Veterans condemn El-Alamein golf resort plan | International News | News | Telegraph
Sometimes I feel like there are real estate developers who plan their projects while reading The Onion and smoking funny cigarettes. I think a naming contest for this development is in order. And I do agree that 20 million mines and a zillion massive bomb craters will make for challenging fairways.
The desert battlefield of El-Alamein, where Field Marshal Montgomery's Desert Rats famously defeated Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Second World War, is being developed into a golf resort by Egyptian businessmen. British war veterans reacted angrily yesterday after hearing of the plans to turn the historic site into a complex including luxury villas...Not only will massive bomb and mine craters provide extremely challenging fairways but, say developers, the project will be the perfect excuse to get rid of millions of mines which have blighted the region since 1942.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Criticism of boring suburban lifestyle is nearly timeless | Chicago Tribune
Interesting historical essay...
Interesting historical essay...
FCC proposes rule limiting HOA power
Nancy Levy sent this link. I'm going to follow up to see which "associations" have been "questioning the Commission's ability to do so."
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposed to regulate the ability of homeowners associations to make exclusive video programming contracts to serve multiple dwelling units (MDUs). Some associations have begun questioning the Commissions authority to do so. The FCC also seeks comment on the current competitive landscape among video providers within MDUs and asks whether further FCC rules would improve or impede competition. In rural areas, regulations on exclusive contracts could affect service providers’ plans for building out Internet protocol television (IPTV), especially those that may seek exclusive video service contracts with new housing developments.
Nancy Levy sent this link. I'm going to follow up to see which "associations" have been "questioning the Commission's ability to do so."
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposed to regulate the ability of homeowners associations to make exclusive video programming contracts to serve multiple dwelling units (MDUs). Some associations have begun questioning the Commissions authority to do so. The FCC also seeks comment on the current competitive landscape among video providers within MDUs and asks whether further FCC rules would improve or impede competition. In rural areas, regulations on exclusive contracts could affect service providers’ plans for building out Internet protocol television (IPTV), especially those that may seek exclusive video service contracts with new housing developments.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Condo Redondo!
From Fred Pilot:
The Redondo Beach rezoning initiative is the product of citizens who want to protect our quality and life and attract business to Redondo rather than convert business property into condos. A recent city survey shows 60 percent of Redondo voters feel Redondo has too many condos. Only 6 percent feel we need more. Most Redondo residents are concerned with residential growth.
From Fred Pilot:
The Redondo Beach rezoning initiative is the product of citizens who want to protect our quality and life and attract business to Redondo rather than convert business property into condos. A recent city survey shows 60 percent of Redondo voters feel Redondo has too many condos. Only 6 percent feel we need more. Most Redondo residents are concerned with residential growth.
With five private jets, Travolta still lectures on global warming | Showbiz | This is London
But he has a great idea! Space travel and dome cities (no doubt run by hoas), and don't miss the photo of his house with two jets parked next to it:
But although he readily admitted: "I fly jets", he failed to mention he actually owns five, along with his own private runway. Clocking up at least 30,000 flying miles in the past 12 months means he has produced an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions – nearly 100 times the average Briton's tally. Travolta made his comments this week at the British premiere of his movie, Wild Hogs. He spoke of the importance of helping the environment by using "alternative methods of fuel" – after driving down the red carpet on a Harley Davidson. Travolta, a Scientologist, claimed the solution to global warming could be found in outer space and blamed his hefty flying mileage on the nature of the movie business.
But he has a great idea! Space travel and dome cities (no doubt run by hoas), and don't miss the photo of his house with two jets parked next to it:
But although he readily admitted: "I fly jets", he failed to mention he actually owns five, along with his own private runway. Clocking up at least 30,000 flying miles in the past 12 months means he has produced an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions – nearly 100 times the average Briton's tally. Travolta made his comments this week at the British premiere of his movie, Wild Hogs. He spoke of the importance of helping the environment by using "alternative methods of fuel" – after driving down the red carpet on a Harley Davidson. Travolta, a Scientologist, claimed the solution to global warming could be found in outer space and blamed his hefty flying mileage on the nature of the movie business.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
newsobserver.com | Autism can't bend subdivision rules: covenants anger parents who need fences to protect kids
Nancy Levy sent this along. I think people need legal protection against being treated like this. But the industry would say their only recourse should be to mobilize other like-minded residents and elect a new board of directors. Not so easy when only 1 out of 150 kids is autistic, according to the article.
