Construction defects law under the microscope - Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun
The Nevada construction industry is using the horrible corruption scandal in Vegas HOAs as a lever to pressure the legislature for "reforms" that would restrict construction defect litigation. This was bound to happen. It would be unfortunate if people lost their ability to sue when they get stuck with defective original construction. There are many examples of legitimate litigation (by way of disclosure, I did construction defect litigation back in the 1990s) along with some frivolous or just ill-considered suits.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Municipal Finance in the Face of Falling Property Values :: Thomas J. Fitzpatrick IV and Mary Zenker :: Economic Commentary :: 12.06.11 :: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Municipal Finance in the Face of Falling Property Values :: Thomas J. Fitzpatrick IV and Mary Zenker :: Economic Commentary :: 12.06.11 :: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
The fall in property values associated with the recent recession has caused a decline in property taxes which may be amplifying local government budget crises across the country. Cuyahoga County is set to reappraise property values in 2012, and when it does it may only then absorb the full force of the housing market losses caused by the recession. We estimate the potential losses in property values and the county’s tax base and find that the impact could be significant.
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Using data from the Cleveland area the authors predict: "If creative ways to make up for this lack of revenue are not found, local governments may face the undesirable choice of either raising property taxes or reducing funding for essential services. Both actions may make the municipality a less desirable place for new home owners to locate. Weakening housing demand may lead to further declines in property values. In any case, it appears that the dramatic fall in property values across the country will accelerate the financial distress of municipalities in the wake of the Great Recession."
My research shows that fiscal distress leads local governments to encourage or mandate CIDs in new housing, because it allows them the "double taxation" windfall. So, when housing construction kicks up again, it will be overwhelmingly in CIDs.
The fall in property values associated with the recent recession has caused a decline in property taxes which may be amplifying local government budget crises across the country. Cuyahoga County is set to reappraise property values in 2012, and when it does it may only then absorb the full force of the housing market losses caused by the recession. We estimate the potential losses in property values and the county’s tax base and find that the impact could be significant.
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Using data from the Cleveland area the authors predict: "If creative ways to make up for this lack of revenue are not found, local governments may face the undesirable choice of either raising property taxes or reducing funding for essential services. Both actions may make the municipality a less desirable place for new home owners to locate. Weakening housing demand may lead to further declines in property values. In any case, it appears that the dramatic fall in property values across the country will accelerate the financial distress of municipalities in the wake of the Great Recession."
My research shows that fiscal distress leads local governments to encourage or mandate CIDs in new housing, because it allows them the "double taxation" windfall. So, when housing construction kicks up again, it will be overwhelmingly in CIDs.
Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News
Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News
A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
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Another example of public governments behaving like private corporations. Might as well go back to the 19th century, when there were private fire departments that would let your house burn if you didn't pay.
A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
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Another example of public governments behaving like private corporations. Might as well go back to the 19th century, when there were private fire departments that would let your house burn if you didn't pay.
Monday, December 05, 2011
HOA suing family for forgetting $120 fee
BOCA RATON, FL (WFLX) It may not sound like a lot of money, but an unpaid $120 bill could force a Boca Raton family out of their home.
Asher Essebag has lived in a Boca Del Mar home for 12 years with his family, but by next month they could be forced out. He's up to date on his mortgage, but Essebag and his family are haunted by a Homeowners' Association fee he forgot to pay earlier this year.
"Next thing I know, I have a police officer at my door serving me with a summons," said Essebag.
The summons read that if the fee isn't paid to the Boca Del Mar Improvement Association, he'll be foreclosed on. Essebag didn't think that would be a problem, since the fee was just $120. But it grew over time to twenty times more. Now that the Association is suing to collect the bill, it skyrocketed to $2400 to include legal fees.
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Welcome to Privatopia...where the legal fees come first.
Asher Essebag has lived in a Boca Del Mar home for 12 years with his family, but by next month they could be forced out. He's up to date on his mortgage, but Essebag and his family are haunted by a Homeowners' Association fee he forgot to pay earlier this year.
"Next thing I know, I have a police officer at my door serving me with a summons," said Essebag.
The summons read that if the fee isn't paid to the Boca Del Mar Improvement Association, he'll be foreclosed on. Essebag didn't think that would be a problem, since the fee was just $120. But it grew over time to twenty times more. Now that the Association is suing to collect the bill, it skyrocketed to $2400 to include legal fees.
