Fee simple ownership loophole

SB 822 in West Virginia would have changed fee simple ownership by ending fee simple ownership after 20 years for property with any land protection agreement that interferes with mineral development and timber harvesting. The policy goal of SB822 would have been to promote land and mineral development and timber harvesting “for the economic benefit of […]

Divesting HOAs from developers and builders

Idaho’s Governor signed HB 361 which quickly moves control of HOAs from developers and builders to property owners. The bill uses this metric : once 75% of lots are sold, at least one-third of the seats on the HOA board need to be for homeowners. Boise Dev | ICYMI: Legislature says HOA developers should hand […]

Free market? Bill requires businesses to accept cash

West Virginia Legislature is considering HB 4060 that mandates that businesses accept cash. The bill would apply to retail, food and service business, and any businesses offering goods and services. It’ll be interesting to see if debate takes into consideration safety. In Austin food establishments have been burglarized for the cash on hand. WDTV | […]

The state with the most people moving inbound

Did you think Texas? I, too, was wrong. It is Oregon. People are moving for the high wage jobs, half report wages above $150,000, and at a pace where inbound movers exceed outbound movers. The data is from United Vanlines 49th annual report on moving trends. This is the 1st time Oregon tops the list of inbound […]

Limits on private equity in residential housing

We’ve talked about states seeking to limit private equity investments in residential housing. This week, the Administration announced its intent to ban “Wall Street firms from buying up single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices, a potential blow for private-equity landlords that also pressured homebuilder stocks.” Reuters | Trump threatens to ban Wall […]