Living Above the Shop: 600 W. Drummond in Lincoln Park
If you’ve ever walked down Clark Street in Lincoln Park, you inevitably passed by the Lincoln Park Commons building, or, better known as “the Best Buy building” at Drummond and Clark.
The actual address for the building is 600 W. Drummond. The units were built in 2003-2004 with upgraded finishes such as all marble baths.
This 2-bedroom corner unit is generously sized at 1314 square feet plus a large terrace. Parking is available.
Is this a good price for the area? Shops, restaurants and transportation await you on the street below.
Karin Magnuson at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #319: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1314 square feet plus a terrace
- Sold in June 2004 for $410,000 (looks like parking was included)
- Currently listed for $449,000 plus $35,000 for parking
- Assessments of $372 a month
- Taxes of $4666
- Central Air
- Marble baths
Ha! When will sellers get the memo: “No appreciation for you!”
325 would be the absolute HIGH end of what this place might go for. GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES, SELLERS.
No I disagree. Its new, its in a prime location, it has all the amenities and even a Gold Nugget nearby. I’m gonna say 400k with parking. Next..
” Its new, its in a prime location, it has all the amenities and even a Gold Nugget nearby. I’m gonna say 400k with parking.”
Yeah, even Stevo would agree this one’s a pre-determined loser–it’s new construction on a major street. The seller has to expect a loss–it’s just a matter of limiting it.
Aren’t those assessment a little steep for a low-amenity, newer building?
BTW, is that really the tax amount for a 2BR, 1300 sqft condo with the owner’s exemption? If so, thank you condo owwners for keeping my taxes down.
$400k in the bubble world; $250-$300k after capitulation.
The listing calls the 7 x 3 balcony a “walk-out roof deck patio” lol
I’d be broke if I lived above a Best Buy. I wonder if that house comes with a discount!
OMFG the cube-mate who is trying to sell their place is very familiar with the resales in their building and bought in 2004. This is pretty funny to witness/overhear firsthand.
Eavesdropping on this is better than cribchatter. Homedelete I don’t know how you get through the day keeping a straight face, I guess its a good thing I don’t have a job facing these FBs or I would be laughing at them to their face.
Depending on your personal tastes, the proximity to Wiener’s Circle either adds or subtracts $50k to/from the fair market price.
“The listing calls the 7 x 3 balcony a “walk-out roof deck patio” lol”
The 7×3 refers to the storage area.
Bob, I just tell them to file bankruptcy and walk away. Then due to various circumstances, many of my client’s legal bills are paid by someone other than my clients (no it’s not legal aid), so, I also promise to defend my clients in the foreclosure. I promise them a year, a year and a half and sometimes two years without paying the mortgage before moving out. There’s no equity in the property, your credit score sucks anyways so who really cares if you have a foreclosure and a bk? what difference does it make? pay your bills on time for the next 3 years and you’ll be back to a 650 or 675 soon anyway.
for $485,000 (adding in cost of parking spot) someone could get a 3 BR w/ a private roof top deck! granted it may not be lincoln park, but somewhere *equally* derirable.
No I”m not pre-paid legal aid. I don’t want to say any more than that.
I wonder if that is the bonus for the toxic seepage, this whole block was empty for years, becasue no one could afford the cleanup from the old factory that was there, then one day, without removing an inch of soil, they start building this complex on top of it
with the third eye you grow living here you can probably see the future, or through walls, or maybe girls blouses
Budd-
I would hope the Wiener’s Circle detracts 50K after their food violations…
Anyone ever ask for a milkshake there? you’re in for a “treat”
Ahahaha I heart Weiner Circle!
i saw this unit. the layout was typical new construction with no dining room.
the outdoor space was strange – as you can see in the foto. all the neighbors have simillar little concrete patios with no fences separating their decks from the rest of the stone-covered roof area. one obnoxious dog owner would ruin the entire thing.
i have to agree with homedelete on telling sellers to just drag it out. often times you can’t get any deals worked out with the bank and the seller is pretty fucked on other bills too so at least they have a place to live while they try and reorder their lives. sadly as a realtor i don’t get any money when they go that route 🙁 im curious… how can you stretch a foreclosure out to 2 years?
