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The Illegals Walk Away
By Greg L | 23 March 2008 | Local Economy, Illegal Aliens | 55 Comments
While the Washington Post can easily seem to find illegal aliens who got caught up in the residential real estate boom and are under financial pressure from the exotic mortgages they obtained in order to purchases homes they couldn’t afford, they can’t seem to find anyone who can explain why this all happened:
“What can I do? I’ve got no choice,” said Jose Ruiz, 27, a landscaper and illegal immigrant from El Salvador who bought a Manassas condo two years ago for $200,000. He has been making $2,000 monthly payments for his mortgage and condo fees since then, spending most of his monthly income and all his savings. He and his wife worry that they’ll be deported or separated from their daughters, ages 3 and 1. But they can’t sell their condo, which Ruiz estimates is worth $130,000 in the current market. So they’re planning to walk away rather than risk a forcible removal.
No mention of the Spanish-speaking real estate agents who advised their non-English speaking clients that real estate prices would never drop, and that their clients should buy the biggest property they could get their hands on. No mention of the Spanish-speaking mortgage brokers who sold non-English speaking clients mortgage products that were entirely inappropriate, and ran away with a fat commission check fully expecting that their client would likely lose their property as soon as the interest rate reset. No mention of corrupt title and settlement companies, which permitted individuals to if not outright use fraudulent documentation to purchase a house, but at least allow buyers to have their names indexed in property records under multiple inconsistent variations which would allow them to hide the amount of debt they held from mortgage underwriters.
While large portions of the legal (as well as illegal) immigrant community is losing everything, another portion went off laughing all the way to the bank with fat commission checks that they obtained by duping their victims, the buyers. Very few of these unscrupulous human predators have been brought to justice, and the Washington Post seems uninterested in telling the story of how one segment of the immigrant community turned on another.
I’m not that distraught that an illegal alien has finally understood that unlawfully residing in the United States is a bad idea that carries real consequences. It would have been helpful if Washington Post readers had the opportunity to find out how and why he got here in the first place, however. That piece of the story — how they got to this point — is hugely relevant as to whether their current situation merits this amount of teeth-gnashing and moaning.
What will also be fascinating to see is how the sales and market data that’s coming in now continues to trend. Many of these statistics seem to be trending differently over the past few weeks, which might indicate that this kind of doom-and-gloom is not going to be a story with a lot of local staying power. When a residential real estate recover goes into full swing, will the Washington Post exhibit the same interest in telling that story?
We’ll see.
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Also, there are many many other regular homeowners out there that cannot take advantage of the new low-rate FHA programs available to refinance their homes because the assessment and value has decreased so dramatically, they are upside-down on their mortgages. My whole subdivision in the City had an across-the-board slash of $100K per property.
The most “troubled zip code” is Dale City (22193)
with 768 foreclosures, followed by Woodbridge (22191)
with 423, Manassas (20110) with 408, Manassas/
Bull Run (20109) with 393, Sterling (20164) with 376,
Manassas Park (20111) with 317, and Herdon (20170)
with 316.
WaPo metro section (3-23-2008)
Who will start to get healthier earlier? Rule of law PWC
or the more illegal immigrant friendly Lowdown County?
I am certainly seeing this on my street. Illegals are not the only ones walking away. Twice in 5 years time two different African American families have abandoned the same house. I also have a house in pre-foreclosure (it’s been two months now) and the Hispanic family living their (may be two families) have not left.
So from the last 4 comments, how do you assess the reason why there are so many foreclosures?
EVERYONE had at one time or another to buy and refinance, EVEN if it meant that they could NOT afford it.
It was the industry, all in the name of money. From the broker/real agent/lender/appraiser/settlement/ to the UNEDUCATED home BUYER.
There is a point in the process that I mentioned above, the obvious being the agencies that took advantage and the homeowners that were not educated…….
BUT the EDUCATED home buyer that knew how to get AROUND the system to buy and flip…….there was that loop hole and people jumped!!!!
I know you know what I am saying ddpdrinker, maybe you can help me explain
Well, Jose, it’s really quite simple. The second you crossed the border illegally, you were doomed to failure. We have laws in PWC. Yeah, the rest of the countries have laws too, but we give a damn here.
