HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Midwest


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #2001  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 4:51 PM
Investing In Chicago Investing In Chicago is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,592
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis View Post
Couldn't you say people buying houses and condo's are getting rent control from the bank though. Plus you get to deduct it from your taxes yet renters cant deduct their rent . You get to pay a fixed rent for 30 years without it going up. In the meantime the value of the property is going up, so there's no reason why the bank couldn't raise the mortgage as the value of the property goes up to reflect that. Since they don't get paid till the mortgage is paid off in 30 years or whatever the time period is. If you bought a house at auction for $200k and in 10 years its worth $500k you got rent control for it. You should be paying a bigger mortgage to the bank.
This is a really asinine comment - you are either playing devils advocate, or have no idea how home ownership works.
Typical comment on here of punishing people who make smart investments - why on earth should a home owner be forced to make a bigger payment to a bank. Additionally, homeowners pay property taxes (mine, in the city of Chicago have gone up $15k over the past 12 months), Home owners insurance, etc. You have lost your mind.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2002  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 5:25 PM
Steely Dan's Avatar
Steely Dan Steely Dan is offline
devout Pizzatarian
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago
Posts: 29,634
let's hope this is the death of Kim Foxx's political career.


Quote:
Kim Foxx defends Jussie Smollett decision as office says she 'did not formally recuse herself’

Foxx had said she recused herself from the case last month after revealing she had contact with Smollett's representatives early on in the investigation. She declined to provide details at the time, but on Wednesday, her office quibbled over the terminology, saying Foxx did not formally recuse herself “in a legal sense.”
source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...327-story.html
__________________
"Missing middle" housing can be a great middle ground for many middle class families.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2003  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 5:40 PM
Vlajos Vlajos is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,485
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
let's hope this is the death of Kim Foxx's political career.




source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...327-story.html
Wow, would be great to see both Prekwinkle and Foxx political careers ended in the same month.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2004  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 5:57 PM
LouisVanDerWright LouisVanDerWright is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 7,443
Quote:
Originally Posted by Halsted & Villagio View Post
I have a little time today so I will bite. Not to be the PC police but the use of words like "strung up" in reference to an African American is... well Louis... you know what goes next so I won't bother to write it. Lets just chalk this one up to us all being human/multi-tasking without fully thinking about what we post sometimes. I say this because I have never seen you make such a mistake in the past so this definitely gets a pass in my book
Oh jeeze, I just went to go look at editing that comment and the mob emoji I chose is actually called "lynchmob". Yeah I didn't think about the double meaning of the phrase strung up or Foxx's race before I posted it. I'm going to leave my comment as is and just have this post explaining I didn't even think about her race while typing (which is how I hope most people try to be). I was merely thinking about how F-ed up this legal situation is...

Quote:
Regarding this whole Smollett debacle, as an attorney for close to 20 years, I have never seen anything like it in my entire career. I had a cup of coffee as a State's Attorney, Public Guardian and Public Defender -- all by the age of 30 just to get real trial experience under my belt before accepting a position with a law firm. I never saw anything like this - period.

Of course there has never been a case quite like this one with a celebrity involved (at least not in Chicago) but I have been directly involved with somewhat similar cases where Average Joe is involved and they almost always walk away with paper following them -- meaning a CD ("conditional discharge") - permanent criminal record... or probation - permanent criminal record. Never a Nolle (decline to prosecute/dismissal). A "Sup" (Supervision) or some type of carved out deferred program (for example - no criminal record if all of the conditions are met over the course of 1 year) would have been a homerun, and under this amount of evidence would have been the absolute best that a defense attorney could have reasonably hoped for. And a Sup or deferred program would be light (pretty much a slap on the wrist if you will) but at least that would have kept up the appearance of propriety, justice and fairness. But under this amount of evidence... a Nolle? Never happens.

Yes, this one should be thoroughly investigated.


Excuse the typos guys I am trying to get it all in while eating lunch. Also some the criminal laws may have changed since the last time I practiced criminal law but from friends and colleagues still in criminal practice, no, this was a "one-off".... something they NEVER see in the day to day practice of criminal law.
You are not the only legal professional who I have heard this from. Not only did they let him of without jack shit in writing, but they apparently don't even have an understanding with the defendant as to whether he will go around calling himself innocent forever or whether he will apologize for wasting emergency resources. Foxx's office keeps saying he is not exonerated and admits fault while the first thing he said when he left the courtroom is "see, I've been honest this whole time".