CLAYTON - Hunter Guyader, 2, shows signs of autism, and he is a climber. He broke out of his crib when he was 11 months old. He almost fell from an upstairs window while scaling a couch. Michele and Rene Guyader hoped to build a 6-foot fence to keep their fast-growing boy from falling into a sewage drain hole at the back of their steeply sloping lot. The homeowners association of their Clayton subdivision turned them down.
Nancy Levy sent this along. I think people need legal protection against being treated like this. But the industry would say their only recourse should be to mobilize other like-minded residents and elect a new board of directors. Not so easy when only 1 out of 150 kids is autistic, according to the article.
CLAYTON - Hunter Guyader, 2, shows signs of autism, and he is a climber. He broke out of his crib when he was 11 months old. He almost fell from an upstairs window while scaling a couch. Michele and Rene Guyader hoped to build a 6-foot fence to keep their fast-growing boy from falling into a sewage drain hole at the back of their steeply sloping lot. The homeowners association of their Clayton subdivision turned them down.
China's real estate market up 69 percent in 2006: report
Now, that's what I call a real estate boom. And this report just covers commercial real estate. The same sort of thing is happening in residential, where you find enormous numbers of the Chinese equivalent of common interest housing, including private management companies.
Transactions in China's real estate market surged 69 percent in 2006, funded to a great extent by foreign investment, a leading research firm said Wednesday.
"There is increasingly more investment going into industrial property," Kenny Ho, a Shanghai-based head of research with Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm, told AFP. Despite government measures to cool the real estate market, China's heady growth in the past and strong potential for the future have made it "a magnet for cross-border investors," said a report by the firm.
Now, that's what I call a real estate boom. And this report just covers commercial real estate. The same sort of thing is happening in residential, where you find enormous numbers of the Chinese equivalent of common interest housing, including private management companies.
Transactions in China's real estate market surged 69 percent in 2006, funded to a great extent by foreign investment, a leading research firm said Wednesday.
"There is increasingly more investment going into industrial property," Kenny Ho, a Shanghai-based head of research with Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm, told AFP. Despite government measures to cool the real estate market, China's heady growth in the past and strong potential for the future have made it "a magnet for cross-border investors," said a report by the firm.
China's real estate market up 69 percent in 2006: report
Now, that's what I call a real estate boom. And this report just covers commercial real estate. The same sort of thing is happening in residential.
Transactions in China's real estate market surged 69 percent in 2006, funded to a great extent by foreign investment, a leading research firm said Wednesday.
"There is increasingly more investment going into industrial property," Kenny Ho, a Shanghai-based head of research with Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm, told AFP. Despite government measures to cool the real estate market, China's heady growth in the past and strong potential for the future have made it "a magnet for cross-border investors," said a report by the firm.
Now, that's what I call a real estate boom. And this report just covers commercial real estate. The same sort of thing is happening in residential.
Transactions in China's real estate market surged 69 percent in 2006, funded to a great extent by foreign investment, a leading research firm said Wednesday.
"There is increasingly more investment going into industrial property," Kenny Ho, a Shanghai-based head of research with Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm, told AFP. Despite government measures to cool the real estate market, China's heady growth in the past and strong potential for the future have made it "a magnet for cross-border investors," said a report by the firm.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
No end in sight for quiet community riven by feud - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
You think HOA feuds are bad? Try this. And check out the T-shirt...
In a quiet street in Grenada North a war between neighbours is entering its third year, with little sign of resolution. In the past two years police have dealt with more than 70 incidents in Tobago Crescent in the north Wellington suburb. There have been allegations of animals disappearing, bottles being hurled at houses, intimidation, assault and death threats. Hostile T-shirts have been distributed, one man has been evicted from his Housing NZ home and "urgent" neighbourhood meetings have been called. The dispute will feature on a television show, Neighbours at War.
You think HOA feuds are bad? Try this. And check out the T-shirt...
In a quiet street in Grenada North a war between neighbours is entering its third year, with little sign of resolution. In the past two years police have dealt with more than 70 incidents in Tobago Crescent in the north Wellington suburb. There have been allegations of animals disappearing, bottles being hurled at houses, intimidation, assault and death threats. Hostile T-shirts have been distributed, one man has been evicted from his Housing NZ home and "urgent" neighbourhood meetings have been called. The dispute will feature on a television show, Neighbours at War.
