The 800 block of E. Meinecke still has a modest look, but it is within a mile of Brewers Hill and the East Side is less than a mile across the Milwaukee River, so the assessor's office may have scented a hint of gentrification in the future for this block across from Reservoir Park. Ken Benka owns three properties in the 800 block, but 814, a duplex built in 1890, is not one of them. It is the highest assessed value of the six properties on the block. Peter Weissenfluh, the city's chief assessor, explains that reassessments are based on sales of similar properties in the surrounding area. The city is divided into about 150 areas for residential assessment purposes, the area including E. Meinecke is a chunk of southern Riverwest, bordered by N. Holton St., E. Locust St., N. Humboldt Blvd.
Condominiums priced in triple digits are under construction there.
Courts have told us that the best indication of market value is a sales price. Bonds and other convicted flippers bought properties and quickly resold them at much higher prices. But Hagopian added that illegal flipping schemes have been discovered in 11 states, with participants convicted of such crimes as bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Only four of Bond's properties were in Riverwest, the vast majority were further west. Marlene Johnson-Odom says of homes that are flipped.