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Welcome to Privatopia...where the legal fees come first.
Ex-Countrywide Exec Blows The Lid Off The Systemic Fraud At The Company
Ex-Countrywide Exec Blows The Lid Off The Systemic Fraud At The Company
This is not news, of course. You can read about it any of six or seven books, such as Matt Taibbi's Griftopia and Michael Lewis' The Big Short. But I guess for people who just watch TV it is news. The big question is why hundreds of these crooks aren't doing time in a federal prison. Until that happens nothing will change.
This is not news, of course. You can read about it any of six or seven books, such as Matt Taibbi's Griftopia and Michael Lewis' The Big Short. But I guess for people who just watch TV it is news. The big question is why hundreds of these crooks aren't doing time in a federal prison. Until that happens nothing will change.
Video-Banks In Cahoots With Payday Loan Businesses | PaydayLoanIndustryBlog
Video-Banks In Cahoots With Payday Loan Businesses | PaydayLoanIndustryBlog
If you have two minutes to spare, watch this cartoon.
If you have two minutes to spare, watch this cartoon.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
#OccupyYourHomes: Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Speak Out | Occupy America
#OccupyYourHomes: Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Speak Out | Occupy America
Two homeowners, Jean Cassine of Queens Village and Mimi Pierre Johnson of Elmont, describe how the foreclosure crisis has caused angst and frustation for themselves, as well as their communities. They have been fighting for years to keep their homes and see the Occupy movement as an opportunity for others to do the same.
Homeowners who are struggling to modify their mortgages, interest rates, etc and the bank is threatening to evict, do not leave your homes!
“On December 6, the Occupy Wall Street movement will join the national fight against foreclosure with a big day of action.”
EVENT IN NYC:
facebook.com/events/325958404097476/
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link--are we about to see a new chapter in the story of the "Occupy" movement? I think this beats sleeping in the park during the winter.
Two homeowners, Jean Cassine of Queens Village and Mimi Pierre Johnson of Elmont, describe how the foreclosure crisis has caused angst and frustation for themselves, as well as their communities. They have been fighting for years to keep their homes and see the Occupy movement as an opportunity for others to do the same.
Homeowners who are struggling to modify their mortgages, interest rates, etc and the bank is threatening to evict, do not leave your homes!
“On December 6, the Occupy Wall Street movement will join the national fight against foreclosure with a big day of action.”
EVENT IN NYC:
facebook.com/events/325958404097476/
---------------------
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link--are we about to see a new chapter in the story of the "Occupy" movement? I think this beats sleeping in the park during the winter.
Florida high court to decide whether developers are liable for defective HOA common areas, roads
The Florida Home Builders Association is concerned that, if the Supreme Court upholds the appellate-level decision, builders could be forced to fix a subdivision's problematic streets and common areas even though engineering firms and other contractors designed, constructed and inspected them.
"In the home, if something breaks, the builder has to fix it," said David Carter, president of the builders' trade group, which has filed briefs in the case. "But now, with all the entities that are involved, there's an effort to push the blame and responsibility to the builder/developer [for things outside the house] when there are other professionals who have responsibility for what they designed, inspected and certified."
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Local governments been privatizing public infrastructure for decades by requiring residential projects be under the jurisdiction of a mandatory membership homeowners association. Now Florida's top court will decide whether developers who build that infrastructure are responsible when it turns out to be defective.
This case has wide implications and as the story indicates could require developers to spend more on infrastructure. Frequently when there are problems with roads and storm water systems, property owners turn to local governments to take them over or impose property tax assessments to pay for maintenance and repairs, so they also have an interest in the outcome.
"In the home, if something breaks, the builder has to fix it," said David Carter, president of the builders' trade group, which has filed briefs in the case. "But now, with all the entities that are involved, there's an effort to push the blame and responsibility to the builder/developer [for things outside the house] when there are other professionals who have responsibility for what they designed, inspected and certified."
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Local governments been privatizing public infrastructure for decades by requiring residential projects be under the jurisdiction of a mandatory membership homeowners association. Now Florida's top court will decide whether developers who build that infrastructure are responsible when it turns out to be defective.