like anyplace near a restaurant i would visit this unit a number of times to make sure prevailing winds dont tend to blow in your direction. I once had a friend who i tried to warn of taking a place right behind a JJ Fish. the intense clinging smell of fryolator can really ruin your little summer cocktail soiree. if the agent doesnt want to take the time to do a few extra showings i would take it as a bad sign
Perfect location. You can walk everywhere and the smelly Clark bus will get you to work in about 20 minutes. However that 2004 price was a ripoff. And for a man to live above a Best Buy is like making a woman live above Neiman Marcus, far too much temptation lol. I think they will get close to their 2004 price just because of the location.
“how can you stretch a foreclosure out to 2 years?”
First you file an affirmative defense for ‘lack of standing’, the bank files a motion to strike, that takes 3 months; the you file some discovery asking for the loan documents, that takes months, then you drag out the motion for judgment, then sale, the ask for stays on the order of possession, basically a lot of going to court. lots of procedural stuff. It’s not something I do regularly and only in certain cases. Most of the time the clients voluntarily leave.
Haha I wouldn’t leave if I was the homedebtor. I’m not a fan of lawyers but at least they didn’t F up our economy. I’d rather pay lawyer fees and camp out for a cool couple of years. I’d even invite my friends over to live there when eviction day came as I read that if someone is living there that isn’t on the eviction notice then it has to be re-scheduled. And you better believe I’d be throwing big parties and trashing the place as eviction day came near. I’d even leave a note for the banker thanking them for the rent free living for however long I was there.
The latest thing homedebtors are doing is stealing water meters. There’s no use for them, there’s no black market for them, they’re extremely easy to track, they’re not worth anything….but it takes an REO attorney weeks, if not months, to get a new water meter installed, so I guess it’s just a huge PITA for the bank. In Chicago sellers must pay the water bill current to close; to get a water cert you have to have a water meter; and if there’s no meter then the property won’t close….so it just sits vacant. Absolutely hilarious..
“Absolutely hilarious”
Yeah. Really funny. That’s your money, too, Bob and HD. Remember, we *all* own the banks’ bad assets. So when some jackass destroys their foreclosed house, or steals a water meter, it’s coming out of your pocket, too. Have a great day!
Hey don’t blame me for stealing the water meter; you have to laugh at the absurdity of it all; this situation is so absurd even Camus would have to laugh….if you don’t you’ll lose your mind…
“And you better believe I’d be throwing big parties and trashing the place as eviction day came near.”
Reeks of class…
Bob’s right, it’s every man for himself out there. The bank is out there looking to f’ you, and you may as well f’ them right now. Right now the banks and insurance companies are f’in the whole country with the bailouts, guess who’s paying for that, so f’ the banks right back. Of course when I’m in the capacity of representing a bank which occasionally happens I take a position completely opposite to what I stated previously and I try to f’ the homedebtor as bad as possible for trying to f’ the bank in the first place. It’s a jungle out there and you have to make sure you don’t get eaten alive.
anon(tfo),
I could care less if its taxpayer monies. I was against the bailouts. Actually I take some amusement at watching everyone who was supportive of the bailout’s taxpayer dollars go to waste.
Put me on a jury of someone who trashed the place, took the water meter and stripped the pipes and see if it doesn’t come back locked every time or not guilty.
The system is so badly broken I am sympathetic to the little guy getting his piece of the action, too. Its like if you let a vandal into your house, really: the banks gave the keys to them, they reap what they sow.
You can try the transitive property and that “but its not the banks reaping the consequences” thats all gibberish tome. I don’t care if the government decided to change the game. The way I see it people and institutions should be made to sleep in the bed they made. F the banks. They created this mess I won’t be happy until their headcount is down significantly more on a percentage basis than the overall economy.
Throw a party, trash the place, it just lowers the price for the eventual purchaser. Which lowers the price for comps. Which makes homes affordable for the rest of us going forward. Which also makes someone buy the home at a price that cash flows so someone can comfortably rent.
