The death of Scottsdale…

Scottsdale is really dying out these days. The phenomenon is so noticeable that 944 Magazine asked me to write an article for their current May 2007 issue, attempting to explain why Scottsdale nightlife has really gone downhill so hard and so fast.

My theory, of course, is that everyone was living large on the money they were getting out of home equity loans. Now that the housing boom is over, prices are falling, and the Scottsdale homedebtors all have to start paying those loans back, the party’s over and the so-called Scottsdale “socialites” are flat broke.

A reader wrote in with his experience regarding this:

It is almost eerie in North Scottsdale these days. I don’t know if they can’t afford the gas anymore or what, but the streets are empty in the last 3-4 weeks compared to normal.I work in that hellhole and I haven’t had to wait in line for lunch in a month! My wife and I went to a popular restaurant in Scottsdale 2 weeks ago on a Saturday night for dinner – We had been there 2-3 times in the last 6 months and it was so packed, we either had to eat in the lounge or wait for an hour, even with a reservation.I called to make the reservation late on Saturday and still got a table at our desired time. When we arrived at 7pm, the place was deserted and remained that way for the hour and a half we stayed – I bet there were no more than 20 people in the whole place.We actually took our time and enjoyed our meal rather than wolf it down just to get out of there and away from those socially ignorant retards.I didn’t know a “quiet dinner” was something that still existed.

That said, with whatever happened in Scottsdale that keeps these common, low-life slobs at home – whether it is bankruptcy or pulling two shifts at the American Express call center to make ends meet, I am loving it – we have enjoyed many nice meals and shopping trips lately without the usual poser, backwards hat, no class, loud mouth scumbags ruining the evening for the rest of us.

I bet the rec rooms and pools at the apartment complexes in North Scottsdale have been jumpin’ though!! Let the jello shots roll!!!

In all fairness, Scottsdale nightlife isn’t COMPLETELY dead … it’s now full of punk-ass kids with backwards baseball caps and spiky hair, and those annoying white sissy suburban kids who always make gang symbols when getting their pictures taken … what the HELL is that all about?

What’s wrong with this picture?

This is from the McDowell Mountain Music Festival held at Westworld a couple of weekends ago.

Where are all the people?

Has Scottsdale become THAT broke now that their homes are worthless, not selling, and the endless home equity credit gravy train is over? Oh yeah, and that they now have to pay back all those home equity loans that paid for the BMWs, Escalades, Rolexes, and coke?

Apparently so.

A glimpe of Scottsdale beginning this year

Scottsdale’s housing bubble and the major crash that has already begun are the stuff of legends. There are even bloggers in the UK who have never even been to Arizona writing about what’s starting to happen in Scottsdale, it’s so bad and going to get so much worse.

Well, Denver had a similar bubble, which started a couple of years before Scottsdale’s, complete with the rampant mortgage fraud and “liar’s loans” that made the Scottsdale real estate boom possible in the first place. (Because, if you look at the REAL incomes and REAL credit scores of your average Scottsdale resident, there’s no way they could have bought the houses they now have with legitimate mortgages.)

And now they’re having their crash, the same crash that has begun in Scottsdale this year, 2007, and will continue to get worse over the rest of this year and next year.

Watch this video from the Denver Post for a glimpse of the “new Scottsdale” beginning now and worsening over the next couple of years.

And make no mistake about it … Scottsdale’s crash will be the biggest of any in America … remember, Scottsdale ranked #1 for the option-arm and liar’s loans that fueled the entire bubble and resulting crash.

One important clarification I’d like to make: This video paints a picture of the poor being the victims of foreclosure. In Scottsdale, you have a massive foreclosure wave coming, not due to the poor, but due to doctors and lawyers and realtors who make $100,000 a year but who live in $2 million homes that were “bought” on option-arm liar’s loans.

It’s the same thing … and no, I don’t feel sorry for any of them. Anyone who bought a big house out of vanity & ego, knowing full well that they were getting in over their heads, deserves foreclosure. Yes, the mortgage brokers who took part in this are scum, but in the end, it’s still your responsibility to read the contract and understand what you’re signing.

And if you can’t afford $1,000 to have a good lawyer review the contract and explain it to you, you shouldn’t be buying a house in the first place.

Socialism and the entitlement mentality … where is America headed?

I never intended this to become a political blog, but I just responded to a comment on another blog that really pissed me off. It’s from yet another American who has become infected with the entitlement mentality and is unknowingly buying into the idea of socialism, i.e. “we must all be our brother’s keeper.”

