For Sale

Here's the question of the day:

Do you think it's possible to purchase an investment property and give a shit about the neighborhood where it resides?




I'm confident that this property will be snapped up by some suburban investor who will soon renovate the building and rent it out.

If past behaviors are anything to go on, the units won't be market rate.

That may or may not be a good thing.

The building next door to this one was beautifully renovated the renters are seemingly good neighbors.

The scuttlebutt is that some if not all of the units are subsidized.

In the scheme of things, who gives a fig if the units are subsidized as long as your neighbors are decent people.

Some would say that building is an anomaly.

Perhaps the owners or property managers exercised proper tenant screening.

Whatever the case may be I will tell you this.

I'm tired of the fortunes of this neighborhood being tied to the whims and wishes of other people.

Finished?

I noticed something interesting when I was walking down the alley the other day.

What? You don't walk down the alley on your block?

How else will you know what's really going on in your neighborhood?

Anyhoo...

I was walking down the alley and noticed that the back windows of the newly renovated apartment building are covered in plywood.

The openings where the back doors should be are covered in plywood as well.

It appears that someone from the inside may not be able to exit to the back porch.

How in God's name can you rent apartments to tenants and not have another way out of the building in case of an emergency?

That ain't right and that ain't safe.

Moreover, that doesn't sound legal.

Debut

Check out my Yo Chicago debut.



Click on the links for Part II & Part III.

Mowed

Are you ready for this?

The last building on the block with an overgrown yard has finally cut their grass.




Foolishness. Just plain foolishness.

While that is a big step in the aesthetic look of the neighborhood, the downside is that now the first floor windows and main entrance has been boarded up.

The grass looks better but the now plywood abounds.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Now the larger question is will the building be rehabbed? If so, will it be rental as well?

I will say, with everyone's grass cut, the block looks very nice and welcoming.

Developing...

Making Amends

It finally happened.

The Roosevelt Collection not only refunded my friend’s earnest money but also his upgrade money.

All in all it took roughly two weeks for the checks to be issues once all the final paperwork was signed.

So The Roosevelt Collection manned up and did the right thing by their purchasers. That, my friends, is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal real estate market.

Keeping your word, providing good customer service---go figure.

Perhaps some folks in Uptown might catch a clue.

Or could it be that the consequences of their actions are slowly but surely about to catch up with them?

Time will tell.

Mystery Solved?

It appears that the mystery of the rehabbed building down the street has been solved.

It’s a rental. A few tenants are already in the building.

I’m gonna be honest with you, I really thought the project was going to go condo.

Why?

The finishes seem above the basic contractor staples that you see throughout most rental buildings.

The floors are gleaming (Real wood? Laminate?) and the appliances are stainless.

You heard me right---stainless.

That’s some high livin’ those kids are doing down there.

All this begs the question, is the building owner renting out the units until the real estate market turns around or is this their first development?

Because who would put high end finishes and a stainless appliance package in a rental?

This ought to be interesting.

…And While We’re At It

I have it on good authority that the Roosevelt Collection is going rental instead of condo due to the housing meltdown.

To those in the know this ain’t exactly groundbreaking news.

My source also tells me that the earnest money is due to be refunded “in a timely manner.”

Now does that mean timely in a “it took you less than 48 hours to cash my check” type of way or timely in “If you piss me off I’ll make you wait for your money---and you’ll be lucky to get it” type of way?

Due to crappy protections afforded to home and condominium buying consumers, will everything be dragged out until the legal statute of limitation to recover earnest monies run out.

*Cough* Theatre District Lofts*Cough*

Time will tell.

But here’s something to ponder during your day.

While the pundits say that the economic pitfalls of this recession are easing, there are those of us out here in the real world who would beg to differ.

Worrying about money is a new thing to some people.

They played by the rules, they saved and invested and didn’t initially worry when they lost their jobs.

But then three months stretched into six and six months into a year.

And despite cutting their spending and living carefully, their money has run out.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, the shit is really hitting the fan.

Down payment money that was flowing so freely a few years ago is now the difference between putting food on the table and having to apply (and be rejected) for a Link card.

That money is the difference between making your mortgage payment and moving in with the relatives.

