I had mixed feelings about the stricter legislation that was passed some time ago and the effect it would have on the real estate market. But, the same type of legislation exists in suburbs next to us and it doesn't seem to have had an impact on housing sales there. And since its inception in Mpls, there has been a housing boom.
I understand the staff time to do the inspections is limited. Since lending agents require an inspection to write the mortgage, isn't there anyway to partner with these inspectors to perform the necessary inspections on behalf of the city? That way the problems are uncovered at the time of sale rather than some poor unsuspecting buyer inheriting a bunch of problems they didn't discover when they purchased the home? Case in point: I have a house next door to me that is in bad shape, at least on the outside. The eves are hanging a foot from the roof on one side and the attic has been inhabited by a community of pigeons for at least 2 years now. (I have called inspections) There is a window missing from the basement and squirrels and cats come and go from there. There was a weed in a window well that grew into a tree and did serious damage to the foundation in that spot. The tree was removed because it was starting to poke into my house and I nagged the owner until he did something. There are obviously holes in the house because you can see into the house from a couple spots on one side. The house is now for sale for $130,000. I have informed a couple potential buyers regarding the problems, but, I can't stand guard and watch for everyone coming through there. I can guarantee you the realtor isn't telling people this information. So....this situation just seems like a rip-off waiting to happen. Many people are not savvy homebuyers and will walk into this disaster without knowing. The current homeowner paid $31,000 for the place 10 years ago and will now walk with a tidy profit without having to invest one dime of his own money into the place. Oh ya, he painted it with paint he got from PPL. He got 75 cans of used paint and mixed them all together and went to town. Shouldn't he be required to invest at least a portion of the sale proceeds to fix the major problems that exist with this house? Or shouldn't the perspective buyer be entitled to know about all of the problems that exist in the house? Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ 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