Then there's this:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
let's hope this is the death of Kim Foxx's political career.




source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...327-story.html
Uh yeah, she obviously did not and let this guy off the hook for personal reasons. Soooooo much corruption going on here. One wonders if there wasn't some sort of promise of clout or benefit to Foxx in exchange for this. I don't want to suggest this because I would hope it's not true, but the reversal is so sharp you wonder if it's not straight up graft like a bribe or campaign payment made in exchange?

The FBI will get to the bottom of this whether it is raw corruption or sheer incompetence. Either way I hope the Feds A. press even harder charges like terrorism for his letter incident and ruin his life even more than the CPD charges would have and B. press charges against Foxx for either corruption or for ethics violations on this recusement debacle.

Honestly Foxx needs to resign now, she's proven radically incompetent and/or corrupt and/or unethical in a short 48 hours. First she's recused, then she isn't. Then she let's a defendant off the hook with nothing in writing. First the case is sealed, then it isn't, just an "oversight". Like WTF is going on here? This is one of the most nationally significant cases in recent history in Chicago and THIS is how you handle it? Step down before you go to jail or lose your license.

This is going to be a very bad couple of months of Toni and the Cook County Democratic Machine.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2005  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 6:04 PM
LouisVanDerWright LouisVanDerWright is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 7,443
Quote:
Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago View Post
This is a really asinine comment - you are either playing devils advocate, or have no idea how home ownership works.
Typical comment on here of punishing people who make smart investments - why on earth should a home owner be forced to make a bigger payment to a bank. Additionally, homeowners pay property taxes (mine, in the city of Chicago have gone up $15k over the past 12 months), Home owners insurance, etc. You have lost your mind.
While I agree that the comment is silly given the way the mortgage market does work in today's reality, it's actually kinda closer to intuition than you might think.

In other words, 15 and 30 year fixed rates don't exist "in the wild". The only reason those loan products occur is because the federal government subsidizes them into existence. When my grandparents bought their first house you had to put like 30 or 40% down and it was a 10 year term with a 5 year fixed rate that would go ARM afterwards. A 30/30 mortgage is a financial freak that only exists because the National Association of Realtors is the second largest lobbiest group in Washington after the Chamber of Commerce and has jerry rigged the entire US housing market to maximize sales volume and therefore commissions.

That's why commercial lenders that fall outside of the "special class" of 1-4 unit "residential properties" will only fix your rate for 5 to 7 years, maybe 10 years if you are willing to buy a swap which basically prevents you from refinancing or selling if rates fall. So yeah, as a commercial landlord my payment does in fact rise or fall based on the cost of money, taxes, and other factors. That's actually where Baron goes wrong, the only people who are entitled to fixed payments are a special protected class of "homeowners" and small time landlords who have access to 30 year fixed loans. Everyone else is subject to interest rate risk every 5 or 7 years. Hell we are subject to refinance risk that our bank might be so fucked they won't refi our loan even if the property is doing great.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2006  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 6:41 PM
the urban politician the urban politician is offline
The City
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Chicago region
Posts: 21,375
^ Well, the other issue with Baron's comment is that even with fixed, 30 year residential mortgages, he's basically suggesting that "if your property value goes up, you should pay a higher mortgage rate to the bank" as some sort of twisted way to punish property owners for accumulating wealth.

As Tom in Chicago would say: that's now how any of this works.

First of all, the majority of home owners are not landlords. So if my income stays the same but my home value goes up because I bought in an appreciating area, then Baron is suggesting that I should pay more to the bank. Even if my income is the same? What sense does that make? That could actually penalize people for seeing an increase in property values, and unnecessarily, because you are only enriching your lender, not the general public.

Secondly, why is there even a need to penalize people who buy property? People who rent have the convenience of getting to leave whenever they want, plus they don't have to pay the taxes or maintain the building. Owners are tied to the property whether it rises or falls, and due to that equity they should be allowed to benefit from the asset's rise just as they would suffer when the asset declines.
__________________
Supercar Adventures is my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4W...lUKB1w8ED5bV2Q
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2007  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 7:03 PM
Baronvonellis Baronvonellis is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 880
Hey I'm not saying do it to punish people. Just why couldn't the bank raise the mortgage if they wanted to make more money? They technically own your property till you pay it off, so your really just renting from the bank.

