Obama imposes cap on real estate commissions and mortgage brofer fees

Yes this is good news. There's a rumor President Obama whilst searching for a piede a terre in Manhattan came across this, http://www.theburkhardtgroup.com/about.php and felt deeply inspired.

Hilarious!

if this is true, it excellent news!

Now how about a sales & purchase TAX reductio, to get those transactions cost really down.

i get it. unsatisfied with criticizing things president obama has actually, you know, done in the grand total of seventeen days he has been in office, it is now necessary to make shit up (not even funny shit, by the way. if it were funny it would be forgivable) to push your crazy agenda. at least with bush there was really no need to make anything up: what he actually did was so incompetent, damaging, extreme, and pathetic that it rendered unnecessary attempts to exaggerate for comic impact. i always thought will farrell, for instance, was unnecessary. the real bush was so patently incompetent he needed no embellishment.

i guess you john birch society wingers don't require actual policies, speeches, or proposals to criticize. the president's gestalt is bad enough.

this is completely untrue...

no...it is true! it has to be. i read it on a posting board. that and the fact that Heidi Przybyla would NEVER put her name on a story that wasn't true. at noon today Tim Geithner will also be announcing that all sellers that enter contract or close by June 2009 get to choose between a $5000 tax credit or a no holds barred evening with:

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/7494-who-is-the-hottest-female-re-broker-of-note-in-nyc

happyrenter, you and I are on the same side of the political fence, but I must say that I thought the attribution to anon10 was brilliantly funny.

BA_DA_, I think they should extend the Fannie/Freddie re-fi revised credit rating standards to all mortgages. FICO under 580, come on down!!! Let's get this party moving.

Great satire.

Show me a top bank CEO who will accept a $500,000 salary cap and I'll show you... wait a minute, there aren't any!

julia, julia, my cute little friend, it is VERY true. Jake you are clearly the "playa of the day", well done!

January 28, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" -- California State Controller John Chiang announced on January 26 that California's bills exceed its tax revenues and credit line and that the state is going to print its own money known as IOUs. The template is already designed.

Instead of receiving their state tax refunds in dollars, California residents will receive IOUs. Student aid and payments to disabled and needy will also come in the form of IOUs. California is negotiating with banks to get them to accept the IOUs as deposits.

California is often identified as the world's eighth largest economy, and it is broke.

A person might think that California's plight would introduce some realism into Washington, DC, but it has not. President Obama is taking steps to intensify the war in Afghanistan and, perhaps, to expand it to Pakistan.

Obama has retained the Republican warmongers in the Pentagon, and the US continues to illegally bomb Pakistan and to murder its civilians. At the World Economic Forum at Davos this week, Pakistan's prime minister, Y. R. Gilani, said that the American attacks on Pakistan are counterproductive and done without Pakistan's permission. In an interview with CNN, Gilani said: "I want to put on record that we do not have any agreement between the government of the United States and the government of Pakistan."

How long before Washington will be printing money?

On January 28 Obama announced his $825 billion bailout plan. This comes on top of President Bush's $700 billion bailout of just a few months ago.

Obama says his plan will be more transparent than Bush's and will do more good for the economy.

As large as the bailouts are--a total of $1.5 trillion in four months--the amount is small in relation to the reported size of troubled assets that are in the tens of trillions of dollars. How do we know that by June there won't be another bailout, say $950 billion?

Where will the money come from?

Obama's bailout plan, added to the FY 2009 budget deficit he has inherited from Bush, opens a gaping expenditure hole of about $3 trillion. Who is going to purchase $3 trillion of US Treasury bonds?

Not the US consumer. The consumer is out of work and out of money. Private sector credit market debt is 174% of GDP. The personal savings rate is 2 percent. Ten percent of households are in foreclosure or arrears. Household debt-service ratio is at an all-time high. Household net worth has declined at a record rate. Housing inventories are at record highs.

Not America's foreign creditors. At best, the Chinese, Japanese, and Saudis can recycle their trade surpluses with the US into Treasury bonds, but the combined surplus does not approach the size of the US budget deficit.

Perhaps another drop in the stock market will drive Americans' remaining wealth into "safe" US Treasury bonds.

