Eminent domain is a law that gives the federal, state, county, and municipal governments in the United States the legal right to “condemn” property and then seize it to allow its use for development. Eminent domain is supposed to be used by the government at the various levels to do things for the public benefit, such as to build new roads or construct new public schools.
The federal government adopted the Housing and Community Development Act in 1977, and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) portion was designed to prompt lending institutions to provide mortgages for low- and moderate-income Americans. The underlying reasoning for the CRA was to discourage discriminatory lending practices that inhibited low-income communities and neighborhoods.
Last week’s economic reports included readings on sales of new and pre-owned homes and weekly reports on mortgage rates and first-time jobless claims.
For market value and the comfort of a home’s occupants, home security is just as important as energy-efficiency. Innovation in smart home technology focuses on both of these areas.
Have you ever played the classic board game called Monopoly? The object of the game is to collect all the properties until one winner bankrupts all the other players. The other part of the game is that accumulating properties adjacent to each other increases the value of the individual properties. When a player acquires all the properties of the same color (two or three), then the rents go up and property development can begin.
When investing in real estate, few people think about water as a high priority. All of us have become used to water being readily available and rarely give it a second thought. Most would think that water is only a consideration for farmers who need it to irrigate agriculture. However, due to climate change and population growth, the world is experiencing large impacted areas and major cities that are running out of water.
A 1031 tax exchange is a legal way to defer paying capital gains when selling a property and then buying a “like-kind” property within the allowed period. The time limits allowed are 45 calendar days after the close of the sale of the first property to identify the like-kind property for acquisition and then close the purchase transaction to complete the 1031 exchange within 180 calendar days.
Last week’s economic reporting included readings from the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index, Commerce Department reports on housing starts and building permits issued.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was also released. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also reported.
After the children are all grown and moved out, the family home often feels excessively large and empty. If you’re in this stage of life, you may be wondering if you should downsize like so many others, or stay put. Downsizing may be the best option, depending on your lifestyle.
If someone says that they are a “self-made” success who did it all completely by themselves with no help from anyone, they are probably stretching the truth. Success never usually happens in a vacuum. The definition of success is that something is recognized and respected by others.
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