All Forum Posts by: Bob Floss II

@Andrew Heinzmann A transfer from your personal name to your LLC is not a sale and does not trigger transfer taxes. It's an exempt transfer. You pay the recorders fee and you'll have to pay to obtain a full paid water certificate.

Hiring the attorney that tells you what you want to hear is a red flag. Take the advice of whatever attorney you called that does the most evictions.

I laugh and eyeroll when I see opposing counsel using an aol email, but that doesn't make them a bad attorney.

I wouldn't recommend sending sensitive or financial documents to them via email, but again that doesn't make them a bad attorney.

@Pat Cruz Eviction cases were rough going in the beginning, but I've noticed cases are moving at a faster clip now that the court system is figuring out how to handle the case load. The big difference appears to be if you are seeking money damages or if you will forgo to get the tenant out. 

@Scott Mac They don't own the stadium. Soldier Field is owned by the Park District of Chicago. The team has to negotiate with the City to do anything and everything. Any game day events, extra fan experiences outside the stadium, all of it requires City approval, permits, red tape, and I imagine quite a few tickets for city employees. The Park District has been extremely difficult and fights with the team constantly.

The turf is a joke and they constantly fight the city about spending any money on it. The Park District allows the field to be used all the time to generate revenue without much concern for the quality of the field for Sundays. I've personally been to games where they allowed a high school championship game be played on Saturday and the grass between the 40's was obliterated. It was nothing but dirt and sand on the 50 yard line. Kanye West just did a concert at Soldier Field and they let him build a custom stage on the field that trashed it. When the City finally gets around to putting down new sod, it looks like I did it. I've seen running backs try to cut up field and the sod will move underneath their feet. The reporters affectionately refer to this as the Turf Monster and will have a separate box score for tackles and sacks by the turf. 

I think the NFL is also pushing them to move. The emphasis in the NFL is for teams to own their stadiums, but also to move to locations where they have more autonomy and room to grow. The NFL views the Cowboys and 49'ers stadiums as a huge success and they are located far from their respective cities where they have more land, room to grow, and can plan bigger events.

Single family works for flipping or to hold as rentals if you want a property that makes profits and won't require a ton of work and management. Down side is they typically don't accrue equity as quickly as multi-family, are harder to leverage, and getting a refi done of them can be a huge pain. 

I thought this was worth sharing. Most of us think of installation of a hot water heater in an apartment building as pretty basic.

I received an article from a personal injury attorney in Chicago detailing his recent settlement. He represented a client with limited mobility due to several strokes. She sat in her shower chair and turned on the shower. The water that came out was scalding hot and when she attempted to get out of the way, she landed in the tub and laid in the scalding water. She suffered burns to her legs that resulted in permanent scarring and spent time in the ICU on a feeding tube.

The attorney discovered the apartment building owner did not obtain a permit for the installation, did not use a licensed plumber, did not inspect the hot water heater, and did not properly install them. The attorney hired an expert that determined the water was over 140 degrees and city code says the temperature cannot go over 140 degrees. As a result, the building owner settled with the plaintiff in pretrial conference for $1 million.

Something to think about the next time you replace a hot water heating in a building.

@Andre Stephenson My biggest issue is timing. I can navigate building court, but they will not close these cases out until the court ordered inspector does a full interior inspection and getting the inspections done can be problematic. If the inspector comes to court saying he didn't inspect, the case will get kicked for 6 months and the owner can't get a refi or sale done. You get one shot at the inspection and if you are not standing in front of the building with a bell on, they hit the gas and say no one met them at the property. I've seen contractors have custom signs made for the front lawn the day of inspection that says "yes, building inspector, we are inside!!!!"

@Henry Lazerow @Brie SchmidtLove the analysis by the Court. Due to the money at issue for the plaintiff's attorney, I have no doubt they will seek appeal to Illinois Supreme Court, but it's a step in the right direction. I've found that tenants abuse this ordinance or people squat in the house and pretend to be renters to stay in the property. I was frustrated that the Court said the tenant is not obligated to prove they are a valid tenant in the property. That would only enable squatters to occupy vacant properties and claim to have tenancy without verification.

I was on a legislative update this morning and the State updates the district maps every 10 years. This is the 10th year, plus we lost a US Representative due to population loss, so they are fully distracted with drawing new district maps. I think rent control and many other bills will suffer as a result.

@Sarah Williams Used to be common, but underwriters have determined it to create a high risk file and sets off a red flag. You can likely find a private investor, but the mortgage lender won't approve it.