Saturday, August 18, 2012

Tenants In 32-Unit Apartment Building In Foreclosure Battle To Hang On While Receiverships Fail; Lender Fiddles, Landlord's Whereabouts: Unknown

In Chicago, Illinois, AustinTalks reports:
  • More than a dozen tenants and community members called on BMO/Harris Bank last week to fix the “dangerous” living conditions in one of its Austin apartment buildings it foreclosed in 2008.

    This is not the first time tenants of the 32-unit building, located at 5159 W. West End Ave., voiced their concerns about bedbugs, roaches, rodents, leaking ceilings and broken windows, among other hazards.

    Since April, tenants living at the property held three press conferences and went to court multiple times but have yet to see any substantial changes. The building’s court-appointed receiver, which acts as its temporary landlord during the foreclosure process, changed twice since April.

    A city-appointed emergency receiver, Community Initiative Inc., also stepped in mid-April to speed up pressing issues in the apartment complex, such as turning on the building’s utilities, replacing broken windows and fixing plumbing and electrical problems, according to the court order on April 10 provided by Chicago’s Law Department.

    A representative with the current receiver, Peak Properties, said in a May court appearance that Peak Properties doesn’t have the money to correct the issues with building, AustinTalks reported.