All Forum Posts by: James Harkness

I study bonsai gardening and online poker, so I too know how everyone thinks (read sarcastic)

Bryan,

Maybe I am missing it here, but I don't see anyone pointing any fingers or labeling anyone as a liberal or another other party affiliation in this thread.

I too am curious as to the signs pointing to a recovery. I read these forums every day and I can't think of any compelling evidence that anyone has posted towards an economic recovery (maybe I missed that too). Perhaps as an asset manager, I am jaded to an economic recovery as a whole. After all, I deal with hundreds of people every day who can't afford their mortgages and who are going out of business. They seem to think things are getting worse, not better. And these are small business owners all across the country, not just an isolated demographic cross section.

Where is the evidence pointing to a recovery? It certainly isn't found in real estate sales. October numbers are the lowest in 15 years. It can't be in the unemployment numbers. The news agencies report unemployment claims as the barometer for unemployment. You and I both know that this number is misleading. People are running out of unemployment benefits and are unable to make claims any longer. It can't be that many of the companies who's earnings we look to as an economic indicator are doing well... They're not (Cisco, GE, etc?). Maybe its the quantitative easing, QE2? What about the conflict at the Korean peninsula? Tomorrow is a very big day for us if you ask me...

I think you are missing the key point that one cannot sell without a buyer in the secondary market. Therefore, supply equals demand.

Bryan, I think the 2010 numbers are only through April, which would make them comparable to the previous two years.

Without more information, nobody will be able to help. Try to list as much information as possible regarding the property/transaction, and I am sure that some of the seasoned pros here will chime in with some words of advice.

He once had an awkward moment, just to see what it was like.

Nothing tastes like chicken to him, not even chicken.

He can speak fluent French, in Russian.

Ahhh, if everyone lived by the original principles that this country was founded on... Man, those freemasons are smart!

I'm not sure that the student felt like he had much of a choice. Prior to going up there, he went on his twitter account and tweeted something along the lines of, "winds are gusting at over 60mph... can't wait for work today... I guess I've lived long enough".

I think he knew it was a bad idea but didn't think he could continue as the videographer if he refused to film.

I agree with you on the lunacy of knee jerk reactions by goverment to any news headlines these days.

I usually keep quiet, but it seems to me like more and more, inexperienced people come on here and speak as if they know what they are talking about.

Champak, what are you basing your valuations off of? Every market is different. I may be wrong, but I am assuming that since you are from Georgia, you have no clue what the Hawaii market looks like. There are tons of different submarkets in each individual market, and all of them are different. You cannot make a blanket statement and say that the price is 30% from the 2004 price. Do you have comps for the property to support your assertion?

Will, I would be fine if things played out like that.