Free Republic

LOS ANGELES -- The City Council in Calabasas plans to discuss a proposal Wednesday on whether to extend its anti-smoking law to some homes. Council members may consider a law that would prohibit renters from lighting up inside apartments. Current resident smokers would be exempted from the ban as long as they stayed in the same apartment. The law would require all new buildings with at least 15 units to be smoke-free; the law would cover condominiums, as well as apartment buildings.

CHULA VISTA - At least 60 illegal immigrants found in a two-story condominium were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol, an agent said Saturday. Arrests were made in connection with the raid, said Wendi Lee, a senior Border Patrol agent. Lee said she did not know how many were arrested, or their names. Authorities found the illegal immigrants sometime Friday at the complex, on the 200 block of Rancho Court, Lee said. It was part of a "drop-house" raid, authorities said. The illegal immigrants were taken to the Border Patrol's processing facility in Chula Vista, Lee said. Those found...

By VIKAS BAJAJ WASHINGTON — David Franco’s illuminated model of a proposed 10-story condominium tower dominates a sales center that, in spite of the “Now Selling” banner still fluttering outside, is conspicuously closed for business. “We could have waited it out and kept pushing and pushing,” Mr. Franco said about the decision to abandon plans to sell 180 luxury condominiums with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the Washington Monument and Capitol Hill. “But it would have taken significantly longer.” After six weeks of failing to lure more than a couple of dozen buyers, Mr. Franco and his partner, Jeff Blum,...

On a sandy bluff overlooking the Pacific, surfer Mark Massara sees a developing threat to a California amenity: guaranteed beach access for average families. Luxury hotel builders are hovering over the coastline, hoping to expand to California's shores the nationwide trend of developments split between high-priced hotel rooms and privately owned condominiums. Where developers see opportunity in "condo hotels," Massara and others see a legal loophole that lets private buyers snap up parts of the coast which are supposed to remain public. And that, he fears, will make getting to the beach harder. In this low-key northern San Diego County...

You know the old saying about having a hammer and everything looking like nails? I was reading an article in the Journal of Law and Economics about why housing prices in Manhattan are so high, and I thought, "Omigosh! The answer to the demographic implosion." Since my hammer happens to be sex and marriage, even an economics article reminds me of sex. So bear with me. I’ll explain what the article had to say about housing prices. Then I’ll tell you what it has to do with sex...

A joint venture pays $77.5 million for the high-rise Portland Center Apartments and will sell units as early as next spring A team of Portland developers plans to announce today that it has bought the high-rise Portland Center Apartments for $77.5 million in a deal that will convert the three massive towers into condominiums. The purchase of 537 units is believed to be the largest condominium conversion in the Portland area, which has seen a flurry of apartment buildings converted to for-sale units in recent years. It also marks one of the highest Portland-area prices ever paid for an apartment...

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the number of condos for sale in North Texas has jumped by about 26 percent this year and while pre-owned home prices are flat, condo prices are up 6 percent. The median price of condos in Massachusetts hit a record $269,000 in July this year, up 14.7 percent from July 2003 levels -- and sales are slow. And in Hawaii, depending on which island you hop to, condo prices are up from 18 percent to 50 percent. East, West, North and South, condo prices are booming. Once considered affordable housing for first-time home buyers, some...

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A lawmaker from Thailand's ruling party fell to his death Wednesday from his 10th floor apartment, followed a few hours later by a woman with whom he had been quarreling, police said. The body of Attapol Sanitwongchai, a 39-year-old member of the Thai Rak Thai Party, was found on the ground outside his Bangkok condominium, police Lt. Col. Sompatara Thongkomol said. Police are investigating whether Attapol jumped or was pushed, he said. The lawmaker from northeastern Udon Thani province had quarreled with a woman in the apartment before plunging to his death, police said. After Attapol's...

The Veterans Benefits Act of 2004, was signed by the President on December 10, 2004. This new law makes some significant changes to the Veterans Home Loan Guaranty Program. The Veteran's Benefit Act of 2004 includes the following changes to the VA Home Loan Program: Increases the maximum loan amount to $359,650 Expands the eligibility for Specially Adapted Housing Grants. Re-instates the Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Program Expands the eligibility for waiving the VA Funding Fee Increased Maximum Guaranty Amount The law changes the maximum guaranty amount of $240,000 to a new limit for a single family residence of $359,650....

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - A grand jury indicted a former city councilwoman and seven other people Wednesday for an alleged real estate scheme that involved converting apartments into higher-priced condominiums without the required permits for the changes. Pamela Houchen, who resigned from the City Council in September, also was charged with corruption for allegedly concealing her ownership of an apartment building in a redevelopment district where she was prohibited from owning property under conflict-of-interest laws. The former councilwoman, a real estate broker who also has served as mayor, is charged with 11 counts of mail fraud and seven counts...

For millions of Floridians, it's life's happy ending: Retire, buy a condo and spend afternoons by the pool with a burger, fries and a cold one. But residents at Turnberry Isle condominium's North Tower are angry because their golden sunset has a cloud. Snacks are now forbidden by the pool, and the clubhouse restaurant's menu has been wiped clean of parmesan chicken and pasta and replaced with eggplant salad and brown rice. The reason: the Pritikin Longevity Center -- a wellness spa -- moved in and needed the restaurant to serve a health-oriented cuisine for its guests. The poolside snack...