Windy City Rehab - General Discussion

[LittleIggy]

Any room can be a wine room for me! 😆

AstroTurf just screams “tacky” to me, not at all high-end. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by LittleIggy

[fountain]

In my city custom features that are in style do sell the homes faster and for better price points and in our market the custom home builders do make quite a bit of money. However, it seems on this show Allison is not that profitable or profitable at all. No way should you have over $1 million invested and only make $15k all in. You need to profit at least 15-25% of the investment or just leverage invest in a stock portfolio and stay home. So if she isn’t profitable then she isn’t doing the right thing for the market.

The thing is on this show money is wasted on things that the average person cannot notice the difference between a moderate priced version and a really high end version. For example tile - you notice styling details and a quality install but there are many different tile price points. A well installed $5 per square foot tile can look just as lux as a $50 per square foot tile. It is when the install is poor the stuff looks cheap. Same thing with fancy installs, a 50 cent tile installed chevron will often look fancier than a much more expensive tile installed in a brick pattern. You pay more for the install but all in it may save money. Same thing for stone. I redid my kitchen and almost identical quartz, one was 3 times the cost of the other because it came from the US and not Canada but they were almost identical so unlike Allison I of course bought the lower priced one because it is ridiculous to pay 3 times to the cost for basically the same thing that will feel the same in the room.

The stuff with Donovan is interesting. Who knows what they agreed should come from the profit and what could be billed to the projects. It is a real life lesson to people and how they operate their businesses. I find it interesting because it is real, there are real lawsuits.

I am all caught up for the season now. The first black house I liked and it looked like the sides were already black. The second one with all black on black I did not like, the black did not suit the house.

Edited October 18, 2020 by fountain

[SuprSuprElevated]

As someone upthread mentioned, this affinity for open shelving and see-thru cabinet doors is baffling.  For one, I don't have a staff to keep things looking visitor-ready at all times, lol.  I too have things in my cabinets that aren't for publication.  If your space can accommodate having a mix, then great.  I live approx 110 miles SE of Chicago, and yeah, we wear coats a minimum of 50% of the year, and no, I'm not willing to give precious master bedroom closet space to them.

I think she, like so many other television designers, are doing just that; designing for a television audience.  "Ooh, that's pretty."  Yes, yes it is, now tear it all apart and make it actually livable to the 98% of the buying public that may actually be willing to take it off your hands.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The only place I like open kitchen shelves is on the short term/vacation rentals.   In those it makes it easier for renters to locate what they need without hunting through cabinets, and drawers.   

For regular homes, I hate open shelves, and clear glass cabinet doors.    I wonder if people look at the homes on this show just out of curiosity, because I wouldn't touch one of the houses ever.   I would be waiting for something to fail, or leak, or have to be redone.  

[fountain]

Open kitchen shelves are best for decoration. That unit with the glass upper fronts they could put a frosting film and then you cannot see as much through.

Lots of these homes start off pretty dumpy so would people have lived in them like that or would they be abandoned or bank owned. They still sell for a lot but some seem crazy people live in them.

Edited October 18, 2020 by fountain

[Grrarrggh]

I don't think most people have any idea of style or design. Otherwise we would never hear people saying they want something unique and "their" style when they live in a white/grey open concept shaker cabinets box. 

[Bigfatcat]

Why would you put stain glass which is in soft lead in some spots into a door that will get opened and shut pretty frequently?

[SuprSuprElevated]

4 minutes ago, Bigfatcat said:

Why would you put stain glass which is in soft lead in some spots into a door that will get opened and shut pretty frequently?

Because it's cool.  ™AV

[MsTree]

2 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Because it's cool.  ™AV

...and don't forget "sick" 😉

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm sure the local burglars will love that stained glass, it's so much easier to get through that than to have to use a crowbar.    

[SuprSuprElevated]

I actually don't hate the stained glass features, and I like adding natural wood tones with all of the stark, modern architectural elements.

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I actually don't hate the stained glass features, and I like adding natural wood tones with all of the stark, modern architectural elements.

