#retirement houses for sale

[ingenia-federation]

Hey guys! Are you an active senior or an early retiree who's planning to downsize in retirement? If yes, then I have the perfect blog post for you! It's entitled "Finding Your Perfect Retreat: Discovering The Finest Retirement Houses For Sale".

This shared blog post will guide you through the process of finding the perfect retirement village home that suits your lifestyle and needs. From location to amenities, this post covers everything you need to know to make an informed decision. So, if you're ready to start your new retirement chapter, check out this amazing post and discover the top retirement houses for sale!

[lvrhomes-in]

Experience Paradise: Beachfront Villas in Goa

Owning a villa in Goa is a dream many aspire to fulfill, and there's nothing quite like the charm of a beachfront villa in Goa. With stunning views of the Arabian Sea, private access to serene beaches, and the tranquil ambiance of coastal living, these properties redefine luxury and relaxation. Whether you're looking for a permanent residence, a vacation retreat, or a smart investment, beachside villas for sale in Goa offer unmatched allure and value.

Why Choose Beachfront Villas in Goa?

Goa is known for its vibrant culture, breathtaking landscapes, and serene beaches. Living in a beachfront villa allows you to immerse yourself in this unique lifestyle. Here’s why a beachfront villa in Goa is a perfect choice:

Breathtaking Views: Wake up to panoramic sea views and enjoy sunsets from your balcony.

Exclusive Access: Enjoy private access to pristine beaches, away from crowded tourist spots.

Investment Potential: Beachside villas are highly sought after, offering excellent returns through rentals or resale value.

Luxury Living: With high-end amenities and world-class architecture, beachfront villas epitomize opulence.

Explore Beachfront Villas Goa

Goa’s coastline is dotted with some of the most exquisite beachfront villas, each offering unique features to suit various preferences. Whether it’s the vibrant energy of North Goa or the peaceful charm of South Goa, there’s something for everyone.

Features of Beachfront Villas in Goa

Prime Locations: Situated near popular beaches like Anjuna, Vagator, and Palolem, or tucked away in secluded coastal areas.

Premium Amenities: Infinity pools, lush gardens, open-air decks, and state-of-the-art interiors.

Spacious Layouts: Designed to maximize natural light and offer seamless indoor-outdoor living.

Sustainability: Many villas incorporate eco-friendly designs, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting systems.

Why Buy from LVR Homes?

At LVR Homes, we specialize in helping you find the finest beachside villas for sale in Goa. Our mission is to make your dream of owning a beachfront property come true, providing exceptional service every step of the way.

Why Choose Us?

Curated Listings: We offer a wide range of beachfront villas, from cozy retreats to grand estates.

Local Expertise: Our team has in-depth knowledge of Goa’s real estate market, ensuring you find the perfect property.

Tailored Support: From site visits to legal guidance, we make the buying process seamless.

Transparency: We prioritize clear communication and ethical practices, ensuring a hassle-free experience.

How to Own Your Beachfront Villa

Browse Listings: Visit LVR Homes to explore available beachfront properties.

Schedule a Viewing: Contact us to arrange property tours tailored to your preferences.

Consult with Experts: Our team will guide you through financing, legal documentation, and negotiations.

Seal the Deal: Finalize your purchase and step into a lifestyle of luxury and serenity.

Live Your Beachside Dream

A beachfront villa in Goa isn’t just a property; it’s a gateway to an idyllic lifestyle. Imagine hosting parties by the sea, indulging in morning beach walks, or simply unwinding in your private haven. At LVR Homes, we bring this dream within reach.

Visit LVR Homes today to explore our exclusive listings of beachside villas for sale in Goa. Let us help you find your perfect slice of paradise.

Start your journey to luxury beachside living today!

[inboundremblog]

Pescadero, Mexico Real Estate: A Growing Investment Opportunity in a Coastal Paradise

Credit: Image by dimitrisvetsikas1969 | Pixabay

Pescadero, Mexico Real Estate: A Rich Agricultural History

Pescadero is a small and unknown mass-travel town on the Pacific Ocean of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an agricultural hub. Initially created by Jesuit missionaries in 1724, this little-known place has gradually grown into a rather promising area for real estate development for those who desire silence, fresh air, and scenery.

It also belongs to the category of popular tourist attractions. From beachfront homes and investments to elegant villas, Pescadero, Mexico, Real Estate has emerged as a potential holiday destination and a residential area.

