Pictured above is Sports Illustrated Model Molly Sims wearing a thirty million dollar bikini . . . Now anybody with half a brain knows that's a waste of money but in these strange economic times who's to judge?
Not me, I live in my parent's basement and my personal finances consist of money I win playing online poker and the pittance people want to pay freelance writers. Therefore, I'm not one to cast stones when it comes to what people do with their cash (I use mine for Chinese food) but I do find the information provided by this AWESOME TKC TIPSTER to be pretty amazing:
The Mayor & his wife have refinanced their house 14 different times since 1996.Obviously, nothing illegal or unsavory going on here at all, this is nothing like the follies of Kathryn Shields or Saundra McFadden-Weaver have had with their mortgage troubles but what this info does is completely erode the media devised image of Mayor Funkhouser as some financial genius who stands for fiscal responsibility above all.
He has a first mortgage of $356,000 plus a second mortgage of $89,000 for total debt on the house of $445,000. The house is financed through RCB Mortgage out of Houston , but he has borrowed from big banks from all over the country. He has a lien on his 1993 Toyota too…
Go to: http://records.co.jackson.mo.us/ - click on the link to search official public records, then search under grantor for "Funkhouser, Mark” and then 4 pages of various deed of trusts will show up on Funkhouser for his house.
In fact, there are probably a lot of you out there who've been able to hold down your meager jobs without partaking in these crazy home lending schemes that are rampant and have managed to seriously threaten the future of this nation's economy. God Bless you all, that white man's burden must be heavy.
Anyway, this little factoid is important because it's part of deconstructing the dangerous myth of Funk's humble nature and mastery of all things financial that is still put forth by a few writers at The Star and still seems to be the marching orders of CJ Janovy at The Pitch. I don't know deal with any of these loans but they seem pretty fast, loose and high flying which is a departure from everything the media reports. Obviously, the dude isn't a poster boy for how you should handle your green and if Mayor Funky and his family are treating City Hall like it's their "Front Porch" then maybe their finances are indicative of what's in store for Kansas City. I hope not but at least this info is more telling than the PR put forth by his cronies.
Somebody needs to call Dave Ramsey. STAT.
ReplyDeleteNot one to cast stones... Tony prefers boulders.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a jump there. Going from Funk's personal mortgage history to a rant about the current subprime fallout. I fail to see the connection.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gone to the site. Did he actually refinance that many times or was his loan sold by the lenders over and over again? It seems incredible that anyone could refinance a home loan 14 times.
ReplyDeleteseems to check out. The record for Jackson County doesn't usually account for out of town businesses buying and selling debt.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's worth noting that a lot of candidates have used home loans to finance their campaigns.
He wasn't running for office in 1996 - 2005 when he refinanced his mortgage all these times. There are different deeds signed each time by the Funk and Gloria, so they actually refinanced all these different times. To have $455k in mortgage debt seems pretty suspicious, given the cost to refinance a house and to be doing it every 6 months is either an act of desperation or something unsavory is going on here, I don't know a lot of homes in the area of Funk's front porch that are $500,000 homes, appraisal fraud anyone? Maybe the Funk went to the Mortgage Fraud 101 Class with Sandra McFadden Weaver and either skipped class because he was getting his plates renewed at the DMV or was out buying shoes for Gloria when they instructed fraudsters on how not to get caught...Well we can rule out these two excuses anyway...
ReplyDeleteWhere is Gloria spending all their money??? He was making more as auditor than most KC citizens. Now that he is retired he should have a pension - AND now he makes over 6 figures as mayor! Where is it going? They can't afford a car, they have to refinace their house for FAR more than houses in their neighborhood can sell for. I'm pretty sure the money isn't going for clothes since they both dress like bums. What gives?
ReplyDeleteI know carpenters who do a great job at making cabinetry in others people's houses but when it comes to their own house it's plain.
ReplyDeleteI'm saying that when you get paid for what you do, you do a great job because you love doing it. When not getting paid for it why bother unless your Tony
No way that house appraises for $445,000. I've seen it. Even $345,000 would be a HUGE stretch. I smell mortgage fraud.
