KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Wednesday March 10 Housing and Economic stories

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Miami-Dade foreclosure auction site baffles bargain hunters – (www.miamiherald.com) lain Lantigua, a seasoned investor who had regularly attended the courthouse auctions, said that while he likes the new system, the shift to online sales has brought in hundreds of novices, many of whom don't take the time to properly research a property before bidding. ``This is not simple -- this is a very, very complicated business,'' said Lantigua who researches as many as 1,000 properties a month and generally ends up buying only one or two. ``And you gotta know what you're doing. And if you don't, you're going to lose a lot of money. And people are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a day.'' Ruvin said the site is easy to use and more welcoming to beginners than the often-tense courthouse auctions. But users still have to do their own research. ``Replete on the website are very clear disclaimers that in no way are we representing title or the presence or lack of additional encumbrances on the sites,'' Ruvin said. And he emphasized that ``encumbrances'' -- such as an outstanding mortgage that would preclude owning a property free and clear -- should be thoroughly researched before placing any bids online. Condo boards often choose to foreclose when owners default on their condo association payments, but such liens that give creditors a claim against a property are superseded when a mortgage company forecloses, leaving an outstanding mortgage to be paid. Under Florida law, a mortgage company's foreclosure overrules a condo lien. Sehan Thompson, a Fort Lauderdale businessman, admits he made a beginner's mistake when he bid $9,100 for a North Miami Beach condo with an assessed value upward of $140,000. Less than 24 hours after submitting his winning bid, he discovered that what he had actually bid on was the right to buy a $9,000 condo lien.

Utah considers cutting 12th grade -- altogether - (www.latimes.com) The proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars would chip away at Utah's $700-million shortfall. He's since offered a toned-down version: Just make senior year optional. At Utah's West Jordan High School, the halls have swirled lately with debate over the merits of 12th grade: Is it a waste of time? Are students ready for the real world at 17? For student body president J.D. Williams, 18, the answer to both questions is a resounding no. "I need this year," he said, adding that most of his classmates felt the same way. The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade. The notion quickly gained some traction among supporters who agreed with the Republican's assessment that many seniors frittered away their final year of high school, but faced vehement opposition from other quarters, including in his hometown of West Jordan.

Harrisburg excludes debt payments from 2010 budget - (www.reuters.com) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, moved a step closer to defaulting on a bond payment when its city council passed a 2010 budget that does not include $68 million in debt repayments on an incinerator. Without the debt provision in the $65 million budget, the state capital may miss a March 1 payment of $2.072 million, a rarity for a municipal bond issuer. Joyce Davis, a spokeswoman for Mayor Linda Thompson, confirmed the council's decision -- taken at a special session on Saturday -- and said the mayor is not commenting for now on the implications of exclusion of the debt payments from the budget. The council also defeated a plan to sell city assets to help pay down the debt which is guaranteed by the city on behalf of the Harrisburg Authority, a separate municipal entity that owns the incinerator. Council members also rejected Thompson's plan to raise property taxes and water rates.

Monmouth County New Jersey Looks To Privatize Prison System Over "Unsustainable Union Salaries" - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) In Monmouth County New Jersey, county legislators known as "Freeholders" are looking to privatize the prison system. Please consider Put shackles on jail costs. Monmouth County Freeholder John D'Amico last week proposed turning the county jail over to a private operator, saying the union salaries paid to the 300 correction officers who work there are "unsustainable."
That's putting it mildly: The two highest-paid workers in the county last year were corrections officers, who more than doubled their base pay with overtime. Dana J. Townsend and Robert B. Kornett were the beneficiaries of an out-of-control system. In 2009, both of them raked in $186,000 each — $11,000 more than Gov. Chris Christie. And each received more than $98,000 in overtime alone. More than 200 guards are due to receive the top-step base salaries of $89,000 or $90,500 if the union's proposals are adopted in pending interest arbitration. Last year, 36 corrections officers made more than $130,000 in base pay and overtime, and 150 made more than $100,000. The abuses of overtime and excessive salaries paid to corrections officers are nothing new. It's time to do something about it. Taxpayers should let the freeholders know they need to bring the wildly inflated costs under control. Difficult times often call for drastic measures. Privatization of the Monmouth County jail must be a serious option and not merely a bargaining chip to be used against the union. If you live in Monmouth County New Jersey, this is your chance. Call your "Freeholders" and have all your friends do the same. It is time to rid yourselves of the prison union totally. There can be no compromises because public union greed knows no bounds. They will come back again, and again and again, wanting more and more and more. This is your chance to abolish a public union that needs to go. Compromise is not an option.