If not, there's only the printing press.

The printing press would turn a deflationary depression into an inflationary depression. Unemployment combined with rising prices would be a killer.

Inflation would kill the dollar as well, leaving the US unable to pay for its imports.

All the Obama regime sees is a "credit problem." But the crisis goes far beyond banks' bad investments. The United States is busted. Many of the state governments are busted. Homeowners are busted. Consumers are busted. Jobs are busted. Companies are busted.

And Obama thinks he has the money to fight wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Except for the superrich and those banksters and CEOs who stole wealth from investors and shareholders, Americans have suffered enormous losses in wealth and income.

The stock market decline has destroyed about 45% of their IRAs, 401Ks, and other equity investments. On top of this comes the decline in home prices, lost jobs and health care, lost customers. The realized gains in mutual funds and investment partnerships, on which Americans paid taxes, have been wiped out.

The government should give those taxes back.

Americans who have seen their retirement savings devastated by complicity of government regulators and lawmakers with financial gangsters should not have to pay any income tax when they draw on their pensions.

The financial damage inflicted on Americans by their own government is as great as would be expected from foreign conquest. While Washington "protected" us from terrorists by fighting pointless wars abroad, the US economy collapsed.

How can President Obama even think about fighting wars half way around the world while California cannot pay its bills, while Americans are being turned out of their homes, while, as Business Week reports, retirees will work throughout their retirement (which assumes that there will be jobs), while careers are being destroyed and stores and factories shuttered.

Americans are facing tremendous unemployment and hardship. Obama doesn't have another dollar to spend on Bush's wars.

Taxpayers are busted. They cannot stand another day of being milked by the military-security complex. The US government is paying private mercenaries more by the day than the monthly checks it is providing to Social Security retirees.

This is insanity.

The banksters robbed us twice. First it was our home and stock values. Then the government rewarded the banksters for their misdeeds by bailing out the banksters, not their victims, and putting the cost on the taxpayers' books.

The government has also robbed the taxpayers of $3 trillion dollars to fight its wars. About $600 billion are out of pocket costs, and the rest is on the taxpayers' books.

When foreign creditors look at the debt piled on the taxpayers' books, they don't see a good credit risk.

Washington is so accustomed to ripping off the taxpayers for the benefit of special interests that the practice is now in the DNA. While bailouts are being piled upon bailouts, wars are being piled upon wars.

Before Obama gets in any deeper, he must ask his economic team where the money is coming from. When he finds out, he needs to tell the rest of us.

Written by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts who was Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury in the Reagan Administration. He is a former Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal, a 16-year columnist for Business Week, and a columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service and Creator's Syndicate in Los Angeles.

He has held numerous university professorships, including the William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by the President of France and the US Treasury's Silver Medal for "outstanding contributions to the formulation of US economic policy."

pretty kitty,

you mean the brilliant top bank ceos who ran their companies into the ground to the extent that the federal government has had to bail them out with hundreds of billions of dollars? they won't accept 500k salaries? what a shame.

is it true????

Great plan, cut out the middlemen and make the system more efficient. My friend from Sweden said that his transfers costs to sell an apartment were 1.5%. This great country, in all of its wisdom, tries to stick sellers with a 6% fee, thereby slowing down property sales even more.

DealBreaker reports that DeutscheB is down with the concept of the $500k cap. Thinks it makes them more attractive as a place to work.

I doubt it's true...however do a FSBO with 2% to buyer broker and you get the same result.

happyrenter:
"i get it. unsatisfied with criticizing things president obama has actually, you know, done in the grand total of seventeen days he has been in office"

As a flaming independent and Obama supporter, I feel you may be jumping the gun. The only thing he has accomplished is taking away the right to privacy in union voting. He has refused to take a leadership role in the needed economic recovery plan, he has abdicated to Pelosi and Reid. This is roundly agreed by all 3 major political factions in Washington. He needs to corral these loose canons in a hurry. What really seems to be happening is the old wants vs needs issue. Pelosi is insuring that the wants are passed now. I guess later some Adults will then pass a "needed" stimulus package after the paybacks are taken care of. The republicans deserve a little ass kickin and they are getting ready to get it. A little humor by Jake is a good thing.

