Lowell Feld: Prince William Needs More Illegal Aliens
By Greg L | 5 October 2007 | Local Economy, Illegal Aliens | 42 Comments
The folks over at Razing Kaine have an idea which would supposedly help our local real estate market: encourage more illegal aliens to buy homes in Prince William County. Well, that’s not exactly what they’re saying here, but that’s the solution that they’re effectively promoting. Haven’t these folks from Fairfax County figured out by now what one of the major contributing factors was in the earlier housing bubble in the first place?
According to a Prince William real estate agent quoted in today’s Washington Post, “The county’s anti-illegal immigrant measures…have accelerated the collapse of the real estate market in the minority community.’” The article also points out that, “Regardless of one’s views on immigration…simple arithmetic dictates that if a lot of residents leave the county, the housing meltdown will only worsen.” (emphasis in original)
The alternative that Lowell Feld seems to be advocating here is to encourage illegal aliens to buy homes in Prince William County. Note that he’s not advocating illegal aliens to buy real estate where he lives, in Fairfax County, and their real estate market, while in better shape than Prince William, isn’t in any great shape and could also benefit from an increase in housing demand. No, their altruism to help out Prince William seems to dictate that all the illegal aliens should come and reside in our communities, not theirs.
Prince William’s housing market was horribly distorted by predatory lenders and real estate agents who encouraged illegal aliens to buy houses they actually couldn’t afford unless the skyrocketing housing prices continued indefinitely. Long before the county started cracking down on illegal aliens, a wave of foreclosures swept the area and the housing market dried up. Now the county is making every effort to deter illegal aliens from residing here, and as a result we’ve seen widespread reports that residential overcrowding problems have greatly, although not entirely, abated. Right now, some communities are actually starting to improve. Lowell wants to reverse that positive trend
One key to restoring the local residential real estate market is restoring the quality of life in Prince William’s neighborhoods which will make them an attractive place for people to live. Many long-term residents have fled these communities as they appeared to be on a downward spiral, and they didn’t care to ride their equity down the tubes. If these neighborhoods can be restored, they’ll attract homeowners who want to invest in the long-term quality of their neighborhoods, and encourage those who might otherwise want to bail out, to stay.
If Lowell Feld and his buddies in Fairfax County want to conduct an experiment in what happens to residential communities when they encourage illegal aliens to reside there, they might want to check out the heart of Ike Legget’s political power base, Wheaton, Maryland. They’ve been engaged in this very experiment for years, and as a result it’s one of the ugliest, economically depressed, and troubled communities in Maryland. Before Lowell advocates that this failed experiment be reproduced in Prince William County, he should offer to try it in Fairfax, and see how it works out there.
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“Prince William’s housing market was horribly distorted by predatory lenders and real estate agents who encouraged illegal aliens to buy houses they actually couldn’t afford unless the skyrocketing housing prices continued indefinitely.”
Just wondering
but how to you know that most are illegals
Anonymous: This is from today’s WaPo.
“That was the prevailing view in Prince William for years, said several lenders who worked with Hispanic immigrants. Customers with little more than a tax identification number and a pay stub were able to secure 100 percent financing on mortgages. The lack of a driver’s license — let alone a green card — was hardly an obstacle to getting loans.”
Seems pretty clear to me that the disaster is due in large part to not wanting to “discriminate” against illegals. Help them get their dream even though they could not afford it and should have rented.
Much less they were illegally in the country and driving down construction wages so that construction workers could not really afford houses; like they used to be able to.
Well, given that Fairfax County does not check immigration status AND Fairfax County has some pretty spiffy subsidized housing that people even making six-figures qualify for, it would seem to me that Fairfax County is an Illegal Alien’s Paradise.
Once the problem gets even worse there, empty homes in PWC will start to fill up with people fleeing the declining quality of life in Fairfax.
Problem solved all around.
I saw that article. It’s awful. The reason we have a decline is because of illegal aliens. They get into these houses with 6 month arms with no intention of paying the loan. They sell the house to each member of the family and then they take off. In their wake they leave a trashed, pillaged house. I know because I live across the street from one. Just like Lafayette said they take out everything that isn’t nailed down. They take refrigerators, washers and dryers. The Real Estate agent who was evaluting this house told said it was trashed and he also said that he has even seen worse in PWC.
