Inspector America last night demonstrated just how bad our infrastructure is, and encourage you to watch it as well . At some point, America needs to realize that we are in dire need of nation building in America .
Date Archives May 2011
PSA – UVa Graduation is this Weekend, 20-22 May 2011
You’ve been warned. 
Be aware. Traffic will likely be challenging , restaurants will be slammed, hotels are likely booked … as a new class of graduates embarks on a new journey . You know what? If you’re in Charlottesville this weekend, ride a bike rather than drive . ( weather should be great ) ( photo courtesy of )
If We’re Paying for the Mortgages, Shouldn’t the Data be FOIA-able?
Section 1447 of the law calls for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish and maintain a comprehensive national database on foreclosures and defaults on mortgages and to make the information publicly available. The data is supposed to drill down to the census tract level and include the number and percentage of loans that are delinquent by more than 30 days; those that are in the foreclosure process; and those that are underwater.
… (a) Establishment- The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Bureau, in consultation with the Federal agencies responsible for regulation of banking and financial institutions involved in residential mortgage lending and servicing, shall establish and maintain a database of information on foreclosures and defaults on mortgage loans for one- to four-unit residential properties and shall make such information publicly available , subject to subsection (e).

…For example: “47% of the mortgages in the Charlottesville MSA are more than 30 days delinquent (if it’s that high, I’ll eat one of my flip flops; I’d wager that number is less than 7%).
5 Real Estate What If’s That Make Me Lose Sleep
From the NAR : NAR also has concerns about the proposed risk retention regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act that requires lenders that securitize mortgage loans to retain 5 percent of the credit risk unless the mortgage is a qualified residential mortgage (QRM). … Higher down payments do not have a meaningful impact on default rates; NAR supports a reasonable and affordable cash investment requirement coupled with quality credit standards, strong documentation and sound underwriting. 4c – Let’s not forget one of the main reasons we got in the mess we were/are in : (I originally noted this in 2007 ) The key reason the Subprime problem exists as it does today has to do with the wanton disassociation of risk inherent in the machine that churns out Subprime loans. … Just think about it…if you were a 20-something making mortgage loans in California using someone else’s balance sheet and being paid per loan (with no lookback to performance of the loan), how many dubious loans would you underwrite?
…The fact that HUD found extensive misconduct over a similar time frame as the Foreclosure Task Force, which Assistant Treasury Secretary Michael Barr described as a ““11-agency, 8-week review of servicer practices, with hundreds of investigators crawling all over the banks†proves that the latter to be pure regulatory theater.
Belvedere in Charlottesville – Now Growing. Fast
The neighborhood may not be 100% what was originally envisioned, but from my outsider’s point of view, I would argue that it is better – the neighborhood has taken ownership and initiative. … 2 – It’s in a great location; well-positioned to both Downtown Charlottesville and the 29 North (DIA/NGIC) Corridor 3 – The inventory has shifted and adjusted to the market – quite a few townhomes are selling there now. … Walking back down to the heart of the neighborhood, we ran into one of my clients who has lived in Belvedere for nearly a year and she spoke of how much she and her family love living here. … We go into the builder’s model home, talk for a while and upon coming outside, see that the cookie-and-lemonade-sellers have been joined by a girl on a stool in a tie-dye shirt strumming a guitar.
Lifestyle Shift – Riding a Bike Revisited
Looking back at when I started riding a bike in Charlottesville in 2008 . What I wrote is as relevant now as it was then. Since then, I’ve gotten a better bike, discovered more routes and actually shown property to a client while on bikes .
Albemarle Axes Another Road – Now Let’s Build the Monorail
Now they can focus on other roads that they have neither the political will nor funding to build .
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to remove the proposed Eastern Connector from a list of potential road projects to be considered by the county.
…For a hint at the likelihood of them building the Eastern Avenue in Crozet, have a look at their “coming soon” sign . Sometimes I think that the City and County would be better off focusing on building a monorail.