Longmont, Colorado websites

2011-03-22T15:04:00.003-06:00

Vote! Longmont - Registration and Candidate information / Twitter
City Clerks Office - Election information, campaign laws, important dates, candidate information
Unelect Sean McCoy - opinion site / YouTube Channel / Twitter
City Council - information on current members, minutes, and agendas
Longmont Advocate - Blog and podcast with a local angle / YouTube Channel / Twitter
Times-Call - local newspaper
Wrongmont - opinion/commentary blog
Lightning Rod - opinion/commentary blog / YouTube Channel / Twitter

Oct. 3, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-10-04T17:53:00.000-06:00

Well, turns out whoever publishes foreclosures was just on vacation last week. Foreclosures came storming back this week with 24 new filings! I figured it was too good to be true.

With unemployment creeping up again for September, and the "actual" unemployment figure around 17% (defined in this Washington Post story as The unofficial number starts with the official rate and then adds in everyone else who should be working full time but is not, including those whose hours have been reduced from full time to part time, those who have become so discouraged they have given up looking for work and others who are "marginally attached to the labor force." Many economists believe this rate is a truer measure of the health of the economy - it's no wonder there is no end in sight for foreclosures.

Funny, I thought the mindless brigade on council (Benker, McCoy) said it was mostly bloggers' fault. Enjoying that Hope and Change?

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)
Green(pin)=8/29/09 11 new entries (60 total)
Yellow(pin)=9/5/09 18 new entries (65 total)
Purple(pin)=9/12/09 12 new entries (69 total)
Magenta(pin)=9/19/09 27 new entries (81 total)
9/26/09 0 new entries (65 total)
Blue(pushpin)=10/3/09 24 new entries (76 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=143 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=111 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=74 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

September 26, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-09-27T11:51:00.000-06:00

There were no new foreclosures reported this week!

But something strange about the Times-Call Legal Notices section was that there were no new foreclosures for any city in Boulder County. Even on slow weeks for Longmont, there were always plenty of other reported foreclosures for Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Nederland, Superior, or Erie. But there was zero, nada, zip. Either someone's taking the week off, which might explain last weeks record numbers, or they didn't want to have three sections of the paper just for foreclosures.

There still were 65 foreclosures reported for Longmont alone, and it took up about 16 pages. I guess we'll find out next week.

September 19, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-09-20T00:31:00.003-06:00

This week new foreclosures rocketed to all new highs in Longmont. There were 27 new foreclosures, with a total of 81 reported (another high). Ward 1 (Brian Hansen's ward) as usual was way out in front with 14 new foreclosures. Karen Benker's Ward 2 finally broke triple digits with 8 new foreclosures. This map is getting ridiculously filled up and I thought maybe foreclosures might start slowing down, but it's pretty obvious that's not about to occur.

By looking at the map, you can see where there are some clusters, like: Prospect, Garden Acres, much of Ward 1 is one big cluster, and around Collyer Park. If these were to start diminishing, it would make keeping up this map much easier. I look forward to that day. It still makes one wonder why much of this City Council stays pretty quiet on this subject. It must be the "it's the economy, stupid" theory where it could hurt incumbents. There's only one ward councilmember up for re-election - Karen Benker. I would stay quiet about this also if I were her.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)
Green(pin)=8/29/09 11 new entries (60 total)
Yellow(pin)=9/5/09 18 new entries (65 total)
Purple(pin)=9/12/09 12 new entries (69 total)
Magenta(pin)=9/19/09 27 new entries (81 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=132 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=105 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=68 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

September 12, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-09-12T19:02:00.000-06:00

A new record was set this week, a total of 69 foreclosures were reported in the Times-Call. There were only 12 new foreclosures for the week, with Ward 1 (Brian Hansen's ward) way out in front with 8 of those new foreclosures.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)
Green(pin)=8/29/09 11 new entries (60 total)
Yellow(pin)=9/5/09 18 new entries (65 total)
Purple(pin)=9/12/09 12 new entries (69 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=118 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=97 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=65 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

September 5, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-09-05T18:04:00.000-06:00

Yet another dismal week for new foreclosures in Longmont. There were 18 new foreclosures, although 5 of which had Longmont addresses but were outside the city limits - a fairly high weekly number for those outlying areas. The total number of reported foreclosures in the paper was 65.

If these terrible numbers continue, it's only a matter of time before some on Longmont City Council will want to make this go away - not the actual foreclosure problem, they seem to never even talk about it - but the printing of the notices in the Times-Call. They already want to strip city ordinances out of the paper, regardless if it's state law and in the city charter. Rules and laws are irrelevant, didn't you hear?