KOTV.com -Living Next Door To 'Mister Ed'
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can build a subdivision about a horse, of course...That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A man who owns the property where famed television horse Mister Ed supposedly is buried wants to take advantage of its notoriety and develop it. Tahlequah homebuilder Todd Carroll has a monument to the horse on his 16-acre property in Tahlequah, where the horse may, or may not be, buried. His plan is to build 12 to 15 log homes and create a subdivision, with the entrance going past the Mister Ed monument.
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can build a subdivision about a horse, of course...That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A man who owns the property where famed television horse Mister Ed supposedly is buried wants to take advantage of its notoriety and develop it. Tahlequah homebuilder Todd Carroll has a monument to the horse on his 16-acre property in Tahlequah, where the horse may, or may not be, buried. His plan is to build 12 to 15 log homes and create a subdivision, with the entrance going past the Mister Ed monument.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Coulee News -A messy situation: Flooding along private road raises questions
Fred Pilot sent this article about the joys of private streets:
When you live on a private road, getting emergency help is a little more difficult than a homeowner would think. Folks who live in the Scenic Valley Addition near Maple Grove Country Club found that out last week when snowmelt overwhelmed their storm sewer system and flooded streets and basements along Ceresa Drive. “Trying to get help out here was a nightmare,” said resident Curt Edwardson. He spent hours wading through water in hip waders to find the manhole covers and clear them. His wife Janelle said she was on the phone three hours trying to get help. “I don’t know whether to siphon the two-feet of water in the basement through the bathroom or the utility room or where,” said Margette Longworth.
Fred Pilot sent this article about the joys of private streets:
When you live on a private road, getting emergency help is a little more difficult than a homeowner would think. Folks who live in the Scenic Valley Addition near Maple Grove Country Club found that out last week when snowmelt overwhelmed their storm sewer system and flooded streets and basements along Ceresa Drive. “Trying to get help out here was a nightmare,” said resident Curt Edwardson. He spent hours wading through water in hip waders to find the manhole covers and clear them. His wife Janelle said she was on the phone three hours trying to get help. “I don’t know whether to siphon the two-feet of water in the basement through the bathroom or the utility room or where,” said Margette Longworth.
Boing Boing: Cavalcade of homeowner holdouts
Here is a Mystery Reader post on "nail houses," which means houses that remain behind when all else is gone or redeveloped--they stick out like nails.
A couple of weeks ago I posted a couple of entries about people who refused to give up their homes to new development and ended up being surround by a parking lot, freeway, or airport. Many readers offered stories of other holdouts. Here they are.
Here's a long interview with 40-year-old Mrs Wuping, the owner of the "nail house" (called that because it sticks out of the pit around it like a nail).
Here is a Mystery Reader post on "nail houses," which means houses that remain behind when all else is gone or redeveloped--they stick out like nails.
A couple of weeks ago I posted a couple of entries about people who refused to give up their homes to new development and ended up being surround by a parking lot, freeway, or airport. Many readers offered stories of other holdouts. Here they are.
Here's a long interview with 40-year-old Mrs Wuping, the owner of the "nail house" (called that because it sticks out of the pit around it like a nail).
Boing Boing: Slideshow for hellish "Haven of Contentment"
Mystery Reader swoops in with this blast from the past that she labels, "Privatopia: The Framers." Touche.
The fine folks at Swapatorium recently picked up a bunch of 1960s Moose Lodge slide shows. The slide show for "The Haven of Contentment" depicts a place that brings to mind a Stepfordian community populated with lobotomized families who are unwittingly taking part in an intensive secret government neurochemical mind-control experiment. The Dharma Initiative in Lost isn't nearly as creepy as the Haven of Contentment.
Mystery Reader swoops in with this blast from the past that she labels, "Privatopia: The Framers." Touche.
The fine folks at Swapatorium recently picked up a bunch of 1960s Moose Lodge slide shows. The slide show for "The Haven of Contentment" depicts a place that brings to mind a Stepfordian community populated with lobotomized families who are unwittingly taking part in an intensive secret government neurochemical mind-control experiment. The Dharma Initiative in Lost isn't nearly as creepy as the Haven of Contentment.
