16 hours ago, Zagapi said:

I may be misremembering, but does anyone know if there is a way to look-up building permits?

 

Currently trying to see if there are any demolition/construction permits for South Gordon Park that would prevent folks from using the fields.

 

I live here:

https://aca-prod.accela.com/COC/Welcome.aspx?TabName=Home&TabList=Home|0|BuildingHousing|1|Licenses|2|PublicHealth|3|PublicSafety|4|PublicService|5|CurrentTabIndex|0

17 hours ago, Zagapi said:

I may be misremembering, but does anyone know if there is a way to look-up building permits?

 

Currently trying to see if there are any demolition/construction permits for South Gordon Park that would prevent folks from using the fields.

You can't look up on this site, but it will send you periodic alerts based on zip code, which I find handy: 

 

https://www.neighborhoodalerts.com

If I wish to make a public comment to ask City Council to propose a new ordinance where would I submit that?

 

Do I need to send it to the respective committee Chair or my council member? The Policy Research Contact for the committee? The City Council itsself on a Monday Meeting?

I was looking on Foreflight tonight to check on a plane flying over my house and noticed a NOTAM for downtown near BKL, warning pilots of "Numerous high intensity beam searchlights" from Feb 24-26.   

 

Anyone have any intel?  From the map it looks like Public Square.   Perhaps testing for a Sherwin Williams grand opening show? 

 

 

11 hours ago, Cleburger said:

I was looking on Foreflight tonight to check on a plane flying over my house and noticed a NOTAM for downtown near BKL, warning pilots of "Numerous high intensity beam searchlights" from Feb 24-26.   

 

Anyone have any intel?  From the map it looks like Public Square.   Perhaps testing for a Sherwin Williams grand opening show? 

 

 

 

The grand opening isn't until October, so I doubt that. But it could be SHW installing the lighting on the tower itself.

17 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

 

The grand opening isn't until October, so I doubt that. But it could be SHW installing the lighting on the tower itself.

could it be preparation for the April lighting?

https://www.clevescene.com/news/illuminate-cle-lighting-installation-in-downtown-will-officially-debut-on-april-16-46099247

 

Has anyone read this? I might try to buy a copy but would love a rec, if possible. https://pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu/my-recollections-of-old-cleveland/

Hi -- My wife and I are thinking about buying a condominium (apartment style if that's the correct term). We've never purchased before. I really like the idea of living in a building but I'm concerned about HOA fees, specifically lack of control over them. It's probably an unreasonable fear, but I worry they can increase dramatically and would have little recourse. Same thing with potentially large problems with the building that would be a shared cost (an "assessment" I think it's called)? I'm sure there are other things I should be considering too.

 

Obviously I have some learning to do. Does anyone have some good resources for educating myself on this stuff? I should probably try to find a realtor but to be honest I've interacted with a handful over the last year as we've started thinking about this and I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't getting the full story from them and didn't feel particularly comfortable just taking their word on things. 

 

Appreciate any help/thoughts. Apologies if there's a better thread for this

 

Edited April 23Apr 23 by Jax

^

 

I've owned in condo buildings before but not in Cleveland. In my case it was Chicago, but I imagine the same things to be aware of hold true. I'd make sure your realtor is getting this info and has experience with such properties. Some things I'd want to see are the HOA rules, a copy of the HOA meeting minutes from the last year, a history of building financials/reserves going back several years, if any large projects or assessments are planned, if there are any rental restrictions or caps on the units, and what the association fee covers (common insurance, maintenance, utilities, etc.). 

Jax, I've lived in an apartment-style condo for 29 years, served on our condo association board (twice), flipped condos, and done a fair amount of browsing of apartment-style condos.

 

Unfortunately, most of the apartment-style condo buildings that exist in Greater Cleveland are old (50-80 years). Some of them have not been maintained very well and are having to pay the price through exorbitant, short-term special assessments. Condo associations are required by state law to maintain a minimum reserve fund (based on a percent of total operating $) for capital projects. Many fund it at the legal minimum. Ask to see the association's budget from the board president.

 

Understandably, boards are reluctant to charge themselves (they're all residents too) increased regular maintenance fees to be ready for unexpected repairs. If they don't, they'll got surprised anyway and have to charge brutal, short-term (5-10 years) special assessments. Unfortunately, the older the building, the more likely they are to have special assessments even if they do maintain a healthy reserve fund. And unfortunately, buildings with underground parking garages are facing major repairs because concrete tends to fall apart after about 50 years of NE Ohio heating and cooling (those with heated garages like ours tend to fare better). See: https://fox8.com/news/construction-company-owner-charged-in-lakewood-parking-garage-collapse/

 

Ideally, you want to find a condo building that is well-maintained thanks to a responsible board and keeps regular maintenance fees high to avoid spikes in special assessments. If there's an old (50-plus years) building with a low maintenance fee, it's probably because they don't have a costly infrastructure to maintain, such as a vertical building with at least two elevators, a below-ground parking garage, tenant amenity spaces (fitness center, community room with kitchen, etc) or an indoor pool (especially a costly indoor top-floor pool like ours!).

 

If they have all that stuff and relatively low maintenance fees, I would inspect that building with a magnifying glass before I would buy there! You're simply not going to find an amenity-laden, well-maintained old building with with lots of infrastructure and a low maintenance fee. But I would ask around for opinions about the building, especially of some younger or middle-aged residents who have been in the building for at least five years. Don't ask an older person because most of them are cranky. 😉

 

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much really appreciate it.