Homeownership Rates Continue to Fall

With the recent mortgage crisis going on, and the continual rates of foreclosures going up, I thought it would be interesting to write about it and find out some real statistics that show how home-ownership rates have changed in the past couple of years.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005 Las Vegas home-ownership rates were up 61.4% and in 2006 rose to 63.3%.  Since then the numbers have been in a downward spiral, making the number of foreclosures go up.  Currently Las Vegas is at an all time low with 59% of the population that owns homes.  However, Summerlin is at an all time high with 85% of the community owning their own home.  According to a realty company, RealtyTrac, www.realtytrac.com, in 2007 their were a reported 1.3 million homes that received foreclosure warnings, making this increase 79% higher than 2006’s reported 717,522 that recieved warnings. 

This foreclosure rate continues to grow nationally as well.  Last year their were a reported 1% of all U.S. homes that were in some kind of foreclosure phase, which went up a whole 1/2% that was reported for 2006.  Also, last month there were 215,749 homes that filed for foreclosure, making it the fifth consecutive month where foreclosures have topped 200,000.  The numbers continues to grow.  Some of the other states that were compared with Nevada’s home-ownership rates included Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio.  Arizona ranged from 55% to 65% of the population that own homes, while Georgia is at an average of 66% of home-ownership rates.  The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that from 2006 to 2007 the country has seen the largest one year drop in the rate of home-ownership.

On a positive note, with all this mess going on around the U.S., Las Vegas is ranked number three as best place for renters according to www.city-data.com.  For now the government is trying to work with mortgage lenders to help at risk homeowners facing foreclosure, but lenders have only had little impact.   

Here, Take My Spot

Finding ways for fraternities or sororities to make money can be difficult, especially when you’re only making a couple extra bucks off of a bake sale here and there.  But for some big name schools, finding the money isn’t so difficult. 

In an article I found in The Daily Californian, www.dailycal.org, fraternities and sororities at local universities such as, University of Southern California and University California Berkeley, come together on big game days to make money off using their own housing property as parking lots.  I found this very interesting because schools like these generally have their stadiums on campus. For UNLV it is unfortunate because we have quite a drive to make it to a regular season football game.  Having the Greek housing so close to the stadium definitely makes this an advantage for students.  However, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity of UC Berkeley are selling their spots to locals or the usual out-of-towners to make a profit off their fortunate location.

   Parking can be huge because fraternities and sororities are so close to the stadium,” said Jay Willis, rush chairman of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. “We can make $250 on a small game day.”

On big game days some of the parking can even go for $75 all the way up to $100 for one spot, merely because of the luxury of parking so close.  This then cuts down the distance anyone might have to walk, making this a luxury that is unheard of at UNLV.  The money raised goes to alumni associations or even renovations on the houses themselves.  So until Sam Boyd Stadium is moved or another is built right here on campus, fraternities and sororities will continue to have the usual bake sale or car wash. 

(toolbox journal)

Parking for the Homeless

In an attempt to help raise awareness for the homeless, community activists in California are proposing a new parking structure that allows homeless people to sleep, eat, and live in their vehicles according to The Daily Californian, www.dailycal.org.  It’s enough that these people are constantly harassed and cited by police, so two Berkeley non-profit groups are collaborating to provide a parking structure that comes equipped with wash-room facilities.  

By having these facilities it would not violate the California law that prohibits someone from  being in their vehicle for more than 72 hours without moving.  Many people are also cited for merely keeping their belongings in their vehicle, so the question of whether or not this is a violation of human rights has been raised.  But if these people are breaking the law, shouldn’t they be cited? 

Council member Kriss Worthington said that by citing people and having them arrested over some silly law could just end up costing the city more money.  A parking structure that allows this kind of thing to occur could actually help the problem, rather than worsen it, and many people of the California community agree.  However Councilmember Dona Spring did tell the Daily Californian that in the late 1980’s Berkley did build a parking structure similar to the one that is being proposed, but it was later shut down because of a murder that occurred there.      

“It’s been done before and it just didn’t work,” Spring said.

Berkeley police also told the Daily Californian that usually people are cited due to inappropriate behavior, and they are still given a warning before the actual citation.  As of now Berkeley is trying to make aware all of the proper services that are offered to the homeless, as well as their rights.     