Lots of folks have been ripped off. I believe those who were financial predators should be exposed. There should be a special hell for those Latinos who made nice fat commission checks off of scalding other Latinos who perhaps were not as savvy in American ways.
What will be interesting is to see how the Republicans in Congress handle the Democrat move for more regulation after the run away creative mortgaging that resulted from deregulation over the past decade or so. Ten years ago the mutual funds controlled the markets, now the hedge funds are the power. They have always made me nervous. Too few rich people in control of too much wealth. They have also managed to have a sweet tax deal.
All of it is related. And once again, the middle class pays and pays and pays.
Oh, by the way, and in the end the title is exactly what I want to happen. I don’t want to spend money to deport ALL illegal immigrants (criminals, sure, but we all must understand that the criminals have found havens here in the good old USA, and they’ll just turn right around and cross the border again. But for the vast majority, I want them to simply walk away! They can go home the exact same way they got here. It has a certain ring to it….”Illegal Immigrants Walk Away”
Dolph,
” Ten years ago the mutual funds controlled the markets, now the hedge funds are the power. They have always made me nervous. Too few rich people in control of too much wealth. They have also managed to have a sweet tax deal.
All of it is related. And once again, the middle class pays and pays and pays.”
Splish, splash, that is what I heard and have heard. Now someone has pulled the plug. Who? Just look at the bail out of JPMorgan/Acquire Bear Stearns.
Last week, a woman spoke at Citizen’s Time during the BofCS meeting to voice her concerns about racism in PWC. She mentioned the illegal alien resolution and BVBL, then she read allowed to the Board a posting from Ari Stotle who she claimed was a racist.
She was visibly shaken and my spouse was disturbed by her accusations. First, I want to send my sincere apologies to her and say that in law enforcement and/or self defense training, you’re taught to make eye contact with those in your surroundings. It can aid in warding off a potential threat or potentially becoming a victim. Unlike bear hunting, in which you are trained to NOT make eye contact with the animal, with humans it is precisely the opposite.
Her accusation was troubling because it was directed at me and not the 12 to 20 million criminals who have taken it upon themselves to violate our laws. As McCain states, “we are all Gods children” but laws are laws. It is my right as a U.S. Citizen to practice self defense.
In fact, my great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were gased to death in Aushwitz. My grandfather was a survivor, he arrived in this country alone, with a gold coin sewn into the lining of his jacket pocket but he did it legally through Ellis Island, he learned the language, worked hard, kept his head down, minded his own business and assimulated to American culture. He married and had only one child, my mother. He died before I was born but he wrote a book about his life. I learned that during the depression he used his own money to operate a soup kitchen to help those less priviledged.
As a result, I don’t have much family, but I love this country and am very grateful for life that I have here and coincidently, my spouse is of German decent so believe me Ma’am I am far from being a racist or bigot but I am sorry if I offended you.
I saw her also. Is she an illegal alien? Is that her daughter that she always brings in front of the camera? If so, you would think that she would care about crime in this county. Illegal aliens bring crime by their very presence….gangs, fraud, identity theft, along with breaking our immigration laws. I would think, for the sake of her child/children that she would want to see all illegal aliens leave this county.
And illegal alien supporters wonder why there is so much anger directed at illegals. Couple this article with the one in yesterdays COMPOST, which spelled out exactly how hispanics took advantage of illegal hispanics and you have to realize the true costs that illegals are costing this Nation. A pox on anyone who does not want every and all illegals to be shipped at post haste.
A very tragic story Ari Stotle. I just have a question. I am confused by the chronology. You said your grandfather was a survivor (presumably of the Holocaust?), but if he was an adult during the Depression (running a soup kitchen in America with money he made), wouldn’t he have arrived well before the Depression, in fact well before Hitler took power? Or did you mean survivor in a more generic sense? So your grandfather left in the teens or 1920s? And then decades later, his entire family died at Auschwitz?
Ari: I have never read anything by you that was racist. Honest and to the point, but not racist. The illegal aliens are trying to deflect attention from their lawbreaking onto citizens who are complaining. The accusation of racism is their trump card. This woman may be a con artist–after all, she’s not so fearful that she can’t get up and speak at a BofCS meeting. She’s got you on the defensive now. Don’t feel you’ve done anything wrong. You haven’t.
starryflights said on 23 Mar 2008 at 4:59 pm:
I also have a house in pre-foreclosure (it’s been two months now) and the Hispanic family living their (may be two families) have not left.
