nasdun

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GCrites80s - Very good points. I almost forgot about Taco Bells actually have bells in the top center of their buildings. I also didn't realize how many restaurants really got into their designs in the 70's and even 80's. Like each one really set the mood. When you live through it you sometimes forget how neat it was. UncleRando - Go back 100 years and who would have thought plain brick front row buildings would be so unique people would form groups just to protect them from demolition or would hold tours showing them off. You can always rebuild a building, it's the history connected to the building or a neighborhood, etc. that I think really gets to people in the end. The age of it. Just like with antiques, collectibles... the less there is of something, the more valuable it generally is. There were fights to save a 1950's McDonald's, but there were also fights to save a 1950's Dairy Queen. When it gets down to just a few of something left, that's when people start chaining themselves to the trees. And I'm not saying that in 50 or 100 years that any of these types of structures will be safe from demolition, I just wonder if people will consider them relics like we do today when something very old disappears from the landscape.

Do you guys ever think that in maybe 50 years a new generation is gonna be complaining that we didn't at least save 1 or 2 of these unique Arby's buildings? I know this might sound goofy, but I'm being serious. I never thought much about them until they started being demolished in numerous locations and then replaced with the new rectangular stucco/brick copycat looking style they now are building. I grew up in Middletown and they tore theirs down a few years ago to replace it with the new bland style and I kinda miss the old one. The old one even had a glass type tunnel leading down a ramp to the dining area. I mean for a fast food restaurant, you have to give them a little credit for the unique buildings they built back in the 70's.

The fire chief guy said it started in one of the steeples and then spread across a catwalk to the other one. It's turning out the images on tv were far worse than the actual damage. Although that is pretty dramatic with the tops of the steeples crashing down in itself.

LOL I just found it. 4400 Muchmore Point. It never fails, it seems like the hardest ones to find are always the most boring when found. Not a bad looking house, but not worth the hunt!

I just read in the Cincinnati Enquirer that the fire damage was limited to the steeples. It didn't damage the actual church. If no one donates the funds to rebuild the steeples then they can at least chop them off for now and make new tops rather than demolish the whole building. That would be ridiculous.

I already did searches under her maiden name as well (Tina Elfers). I'm pretty good at finding out information like this, but this property has stumped me. I also did a search for their names on the Ohio SOS web sites where you can look up LLC contacts. Nothing came up on the recorder's site as well. This is about the best hidden owner I have ever ran across.

They showed it on the news after it was pretty much contained. The whole building there with basically just the steeples charred and the news reporter was saying "the entire building is a loss". Did the fire burn the interior of the church or was it just the tops of the steeples? I hope the owners don't use this as an excuse to tear the church down. It's such an incredible building. Pictures do not do it justice. This is a time when someone like the Lindners should step up and fork over the restoration money before it is a lost landmark.

I'm not a fan of his and not interested in stalking him and all that fun stuff, but does anyone know where his home is in Indian Hill? I like knowing these things. I have never been able to find it and I'm usually pretty good at it. Carl Lindner, Richard Farmer, Marge Schott, Marvin Lewis, Carson Palmer, Johnny Bench, Vidal Sassoon, Chad Johnson, TJ Houshmanzada, Ken Griffey, David Justice and countless others = easy to find. I've read articles where they mention Frampton's house, but never enough clues to figure out where it is. All I wanna know is what it looks like. So, anybody know???

I've never been there. They have some videos on YouTube that are pretty cool to watch. I think they're even produced by the estate. I've seen it a few times on that "America's Castles" show on A&E. Yep, that one is completely unreal. The Aaron Spelling house is one of my favorites to check out. I've never seen any interior photos. I can't imagine living in a 40,000 sq ft plus house. I wonder how big the Indian Hill one is on Cunningham Rd. The one Chesley owns behind the greenbelt on Camargo was in MLS as being 25,000 sq ft, but auditor says it is 14,516. Maybe MLS was including the lower level. I think I read one time that Biltmore is 175,000 sq ft. That's like the size of a Meijer store.

