From:
Gregory K. Sloat <trumpet@minn.net>
Date: July 19, 2008 7:05:57 PM CDT
To: contact@nenorthnews.com
Subject: To the editor
It used to be that when government wanted to stick their noses into your business, or reach into your pocketbook, they were careful not to do so in an election year, because that wasn't a sufficient amount of time for the "short memory" of the average constituent to forget what had been done to them--how government had grown and become even MORE intrusive in their lives--and so, the politicians would wait until an "off" year, so that by the time of the next election cycle the citizenry had long forgotten how many more rights had been trampled upon, how much more government had grown, and how much more freedom had been lost. In short, incrementalism at its best.
Apparently, this is no longer a concern in Columbia Heights, as the City Council is planning on giving its "rubber stamp" approval to the Residential Inspection Before Sale (RIBS) ordinance, at it's next meeting at 7:00 p.m., on Monday, July 28th. This would require a resident of Columbia Heights to essentially get the "permission" of the city in order to sell their own property, their home. You will be required to pay a "fee" to the city to have an inspection, whereupon the city will determine what violations have occurred and what repairs must be made. The "fee" is currently estimated at between $150-175. Now, where can you get an honest, decent home inspection for THAT price? The going rate twenty years ago was approximately $300, so I would highly doubt the worth of the inspection from the city. The city isn't going to pass the complete fee along to the inspectors, either. They are going to take their OWN cut. What a nice racket. Merely pass a law that requires people to give you THEIR money, even though you did nothing for it, and have no right to it. I would also like to know the relationship between the city and the inspectors that it is already "interviewing," because it is counting on passage of the ordinance.
Once you have completed your first inspection and have received any repair orders, you will have to pay the city for any necessary permits to make these repairs, and then have another inspection to prove the work was completed before being issued a "Certificate for Sale" (permission) from the city, which will allow you to offer your home for sale. If the new inspection finds further repairs that are needed, the process will start all over. You have 90 days to complete the repairs. If you decide not to sell your home, you still must complete the repairs. If you pass, but your home takes longer than a year to sell (not unheard of, given the real estate market since the "balloon" burst), you will have to start the process all over, because the certificate (permission) is only good for one year. It doesn't matter that buyers can and do currently buy their own inspections, all the time.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the city is exempting themselves and the county from this ordinance?
This will abolish one's right to sell their home "as is." The city says you can still do so, you just have to escrow the funds for the repairs. Excuse me? Then it no longer is "as is!" I would like the city to show me where (ANYWHERE) in the United States Constitution it says that I must get the government's permission to sell MY private property. Oh, yes, we have laws about all sorts of things, and the fact that they violate the Constitution and are themselves, invalid and void, concerns our bureaucrats not in the least. That is why we need to start voting for candidates who WILL support and adhere to the Constitution, and why we should vote OUT of office, any who don't. The people of Columbia Heights have a great opportunity to start, at the July 28th City Council meeting. You can tell the council members that you will vote out of office any of them who support this money-grabbing, big-government, nanny-state scheme. Tell them we have a LONG memory, and we will ALSO vote out of office those council members who don't come up for re-election until the NEXT election cycle, too!
Gregory K. Sloat
Real Estate Broker
Columbia Heights
Date: July 19, 2008 7:05:57 PM CDT
To: contact@nenorthnews.com
Subject: To the editor
It used to be that when government wanted to stick their noses into your business, or reach into your pocketbook, they were careful not to do so in an election year, because that wasn't a sufficient amount of time for the "short memory" of the average constituent to forget what had been done to them--how government had grown and become even MORE intrusive in their lives--and so, the politicians would wait until an "off" year, so that by the time of the next election cycle the citizenry had long forgotten how many more rights had been trampled upon, how much more government had grown, and how much more freedom had been lost. In short, incrementalism at its best.
Apparently, this is no longer a concern in Columbia Heights, as the City Council is planning on giving its "rubber stamp" approval to the Residential Inspection Before Sale (RIBS) ordinance, at it's next meeting at 7:00 p.m., on Monday, July 28th. This would require a resident of Columbia Heights to essentially get the "permission" of the city in order to sell their own property, their home. You will be required to pay a "fee" to the city to have an inspection, whereupon the city will determine what violations have occurred and what repairs must be made. The "fee" is currently estimated at between $150-175. Now, where can you get an honest, decent home inspection for THAT price? The going rate twenty years ago was approximately $300, so I would highly doubt the worth of the inspection from the city. The city isn't going to pass the complete fee along to the inspectors, either. They are going to take their OWN cut. What a nice racket. Merely pass a law that requires people to give you THEIR money, even though you did nothing for it, and have no right to it. I would also like to know the relationship between the city and the inspectors that it is already "interviewing," because it is counting on passage of the ordinance.
Once you have completed your first inspection and have received any repair orders, you will have to pay the city for any necessary permits to make these repairs, and then have another inspection to prove the work was completed before being issued a "Certificate for Sale" (permission) from the city, which will allow you to offer your home for sale. If the new inspection finds further repairs that are needed, the process will start all over. You have 90 days to complete the repairs. If you decide not to sell your home, you still must complete the repairs. If you pass, but your home takes longer than a year to sell (not unheard of, given the real estate market since the "balloon" burst), you will have to start the process all over, because the certificate (permission) is only good for one year. It doesn't matter that buyers can and do currently buy their own inspections, all the time.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the city is exempting themselves and the county from this ordinance?
This will abolish one's right to sell their home "as is." The city says you can still do so, you just have to escrow the funds for the repairs. Excuse me? Then it no longer is "as is!" I would like the city to show me where (ANYWHERE) in the United States Constitution it says that I must get the government's permission to sell MY private property. Oh, yes, we have laws about all sorts of things, and the fact that they violate the Constitution and are themselves, invalid and void, concerns our bureaucrats not in the least. That is why we need to start voting for candidates who WILL support and adhere to the Constitution, and why we should vote OUT of office, any who don't. The people of Columbia Heights have a great opportunity to start, at the July 28th City Council meeting. You can tell the council members that you will vote out of office any of them who support this money-grabbing, big-government, nanny-state scheme. Tell them we have a LONG memory, and we will ALSO vote out of office those council members who don't come up for re-election until the NEXT election cycle, too!
Gregory K. Sloat
Real Estate Broker
Columbia Heights
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