Software Developer and Performance Engineer
Rants
All rants go here so people can avoid them if they want.
Another Wave of Foreclosures in the Making?
May 7th
Buying a house is a huge decision and one that should not be entered into lightly. Unfortunately, thousands of people have done just that and we have foreclosures everywhere. The government wants to give everyone 10% or $8k (whichever is less) vouchers for buying a house to simulate sales. They are even considering letting people use that $8k as a down payment. Will this not cause a second wave of foreclosures? The program is only for those who are buying their primary residence. If they need $8k from the government as a down payment to buy the home, they should not be buying at all.
Replace My Gas Guzzler? No Way!
May 5th
Recently the government wants all of us to turn in our gas guzzlers and buy more efficient vehicles. While the idea sounds good in principle, I think it will only help those who were going to buy a new vehicle anyway. I drive a Ford F150 for utility reasons. I use it to haul mulch, drywall, recycling materials, lawn mower, lumber, and lots of other things. For me, having a truck is all about its utility. I cannot haul 2 cubic yards of mulch in car or van. Yes, it gets 17 miles to the gallon, but the vehicle saves me time and money because of all the things I can do with it.
My vehicle qualifies for the voucher program being considered, but why would I want to buy another vehicle in this economy? They want to give me money toward the purchase of a more efficient vehicle. But it will cost me money because I’ll have to get a loan or pay cash for the difference. Why would anyone want to do that, especially when future income may be in doubt? I’m trying to avoid expenses and make due with what I have. Buying a newer vehicle means higher insurance, less money in my pocket, and a vehicle that I am more afraid to put a scratch on. I think I’ll just stick with my 100% paid for Ford F150.
New Fannie Mae rules are making things worse, not better.
Sep 27th
By now everyone knows the big problems in the housing market. What you probably don’t know is a rule that will probably make things worse. It was designed to protect Fannie Mae, but it is having the opposite effect. It is making things worse and will prolong the pain of this housing downturn. Worse yet, it will devalue the loans Fannie Mae has bought even more. You can only value something as much as someone will pay for it. The foreclosed homes are sitting on the market even longer because investors can no longer buy as many homes.
RULE: Investors may only have up to 4 investment property loans as per Fannie Mae. It used to be 10.
PROBLEM: Investors are unable to buy homes and they they sit on the market. Getting loans to buy these homes has gotten very expensive.
RESULT: Homes are going to be on the market much longer and the housing market is going to remain repressed for much longer than it should. Investors would love to buy homes but they can not. People who want to sell are unable to find people who can get a loan. The value of homes will decrease much further as a result because investors will have to use more of their own money to buy a house and will want a greater discount as a result.
What should Fannie Mae do? Put the limit back to 10. I am not suggesting that they raise it higher than 10, but there are a lot of people who would be willing to buy homes right now because of the low cost. Another thing Fannie Mae should do is not allow these loans to be less than 20% down. This will ensure that the investor has money at stake and not the 0% down or 5% down that got everyone into trouble.
Finally, they should require that the foreclosure proceedings are more quickly executed. In Ohio, it takes about a year for the entire process to be worked out. In that time the house has been empty, unkept, and is loosing value because of damage, copper being stolen, water damage, and a host of other problems because it the house sitting vacant for so long. By the time these homes are back on the market everyone is loosing a ton of money, especially the banks, and an investor who wants to buy has to do so at a big discount because of all the repairs that will be needed. If the house was pushed through the foreclosure process in 2-3 months, the houses wouldn’t be in bad shape and they could be sold at a better price.
Just finished reading Joel Spolsky’s book Smart & Gets Things Done
Sep 9th
Joel Spolsky’s book about how to hire smart people should be read by management everywhere. I loved the ideas he had for how to treat developers. I once took a job with a large company and was told that I had to use a computer that was crashing without warning every 20 minutes to an hour or so. They could not replace it until all the steps for dealing with the trouble had been gone through. After 3 weeks, everything option had been exhausted and I was finally given another computer that actually worked.
At other companies I am told that larger monitors, bigger hard drives, split keyboards, and other hardware items are too expensive or are not in the budget. I don’t understand how companies can spend $60,000 per year on a developer but not spend $2000 on hardware to make sure they are productive. I can see frivolous items like 30 inch monitors costing $3000 being rejected. But if a developer says they need a 28 inch monitor that costs $500 at COSTCO, why not get it for them? If they want a $100 mouse and keyboard, why not get it for them? They will be happy to come to work using the latest and the greatest tools that can be bought, and will be that much more productive. They will definitely think twice before leaving a company that is so nice to them making sure they are being taken care of.
Now Joel goes as far as taking employees to a Broadway play, trips to scenic places, and much more. There is no way I would want to live in New York City. But I definitely like the idea of what he is trying to do and respect the reasons for him doing. My hope is that others will pick up on what they are doing, especially in the Midwest.