That’s part of the scam. Free rent for the duration. It takes time to evict them, meanwhile no payments and more remittence sent back “home” then they will start it all over again. NOTHING FOR THEM TO LOOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN!
Ari Stotle,
I read an entire post about you on another blog. I am assuming it quoted you directly. I have had computer problems so I am not quite up to speed with all the blogs though.
If I may be honest, I was put off by some of the language, such as praising HSM and the blog master for ‘promoting intolerance.’ I really don’t want to live in an area that promotes intolerance. It really didn’t sound like previous posts I have read by you.
~~splash~~
Starry,
I was not at the BOCS meeting. If the woman is the one I am thinking of from the tv, she is definitely not an illegal alien. She is definitely a homegrown lady.
999, you are correct. And with no-doc loans AND multiple names used, they just set up housekeeping somewhere else. I would like to know how many of the foreclosures/abandoned mortgages in PWC are by hispanics (since they seemed to be the majority testifying against the Resolution during the marathon 12-hour BOCS meeting.
Also, the one falsely accusing AriStotle - she had previously indicated her illegal husband finally got his “documentation” - wonder if he got it from Fredy Lopez?
Ari Stotle - I feel like Anonymous that the chronology of your ancestor’s arrival and the story about soup kitchen, etc. is thoroughly confusing. The depression started ca 1929; WWII ended in May 1945. He came here with a gold coin sewn into his coat pocket. Why? It wasn’t illegal to bring money into this country. It sounds as if you have made up part of the family history or been given incorrect information. But I guess the big thing is that the man came through Ellis Island, right?
Dolph, the only “intolerance” I’ve seen expressed here is an intolerance of those who willfully violate the law and transform some of our communities into something more resembling a third-world country than a wonderful piece of America. Members of that same HSM that you seem to decry have taken the time to personally demonstrate to you what these impacts actually look like, and instead of even acknowledging that there are legitimate concerns, you’re blasting those people who showed you such courtesy and accommodation.
Do some folks use language that might be considered a bit intemperate? Sure, and they often get some criticism for that here, and that mechanism self-corrects. But their concerns are hardly illegitimate, as you should be able to personally attest, because these people you seem so eager to slam took their own time to take you around some of these troubled neighborhoods so you could see why they felt the way they did with your own eyes.
Maybe you haven’t seen enough yet. Maybe it would help if the next time I come to the assistance of a legal immigrant who is being terrorized by their illegal alien neighbors, I dragged you along with me so you could see that for yourself, but given your reaction to this courtesy, I doubt it would be worth the trouble, not to mention likely violating the security concerns that these folks regularly express to me. It would be hard to convince them that you’re not the enemy, and I’d have to admit that concern might not be too farfetched.
Dolph, you focus on one thing that Alana Almeda happened to latch on to, which ought to give anyone pause since she is hardly what anyone would consider a reasonable voice in this debate, and disregard what you’ve seen with your own eyes. Before Almeda called out that poster as a racist, she called out someone in this neighborhood who is actually married to a Vietnamese refugee from the 1970’s as being someone who is “terrified by anyone of color” and a racist. Her history in applying these smears is decidedly uneven, to put it as nicely as possible.
Don’t blame it all on illegal immigrants. Can you blame them for escaping the horrible circumstances in their home country? Not that it’s our countries problem, but I really don’t blame them for coming here.
It’s not a question of whether their decisions make sense or not. It’s a question of what happens to our society when we fail to enforce the law and in so doing encourage lawlessness in our communities. I’m not fully conversant in what has happened in New Mexico as a result of these policies, but what I understand is that the southern part of that state has turned into one of the most dangerous places on earth, that landowners there resort to carrying semi-automatic rifles with them wherever they go lest they encounter drug mules protected by Mexican drug cartels or violent gangs that protect border-jumpers.
That’s a pretty high price for this country to pay just so some foreign nationals can evade circumstances in their own country and have the option of flouting our laws while doing so.