Ah the slippery slope.. ME TOO!!! I remember talking about that with you, HD, many months ago when I wouldn’t tell you my sale prices. Slippery Slope. America on one big GIANT slide. Everyone wants to join and no one wants to get a rag and start cleaning up the mess.
Let’s all just shit on the floor at once. Life at the lowest common denominator.
No thanks!
The brilliance in this room is overpowering.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva….Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer….guess where we are in the cycle…from the ashes new economies and new wealth will be created.
BOb ” I’m not a fan of lawyers but at least they didn’t F up our economy.”
Depends on who you speak to. Ask Doctors if lawyers have made their medical malpractice premiums go up or down…
No offense to HD and any lawyers… I thought it was funny though…
“The way I see it people and institutions should be made to sleep in the bed they made.”
But not the people trashing the house, right Bob. They’re the innocent victoms of the big bad banks. Or are they the “livin’ the dream yups” you so despise?
Nihilist. How you going to buy that sweet pad in McK Park if everyone says FTW? Your financial prudence won’t mean squat.
“Depends on who you speak to. Ask Doctors if lawyers have made their medical malpractice premiums go up or down…”
Hell, ask the bankers “who structured the CDOs?”.
HD.. and out of the swamp grows the Lotus Blossom… You hittin my Hookah?
“Nihilist. How you going to buy that sweet pad in McK Park if everyone says FTW? Your financial prudence won’t mean squat.”
Actually easier. The downturn is good for affordability, I just saw a short-sale/foreclosure in BPV that had some “repairs already done” listed for 440k. It sold for mid-600s in 2006. My guess is the home-debtor did a little “renovation” prior to the bank taking possession cuz its only got 2 bathrooms per the MLS but used to have 4. I’m not adverse to a fixer upper.
So at the end of the day my nihilism is actually founded in self-interest as well. The worse it gets the better house I’ll be able to afford in 3-5 years. In fact the worse it gets it will be moved up closer to the three year timeframe.
A falling tide doesn’t affect all boats equally. I’m positioned okay overall and don’t really like the government changing the rules of the game when the chessgame isn’t going the way of one side. But we all know how little effect they can really have at the end of the day so lets just wait it out and twiddle our thumbms 😀
My personal philosophy towards pretty much everything in life is a unique mix of taoism, nihilism and existentialism, this economic crisis included. but now i’m getting off topic… back to work
“You hittin my Hookah?”
Ze’s is obviously Lebowskiism.
Jewdhist, actually.
“A falling tide doesn’t affect all boats equally.”
You missed my point. You’re rooting (or routing, as DB would have said) for a collapse of social order. If that happens–if everyone says FTW–your dollars won’t mean much.
Those who will be affected most will be the not poor (the poor have little to lose) and the not really rich (the really rich can buy security)–i.e., you and me.
That’s funny Ze b/c I read once that a majority of Buddhist converts were previously Jewish.
anon(tfo) we’re not rooting for a systemic breakdown of society although a little chaos is a good thing. Keeps us on our toes.
I suspect anon(tfo) works in financial services as he’s quick to equate a few hundred thousand bankers being out of a job with a systemic collapse of our society. LOL!
Remarkably enough, the bankers bluff has worked thus far to keep their insolvent institutions from paying the consequences of years of very poor decision making and risk management. My bet is it can’t go on forever.
“I suspect anon(tfo) works in financial services as he’s quick to equate a few hundred thousand bankers being out of a job with a systemic collapse of our society.”
No. I’m equating letting people off the hook for criminal destruction of property, defending their “right” to be an antisocial twit, even, with societal breakdown. If I’m ever on a jury for a home invasion in McK Park, I’ll make sure it’s a hung jury–that’s what I’m talking about.
The bankers–I don’t much care what happens to the bankers, other than I hope there is a clawback of bonuses coming. Anyway, there aren’t anywhere close to a “few hundred thousand” bankers**, unless you think that mailroom guys, janitors and retail bank tellers are “bankers”. The vast majority of the people who work for banks are either retail customer service or back office people who had no more to do with the bubble than the construction workers building the houses. You pillory these working/middle class people people and defend antisocial activity. Like I said–nihilist.
**First reasonable number I could find–Q1-2006, total I-Bank employment was 173,430 (which includes everyone drawing a check from those entities). Total “banking” employment in 2006, (not sure if it includes I-Banks) was 1,825,000, of which 66% were “Office & Admin Support” and something on the order of 150,000 (maximum) were “bankers” (sales + “financial managers”) See http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs027.htm .
anon(tfo),
There will be no clawback of bonuses. I’ll leave the lawyers to explain how impossible that is at this point. The only thing left is for the heads to roll, baby.
And please don’t assume that I’d be stupid enough to live on the south side in a nice pad and not have a state of the art security system! While there are nice homes there its not exactly Mayberry.
Unlike the bankers I’m not going to be stupid when it comes to protecting _my property_. Don’t forget they gave the keys to the vandals themselves with their _lax underwriting standards_.
And for you to decry bankers as working class is laughable man. There are few janitors and mailroom clerks–all that stuffs outsourced. And bankers have a more stringent dress code than me. “Working class banker” is an oxymoron.
Bob:
Done with this, much to the relief of anyone who might still be reading. You’re intentionally misreading** what I’m posting.
**Hopefully.
“i saw this unit. the layout was typical new construction with no dining room.”
Bubbleboi: There is plenty of space for a diningroom table in the livingroom/kitchen area (as can be seen from the pictures.)
I don’t know of any new construction buildings from the last 10 years that have built condos with an actual separate dining room. No one wants a dining room. (except maybe in the upper luxury price point- certainly not in the $400,000 price point.)
But this unit is spacious enough to fit quite a big couch and the table in the common living area.
One other thing I forgot to put that I like about this home: as someone with aging parents who might one day be in an old folks home there is a luxury one in this building on the ground level.
When my parents get to that age an amenity like this would be HUGE for me if we could afford the old folks home for them on the ground floor. Something to consider as if you’re in the 400k+ pricepoint your folks might be in the luxury old folks home segment, too.
Bob:
What is the safety factor of that groud level unit?
Convienient if you something brakes ie flat screen tv, microwave, or you want the new blu ray season of 24….I’d perfer to keep my shopping and living seperate though.
The Sunrise Assisted Living facility is actually in an adjoining building.
I walk by this place all the time as I make my way up Clark to Duke of Perth. It’s kind of a scroungy stretch of the avenue, and the long blankness of Best Buy isn’t exactly welcoming, but there’s a great empanada place just south of Wrightwood. And, of course, Frances’s deli makes a dang fine meatloaf sandwich.
Do some HOA have any say in what retail tenants occupy ground floor spaces? I ask this because I was shocked BestBuy was going into the old Paul Stuart space at the bottom of the Hancock Building. Maybe I am old fashioned, but it would seem that some of these tenants can change how future buyers feel about the condos above. Would you rather live above a Cheesecake Factory and Bestbuy, or above a more quiet high end retail store or restaurant?
Haha Morgan we’re entering the GD 2.0. They better take whatever tenants they can at this point!
Heck at this rate they’d be happy to host White Castle in a year or two’s time.
Morgan:
I dunno if Hancock condo owners have veto over the retailer, but there are 40+ floors and a private elevator separating them from the retail tenants…so why would one care? Cheesecake diners can scream at the top of their lungs and residents will not hear them.
“Do some HOA have any say in what retail tenants occupy ground floor spaces? I ask this because I was shocked BestBuy was going into the old Paul Stuart space at the bottom of the Hancock Building.”
“I dunno if Hancock condo owners have veto over the retailer, but there are 40+ floors and a private elevator separating them from the retail tenants…so why would one care?”
Well I for one would care, because it can hurt falling values even more. Look at how so-called “prestige” buildings claim future “high quality” tenants. I know this may seem silly, but how would values change in a tower like the Elysian if a “Chanel” were to move out, and a “Gap” were to move in, or “White Castle” instead of a “Charlie Trotters”? You cannot tell me this does not change how future buyers view a property. The tenants definitly help to create the so-called value of certain towers, and I know in San Francisco, some condo towers give free rent to encourage high end chefs to locate their restaurants in the retail space.