ReplyDeleteWho are Funk's financial advisers? Kathryn Shields and Saundra McFadden-Dumbass? Is Shoeless Glo handling the money?
Where's Dan Ryan to explain this all away?
Take it easy on Dan folks.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he'll show up at any moment explaining that this is a joke site and we should all just laugh at this post about the Mayor.
Yet I hate to admit that the paintman has a point. There are a lot of folks who are great in business but couldn't balance their own checkbook. It looks as if this may be the case with Mayor Funkhouser.
It's strange that Tony brought this up now and not during or immediately following the election. There were always these rumors flying around City Hall but at the time people liked Funkhouser way too much to check them out.
It's sad to see the guy lose so many allies but it's also strange to see him completely change the way he approaches doing his job.
If it comes out that he uses payday loans then I think it's time for a recall.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see him so house poor. As a resident of Funk's neighborhood, I can say no house on his block can sell for 445,000 in this market. Houses much nicer than his aren't even moving in the low 300,000s. Tony is correct - it is this kind of irrational borrowing (and lending) that has our mortgage markets in such a mess. I hope for them that they have a fixed APR!
ReplyDeleteIt is no joke guys, these are all public records filed with the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds, his and Gloria's signature on the new loans every six months or so. I smell mortgage fraud. The good news is he is in good company with Shields / McFadden Weaver.
ReplyDelete"It is no joke guys, these are all public records filed with the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds"
ReplyDeleteThis can't be! Dan Ryan please tell us the Jackson County website is a "humor" site. Quick, get your best buddy Phil Cardarella at BlogCCP over here to explain the intricacies of mortgage finance.
There must be some kind of rational explanation for this...some kind of special mortgage or something. Isn't Funk an accountant? Nobody would refinance every 6 months in the conventional way where you have to pay fees, etc., unless rates were continually going down and the lending institution didn't charge a refinance fee?
ReplyDeleteFunk was an auditor - but I don't think he is a CPA. There's a huge difference between counting things and understanding how to legally manipulate numbers.
ReplyDeleteI hope Jackson County looks at these numbers when they reassess Funk's property taxes. But then again, I'm sure Gloria considers paying the tax bill another one of those horrific duties that is over the line so they won't even bother.
ReplyDeleteWhere's Dan Ryan? No snide gloria-esque comments? Waiting for permission from Gloria to make excuses? Consulting with Cardarella on how to spin this one?
The silence is deafening. Methinks TKC hit this one out of the park.
If this is right, Funk is going to jail.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Jackson County property tax records (7/2007) the property's total appraised value is 293,760.
ReplyDeleteParcel #30-830-20-04-00-0-00-000
"Where's Dan Ryan?"
ReplyDeleteHe posted several comments this morning, but they're gone now? Did he come back and delete them??
Tony, you've topped yourself today. You've made yourself and your commenters into some of the funniest laughingstocks in the city.
ReplyDeleteNow, those of you talking about jail and recall and hyperventilating about whatever nonsense comes out of your fevered imaginations, please grow up a little. Go ahead and check the market values of houses selling in the 64113 zip code and its neighbors. You'll see that market value is a totally different thing from appraised value. Heck, there's one listed that sold a while back for more than $400,000 (and not in as good a location as Funk's), and has an appraised value of less than Mark's.
Way to go, Tony, you really got the sillies going nuts on this one! Brilliant, subtle humor. It's yet another attempt to make something out of nothing, and the something you are succeeding in making is humor. We all need a good laugh - keep up the goofiness!
Now, in complete and utter seriousness, I think this needs to be my final comment on Funk-related matters here. Your made-up "scandals" are funny, but it's not funny when people start drawing negative inferences from my silence (during the work day). I'm not any sort of spokesperson for Funk, in any way, shape or form. I don't talk with Funk before I post here, and what I write is only my opinion. If people are going to take this bullshit (pardon my french) so seriously that they start to imagine posts that I have somehow deleted, and start thinking that Tony's jokes have some validity because I, a citizen, have not yet exposed how stupid the joke is, then it's time for me to stop playing along with the jokes.