Most towns are still pervasively agricultural; agriculture is the foundation of Pescadero's transformation to modernity.

At the start of the 18th century, the Jesuit padres offered religious, social, and administrative organizations that observed the rich soil and massive water channels from the mountains, making the region an ideal place for developing as a significant agricultural production center.

The Jesuits took advantage of the aquifer, which supplied water underground. This water was used to nurture crops and cultivate farmland, making the region a food basket for neighboring establishments.

Farming has continuously been an essential part of Pescadero even to date. Today, you can witness great plains of chili and basil, which play a crucial role in making this region one of the most productive in the country.

Due to its moderate climate, relatively low temperatures, and the effect of ocean proximity, these crops can indeed grow. Hence, you get the bang of cultivated agricultural fields against arid, exposed coastal regions.

But it isn't just an agricultural hub—over recent years, people have flocked to the region because of its beautiful landscape and laid-back attitude.

A Coastal Retreat with Proximity to Tourist Hotspots

With several other land features and tourist attractions in Baja California Sur nearby, Pescadero remains one of the attraction's favorites.

Only an hour's drive north of Cabo San Lucas or ten minutes from the artistic town of Todos Santos, Pescadero offers serenity without isolation.

Cabo San Lucas is one of Baja's most popular destinations, featuring a thriving nightlife, new hotel chains, fishing and marine activities, the new marina, and many more. At the same time, Todos Santos has an artsy village, galleries, restaurants, art festivals, and the like.

This central position makes Pescadero particularly desirable for those who want to escape a larger city's small and crowded atmosphere but still be near such places. This is not surprising given the importance placed on Quality of life, and anything that comes with it is much sought after.

Pescadero remained a secret for a while, but nowadays, many families are interested in the real estate properties being offered in this town.

Whether the client wants to live in the countryside with beautiful farmlands around it or wants a new stylish villa that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, Pescadero has every listing.

Ocean-View Properties

A distinctive aspect of the community is the large number of houses with an ocean view of Pescadero.

Prospects can see areas with magnificent sea views of the Pacific Ocean on the Coast and Sites, and potential buyers can purchase spacious territories for the same prices as the coastal plots. Most are situated on pretty steep hillsides, and each homesite offers panoramic ocean views and the spectacular landscape of the Baja Peninsula.

These oceanfront lots are desirable because many homebuyers want to build new homes or develop second homes, such as beach cottages or small hotels that benefit from the island's expanding tourism sector.

Since Pescadero is surrounded by beautiful scenery and experiences fairly good weather every day and night, people have been pushed to own holiday homes or use them for short-term rentals, which has been a good business for those who invest in that.

Luxurious Villas and Private Residences

More recently, new villas and private houses with clear elements of modern Mexican architecture have been built. Many of these homes boast intricate designs like Mexican tiles, finely crafted furniture, and sundial murals that depict the culture of the Mexican community.

Almost all properties are created with an emphasis on that all-important outside space, with large terraces, astonishing infinity pools, and impressive gardens, all enjoying the excellent Mediterranean climate all year round.

For those who seek solitude and anonymity, big houses boast solitude and seclusion and can be nestled right in the greens of Pescadero, often surrounded by rolling farms. These private residences are perfect for those who want to escape the noise of the city while being surrounded by the stunning nature and attractions of Baja California Sur.

Agricultural Properties

Pescadero also offers the chance to purchase farmland for people who want to invest in farming or buyers who love to be associated with sustainable living.

Due to its being primarily an agricultural state, there is still ample space to cultivate everything from vegetables to herbs and flowers.

Many investors are looking into visiting farmer activities where farming and hospitality are interwoven to give visitors an experience of how agriculture is conducted.

The Allure of Pescadero's Lifestyle

In addition to its real estate portfolio, Pescadero may be most unique as a place to live. She said it is a community where people live relaxed, amid nature, and with their fellow citizens.

Most places in the region are fluently developed and adaptable; therefore, they are ideal for retirement, working from home, or even as a place for a comfortable family environment.

Beaches near the area, including the Playa Los Cerritos, are ideal for surfing, swimming, or sunbathing near the beach.

Anyone interested in adventure can hike to some of the several trails in the region, practice surfing, or visit any of the wildlife reserves. Further, Pescadero lies astride the Tropic of Cancer, so the regional climate is temperate, with ocean air helping to economize on temperatures during the summer season.

