Patterson Irrigator

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written by MAN OF TRUTH , October 28, 2008

DREAMING BIG IN PATTERSON?
DON'T THE PEOPLE OF PATTERSON PAY ATTENTION TO THE MEDIA? WE'RE IN THE BEGINNING OF A DEEP PROTRACTED RECESSION, HALF OF YOUR HOMES IN YOUR NEW DEVELOPMENTS ARE WORTH A THIRD OF WHAT THESE BUYERS PAID IN 2005, 2006, 2007. THEY FINALLY REALIZE A NEW HOME ISN'T WORTH THE STRESS OF DRIVING DAILY TO THE BAY AREA TO WORK, AND PAYING ON A HOME WITH A BALACE OF $350,000.00 AFTER PAYING $200,000.00 AS A DOWN PAYMENT, AND CAN'T EVEN UNLOAD IT AT $190,000! PATTERSON IS A NOWHERE LAND!!! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER IT'S RESIDENTS!!! ONLY CRAPPY WATER!!!! AND DUST STORMS!!! LONG COMMUTES!!! THIS IS WHY THAT OTHER CRAPPY COMMUNITY MOUNTAIN HOUSE'S DEVELOPER IS BANKRUPT!! NO SHOPPING CENTER THERE EITHER, NO JOBS ARE COMING EITHER!!!! WISE UP PEOPLE, YOU MADE A HUGE MISTAKE BUYING IN THESE NOWHERE TOWNS!!!

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written by MAN OF TRUTH , October 28, 2008

I WOULDN'T EVEN BUY AN INVESTMENT HOME IN WALKER RANCH OR DIABLO GRANDE OR MOUNTAIN HOUSE, YOUR ALL 100 + MILES ROUND TRIP, FROM THE NEAREST SHIPPING PORT, AND JOB HUB
NOTHING GOING TO CHANGE THIS FACT!!! OH YEA WHY DON'T YOU AD MERVYNS, AND SHOE PAVILION TO YOUR WISH LIST? YOUR LOCAL AUTO DEALERSHIP WILL BE NEXT!!

IT'S ALL LITERALLY SMOKE AND MIRRORS FOLKS! PATTERSON, DIABLO GRENDE, MOUNTAIN HOUSE!!!!!
written by MAN OF TRUTH , October 28, 2008

LETS NOT FORGET YOUR CRAPPY ABSURD H.O.A FEES $350.00 PER MONTH AT WALKER RANCH!!
FOR WHAT? MAINTAINING A GHOST TOWN OF TUMBLE WEEDS!!!!!!! AND NOW THE HEAVY INFLUX OF SECTION 8ERS FLOWING IN AS ACORN, AND HUD BUYING UP YOUR ABANDON HOMES.

MOT - ????
written by Jeff Realini , October 29, 2008

HOA in Walker Ranch. What part of Walker are you in? Or are you talking about the Mello-Roos? Yes, we are in a recession, but we need to be marketing to businesses so when the recession ends, we are on the drawing board. While I don't agree with the list or the method to generate it, this is a good first step.

Wouldn't it be nice....
written by Kelly , October 30, 2008

Wouldn't it be nice to have some shopping readily available to the citizens of Patterson? Having to drive 17-20 miles to do shopping outside of buying groceries does grow tiresome. I hope they bring something soon.

yeah, but...
written by karinaj , October 31, 2008

I understand your anger to Patterson's fallen housing foreclosure. Although you may think that it is a no man's land right now, but what about the future. WE can not negatively about the present but think positively of the future. Knowing that companies will see the foreclosure market in Patterson, it is up to them and the city to decide to take advantage of the low real estate property values and determine the outcome for the following years. With the properties being so cheap, it will actually benefit both because it will the companies will be paying so litte to the value and the city will have less commuting to do to turlock or modesto for shopping the necessities. Whatever is the outcome, it should be for the best of both but mostly for the residents of Patterson!