Surprisingly, my ward (Ward 1) had the fewest foreclosures for the week, and Ward 2 and 3 (Karen Benker and Sean McCoy's wards) both had 5. I've been tracking these foreclosures since April, and I was a little disappointed when Sean McCoy (aka the "Clown Prince of Longmont") didn't blame me for all of these foreclosures along with the rest of his laundry list of the ridiculous.

Karen Benker's Ward 2 is about to close in on triple digits (just since April of course), but you'd never guess that based on her speech at a recent candidate forum. It's all going swingingly in her ward, and just continue sleeping, all is well.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)
Green(pin)=8/29/09 11 new entries (60 total)
Yellow(pin)=9/5/09 18 new entries (65 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=110 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=96 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=64 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

August 29, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-08-29T17:56:00.000-06:00

Ward 2 (Karen Benker's ward) had double the other two wards combined in new foreclosures this week.. There were 11 new foreclosures reported in Longmont this week, with a total of 60 in the paper. Ward 2 is not far behind the leader (Ward 1) in foreclosures, and will soon top 100 since this site began in April.

As time permits, I'm going to delve deeper into the demographics of the homes that have been foreclosed on. I'll also be looking at the lenders who made these loans to see if there were any patterns of predatory lending, and things like how much principal (if any) was paid down, and how long people were in these homes. One thing I have already noticed in passing glances at some of these foreclosures is how short someone was in a home, how they appeared to pay almost no payments at all, or others who had to have pulled out home equity lines, as their outstanding principal balance was higher than the original purchase amount. So, these people took the money out of their house, pocketed it, then defaulted on the loan - how this isn't robbery is beyond me.

Meanwhile, councilmembers (especially Ward 2's Karen Benker) continually try to get more people into homes they probably can't afford. These public do-gooders do anything but good for these peoples pride, which is probably permanently damaged by getting into a home (or car, see Cash For Clunkers) they never would be able to make payments on consistently, and the subsequent humiliation of default. To those people, I say these government types who you think are your friend, giving you subsidies that they can later brag about and campaign on, only exacerbate and continue the cycle of poverty for most they encounter.

Helping people in off the street and out of the cold is one thing. Exploiting people for personal gain, and putting them in a potentially financially destructive situation is another. Just a setup for failure - the more people that figure it out the better. And sooner rather than later.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)
Green(pin)=8/29/09 11 new entries (60 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=107 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=91 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=59 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

August 22, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-08-23T15:42:00.002-06:00

Foreclosures in Longmont spiked once again (no this is not a duplicate post from before) this week with 14 new foreclosures with a total of 61 foreclosures reported overall. Ward 1 (Brian Hansen's ward) had the most and shot up over 100 total since April '09.

No one likes to point out the misery of others, which is part of the reason I don't post names or pictures of homes on my map. By default GoogleMaps does display pictures of the affected homes, which I have to manually delete.

But I wonder if there are other reasons why the councilmembers for Wards 1, 2, and 3 talk so little about this topic. It's obviously not in Karen Benkers'(Ward 2) best interest to discuss this as it doesn't help in her hoped for re-election. Mostly all you hear about is how this council tries to help get other people into homes (that they probably can't afford) through their affordable housing program or Habitat for Humanity (which are destroying neighborhood values) - or these grants for new home buyers, (or subsidizing buying cars, but that's another subject) - but not a whole lot for people losing their homes to foreclosure.

Maybe council needs a secret Executive Session to figure out what they think about this.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)
Red(pin)=8/22/09 14 new entries (61 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=105 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=85 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=58 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

August 15, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-08-15T11:37:00.005-06:00

After apparently a one week lull (relatively speaking) in foreclosures, Longmont reports 16 new foreclosures for the week. Ward 2 (Karen Benker's ward) had more than the other two wards combined, and is rapidly catching up to the leader (Ward 1 - Brian Hansen's ward). Of course, this is not a race that anyone wants to win, but Ward 1 is probably going to cross into triple figures next week the way things are going.

If you look at the map you may notice more and more foreclosures on the outskirts of Longmont are occurring. Unfortunately, this shows that this downturn and these foreclosures are hitting all segments of the area, from rural to urban, from low income neighborhoods to mid-high income neighborhoods - and all property values in between.

Total amount of foreclosures since April 11, 2009: 262
The average amount of weekly foreclosures: 12.5 per week

How often have you heard councilmembers or candidates address this? (About zero)

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)
Blue(pin)=8/15/09 16 new entries (58 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=97 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=82 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=56 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

August 8, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-08-08T16:21:00.003-06:00

Foreclosures eased up a little in Longmont this week as there were only 6 new foreclosures, which is far better than we've seen, unless you are one of those six. Total foreclosures reported in the paper are still up there at 59, and of course that doesn't include all of the foreclosures that have already ran their 8 week reporting course.