Why Invest in Pescadero Real Estate?

Pescadero is at the right age to enjoy real estate growth since it is surrounded by scenic beauty, agricultural land, and nearby famous tourist attraction centers from the Mexican side and international countries. Right now, the islands are still significantly cheaper than, for instance, Cabo San Lucas, so it is still possible to buy property before the prices rise even higher.

Furthermore, the demand for vacation lets and environmentally conscious products brought the possibility of long-term sustainable development to the progressive community of Pescadero.

Enhance your experience with https://caborealtypros.com/pacific/pescadero/ by visiting our platform.

Explore Pescadero, Mexico, real estate, which offers beachfront properties, modern homes, and investment opportunities.

[arizonadreamretirement]

Best Open Houses for Sale in Sun City AZ!

Whether you are looking for an active retirement community, Sun City has something for everyone. If you are considering purchasing a home in this community, attending open houses is the perfect way to explore your options and find your dream retirement home. With the help of experienced real estate agents like Arizona Dream Retirement, finding the perfect open house for sale in Sun City AZ, will be a smooth and enjoyable process. Don't miss out on the opportunity to find your dream retirement home in Sun City - call (623) 308-4177 today!

[thelesliekoppgroup]

The Leslie Kopp Group is your go-to resource for finding the perfect Fenwick Island houses for sale. With their expertise and dedication to client satisfaction, they have established themselves as one of the leading real estate agencies in the area. We strive to empower our clients with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions throughout their home buying journey.

The Leslie Kopp Group 33298 Coastal Highway, Unit 4, Bethany Beach, DE 19930 (302) 541–5207

My Official Website: https://www.bestofbethany.com/ Google Plus Listing: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=7947788848571371192

Our Other Links:

Bethany Beach property: https://www.bestofbethany.com/bethany-beach.php North Bethany real estate: https://www.bestofbethany.com/north-bethany.php South Bethany homes for sale: https://www.bestofbethany.com/south-bethany.php Ocean View DE homes for sale: https://www.bestofbethany.com/ocean-view.php retirement communities Delaware Beaches: https://www.bestofbethany.com/beach-retirement.php Sea Colony homes for sale: https://www.bestofbethany.com/sea-colony-west.php homes for sale Dagsboro DE: https://www.bestofbethany.com/dagsboro.php homes for sale Millville By The Sea: https://www.bestofbethany.com/millville-by-the-sea.php Dewey Beach realtors: https://www.bestofbethany.com/dewey-beach.php homes for sale in swann cove Selbyville DE: https://www.bestofbethany.com/swann-cove.php

Service We Offer:

Property Management Real Estate Management Realtor

Follow Us On:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelesliekoppgroup Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelesliekoppgroup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/group_the44294 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TheLeslieKoppGroup/

[lovingazhomes]

Why You May Still Want To Sell Your House After All

Why You May Still Want To Sell Your House After All Even though you may feel reluctant to sell your house because you don’t want to take on a mortgage rate that’s higher than the one you have now.  While the financial side of things does matter, your personal needs may actually matter just as much. As an article from Bankrate says: “Deciding whether it’s the right time to sell your home is a very…

[cristalgarciarealty]

2879 Carretas Court, Las Cruces, NM, 88007

3 Bedroom / 2 Full Bath / 2 Car Garage

All appliances convey: refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave, washer & dryer. Patio furniture, outdoor table and chairs also convey!

[freedom55adventure]

Watch "David, Panama, Condominium for sale GREAT DEAL!" on YouTube

[ingenia-federation]

Are you looking for a retirement village that offers an active lifestyle?

Ingenia Federation Werribee retirement villages offer residents an active and social lifestyle, with plenty of opportunities to get involved in a range of activities and clubs. Our villages are also pet-friendly, so you can continue to enjoy life with your furry friend by your side.

We believe that retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy life, not spend all your time maintaining a large home. That's why our retirement villages are designed for active seniors who want to live life to the fullest. With plenty of social activities and spacious homes surrounded by beautiful gardens, Werribee retirement villages are the perfect place to call home.

Contact us today for more information about our retirement villages or book a tour to see them for yourself!

