Real Estate Developers Want To Evict 98-Year-Old Woman To Turn Her Apartment Into Condos

Real Estate Developers Want To Evict 98-Year-Old Woman To Turn Her Apartment Into Condos

"The company is using a 1986 state law called the Ellis Act to boot Phillips from her apartment in a building at 55 Dolores Street. That property was bought in late 2012 for about $2.5 million, according to Trulia.com, marking a nearly $1.2 million profit for the previous owners who had bought it in early 2011. In April, 2013, the new owners served Phillips with an eviction notice...The man behind the company has used the Ellis Act 43 times in the past 10 years, according to the group. Ellis Act evictions fell in the wake of the financial crisis, but have been on the rise again as the economy has recovered and San Francisco property values have spiked over the past two years.  The law was intended to protect landlords who wanted to get out of the business from being forced to continue renting properties they would prefer to sell. But the majority of Ellis Act evictions in recent years have been initiatedby speculators rather than landlords, according to Steve Collier of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. “What we’ve seen is groups of investors are banding together to buy property, usually it’s when a landlord dies and it’s sold as an estate sale, or when someone just wants to sell to retire and then the speculator buys the property [and] evicts the tenants by using the Ellis Act,” he told the local NBC News affiliate in October."

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That's just what San Francisco needs:  more overpriced condos.

Crony Capitalism Has No Place in the Supreme Court - NationalJournal.com

Crony Capitalism Has No Place in the Supreme Court - NationalJournal.com:

From Norman Ornstein, a different take on Hobby Lobby and other USSC decisions that expand the power of corporations over little people:  "But for the majority on the Roberts Court, through a series of rulings that favor corporations over labor or other interests, it is clear that corporations are king, superior to individual Americans—with all the special treatment in taxes and protection from legal liability that are unavailable to us individuals, and now all the extra benefits that come with individual citizenship. Call it the new Crony Capitalism."

Home equity lines due for reset may be looming financial disaster--Los Angeles Times

Home equity lines due for reset may be looming financial disaster--Los Angeles Times:

"Some mortgage and credit experts worry that billions of dollars of home equity credit lines that were extended a decade ago during the housing boom could be heading for big trouble soon, creating a new wave of defaults for banks and homeowners.  That's because these credit lines, which are second mortgages with floating rates and flexible withdrawal terms, carry mandatory "resets" requiring borrowers to begin paying both principal and interest on their balances after 10 years. During the initial 10-year draw period, only interest payments are required.  But the difference between the interest-only and reset payments on these credit lines can be substantial — $500 to $600 or more per month in some cases. If borrowers cannot afford or choose not to make the fully amortizing payments that reduce the principal debt, the bank that owns the note can demand full payment and foreclose on the house if there is sufficient equity.  According to federal financial regulators, about $30 billion in home equity lines dating to 2004 are due for resets next year, $53 billion the following year and a staggering $111 billion in 2018."

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Conventional wisdom says the foreclosure crisis is nearly over, but that doesn't take into account the second mortgages that are bumping up against their ten-year reset period.

Sun Valley woman fighting to fly American flag - KRXI - Reno NV Top Stories - News, Sports, Weather

Sun Valley woman fighting to fly American flag - KRXI - Reno NV Top Stories - News, Sports, Weather: After living in Sun Valley for nine years, Legere's home is complete. The Sparks woman has been eyeing a change to her front yard for quite some time: an American flag for the neighborhood to enjoy.

"I called the Homeowners' Assocation and mentioned what I was planning to do, and they said, 'Oh, how exciting.'"

The tree occupying the space was uprooted and a concrete base was built. Two days ago, she invited community board members to the flag-raising ceremony and the reaction changed.

"They said, 'You have to cease and desist, you can't do that. You don't...that hasn't been OK'd by the board and it probably won't be.'"
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Another Independence Day flag(pole) flap in Privatopia, Nevada sector.

Biz executives pay fines for Florida vet facing eviction over flower pot flag | Fox News

Biz executives pay fines for Florida vet facing eviction over flower pot flag | Fox News: “When we read his story it offended our sensibilities,” Scott Carter, CEO of Lear Capital said to FoxNews.com. “The thought of him losing his home, we felt it was wrong. We wanted to help.”