Damn! You had me all excited there for a moment! We finally have a broker coming in to see our place and I thought I got real lucky!

i am offering brokers 2.5% on my FSBO. you know how many have showed up with actual buyers? ZERO
i guess they think they are like "top 5" level executives. it is beneath them to take 2.5% (like the $500K salary)

http://web.me.com/seif69/11K/HOME.html

patient,

i don't really know what a flaming independent is. but in the, again, grand total of 17 days that he has been in office, here's a little of what he has accomplished:

overturned the international abortion gag order.
cancelled contracts for oil exploration in environmentally sensitive areas.
ordered the eventual closure of the military prison at guantanamo bay.
instructed the joint chiefs of staff to prepare plans for the draw down of troops in iraq
confirmed his nominees for attorney general, secretary of state, and secretary of the treasury among others.
began the process of protecting the taxpayer investment in the financial services industry by limiting executive compensation in bailed out firms
eliminated torture as an acceptable means of interrogation by american operatives
moved toward eliminating the parallel court system of military tribunals for suspected terrorists
pushed through both houses of congress and signed an important law to protect workers from discrimination and extend the statute of limitations for workplace discrimination cases.

you may not agree with his agenda, and that's fine, but don't say he hasn't done anything. if you really are such a flaming independent you might consider getting your news from an outlet that isn't owned by the news corporation.

HR, lighten up Francis. It's Friday.

No Julia. Unfortunately it's not true.

What is true is that we have elected a president who thinks he is king. That he can enact far reaching proclomations with the wave of a pen. And the high ranking officials Obama has installed around him seem to have long ignored the very rules they have been hired to enforce. Rules that we the plebes must abide by. Though these are rules that the king and his men need not abide by.

Nancy Pelosi is so out of touch that every time I see her in front of a TV camera I fully expect her to say "Let them eat cake"! She seems to think she is Marie Antoinette playing the Queen of France to Obama's portrayal of Louis XVI.

wow. am i in bizzaro world? should it have read this way for the last 8 years:

"we have elected a president who thinks he is king. That he can enact far reaching proclomations with the wave of a pen. And the high ranking officials BUSH has installed around him seem to have long ignored the very rules they have been hired to enforce. Rules that we the plebes must abide by. Though these are rules that the king and his men need not abide by"

HR: It is perfectly ok to drink the Kool-Aid, I am not that judgemental, don't care about your leanings. However, you don't necessarily have to like it, regurgitate it, and call it fine wine when it splatters on the ground in front of you. Bush also signed many proclimations and made many executive decisions in his first few day, didn't make him a good or effective President. My point is simply, it's time for him to step up, for all of our us.

Yes. You are absolutely correct sniper.

And for the 8 years before that you could have inserted CLINTON. Cigar anyone?

Pete Townsend was right.

meet the new boss......same as the old boss......and then I get on my knees and pray.............
WE WON"T GET FOOLED AGAIN!!!!!!!

Keith Moon R.I.P.

sniper- nice place! saw your link..

that reminds me. one of, if not THE greatest keith moon story (keeping in mind he drove a car into a pool), or greatest rock story.
and it is true:

The Who wakes up late in a hotel after a night of partying and doesn't have much time to get to the airport. there is a limo waiting outside and they all get in and start driving to the airport. it is something like an hour drive and the flight leaves in an hour and a half. they are about fifteen minutes into the ride and Keith starts flipping out. "We have to go back to the hotel. WE HAVE TO GO BACK!" he won't tell Pete, Roger or John why but he won't let up. they give in and drive back to the hotel. he runs to the room and returns to the car in about 10 minutes. they ask him what the hell happened. he says "I can't believe I forgot to smash the TV and windows!"

nice sniper. happy friday.

Thanks happyrenter, I happen to agree with all of Obama's executive orders and doubt that I would have agreed with what Bush signed in his first days in office.

I never thought The Who knew much about politics. They just pissed on everything. Funny, that describes a lot of political commentary on this board. Maybe we should stick to fighting about real estate.