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written by MAN OF TRUTH , November 01, 2008

BACK IN 2004 DURING THE ORGIASTIC CONSUMER BULL RUN, MY WIFE AND I PUT DOWN A DEPOSIT ON A KB HOME IN WALKER RANCH, BUT WE SOON PULLED OUT OF THE DEAL, WITH OUR FULL DEPOSIT INTACT!!!, AFTER READING A BOOK TITLED "RUNNING ON EMPTY" BY PETER G. PETERSON, HE WARNED AMERICA OF HER COMING FINANCIAL COLLAPSE, OUR GOVERNMENT IS MORE CLUELESS NOW THAN IN THE DAYS OF GERALD FORD, REJECT VICE PRESIDENT d**k CHANEY STATED, "THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE WAS NONNEGOTIABLE" THE PROBLEM WITH THIS COMMENT IS THAT IF ONE DOESN'T WANT TO NEGOTIATE THEIR ILL WAYS OF WASTEFUL LIVING STANDARDS, ONE WILL SOON HAVE A NEW NEGOTIATING PARTNER "REALITY!!" AS THE WORLD WITNESSED THREE WEEKS AGO WHEN OUR WORLD ECONOMY IMPLODED. PEOPLE YEAR AFTER YEAR Pa*sES, AND THOUGH WE FEAR BOTH ACTING AND NOT ACTING, SOMEHOW IT'S NEVER THE RIGHT TIME. LIVY, THE EMINENT HISTORIAN IN THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS, NOTICED A SIMILAR MOOD AMONG HIS ROMAN CONTEMPORARIES. " THE PEOPLE CAN BEAR NEITHER THEIR ILL'S NOR THEIR CURES" HE WROTE. LIKE ROME, AMERICA TOO WILL EVENTUALLY RUN OUT OF YEARS!!!.

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written by MAN OF TRUTH , November 02, 2008

OAKDALE -- A man distraught over financial troubles and stock market losses apparently shot his wife and adult son before turning the gun on himself, police said. Dead are the father, a former Hershey chocolate worker, and son, an aspiring actor who had recently returned home from Los Angeles. The wife is hospitalized in Modesto with a head wound.

" HOMEOWNERS EXPENSES RISE FASTER THAN THEIR INCOMES! "
written by MAN OF TRUTH , November 05, 2008

Between 1996 and 2006, all major categories of shelter expenses rose faster than the 35.8 percent average increase of homeowner and renter incomes.

FOR HOMEOWNERS

Incomes

36.2%

Mortgage payments

45.8%

Property taxes

65.8%

Property insurance

82.8%

Homeowner

a*sociation fees

7.1%

Condo/co-op fees

38%

Home improvements 101.2%

FOR RENTERS


Incomes

31.4%

Rent

51%

UNIVERSAL EXPENSES

Utilities

43.3%

Transportation

33.3%

Health care costs

56.3%

Education costs

69.5%

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN!
written by GetSomeHere , November 05, 2008

Well we came here from the Los Angeles area 10 yrs ago and would not even think of going back to that traffic inffested over populated cities. Yes we are far from shopping so that is why we need more BIG BOX CHAIN STORES here in town to aleaveate the commute to shopping so bring it here to us.

GENERAL MOTORS IS BANKRUPT AND WE WILL HAVE TO BAIL OUT THEIR PENSIONERS
written by MAN OF TRUTH , November 09, 2008

GM’s latest earnings report is ugly. They burned through $6.9 billion in Q3 and have $16.2 billion left. According to the release, they need at least $11 billion to keep operating. If true, that gives them only a couple more months before they’ll be forced into bankruptcy. (Not sure what status is on the $25 billion loan for all three automakers that has already pa*sed Congress.)

How ’bout this quote from the earnings release:

Even if GM implements the planned operating actions that are substantially within its control, GM’s estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business. Looking into the first two quarters of 2009, even with its planned actions, the company’s estimated liquidity will fall significantly short of that amount unless economic and automotive industry conditions significantly improve, it receives substantial proceeds from a*set sales, takes more aggressive working capital initiatives, gains access to capital markets and other private sources of funding, receives government funding under one or more current or future programs, or some combination of the foregoing.

Normally earnings releases try to put a happy face on bad news. Not so with GM, which is trying to scare Congress and the President(s) into handing them more cash. If we don’t, GM will file for bankruptcy and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost.

It would be remarkably courageous to let GM go bankrupt. But that seems like the best option. Clearly U.S. automakers are no longer viable businesses in which to invest capital. Is it a good idea to borrow billions at the federal level to try to save GM? Government borrowing is going to push up interest rates, which will depress the economy, and make it more difficult to get a loan to buy a car.

Taxpayers have one incentive to bail out the company: federal pension insurance already has us on the hook for tens of billions to cover retirement obligations for GM’s unionized work force.

