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THE DREAM ENDANGERED - Many Immigrants Who Prospered in the Boom Now Face Crisis
The WaPo ^ | May 23, 2009 | Alejandro Lazo

Posted on 05/23/2009 3:32:50 PM PDT by sinanju

"Oscar Arias saw in the real estate boom an opportunity to retire home to Nicaragua a wealthy man after fleeing the Sandinistas with nothing to his name in the 1980s.

He spent years in the United States toiling as a dishwasher, a chef and a construction worker. In 2001, he founded a residential and commercial renovation company, Potomac Restoration, out of his Woodbridge home. He bought two additional houses during the boom and planned to sell them and return to Nicaragua with a nice cushion, he said.

But the housing bust has left the 54-year-old on the brink of ruin. He has worked only a month this year. Two of the houses he bought during the boom are facing foreclosure. Unpaid bills pile up in his living room office.

Hispanic immigrants such as Arias benefited broadly from the construction boom and rising home values, which created jobs and nurtured flourishing local economies. Newcomers flocked to places such as Prince William County in search of well-paying, easy-to-find construction jobs. Established immigrants found work as real estate agents and loan officers, founded construction companies, and opened restaurants and retail shops catering to the influx. Now many are facing the consequences of the bust."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; US: District of Columbia; US: Maryland; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: economy; hispanics; immigrants
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I hate to bring a skunk to this three-hankie weeper, but someone from around here has to point out that many of these fine, upstanding immigrant entrepreneurs seemed to specialize in the grayer areas of real-estate and construction.

In my experience, most of the illegal-alien flophouses are owned and operated by immigrants, I personally know two and business is no longer booming for them. Same goes for the people they hire for their projects.

1 posted on 05/23/2009 3:32:50 PM PDT by sinanju
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To: sinanju
In 2001, he founded a residential and commercial renovation company, Potomac Restoration, out of his Woodbridge home. He bought two additional houses during the boom and planned to sell them and return to Nicaragua with a nice cushion, he said.

Obviously..., he watched far too much late night TV and bought in to the "American Dream" of buying and flipping homes to the next "Greater Fool"! I know a few of those folks as well....

2 posted on 05/23/2009 3:40:44 PM PDT by ExSES (the "bottom-line")
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To: sinanju

It is tough on everybody when the democrats utterly, maliciously, and intentionally destroy the US economy.


3 posted on 05/23/2009 3:40:52 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember (Chains you can believe in.)
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To: sinanju
I have ZERO sympathy for the criminals who broke into our home, got food, medical, cash assistance, tuition, and dropped their foreign babies on our doorstep to partake of what we all worked hard all our lives to gain. With the Constitution now being used as Charmin', thes a-holes think they should get sympathy? We taxpayers are being raped repeatedly by the socialists to buy the votes of illegals and to make their life pleasant, and they are nothing but criminal trespassers.

America, you are no longer the land of the Free and the home of the Brave.

4 posted on 05/23/2009 3:42:23 PM PDT by traditional1 ("Don't gots to worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gots to buy no gas...Obama take care o' me!")
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To: ExSES

The article does not spell out just how “overleveraged” Senor Arias was, but it must have been considerable. The trouble is, everyone’s an expert during the boom times but quite a few saw the end coming. I’m guessing the part about wanting to wait to sell the properties to his sons kept him waiting too long.


5 posted on 05/23/2009 3:45:37 PM PDT by sinanju
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To: sinanju
most of the illegal-alien flophouses are owned and operated by immigrants, I personally know two and business is no longer booming for them. Same goes for the people they hire for their projects.

Bingo.


6 posted on 05/23/2009 3:48:30 PM PDT by bill1952 (Power is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: sinanju
I’m guessing the part about wanting to wait to sell the properties to his sons kept him waiting too long.

Whatever the reason..., he stayed too long at the party (as did thousands of others...)!

7 posted on 05/23/2009 3:49:45 PM PDT by ExSES (the "bottom-line")
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To: traditional1

I guess Obama will be rolling out the illegal alien bailout billions very soon.


8 posted on 05/23/2009 3:51:18 PM PDT by Bullish ( Reality is the best cure for delusion.)
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To: traditional1

I guess Obama will be rolling out the illegal alien bailout billions very soon.