Jordan District to lay off 500 employees because of $30M shortfall - (www.ksl.com) The Jordan School District will lay off 500 employees by July 1 as part of an effort to make up for a $30 million shortfall. By a 6-1 vote, the Jordan Board of Education approved options to reduce the 2010-11 budget, which include personnel cuts, programs and services cuts, transfer of expenditures to other programs, compensation adjustments, class-size increases, and possible tax increases. Between now and the end of March, the board will determine which positions and programs will be eliminated. As many as 250 teaching positions and 250 administrative/support staff positions will be cut. Not a single teacher need be cut. All it takes is unions to lower salary demands and/or pensions. Any cuts are the direct responsibility of the Teachers' union.

La Jolla Bank among 4 new closures - (www.marketwatch.com) La Jolla Bank in the San Diego area was among four banks shuttered by authorities Friday, bringing the total to 20 financial institutions closed since the beginning of the year. La Jolla's deposits will be taken over by OneWest Bank of Pasadena, Calif., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. La Jolla had $3.6 billion in total assets and $2.8 billion in deposits. OneWest has entered into a loss-share transaction on $3.3 billion of La Jolla's assets, the FDIC said. The FDIC was appointed as receiver by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which closed La Jolla Bank. Other banks closed Friday included George Washington Savings Bank of Orland Park, Ill., which was shuttered by the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation's banking division. Again, the FDIC was appointed as receiver for the bank, whose deposits will be taken over by FirstMerit Bank of Akron, Ohio. George Washington Savings had $412.8 million in total assets.

Credit card reform might affect your wallet - (www.washingtonpost.com) Here is a breakdown of the reforms and how they might affect your wallet:

-- They prohibit universal default: Consumers had long complained about credit card companies raising the interest rates on one card for being late or missing a payment on a separate account, even if they had remained current on the first card. The practice was known as universal default, and card companies said missing payments on other accounts increased the risk of lending to a customer, which in turn meant higher interest rates. The new law not only bans universal default but also prohibits card companies from raising interest rates on outstanding balances, as long as you pay the bill on time. But beware: Issuers can still change the rate on new charges as long as they give you proper notice.

-- They put time limits on some interest rates: The law requires promotional interest rates to last at least six months. For new credit card accounts, issuers cannot raise interest rates for the first year. Card companies are also required to review your account regularly and lower your rate if appropriate.

-- They restrict access to credit for people younger than 21: Underage consumers will no longer be able to open a credit card account without a cosigner or proof that they have independent income. Card companies also won't be able to raise the credit limits for underage consumers without the cosigner's approval. The measures were intended to target aggressive marketing by credit card companies to members of an age group who consumer advocates think were being financially shackled for the rest of their lives by debt racked up in college.

Reader’s Digest Insolvent In UK After Pension Troubles - (www.paidcontent.co.uk) Seventy-two years after its first edition, the Reader’s Digest’s UK edition, which bills itself as “the world’s favourite magazine’, has filed for administration, after failing to win government backing for a pension fund rescue plan. This was expected. The title’s U.S. parent Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) filed for Chapter 11 U.S. bankruptcy last year and recently told a U.S. court it had “a longstanding and significant unfunded liability within its UK pension scheme” that might lead to it filing for adminstration (for U.S. readers, that’s the term for placing insolvency businesses alternative hands, to maintain and reorganise operations).