Yesterday’s yuppie or sink (Single Income No Kids) is today’s marginalized worker.

But marginalized on not, they want their money back.

Unlike other marginalized workers of old, this bunch is a lot more savvy and vocal.

I hypothesize that they will find a way to get their money back.

Whether it’s via social media, networking, writing elected officials or overhauling the whole freaking system, someone is going to make it happen.

‘Cause this time it’s not just the little guy who’s getting his house bulldozed by the city.

Everything’s been flipped on its head and now people are finding themselves in positions their grandparents and parents worked very hard to rise above.

This new class of marginalized worker is not used to being ignored.

Let’s just hope that change will come through positive and productive means and not as a result of chaos and upheaval.

But in the meantime the revolution might be forestalled if people were refunded the earnest money that’s rightfully theirs.

Just a thought.

Uptown Foolishness

The guessing game of the day:

Exactly when will buyers in the unfinished phase (phases?) of the Theatre District Lofts receive their earnest money back?

It's been over a year.

Looks like the lawsuits are starting to pile up concerning this little fiasco.

Just asking...

Oh. My. God.

First we had to see this:




Then we had this:




And as of Friday, finally this:






Nice, eh? But based on past behavior, will they water the lawn so the turf takes to it's new home?

Now will the building be condos or rentals? Affordable? subsidized? market rate? If the building goes condo, will parking be factored into the equation? Who will market the property?

More importantly, who's the developer?

This story is moving forward (with a nice lawn might I add) but still developing.

Development Update?

The old fence has been removed from the front of the building and looking through the window, any passerby on the street can see a visible ceiling fan box.

This begs a couple of questions:

Is the building going condo or not?

Whatever it's fate, when will the construction be completed?

When, for the love of God, is the landscaping portion of the rennovation gonna happen? Overgrown grass and weeds are NOT attractive.

And last but not least...

They must have great security to leave a pricey looking ceiling fan box visible in the window. Normally that serves as a red flag to theives who prey on construction sites.

Developing...

Question Mark

I haven't personally seen any work being done on any of these buildings in several months. In the case of the trio of buildings on 65th place I haven't seen workers on the premesis since early 2008.

It goes without saying that the Living Green Lofts were never built. That's the picture of the huge vacant lot and the pile of wood that used to be the sign annoucing the development.

The question is can the 'hood (and the city for that matter) survive another round of broken promises and broken buildings?


This building's residents have been MIA. I suspected that this was going to be converted to condos but nothing has hapened to indicate which course the current owner will take.



Brand new development on 65th Place that sits empty. It's only a matter of time before squatters or a bad element take hold.



The sign for Living Green Lofts sits in pieces after the development was never built.



The vacant lot where the Living Green Lofts were supposed to be built.

Post Script

Just wanted to keep you all in the loop on a couple of recent developments:


Per my expectations, the driver responsible for my latest bootleg cab experience has been found liable of violating the municipal code of Chicago.

I bet you he won't ask another person to prepay if they happen to live on the south side.

When will people learn that one way or the other, that they'll pay the price for their ignorance.



My Developer, Carlton Knight, goes back to court on the 12th of this month. He wil appear before the Hon. William Pileggi in regards to the buidling violations in the Marquette Road condo development.

Naturally, I'm sure there will be yet another loophole for him to slip through to not comply with the building codes.

Go figure.

Rumor has it that he was granted more time by Judge Pileggi due to the fact that he was making an effort to move forward on the work.

I wonder if the good judge would be as understanding with Mr. Knight if he knew the intersting circumstances surrounding the single family townhome at 32nd & Rhodes.

Now I will say that my time has been spent the past year or so scratching around, looking for and keeping multiple jobs.

So my Inch High Private Eye game may be off a bit.

But the last time I checked, Mr. Knight did not have a valid City of Chicago real estate developer's license.

Furthermore, the property at 32nd & Rhodes was supposed to continue to be a hole in the ground until Mr. Knight got his seemingly questionable permits approved by way of a legitimate developer's license.

Clearly that wasn't the case.

Per this listing the single family townhome is nearing completion and delivery.

Now Mr. Knight could have applied for and received his real estate developer's license.