Yes, we’ve been invaded and pillaged. The BOCS needs to do something because bottom line if we do nothing about illegals no one will come here to PWC to live and we definetly will not be able to attract businesses. I worked for a lot of companies and one thing they look at is the community before they locate there. They want to see a good thriving community so that they will be able to keep and attract employees. That’s a fact!
If the elected officials encourage, and as a result, we get more illegal aliens, I will move out. Doubt that I’d be the only legal doing so. HOW the hell will that improve the housing market??
This remark might sound as though I would give up. Unfortunately, I think I would.
The shady Latino realtors who were looking for a quick buck were willing to fast talk these “immigrants” into buying something they couldn’t come close to affording. The “creative financing” methods they used borderd on being crooked. Just look at the homes that have been quickly “vacated” either through people packing up in the middle of the night or have gone into foreclosure. The FOR SALE signs are up and the realtors are the same Latinos who started this mess in the beginning. What did these people who “bought” loose when they made no downpayments and had “no interest” loans? To them, it was just like rent (those who made any payments at all.)
[…] # 2: Greg Letiecq weighs in on this issue as well. […]
I just saw the WAPO article and couldn’t believe what I was reading. So basically those of us who don’t want illegals in the county are to blame for the crash. Not the agents selling to un-qualified buyers, not the mortgage companies who gave 100% financing to those with no means to pay back the loans, and certainly not to the illegals who bought too much house, had other illegals living in their basements to help cover the mortgage, and who decide to leave their obligations in the middle of the night.
The lack of logic in this article is mindblowing.
One of the things I have been trying to come to grips with over the past several months is the fact that I have lost nearly $200,000. In value of my Manassas City sfh, and that represents about a 37 percent loss in value in just about two years.
I am not blaming the illegal aliens in PW totally for this but their presence and behavior certainly has taken a toll.
The realtors and mortgage bankers did what came natural, their business. I suppose the real culprits are the big businesses, banks, etc., who did this knowing what the ultimate outcome was inevitably going to be.
I am certainly not alone with the 37 percent scenario; we are all facing the same dilemma.
Mike Austin,
Similar situation here. The City tax assessment in 2005 valued my home at $517,000. Doubt that I would get any buyers now if I put it on the market for $380,000. The hispanics don’t want it because it doesn’t have a walk-out basement and a screen on the front door. Worst of all, the front yard isn’t big enough to park their cars and van.
I’m holding off on finishing my basement. Why pour money into a house that I will never see a return on - it’d be like dumping money down the toilet. Plus, like Keokuk mentioned, and I hadn’t thought of it - I don’t have a walkout basement either. Though I have seen ladders leading into windows on a several homes in Woodbridge (private entrances….).
This is just too pathetic. Our country is being sold out from under us by the very people we elected to protect us. Now I can say that I know politicians don’t give a darn about the citizens of this country. Who knows, maybe I’ll be surprised after the vote on the 16th….doubt it though.
Ditto, MCR, until I recently got involved with this issue, we were making improvements on our house. All that has stopped and I will not invest any more into my home unless I see the BOCS approve AND fund the Resolution, that they stand firm and LEAD! I moved here years ago, thinking this would be my home forever. What a disappointment.
I suggest PWC residents look up parcels in their neighborhoods on the PWC website, then make a trip to the courthouse in Manassas and look up on public access, the deeds, riders, and equity loans taken out on these properties which are now being run into the ground or abandoned. We need to keep pressure on the BOCS and zoning concerning houses zoned single family dwellings which are being sold as multi-family rental units and/or obviously overcrowded. Everyone needs to get involved.
That goes for the Mexicans w/o Borders crowd. They need to take their illegal clientele (including anchor babies) and head south of the border to improve living conditions there, preserving their culture, and reuniting families. Otherwise they are hypocrites.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7654149316356367363&q=aztlan&total=859&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Nice video of the invasion. Some well know politicians are in this one.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7654149316356367363&q=aztlan&total=859&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Video of how our taxpayer dollars pay for the education of kids that promote communism!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7654149316356367363&q=aztlan&total=859&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Video that shows NCLR Janet dodging the question regarding giving advice to illegal aliens to avoid law enforcement.