Yea, I don't know much about property would any of you guys be willing to teach a course? Buying property scares me to death, your tying up hundreds of thousands in a fixed asset, that's hard to buy and sell. And the taxes can go up at anytime. And the maintenance costs are an unknown. With stocks, I can buy and sell in minutes in small amounts. And I don't have to live inside my stocks.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2008  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 7:10 PM
the urban politician the urban politician is offline
The City
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Chicago region
Posts: 21,375
^ It's a fixed and extremely non-liquid asset, that's for sure.

But some of the best benefits is the ability to write off things in your taxes. Stocks don't age or need maintenance. Property obviously does.

So you can write off depreciation, which can add up to a LOT; in addition, if you spend enough time running property it's treated like a business, and that allows you to write off a ton of shit as expenses. People don't view it this way, but when you maintain a rental property you're basically adding to your own wealth even though you don't pay tax on it. For example, if my building has an old and faulty electrical system in some of its apartments and I spend $1400 upgrading some of the electrical in the building (just happened the other day), you think "damn! That cut into my profits". But the better thing to think is, "I just slightly upgraded my property, increased its value, and won't have to pay any tax on this miniscule amount of wealth that I just added to the building".
__________________
Supercar Adventures is my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4W...lUKB1w8ED5bV2Q
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2009  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 8:07 PM
Steely Dan's Avatar
Steely Dan Steely Dan is offline
devout Pizzatarian
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago
Posts: 29,634
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis View Post
Just why couldn't the bank raise the mortgage if they wanted to make more money?
because the mortgage agreement you make with the lender is like a contract.

they agree to loan you X amount of money and you agree to pay them back as scheduled in the mortgage agreement.

once it's agreed to and signed by both parties, then that's that.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis View Post
Buying property scares me to death, your tying up hundreds of thousands in a fixed asset, that's hard to buy and sell. And the taxes can go up at anytime. And the maintenance costs are an unknown.
buying a home for yourself really only makes sense if you plan to be there a while. and the main advantage in my eyes isn't the mortgage interest tax write-off, or the fixed payment schedule, or the equity built through appreciation, or anything else. it's the knowledge that i control my own housing destiny. as long as i hold up my end of the bargain with the mortgage and tax payments, then no one can tell me that i can't live in my home. once you have children to raise, that kind of foundational stability becomes a really nice "peace of mind" thing.
__________________
"Missing middle" housing can be a great middle ground for many middle class families.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2010  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 9:27 PM
Investing In Chicago Investing In Chicago is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,592
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis View Post
Hey I'm not saying do it to punish people. Just why couldn't the bank raise the mortgage if they wanted to make more money? They technically own your property till you pay it off, so your really just renting from the bank.
Why can't the bank raise the loan? BECAUSE IT IS A CONTRACT. Your agreeing to borrow a specific amount of money over X amount of time, paying back both P&I.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2011  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 9:31 PM
Investing In Chicago Investing In Chicago is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,592
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post



buying a home for yourself really only makes sense if you plan to be there a while. and the main advantage in my eyes isn't the mortgage interest tax write-off, or the fixed payment schedule, or the equity built through appreciation, or anything else. it's the knowledge that i control my own housing destiny. as long as i hold up my end of the bargain with the mortgage and tax payments, then no one can tell me that i can't live in my home. once you have children to raise, that kind of foundational stability becomes a really nice "peace of mind" thing.
Exactly. Though housing becomes almost a forced savings account, and will build you wealth in almost all circumstances, save catastrophic events. Though, as you said, It is a long term play.

In my eyes, there are two ways to increase your wealth:

1. Buy a home (you can afford, and stay long term)
2. Get married to somebody who works a full time job (and don't get divorced)
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2012  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 10:09 PM
Steely Dan's Avatar
Steely Dan Steely Dan is offline
devout Pizzatarian
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago
Posts: 29,634
this column from eric zorn makes a lot of good points.

and this isn't coming from some reactionary right-winger, zorn is one of the trib's most lefty columnists.

march 17, 2020 is the date for the democratic primary for cook county offices. let's all pray that Kim Foxx is rightfully kicked out of office by her bosses (us).


