Property Owners

CA should focus spending narrowly Once again, the civic leaders of Howard County have asked the Columbia Association to provide funds for what should be a county-wide issue - the preservation of slave quarters. More disconcerting is the fact that the Columbia Association Board of Directors is likely to approve funds to preserve the property. The Columbia Association is neither a government nor a charitable foundation. It is a homeowners' association, albeit a relatively affluent one. More than half of its revenues are generated by assessments on all of the property owners of Columbia.

Nearly 27,000 city properties in March were in danger of going to tax sale, but ultimately about 10,600 had liens included in the auction Monday. Investors bought 6,545 of the lien certificates , which raised $20 million for the city, according to the Finance Department. It's not unusual for property owners to pay up in April, just before the annual spring tax sale. But one of the narrowest misses this year was a case in which the homeowner paid last month -- after she learned that the state had retroactively reduced a tax credit on her property -- and the city lost the check.

Erica Carter's move from Pasadena to Baltimore was difficult, she said, not because of the lack of housing options, but because many places would not allow her pit bull Bailey. Though Carter has settled into a rental near Patterson Park, she said the search was daunting. And she fears it will only get worse with her next move after last week's Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that pit bulls are inherently dangerous animals. The court's decision could have far-reaching implications for landlords and dog owners who rent.

The 15-year real estate tax abatement for the Superblock in West Baltimore raises important policy issues that need to be addressed. Specifically, should the city — and in certain cases, the state — grant economic incentives for real estate developments that 1) create competitive disadvantages for existing property owners and 2) reduce the city's property tax revenues from large-scale commercial developments? From my private-sector perspective, the answer to the question is simple: Granting tax abatements that disadvantage existing taxpaying properties is wrong and will lead to an overall loss of tax revenues for the city.

Nearly 27,000 city properties in March were in danger of going to tax sale, but ultimately about 10,600 had liens included in the auction Monday. Investors bought 6,545 of the lien certificates , which raised $20 million for the city, according to the Finance Department. It's not unusual for property owners to pay up in April, just before the annual spring tax sale. But one of the narrowest misses this year was a case in which the homeowner paid last month -- after she learned that the state had retroactively reduced a tax credit on her property -- and the city lost the check.

THE PROBLEM Baltimore property owners paid their tax bills, but the payments weren't properly processed. THE BACKSTORY Carol Foster of Phoenix couldn't understand it. She paid the property tax on her husband's dental office on Harford Road in July when the bill was due. But, in December, the couple received another letter. Foster thought it was another invoice. "I said, 'What, I've got to pay this twice a year now?'" she said. It was actually a notice to pay the taxes owed or the property would be sold at tax sale.

WASHINGTON -- Homebuyers, owners and vacation property investors nationwide should be the prime beneficiaries of a new Clinton administration effort to cut environmental red tape for small-scale real estate holders.Effective Sept. 25, the federal government overhauled the way it treats "Mom and Pop" real estate owners whose property contains -- or might contain -- what the federal government defines as a "wetland."Even though the wooded home-site lot you bought is bone dry virtually the entire year and is miles away from the closest stream or shoreline, it still may meet the federal government's standards for a wetland because of its soil composition or plant life.

The nation's home and rental property owners continued to upgrade their properties at a healthy clip in the second quarter, with no letup from the first quarter's pace, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index, released last week. The index also found that remodelers in some markets are reining in their expectations. The index has two related parts, one that measures current market conditions and another that measures future market expectations. The index for current conditions in the remodeling market held steady at 52.7 for a second consecutive quarter.

For years, the only way Baltimore code enforcers could prod property owners to fix problems - if asking didn't work - was taking them to court. Now the city can slap them with a fine. And it intends to. "We're going to be increasingly relying on citations for enforcement," said Michael Braverman, the city's deputy commissioner for permits and code enforcement. "We want the message to get out: Respond to the violation notice. Don't think about waiting for a summons to appear in District Court.

Washington -- If you own or ever plan to buy any form of real estate, you should be aware of a piece of significant legislation simmering in the Senate.It's called the Omnibus Property Rights Act of 1995 (S. 605). It's not to be confused with a more limited "Contract with America" property owners' relief bill passed in March by the House. In fact, the Senate's bill reverses the familiar pattern established thus far in the 104th Congress: On this issue, it's the Senate that's come up with the big, bold solution, while Newt Gingrich's Republican revolutionaries settled for less.

Wooden stakes mark the path that a proposed underground gas pipeline would cut through Jonathan Guth's property in Baltimore County along its 21-mile route northeast to Harford County. The project would take out about half a stand of woods that Guth says makes a fine noise and privacy buffer between his four-bedroom house and the main road, and he's not happy about it. "If all that wasn't here, we probably wouldn't have bought the house," said Guth, pointing to about an acre of 50-foot-tall trees along Ridge Road that provide accommodations for deer, cardinals, blue jays, foxes and at least one red-tailed hawk Guth has grown rather fond of. He and his wife moved in 2009 to this spot southwest of Oregon Ridge Park from a more densely populated county neighborhood, in part for "all the benefits of the natural environment.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a high temperature near 81 degrees. Showers are likely before 8 a.m. There is also a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Tonight is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 62 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Pit bull ruling concerns dog and property owners : The Maryland Court of Appeals' decision that the breed is inherently dangerous could have far-reaching implications for landlords and dog owners who rent, experts said.

Erica Carter's move from Pasadena to Baltimore was difficult, she said, not because of the lack of housing options, but because many places would not allow her pit bull Bailey. Though Carter has settled into a rental near Patterson Park, she said the search was daunting. And she fears it will only get worse with her next move after last week's Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that pit bulls are inherently dangerous animals. The court's decision could have far-reaching implications for landlords and dog owners who rent.

Baltimore's property tax rate is high (that's one thing that everyone that owns a home or business in the city can agree on) so nothing makes the blood boil quite like news that someone has successfully avoided paying their fair share — except, perhaps, finding out it wasn't a case of avoidance so much as lax enforcement. That's what appears to have happened in the case of some of the city's priciest condos, as recently uncovered by reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins . Baltimore lost out on more than $10 million in property tax revenue over the last several years because some 200 luxury condos were assessed as if they were little more than holes in the ground.

April 26 is "World Intellectual Property Day," a day designated to increase public awareness about how intellectual property rights promote innovation and creativity. The federal government is working to prevent counterfeiting and piracy, but the government needs help from vigilant citizens who understand why intellectual property rights matter. In order to promote economic, scientific and creative progress, the Constitution expressly empowers Congress to give authors and innovators the exclusive right to profit from their writings and discoveries.

Many Baltimore City property owners may have a hard time comprehending the size of their tax bills, but the bills themselves should make more sense when the new batch goes out in the mail in a couple of months. City tax bills are getting something of a makeover. “We are in the process of redesigning some elements of the tax bill to the extent that our current systems allow,” mayoral spokesman Ryan O'Doherty said this week in an email. O'Doherty said details won't be available for another couple weeks, but added: “We are generally pleased with the efforts the city plans to implement this year to make bills more transparent.” Vague wording has confused some taxpayers , particularly when it comes to property tax credits.

Deep in the nearly 700 pages of the new housing bill just signed into law is a complicated tax-code change that could affect substantial numbers of people who purchase second homes or rental investment real estate in the coming decade with an eye to occupying them as their main residence later. The bill narrows the use of the code's tax-free exclusion that allows sellers of principal residences to escape taxation on the first $500,000 of their profits (married joint-filers) or $250,000 (single-filers)

Crofton property owners will be asked tonight to approve a 1997 tax district budget of $574,000, a 1 percent increase over the current spending plan.Under a change in the Crofton Civic Association bylaws approved a year ago, a budget that includes an increase over the previous year may not be adopted without a membership vote. Under the old bylaws, the budget was approved by the association board of directors.Residents can either approve the spending plan or send it back to the board for changes.

Unless he's wearing Batman underwear and a cape, Mark Harvey — who usually dresses for Orioles games in a team ballcap and jeans — would be difficult to pick out of a crowd. That's why he attracted little attention Thursday as he walked outside Oriole Park, less than a week after Opening Day, when he ran onto the field as the Caped Crusader and was subsequently banned from the stadium for life. Harvey, 26, of Severn, who goes to the ballpark a half-dozen times a season, was disheartened by the ban: "I've been going to O's games since I was little.

Some community leaders want to increase the property surtax in Midtown Baltimore by more than a third to pay for additional security cameras and safety patrols — a plan that has divided residents over whether a tax increase and public safety upgrades are needed. The proposal, which is being pushed primarily by residents of Charles North and Mount Vernon, is set for a vote Wednesday night by the Midtown Community Benefits District's board of directors. Under the proposal, property owners would pay 18.2 cents for every $100 dollars in assessed value, 5 cents more than the current rate.