But now we have a quantum leap in local information, the ability to examine your neighbors’ politics in some detail. It’s not voting records which are online, instead it’s the next-best-thing — or maybe a better thing — a searchable list of who gave what to whom.

Visit FundRace.org and you can find a “neighbor search” button to review local giving patterns. You can snoop on the neighbors by street address or name, as you prefer. Another good site is OpenSecrets.com.

Of course, the neighbors can also snoop on you.

I checked my neighborhood and the results were both informative and discomforting. Along with the amounts given and to whom, there is also a handy and convenient list of jobs and professions.

A high-ranking official of the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers contributed $3,000 to the Democratic National Committee, an attorney donated $2,000 to Dennis Kucinich, a professor gave $1,750 to Carol Moseley Braun, Howard Dean received $2,000 from someone who works at the Urban Institute, Joe Lieberman got $2,000 from a homemaker, Wesley Clark got $2,000 from a secretary, $2,000 was given to George Bush by a cosmetologist and he received $1,018 from a special assistant for cabinet affairs. John Kerry got $2,000 from an economist. A $1,000 contribution from a reporter is noted as well as $1,000 from an editor.

Since one can search by name nationwide, I checked on a long-lost acquaintance — and there it was, both a donation and a new address.

I’m not sure whether to be elated by the availability of campaign financing information or appalled by the lack of personal privacy. After all, why have curtains on polling booths if everyone knows how you’re voting?

With this handy information an employer or government agency can quietly see if workers have made contributions to the “right” candidate and if those donations are sufficient. Government bidders can be checked for political correctness. Teachers can review parent political affiliations — and grade accordingly.

The concept of privacy is relatively new, it cannot be found in either the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution. Instead, its modern American roots began with an 1890 article in the Harvard Law Review entitled The Right To Privacy. Written by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis, the commentary argued that:

“The common law secures to each individual the right of determining, ordinarily, to what extent his thoughts, sentiments, and emotions shall be communicated to others. Under our system of government, he can never be compelled to express them (except when upon the witness stand); and even if he has chosen to give them expression, he generally retains the power to fix the limits of the publicity which shall be given them.”

In 1928, Brandeis — by then a Supreme Court justice — wrote that the right to be left alone is “the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.”

Like mush, the concept of privacy has no particular shape or limits. Honorable people disagree about what is, or should be, private.

In practice, some information which seems largely personal at first glance is either public or semi-public. For example, it makes sense to list real estate ownership in public records to protect the rights of property owners against unjust claims. It’s reasonable to list mortgage debts to protect lender interests. Our economy depends on the credit system, thus credit reports are well within the realm of reason. Non-profit groups, associations, unions and companies surely have the right to collect information about their own transactions, otherwise there would be no way to develop credit information — and such organizations would be continually defrauded. Medical information, if properly handled, conveys important health benefits should you need treatment.

The public airing of campaign contributions is entirely lawful — and the law stinks. The idea is to show who influences which candidates, but vaults full of money lay beyond the scope of public disclosure. The result is that some contributions are disclosed, many are not and the neighbors who lose out are those who play by the rules.

Political views ought to be seen as among the most important and private values we hold. Whatever they are, or whatever they aren’t, they’re your business — and no one else’s. That includes your employer, family members as well as the folks next door. And me.

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Published originally by Realty Times on August 31, 2004 and posted with permission.

Here’s How Your Neighbors Vote is a post from: Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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Answer: Got to the polls. In most jurisdictions homeownership is a matter of public record. For this reason you can check with the local property records office or the property tax office -– they may be able to supply the lists you want on a computer file.

Alternatively, check online at:

http://homepage.mac.com/researchventures/

Many communities now post property records online. You can usually retrieve information for a single house or a street. The information often includes the purchase price, tax basis and lot size. Some systems are connected to maps and can show actual plats.

Such information is good but may not tell the whole story for purposes of buying or selling. For instance, current value estimates may be dated in a fast-changing market and sale prices may not reflect discounts and concessions buried in sale agreements.

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Syndicated originally by Content That Works and posted with permission.

How do we get rid of speed bumps in our neighborhood? is a post from: Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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While new homes are bigger, lots are not. As the price of ground has shot up in major metro areas, what we increasingly see are big houses on small lots further and further away from big city cores.

This means that in many communities we also have older and smaller homes on large lots with close-in locations — so-called “infill” properties. These infill properties raise a question: Is there a way to increase their value and utility, and is it worth trying?

• Do nothing. If smaller and older homes worked for families 50 years ago, why change? Such homes are, or can be, perfectly habitable — especially for small households.
• Renovate. With this option we take the basic house and fix it up with new kitchens, baths, electrical work and other improvements. This is a good choice for folks who like their current home and have no interest in moving or enlarging.
• Expand. In this case we take the basic house and add-on. This needs to be done with care. For example, additional cubic footage will require a larger heating and air conditioning system. Also, some expansions are impractical. A five-bedroom home with a tiny kitchen may not “work” on a daily basis.
• Tear it down. With a “teardown” you remove the current home and replace it with entirely new construction. The result is a big, buildable lot with mature trees, a close-in location and — in a short time — a modern and larger home.

The attraction of a teardown as opposed to a renovation or expansion often involves money. On a cost-per-square foot basis a teardown can represent a good value, especially when the result is a completely new home with modern design and new features. Older homes, for the most part, lack common features found in new construction such as great rooms, walk-in closets, spa-like baths, and big kitchens. Newer homes often have small lots, few trees and distant locations. With a teardown you can get the best of both options.

To make a teardown work you need a purchase price which is significantly below the teardown re-sale value. For instance, if you have a 1950s rambler with 1,200 square feet situated on a 1-acre lot that can be bought for $250,000 you might then ask: What would this property bring with a new home? If the re-sale value is $750,000 or so after improvements, a teardown could make sense.

A teardown project is not a job for someone looking to buy without cash or credit. In our example, the buyer paid $250,000 up front and then had the expenses required to take down the old home, carry a mortgage, pay property taxes and build a new home. Such costs must be paid with cash or investor financing. If the final sale price yields a 10- to 20-percent profit, the investor made from $75,000 to $150,000, most probably over a period of 15 to 18 months.

Marketing a teardown differs significantly from a typical home sale. With a teardown there is nothing to fix-up, no open houses, no home inspections or worries about condition. Teardown buyers really don’t care about old carpeting or marred walls — it’s all going to go anyway.

Teardowns often resolve another problem. Investors tend to think of older homes as good properties to demolish and replace with townhouses or several residences — options often opposed by neighbors and local governments. With a teardown, one house is replaced by another, a zoning-friendly strategy.

In one nearby neighborhood we have had a number of teardown projects. Small, brick single-story ranch houses and wooden cape cods on large lots have been replaced with palatial houses, some seemingly with enough interior space to stow a blimp. In other cases, older homes have been enlarged and are now part of what might be described as compounds.

Because the teardown area is heavily wooded the new construction largely fits with the older houses that still dominate the neighborhood. But those older homes, fixed up or not, are now far-more marketable than in the past. With few buildable parcels remaining in the area, prices for small homes on large lots are soaring — great news for long-time owners and their neighbors.

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Published originally by Realty Times on January 20, 2004 and posted with permission.

Why Teardowns Rise In Metro Areas is a post from: Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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