On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Barbara L. Nelson wrote: > Tim is right in that it USED to be the way he recalls. It was that way when I > bought my house too. That is no longer the case.
When were these changes instituted? I bought my house in Sept 2000. There were numerous issues with the house, but the seller was not required to fix any of them. I do seem to remember discussing the Truth in Housing report with my realtor and deciding that there was nothing sufficiently wrong with the house that would prevent me from buying it. I can understand that some health and safety-related repairs should be mandatory, either by the sellor or by the buyer, but some of the repairs you list are ridiculous and place an unnecessary burden upon you, the seller. If I understand what you are saying, then I think it is time to reexamine and readjust the city ordinances regarding Truth in Housing. However, I see the program as useful for the buyers so that they know what they are buying. For that reason, I would rather see onerous or unnecessary repair requirements eliminated, rather than have the Truth in Housing program eliminated. Regarding what Timothy Connelly wrote regarding housing inspections and restaurant and food inspections, I agree, if we are to eliminate housing inspections by the City, why not consider eliminating restaurant and food inspections by the government? Let the buyer beware! However, I want none of these programs to be eliminated as I do see them as a basic service of the government. With regards to restaurant inspections, I would prefer that a restaurant clean up its act based upon what an inspector discovered rather than because I decided to sue them for food poisoning. If I am one of the unfortunate ones, I might not be alive to sue the restaurant because I had died because of food poisoning. With regards to housing inspections, I would prefer that the seller fix a malfunctioning furnace, based upon an inspection by a housing inspector, before I discover that I am suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. I see the protection of our health and safety to be a fundamental and basic service of our government. Sometimes, the government can not do anything or little to protect our health and safety, but when it can, I believe it ought to make a reasonable effort to do so. In my opinion, the Truth in Housing inspection can be a reasonable effort to protect our health and safety with regards to our housing stock. Scott McGerik Hawthorne/Minneapolis http://www.mcgerik.com/scott/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