(Of course I understand none of this matters in GD2, I was just curious)
Bob, a business plan that includes rapid debt-fueled growth and dependence on “rich” boomer retirees just might become another relic of the naughty naughts.
“Sunrise says bankruptcy filing could be ahead”
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96LVJ5O0.htm
In general the HOA would have no say over the retailer, because the condo owners have no ownership of the retail space.
Who has water meter’s in Chicago? I’ve never seen one in the city or known anybody who had one. Does anyone here have a meter in a SF in the city?
Virtually every building in Chicago has a water meter. Here’s how to get a water cert so you can close:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1587968147.1236181089@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadegjejeimkcefecelldffhdfho.0&contentOID=536922318&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=Dept&blockName=Water%2FFull+Payment+Certificate%2FI+Want+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Water&deptMainCategoryOID=-536892336
“Virtually every building in Chicago has a water meter.”
You left out a word, HD: “commercial”. Virtually every *commercial* building in Chicago has a meter.
Virtually no older residential buildings (sfh or multi) have meters; I don’t know about newer construction. My house certainly doesn’t–I get billed a flat rate; indeed, I could run every tap in my house continuously and not pay any more (other than my pro rata share of the overall increased cost). But I’d still need to pay the water bill in full thru the date of close. Just no need to read a meter, as there isn’t one.
I retract my “virtually” adjective; Some but not all single family homes have meters; most commercial and multi-units do. Your home anon(tfo) doesn’t have a meter but plenty do.
http://midwaychronicles.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/update-water-meter-investigation-involving-city-inspector-from-garfield-ridge/
It’s the best source I can find right now that some homes have water meters. I gotta get some work done today.
From the article: “built a new home without installing a water meter”
Like I said, older homes (generally) don’t have ’em, and I don’t know about newer homes. Looks like it’s required for newer homes. And I’m leaving the distinction b/t older and newer intentionally vague, because I just don’t know when it changed.
I think most smaller multi-family buildings don’t have meters either – I know of one that got busted (a gut conversion) for adding bathrooms & units w/o changing billing (it’s on a fixture count – you bill I mean).
I made a phone call to my source and they said that most multi-family and commercial and newer single family homes have meters; older sfh vary depending on when it was built, but they don’t know the date after which meters were required. but the trend is pretty clearly towards meters.
Morgan – Charlie Trotter has already pulled out of the Elysian so we may just see a lower level brand move in there. I’m sure at this point the developer will take what he can get.
Wow, did not know about Trotter pulling out. I would imagine the Elysian should settle for even a Starbucks at this point, but Starbucks are shutting stores down as well. I am finally beginning to understand why the Hancock allowed BestBuy to occupy the flagship space on the plaza.
This thread is spiraling out of control, mabye we can get back on track with the actual listing. Anyway, I believe Coldwell had a unit VERY similar to this that was listed at $399k plus parking, I don’t know where it closed (or if it did), but I wouldn’t by this unit for any more. Any thoughts?
Morgan,
Good points on the expectations of luxury owners. My suspicion is the Elysian is going to have to have a comparable restaurant or retail space to Charlie Trotter’s if the developer mentioned that all in the marketing materials or else its going to court. If they open up a McDs or WH, as an extreme example, I do agree that that would be detrimental to property values. In fact even a vacant space would be preferable to lower end retail in terms of property values, but the developers incentives might be different than the owners.
Remember that the Elysian is also a hotel. I saw the implication somewhere (yeah, a vague recollection of a supposition or rumor) that Trotter backing out had something to do with provision of room service–that he didn’t want his staff doing that. But maybe that’s not true (or my recollection is off).
$399K plus parking is not realistic in this market. $399K including parking is probably not even attainable.
They could put a dollar store on the ground floor and I will still be happy to live in the Hancock (if I liked the $/sq ft).
I guess I’m not alergic to poor people.
Water meter fyi anecdotes;
when we did a gut rehab on a 2-flat and put in new water service way back in 1990, they required we get a meter. And, there was a push to get people to voluntarily go to meters in my hood, back around the year 2000, so I got one for my own SFH at that time. I pay now only a fraction of what I used to pay for water used pre-meter.
