Troubles mount for flood insurance The National Flood Insurance Program is in trouble. Congress increased the program’s borrowing authority to $18 billion to pay an expected 200,000 claims from Hurricane Katrina. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency program can’t repay the loan, David Maurstad, a top FEMA official, told Gannett News Service. “The program doesn’t …
Author Archives: Administrator
Home, sweet home, times 2
Home, sweet home, times 2 Increasingly, aging affluent baby boomers are finding themselves living in more than 1 house and in more than 1 state. Flexible working arrangements and new technology help make it possible. To Pat and Kevin Fox, the character of home is found in a large window seat, glass-fronted kitchen cabinets, white …
White House targeting mortgage deduction
White House targeting mortgage deduction This autumn, the president convened a tax advisory board, who under the auspices of devising simpler and fairer tax laws, were poised to further damage the housing market by suggesting a reduction of the mortgage-interest deduction. The ill-conceived tax proposal could rival the devastation resulting from a large-magnitude earthquake in …
A downtown condo craze
A downtown condo craze Four years ago, Pensacola developer Sonny Granger announced he was going to build a high-rise condominium in downtown Tallahassee. The cheers were muted. Sure, Tallahassee officials had talked for years about bringing residents back downtown. But apartments costing several hundred thousand dollars? High-rise buildings? No way, said the cynics. Tallahassee isn’t …
The Disappearing Las Vegas Condos
The Disappearing Las Vegas Condos Three weeks ago, Eli Verdnikov, an engineer in Los Gatos, Calif., received a letter saying that the apartment building he planned to retire to — Icon Las Vegas — would not be built. In the envelope was a check for $73,672.81, the 10 percent deposit Mr. Verdnikov had paid, plus …
Prices right for reluctant waterfront sellers in Riviera Beach (South Florida)
Prices right for reluctant waterfront sellers in Riviera Beach (South Florida) For years, a few residents in a Riviera Beach waterfront neighborhood have railed against the city on national television, in newspapers and during countless City Council meetings. Then along came Wayne Huizenga Jr. with visions of a mega-yacht building business where the homes stand. …
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