Below are the 4 most recent journal entries recorded in guadalupeeaton's InsaneJournal:

Saturday, September 25th, 2010
5:49 pm	HUD says mayor can't appoint members to Alexandria Housing Authority board The federal company that oversees the Alexandria Real estate Expert stated Mayor Jacques Roy's appointment of three metropolis executives towards the authority's board of commissioners is prohibited. The agency also said there are two empty panel seats, not three. Inside a letter to Roy dated Wednesday, Sept. 22, Danberry Carmon said Louisiana law "prohibits you from appointing members of your employees !.! to supervise the functions" of the housing authority. "We think that the capabilities of the Alexandria Real estate Authority would be impaired by the accumulation of governmental power in the hands of key members of one's staff," said Carmon, director of the U.S. Department of Real estate and Urban Development's New Orleans field office. On Tuesday, Roy appointed three metropolis executives towards the board as interim customers. They had been charged with, amongst other issues, seeing that monetary and operational audits of the authority are carried out. On Thursday evening, City Lawyer Chuck Johnson stated no one within the metropolis administration had seen Carmon's letter. After being told which law Carmon cites, Johnson said it doesn't apply. "The statute that [Carmon is] referring to is the dual office-holding statute. !.! There's an lawyer general's opinion on point permitting these types of appointments," Johnson stated. The HUD letter and Roy's panel appointments are but parts of a controversy that has flared over who runs the local agency that offers real estate towards the poor, how they run it and what they're paid. On Thursday, Lee Dotson, chairman of the expert panel, stated the panel found out six weeks ago that expert Executive Director Wanda Hall Davis is generating nearly $130,000 a year. Dotson, AHA legal counsel Bridgett Brown and former Metropolis Attorney Kelvin Sanders, who is working with Brown, contend that Davis has no current contract and that she makes too a lot money. Two weeks in the past, Dotson wrote a letter telling Davis she was no longer employed. The letter followed a special panel assembly that was not publicized and was not held in the housing authority's board room. Davis, who remains executive director, stated Thursday that Dotson signed the paperwork that escalated her pay to $56.75 an hour in 2008, according to paperwork provided to the Town Speak after a public data request. Officials didn't break down the quantity of hours Davis worked to arrive at the figure of almost $130,000 a 12 months. A unique housing expert panel assembly scheduled for Thursday was canceled after Dotson notified the authority and the city that only he can call a special meeting. "I by no means known as a meeting," Dotson stated. "The only person who can name a meeting for the Real estate Expert will be the chairman." Dotson stated he also talked to HUD officials and that they "wanted to know who known as the assembly." Roy, inside a news release, said he's heard "many rumors" concerning the operations of the authority, which coordinates housing for people who meet federal low-income guidlines. "I do not know all the issues on the AHA," Roy said. "It isn't a city company." The Alexandria mayor does appoint all members towards the five-seat panel. "I was informed by its executive director [Davis] these appointments were lapsed, and those serving !.. in the seats may not be regularly attending. "I can't verify any of that." Roy stated, explaining that he was relying on Davis for an accurate assessment of the AHA board. After the board meeting which had been scheduled for Thursday was canceled, another discover was sent to "request" that Dotson name one for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29. The notice was sent by two newly appointed panel members -- metropolis Finance Director David Crutchfield and city Chief Diversity Officer Joe Page. It's unclear whether Dotson will name the meeting. The other board member appointed by Roy is metropolis Community Services Director Lisa Harris. Data obtained Thursday by The City Speak show that the three longtime AHA board members' terms had been not expired and there were only two vacancies on the panel. Carmon said in the letter to Roy that "there are only two available positions that need to be filled at this time." Roy had appointed the three metropolis directors to the panel based on information that there had been three vacancies. Johnson, the city lawyer, said only two from the three appointees would serve for now and that the third would take Dotson's seat when his term expires in November. Source: The Town Talk News (Comment on this)
5:33 pm	Housing unit plans a surprise Developers recently submitted plans to the Athens-Clarke government for two new apartment buildings, a potential sign that the recession-driven construction lull is turning around. Each projects - one on East Broad Street downtown and another on Macon Highway - seem to be student-oriented apartment buildings. Representatives of Williams and Associates, the Athens land preparing and architectural firm working around the projects, stated they could not talk about the particular projects, but partner Frank Pittman said he hopes the market is picking up. "We've seen a little improve in the final couple of months, and others are a minimum of looking at potential tasks," Pittman stated. Unlike a couple of years ago, when Athens, like many cities, skilled a boom of new improvement as real estate values skyrocketed, county planners now are seeing couple of, if any, proposals for new multifamily or commercial tasks. "I was actually surprised to see these," planner Melanie Graham said. "I don't know if there is a marketplace for it. It seems like we're nonetheless oversaturated with that." A 2006 county study found that Athens had an excess of much more than 7,000 housing models, triple what it had in 2000. Despite the slowdown and population increase, Athens is nonetheless overbuilt, property manager David Esary said. "You drive around and see for-rent signs," he stated. But the proposed apartments will be in demand simply because of their locations in student-heavy neighborhoods close to the University of Georgia campus, especially the East Wide improvement, Esary said. Each properties have been around the market for a while, he said. "Anything close to campus is gold," he said. The four-story East Wide improvement, close to the Multimodal Transportation Middle, will include a ground-floor fitness middle and leasing office, 16 one-bedroom units and 28 two-bedroom units, according to the Athens-Clarke Planning Department. The Macon Highway development, at the website of a liquor store, will consist of 21 four-bedroom units. Athens Region Chamber of Commerce President Doc Eldridge stated he was shocked to hear about the developments. Construction loans are tough to come by, and genuine estate may take 10 or 15 many years to regain its value, he stated. "From everything I'm hearing, multifamily is a soft market," Eldridge stated. "Some builders are saying it is getting much better, but there is still a great inventory of property out there." Source: Online Athens News (Comment on this)
