I recently read an article in the Chicago Reader about growing frustrations in the Washington Park neighborhood.
“The block at the southwest corner of Garfield and King is dominated by empty lots with knee-high weeds, and as I walked toward it from the nearby Green Line station a couple groups of young men were milling in them.. “ (Chicago Reader, http://tinyurl.com/2axgnrm)
This is being seen in several neighborhoods, some not tied to Olympic Dreams as Washington Park was. When foreclosures on blocks start to grow, not only do these homes fall to disrepair and lawns become unkept, but home values in the immediate area can become affected.
On some city blocks, abandoned homes have given rise to illicit activity, raising crime levels. Some neighborhoods however are starting to move past that for the better, but with the current economic environment, it is a long road. Current homeowners are now faced with neighbors emptying out and lower home values, or relocating and potentially selling at a loss.
However, in one city block, I have witnessed neighbors mowing the lawns of abandoned homes and picking up newspapers and fliers that otherwise would pile up endlessly in front of homes. If it wasn’t for an auction sign in front of one property, most people may have not realized that there were five foreclosures on the block.
I have heard that people that getting the aldermen and police involved as well as attending community helps, although in the previous article it seems that residents in the area reached an impasse.
Investors and buyers have helped some of these areas by taking possession of some of these foreclosed homes and either renting them out, or rehabbing them, in either case populating the areas again, paying real estate taxes and maintaining properties. This is especially true in areas that have attributes such as landmarks/point of interests, accessibility to transportation or roads.
With the expiration of the tax credit, many are looking at the stats and watching how home sales will be affected.
Read Mick Dumke’s full post on the Chicago Reader
Sherwin is a REALTOR® in the Chicago & Suburban area with @properties. Questions can be forwarded to Sherwin Sucaldito
”Growing Frustration” by Sherwin Sucaldito is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at Realty Evolved
One thought on “Growing Frustration”
Not interested in these areas, all speculation. Stick to more news about downtown and Old Town so I know when I can sell my home.