I’ll agree on one point, though. The employers who unlawfully employ illegal aliens and attract them here as a result should be put in jail.
Greg,
No one has taken me anywhere. Please. Name me one person who has taken me anywhere. You can’t. It hasn’t happened. I have taken several people around MY neighborhood and have demonstrated problem houses. I believe you have a case of mistaken idenity. I do not need any members of HSM to take me around and show me jack. Nor is anyone going to drag me anywhere.
Furthermore, I have blasted and decried no one. I was speaking to Ari Stotle about saying that this blog promoted intolerance. I did not say it did. If I were you, I would probably prefer it didn’t also. Exactly what is it you feel I have latched on to? I read a statement by Aristotle and responded. I had actually remembered what he;/she said because it seemed so different from previous postings from several months ago.
You need to go back and re-read what I wrote. I feel an apology is in order. That rant was unnecessary and out of control and did not address what I said.
Correction: IdenTity
Dolph, it was my understanding that Lafayette spent a fair amount of time going around the neighborhood. If I have mistaken you with someone else, I apologize.
Thank you. Apology accepted. Lafayette and I are friends and we support each other’s neighborhood efforts. She does a great deal. I consider myself back up to the work she and Patty do. In fact, I called in about 8 violations with automobiles to Lafayette on Saturday night while I was conducting a field trip for someone. She had fallen behind when she was sick.
The great depression was world wide and especially hard in Germany. I don’t believe that Ari Stotle said that the soup kitchen was run in this country, there was no mention of where it was.
legal2 said on 23 Mar 2008 at 10:26 pm:
999, you are correct. And with no-doc loans AND multiple names used, they just set up housekeeping somewhere else. I would like to know how many of the foreclosures/abandoned mortgages in PWC are by hispanics (since they seemed to be the majority testifying against the Resolution during the marathon 12-hour BOCS meeting.
Well, I can confirm that three (3) of the three homes foreclosed on my street were inhabited by Latinos. It is interesting to note that a very large number of these vacant properties are still being marketed by Latino realtors. Is that just a coincidence or what?
NM real estate said on 23 Mar 2008 at 11:24 pm:
Don’t blame it all on illegal immigrants. Can you blame them for escaping the horrible circumstances in their home country? Not that it’s our countries problem, but I really don’t blame them for coming here.
Yes, we can, and we should blame them. Why are they not trying to recify the situation in their countries instead of bailing out of them. If they are not trying to correct the problem, then they are the problem. Should we just forget we have immigration laws and open our country to everyone who feels the need for more money or a change of scenery? Let’s have unlimited immigration from Dafur, Congo, Hati, Tibet, China, (you pick the rest.) Bill Gates is for unlimited access to this country. You can see why he is the world’s richest man. Off-shore part of your empire and pay cheap labor to run your enterprise.
Let’s be honest people! While a LEGAL citizen has to go through a monstrous amount of paperwork and thorough “background/credit checks” to get a loan…how many of the hispanics that foreclosed went through this process? Or, were they given a “free pass” by their hispanic realtors? Hmmm….little conflict of interest maybe?
Dolph…you seem to have “dual personalities” with regard to illegal immigration. On one hand…you “say” you want to resolve illegal immigration, then on the other hand….you seem to support illegal immigration. Which is it? You are either for it or against it! It is not that complicated!
On the original topic, I just do not have a lot of sympathy for people who choose to allow themselves to be taken advantage of, unless they have some mental defect or other disability that makes them unable to make logical decisions in their own interest. Hey, if that defect is serious enough, then you can’t really can’t make a binding contract with them in the first place. Logically, now, if someone offered me a loan at an exhorbitant rate of interest or on a house it looked like I could not comfortably afford, I would walk away from that. If someone handed me a contract written in a language I could not read, I am quite sure that I would not sign it until I had had it translated independently. If the house was sold to someone else in the interim, so be it. There is always another house out there to buy. I do not think all immigrants are idiots, but just like any group of people a few of them are inevitably going to be a bit short in the smarts department. One of the problems with failing to assimilate it that there are going to be crooks in your own community, as well as in the community at large, but the crooks in your own community are going to be clever in reaching out to you like they are doing you some sort of favor. It’s played out generation after generation in ethnic neighborhoods across America and across the globe. It is what human beings do. Some of them are wolves and some of them are sheep.