The BOCS needs to immediately start looking for ways to legally stop the boarding house syndrome here in the county. If ‘number of unrelated people’ cannot be used as a standard, then enact laws that require a permit for multiple families and tax the living hell out of the homeowners doing this. At least we would know who all was living at an address.
I refuse to believe this cannot be accomplished.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6926246927561551617
Some information on Antonio Villaraigosa’s ties to Mecha.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8063999731982990236
More Atzlan video.
Legal2 on 5 Oct 2007 at 3:12 pm:
You can get a considerable amount of info on a county property on this county web site. Just put in the stree name and it will give you the house numbers, who owns it, what it is assessed for etc. I guess any additional information you need you will have to physically get it from the county but this is a good place to start.
http://www4.pwcgov.org/realestate/LandRover.asp
Did everyone see in today’s Waspost the artice about deadbeat Salvadoran fathers? It said 25 percent of the Salvadoran population is living in the USA.
Wanna know where they are getting the money? Tune in to Lou Dobbs tonight at 6:00pm
Tonight: Mexico’s Meddling
In a bold move, Mexico is urging its consulates in the United States to ramp up their defense of illegal aliens. The move comes at time when local and state governments are attempting to do the job the federal government has refused to do. Mexico plans to create an “anti-defamation league” and give its consulates more money to counter those who oppose illegal immigration. We’ll have that special report.
http://www.phxnews.com/fullstory.php?article=52478
“Discover how illegal aliens living in America’s inner cities are devastating black communities, why Blacks are being run out of town, the reason illegal Hispanics are overwhelming the health care services once provided to blacks and how Mexican gangs are killing black people at random.”
Click on the “play” button to listen. This guy presents some really great and informative points.
My spouse and I have considered moving away soon because there are places that are not as hard hit as this area. My spouse grew up here in PWC and although reluctant to leave is the one driving the idea. We have talked to some who are moving or have because of the school demographics.
I think we may be seeing the beginning of ‘flight’ which is not good news - that ususally happens when the perception of academics in the schools sinks.
I have not read the article, but this could be akin to flight that caused the suburb explostion in the first place during the sixties. Politicians and government behind the times… Frankly, I don’t think our local leaders are very interested in local results. I count three maybe four. The others are only interested in their futures - which don’t invovle PWC.
check this out - to heck with the illegals!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUdwBOy-FIk
All you BOCS members need to watch the video above as well….stop pandering to the ILLEGALS!
mcr, It makes me wonder what our good soldiers are fighting for, when our soverignty is practically non-existent - more goods & services for illegals? Whose protecting the soldiers’ interests here while they are being put in harms’ way? Certainly not the Board of County Supervisors who want to use a shortfall as an excuse.
I am waiting for the youtube of the Colgan/Fitzsimmonds debate from last night. I believe Colgan said we couldn’t do anything to help the illegal problem - overcrowding in schools, etc. - no money left in the budget. Later, I think he explained how we have a surplus that could be used for something-I need to hear it again.
Try calling the Fairfax County Government offices. The phones are answered by women with heavy Hispanic accents. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… if they are here legally (and are not aiding and abetting illegal aliens).
MCR…that was a fantastic video! Thank you for sharing that.
Foreclosures and the drop in the housing market were going on long before the July 10 resolution - at least a year before. Long time citizens were moving out years before July 10 specifically because of the illegal alien invasion. The homes on both sides of me were foreclosed on at least a year ago. Yesterday someone bought the house next door and the storm door was propped open by nightfall. Today, thanks to Lafayette, I used a PWC zoning brochure (which is in English and Spanish), highlighted the relevant Spanish portions of the OVERCROWDING and the YARD sections, and taped those sections to their storm door, after which I closed the storm door. I left the remainder of the PWC zoning brochure between the storm door and the front door.
Thanks Lafayette!
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/study_says_illegal_alien_popul.php
“Study: Illegal alien population may be as high as 38 million”
Way to go Rack and Lafayette! I have a copy of that brochure and I’m going to do the exact same thing in my neighborhood to a home with an open screen door.
COM - I called our HOA the other day and I was pleased to hear that they are adding a “no screen doors open” policy to our homeowners manual. They had no idea what it meant but received enough complaints.
