What to do??

[CarlD]

NWMNMom,

I'm sure what you say is true in Minnesota, but I can assure it is decidely NOT true in North Central New Jersey, and not in the suburban town I live in. I definitely have an AG pool, it's aluminum and plastic walled, and I definitely had my house revalued because of it.

Each state and each municipality has its own rules and laws. I am currently selling my mother's house in Northern Westchester County, in New York, and the real estate rules and methods there would make your head spin! Especially since you seem to be a realtor. NOTHING in Westchester follows any familiar pattern, even in comparison to other counties of New York! For example, ALL offers are verbal and the written contract isn't prepared until very late in the process. Despite the house being "under contract", either party can back out and the seller can STILL accept a higher bid! Any place else that's a breach of contract, but not in Westchester. The written contract comes with an escrowed down payment as well (my mom's lawyer now has that down payment in an escrow account).

[NWMNMom]

Things have really gotten upside down - especially on the East Coast. I remember hearing about the eminant domain fiasco sanctioned by the Supreme Court out there where they were allowed to take the homes of the those people for some huge corporation to put up condos or something similar. Up until then ED was reserved only for those situations where the public good would be served (dikes, public works, etc) It's just plain sad.

BTW - I am not a realtor. I worked with Real Estate Law and Foreclosures since the late 80s in MN, ND and SD.

[CarlD]

Sorry, but I thought you were. Clearly you were in the business though.

The use of ED to benefit large corporations is not simply an East Coast problem. The building of the stadium for the Texas Rangers used ED to take something like 270 acres of which 17 went to the Stadium and the rest for a windfall-profit office park because the land was so cheap. Owners who were expropriated sued because the land value was SO downgraded and, last I heard, they had won the first cases. The new owners made millions on the deal.

But we have it here, too. One of the reasons the Brooklyn Dodgers fled to L.A. was that Robert Moses, the Czar of New York building and development, refused to aid Walter O'Malley in his quest to condemn a whole bunch of Brooklyn neighborhoods so he could build his new stadium. Currently, the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team is trying to do the same thing so he can move our Nets to Brooklyn.

In fact, sports stadiums across the nation are a frequent use of ED, despite their rather dismal financial history.

[danl]

On a positive side we need the highway improvement. They are rerouting a very dangerous intersection thru our house. Would have liked for them to have gone the other direction.
My wife is a school teacher and at least two of her students have died there. One of them a eight year old girl. The other a barely 16 year old girl.

At least it isn't going for a mall or hotel.

No building permits required here, We live on a farm, raise cattle.can see them out the front window.

[NWMNMom]

I hope you will be getting to move to a nice place where you can have a pool and some privacy.

There isn't anything like country living - I couldn't stand a view that doesn't include my horses out the windows on one side of the house and the pool out the other side.

[AnnaK]

I hope you will be getting to move to a nice place where you can have a pool and some privacy.

I think danl said in an earlier post that they were planning to build a home farther back on their farm property. That sounds like a good solution to what must be a stressful and traumatic time.

[danl]

The patch is still holding!! The water is nice and green too.
The day I patched the pool we got broken into, they busted out a window and took all my wifes jewelry, most of her shoes and in short around $20,000.00 worth of our stuff.

I have been busy installed an alarm system. Hopefully that will wake the dead.
I have never seen my wife this upset and I am just mad.
I has not been a good spring so far.

Am going to try to get the pump hooked up tonight before the water actually solidifies into a green mass
Thanks for all the replies and help
Dan