So your neighbor is going to jail????

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Bernie Madoff ruined the lives of many.

A local neighborhood I know of has own their own version of a Bernie Madoff.  A local woman was arrested for embezzling over 1 million dollars! 

http://fraudbaron.com/blog/2009/02/11/woman_charged_in_12m_embezzlem/

The house has sat empty since the czar who “owns” it has been arrested. The “owner” of this home has been declared indigent and is enjoying a court appointed lawyer, so mortgages, taxes, etc are not being paid. She will owe her victims a lot more than the mortgage.  In the past she has embezzled money from the elderly and is a repeat offender.

The house is not currently in foreclosure since all foreclosures were halted this winter nationally.

Once the house sells it will not sell for what is left on the mortgage.  The victims will not be paid for a while, if ever.

The new owner of the home will benefit from a hotel style pool and high end kitchen as an added perk!

Who is going to take care of the lawn while court proceeding are going on?

The neighborhood is full of house proud people, so neighbors will mow the lawn so that the home will not become an eyesore.

Truth is told the neighborhood is glad to see the small town Madoff-neighbor go! Very glad!!!

No Lawyers or Kids wanted!!!

This is an email a real estate agency in Boston sent to me, today.  (I have deleted their name)

Often offices share listings.

See anything a bit discriminatory in it???

Lead: OUR UNITS ARE NOT DE-LEADED!!

You Take: RHA applications, Copy of ID, Letter of employment and Credit check w/Deposit(s). Make all checks payable to XXX XXXX Realty, LLC.

No undergrads, Lawyers or Law students. Grads or Professionals only.

We: Approve your client and prepare leases. Lease signings are to be done at our office with or without your presence.

No undergrads, Lawyers or Law students. Grads or Professionals only.

I guess they don’t like lawyers!

Many landlords refuse to rent to law students and lawyers. This  is NOT illegal!

What is illegal……..

Massachusetts law states: that property need be free of lead paint, if children under the age of six are to reside in it.

Federal and state laws make it illegal to deny housing to anyone with children.

The way this ad is written seems unwelcoming to families doesn’t it???

I wonder why this agency seems so brazen about breaking housing laws! (and then to put their requests in writing)

Karma will come back.  In the form of a grad student, who changes her major to law and decides to have a baby, whilst living there!

How can a real estate agent support his family of 18 kids in this tough market???

…Some of the “stars” of reality TV are real estate agents!!!

I wonder how Joe Duggar is adapting to the current challenges of the real estate market?   He is a commercial property real estate sales agent.

He recently had to get a second job in reality TV to help support his family of 18.  It also appears he and his wife like to write books on marriage and child rearing (breeding).

http://www.duggarfamily.com/aboutus.html

Gretchen Rossi, from the current season of the “Real Housewives of Orange County”  decided to try prospecting for gold once the real estate market slowed down in sunny Cally!  So far this career change has been recession free for her! She has sunk her hooks into a rich dying man, old enough to be her granddad!

http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county/bio/gretchen-rossi

Does this mean the Octomom will soon start a career in real estate??

Parking limits in Lynn are hurting everyone!

PARKING TICKETS AND METER MAIDS:  GO AWAY!!!

I used to have my real estate offices in Central Square, Cambridge.

I have since moved my offices to another Central Square….in downtown Lynn.   I am happy to be part of an up-and-coming area.  The downtown Lynn area faces many challenges and hurdles, yet Central Square has an active resident base. They are making Lynn a better place.

Check out: www.lynnhappens .com. It is a one-stop shop for all you need to know about Lynn!

But — the parking.  The parking situation in Downtown Lynn remains a mystery to me.

There is ample parking.  Everywhere I look, there are spots.  All the spots are labeled one or two hour.  Yet most people coming out to shop and or dine in Lynn are going to be a bit more than two hours!

I see a struggling city on the verge of failure spending time and money on shunning possible residents, guests and patrons through these foolish parking requirements.

Doesn’t the city want to attract people and businesses?  Don’t they want people to live in its many lofts and spend money in its center?

New anchor businesses such as the Gulu Gulu Café, Urban Elements, The Oxford Street Grill, and The Downtown Bistro have come and gone in the past few years.

They took a chance on Lynn.  There is a new round of businesses opening up in the exact spots where these prior thriving businesses started.

It is counterproductive, especially in  dire economic times,  for the city to spend money employing meter maids.  A meter maid has to write a lot of tickets to justify their salary and benefits.  Add in the additional cost of  processing the parking tickets and chasing down people when fines are not paid.  It costs more time and hours.

The fees collected for exceeding two hour parking is $15.00! It is going to take a lot of tickets to make a profit after all labor and processing is done.

I encourage the City of Lynn to reevaluate its current parking enforcement rules.  By removing only a portion current of the 1 or 2 hour parking signs, some of the new local businesses could thrive!  Let’s let the meter maids and parking enforcement deal with valuable City issues such as handicapped spaces and unsafe parking — not chasing the few and valuable folks who want to come to downtown!

The current parking state negatively effects commercial and residential real estate in the downtown area.  Please, Mr. Mayor, think about it!