Interesting blog on NOVA housing, including Prince William:
http://novabubblefallout.blogspot.com/
You can clearly see how the house prices have declined.
What does the ‘no screen doors’ thing mean? Does that include glass storm doors?
It has been said that a propped open storm (or screen) door means there is room at the inn.
Dolph, re: boarding house syndrome
I have had several talks with MC personnel regarding overcrowded homes in my area. I was recently told that it is MY responsibility to furnish proof that the occupants are not related.
I asked the investigator how they wanted that, BIRTH RECORDS or DNA?
Of course when I come back with something like this, I get labeled as the problem here.
Mike Austin,
Good grief. Supreme buck-passing is alive and well in MC, I see.
I don’t know what the answer is other than to restrict housing to immediate nuclear family. Anyone else requires a permit. I am sure that plan would fail some sort of constitutional muster.
Here is one way some local residents are combating the illegal immigrants problems. I got this from a friend who lives in Loudoun county, the president of the HOA is his brother in law:
I have a friend who is president of his homeowner’s association in a
Washington, D.C. suburb. They were having a terrible problem with litter
near some of his association’s homes. The reason according to Wallace
(my friend) is that six very large, luxurious new houses are being built
right next to their community
The trash was coming from the Mexican laborers working at the
construction sites and included bags from McDonald’s, Burger King and 7-11, plus coffee cups, napkins, cigarette butts, coke cans, empty
bottles, etc
He went to see the site supervisor and even the general contractor politely urging them to get their workers not to litter the
neighborhood, to no avail. He called the city, county, and police and got no help there either So here’s what his community did. They organized about twenty folks
named themselves the “Inner Neighborhood Services” group, and arranged
to go out at lunch time and “police” the trash themselves.
It is what they did while picking up the trash that is so hilarious. They bought
navy blue baseball caps and had the initials “INS” embroidered in gold> on the caps. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what they hoped people might, mistakenly, think the letters really stand for
After the Inner Neighborhood Services group’s first lunchtime pickup> detail, with all of them wearing their caps and some carrying cameras 46 out of the total of 6 8 construction workers did not show up for work the next morning–and haven’ tcome back yet. It has been ten days now
The General Contractor, I’m told, is madder than hell, but can’t say
anything publicly because he could be busted for hiring illegal
aliens.Wallace and his bunch can’t be accused of impersonating federal personnel, because they have the official name of the group recorded in
their homeowner association minutes along with a notation about the vote
to approve formation of the new subcommittee–and besides, they informed
the real INS in advance of their plans and according to Wallace the INS
said basically, “Have at it
GOOD OLD AMERICAN INGENUITY TRIUMPHS AGAIN
manassascityresident 5 Oct 2007 at 6:13 pm:
Send it to all of them as an attachment to an e-mail.
RACK on 5 Oct 2007 at 7:04 pm:
Maybe it would be a good idea for the county to send these PWC zoning brochures to every address in the county (like they do when they plan to do some mosquitto or gypsy moth control.)
That way the residents cannot say “No comprende” when confronted with a potential zoning violation.
Another home on Roxbury Dr. in Sudley that was occupied by 15 Latinos was trashed and moved out of in the middle of last night. They removed (stole) all of the appliances (stove, fridge and the outside lights. Also left the front door wide open after they left. Realize they are only here to provide for their family but…………..They will probably get another no interest loan and trash that place too. UNBELIEVABLE THIS COUNTRY/COUNTY IS LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. THEY SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH FELONY BURGULARLY AT A MINIMUM!
Anonymous said on 7 Oct 2007 at 12:37 pm
UNBELIEVABLE THIS COUNTRY/COUNTY IS LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. THEY SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH FELONY BURGULARLY AT A MINIMUM!
That’s because they don’t care about us …. just pandering to the illegals…it’s disgusting! But if one of US tried to rip off a house, or use false ID - look out, we’d be thrown in the slammer faster than you can say “two sets of rules”….
Our politicians are USELESS!
The idiot head of the PWC realtors who made the comment that all, regardless of immigration status have a right to own a home in Virginia made this comment because his pockets were getting fat off of sells to illegals who will crowd 20 into a 3 bedroom home.
The market will correct itself and this clown doesn’t care about anything but $$$$$$$.