Judge Patrick Carroll makes his point!

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DougHuntingdon
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Postby DougHuntingdon » Sat May 26, 2007 9:34 pm

I do not like posting here anymore, but I could not pass this one up.

This is a perfect example of how bad homeowners/landlords are bringing down Lakewood rather than the renters. If you are a good citizen and also happen to own your own home, that is fine. However, some people on this board and elsewhere need to put their elitism and classism aside in order to understand the real problem. I'm talking about the people who want to throw out the renters and make all properties owner occupied--the people who think they are better than someone else because they live in a 3200 sq ft single family home rather than a 650 sq ft apartment--the people who cry in their martinis every Thursday night because they live in Lakewood and not Bay Village--the people who paid $419,000 for a townhouse at Rockport who complain about the noisy truck traffic on Detroit (should have done your research first) and the rusty cars sometimes seen in the pharmacy/grocery across the street (others' words not mine).

I know there was a property with incredibly high grass last year at Lake and W117. I put pictures online, called the rental number, and called the city to try to get some action.

With some effort, neighbors can help get a bad renter thrown out. However, it is not so easy to get rid of a bad homeowner/landlord.

I'm not trying to call anyone names, but what JOB and others propose appears to be old line communism. I'm not talking about Stalin murdering millions. I'm referring to central planning, government ownership of property (no private property), government ownership of means of production, etc. I am sure you could search the internet or any decent public library to find out how to install Soviet style central planning, if you are not already aware. I mean, if you are going to do something, you might as well do it properly and go all the way. If the government can do a better job of being a landlord and renting out houses, why just limit it to a couple properties here and there? Take all the rental properties in Lakewood (use eminent domain if needed) . Then, once that is done, go after the few singles in the heart of Lakewood. Lastly, go after all the condos and mansions by the Lake.

Has anyone looked at how well the government maintains its own property? Ever look at Little Links? I'm not talking about the quality of the greens--I'm talking about the jungle and trash dump it has become. Ever look at other Lakewood city parks, whose condition has been criticized often on this board?

renting is not a crime


Rick Uldricks

Postby Rick Uldricks » Sun May 27, 2007 9:32 am

J Hrlec wrote:On a related note...Lakewood really needs to crack down on landlords when properties to not meet acceptable standards. I remember 4-5 years ago when they wrote my landlord a citation for having a faulty railing on the back porch... and my landlord actually keeps our place nice and updated everything. Now I see decrepit doubles all around and no action taken (that I know of) to force them to clean-up and beautify Lakewood.


Here's my view and it's getting worse. Owned by absentee slumlord in Avon Lake.
Image


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Jim O'Bryan
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Postby Jim O'Bryan » Sun May 27, 2007 1:25 pm

DougHuntingdon wrote:I do not like posting here anymore, but I could not pass this one up.I'm not trying to call anyone names, but what JOB and others propose appears to be old line communism. I'm not talking about Stalin murdering millions. I'm referring to central planning, government ownership of property (no private property), government ownership of means of production, etc. I am sure you could search the internet or any decent public library to find out how to install Soviet style central planning, if you are not already aware. I mean, if you are going to do something, you might as well do it properly and go all the way. If the government can do a better job of being a landlord and renting out houses, why just limit it to a couple properties here and there? Take all the rental properties in Lakewood (use eminent domain if needed) . Then, once that is done, go after the few singles in the heart of Lakewood. Lastly, go after all the condos and mansions by the Lake.

renting is not a crime


Doug

You completely misunderstood my comment or thought process. I am not looking for communism, and the ghost of million killed by Stalin. I think the city should take over property for SALE and maybe some that cannot be kept up.

I believe that property is a great investment, and a city willing to invest in itself would be a powerful statement.

Doug, the last mansion in Lakewood was torn down in 1962 if I am not mistaken.


