Comments on: Aspen’s Half-A-Billion Dollar Housing Scam http://www.aspenpost.net/2008/03/21/aspen%e2%80%99s-half-a-billion-dollar-housing-scam/ Think Global : Post Local Thu, 8 Jan 2009 13:35:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 by: Jerry Bovino http://www.aspenpost.net/2008/03/21/aspen%e2%80%99s-half-a-billion-dollar-housing-scam/#comment-45599 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:28:43 +0000 http://www.aspenpost.net/2008/03/21/aspen%e2%80%99s-half-a-billion-dollar-housing-scam/#comment-45599 Great Column Michael! An additional incongruity is that the RETT revenues that will be needed to fund the bond are largely dependent of affluent home buyers choosing Aspen. However, our Mayor often seems frustrated and even disdainful of these wealthy visitors and second home owners. How would we make the payments on the bonds if the rich decide they are sick of Aspen's class warfare and choose another beautiful resort? There is absolutely no guarantee that we will "remain cool forever." In reality, this is the same foolishness that led Citibank and Lehman brothers to buy billions of dollars of worthless subprime mortgages. Their notion that "all real estate loans are good loans" proved to be dead wrong. Similarly, the idea that RETT funds will grow forever may turn out to be a pipe dream. Maybe we should just package the RETT bonds into CDOs and sell them to Bear Stearns. Great Column Michael!
An additional incongruity is that the RETT revenues that will be needed to fund the bond are largely dependent of affluent home buyers choosing Aspen. However, our Mayor often seems frustrated and even disdainful of these wealthy visitors and second home owners. How would we make the payments on the bonds if the rich decide they are sick of Aspen's class warfare and choose another beautiful resort? There is absolutely no guarantee that we will "remain cool forever."
In reality, this is the same foolishness that led Citibank and Lehman brothers to buy billions of dollars of worthless subprime mortgages. Their notion that "all real estate loans are good loans" proved to be dead wrong. Similarly, the idea that RETT funds will grow forever may turn out to be a pipe dream.
Maybe we should just package the RETT bonds into CDOs and sell them to Bear Stearns.

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