Along with Lear Capital founder Kevin DeMerritt, the executives paid the $8,000 plus another $2,500 for tax adjustments.

“They [homeowner’s association were using the strongarm of money to get him to get rid of the flag,” Carter said. “They were skimming the money from his [paid] dues to pay the fines which created a lien on his house.”
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The power of media coverage is shown as another national patriotic holiday HOA flag flap unfurls and TV satellite trucks roll into Privatopia.

The Great Disinvestment - NYTimes.com

The Great Disinvestment - NYTimes.com

Paul Krugman on the craziness behind Republicans blocking highway spending: "So the highway issue should be seen as part of the larger craziness of infrastructure policy, in which spending has crashed at a time when by any reasonable criterion we should have been building much more."

Here is some context on this, from Alternet:  "The federal highway trust fund, which pays for a large part of American road construction and maintenance, is almost exhausted. Unless Congress agrees to top up the fund somehow, road work all across the country will have to be scaled back just a few weeks from now. If this were to happen, it would quickly cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs, which might derail  the employment recovery that finally seems to be gaining steam. And it would also reduce long-run economic potential."

Homebuyers Avoiding Chores Fuel U.S. Condo-Hotel Revival - Bloomberg

"Homebuyers Avoiding Chores Fuel U.S. Condo-Hotel Revival - Bloomberg:

"Developers across the U.S. are reviving a concept that collapsed with the real estate crash in 2008: combining condominiums and hotels. In cities including Miami, New York and Los Angeles, a rebounding hospitality market is joining with rising demand for luxury homes, spurring developers to construct new full-service hotels and ask premium prices for residential units associated with a high-end brand."

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Many middle class home buyers don't understand what condos are all about until after they move in.  Rich people, however, generally know exactly what they are getting into, and apparently there is a renewed demand for amenities such as "...a restaurant that can provide room service, a concierge, maintenance, a person that can clean your place, valet parking,” and somebody to slowly lower a bunch of grapes into their mouths while they recline on a divan.

Florida Veteran May Lose Home Over Displayed American Flag, Fined $8,000

Florida Veteran May Lose Home Over Displayed American Flag, Fined $8,000

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There's the offending flag stuck in the flower pot in the latest national HOA flag flap that was literally a federal case until it was removed to the Florida courts. Pettiness seems to know no bounds in Privatopia.

Tempers Flare at Annexation Open House - The Missourian: Washington

Tempers Flare at Annexation Open House - The Missourian: Washington:

"A meeting Wednesday between Meadowlake Farm subdivision residents and city staff to discuss annexation became contentious.
Accusations of lying and intimidation were thrown around and one meeting attendee walked out before City Administrator Jim Briggs finished answering a question...Things got heated nearly 10 minutes into the meeting when Meadowlake resident Dale Volmert called Briggs a “lying son of a buck.” The comment came after Briggs said some Meadowlake residents 20 years ago requested annexation. Briggs said a mention of a petition appeared in a historical article recently in The Missourian."

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Local disputes over annexation can be intense.

Absurd Neighbor Dispute Becomes Front-Page News -- NYMag

Absurd Neighbor Dispute Becomes Front-Page News -- NYMag: According to one neighbor — who was granted anonymity “because she is worried about federal-government reprisals” — “we have this group, overweight, wearing the most ridiculous blue uniforms with the most ridiculous blue caps, and they have guns that are visible.” Meanwhile, their vehicles idle for “approximately 22 minutes daily,” according to an official complaint, and then pull out “speedily … all the while spilling fluid onto the street, which has now left a permanent stain,” against the neighborhood’s explicit “no car fluid stain” rule (seriously).
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Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen's security detail gets crosswise with the chief's HOA.

Florida vet says 'Bring it on,' as he faces eviction over flower pot flag | Fox News

Florida vet says 'Bring it on,' as he faces eviction over flower pot flag | Fox News: A Florida veteran who isfacing foreclosure for insisting on displaying a small American flag in a flower pot on his front stoop is telling his homeowner's association to "bring it on."

