About Chicago's Wrigleyville

For anyone who was ever a Chicago Cubs fan, watched the Cubbies on WGN, or even made one or many trips to the friendly confines, your chance to own a piece of history is coming around soon.

Earlier, there was public notice that one of the Wrigleyville Rooftops was going into foreclosure and was slated to be sold at auction. The owners instead filed bankruptcy to thwart the foreclosure and now it seems that the U.S. Bankruptcy judge overseeing the proceedings is indicating that a sale is coming around. Go see it, the address is 3633 N. Sheffield, Chicago, Illinois, 60657

So, ready your pocketbook, your chance to buy a piece of history is right around the corner!

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy

If you have ever visited Chicago, or even if you are a regular in the neighborhood of the Friendly Confines, a nickname for Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs of the Major League Baseball play, then you may have walked, er stumbled into, one of the local establishments.

Last week, Crains Chicago Business announced that two Wrigleyville watering holes with colorful histories are up for sale.

The first one is Wild Hare, a legendary reggae bar at 3530 N. Clark St. that closed in May. The second one is Gingerman Tavern at 3740 N. Clark St.

For different reasons, both are mainstays in the Wrigleyville area. For those who meet up before game or stick around into the evening after a game, both of these establishments offered social opportunities. And so it seems, that with the changing of the seasons, so too does the ownership of long-time bars also change hands. Granted, the price of one of these establishments far exceeds the price of a condo in the neighborhood, but then again, this is a business up for sale, not a residence.

So, possibly one or even two enterprising entrepreneurs in the community will step up and define a new future for these locales and help visitors and locals alike make some new memories in the coming baseball seasons.

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy

Chicago Cubs Fans, never say never. Over the weekend, Bardan Azari of Cherry Picker Investments told me that a couple of his clients might be considering making a run at piece of history.

Just when you thought the unimaginable couldn't happen, on August, 17, 2011, the next best opportunity to being able to buy the Chicago Cubs is coming available to you. The Lakeview Baseball Club, pictured above in the photo from the Cook County Assessor's site, is going to be sold via foreclosure auction and Bardan Azari will be there to see it happen.

For die-hard Cubs fans, the building is known as the rooftop which overlooks Wrigley's right field and displays two signs written in Latin. Now, if you are like me and didn't study Latin in school, then you didn't have any idea what they said either.

When I consulted a few published sources, I learned that “Eamus Catuli,” purportedly means “Let's go little bears,” and “AC0266102” corresponds to AC standing for "Anno Catuli," Latin for "Year of the little bear," and then the numbers represent the years since the franchise last won a division title (02), a National League championship (66) and a World Series (102).

For all of those financial types out there, Lakeview Baseball Club borrowed money from First Personal Bank who provided a $2.8-million loan and the another $350,000 loan. Additionally, there are three other creditors who are supposedly owed $715,334, according to the foreclosure judgment entered July 8 in Cook County Circuit Court.

The Chicago Cubs win loss record is 43 - 65 (40% win rate) and 16.5 games out of first place in the Central Division in the National League, per ESPN.com

Applying a little math, if you take the 40% win rate of the Chicago Cubs, one might say that the rooftop could be bought for 40% of the total debt or $1.55 million....Granted, most of us cannot write a check for that amount of money, but that's a lot smaller check than what was necessary to purchase the whole franchise which the Rickett's family recently did.

So, who knows Cubs fans, you could finally be a winner!

No matter what happens, there are losers and there are the Chicago Cubs. Only this time, its seems that First Personal Bank gets to join the ranks of the Chicago Cubs, but at least the Cubs have the Rickett's family backing them up....not so sure about First Personal Bank, of Orland Park, Illinois. But, possibly some crazy Cubs fans, might just bid enough at the foreclosure auction to payoff First Personal Bank's delinquent loans.

Michael Hobbs, President, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!

While visiting Chicago this past weekend, I was thrilled to attend my first baseball game at Wrigley Field. This field is a wonderful, outdoor facility full of great history. To top it off, the game was between cross town rivals the Cubs and the White Sox.

There is just nothing more all-American than a great baseball game. The stands were full of fans from both teams and it was quite colorful and lively to say the least. It was a hot day in Chicago yet a perfect day for baseball.

Enjoyed hitting the pubs afterward too in this area they call Wrigelyville. The area is full of quaint taverns, pubs and eating establishments. A great way to continue the fun after the game. I love all of the brownstones and the historic streets. So different from where I am from.

Thanks Chicago for a great trip with so many wonderful memories.

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Posted: Jun 10, 2010, 3:24pm PDT