Both properties are in Logan Square, both constructed around the 1890’s.
So there are residences with water meters, and one day, all residential will be metered, as well.
“Wow, did not know about Trotter pulling out. I would imagine the Elysian should settle for even a Starbucks at this point, but Starbucks are shutting stores down as well. I am finally beginning to understand why the Hancock allowed BestBuy to occupy the flagship space on the plaza.”
From the Sun-Times last week:
Trotter pulls out of restaurant in the gold coast
What was the property being discussed in this article again? LOL While going seriously off track, I did learn a few things!
(Another opportunity to beg for an ‘open forum’ to discuss issues we are all facing that cannot be talked about without seriously hijacking a thread…Sabrina, I am on my knees now begging for such a place for us to gather and chat!!) I know I have TONS of subjects we can talk about.
Re: vandalizing a property/living rent free for a year because you are entering foreclosure…who in their right mind does this? I mean I know it is rampant in this day of everyone and their mother going into foreclosure, but come on now, this reflects on your common decency and morals (or lack of them I should say). How on earth is this making the bank suffer when it is in the end, the buyer’s fault for making bad decisions in the first place for living beyond their means. CRAZY world we live in!
OK I have no comments about this property as I would not care to live above a commercial property…
Carry on
Westloop… simple…most people do not believe anything is their fault and hate personal responsibility. So much easier when it’s someone elses fault.
Ze:
And don’t forget the corollary: “they” got what they deserved, it won’t happen to me–I’m too smart/careful/honest/whatever.
Btw… as a New Yorker it is actually almost impossible to think about NOT living under a commercial property. Guess above Water Tower, Bloomies, the Hyatt all fail the criteria.
Ze A NYer here as well and I agree in that city it is almost a given that you will find a retail or restaurant occupying the first floor or two in most buildings. I made it a point of only investing in units that had no possibility of having such ‘neighbors’ invading my residence. Ever try to get curry out of your furnishings/clothes? I had a friend who went through this and ended up trashing all of her belongings after leaving her place.
My god that’s racist.
“Ever try to get curry out of your furnishings/clothes? “
Why, because his friend lived above an indian restaurant??? Whats racist about that?
The smell of curry is an inviting aroma to some cultures; to insinuate that curry is a despicable smell causing someone to throw away all of their belongings is more or less insulting an entire subcontinent of people.
“more or less insulting an entire subcontinent of people”
Britain is a subcontinent?
It’s a joke, folks. I know that HD’s not referring to Britain.
He never said it was a bad smell, just that his friend had to get rid of all his belongings after moving since the smell wouldn’t come out. Where are you pulling this crap from? I don’t know about you, but if I lived above an italian restaurant, I wouldn’t want to walk around smelling like garlic all the time. Is that racist?
Nice catch anon(tfo)
I’m joking, it’s not racist at all; it’s hilarious. I cannot do much work while this damn virus scanner is trying to find the virus that keeps sending the top partner cialis e-mails; when you get an e-mail at 8:00 am saying “Why the hell are you sending me cialis e-mails with virus attachments” you drop everything and figure out what the hell is going on. Anyways I would never live above a restaurant, not so much for the smell, but for the ROACHES and RATS and MICE. Once they get into the walls there is no way to eradicate the building of them, especially roaches. The come in deliveries or other packages, no way to detect them. No way in hell I’m paying $400k for a condo unit with a restaurant on the 1st floor.
Oh India House on West Grand. Miss that place too.
HD: “No way in hell I’m paying $400k for a condo unit with a restaurant on the 1st floor.”
So, it’s a *good* thing for the Elysian that Trotter pulled out?
Sonies: “if I lived above an italian restaurant, I wouldn’t want to walk around smelling like garlic all the time. Is that racist?”
I dunno. Find some Italian dudes and ask them. Some of them might.
“How on earth is this making the bank suffer when it is in the end, the buyer’s fault for making bad decisions in the first place for living beyond their means.”
