today Denny Hecker's father in law ( i think )

shot himself in the head in a suicide attempt. he was accused of hiding $81,000 assets for Denny Hecker. another life shattered, so Hecker can hold onto a few extra bucks.

So we have Tom Petters, Denny Hecker, and Bernie Madoff all going to "Federal Pound Me In The Ass" prisons after fucking up so many peoples lives.

what kills me about all of this- as an example, Denny Hecker had a fucking EMPIRE at his fingertips. he had SO many employees, and all the locations needed to sell vehicles, repair shops, etc. an EMPIRE. all he had to do was go on vacation, and the business would run themselves and he would still earn a paycheck. but NO, he couldnt do things the right way and make honest money, he took this empire down in flames and now has nothing to show for it.

there are people like me busting their ass, and making ends meet with next to nothing, and the guys who have everything they need to make legit $$$ still cant keep things straight

They should have run for public office and stole it without going to jail.

Makes all the more hilarious Hecker's slogan:

WE'RE GOOD PEEPL HELPIN' GOOD PEEPL!!!

...and tell 'em Denny sent ya!

I don't think any of those three are going to be in with violent criminals... Their lawyers could (and will) sue to have them moved to a min-security facility like what Martha Stewart got.

But, that is not to say they don't deserve a taste of what "brotherly love" has to offer.

he had the empire because of his shady business..  what makes me wonder is why he didn't just skip out of the country with all of his money and leave them high and dry as soon as he had enough cash...  people just never know when to stop when they start stealing.

I don't think that's quite true...It was all a leveraged "pyramid scheme" that came crashing down with the economy.   All his money was credit paper.

The funniest thing is his old used car lot on Hwy 65 North of 10 which still reads "Bad credit?  No problem!".

I laughed when I read that yesterday.

I think Denny Hecker was leveraged to the hilt and that's why his financial life (and the rest for that matter) fell apart. The way I see it, when the "richest" guy on the block has a lien against everything he has, he was actually the poorest guy on the block.

But he lived the good life while it lasted, right?!

I truly believe in Karma and what Goes around, Comes around.  It's bit me on a small scale before when I've tested it.  It always seems to win.

Treat people fairly, and how you would want to be treated if in the same situation.  It's why I don't exactly feel sorry for the people that are currently under water on their house right now.  I chose a smaller and cheaper house 8 years ago when I bought.  Sure, I could have "bought" a McMansion like everyone else was buying then, but I bought a modest home that I could actually afford long term.  Those that over extended....well, why should I pay for them now?

People like Hecker make me sick.  Leveraged to the point where one missed payment causes a billion dollar collapse?  What ever happened to building up a business with natural growth and hard work?  When did Leveraging to 150% become "the in thing"?

Somewhere around 2003 or so.

I stopped by there when I was car shopping, they were changing everything and I asked if they were bought out by someone. when the guy said DH I said oh, thank you for your time. then left.

 

Being under water on a house doesn't mean you can't afford it, it just means it's worth a whole lot less.  Anyone who bought a house from 2004-2008 is in this category.  My house is worth at least 25k less, but I was and can still currently afford it easily.  That is not to be confused with folks who bought houses they couldn't afford, and banked on the house appreciating to offset this later on.  Two different things.

Excellent point!

Equity is just a number.  It means nothing unless you are going to:  1.)  sell it  2.)  finance or re-finance it.
Your net worth including 401(k), home equity, and personal property is only worth what it is or will be when you convert it to CASH!  Everyone who thinks they lost money over the last few years is brainwashed into thinking that they made the money prior to that point in either the housing or the stock market.  You only make or lose money if you buy or sell something based on the amount you paid for it originally.

/lesson

PAPER loss vs. actual loss.

Pure Economic Loss I believe is the official term.  A loss that exists only on balance sheets.

Which means, it does decrease your net worth, so to most, it does feel like a real loss.  It also prevents you from selling your house if you don't have the cash to make up the difference.  Probably making some people feel like they are trapped if they don't like their current choice.

But yes, it's hard to feel sorry for those who ran out and bought starter castles.  Except for the fact that the rest of us have to pay to clean up the mess.

i bought the smallest house i could find with just enough room to store my equipment ( huge garage )

at the time, the ONLY houses in my city were slightly less and needed 40K worth of renovations, or 30K more with NO garage space....

i felt like i was making a pretty modest purchase and love my home and neighborhood.

but then the road assessment tax kicked in, i think property taxes went up, and the mortgage didnt feel so modest anymore. every other living expense has gone up with it.


so i do see how some people who tried to live within their means can get into trouble, but i dont feel so bad for people with $400K starter homes