"In remarks at a recent housing conference, Ritter said of the marketplace: 'I think the consensus is that it is going to get worse before it gets better. I think everyone right now is confused. The market went from bad to worse, worse to horrible and horrible to holy crap. And is there something below holy crap? I don't know.'"

THAT SOMETHING BELOW HOLY CRAP IS HELL!

"But ultimately in Vegas the good news is there is very limited supply, and when things turn round here, values are going to increase relatively quickly. I think the market has the capacity to become very strong again," Ritter said.

This is not a true statement. There is an oversupply of properties for sale on the market and there are very few buyers. Check the MLS. There will be 1000s more foreclosures coming on-line due to the economy, soon-to-be-admitted recession, and the 1000s of job losses that will continue to occur. It will take a long time for the Las Vegas real estate market to turn around, and the national economy in general. I commute between DC and Vegas and it is somewhat better in the DC area only because the federal government is located here and there are high salaries, however it is just a matter of time before it catches up to the same decline in Vegas and the rest of the country. The whole mess is based on nothing but pure greed and obsession with excess.

"...Before the accident, Bates mistakenly tied his safety harness to a piece of the A-frame-shaped scaffolding that he was taking down. When he threw that piece to the ground, it pulled him down with it. He landed on his head after falling 13 feet."

Hmmm...

If everyone would stop making their mortgage payments for a few months the banks would really feel the crunch and do what they need to do--lower interest rates or restructure loans immediately--to keep people in their homes, property values, and the market moving again. It's very simple. Countrywide wouldn't lower my interest rate or restructure my loan, so now they're giving me time to try and sell the property via a short sale, which will take them many months to approve.

Re Teaser's: "No, realtors are. They're the ones who convince us to buy this stuff."

No one makes you sign on the dotted line...be it a contract or loan documents...always do your homework and read the fine print first before signing. People got caught up in the buying frenzy.

For goodness sake, who cares...that's his business. He and his wife have gone their separate ways. Let the man do what he needs to do to and that is to fix the state's chaos so I can stop finding rentals for people in foreclosure and sell them a property instead. If he needs a place to hide out for some privacy from the papps I've got just the spot.