Home Stealing - Walking Away with an Immovable Object

According to the FBI, con artists have started a new form of game - stealing houses. Even the most immovable object most people own can be stolen right out from under their noses, even if the are still living in them.

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HUD Smacks Subdivision and Zoning Committee in Texas

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has charged Crow-Billingsley Air Park, Ltd., Airpark GP, L.L.C., and Air Park–Dallas Zoning Committee, owners of Air Park Estates, with violating the Fair Housing Act.

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Housing Sales Slump Produces a Buyers Market

On Monday, February 25, 2008, The National Association of Realtors announced existing home-sales had dropped 0.4 percent in January, 2008 from the December, 2007 level. This slippage reflects a 23.4 percent reduction from January, 2007.

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Real estate: Buy, sell, or hold?

You can't blame America's homeowners for feeling hopelessly confused. From suburban porches and city terraces, they're gawking at a housing world gone mad. Just 18 months ago, folks on a tony Linden Lane or a leafy Boxwood Court were astounded to see the colonial their neighbors bought for $600,000 in 2000 sell for $1.5 million after multiple bids.

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A Mortgage Underwriters View of the Sub-Prime Crisis

Many experts have speculated that greed is the cause of the current mortgage crisis. For the past 15 years I worked in that industry. It is my opinion there are many causes for the current problems but greed was definitely a factor.

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Dealing With Nicotine Stains on Walls

Besides being unhealthy, nicotine also causes damage to the home of a smoker. It gets into the furniture, the carpet, the curtains, and the walls. A home of a smoker will eventually show unsightly yellow stains of various sizes on the walls, nicotine stains. Such stains are difficult to remove, especially from the walls and ceiling.

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Should the federal government offer foreclosure bailouts?

There are many perfectly honest, hard working people caught in the trap set for them by predatory lenders who should be protected by the government. But there are also those who were rolling the dice, much as those lenders were, who knew they were taking a gamble much like the stock market or Vegas who should take their lumps.

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California sees record $5 billion in foreclosure sales

October foreclosure sales increased by 40 percent from September with a total of 12,336 properties – with a loan value of $5 billion -- sold at auction statewide, according to figures compiled by ForeclosureRadar.

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HUD CHARGES CHICAGO LANDLORD WITH VIOLATING FAIR HOUSING ACT

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has charged Cesar A. Lopez, a Chicago landlord with housing discrimination for posting an on-line ad that discriminates against men and families with children.

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Five Warning Signs of a Bad Landlord

Shopping for an apartment? Still having trouble making up your mind on which apartment to take? There are several warning signs to watch out for while you're looking for a place to rent that indicate you could be taking over an apartment with a rotten landlord. Here are five warning indicators that the landlord might be more trouble.

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5 Warning Signs of a Bad Landlord

Shopping for an apartment? Still having trouble making up your mind on which apartment to take? There are several warning signs to watch out for while you’re looking for a place to rent that indicate you could be taking over an apartment with a rotten landlord. Here are five warning indicators that the landlord for the apartment might be more trouble than the apartment is worth.

The “I Don’t Know” Landlord

You should have a checklist with you, either memorized or even better, on a clipboard that you take along, with several key questions that are important to you. Get answers to those questions – a good landlord will either know the answers off the top of their head, or be able to get it to you in a reasonable length of time. The “I Don’t Know” landlord doesn’t know the apartment or its amenities well enough, or care enough to know, to be helpful to you after you move in.

The “What a Dump” Landlord

These landlords will show you – anything. In a tight rental market, or with an aggressive property manager, you will probably be looking at an occupied apartment. If that apartment is in a shambles, and the landlord doesn’t seem to care – you’re in trouble.

You’re in even worse trouble if the landlord shows you a vacant apartment which is a total wreck. This sort of landlord really doesn’t care, and odds are, won’t take care of the apartment after you move in, either.

The “Not This One” Landlord

This landlord shows you an apartment, then tells you that this is not the apartment you will actually be living in, but you will get one “just like it.” Even in a brand new building, that is a physical impossibility.

Model apartments are fine if an apartment complex is still under construction – but beware model apartments in a building or complex that is finished. It is easy to maintain and keep up appearances in an apartment in which no one has ever lived, and an entirely different ball game for one that has been occupied.

The worst-case scenario is that the actual apartment you lease will be a total nightmare, with appliances that don’t work, carpeting that is a wreck (if there at all), mold and mildew evident – you get the picture. Only agree to rent an apartment that you have actually seen.

The “No Samples” Landlord

You should have an opportunity to review the lease agreement before you sign it. A high pressure landlord will want you to put down your deposit on the spot, without a chance to review the lease. A bad landlord will refuse to give you a sample of his lease, and expect you to sign it unseen by you, or your attorney.

The “I Never Come Here” Landlord

You pull in, the grounds are littered with trash, the parking lot looks like there was a party there this morning, and the FOR RENT sign is covered in graffiti. A good landlord visits their properties on a regular basis, or has someone doing so, and keeps the exterior (at a minimum) spic and span. A landlord who never visits his properties to check on these conditions is unlikely to respond very quickly to your clogged toilet, leaking faucets, or a hole in the roof.

Keep these five warning signs of a bad landlord in mind while shopping for your next apartment, and your next rental experience could be a good one.