Mold inspections continue in Hampton Roads
January 6th, 2012 | Family housing Hampton Roads Inspections Mold | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Navy this week met with another six families who live in Lincoln Military Housing units in Hampton Roads to review mold inspection reports prepared by an independent licensed and state-certified contractor, Marine Chemist Service, Inc., according to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. No results have yet been made public.
The inspections stem from complaints by more than a dozen families in the region about mold infestations and resultant health issues in their privately managed dwellings — complaints they say did not draw an adequate response until two families went to a local TV station, which reported the issue and drew interest from Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va.
Rigell visited several families — who showed him mold accumulations, squishy floors and photos of blackened drywall collapsed into a bathtub from the ceiling above — and hosted several town hall-style meetings and, along with two other members of Congress, demanded change.
The Navy subsequently contracted with Marine Chemist to conduct independent inspections of 14 homes, and with two other firms to conduct additional inspections. To date, the region says a joint Navy-Lincoln “maintenance task force” has conducted visual inspections for mold at 952 of the 4,300 units in the region.
In addition, 330 Lincoln-managed units have been identified for mold inspections: 240 are requests from residents and 90 were identified from the Task Force teams, according to the region. To date, 139 of the 330 mold inspections have been completed by LMH’s contracted companies.
We’re No. 10!
November 16th, 2011 | Army Family housing Life at Home Navy | Posted by Jenn Rafael
The Naval Academy's neighborhood is the 10th most expensive college town for home-buying. // California State Controller's Office
A survey of home prices in college towns by Coldwell Banker shows that Annapolis, Md., home to the Naval Academy, is the 10th most expensive college town for home-buying.
The College Home Listing Report compared the average listing price for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the towns and cities of the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The average list price for an Annapolis home was $522,420, according to the report, and was 10th behind such cities as No. 2 Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford University, average listing $1,232,0700); No. 3 Honolulu (University of Hawaii, average $779,419) and No. 8 Seattle (University of Washington, average $570,535).
Enlisted members and officers assigned to the academy or neighboring Naval Support Activity Annapolis might experience sticker shock when moving to the pricey shore locale. But basic allowance for housing rates take real estate and rental prices into account, giving a chief with dependents $2,196 a month, while a lieutenant commander with dependents gets $2,763 a month — enough to cover payments on a $400,000 30-year mortgage, depending on interest rates.
So how did Army and Air Force do? West Point, N.Y., home to the U.S. Military Academy, clocked in at 19th, with an average listing of $293,791. Colorado Springs, Colo., near the Air Force Academy, was 45th, with an average listing of $193,968.
The homes compared were listed between August 2010 and August 2011 in 117 markets. (The company noted that Tuscaloosa, Ala., was not included because of damage caused by a tornado in April, and that Bowling Green, Ohio, and Bloomington, Ind., did not meet minimum listing requirements.)
Is your housing area safe?
August 30th, 2011 | Family housing Housing area safety Life at Home Navy Norfolk Naval Station Public Private Venture | Posted by Bill McMichael
In our Sept. 5 issue, on newstands now, we have a report on residents’ concerns over safety in an off-base Navy housing area near Naval Station Norfolk. Using an online Norfolk Police Department database that tracks incidents reported over the previous 90 days, we learned that police had recorded one rape, one aggravated assault, two residential burglaries, four acts of vandalism and one bike theft in the 388-townhome family housing area. The manager of the Ben Moreell Housing Area says those numbers are lower than in surrounding precincts, and he appears to be right. But residents are concerned, say there is more trouble than is reported and give the private security company that is supposed to keep an eye on the area and the Norfolk Police mixed reviews.
How do you rate security in your public private venture or PPV housing area? We’re looking for responses from all over the Navy, not just Norfolk. Feel free to post here or e-mail reporter Bill McMichael at bmcmichael@navytimes.com. Your identity and response will be kept confidential, although we may get back to you for further comment.