Lot 354 - the Anatomy of a Forclosure

[csziggy]

This site link was posted on a local email list for responsible growth as part of a discussion on uncontrolled development in Florida I have not read the entire site or had time to view the video (some computer problems this morning) but the diagram on the main page says it all:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/anatomy/foreclosure/

The main part of the discussion was about this article:

Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory (January 11, 2011)
"Things were bad but the broader economy never reached Depression territory. The housing market, on the other hand, just crossed that threshold. Home values have fallen 26 percent since their peak in June 2006, worse than the 25.9-percent decline seen during the Depression years between 1928 and 1933, Zillow reported. November marked the 53rd consecutive month (4 ½ years) that home values have fallen. What’s worse, it’s not over yet: Home values are expected to continue to slide as inventories pile up, and likely won't recover until the job market improves."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41019790

Meanwhile locally a push is on the development of a large tract of land with the cooperation of the City of Tallahasse, Florida (which owns part of the tract) pushing for construction to start almost as strongly as the property owner/developer. Just what we need, while more and more houses are foreclosed on and sit empty - 1,000 new houses and additional commercial spaces with no occupants or demand for either.

[jotsy]

1. Repression

Is the answer I gave a poster when he asked last year if the way to describe the intensity of our economic moment in time. Recession or depression, he asked. My answer is the word above as I see the masses being kept down. The most educated and affluent among us have fed on the rest like pigs at a bottomless trough. All the programming tools they used to engineer a consumer driven nation? Well it seems they bought into a bit themselves. Viewing land and structure as disposable isn't a position I find in keeping with common sense or a hint of foresight.

rec'd

I gotta go play at that first link now, thanks!

[csziggy]

2. To paraphrase someone in the discussion on the local email list

Lad is a finite commodity. We cannot plan on sustainable growth by acting as though it is unlimited.

Our problem locally is that with the last twelve years of Republican governors, our liberal voting base has gotten diluted. Plus, shortly after Jeb took control the county and city stopped putting party affiliation for local candidates. So many who would not normally vote for Republicans have gotten duped by their lying ad campaigns.

One of our best county commissioners was defeated in November because a smear campaign got a lot of coverage in the news. The guy that got his office was from a Republican group that was started to prepare new candidates for local offices. This guy had never even registered to vote before he became a candidate for the county commission. You can tell he really cared about the communities in which he lived.

[jotsy]

3. Support that county commisioner anyway, if the commisioner is willing

for the community's sake to keep a foot in the door and a finger on the pulse. Check out an organization called Jobs with Justice, they may have a local chapter in your neck of the woods. In my town, there is an 'economic crisis' committee, I'm its newest member. Revitalization is a concept that I think stands a better chance of getting more folks back to work and in homes, which apparently could use occupants. A last note, I recall reading a story about six months ago regarding the California real estate market. Big banks were rumored to be sitting on many a foreclosed and vacated properties that were waiting to enter the market until it the losses leveled off and then saturate the market and plunging values further. Such a sweet crowd.

http://www.jwj.org/

[csziggy]

4. Oh, yes, that former commissioner is great

A really nice guy and a person that will continue to work for the benefit of the community. I hope he runs for office again because we need him. He mostly has worked for rational development since poorly planned subdivisions is the biggest problem here.

Here is an article about the land co-op Cliff Thaell is part of: http://www.tallahasseemagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=527&Itemid=115 It's still there and so is he.