Free Republic

Fake rental applications are proliferating across the country as the U.S. rental market has become increasingly unaffordable and competitive. Greystar, the country’s largest apartment landlord, told FOX Business that it has seen a clear increase in fraudulent applications nationwide. "Fraud in rental applications has become increasingly sophisticated across the industry, with some of the most advanced cases involving AI-generated documents and fabricated payroll systems," Greystar said. Eric Taylor, lead for trust and safety at TurboTenant, a free online property management platform, is also seeing an uptick, telling FOX Business that nearly 75% of apartment owners across the nation reported a...

Airport car rental return lines are about to get a giant tech upgrade — and its bad news if you're a careless driver. Hertz, the third-largest car rental company in the US, just announced a partnership with UVeye, an AI startup that runs vehicle inspection systems. The upgrade — which uses cameras paired to powerful computers — promises to better detect damage incurred during a rental period. That means dings, scratches, and divots on the car’s exterior are more likely to show up on reports. Hertz said cars will be scanned twice: once before drivers leave rental lots to ensure...

We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.

(Partially translated from French via Brave) Islamist terrorist attack in New Orleans: 10 dead, 35 wounded, including 2 policemen wounded by bullets; the suspect is Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, he was carrying a flag of the’ Islamic State (MaJ) The suspect accused of having driven a truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street is Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, according to a source from’ordering. The source said’he was carrying an ISIS flag in the truck. New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno said the suspect in the incident that claimed many lives was wearing full military equipment and apparently was not...

A couple seeking to rent an apartment believed they had done their due diligence to avoid a scam but they still fell victim to one. After verifying their property agent's licence and meeting his assistant for house viewings, a woman and her husband found themselves waiting for their keys alongside two other couples on Monday (Sept 16), all of whom had signed leases for the same unit. Their agent has since remained uncontactable, said the woman who only wanted to be known as JM. In an interview with AsiaOne on Wednesday, JM, a fitness instructor in her 30s, shared that...

The owner of a luxury $1.8 million Hamptons vacation rental where two Maryland sisters died in a fire sparked by a shoddy electrical job has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide. Peter Miller, 56, admitted to building an illegal outdoor kitchen that overloaded the electricity system of his $ 8,000-per-week pad in Sag Harbor — killing Jillian Wiener, 21, and her 19-year-old sister Lindsay as they vacationed with their terminally ill father in August 2022, Suffolk County prosecutors said Monday. His wife, Pamela, who managed the popular summer rental, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.

Four years after the pandemic-era housing boom, the real-estate market continues to face instability. With ongoing affordability challenges exacerbated by high interest rates and inflated home values, housing is a major concern for Americans across the political spectrum. In a Tuesday interview with Fox News, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance shared his perspective on the root causes of the nation's high home prices and rents. "When I talk to Americans, one of the biggest concerns I hear is, 'Why are housing costs so high?' I'll give you two reasons: First, there are 20 million illegal aliens who shouldn't be...

Customers of one of the nation’s largest rental car companies are feeling the sting after renting Teslas only to pay hundreds in gratuitous fuel fees — and then being denied refunds.

You might understand the shock that Hertz customer Joshua Lee felt when he saw the receipt for his rented Tesla Model 3. After returning the vehicle back to Hertz following a weekend vacation in Los Angeles, Lee noticed he was hit with additional charge of $277.39 on top of his initial reservation price. Why was he charged so much additional money? According to Hertz, that was the cost of refueling the electric Model 3. Unfortunately for Lee, the further he pried the company for information, the more Hertz doubled down, and the more confused he became.

The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed its ambition: to phase out gas-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles (EVs). Incredibly, this announcement comes as we are flooded with overwhelming evidence that EVs are a market loser. Indeed, the artificial boom and then meltdown of the EV market is a modern industrial calamity. It was created by government, social media, wild disease frenzy, far-flung thinking, and the irrational chasing of utopia, followed by a rude awakening by facts and reality. CEO of Hertz Stephen Scherr has been booted out due to a vast purchase of an EV fleet...