Alison paints natural wood tones black.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I have to laugh when I realize the update episode that's playing now is the one with the huge double doors, with the super expensive antique doorknobs.    The big thing about that is the doorknobs were removed before it was on the market.     Ari and AV are talking about their furniture line, not caring about that.    

In the episode before this the huge brass range hood was awful, it totally dominated the kitchen, the island and the other cabinets looked like they were from two different houses, and I love how everything that goes wrong is blamed on another person.    Who does remodeling, and doesn't secure the job site?   

[sskrill]

What's with the half tucked shirt?  Take some of those millions and buy tees that fit.  I seem to remember that being a fad in a decade I don't remember.

Why are these 1 year flips?  Because the buildings are bigger?  1 year seems to almost automatically make them cost prohibitive.  Taking out multiple loans on multiple buildings when you don't seem to have the ability to do a reasonably quick turnaround on any of them is, well, stupid. 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The flips are taking almost two years in some cases because of stop work orders.   They have to get permits where they didn't get them, or wait for approvals for additions, and complete all of the inspections before they finish.    So the condo took at least an extra year (part of that is they have to conform to the construction rules for the condo building, with work hours and sometimes only weekdays, and probably not certain times of the year).        ALso, if you don't pay on time the subcontractors won't work for you, and you have to either pay up, or find other contractors, and you have to clear up liens they put on the property before it can sell.   

 I saved several of the property listings, Berenice, her house, and the condo, and except for her house, all have severe price drops.     The condo price is below what they admitted they spent on purchase, and rehab costs, plus with that one carrying costs are stunning.    The apartment are on the rental market for $2500, instead of the $3,000 she claimed they would rent for (corporate type, fully furnished), and the building only has one out of three units rented last update I saw on here, and the building hasn't sold either.  

I see nothing high end about the finishes she uses.    Just because you pay a lot for something doesn't make it fit the design of the house, or add value.   

Edited October 21, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[sskrill]

I guess that's my point - seems to be bad choices on their part over and over. Does the city just have a hard on for them, or are they being reactive with these stop work orders instead of proactive? The other flippers rarely get stop orders, especially ones that run months at a time.

And maybe scale back your plans on the condo if you know you're going to have limited work hours due to a CRR. 

Seems like limited intellect at the helm here.

[sheetmoss]

51 minutes ago, sskrill said:

I guess that's my point - seems to be bad choices on their part over and over. Does the city just have a hard on for them, or are they being reactive with these stop work orders instead of proactive? The other flippers rarely get stop orders, especially ones that run months at a time.

And maybe scale back your plans on the condo if you know you're going to have limited work hours due to a CRR. 

Seems like limited intellect at the helm here.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^6

I think it is possible the city does gives them--well Donovan, a hard time because they've earned a bad reputation -  I can't believe Donovan didn't get the final sign-offs on occupancy for what, 31 properties?  That's outrageous.

In the Hoyne  reno, it took 3 electrical inspections -  Donovan didn't know what he was doing or the inspectors were yanking his chain,

     Maybe fire the electrician(s)

 

A few yrs back on Jeff Lewis's show, he had trouble with an inspector, the inspector would come, tell him to make a change and then he would come back and say it was wrong. It kept repeatedly happening. 

 Jeff started believing the guy had a bias against him.

I believe Jeff even wanted to record the inspection but the guy objected. Finally Jeff had enough and called the bldg dept requesting another inspector.

No issues followed.

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by sheetmoss

[sskrill]

4 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

I think it is possible the city does gives them--well Donovan, a hard time because they've earned a bad reputation -  I can't believe Donovan didn't get the final sign-offs on occupancy for what, 31 properties?  That's outrageous.

In the Hoyne  reno, it took 3 electrical inspections -  Donovan didn't know what he was doing or the inspectors were yanking his chain,

     Maybe fire the electrician(s)

I didn't think Donovan was even working on these last 3 properties (the modern thing with the water in the basement, condo, uke village).  

If she ended up with a bad reputation because of him she should have handled that immediately via attorney, special contractor, or whatever would move the project along quickest.  

She really picked the wrong profession - I have not seen any evidence of her having the skill necessary to navigate this one.

