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29 Prairie Crossing homes will be sold at auction

Waste Management to sell homes in Grayslake

Street names like Hedgerow Drive, Thimbleweed Road and Prairie Trail evoke the natural image that has been the foundation of Prairie Crossing, long hailed as a conservation community in Grayslake.

But the scheduled sealed-bid auction of 29 homes on those and other streets has some residents on edge about what that might mean for their property values in a community noted for open space and amenities such as an organic farm, trails and a stable.

Bids are due by June 9, when the property will be sold.

Speculation on the neighborhood chat room has been wide-ranging — everyone is curious but uncertain, residents say.

“The opinions expressed there have either been highly worrisome or hopeful. It is definitely something that has been a concern,” said Reese Mugerditchian, a Realtor and resident who moved to the neighborhood more than two years ago from downtown Chicago.

“If anything, it's more curiosity,” added Mugerditchian, who lives across the street from two of the vacant homes that will be on the auction block.

On April 14, Sheldon Good & Co., a New York-based real estate auction firm, announced it would sell the single-family homes that average 2,500 square feet and range from three to five bedrooms as part of a bulk sale.

“With the economy improving, the portfolio of homes in this highly desirable community provides great flexibility and upside potential as an investment,” according to Sheldon Good. Prairie Crossing homes have sold for $250,000 to $350,000, in the past year, according to the company.

Residents don't necessarily have a beef with the company but are wary of its client, Waste Management of Illinois Inc. Waste Management owns the 29 Prairie Crossing homes, as well as the nearby Countryside Landfill, which has been the source of odor complaints over the years.

The waste company says Prairie Crossing isn't being singled out but is part of a bloc of real estate holdings in several states it has acquired through mergers and acquisitions. The company is selling excess properties, including the Prairie Crossing homes, to focus on its core business. Prairie Crossing has a total of 359 homes and 16 condos.

In 1998, Waste Management merged with USA Waste Services, Inc. and assumed responsibility for an agreement with Prairie Crossing developer George Ranney to purchase homes that didn't sell at market rates to ensure property values.

Waste Management has owned as many as 50 homes in Prairie Crossing, according to Anne M. Fridrych, senior manager of real estate for the company, and it has been selling seven or eight a year for the past few years. The “structured sale” of the auction condenses the marketing time, and while there is no minimum bid, Waste Management reserves the right to refuse any offers, she added.

“We're not looking to drop prices to divest everything,” she said.

“We have been very selective of the offers we accept. We have rejected many more offers than we have accepted in the past just based on price. We have also rejected bulk sales offers that have been made for pennies on the dollar.”

The desire is to sell all 29 homes, but offers to purchase fewer will be considered, according to Craig Post, executive director of Sheldon Good. Fridrych said someone could by one house, some houses or all of them. Eleven of the 29 are vacant, and the rest are leased.

“We are seeing tremendous improvement in the market and feel this is the right time to sell the remaining homes with the goal of having them all owner-occupied,” Fridrych said. “We want to maintain property values in the community.”

Victoria Carton is a Realtor with @Properties who has been selling homes in Prairie Crossing individually and for Waste Management since 2010.

About three-quarters of the 30 homes she has sold there have been owned by Waste Management, she added. As of Friday, she said she had received many phone calls and emails regarding the auction.

“In terms of property values, we'll see how it shakes out,” she said.

“I actually expect in the long run to increase the value.”

Mugerditchian said she bought two foreclosures in Prairie Crossing as an investment and values the sense of community illustrated by spontaneous barbecues and an active volunteer network.

She said Waste Management has been “a very responsible property holder” but there is no way to know how the next owner or owners will be.

“I don't think anybody can be sure right now,” she said.

@dhmickzawislak

  Waste Management of Illinois Inc. plans to sell 29 homes it owns in the Prairie Crossing community in Grayslake. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
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