There definitely were lenders out there that were shady and that tried to pitch their deals to people who had no business getting loans, like some immigrants with crummy jobs who could not afford the payments or understand how the interest part of the loan really works. I’ve seen the ads in Spanish, we all have. And in Chinese. Many of the potential customers probably did do the smart thing and walked away. Many of them became some of those legendary suckers that are born every minute. If the companies crossed the line and broke the law, maybe it is time for some lenders to visit the inside of a jail. It is hard for even an educated American born English speaker who is not a lawyer or a banker to understand some deals that legitimate lenders present to them to consider. If you don’t understand, just take the information and you go do your research. Act smart. Or you pay the price for not knowing what you got yourself into.
Ari….don’t fret; we’re all branded “racist” by those who want “their way” without making the standard effort. For years, most of us have worked hard to accept, help, and even give advantage to minorities. Despite all that, when they fail to achieve, it’s because of the fall-back position, we (obviously racists, due to their failure) have not given them enough opportunity.
I am at the point where I recognize that I know myself far better than they do…and I’ve totally given up on the politically correct practice of giving in to those who want more and defensively wish to call me racist. It just doesn’t hurt me anymore.
Again…
1. If a black person opposes illegal immigration is he/she racist?
2. If a caucasion person opposes illegal immigration is he/she racist?
3. If a hispanic/latino person opposes illegal immigration is he/she racist?
4. If an asian person opposes illegal immigration is he/she racist?
How come no pro-illegal alien supporters are willing to answer these questions with a simple YES or NO answer?????
Unfortunately, the foreclosure problem is just another example of how we as a nation pay a price for allowing illegal aliens to live here. The fact that they are willing to “walk away” from this situation shows they have no interest in becoming Americans. Many illegals invest their money in things that can be taken with them (vehicles, amenities, etc.) because they are migrants. Migrants by definition move, they are not tied to one geographic area.
BTW, let’s not fall for the old story that all illegals came here to escape from opressive environments. That’s a sterotype. Many people came because of simple economic reasons; to increase their salary with free healthcare and other benefits.
Now that Montgomery and Loudoun Counties are bending under the pressure of the illegal invasion, hopefully we can begin to establish policies to ensure that the past excesses that led to this problem will no longer be allowed or tolerated. Banks, lenders, landlords, and employers need to be punished for their misdeeds whenever possible.
How ironic that the the cheap and ample supply of illegal labor, purported by some to be the engine that has been driving our economy, seems to be leading to it’s demise.
In the U.S….”We the People”…own our country (our house). Just like any home owners….we should be able to determine….who and how many people we “invite” into our house. We do this via the legal immigration process (which is by far one of the most generous processes in the world). No one has a “right” to come into our house uninvited! Period.
Greg,
As you well know I spend my time taking many around our neighborhoods. Dolph and I have been on field trip or two together, but she is one of many. There are some that I’ve taken that wish to remain anonymous. I would NEVER reveal their names. I of course know who they are because I’ve taken them to some of the “hot spots” shall we say.
I did miss quite a bit while I was out of commission. I was grateful for help. On a more positive note I also missed all of those new Neighborhood Watch signs on every street in WestGate Apts/Townhouses. Watch for more streets to join in the NW’s in WestGate and Sudley.
Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crime, diminishing resources, Diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, underground economic, fraudulent documents, identity thief, tax invasion, soaring crime rate, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, inadequate health care, the balkanization of our communities and a large and growing population with loyally to other Nations, the overall decline in our quality of life are the result of unconstrained illegal immigration! America cannot accept the worlds population of other Nations Criminals, Undesirables and Uneducated Peons. Too many people chasing too few resources is not sound economic, social or cultural policy. This is not racism but pragmatism & common sense! Every industrialized nation has taken steps to end illegal immigration and to limit legal immigration to only that which is prudent, demonstrably necessary, and above all other concerns, in the best interest of their native population. Its insane to suggest that America should not do likewise!