He could have sold the property and another limited liability company (or corporation) may have scooped it up.

This project may be totally on the up and up.

Yet if Mr. Knight is still heavily involved---and I tend to think he is---I would consider his past real estate efforts and total up the wins for the owners in the won/loss column.

You tell me who comes out wanting.

So let's play hypothetical.

If I'm a "real estate developer" who dosen't have a City of Chicago real estate developer's license and yet I still get permits and the like pushed through one of two things springs to mind---I either said that the development was for myself and turn around and put it on the commercial market

OR

Things are not as squeeky clean and monitored as the city would like us to believe.

Hypothetically speaking of course.



Lastly, you've never seen a happier woman than me watching the salt trucks go down our humble little street last night.

What was previously a two block ice rink prior to a drastic turn around in snow removal and salting policy has now become a passable throughfare.

Which is good considering I'm all gimpy from my recent tumble.

Development?

Lately there's been a little too much room for cars on our street.

Normally it's nuts to buts attempting to park.

I don't have a car, but living down here for seven years I know that if you're not home and parked by 6:30, you'll be parking on the next block.

Something wasn't adding up.

Coincidentally, the trash on the parkway has dropped dramatically.

It wasn't until I walked east toward Stony Island and looked at the building next to the Astor Properties debacle did I figure it out:

It's empty.

I haven't seen anyone parking in front of or going in or out of the building in the past two weeks.

Because I normally take the Metra to work, I rarely pass by the other end of the block. But when I put my thinking cap on, it all made sense.

I bet you that building is going condo.

And as we all know, depending on who buys the units and/or who moves in that may or may not be a good thing for the 'hood.

If the Astor Properties building is any indication, we may have another weed choked yard in the near future.

I'll keep you posted.

Hey Astor Properties...

Cut the freaking grass already.

And while you're at it, pick up the trash in the yard. If you don't, 5th Ward Streets & San will do it for you and charge you for their time.

Can you believe I have to look at this shit everyday?

Now do you gentle readers understand why I'm not a fan of non resident owners?

Take the wheel Jesus.

65th Place

So what's up with the work stoppage on 65th Place?

The three buildings on the south west corner are mostly completed but haven't been finished. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen anyone on the worksite for months.

And while we're on the subject, not only hasn't Living Green lofts broke ground, but it's website has gone MIA. Oddly enough, a random listing or two can be found if you poke around searching real estate listings.

Everything seemed so promising just a scant year ago.

I believe that developers are feeling the heat from this real estate downturn. They very well may not be able to afford to finish and market new construction.

What ever the case, it would be nice if the buildings could be completed so they don't attract the wrong element.

That's all we need----higher end abandoned buidlings.

And I Thought I Was Pissed…

Every time I turn around I continue to get love from the blogosphere.

This time it comes from a similarly themed blog named bewarethebuilder.blogspot.com.

Oooh whee----Mr. Thomas Doyle is one angry condo purchaser. He’s one pissed off brother.

And he’s my new idol.

Not only is he fighting the good fight against his developer, but his developer Bryton Development LLC and it’s principal Kevin Bryar is suing him for defamation.

Defamation----that gets me kinda hot.

Now I’ve been through Mr. Doyle’s blog and I see a great many similarities in our experiences and I feel for him

Beating your head against the wall when it comes to this condo thing ain’t no joke.

Questionable construction quality and apathetic neighbors will drive you to drink.

You went ahead and took the plunge and took part in the American Dream and threw down a chunk of money to purchase your own home.

I was shitty when I didn’t get my full condo value for my paltry $125,000.

So I get that Mr. Doyle, also know as Truth In Advertising, is beyond incensed where his $390,000 is concerned.

Personally speaking, I’d launch a full scale war if that type of cheddar was involved.

So I say to Mr. Doyle and those of you who may follow in our steps, call it like you see it----but with caution.

Documentation, documentation, documentation.

Let me make myself abundantly clear----make sure you can document your claims.

Oh yeah, no matter how tempted you are to call the people you write about names and offer your opinion, resist.

Well, mostly. Sometimes you have to slip in a "shifty" here and a "scumbag" there to make your point.

Yeah, I name my developer and write about Mt. Carmel but majority of my posts are based in fact and can be verified by court documents or pictures.