This case has wide implications and as the story indicates could require developers to spend more on infrastructure. Frequently when there are problems with roads and storm water systems, property owners turn to local governments to take them over or impose property tax assessments to pay for maintenance and repairs, so they also have an interest in the outcome.
How unemployment is tearing America apart
Having such a large army of semi-permanent unemployed workers will leave Americans poorer for years to come. “It not only affects your social fabric and creates social tensions, but it also has a fundamental impact on the long-term potential economic growth of the country,” he says. “What that means over time is a lower standard of living for everybody.” The downgrade in living standards is already underway in some unlikely places: America’s decaying suburbs. For decades the ’burbs represented the American dream for the middle class—white picket fences, two cars in the garage and a quiet cul-de-sac for the kids to play in. Yet today poverty in the suburbs is growing twice as fast as in cities, according to a recent analysis by the Brookings Institution.
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As go the burbs, so goes Privatopia. Having only been around in significant numbers since the 1970s, HOAs have never had to weather a long economic storm. As the good perfessor recently noted, consequently they aren't prepared to cope with such adversity. Foreclosure and job loss strangle the lifeblood of assessment revenue. Adding to the pain is HOAs have far fewer households to pick up the slack like larger municipalities and counties.
This article points out the speculation and leverage led downturn that began in 2008 that shaved eight percent off the U.S. economy cannot be directly compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s, in which the economy contracted by nearly one third and far in excess of the 10 percent drop in GDP that defines a depression. But anemic recovery since 2009 has been so weak for so long that it is transfiguring the economy because so many have been out of work for six months or longer.
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As go the burbs, so goes Privatopia. Having only been around in significant numbers since the 1970s, HOAs have never had to weather a long economic storm. As the good perfessor recently noted, consequently they aren't prepared to cope with such adversity. Foreclosure and job loss strangle the lifeblood of assessment revenue. Adding to the pain is HOAs have far fewer households to pick up the slack like larger municipalities and counties.
This article points out the speculation and leverage led downturn that began in 2008 that shaved eight percent off the U.S. economy cannot be directly compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s, in which the economy contracted by nearly one third and far in excess of the 10 percent drop in GDP that defines a depression. But anemic recovery since 2009 has been so weak for so long that it is transfiguring the economy because so many have been out of work for six months or longer.
Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail - Yahoo! News
Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.
The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.
The changes would provide short-term relief, but ultimately could prove counterproductive, pushing more of America's business onto the Internet. They could slow everything from check payments to Netflix's DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.
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Congress caused this by ordaining in 2006 that the Postal Service had to prepay 50 years of its future pension obligations. Obviously the internet cut into postal revenues as well, but this present crisis was induced in order to justify privatizing the postal service entirely. A large segment of the American public is so ignorant, and determined to stay that way, that this strategy may work. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.
The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.
The changes would provide short-term relief, but ultimately could prove counterproductive, pushing more of America's business onto the Internet. They could slow everything from check payments to Netflix's DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.
------------
Congress caused this by ordaining in 2006 that the Postal Service had to prepay 50 years of its future pension obligations. Obviously the internet cut into postal revenues as well, but this present crisis was induced in order to justify privatizing the postal service entirely. A large segment of the American public is so ignorant, and determined to stay that way, that this strategy may work. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
A Credit Score That Tracks You More Closely
This week, a company called CoreLogic introduced a new type of credit file, which is based on the giant repository of consumer data it maintains on just about everything that most of the traditional credit bureaus do not: missed rental payments that have gone into collection, any evictions or child support judgments, as well as any applications for payday loans, along with your repayment history.
The new report also includes any property tax liens and whether you’ve fallen behind on your homeowner’s association dues. It may reflect that you now owe more than your house is worth or if you own any other real estate properties outright. It also is supposed to catch mortgages made by smaller lenders that the big credit bureaus may have missed.
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Delinquent HOA and property tax assessment payments will make you less creditworthy under this new credit scoring scheme.
Homeowner's Association May Consider Private Hearing In Wake Of Playhouse Controversy | LEX18.com | Lexington, Kentucky
Homeowner's Association May Consider Private Hearing In Wake Of Playhouse Controversy | LEX18.com | Lexington, Kentucky
An official for the Andover Forest Homeowner's Association in Lexington said Friday that the association is considering a private hearing concerning a playhouse for a three-year-old with cerebral palsy. The story stirred controversy after it was revealed the association told the homeowners they had to remove the playhouse.
