Exemptions to the Rule include:

1.      Repair/maintenance work where the disturbed area is no larger than 6 sq. ft. of interior painted surface, or 20 sq. ft. of exterior surface;

2.      A certification that the work area is free of lead-based paint (as determined using an EPA recognized test kit, and the kits they sell at Home Depot & Lowes do not qualify)

3.      Renovations by an owner to their own residence. This assumes that the owner is doing the work, not having it done by a property manager or contractor “friend”

4.      Some housing may be exempt if it is shown that no child under the age of 6 or pregnant woman resides or regularly visits there. Check with your attorney to see if you are exempt.

You can view the rule at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-TOX/2008/April/Day-22/t8141.pdf and you can also find information and sample checklists at www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#remodeling.

While the national housing and retail markets remain volatile, two recent rankings show that the region’s housing and retail markets are outperforming many metro areas.

A recent report by Forbes magazine ranked METRO DENVER REAL ESTATE the nation’s sixth-best housing market. The ranking is based on factors that measure the overall drop in prices, the deceleration (or acceleration) of home price declines, and the amount of equity lost by homeowners.

A study by Madison Marquette shows that METRO DENVER REAL ESTATE is less likely to struggle with “distressed” retail real estate than many other metropolitan areas. The study ranks 63 metro areas based on retail vacancy, the velocity of increases in vacancy, net absorption, the inventory pipeline, and pre-leasing.

METRO DENVER REAL ESTATE ranked 22nd among the 63 areas. The S&P/Case-Shiller 10-City and 20-City composite Home Price Indices ended 2008 with record annual declines of 19.2 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.

The DENVER REAL ESTATE index fell in December, but it ended the year with the smallest annual loss (-4 percent) among the 20 cities. Metro Denver jurisdictions issued roughly 9,400 building permits in 2008, down 36 percent from approximately 14,700 permits issued in 2007.

METRO DENVER REAL ESTATE foreclosure trends are also improving, and the foreclosure indicator was one of two to move in both a positive monthly and annual direction in this report. Overall, four of 18 economic indicators moved in a positive monthly direction, compared to three indicators in the prior report.

Consistent with the prior four reports, four indicators moved in a positive annual direction. In Metro Denver, January foreclosure filings declined 25.7 percent from the prior year. The count of filings fell between December and January in each Metro Denver county except Adams County and the City and County of Denver.