My posts about random neighbors and the Jenkins Boys notwithstanding.

Note: Woody + Cell phone camera = trouble. I’m a picture snappin’ broad. Don’t do anything dirty, I will put your shit on blast.

Anyhoo…

For those of you who have been reading from the beginning you’ll remember that at first I didn’t name names---it took quite a while before Mr. Knight’s name was mentioned. I didn’t even refer to Mt. Carmel by name until earlier this year.

My intent in starting my blog was two fold---As a form of therapy and to inform others of some of the pitfalls on condo home ownership.

Everything else just kinda fell into place.

But as you all know egregious acts call for egregious actions. Hence names were named.

But through it all I adhered to my number one rule---be able to prove it through documentation.

Ladies and gentlemen, avail yourself of secrets hiding in plain sight. The freedom of information act was made to uncover potential deception.

Or at the very least be able to prove a pattern of behaviors that will lend credibility to any future acqusations you may make.

Ladies and gentlemen those government links on the left side aren’t there because I needed space filler.

Hell, I think that the kids at the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office almost know me by name.

I find most if not all of my documentation right there.

You’d be surprised what you can find in legal proceedings in the Cook county court system.

Actually, you’d be surprised at what you can find when you start leafing through bankruptcy filings at the federal building.

But I’m sure you get the point.

It’s all right in front of you. Dig through, make copies and factually post your findings. Throw in your voice and you have a blog.

Now I’m not sure how this brouhaha is gonna turn out for Mr. Doyle.

But I would think that if he can properly document past behaviors and the current situation, he may stand a chance of defeating this lawsuit.

What do I know, I’m not a lawyer (even though I know an ass load of them).

This has all of the makings of a possible 1st amendment test case.

Time will tell if I’m right.

But I’ll tell you this; I’m running down to the clerk’s office tomorrow to get the 411. I’ll be the one at the copy machine.

The Block Is Hot

The fallout from the subprime crisis has been all over the news since last summer.

Faithful readers will remember how I wrote about my own personal drama in this forum with my own adjustable rate mortgage.

It would have been easier for me to get into a size ten pair of skinny jeans than to refi nance my mortgage last year.

I know that things are still bad.

I predict that the market won’t straighten out until late ’09 or early 2010.

Despite those grim predictions, I get a feeling that things are looking up for the old hoody hoo.

Realtor’s trying to get rid of excess inventory in this market shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But it seems like there’s a breath of fresh air in recent listings. And when I say breath of fresh air I mean new condo construction.

Not only are there newly built inventory on 65th place, Dorchester and Kimbark but methinks there may be a real estate turn around lurking amidst this downturn.

Obviously it’s not over until the units sells but as a nearly seven year resident of Woodlawn, the price points of the current condo inventory thrill me to pieces.

The new condos behind me are listing from the high 200’s.

For someone who bought her humble little cold water flat for considerably less, when the market does turn around ,those of us who saw Woodlawn’s potential and bought in early will reap the benefits.

And when I say reap I mean raking in the scads of cash when I finally choose to sell.

While I’m not a fan of our city’s Olympic efforts and I don’t think we’ll get the games---if we did, the real estate market for the south east side is going to blow off the map.

But for now it’s all just speculation.

I feel it coming though---change is afoot.

Skokie's Come Calling

Yes, the real estate market is in the shitter.

This should come as no surprise to those of you who may have tried to refi or purchase a home in the past 12 months.

Apparently someone forgot to tell the new owners of one of the vintage apartment buildings down the street from me.

I should have known something was up when parking became a little bit easier.

One day the building was full, the next---no one was there.

And then the hammering started.

After a basic search online of county records and the ever reliable Everyblock, I’m relieved to see that the current owners have received the proper permits for the renovations that they’re performing.

There was no way that all of that hammering wasn’t going to attract attention.

Well at least attention from me.

But now the question begs who are the current owners and is the place going to be condoed out?

At first glance, it seems that Astor Properties out of Skokie put the building in a land trust but as we all know, that could be a front for yet another limited liability corporation. I won’t be able to tell you until I take a trip downtown to request copies of the deed and building permits.