Lower weeks like this sure make my updating the map easier and it wouldn't bother me at all if these came to a stop completely. It will be a good indicator that things are truly turning around, much more so than the media telling you things are getting better.

Before we start jumping for joy, let's see what the total foreclosures look like in graph form:

As soon as we see a downward trend on this chart, we'll know we're out of the woods, or at least heading in the right direction. I'd love it if this map/site were moot.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)
Magenta=8/8/09 6 new entries (59 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=94 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=75 (Councilmember: Karen Benker) (up for re-election)
Ward 3=54 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

August 1, 2009 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-08-01T14:57:00.002-06:00

I look forward to one week saying "foreclosures in Longmont turn the corner", unfortunately, this isn't that week. Another terrible week for foreclosures with 15 new foreclosures and tying the all time high for total foreclosures at 63. Ward 1 (Brian Hansens - eastern part of Longmont) was way out in front with 8 new foreclosure reports.

Recently there's been news stories (or propaganda, depending on your point of view) of how the housing market and economy have hit bottom and are starting to come back. This booming foreclosure situation is not unique to Longmont, and with unemployment on the verge of hitting 10%, I'm not sure what these reporters and pundits are smoking. I'd like to be optimistic, and the stock market is doing a little better (but probably in the midst of a suckers rally), but with a glut of homes and too many people without jobs, I don't see how this economy can come back any time in the next couple of years. At least not here in Longmont.

Maybe the federal government will come up with a version of Cash For Clunkers for homes, where they scrape the ground foreclosed homes sit on and give someone money for it, but who? The banks and lenders? Already bailed them out. The former homeowners? Nope, out of the equation once it gets to this stage. Who? We have to give this money to someone, right? (By give, it's really take from the taxpayer and give to someone else).

By using the CARS program as an analogy (taking homes permanently off the market, regardless if they could help low income and homeless people), it shows how badly mangled things get with the government gets involved. Sort of like lending money to people for homes they could never afford and forcing lending institutions to get on board or else.

But I'm sure they'll do better with healthcare, what could go wrong?

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)
Purple=8/1/09 15 new entries (63 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=92 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=73 (Councilmember: Karen Benker)
Ward 3=53 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

July 25 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-07-25T17:34:00.003-06:00

Once again, nothing good to report on the foreclosure front in Longmont. There were 10 new foreclosures with Ward 3 (Councilmember Sean McCoy's ward) leading the way.

As you may have heard, elections are coming up in November. Wards 1 and 3 are not up for re-election, but Ward 2 (Karen Benkers ward) is. There are also 2 At-Large seats up for grabs as well as the Mayors position (which technically also is an At-Large seat as everyone in the city can vote in that race). Over at Vote! Longmont, under "Candidates", you can see who's running.

If you don't know what ward you live in, look at this map to find out. Get informed, involved, and vote!

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)
Yellow=7/25/09 10 new entries (61 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=84 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=70 (Councilmember: Karen Benker)
Ward 3=50 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

July 18 Longmont foreclosure report

2009-07-18T16:49:00.002-06:00

It was another lousy week for the real estate market in Longmont with 12 new foreclosures to report. Once again leading the way was Ward 2 (Councilmember Karen Benker's ward) with 5, and Ward 3 and 1 following behind, in that order.

It's getting so bad, even prairie dogs are getting foreclosed on. If they're not being gassed out at the airport, they're not getting the welcome mat from Weld County as its commissioners told Longmont to keep their prairie dogs to themselves. No sharing necessary.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)
Green=7/18/09 12 new entries (59 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=81 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=68 (Councilmember: Karen Benker)
Ward 3=46 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

Longmont foreclosures continue at torrid pace

2009-07-11T15:52:00.004-06:00

There were 17, SEVENTEEN, new foreclosures in Longmont this week. Almost 2 1/2 per day. Ward 2 (Councilmember Karen Benker's ward) was the hardest hit with 7 for the week. Still no word (as of this writing) whether or not she'll run for re-election for this ward or another run at Mayor.

Things to keep in mind about this ward, it has Downtown (much of it anyway) which can't decide what it wants to be, and pretty much is stuck in a time warp with closing businesses and not a whole lot going for it. Sorry, but that's the truth. This ward also includes the burnt out mill that was supposed to be a FasTracks station (fat chance on that ever coming to Longmont), and of course the Twin Peaks Mall. Does much really have to be said about that situation?

