Cleveland Real Estate News » Judge Pianka

More Cleveland Housing Court/Judge Pianka News

Carole Cohen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:38:47 +0000

According to the PD, Judge Pianka has lifted the injunction against Wells Fargo but put a new twist on requirements for them and the vacant properties they own within the City limits. Apparently they were ordered to put up a million dollar bond which also apparently covers costs to demolish approximately 100 of their homes.

I was hoping to find more details on the Housing Court website. I did not, but did find it an interesting read for my geeky soul. For example, there are essays written by Judge Pianka, like this one about what makes a neighborhood healthy. Hartford Connecticut’s Neighborhood’s of Hartford Inc (NHI) explains the general theory in their mission statement. You can read about it here.

Judge Pianka begins his essay talking about a neighborhood planning consulting group in Alexandria Virginia so you know I had to google CZB LLC. Featured on their home page sidebar is an article called Tea Leaves In Cleveland about a book written in 1992 by Northwestern University Professor Alex Kotlowitz (I had the pleasure of listening to him at the Levin College Forum). On this planning consulting firms website, they look at tools used prior to 1992 and since then, and come to this conclusion:

The Cleveland story is important not for telling us we have a problem, but that the way we have been addressing this problem has not worked and is not going to work. Tax credit housing, CBO/CDC-based real estate development, concentrated subsidy, market misidentification, housing where the jobs aren’t. These have been tried and have not worked.

I love to read, using the old fashioned method is best for me. But isn’t it a rush to read things on line and then be able to do more investigation on line to get into more depth? Gotta love that too. But I digress…

Have you been reading the articles about Slavic Village, Housing Court and Judge Pianka, only to have questions about what exactly The Court does? Here is a link to their FAQ page. Better to be proactive and forewarned. I also think knowledge is power (yes I know, original, huh). Anyway, the FAQ page answers questions about code violations, tenant evictions, and more.

Peace Out – 3C

What Do You Think About Judge Pianka’s Decision?

Carole Cohen — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:06:59 +0000

Something tells me it might not matter that the lawsuit brought against those 21 lenders was thrown out. Why? Judge Pianka of Cleveland’s Housing Court has issued what sounds to me like a precedent setting decision. An injunction again, this time just against Wells Fargo. They are to bring their foreclosed houses up to code or demolish them, before trying to sell them. And they better prove they are up to code if they are trying to sell them for less than $40,000. You can read about it here in Sandra Livingston’s PD article. Peace out – 3C

Lawsuit is Dismissed but Judge Pianka May Have a Better Plan Anyway

Carole Cohen — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:36:02 +0000

When you think about it, there are housing codes already in existence that could be used as the carrot to make large vacant property land owners do the right thing. And code enforcement might be a better strategy than trying to sue those 21 loan servicers. You can read the PD coverage of Judge Pianka’s decision here.

The first leg of this strategy (at least I hope it’s only the first leg) was for Judge Pianka and the Housing Court to bring another injunction against Wells Fargo. Judge Pianka gave out a similar ruling in December of last year, but it was only regarding 11 of Wells’ properties; this covers their entire inventory. I can’t tell for sure from reading the Sandra Livingston article, but my interpretation is that they (Wells) need to get their inventory of almost 200 homes up to code before they can sell them, and the injunction might be in place for 28 days (unless the violations are corrected sooner?).

Is it possible that the other defendants in the now dismissed case will see this action and decide to bring these properties up to code before they are hit with the same injunction? That would be great. If not, I’m betting Judge Pianka is ready to take action against some others as well.

The phrase there is more than one way to skin a cat comes to mind. Peace Out – 3C

There is a Lot of Truth and Even Hope In This Story

Carole Cohen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:42:57 +0000

This is a fabulous article from the NY Times and Alex Kotlowitz with a tremendous insight into the not always black and white issues surrounding foreclosure. A big shout out to my friend Mike who pointed it out to me this morning. I suggest you bookmark the article because it’s long…..but truly one of the best insights into what is transpiring in our Wards today.

It’s not just a gloom and doom article either. It features people who are digging in and trying to make a difference in our communities. For example, a woman who is disabled but takes pride in her home and goes to great, almost unimaginable length to take care of her yard. And a guy who is trying to buy up a whole block in his neighborhood so he can bring it back.

It also talks about the dilemmas Housing Court faces every day; while a lot of the out of town cheap home purchasers are either duped or disreputable….this doesn’t apply to all of them (and I know because I am working with one of them). And it features the strong effort being made by private citizens to shore up their neighborhoods…even one family paying for the electricity in a home they do not own because they don’t want this historic home to wind up with frozen pipes.

So wait until you have a big mug of coffee and the time, but please read it. Peace Out -3C