Dear Big Move, I’m struggling with the idea of selling a rental property that has both a high monthly maintenance fee and a high mortgage rate. The costs to keep this house are currently higher than the monthly income it generates. I recently refinanced in order to pull out $100,000, so now I owe $420,000 on the property, which is worth approximately $750,000. My recent refinancing increased my mortgage rate from 5.14% to 7.9%, essentially eating up all my cash flow. I’m on the fence. Should I sell, or should I refinance for a better rate to free up cash...

San Francisco's residential property market has hit troubled waters as a major investor landlord announced the sell-off of a large section of its rental empire this week. Landlord Mosser Companies defaulted on a 2018 loan for $88 million that was underwritten by its 459 rental units across 12 buildings in San Francisco. The company's creditor has now hired real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to sell the multifamily home properties, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Freepers are the best and I need some information. My daughter has scored a big corporate promotion and isn't happy with the corporate agent assigned to help her and her family find a place to live/rent in SW Montgomery County, Maryland. There are websites that measure crime and most of them correlate quite well with voting patterns, which are easy to research. i.e. high concentration of Democrat voters = high crime.But as you know, Maryland is almost all blue, especially this part. Even if outside the target area by a little, we would appreciate guidance to where should be avoided...

Democrat Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has diverted rental assistance funding for struggling citizens and is using it to house illegal aliens. The Illinois Rental Payment Program was set up to allocate up to $25,000 a year to individuals struggling to pay for their housing. In 2022, the Pritzker administration proudly noted that one billion dollars in state taxes had been pumped into the program to help people still struggling after the coronavirus pandemic. When asked this month about his plans to pay for the increasing costs of housing caused by the illegal aliens pouring into the state thanks to President...

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-single-family-homes-and-put-them-up-for-rent.html KEY POINTS • Corporations backed by private equity groups such as Blackstone and Pretium Partners bought tens of thousands of homes across the U.S. Sun Belt. • Prices for detached homes have increased faster in key Sun Belt states than the national average. • Institutional investors do not yet control a large market share in housing, but analysts writing at MetLife Investment Management suggest they could by 2030. Institutional investors may control 40% of U.S. single-family rental homes by 2030, according to MetLife Investment Management. And a group of Washington, D.C., lawmakers say Wall Street needs to back...

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...

To own a vessel that’s worth more than $1 million would be a luxury for most of us, but in the case of a billionaire, this is just one of the tenders that come with the mothership, a fabulous superyacht. With the owner’s connection to the real estate market, it’s no surprise that this opulent pleasure craft feels like a true top-level resort on water. At just 45, Rene Benko is one of the richest men in Austria, with an estimated fortune of almost $5 billion. He founded the company that would become a real estate empire at age 22,...

I am considering renting a Chevrolet Tahoe for a vacation trip soon. Enterprise says No Towing allowed. I want to tow a 5x8 Enclosed Trailer from UHaul. I need the passenger space of the Tahoe. Questions?? Do Enterprise Tahoe vehicles have a 2x2 receiver and a 4 wire Flat lighting outlet? What are the likely consequences if I tow without Enterprise blessing?

A young man with his pants hanging half off his ass, two gold front teeth, and a half inch thick gold chain around his neck; walked into the local welfare office to pick up his check. He marched up to the counter and said, "Hi. You know, I just hate drawing welfare. I'd really rather have a job. I don't like taking advantage of the system, getting something for nothing." The social worker behind the counter said "Your timing is excellent. We Just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a chauffeur and bodyguard for...

Black and Hispanic Americans are paying extra money to secure rental housing in the U.S. compared with Whites, according to Zillow. In a report this week, the real estate data firm said that, regardless of race, Americans paid an average of $700 in security deposits when renting an apartment. Yet renters of color paid $750 while White renters paid $600. White renters typically paid $50 for a rental application fee while Black Americans paid $65; Hispanic applicants paid $80 and Asian Americans paid $10. People of color also typically must submit more rental applications in order to find a place...