The illegal invasion can only be understood by the corrupting influence on politicians of money for cheap labor for the Republicans or the Welfare votes for the Democrats that makes them dishonor their Oath of Office, the US Constitution against Invasion, and Enforcement of our Immigration Laws!
The House Analogy….
Your house
1. You have only so much food and water in your house.
2. You have only so many bedrooms and other living spaces in your house.
If you allowed people to continously come into your house without leaving here is what would happen:
1. Your food would run out. Your water would run out.
2. Your house would start becoming overcrowded and dirty and suffer massive wear and tear.
3. The people in your house would suffer from unhealthy living conditions due to overpopulation.
4. Your home’s infrastructure…furniture, walls, structures, etc. would soon collapse due to the excessive wear and tear.
5. Soon…you would have no house.
This is no different than our country. Our country is our “house” on a larger scale. So please people….we must be good stewards with what we have and we must use our legal process to slow down the influx of people coming into our house. That is why the process takes TIME…because it allows our house to adjust.
Greg:
While saying we disagree on nearly every other issue is an understatement, you hit the nail on the head with this one.
As my husband and I read this story last night from the paper, we asked ourselves several questions:
#1 - How come an ILLEGAL immigrant can get a mortgage?? No tax ID, no paperwork, no nothing…..and yet he is handed a 200K mortgage on a landscaper’s salary? We immediately envisioned an overcrowded townhouse open to at least 3 families “renting” from him to make the monthly payment.
#2 - What about the immigrant community’s involvement in marketing these subprime loans and their involvement in circumnavigating the law and good business practices? Seems as if a lot of them duped their own and made it back to wherever they came from with a nice fat check - in turn sticking it to their own and everyone else. Why no mention of them? THAT is a story that needs telling
#3 - Why are we presented with the plight of a man and his family who have no right to be here (in the US)? What about Joe Schmoe who has seen his/her neighborhood turned into swiss cheese because of all the foreclosures? Joe’s housing value drop like a lead balloon? Joe’s neighborhood now full of empty homes (or soon to be) - homes that are prone to vandalism, squatters and decay? In my small development we went from an over population of white vans, lawn-care trucks, homes that WERE nice transformed into worn, multi-housing duplexes….to….vacated homes left in shambles and unable to be sold leaving those remaining watch those properties decay as time goes on. Why no talk of the people who still remain in these neighborhoods? You know, the people who didn’t bite off more than they could chew and still pay their mortgage?
There is a second round of foreclosures yet to come as another round of ARMs re-adjust in May - what is next? An “In Memorium” column dedicated to the vacating illegal immigrant community of PWC? The tragic loss of pupuserias detailed ad nausieum? The “loss” of such landmarks like El Mercado Hispanio and La Herradura off 28?? Boo friggin hoo…
More attention needs to be paid to the people who live here, and have lived here instead of focusing on those who literally got off the boat and are now moving on to greener pastures because, well…they can and don’t give a damn.
Bottom-line:
1. Illegal aliens that got any kind of mortgage and foreclosed….TOO BAD! It was their “choice”.
2. Businesses that set up to cater to the illegal alien market that are losing business or have gone out of business….TOO BAD! It was their “choice”.
The Patriot (Got E-Verify?) said on 24 Mar 2008 at 8:59 am:
Let’s be honest people! While a LEGAL citizen has to go through a monstrous amount of paperwork and thorough “background/credit checks” to get a loan…how many of the hispanics that foreclosed went through this process? Or, were they given a “free pass” by their hispanic realtors? Hmmm….little conflict of interest maybe?
It is past time that someone “in the know” and has the resources to begin checking out those who gave out the no paperwork, no money down, no ID check loans and make them pay for their criminal activity. It should not be hard to trace back those who completed these transactins and have them answer for it.
Paul Nichols had a bill that required proof of legal presence before a mortgage could be granted, the House leadership (Bill Howell) would not release the bill from the rules Committee for a vote…it would have stopped illegals from getting a mortgage and then walking away after 6 months when they couldn’t/wouldn’t pay the mortgage.
I think that a similar bill should be introduced again next session. Senator Colgan has shown he is a proponent of enforcing the law. Maybe Dolph or one of his other more strident supporters could contact him and request that he take action here? I’m sure we can all agree on this issue; people should have to prove some sort of legal status in this country before they can purchase a home or property.
