Ask Dr. Christopher Life After Money: Real Estate and Economics Part II (page 3 of 12)

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Page 3 6. Homeowner Association Trauma

The Back story to this saga is that we originally listed our home in 2005 at what is now considered the apex of the local Las Vegas Real Estate Market Melt Up. The home directly north of ours changed ownership three times in six years. The first couple and Gay Republicans were required by the homeowners association and Andrea Chestnut to remove their “Another Family Supporting President Bush” campaign sign. We loved their political affiliations but we must confess we may have irritated John when during lent we prayed the rosary on our patio while seated next to the amber glow, warmth and healing smoke of one of our fire cauldrons.

We’re glad to see that the tide has turned and that Homeowners associations across the valley are facing lawsuits by investors and speculators who purchased homes on the fly accusing the associations of charging excessive lien amounts, enriching themselves unjustly, slander and intentional misrepresentation. [31] Our very own former management company Castle Management or Linda Wild was/is allegedly under investigation by the FBI for accepting vacations to Mexico in an apparent conflict of interest. Andrea Chestnut as reigning former Queen of Shadow Mountain Ranch in Las Vegas; where were you when we needed your intervention in our affairs to protect us? There was a time when people like Andrea Chestnut protested when her opponent and our friend went door to door to solicit votes. Now in an 800 home tract the last election netted only 69 votes and no meeting or newsletter updates have been posted since August of 2009. [32]

The Board of Directors of Shadow Mountain Ranch a legal term only representing no natural boundaries; boasts no park, bike trails, pools, tennis courts or other community amenities our favorite gathering place for social events the outside of the fence line of a non accessible Clark County middle school and acres of off limits grassy fields, now allegedly hiring and terminating management companies more often than people dismissed by Donald Trump on Celebrity Apprentice.

We weren’t always on the outside looking in as my wife was Chairman of the original ARC or Architectural Review Committee along with our friends Chuck and Cindy. They worked hard to insure that the community adhered to the bylaws as set forth by Pardee the builder to protect the integrity of Shadow Mountain Ranch, but when our committee sought to help out with the compliance committee they were rebuked. Our fearless leaders waved a magic wand over the entire development and grandfathered in all additions, improvements and other changes some would suggest to permanently conceal irregularities with their own properties; and so it goes in Las Vegas that corruption so inbred in the system that pitched battles were fought at the sub-committee level for power and control of one of hundreds if not thousands of homeowners associations, their bank accounts, perks and landscaping connections.

John and Harley kept to themselves and although invited didn’t attend any of our Christmas or Easter Parties. They eventually broke up and sold the home to an unmarried couple. Marcel Gelgotas was quite stunning in appearance with a great work ethic in her chosen profession of real estate. Her love pal was the kind of a guy who when he opened his wallet cobwebs appeared and once a baby bat flew out from the crease and into the night air. He did own a life size replica of the “bat mobile” until he sold it and it was towed away. The engine was pure muscle the car clean and loud but the transmission stuck in second gear.

Marcel arrived one afternoon to chat with us about real estate and She seemed really anxious like she had many appointments or other fish to fry. While sitting at our dining room table she tapped her acrylic nails incessantly against the heavy glass top. We cut the meeting short and she was on her way. Eventually she accumulated a ripe portfolio of six or seven homes including two town homes in Burbank, California. She was really busy for the best part of two years. Near the end of her run; a gluttony of home acquisitions to her name she was allegedly bidding on million to ten million dollar homes probably as short sales. Marcel was very upset that she was outbid on one particular property.

Eventually Marcel and her live in boyfriend broke up and they both moved out. We knew the end was near when she was inspecting the thrash one morning looking for evidence. We watched his elongated shadow one evening against the retaining wall across the street. He looked one way then the other then chug a lug. Marcel was on to something; unfortunately she was a day late and a dollar short in appreciating the grifter status of her beau and love slob.

He squatted in the largest and nicest home in her collection until he decided to move on laughing at her isolation with predictions of her ensuing financial debasement.

Memo to cohabitating ladies: In a survey as published in American Couples 75% of women anticipate that cohabitation will result in marriage but only 25% of cohabitating men share their enthusiasm. As my adopted Mother once said: Why buy the cow when the milk is free? Ladies: Husbands probably won’t abandon you in your time of need. That’s why it’s called marriage and when conferred as a sacrament in church is a vow before Almighty God.

7. Your other neighbor buys the house next door for a $100,000.00 premium over your asking price; day trades in the stock market and works as a mortgage loan broker with links to his gambling site:

Marcel sold her home to Frank and Terri who paid a one hundred thousand dollar premium over the price of our home to own a swimming pool. We thought that was somewhat excessive and heard rumors that Frank received a cash rebate from Marcel’s boyfriend in the range of thirty six thousand dollars. The final purchase price of their new home was approx. $636,000.00 which easily exceeded the fair value of any property for miles.

We were informed by Terri our new replacement neighbor that Marcel was on the verge of financial ruination servicing non performing properties that she couldn’t offload and in the process puked up almost all of her previous acquisitions while desperately attempting to hold onto the condos in Burbank.

The other oddity to the three sets of couples who bought and sold the house next door is that each couple knew the previous owners.

