Free Republic

The woke city of New York is being overrun by rampant crime, illegal immigrants, and now squatters thanks to a law that turns them into tenants after 30 days. New York City homeowners are being pushed to financial limits that allow squatters to live rent-free. At the same time, the owners are forced to keep paying electricity and maintenance bills for the apartments. Under New York City law, anyone who lives in a home or apartment for at least 30 days can claim squatter’s rights, even if they broke into the property without permission from the owner. Squatters are taking...

The state of Michigan is reportedly pushing a program offering citizens $500 a month to take in migrants. The program, called the Newcomer Rental Subsidy, is set to provide shelter outside state shelters for “refugees.” The assistance would be available to homeowners for up to a year, according to MLive.com. According to the state, those eligible include, refugees, asylees, special immigration visa holders, victims of human trafficking, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Afghan nationals, and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees.

CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A Florida man was arrested after he was caught lurking in a neighborhood with underwear around his neck in the same area where bonsai trees were reportedly stolen two weeks ago, according to officers. Troy Dean Stuart, 35, was arrested and charged with one count of loitering and prowling after the incident that unfolded just before 10 p.m. on Thursday in the 2000 block of Everest Parkway in Cape Coral, police said in a news release. Officers responded to a call from a neighbor who said a "prowler" was in their backyard near the dock, and...

The state of Massachusetts is asking private homeowners to take in illegal aliens as the state runs out of room to house the thousands of border crossers who are still flooding into the Bay State. Massachusetts is the only state that has a state-wide “right to housing” rule for homeless families. And with that rule in mind, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has repeatedly asked legal residents to open up their homes to illegal immigrants for whom officials are having a hard time finding beds.

As inflation continues to take a toll on consumers’ wallets, a surprising sentiment is emerging – more than a third of consumers, including new homeowners, are willing to embrace a recession if it brings down soaring prices. This sentiment is revealed in a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult, shedding light on the frustrations of individuals grappling with the impact of prolonged inflation. With prices on the rise for various goods and services due to inflationary pressures, consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated. The Morning Consult survey indicates that a significant portion, 37%, expressed their willingness to endure a recession if...

Axios reports that new homeowners may not turn a profit for over a decade, creating a dire situation. Trapped in a cycle of debt and depreciation, they face a challenging housing market. Advocates urge government intervention to regulate and make housing more affordable and sustainable. Furthermore, concerns arise about a potential lost decade in the stock market, reminiscent of the 00’s or 70’s, triggered by rising rates. Investors are cautioned as the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks start resembling the ‘Nifty 50’ of the 1970s, signaling potential risks.

(NEXSTAR) – If we’ve learned anything about the real estate market these past few years, it’s that things change fast. During the peak of the pandemic, low interest rates and the desire for more space led to a home buying and selling frenzy. At the end of 2021, home prices were 18.5% higher than they had been just a year before, according to CoreLogic. Now, in places where the real estate market was recently red hot, fewer homes are being listed than just two years ago. Those same homes now have bigger price tags and are sitting on the market...

If you’re a retiree and you’re trying to square the circle of rising costs, longer lifespans, more expensive medical care and turbulent markets, don’t be afraid to run the numbers on your biggest investment. That would be your home — if you own it. U.S. house prices are now so high that it is almost impossible for seniors not to ask themselves the obvious question: “Should we cash in, invest the money, and rent?” Right now the average U.S. house price is nearly $360,000. That’s about a third higher than just a few years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

Homeowners across Colorado are bracing themselves for a hefty increase in their property tax bills. This is the year county assessors re-value homes and properties. On Wednesday, those assessors warned homeowners that the values are increasing from 30% to more than 60% in some counties. ... "The fact is that there is no reprieve for homeowners this year. From corner to corner of Douglas County and probably the state, all values have gone up quite significantly. If it's rural, if it's suburban, if it's large, if it's small, if it's expensive or inexpensive, all properties in Douglas County in the...

Homeowners across the country tormented by squatters find themselves tied up in lengthy and expensive legal battles to get control of their properties back – and one expert warns many others can find themselves victims. Real estate lawyer Jim Burling told Fox News Digital that any home unoccupied for a stretch can be a target of squatters. "I think it's a fairly big problem and I think it's pretty hard to avoid," said Burling, who is vice president of litigation for Pacific Legal Foundation. Burling said squatters took over a neighbor's home after the owner died and eventually had to...