I understand that today's joke might have started innocently enough - the distinction between appraised value and market value is confusing to some people. And the wisdom of borrowing against equity when you have kids in college may not be obvious to people who have not gone through the pain of paying for college tuition.
But now Tony's joke has silly people talking about jail and imagining that I have deleted posts.
I appreciate your humor, Tony, I really do. I totally understand that blogging can be a form of performance art, and you have gone far with the genre. I'll keep on reading you, and occasionally commenting on non-Funk items, but it appears that my participation in your jokes is heightening the insanity to a point I find disturbing more than funny.
Peace.
Oh jeeeeezus Dan. Bubby. NObody gives a shit, man! Gotta step away from it, baby. Get outside. It's gonna be ok (shhhhh-shhhhhhhhh).
ReplyDeleteI'll chime in here on appraised value for taxes. The appraised value has little to do with reality and nothing to do with market value.
ReplyDeleteDepending upon the appraiser and area, they could very well be taking comps from near Loose Park. The appraisers that work on the county appraisals literally do not go into the house, they only look at it visually from the street. Where they select to look for comps plays the dominant role.
I know people that live in barely $150K homes who have appraised values of $300K, because the appriaser went 5 blocks over, and based comps on a much more wealthier area.
I also have a friend in $450K home with appriased value of $100K.
No one buys the county-appraised value of homes , and tons of people are challenging the appraisals.
In a bid to increase revenue two years ago the county targeted the Southwest corridor, and unfortunately raised taxes inappropriately - and the sad thing is that fixed-income residents suffered the same increase as wealthy residents.
Refinanced 14 times? What is the explanation? The kids were not in college. Maybe Funk paid for his PhD with loan proceeds? Does he not have his money in order?
ReplyDelete"I know people that live in barely $150K homes who have appraised values of $300K, because the appraiser went 5 blocks over, and based comps on a much more wealthier area."
ReplyDeleteWhat you just described is called mortgage fraud. Period.
The people actually lending money do so in the good faith that an accurate appraisal is made. Imagine if you purchased something like a car under the good faith that it was worth $20,000. You get it home and find out your neighbor purchased the same car for $10,000. You would be angry and rightfully so.
The attitude that "I know some people that did it" or your banker giving you a wink and telling you the appraisal will come out okay is exactly what is wrong with the mortgage industry.
Fraud is fraud.
And another thing. Dan Ryan is a complete douchebag (pardon my french) and becomes an even bigger one every day.
Dan may or may not be a douchebag, but you, anonymous 8:51, are definitely one. What you call fraud is not fraud, because you misunderstood the appraisal issue. County appraisers are not used to set mortgages, douchebag. They set the value for tax purposes. The appraisal for tax purposes is usually low, but occasionally high, as Mainstream said.
ReplyDeleteFraud may not be fraud, but you are definitely a douchebag.
I don't care what Dan says, this is not just some made up fact, the records with Jackson County prove what Tony has written. Anyone who refinances their home 14 times in such a short period of time is in a financial disaster or even worse is committing mortgage fraud. I don't buy the college education crap either, you don't refinance every 6 months to pay the next semesters bills, because of the cost of time, money and trouble to refinance. Dan - nice try, but you aren't fooling anyone. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck (substitute duck for mortgage fraud and you have the Funk's situation nailed perfectly).
ReplyDeleteReal Estate Expert,
ReplyDeleteCounty appraisals have nothing to do with refinancing. Who said anything about county appraisals?
Knock the dick out of your mouth and pay attention. I'll try and explain this carefully.
Using comps from another neighborhood in order to artificially inflate an appraised value so an individual can extract more funds against said artificial value is MORTGAGE FRAUD.
Dumbfuck - Mainstream was pointing out that you can't rely on County appraisals to set the market value of a home. Nobody who knows real estate thinks that the value of Funk's house is what the county says it is. So bite me.