Governance of Property Owners Associations: Statement of Rights
Here'a a corrected link to Don Nordeen's Statement of Rights.
Here'a a corrected link to Don Nordeen's Statement of Rights.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Fed Faulted For Inaction On Mortgages - washingtonpost.com
On the foreclosure and subprime lender front, Nancy Levy sent this report on Democratic Senators grandstanding on the issue. I realize there is a problem here, but blaming the federal reserve for the actions of subprime lenders strikes me as a major stretch. To me, this is just Sen. Christoper Dodd (D-Mass), et al., woofing and barking at Alan Greenspan to get their names in the paper. But maybe I'll be proven wrong by the Democrats miraculously solving the problem of people borrowing too much money on risky terms to buy more house than they can afford.
Senators yesterday accused the Federal Reserve and its former chairman, Alan Greenspan, of a "pattern of neglect" that fostered a crisis in the mortgage industry that is putting more than 2 million families at risk of losing their homes. Members of the Senate Banking Committee said the Fed had power to regulate risky lending practices but did not choose to use it even as exotic mortgages given to buyers with checkered credit helped drive up housing prices across the country. The mortgage mess has rattled markets in recent weeks and spurred a broad reassessment of lending practices.
On the foreclosure and subprime lender front, Nancy Levy sent this report on Democratic Senators grandstanding on the issue. I realize there is a problem here, but blaming the federal reserve for the actions of subprime lenders strikes me as a major stretch. To me, this is just Sen. Christoper Dodd (D-Mass), et al., woofing and barking at Alan Greenspan to get their names in the paper. But maybe I'll be proven wrong by the Democrats miraculously solving the problem of people borrowing too much money on risky terms to buy more house than they can afford.
Senators yesterday accused the Federal Reserve and its former chairman, Alan Greenspan, of a "pattern of neglect" that fostered a crisis in the mortgage industry that is putting more than 2 million families at risk of losing their homes. Members of the Senate Banking Committee said the Fed had power to regulate risky lending practices but did not choose to use it even as exotic mortgages given to buyers with checkered credit helped drive up housing prices across the country. The mortgage mess has rattled markets in recent weeks and spurred a broad reassessment of lending practices.
Governance of Property Owners Associations: October 2006
Don Nordeen has a Statement of Rights for CID owners that is worth taking a look at. One of these days I'm going to put all these various Bills of Rights side by side and write something about them. Right now I'm getting ready to go hog hunting in Michigan with my son, so the writing will have to wait until Tuesday.
Don Nordeen has a Statement of Rights for CID owners that is worth taking a look at. One of these days I'm going to put all these various Bills of Rights side by side and write something about them. Right now I'm getting ready to go hog hunting in Michigan with my son, so the writing will have to wait until Tuesday.
Foreclosures Force Suburbs to Fight Blight - New York Times
Nancy Levy sends this story with a dateline in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a very nice suburb of Cleveland that has long been known for its racial integration maintenance efforts. Now the story is the municipal response to mortgage foreclosures and resulting vacant properties.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — In a sign of the spreading economic fallout of mortgage foreclosures, several suburbs of Cleveland, one of the nation’s hardest-hit cities, are spending millions of dollars to maintain vacant houses as they try to contain blight and real-estate panic.
Nancy Levy sends this story with a dateline in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a very nice suburb of Cleveland that has long been known for its racial integration maintenance efforts. Now the story is the municipal response to mortgage foreclosures and resulting vacant properties.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — In a sign of the spreading economic fallout of mortgage foreclosures, several suburbs of Cleveland, one of the nation’s hardest-hit cities, are spending millions of dollars to maintain vacant houses as they try to contain blight and real-estate panic.
Firm Under Scrutiny to Be Sold - washingtonpost.com
Nancy Levy sends this example of an HOA management company in trouble. But, hey, it's just another one of those isolated anecdotes. No need for regulation or anything. Just move along, nothing to see here.
The Fairfax City company under state and local investigation for possible embezzlement of more than $800,000 from Northern Virginia homeowner associations will be sold to a Herndon real estate management partnership, presidents of both firms said yesterday. Robert A. Koger said Koger Management Group, which oversees the finances of more than 300 homeowner and condominium associations, has reached an agreement with National Realty Partners. National Realty will take over day-to-day management of Koger Management, and the purchase is to be completed about July 1.
