Your Questions - We Want Them!

RAMP's Panel on Reassessment will kick off our celebration of Centennial Weekend at the Annual Meeting this Friday, September 30th @ 3:00 p.m..  Giving their thoughts, their musings, and reading the tea leaves on what the future holds for Allegheny County and its property taxpayers are our guests: State Senator and REALTOR® Wayne Fontana, County Council Member Vince Gastgeb, Raja, and Rich Fitzgerald.  Property taxes and the reassessment are the top issue in our local general election.  With only six weeks to go, the stakes keep getting raised higher and higher, and the media coverage of the campaigns updated frequently. . . 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Pittsburgh REALTORS® Celebrate 100 Years on September 30 and October 1, 2011

Pittsburgh REALTORS® Celebrate 100 Years A Weekend of Events Commemorates the Centennial PITTSBURGH (September 22, 2011)  - The 2,100-member REALTORS® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (RAMP) is celebrating 100 years of serving the real estate needs of our area’s families and businesses with a Centennial Weekend Celebration comprised of four events spanning two days. Centennial Weekend Celebration FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 3:00 to 4:30 P.M. - Annual Meeting and Membership Awards | Penn Brewery at 800 Vinial Street on the North Side The featured presentation is a Panel Discussion of Allegheny County’s Property Reassessment. Panelists include Rich Fitzgerald, Democratic Nominee for Allegheny County Chief Executive; Raja, Republican Nominee for Allegheny County Chief Executive; Wayne Fontana, Pennsylvania State Senator and REALTOR® member of RAMP; and Vince Gastgeb, Allegheny County Council Member for District 5. 4:30 to 7:00 P.M. - Centennial Weekend Kick-Off Reception | ...

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All Assessment, All the Time

It sure feels like it, doesn't it?  Nearly every day we are seeing articles, quotes, pleas for relief, and even legislation bandied about.  Of course the countdown to Election Day makes the issue an even more provocative water cooler topic.  You will recall Judge Wettick's deep concerns over how delayed valuations will negatively affect the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools, which operate budgets on a calendar year and therefore collect taxes by May.  This differs from many suburban municipalities and school districts, which are more likely to pass budgets in the summer months or mid-year.  Most recent numbers given by the Pittsburgh City Schools estimate nearly $2 million in borrowing costs due to the delayed valuations not being handed out until February 2012, and then certified in April 2012 or later.  70,000 property owners are expected to appeal their assessment.  How is one of the County Chief Executive Candidates responding?  By asking the Pittsburgh City School District to reject the new values.  Click here and here to read more.  County Council is considering legislation to target inequities.  Click here to learn more.  
State Senator and REALTOR® Wayne Fontana has announced his intention to re-introduce Assessment Moratorium Legislation.  Click here for his press release. . . .

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New Members Approved at the September 2011 Board of Directors Meeting

RAMP's Board of Directors approved new member applicants at their meeting on September 15th.

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Jobs On the Mind

President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last night contained the sound bite of "jobs," "pass this jobs bill" or "pass it right away" multiple times.  Actually, somebody counted, and "jobs" alone was said 37 times in 34 minutes.  Our local newspapers ran articles from national sources on the story.  Click here for the Post-Gazette's coverage (courtesy of the NY Times), and theTribune-Review (by way of the USA Today, in a semi-surprising turn).  The national unemployment rate stands at 9.1%.  You can look at the state unemployment rates by clicking here and scrolling down the right side of the site.  Pennsylvania's was at 7.8% for July 2011 (psst, that makes ours lower than Ohio, West Virginia, New York, and New Jersey!  But Maryland beat us by 0.6%). Serious number junkies like myself can click here to view Pennsylvania's monthly numbers going back to January 2001.  I promise you, it's very interesting reading . . . .

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Stopping the Stall of 1,300 Home Sales Daily

September 30th isn't just the date of RAMP's Annual Meeting and Membership Awards, it's also the day in which the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire unless Congress hurries up and finds a way to reauthorize it.  NFIP, however important, is a cash-strapped program at time when elected officials are looking to save a buck. Candidly, the outlook is poor that a long-term fix is at hand.  Here is the current legislative status of NFIP in Washington, D.C. . . 

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