"Ya we in luck here / Down in the muck here"

[muckefuck]

I've discovered an awesome new interactive tool for depressing myself: Where are home loans underwater? at Zillow Visuals. Rate for my zipcode of residence: 68%. You have to trek all the way to the South Side to find a number that beats it. (72% in 60653, which embraces Bronzeville.) Just across Devon (technically just across Schreiber, which is even closer) the percentage is a balmy 46%, which raises the possibility that on a block-by-block basis, we may be slightly closer to the Cook County average of 44%.

We have still yet to see a sale in our building since monshu and I bought here nearly four years ago. Around this time last year, we had perhaps our most contentious condo association meeting ever in which we agreed unanimously to begin enforcing the rental cap. My hope was that that would finally give some owners the push they needed to sell up, take the loss, and move on. So far it isn't working that way: The longtime scofflaw seems to have found a dodge to keep renting out his place by designating his tenants his "invitees and agents" and the only one caught up in the net so far is someone who was trying to save money while going back to school by moving in with his boyfriend while he rented his one-bedroom.

What does this all mean in terms of getting FHA approval so the other homo couple can sell up? Who the hell knows. I can't get the other board members to return my e-mails and even the one who is a lawyer by day was vague on the legality of what the Von Stomp's landlord is doing. (Did I mention that he lost the lawyer we had on retainer because he refused to take action when she notified us that she was going to destroy our files if we didn't contract to keep paying her? I'm sure that will look wise in retrospect.)

ETA: The WSJ has a a word or two on the accuracy of Zillow's estimates.

Comments

[mollyc-q.livejournal.com]

An attorney threatened to destroy client records if they didn't keep receiving protection money? Charming. Sorry that you have, save monshu no, or very few rational allies in all of this.

I caught the the 44% statistic in Cook County and it was a bit breath taking. I am not sure what the % is out here in this part of the Northwestern Frontier of Chicago is. There is one foreclosed property just off the subdivision, a few houses that were pulled off market, one house has been on the market for at least two years (unoccupied for at least 18 months), and another has been for sale/unoccupied for 90% of the time we have had roots in this neighborhood, or 20 years. We suspect that has something to do with the fact that the house lay unfinished and exposed to the elements for almost 8-10 months when it was under construction and likely has a variety of structural and mold problems....but its just not inhabited and is the neighborhood's dandelion problem every year.

Things are so crazy that I have friends (who rent in the city and want to buy in the near suburbs) that (no surprise) can't get the banks to issue a mortgage for over the assessment values and the owners won't sell at a loss.

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

Your post is telling context about the fact that, even for homeowners that are both solvent and nor planning to sell there are significant effects.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Today sitting with monshu I was thinking about all the knockoff effects of this. The aforementioned couple have been trying for a couple years now to adopt a child but they've been hampered by the difficulty of meeting the requirements with the place they have. (Apparently, with some extensive modifications, it would just barely qualify and they don't want to take that chance.) How many other couples have put off similar decisions? I think of all the people who have turned down jobs or scholarships or other sorts of opportunities because they can't afford to sell and aren't able or willing to become landlords. No wonder it's such a protracted economic recovery.