As bad as Ward 1 is with foreclosures, Ward 2 has probably the most blighted areas overall in the city. Sitting elected representatives (especially when up for re-election) get saddled with votes and results when voters consider whether or not to retain them. It's pretty safe to say that the representative for this ward (Karen Benker) has failed at this position, and doesn't deserve the privilege to serve these constituents. Longmont voters didn't vote in large numbers for her when she ran for Mayor in 2007 either.

The only announced candidate for this race so far is Katie Witt. At-Large councilmember Gabe Santos recently announced he will run to retain his seat. Mary Blue will not be running for re-election for her At-Large seat.

Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)
Red=7/11/09 17 new entries (61 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=79 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=63 (Councilmember: Karen Benker)
Ward 3=43 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

Longmont foreclosures July 4th report

2009-07-04T09:24:00.002-06:00

More homeowners in Longmont gained independence from their home mortgages this week, but probably not in the way they intended. There were 10 new foreclosures this week, but one in particular was an odd one and hard to map. The address simply read "vacant lands", but it's in the northeast side of town. I've also had to start recycling my markers, so today's markers are the same as the first week I started doing this. Here is this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)
Blue=7/4/09 10 new entries (53 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=74 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=56 (Councilmember: Karen Benker)
Ward 3=39 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)

Longmont foreclosure update, and new website

2009-06-27T17:35:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the new home for the weekly updates of foreclosures in Longmont, Colorado. This is the update for June 27, 2009.

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)
Magenta(pin)-6/27/09 13 new entries (55 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=69 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen, most foreclosures-least responsive)
Ward 2=54 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=37 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy, rumored Mayoral candidate Nov '09)
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A pretty bad week for Ward 1 with 6 new foreclosures. Once again there were a couple of foreclosures with Longmont addresses but not in the city limits, and 2 old foreclosures started a new 8 week run in the paper for some reason.

The Times-Call put out an editorial today basically saying "keep hope alive" or something. I guess they don't look at their own Classified section with all of these foreclosures. It takes up pages D5 through D19 this week, seems to be about half of the entire paper. But I guess if they heard about some people who feel that things are turning around or are hopeful, we should just go ahead and ignore these foreclosure numbers and the unemployment that shows no sign of slowing. Optimism is fine, as long as it's with a dose of realism.

Longmont foreclosures skyrocket, McCoy parties in Vail

2009-06-20T18:43:00.000-06:00

Another bad week for foreclosures in Longmont (getting tired of saying that), with 14 new foreclosures reported, an average of 2 per day! What made this week odd was that Ward 1, which has the most and usually gets the most new foreclosures, actually had the fewest new foreclosures (3). Even odder was Ward 3, which has the fewest but had the largest increase this week, which was 5. A large number all by itself. Ward 2 sat right in the middle with 4. (You math geniuses will notice that doesn't add up to 14, 2 had Longmont addresses but weren't in the city limits.

So, lets look at Ward 3, the northwesternmost ward in the city. The councilmember representing that ward is Sean McCoy. You may have noticed he wasn't at the recent City Council meeting. While normally that would be a welcomed respite for the senses, turns out he wasn't there because he was at the Colorado Municipal League (CML) Conference in Vail, Colorado. I heard Mayor Roger Lange attended this as well, but I also know he spent a late night at the City Council meeting Tuesday, as did I.

Here's what you may not have heard about that CML "conference", courtesy of joint investigation between the Denver Post and 9News: (read the whole article at the link below, I'll just paste a few relevant sentences)

Official Colorado confab puts scrutiny of work into play
At a time of layoffs, furloughs and budget cuts in Colorado municipal governments, about 600 officials from towns large and small have convened at a Vail resort for three days of taxpayer-funded networking and seminars interspersed with parties and golf.

"It's a little extravagant, don't you think?" asked Ed Bagwell, director of the public-services division for Teamsters Local 17 in Denver. "We've heard complaints from our members. Why are they spending this much in a down economy?"

...But a reporter, producer and photographer from 9News who visited the conference Thursday found plenty of municipal officials who had decided to forgo the panel on "Maintaining Your Infrastructure in a Tight Economy" and instead hang out in the halls and lobby.

Unaware she was speaking to a reporter and being taped, Glendale City Council member LuVerne Davenport said the city brought six people to the conference so they could rotate through the panels and no one would have to go to all of them.