Quote:
Column: Kim Foxx will and should lose her job over the Jussie Smollett case
Eric Zorn
Chicago Tribune

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx probably will and arguably should lose her job next year over her office’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case.

Yes, there are many worse crimes committed every day in Chicago than staging a hate-inspired attack and filing a false police report about it — the offense with which Smollett was charged. And no, justice did not demand that Smollett be shackled and shipped off to prison for allegedly orchestrating a stunt.

But justice demanded resolution and accountability. And Foxx appeared oblivious to this imperative as she made the media rounds attempting to explain why her office sent Smollett on his merry way Tuesday morning without extracting an admission of guilt or collecting a meaningful fine.

Her tone-deaf statements included equating Smollett to the raft of no-name, low-level, nonviolent offenders who have received the “go and sin no more” treatment, and patronizing those who are outraged by the outcome as “people who don’t understand the intricacies of the justice system.”
full article: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...328-story.html



when Kim Foxx is booted out of office next year, it will be the only worthwhile outcome from this whole monumentally retarded Jussie Smollett farce.
__________________
"Missing middle" housing can be a great middle ground for many middle class families.

Last edited by Steely Dan; Mar 28, 2019 at 10:21 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2013  
Old Posted Mar 28, 2019, 11:08 PM
LouisVanDerWright LouisVanDerWright is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 7,443
^^^ In the chess of Chicago politics letting Smollett walk free with a smug look on his face in exchange for Foxx's career is like trading a pawn for a bishop. I'll take that trade any day and who knows, maybe the FBI will get him anyhow.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago View Post
Why can't the bank raise the loan? BECAUSE IT IS A CONTRACT. Your agreeing to borrow a specific amount of money over X amount of time, paying back both P&I.
And to further this answer, if the question is "then why doesn't the bank just make the contract say they can do that in the first place", the answer is that free market competition prevents it. In other words, banks like to lend on real estate because it is very good collateral. It generally goes up in value over time, is durable, and is further underwritten by the fact that land doesn't depreciate at all over time. In other words you can leave a dirt lot for a century and it doesn't function any less as a lot than it did 100 years earlier.

So think about real estate loans compared to other loan types, credit cards, student loans, a loan on a mattress, car loans. They all have much higher interest rates and shorter terms because they are either harder to collect on, have less collateral, or are generally more risky. Cars lose value quickly, the only thing preventing you from not paying your credit card is your credit rating and the vague threat of a small claims suit. Student loans have lower rates than the others because they can never be discharged in bankruptcy (even RE loans can), but they still have higher rates than mortgages because there is no valuable collateral. So no consumer would ever agree to a bank loan where the bank can jack up the rate or charges or payment because all banks want a piece of a good mortgage. They are willing to give you fixed debt at long terms and low rates because they know if you stop paying there is something good for them to come get to repay what they are owed.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2014  
Old Posted Mar 29, 2019, 1:48 AM
Halsted & Villagio Halsted & Villagio is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Hyde Park
Posts: 220
Quote:
Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright View Post
Oh jeeze, I just went to go look at editing that comment and the mob emoji I chose is actually called "lynchmob". Yeah I didn't think about the double meaning of the phrase strung up or Foxx's race before I posted it. I'm going to leave my comment as is and just have this post explaining I didn't even think about her race while typing (which is how I hope most people try to be). I was merely thinking about how F-ed up this legal situation is...
We are good Louis. Good. I have read your posts countless times through the years and have a good gauge of who you are. If I didn't I would have drug the matter out a little more than I did. As it was, I touched on it, pointed out that it was not a normal error for you to make, and kept it moving. The term you used is a common one in everyday lexicon, unlike someone using... lets say... a gas chamber reference when talking about a Jewish person. "Gas chamber" is not a common phrase, slang nor is it something commonly in use today that denotes a feeling. For someone to use "gas chamber" in a sentence when talking about a Jewish person, that would, without question, be purposeful. "Strung up" commonly denotes someone who is in trouble... slang if you will... and is often used in everyday lexicon. It just so happens that it has a bit of a double meaning when it comes to African Americans. An easy mistake to make but when combined with your known character, a mistake that was pointed out and quickly excused.

