My Condo Dilemma

[JoeB131]

i hope it all goes well for you

Thank you.

It has gone reasonable well.
I closed on the 8th.
New Furniture was delivered on the 11th.
I moved on the 13th... and had most of my stuff unpacked by the 14th. I have one more box to sort through.
The big glitch has been Comcast not being able to install my cable, so I just gave up on Comcast and went with AT&T.

 

[Flopper]

Thank you.

It has gone reasonable well.
I closed on the 8th.
New Furniture was delivered on the 11th.
I moved on the 13th... and had most of my stuff unpacked by the 14th. I have one more box to sort through.
The big glitch has been Comcast not being able to install my cable, so I just gave up on Comcast and went with AT&T.

Does AT&T in your area offer cable like Comcast or is all the programing coming across the Internet. I've been having trouble with Comcast cable for the last several months, slow response, cable boxes rebooting once or twice everyday. I would dump them and just get everything over the Internet if it wasn't for the wife. She doesn't want to deal with the Internet.

 

[JoeB131]

Does AT&T in your area offer cable like Comcast or is all the programing coming across the Internet. I've been having trouble with Comcast cable for the last several months, slow response, cable boxes rebooting once or twice everyday. I would dump them and just get everything over the Internet if it wasn't for the wife. She doesn't want to deal with the Internet.

Actually, I got AT&T in and yes, they have DirecTV which essentially gives you MOST of what you would get with basic cable. (I can't get WGN because while it's a major TV station here in Chicago, it's not affiliated with a national network.) You hook up your modem to the internet and then get your TV through a firestick.

When I went to Comcast yesterday to turn in my equipment, there was a whole basket full of old modems and cable boxes... I'd be very surprised if Comcast doesn't have to change it's business model soon.

 

[Flopper]

Actually, I got AT&T in and yes, they have DirecTV which essentially gives you MOST of what you would get with basic cable. (I can't get WGN because while it's a major TV station here in Chicago, it's not affiliated with a national network.) You hook up your modem to the internet and then get your TV through a firestick.

When I went to Comcast yesterday to turn in my equipment, there was a whole basket full of old modems and cable boxes... I'd be very surprised if Comcast doesn't have to change it's business model soon.

I think Comcast is attempting to change their business model by providing specialized channels and local TV channels which they have done for years adding apps to all the popular streaming services. This allows customers to access all the cable channels as well all the streaming services with only a cable box and a remote making it very easy for users, no computers, monitors, mice, or internet providers. However the performance if far below what one gets with a good Internet connection. The quality of the video and sound is only mediocre and the speed is slow because it all runs through the cable connection. You also have to pay a fee for these streaming services.

 

[JoeB131]

So I haven't updated this thread in a while, and I thought I should.

Flopper g5000 strollingbones

The lawsuit between the Dead-Enders and the Board/Investors/Law Firm has dragged on for its 8th month. The main thing dragging it out was the Dead-enders continuing to ask for more documentation under Due Diligence. Also part of the problem is that it was assigned to a judge who retired in June and he kept kicking it down the road hoping to foist this mess onto the next guy.

The next Judge is going to take two months to review all the documentation and (hopefully) come to a decision in August. About another two months after that to close.

Fortunately, around January, I started to figure this thing wasn't going to go quickly, so I quickly threw some repairs on the unit and got it rented out. About $5500 in repairs and another $1000 to market it through the same nice lady who helped me find my new place. This means that I can now claim these repairs as an operating expense and deduct them from my taxes next year.

Oh, also the people suing to stop the sale got emails for all the other owners, and have been sending out emails asking for money. The responses I've seen indicate the other owners are about as pissed about this as I am.

 

[strollingbones]

still getting screwed on this?

 

[miketx]

still getting screwed on this?

I hope so.

 

[JoeB131]

still getting screwed on this?

Um, kind of...

I think I've made a lot of the right calls on this, since I have a renter in there now, I'm not losing money on HOA and mortgage payments. (I'm also not making money).

So it could have been a LOT worse.

Here's where I still think I am coming out ahead on the deal.

If I waited for the sale to go through to buy a new place, I'd be paying an interest rate of 6%+ instead of the 3.25% I got locked into last November. That translates into thousands of dollars I am saving every year.

And my new place is SOOOOOO much nicer. Nicer neighborhood, nicer amenities. Heck, I've even seen an uptick in my resume side business because I have a more favorable address in Google results.

 

[JoeB131]

I hope so.

And this is the problem with your movement...

You guys have become awful for the sake of being awful.

I might disagree with you, but I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to anyone here.

It isn't even like you guys are trying to accomplish anything positive anymore.

 

[miketx]

And this is the problem with your movement...

You guys have become awful for the sake of being awful.

I might disagree with you, but I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to anyone here.

It isn't even like you guys are trying to accomplish anything positive anymore.

Can't stop lying can you?

 

[Flopper]

Thank you.

