Would You Pay $103,000 for This Arizona Fixer-Upper?

http://online.wsj.com ^ | JANUARY 3, 2009, | MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

[Para-Ord.45]

he story of the two-bedroom, one-bath shack on West Hopi Street, is the story of this year's financial panic, told in 576 square feet. It helps explain how a series of bad decisions can add up to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Less than two years ago, Integrity Funding LLC, a local lender, gave a $103,000 mortgage to the owner, Marvene Halterman, an unemployed woman with a long list of creditors and, by her own account, a long history of drug and alcohol abuse.

For a $350 fee, an appraiser hired by Integrity, Michael T. Asher, valued the house at $132,000. Mr. Asher says although he didn't personally believe the house was worth that much, he followed standard procedures and found like-sized homes nearby that had sold in that price range in 2006.

[Para-Ord.45]

Tried but posting a pic I always end up with the lil` red X.

That what they call irrational exuberance ?

[ConorMacNessa]

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Riodacat]

In order for all this to have taken place, it required 2 types of people - the greedy and the stupid.
In the U.S. we apparently have an unlimited suppy of both...

[GeronL]

crazy dimwits will bankrupt the country

[RushingWater]

[Larry Lucido]

Hey, location, location, location!

(There IS an ocean nearby, right?)

[rabscuttle385]

The company was owned by Barry Rybicki, 37, a former loan officer who started it in 2003. Of the boom years, he says: "If you had a pulse, you were getting a loan."

No wonder Queeg voted for the bailout...someone's got to pay for all the debts of "God's children"!

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[JRandomFreeper]

I love what she's done with the yard.

/johnny

[1rudeboy]

Mr. Rybicki gave up his mortgage-banking license in September. He now works for a venture-capital firm.

Oh fer cryin' out loud.

[rabscuttle385]

*Ping!*

[rabscuttle385]

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[martin_fierro]

Looks like a little fixer-upper in Hollister, CA.

For about $200,000.

[txhurl]

More of a burner-downer than a fixer-upper.

[Rebelbase]

“Mr. Asher says although he didn’t personally believe the house was worth that much, he followed standard procedures and found like-sized homes nearby that had sold in that price range in 2006.”

Translation: Value met to satisfy loan and keep client.

[SweetCaroline]

Do you live in Hollister CA?

I have a sister who lives there.

[Hot Tabasco]

Fixer-upper my butt! That’s a dilapidated tool shed.......I’ve seen better diggs built from cardboard under expressway overpasses.

[tet68]

(There IS an ocean nearby, right?)

I think it’s the road frontage.

Potential commercial, quaint home could be made into office or crack house with drive through. Has CHA and special
laminated wood windows. Financing available.

[Gondring]

I think the following is important and within excerpt limits:

T.J. Heagy, a real-estate agent later hired to sell the property, says he can find only one comparable house that sold nearby in 2007, for $63,000.

At closing, on Feb. 26, 2007, Integrity collected $6,153 in underwriting, broker, loan-origination, document, application, processing, funding and flood-certification fees, mortgage documents show. A few days later, Integrity transferred the loan to Wells Fargo, earning $3,090 more, Mr. Rybicki says.

Kevin Waetke, of Wells Fargo Home & Consumer Finance Group, said in a written statement that "it appears that the appraisal ... confirms that the property values were fully supported at the time the loan closed."

Mr. Rybicki says neither he nor his loan officer ever saw the blue house. When shown a picture last month, he said: "Wow."

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

One can fit a lot of illegals in there. And the window treatments come with the house.

[BlessedBeGod]

Credit-ratings firms Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service gave the new security their top "triple-A" ratings, which suggested investors were extremely likely to get their money back plus interest.

S&P declined to explain its assessment. A Moody's spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment.

Good grief.