Yes, the lender just happened to revoke the foreclosure notice? Wouldn't happen to be a bank dealing with the city on any official business, would it?

Mayor Creepy is doing the same thing to this city as he is doing to his personal life. He needs to resign and go away, he is such a pathetic person!

Our mayor is paying 8.4% on his mortgages! When last I checked, current competitive rates are in the mid to high 4's, a huge difference in monthly payments for the debt he is carrying. Either he has no interest in understanding how to manage his own personal finances or his credit rating is so bad he can't get competitive rates. Probably both. Is it any wonder that the red numbers, in the pink column to the left on this blog, are not going to get better anytime soon.

I can no longer keep up with all that is happening locally.
When I scroll down the threads of the last couple weeks it appears we are witnessing a total meltdown.

I can't imagine how the ruling class around here pulls out of it.

Their incompetence has caught with their arrogance, irresponsibility and dishonesty.

Or the other way around?

This could go on for months.

But not years.

Soooo glad this guy is our mayor.

Our mayor is paying 8.4% on his mortgages!

Actually, that sounds about right for a fixed-rate home equity loan or line of credit in this current market (adjustable-rate HELOCs are lower, but we know how dangerous those things are). The 4-and-a-quarter rates are for low-risk, 30-year fixed mortgages with 20% or more in down payment.

Not that that is meant as any sort of defense . . .

Eric, please get a clue. With decent credit, you can get a home equity line of credit in the 4's at Umpqua, and in the 3's at OnPoint. Adams has no credit. The banks are smarter than the voters.

My equity line of credit is prime minus 1%, with a minimum rate of 2.99%. 2.99% is where it has been for a long time.

My 23-yr-old daughter bought her house last December with 5% down and decent (but not sterling) credit, and her rate is around 5% - which was the lowest at the time. Rates have dropped more -as noted here- since.

Public source documents on PortlandMaps, a cCty of Port;and web site, say he lives at 2131 N McClennan, and rents out the tri plex at 2131 N McClennan.

What you people are missing is that even though the Mayor was also facing money problems early in his term, he was still willing to help a friend in need by leaving cash envelopes at City Hall for Beau Breedlove, prior to an investigation.
Rather than dwell on the Mayor's financial skills, can't we at least take a moment to admire him as a person? Lending to a friend in need is extra special when you're facing a shortfall of your own. I'd even call it saint-like.
You also have to admire someone like our State Attorney General Kroger who could look past the pesky implications of those cash envelopes, and see the inner beauty that is Sam's soul.

Typo correction.

Public records at PortlandMaps indicate that Sam Adams lives at 2121 and rents out 2131 N Mclennan.

Home Foreclosures Soar, Again
http://247wallst.com/2010/09/16/home-foreclosures-soar-again/

My HELOC is currently 3.25%, and adjusts quarterly. It has a 8.5% lifetime cap.

Either way, letting a man who can't manage his own money manage a billion dollar budget is very very foolish. It also increases the likelihood the Mayor may seek illegal "DONATIONS" or
"loans" consisting of envelopes stuffed with cash..

How can a guy pull in a steady $118k a year, default, and then pull a rabbit out of his hat to make everything OK with the lender?

TWICE!

You know there's a sugar daddy out there. And I bet that sugar daddy knows how to lay streetcar tracks.

Why can't any of our intrepid reporters just ... follow ... the ... money: The resulting story will be All the President's Men meets Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

It looks like he fell victim to the notion that if some banker is willing to lend lots of money to him that he must be a success . . . to buy stuff at a far higher price than it is worth. There has been an epidemic of this sort of thing.

Maybe he can have the City Attorney staff look into the routine and systematic violation of 18 USC 1014 prohibiting the overvaluation of collateral; and no, collateral has nothing to do with credit rating or even ability or willingness to repay.

Really, I just want him to make available complete copies of the official appraisals for each of the subject properties, and the loan amounts. $130,000 for a 748sqft shack? The appraiser and banker in this sort of deal needs be looked at just as if they were a payday lender.

We can slay the beast called "affordable housing" through huge debt, which is just a synonym for "homeownership" through huge debt. When anyone touts the high homeownership rates they are really touting the market saturation for the folks that are in the business of creating debt slaves. Does debt make you feel free?

Conceptually, the collateral valuation for purposes of 18 USC 1014 should be something very close to the rental-justified price for residential property, isolating out the financing nonsense.

The seed for this group nonsense -- unaccountability -- was fertilized through deposit insurance.

March, 1980--Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDMCA) enacted. The law is a Carter Administration initiative aimed at eliminating many of the distinctions among different types of depository institutions and ultimately removing interest rate ceiling on deposit accounts. Authority for federal S&Ls to make ADC (acquisition, development, construction) loans is expanded. Deposit insurance limit raised to $100,000 from $40,000. This last provision is added without debate.

The fallout has not yet reached a climax.

From the Oregonian in 6-22-2009:
"The records released today contradict statements Adams made in January, when he told The Oregonian's editorial board he had done no favors for Breedlove.

Attorney General John Kroger didn't mention the payments to Breedlove in his office's report or in a news conference today in Salem."

I just wanted to clarify my earlier comment: The payments were made in late 2008, but he was still facing financial problems early in his first term - he was just not in office yet.

When the requests for the "loans" came in from Beau, cynics may suggest Sam thought he better pay up at least through the investigation. But that would be such a misread and frankly, a disservice to this man's character. I see it more that Sam was even willing to risk the appearance of impropriety if that's what it took to help a friend.