One fourth of July Terry arrived for our all day party and fireworks extravaganza with some of her famous baked goods. No sooner was she in the front door when she stated: “Frank made another deposit at the Red Rock last night”. The Red Rock was the newest in the family of local themed casinos; this resort was built a couple of miles and within ten minutes from our front door. I asked her what she meant and she replied more aggravated than ever. “He lost $5,000.00.

I knew there was trouble when Frank leaned over the back wall and informed me that he drove all the way to another state to sell one of his prized trucks. It seemed that his loan brokerage business was not sufficient to pick up the slack for the combined losses of his alleged degenerate gambling and day trading in the stock market.

Eventually Frank and Terri D’Anelli were able to extract additional capital by refinancing the home in the name of Frank’s Mom, Marge. They bought her a Jeep for the privilege of burning her credit, promptly defaulted on the note and squatted in the house attempting a short sale with no luck until they eventually departed or were evicted.

We always suspected Frank and Terri D’Anell of collaborating with Darcy Spears.

We told Terri to evacuate her kids and move back home to California and live with her cool and ultra smart Mom and Dad, a marital sabbatical if you will. Why not let Frank and his Mother isolate for awhile instead of contaminating innocent children and his codependent wife to his rants and blame game.

Affirmation after the sale

One late Saturday night or early Sunday morning I sat outside and fed one of our fire stands elevated several feet off the ground. The copper cauldron was shaped much like a flying saucer. The grill fit neatly inside and half way down resting on a machined groove. Smoke billowed with the burning of leaves and green grape vines. I sat and watched as the breeze carried the translucent light grey remnants skyward. A siren was heard in the distance then another. The sound intensified and eventually I could hear the engines of two Fire trucks turning the corner and approaching our home. I reached for the hose and extinguished the fire the smoke now intensifying and blackening the sky. A few moments later I ran inside opened the front door and witnessed two huge red fire trucks tapping their air brakes the ladder truck facing the front of the water pumping truck and each one stopping inches from the other, grill to grill on this otherwise lonely street at two am on this Sunday fall morning in October of 2007. The alternating blue red strobes pierced the night and reflected off the windows of the surrounding homes their synchronized emissions measured yet eerie. Three firemen shouldering oxygen tanks and face shields, one with an axe in his hand, entered our home and walked with me to the back yard. They viewed the scene removed their helmets lectured me and left.

My wife was stunned that the neighbors were so invasive. I was relieved that we were leaving and had closed on the home. Their envy was ripe or Larry was drunk. It amounted to one final parting shot. Later that day as we shared the sequence of events from the previous evening we both laughed at the amount of free rent our neighbors granted us in their minds. Unfortunately for the afflicted the artificial wealth stored in their piggy bank homes collapsed shortly thereafter.

D. Real Estate and the Bigger Fool Theory!

Warren Buffet once said that you don’t know what something is worth until you buy it and attempt to sell some of it to someone else. The Greater or Bigger Fool Theory is a belief held by one who makes a questionable investment with the assumption that they will be able to sell it later to a “bigger fool” . Market participants may eventually realize that the price is too high or to low and the speculation bubble pops [2]. We witnessed first hand when the local casualty rate started to mount as people like Rick Casper answered our ad for roommates, moved in and captivated us with his stories of living the high life in Las Vegas. His other claim to fame was that he was twice married to Tina of Big Brother II Fame. Rick told us of spending five hundred dollars {$500.00} for bottle and table service at the nice joints in town. He and his friends jumped on a private jet and flew to Sacramento to watch the Kings play. He also purchased several high end residential homes now perilously close to default and described each one of them in elaborate detail. After several hours of listening and living vicariously through his exotic experiences we brought him some bed sheets, blankets, a pillow and tucked him in on our couch.

Marcel and thousands of other investor/speculators collected trophy homes from all over Las Vegas. Few if any bothered to appreciate that only ten percent {10%} of people ever make money in the stock market and their wealth is derived from the other ninety percent who are unable to navigate their mouse to point and click over the sell link. Could the same be true of the real estate market? Was Marcel so anesthetized over the acquisition of houses she would never call home the pulsating excitement of visualizing untold riches formulating the sales price and distribution of properties, lucid machinations, gyrating fantasies and so forth and so on? As Warren Buffet said you don’t know who’s naked until the tide goes out.

Marcel didn’t make it out the door let alone off the beach as the full compliment of {10%} of the fastest speculators liquidated their portfolios dumping their properties onto the few buyers left at the brief apex of this market like Darcy Spears and Paula Meneses. For those left behind nothing now except failure, short sales, foreclosures, ruined credit, bankruptcies and loss of donated or loaned cash by family members and friends. The penalty for excessive inhalation of the intoxicating allure of greed remains unchanged; debasement, financial insecurity and poverty. www.recoveryisforeveryone.com

Life After Money Real Estates Economics:

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http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7757272 Darcy Spears KTVU channel 13 Darcy Spears Investigative reporter, stalker , spy Darcy spears,, las vegas nevada 13 action news http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/225741-tire-works-attacks-reporter-afhttp://www.facebook.com/people/Darcy-Spears/100000647880380

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