Module 2- Chapter 4

Four government powers

(PETE) P for Police Power E for Eminent Domain T for Taxation E for Escheat

Bulk Zoning

-A method used to control density and overcrowding by restricting setbacks, building height, or open area ratio. - regulations restrict the density in a given area. Bulk Zoning includes open space requirements, floor area ratios, and setback requirements.

Regulation of environmental hazards- EPA

-The EPA regulates the production and distribution of commercial and industrial chemicals to ensure that chemicals made available for sale and use in the United States do not harm human health or the environment. -Hazardous waste that is improperly managed poses a severe threat to human health and the environment. -The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), passed in 1976, was established to set up a framework for properly managing hazardous waste.

master plan

-The general or master plan of a locality will provide the purpose for the zoning and land use ordinances the locality employs. Generally, a zoning ordinance must conform to the general plan of the locality -A comprehensive growth plan that guides the long-term zoning, use, and development of a community.

The most frequently used zoning:

-commercial -industrial -residential -agricultural

Zoning

-implements a city's/county's master plan -changes require a public hearing first.

Types of Hazards

-lead based paint

Wetlands

-those areas where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation, and which have soils indicative of wet (hydrid) conditions. -set aside for conservation -also known as swamp. marsh, bog -may be filled with trees, grasses, shrubs or moss

transfer tax

A tax charged by the state to transfer an interest in real estate which helps establish an accurate value for tax assessment purposes.

Conservation Easement

An area where development would not be permitted to leave the natural habitat untouched.

Brownfield Property

Brownfield Property means any property where use is limited by actual or potential environmental contamination, or the perception of environmental contamination, and that is or may be subject to remediation under any state environmental law, regulation or program or under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980.

Height Districts

Building heights are a type of land use regulation. These regulations restrict the size of buildings within any given area

Environmental contamination

Environmental contamination means the presence of hazardous substances or constituents that pose unacceptable risks to the environment, humans, or ecological receptors.

Exclusionary zoning

Exclusionary zoning is any zoning ordinance with a purpose, effect, or result of achieving a form of economic or racial segregation. An exclusionary zoning ordinance can cause economic segregation by restricting land usage to high-cost, low population density residential development. These restrictions can effectively prevent low to moderate-income families and individuals from moving into an area. In turn, minority groups with low-income levels may also be excluded from living in certain regions.

Non-Conforming Use

Generally, new zoning laws cannot force an existing structure or use to change. Thus, a building or use that exists before a zoning ordinance is passed cannot be illegal and does not need to be changed. The zoning department considers this a nonconforming use. A nonconforming use is a use of the property allowed under the zoning regulations when the use was established but which, due to local laws changes, is no longer a permitted use. Local governments and the courts are reluctant to order an owner to discontinue an activity immediately or demolish a lawful building until the enactment of the ordinance that made the use illegal. Therefore, the use is usually permitted and is recognized as a nonconforming use.

Spot Zoning

Isolated use of a small parcel or area, zoned inconsistently with a more extensive surrounding use.

Lead Poisoning

Lead Poisoning is a potential cause of mental retardation in children.

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Act

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Act is a federal law that gives the buyer ten days after an accepted offer to inspect a home built before 1978.

Long-term remedial response actions

Long-term remedial response actions permanently reduce the dangers of releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances that are serious but not immediately life-threatening. These actions can be conducted only at sites listed on EPA's National Priorities List (NPL).

Can a condo complex eminent domain three houses adjacent to its parking lot to expand their parking?

NO. Only government can eminent domain.

Eminent Domain, Condemnation

Only the government can eminent domain.

Conservation Zoning

Open zoning where the intent is to keep the parcel in its natural or agricultural state.

Density zoning

Ordinances restrict the average number of houses per acre that can be built within a particular subdivision.

Setback limits

Setback limits are the difference between the lot line and the improvements. When you want to extend your patio, check setback limits first.

Short-term removals,

Short-term removals, where actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response.

Inclusionary Zoning

Specifies inclusions within a development, such as a playground or that a percentage of homes must be affordable for low-income families.