It has gone reasonable well.
I closed on the 8th.
New Furniture was delivered on the 11th.
I moved on the 13th... and had most of my stuff unpacked by the 14th. I have one more box to sort through.
The big glitch has been Comcast not being able to install my cable, so I just gave up on Comcast and went with AT&T.

I had AT&T some years ago. It's ok, probably cheaper than Comcast. If you don't mind doing it yourself as far as your choice in program sources, you can generally save a lot of money by just getting an Internet connection installed and subscribing to what you really are interested in versus buying a large package and watching only 3 or 4 channels. Roku is a good starting place on the Internet.

The reason people go for Comcast (Xfinity) is that it is very easy to use and you don't have to buy anything. The cost are all monthly so you can make changes at anytime. Having a remote with a a common user interface is really nice so no matter what channel you select, you can pause, rewind, forward space, record, get info on the program etc in exactly the same way. One of things I don't like about streaming services is that there is no common interface. Every service does it differently.

DirectTV offers some nice Internet packages with a common interface so it is more like having cable but there is no cable just Internet. However the cost is pretty high.

 

[strollingbones]

i think you have done as much as you can to insulate yourself from this mess....which is dragging out...keep up the good work you may be the only thing saving your ass....

 

[JoeB131]

Flopper strollingbones

Okay, to update any interested parties.

The case FINALLY made it to court, and the new judge rejected ALL the arguments made by the opponents of the sale.

The opposing lawyer was disshevelled, late for court and really didn't make very good arguments. He even got into weird tangents about UFO and Bigfoot.

To recap their arguments -

They claimed the Condo Board's term had expired, and therefore they weren't authorized to engage in a negotiation to sell the complex. Except nowhere does it specify when the condo board expires, except when elections are held for a new one. (Elections had been delayed due to Covid).

The judge ruled that under such circumstances, no contract a condo board made could be valid, even for things like maintenance and snow removal.

The other argument they made was that a letter sent last August constituted coercion. Nope. Judge ruled it was a valid negotiating stance.

So with luck, I will get my payout in October.

 

[strollingbones]

ahh the joy of court....good luck...let us know how this ends

 

[JoeB131]

ahh the joy of court....good luck...let us know how this ends

Oh, the court part is FINALLY over. Judge ruled in our favor on all points.

They could appeal, but they are out of money.

 

[Flopper]

Flopper strollingbones

Okay, to update any interested parties.

The case FINALLY made it to court, and the new judge rejected ALL the arguments made by the opponents of the sale.

The opposing lawyer was disshevelled, late for court and really didn't make very good arguments. He even got into weird tangents about UFO and Bigfoot.

To recap their arguments -

They claimed the Condo Board's term had expired, and therefore they weren't authorized to engage in a negotiation to sell the complex. Except nowhere does it specify when the condo board expires, except when elections are held for a new one. (Elections had been delayed due to Covid).

The judge ruled that under such circumstances, no contract a condo board made could be valid, even for things like maintenance and snow removal.

The other argument they made was that a letter sent last August constituted coercion. Nope. Judge ruled it was a valid negotiating stance.

So with luck, I will get my payout in October.

Good Luck but don't spend the money till it is in your hand. Delaying is name of game when it comes to court ordered payments.

 

[JoeB131]

Good Luck but don't spend the money till it is in your hand. Delaying is name of game when it comes to court ordered payments.

Well, I should get my payouts in one lump sum in October, which will be the whatever is left over after paying off my mortgage and closing costs... I am estimating about $57,000. I plan to put that into my retirement fund. After an unplanned spike in having to do a refurbishment of my current unit to get a tenant in there, I've paid off that debt and am building my savings at about $2000 a month now above what my expenses are.

So I had to put $20,000 down on my new place, plus $5000 to buy new furnishing for it, plus $7000 to refurbish the old place to get a tenant in there. So I am still coming out about $25,000 ahead on the deal. I should be able to write off most of the Refurbishing costs on my taxes next year. And frankly, I should have replaced my furniture years ago. A lot of the furniture I had was stuff that had followed me from my place in Cicero in the 1990's.

 

[Flopper]

Well, I should get my payouts in one lump sum in October, which will be the whatever is left over after paying off my mortgage and closing costs... I am estimating about $57,000. I plan to put that into my retirement fund. After an unplanned spike in having to do a refurbishment of my current unit to get a tenant in there, I've paid off that debt and am building my savings at about $2000 a month now above what my expenses are.

So I had to put $20,000 down on my new place, plus $5000 to buy new furnishing for it, plus $7000 to refurbish the old place to get a tenant in there. So I am still coming out about $25,000 ahead on the deal. I should be able to write off most of the Refurbishing costs on my taxes next year. And frankly, I should have replaced my furniture years ago. A lot of the furniture I had was stuff that had followed me from my place in Cicero in the 1990's.

Sounds like you did well. Good idea putting money in retirement. I expect the market will down for at least a few more months with the fed increasing interest rates but I wouldn't try to time purchases.