So what do they do when they are not in the seminars? "We goof off," Davenport said.
Municipalities paid about $190,000 in registration fees and for meals.
Central City Mayor Ron Slinger said he planned to attend every session — and still make a 4 p.m. tee time.
"I look forward to Breckenridge next year," Slinger said. "It's even better."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While you vomit over that, and wonder how Mr. McCoy spent his time there, here is this weeks map and numbers. Afterwards, a relevant article about housing and unemployment.

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)
Purple(pin)-6/20/09 14 new entries (62 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=63 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen, most foreclosures-least responsive)
Ward 2=52 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=36 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy, rumored Mayoral candidate Nov '09)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Keeping the above info in mind, there was an article on US News & World Report by Rick Newman entitled Why the Economic Recovery Won't Feel Like One. Again, here are some excerpts from it: (emphasis added)

Everybody's tired of doomsayers pointing out how much worse the economy could get, so let's just focus on two factors: housing and jobs. Most people agree that plunging home values need to stabilize before there's any kind of economic recovery. And jobs have to return. Until they do, mortgage and other loan defaults will continue to rise as millions of unemployed borrowers come up short paying their bills. Consumers who are still employed but are worried about their jobs will continue to hoard money, depressing the market for homes, cars, and many other products.

Home prices have fallen about 30 percent nationwide since they peaked in 2006. Isn't that enough? Surely they have to stop falling soon, right? Maybe not. The Federal Reserve has projected a total home price decline of somewhere between 41 and 48 percent, with a bottom in 2010.

Housing matters for several reasons. When the economy is healthy, housing and everything associated with it accounts for about 20 percent of economic activity. If the housing market is in the dumps, odds are that the economy will be, too.

Most economists predict that the unemployment rate will keep rising through 2009 and into 2010, topping out somewhere between 10 and 12 percent. It will be genuine good news once the unemployment rate starts to fall, but we'll still be trudging through a few years of scarce jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, for instance, predicts that the unemployment rate will drift down slowly and won't return to "normal" levels of 5 percent or less until 2016.
--------------------------------------------------------
Glad I could make your day. I was asked in the radio interview with Amy Oliver why I'm mapping these, why I'm talking about it. Just read the above articles, look at the map and numbers, watch our city council in action (both 1 and 2 word versions applicable) and see what they talk about (chickens, prairie dogs, suing neighbor cities, hiring consultants, overpaying staff heads and attorneys, no mosquito spraying) while Rome is burning around them.

But what a grand time in Vail, eh?

Longmont foreclosures show no sign of slowing

2009-06-13T18:45:00.000-06:00

It was a "good news/bad news" kind of week for foreclosures in Longmont. The good news, if you want to call it that, was that there were fewer total foreclosures in the paper - but that's probably only because the 6 that dropped off ran their 8-week publishing requirement in the paper, they're probably still in foreclosure. The other good news, for councilmembers who are mostly staying quiet on this subject, is that some of the new ones had Longmont addresses but weren't in the city limits. So, they can't vote for/against who runs/sits on council.

Many of the other new foreclosures were in Lafayette, Erie, and especially Boulder.

The bad news is that Longmont is still keeping pace of over 1 new foreclosure a day. This week there were 9 new foreclosures.

Again, these all come from the Saturday Classified section of the Longmont Times-Call in the Legal section. This is the section that some noise has been made lately by Councilmembers McCoy and Benker over the issue of the Times-Call printing ordinances and resolutions. But I guess it's just a coincidence that I also get the information for these foreclosures from the exact same Legal section - which I started doing April 11, 2009 (but thought about doing it months sooner). Maybe they don't like unfavorable (but true) news of all the foreclosures occuring right under their noses, and during their tenure (regime). You wouldn't know, they hardly ever bring it up.

What will it be next week, appeal a losing battle with Firestone and LifeBridge Christian Church?

Here's this weeks map:

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)
Yellow(pin)-6/13/09 9 new entries (57 total)

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=60 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen, most foreclosures-least responsive)
Ward 2=48 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=31 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy, rumored Mayoral candidate Nov '09)

As Longmont's foreclosures increase, the city's future gets bleaker

2009-06-06T18:47:00.001-06:00

I admit it. I missed a week of posting foreclosures because I was studying other communities and the situation they are in. Okay, I was mostly on the beach in Hawaii, but still I saw how mangled government can make a mess of things. As bad as I think we have things here, and they are on the road to terrible, it almost feels like a third-world country (Mexico comes to mind) at times in that state. What's so misleading is its natural beauty, what's so tragic is what is being done to it. It's a microcosm of what could become of this country (and is in the process of happening in California and some other states) and a lesson our city council should take note of.