It might be good for him to conduct some legal due dilligence so that this bill doesn’t conflict with any federal laws, as the last one did.
A bill like that sounds good, but there’s a problem…it would also eliminate foreign investment. That’s getting into an area involving international politics and economics, and would most likely violate some Federal law or another.
Never any mention about those of us who are upside down now because of all these vultures packing up and leaving and causing our values to hit the floor. Manassas Park still seems to be under the impression that my house is valued at 2005 values judging by my latest assessment. I will be filling out a form to refute this bill and will not pay it even if it costs me my home. I’ll toss them the keys and tell them to enjoy. People need to make a stand against this kind of tyranny.
It truly is criminal that they sent me this bill and have the gall to claim that loss in value due to foreclosures is not taken into effect. Like hell it’s not. This town and its government are an abomination to mankind. It is so sad to see what has happened here and how such a teeny little town could have so many foreclosures. That’s probably 20% of the town’s entire home numbers in foreclosure. Anyone know where to find how many homes are in the town? It would also be very interesting to go through all of those foreclosed homes and generate some data on who the realtors were, who the mortgage companies were, which banks gave the loans, etc and try to find out the biggest culprits. I would love to do this is I had access to the data. I could then maybe get a class action lawsuit arranged for the rest of us left in the town to sue the company, the owners and the banks for every penny they are worth.
Opposing illegal immigration does not make a person racist. It just means the person favors upholding the rule of law, as it is. Since the law should apply equally to a Lithuanian as to a Mexican, the law is not racist, nor does it discriminate because of national origin. Some of the proposals to fix illegal immigration are discriminatory, however - usually against the Lithuanian!
There are many, upstanding, good people who come here from other countries (including many people from Spanish speaking lands) who wait their turn in line to receive green cards and become Americans. I hate to hear anyone disparage Hispanics, but I don’t think a lot of people on this board or other boards really do that. They seem focused on people who have presumably broken at least one law by entering the country by stealth.
There is no doubt that overflowing housing have become an issue in many areas. Drive the zoning enforcement people nuts until they crack down on the landlord. Pester your Supervisor. If you see cleanliness type violations, make a health department complaint. Make several. I hate being the pain in the butt neighbor, but I’m willing to do it, as are many people in my neighborhood. In many places, you may have no more than four or some similar number of unrelated people in a house. Trash cannot pile up. Cars cannot be parked on the grass. If you see violations or what looks like violations, drive the County inspectors nuts until they look into the situation and resolve it. We had a nuisance house in our neighborhood, but it is a nuisance no more. The landlord was actually as innocent as he can be (I think you are never resolved of responsibility for property you own) - he had rented to two people. Six people moved in. (They were not Hispanics, either. They were white.) They parked cars on the lawn, they didn’t mow the lawn, and they didn’t take out the trash. No matter who it is, those in neighborhoods that end up with “that house” can pester officials until they get off their butts and do something. They will do their jobs eventually. They get sick of the calls. The house now has new, responsible occupants. The old ones were tossed out on the street as soon as the complaint was made known to the landlord.
As far as foreclosures, where I live most of them have been against foreign homeowners from Asia. A lot of them barely speak English. I don’t know what they do for a living with limited English. A few of them seem dressed for restaurant work, which doesn’t fit with owning a house that sold for over a million dollars. They probably got taken advantage of by shady mortgage lenders catering to their immigrant community. These people moved a bunch of relatives and distant relatives in - at least they tend to walk and have bicycles instead of piling up cars - but they still couldn’t make the payments and we started seeing pathetic “must sell this house” flyers, sometimes written in rather halting English. What puzzles me is why they just didn’t buy what they could afford in the first place, like most of us would? There were many cheaper houses around of similar size. Again, though, there is a sucker born every minute. The trick is not to be one, no matter who you are or where you come from.
Anonymous said on 23 Mar 2008 at 9:13 pm:
A very tragic story Ari Stotle. I just have a question. I am confused by the chronology.
Eastern Europeans heard rumors of horror about Hitler’s Army in the early 1900’s but the Holocaust didn’t actually occur until 1933 to 1945. In the early 1900’s immigration in to the U.S. was much more stringent compared to today. American’s wanted assurance that their own needs would be met before considering the needs of immigrants and American leaders made it a priority to take care of their own first.