But if GM is going to fail anyway, better to skip the bailout so that we have some dry powder to pay the company’s pension liabilities. By the end of next year, my bet is that “PBGC” will have replaced FDIC in dinner table conversations around the country.

NEW YORK TMES: 11/10/08 MOUNTAIN HOUSE'S ZIP 95391 IS " # 1 " IN THE U.S.A FOR NEGATIVE EQUITY!!!!!!
written by MAN OF TRUTH , November 11, 2008

The New York Times:
MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Calif.
— This town, 59 feet above sea level, is the most underwater community in America.
One homeowner bought a foreclosed property on Prosperity Street in Mountain House, Calif.
This week, a real estate office in Tracy, Calif., near Mountain House, was advertising foreclosure sales.
Because of plunging home values, almost 90 percent of homeowners here owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, according to figures released Monday. That is the highest percentage in the country. The average homeowner in Mountain House is “underwater,” as it is known, by $122,000.
A visit to the area over the last couple of days shows how the nationwide housing crisis is contributing to a broad slowdown of the American economy, as families who feel burdened by high mortgages are pulling back on their spending.
Jerry Martinez, a general contractor, and his wife, Marcie, an accounts clerk, are among the struggling owners in Mountain House. Burdened with credit card debt and a house losing value by the day, they are learning the necessity of self-denial for themselves and their three children.
No more family bowling night. No more dinners at Chili’s or Applebee’s. No more going to the movies.
“We make decent money, but it takes a tremendous amount to pay the mortgage,” Mr. Martinez, 33, said.
First American CoreLogic, a real estate data company, has calculated that 7.6 million properties in the country were underwater as of Sept. 30, while another 2.1 million were in striking distance. That is nearly a quarter of all homes with mortgages. The 20 hardest-hit ZIP codes are all in four states: California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.
The cutbacks by the Martinez's and their neighbors are reflected in a modest strip of about a dozen stores in nearby Tracy. Three are empty while a fourth has only a temporary tenant. Some of those that remain say they are just hanging on.
“Before summer, things were O.K. Not now,” said My Phan of Hailey Nails and Spa. “Customers say they cannot afford to do their nails.
At Cribs, Kids and Teens, Jason Heinemann says his business is also down 50 percent. He opened the store in early 2006; last month was his worst ever.
First American has been refining its figures on underwater mortgages, formally known as negative equity. The data company evaluated 42 million residential properties with mortgages. (A computer model was used to calculate current values, using comparable sales. More than 10 million homes do not have mortgages.
The figures rank the 20 ZIP codes that are furthest underwater. The 95391 ZIP code, which includes all of Mountain House and some properties outside it, has the unwelcome distinction of being first in the country.
Out of 1,856 mortgages in the ZIP code, First American calculates that nearly 90 percent are underwater. Only 209 owners owe less on their mortgages than the homes are worth.
The first homes in Mountain House were sold in 2003, just as the real estate boom began to go into overdrive. Its relative proximity to San Francisco drew many who traded a longer commuting trip for a bigger place.
The Martinez's bought their house in early 2005 for $630,000. It is now worth about $420,000. They have an interest-only mortgage, a popular loan during the boom that allows owners to forgo principal payments for a time.
But these loans eventually become unmanageable. In 2015, Mr. Martinez said, his monthly payments will be $12,000 a month. He laughed and shook his head at the absurdity of it.
They fear the future, so they stay home. They rent movies. They play board games. (But not Monopoly — with its real estate theme, it reminds them too much of real life.)
For the moment, the family is just trying to hold on. But Mr. Martinez acknowledges that it has entered his mind to turn his house back over to the bank. “By next June, if things aren’t better, I’m walking,” Mr. Martinez said.
Many in Mountain House have already taken that option. Banks took over 101 properties in the 95391 ZIP code in the third quarter, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Even relatively recent arrivals are feeling a pinch.
Kenny Rogers, a data security specialist, moved into Mountain House last year, buying a foreclosed property on Prosperity Street for $380,000. But the decline in values has been so fierce that he too is underwater.
People deciding to do without are hurting a second mall close to Mountain House. There is a shuttered Linens ’n Things, part of a chain that went bankrupt. Another empty storefront used to be a Fashion Bug. Soccer World could not make it. Shoe Pavilion is festooned with going-out-of-business signs.
“My house is underwater, so I’m not doing too much impulse shopping or any renovation. But I’m not cutting back on this,” said Ray Lopez, a database administrator, as he placed a $24 petite sirah on the counter. “Life’s too short.”