.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Kenneth Warren
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Postby Kenneth Warren » Sun May 27, 2007 11:14 pm

Lest we think we are alone in our problem-solving with respect to bad landlords, incivility, vinyl siding and the political economy housing, Jim Kunstler let’s us know “landscape pathology studiesâ€Â


Justine Cooper
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Postby Justine Cooper » Mon May 28, 2007 9:03 am

Doug,
JOB didn't mention this but he and others in the LO worked very hard to NOT allow emminent domain and allow a new shopping mall to boot out homeowners out of their home that the lived in for years. I know that they are committed to preserving Lakewood and not let it be taken over by slum landlords or anyone wanting to turn it into something other than Lakewood-which is a city of great old homes, singles and doubles and small shops! The slum landlords will kill this city if something isn't done about it though. They will hurt the value of every landlord who does rent out homes here and keeps up the property and taxes.

The city should have a limit how much taxes can be owed and fines accrued before taking over the house. Not paying taxes to the city your house resides in is theft. The reason we bought a home sooner than we planned is because our young landlords lived in RR and didn't want to put one penny in the house they rented to us. Some people don't deserve to be landlords and ruin the city.


"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive" Dalai Lama
J Hrlec
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Postby J Hrlec » Tue May 29, 2007 3:18 pm

As I stated earlier I do believe the problem needs to be resolved at the landlord level. There are certainly bad renters but it is up to the landlord to screen, lease, and periodically evaluate those renters and condition of the property to see if changes need to be made. Problem comes when landlords don't take pride in ownership because they do not live there... others do care and those are the valuable properties which help keep Lakewood beautiful (single and doubles)


Shawn Juris

Postby Shawn Juris » Tue May 29, 2007 4:25 pm

Since many here enjoy the researching far more than I do, here's a question. Excluding the apartments near the lake, how many apartment buildings are in Lakewood (number of units or number of buildings)? I'm thinking those pocket buildings on Madison or Detroit that are just 3-4 stories are as trashy as the one that got busted and sneaking by because no one wants to bother with them.
My further question is why can't these apartments that are substandard be converted to offices or leveled for other purposes? In the past it always came up that we are built out and have no space. Sure we do, just see past the POS apartment.
They would have parking in many cases moreso than our traditional office locations on Detroit. There is a mix of building years so they can either be updated or simply torn down and rebuilt without causing too much fuss over historical preservation. They certainly are not contributing much now in many cases, other than flooding the market with renters.
Maybe some are very nice. So please let's just count up the ones that we can do without.


DougHuntingdon
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Postby DougHuntingdon » Tue May 29, 2007 8:11 pm

This is one of the most insulting posts I have ever seen. Shawn I hope you are being tongue-in-cheek.

I believe there are hundreds of apartment buildings in Lakewood in various conditions. There are thousands of houses. I know Madison Avenue is not Park Avenue, but there are plenty of legitimate apartments there along with a % that I am sure are not the best.

Shawn there's no reason why you can't solely or with a group of investors make offers on those apartment buildings, purchase them, and convert them to offices, pending normal permit approval from the city. Surely someone of your stature who is of a much higher class than the typical renter could easily raise the capital. Some may already be zoned in such a way to allow offices, while some may require zoning variances. Maybe you are seeing an opportunity that the rest of us are missing--you could be the Donald Trump of Lakewood. Why not pursue the opportunity? Talk is cheap.

Doug

renting is not a crime


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Jim O'Bryan
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Postby Jim O'Bryan » Tue May 29, 2007 8:47 pm

Doug

I am with you on this one. One of the nicest apartments I have been in in Lakewood was right above Geiger's. Huge, nice bedrooms, small kitchen but enough. I have to think there are many little gems hiding in the city like that.

J Hrlec, nail it. It is a landlord problem. As I have pointed out numerous times, treat renters like humans, and they respond very nicely.

As for the office space. There is a bunch of space on Detroit and Madison, I am not sure how adding to the glut would help. I think it is delusional to think build offices and they will come. There is a glut of offices in this county. Now build a spectacular office maybe.

I would rather see offices over retail if I had a vote.


.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Rick Uldricks

Postby Rick Uldricks » Tue May 29, 2007 10:18 pm

Shawn Juris wrote:I'm thinking those pocket buildings on Madison or Detroit that are just 3-4 stories are as trashy as the one that got busted and sneaking by because no one wants to bother with them.
My further question is why can't these apartments that are substandard be converted to offices or leveled for other purposes? In the past it always came up that we are built out and have no space. Sure we do, just see past the POS apartment.
They would have parking in many cases moreso than our traditional office locations on Detroit. There is a mix of building years so they can either be updated or simply torn down and rebuilt without causing too much fuss over historical preservation. They certainly are not contributing much now in many cases, other than flooding the market with renters.

