so I came home to boston.
for 3yrs I lived in a truck picking up odd jobs whereever I could. recently I was granted an upgrade on someone's couch. And I start a job tonight on the graveyard shift. So things are getting better you could say for me personally.
However rents are out of control here so i don't know how i'm going to pay for a room here nevermind an apartment. But I do have an idea i want to build a small microhouse on wheels. a 8x17 ft room with everything i need in it. it's amazing how cheap this would be to build when there's no property under it. I should be able to build this for about 10,000. It beats makng a slumlord rich or paying a ridulas amount of money on a piece of property. It also give's me a unique advantage. If I get evicted from somewhere I can simply take my house with me. So thats my modest goal I'm striving for.
I saw on here somewhere a video with an economist named friedmen. Anyway his arguement was consumer goods are so much cheaper so that low wage workers should be able to afford anything they want. talk about cherrypicking your facts, he was talking about cellphones and tvs and whatever piece of shit built in china. Meanwhile completely iignoring the basics in life you know food shelter all the things that we need to servive are skyrocketing.
I met a white migrant farm worker family in Oregon about 30 years ago. A man, his wife and child, all lived in a tiny tear drop trailer pulled by a tiny car. They traveled between fruit orchards and vegetable fields, harvesting them to make their living.
Your 8 x 17 room on wheels would be a like a castle in comparison to this families trailer. Wealth is a very subjective term and I am not sure if that families life was necessarily better or worse than others who possess more physical goods.
wealth is very subjective my little dwelling will only be home for one.
Writer- I hope that your job works out well for you- thank God that you found something. You are right about rents, renting a rrom and pocketing your cash is better. I have read a lot about the microhouses- it is the way to go- hell, people have raised families in them- it is contrary to the McMansion that people like...That is a great goal.....Plus, you are right, you own it! You are right- things are skyrocketing... Again, best of luck tonight at work- keep going!
well went my first night not nearly as bad as I thought. no bosses around always a positive. And their expectations are so low that the only way I could screw this up is if I really tried very hard to screw it up.
like a stone thrown into the middle of a pond it takes awhile for the ripples to hit the shore. after 3 1/2 yrs the shore line is being battered. food and the cost of energy are never equated into the CPI ( consumer price index) . WE know what going on with the economy because WE are living it. food is bought by the same consumers daily, weekly, monthly, same with energy. t.v.'s , new phones are not . the people are hurting and economists are still playing with their theories.
Salta, I wanted to tell you that I loved your analogy....I have not been able to explain what I have been thinking inside of my head. I am not making more money- savings, well it is impossible to save....Food is insane...trying to stretch the dollar..I have the lights off and watch tv much less. I go to the library more, that is for sure! Again, great analogy- I thought that it was just me or that I was nuts and the positive media saw something that I did not :-)
Thank you. you have to understand that obama was their candidate. they say that they're un biased but they lie. they now have to stand by their guy or all that they did not and will not REPORT on would show up their bias. the so called journalists of the media do not report the news nor do they do investigative reporting. they have/had an agenda and they're sticking to it.
Another home went into foreclosure in my neighborhood I feel for people This is so sad what really is tge American dream? I don't know anymore Thought that it was owning a home....Or a part of it Guess I'm lucky to have 40 bucks in my pocket to make it to Friday
The greatest benefit of the entire housing bubble for the banks was percentage of homes with a mortgage.
Before they started flooding the market with cash, and increasing values, about 50% of all properties in the country had a mortgage. The rest were all paid off.
Since everyone refinanced, or sold, its now in the high 90%.
A few foreclosures is fine with them, because the effectively almost doubled the amount of cash coming, most of it more than its worth.
The scheme of a lifetime.
the default rate in nj has gone100% over last year. thats a lot more than " a few"
What was it last year?
last year there were about 30,000 foreclosed houses.
Ok, so it was about .9% last year. This year it is up to 1.8%?
'bout 1 in 60
We have enough backlog to fill over 4 years of population growth without ever building another home.
The Hartford Courant had an article out today in which they were trying to sell the idea that there were fewer homes for sale and people were coming back to buy...Not in my neighborhood...people are just leaving...dumping their houses Yeah, meanwhile, the newspaper of our capitol city has two pages of jobs, 1/3rd for education.
Government never goes into recession. I know there were plenty of construction jobs in DC not too far back too.
Just goes to show where their prioities are.
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From what I understand, the economy is doing fine.