I don't think we should get bogged down in thinking ill of someone's selfless motives. For example, the reason Sam left the money for Beau in envelopes at City Hall could have been that he's one of those people who's shy when it comes to praise - he just wants to help without being there for the embarrassing displays of gratitude.

With noble qualities like these, it's no wonder Sam made such a good mentor.

Very entertaining posts, Bill! Even if Sam the Sham is a poor mayor with execrable judgment and character, at least he's great fodder for comedians.

Less partying and more responsibility might help the kiddie mayor... self discipline (fiscal and otherwise) is so hard for kids

Pat,
Thanks for the kind words. I also want to take this opportunity to thank God in heaven or any other version of your choice - for the gift of Christine O'Donnell. A younger hotter crazier version of Sarah Palin? Thank you from the comedy writers of America.

Remember, we were the ones who countered the hype when they tried to sneak Sarah Caribou-boo by in the last weeks of Campaign 2008. You don't think Tina Fey had an impact on that election? And now here we go again:

Delaware's Sarah 2.0 believes masturbation is adultery. Christine, let's just say the comedy writers of America are aroused and excited by this, and we are definitely pulling for you.

I think Sam is "such a good mentor" that he is even mentoring himself-from his personal life to the public's.

For example his personal borrowing prowess of extending his line-of-credit over four times extends to SoWhat. He wants Milwaukie Light Rail so bad, to pay back the Transit Warlords. So, CoP is obligated to pay $30 Million of it. But yhere's no funds.

He then declares that he's taking $10 Million from Service Development Charges (SDCs)from SoWhat alone. No vote of the URAC. No vote of the Council. He's now $20 Million short.

Again, he declares he's taking $10 Million in TIF SoWhat dollars. No votes. Now he's just $10 Million short. Then he declares he'll borrow the remaining dollars from future parking meter revenue and other miscellaneous sources.

That is why his personal habits are important to how he thinks our City should operate using an ATM machine. Please, someone, arrest the thief or shut the ATM machine down.

Yet another "Teachable Moment" from our "Education Mayor."

Thank you, Sam.

Not an excuse, for defaulting on his mortgage, but if Sam bought or refinanced the property at say 90% loan to value, and the value of the property dropped significantly during this recession. He would now owe more on his loan than the property is worth.

This is the same situation I am currently dealing with. in 2007, my house was worth 245 thousand. I refinanced at 7.6%. Now my property is worth around $190,000, and I still owe 232 thousand on the mortgage. I've talked to several banks and mortgage lenders, and no one will refinance me.

Again?
Please do us and yourself a favor and if you are not a financial person, instead of having staff of 25 or whatever it is now working on bike paths, and every other little green thing around, just hire one good financial person who knows about green - green money and running the basics of a city.

. . .and speaking of favors, if you have to keep giving favors to stay in, have some respect for yourself, do not go down in history as the Mayor who participated in bankrupting the city.

I wonder if the Mayor will vote for all the property tax measures on the ballot this upcoming November given he could probably use less taxation. Of course, the Mayor may be getting kickbacks in some form or another to dodge his private over spending habits, and therefore, he could care less about regular citizens who actually try to make a stagnating budget.

Well, if Washington DC can kick out its mayor, there's still hope for even Portland where the electorate is financially naive but do know a lot that is wrong. For example, I remember talking just prior to the November 2008 election to one of my liberal neighbors who said he didn't trust DoShono relative to Adams.

Bill re: O'Donnell

Don't stroke her ego......

Eric:

Just to clarify, the 8.4 percent interest rate that I mentioned in the story is for a a 30-year loan issued in August 2006 for $279,120. It is not a home-equity line.

Ryan

Why doesn't he refinance? Because his credit is so lousy, he can't?

Above the city debt tally on your page you should consider a countdown of how many days left in Sam's administration; along with a count of how many gaffes thus far in his administration so we can visualize our bleak future over the next two+ years and how much more stupidity we will all have to endure.

I thought Homer Williams was talking about making Adams a loan back when the his first home-finance disasters beckoned. So maybe Homer has come to the rescue this time.

Homer was one of the folks tapped for an opinion by the local press about what to do about Adams. His response?

"Just let the man do his job."

I know PDX isn't Chicago, or anything, but seriously, isn't there some kind of giant ethical-verging-on-criminal breach when a developer in a major city makes personal loans to the city's flaming out mayor to keep his personal finances afloat? Or am I missing something? or is this just part of what makes us special, and weird?

Bill - Delaware is a long way from Portland, Oregon.

Is Creepy being blackmailed.

That would explain his vanishing salary and rental income.

Hey blackmailer, how much do you want?

"External signs of wealth and success are often cheap storefronts that hide internal mediocrity or even incompetence."

By Real Live Preacher

He better figure something out pretty soon because there is no way in hell he's getting re-elected in 2012, and it's hard to imagine anyone hiring him for a real job that pays 112K a year.

Usual Kevin,

Sam will get re-elected, bypassing any run off.

This city is more concerned with doing things the Portland way.

Little things like running a city, paving the streets, balancing a budget, plowing snow in a blizzard, effective mental health safety nets, keeping the police force free of people who have no business being in that otherwise noble and honorable profession, aren't cool, or fun. They aren't part of the Portland attitude.

roy,
Hopefully the citizens are waking up and will no longer support this Mayor or the agenda. The mess is at their doors now and can no longer be avoided. What will happen to Mayor when the money runs out and he can no longer push perks to some? What will happen to Mayor when those who preferred to have blinders on realize his hypocrisy? The West Hayden Island deal of 300 acres for asphalt so that by 2040 port can put imported cars? That ought to have caused some to take the blinders off?