407pas, exlent, but that is not the point, this is about RE which is part of the economy. I think most Independents that supported BO did so with the DREAM of him being a left of center pragmatic strong leader who could take control. In effect, a left of center, pragmatic Reagan. This group of believers is begging, dying for some leadership, the lemmings are ready to follow. He must refute Pelosi and Reids failed leadership. Remember if they were running in a national election, they would still lose to Bush. They are a freakin disaster.

Getting back to the issue at hand, is this story true?

I've searched high and low to get confirmation and haven't been able to find this article. I didn't find it on the Bloomberg site either.

I suspect this is a hoax. If anyone has been able to verify can you please send the web link!

Thanks.

are you f*ck*ng kidding me!???

sincerely,
Rod Blagojevic

sorry, i meant "keep searching". it is out there. you will find it and only then will you become a true jedi master.
report back to us.

sincerely,
Yoda

Sniper a couple of observations:
You are a FSBO but took my advice and are offering 2.5% to brokers, why are they not showing up en-mass when 98% of deals in this city are done by brokers?

1)The shell brokerage firm you are using only posted the listing in StreetEasy(most brokers do not search here).
2)The ad in the NYT's say "No Brokers Please" you don't see the 2.5% offered to brokers until you click the ad. So brokers are just passing it by.
3) You are not listed in the REBNY RLS system or OLR the two biggest distributors of listings to brokerage firms.
4)Not sure if you did an e-blast with the potential of reaching 8000 brokers?
5)It needs to be listed in the various data bases by a "listing agent" stating commission is 5%, this way the co brokers understand they will receive 2.5%. You then have a signed agreement with "listing broker" agreeing to a predetermined flat fee.

This market is very challenging to put it mildly, you can't just put a listing in SE and expect a miracle. How about scheduling a brokers open house and put out some bagels and coffee? Better yet spend a couple of hundred bucks and have it catered? This will get the brokers out for a look.

You can't half ass it in this market and expect to get results. Every little bit counts though.

Good luck!

burkhardt - i appreciate what you do and think that it may catch on. we both know that you have given me your sales pitch several times. i don't mind it but why destroy this beautiful thread with it? not the time or place.

one small response: in reference to no brokers showing up, i was referring to the 30 brokers that i had personal contact with (via email or phone). many of them claimed to "have a buyer ready" which i know is bullshit. when they found out from me personally by phone or email that i was now offering them 2.5% you would think one, ONE!, of them would bring their "buyer who is ready" to at least look. i have been happy with my open house traffic and offers i have received. it is the skeeviness of their practices i don't like. yet, i have nothing against them personally.

snipe not looking for your biz just pointing out a few things. I was just responding to your comments about no brokers showing up...not on a search and destroy mission. My post was well intentioned though I know that can be hard to get across via a forum post. Best of Luck.

no worries. mine was good natured as well. this is more of a fun post though.

patient,

if you think obama should be a 'pragmatic reagan,' whatever that means, then yes, i am sure you are going to be deeply disappointed. reagan supported the apartheid government in south africa, began the long road of fiscal irresponsibility we are still on (with the brief detour under clinton), and refused to acknowledge or address the aids crisis. obama is nothing like reagan and if thought he was going to be then it is your own fault for not paying attention. obama is a brilliant intellectual who happens to be a talented politician (again, nothing like reagan). he's quite liberal, but not radical (nothing like reagan). he's the opposite of a culture warrior (not reagan). etc. etc.

you said the new president has done nothing. i pointed out what he's done, and then you come up with some weird metaphor about things splattering. again: you are entitled to disagree with what he's done, but you can't claim he has done nothing (in, again 17 days. not exactly gobs of time) when he has actually done plenty in that period of time. the new president is obviously not perfect and there are plenty of things i am disappointed about. judd gregg has absolutely no business serving as a cabinet secretary in a democratic administration--he's a far right wing stooge. the president should have left all these useless tax cuts out of the stimulus bill because the republicans were always going to oppose it. so no, i am not drinking the cool-aid.

HR: Wow, let it go. Leadership, getting other leaders to come together and follow his lead. That's what I have been typing. Not political views or policies. Remember, I support and voted for BO, I want him to take control, instead of being lead around by the nose. That's all. I am not sure why you are having so much difficulty understanding my posts. Remember, he already won the election, you can stop campaigning.