I agree with you Shawn. There are far too many POS apartments in Lakewood. I know the type of 3-4 floor apartment building you speak of -- they are more of an eyesore than the run-down century-doubles, in my opinion.


Shawn Juris

Postby Shawn Juris » Wed May 30, 2007 8:32 am

Doug,
Nope I'm serious. I think that there a some stand alone buildings that have little historical significance that should be inspected and encouraged to be sold off to developers to be razed and replaced to serve a purpose other than rental units. And please don't think that I'm picking on renteres, I also think that there are plenty of homes that should be considered for the same.
While I certainly don't see myself as a Trump type and am not in a position to start buying up land, I thank you for the compliment. I agree it's a private developers perogative and am not in any way advocating a city controlled takeover. We've seen the kind of bumbling the city can do when faced with seemingly simple negotiation to save a project. Don't use terms like blight that can be applied to 90% of the properties in Lakewood. Fair price and if the city choses to build in incentives, so be it.
I can be far more insulting about what I think should be done, but for the time being and the tread at hand, knocking out some of the crappy apartments would satisfy me.


Bryan Schwegler
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Postby Bryan Schwegler » Wed May 30, 2007 8:51 am

J Hrlec wrote:As I stated earlier I do believe the problem needs to be resolved at the landlord level. There are certainly bad renters but it is up to the landlord to screen, lease, and periodically evaluate those renters and condition of the property to see if changes need to be made. Problem comes when landlords don't take pride in ownership because they do not live there... others do care and those are the valuable properties which help keep Lakewood beautiful (single and doubles)


But why all the focus on landlords not keeping up properties? I can see an awful lot of homeowners not keeping them up either. Lakewood just needs to do a better overall job of code enforcement regardless of who owns or lives in a property. The epidemic is certainly NOT only absentee landlords.


J Hrlec
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Postby J Hrlec » Wed May 30, 2007 10:39 am

Bryan Schwegler wrote:
J Hrlec wrote:As I stated earlier I do believe the problem needs to be resolved at the landlord level. There are certainly bad renters but it is up to the landlord to screen, lease, and periodically evaluate those renters and condition of the property to see if changes need to be made. Problem comes when landlords don't take pride in ownership because they do not live there... others do care and those are the valuable properties which help keep Lakewood beautiful (single and doubles)


But why all the focus on landlords not keeping up properties? I can see an awful lot of homeowners not keeping them up either. Lakewood just needs to do a better overall job of code enforcement regardless of who owns or lives in a property. The epidemic is certainly NOT only absentee landlords.


I agree this goes for landlord and single home occupying owner... I think this post just happens to be more focused on the prior. Also, I believe, at least from what I see, that this occurs most frequently with non-owner occupied residences. But as a general rule...everyone should take care of their property. :)


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Jim O'Bryan
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Postby Jim O'Bryan » Thu May 31, 2007 9:54 pm

Image

Judge Patrick Carroll makes his point well understood today in court.

Judge Carroll made it clear, bad landlords clean up you act or get ready for legal action. "Even if the court has to hire their own inspectors."

More photos online in my Court Blog.


.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Jeff Endress
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Location: Lakewood

Postby Jeff Endress » Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:06 am

"Even if the court has to hire their own inspectors."


What a positively wonderful idea. I would imagine that adding several "housing court" inspectors could be funded from the fines realized. It would also free up the city inspectors to focus on non-rentals. Judge Carroll has always been a well respected jurist, and such a plan could well put the teeth in inspections, as well as send the message to potential slumlords to stay out.

I know that the judge's case load is heavy, and such a plan would probably require an extra magistrate or two.....but I'll bet there are a few local attorneys who would be more than pleased to donate their time in such capacity. Let's get behind the judge on this. Let's make it happen.

Jeff


To wander this country and this world looking for the best barbecue â€â€

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