General Real Estate; News @ 04 Jan 2008 02:06 pm by judyorr
I received a phone call the other day from a landlord in Chicago Ridge in response to the two blog posts I made regarding Oak Lawn’s new Landlord Ordinance that you can read here and here. I was told that landlords received a letter in the mail last week telling them about the new rental property ordinance that was passed recently in Chicago Ridge.
The caller claimed it was more stringent and costly than Oak Lawn’s ordinance and was so upset that mention of a class action lawsuit was made. The caller stated that similar class action lawsuits were won in different states against unusually stringent and unfair practices under home rule. I am awaiting a return phone call from a real estate attorney to see if this is something that can be accomplished.
I checked the Internet and the Village of Chicago Ridge website and could not find any information regarding this ordinance. I was able to acquire a pdf of Oak Lawn’s ordinance but cannot even find a mention of this for Chicago Ridge.
So now we have two neighboring villages that have enacted these ordinances. I told the caller about the meeting at the village of Oak Lawn and how only a minority of attendees were against the ordinance, most likely real estate agents/brokers and landlords. Non-landlord residents prefer a strict ordinance for rental properties because they feel it will keep slum landlords and problem tenants under control. They don’t understand the economic crisis it could cause down the road.
As I mentioned in the Oak Lawn posts, they don’t think of the other impact this could have. What about landlords that want to sell their rental property? Single family sales won’t be affected as much as most people purchase to live in the property. But there are still investors of single family residences and whether they’re looking for homes or condos or apartment buildings, these future buyers might stay out of Oak Lawn and Chicago Ridge and purchase in a town that doesn’t have these heavy handed ordinances.
That could mean a tough market for sales of rental properties and some landlords might be forced to walk away from the building. That is not a good thing for the villages. Prices could very well fall for rental properties in Oak Lawn and Chicago Ridge. If there is something negative towards a property then price needs to be lowered to make the property desirable enough to purchase.
I just don’t see these kinds of ordinances to be beneficial to these southwest suburbs. They are too harsh and require more time and money spent on the landlord’s part. Add that to high taxes and ever growing maintenance fees and it’s difficult to justify owning rental properties in these areas.
The state has approved the use of these devices and there are plans to install them at 87th & Cicero Ave. in Hometown (might already be there, I’ll have to check) and at 95th and Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn. Two different vendors will be installing these. Other towns with applications for the red-light cameras are Berwyn, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Worth and I’m sure we’ll be hearing about more towns utilizing these photo detection systems. There are around 50 applications pending.
One of my favorite little dining spots in Oak Lawn is Millie’s restaurant located at 5172 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn IL 60453. The phone number is 708-423-9293.
We should be used to this kind of weather, shouldn’t we? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it! I’m taking my first trip to New York next month and I’m hoping things warm up a bit. I hate cold weather. Makes me want to visit a warmer state like Arizona, Florida or
As she was walking down a sidewalk in Oak Lawn just south of 95th St. and West of Cicero Ave., two rottweilers ran up to her and started circling. One jumped up and bit her on her arm (my daughter is over 5′ 10″ tall). She started screaming for help and the owner came out. He got the dogs away from her and explained, “They’ve never attacked a person before.” So I guess if I walked my little dogs past the house I’d be in court with this guy for allowing his dogs to run free and attack other animals.