Just ran across these photos on Flickr of the penthouses in the American Building. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekalb/sets/72157603798483230/

I kinda put houses like this in the same category as Aaron Spelling's house or Biltmore. I love looking at them, but that's about it.

LOL, MTS... no he doesn't, I took that back!

I don't think I could ever live in something like that either. I guess I'm just fascinated with "look at me, I got money" architecture. To see that in person is pretty cool b/c it is so large and so wide. I think it's funny that whoever put that video on YouTube has Kelly Clarkson "Never Again" on the radio.

LOL

I love this house and in person it is even more incredible. I'm not real crazy about the main entrance, but I like the randomness of the rest of it and the way it bends. From the photo here it looks like it is stucco, but it is actually blond brick like Michigan Terrace has on it. It also looks like a 2 story brick outdoor fireplace is in the back. The garage is underground on the far left. Not sure if there are other garages. It's located at 9150 Cunningham Rd. A lady I used to work with back in the late 90's at West Shell had a nephew that bought the house that used to sit there. He owns some type of business that makes machine parts or something like that. Anyway, he paid around $1.5m for it and tore the house down so he could build his own home. He had a hard time selling his huge house on Ross Dr. in Mason at Heritage Club. I don't think he ever ended up selling yet. It's kinda suburbia brick, stone, look at my turret kind of house. He even installed an 8 car garage that looked like a 4 car, but each stall was like an elevator (like at auto repair place) and it would lower the cars down to his basement. Seems like it would have been easier and cheaper to just have 8 on one level. Anyway, he sold the Cunningham property to one of the Grammas brothers (they own office buildings, shopping centers, etc. I think) for $1.65m. I think one of their sons is part owner of Bang on 4th St. I like the mix shape of the outside where it looks like it was added onto over time, but perfectly matched materials. I found a video a while back on YouTube and saved it to my favorites. Somebody did a drive by on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uchp-7NSSQQ&NR=1 Somebody mentioned a house selling for $14,000,000 in this area. Which one was that? I know Stan Chesley paid $8,000,000 for one over on Camargo, basically right behind the green belt that is behind this house.

I can't believe nobody has ignored me yet.

I like the Porter House save too. It looks so good it almost looks like it was built new that way. I agree on the other 2 also. What a waste saving the front of that parking garage. That's the old stock exchange place, right? And that church? That looks ridiculous. What's funny is you hear a facade will be saved and that's all cool, but then just like regular construction we're going to have to deal with ugly saves, bad saves, weird saves. Maybe this is a trend that should cool down, well not really. I guess we'll never eliminate bad architects from the world.

There are a lot on those pages. I was surprised that many were in Mason. I wonder how many of those listings are outdated. Having been in the real estate business and marketing bank homes since '02, certain areas have very few foreclosures. Mason is one of them. I just went on MLS though and looked up solds over $1,000,000 in the last 5 years within 2 miles of downtown Mason and there were 66 sales. 18 of those sales were over $1,500,000. And that doesn't include the probably 20-30 that were not in MLS, but went directly through a builder or custom built, etc. Here's another interesting fact (and this again doesn't include custom built homes or builder direct that are not in MLS), in the last 5 years 393 homes sold within 2 miles of downtown Mason starting at $500,000. That's a lot of money surrounding that little downtown. Granted, there are also numerous homes within a few blocks of the downtown that sell below $100,000... but you're talking older and smaller type homes that are mostly in modest condition. Future tear downs for sure. Downtown Mason almost has no choice but to become high end in the future.

But Mt. Adams is a destination place. You have to keep up those types of areas b/c that just adds to the flavor of the city. Putting that money into areas where there is no pride may be good spirited and I see your point, but Mt. Adams is a show place and needs to stay that way. Also, with the amount of property taxes paid by owners on that hill, they deserve a little funding like that once in a while. Some of those home owners are paying $25,000-$30,000 a year in property taxes alone.

I like the look of downtown Mason and can't wait to see how it develops over the next several years. Having so many million dollar homes within 1-2 miles of the Mason downtown core can only help. I understand liking storybook looking downtowns, but I don't get the overall concensus on this board that everything has to look like late 19th, early 20th century row buildings to count as being legitimate. High end finish work and just being plain clean is far more important in my opinion. St. Gregory St. only has a few old row type commercial buildings for that business district, but I don't think too many would turn their nose at that little downtown area. I think Mason has a nice little mix of architecture. Sure, some of it needs redone (like the 5/3 Bank building on the corner), but it has one of the coolest city buildings I've ever seen. If any of you have been inside of it you will know what I mean. Very cool art deco inside and out (even after the remodel). Even their new city building is pretty over the top with the big boulder rocks out front. I like the new square they are building. That sculpture is supposed to be glass I think. It's going to be interesting to see how that turns out. You have to look at Mason's medians to get a feel for how they fix things up when they get going. I've never seen a town overly landscape and have lawn sprinklers in their medians before. It's really weird to drive down Mason Montgomery Rd. in the early morning and get a car wash at the same time. But it's worth it b/c those medians look like a million bucks and are a nice entry way into the city. No matter how pathetic it is.

That's pretty intersting about the old theatre facade on the convention center. I did not know that. It's too bad they didn't find a way to incorporate the old marquee or make a replica with the center's name on it.

I'm not sure how it works in Michigan, but I'll let you know how it works in Ohio, particularly the Cincinnati area. I have personally sold over $25,000,000 worth of bank foreclosure properties in the last few years and deal with this regularly. Again, what I'm saying is what goes on here in Ohio. 1 - The owner being in foreclosure doesn't relieve you of your obligation to pay rent. Technically the owner could come up with his late fees, payments, refinance or other options which would not interrupt your living situation. That notice does nothing more than alert you as the occupant as to what is going on. Having said all that... I have never seen one tenant continue to pay rent once they find out. And usually if a property owner is in foreclosure they are not going to spend a dime trying to evict you b/c they're probably low on funds. The only way you can mess up your credit is if the owner does come after you in court. If they do that and you go to court as well and claim you were saving your rent for moving expenses, etc. b/c of the foreclosure the judge may just rule in your favor. I've never even heard of any owner in default taking a tenant to court, but I'm sure it's happened. I have heard of owners in default collecting rent till the last minute and not telling the tenants. I recently sold a 3 family in Norwood and the owner was collecting rent right up until a week before the sheriff auction. 2 - The bank/mortgage company will NOT let you stay there under any circumstance. Once it goes to auction, if the bank is the successful bidder, it's over for you living there. If an investor or whoever else buys it at auction, then you do have a chance of staying if the new owner will allow you to continue renting. If it is a multi-family or a rental type area that attracts investors and not owner occupieds, then that's the type of buyer that might buy it. If the bank is the successful bidder, you still have time and might be able to make some money from it (I'll get to that in a minute at #3). Here's what happens... in Ohio even after an auction has ended, the former owner has 30 days to redeem the property. This means they have to come up with what they owe and late fees, etc. If they do this then it cancels out the winning bidder at the auction. Once the 30 days are over, then it goes directly to the winning bidder. If the winning bidder is someone other than the bank, then you have to wait for that individual to close on it. It's different depending on the county around here. Usually a new owner has closed on it within 30-45 days of the auction date, since it is rare for someone to redeem a property. Most get financing lined up or were ready to purchase with cash before bidding so that's how they are ready to close within a few weeks after the 30 day period has ended. If the auction is on December 6th, then you have until January 6th for the redemption period to end. If the bank takes it back at auction, then it automatically becomes theirs at the end of those 30 days as long as all stages of the foreclosure, deed were handled properly. And with the volume of foreclosures around here, I sometimes do not get a property after an auction from the bank for like 3 or 4 months after the redemption period b/c of mistakes made by the foreclosing attorney. Sometimes I will get them as fast as 2 weeks after. Lately it has been running 2 months behind or so. I heavily cut down my volume of foreclosures over the last year b/c I started buying/rehabbing houses with a couple partners, but even with the reduced volume I'm still seeing things operating as they have for the last few years. 3 - Like I said in the section above, if an investor buys it you might have a good chance of staying put. If a bank buys it you will be moving no matter what. But here's what the bank will do. They'll send the file to a real estate agent. Now sometimes I am sent properties up to a year before the bank is ready to sell them for whatever reason. Most of the time it isn't that long of a wait. Anyway, the real estate agent or a securing type company will go to the property to see if it is occupied. If it is, then they report that back to the bank. The bank at that point will automatically file an eviction, even if you're all boxed up. They just do it as a "just in case". The agent or securing company will let you know that the bank has taken the property back in a foreclosure situation (which automatically terminates your previous lease) and they need you to move out. They will offer you money to move out. A few years ago it was $500-$750, sometimes $1,000. This past year I have had my banks pay as much as $2,500 for a tenant to move out and no less than $1,500 in the last year. They are willing to pay this money b/c it keeps them from having to pay legal fees for the eviction, plus the time lost with a tenant, etc. The rules to get that check usually state you will leave the place in broom swept condition. Someone will have to fill out a W9 from the agent to get the check from the bank. They will most likely require you to move out in a short period of time. The quicker you move, the more money they'll pay. If you take a full 30 days, they may just say no b/c at that point they're near the end of the eviction they filed once they found out you were living there. If you plan ahead, just make sure you are ready to move within 2 weeks of being contacted. If the agent or securing company give you a hard time, just give them one of those "hey, we're renting, we didn't even know this was going on and we need money to move, etc." If you are dealing with a normal agent they'll repeat all this info to their bank rep and your payment from them will be higher. It's called a CFK (cash for keys) situation at the banks. As for your area, I'd call your county sheriff and ask for the department that handles the sheriff sales. When you get someone from that department on the phone, don't get into a big story with them on the phone, just ask how long a property owner has to redeem their property after the auction date. Then you'll know if it is 30 days like Ohio or more or less. Here's something that could throw a curve ball into the situation. And this happens lately on probably over half of my properties... the owner files bankruptcy at the last minute. Sometimes literally the morning of the auction it is filed. If this happens, you're looking at 6-9 months before it can go up for auction again b/c that bankruptcy automatically cancels the sale. If a sale does happen that day, it will be cancelled b/c of the bankruptcy filing. Now if the owner of your building does this, he may be attempting to keep the property or he may just be buying time thinking he can collect rents for another 6-9 months after only paying about $600 to file a bankruptcy. If that happens, you're probably going to have no choice but to pay rent or he'll just evict you. But at least that gives you another half a year or more to stay there or make plans to move elsewhere. Hope this helps.

I bought a PBS documentary on DVD recently about New York. It's 8 DVDs with about 17 or so hours starting back 400 years ago. I recommend anyone to buy this box set b/c it is just completely fascinating from start to finish. One of the things it talks about is the lack of historic preservation. Even back in the late 1700's there were protests to stop the demolition of what some considered historic structures. One poet wrote that he feared leaving New York for more than a handful of years b/c he was afraid he wouldn't find his own home or neighborhood when he got back. And that was written over 200 years ago. So this has always been how NYC operates. It has always demolished and replaced for 400 years. I also didn't realize that one of the big draws to NYC was that it was always a "modern" city. So those old buildings we see now that are relics of the 1800's-early 1900's were considered very modern by the rest of the world back then. One property they mention is the Schwab Mansion built on Riverside Drive in 1905 at a cost of $2,500,000. Charles J. Schwab bought the land in 1901 for $800,000. Adjusting for inflation, we're talking about $60,000,000 to build it on dirt that cost about $20,000,000. Anyway, that house only lasted until 1948, but talks started in the 1920's on a way to tear it down to build a high rise on the lot. I've read it was anywhere from 75-100 rooms. It was even offered by Schwab to the city of New York as a mayor's residence. The mayor at the time, Fiorello LaGuardia, passed on it and chose Gracie Mansion instead. Eventually in 1950 a 17 story 648 unit apartment building was built on the site. Top 2 photos & the bottom photo were found online, photos 3 & 4 come from the New York Times. I think the back looks better than the front. It faced the Hudson River. Front Back Roof is dismantled Wrecking ball takes down one of the towers And this beauty is what replaced it