ReplyDeleteNobody has alleged that the comps for the refinancing were based on other neighborhoods.
Real Estate Expert... I understand the difference between county appraisals and real estate appraisals for a private mortgage lender. The point being that the County can assess it at whatever they want, and it is usually no where close to market value, understood. However, what does give you a close estimate of value is sale comparisons of actual sales of similiar homes in the immediate area. The sale comparisons for all of the homes in the area are between $120 - $140 per square foot (thus the reasonable market value an appraiser would use in assessing the house). The funks house is 2,520 sq. ft. you take 2,520 sq.ft. average value and multiply it on the high end and you get $352,000. About 30% lower than he has loans for on the house! That means this appraiser said his house was worth at least $181 per square foot when all of the houses in the neighborhood sell for much less. That is how you conclude there is mortgage/appraisal fraud, not to mention the 14 different re-financings in such a short period of time are suspect in themselves. Check out www.zillow.com and put in the Funk's address of 15 W 57th Ter Kansas City MO 64113, and surprise, surprise the Zillow estimate is $353,000 and all of the homes in the area, including the comps are between $120 - $140. A far cry from the $180 per square foot or $455,000 Funkhouser has in debt alone.
ReplyDeleteReal Estate Excrement,
ReplyDeleteLast time. Remove the cock and really pay attention. Scroll back up to mainstream's comment. Here, I'll cut and paste it for you:
"I know people that live in barely $150K homes who have appraised values of $300K, because the appriaser went 5 blocks over, and based comps on a much more wealthier area."
County appraisers don't go "5 blocks over" to "a wealthier area" to get comps so he must be talking about appraisals for refinance, right?
Check and mate douchebag. You may resume felating whatever street person you brought home.
Anonymous - I think you misunderstood Mainstream, then, and I thus misunderstood you.
ReplyDeleteZillow is way off, IMHO. The property at 43 W. Winthrope went for $407k. but Zillow says it was worth $255k.
Bottom line, clearly no fraud, and it looks like tony is just making a big deal out of nothing. Again.
Are you really that illiterate, you dumbfuck? - Here's the quotation for you - he was talking about tax appraisals, you worthless piece of shit: "I'll chime in here on appraised value for taxes. The appraised value has little to do with reality and nothing to do with market value.
ReplyDeleteDepending upon the appraiser and area, they could very well be taking comps from near Loose Park. The appraisers that work on the county appraisals literally do not go into the house, they only look at it visually from the street. Where they select to look for comps plays the dominant role.
I know people that live in barely $150K homes who have appraised values of $300K, because the appriaser went 5 blocks over, and based comps on a much more wealthier area.
I also have a friend in $450K home with appriased value of $100K."
I don't know but this is the greatest picture i have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteTKC,
ReplyDeleteLike I always say in several of my postings...we are a nation going down in degradation.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI heard Funk got the loans to pay for Wicca lessons.
ReplyDeleteCommon sense says that over the years they had their interest payments added to the mortgage instead of making payments or paying the mortgage down. Regardless, I hope the City handles its finances better than they do.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, the council has not voted with him on anything material, he will not have controls on City Finances. Which is both comforting when applied to Funky and scary when applied to city government.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know whether Nutter did the ReFi transactions?
ReplyDeleteDear Dan, what a lightweight. You are trying to confuse the issue. Get in your car and drive to 33 West 57th St. Exactly one block over from Funk's. House appears to be exactly same size, even has a stone porch. It is for sale for $359,500. That is the market---what someone is asking and what someone is willing to pay. So if they get the asking price, which they will not, it should mean Funk's house is worth about that---$359,000. He has loans for $450,000+. So best case the Funk is way over mortgaged. How did he get loans totally at least $100,000 more than value? Bogus apprasial? His house payments have to be killing him. Maybe that explains why he and wife were willing to take a free car AND keep $600 a month car allowance. A public official in personal financial trouble is more likely to put his hand out.
ReplyDelete