Nancy Levy sends this example of an HOA management company in trouble. But, hey, it's just another one of those isolated anecdotes. No need for regulation or anything. Just move along, nothing to see here.
The Fairfax City company under state and local investigation for possible embezzlement of more than $800,000 from Northern Virginia homeowner associations will be sold to a Herndon real estate management partnership, presidents of both firms said yesterday. Robert A. Koger said Koger Management Group, which oversees the finances of more than 300 homeowner and condominium associations, has reached an agreement with National Realty Partners. National Realty will take over day-to-day management of Koger Management, and the purchase is to be completed about July 1.
Quad City Foreclosures
Here is a slice of life from Rock Island, IL, where you can see what is going on with foreclosures in middle America. The creative mortgages are coming home to roost:
Mortgage foreclosures spiked in Rock Island County and inched upward in Scott County in 2006, and are on track for another barn burner if all else stays equal, court records indicate. Of the 1,955 mortgage foreclosures in Rock Island County over the past five years, there were an average 430 cases a year from 2003 through 2005. But the number spiked to 537 cases in 2006, court records indicated. The number of Scott County foreclosures have inched upward steadily since 2004, and court record keepers say the number of filings have been brisk since the first of the year. The loss of jobs, unexpected medical expenses and divorces are the three most common reasons people get into financial difficulties that often lead to losing their homes, said Moline attorney Thomas Blade, who represents banks and other lenders in mortgage foreclosure cases. Most of the homeowners in financial trouble own homes valued at no more than $150,000, he said. "They are like 60 percent of the American population living paycheck-to-paycheck," he said...Rock Island attorney Bruce Buckrop said he has definitely seen a rise in the number of his clients facing financial difficulty because of adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). The trend toward ARMs and aggressive mortgage lending practices has increased over the past five years, he said. Some borrowers are wooed into an adjustable interest rate by an attractive low starting rate of 5 percent interest that increases six months later to 8 percent and then 11 percent, he said. An 11 percent mortgage rate is "a killer rate" that can take a $400 a month house payment to $950, Mr. Buckrop said. Sometimes the only thing he can do to help clients is to put them through bankruptcy if they want to save their house. Bankruptcy laws protect the homeowner from losing their homes, if it is a first mortgage, but rids a creditor from credit card and other debt.
Here is a slice of life from Rock Island, IL, where you can see what is going on with foreclosures in middle America. The creative mortgages are coming home to roost:
Mortgage foreclosures spiked in Rock Island County and inched upward in Scott County in 2006, and are on track for another barn burner if all else stays equal, court records indicate. Of the 1,955 mortgage foreclosures in Rock Island County over the past five years, there were an average 430 cases a year from 2003 through 2005. But the number spiked to 537 cases in 2006, court records indicated. The number of Scott County foreclosures have inched upward steadily since 2004, and court record keepers say the number of filings have been brisk since the first of the year. The loss of jobs, unexpected medical expenses and divorces are the three most common reasons people get into financial difficulties that often lead to losing their homes, said Moline attorney Thomas Blade, who represents banks and other lenders in mortgage foreclosure cases. Most of the homeowners in financial trouble own homes valued at no more than $150,000, he said. "They are like 60 percent of the American population living paycheck-to-paycheck," he said...Rock Island attorney Bruce Buckrop said he has definitely seen a rise in the number of his clients facing financial difficulty because of adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). The trend toward ARMs and aggressive mortgage lending practices has increased over the past five years, he said. Some borrowers are wooed into an adjustable interest rate by an attractive low starting rate of 5 percent interest that increases six months later to 8 percent and then 11 percent, he said. An 11 percent mortgage rate is "a killer rate" that can take a $400 a month house payment to $950, Mr. Buckrop said. Sometimes the only thing he can do to help clients is to put them through bankruptcy if they want to save their house. Bankruptcy laws protect the homeowner from losing their homes, if it is a first mortgage, but rids a creditor from credit card and other debt.
A new approach to NIMBYism
Fred Pilot sent this along with the heading, "They shoot condos, don't they?"
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man angry that a new apartment building put his house in the shade was arrested after shooting about a dozen bullets at it with a competition rifle.
Fred Pilot sent this along with the heading, "They shoot condos, don't they?"
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man angry that a new apartment building put his house in the shade was arrested after shooting about a dozen bullets at it with a competition rifle.
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