How can you safely deposit the funds of a condominium association, development entity, municipality or any entity which needs to know that there is little or no risk of loss to the deposited funds ? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) temporarily increased deposit insurance for individuals to $250,000. The increased deposit insurance is scheduled
U.S. EPA Proposes Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases
U.S. EPA took the first big step toward regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases this week when it proposed a national system in which major sources would be required to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Knowing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the major sources will aid the federal government
Free Money in Cleveland !
"Every night before I rest my head; See those dollar bills go swirling ’round my bed."
So sang Patti Smith in the composition Free Money on her critically acclaimed 1975 debut album, Horses.
That’s a tune that cash-desperate real estate developers and project owners may have found themselves humming during the current credit crisis. But
Cuyahoga County’s New Land Bank – A Step Toward a “Sustainable Cleveland”
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland recently signed legislation creating a new “land bank” in Cuyahoga County. Like a dose of cold medicine, Senate Bill 353 is not a cure for the foreclosure crisis, but it should help solve one of its primary symptoms – abandoned and vacant housing.
More than any other area in the state, Greater Cleveland has struggled with vacant properties due to its dramatic population decline over the past fifty years. In 1950, Cleveland’s population stood at 914,808, making it the seventh largest city in the U.S. Today, the population is estimated at 438,000. In other words, the city was built for twice as many people, leaving Clevelanders with easy commutes and plentiful abandoned properties.
Continue Reading Cuyahoga County’s New Land Bank – A Step Toward a “Sustainable Cleveland”
Tax Credit for Home Buyers: Will They Come Back to the Market ?
After much wrangling, the House and Senate came together in Conference Committee and each subsequently passed President Obama’s Stimulus Bill in record time. President Obama has now signed this historic legislation. The Stimulus Bill provides in part for a refundable tax credit for first time home buyers (who are defined as buyers who have not owned their
The Stimulus Plan – Will it Help Retail?
The Stimulus Plan is supposed to create jobs. In the retail sector, jobs will be created only if consumers start spending again. Some of you may remember the eighties when consumers were able to deduct credit card interest from taxable income. With the need to motivate consumers to spend, reinstituting this kind of tax credit
Ohio Supreme Court Allows Collection of Attorney Fees on Mortgage Reinstatement
Mortgage lenders scored a victory at the Ohio Supreme Court in the recently decided Wilborn v. Bank One Corporation, 2009 Ohio 306 (2009). In Wilborn, eleven borrowers brought suit against their lenders. Ten of the eleven cases (the eleventh did not
involve a reinstatement provision and was decided differently) went like this: Lender brought
Ohio’s Foreclosure Prevention Task Force – Mission Accomplished?
In March 2007, Governor Strickland created the “Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force” to address the ever-increasing number of foreclosures plaguing the state. The group’s final report, issued in September 2007, identified 27 recommendations for state action. Since the rise in foreclosures likely won’t be going away anytime soon, perhaps it’s appropriate to take stock of
The CRO Program: Landowner and Lender Responsibility when a Regulated Facility Closes
On January 27, 2009, the front page of the Columbus Dispatch read, “44,000 Jobs Gone.”Other articles report of companies shuttering their facilities or filing bankruptcy. As one affected employee interviewed for the Dispatch article succinctly stated, “It’s scary.” And it’s no less scary for landowners and lenders dealing with properties that have been abandoned. Landowners whose tenants have abandoned their facilities are trying to recover past rent due and expenses related to cleaning up the equipment, products and chemicals remaining at the facility. Banks are foreclosing on property or are working within the bankruptcy court to recover their money.
Landowners and first mortgage lenders in these situations should also be aware that they may be subject to environmental clean-up obligations under the Cessation of Regulated Operations (“CRO”) program. CRO was created to protect the public against exposure or pollution from hazardous chemicals left at abandoned facilities. CRO requires the owner or operator of the facility to secure the facility from trespass or vandalism and to comply with 30-day and 90-day deadlines in removing regulated substances and reporting on the progress. If the owner or operator of the facility fails to perform its CRO obligations, then the landowner or first mortgage holder may be responsible to perform certain CRO activities.