Category Archives: Politics

Want to live in a spy house?

Posted on July 27, 2017 by grim

From the Record: Russian spy home in Montclair to be sold and renovated Marquette Road is a quiet, sleepy block in the northern part of Montclair near the town’s border with Clifton. The kind of block where Russian spies could … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 51 Comments

We can’t build anything anymore…

Posted on July 17, 2017 by grim

From Salon: Chris Christie’s era of misrule in Jersey: The empty swamp mall and the canceled tunnel While Gov. Chris Christie’s Bridgegate gambit rightfully helped kneecap his presidential run, it was his cancellation, in 2010, of a trans-Hudson rail tunnel … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 102 Comments

How your tax dollars are spent to protect the wealthy

Posted on May 30, 2017 by grim

From Climate Central: How Rising Seas Drowned the Flood Insurance Program Long Beach Island is the largest and richest barrier island in New Jersey, an oasis of sprawling oceanfront retreats and second homes located midway down the state’s heavily developed … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Risky Lending, Shore Real Estate | 22 Comments

So much for Bedminster

Posted on May 2, 2017 by grim

From Town and Country: Donald Trump Is Heading to His Bedminster Golf Club This Weekend It looks like the president will be spending the weekend in New Jersey. According to a Federal Aviation Administration notice posted online today, there will … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Unrest | 72 Comments

Pay Up Jersey City – Just like the rest of us

Posted on April 22, 2017 by grim

From the Jersey Journal: Jersey City homeowners uneasy as long-delayed revaluation begins A five-letter word is causing heartburn in every neighborhood in Jersey City. Reval. The citywide property revaluation, Jersey City’s first since 1988, is finally underway, with inspectors knocking … Continue reading →

Posted in Gold Coast, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 19 Comments

Just part of doing business in NJ

Posted on April 20, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Ex-NJ mayor sent to prison for kickbacks involving HUD funds The former mayor of Passaic, New Jersey will spend the next two years in prison after being convicted of soliciting and accepting bribes from developers who wanted to … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 65 Comments

Why not put it on the ballot?

Posted on March 28, 2017 by grim

From the Star Ledger: On property taxes, it’s time for a little initiative – and referendum | Mulshine When you picked up your Star-Ledger on Monday, you no doubt noticed a front-page article by Jonathan Salant headlined “Jersey by the … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 137 Comments

Good way to kill mortgage lending in NJ

Posted on March 23, 2017 by grim

From the Observer: Murphy Goes Anti-Wall Street With Foreclosure Proposal The leading candidate in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race proposed having Wall Street banks pay for the conversion of foreclosed homes into affordable housing with millions of dollars in federal mortgage … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 81 Comments

NJ downtown at stake?

Posted on March 7, 2017 by grim

Admittedly more commercial real estate than residential – but absolutely linked to NJ’s broader real estate market. Thoughts? From the Star Ledger: Liquor lobby’s on the rocks: Bill would let restaurants serve alcohol On a recent weekday night, my friend … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 43 Comments

Up or Down or Up or Down or Up or Down

Posted on February 7, 2017 by grim

From Marketwatch: Housing demand may keep market afloat, even if rates rise How will the housing market handle rising rates? Ever since the November election, when the unexpected Trump victory sent bond yields flying and mortgage rates following closely behind, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Politics, Risky Lending | 64 Comments

Regulations killing Atlantic City

Posted on February 5, 2017 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Casino bureaucracy Revels in red tape instead of fixing past mistakes in A.C.: Mulshine I was driving across the country a few years ago when I decided to get off the Interstate and try some local … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Shore Real Estate | 22 Comments

So much for that FHA cut

Posted on January 22, 2017 by grim

From MarketWatch: Trump already suspends Obama-era FHA mortgage insurance cut The Federal Housing Administration will roll back a cut in mortgage insurance premiums announced just days earlier under outgoing Housing and Urban Development head Julian Castro, the government said Friday. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 142 Comments

Bow to your municipal overlords

Posted on January 17, 2017 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Bamboozled: What’s wrong with some local N.J. governments? This. New Jersey is bloated with hundreds of little fiefdoms. Local governments allow red tape to rule the day, and they forget they’re supposed to serve their constituents. … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 68 Comments

Blue Horseshoe loves Ben Carson

Posted on January 16, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Housing industry rallies around Ben Carson for HUD secretary Do you remember that controversy about former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson being nominated as the next secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development? … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 22 Comments

A little bit easier to live (and die) in NJ

Posted on January 2, 2017 by grim

From Newsworks: New Jersey deploys tax changes for elderly and veterans in 2017 The legislation that raised New Jersey’s gas tax 23 cents in November also includes some tax cuts that have taken effect with the ringing in of 2017. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 36 Comments