Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7470
6A – Daily News – Wednesday, March 3, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Opinion It's frightening, if you want to know the truth. I speak of the reversal of for- tunes in the housing market. Research firm First American CoreLogic reported last week that 24 percent of all homes with mortgages -- some 11.3 million - - are underwater, worth less than what their owners owe on them. Home sales are tanking, too. New home sales plummeted unexpectedly in January to their lowest level in 50 years. I witnessed -- and successful- ly avoided -- the housing bubble firsthand. In 2001, before the 9/11 tragedy, I nearly bought a half-duplex just outside Old Town, Alexandria, Va., for $165,000. The owner was eager to sell - - there were no lines of people outbidding each other yet -- but I wasn't sure if I'd be staying in the Washington, D.C. area, so I passed. I had no idea that just a few years later, interest rates would sink - that easy money would be everywhere and aggressive mortgage firms would use all kinds of gimmicks to qualify anyone for a massive loan. Boy, did the easy money cause housing prices to soar. A property nearly identical to the one I almost bought for $165,000 in 2001 sold for $465,000 in 2005 -- an increase of $300,000 in only four years! The Washington Post report- ed on a new phenomenon that year: Housing envy. Suddenly, people who worked side by side, making the same incomes, became envious of those who had bought homes early in the bubble. Suddenly, one person was $300,000 richer -- on paper, anyhow -- than his co-worker who'd bought at the peak of the bubble or was still renting. Pretty soon, all kinds of "smart," educated people were jumping into the housing mar- ket. I knew one couple of mod- est means who borrowed $400,000 to buy a rental in a rough area, convinced they'd make a $100,000 profit in only one year - they surely lost a bun- dle when the bubble burst. My gut told me the end of the boom was near. I did some research into the D.C. housing market. I discovered a bubble had formed and burst there only one decade before. I spoke with one retired fel- low who'd been burned in that 1980s frenzy. In 1987, he and his wife tapped their life savings to take out mortgages on five con- dos. He paid $115,000 for each -- unaware he'd bought at the bubble's peak. In 1999, years after the bubble had burst, each unit was worth only $90,000. He was underwater by some $125,000 on all five mortgages. I decided to flee the insanity of the D.C. market and head back to Pittsburgh, a much smaller, slower-growing market that was not experiencing an irrational housing boom. I bought a modest condo, my second property here, for less than it was worth. It needed work, but I knew it would make a good rental unit in time. I took on a mortgage I could comfort- ably pay off in 15 years. A few years later, I rented it out and bought a third property, applying the same strategy. When the housing bubble burst in D.C. and other large metros across the country, I was sitting pretty in Pittsburgh. All three properties were worth more than I owed on them. The Pittsburgh housing market is one of few to be growing in value. And I have a won- derful hedge to weather an inflation- ary cycle that may be brought on by exces- sive government spending. In any event, if my story doesn't frighten you, it should. If I, a lousy Eng- lish major, anticipated the hous- ing bust before most experts did, what does that tell you about our experts? Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. So called expert advice on housing market Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Tom Purcell STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials Health care hoax Editor: I wonder if Bernice Cressy has a radio or a television? She claims, in her letter published Feb. 25, that the reported Anthem Blue Cross rate increase is just a hoax. If it is a hoax, why did the CEO of Wellpoint, Anthem's parent company, testify before Congress that the rate increase was justified and would take effect? Why is the California State Insurance Commissioner demanding that Anthem justify the increase? The only person using scare tactics and false facts to influence voters is Ms.Cressy. Robert Wilkinson, Cottonwood Candidate not a good choice Editor: Recently we have learned that Dan R. Irving. has elected to run for the position of Superior Court Judge, and he now has a Web site promoting himself, his experience and qualifications. The readers will note that there is a younger Dan Irving who practices law in Tehama County, but that all references in this letter are to the elder Dan Irving. I have practiced law in Red Bluff since 1973 and I take great exception to Dan Irving's claims of competence and qualification for the position of judge. On Aug. 28, 2001, a judgment for legal malpractice was obtained against Mr. Irving in the amount of $707,297 plus court costs of $4081.08 in the case of Grissom vs Irving, Tehama County Superi- or Court No. 44698. It was subse- quently discovered that Mr. Irving and his wife had, on Jan. 16, 2001, executed a deed conveying the interest in the office building where Dan Irving practiced to his wife as her sole and separate prop- erty. Two weeks before the malprac- tice trial was to begin, Mr. Irving and his wife, Sandra, signed a trust agreement known as the Irving Trust dated March 7, 2001, and on that same date a trust transfer deed was executed by Sandra Irving conveying the interest in the office building to that trust. That deed was prepared by Daniel Irving. The transfer of the office build- ing into the trust was not discov- ered until after the malpractice judgment was entered. Thereafter, a second lawsuit was filed against Mr. Irving seeking to set aside that transfer as fraudulent, but before that case came to trial, Mr. Irving filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 10, 2002. That fraudulent conveyance lawsuit was removed to the bank- ruptcy court. At the conclusion of that bankruptcy action, Judge Richard Ford issued his Conclu- sions of Law which began: "The transfer of the office building from Dan Irving and San- dra Irving to Sandra Irving in Jan- uary of 2001 was a fraudulent transfer. It was made with the actu- al intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors. The transfer of the office building from Sandra Irving to Sandra Irving and Dan Irving in March of 2001 was a fraudulent transfer. It was made with the actu- al intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors. Both of these transfers are avoided and set aside." Judge Ford's Conclusions of Law continue for some four pages and contains findings that: the transfer of the 1998 Windstar from Dan Irving to Sandra Irving was a fraudulent transfer that the transfer of the Tehama Bank savings account from Dan Irving to Sandra Irving was a fraudulent transfer, that the transfer of the Wells Fargo personal checking account from Dan Irving to Sandra Irving was a fraudulent transfer, that the transfer of the Mid Valley Bank building checking account from Dan and Sandra Irving to Sandra Irving and the specific transfer of $2,500 was a fraudulent transfer and that the transfer of monthly rental payments on the Queen Ann Property from the personal check- ing account at Wells Fargo Bank in the name of Dan Irving and San- dra Irving to Sandra Irving and the new account she opened at Mid- Valley Bank was a fraudulent transfer. The documents that are refer- enced are all public records. If you would like to review them a copy will be available at my office. I submit that an attorney Dan Irving is not qualified to be elected as a Superior Court Judge. Dennis Albright, Red Bluff Walmart should sue protesters Editor: There are more people for the Walmart Super Store than against it. The few people against it are against all progress and contin- ue to hinder all progress. Walmart should bring legal against those that continue bringing these frivolous law suits against its progress. Enough is enough. Charles Richardson, Gerber Enough Moyer Editor: I agree with Mr. Moyer's let- ter that Enough is enough. I have read more than enough of his whining about local residents exercising their Constitutional rights in their lawsuits against the city for what appears to be, in their minds, illegal gov- ernance by the city council. Per- haps he wishes he were king, so he could simply declare, "Off with their heads." The council isn't always right or thinking clearly. For exam- ple, the Villa Pointe subdivision at the north end of Mill Street has 12 No Parking signs that prevent residents from parking on the streets in front of their own homes. Why? Because the streets are too narrow for a fire engine to get by if vehicles are parked on both sides of the street. How was a developer allowed by the council to build these much too narrow streets? I do not know any of the res- idents of Villa Pointe, nor any of the Walmart litigants, but I believe they deserve to have their situations respected. My own complaint is not against Walmart, but against the council for permitting Wal- mart to build in a residential area instead of on the outlying areas of the city as Home Depot did. Bernard J. Gleason, Red Bluff Your Turn