I thought it would be relevant here because, while living in Scottsdale, I saw a level of laziness and indifference among employed people that I’ve never seen anywhere else, not even while living in Las Vegas. In fact, one of the reasons I moved out of the area is that my business is growing quickly, and I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that I did not want to hire employees in Arizona, having seen how little anyone works there.

In any case, here’s that blog post and my comments following it … with Arizona and especially Scottsdale being taken over by liberals, I don’t expect many reading this blog to agree with me, but I feel it needs to be said:

Original Post: Why are American jobs being shutdown, boxed up, and moved overseas with a promise to “retrain you for a McJob” that pays minimum wage?

My comments: Because greed in America isn’t restricted to the rich. It covers all classes, especially the working class.

Why does an American web designer want to charge me $3,000 to create a website when I can have someone in India do it for $50, or better yet, buy a pre-made template for $50?

American automakers are going broke because of the scum unions that demand getting paid 4x what their jobs are worth, and the corrupt democrat blue states back unions and FORCE the automakers to bow down to them.

Why do American workers think they are entitled to automatic pay raises every year based on seniority, when they’re not producing any more than they did last year, not working any harder, and are not doing anything to DESERVE a pay raise? THAT, my friend, is pure evil GREED.

In my business I have thousands of American customers who buy a $97 product then DEMAND $1,000 in service and support because they believe they’re ENTITLED to it. Non-American customers do not pull this crap. They understand that they paid $97 and are only entitled to $97 worth of product and service.

When the American working class stops trying to RAPE their employers and businesses, and starts to get off their lazy asses and begin earning what they’re worth, maybe this screwed up economy will straighten itself out.

As for me, when I need to hire a programmer or someone else along those lines I’ll do it in India or Romania where I can get an over-qualified guy for $12,000 a year vs. an under-qualified American for $80,000 a year who will sue me for millions if I have to fire him for not doing his job.

What I miss about Scottsdale

We had a fun way to pass the time in Scottsdale that we don’t have here: Making fun of all the Scottsdale phonies, losers, and rejects.

Everyone is so normal here. Moving to Newport Beach, we really did expect at least some of the people to fit the Scottsdale mold, but that just isn’t the case. I guess after living in Scottsdale, you start to believe that any place with people in nice cars and big houses must be phony and pretentious, but it isn’t so.

Not that we’re complaining or anything. There’s plenty to do here other than the "nice shopping & restaurants" that Scottsdale has to offer. Meaning we don’t have empty time to kill, wasting away laughing at people. And we really love having human beings for neighbors, not the mindless trend-following zombies who surrounded us in Arizona.

But, Scottsdale people are DAMN funny … a public spectacle … gonna have to find some new comedy to replace it.

I’ve also noticed that I only see a few pairs of fake boobs per week here, compared to about a dozen per hour in Scottsdale.

Scottsdale, real estate, and blatant stupidity

Scottsdale real estate is not going to recover.

Why the bold statement? Because I’m sick of hearing from friends in Arizona that all of Scottsdale is still under the delusion that their houses will continue to rise in value. Some actually believe their homes will double or even triple in the next couple of years.

Umm … nope.

Scottsdale real estate (and the rest of Phoenix, for that matter) is in deep, deep trouble. Here’s why:

1. The massive Scottsdale real estate boom was fueled by easy credit. From 2005-2006, a majority of new mortgages were no documentation, no income verification, sub-prime or Alt-A loans (aka "Liar Loans"). As of today, most of the lenders who offered these risky loans have either stopped offering them, have filed for bankruptcy protection (due to thousands of Scottsdale phonies who can’t make their payments), or have shut down altogether.

Going forward, if you want a new mortgage, you’ll need to prove your income with W2s, 1099s, and/or certified copies of tax returns, and you’ll need excellent credit (720+ credit score). Unfortunately, few people in Scottsdale can meet those requirements, especially with the return of the 3x income approval process, meaning if you make $50,000, you can get a mortgage up to $150,000. If you make $100,000, you can get approved for $300,000 … and so on.

2. The appeal of moving to Scottsdale is gone. Even real estate agents will admit that the primary reason most people moved to Scottsdale in the first place was Scottsdale’s, and all of Arizona’s, relatively low cost of living. In other words, people moved to Scottsdale because it was cheap. Now that it’s not cheap anymore, there are plenty of better alternatives that cost the same or less. You can get a house in very nice parts of Orange County for the same price as an equivalent house in Scottsdale, and San Diego is even cheaper. And, surprisingly, Arizona’s taxes are just about as high as California now thanks to Arizona’s gradual takeover by liberals.

