Just a Librarian

Fun with live maps

I have another fun one from live maps. This is what happens when different zoom levels are from different years!


Vanishing Walmart (and others)

posted by Thomas @ 10:05 AM 0 comments

Train links

I have been playing with live maps lately. I found a couple interesting train pictures from here in Jackson. The first is a function of the way the pictures are made in passes. The same train shows up in the pictures twice. The second is a derailment in the local yard that just happened to get caught on film. Enjoy.

Same Train

Derailment

posted by Thomas @ 12:05 PM 0 comments

Eyes are starting to open.....

A new study was released today by ACORN. The Jackson Metro area ranks as #4 on their list of cities with high foreclosure exposure. Setting aside their racial analysis, there is another conclusion that can be drawn from their report: the housing market in this area is out of sorts. One of the reasons for the sheer volume of dangerous loans is the fact that housing prices have outstripped incomes in this area for a while. Very few affordable houses are on the market if you compare the price against the average incomes for the area. This forces people to make bad choices. You can either live in a substandard house in a bad part of town, or you can take out risky financing and hope you can cover the cost to provide a good life for your family. It is a fairly obvious choice for most people, even though the end result is your family may wind up on the streets when the nice house is foreclosed.

I got lucky and found a good house in my price range in a decent neighborhood. We made the offer when the house had been on the market for 7 days. Houses here that are actually priced at their value disappear in a week, maybe two. The houses that have been on the market for any length of time either have problems, or are badly overpriced. Either way there is no value for money in those houses. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky. Some people have no choice but to buy overpriced houses because that is what is available here for the most part. This holds true in both the new market and the resale market. These houses are the ones being creatively financed. (FWIW I got a 30 year fixed conventional loan, and wouldn't have considered any of the other options.)

You should read the report as it sheds light on a big problem in this country (and quite frankly their racial argument is convincing as well).

posted by Thomas @ 3:54 PM 0 comments