As Freedom has pointed out, we have become so absorbed with political correctness in our Nation, that instead we turned a blind eye until the over crowding of schools and hospital emergency rooms could no longer be ignored.
If Theodore Roosevelt gave this specific speech today, our society would want to flog him publicly calling him a racist and a bigot.
There can be no divided allegiance here. . .
We have room for but one language here,
and that is the English language,
for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans,
of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding-house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty,
and that is loyalty to the American people.
January 13th, 1919
If an immigrant is not fit to become a citizen, he should not be allowed to come here. if he is fit, he should be given all the rights to earn his own livelihood, and to better himself, that any man can have.
(Before Knights of Columbus, New York City, October 12, 1915.)
http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/tr%20web%20book/TR_CD_to_HTML280.html
Harry said on 24 Mar 2008 at 1:05 pm:
Paul Nichols had a bill that required proof of legal presence before a mortgage could be granted, the House leadership (Bill Howell) would not release the bill from the rules Committee for a vote…
I expected this bill to make it. Utterly ridiculous that it failed.
Completely OT….Not to be picky but…
“Eastern Europeans heard rumors of horror about Hitler’s Army in the early 1900’s but the Holocaust didn’t actually occur until 1933 to 1945.”
Hitler didn’t have an army until he took control of the German government in 1933, and even then it was the Wehrmacht, not the SS. The German troops in WWI were not Nazis. First there was the SA, Sturmabteilung the “brown shirts” who propulgated Kristalnacht and were all-in-all neighborhood/local thugs who harassed communists, Jews, gypsies and other so-called “undesirables.” Hitler did away with them in the late 1930s (Night of the Long Knives) because he was prepping for war and wanted his own personal security unit/elite military corps - the SS.
The Holocaust did not begin in 1933. The Holocaust began with WWII. Now while the Nazis were practicing with eugenics (forced sterilizations, termination of the mentally ill, etc), they didn’t begin killing wholesale - as in the holocaust with box cars of families sent to death - until 1941 after Der Wansee Conferenz (The Wansee Conference) where the “final solution” was put into place.
Your chronology is still off.
To LBM:
Why not come to the Help Save Manassas meeting Wednesday night and put your questions to Congressman Frank Wolf’s staffer.
I guess Frank is tied up in Darfur or Sierra Leone or some place that’s more important than his district, and can’t make it.
jfk,
I urge you to contact Senator Colgan’s office and talk to him about what you want done. From what I understand, he is very approachable. I think you might feel better after you talk to him about what happened with that other bill.
~~splash~~
Ari Stotle, there appears to be quite a bit of confusion still in what you are writing. Do you really mean to suggest Hitler (born 1889) had an army in the early 1900s? You repeat early 1900s twice so it seems you might. Hitler served *in* the army in World War I, but as LBM mentioned didn’t take power until 1933. Auschwitz, which you brought up, wasn’t in operation until the 1940s.
On immigration, actually immigration in the early 1900s was far less stringent than today. Essentially there was open immigration until the start of the 1920s and the passage of a quota act in 1921 and a more comprehensive immigration act in 1924. TR made the speeches you quote at a time of open immigration.
I’m no historian, but I can tell you that the woman who spoke at Citizen’s Time that accused me of being a racist (which I am not), has been identified as the founder of a blog called antibvbl. End of story.
Oh, you must mean Alana Almeda, the same woman behind removestirrup.com, and the same woman who claimed Patty was a racist even though she’s married to an immigrant.
What a piece of work she is. No surprise she’s found some reason to attack you. I think Rush refers to these types as “Donner Party Democrats”, although I doubt she’s in any danger of starving. She looks about ready to hibernate.
park’d said on 24 Mar 2008 at 3:37 pm:
It truly is criminal that they sent me this bill and have the gall to claim that loss in value due to foreclosures is not taken into effect.
http://www.cityofmanassaspark.us/Public_Documents/ManassasParkVA_Assessor/Residential_Sales_Considered_for_2008_AVs.pdf
I bet 9264 Kristy gets foreclosed a second time. It lost $77K in value the first time.