Apartment Choice

Coast to coast, the housing industry currently favors the home seller as prices are rising, sales surging and inventories dwindling -- which leave the residences on the market more valuable. Take Seattle as a caffeinated example. The northwest city of 3. 5 million people boasts the hottest housing market in the country since last fall, according to the Case- Shiller home price index and reported this summer in the Seattle Times. The typical single-family house in metro Seattle cost 12 .9 percent more in April than a year ago, the report notes. Other fast-rising markets are Portland, Oregon; Dallas; Denver; and Detroit, up 9.3 to 7.4 percent respectively. Those totals compare with a 5. 5 percent national price growth rate . What's good for owners and well-off buyers can be doubly troubling for at least one group: lower income property shoppers including first-time homebuyers who can't afford average and midpoint home prices or apartment rents . According to studies, the na...

John P. Roberts sits in Taney County Circuit Court during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. Roberts is accused of allegedly killing 6-year-old Jasmine Miller in Branson in 2015. (Photo: Sara Karnes with the Branson Tri-Lakes News) FORSYTH — The case against John P. Roberts was moved toward trial at a Wednesday preliminary hearing for allegedly killing 6-year-old Jasmine Miller in Branson in 2015. Judge Eric Eighmy scheduled an arraignment for Sept. 28 in  Taney County Circuit Court . Jeff Merrell, the Taney County prosecutor , called three witnesses at Wednesday's hearing — two Branson police officers and the woman who managed the Windsor Inn at the time of the girl's death. The girl lived at the Windsor Inn with her parents. Police say her partially clothed body was found at the hotel — under the bed in Roberts' room. Roberts, 57, appeared in court on Wednesday. He did not testify and also did not speak to his defense attorney during the proceedings....

The Shadowood condominium complex , on South Lakes Drive in Reston, has been ordered to stop charging fees for rules violations because its original master deed doesn 't allow it. The court ruling has implications for condo and homeowner associations across Virginia. (Elizabeth Razzi/The Washington Post) UPDATE, Monday, 9 a.m.: In Saturday’s condo board elections , Shadowood’s owners defeated both the incumbent secretary and treasurer, replacing them with two new officers. The next election, for board president Olivia , is in March. ORIGINAL POST: In Reston, there is a condominium complex called Shadowood that has written itself into Virginia history. For years, the Shadowood Condominium Association imposed fees for things like calling the management office or having the wrong color blinds . It towed tenants’ cars for unpaid fees — on the day before Thanksgiving. It turned off the heat or air conditioning to apartments of owners who were in arrears or in violation of its many ...

An aerial view of Manchester. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery . Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a city housing department , for a union, for a law clinic, and on a campaign that stopped a PVC factory from being built in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” For the last decade, he has served as executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (better known as t.e.j.a.s.). Part of his work is leading tours past the heaping piles of scrap met...

SUBHEAD: The Texas capital plan for sustainability does not include some minority neighborhoods. By Raj Mankad on 15 August 2017 for Grist - (https://grist.org/article/the-newer-greener-houston-isnt-for-everybody/) Image above: In some cases, little more than a fence separates Manchester homes from neighboring fossil fuel industry . Photo by Paul Hester. From original article. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery. Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a ci...