5:30 pm	Housing tax credit: Savior or bust? Several of the real estate agents I know are great at being real estate agents. But who would’ve guessed they were great at being automobile salespeople too? That’s what it was like working in genuine estate over the past 12 months or so that the Obama housing tax credit score was in location. The mantra was “buy a home, get totally free money!” almost identical to the cash-back provides you see way as well several occasions in a automobile ad. The totally free money wasn’t an accounting trick but instead a government-funded incentive meant to lure first-time homebuyers into a stalled marketplace by offering an $8,000 tax credit and convincing existing homeowners to start searching for some thing bigger and much better having a $6,500 incentive. All of that ends subsequent week when purchasers who signed a product sales contract prior to the finish of April are required to finish the deal in order to get the money. Even with banks leery to lend for home purchases, buyers hit the marketplace taking advantage of not just the credit but also prices we haven’t seen inside a decade. The tax credit, nevertheless, seems to be nothing much more than a poorly applied Band-Aid. That is what Zillow.com chief economist Stan Humphries told CBS MoneyWatch last June soon right after the tax incentive ended. And maybe he’s right. His belief was that all the tax credit did was convince people who already were thinking about purchasing homes to simply do it sooner. So rather than spreading out the product sales more than the course of 2010, they were slammed into the first six months. Locally, house sales were on the rise. Within the second quarter, 9,109 single-family existing houses had been offered in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, according to Florida Realtors, a 29 percent boost through the year before. That followed a strong initial quarter where 6,580 houses were sold, 15 percent better than 2009 — all at prices that almost matched product sales from the year prior to, suggesting that a bottom to house values had been found. June had a bit of a tax credit score hangover with a 13 % jump in sales, but then there was July. A 19 % fall in sales in the Greater Tampa area, a 9 % decline in median product sales prices. And August wasn’t a lot better, sales dropping 6 % through the 12 months before and median product sales prices slipping 4 %. That indicates unless September is really a record month, 3rd quarter home sales will fall. (Proper now, they're down nearly 13 percent.) It would be the primary product sales decline locally since the second quarter !.. of 2008. Ouch. That’s eight straight quarters of positive product sales growth in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, wiped away likely simply because of a alter in demand rather than a decline within the marketplace itself. There’s still a great chance 2010 will end with higher sales than 2009 but an even better likelihood that news will get lost within the shuffle when Florida Realtors officially announce 3rd quarter results in November. But if you’re an investor, there are still some great prices available. Zillow released its most price-reduced homes list this week, and although no Tampa Bay home made the Top 10 list, you will find some homes to look at. A three-bedroom, one-bath home in Pinellas Park tops the local checklist having a 65.4 percent reduction from $129,900 to $45,000. Probably the most expensive house on that list is one in Spring Hill, a four-bedroom, two-bath home originally listed at $299,000, now obtainable for a mere $105,000. That’s a savings of $194,000. Forget the tax credit, it seems like now is still the time to purchase. Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal (Comment on this)
5:22 pm	Candidates talk transit, housing at debate A fairly tame mayoral debate Friday ended a week in which the two front-runners in the campaign hit one another with a few of the most personal accusations seen so far. Candidates Clive Doucet, Andy Haydon, Larry O’Brien and Jim Watson discussed issues such as transit, youth, labour negotiations and homelessness in front of about 150 individuals at the Château Laurier, at a discussion organized by the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa. Perhaps probably the most fascinating exchange occurred prior to the actual debate. The candidates’ microphones were left on as they ate lunch prior to the discussion, so anyone plugged into the sound board could hear a conversation in between Doucet and Watson. They chatted about seating arrangements, ethics, the role of talk-radio station CFRA and an exchange in between Watson and O’Brien earlier this week, although none of it was especially surprising. (O’Brien and Haydon, who sat together on the other side of the table, didn’t seem to have a lot to say to each other, even though Haydon once worked in O’Brien’s office as an adviser.) Throughout the debate, not much was mentioned that hasn’t been heard before, even though Doucet mentioned he’d hold a “newcomers’ festival” for new immigrants if he’s elected. Haydon, who’s building his campaign around his vision of a bus rapid-transit system, warned that the city won’t have money left for other programs if it goes ahead with its strategy for a $2.1-billion light-rail transit line Old Country House Plans. None of the candidates would supply a firm commitment in response to recent calls from housing advocates for an annual fund of at least $15 million, comprised of money saved from provincial uploading of social-services costs, to be put into inexpensive housing. Watson mentioned he’ll release a housing technique in the next couple of weeks, while O’Brien mentioned it’s important for private-sector developers “to incorporate homeless accommodations in larger accommodations.” Doucet said he’d begin a land trust for social housing. Source: Ottawa Citizen News (Comment on this)