[SuprSuprElevated]

15 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The flips are taking almost two years in some cases because of stop work orders.   They have to get permits where they didn't get them, or wait for approvals for additions, and complete all of the inspections before they finish.    So the condo took at least an extra year (part of that is they have to conform to the construction rules for the condo building, with work hours and sometimes only weekdays, and probably not certain times of the year).        ALso, if you don't pay on time the subcontractors won't work for you, and you have to either pay up, or find other contractors, and you have to clear up liens they put on the property before it can sell.   

 I saved several of the property listings, Berenice, her house, and the condo, and except for her house, all have severe price drops.     The condo price is below what they admitted they spent on purchase, and rehab costs, plus with that one carrying costs are stunning.    The apartment are on the rental market for $2500, instead of the $3,000 she claimed they would rent for (corporate type, fully furnished), and the building only has one out of three units rented last update I saw on here, and the building hasn't sold either.  

I see nothing high end about the finishes she uses.    Just because you pay a lot for something doesn't make it fit the design of the house, or add value.   

Hoyne St. (the one with the carved door frame and black doors/giant brass ballz) sold in January 2020 for $1.3 million and change.

[KeithJ]

On 10/17/2020 at 9:11 AM, cameron said:

The judge threw out the the Freeze the Assets lawsuit by the plaintiffs according to a very recent article in the Chicago Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-windy-city-rehab-lawsuit-alison-victoria-chicago-home-20201016-aczpadoohjd3ljnsorerorjla4-story.html

"The Morrisseys filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order last week after learning that Gramenos and her boyfriend, Michael Marks, signed a quit-claim deed in March to transfer ownership of their Bucktown home for $10 to AVMM Properties LLC, a company that features their initials. The home was recently listed for sale for $2.295 million. The Morrisseys said they feared Gramenos is trying to “shield her personal assets from a judgment collection” if they won their lawsuit, which was filed in December 2019."

I'm very surprised the judge threw out the request for the TRO.  She's obviously shielding assets from the other lawsuits. Now, if she loses the lawsuits, any money from the sale of her house can't be touched.

[SuprSuprElevated]

7 minutes ago, KeithJ said:

I'm very surprised the judge threw out the request for the TRO.  She's obviously shielding assets from the other lawsuits. Now, if she loses the lawsuits, any money from the sale of her house can't be touched.

I'm not an attorney, and legal speak makes me want to chew nails, so I only skimmed the story.  My undereducated take is that either the judge didn't feel she was a large enough component in their lawsuit to attach the proceeds of her house sale, or, perhaps they were merely smart about the method/location of incorporating the business(es), so as to avoid putting personal assets at risk.  🤷‍♀️

[sskrill]

14 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

or, perhaps they were merely smart about the method/location of incorporating the business(es), so as to avoid putting personal assets at risk.  🤷‍♀️

Yeah that's kind of the point of incorporating to begin with, so that would make sense.

[jkitty]

23 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I'm not an attorney, and legal speak makes me want to chew nails, so I only skimmed the story.  My undereducated take is that either the judge didn't feel she was a large enough component in their lawsuit to attach the proceeds of her house sale, or, perhaps they were merely smart about the method/location of incorporating the business(es), so as to avoid putting personal assets at risk.  🤷‍♀️

I haven’t read the opinion (Cook County docs aren’t available online.  You have to pull them in person), but my guess based on the quote about there not being irreparable harm is that  The judge reasons that money damages would be sufficient if any wrong doing occurred. Irreparable harm means something money can’t fix...like tearing down a historical landmark. There are legal arguments you can make to get money from the individual behind a corporate entity or from one corporate entity to another in certain circumstances.  

Edited October 23, 2020 by jkitty

[SuprSuprElevated]

6 hours ago, jkitty said:

I haven’t read the opinion (Cook County docs aren’t available online.  You have to pull them in person), but my guess based on the quote about there not being irreparable harm is that  The judge reasons that money damages would be sufficient if any wrong doing occurred. Irreparable harm means something money can’t fix...like tearing down a historical landmark. There are legal arguments you can make to get money from the individual behind a corporate entity or from one corporate entity to another in certain circumstances.  

Thanks!

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're showing some of the more bizarre ones from the first season, and it's so funny watching the change from 'Donovan is everything', to the 'throwing Donovan under the bus' routine in the current episodes.    I have to laugh at how many homes were kept off the market until Spring for sale.    How much wasted in holding costs?   

That stucco monstrosity with the wet basement was hideous, and the kitchen on that one was still tiny after they redid it.    They had stop work orders long before everything hit the fan too.   

They're showing a Civil War era built house, and it's 25 degrees and they're painting the outside!    That's so ridiculous, because (I know a professional remodeler) paint companies tell you not to paint below 55 degrees, or the paint color changes, and the drying time, and how long the paint stays on is dramatically affected. 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[buttersister]

Looking forward to the next round of lawsuits! Hacks.

[Dehumidifier]

On 10/18/2020 at 1:24 PM, fountain said:

I am all caught up for the season now. The first black house I liked and it looked like the sides were already black. The second one with all black on black I did not like, the black did not suit the house.

I agree. Also, the second one clashed with the whole block, from the glimpse I got of the nearby houses. 

[sempervivum]

On 10/31/2020 at 6:04 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

They're showing a Civil War era built house, and it's 25 degrees and they're painting the outside!    That's so ridiculous, because (I know a professional remodeler) paint companies tell you not to paint below 55 degrees,

Actually, there are paints formulated for use up to 35 degrees, but 25 is obviously not going to work. Also, unless she manages to sell this without the buyer demanding a home warrantee upfront, she'll be on the hook to repaint it in a few months when it starts peeling.

[CrazyInAlabama]

5 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Actually, there are paints formulated for use up to 35 degrees, but 25 is obviously not going to work. Also, unless she manages to sell this without the buyer demanding a home warrantee upfront, she'll be on the hook to repaint it in a few months when it starts peeling.

Thanks for that!     However, I don't see the reason they were doing the paint in the cold like that, it's not as if it was going on the market quickly, and I think it might have been one of the 'wait until Spring' to put up for sale.    So they had months to paint the outside.  

(My friend told me about that several years ago, so either it was the paint the homeowner picked out, or they've improved the formulas since then). 

[CruiseDiva]

Is anyone else really sick of these shows from last year being repackaged as "new"? My DVR keeps recording "new" episodes that I know I've seen twice already.

[CrazyInAlabama]

But if they didn't add commentary, then how would we find out how badly the world is treating the 'best designer in Chicago'?  (Yes, that's total sarcasm).        And how little chance there is of ever making a profit on anything they're showing?      I find it interesting to watch the first shows, and then see the commentary with all of the current storyline with the enhance shows trashing everything we saw.     

Other shows where they call them new, but only have an added scene or something don't interest me at all.   

Her personal house is still on the Active MLS, the Berenice property is too, but the two story high rise is supposedly Contingent now. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[SuprSuprElevated]

So do we think she's selling her residence because she's been run out of Chicago on a rail, or because she's broke, or both?

I'm thinking humiliation could be a factor.  I wasn't overly fond of her when she did the Kitchen Crashers show, but having watched WCR a couple of times now, I understand that she is full-on annoying.  Quite impressed with herself and her design prowess, despite all evidence to the contrary.

[Dehumidifier]

It amuses me that we're supposed to believe that she paints pier mirrors and chests of drawers while wearing a leather jacket and her good jeans. Sure, a brush stroke or two... 

[cameron]

21 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

Is anyone else really sick of these shows from last year being repackaged as "new"? My DVR keeps recording "new" episodes that I know I've seen twice already.

They changed the title, but it's the same old episodes.  That's why they are recording.  Had to manually erase mine because my Tivo thought it was a new episode.

[whiporee]

I know they called the last one the season finale, but they had to cut the season short, didn’t they? Five episodes barely seems enough for HGTV to make the effort  

As for A.V., I don’t mind her interiors, but find it just wrong how often she comes in and disrupts the look of a neighborhood. You tend to find that a lot with flippers, because they just want something dramatic from the street. But people have neighbors, and big houses that take away from a neighborhood aesthetic can cause issues with other neighbors. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

My understanding is all of the episodes were filmed during the same period, some were shown as season 1, and then season 2 was the leftovers from filming.     Then they did the ones with commentary, called Behind the Studs or something like that with new commentary, and old film that was already shown.    

Then with some that were stopped by the city, they had to stop construction until that was cleared up.  Then they filmed some of the last film added to the original episode.    Some of those are the two story high rise condo, and Berenice, that went on the market this summer, and are still on the market (condo says contingent).     

Edited November 13, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[CruiseDiva]

20 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

My understanding is all of the episodes were filmed during the same period, some were shown as season 1, and then season 2 was the leftovers from filming.     Then they did the ones with commentary, called Behind the Studs or something like that with new commentary, and old film that was already shown.    

It seemed to me that all the ones with her "crew" commentary were rehashed from season one. They all looked familiar. Might be my Geezer Gal memory playing tricks on me 😎 but I just didn't see any recent shows that looked like they were specifically a "season two."

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, nothing is new but the commentary with a group sitting around and trashing Donovan.     WIth all of the permitting issues, and stop work orders, delaying projects for endless months, some were actually started a long time ago, and just finally finished and on the market this year.    

Some projects from this 'season" (just a continuation of the first season, with more filming before homes went on sale), took almost two years.    The high rise condo was almost two years from purchase, to showing the episode, and has been lowered in price to below the rehab, plus purchase price.   Combined with the condo fees and taxes, it cost a fortune to keep it going with the mortgage or financing added on.   

Edited November 7, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Infiltr8]

So I have repeats on in background and now really notice how often they mess up/have issues and major overages on every project— and a lot seems to be due to incompetence—- and the 1700 wabansia house — still bugs me the arch front door is not center with brick arch over porch

[CrazyInAlabama]

The high rise two story condo that was on the market for a while, sold for $1.3 million.   I don't remember the starting price, but it had to be $1.6 or more to make any profit, and the monthly assessments are huge for that building, and the taxes.  

Berenice, and her own home are still for sale on the MLS. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[irisheyes]

I wouldn’t buy anything she and Donovan renovated. Ever. 

[LizDC]

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

Yeah, as expected, they settled.

windy-city-rehab-lawsuit-wicker-park

[CrazyInAlabama]

A.V.'s house is off the market.  Not listed as sold on realtor, but just off the market.  

Berenice is still on the market, and the two story condo sold a while ago, but it must have been at a loss. 

[LBS]

Donovan is suing Alison /HGTV for 2.2M for defamation.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/platform/amp/windy-city-rehab/2021/1/13/22227586/windy-city-rehab-problems-lawsuit-donovan-eckhardt-alison-victoria-full-text

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet one huge piece of evidence will be all of the nasty remarks, and conversations about Donovan right from the TV show.    It will be hours and hours of evidence.     I'm guessing the raw film footage will have a lot more juicy remarks on it too.  

Edited January 14, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[CruiseDiva]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I bet one huge piece of evidence will be all of the nasty remarks, and conversations about Donovan right from the TV show.    It will be hours and hours of evidence.     I'm guessing the raw film footage will have a lot more juicy remarks on it too.  

I suspected that Donavan wasn't the total bad guy that Alison made him out to be. She's so arrogant that I have a hard time believing anything she claims.

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

She's so arrogant

I don't disagree, but I think they could mud wrestle for that title, and both end up just covered in mud.  I can't say I'm surprised by his lawsuit.  I thought it rather strange that the show was so out there with the allegations and inuendos about him and his business practices.  I wouldn't have thought that there would be solid information/evidence at the time they were filming.  We'll see I guess.

[CruiseDiva]

8 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I don't disagree, but I think they could mud wrestle for that title, and both end up just covered in mud.  I can't say I'm surprised by his lawsuit.  I thought it rather strange that the show was so out there with the allegations and inuendos about him and his business practices.  I wouldn't have thought that there would be solid information/evidence at the time they were filming.  We'll see I guess.

The lawsuit doesn't surprise me either. The allegations about him and Alison Victoria's faux angst made the second season of the show unwatchable. Shame on the production company for filming it and HGTV for airing it.

[Broderbits]

How toxic does this show have to get before HGTV considers dumping it?