http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/property/ en-us Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:02:00 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064370/posts The link to the Michigan page is incorrect, s/b... FreeAdvice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064370/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:02:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064314/posts HEAVY-METAL superstar James Hetfield of the band Metallica has erected a metal fence on his property on a Terra Linda hilltop, closing off a popular trail and angering hikers, bikers and equestrians. Someone scrawled "SHAME DISGRACE" on the 300-foot-long, 8-to 10-foot-high corrugated metal silver fence adorned with barbed wire at its far edges. "Look at the barbed wire. This a serious fence," said hiker Tom McMillan of San Rafael, as he walked along the shiny behemoth late last week. The fence, at the end of a fire road in the Terra Linda-Sleepy Hollow Divide open space preserve, went up in... Marin Independent Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064314/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:58:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061738/posts soon all the problems will be erased because a government think tank has looked carefully at the question of second homes and has announced that the rich bastards who have them should be forced to rent them out to underachieving, fat people. I wonder. Did it deliver its findings to Gordon Brown at No 10, or to his second home in Buckinghamshire? And how does it think such a scheme could possibly work? ... Second-home owners would adopt similar tactics here. Or they’d say their country cottage is their primary residence and that their apartment in London is a pied-à-terre.... The Sunday Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061738/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:46:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060538/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) - The administration of US President George W. Bush has proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) so that the law can not be used to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases. The new regulations would reduce reviews by government scientists that have been mandatory whenever federal agencies propose projects such as dams or highways that could threaten endangered species... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060538/posts#comment Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:24:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2060130/posts An article yesterday, 'Lost Sovereignity, Oil-rich Fund Eyeing Foreclosed US Homes', talked about how foreign money is now moving to scoop up tens of thousands of discounted foreclosed homes across the country. I caught Letterman the other night when Donald Trump was on. He was saying since our dollar is devalued and everything we have is now a world wide bargain, foreigners are buying up all the choice real estate. He admitted he’s inflating prices to get his best deal, and they’re happy to pay it. Today Mike Cutler brought another related story to our attention. We have done several... TheTownCrier http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2060130/posts#comment Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:10:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044060/posts Welcome to Hyattsville, population 15,000, where the downtown looks more like New York City and the neighborhoods more like Iowa. The City Council this spring passed a law reaffirming residents' rights to grow vegetables on front lawns. Three months later, some residents have 8-foot-high corn patches in front of their homes, and neighbors say they don't mind. "I think some people might consider different types of landscapes unsightly, just like different painting schemes or building additions - which may increase or decrease property values - but it is still permitted by our code," Mayor William F. Gardiner said. Residents always... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044060/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:28:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040777/posts hursday,Do you ever wonder why America initiated and then dominated the oil exploration and discovery industry. Its because Thomas Jefferson decided that along with the monarchy, the aristocrats and landed titles, the American Revolution would also throw out the (literally) medieval notion that although a man could own his own land, what was under it belonged to the king. Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040777/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 17:09:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038843/posts A Pasadena homeowner who fatally shot two men suspected of burglarizing his neighbor's house is cleared by a Harris County grand jury, KPRC Local 2 reports. Click2Houston http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038843/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:06:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038674/posts John McCain and his wife failed to pay house taxes and owe more than $225,000 on credit cards, it has been revealed. Newsweek, which discovered that Senator McCain and his wife Cindy, a beer heiress worth an estimated $100 million, owed $6,744.42 in delinquent property taxes on a California home, commented acidly: "When you're poor, it can be hard to pay the bills. When you're rich, it's hard to keep track of all the bills that need paying." After the magazine told the McCain campaign about the tax debt most of it was paid off immediately and an aide said... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038674/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:49:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038628/posts Thousands of shorefront property owners and builders across the state are on a crash course to understand a new permit system that goes into effect tomorrow. Effective July 1, a state shoreland permit is required for excavation, filling and construction within 250 feet of shore if minimum standards for maintaining the lot's natural state are not met. Those standards are outlined in the new Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (RSA 483-B). ...... "It is impossible to figure out unless you are an engineer or a scientist," he said. "My basic thing is that the restrictions are so strict. In my mind... The Union Leader http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038628/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:36:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036690/posts CONFER: Protecting property rights By Bob Confer The Tonawanda News When our founding fathers penned the Declaration of Independence they noted we are endowed with unalienable rights which include “…Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Happiness was used as an all-inclusive term, but it had its basis in the property rights of the individual. This focus was borrowed from the writings of British philosopher John Locke who emphasized life, health, liberty, and property rights in writings that appeared over a century before the Declaration. Recognizing Locke’s influence on our nation’s principles is the key to understanding just exactly what... The Tonawanda News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036690/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:28:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034992/posts YEKATERINBURG — Urals fertilizer billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev is the new owner of Florida's most expensive house after paying U.S. property tycoon Donald Trump $100 million for the waterfront property. Rybolovlev, whose fortune has soared by $10 billion in the last year on an unprecedented boom in demand for fertilizers, said through a spokesman that the purchase was an investment and that he had no plans to swap Moscow life for the Florida coast. Trump more than doubled his money on the sale of Maison de l'Amitie, a 3,000-square-meter mansion on Palm Beach bought for $41.4 million at a bankruptcy auction... The Moscow Times.