9 posted on 05/23/2009 3:52:11 PM PDT by Bullish ( Reality is the best cure for delusion.)
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To: sinanju

He banked on the good times continuing to roll, and lost. So have millions of other people, the majority of whom are not Hispanic, immigrant or minority, and therefore apparently unworthy of note by such publications.


10 posted on 05/23/2009 3:52:51 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Bullish

Hmmm.. Double post.

I guess it can’t be said enough.


11 posted on 05/23/2009 3:53:06 PM PDT by Bullish ( Reality is the best cure for delusion.)
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To: sinanju

“In 2001, he founded a residential and commercial renovation company,”

...in 2001, he found a way to scam the system. Now, in 2009, as is the case with most swindlers, he’s broke. He gambled, he leveraged, he lost. So what?! Let’s have an article about the people that came back from “financial ruin”. Of course, that’s becoming more difficult in our new Marxist government.


12 posted on 05/23/2009 3:53:15 PM PDT by albie
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To: sinanju

Mr. Arias may be a fine fellow. However, he isn’t a financial genius. If he’d not gotten greedy, he wouldn’t have any problems right now. From the article:

He refinanced his first house to buy the second in 2003 for $220,000, and refinanced the second to buy a third for $400,000 in 2006. He had planned to sell them all — perhaps to his sons — and then return to Nicaragua or perhaps settle in Florida for retirement. His debt load did not initially concern him, as he had no trouble making his payments.

Then the work dried up.


13 posted on 05/23/2009 3:53:22 PM PDT by cpanter
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To: sinanju

Immigrant bailout next?


14 posted on 05/23/2009 3:53:36 PM PDT by NotSoModerate
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To: bill1952

“Remodelation”?!


15 posted on 05/23/2009 3:54:03 PM PDT by albie
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To: traditional1
I have ZERO sympathy for the criminals who broke into our home, got food, medical, cash assistance, tuition, and dropped their foreign babies on our doorstep to partake of what we all worked hard all our lives to gain.

While I share your sentiments..., I recall the words of a Border Patrol Agent I used to work with... He often commented, "Somehow.., I think I am in the wrong profession! We should be allowed to DEPORT TWO WORTHLESS CITIZENS IN EXCHANGE FOR MOST OF THE ALIENS I APPREHEND!!!

Bottom-line..., our entire immigration system is royally screwed-up due to liberal PC politicians and the judges they confirm!

16 posted on 05/23/2009 3:58:31 PM PDT by ExSES (the "bottom-line")
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To: sinanju

Zoning is a foreign word to illegal aliens.


17 posted on 05/23/2009 4:00:32 PM PDT by donna (Gasoline usage: Demand dropped 9.6% in 2008; total decline from 2005 thru 2008 was 28%)
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To: sinanju
He spent years in the United States toiling as a dishwasher, a chef and a construction worker. In 2001, he founded a residential and commercial renovation company, Potomac Restoration, out of his Woodbridge home. He bought two additional houses during the boom and planned to sell them and return to Nicaragua with a nice cushion

No intent to become an American and help in the building of this country - just come in and suck up as much wealth as possible and take it back to his REAL home. How in the HELL can anyone support people like this? Sorry it didn't work out Oscar (cough) but don't let the door . . .

18 posted on 05/23/2009 4:06:16 PM PDT by Oatka ("A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." –Bertrand de Jouvenel)
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To: sinanju
Nothing new here.
People have been making fortunes and losing fortunes in this country from day one.

That is the chance you take when you take a risk.

19 posted on 05/23/2009 4:12:47 PM PDT by PALIN SMITH (Show them our respectable contempt!)
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To: sinanju
Oscar milked the system to get rich. He probably laughed at us poor fools who stayed in ONE house and paid it off.

I don't feel sorry for him.

I do have sympathy for my young relative who has a Toddler, just lost her job this month while her professional husband has been unemployed for 6 months.

Both of them are College Grads, played by the rules and are buying ONE house. They weren't over extended. Neither of them saw their lay offs coming.

What happened to their birth right American Dream?

sw

20 posted on 05/23/2009 4:12:53 PM PDT by spectre (Spectre's wife)
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