The story of the family fighting to keep their son's playhouse has received a lot of attention since LEX 18 first reported it on Thursday's 6 p.m. newscast. Three-year-old Cooper Veloudis has cerebral palsy and uses that house as part of his therapy, but the neighborhood homeowner's association says it has to go.
Despite an overwhelming output of support for Cooper, Ernie Stamper, one of seven people who represent the Andover Forest Subdivision, says the playhouse violates association rules, and they are fining the family every day the playhouse remains.
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Another unbelievable but true story from HOA Hell, as it is sometimes called. Thanks to Shu for the link.
An official for the Andover Forest Homeowner's Association in Lexington said Friday that the association is considering a private hearing concerning a playhouse for a three-year-old with cerebral palsy. The story stirred controversy after it was revealed the association told the homeowners they had to remove the playhouse.
The story of the family fighting to keep their son's playhouse has received a lot of attention since LEX 18 first reported it on Thursday's 6 p.m. newscast. Three-year-old Cooper Veloudis has cerebral palsy and uses that house as part of his therapy, but the neighborhood homeowner's association says it has to go.
Despite an overwhelming output of support for Cooper, Ernie Stamper, one of seven people who represent the Andover Forest Subdivision, says the playhouse violates association rules, and they are fining the family every day the playhouse remains.
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Another unbelievable but true story from HOA Hell, as it is sometimes called. Thanks to Shu for the link.
Friday, December 02, 2011
The Greatest Hoax in the History of Money: The Fed, The Banks, The Lies | Crooks and Liars
The Greatest Hoax in the History of Money: The Fed, The Banks, The Lies | Crooks and Liars
It took the journalists at Bloomberg News two years - and presumably lots of legal fees - to pry information out of the Federal Reserve that should have been made public long ago. We now know that the Fed's secret $7.7 trillion lending program wasn't just the most massive bank bailout ever seen, and it wasn't just free money for mega-bankers - though it was certainly both of those things. It was also the greatest hoax in stock market history.
No, scratch that. It was the greatest hoax in the history of money. And it was built on lies. How many? Let us count the ways.
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The Fed printed trillions of dollars so they could lend it to the banks that crashed our economy at 0.01% interest (also to foreign banks and a number of very wealthy individuals). I think I could make a profit with that money. Don't you? How hard would it be to find somebody who wanted to borrow it at, oh, say 2.0%? Then the Fed kept it a secret. Not even Congress knew about it. When Bernie Sanders and a few other members of the US Congress had the temerity to ask for an audit of the Fed, they were told that such an idea was horrifying and would compromise the independence of the Fed. But a partial audit was ordered and done and it turned up this gigantic stinking obscenity.
But even so, what percentage of the public has read the news coverage of this? Compare that number with the percentage who know all the remaining contestants on the most popular reality show (whatever that is), or who know the current win-loss records of all NFL teams?
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link.
It took the journalists at Bloomberg News two years - and presumably lots of legal fees - to pry information out of the Federal Reserve that should have been made public long ago. We now know that the Fed's secret $7.7 trillion lending program wasn't just the most massive bank bailout ever seen, and it wasn't just free money for mega-bankers - though it was certainly both of those things. It was also the greatest hoax in stock market history.
No, scratch that. It was the greatest hoax in the history of money. And it was built on lies. How many? Let us count the ways.
---------------------------
The Fed printed trillions of dollars so they could lend it to the banks that crashed our economy at 0.01% interest (also to foreign banks and a number of very wealthy individuals). I think I could make a profit with that money. Don't you? How hard would it be to find somebody who wanted to borrow it at, oh, say 2.0%? Then the Fed kept it a secret. Not even Congress knew about it. When Bernie Sanders and a few other members of the US Congress had the temerity to ask for an audit of the Fed, they were told that such an idea was horrifying and would compromise the independence of the Fed. But a partial audit was ordered and done and it turned up this gigantic stinking obscenity.
But even so, what percentage of the public has read the news coverage of this? Compare that number with the percentage who know all the remaining contestants on the most popular reality show (whatever that is), or who know the current win-loss records of all NFL teams?
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link.
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