But if everything is on the up and up, why haven’t they posted the building permit in a conspicuous place?

Time will tell if this outfit is legit and plans to turn out quality condos or at the very least a quality building.

I’m cautiously optimistic that this renovation will turn out well and add value to our little ‘hood.

I hope that the design of both the interior and exterior stay within the existing standard.

Believe it or not Woodlawn has design standards.

Aside from the people who want to treat our neighborhood like a rubbish bin, I really do live on a pretty block. Most of the 100 plus year old buildings are in reasonably good shape despite years of neglect.

That’s my nice way of saying that I hope the new owner(s) doesn’t paint the brick facade pink and plant huge sunflowers all over the yard.

Don’t laugh, I’ve actually seen that.

Because between you and me it would be nice to see that building’s lawn become a patch of green happiness.

Just When I Thought I'd Seen It All

Help Me Jesus.

Just when I thought my developer was---oh how shall I put it?----horrible; along comes this joker to win the sleazy developer of the year award.

My heart goes out to this person’s business partners, employees and most of all anyone who put down escrow money on a new unit.

As if times aren’t difficult enough for folks without this shit happening.

Makin' It Rain

I realized that it’s been awhile since I’ve reported on the antics of my favorite developer, Carlton Knight.

Last September, I wrote a post about a building that’s being converted by Mr. Knight needed major corrective work, despite the fact it was currently on the market.

According to DCAP an application was submitted to replace an existing porch.

I think any rational person can agree that it was a step in the right direction.

But that little voice inside my head told me there had to be more to this story. So I took a little trip down the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office to dig up any possible paperwork.

Let me tell you folks, that was the best $1.75 I ever spent on a bus ride. The court papers did not disappoint.

So I don’t bore you I’ll cite a few samplings from the 27 page filing:


“Defendants Carlton Knight and the 1512-1514 E. Marquette LLC (‘The LLC’) are the developers of the subject property.”

“Beginning on or about January 2006, Defendants Carlton Knight and 1512-1514 E. Marquette converted the 6 unit apartment building that is the subject property to condominiums. That conversion required extensive renovations.”

“Defendants Carlton Knight, the Trust, and the LLC financed the renovations with a construction loan valued at $1,202,000, which included approximately $600,000 for the acquisition of the property.”

“Defendant Carlton Knight applied for several permits for the property. Defendant Carlton Knight failed to secure a certificate of occupancy for the property.”


The best part comes in the following eight counts the city alleges against Mr. Knight:

1. Failure to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy.
2. 56 separate building code violations.
3. Fines aren’t enough motivation to correct these issues, the city wants to building put into a receivership.
4. Making false statements of material fact.
5. Failure to obtain a general contractor’s license.
6. Failure to obtain a residential real estate developer’s license.
7. Failure to obtain a business license as a general contractor.
8. Failure to obtain a business license as a residential real estate developer.

My particular favorite is in count 4 (false statements of material fact) the city alleges:

“On August 18th, 2006, Carlton Knight applied for a permit for work being done on the subject property with the Department of Construction and Permits.”

“The application stated that the project was valued at under $10,000. The true value of the project was over $400,000.”

“Carlton Knight failed to disclose the true costs of work undertaken to rehabilitate the property when he falsified the amount of the rehabilitation project, and as a result violated 1-21-010 (2006).”

“Carlton Knight has violated and continues to violate section 1-21-010 of the general provisions of the municipal code by his continued failure to disclose the true costs of the work undertaken as required by DCAP and his knowingly falsifying his original application for a permit.”

I know each and every one of your are shocked by all of these allegations.

And just so you don’t die of curiosity, a few of the 56 separate building code violations range from the condition of the back porch, to inadequate lighting at an exterior entrance to the basement.

I cant imagine why the city would have a problem with various electrical code issues and failure to arrange mechanical ventilation or warm air heating system final inspection when the work was completed---do you?

I have to give the Department of Buildings and the Coporation Counsel mad props as they just seemed to finally inspect and document everything I’ve been writing about for the past two and a half years.

Only time will tell if the repairs are made or if Mr. Knight squeaks through another loophole.

Methinks the city just “made it rain” all over shady bootleg developers.

'Bout time.