Envy Apartment

Space is a precious commodity in New York City, particularly for the parents of young children, and as families grow it can be a major hurdle to find (and afford) the room to accommodate them. Samantha (whose name we've changed to protect her privacy) and her husband, the parents of a four-year-old and a one-year-old, currently own a two-bedroom, one-bath co-op on the Upper East Side , and are wondering whether it's time to move to a larger home.  "We are unsure about the prospect of our next move and whether it would be worth it to move to a rental or buy again, considering the increase in space we need," Samantha says. The couple would ideally like to find a three- bedroom apartment close to a park, in a building with a live-in super or doorman, though a two-bedroom with a separate dining room could work, too. Because of their children, they prefer a building with an elevator, or a first-floor apartment; transit-wise, they're looking for a commute to their job...

Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots." />EXPAND The Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots. Stephen Paulsen Elizabeth Perez loves her trailer park . But if she's ever forced to move, at least she has a back-up plan. A chatty 45-year-old with a wide smile, Perez has lived at and managed the Trinity Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston since 2008. Used mobile homes here typically sell for $12,000 to $38,000, depending on their size and condition, she says. She remembers one woman buying a home for just $2,000, using her IRS refund. The Duval Mobile Home Park first opened in the 1950s. It was purchased last year by Trinity Community Group , a trailer park management company — and Perez worried about the future of the park. “I kept thinking, ‘Shoot, they're going to want to tear it down,’” Perez said. “I was kind of scared.” The company promised it would keep the park operational , according to Perez. Still, Perez accepts...

A federal appeals court has significantly reduced a punitive damages award returned in a lawsuit filed against an apartment complex by a woman who suffered severe brain damage from carbon monoxide poisoning . The case involved injuries suffered by Amber Lompe at her home in the Sunridge Apartments in February 2011, when a gas leak from a furnace at the apartment complex caused her to suffer a severe brain injury from exposure to carbon monoxide . As a result of the leak, carbon monoxide levels in Lompe’s apartment reached 500 parts per million, which is more than ten times higher than what is considered a safe exposure. Ten days after the incident, the complex provided her with a carbon monoxide detector and destroyed the furnace, which she argued at trial was an effort to destroy evidence in the case. At trial before a federal jury in Wyoming, Lompe was awarded $2.65 million in compensatory damages, as well as an additional $25.5 million in punitive damages against Sunridge...