[prinnay]

I'm moving house and having a big ol moving sale!! 25% off almost everything till Feb 21st! + some prints are being retired at the end of the month

[houseandlot]

100sqm for 420,000 pesos (Cash only) -Km 8 Tadiangan Asin Rd,Tuba, Benguet -Titled lot -With developed/cemented ng road -Near jeepney line -20 minutes drive to Baguio City proper -Flat to semi slope

[inboundremblog]

Sedona AZ Cost of Living: What You Need to Know Before Moving

Credit: Image by Towfiqu barbhuiya | Unsplash

Beyond the Red Rocks: Understanding Sedona, AZ Cost of Living

With its picturesque landscape of red rock formations and extraordinary climatic conditions throughout the year, it is not surprising that Sedona is an appealing place to visit in Arizona. If you are considering relocating to this beautiful place, first, get to to know why the Sedona AZ cost of living is essential.

It involves determining costs related to housing, food, transportation, and medical care. Thus, by analyzing these factors, people can establish whether Sedona has adequate resources per capita and whether the people in Sedona have preferred lifestyles.

Overview of Sedona's Cost of Living

The factors contributing to the cost of living in Sedona, AZ, are the tourist attraction center and geographical inaccessibility. Therefore, it can be deduced that the cost of living in Sedona is comparatively higher than in other parts of Arizona or even the national mean.

To get a clearer picture of how financially prepared one must be to reside in Sedona, the following are the significant living costs in the area:

Housing Costs

Shelter and food are among the most expensive necessities anyone must pay for. The former is usually the biggest in any city, and Sedona is no different. However, the availability of houses to buy has changed, and prices have increased, making this city among the most costly cities in Arizona to afford housing.

Home Prices: The average house in Sedona is about $700,000, which is relatively above the $350,000 for the whole of America. The city's position and scarcity of land have led to high costs, and many people are snapping up homes in serene areas.

Renting: For those who may not be in a position to own a house, there is the option of leasing, though this is not cheap either. The usual monthly price for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,500 and for a two-bedroom apartment, $2,000. These rates are also above those for the state of N.H. and the nation.

Property Taxes: Taxes, primarily property taxes, are well bearable in Sedona compared to other parts of the United States. The average effective property tax in Arizona is 0. It was 62% on average, and Sedona's rates also fall under the same bracket.

Utility Costs

The utilities are typically in line with most cities, though they can be slightly higher depending on the month. This further indicates that the climate here is relatively moderate and does not warrant severe heating and cooling.

Electricity and Gas: The monthly expenses for electricity, heating, cooling, water, and garbage are estimated to be about $150 on average.

Internet and Cable: High-speed Internet and cable T.V. packages cost $75 a month, which is approximately the national rate.

Food and Grocery Expenses

The pricing of food and groceries in Sedona may also be higher than in other parts of the country, primarily because the food distribution system in this city is separate from obtaining food from primary wholesale supply sources.

Groceries: The basic food basket in Sedona might cost an individual approximately $350 a month, and for a family of four, the expenditure might go up to $1,000 per month.

Dining Out: Meals served in restaurants in Sedona are also relatively expensive. A fast food meal costs around $15, and the average charge for a three-course dinner at a mid-cost restaurant is around $60.

Transportation Costs

Transport costs are cheap compared to other large cities. After all, Sedona is a small city with relatively short distances.

Gasoline: The price of gas in Sedona is $3. Nationwide, the cost per gallon is pegged at $2. 50, which is, in their view, just slightly higher than the actual number of people with AIDS.

Public Transportation: Sedona also needs more sound public transportation that could have employed them or taken them to volunteer wherever they wanted to be. VerdeLynx is a bus service that connects Sedona and Cottonwood; the one-way charge is $2. 50. However, most residents rely on their cars as a way of transportation.

Vehicle Expenses: Sedona's average car insurance price is $1,200 annually. In contrast, other Costs related to car maintenance and registration are similar to Arizona's rates.

Healthcare Costs

There is also the aspect of healthcare whereby the cost of living in Sedona will depend on the price of paying doctors and other related health facilities.

Compared with the rest of the United States, healthcare costs in Arizona are comparatively low; however, Sedona's rural environment means that sometimes costs can be higher, and services are limited.

Medical Services: As mentioned above, the price for medical services in Sedona significantly exceeds the national average because of the shortage of healthcare facilities in the given locality. A routine visit to a doctor might set a patient back about $120.

Health Insurance: Arizona's premiums are also in the middle of the ranking, a little more than the national average. However, these premiums differ depending on the insurance level and provider.

