I’m recently back from the Region III conference in Brooklyn Park, MN put on by AMBO. This year I stayed an extra night courtesy of Mother Nature (my […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / Fire Prevention / Ordinances / property maintenance
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Which Code Should I Use?
I recently did an all day training for the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association and I found myself talking about using multiple codes for violations. Fire inspectors often work […]
Building Codes / Fire Prevention
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The Cycle of Tragedy and Lack of Building Codes Continues – Haiti
The earthquake tragedy in Haiti is a reminder of what can happen when there are no building codes or the existing ones aren’t enforced, when there are no […]
Building Codes / Court cases / Zoning
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Mandamus and the limits of immunity
Sometimes a building code official may become a defendant in a mandamus action. A mandamus action is a lawsuit wherei nthe plaintiff tries to compel a governmental official […]
Foreclosure / property maintenance
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Keeping Occupants in a Foreclosed Home
Once again, I’m thanking Kelly Anbach, inspector for the Village of Hinsdale for finding out about a new program. Detroit is working with lenders to keep foreclosed homes […]
Foreclosure / property maintenance
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Problems Ahead for Commercial Real Estate
Commercial building foreclosures are going to be a big problem in 2010. Many communities already have these “zombie” buildings which were built during the good times but have […]
Building Codes
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Building in a Flood Plain
Too often purchasers of property do not do their due diligence to check for potential problems with the land or the building. This seems to happen quite frequently […]
Building Codes
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Homeowners with Chinese drywall losing their insurance
People who purchased houses with Chinese drywall (the kind that has been linked with a rotten egg smell and corrosion) are running into a problem when they file […]
Building Codes
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Is the Contractor Really the Agent?
I had a wonderful trip to Colorado recently teaching Advanced Legal Aspects for Building Officials (and my husband and I took some time to go sightseeing). One of […]
Code Enforcement / property maintenance
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Trash House and Tragedy
There’s a sad tale from Jacksonville, Florida about a woman who was found dead under 8 feet of trash in her home. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=7054060 The rescue workers had difficulty […]