David Lereah’s Mommy Strikes Back
Chuck Ponzi March 1st, 2007
In CNN’s explosive interview with David Lereah (I’m being tongue in cheek), he and his mommy take aim at the David Lereah Watch Blog.
You’ve been accused by the blog David Lereah Watch of being too bullish. What’s it like to have an online antagonist? At first I was kind of laughing. And now, it’s enough already. This is a 26-year old that could not afford a townhouse and blamed it on the boom. And then he said, Who’s talking about the boom and my name kept coming up. So I became Satan to him.
The worst was that my mother read one of those things, and she almost started crying. And I had to say, Mom, you have to have thick skin. I’m going to be in the public and make statements about real estate, and if someone doesn’t like what I’m saying, they have every right to say something opposing me.
Now should they go so far as to call me Satan? I don’t understand where that’s coming from. That’s just weird.
To me, the only thing that’ s wierd is that he hasn’t taken on any of the other detractors… who have much worse to say, are more read, and more specific to his stupidity. That he had to bring his mommy into the picture makes me wonder if he’s willing to fight his own battles.
Good thing Gary Watts’ mommy doesn’t read this blog, because it’s clear that he’s going to hell. (I believe that lying to large numbers of people and taking advantage of them for personal gain will do that).
I have questioned wether Gary is an Ignorant optimist or a Deluded Sociopath. Perhaps other options exist, but I doubt they’re as nice.
That David Lereah is a baldface liar, or unbelievably incompetent is never questioned in the mainstream media. That some 26 year old has to ask the question (and it attains national media attention) means that it has struck a nerve… David, you have finally made it… Congratulations.
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Chuck,
I was actually surprised by some of the sobering and bearish statements he made:
“California has a long way to go. I expect them to continue to experience pain all throughout this year.”
“That’s when I knew we were in trouble… They need to take people out of these crazy loans and get them into longer term loans that work for them over the next 10 or 15 years.”
“Will problems with subprime have any effect on your sales numbers? I think in some areas yes. Foreclosures are going to happen in California.”
“The big problem right now is borrowers with a loan balance that may be greater than the value of their home. They have no incentive to make the mortgage payment. They’ll say, I don’t need it, take it. That’s going to occur in some of the real unaffordable areas, like San Diego and San Jose.”
Liarrhea made his usually nonsense bullish statements as well, but the above statements caught me by surprise.
Perhaps only when it has become so obvious you can no longer deny it that you have to admit it. I was just surprised that he brought up his mother. Does he need to hide behind her feelings to avoid expressing his own?
And, frankly, he could have just dodged the question and handled it much more like and an adult. David is 26 years old, for god’s sakes! Can’t he just ignore it if he’s so right and confident.
The reality is that like the little boy who finally said that the Emperor hasn’t got any clothes on, it took someone outside the industry (and a 26 year old priced out bitter renter at that) to finally say the emperor hasn’t got any clothes on.
Still, I digress. You’re absolutely right. You know the Sh#t is really going to hit the fan when he starts talking like that.
Chuck Ponzi
I love how David Lereah goes straight to the ad hominem of “this is a 26-year-old who couldn’t afford a townhouse” rather than address the actual truth that Lereah has been so bullish on real estate when the fundamentals did suggest an inevitable and large correction. A “26-year-old” called Lereah out; kind of like the “child” who pointed out the emperor wasn’t wearing clothes. Lereah will be a sad footnote in history, and his mom should be more concerned about the many, many people her son has hurt through bad analysis and self-serving advice. Mrs. Lereah should think about the homeless families who were told they “had to buy or be priced out of the market”. The 26-year-old can sleep at night, Lereah shouldn’t be able to.
I take exception to Mr. Lereah’s assertion that this ‘26 year old’ cant buy a townhouse. I am pretty much in that 26 yo’s position but I refuse to buy an overpriced anything, townhome or else! I did buy a condo at the start of the boom in early ‘01 here in S California but refused to pay through the nose anymore just to live in gang haven and so I sold for what I felt was a ridiculous price, only to see the same property go even higher (yes I regret selling, but still)! For me to pay an arm and a leg every month and have people getting jumped under my balcony, have to fight for parking with all the stolen cars deposited along my street, babies dumped in our dumpsters, its just not worth it thank you. I am trying to raise a family here and all this crap thats gone on just makes me sick. Thanks to this site for a clear voice and a clear mind, and for letting me vent!
I agree. I left LA, when I first saw kids playing Soccer instead of football. It may sound paranoid, but I was correct.
I sold my house to three families from “South of the Border”. They destroyed my beautiful house with leaded stained glass windows (now boarded up), the black iron bars on the windows, the curtains with knots tied in the middle, they parked cars in my the formerly landscaped front yard, and rented out my pristine garage(shop) to a few more families from Michoacan. Today, it looks like downtown Tijuana.
I recently visited, and it looks like a cross between Baghdad and Tijuana. Whew what a mess. Gang graffiti spray paint all over the place “Chico” “Loco” and other Roman Numeral gang identia. They just brought the worst of Mexico to our country.
I figured if I could find a county with strong code enforcement,strict welfare requirements,nosy police, and most importantly “COLD WEATHER” that would inhibit these “rats” from nesting in my neighborhood and reproducing. They hate COLD weather….just like rats When da homies ride da low riders, dey get hung up on da ice.
No welfare, no free lunch, no taco trucks. LA has been attacked by the economic failures and selfish losers that Mexico kicked out. Why don’t you ever see educated Mexicans sneaking across the border? They love Mexico and want to kick the losers out who are strangling the economy with the “mestizo myth” of welfare for the lazy (Los Indios). Do you know why the first structure when building a house in Mexico is a block wall fence at the property line? Its to keep out the squatters who roam Mexico looking for freebies and a house to take over. Most of those losers have sneaked into the USA to continue breeding.
The offensiveness of this comment is exceeded only by its ignorance. Educated Mexicans don’t need to “sneak” across the border, because it’s much easier for them to get a visa to enter the U.S. Money also helps. One of my aunts is working-class, and it took her nearly 15 years to get a working visa – and that was in the 1990s; today it’s nearly impossible to obtain a work visa legally. Another aunt is married to a wealthy man, and they managed to get a visa in a little over a year because they bought property in Texas.
You also conflate mestizos with “indios”, which once again highlights your ignorance. Google it to figure out the difference. I’m sorry you chose to buy a house in a gang-infested neighborhood, but please, don’t comment on something unless you know what you’re talking about.
Finally, and most importantly, before you label an entire class of people “losers,” you may want to understand why they are losers. It turns out that many of those people were displaced by policies crafted in the United States, such as NAFTA. When Mexico was forced to accept imports of subsidized corn from the U.S., it meant that millions of small farmers in towns all over Mexico – and all the businesses that depended on them – suffered the impacts. So it should have been no surprise when millions of these “losers” decided to migrate north: they had little left to lose.
The housing bubble was the direct result of irresponsible lending practices, the separation of risk from reward via securitization, and regulators falling asleep at the wheel. Immigration in no way factors into the equation. The fact that you have nonetheless brought it in indicates that you are not so much hateful as obsessive. Maybe you should post on the Minutemen’s blogs instead of here.
Socal,
Thanks for the mention.
Thanks for your support. Great commentary.
David
David Lereah Watch
David: Thank you. Thank you so very much! Thanks for everything, really…
Motley Fool reported, “There’s nothing funnier or more satisfying … than watching the National Association of Realtors (NAR) change its tune these days. … the NAR is full of it and will spin the numbers any way it can to keep up the pleasant fiction that all is well.”[