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Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

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Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#81

Post by korethr »

Alupis wrote: post #20
Guest42 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiring is very slow at the moment and the beater would likely require a lot of maintenance and have a high price tag although I agree that it’s smart to drive cars that are more economical.

Anecdotal, but I keep hearing about restaurants and other small businesses that can't convince their employees to come back to work. Something about the unemployment benefits + CARES Act bonus being more than they were earning while working...

Also anecdotal, but unemployment + CARES Act did in fact result in one of my housemates bringing in more from the two than they did from their employer. But, they went back to work anyway when their employer called them back from furlough, because 1) in my state, IIRC, refusing an offer for work cancels one's unemployment benefits, 2) they knew they the structure of having a regular job again would be much better for their mental health than not working.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#82

Post by poulsbohemian »

tinza123 wrote: post #62

As a passive real estate investor I'm seeing bidding on new sales has actually been more competitive than ever in my area (Atlanta GA). A lot of houses are selling above asking prices with 8-10 offers on the table. I am not sure if people genuinely think it is a good time to buy, or is it mostly FOMO.

I sell real estate in Washington state. What you are describing has been our norm for a while. I am curious - is this a new phenomenon you are seeing in Atlanta? Is it at all price points and areas of the city? Would be interesting to see the data.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#83

Post by londons_explore »

leereeves wrote: post #38
cft wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In California for example, due to state-wide rent control, it's very dangerous for a landlord to lower rents. I would rather offer 6 months free rent than lock into permanent nonadjustable lower rent situation.

If a lot of landlords start exploiting that loophole, I wouldn't be surprised if the law were revised to be based on the average rent over a year, or something similar.

There are a million ways around that - for example, the landlord could employ the tenant to clean and tidy the property.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#84

Post by Avicebron »

pkaye wrote: post #65
ed25519FUUU wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may be biased as a WFH/silicon valley type (continuing to produce income despite shelter at home). The median checking account balance was $3,400 in 2019, and that was before COVID19 struck. There's a lot of people who were already barely hanging on, and now covid and demonstrations have pulled the rug out from under them. We're only 2 months in. Things will get worse before they get better. 1. https://www.valuep…

> The median checking account balance was $3,400 in 2019, and that was before COVID19 struck. Does that count money market and savings accounts? And given interest rates are so low I wonder if people invest in more riskier stuff.

People need capital to invest. A lot of people are floating by with that 3,400, not strategically holding only 3,400 in their bank account while they make their fortune on risky investments.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#85

Post by Barrin92 »

cft wrote: post #64
Barrin92 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because there's no indication of inflation let alone hyperinflation in any economic data or a 'currency crisis' whatever that means. In fact a sharp decline in demand seems to have outweighed reduction in supply leading to if anything, deflation. (which is in line with data as inflation has slowed to about 0.3%, down a percent from last year). Given how large the service sector is in particular in the US, and how str…

"US food prices see historic jump and are likely to stay high" https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/us-food-prices-histo...

Sure, but the US economy doesn't just run on food. In that particular sector the price increases make inuitive sense, as consumption is expected to stay mostly steady while supply chains have been heavily impacted.

Inflation is measured, for very obvious reasons, by looking at the general price level of goods and services in the economy, not just any given sector.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#86

Post by unchocked »

rhexs wrote: post #8

Guy has what looks like a luxury truck and is apparently having trouble deciding between food and his car payment. Sell the car, get a cheap used beater, reduce expenses, keep looking for a job. Not sure what NPR wants me to take from this example.

That is not a luxury truck. It's an extended cab F-150 with cloth seats, probably an XL. A familiar comparison for someone unused to seeing trucks in ordinary use would be a base model Chevy Malibu. And he's probably underwater on the loan, which makes it hard to sell.

NPR wants you to see that a lot of ordinary people who made ordinary life choices are going bankrupt.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#87

Post by matwood »

aphextron wrote: post #36
walterbell wrote: post #7

If there is no spike in infections within two weeks, from areas which had large public protests in the past week, can millions of Americans be helped by restarting the economy?

>If there is no spike in infections within two weeks, from areas which had large public protests in the past week, can millions of Americans be helped by restarting the economy? Daily new infections have more than doubled here in North Carolina in the last two weeks since "reopening" [0]. We have had more new cases in the last two weeks (2200) than in the entire length of lockdown from March until then (2000). The de…

Yeah, the 7 day moving average of new cases and deaths is also slowly trending up [1]. I think we all wished COVID would just go away, but that seems unlikely.

[1] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#88

Post by nickff »

beervirus wrote: post #56

I have a commercial tenant who was forced to shut down their business during the lockdown. I just waived rent until they were allowed to reopen. You can't get blood from a turnip, and I really don't want to force them into default and try to find another tenant in this environment anyway. Almost everybody is taking a haircut this year.

I think that's probably the smart move, at least for commercial property in this situation. The waived rent is essentially an insurance premium against the risk of vacancy coming out of the recession.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#89

Post by entangledqubit »

tinza123 wrote: post #62

As a passive real estate investor I'm seeing bidding on new sales has actually been more competitive than ever in my area (Atlanta GA). A lot of houses are selling above asking prices with 8-10 offers on the table. I am not sure if people genuinely think it is a good time to buy, or is it mostly FOMO.

How do things look without using the questionable guidance of "asking price"? "Asking price" (and the notion of above asking) often seems like real estate agent reality distortion to me.

Mortgage rates are super low, so some may see this as getting an asset they can leverage in an improved environment later.

Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms

#90

Post by tyre »

dmarlow wrote: post #68
ngngngng wrote: post #47

I'm so extremely grateful that I accepted section 8 tenants into my rental units. Most of these tenants have nearly all of their payment covered by the government and they just have to pay $100 or $200 on top of that to cover what the government won't. These tenants are often not accepted by landlords because they're thought to cause more issues. Mine are great. They keep the units spotless, mow the lawn for me on my…

> if they can't pay the hundred bucks the government won't I sure don't care I used to have this same mentality. Until the person who was renting one of my properties decided to lie about certain issues (like claiming a shampoo bottle lodged down one of the toilets was there for years). When I decided to not renew the lease with that tenant, they decided to cause considerable damage to our property. Sometimes, when t…

> when things come easy to people

I think you have a very misguided idea of what it's like to live in poverty.

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