“The flag is worth fighting for,” 73-year-old Larry Murphree, of Jacksonville, told FoxNews.com Friday. “If they want to foreclose, bring it on. I’m getting calls from all over the county to stand up. That’s what I'm going to do.”

Murphree's homeowners association at Tides Condominium at Sweetwater began hitting him with fines of $100 a day last year for violating his homeowners association’s flag display rules. But instead of paying the fines, Murphree let them pile up - and kept his flag on display. Now he owes more than $8,000, and neither side will budge.
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The latest dispatch in this HOA national flag flap sending TV satellite trucks to Privatopia, Florida sector.

Veteran fights condo homeowners association | News - Home

Veteran fights condo homeowners association | News - Home: Murphree, a veteran, filed a suit last year after the HOA said he couldn't put a small American flag inside a potted plant on his front stoop.

He said the case was settled, and he agreed to display the flag in compliance with the “association documents.”

The flag remained in the flower pot until a few months ago, when Murphree said the HOA came knocking again, telling him the rules had changed.

According to the HOA, homeowners can fly a flag inside a flag pole on the side of the building, but they can't place the flag elsewhere, like inside a potted plant.

Murphree said the association told him to pay $100 a day or take it out.

“They left us no choice,” Murphree said. “We had a federal judge look at it, and he ruled that it should be in state court instead of federal court. We waited to see what they were going to do. (The HOA) put a foreclosure on my house for not paying the dues.”
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Didn't Deep Throat use a flag in a flower pot to signal Bob Woodward to meet him in the parking garage for a Watergate scoop?

Supreme Court Issues Bold Decision On Cell Phone Privacy | ThinkProgress

Supreme Court Issues Bold Decision On Cell Phone Privacy | ThinkProgress:



"[W]hen police arrest someone carrying a cell phone, does that arrest give law enforcement license to cull through the device and access whatever information they choose?
The answer, according to a nearly unanimous opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, is no. “Cell phones,” Roberts explained, “place vast quantities of personal information literally in the hands of individuals. A search of the information on a cell phone bears little resemblance to the type of brief physical search” authorized by previous cases.
As Roberts lays out, few of the traditional justifications for a search incident to arrest authorize a full search of a suspect’s cell phone."

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Police across the nation routinely do this as part of their "search incident to arrest." It is a bogus justification, and the Supreme Court just shut them down.  Establish probable cause, go to a judge, and get a warrant if you want to do a search!

Nearly Half Of Detroit Water Customers Can’t Pay Their Bill CBS Detroit

Nearly Half Of Detroit Water Customers Can’t Pay Their Bill  CBS Detroit:



"It’s a basic human right: water. But could the United Nations soon help the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide the service to struggling customers?
Water department spokeswoman Curtrise Garner says it’s a possibility — but for now, the water bills must be paid."

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I agree that access to clean water should be a basic human right, but the huge corporations, such as Nestle, that are gobbling up the world's drinkable water sources and privatizing them don't see it that way. They see water as just another consumer product that people should have to pay for at a rate several hundred times higher than what they are currently paying to regulated utilities and government water companies. It's a natural for the privatization industry.  What could be more profitable than a monopoly stranglehold on a necessity?

Vietnam Airlines proposes privatization plan | Business | Thanh Nien Daily

Vietnam Airlines proposes privatization plan | Business | Thanh Nien Daily:



"State-owned Vietnam Airlines plans to sell 25 percent of its share capital this year, according to the privatization plan it recently submitted to the Ministry of Transport."

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Remember Vietnam?  The country that we were going to save from communism by destroying it, killing a million of its people, and losing almost 60,000 of our own soldiers in the process?  Well, after they kicked us out, they eventually found their own way to a mixed economy.  As the CIA Factbook explains,



"Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that has been transitioning from the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy since 1986. Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic modernization in recent years. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007, which has promoted more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam became an official negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in 2010. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink from about 25% in 2000 to less than 20% in 2013, while industry's share increased from 36% to more than 42% in the same period. State-owned enterprises account for about 40% of GDP. Poverty has declined significantly, and Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one million people every year." 