Education and Childcare

To families with children, the cost of living implies that education and childcare costs are fundamental.

Public Schools: Sedona's public school system is Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District, which has several good-ranked public schools. Education in Australia is free in public schools. However, the child may have to pay for a uniform or detailed tuition for some activities.

Private Schools: The cost of private tuition in Sedona, depending on the school, is between $5,500 and $15,000 for a year, depending on the grade.

Miscellaneous Expenses

Other minor expenses incurred by personnel include entertainment, gym, and other general expenditures in Sedona.

Entertainment: Some of the favorite activities for the visitors are outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, arts, and cultures, among others. There are often days when we do not have to spend anything to go outside and engage in some form of fun: activities such as walking, biking to different areas such as parks, picnicking, and the like are free, whereas the other types of activities such as going for a museum, watching a play, the festivals, and the likes are costly.

Fitness: The membership fee for the Sedona gym is between $50 and $60 monthly.

Personal Care: Barbering services, hair cutting, and other social amenities in the city are slightly more costly than in different parts of the country due to the city's tourist-based economy.

Comparing Sedona's Cost of Living

When comparing Sedona to other towns or cities regarding the cost of living, one needs to consider the quality of life in Sedona and the facilities it offers.

Despite possibly being more expensive than other Arizona cities, Sedona has all the elements of a fulfilling life; natural wonders, recreational activities, and an excellent arts scene prove them right.

Sedona's cost of living is slightly higher than Swofford's and surpasses Arizona's and national averages, mainly regarding housing and food. However, the city's picture-perfect view, weather, relative inactivity, and cultural and physical activities attract many prospective residents.

Still, consider these costs while moving and estimate them based on your budget and life priorities.

Learn more about the cost of living in Sedona, AZ, by checking out our blog post at https://sedonaluxuryhomes.com/sedona-az-cost-of-living/.

[3liza]

i mean the truth is that we do not need and should not have all this stupid plastic clutter in or houses. no one should be producing or selling this shit. everyone make your own merchandise and charge a living hourly wage to sell it 🤷 sorry to be so simplistic about this but it's one of the results of the lack of class unity specifically in the means of production-owning creative class, who is not mentioned or dealt with by the core Marxist texts as far as I know (i asked about this earlier on here, did marx ever address in his analysis people like, for example, a professional photographer who owns a camera ans prints his own dagguereotypes? or a portrait painter or idk, independent milliner or seamstress? these people all own the means of production and do not employ anyone, and the answer from better educated people than I was that no, Marx didn't mention them), I'm not well read on this at all, there is just a big void where leftist analysis of what modern economists call "the creative class"

I'm getting off topic. my point is make your own keychains in your kitchen. it's actually not hard. you can even mass produce (on a small scale) little plastic crap if you want, with resin and a UV lamp, or a 3d printer, or a laser cutter and acrylic sheets (or just use balsa wood damn, at least its biodegradable and less tacky).

all this stuff is available to little creators AND there are hundreds of people who already own these machines who will take work for you and produce your designs. you just have to actually find them and know them and email them. that's what I mean about the class unity issue with creatives. we have no large scale union, we have no large scale class consciousness, and we're all sending our orders for little plastic crap to sweatshops instead of emailing a guy with a laser cutter in his garage and saying "hey Keith can I get uhhhhhhhhhhh 50 laser cut keychains of this twerking Diggler design I made, like how much would that cost" and he's like sure here's the work and materials cost and tbh it's always always less than i think it's going to be. you just have to do some basic arithmetic and then order shipping, and I hate order fulfillment with my life but you can actually pay or barter with someone to do that for you too. learn to delegate and then factor that into your unit cost. this is basic shit every commercial creator needs to know. they should teach you this in art school but they dont

don't give me crap about "I can't afford a laser cutter" either because I just told you to email Keith. and all these machines get sold secondhand when a manufacturer or hobbyist needs to upgrade. i got a color laser printer perfect for making zines and wheatpastes and shipping labels from a retired lesbian on capital hill for $75 and it was still full of ink. my friend gave me her 20 year old canon dslr because she just didn't need it and didn't want to bother selling it. it works fine because I spent the time finding the right drivers and shit for my computer. and card readers exist. Craigslist. Facebook marketplace. nextdoor sales section. eBay. everyone always forgets eBay. eBay lets you save searches and will email you when it finds a guy selling his vinyl plotter in your city with local pickup. I'm serious

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Leveraged buyouts are not like mortgages

I'm coming to DEFCON! On FRIDAY (Aug 9), I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On SATURDAY (Aug 10), I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

Here's an open secret: the confusing jargon of finance is not the product of some inherent complexity that requires a whole new vocabulary. Rather, finance-talk is all obfuscation, because if we called finance tactics by their plain-language names, it would be obvious that the sector exists to defraud the public and loot the real economy.