Ohhhh ok so Bob is the bad guy…don’t think so. Here is why making the bank suffer is preferable:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aayr7s9dpgpw&refer=exclusive
All you idiots who liken the banks with Apple Pie, Mama and Don Mclean are absolute morons. These are no longer institutions beneficial to America, as the above article illustrates. They are preventing workout plans because they (logically) are placing the survival of their institution above the broader common good of keeping people in housing and making housing affordable again.
So get off your high horse westloopeo, I would trash the property and I would trash it badly. Go sermonize somewhere else because I’m not having it–I see the world the way it is not the way it should be.
“One reason banks resist lowering borrowers’ principal is that doing so could threaten their solvency. In the worst slump since the Great Depression, the banks’ unrealized losses exceed their capital cushions by $400 billion, according to Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of business. ”
&
“Lenders also say that reducing homeowners’ mortgage balances precludes them from sharing in the properties’ eventual recovery and creates an incentive for all borrowers to seek concessions, even those who aren’t in danger of defaulting. ”
I can’t wait until these bankers are out on the street. I’d sooner spit in their begging cup then spare them a dime.
HD, Being of mixed cultural backgrounds myself, I am the furthest person away from being a racist by any means and am more than a bit offended by your remark…joking or not. I have noticed in the short time I have been reading/contributing here that comments that are taken as personal attacks are common here and something that I have no intention of being a part of.
What I was relating was a good friend spent a great deal of $$$ (NYC you know) for a condo and was very satisfied in her decision in doing so. She and the rest of the residents found out a few years later an Indian restaurant would be occupying a large space that was made available by the developers. Note: upon completion of the building, no retail/restaurant spaces were made available, so this came as a complete surprise to ALL residents.
Although she (and I too) are big fans of Indian food/Curry dishes, the “aroma” of such was not a welcome addition to her condo. This completely ruined what she had made a wonderful home. She sold the unit as soon as she was able to. It was a personal decision and one I totally understand. And yes, all fabrics were saturated with Curry, which as you might imagine was not a welcome addition to anyone’s home or clothing.
“comments that are taken as personal attacks are common here”
New to the internet, too, I see.
FLAME BAIT!!!
Bob, WOW you sure are adamant in destroying a property and placing blame on a lending institution who granted you the benefit of a loan to become a home owner! Sure, I get the part that banks, in some cases, are negligent in offering loans that were flawed…we all get that fact. But for a borrower who cannot meet his mortgage (that he agreed to)and who believes it is his right to go and trash a property that was once his own home, is beyond acceptable in a ‘civilized society’…but I realize not all live in such a society. Sad commentary on where this economic mess is leaving some people.
It is not so much I am ‘sermonizing’ from atop a high horse that is an issue here, it is more a person who is lowering his own personal morals to the point of becoming no more than a common thug. If you can do so and feel no remorse about it, so be it. Just be aware that in doing so the way you are viewed by others will not be a pleasant thing to carry around. It is your choice to vandalize your lost home and I hope it brings you great satisfaction for doing so…have at it. But I do hope the next residence that you CAN afford will be in the same condition that you left your last residence.
“So get off your high horse westloopeo, I would trash the property and I would trash it badly. Go sermonize somewhere else because I’m not having it–I see the world the way it is not the way it should be.”
Sermonize? LOL
anon and HD…no comment other than to look in the mirror.
WL–
As I noted above, Bob’s (playing?) a nihilist. This latest is re-enforcing my unexpressed suspiscion that he’s simply trolling.
Or a “banker” took his parking space one time too many, or something.
“look in the mirror”
?? What have I ever done to you, WL?
Anyway, right back atcha, friend–You don’t like the “off-topic” discussion, but you’re participating in it.
“Oh India House on West Grand. Miss that place too.” Gone, much the loss to the city, their Butter Chicken was great.
I was under the impression that the Hancock WANTED BB and pushed Paul Stuart out by not renewing their lease.
The off-topics are my equiv of the water cooler which my office lacks.
I apologize for my last comment HD and anon….clearly your comments were not intended for me…my big bad!
I think your analogy is correct Re Bob…either that or someone got to his Wheatie container for a few weeks.
wow 10% of the comments actually pertain to the original blog post. This website needs a forum bad.