Friendship Blog

titleWill higher taxes hit real estate partnerships?/titleFor the independent developer, real estate projects require a high tolerance for risk â€- risk that is willingly taken in exchange for sufficient reward in the event of a successful outcome. Our business culture and government have always worked to ensure that entrepreneurs who leverage themselves to build up our cities and towns will be compensated enough to incentivize further risk-taking and capital growth. /p p Now, that compensation has come under attack in Washington. On Nov. 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that will increase taxes on the gains reaped by real estate developers in partnerships throughout the country. The Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, may dampen the appetite for risk among many developers and those who finance them at a trying time for the real estate industry.brbr

titleWells Fargo: Housing worst since Depression/titleSAN FRANCISCO - Evoking Depression-era memories, Wells Fargo Co. CEO John Stumpf on Thursday became the latest banker to predict continuing difficulties in the U.S. housing market as risky mortgages made to overextended borrowers disintegrate into large loan losses.Speaking at an investment conference in New York City, Stumpf said real estate conditions are the worst he has experienced during his 30-year career. He then punctuated his gloomy assessment by harking back to the deepest downturn of the 20th century. We have not seen a nationwide decline in housing like this since the Great Depression, he said.San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which has extensive operations in Minnesota, so far has fared far better than virtually all of its peers. Thats because it sold most of the $2 trillion in home loans that it has originated since 2001 and invested relatively little money in the mortgage-backed securities that have been saddling other big banks with huge losses.brbr

titleBell sounded on smoke alarms/titleThe city is looking into amending a bylaw to require smoke alarms be installed in all rental units. At Mondays meeting, councillors were informed the citys Fire and Emergency Services Bylaw would have to be changed for that to happen. Were trying to come up with something that would save peoples lives, said Councillor Lee Atkinson. Currently, Regina is the only Saskatchewan city with a smoke alarm bylaw. Fire chief Les Karpluk told council such a requirement would pose something of a challenge, as people do take batteries out of smoke alarms, disconnect wires or forget to test the batteries. However, he said, although there would never be 100 per cent compliance, smoke alarms do save lives and education can drive that point home. This has been on the radar for awhile, said Karpluk, adding a fire death in Prince Albert on July 11 made the issue more urgent.brbrbrbr

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