If you look at only one thing in this e-newsletter, go to the News Briefs section and check out the Pulitzer-winning photograph of a construction worker rescuing a woman from a flood.

 

On your way, you will see articles relating to the residential real estate market, hiring incentives for employers, the updated schedule of Frantz Ward's seminar activity, numerous other news briefs, and a plug for my friend and client Pat Falkosky and his company The Painting Pros.

 

As always, I appreciate the time you have taken to review this e-newsletter.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles.

 

Jim Dixon

The Plain Dealer's monthly article about the market described how the market has been on life support for months.  Buyers have been frantically cutting deals in April to take advantage of the soon-to-expire tax credit.  Sales volume is up and prices may be on the way to recovery. The big question is whether the market will falter after the incentive expires. The numbers for May will be telling.  You will recall that the incentive was set to expire in November when, at the last minute, the government extended it through April.  That November deadline drew activity forward, resulting in a dismal December. You will see very high numbers for April. May will be off the pace, for sure, but the true test will be how it measures against typical May figures.  Experts anticipate that it will be a below-normal month.  How far will tell you if the market will recover sooner rather than later.

 

May 6, 2010: Commercial Collections (Independence)

 

June 11, 2010: Managing Construction Projects (Akron)

 

Please contact me if you are intersted in attending one of these seminars.  Also, if you would like to schedule an in-house seminar on these topics or any others, please let me know.

There are numerous painting companies to choose from when it comes to projects big and small around the home or office. When you are looking for both a competitive price and superior quality, contact my friend and client Pat Falkosky at The Painting Pros.  Pat also provided some promising news on the market, indicating that painting business for new homes is picking up. Pat focuses on the residential and commercial re-paint market, and indicates that a vital new home painting market means good news will follow for his market.  On that point, The Wall Street Journal recently published an interesting study of the new rules for remodeling.  No longer are Americans remodeling their homes to prepare to trade up.  Instead, they are "making their homes more comfortable for a longer-than-expected stay."

 

If you are a fan of both This Old House (or any fix-up TV program) and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, you will enjoy Construction Intervention on The Discovery Channel.

 

Listen to an NPR report on the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's proposed stormwater management system, which, for example, could cost one Northeast Ohio nursing home $34,000 per year. 

 

Determine if it makes more sense to buy or rent a home with this calculator from The New York Times. The accompanying article explains how the crashing market has changed the outcome of that analysis for many Americans.

 

This photograph won a Pulitzer prize.  It depicts Jason Oglesbee's dramatic rescue of a woman caught in floodwaters in Des Moines.  After the fire department was unable to reach her, Oglesbee harnassed himself to his crew's crane, which lowered him into place.

 

For those of you who follow developments in the law relating to class action lawsuits, this article from my colleagues Lindsey Carr Siegler and Olivia Lin will be of interest. 

This document is intended to provide general information about legal developments, not legal advice. Receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship.