#property management company Chicago

[rootrealty]

Root Realty

Website: https://www.rootrealty.com/ Address: 4237 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 Phone: (773) 348-8080 At Root Realty, we take pride in providing top-notch property management services for apartment buildings, mixed-use buildings, and development sites across Chicago and the Chicago suburbs. With years of experience in the real estate industry, our team of dedicated professionals is committed to maximizing the value of your investment and ensuring the success of your properties. Our real estate company manages investment property and rents apartments in Chicago. We offer a full suite of service to real estate owners and their residents. Our comprehensive property management solutions are tailored to meet the unique needs of each property, whether it's a small apartment building or a large mixed-use development.

[driverdefens]

Premier Chicago Property Management Solutions

A unique offering among Chicago property management firms, Frontline Real Estate Partners guarantees optimal value and tenant satisfaction by providing thorough and customised management services for both residential and commercial properties.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Foxx Nolte's "Hidden History of Walt Disney World"

NEXT SATURDAY (July 20), I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

No one writes about Disney theme parks like Foxx Nolte; no one rises above the trivia and goes beyond the mere sleuthing of historical facts, no one nails the essence of what makes these parks work – and fail.

I first encountered Nolte through her blog, Passport to Dreams Old and New, where her writing transformed the way I viewed the project of these giant, elaborate built environments. It was through articles like this one – about the sightlines from bathrooms! – that I came to truly understand what design criticism means:

https://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-awkward-transitions-of-disneyland.html

While her work on queue design transformed how I thought about waiting, scarce-goods allocation, and the psychology of anticipation and desire:

https://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2010/12/third-queue.html

But I really knew her for a kindred spirit when I read her masterful analysis of the historical context and enduring power of the Haunted Mansion:

https://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2010/05/history-and-haunted-mansion.html

A decade after that Haunted Mansion post, Nolte published the definitive history of the Haunted Mansions, Boundless Realm, the very best book ever written on the subject:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/09/boundless-realm/#fuxxfur

This year, Nolte came back with another short, smart, endlessly fascinating history of Disney World, Hidden History of Walt Disney World:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781467156189

There are many histories of Walt Disney World, but none are quite like this. Nolte – who worked at the park for many years – combines her insider's view with her deep historical knowledge and yields up a "hidden history" that will forever change how I look at the built environment and the natural landscape it sits atop.

The path to Walt Disney World – an entertainment juggernaut that occupies a landmass twice the size of Manhattan – was anything but smooth. Its original design – Walt's design – barely survived groundbreaking, dying with Walt himself. Walt's successor, his brother Roy, used the occasion of Walt's death to assert his long-contested dominance over the park, drastically scaling back Walt's ambition for a bizarre residential/utopian community and replacing it with a kind of deluxe Disneyland with the idea of limiting the company's financial risk by re-creating a pre-existing, sure thing money-maker.

But Roy died within a few years of Walt, and the company transitioned from a family business to a managerial one, its direction set by executives who weren't named "Disney." These managers were just as flawed as the Disney brothers, but in much different ways (one long-serving CEO insisted that Disney should stay out of the hotel business, leaving billions on the table for contractors and third parties.

Of course, all of this is happening in Florida, and many of Nolte's funniest, juciest stories play Walt, then Roy, then various CEOs and execs off of flamboyant locals straight out of a Carl Hiaasen novel. In Nolte's capable hands, the many acres of Disney property come alive with the ghosts of Florida eccentrics and conmen who play against the deeply weird Disney brothers and their baffled corporate successors.

The history of Walt Disney World is also a history of the American narrative from the 1960s to the turn of the millennium, especially once Epcot enters the picture and Disney sets out to market itself as a futuristic mirror to America and the world. There's a doomed plan to lead the nation in the provision of an airport for the largely hypothetical short runway aircraft that never materialized, the Disney company's love-hate affair with Florida's orange growers, and the geopolitics of installing a permanent World's Fair, just as World's Fairs were disappearing from the world stage.

With Disney in disarray, corporate raiders smelled blood, and the company found itself on the brink of leveraged buyout hell, triggering another change in corporate leadership with the arrival of Michael Eisner. Nolte's portrait of Eisner is far more nuanced than the presentation in rival histories, surfacing his many forgotten gaffes – but also giving him credit where it was due. When the dust settles on the Eisner era, Disney has more theme parks in one place than can possibly be justified – in an America where workers get almost no paid vacation days, building more theme parks does not extend visitors' stays. It only adds to the expense of keeping those guests entertained during those brief, flitting visits.

The Disney empire is rooted in contradictions. The Disney brothers cordially loathed one another and the company split into "Walt people" and "Roy people" who schemed against one another in secret and sometimes even erupted into open conflict. There's something Hegelian about the Walt/Roy split: Walt went bust trying to run a creative empire that ignored the financials, and fled the ashes of his first venture to work with Roy in California. Roy disciplined Walt with financial rigor, often to excess. When the company emerged from WWII with its outside shareholders in charge, Roy became their champion and Walt's tormentor, with the ability to exercise a firm veto when he couldn't win the day through moral suasion.

Walt sought escape from his brother, proposing a series of ill-starred ventures that eventually became Disneyland. First, he proposed that he would transform his backyard ride 'em train-set into a public attraction that he would personally oversee, so that he wouldn't have to go to the office and let his brother boss him around. Then he proposed buying a locomotive and fitting out a train of railcars with exhibits promoting Disney movies, which he, personally, would drive around America, far from his brother.

Finally, he hit on Disneyland, poaching the company's best animators for a separate firm that Roy was eventually forced to buy from Walt in order to bring it back into the corporate fold. These power struggles, in which Roy first took orders from Walt, before turning the tables, only to have them turned again, culminated in the uneasy detente that characterized the era from Disneyland's opening to Walt's death.

Working with his brother may have made Walt miserable, but he evidently saw the benefit in this Hegelian dialectic, because he became infamous for putting together creative teams who were forever at each other's throats. The storied Sherman Brothers – Disney's star songwriting team – barely tolerated each other. The titans of early Imagineering were often at odds, and Walt took seemingly sadistic glee in forcing artists who disliked one another to work on joint projects.

In focusing on the conflicts between different corporate managers, outside suppliers, and the gloriously flamboyant weirdos of Florida, Nolte's history of Disney World transcends amusing anaecdotes and tittle-tattle – rather, it illustrates how the creative sparks thrown off by people smashing into each other sometimes created towering blazes of glory that burn to this day.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/15/disnefried/#dialectics

[scotianostra]

On July 1st 1884 Allan Pinkerton, the Scottish-born detective, died.

Not all Scots that I post about should be looked upon as good people, we do have to acknowledge this in our history, scratch beneath the subject in most cases and you will find fault, this is certainly true of Pinkerton.

Born in Glasgow, on the 25th of August 1819 his father was a sergeant of the Glasgow municipal police and died in 1828 of injuries received from a prisoner in his custody.

In 1842 Allan emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Dundee, Kane County, Illinois, where he established a cooperage business. Here he ran down a gang of counterfeiters, and he was appointed a Deputy Sheriff of Kane County in 1846 and immediately afterwards of Cook County, with headquarters in Chicago.

In Chicago he organized a force of detectives to capture thieves who were stealing railway property, and this organization developed in 1852 into Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, of which he took sole charge in 1853. He was especially successful in capturing thieves who stole large amounts from express companies. In 1866 his agency captured the principals in the theft of $700,000 from Adams Express Company safes on a train of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway, and recovered all but $12,000 of the stolen money.

In February 1861 Pinkerton found evidence of a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln upon his arrival in Baltimore on his way to Washington; as a result, Lincoln passed through Baltimore at an early hour in the morning without stopping. In April 1861 Pinkerton, on the suggestion of General George B. McClellan, organized a system of obtaining military information in the Southern states. From this system he developed the US Secret Service, of which he was in charge throughout the war, under the assumed name of Major E. J. Allen.

Pinkerton was not without controversy, one of his detectives, James McParlan, in 1873-76 lived among the Molly Maguires in Pennsylvania and secured evidence which led to the breaking up of what was considered a criminal organization. His detectives were also used to escort strike breakers during the era.

In 1869 Pinkerton suffered a partial stroke of paralysis, and thereafter the management of the detective agency devolved chiefly upon his sons, William Allan and Robert. He died in Chicago on the 1st of July 1884. He published The Molly Maguires and the Detectives , The Spy of the Rebellion, in which he gave his version of President-elect Lincoln’s journey to Washington; and a memoir, Thirty Years a Detective. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency continues to trade in the US to this day.

Pics are of Pinkerton, on horseback then with, President Abraham Lincoln, and Major General John Alexander McClernand. Pinkerton was the head of Union Intelligence Services at the time. He also, allegedly, foiled an assassination attempt against Lincoln. His wartime work was critical in Pinkerton’s development, which he later used to pioneer his agency. Other pics include the firms logo old and new.

[margoteve]

Character Thoughts on Lawrence Limburger.

I had some thoughts about Lawrence Limburger from Biker Mice from Mars. I have finished watching first season and IDK it got me thinking how vile the man is.

So he's a really good business man and politician in the worst way possible. If he was human villain he would be quoting Sun Tzu or some modern age Steve Jobs I bet. Because all those pretentious villains do.

His schemes most of the time appear to be acts of good will and philantropy which is the worst kind of villain. To public he is benevolent if not awfully stinky and ridiculous man. His company most likely has an excellent working conditions as he tries to maintain a certain image with the human public. Plus the constant destruction of his tower he HAS to have great bonuses to keep people from quitting. Like in the episode introducing the Loogi Brothers, he took time to personally answer the calls from angry office workers. Illusions of good persona are so importat to him, otherwise how else will you steal Earth right from under humanity's nose?

I mean I am certain he must have bribed his way into ruining Chicago to the state it is now to a certain degree but I doubt anyone would be able to track it to him directly or if they did they probably got disposed of. I would have loved an episode with a news reporter doing an investigation on some suspicious activity and finding Limburger got his fingers in it and then running into Mice while running for their life.

I bet while some in Chi-Town, those who worked with Biker Mice in the past, would see them as heroes those who don't see them as menaces most likely, frequent destruction of property is certainly a reason to dislike them. I bet construction companies love them tho lol. The constant rebuilding of Limburger Tower must be making them a bank.

I think it's interesting how the show must look to the regular Chicago person from the outside. We only see Mice as heroes bc that's how the show presents it.

Great Cheese is cunning, two face and slimy, villain that if not for the rules of the genre of the show would be a serious threat which explains and gives chilling insight on just how easily Mars got stripped mined in the first place. Just look at all the social projects evil schemes he presented to the public:

solar power plant in exchange of the outdated (?) sewage system/cleaning plant

free services for evacuating the city during earthquakes

free cleanup from a toxic spill (nevermind it was destroying the park in the process and the toxins were his inventions - the public didn't know that or other options of how to deal with it)

a new subway tunnel

This is what the public knows of him. We have the knowledge of Limburger being a land stealing intergalactic oligarch (regular American businessman LOL) because the show wants us to know this. To a regular person who only hears about him from the news he's next best thing in the world. No surprise he managed to stay on top in Chicago until Biker Mice came bc they are the only ones with first hand experience of his "benevolence" always having a flip side. If not for his cartoonish looks and behaviour in the show he could have been on Xanatos level of villain but he is played more for gags rather than serious tone of Gargoyles.

But he keeps losing (thankfully). The difference here between the villain and heroes is the most classic one. His closest employees have no loyalty to him unlike Biker Mice who rely heavily on their loyalty to each other and trust each other (the famous Power of Friendship and unspeakable voilence lmao). Like the Great Cheese himself often states - "it's so hard to find good help these days".

To sum it up - Limburger is skilled politician/business man and if the show had any other tone than parody he would have destroyed Earth in like a month (exaggerating here). Fortunately for the show's world Mice are the Mongols to Limburger's Roman Empire and firmly thwarth all of his schemes.

Because Friendship and unspeakbable violence LOL.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Also I am really curious how the Ryan Reynolds reboot gonna portray the Stinky Cheese.

[myhauntedsalem]

9 Terrifying American Murder Houses

From Amityville Horror to Jeffrey Dahmer’s one-bedroom, these murder houses are home to some truly brutal murders.

9. THE AMITYVILLE HORROR HOUSE 112 OCEAN AVE, AMITYVILLE, NY

When the deal is too good, start asking questions. In 1975, George and Kathy Lutz bought this sprawling Dutch Colonial on the south shore of Long Island at a bargain rate. The reason for the discounted price tag? Just 13 months earlier, previous resident Ronald “Butch” DeFeo slaughtered his parents and four younger siblings while they slept in their beds. It didn’t take long for the weirdness to begin. Demonic voices, oozing walls, cloven hoof prints in the snow. The Lutz family lasted just two months before fleeing 112 Ocean Avenue in the night.

8. THE HEX MURDER HOUSE REHMEYERS HOLLOW RD, SHREWSBURY, PA

In 1928, John Blymire was convinced a reclusive neighbor named Nelson Rehmeyer had put a hex upon him. Believing the only way to break the curse was to track down Rehmeyer’s spell book and set it ablaze, Blymire rallied two buddies for a late-night visit. While the gang never found the book, they did find Rehmeyer whom they murdered and mutilated before setting his body on fire. In 2007, an effort was made to open the Hex House to the public, but the plan was eventually scrapped.

7. MOORE FAMILY AXE MURDER HOUSE 508 E 2ND ST, VILLISCA, IA

On a cool summer night in 1912 someone broke into this peaceful Iowa homestead and bludgeoned all six family members plus two houseguests with an axe. The horrific scene was discovered the following morning by a concerned neighbor. Numerous suspects were named in the case including a traveling minister and State Senator Frank F. Jones. Nevertheless, the murder remains unsolved.

6. KREISCHER MANSION 4500 ARTHUR KILL RD, STATEN ISLAND, NY

German entrepreneur Balthasar Kreischer built this sprawling mansion in 1885 as a symbol of his success in the brick making business. The good times were short-lived. By 1894, his company had crumbled and his youngest son had shot himself in the head. The decaying mansion sat empty for years until its groundskeeper used the property for a mob hit in 2005. Joseph Young strangled and stabbed his target before finally drowning the man in a garden pool. Young then hacked up the body and burned it in the mansion’s incinerator.

5. LIZZIE BORDEN HOUSE 230 2ND ST, FALL RIVER, MA

On August 4, 1892 Andrew Borden was thrashed with a hatchet while he dozed on the couch of his parlor. Andrew’s second wife Abby met an equally grisly end in the upstairs bedroom. While everyone in Fall River suspected daughter Lizzie of the crime, the local judge remained unconvinced. She was tried and acquitted of the murder one year later. Oddly, the home is now a successful bed & breakfast.

4. MANSON FAMILY MURDER HOUSE 10050 CIELO DRIVE, LOS ANGELES, CA

In 1969, members of the Manson Family shocked the nation when they broke into this L.A. estate and slaughtered Sharon Tate along with four other victims. The murderers wrote pig in blood across the front door. Numerous residents have since called 10050 Cielo Drive home including musician Trent Reznor, who recorded THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL there. In 1994, the original structure was razed and replaced with a new mansion, currently occupied by the creator of FULL HOUSE.

3. JEFFREY DAHMER’S APARTMENT 924 NORTH 25TH ST, APT 213, MILWAUKEE, WI

Cannibal killer Jeffrey Dahmer lured numerous victims to his nondescript one-bedroom, where he drugged and dismembered them in a brutal campaign of murder. Severed limbs were packed in the freezer for future consumption; torsos were dumped in a vat of acid. Police finally arrested Dahmer in 1991 after one of his prisoners managed to escape. The entire apartment building was torn down shortly thereafter.

2. JOHN WAYNE GACY’S HOUSE 8213 SUMMERDALE AVE, CHICAGO, IL

It’s always good to know your neighbors especially if you suspect them of murder. John Wayne Gacy buried dozens of bodies in the basement and backyard of his suburban home while neighbors casually went about their day. When Gacy’s wife complained of a putrid smell, Gacy blamed it on dead mice. By the time police nabbed the infamous killer clown and excavated his 8213 Summerdale Ave property, they uncovered 29 bodies.

1. GARDETTE-LAPRETE HOUSE 1240 BURGUNDY ST, NEW ORLEANS, LA

In the late 1830s, plantation owner Jean LePrete leased his French Quarter Greek Revival to a mysterious man from Turkey. The renter, known only as The Sultan had more than a few roommates. He arrived with a massive entourage of eunuchs and concubines. The house quickly became known for its lavish parties, with music and revelry carrying on into the night. One morning, a passerby noticed 1240 Burgundy was eerily quiet. Then he spotted blood seeping out of the door. When authorities entered, they found everyone inside had been murdered and dismembered. As for The Sultan? He was buried alive in the courtyard. To this day, the case remains unsolved.

[beardedmrbean]

The family of a North Carolina man is suing Google for negligence after he died from crashing into a creek below a collapsed bridge at the alleged direction of Google Maps, the Associated Press reported.

On September 30th, 2022, state troopers found ​​Philip Paxson drowned in his overturned pickup truck beneath a bridge that had collapsed nearly a decade earlier.

Mr Paxson (47), from Hickory, North Carolina, was returning home from his daughter’s ninth birthday before the incident, his mother-in-law wrote in a post on Facebook. She added that neither the destroyed bridge nor the road leading to it had any barriers or warning signs to alert drivers of the hazard.

“It was a dark and rainy night and he was following his GPS which led him down a concrete road to a bridge that dropped off into a river,” the post reads. “He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. It was a totally preventable accident. We are grieving his death.”

In addition to Google, the Paxson family’s lawsuit names a number of private property management companies who were responsible for the land where the crash happened and for surrounding plots, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement to the Guardian, a Google spokesperson said: “We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family. Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”

Lawyers for the Paxsons allege that several people have tried to flag the washed-out bridge to Google and have included email correspondence between a Hickory resident who tried to use the “suggest an edit” feature in 2020 to get the company to address the issue. Google never responded to the suggestion, allege attorneys.

“Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life,” Alicia Paxson, Mr Paxson’s wife, told the Associated Press.

Mr Paxson is not the first person whose death has been tied to GPS.

In 2020, a Russian motorist (18) froze to death after he and a friend were stranded in a vehicle for a week after following a Google Maps route through Serbia’s “road of bones”.

In 2019, a truck driver in Jakarta, Indonesia, drove off a cliff after following a Google Maps route that was only meant for motorcycles, the Straits Times reported.

In 2015, Zohra Hussain (51) died in a car crash in Indiana after her husband, who was following his Nissan Sentra’s built-in GPS, drove off an unmarked toll road that led to a demolished bridge. Her husband, sued the state of Indiana over the lack of barricades, according to the Chicago Tribune. – Guardia

[bendingthelaws]

Constantin Nikolaj Vladimir Rakeovich III

No one is quite sure where, or exactly when Constantin Nikolaj Vladimir Rakeovich was born.  There are no records in the state of Illinois for his birth and some say there are none in the entirety of the United States.  His grandfather came to this country at the end of World War II as part of a Top Secret program, the details of which are still sealed.  No one is quite sure that the name that Constantin bears is even the real name of his grandfather.  No records exist of a man with such a name in the Ukraine or in Russia, the two places that the family was supposedly from.  In fact, the first mention of the name at all was in the employment records of the Argonne National Laboratory in 1948.

Secrets seem to surround every aspect of the Rakeovich family.  Property records for them often have different names on them, all tracing back to one of the two surviving Constantin Rakeovichs.  Out of deference to his father, the younger is referred to as Nikolaj by his family, however anyone not related to him that were to call him that would find themselves dispatched quickly.  Few even know his middle names, more layers of secrecy on a family that officially seems not to exist.

While his grandfather appears to have been in some kind of research at Argonne, there are few records on what exactly his father did, but it was clear he was amassing great wealth.  There are no less than five homes in the greater Chicago area that can be traced to the elder Constantin.  There are rumors that he is the sole founder and owner of NVR Enterprises, a secretive company that is steeped in government contracts and foreign relations.  Records on the company are hard to come by and those that look into its business dealings find themselves quickly warned off.

There are no school records readily available for the younger Constantin until he is found at the Houghton Academy in New York as a Freshman.  He graduated with a straight A average and those who attended with him found him to be cold, aloof, and intimidating.  While he was never physically violent, his classmates said that few were ever brave enough to outright challenge him. From Houghton, he moved on to Harvard where he got his Bachelor’s and then Master’s Degrees in Business and Finance.  When he moved back to Chicago after graduation, he was brought in as CEO of NVR.  To those around the Rakeovich family, this solidified the belief that the family owned the company.  What exactly they do still remains shrouded in mystery.

Constantin proved himself to be shrewd and cutthroat in business, negotiating hostile takeovers of small, independent labs and then bringing them under NVR’s umbrella and tying them to Argonne.   As soon as this would happen, all public releases of information became significantly more vague and the dealings of the company more clandestine.  There are those who believe that the businesses and the family are in black ops, while others believe that they are all a front for a powerful Eastern European Crime family.  With the secretive nature of the entire Rakeovich family and their associates, the odds seem evenly split between the two.

While Constantin continues to run NVR, he is known to deal in underworld matters as well.  He first came onto the DEA and US Marshals radar a decade ago when it was found that at least one of his subsidiaries was being used to traffic in cocaine and other high end, designer drugs.  Later ties to very high end escorts, extortion, loan sharking, and a protection racket would be uncovered, but Constantin has managed to stay one step ahead of law enforcement at every turn.  Some say he is just that cunning, others say it is that he has bought off the Chicago offices of the DEA, FBI, and the US Marshals, then there are those who believe it is a combination of both.

Those who have crossed Constantin through the years have paid a high price, normally their lives.  Anyone that he feels has betrayed him in any way has been eliminated.  Many of these were very elaborately staged assassinations that were made to look like accidents.  He has paid top dollar for the best in the business, including Sasha Vasiliev, to ensure that none of the deaths can ever be traced back to him.  In recent years he has become a bit more hesitant to use Sasha, fearing that crossing the assassin would prove more fatal that if someone were to cross he himself.  He has seen the assassin put a bullet through the skull of a man completely undetected to anyone around the target till he fell dead at their feet.  Had he not been the one that hired Sasha, he never would have known who or how.  That he does means that the assassin is one of the very few that Constantin would never double cross.  

When the Federal, State, and Chicago law enforcement agencies began to close in on him, Constantin blamed one man:  Colin Masterson.  They have become bitter adversaries and while Colin would do whatever it took legally to bring down Constantin’s empire; Constantin does not relegate himself to legal means to try and take down Colin.  The feud is escalating, each man pushing the other closer and closer to an explosive confrontation.  

In kidnapping Colin’s intern, Constantin had hoped to force the man’s hand into dropping all investigations into his dealings.  However the intern proved more stubborn and resistant to cooperation than Constantin had anticipated, bringing forth his anger in explosive bursts that even his longest known associates find hard to believe.  Has Colin pushed him finally into the pit of madness from which there is no redemption, or is there still some vestige of humanity left in Constantin’s dark and murky soul?  The man isn’t even sure himself.

[feckcops]

Our new financial masters

“Today, asset managers collectively own global housing and infrastructure assets worth, at a minimum, $4trn. The upshot is that asset managers are intimately implicated (albeit without most of us being aware of it) in everyday social life. They own, and extract income from, things – schools, bridges, wind farms and homes – that are nothing less than foundational to our being. Forty years ago, it would have been unthinkable that we would buy our gas from, make our parking payment to, or rent our home from a company like Blackstone. But this is the new reality.

“In a very physical, if also strangely intangible respect, all of our lives are now part of asset managers’ investment portfolios. Arguably, this is truer in Britain than anywhere else. Consider the quiet county of Kent in south-east England. The entire infrastructure of wastewater collection and treatment in the county, including tens of thousands of kilometres of sewers, is controlled by Macquarie, a leading Australian asset manager. Macquarie also controls much of Kent’s infrastructure of water supply ... Housing? Blackstone owns rental properties in the small Kentish town of Paddock Wood. Student housing? Chicago-headquartered Harrison Street owns digs in Canterbury. Care homes? New York-based Safanad controls homes in Dartford and Gravesend. Electricity generation? The UK’s Foresight Group owns solar farms at Paddock Wood, and Abbey Fields in Faversham. Transportation? Legal & General Investment Management owns parking spaces; Sweden’s EQT Partners owns charging stations for electric vehicles; PSP Investments of Canada owns train rolling-stock ...

“The faster the turnover of infrastructure and real-estate assets bought and sold by asset managers, the higher the returns. It doesn’t pay for fund managers to buy and hold the asset: it pays to buy it, and then sell it for a quick profit. They do whatever is needed to grow the incomes (such as rents or water rates) that the assets generate. They cut to the bone the costs incurred in operating those assets. Eying quick disposals, they have little interest in carrying out asset maintenance or repair for the long term.

“The dire consequences for the ordinary households whose lives are embedded in this asset manager-made world barely need stating. Being dependent on a real asset acquired by an asset manager – for shelter, energy supply, water or transportation – generally means higher costs and poorer-quality service, followed by considerable disruption when ownership changes hands just a few years later.”

[lilnasxvevo]

I didn’t really finish an earlier thought but let me clarify that I’m only being rude back to people who have basically directly looked me in the eye and said “I could help you, I am equipped with the power and authority to help you, but I am not going to help you.” That shit really fucks me up because when you work at a property management company you can fuck with someone’s quality of life pretty hard (intentionally taking forever to fix my Completely Fucked bathroom) and you can fuck with someone’s bank account pretty hard (intentionally refusing to accept an email I sent indicating I was going to move when my lease expired as my required 60-day notice and thus making me pay hundreds more dollars to this wretched company than I wanted to). These are not customer service people who aren’t allowed to do the thing I want them to do who I’m screaming at anyway because I’m a bad person. These are people with power over me. One of the people I’ve been struggling with is literally a top executive at the company who lives in Chicago.

So I’m not mean to the maintenance guy or the plumber to their faces because they’re not the ones making my life a living hell right now. They want a safe and sanitary work environment and I can empathize with that even if I think their standards are weird (after all I live AND work here so I clearly think it’s safe). All they can do is fix my shit or not. Other people decide what day they get to fix it.

[byronic-af]

Not usually a fan of Hallmark movies in general (for a plethora of reasons, mostly because they are always playing in the background at my house) but I watched Noel Next Door yesterday and found it to be one of the best I’ve seen (although it still has a bunchhhhh of problems, more below).

🚨SPOILERS AHEAD🚨

The two main leads actually have great (dare I say…SEXUAL !?!? Is that allowed?!?) chemistry and are so cute when they flirt with each other throughout. Had this been a different company, there would have been some more spicy 🔥 scenes for sure (I’ll have to find some fics 😈) There is a lot that can be explored with classical-musician-meets-diner-waitress dynamic, even a potential age gap (they already have some height difference), and other cute date ideas around Chicago. I am such a sucker for grumpy/sunshine (that doesn’t teach him about the meaning of Christmas, thank god).

The story refreshingly had some angst with legit real issues for both, i.e. dealing with illness, failed toxic marriages, and raising a preteen son solo, which made these characters more human and stand apart from other HM movies.

However, as cute as this movie was and how well the actors worked with what they were given, there are many ableist elements that are framed as the fault of the male lead, depriving him of his dignity throughout.

The story is loosely based on A Christmas Carol, making the male lead Scrooge-like with encounters in his neighborhood and own home. Being disabled from a stroke, Jeremy needs the use of a cane full-time, can barely use one arm, and lives alone (but why does his apartment have so many stairs???). Everyone in his life is like “Cheer up! Why are you so mean?” and gaslight him to thinking that the justified and frustrated reactions of adult to an unaccommodating world are somehow out of line. Jeremy is trying to survive while society keeps leaving him behind to deal with it all on his own, yet to others HE is the problem and trouble maker, by existing in those spaces with them and finding them lacking to his needs.

While Jeremy struggles to support himself by working from home, he is interrupted by carolers at his front door comprised of a woman and young girls, who won’t take no for an answer and continue to pester him until he shuts the door on them. They then shit-talk him to other neighbors afterwards, shocked at his “rudeness”, never looking inward that THEY might be the problem.

There is a kind (property manager?) character named Luis that is sympathetic to Jeremy’s condition and mental state throughout the story, but even he can’t widen his viewpoint and look at a situation from Jeremy’s vantage. There is an incident early on where Jeremy trips and falls from a power cord in the middle of the sidewalk that lights up the neighborhood Christmas tree. Luis completely misses the point about his own responsibility to clear public walkways (or being inclusive and put up other holidays along with it) and makes it about Jeremy depriving the other residents of Christmas. Rather then providing a reasonable solution (like a mat to cover the cord) Luis is “forced” to take down the entire display so he won’t get sued, making Jeremy unliked by the whole neighborhood. (This whole scene had me yelling at my TV). At the finale, Jeremy asks Luis to put it all back up, but it’s unlikely that Luis did anything different to prevent other people from getting hurt.

There are many instances of visible disgust and awkwardness from other people when they encounter Jeremy’s disability, such a young girl crying confused to her mom seeing him in store, a blind date/complete bitch who whines that he is embarrassing her while he struggles to take off his coat in a restaurant, and a chance meeting with his ex wife who we learn had left him after his diagnosis years prior. Even our female lead Noelle, at first meeting, questions if he is “really disabled enough” to be allowed to use a handicap parking spot, which he is pressured to defend by showing his cane and arm to her. Thankfully Noelle gets better after that 😅

The crux of the story are the building battles between Jeremy (known as Mr. Gier/ #224) and young Henry, the only son of Noelle (known to Jeremy as the mother at #204), as Jeremy is bothered by Henry kicking his house, playing pranks, etc. Compared to the actions of adults in this story, this young character gets the benefit of the doubt as someone who is clearly hurting and learning how to manipulate his parents after their recent messy divorce. However, I am highly annoyed by Noelle’s choices to parent when confronted by new info that her child has been lying to her and going out of his way to upset a disabled neighbor (who she is surprised is the same person she has been dating), and dramatically shuts out Jeremy while Henry goes scott-free. Perhaps she is in denial, or needs to seem like the good parent as her ex husband battles for custody and make Henry choose sides, but these choices and passive attitude are very frustrating as some parents IRL would rather believe the lies of their children then take a respectable adult at their word. Thankfully all 3 of these characters make up in the end as Henry choses to apologize on his own, and Jeremy makes the effort to find common ground to connect.

This movie’s subtext brings up complex questions of how disabled people navigate our modern society, with barely any resolution or justice, despite being a work of fiction. We have so much work to do still to connect diverse talent and with supportive production studios. I am hopeful we will get more stories like this soon: fun, escapist romances with humor AND still faithfully serving underprivileged communities by making them loud and understood instead of just antagonized.

[rootrealty]

Root Realty

[harrelltut]

Ægiptian QHT IBM [Qi] Apple in Downtown [A.D.] 2023 [VII] San Diego CA… @ the Illinois Railroad Operation [CAIRO] STATE Conference w/EXECUTIVE Committee Maps of MURDUK’S Interactive [MI = MIYKA'EL] 6G Quantum Interface [Qi] iCloud SKY PORTAL [ISP] PYRAMID [I/P] SHIPS [UFOS = SHAMS]… HIDDEN Underneath the Subterranean [U.S.] Ocean Island State of Queen CALAFIA’s Most Darkest [Occulted] California SKY Mountains of Atmospheric River & Storm [MARS] Technologies… since We Queen CALAFIA's GOLDEN 9 Ether & Organically BLACK SUN DNA [SUNDI] KHALIFIANS… who Scientifically Engineered ANU [SEA] GOLDEN Past Present & Future North American Indian REPUBLIC [AIR] OCEAN CITY w/ANU [CA] Interplanetary 9 [i9] Ether Bureau of Land Management [BLM] 4 CARIO’s Antediluvian [CA] 9 Ether MU Amurikans [MA = ATLANTEANS] of Newfoundland GOLD EMPIRES [G.E.]… HIDDEN Underneath Ægiptian [HUE] QHT’s… St. Lawrence Seaway [la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent] System Interlocked 2 TIAMAT's Subterranean [SITS] Atlantic Ocean Coastline of the Ancient [CA] Ægiptian Potomac River Families… who Ancestrally & Generationally Engineered [AGED] Our LARGEST [AOL] 2023 [VII] LAND & WEALTH TRANSFER in your lifetime

Adolf... HEIL HARRELL!!!

1ST EYE GOD [ME]... ABOVE EARTH'S FIRMAMENT LAW 

WE GOLDEN ORACLE DEITIES [GODS] OF MARS OUTSIDE THE FIRMAMENT DOME OF EARTH [Qi]

1ST GOLDEN BLACK EYE OF GOD [ME]... ONLINE 

BUCKLE UP ARTIFICIAL AMERICA ONLINE [AOL] 

THE WHITE HOUSE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT [BLM] RECORDS... EMPTY AF

EYE abracadabra… abracadabra… abracadabra... My Subterranean BLACK OIL OIL OIL... GOLDEN TAR TAR TAR... ANCIENT TARTARIAN EMPIRE ANCESTORS [TEA] OF ANTEDILUVIAN 9 ETHER MU AMURIKA [MA = ATLANTIS] 

THIS BEE OUR LARGEST WEALTH & LAND TRANSFER EVER!!!

GODDAMN!!! US GOLDEN BLACK MINERAL LANDOWNERS OF INTERNATIONAL OIL RIGHTS... BEE WEALTHY AF!!!