While I was away I saw how bad our budget shortfall has become, numbers thrown at council that they scoffed at months ago but now have come to fruition. It's similar to what's occurring everywhere, again especially California and Hawaii, that's being met with higher taxes (or requests/demands for them) and fees. Again, Longmont could learn something from this: We survive on new business and development, a place like Hawaii survives on tourism dollars. How did Hawaii deal with the problem? It raised the tax on hotel rates - end result, the emptiest I've seen it over there. How does Longmont deal with its problem? It makes it clear they are anti-growth and development (or their version of smart growth, which is no-growth in reality) with the comments from certain councilmembers. End result, well, just check how those building permits and property tax collections are going.

But lets get to those foreclosures, shall we?

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
Red(pin)-5/30/09 15 new entries (62 total)
Green(pin)-6/6/09 9 new entries (63 total)

24 new foreclosures in the last 2 weeks (avg 1.7 per day) and a new high of 63 total foreclosures! This bodes very poorly for Longmont's future and recovery, if one is coming. I don't know what the city's unemployment situation is, but if its foreclosure rate is any indication, it's probably worse than the national picture of nearly 10%. Collecting tax revenues (those things that keep the city financially afloat) from declining home values and assessments, lost jobs, and abandoned foreclosed homes is a tough thing. Try as some on council might to blame everything wrong on previous administations gets more and more ridiculous the longer they are in office, and the worse things get.

Keep all of this in mind as you hear (again) more about chickens this week, and how this council will deal with the major setback handed down to them by the courts over the annexations that are now "null and void" (which sounds like a good theme/title for the majority on this council). Will they keep throwing thousands (more like over $100,000) at Firestone with this ongoing loser of a lawsuit? We shall soon see.

Breakdown by Ward since I started keeping track (4/11/09)
Ward 1=57 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen, most foreclosures-least responsive)
Ward 2=46 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=30 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy, rumored Mayoral candidate Nov '09)

Longmont foreclosures - a terrible week

2009-05-23T18:49:00.000-06:00

New foreclosure reports jumped this week to 16 new entries, more than 2 per day! And the Classified section, which is the D section, had so many notices it had to continue at the end of the C section. Once again, there were many more than 16 new foreclosures, but the others were mostly in Boulder.

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
Blue(pin)-5/23/09 16 new entries (52 total)
-------------------------------------------
The new numbers by Ward broke down fairly proportional to the overall numbers: Ward 1=7, Ward 2=5, Ward 3=4. Here are the overall numbers by Ward.

Ward 1=46 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen, resignation imminent?)
Ward 2=39 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=27 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy, rumored Mayoral candidate Nov '09)

Of note here is Ward 1's Councilmember Brian Hansen. The most consistent complaint, even from people who say they backed and voted for him, is his complete lack of communicating with his constituents. They say he never returns calls, letters, or emails. When I write him and couple other members of council I don't expect a response - which in itself is not acceptable, last time I checked I'm a taxpaying voter just like everyone else. But it must be reassuring to the people in his ward - the highest foreclosure ward in the city - that he's less interested in you, and more interested in things like neighborhood gardens (can people still garden there while in foreclosure?) and starting business incubators (that already exist) on your tax dime.

The rumor going around town is that Mr. Hansen is on the verge of quitting his council seat. I don't make this stuff up, it comes to me in various communications from several people "in the know". The other rumor is that he's going to hold off quitting until after the November election so as to keep his seat safe in case there's a wholesale change to 3 seats that are up for grabs. If there's a shred of truth to these rumors, here's what it boils down to: For political purposes (saving a voting majority, or "bloc" on council), this council is in collusion to waste around $75,000 of city funds (the cost of a special election).

If Mr. Hansen really is thinking of devoting more time to his business (which reportedly includes harassing his neighbor Mountain View Welding, and questionable zoning use of his property), than he should announce his resignation now (effective in November), so candidates can have time to campaign for his vacant seat, voters can save time only having one election, and the taxpayers don't get taken to the cleaners for the additional fees and postage.

But this council has shown a penchant for not taking good advice, I expect it to continue.

Longmont foreclosures - the hits keep on coming

2009-05-17T18:50:00.000-06:00

The hits (to the local housing market) just keep coming. This week there were 9 new entries into the list of foreclosures, more than one every day. There were actually more new foreclosures, but they were in Boulder, Lafayette, and Louisville. In case you were wondering how they broke down by Ward, with an election coming up this November, here it is:

Ward 1=39 (Councilmember: Brian Hansen)
Ward 2=34 (Councilmember: Karen Benker, up for re-election Nov '09)
Ward 3=23 (Councilmember: Sean McCoy)
(look below map for a note to city council)

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)
Magenta-5/16/09 9 new entries (56 total)
-------------------------------------------
This council has pretty much become a laughing stock due to the issues they spend a lot of time on, and the precious little they spend on important, grown-up things, like foreclosures.

