A parent stops at a Pineville pond on a Saturday afternoon and lets their kid toss bread to some ducks paddling by. That loaf of bread broke a town ordinance. These are the wild animals North Carolinians could be fined for feeding. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Wildlife-feeding rules and fines vary…
Idaho’s domestic exemption caps in-house well use at 13,000 gallons a day, or 2.8 acre-feet a year, plus irrigation of up to half an acre. Nobody explains that at closing. These are the well and septic surprises that catch Idaho buyers off guard. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Well and septic rules…
Oregon has required a state-approved land use plan in every city and county since 1973, under Senate Bill 100. Buying land there means buying into that system. These are the land use rules that surprise new Oregon property owners. Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Land use, zoning, and permitting rules…
New York City’s Department of Sanitation logged more than 4,000 sidewalk-shoveling violations after a single storm this January. Every city in the state gives you a different amount of time to clear that sidewalk. These are the snow removal rules that catch New Yorkers off guard every winter. Note: This is general information, not legal…
Owning a dog in Maryland comes with an unusual problem: The rules don’t stay put. A quick trip across town can turn something completely acceptable into a surprisingly expensive mistake. These are the dog rules that change from one Maryland town to the next. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Local animal control…
Wisconsin has about 500 emergency room visits a year from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to its Department of Health Services. Storm season is partly why that number is so high. These are the generator mistakes that put Wisconsin households in danger after a storm. 1. Too Close to the House Your generator has to sit…
Alabama’s unemployment rate rose to 3.4% in July, up from 3.2% in June and 2.8% a year earlier, according to the Alabama Department of Labor. A layoff notice is almost never the first thing a worker sees. These are the warning signs Alabamians learn to read before layoffs hit. 1. Employer on the WARN List…
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that aluminum wiring installed before 1972 is 55 times more likely to develop a fire hazard at an outlet than copper wiring. A Fort Worth house wired in 1968 and never touched since is still wired that way today. These are the problems Texans should expect in a…
Florida’s homeowners insurance non-renewal rate rose 280% between 2018 and 2023, the steepest jump of any state, according to an Insurify analysis of a U.S. Senate Budget Committee report. The cause of non-renewal rarely starts with a missed payment. These are the insurance non-renewal triggers Floridians never see coming. Note: This is general information, not…
Anyone holding at least three-fourths of a severed West Virginia mineral tract can sign a lease that binds every other owner, under a 2018 law called the Cotenancy Modernization and Majority Protection Act. Owning a quarter of something isn’t the same as having a say in it. These are the mineral rights surprises that catch…
