All Forum Posts by: Leslie Voegtlin

An idea is to not do replacement cost because these old buildings cost way too much to rebuild. Cover for 150% of actual value and you are still out way ahead if you have a total loss.

We also go thru a broker that gets us to $453.00 per unit for our master policy including a million dollar umbrella. May be you should talk with him.

Allstate, State Farm, American Family, Farmers, & Country are not the people you want to talk to for south side properties. They factor in risk of arson, bs torts, etc...into their figures and that is what you get $3600 per year. You need to go to companies that specialize in that type of insurance.

@Dorothy Wulf If still available can you please pm me the name of your contractor that builds garages?

@Leslie Voegtlin , I will love to agree with you on a change in pricing in that particular neighborhood where Amazon would come, however, here is what is really going on:

In West Loop, prices  went up 20% over the rest of the city since Google has been announced to move in, and since McDonalds headquarters have started getting build in West Loop, West Loop has no inventory, all the new construction is priced at a million $ + and pricing continues to climb a lot faster than any other neighborhood in the city.

You see, the prices and the rent have gone up because everyone that showed up to work for Google makes a good living and they want to live where they work, so the demand added to the already hot location, automatically increased the prices. Same with McDonald's. This being the World Headquarter, you are getting executives coming to live here, a large number of high earners buying in a small area.

With Amazon, will happen the exact same. Whatever it will build, it will attract luxury builders and the high earners, and then will show up restaurants, boutique, etc, the money will pour in the neighborhood. 

I’ve been reading a lot of articles on this and I think Chicago has a really good chance of landing HQ2. It seems to have everything on Amazon’s punchlist. 

Try to think about this through Amazon's lens. What does Amazon NEED?

NEED

They need LOTS of tech people, and QUICKLY. What cities have that? Not Detroit

They need to be able to RECRUIT to areas that will draw talent (whether you like Seattle or not, you can argue its an acquired taste -- costly and not sunny)

They need LOTS of space and they need to be able to scale quickly

They need something this new location can offer that dreary Seattle cannot (Sun and lower cost of living)

WANT

Amazon would love to get massive tax credits

Amazon would love to get cheap talent right out of school.

So given this criteria, I believe Dallas, Austin, North Carolina, Denver, Orlando would be likely targets.

BONUS FOR AUSTIN: Amazon just bought Whole Foods. I used to live in Austin and so I know Whole Foods holds leases on EMPTY office space all over downtown.

Detroit is bad for recruiting

Chicago is not great for tech

THINK like Amazon and you will win.