Consider this an appeal for information, from our readers and their friends.
A reader called this afternoon to offer up some interesting anecdotal information about Wichita home appraisals.
He says that he’s aware of some homeowners, in paid-off homes, whose valuations spiked 14 percent and more this year.
Meanwhile, the caller says, adjacent homes with mortgages saw their values move very little.
“I just wonder,” the caller said, “if the county’s tagging paid-off homes and giving the mortgage holders a little break.”
Good question. So, if you have seen this scenario play out, contact me, Bill Wilson, at 268-6290 or at bwilson@wichitaeagle.com
Daily Archives: April 17, 2009
Tagging paid-for homes?
April 17, 20093:59 p.m.
Legalized loan sharking
April 17, 20099:43 a.m.
A reader forwarded me an interesting link from last month in the Los Angeles Times on credit card interest rates, further reinforcing my long-held belief that taking out a credit card is my biggest life mistake.
Kudos to Bernie Sanders for having the nerve to walk face-first into the lobbying hurricane that any bill to cap credit interest rates at a quasi-reasonable level slightly below that of your friendly local gun-toting Mafioso will create.
And never mind that some of those same financial institutions are playing today with a hefty chunk of money from the same taxpayers they’re pushing into bankruptcy.
But let’s not be naive here. The credit card companies – read: banks – have the keys to the cashbox of every American silly enough to take out a card. They’re not giving them up without a fight, especially since free money is a nice cure for all the stupid mortgage paper they’ve been writing and buying.
Idealistic nitwit that I am, I’m of the belief that unilateral bank-initiated changes in the terms of any credit card agreement ought to be illegal. You guys need more interest? Then levy it on new card holders. You were offering them to everyone with a pulse for awhile, including my dog. I can’t imagine why “The Doodle” didn’t tip you guys off.
Sanders is going to slam into a plastic-reinforced brick wall, no question about it. I’ll just have to amuse myself with all the bank whining about default rates. Seems to me that if you want folks to pay their credit card bills, one way to get that done might be to STOP JACKING THOSE BILLS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.