Don’t let your home go to auction — there is legal help available! The Pro-Bono Resource Center of Maryland, along with MVLS, is holding three community workshops where lawyers will discuss both foreclosure and tax sales. If you’re behind on your water bill or property tax, don’t wait until it’s too late — find out […]
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently issued a report on investor activity in Atlanta. Not surprisingly, the study found that investors were buying up property in neighborhoods where poverty and vacancy rates were high, and median home values were low. A group of Montgomery County legislators have introduced a bill that […]
A recap of all the newsworthy links in 2012. January Early in 2012, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was grilled by the MD Legislature about the status of the city’s lead paint judgements. The city was refusing to pay, saying the judgement would bankrupt the city — a shame they didn’t think about that before allowing children […]
So if you haven’t had a chance to wander down to Articulate:Baltimore and check out the artwork, you should. I love this part of Baltimore — of course the thought of overpriced condo developments on Howard Street makes me nauseous…but hopefully the neighborhood will stay true to its roots, despite the recent attention and designation […]
Bill Information: House Bill 1081 would ensure that property owners who have elected to take the Homestead Property Tax, and have later been found ineligible, would not only owe the back taxes — there would also be a financial penalty for claiming a tax credit they’re not entitled to. Why This Is Important: Municipalities can […]
Bill Information: SB 123 would require banks to provide SDAT with a court order ratifying the sale of real property within 30 days of the sale, effectively removing all tax credits applied to a former owner-occupied home. Why This Is Important: Municipalities can ill afford to allow banks to receive homestead tax credits and other […]
New Chief of Administration at Baltimore Housing: The Daily Record reports that Margaret (Peggy) Webster has joined Baltimore Housing as chief of administration for project finance. Hopefully she will be a strong voice in favor of paying the City’s lead paint settlements. Why is the city a mess? It’s not a lack of money or […]
According to WBAL Channel 11, Baltimore City is trying to sell several properties that have overdue tax bills, including a local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 building. According to the report, the FOP building is the subject of a water bill dispute, and FOP members are shocked at this action by Baltimore City. In […]
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is holding its 2010 conference in Washington DC. The NCRC 2010 National Conference includes plenary sessions, workshops and networking on how we can help those communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis and address widespread unemployment. The conference will also feature events to commemorate NCRC’s 20th anniversary. For information, or […]
We’ve proposed that slumlords should be taxed at a higher property tax rate than law-abiding property owners, to offset the costs to the city associated with vacant property. This idea has already been implemented in DC, and we want the idea to be implemented in Baltimore. Dan Rodricks will be discussing this issue with a […]