Disclosure of environmental hazards

State laws cover the disclosure of known material facts regarding property condition

Setback

The distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river, stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which is deemed to need protection. Setbacks are generally set in municipal ordinances or zoning.

Reverse Condemnation

The homeowner is forcing the government to use Eminent Domain to take his/her property. Only the homeowner can file for reverse condemnation A man at the end of an expanded airport runway could attempt Reverse Condemnation.

tax sale

The sale of real property to satisfy unpaid property tax liens.

Board of equalization

The state board of equalization meets each year to determine if each county has assessed at the percentage of actual value prescribed by law.

Average property taxes by state

The tax rate is determined by dividing the amount of money that is needed by the total assessed value of all properties. money needed total assessed value of all properties = tax rate Check out the most current effective property tax rates and median property tax bills per state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the nonprofit policy research firm Tax Foundation.

tax liens

When property taxes or special assessments remain unpaid, they become a specific lien against the property which takes priority over other liens.

Calculating taxes due

You can calculate taxes due using one of the following three methods, depending on how the municipality calculates taxes or how the exam question is asked.

Aesthetic Zoning

Zoning requires that new structures match an existing architectural style.

special assessment

a term used to designate a unique charge that government units can assess against real estate parcels for certain public projects. This charge is levied in a specific geographic area known as a special assessment district (SAD).

assessor

an official (or sometimes the treasurer) who determines the assessed valuation of real property.

Mothballed brownfields

are properties that the owners are not willing to transfer or put to productive reuse.

Taxes

are to meet the public needs of government

assessed value/assessment

assessed value is a percentage of true value

Superfund Redevelopment

ensures that every Superfund site has the tools necessary to return the country's most hazardous sites to productive use.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Brownfields

helps facilities in need of corrective action to locate reuse opportunities.

Brownfields Legislation

helps revitalize deserted, defunct, and polluted areas of contamination

A house tax or millage rate

is an ad valorem tax on the value of real estate. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the house is located.

Land Revitalization

puts previously contaminated properties back into productive use. Reusing cleaned-up sites protects public health and the environment by preventing sprawl, preserving green space, and reinvigorating communities. EPA's Land Revitalization Program ensures that reuse considerations are integrated into all of EPA's cleanup decisions, including cleanups affecting brownfields, underground storage tanks, and Superfund redevelopment.

Escheat

someone passes without a will and no heir is found, the property will go to the state. (Or, a property is abandoned.) -property cannot be ownerless

Underground Storage Tanks

supports the cleanup and reuse of abandoned properties contaminated with petroleum from underground storage tanks.

dollars per hundred

this method bases the tax rate on so many dollars of tax for each $100 of assessed value

dollars per thousand

this method bases the tax rate on so many dollars of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.

mills

this method bases the tax rate on so many tenths on a penny (or mills) in taxes for each dollar of assessed value

Cleanups at Federal Facilities

works with other federal entities to facilitate faster, more effective, and less costly cleanup and reuse of federal facilities.

Homestead Exemption

-A homestead exemption is a legal provision that helps shield a home from some creditors following the death of a homeowner spouse or the declaration of bankruptcy. The homestead tax exemption can also provide surviving spouses with ongoing property-tax relief, which is done on a graduated scale. -Some states have a homestead provision that exempts a specified dollar amount of a property's market value from assessment for property taxes. -For example, in a state with a $50,000 homestead provision, only $150,000 of a $200,000 home would be subject to property taxes.

Potentially responsible party (PRP)

-Potentially responsible party (PRP) means a person who is or may be liable for remediation under any state or federal law, regulation, or program. -The company who polluted is held responsible plus the person in the company that made the decision to do can be held liable also.

