1
What began as limited exploration into a small example of possible mortgage fraud in Chicagoland has spiralled out formidable leviathanic tentacles now taking residence across two walls of my hotel room. I've looked progressively more pale and bewildered every time I venture out for sustenance, always stopping by the front desk to re-confirm that housekeeping will not touch my room. I ran out of clean towels yesterday. They probably think I'm cooking meth.
Read More
In nearly five months of driving highways and byways across the country, "Going Out of Business" signs have seemed a standard element of the modern American landscape. I barely notice them anymore, even those hued in sense-shocking shades of florescent with four-foot letters screaming "EVERYTHING MUST GO!". At the 243 T-junction entering Osceola, Wisconsin, I make an uncharacteristically complete stop as my mind demands processing time for the unusual sight of a "Grand Opening" banner.
Read More
Tracts of pale amber grass run like jagged scars down the mountainside, cutting through spruce and fir forests that otherwise paint the landscape southwest of Lolo, Montana a deep shade of evergreen. Two weeks ago, creditors filed foreclosure papers against the project once touted to become the nation's largest ski resort. Though disinclined to take pleasure in a local family's misfortune, many residents of Lolo are quietly rejoicing at the failure of the Bitterroot Resort.
Read More
In doing advance research about foreclosures in Bend, Oregon, I happened across local news coverage of a most absurd housing development. A planned community with Old World architectural detailing designed to resemble a Lord of the Rings hobbit village, the Shire represents a prime example of irrational excesses that an untrammeled housing market can nurture. I intended to take pictures of the now bankrupt and foreclosed development so I could write a post ridiculing those behind its creation, until I learned one of them had committed suicide.
Read More
"People have tried to bribe me. I've been threatened, both verbally and with a gun," real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells me, recounting the heady days of the Pacific Northwest's housing boom, when unscrupulous loan originators in places like Bend, Oregon would aggressively demand his work confirm a dictated appraisal value, often many tens of thousands above the actual market value. In Hagar's view, "This recession we're in was triggered by loan fraud. That's the end of it."
Read More
The paved drive turns off Colbert Road--its surface unblemished by any cracks, its curbs as pale and pristine as the day a hot Florida sun dried the cement. Elaborate landscaping--albeit somewhat overgrown--frames the entrance to a short bridge embellished with decorative siderails designed to resemble hand-forged wrought-iron latticework. Crossing over the drainage culvert leads to...nothing.
Read More
Results tagged “real estate”
What began as limited exploration into a small example of possible mortgage fraud in Chicagoland has spiralled out formidable leviathanic tentacles now taking residence across two walls of my hotel room. I've looked progressively more pale and bewildered every time I venture out for sustenance, always stopping by the front desk to re-confirm that housekeeping will not touch my room. I ran out of clean towels yesterday. They probably think I'm cooking meth.
Read More
Read More
In doing advance research about foreclosures in Bend, Oregon, I happened across local news coverage of a most absurd housing development. A planned community with Old World architectural detailing designed to resemble a Lord of the Rings hobbit village, the Shire represents a prime example of irrational excesses that an untrammeled housing market can nurture. I intended to take pictures of the now bankrupt and foreclosed development so I could write a post ridiculing those behind its creation, until I learned one of them had committed suicide.Read More
"People have tried to bribe me. I've been threatened, both verbally and with a gun," real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells me, recounting the heady days of the Pacific Northwest's housing boom, when unscrupulous loan originators in places like Bend, Oregon would aggressively demand his work confirm a dictated appraisal value, often many tens of thousands above the actual market value. In Hagar's view, "This recession we're in was triggered by loan fraud. That's the end of it."Read More
The paved drive turns off Colbert Road--its surface unblemished by any cracks, its curbs as pale and pristine as the day a hot Florida sun dried the cement. Elaborate landscaping--albeit somewhat overgrown--frames the entrance to a short bridge embellished with decorative siderails designed to resemble hand-forged wrought-iron latticework. Crossing over the drainage culvert leads to...nothing. Read More
« Previous 1 Next »