What does this mean?  The US invasion of Vietnam was the worst foreign policy blunder of the Cold War.  The only worse foreign policy decision in the last 150 years was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The people who bullied us into the Vietnam war with their "domino theory" lies were horribly wrong, as were the criminals who sent us into Iraq based on lies about terrorism and WMDs.  And now we are hearing the same sort of people, and in some cases the very same people, making the same insane arguments to attack, bomb, invade, and occupy -- again, and again, and again.  There will always be a substantial minority of the population that is susceptible to being scared into sending our young people off to die or be maimed in a foreign country--ultimately, for nothing.  But is there a point where the majority decide that they have had enough, and won't be fooled again?

A new book on Maryland HOA and condo law

Dear Friend:

My masterpiece is finished. Check it out at Happy Homes: A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards

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Even though it focuses on Maryland law, most state laws are similar. It's a quick read; only 92 large print pages.

xxx,

Jeanne

 

Jeanne N. Ketley

Author of Happy Homes, A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards, now available onAmazon.com

Revealed: the biggest fears of the super-rich - Telegraph

Revealed: the biggest fears of the super-rich - Telegraph:

"One in seven multimillionaires or billionaires is worried their wealth could be depriving their children of drive and ambition, says a study which affords a rare glimpse into the minds of the ultra-rich."

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Whereas the rest of us are worried that our lack of wealth could be depriving our children of a chance to get an education, a career, a home, and a family of their own. And we are worried about these things because the rich have bought our government and turned our economy into their ATM.

These 5 charts show why the world is still failing on climate change - Vox

These 5 charts show why the world is still failing on climate change - Vox

Appeals court panel ends L.A. ban on homeless living in vehicles--Los Angeles Times

Appeals court panel ends L.A. ban on homeless living in vehicles--Los Angeles Times



"A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided unanimously Thursday that a city ordinance prohibiting people from living in vehicles was unconstitutionally vague. That ruling followed a 9th Circuit decision in 2012 that prevented Los Angeles from confiscating and destroying possessions that homeless people leave temporarily on sidewalks. Both ordinances had been enforced, along with other policies, to help the city cope with a homeless population now estimated at 36,000 to 54,000...Unlike cities that bar overnight parking or sleeping in vehicles, Los Angeles prohibited people from using a vehicle parked on a city street or in a parking lot owned by the city or the county Department of Beaches and Harbors as "living quarters" — both overnight and "day-by-day, or otherwise." The 9th Circuit said the law failed to define "living quarters" or specify what "otherwise" meant."

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Where does LA think the homeless should live?  I think the answer is "somewhere else." The NIMBY mentality is especially repellent when it comes to homelessness, because public policies have a lot to do with homelessness.  The three main causes of homelessness are lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and poverty.  All of these are directly influenced by public policies. Local governments are more concerned about their property tax base than about making sure there is a range of affordable housing. There are few options for people with low income who experience that one last misfortune and end up out on the street.  Often they have no place to sleep except in a car.

Tenants caught in quagmire of homeowners association foreclosures | Tampa Bay Times

Tenants caught in quagmire of homeowners association foreclosures | Tampa Bay Times: During the recession, many Floridians fell behind on their payments not only to the banks but also to their homeowners associations. The HOAs, many of them struggling to keep up with maintenance and other expenses, foreclosed on thousands of homes to limit their losses. That created a lucrative opportunity for investors.

Here's how it works: After the homeowners association forecloses, the property is put up for auction. The property title goes to the highest bidder, usually for the amount of fees owed, often just a few thousand dollars. The winning bidders don't really own the houses but can rent them out until the banks finally foreclose and take the homes. The whole process is enabled by the glacially slow Florida foreclosure system, which takes an average of 935 days from start to finish.

While the investors rake in big profits, many of the homes languish in disrepair, causing more problems for the HOAs and discomfort for the tenants.
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This story illustrates a major downside of allowing HOAs for foreclose for delinquent assessment sums orders of magnitude below the typical mortgage arrearage. Here it works like the pitch of those real estate infomercials: get in for little money and make big profits.