Here's a little note I sent them recently, didn't expect a response from some of them, and I wasn't disappointed. It was sent over the city's server, so I know they all got it. So, if you are one of the ones struggling here in the city, know that your city leaders are fully aware of what's going on, but find other things more pressing.
----------------
Greetings,
I know some of you on council won’t read beyond the FROM: portion of this communication, and fewer will actually respond, but just want to make sure you’re on record of being aware of a couple of things.

Foreclosures: While more and more time is being wasted on affordable housing programs and getting more borderline borrowers in homes they can’t afford, I’ve gone through the effort of mapping out current foreclosures in Longmont – based on information in the Legal ads in the Times-Call (more on that paper later). I invite you to look at it in case you haven’t yet.

In case you were wondering how those broke down by wards, Ward 1=35, Ward 2= 30, and Ward 3=22 (now higher). On average, in the last 5 weeks, Longmont is adding 2 new foreclosures every day. So while you’re having fun with chickens, prairie dogs, cat leashes, cutting mosquito spraying, suing churches and neighboring cities, watching the mall go down the toilet, rewriting election code and tinkering with the budget on the fly, and considering adding more affordable housing – lots of your constituents probably aren’t paying a lot of attention to these often silly escapades of yours as they try to stay afloat financially. And many are failing.

Yet I hardly ever recall any of you who advocated for the above issues mentioning this issue proportionally to its importance. But how you went to bat for 50 chicken permits, bravo. No, I’m not about to become an advocate for victims of foreclosure. Many probably knew what they were signing, knew they couldn’t afford it, and by the looks of some of these records some hardly made any payments at all.

But what struck me was how absent this council has been on this. No excuses now. Many of your constituents are suffering and would be appalled (if they knew) at what you’re spending your time on.

Times-Call inquiry: By some comments on council, it appears there is some animosity with our local paper. I don’t work for them, they even call me the competition, so I’m not speaking on their behalf by any means. But I noticed this in the latest agenda: “Council member McCoy requested information regarding the amount of money the City spends annually with the Times Call…” I don’t expect an honest answer here, and people around the city are claiming there is a concerted effort against the paper by some in this city (and council), would this be another step in that direction?

If not, what is the reason for this inquiry? How much time did the City Clerks Office have to spend on the reply? Looked like a lot of information, I assume it was for a good reason?

Consider this my "Public Invited To Be Heard" (are all truly "invited"?) as I can't attend tonight's meeting.
Thanks, Chris

Longmont foreclosure weekly update

2009-05-09T18:51:00.000-06:00

Longmont foreclosures hit a new high this week, according to the Classified section of the Times-Call. There was a total of 62 foreclosures, of which 13 new ones were added. Over the last 5 weeks, on average, Longmont is adding almost 2 foreclosures every day (1.88). Here's the latest map

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)
Purple-5/9/09 13 new entries (62 total)*

Worse than it looks
*The 13/62 numbers don't tell the whole story. There were 3 instances of new foreclosures that appear to be a second addresses (possibly a duplex) under the same borrowers name that are not included in the new/total numbers . Also, one property that had ran its 5 week course in the paper has reappeared and is starting a new 5 week printing.

Troubling trend
When I type this in, and look over which ones are new or old, certain street names are bound to sound familiar. What I'm seeing is multiple homes on a street, in a row, going into foreclosure one right after the other. I find it hard to believe that it's just a coincidence that 3 or 4 homes side by side (more if you include duplexes) have borrowers that all fell on hard times at the exact same time. It's not impossible, but improbable. The only other explanation is plummeting home values and neighbors seeing the handwriting on the wall and just abandoning their home and mortgages. This kind of copycat defaulting could prove devastating to Longmont and other places around the country.

Longmonts foreclosures, and other governmental failures

2009-05-03T18:55:00.000-06:00

Just a snapshot for those that still think things are going so swimmingly in Longmont. Below is a map (which should automatically update) of foreclosures throughout the city. The first week I started tracking these was April 11th, which is why Blue (the first color I used) is predominant, as it depicts new and old foreclosures in that newspaper section. Afterwards, the other colors are just the new additions by week.

View Longmont Foreclosures in a larger map

In the KEY below, you can see new and total entries by week. These are in the Saturday Longmont Times-Call in the Classifieds D section, and these take up most of the Classifieds section. It appears that these foreclosures must run for five (5) consecutive weeks in the paper. Other information included in these foreclosures (which I did not include here) are the names of the people that are on the deeds, the amount originally loaned, the loan balance, and the date of auction.

