This project uses institutional ethnography to analyze the textually mediated relationships between consumers and the professionals involved in real estate: sales agents, insurance agents, mortgage lenders and community development programs. Since 2008, researchers have been debating the causes and consequences of the US financial crisis. A great…

The forested land in the United States is an asset that is owned and managed not only by federal, state, and local governments, but also by families and other private groups, including timber investment management organizations and real estate investment trusts. The more than 10 million family forestland owners manage the largest percentage of…

Since 2004, I have provided technical assistance to a neighborhood association in a residential, campus-adjacent neighborhood located in a small college town in a geographically isolated coal-mining region of the United States. The neighborhood is shared by year-round residents, most of whom are older adults who have no affiliation with the…

A significant factor for many people deciding where to live is the quality of the local school district, with superior schools creating a price premium for housing. The result is a "race to the top," as all school districts attempt to improve their performance in order to attract homebuyers. Given the importance of school districts to the daily…

Problems of duplex investment are noted in the introduction to this booklet designed to provide a technique by which the investment decision can be approached, develop estimates of typical costs and returns under differing conditions, and encourage investors to analyze objectives and conditions before the decision to buy or build is made. A…

This guide is a supplement to the 1996 edition of "Texas School Law: A Practical Guide." It addresses four topics: real-estate issues relating to school districts and colleges, student-discipline law, education of children with disabilities, and sexual abuse or harassment of students. The first section examines legal changes in the realm…

The housing crisis in the United States is primarily urban. Unlike areas of urban blight, rural alums are not slums of despair by any means. "Slums of despair" is a term used in a recent study of urban life to describe those areas in some of our inner cities whose inhabitants feel they are utterly trapped--that they stand little chance of…

Some people associate planned giving with fancy trusts and exotic tax plans. The truth is far simpler and more profound. This book provides a comprehensive review of the subject, from the relative simplicity of outright gifts and bequests to the more complex workings of pooled income funds and retained life estates. The author lends a common sense…

Perspectives concerning the effective use of a small college's resources and assets in a time of declining government support and decreasing enrollments are presented. Attention is directed to improving cash flow, staff reduction and early retirement, external sources of long-term financing, college financial student aid, and managing real estate…

This text for a junior college or college level course in personal finance contains five units organized around these clearly defined strategies: (1) setting one's financial goals, planning a career, preparing personal financial statements, and setting up a budget; (2) protecting one's income and assets through effective use of insurance; (3)…

The Housing and Land Speculation Game provides students in college microeconomics courses with an opportunity to learn about market adjustment toward equilibrium and investment strategy. Students are divided into a land tax only group and a land and property tax group. They analyze the market situation and determine game strategy in accordance…