Not to mention all the hidden costs of living in Arizona – for example, by moving to California, my car insurance went down by $1,000 a year, and my car registration went down by $800 a year. That’s a lot of money. Cost of living is no longer a valid reason to live in Scottsdale. Neither is the "nice shopping & restaurants" argument that everyone seems to make when they can’t think of any other reason for living there!

Oh yeah, and the schools SUCK.

3. Scottsdale has no solid economic base. 30% of Scottsdale jobs are in real estate and related industries. Tourism accounts for another big chunk of Scottsdale’s economy, and since tourism is severely affected by tons of variables INCLUDING and ESPECIALLY a sudden takeaway of easy access to home equity credit, tourism is going to take a hard hit over the coming year.

There are certainly a lot of unskilled jobs available in the Phoenix area, but there is a notable lack of professional and executive level jobs, meaning people who have disposable income will not continue to move to the area, and many in those positions are bailing out.

4. No more easy home equity lines of credit. Most of the entertainment, shopping, dining, and other frivolous spending that took place over the last few years in Scottsdale was fueled by easy access to home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). How else could all those people making $30,000 a year drive Escalades and BMWs? 40% of automobiles purchased in the U.S. in 2006 were financed by HELOCs, meaning the number in Scottsdale is probably realistically well over 60%. Well, guess what? Easy access to HELOCs is GONE. No more play money. On top of that, people can’t pay them back. HELOCs are a total ripoff. Suze Orman has repeatedly pointed out that they’re even worse than credit card debt.

Those who are struggling to pay back HELOCs and who cannot "withdraw any more equity" – meaning go into deeper debt into HELOCs – no longer have play money to enjoy Scottsdale’s "nice shopping & restaurants" and the entire area economy suffers as a result.

Okay, that’s enough for now. This has turned into a long post. I’ll be back with plenty more to say on this soon….

Scottsdale to waste $2 million on “waterfront” stench problem

Attention Scottsdale taxpayers: Another two million dollars of your hard-earned tax money will be spent to attempt to eliminate the sewage stench from the Scottsdale “waterfront” project.

Of course, the “waterfront” title is a joke. The water is just an irrigation canal and some sewers, hence the odor.

Is the “leadership” of Scottsdale, and the developers who kiss their asses to get projects approved, so dumb that they actually put restaurants pretty much on open sewers?

Well, yes, they are. And now $2 million of YOUR money will now be spent to fix the problem. Which could’ve been avoided entirely if Scottsdale chose to be honest and not try to create a faux “waterfront” on the city’s sewage system.

Scottsdale, home of losers, desperados, and shysters

What is it about Scottsdale?

Why are all of the phonies, the ones who got rejected from other cities, living there?

Why is every shady shyster con-artist business in Scottsdale?

Why is every hard luck loser desperado in Scottsdale?

Why is every insecure wannabe with something to prove living in Scottsdale?

What is it about Scottsdale that attracts every kind of loser and reject from the rest of the United States?

Your comments are welcome and appreciated….

Funny comment from another blog

I found this comment posted on my favorite blog, HousingPanic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not a fan of those annoying New Yorkers who whine all day long that “everything is betta in New York” – the ones who say that all need to move back there and stop making the rest of us miserable – but this is still funny:

Only losers live/lived in Phoenix…I was born, raised and work in Manhattan the most competetive market in the US and one of the top in the world, and I have “top dogs” for breakfast, as you’re spanking the monkey trying to impress some second-rate manager/clerk in some bland Phoenix office park sweatbox.

Shills, W-2 grinders and mickey-mouse engineers on a budget only fool themselves that Phoenix is not a shithole for the lost American nomads/desperados.

Another Fashion Square burglary – where are the police?

Tourneau, the world-famous watch shop with a store in Fashion Square, has been burglarized today for the second time in less than a year. And let’s not forget the girl who was kidnapped at gunpoint at Fashion Square a few months ago.

So-called "safe" Scottsdale seems to have a problem, eh? I’ve been repeating again and again the fact that Scottsdale has an alarmingly high property crime rate with other crimes on the rise. Crime has been on an upward trend for several years now.

Why?

Because Scottsdale city hall refuses to allow the police to do their job. Instead, they envision a Scottsdale with a cop sitting on every corner with a radar gun, and a photo radar on every street. They claim it’s in the name of safety, but with every scientific study done on photo radar concluding that it actually REDUCES safety on the roads, we all know this is about money. That’s it. Nothing more and nothing less.

But the really sad part is that the city of Scottsdale is willing to let crime run rampant to make money. Because rampant crime is exactly what happens when you pull police officers off the beat and force them to sit on a corner all day long with a radar gun.

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