(toolbox blog)

Exclusively for Students

Last week I addressed a matter that many people have been concerned about, the number of parking spots available to the number of permit issued a year.  I wanted to touch a little bit more on that because a fellow student asked me a very good question in my blog.  She wanted to know how many students are enrolled at UNLV to the number of spots specifically designated to students only.  So of course I want to know myself. 

I contacted the parking department, but the people I need to talk to were in a meeting all day.  So I thought about it for a little on my own.  Earlier in the semester I found out that there are about 10,000 spots to the 20,000 permits issued by UNLV.  However those 10,000 spots are not all assigned to students.  We have to remember staff, reserved, handicapped, and all the other zones. 

I was able to get a hold of someone in the registrars office and found that there are currently about 28,000 students enrolled on campus.  This number doesn’t even meet the number of permits issued, but I took into consideration that not every student will purchase a permit either.  Many people are able to find alternate parking off campus.  So lets just make it easy and divide that number by two.  Let’s say their about 14,000 students that purchase a permit each year, and the remaining 6,000 will count for staff, reserve, handicapped, etc.  This can then meet the number of 20,000 permits purchased a year. 

Okay so what about the number of spots?  Well, in the last equation the number of students purchasing permits took up about three-fourths of 20,000.  So we can apply the same process to the number of 10,000 spots available to students.  I would have to say (in an estimate) that 6,000 to 7,000 spots are probably exclusively designated to students.  But….this still does not nearly meet the half of students that will most likely purchase a permit.  And I say, I know, I know.  There must be something evidently wrong. 

There very well might be more than 14,000 students purchasing permits each year, which still does not make it closely even to the number of spots available only for students.  And people in higher authority of parking still want to say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Maybe I don’t know what I am talking about, but it sort of makes sense to me that there is an evident unbalanced ratio here and nobody else wants to address it.  Just thought I’d say.  

Another Conference…Ugh.

Next week is the start of the Mountain West basketball tournament.  Why do you care?  Well if you are not interested in basketball you might be interested in finding a parking spot when you come to class.  Next Tuesday is the tip off for the basketball championship.  Teams from all over the west coast will meet in Las Vegas next week and take up more parking at Thomas and Mack Stadium.  This means that players, coaches, teachers, students, and everyone’s mother will be coming.  The conference will run from Tuesday afternoon through Saturday, March 15.  Games will be going on throughout each hour of the day. 

 This post is designed to help alert people at the university to give yourself enough time to get to school, park, and start walking. 

Check out full schedule here:

http://unlvtickets.com/eventInfo/spe/93/mountain-west-conference/

Smart Parking….or Stupid?

A big question that many people dealing with the complications of finding parking might have on their minds is the amount of parking available in comparison to the number of parking permits issued in a year. 

Though is seems to make sense not to issue more permits than there are available spaces, others will think differently. 

UNLV has 10,000 stalls and the parking department issues approximately 20,000 permits a year.  And it’s not only going on at UNLV.  University of Arkansas issues about 14,000 permits while claiming to only have 8,300 spaces.  Auburn University has10,300 spaces for its 18,000 permits issues each year.  Also, Stanford University has 17,200 parking spaces for the 23,000 permits issued.  What is going on?

 The reality of issuing such a large number of permits to the ratio of spaces is that not everyone with a permit is going to show up all at the same time.   As long as I have been coming to UNLV I have never seen parking fill up 100%.  During the National Rodeo Association finals week that takes place in December is the only time I have seen every lot at Thomas & Mack almost completely fill up but still not 100%.  Half of those people going to the rodeo arrive in a limo, a cab, or a bus. 

In my opinion it still does not make a difference besides the fact that it takes me longer to walk to class because I parked clear over by the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.  It seems that the longer it takes me to walk to class the more time I have to think about what a pain in the ass it was just to park my car.  But in reality I still made it and found a space.  

Although the parking matter is real it just seems like it is a social issue that people can converse about while relate to at the same time.  This is still completely ok because usually everyone has their own opinion about it, however there are going to be a few times in life where something as simple as parking will not be so simple anymore.