Incentive Zoning

-Provides an incentive to a developer to offer a specific unplanned feature as a tradeoff for being allowed something usually not permitted. -to ensure that certain types of use are incorporated into developments

Conditional use permit

-Special permission for a use to exist where the current zoning would not usually allow it. For example, it may allow a preschool in a residential neighborhood. -A zoning exception allows the property owner use of his land in a way not otherwise permitted within the particular zoning district. For instance, a medical clinic was granted a zoning variance to build a neighborhood zoned for residential properties. -to obtain a conditional use permit, the process would begin through a public hearing process

Holding Zones

-To restrict development in certain areas before there has been an opportunity to zone or plan it, the planning department within a municipality may temporarily zone the land for low intensity uses. -Regulation of Environmental Hazards

Flood plain

-land adjacent to a steam or rive that stretches from the banks and experiences occasional flooding -Flood insurance is required when a property is in an SFHA. Special Flood Hazard Area. (FEMA flood area)

CERCLA Steps The following sequence of events generally applies to all sites, both privately and Federally-owned or operated:

-preliminary assessment -Site investigation -Listing on the National -Priorities List (NPL) -Remedial investigation -Feasibility study -Record of decision -Remedial design -Remedial action -Long-term operation -Maintenance

Upzoning

A change in zoning to less restricted use, such as from single-family to multi-family use. Upzoning refers to the process of increasing the zoning density in a particular municipality or neighborhood. Typically, this involves increasing (up) zoning on single residential lots to allow for multifamily units such as duplexes and triplexes.

Property tax

A tax based on the assessed value of real property; 100% deductible on income tax.

Planning/zoning department

· Provides the municipality with the goals and objectives for its future development. · Most municipalities have a specific Planning or Zoning Department that will propose zoning ordinances and oversee zoning and land use hearings. · These departments will also make decisions regarding variances (see below), conditional use permits, and other issues that may implicate a zoning or land use ordinance. Generally, the department will have a public hearing (the first step to zoning or making a change in zoning) where the individual or group whose land is affected will present their case. The hearing also allows for public comment on the matter. · The general plan usually provides different possibilities for those whose land use may not comply with the zoning ordinance for their district:

CERCLA

- The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980) -also known as Superfund, authorizes the President to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment. CERCLA authorities complement those of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which primarily regulates ongoing hazardous waste handling and disposal. -Administered and enforced by the EPA. -Established a Superfund to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites Identifies potentially responsible parties(PRPs) established liability as follows: -Strict liability where the landowner has no defense to the responsibility for cleanup -Joint and several liabilities in which each of several landowners are responsible for the entire cleanup -Retroactive liability where the present owner and previous owners are responsible -The law authorizes two kinds of response actions:

Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act -

-2001 and 2002 -Helps rejuvenate deserted, defunct, and derelict toxic industrial waste sites. -A former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination. -Restrictions on Sale or Development of Contaminated Property

Buffer Zone

-A strip of land separating two parcels zoned differently, such as undeveloped land separating a shopping center from a residential neighborhood. -For use in nature conservation, a buffer zone is often created to protect areas under management for their biodiversity importance. -A protected area's buffer zone may be situated around the periphery of the region or a connecting zone within it that links two or more distinct areas.

Downzoning

-Changing the zoning to more restricted use, such as from multi-family to a single-family which will restrict the density -Rezoning of an area that would be less dense in population. An example would be a neighborhood that downzoned from multi-unit residential zoning to single-family residences only. -The multi-unit residential properties are grandfathered in, meaning that the new zoning does not apply to them. Usually, if the building burns down or gets destroyed, the new zoning would apply to the new construction.

Zoning and Land Use Laws

-Laws were created by city and county governments to control the use of land. Zoning laws are enacted in the exercise of police powers. -Zoning is a local government's attempt at creating uniform neighborhoods and land uses in certain areas by controlling how you can use your property and what you can build on your property. -Zoning categorizes and separates differing land uses into distinct districts within a municipality. Typically, a local government will provide separate districts for residential, business, and industrial uses. -Zoning includes various laws falling under the police power. -Zoning divides land into zones (e.g., residential, industrial) in which specific land uses are permitted or prohibited. -The type of zone determines whether planning /permission for a given development is granted. -Zoning may specify a variety of outright and conditional uses of land. It may also indicate the size and dimensions of the land area and the form and scale of buildings. These guidelines are set to guide urban growth and development. -Cities and local municipalities are allowed to decide zoning through State.

The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976

-Provides EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping, and testing requirements and restrictions relating to chemical substances and mixtures. -Certain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including, among others, food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides. -TSCA addresses the production, importation, use, and disposal of specific chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, radon, and lead-based paint.

Definition of a Brownfield Site

-Real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. -Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties protects the environment, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands. -It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. -Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and improves and protects the environment.

SARA

-SARA - Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 -amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) on October 17, 1986. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) reflected EPA's experience in administering the complex Superfund program during its first six years and made several important changes and additions to the program. SARA: -stressed the importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies in cleaning up hazardous waste sites; -required Superfund actions to consider the standards and requirements found in other State and Federal environmental laws and regulations; -provided new enforcement authorities and settlement tools; -increased State involvement in every phase of the Superfund program; -increased the focus on human health problems posed by hazardous waste sites; -encouraged greater citizen participation in making decisions on how sites should be cleaned up; and -increased the size of the trust fund to $8.5 billion. -SARA also required EPA to revise the Hazard Ranking System to ensure that it accurately assessed the relative degree of risk to human health and the environment posed by uncontrolled hazardous waste sites that may be placed on the National Priorities List (NPL).

Building codes

-Standards for construction and safety of buildings -most common uses found in zoning ordinances

Regulation of special land types- Flood zones

-The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) -The program enables property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection, administered by the government, against losses from flooding, and requires flood insurance for all loans or lines of credit that are secured by existing buildings, manufactured homes, or buildings under construction, that are located in a community that participates in the NFIP. -This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods.

Condemnation

-The judicial or administrative action of eminent domain. -Condemnation is compensation to the property owner. Known as "Just Compensation". -A government entity can take your property by eminent domain. The only person who can do Reverse Condemnation is the property owner. -Compensation usually follows the court action of condemnation. (eminent domain)

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)- The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

-Under the United States, environmental law is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for specific actions "significantly affecting the environment's quality." -An EIS is a tool for decision making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action. It usually lists one or more alternative steps that may be chosen instead of the action described in the EIS.

Taxation

-a charge on real estate used to pay for services provided by the government -The main source of revenue for cities and counties.The most universally known special assessments are charges levied against lands when drinking water lines are installed; when sewer lines are installed; or when streets are paved with concrete or some other impervious surface. -However, special assessment tax levies can be made for other purposes including police or fire protection, parking structures, street lighting and many of the other purposes permitted by state and local government statutes.

zoning variance

-a deviation from the zoning. - For instance, building a fence beyond the neighborhood setback limit. -ex. i request a second story addition in a one-story zone.

Land Revitalization Programs at EPA

-brownfields program -brownfield property -superfund redevelopment -undeground storage tanks -cleanups at federal facilities -resource conservation and recovery act (RCRA) Brownfields -mothballed Brownfields -hazardous waste -environmental contamination

Enabling acts or rights

-enabling acts are given to municipal governments to do their own zoning -state enabling rights -allows each city too control their zoning

ad valorem

-latin for according to value -this is your property taxes -(ad valorem tax) relies upon the fair market value of the property. -The assessed tax value of the property is calculated using local real estate data and is usually a percentage of a property's fair market value, determined by multiplying the property's market value or appraisal value by an assessment ratio established by the local taxing authority. It is possible for the assessed tax value to be either higher or lower than a property's actual market value. -If a property owner believes that his property has

Radon

-odorless,colorless, radioactive gas. enters through basement. -Is easily mitigated -Costs: @ 1200-2000 - produced by the natural decay of radioactive substances in the ground and is found throughout the United States. -Radon gas may cause lung cancer. -The number two reasons people get lung cancer and the number one reason people don't smoke get lung cancer. Testing for radon in buildings is not a federal requirement. · What should an agent tell a buyer if the buyer would like to have a radon test done? · Hire a professional because you can't smell or see radon, and it causes lung cancer. · Radon Gas can be Easily Mitigated. It enters the house through the basement.

