Another Eulogy to Nevada's Housing Boom

Record Number of Empty Homes

DonDiego always took a hankerin' to that area 'round Carson City.

Who knows, . . . maybe after all the dust settles, . . . poor old DonDiego'll pick up a nice western vacation home, . . . if he's somehow survived.

Reminds me of the time I bought an expensive watch on credit but stopped making payments after the watch was stolen.


My moral compass must really be broken. I just don't have the feeling of entitlement and lack of responsibility that is so prevalent in today's society.

I agree, your compass is beyond broke. You need to loot something to feel better. Might I suggest a 42" LCD? Its easy to carry as you run away.

The way people look at other people have always amazed me. If you’re a big casino operator and you walk away from your debt (as many have) you’re doing a deal and it’s no harm no foul. If you’re a big banking operation and you still find a way to go tits up despite the fact you borrow money at 0% and turn around and loan money at 20% your deserving of a handout and not only that, but your management is entitled to their bonus money and their annual corporate junket to Las Vegas even though the taxpayers are footing the bill. However, if you’re just an average guy or gal its immoral to walk away from your debt. The world really has turned upside down.

If you want to loot go to work at a big corporation people will pat you on the back for finding innovative new ways to loot, and screw average people over.

malibber- So true.

I assume you now refuse to do business with businesses who have failed to honor all of their contracts. In Las Vegas, that would include Harrah's and the Stations casinos. And the NFL owners are walking away from agreements with players that they agreed to and signed with open eyes. And can I assume you also boycott Texaco.

Actually, this comparison is unfair to homeowners, because all parties in the mortgage transaction knew that it was NON-RECOURSE, meaning that the bank was entitled to payments or property, but not to any additional funds. On the other hand, creditors of Stations Casinos had every right to expect they were going to be paid in full.

A homeowner who walks away from a mortgage is, be definition, complying with the contract. Otherwise, the lender would have additional legal means to compel payment.

Is anyone else out there old enough (or dumb enough) to have put down 40 percent on a house and then made double payments on the mortgage? We have spent much time recently in Cape Coral, which is about as bad as Las Vegas. What a world.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL owners and the NFL players had an expiration date. It expired this month. Neither side walked away from agreements "that they had agreed to and signed with open eyes." There is no CBA.

The comparison to reneging on a legitimate debt is inappropriate.

Negotiation of a new CBA had been proceeding, and both sides had made concessions; DonDiego expects the eventual new CBA, . . . if there is one this year, and poor old DonDiego hopes there is, . . . will likely be pretty close to what had been achieved in these negotiations. The most significant reason negotiation of a new CBA failed was the players' insistence that the owners reveal all financial details of the football clubs. The owners refuse to do so. If the reader wishes to choose a side, this is the issue on which to base such a decision. As for DonDiego it's not his business.

DonDiego has never intentionally boycotted anyone. His decision to patronize or not patronize a business is his own, and usually based upon getting the better deal.
He has walked through the picket line at The New Frontier Hotel and Casino many times. He didn't know what that dispute was about; it wasn't his business. He did know the casino dealt a good blackjack game, had an independent sportsbook, offered decent food, and occasionally provided very inexpensive rooms. And he won $15,000 in a tournament there once.

A homeowner who walks away from a mortgage is defaulting on the contract at which point the lender can go through the legal process of foreclosure to claim the property that acted as security on the loan. Usually the threat of foreclosure is enough to compel payment as the homeowner would loose the property and their equity in the property not to mention their credit worthiness for years. I guess banks never thought to add a clause to allow them to foreclose on the homeowner's kids and sell them into slavery to defer their costs.

Malibiber hit the nail on the head. Look at Stations. They take the company private for way too much. The economy tanks, they file chapter 11 for the various segments. End result is they end up owning the same company sans Aliante and shed massive amounts of debt. Of course the debt they lost was at the expense of others, unsecure debters for the most part. At least they flipped them a bone. Pretty slick, huh?

Good Luck!
Ric at Joes