Real Estate News

Empty Office Spaces Can Be Converted To Residential Buildings – But It Won’t Be Affordable

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/20/2023 - 1:00am

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, more companies have offered remote work options for their employees, or have even switched to working entirely remotely – leaving empty office buildings a new fixture in many cities. In July 2023, Boston’s Planning and Development Agency announced a pilot program to offer incentives to building developers who convert office buildings to residential housing.

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Latest On Emergency Rent Aid Saga: Gov. Jim Pillen Accepted The Federal Funds

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/13/2023 - 5:00am

LINCOLN — Bucking the stance of his predecessor, Gov. Jim Pillen has accepted what’s left of millions of dollars in emergency rent aid that the federal government had set aside for Nebraska’s 91 smaller counties.

Earlier refusal by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts to tap the pandemic-related fund meant missed deadlines and the redirection of much of the original $120 million to other states.

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How Small Wealthy Suburbs Contribute To Regional Housing Problems

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/13/2023 - 3:00am

The odd headlines about little towns in the San Francisco Bay Area just keep coming.

First Woodside, a tiny suburb where several Silicon Valley CEOs have lived, tried to declare itself a mountain lion habitat to evade a new California law that enabled owners of single-family homes to subdivide their lots to create additional housing.

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Right-To-Charge Laws Bring The Promise Of EVs To Apartments, Condos And Rentals

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 8:05am

More than 3.6 million electric cars are driving around the U.S., but if you live in an apartment, finding an available charger isn’t always easy. Grocery stores and shopping centers might have a few, but charging takes time and the spaces may be taken or inconvenient.

Several states and cities, aiming to expand EV use, are now trying to lift that barrier to ownership with “right to charge” laws.

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The World's Tallest Flagpole. A Tiny Maine Town. An Idea Meant To Unite People Is Dividing Them

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 7:58am

This image from video provided by the Flagpole of Freedom Park in 2022 shows a rendering of a proposed world’s tallest flagpole in Maine. The 10,000-acre plot is in a township overseen by a state agency, neighboring Columbia Falls. (Flagpole of Freedom Park via AP)

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — Lobster boat engines rumble to life in quiet coves. Lumberjacks trudge deep into the woods. Farmers tend expanses of wild blueberries. Maine's Down East region is where the sunlight first kisses a U.S. state's soil each day, where the vast wilderness and ocean meet in one of the last places on the East Coast unspoiled by development.

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HomeVestors Said It Had Kicked Out A Top Franchisee Who Broke The Law. New Evidence Suggests It Didn’t.

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 7:53am

A California real estate investor continued to be involved with one of the country’s most successful “We Buy Ugly Houses” franchises years after pleading guilty to felony charges for misleading two elderly homeowners who signed below-market sales contracts.

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‘Sticker Shock’: Greek House Values Skyrocket. The Tax Bills Come Next.

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 5:00am

The Alpha Xi Delta house on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The sorority house was recently valued at $1.56 million, a staggering 534% increase over its old valuation. It’s one of many Greek houses on UNL’s campus that have seen their valuations skyrocket this year. (Courtesy Photo)

Greek chapters at the University Nebraska–Lincoln saw their building values jump nearly $1.2 million on average in one year, according to data from the Lancaster County Assessor’s Office.

“It was sticker shock,” said Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jon Gayer. “Some of these groups are probably looking at a $100,000 increase in taxes.”

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More Than 2,600 Nebraska Homeowners Get Help From $50 Million Pandemic Relief Fund

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 4:00am

Homeowner mortgage/utility assistance online portal is open through June 30 at NebraskaHAF.com. The call center will be open, even after June 30, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Call 844-565-7146. (Josie Charron / The Daily Record)

OMAHA — More than 2,600 Nebraska property owners have received an average of $13,418 to help stay in their homes since the state early last year launched the pandemic-related Nebraska Homeowner Assistance Fund.

The program — which aimed to prevent Nebraskans from losing their houses over COVID-19 hardships — launched in February 2022 with a $50 million allotment from the U.S. Treasury Department.

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White House Unveils $42.5B To Connect Every American To High-Speed Broadband Internet

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 2:00am

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday announced $42.45 billion to connect all Americans to high-speed broadband internet by the end of the decade, likening the ambitious goal to FDR’s New Deal-era rural electrification program that brought the then-modern technology to farms and rural areas across the United States.

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Ten-X Offers New Tool For Omaha Realtors

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 06/22/2023 - 5:00am

The Lund Company is firmly established in the Omaha real estate market, but that doesn’t mean the work gets easier. John Lund, the founder and chairman of the company had been trying for months, with no success, to sell the 95,000-plus-square foot Blondo Plaza shopping center. Nothing seemed to be happening.