Is anyone familiar with the condemned looking giant apartment complex on W Alabama and Dunlavy (across from Fiesta)? It's called the Willshire Village. Although the majority of the units are in such bad shape they have been abandoned by the owner, there are a few dozen that are really nice inside. After months and months of pestering the rather eccentric landlord, today I was shown one. It was a Huge 2 bedroom with a huge living room and dining room. Hardwood floors, middle of Montrose, and best of all, it rents for 385 a month!! The down side is the landlord. He is crazy. I'm sceptical about him and wondering what you guys think is too crazy. (Of course If he wasn't crazy, I'm sure he would be charging more in rent or would sell the property to someone who would tear it down and build something profitable there). I'm wondering if any of you have ever lived there or know anyone who has.
that's a good price for a 2/1 in the area but this is from May 2002: Apartment owner files as foreclosure looms Chapter 11 prevents city from collecting overdue taxes on prime property Nancy Sarnoff Houston Business Journal The owner of a tax-delinquent apartment complex in the heart of an inner-city neighborhood has declared bankruptcy, shielding the prime property from foreclosure by the city. Jay H. Cohen -- owner of the 60-year-old multifamily development at the southwest corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy -- filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Texas on May 3. The petition was submitted just days before his Montrose-area complex was scheduled to be sold at public auction on May 7 for non-payment of property taxes. Cohen owes an estimated $1.5 million in taxes on the 144-unit apartment complex, according to William King, whose law firm represents the local taxing entities. Based on Cohen's record with the tax district, King says the tax debt and ensuing auction of the property likely precipitated the owner's bankruptcy filing. "This has been going on for a long time," says King, a partner in Linebarger Goggan Blair Pe–a & Sampson LLP. "They're buying some time to pay the taxes." Under federal law, Cohen's last-minute bankruptcy filing protected his property from foreclosure. Now, the local investor -- who owns dozens of properties around Houston -- awaits an initial bankruptcy hearing set for June 4. Meanwhile, Cohen will likely file a plan of reorganization, says his attorney, Michael Davis of Austin. After initial review of the bankruptcy filing, Davis says as far as he can determine the only creditors in the case are the taxing entities, which include the city of Houston, Harris County and Houston Independent School District. According to the Harris County Appraisal District, Cohen owns more than 30 properties in Houston, mainly in inner-city ZIP codes. Attorney King says Cohen has racked up a tax bill of roughly $4 million on his local real estate portfolio. "It's a big nut," says King. The official auction docket lists 30 properties owned by Cohen that were to be sold at last week's foreclosure sale. The properties range in value from $4,300 to $4 million, which is the Montrose apartment complex. According to the bankruptcy petition, Cohen's estimated assets are listed as between $1,000,001 and $10 million, with estimated debts of the same amounts. And this is not the first time Cohen has filed for bankruptcy protection. Western District court records show that Cohen had petitioned for bankruptcy twice before, once in 1997 and again in 2000. Both cases were dismissed. When contacted by the Houston Business Journal, Cohen declined to discuss details. An old gold mine The Montrose apartment complex was built in 1942, according to real estate consulting firm O'Connor & Associates. It is listed in O'Connor's database as Wilshire Village Apartments. And the owner is identified on the Harris County tax rolls under the name of Wilshire Village Corp. The property consists of several two-story, stand-alone buildings sitting on eight acres of land. Averaging 1,100 square feet, most of the apartments are large and have two bedrooms, though many of the units are unoccupied. Aside from cleanly cut grass, the grounds are virtually barren, offering little indication of the property's status as a functioning apartment complex. In addition, several windows are cracked and their metal frames rusted. "No trespassing" signs adorn the entrances to several parking areas. Despite its condition, real estate observers say the complex sits on a gold mine in terms of its size and land value. Real estate broker Stan Creech estimates the property to be worth in excess of $25 per square foot. Over the past decade, Creech says he has put in numerous offers to buy the Cohen property for clients that build mainly residential and retail developments. "The location is outstanding," says Creech "And the demand in that area is just continuing to grow." However, Cohen has steadfastly refused all offers for his 60-year-old investment property. "People have wanted to buy that for many, many years," says one real estate source. "It's one of the very few big sites." Indeed, an eight-acre site in the heart of Montrose could easily be home to a legion of three-story townhomes, which have permeated much of the inner city. But if the site ever were to change hands with a proposed new use, its demolition would likely come under fire from historic preservationists. And the cost to restore it could be prohibitive. "Could it be rehabbed? Yeah," says the industry source. "But for the price you'd have to pay for it, nobody will." nsarnoff@bizjournals.com · 713-960-5931
Yeah, from what I gather, he almost loses it every year but never does. I would only need to live there until May (then I graduate from law school and move to Austin where my wife already lives).