Parking on TV

I was flipping through the channels a couple of days ago and came upon this new program that A&E channel has called, Parking Wars.  The program focuses on the Philadelphia Parking Authority as they follow and tape them.  They tape everything from giving people tickets to towing cars.  It’s kind of extreme what these people do because…well… they’re not exactly brightening up people’s day.  The women authorities are being hit on, the men are being made fun of; I mean you have to be pretty psychologically stable to have a job like this.  It is rough. 

As I was sitting there glued to the TV set I started to think how one would even get into such a job.  These people are basically hired to ruin someones day, is that fun?  One episode I watched was about one guy trying to get his car back.  The PPA had him running all around town to make sure he had the proper documents to get his car out of impound.  Six hours later he made it back, and they still would not take his documents because they thought they were fake.  It was insane.  I really think some of these authorities like to give tickets.  I visited the website and read about some of the people who work for the PPA.  Jeff, a PPA employee, actually said that the worst part of his job is that lots of people want to kill him.  Another employee, Lori, has even been punched in the face.  There’s nothing like a punch in the face that can make me want to get up everyday and go to work.  Some of these people have been on the job for 10 or 20 years.  Some of them also hold records with each other to see who can give the most tickets in a day.  That’s crazy. 

Even parking has become a major corporation itself.  I wonder when it got to be such a pain.  I guess as long as people park illegally we will have authorities to come and remind us, but just remember to thank them.  The YouTube video is just a little introduction of the show that I wanted to add.  Also, I would like to follow up with this program and find if there is anything else interesting going on in the parking world that I can share.

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Go Premium Outlets!

Every time I go to the Premium Outlets located on Charleston and the I-15 I can never find a parking spot.  People are literally driving around waiting for someone to leave, and anyone who has been there know exactly what I am talking about.  But today when I went there it was not as nearly bad because the new parking garage is finally open.  They have been working on the  garage for the past few months now, which I thought would never get finished after they had people parking in a dirt lot for awhile.  Finally it’s done.  Parking there today was so easy and simple that it made me cheer up a little bit after the nightmare I had at the Adidas store when someone with literally 100 items cut in front of me.  Its enough that I have to deal with tourists everywhere, but parking too.  Ahhh!  The Outlets are still doing some construction to the paved roads around the shopping stores, however I think the parking matter is finally taken care of.  It’s more organized and planned out then it was before and less chaotic.  I think I will be seeing less wars on parking spots there,  although I did see some people fighting over a spot in line at the Disney store. 

Valet Parking on Campus

Having your car personally parked by someone else is a luxury that you can generally find in fancy hotels, restaurants, strip clubs, and even hospitals in Las Vegas; why not on a college campus?  These places are all money making corporations that feed off of tips by their customers anyway, so how would it be any different than having such a luxury on campus?  Some universities on the East coast and Midwest offer free valet, which has actually helped the issue of “planned parking.” 

The problem of this matter is within the financial support and fairness for all.  The Nevada university system is already facing potential budget cuts, so this is something that the system itself could not afford to place in the budget.  Also, many of these universities that do offer valet are medical and health-care schools, making it more of a need rather than a privilege.  It just would not be fair to people with disabilities because the valet parking would probably fill up too quickly.  In essence it could be a possible break away from all the riff raff people are dealing with in the mornings or any time of the day, but in the end it could essentially do more damage towards UNLV itself and the people that make up the school.    

What’s With All Those Empty Spaces?

Every time I walk to class past the Thomas & Mack stadium, past the Lied Library, or wherever I might be, I can’t help notice all the empty parking spaces that are nearest to campus.  They all have a big white sign that reads “Reserved Parking.”  And then I think to myself that it is probably reserved for some prominent professor who has been teaching for some 30-odd years, and has earned that spot. But according to the UNLV Parking Services all you need to earn a “Reserved” spot is $630.  This $630 will be put towards a “reserved” permit that has a number on it.  That number is the spot you are designated to for the whole year.  Anyone who is illegally parked in that numbered spot will be towed upon request of the rightful spot owner.

I also found that there is a waiting list to get on board with these “Reserved” parking permits, which seems a little odd because every time I see these spots they are all practically empty.  These permits are on a first come first served basis, which just seems a little too childish to me.  Personally, I think its a little disrespectful to these prominent professors, or life longers who have put their time in, and parking authorities are just going to give a spot to anyone with the $630.  For once it would be nice if we could not make something about money to the people who deserve it the most.