Take "leveraged buyout," a polite name for stealing a whole goddamned company:

Identify a company that owns valuable assets that are required for its continued operation, such as the real-estate occupied by its outlets, or even its lines of credit with suppliers;

Approach lenders (usually banks) and ask for money to buy the company, offering the company itself (which you don't own!) as collateral on the loan;

Offer some of those loaned funds to shareholders of the company and convince a key block of those shareholders (for example, executives with large stock grants, or speculators who've acquired large positions in the company, or people who've inherited shares from early investors but are disengaged from the operation of the firm) to demand that the company be sold to the looters;

Call a vote on selling the company at the promised price, counting on the fact that many investors will not participate in that vote (for example, the big index funds like Vanguard almost never vote on motions like this), which means that a minority of shareholders can force the sale;

Once you own the company, start to strip-mine its assets: sell its real-estate, start stiffing suppliers, fire masses of workers, all in the name of "repaying the debts" that you took on to buy the company.

This process has its own euphemistic jargon, for example, "rightsizing" for layoffs, or "introducing efficiencies" for stiffing suppliers or selling key assets and leasing them back. The looters – usually organized as private equity funds or hedge funds – will extract all the liquid capital – and give it to themselves as a "special dividend." Increasingly, there's also a "divi recap," which is a euphemism for borrowing even more money backed by the company's assets and then handing it to the private equity fund:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/17/divi-recaps/#graebers-ghost

If you're a Sopranos fan, this will all sound familiar, because when the (comparatively honest) mafia does this to a business, it's called a "bust-out":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_Out

The mafia destroys businesses on a onesy-twosey, retail scale; but private equity and hedge funds do their plunder wholesale.

It's how they killed Red Lobster:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/23/spineless/#invertebrates

And it's what they did to hospitals:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/28/5000-bats/#charnel-house

It's what happened to nursing homes, Armark, private prisons, funeral homes, pet groomers, nursing homes, Toys R Us, The Olive Garden and Pet Smart:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

It's what happened to the housing co-ops of Cooper Village, Texas energy giant TXU, Old Country Buffet, Harrah's and Caesar's:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/14/billionaire-class-solidarity/#club-deals

And it's what's slated to happen to 2.9m Boomer-owned US businesses employing 32m people, whose owners are nearing retirement:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/16/schumpeterian-terrorism/#deliberately-broken

Now, you can't demolish that much of the US productive economy without attracting some negative attention, so the looter spin-machine has perfected some talking points to hand-wave away the criticism that borrowing money using something you don't own as collateral in order to buy it and wreck it is obviously a dishonest (and potentially criminal) destructive practice.

The most common one is that borrowing money against an asset you don't own is just like getting a mortgage. This is such a badly flawed analogy that it is really a testament to the efficacy of the baffle-em-with-bullshit gambit to convince us all that we're too stupid to understand how finance works.

Sure: if I put an offer on your house, I will go to my credit union and ask the for a mortgage that uses your house as collateral. But the difference here is that you own your house, and the only way I can buy it – the only way I can actually get that mortgage – is if you agree to sell it to me.

Owner-occupied homes typically have uncomplicated ownership structures. Typically, they're owned by an individual or a couple. Sometimes they're the property of an estate that's divided up among multiple heirs, whose relationship is mediated by a will and a probate court. Title can be contested through a divorce, where disputes are settled by a divorce court. At the outer edge of complexity, you get things like polycules or lifelong roommates who've formed an LLC s they can own a house among several parties, but the LLC will have bylaws, and typically all those co-owners will be fully engaged in any sale process.

Leveraged buyouts don't target companies with simple ownership structures. They depend on firms whose equity is split among many parties, some of whom will be utterly disengaged from the firm's daily operations – say, the kids of an early employee who got a big stock grant but left before the company grew up. The looter needs to convince a few of these "owners" to force a vote on the acquisition, and then rely on the idea that many of the other shareholders will simply abstain from a vote. Asset managers are ubiquitous absentee owners who own large stakes in literally every major firm in the economy. The big funds – Vanguard, Blackrock, State Street – "buy the whole market" (a big share in every top-capitalized firm on a given stock exchange) and then seek to deliver returns equal to the overall performance of the market. If the market goes up by 5%, the index funds need to grow by 5%. If the market goes down by 5%, then so do those funds. The managers of those funds are trying to match the performance of the market, not improve on it (by voting on corporate governance decisions, say), or to beat it (by only buying stocks of companies they judge to be good bets):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/17/shareholder-socialism/#asset-manager-capitalism

Your family home is nothing like one of these companies. It doesn't have a bunch of minority shareholders who can force a vote, or a large block of disengaged "owners" who won't show up when that vote is called. There isn't a class of senior managers – Chief Kitchen Officer! – who have been granted large blocks of options that let them have a say in whether you will become homeless.

Now, there are homes that fit this description, and they're a fucking disaster. These are the "heirs property" homes, generally owned by the Black descendants of enslaved people who were given the proverbial 40 acres and a mule. Many prosperous majority Black settlements in the American South are composed of these kinds of lots.

Given the historical context – illiterate ex-slaves getting property as reparations or as reward for fighting with the Union Army – the titles for these lands are often muddy, with informal transfers from parents to kids sorted out with handshakes and not memorialized by hiring lawyers to update the deeds. This has created an irresistible opportunity for a certain kind of scammer, who will pull the deeds, hire genealogists to map the family trees of the original owners, and locate distant descendants with homeopathically small claims on the property. These descendants don't even know they own these claims, don't even know about these ancestors, and when they're offered a few thousand bucks for their claim, they naturally take it.

Now, armed with a claim on the property, the heirs property scammers force an auction of it, keeping the process under wraps until the last instant. If they're really lucky, they're the only bidder and they can buy the entire property for pennies on the dollar and then evict the family that has lived on it since Reconstruction. Sometimes, the family will get wind of the scam and show up to bid against the scammer, but the scammer has deep capital reserves and can easily win the auction, with the same result:

https://www.propublica.org/series/dispossessed

A similar outrage has been playing out for years in Hawai'i, where indigenous familial claims on ancestral lands have been diffused through descendants who don't even know they're co-owner of a place where their distant cousins have lived since pre-colonial times. These descendants are offered small sums to part with their stakes, which allows the speculator to force a sale and kick the indigenous Hawai'ians off their family lands so they can be turned into condos or hotels. Mark Zuckerberg used this "quiet title and partition" scam to dispossess hundreds of Hawai'ian families:

https://archive.is/g1YZ4

Heirs property and quiet title and partition are a much better analogy to a leveraged buyout than a mortgage is, because they're ways of stealing something valuable from people who depend on it and maintain it, and smashing it and selling it off.

Strip away all the jargon, and private equity is just another scam, albeit one with pretensions to respectability. Its practitioners are ripoff artists. You know the notorious "carried interest loophole" that politicians periodically discover and decry? "Carried interest" has nothing to do with the interest on a loan. The "carried interest" rule dates back to 16th century sea-captains, and it refers to the "interest" they had in the cargo they "carried":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

Private equity managers are like sea captains in exactly the same way that leveraged buyouts are like mortgages: not at all.

And it's not like private equity is good to its investors: scams like "continuation funds" allow PE looters to steal all the money they made from strip mining valuable companies, so they show no profits on paper when it comes time to pay their investors:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups

Those investors are just as bamboozled as we are, which is why they keep giving more money to PE funds. Today, the "dry powder" (uninvested money) that PE holds has reached an all-time record high of $2.62 trillion – money from pension funds and rich people and sovereign wealth funds, stockpiled in anticipation of buying and destroying even more profitable, productive, useful businesses:

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2di1vzgjcmzovkcea8f0g/portfolio/private-equitys-dry-powder-mountain-reaches-record-height

The practices of PE are crooked as hell, and it's only the fact that they use euphemisms and deceptive analogies to home mortgages that keeps them from being shut down. The more we strip away the bullshit, the faster we'll be able to kill this cancer, and the more of the real economy we'll be able to preserve.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/05/rugged-individuals/#misleading-by-analogy