Latest content by Sophie Kasakove
Inside the eviction epicenter of Anne Arundel County
One in three evictions at all large apartment complexes in Anne Arundel County takes place in an area around the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Board OKs plan to exclude most Baltimore homeowners from controversial tax sale
Roughly 2,000 Baltimore City homeowners will be removed from the city’s coming tax sale.
Plans to raze buildings for ‘Superblock’ project draw fire from preservationists
The city’s historic preservation board issued an initial vote against a proposal to demolish five buildings as part of a downtown redevelopment plan.
High hopes as next phase of Perkins Homes redevelopment gets underway
The ambitious undertaking promises to replace a vestige of the city’s aging public housing infrastructure with over 2,000 new mixed-income housing units.
Baltimore’s tax sale will exclude owner-occupied properties for third year in a row
The announcement came with two weeks left for homeowners to pay outstanding taxes, but housing advocates say only changes to state and local law can ensure the system is more just.
Beat down by crime, disinvestment and a pandemic, can downtown Baltimore recover?
Investors, residents and business owners say crime concerns and a lack of vision are hurting the Central Business District in the wake of the pandemic.
Legislation banning binding home listings passes House and Senate
If the bill is signed into law, Maryland will become the seventh state in the country to pass similar legislation since the beginning of March.
Proposal to overhaul tax sale fails to pass after Baltimore City pumps breaks on own legislation
City officials voiced concern about the financial impact of ending tax sales after learning that Baltimore faced a $79 million increase in education spending — an unanticipated cost that Mayor Brandon Scott likened to a ”gut punch.”
Homebuyer beware: Zillow often lists the wrong Baltimore schools
The real estate website pulls in GreatSchools ratings — often misleading homebuyers considering Baltimore City.
Advocates asked Maryland for $175 million to prevent an evictions crisis. They got $2 million.
Maryland lawmakers quietly added $2 million for emergency rental assistance in the final hours of budget negotiations on Friday — a fraction of what housing advocates have said will be necessary to avoid a mounting eviction crisis in the state.
How a small group of investors turned distressed Baltimore neighborhoods into profit centers
Just 10 companies have acquired the lion’s share of the properties foreclosed on through tax sale and most of the profits, a Banner analysis found.
Baltimore Council considers tax credit to appease developers as affordable housing bill stalls
The proposed tax credit would be the city's first for affordable housing.
Company accused of pushing ‘predatory’ home contracts in Maryland temporarily stops offering them
MV Realty’s practice of enticing homeowners to sign away the exclusive right to list their homes for sale for 40 years in exchange for small cash offers drew the attention of lawmakers and regulators.
Tenants live in dangerous, unsanitary conditions across Baltimore. A new bill would crack down on their landlords.
The bill would require inspections of “priority buildings” with 20 units or more with a documented history of poor conditions twice per year until conditions improve.
Settling with Kushner Companies was hard. Getting money to former tenants may be harder.
Westminster Management, the family real estate company of Jared Kushner, agreed to pay millions to settle allegations of maintenance horrors and excess fees in its Maryland rental apartments.
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