At Home With Jonathan Osman

This week, I am joined by Danielle Chemtob with the Charlotte Observer to discuss whether or not Charlotte or Mecklenburg county will introduce impact fees on new development and if they're allowed to. Also, hear a quick recap of the housing market update for July 2020.

Read Danielle's article on Impact Fees in Charlotte: Charlotte May Try to Alleviate Growth With A Fee Developers Oppose. But Hurdles Remain: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article244408057.html

This week, Jonathan is joined by David Love with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services Engineering and Mitigation Program to discuss the city's Flood Plain acquisition program and how FEMA flood plains are determined.  Also, Jonathan explains the HUD AFFH program, which was halted in 2017 and the President tweeted that he was repealing last week.  

Mecklenburg County residents: see if your property is located in a flood plain here on the 3D Floodzone Map: https://meckmap.mecklenburgcountync.gov/3dfz/

This week, Jonathan is joined by Chuck Cole, Executive Director of Trees Charlotte, to discuss the loss of Charlotte's Tree Canopy and what we can do help restore the loss.  Plus lots of other tree talk and a few tree puns. Visit https://treescharlotte.org/ view the canopy map and learn about their organization.

This week, Jonathan delivers the real estate sales figures from June 2020 and dives into if a Covid-triggered foreclosure wave is headed for the Charlotte area.

This week, we're discussing Sorting Out The New South City with author Tom Hanchett.  Learn how Charlotte wasn't always a segregated city, the pivotal event that divided the city, how generations of black residents were kept from having a say in North Carolina and the landmark Supreme Court decision that re-integrated a generation of Charlotte students.  

Buy Tom's book Sorting Out the New South City: https://uncpress.org/book/9780807861882/sorting-out-the-new-south-city/ 

and follow him on Twitter at @historysouth

This week, I am joined by Chrissie Nelson Rotko of Off the Eaten Path Blog, Wynee Bermudez of Wynee's World and Kristen Wile of the Unpretentious Palate to talk how Charlotte area restaurants are fairing with phase 2 Covid-19 restrictions, who's doing a good job at keeping their customers safe and recommendations of favorite Black, Asian and Latino owned restaurants.

This week, I share the story of the most insane real estate transaction that I've ever been apart of and I share a quick recap of the May Charlotte real estate sales figures. But first, I share some of my thoughts in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the feeling that things may change this time.

Since 2014, the Charlotte region has had a housing shortage that is only more exacerbated this year due to Covid-19. This week, I'll explore how the shortage came to be and what is a possible solution.  

Show notes:

• During the episode, I referenced an article citing the number of sales from iBuyers to Institutional Investors: https://www.housingwire.com/articles/47578-with-foreclosures-dwindling-investors-turn-to-direct-buyers-for-new-single-family-rentals/
• iBuyers: A new choice for home Sellers but at what cost https://www.collateralanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CA-RESEARCH-iBuyers-A-new-choice-for-home-sellers-but-at-what-cost.pdf
• I referenced an example I had of the fees of an iBuyer:

The Covid-19 Pandemic has exposed a significant wealth gap that is growing ever wider in Charlotte and our country as a whole. Ely Portio from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute joins me to discuss their latest report and their #WealthGapWednesdays Twitter

Read The Racial Gap in Charlotte Mecklenburg here: http://ui.uncc.edu/sites/default/files/RWTry2.pdf and learn follow along with the related articles here: https://ui.uncc.edu/story/charlotte-mecklenburg-racial-wealth-gap-report

This week, Jonathan is joined by Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler to discuss the "vegas style" Catawba Indian Gaming Casino that was approved in March for Kings Mountain. The economic impact, both for the Catawba tribe and the town, are massive as this will be the closest casino to Charlotte, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg.