USA Property

Fast-growing fruit trees for your backyard harvestHere are five fast-growing fruit trees you can plant in your backyard for a quicker harvest.unbranded - LifestyleRates for home loans remained high as consumer and investor confidence take a hit amid the White House's tariff rollout.In the week ending April 24, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.81%, Freddie Mac announced. That’s down fractionally from 6.83% last week, which saw the biggest one-week jump since last August.Those figures don’t include fees or points, and rates in some parts of the country may be higher or lower than the...

County officials are turning to federal court over regulations of delinquent property taxes that they say puts them in an impossible bind.Two Illinois counties surrounding Chicago, Lake and DuPage counties, have filed federal lawsuits against the state over a property tax sale process they say leaves them stuck enforcing laws that are “unconstitutional by design,” Crain’s reported.Officials in the counties are asking a judge to declare that the Illinois property tax code, which dates back to the 1930s, forces them to run tax delinquency sales that violate property owners’ rights...

House and Senate budget and tax cut negotiators are running out of time to reach a deal and end the legislative session on time.Local cheerleaders with Special Olympics show their skills at CapitolSpecial Olympics athletes demonstrate their cheerleading skills during Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run and ceremony at Capitol courtyard.The House and Senate disagree on tax cut plans, with differing approaches and overall amounts.The legislative session's deadline is approaching, with budget and tax cut negotiations still ongoing.One of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ main gripes with the House in his ongoing feud...

Texting was already available, but now a translation service is offeredThe Dover Police Department is one of the first in the U.S. to use the enhanced 911 service for sharing of photos and videos, and text translation.A real estate agent impersonates a seller and pockets $3 million from fraudulent property sales. A Los Angeles homeowner loses their house to an international identity theft ring. In Florida, during a scheduled video call with the seller, a title company is met with an AI-generated fake.These stories may sound sensational, but the crimes...

At the time, Erlinger had been in his present post for less than a year, after working for McDonald’s in London and South Korea for six years, according to his LinkedIn page. He’s been with McDonald’s since at least 2002, the LinkedIn page shows.Crain’s could not immediately reach the Erlingers, for whom there does not appear to be a listed phone number. A media representative in McDonald's corporate offices in the West Loop said Erlinger would not comment for this story.Susan O’Connor Davis, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago agent who...

The number of Canadian 'snowbirds' planning to sell their second homes in sunny Florida and Arizona has surged this spring, with many of them put off by the sudden chill that has blanketed relations between their homeland and the US.Real estate agents say they are seeing more Canadians cashing out, further lowering property prices in warm-weather states that have long attracted retirees and tourists from snowy Canada.Canadians spent close to $6 billion on US real estate from April 2023 to March 2024 - making up 13 percent of all foreign...

The number of Canadian “snowbirds” planning to sell their second homes in sunny Florida and Arizona has surged this spring, many of them put off by the sudden chill that has blanketed relations between their homeland and the United States. Real estate agents say they are seeing more Canadians cashing out, further softening property prices in warm-weather states that have long attracted retirees and tourists from cold and snowy Canada. Canadians spent close to $6 billion on U.S. real estate from April 2023 to March 2024 – making up 13%...

A proposal to lift the current 1% cap on property tax growth to as much as 3% has been shelved. According to The Washington State Standard, Democrats abandoned efforts to advance the plan because they lack a three-corners agreement—meaning the Democratic leadership of the House, Senate, and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson are not all on board. Ferguson said shelving the property tax plan was the right decision. “We have to look at a lot of revenue sources, and I think we need to minimize the impacts on working people in...

The property tax battle of 2025 is over in the Washington state Legislature. Democrats are ending their bid to repeal a voter-approved limit on property tax growth, excising one of the most controversial revenue-raising ideas they’ve pursued this session. The proposal, embedded in House Bill 2049, seeks to allow an increase in the growth factor from the current 1% cap to the combined rate of population growth plus inflation within a taxing district, not to exceed 3%. This would apply to the state’s common schools levy and for cities and...

Ty Tagami  |  Capitol Beat News ServiceHow do billionaires avoid paying taxes? Here's what we know now.The super wealthy can afford to avoid paying taxes, but how? Here's what we know now.Georgia voters approved a constitutional amendment to curb property tax increases by tying them to inflation.Most cities and counties adopted the amendment, but the majority of school districts, which receive the largest share of property taxes, opted out.A new law gives local governments until the end of April to reconsider, but school districts face challenges due to rising education...