WESTON, Fla. – A Weston Hills Country Club homeowner has been put on notice and told to park his new $100,000 pickup truck in a garage, out of sight, or face fines. That homeowner is gearing up for a fight, claiming the rules are outdated and ridiculous. “How long did you wait to get this vehicle?” Local 10 investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier asked. “It was ordered over a year ago,” said Weston Hills resident Glenn Gordon. Gordon’s truck was delivered just a few weeks ago. “I felt like a little kid waiting for it,” he said. “The first one I...

I own a second home in Pagosa Springs, CO. A couple years ago the HOA for Pagosa Lakes went full dictator and declared war on short term rentals in Pagosa Lakes. We home owners were not able to vote on this; they simply declared it with minimal input from the owners. When I sent a scathing letter that included the “damn” word I was informed of another policy they enacted without input. If they don’t like your correspondence you are subject to a $500 fine for the first offense, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for the third. Gee, what...

Institutional home purchases are pricing potential homeowners out of the market. Homeownership has customarily been one of the core and fundamental pillars of the American dream. The financial benefits that accompany homeownership are plentiful and include the ability to accumulate wealth, access to credit, the accumulation of long-term savings over the cost of renting, and the potential reduction in housing costs through mortgage interest deduction. Home, and other asset ownership conventionally improves the well-being of families by empowering them to increase their prosperity and delegate wealth to future generations. SNIP In the first quarter of 2021, one in every seven...

Landlords and residents in California’s Bay Area are being asked to take in vagrants as homelessness continues to spiral out of control. Several nonprofits and a mayor in the area are prodding residents and landlords to take in one of the nearly 30,000 homeless individuals in the five-county area, the Mercury News reports. Existing affordable housing developments do not have adequate room to accommodate the homeless population.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As the Bay Area continues to struggle under the weight of its homelessness crisis, officials and nonprofits are asking local residents to do more than hand out meals or donate spare change. They’re asking them to open up their homes. Nearly 30,000 people are unhoused in the five-county Bay Area, and there isn’t nearly enough room in the region’s existing affordable housing developments. To fill the gaps, service providers increasingly are recruiting private landlords to take in homeless tenants. Some property owners are renting out entire units in exchange for agreements that the government or a...

Biden is seeking higher taxes on real estate transactions with gains of more than $500,000, a target aimed directly at the heart of small real estate investors, family farmers and owner-occupied businesses. In combination with his plans to eliminate step-up basis on the resolution of estates, the Biden tax proposal will greatly increase the cost of farmland and thus food prices, property prices and rental costs in some markets. The strategy on the political chopping block is the so-called like-kind or 1031 exchanges, which allow investors to defer paying taxes on real estate by rolling profits into their next property....

Three people died Wednesday in rural Washington County after a man forced his way into a home and tried to steal a vehicle, authorities said. Authorities originally announced two people, including the suspect, had died during the incident, but a late Wednesday evening press release from the Washington County Sheriff's Office reported a third person had also been killed of an apparent gunshot wound. Someone at the home called 911 about 2:50 p.m. from the 8100 block of Forest View Road in the Town of Kewaskum and said the suspect forced his way inside and was "demanding the keys to...

Austin, TX – Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would require homeowners to “retreat” before using deadly force in certain situations. Under Texas’ “castle doctrine,” citizens have the right to use deadly force to defend their “land or tangible, movable property,” KPRC reported. House Bill 196, filed by Rep. Terry Meza (D-Irving) earlier this month, would require homeowners to be “unable to safely retreat” before they could legally use deadly force against a perpetrator. Property owners would also no longer be able to use deadly force to stop aggravated robbery or robbery crimes under the bill, according to KPRC....

A number of Alameda County, California, homeowners were less than pleased to find out they are being forced to split the cost of a roughly $20,000 cleanup effort undertaken to remove a local homeless encampment. According to KPIX, the now-abandoned encampment, situated by a creek adjacent to Walsh Property Management’s 75-residence Castro Valley housing development, was made known to local authorities as early as 2017. Misunderstandings, however, as to whose land the camp sat on and who would be responsible — Alameda County, East Bay Regional Parks or the nearby development’s Lakewood Home Owners Association — led to nearly 2...

ORLANDO, Fla.—The state dubbed it the I-4 Ultimate for its grand scope. For some here, it’s more like the ultimate headache. A reconstruction of 21 miles of congested interstate highway through the heart of Orlando will build or rebuild 140 bridges, redesign 15 interchanges, move exits and add new toll lanes, in a $2.3 billion project to smooth traffic through one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Dense cities have grown up around the aging freeways, hemming them in so that expensive engineering feats are needed to do work on them. Yet work is often unavoidable. I-4, for instance, was built...