Muny_Tex

Excellent post, thanks for the context. My follow-on questions echo same original rhetoric: who does this possibly benefit besides a small group of highly sophisticated I-banks/hedge funds? If the algos can react/front-run good news and off-load bad news before we can even read one sentence of an earnings release (much less digest the data), how do we stand a chance of consistently ending up on the right side of these volcanic price swings; even if we’ve done all our homework? Furthermore, if vast majority of us outside Surly 1% have the bulk of our portfolios trapped inside “employer approved” 401ks…then can’t these same scumbags already “see our cards” before we even start “wagering”….since we are often hamstrung by a handful of mutual funds and ETFs (many of which have significant exposure to blue chips like $FB)? I think the typical justification has been “quit your bitching muppet, you made 25% return on your index funds last year, didn’t ya?”…but it’s become a losing proposition when I’m (best case) earning tens of thousands and big fish/institutions (who are now directly competing with me for scarce assets like real estate) are making multi-millions by leveraging a rigged system/stacked deck. I’ll leave it there before it gets Cloaky, but would be interested to hear some other perspectives. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Question for those of yall who have been in the game long enough to remember .com bubble (and maybe ‘07-09 too)…has there ever been volatility like this based on basic shit like earnings reports? Seeing $SNAP now soaring ~55% AH, after taking a 23% dump today as extension of the Facebook sell-off…what the fuck. Snap says they “reported a profit” (woo), so that’s worth immediate explosion of the entire market cap? These seismic market moves are nearly all algorithm driven, correct? If so, how is that a good thing for anyone other than the scumbags behind the machines? Isn’t this eventually going to trigger the wrong type of domino effect and push everything to the edge of circuit breakers one day? Kind of rhetorical, but can’t they just create a whole separate exchange for these slot machine stocks and have a boring “boomer” market (that requires hand-driven trading) for people who are at least trying to give a damn about fundamentals? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It appears the $10k is likely ashtray money for you (therefore no big deal), but I think your move on $FB today is where dollar cost averaging is really beneficial. If I was in your shoes I prob would’ve just committed $3k or so today and then sprinkled the remainder in weekly/bi-weekly increments in case this thing still craters further. I guess it depends on your personality, but I always feel way worse about buying too early (and having to climb all the way back just to get even) than buying a couple days too late and missing an easy run-up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Anecdotal of course, but I think Ford is front-loading deliveries on Broncos to accommodate these bullshit dealer markups. Why should any dealer on earth (e.g. Covert Hutto) have 3-4 unclaimed Sports on their lot at $8-$10k over MSRP when manufacturer still has thousands of individual buyers waiting 9+ months for arrivals? If the intent is just to fuck people then why even take the solo orders in the first place? So they can tell a cool story to Wall Street about consumer demand? In any event, it’s terrible business by Ford on all fronts…if dealers want to play those games then the manufacturer should be the one collecting those huge upcharges before even shipping to them…if dealer then want to pass that cost premium on to local buyers then fine, but they should not be allowed to buy at sticker price if they are all going to pull this shit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t have hard data on this, but it anecdotally seemed like those of us on team slab fared better than yall pier & beamers in avoiding pipe cracks/bursts/damage during the snowmaggedon last year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OP this is may be dumb question, but is there particular reason why you can’t (or are opposed) to trade-in toward the new purchase via the dealer that facilitated the order? Not sure what state you’re in, but in TX, this is often advantageous versus selling outright since the trade-in decreases the taxable amount of the new purchase cost. If that is appealing, I’d get a firm/solidified offer in writing from a local Carmax location (or maybe one of the online shops as well) then ask the dealer if they will match…everyone is dying for inventory right now so it’s worth a try. Based on the tax advantages, you may still come out ahead on the trade even if dealer comes in $1k short or so on their competing offer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In a traditional buyer’s market, a good realtor is invaluable to a prospective client…they have intimate knowledge of the sales pipeline, can facilitate successful negotiations, and leverage trusted relationships to optimize lending/appraisals/warranties/etc. Conversely, in a ultra competitive gold rush environment like today you can have the best agent in the world and it doesn’t really make a shit when competing with 25+ offers / cash-only bias / and waived option periods and appraisals. When you’ve got hordes of buyers frequently submitting offers sight unseen, or pursuing new builds in catalog-style subdivisions it is difficult to justify paying 3% on the seller side to compensate someone who essentially just performed 40 seconds of clicking on a DocuSign template. If the realtor lobby can be defeated, I expect we will soon see some sort of TSAPrecheck equivalent that will allow potential buyers to access lock boxes and view select properties while subject to video surveillance…which I think is where that 1% commission becomes a slam dunk just to provide administrative oversight. I’m not a real estate wiz, and managed to buy a condo (conventional loan) in Central Austin unrepresented in Fall 2020 right before the market went full retard…ended up strengthening my offer (and beating out 2 others) since I could essentially deliver “over-ask” at list price due to no extra commission owed…seller’s agent was super cool and even let me submit a brief “hey pick me” letter and everything. That said, would never do a FSBO on the seller side in a trillion years; mainly for the reasons Gil mentioned. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Approaching a 3% sell-off for $GLD since Tuesday following a huge surge of purchase inflows that accompanied last week’s broad market dump….I guess people are having second thoughts and/or believe in Powell’s ability to control the madness? I’m a big advocate of the stability / store of value argument for gold, but this is shaping up to be a pretty shitty episode if it doesn’t improve soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah , we hardly heard a word from the whales / bulls / margin-buyers / social media nerds when it was at $68k :rolleyes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Most important: Spay/neuter ASAP once spring time rolls around…they only need to be a couple months old for eligibility. This is best possible way to prevent long-term suffering and many shelters will perform the procedure for very little cost. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Adorable little girl, kudos for protecting her health and safety. All advice above is good, but would add the importance of getting her plenty of toys (wine corks work too!) to stay engaged/stimulated and out of trouble…but try to avoid stuff with catnip until she’s at least 6 mo’s old. Best wishes and god bless yall for the good deed; I wish more people were as sympathetic to homeless cats as they are with dogs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RIP…always a big fan of his voice/style/image. I think that Nebraska game where Jamaal went wild was one of Ron’s last UT broadcasts. I remember being happy for JC, but also annoyed at further proof of how badly he was under utilized; which made him leave for NFL too early with a shitty draft pick. Obviously worked out ok for him with a monster pro career, but he should’ve been a superstar the moment VY departed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Update….That Sport sold yesterday (on the lot less than 72 hrs) so evidently those hefty markups are still finding takers here in CenTex. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^^^I’m curious as to what you Bronco dudes paid in relation to MSRP. I test drove a Sport (Big Bend) today that was priced “firm” at exactly $5k above full sticker. Dealer also told me that a $2.5k premium would be charged to initiate a new order from Ford (was told to expect 4-6 mo’s best case). Seemed outrageous on both fronts, but I guess there is still adequate demand to support that bullshit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also want to add that “Owner Equivalent Rent” (~24% of the basket IIRC) is an extremely shitty, wildly inaccurate way to incorporate housing/shelter costs into CPI. I assume this was done by design for maximum obfuscation/dilution of inflation, but still irritating to see (media) people say we are “not even close” to crisis level cost increases. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Anecdotal data point on the leisure/hospitality side of the house: -I stayed 3 nights in Florida Keys (Marathon) at a mid-tier result in April of 2012. Rate was $212/night before taxes as per my old email confirmation. -Checked rates today for same property during same date range this coming April (Tue-Thu), and listed price is $549/night. So call it a ~160% increase over a decade, and that’s for an off-peak travel period. Curious to see how low got in April 2020, as it’s likely now close ~3x that trough price. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Biggio / Puma / Roy O. / Kent / Bourn Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apologies for the bump, but wanted to pass along my praise/endorsement of Wulaw’s team. We just completed a VA IRRL (with nearly a full 1% rate improvement) and am very pleased with the final outcome. Gabe created a deal that is essentially net-zero cost after applying the skipped payments, which is thousands better than what my existing servicer offered. I’ve previously dealt with two different big box lenders who created constant stress due to limited competency and lack of ownership. It was a totally different story with Gabe who was immediately responsive to all questions; and made a personal effort to deliver on my goals. Also had great exchanges with his title partner/notary which made for very simple closing. I’ve learned a lot from this thread (lurker since day 1), and appreciate everyone’s (Phil, Gil, etc) contributions. Thanks again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DP; Javier could never go more than 1 inning cause I forgot his spot was due in lineup; so I’m even more confused by bullpen strategy

Really good post. My gauge was original intent was to save Javier to piggy-back Framber tomorrow, but once lead was cut to 2-1 and Maton narrowly escaped disaster (and no insurance runs were added) Dusty went into panic mode and wanted his “best weapon” (bypassing Graveman) covering 7th/8th to try to get to Pressly. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If anyone is still in need of G6 or G7 tickets there’s a handful of pairs/trios in 400 level available right now via Astros.com I believe current face value ($700/ea) is increased vs. the original on-sale, but still better bet than dealing with Stubhub. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk