All the residents have moved out, the court battle’s been lost, and the homeowners of the Park Memorial condo complex on Memorial Dr. at Detering are just waiting for a “secret” buyer, KPRC’s Ryan Korsgard reports:
The homeowners continue to pay mortgages, property taxes and association dues, plus pay for a new place to live. The city first posted notices over the summer for structural problems. Owners protested and went to court, but a judge sided with the city.
“The ruling by the courts basically reaffirmed the position the city had in regards to the safety and well-being of the tenants of this townhome,” Houston Public Works Department spokesman Alvin Wright said.
The city said it is illegal to stay without power or water.
- Lights Out At Condo Complex [Click2Houston, via Houstonist]
- Condos Condemned: Park Memorial To Become Parking Garage Memorial [Swamplot]
Photos of Park Memorial Condominiums: HAR
Actually, there is a small group (4-8) of owners who have been refusing to move out. I saw on today’s email group that the electric and water (that has been on since the city sent eviction notices for some reason) should be finally turned off this week forcing the holdouts to move. There is a signed contract as of Monday and the sale is moving forward. Getting 108 owners to agree on the sale was a real mess.
This is sad. What buyer will purchase the entire property at these current credit rates?
These poor residents were screwed.
These residents were screwed, particularly since that is prime property and they are probably having to sell for significantly lower than its worth. The only way to get 108 owners to agree would be to condemn. Sounds a bit fishy.
The purchase price is at the lowest number the majority would accept. Most will break even which is better than making two mortgage payments. It is hard to get a straight answer from anyone involved. It is a legal mess.
Who would buy??? Any developer worth his salt would love to get his hands on a prime site like this one. The condo owners had already agreed to sell (subject to a minimum bid) BEFORE the property was declared unsafe by the City.
The $64k question now is what price the property will command. The condo owners surely lost some of their leverage when they were forced to move out of their homes. The buyers will have a harder time paying top dollar thanks to the credit crunch. They likely got less tahn they originally hoped.
I doubt they’re taking too big a hit though. If the price goes too low, they’re better off just making structural improvements to the garage and moving back into their units.
The contract has been signed and the price (which I cannot tell) is OK. Some folks will make a bit, some will lose a bit. The assessment to band-aid fix the place was $50K EACH. That is the state of disrepair at PM. I know, I owned one.
Thanks for the info. I figured if the cost to fix the problem was worth it, they would have already gone through with it.
Now speculation can begin on who is buyer until the info is released fully.
This is an interesting story. I looked to buy one of these about 2 years ago and ended up turning away because of the visual disrepair that I saw prevalent in the complex. And even with the state it was in, there was a staggering monthly maintenance fee. My gut told me something was amiss.
It’s a shame that such a prime piece of property adjacent to Memorial Drive and also the new high dollar Caceres subdivision couldn’t have been handled better. The lack of quality construction standards that most developers contribute to average priced multi-family dwellings should be enough for any thinking individual to avoid like the plague. However, there will always be people who refuse to pay attention and expect more out of marginal construction. It’ll be interesting to see what will be done with such a prime piece of property.
Update on PM. The electrical boxes all have red tags and are off, the gates are padlocked as of this morning.
I live across street at BOTB and would like to know update on park memorial property – sold and to whom for what future purpose.thx!
Cherylrose there is no buyer yet as there are still some people holding out on the sale. This property could be empty for a few more years while this goes through the courts, I would like to know what the neighbors are saying about the property. Now that it is abandonded it is ripe for druggies, and vagrents to move right in.
signed one of the homeowners from Park Memorial