A county airport took several homes to expand its runway through the government power of an eminent domain. When the county took several streets through eminent domain to extend an airport runway, they left one house. The owner is experiencing extreme noise and shaking due to the expansion. The homeowner may be able to get the county to take the property through:

-reverse condemnation. Only a homeowner can apply for reverse condemnation. It's forcing the government (reverse eminent domain) entity to take your property.

Legal nonconforming use

A legal nonconforming use or structure is a use or structure that was legally built under previous regulations but did not meet existing standards.

treasurer

A official who collects the taxes and determines the budget for schools, road maintenance, improvements, etc.

Grandfather Clause

A phrase indicating permission to continue doing something that was once permissible but is now not allowed. In zoning, it permits a nonconforming use. For example, an existing auto repair shop being permitted to remain in a shopping area that is being revitalized.

Cluster Zoning

An area where residential density is described overall, but the developer is allowed flexibility in placing the residences in groups interspersed with open space.

Real Estate Agents and Home Sellers

As real estate agents and home sellers, you play an important role in protecting the health of families purchasing and moving into your home. Buildings built before 1978 are much more likely to have lead-based paint. Federal law requires you to provide certain important information about lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards before a prospective buyer is obligated under a contract to purchase your home.

Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards

Federal law requires that before being obligated under a contract to buy target housing, including most buildings built before 1978, buyers must receive the following from the homeseller: · An EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home (PDF). · Any known information concerning the presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the home or building. o For multi-unit buildings, this requirement includes records and reports concerning common areas and other units when such information was obtained as a result of a building-wide evaluation. · An attachment to the contract, or language inserted in the contract, that includes a "Lead Warning Statement" and confirms that the seller has complied with all notification requirements. o Sample Seller's Disclosure of Information (PDF) in English (PDF) and in Spanish (PDF). · A 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment for lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. Parties may mutually agree, in writing, to lengthen or shorten the time period for inspection. Homebuyers may waive this inspection opportunity. If you have a concern about possible lead-based paint, then get a lead inspection from a certified inspector before buying.

Use Zoning/Districts

These dictate the type of use permitted within the zone. These consist of residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural.

variance

Variance If your land use or proposed building does not entirely conform to existing zoning and land use laws, you can apply for a variance. Typically, the landowner must show that she will experience substantial financial hardship if she does not receive a variance. -A request for a deviation from the Zoning Code. An example would be a homeowner allowed to build a fence closer to a lot line than the zoning allows. -A permanent exception granted to either build a new structure or conduct a further use that would not be permitted under the current zoning. -Most zoning systems have a procedure for granting variances (exceptions to the zoning rules), usually because of some perceived hardship due to the property's particular nature in question.

Noncumulative Zoning

Zoning permits only one use with no exception.

Equalizer factor

a process to correct taxing inequalities

Inverse Condemnation

a term used in the law to describe a situation in which the government takes private property but fails to pay the compensation required by the 5th Amendment of the Constitution, so the property's owner has to sue to obtain the required just compensation.

Hazardous waste

defined as any waste or combination of waste which because of its quantity, quality, concentration, physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics could cause or significantly contribute to adverse effects in the health and safety of humans or the environment if improperly managed.

Brownfields Program

is designed to empower communities to work together to clean up and sustainably reuse Brownfields areas.

Where asbestos may be found:

· Attic and wall insulation produced containing vermiculite · Vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives · Roofing and siding shingles · Textured paint and patching compounds used on wall and ceilings · Walls and floors around wood-burning stoves protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets · Hot water and steam pipes coated with an asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape · Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets with asbestos insulation · Heat-resistant fabrics · Automobile clutches and brakes

Asbestos

· Banned in 1978 · A material used for many years for insulation of heat pipes and ducts. Also, used in roofing and floor products. When asbestos ages, it can become airborne. · A mineral composed of fibers that have fireproofing and insulating qualities. · Asbestos is a health hazard when fibers break down and are inhaled. · Asbestos has been banned for use in insulation since · Encapsulation can prevent asbestos fibers from becoming airborne. · Asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and soil. · Airborne asbestos is called friable. · The best way to handle asbestos is to encapsulate it. · Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause severe and fatal illnesses, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of Pneumoconiosis). · Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance, asbestos has been used in various building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling, and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and

Real estate agents must:

· Inform the seller of his or her obligations under the Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule. In addition, the agent is responsible, along with the seller or lessor, if the seller or lessor fails to comply; unless the failure involves specific lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazard information that the seller or lessor did not disclose to the agent. Read the regulations that includes these requirements. · Provide, as part of the contract process, an EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards, Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home (PDF). Attach to contract, or insert language in the contract, a "Lead Warning Statement" and confirmation that you have complied with all notification requirements. o Sample Seller's Disclosure of Information (PDF) in English (PDF) and in Spanish (PDF). · Provide a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment for lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. Parties may mutually agree, in writing, to lengthen or shorten the time period for inspection. Homebuyers may choose to waive this inspection opportunity.

Lead

· Lead can be found in pipes, pipe solder, paints, air, and · Lead-based paint is found in many of the housing units built before 1978. · Lead accumulates in the body and can damage the brain, nervous system, kidneys, and blood. · The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 requires disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards to potential buyers or renters. · Real estate licensees provide buyers and lessees with "Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home," a pamphlet created by EPA, HUD, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety. · Lead poisoning can cause permanent damage to the brain and many other organs and causes reduced intelligence and behavioral problems. Lead can also cause abnormal fetal development in pregnant women. · HUD and EPA require the disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978. · Before ratification of a contract for housing sale or lease: · Sellers and landlords must disclose known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards and provide available reports to buyers or renters. · Sellers and landlords must give buyers and renters the pamphlet, developed by EPA, HUD, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), titled Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home. · Homebuyers will get ten days to conduct a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment at their own expense. The rule gives the two parties flexibility to negotiate key terms of the evaluation. · Sales contracts and leasing agreements must include specific notification and disclosure language. · This rule does not require any testing or removal of lead-based paint by sellers or landlords. · This rule does not invalidate leasing and sales contracts. · Buyers sign a disclosure acknowledging the possibility of lead-based paint. · Sellers do not have to remove it.

Police Power

· Police power is how the government regulates real estate. Examples of police power include zoning laws, building codes, fire codes, rent control, safety hazards, and tenant rights. · Police power is not designed to take property away from you. (unlike eminent domain) · It's there more to set standards on how the property can be used. That is why compensation is not paid to property owners affected by police power. (unlike eminent domain) · Police power allows the government to place restrictions on the use of private property.

Special Assessment- improvement tax

· The special assessment relies upon a special enhancement called a "benefit or improvement" for its justification. · Special assessment is the term used to designate a unique charge that government can assess against real estate parcels for certain public projects. · This charge is levied in a specific geographic area known as a special assessment district (SAD). A special assessment may only be levied against parcels of real estate which have been identified as having received a direct and unique "benefit" from the public project. · Only those who benefitted from an improvement pay the special assessment. · Creates a priority lien on the affected property usually second only to ad valorem property tax.

Eminent domain

· Under eminent domain, the government can appropriate property if they feel it is for the community's greater good. But the owner of any lands claimed under eminent domain is entitled to reasonable compensation, usually defined as the fair market value of the property. Compensation for the property is paid through the process of condemnation. · In some jurisdictions, the state will also delegate eminent domain power to individual public and private companies. For example, this allows utilities to bring eminent domain actions so they can run telephone, power, water, or gas lines. · However, there are times when a property owner feels that they were not appropriately compensated by the government when the powers of Eminent Domain were applied to their property. In these cases, the property owner can file for Inverse Condemnation. Inverse Condemnation sounds tricky, but basically, it just allows a property owner to file a claim against the government to recover just compensation for the taken property.