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034992/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:13:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034458/posts Every year county appraisal districts mail notices of appraised value changes to millions of property owners across the State which prompts protests by unhappy taxpayers. Even with fewer values than usual increasing in Galveston County this year, hundreds of property owners attended classes to learn how to be effective in the protest process. I know because I taught those classes and attendees confirmed what seems to me to be obvious -- the system needs to be changed. In 2006, the Governor’s Task Force on Appraisal Reform traveled the state collecting information on problems associated with our current property tax system.... Guidry News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034458/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:54:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029715/posts This is one of the most frightening things I've learned in a long time. Over in the US, a bill has passed the House of Representatives and is heading to Congress – with a huge amount of support. The PRO-IP bill, H.R.4279, significantly increases the state's power to detect and prosecute IP infringement, carrying with it a whole host of new law enforcement positions and capabilities. It establishes an IP Czar, someone with the job of overseeing zealous action on behalf of copyright and trademark owners, and includes such powers as the ability to seize equipment if it contains just... ZDNet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029715/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:19:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028974/posts "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do those things to other people and I require the same of them."—John Wayne, The Shootist. A tenacious group of patriotic ranchers way out West has just won a major victory for property owners nationwide. In Hage v United States, a Claims Court ruled that the federal government may not use environmentalist regulations and bullying tactics to refuse citizens use of their own land without providing them with just compensation. And it’s a story as inspiring as it is instructive. The Hage... The Daily Grind http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028974/posts#comment Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:03:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028337/posts WASHINGTON - Both violent and property crimes declined in 2007 from the previous year, the FBI reported Monday. In preliminary figures for crimes reported to police, the bureau said the number of violent crimes declined by 1.4 percent from 2006, reversing two years of rising violent crime numbers. Violent crime had climbed 1.9 percent in 2006 and 2.3 percent in 2005, alarming federal and local officials. Property crimes were down 2.1 percent last year from the previous year, the largest drop in the last four years. "One preliminary report does not make a trend, but it's going the way we... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028337/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:55:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021107/posts A half-dozen national Protestant denominations are supporting the Episcopal Church in a multimillion-dollar Virginia property dispute, saying a state law at the heart of the case could threaten them, too. The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA), among others, have filed court briefs in the past few weeks supporting the Episcopal Church, which is fighting 11 breakaway Virginia congregations that say the national church has become too liberal on issues from salvation to sexuality. Majorities of those congregations voted to leave and are now in Fairfax County Circuit Court over who gets to keep the property. Experts say... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021107/posts#comment Sun, 25 May 2008 18:35:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019792/posts SAN ANGELO, Texas - A state appellate court has ruled that child welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at a polygamist sect's ranch. The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for removing the children were "legally and factually insufficient" under Texas law. They did not immediately order the return of the children. Child welfare officials removed the children on the grounds that the sect pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and trained boys to become future perpetrators. The appellate court ruled the chaotic hearing held last month did not... AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019792/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 17:46:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012261/posts HARTLAND, Vt. (AP) — The 130-acre property was exactly what Michel Guite and his family wanted: an old Vermont farm with mountain views, rolling hills and meadows. There was, however, one wrinkle: The property included a small family cemetery — with the grave of a War of 1812 veteran — surrounded by a fence on a scenic knoll. His proposal to move the graveyard so he can build a house and barn has set off protests. The town has passed a resolution aimed at blocking the move, a descendant of one occupant of the graveyard is trying to fight him... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012261/posts#comment Wed, 7 May 2008 01:05:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009013/posts The View - Yes on Prop. 98/No on Prop. 99 - The Battle to Restore Private Property Rights Since California has failed to join more than 40 states in reforming its eminent domain statutes, a diverse group of business, farm and taxpayer organizations have taken a leading role in restoring private property protections for California business property by qualifying Proposition 98, the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act, for the June 2008 ballot. It is well documented that business owners are the most common victims of eminent domain abuse because of local governments' appetite for sales tax revenue to... California Real Estate Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009013/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:57:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009014/posts Big Government types and Prop 99 All you really need to know about the two eminent domain propositions on the June 3 ballot, 98 and 99, is that Proposition 99 is being touted by politicians and other government types as the real solution to government intrusion on private property ownership. Among them are the usual suspects, including California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, both of whom believe in Big Government, and both of whom describe Proposition 98 as a hindrance to solving such state problems as water quality and supply. Feinstein, in a release at the end... Victorville Daily Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009014/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:57:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007670/posts Just one more association of Obama's that puts the exclamation point on Chicago politics: After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client -- a longtime political supporter. Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007670/posts#comment Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:29:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2006431/posts I found this editorial from the National Organization of Rural Landowners to be a poignant message that goes well beyond the issue of property rights. I believe it worth thinking about and passing on as well as discussing here. NARLO Newsletter http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2006431/posts#comment Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:26:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999723/posts Izzy Miyagh has been looking for a home for three years The drop in house prices might be a disaster for many home-owners, but some first-time buyers see it as a godsend. Left behind by more than a decade of soaring property values, thousands of young workers look to a slump as their only hope of securing an affordable mortgage. The Bank of England may have warned that the credit crunch will squeeze the availability of home loans. But with prices falling by 2.5% in March 2008 - the biggest monthly decline since September 1992 - plenty are optimistic... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999723/posts#comment Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:45:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1996826/posts BELGRADE (Reuters) - A Serb farmer used a grinding machine to cut in half his farm tools and machines to comply with a court ruling that he must share all his property with his ex-wife, local media reported on Thursday. Branko Zivkov, 76, told Belgrade daily Kurir he had been ready to give his wife Vukadinka her equal share of everything earned during their 45-year marriage, but was furious at being asked to give away half his farming equipment. Instead, he bought a grinder and cut in two all his tools, including large items such as cattle scales, a harrow... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1996826/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 19:19:28 GMT