Shhh... We GOLDEN 9 Ether OKCult Land & Oil Lawyers [LOL] of Antediluvian [L.A.] MU Amurika [MA = ATLANTIS]

We OVERWRITE ALL artificial mankind laws since they not organic to Our Organic Earth [Qi]

artificial intelligent human validation = worthless 

Our 6G Quantum Intel [Qi] Banking Laws predate mankind

EYE GOLDEN 9 ETHER TRILLIONAIRE LAWYER OF FUTURISTIC TECH OF NOW [NWO]

I AM STRICTLY ABOUT MY FAMILY'S BUSINESS

ORIGINAL ILLINOIS CENTRAL [OH EYE SEE] RAILROAD COMPANY PROPERTIES OF INDIGENOUS 9 [EYE 9] ETHER LAND [EL] RIGHTS & OIL ROYALTIES IN 2023

BUCKLE UP 2023 [VII] YEAR TRIBULATION AMERICA

UH OH!!! NOT BLACK WALL STREET'S UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE [UK] OF INTERNATIONAL 9 ETHER FAMILY PATENT LAND & BUSINESS LAW!!!

CELESTIAL AMERICA [ATLANTIS] = BIBLICAL EDEN

WE QUEEN CALAFIA'S HIGHLY SPIRITUAL POWWOW KHALIFIANS of Antediluvian [KA] 9 Ether MU Amurika [MA = ATLANTIS]

EYE REMEMBER MY FATHER'S ANCIENT 9 ETHER LEMURIAN [EL] TRIBE [E.T.] PEOPLES OF ILLINOIS 

EYE FOUND MUUR OF US [MU] WESTERN CONGO AMURIKAN [CA] ELITES FROM GERMANY... IN CHICAGO 

WE ANU GLOBAL 9 ETHER NU WORLD ORDER [NWO] KINGDOM IN 2023

Adolf... HEIL HARRELL!!!

EYE THANK GOD [ME]... I [MI = MICHAEL] ANU GOLDEN NU WORLD ORDER [NWO]... SINCE YOU SCARED

DON'T LOOK UP!!!

NOPE!!!

OUR GLOBAL SKY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION... CLOAKED [D.C.] IN THE CLOUDS ABOVE [CA] Earth [QI]

WE UNTOUCHABLE [WU] on Earth [Qi]

EYE... 1ST EYE ILLUMINATI of Adolf... HEIL HARRELL!!!

WE ALREADY ON ANU 2023 GOLD STANDARD 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

For the rest of May, my bestselling solarpunk utopian novel THE LOST CAUSE (2023) is available as a $2.99, DRM-free ebook!

#20yrsago Bad writerly advice https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/005212.html#005212

#20yrsago LotR movies remixed as trenchant Russian political satire https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/22/film.lordoftheringsfilms

#20yrsago First-person account of Massachusetts gay marriage https://web.archive.org/web/20040605123821/http://www.circa75.com/showArticle.php?article=130

#20yrsago PayPal disgraces itself, cuts off FreeNet https://web.archive.org/web/20040604050939/http://freenet.sourceforge.net/

#15yrsago Pinkwater’s EDUCATION OF ROBERT NIFKIN: zany and inspiring tale of taking charge of your own education https://memex.craphound.com/2009/05/18/pinkwaters-education-of-robert-nifkin-zany-and-inspiring-tale-of-taking-charge-of-your-own-education/

#15yrsago Technology Bill of Rights https://web.archive.org/web/20090521124424/http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-management/toward-technology-bill-rights-867

#15yrsago Debt-collectors and credit card companies: the psychologists of predatory lending https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/magazine/17credit-t.html

#10yrsago Anti-Net Neutrality Congresscritters made serious bank from the cable companies https://web.archive.org/web/20140520184355/http://maplight.org/Contributions to House Members Lobbying against Net Neutrality from Cable Interests

#5yrsago Apple removed a teen’s award-winning anti-Trump game “Bad Hombre” because they can’t tell the difference between apps that criticize racism and racist apps https://memex.craphound.com/2019/05/18/apple-removed-a-teens-award-winning-anti-trump-game-bad-hombre-because-they-cant-tell-the-difference-between-apps-that-criticize-racism-and-racist-apps/

#5yrsago Pangea raised $180m to buy up low-rent Chicago properties “to help poor people,” and then created the most brutally efficient eviction mill in Chicago history https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/pangea-has-taken-thousands-to-eviction-court-the-story-of-an-apartment-empire/

#5yrsago AOC grills pharma exec about why the HIV-prevention drug Prep costs $8 in Australia costs $1,780 in the USA https://web.archive.org/web/20190628120032/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ocasio-cortez-confronts-ceo-for-nearly-2k-price-tag-on-hiv-drug-that-costs-8-in-australia/ar-AABsDP0

#1yrago How to save the news from Big Tech https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/18/stealing-money-not-content/#beyond-link-taxes

[scentedchildnacho]

Jon Hopkins - RITUAL (palace) (Official Audio)

Why is this sound system states trance...pb told me if I was around long enough I truly would find camelot

The sponsoring shelter church said they have had to be homeless in a small town in Wisconsin without a shelter so that's why they do this for us

My friends from small towns if their parents finally told them the rules ran to larger cities if they couldn't mellow out and get married

Small towns have housing through energy company unions and public unions and if your not there to manage things for the union you had better leave or your on property without authorization

Its my experience that my friends from small towns if their family isn't in system anymore then they had better start again elsewhere

Tranes...its tranes

Wisconsin is a very strict right wing place people do their duty to the military marry a nice hetero normative partnership or neo liberal behaviour does not provide the calvinist work ethic required

Nice french ethics don't though get to into the gay world it is superficial and without moss and roots to be to flippant in personal interaction....learn to really love someone of the opposite gender or your partner settle down and do the right thing though

Small towns are more emigrational....so they are sold like big cities that people who don't know why they experience bad business instinct and can't feel secure and accepting and at ease can go to wealthy emigration groups and learn to better personally manage

A lot of people dont clearly see difference.....between urban and rural

Sociology out of Chicago to me it's kind of impossible to escape.........so you can't really do anything without requirements in civil unrest studies and why from a labor standpoint the esoteric requirements of being on routine tasks is a much higher pay scale then the business can give and nothing steps up to get these missing wages to people who earn networking evolution

[omarhussainchicago]

Comprehensive Guide to Selling A Property in Dubai

 Selling a property in Dubai can be a rewarding venture, given the dynamic real estate market and the city’s global appeal. However, navigating the process requires careful planning, market knowledge, and adherence to local regulations. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions to help you successfully sell your property in Dubai says, Omar Hussain Chicago.

1. Understand the Market

a. Market Research

Start by conducting thorough market research to understand current trends, property prices, and demand in your area. Use online property portals, consult with real estate agents, and review market reports from reputable sources like the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

b. Timing

Consider the timing of your sale. Market conditions can vary throughout the year, with certain periods being more favorable for selling. For example, the winter months often see higher activity due to the pleasant weather attracting more potential buyers.

2. Prepare Your Property for Sale

a. Maintenance and Repairs

Ensure your property is in excellent condition to attract potential buyers and justify your asking price. Address any maintenance issues, make necessary repairs, and consider a fresh coat of paint to enhance its appeal.

b. Staging

Staging your property can significantly impact buyers’ perceptions. Arrange furniture and decor to showcase the space’s potential, making it easier for buyers to envision themselves living there. Professional staging services can help optimize the presentation.

3. Set the Right Price

a. Property Valuation

Omar Hussain: Obtain a professional property valuation to determine a realistic and competitive asking price. Factors influencing the valuation include location, size, condition, amenities, and recent sale prices of similar properties in the area.

b. Competitive Pricing

While setting your price, consider market conditions and comparable properties. Pricing your property competitively can attract more interest and lead to quicker sales.

4. Legal and Regulatory Requirements

a. Title Deed and Documentation

Ensure you have all necessary documentation in order, including the Title Deed, property registration, and identification documents. The Title Deed must be clear and free of any encumbrances or disputes.

b. No Objection Certificate (NOC)

If your property is in a freehold area, obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the developer or property management company. This document confirms there are no outstanding payments or issues related to the property.

5. Marketing Your Property

a. Real Estate Agents

Consider hiring a licensed real estate agent to market your property. An experienced agent can provide valuable market insights, handle negotiations, and reach a broader audience through their network.

b. Online Listings

List your property on popular real estate websites and portals in Dubai. Ensure your listing includes high-quality photos, a detailed description, and key features that highlight the property’s unique selling points.

c. Social Media and Advertising

Utilize social media platforms and targeted advertising to reach potential buyers. Create engaging posts and ads showcasing your property and its features.

6. Negotiation and Offers

a. Handling Offers

Review offers carefully, considering not only the price but also the terms and conditions. Be prepared for negotiations, and work with your real estate agent to evaluate each offer’s merits.

b. Counteroffers

If an offer is close to your desired price but not quite there, consider making a counteroffer. This shows your willingness to negotiate while aiming to achieve your target price.

7. Finalizing the Sale

a. Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA)

Once an offer is accepted, draft a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). This legally binding document outlines the terms and conditions of the sale, including the purchase price, payment schedule, and handover date. It’s advisable to have a legal advisor review the SPA to ensure it complies with local laws and protects your interests.

b. Transfer of Ownership

The transfer of ownership is completed at the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Both the buyer and seller must be present or represented by their authorized agents. The process involves:

1. Obtaining a NOC: If not already obtained, secure a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the developer.

2. Payment of Fees: Pay the necessary fees, including the DLD transfer fee (usually 4% of the property value) and any applicable administrative charges.

3. Signing the Transfer Documents: Both parties sign the transfer documents in the presence of a DLD representative.

4. Issuance of New Title Deed: The DLD issues a new Title Deed in the buyer’s name, completing the transfer process.

8. Financial Considerations

a. Closing Costs

Be aware of the closing costs associated with selling your property, including DLD fees, NOC charges, real estate agent commissions, and any outstanding service charges or utility bills.

b. Mortgage Settlement

If your property has an existing mortgage, arrange for its settlement before the transfer of ownership. Coordinate with your lender and the buyer to ensure a smooth process.

9. Post-Sale Responsibilities

a. Handover

Ensure a smooth handover of the property to the buyer. This includes transferring utility accounts, handing over keys, and providing any necessary documentation related to the property.

b. Tax Implications

While Dubai does not impose capital gains tax on property sales, be aware of any tax obligations in your home country if you are an expatriate or international seller.

10. Consider Professional Advice

a. Real Estate Agent

Working with a licensed real estate agent can streamline the selling process, providing market expertise, marketing strategies, and negotiatioan skills.

b. Legal Advisor

Engage a legal advisor to review all contracts and documents, ensuring compliance with local laws and protecting your interests throughout the sale process.

Omar Hussain Chicago: Selling a property in Dubai involves careful planning, market understanding, and adherence to legal requirements. By following this comprehensive guide, you can navigate the process confidently and maximize your property’s value. Whether you are a seasoned investor or a first-time seller, taking these steps will help you achieve a successful and profitable sale in Dubai’s dynamic real estate market.

Originally Posted: https://omarhussainchicago.com/comprehensive-guide-to-selling-property-in-dubai/