Love Where You Live
March is Disability Awareness Month in Indiana. This year’s theme is “Love Where You Live,” a reminder that communities thrive when we all take an active part. And, like many things in life, thriving communities are a work in progress.
What do you think of when you think about accessible communities? Those parking spaces close to the door at the mall? Automatic door openers? The Braille buttons on the ATM?
In the years since the Americans With Disabilities Act became law, great strides have been made in making public places and spaces more accessible. Restroom stalls, doorways and entries, ramps, crosswalks, curb cuts, walkways-all are now designed to make the community more accessible to people with mobility limitations, limited vision or other disabilities. To love your community, you have to be able to participate in it.
We’ve made great strides, but there is still more work to be done. There are still many places that are not easily accessible.
Which is how I found out about WheelMap.
WheelMap is a free app for iPhone or Android that maps the accessibility of places and spaces in communities all over the world. The app came from a simple idea, a young man in Germany was trying to meet his friends for dinner, but had trouble finding a place that would provide entry for his wheelchair. Since 2010, more than half a million people have used WheelMap to locate and rate places and spaces worldwide in 22 languages-including places here in Indianapolis.
The app provides a way for users to rate the accessibility of public space using a simple scale of green (easily accessible), yellow (partial) or red (not accessible). If you’ve ever used GoogleMap, Yelp! or NearMe, you will find WheelMap has a familiar look and feel. You can use the app to find accessible services and locations, rate the spots and even upload photos.
So here is my Disability Awareness Month challenge to you. Take a few minutes to download the free app and go explore Central Indiana. Visit some of your favorite spaces and help expand the accessibility map for our community.
And then, you will have helped even more of us love where we live.
About Wheelmap
Wheelmap is based on the free world map OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. All crowdsourced OpenStreetMap data is published under the Open Database License (ODbL) from Open Data Commons (ODC). The OpenStreetMap site is supported by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, a non-profit organization registered in England. - See more at: http://wheelmap.org/en/faqs/#sthash.ThRlT3M7.dpuf
http://www.cicoa.org/media-center/conversations-cicoa-blog/2015/03/17/82-love-where-you-live.html
Learn About HOA Rules
HOA stands for Home Owners Association. A very important term that everyone needs to be familiar with in the US Real Estate sector is the HOA rules. HOA rules are the rules formed and laid down by the HOA. There would be an HOA for each and every development that comes up in the US real estate sector and each HOA would have its own HOA rules. These rules are applicable to each and every member who is residing in the development. It is important for everyone to read, understand and comply with the HOA rules relevant for the property. These rules contain a list of all that one is allowed to do and not allowed to do while living in the development. All HOAs are recognized and approved by law. These associations have enough powers to ensure that all the members obey and comply with the HOA rules failing which the HOA reserves the right to evict the culprit. As soon as one buys a property into a development, one becomes a member of the HOA of the development and starts paying the membership fee of the HOA.
Compliance to the HOA rules is in the interests of all the members of the HOA. The residents staying in the development gain the most by properly framed HOA rules. These HOA rules are formed keeping in mind interest and well being of all its members. These rules pertain to the maintenance, housekeeping, landscaping, security etc of the development. The HOA rules of the development typically do not allow its members to change the external features of their condo so as to disturb the uniformity with the other condos in the development. Typically all HOA rules have a say on whether the residents living in the development are allowed to keep pets, what are all the areas available to children for playing, how the residents dispose their garbage and distribution of parking lots.
The HOA rules at times are perceived to be a hindrance in terms of the space available to the residents. They are seen as something that curbs the freedom of the members. In case one feels that it would be difficult to abide to the HOA rules of the development, it is best avoided to buy a property in that development. The fact however remains, if it were not be for HOA rules the development would be a chaotic place to stay wherein fights and arguments would be a common sight. It would not be very pleasant residing in such a development. One can easily have a sense of how easy or difficult would be to comply with the HOA rules by speaking to the existing members and taking their feedback.
The objective of each HOA is to make the stay of all its members comfortable and peaceful. Before one decided to buy into a development, one must how look at how good the HOA for that development is. A strong and a cohesive HOA works in the interests of its members and allows for peaceful co-existence amongst all its members.
BAGI: Permits are up - starting the year off on a high note
Reminder: If you have not submitted your BAGI dues, please do so as soon as possible. If you have questions, contact Rosemary at [email protected]
January building permit reports indicate that in the Greater Indianapolis Nine-County area, Single-Family Building Permits increased 6 percent compared to 2014 numbers. In January 2015, there were 318 new home permits issued compared to 300 in 2014. Additionally, according to the National Association of Home Builders, all segments of the market—single-family homes, condominiums and multifamily rental—registered increases compared to the same quarter a year ago. The single-family index increased six points to a level of 54, which is the highest fourth-quarter reading since the inception of the index in 2008 and the 13th consecutive quarter of year over year improvements.
“An overall improving economy in Central Indiana is a result of the stronger housing market,” says Steve Lains, CEO of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis. “Residential construction is an often overlooked component of a region’s overall economic growth and health. Historical trends prove that the strength of an area’s overall economy is predicated on the strength and diversity of its housing market,” says Lains.
