HUD Articles

Client: Nationwide Hedge Fund

The Challenge

Our client, a hedge fund, purchased a property in south suburban Cook County as part of a larger pool of properties. The property was in poor condition and needed extensive repairs prior to occupancy. Our client had already secured a buyer prior to our involvement and did not need for us to market and sell the property.  However, when preparing for the closing, they discovered that the City had very strict requirements and not allow them to close without making over $30K in repairs.

The Solution

Our client came to us and requested our help. They explained the situation and advised that since they already had a buyer, we would not be marketing the property and would therefore not be making a commission. Since we valued the client, we did not hesitate to take on the assignment pro-bono. Fortunately for our client, we had extensive experience in this community and knew exactly who to talk to remediate the situation. We immediately went in person to the City and asked to meet with the Building Director. We explained that our client understood the rules, but had a unique situation in which they had a buyer lined up that was willing to take the property subject to the City required repairs and who was willing to post an escrow with the City as a measure of good faith. The Building Director pulled in the Fire Chief to determine if he would agree to the exception being requested, provided all immediate health and safety issue were remedied prior to closing. The Fire Chief agreed, and we were able to significantly reduce the list of repairs. The total cost to our client was $2,500 rather than $30K. They were able to pass this cost of repairs onto their existing buyer and were able to close the transaction. In the end we received a tremendous amount of gratitude from our client, which was payment enough.

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