Yes.... Kim Foxx has to go... she has turned a very serious and highly respected office into a branch of the machine (and a national joke!).... open to the higher bidder... influence peddling at its best. Like my old law professor use to say -- Lady Justice has blinders on for a reason - the law only deals with the facts and the facts alone - Lady Justice has a balanced scale to weigh and balance the evidence on its merits... Lady Justice does not peek through her blindfold to see celebrity or money. Corny yes, but a true synopsis of what the law and justice is supposed to represent. In short, the whole system breaks down when Foxx led shenanigans like this go on. Foxx has to go!

A knockout of Foxx and Preckwinkle is the stuff dreams are made of!

Last edited by Halsted & Villagio; Mar 29, 2019 at 2:09 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2015  
Old Posted Mar 29, 2019, 4:00 PM
maru2501's Avatar
maru2501 maru2501 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: chicago
Posts: 1,668
More on Toni connections to Burke.

She hires his kid, saves the kid from layoffs, he starts sending campaign money etc.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/w...329-story.html
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2016  
Old Posted Mar 29, 2019, 4:20 PM
Steely Dan's Avatar
Steely Dan Steely Dan is offline
devout Pizzatarian
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago
Posts: 29,634
^ BRING IN THE LIGHT!!!

lightfoot landslide incoming.
__________________
"Missing middle" housing can be a great middle ground for many middle class families.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2017  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2019, 5:03 AM
Hourstrooper's Avatar
Hourstrooper Hourstrooper is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Chicago IL
Posts: 187
On TIFs: Lightfoot wants a complete audit of every one of the city’s TIF districts to understand how they’ve been performing. She added there’s no need for downtown TIFs since they’re supposed to benefit blighted areas; “we all know that downtown is not blighted. … We’ve got to get back to basics with TIFs. There has to be more transparency,” and they should benefit economically struggling neighborhoods.

http://austintalks.org/2019/03/mayor...ge-to-herself/

This has got to be a joke she cant audit tifs for places like Lincoln yards or that once they are contracted there's no turning back on those. and downtown absolutely needs the tifs…. but I believe that she is just saying this for votes. some of her policies are wishy washy on what she is leaning towards.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2018  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2019, 8:45 AM
Vlajos Vlajos is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,485
The anti TIF people are not the brightest. The vast majority of TIF goes to CPS, CTA, parks, affordable housing and other economic development. Personally I don't really care either way if we have them or not, but this is not some massive pot of money that can magically solve our fiscal problems. Would the city stop trying to fund all the things outlined?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2019  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2019, 3:27 PM
moorhosj moorhosj is offline
Closed account
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 511
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
The anti TIF people are not the brightest. The vast majority of TIF goes to CPS, CTA, parks, affordable housing and other economic development. Personally I don't really care either way if we have them or not, but this is not some massive pot of money that can magically solve our fiscal problems. Would the city stop trying to fund all the things outlined?
I think it's a fair argument that if those things are worth funding (they are), they should go through the same budgetary process as other general spending. It's the same argument with the "menu money" that Aldermen get. It is generally spent on worthy projects (specifically, road repair and street lights). That doesn't mean it is the most efficient way to spend it. In the case of menu-money, maybe CDOT should just have that money so they can better coordinate how it's spent and save on efficiencies.

More specific to TIF's, there is going to be another large increase in pension payments in the near future. If you need to come up with $500 million annually, it would be a good idea to look at some TIFs in no-longer-blighted areas. Rahm regularly declared TIF surpluses to divert money to the general fund (including $175 million for the most recent budget).

Add in $150 million from transfer tax increase and you may be able to avoid another big property tax hike.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2020  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2019, 5:49 PM
LouisVanDerWright LouisVanDerWright is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 7,443
^^^ The transfer tax idea is a stupid one in my opinion. It sounds great, but remember what happened in 2008-2010 to the CTA? A large chunk of CTA's funding comes from transfer stamps and they were basically out of money for 3 years straight because the RE market locked up. Transfer tax is much too cyclical to be reliable revenue as revenue is basically guaranteed to drop like a rock exactly when you need it most: during recessions.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Midwest
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 8:16 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.