In 1961 there was a building called Imperial Towers here in
Chicago. The building was fantastic as
it was a project that addressed not only a need, but did it expertly. At the time I was employed with, associated
with, and/or allied with a group of old timers in the real estate market who
enjoyed not only 'our' success but that of everyone else. My employer, Joseph Ronsley, was the
ultimate spectator - he knew what he was looking at and most importantly he
seemed to be novice to know everyone and everything. Most importantly for me he was a wonderful
teacher. It is too bad that I was not as
wonderful a student as I should have been.
By selling me a bill of goods and taking advantage of my ego,
Ronsley induced me to acquire a law degree and to convince me that if I set my
mind to something I could do anything. It took me about fifteen seconds
thereafter to learn the harsh truth. A
Sow's ear could not be made into a silk purse but a silk purse could be turned
into some less than a sow's ear. He and
his friends instilled a principle into me, "THE TRUTH IS THE BEST
LIE" It is amazing how you can
offer up the 'truth' as an excuse and no one will believe it!
The Imperial Towers building was incredible and I wandered
out into the Western Suburbs of Chicago and found a 1000 acre plot of land that
I fell in love with. I secured an
option to purchase and plotted along trying to develop it. Out of the woodwork fell literally dozens of
the most helpful people. Within months
I had a development plan that was literally making my ego as large as all
outdoors. I intended to copy the model
of Imperial Towers as a retirement income community complete with a major
shopping center, a championship golf course etc. Financing offers of 110% rolled in and my
center of the universe was me!
The Fall was swift!
I cracked several ribs in a pickup football game and wound up taped up -
as was the treatment at that time. As I
was young I healed quickly and the ordeal of having the tape removed
loomed! To avoid the agony, I decided
to soak the tape off and made a hot bath.
Of course I had to do something in the bath while the adhesive
dissolved, so I took out a copy of the geological reports for the area of my
project and studied them. They made no
impression upon me until about 2:00 A.M, when I woke with a start! the words Bermurly's (sp) Principle (or
something like that) started to bother me.
I woke my wife to ask her what the hell it was! She woke and started to explain it to me,
but at that time of the morning I was too dense to understand. So we call cousin Lester C**** who happened
to be a project engineer on the General Electric "Echo project" (this was a space project). Les explained the principle in words and
phrases that a dunce such as me could understand and together we went through
the geological reports (US Geological Service) that I read and determined that
the project was wonderful but the top floors of the building would be without
water. Such would be a disaster!
Indeed, the architect and engineers had made a very serious
mistake! As the developer my job was to
nurse the project and I did something very unpopular - I killed the pending
closing and the project! Without the
dozens of condominiums that would be eliminated from the development the
project was not self sustainable - in fact it would have a killer assessment
and no fill the expectation that was the project.
I endured harsh criticism from some people but I refused to
go further unless convinced that we could make the project viable consistent
with the plans that had been represented.
Most of the investors and cohorts understood and worked with me on other
projects over the years. I tell you this
not to blow my horn but to point out a change in our National attitude. Today the norm is to close your eyes to a
problem and cast blame! So many of the
developments that are built have high assessments and are affordable due to
poor planning a failure of the developer to kill a project that is not designed
properly. The fact that no one will
notice is a key element of design - rather than a worry about meeting the
actual standards that are promulgated.
Intellectual honesty, while only a first cousin to actual
honesty, is essential if a pride of accomplishment is to be achieved. Yes - the project may make money - but it
also has to provide satisfaction. A job
well done is more important than whether it makes money.
Why do I tell you all this? I do so because I have been troubled by the
HOA frauds and the plight of so many of the homeowners lured into development
projects that do not meet the needs of the residents. The government has attempted to do
something about this with legislation.
15 USCA 1701 and the Consumer protection acts in particular are serious
attempts to address the problem, however, these acts require prior to purchase
that a homeowner do due diligence.
Caveat Emptor is still the law of the land. So many potential homeowners still try to
navigate the quagmire of home ownership without a competent lawyer! ***** The traps are out there and in too many
instances the developer has not done his homework either. The net is that there is a disaster waiting
to happen IF YOU DO NOT DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND DO IT WELL! The penalty is a personal disaster that
could have been avoided.
The focus on corrupt political souls, corrupt businessmen,
etc is well placed, but never forget to focus upon our own corruption - i.e.
the failure to do our homework.
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