It’s that time of year again when I get questions about notice to offenders who don’t cut their grass. Some of the inspectors complain that owners of property […]
My Trip to Japan
My husband and I had a wonderful time in Japan but I couldn’t ignore some interesting differences. We stayed at a Japanese inn that was part of a […]
Alternate materials and means of construction
The blog has been silent for awhile because I was on a wonderful vacation in Japan (more on that later). But, while I was away, I had an […]
Crime and vacant buildings
It seems that whenever I travel to conduct trainings, I find interesting items in the local press for this blog. My trip to Troy, Michigan last week for […]
Trouble in the multi-family housing mortgage market
There is a very disturbing report, The Multifamily Housing Market and Value-at-Risk Implications for Multifamily Lending, just released by DePaul University’s Institute for Housing Studies regarding the impact […]
New Trends in Foreclosure
There are 2 interesting trends in the foreclosure crisis. One involves people walking away from properties even though they can pay the mortgage. Their homes are no longer […]
Overcrowding and the foreclosure crisis
I’ve been wondering for awhile when we’d begin seeing overcrowding issues crop up because of people losing their homes and moving in with relatives and friends. The Chicago […]
Walking away from a mortgage
Inspectors need to be concerned with more than foreclosed properties because more and more people are calculating the numbers and walking away from their homes and mortgages because […]
How Do You Know You Have Exigent Circumstances?
One of the best ideas I heard at the OBOA/MVBOC joint conference was during a discussion on what constitutes exigent circumstances. A building official said simply, “I know […]
Attending Sheriffs’ Sales on Foreclosed Property
I’m just back from the SBOC conference in Lisle, IL and the OBOA and MVBOC joint conference in Dayton, Ohio. One of the things I especially enjoy, in […]