[lbo-talk] Foreclosure crisis hitting Kansas City hard

[Chuck]

This is pretty significant because Kansas City has been riding an 
economic boom for the past 25 years. One can drive around the burbs here 
and see "for sale" signs in front of lots of houses. Four years ago, 
when I moved back, it was rare to see a real estate sign. The situation 
has also forced more homeowners in the burbs to spend thousands fixing 
up their houses so they can sell. One of our neighbors up the street has 
been selling their house for the past 6 months. They put a new roof on 
this summer and they just fixed all of the exterior walls (batten style) 
and re-painted. My father says that they'll still have problems selling 
because they didn't re-do the driveway. This is a house which is around 
35-years-old.

Foreclosures: Living in the Zone
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/content/investigative/story.aspx?content_id=2c5b86cf-dff4-4cc4-91be-087ce81a5ec2&rss=764
"We found the majority of the hot zones on the Missouri side, ranging 
from 56 to 110 for some zones, and up to 185 for others and the hardest 
hit topping out at 388."

Woot! More people are going to join me on the unemployment line!

Embarq to cut about 1,000 jobs by end of year
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=bf0e1cf5-83e0-46d4-bc19-7414e823fb1f&rss=764

"OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Embarq Corp. is cutting about 1,000 jobs as it 
relies on streamlining and more aggressive marketing to counter a soft 
economy and cutthroat competition."

Chuck
--------------------------
Bread and Roses Web Design
serving small businesses, non-profits, artists and activists
http://www.breadandrosesweb.com/