KEY
Blue= 4/11/09 16 new entries (41 total)
Red= 4/18/09 20 new entries (55 total)
Green= 4/25/09 8 new entries (47 total)
Yellow= 5/2/09 9 new entries (48 total)

-----------------------------------------------
Impressions
I waited until I had a few weeks of data to see trends before posting this map and these numbers. One thing to keep in mind when looking at the total numbers when 50 or so don't seem so bad - there are surely many more, they've just run out their 5 week requirement to be published in the paper. While things peaked on 4/18/09, the new and total numbers are fairly stable and the total number is actually higher than the first tracking week of 4/11/09.

One troubling thing when looking deeper into the foreclosures is the differences between the original loan and the amount owed. No doubt there are always seconds and lines of credit taken out on a home when it's appreciating. But many of these homes were bought (or refinanced) when values were already sliding, so enough appreciation to get a second appears unlikely. Some loans were short term and some looked like no payments were ever made at all. Still others could have been loans over 100% of the homes value.

Stealing from the future
Just a hypothetical, philosophical question here: how is taking out several thousand dollars on a second/line of credit (some are over $20k), and then just walking away not stealing? Is it really any surprise that banks are failing all over the country given this situation? Many were forced into dealing in these sub-prime mortgages or face sanctions from the government (thanks to Barney Frank and friends), and lent money to people with income/debt ratios that were set-ups for failure - for the lender and borrower - and we all are paying for it, and will for decades.

Cold hard truths
Not everyone can buy or own a home. Putting someone into a home they can't afford, instead of renting permanently or temporarily to save money, is not doing that person a favor. In every one of these foreclosure notices is a story; many paid several thousand dollars (again, some over $20k) lowering their balance, only to lose their home (and all the money they paid into it) trying to keep their word on a loan.

Meanwhile, while these people are struggling to hold on (some surely are still in these homes), the City of Longmont is playing tiddlywinks with more people who can't afford homes and throwing money at affordable housing programs. Great, more future failure. If the next fact doesn't bother you, nothing will: In a recent City Council meeting, it was revealed that some homes in the affordable housing program have gone into foreclosure. But that's not all - not only did you (if you're a taxpayer) help fund getting someone into one of these homes, some of these people got out seconds/lines of credit, trashed the house, left it, and took the money from the second/line of credit with them - which you will also help fund. Taking it in the front end, and the back.

End affordable housing
This is surely not going to make me popular, but someone has to say it.
Longmont should temporarily (or better yet, permanently) end all funding in its budget for affordable housing. First, help, where possible, people in foreclosure, if they are suitable candidates - in other words, can they keep up payments? Second, (and this is after foreclosure candidates are taken care of) look into affordable renting assistance. Isn't the overall goal to get people off of the streets and into warm places? That doesn't necessarily mean home ownership, and it's a mistake (in my opinion) to make that risky leap, for the city and the potential affordable housing candidate.

Rights, not guarantees
The Declaration of Independence says you have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - which was actually a tweak on a passage from the Virginia Declaration of Rights' "the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety" - which itself was a tweak on John Locke's "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions". These are rights, not guarantees, not promises, and definitely not endowed by a government entity like some program that gives away breaks on homes at the expense of others (taxpayers in this case). This is not to say government can't help in these situations, it can and should. But it needs to do it smarter and differently.

One example
I'm going to disagree with someone I rarely disagree with, Councilmember Mary Blue, who I believe is perhaps one of the best councilmembers we currently have. She made a statement about not being able to tell the difference between the affordable homes, the Habitat for Humanity homes, and the regular homes in her neighborhood. Ironically, a couple of weeks before she said this during a council meeting, a friend of mine who lives in the same neighborhood painted a completely different picture - that the ratio of these homes is too high, that some bigger homes are wedged and surrounded by these smaller homes that stick out and bring down home values making it nearly impossible to sell - regardless of the market. Some of these homes have also been abandoned. Whatever positives came from these homes was apparently only temporary.

That is one but one example of this failed system, as is the foreclosure map above, and you probably are aware of stories in your own neighborhood along these lines. People can point blame in whichever direction that helps make their own personal points: banks, sub-prime lenders, borrowers, over-regulation, under-regulation, unemployment, or bad luck. For more than one reason, my pick is bad government, whether elected or appointed bureaucrats, nationally and locally. What's being done nationally and locally is not helping, only exacerbating and extending the misery.

You've heard of pro/anti/smart growth, this isn't about big/small government, it's about smart government. Currently, ours isn't very.