Rehabbed 2-Bedroom Loft Listed For 42% More Just 2 Months Later: 120 E. Cullerton In The South Loop
This 2-bedroom loft in the Bank Note Lofts at 120 E. Cullerton in the South Loop recently came on the market.
In July 2012, it was owned by the bank and sold at $177,500.
You can see the pictures of the bank owned listing here.
The corner loft has since been rehabbed with new hardwood floors throughout and new paint.
There are concrete and stainless steel counters. The kitchen also has new stainless steel appliances (as it looks like there weren’t any appliances in the bank owned listing.)
The master bathroom has been rehabbed with new tile and grohe fixtures. It appears that some of the original tile remains in the second bath.
This is the loft building with the unique terra cotta ceilings.
This unit also has extensive exposed brick walls and a side-by-side washer/dryer.
Now that it has been rehabbed, it is listed for about 42%, or $127,400, more than the July 2012 sale (that includes the parking.)
Will this rehab command the premium?
Elizabeth Lothamer at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. It appears to be agent owned. See the pictures here.
Unit #505: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1338 square feet
- Sold in November 2000 for $290,000
- Sold in April 2002 for $305,000
- Sold in July 2006 for $370,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in March 2011
- Sold in July 2012 for $177,500 (included the parking)
- Currently listed for $279,900 (parking is $25,000 extra)
- Assessments of $394 a month
- Taxes of $3063
- Central Air
- Side-by-side washer/dryer
- Bedroom #1: 15×15
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
Oh boy…do I hear the tiny, squeaking sound of a new real estate mini-bubble in the making?
We’re just starting to see the super-cheap stuff disappearing from the MLS lists. So now sellers and their agents are taking that as a signal to start puffing up the prices again?
Won’t work this time (I hope). There are no WaMu Option ARM 80/20 financing plans available for gullible first-time yupster buyers. The “real” banks are still skeptical of the market and holding back on loan approvals. And based on this and other examples, with good reason.
In other words, the “enablers” of the last real estate boom aren’t around. Keep that in mind, buyers and sellers!
Fannie and Freddie are alive and well. FHA is doling out 3.5% down loans. Helicopter Ben has just decided to start printing $40 billion a month and using it to buy residential mortgages. There are plenty of enablers to fund a new boom.
I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, isn’t the appraiser going to see that this sold for $127k less than it did 2 months ago? Isn’t this a comp of itself?
The appraiser will note that it was previously a distressed sale. The u/w is also going to want some documentation most likely of the rehab work that was completed to justify the price increase as well.
I have no clue whether this price is supportable – this is not a neighborhood I know much about. If the parking was included I’d think the price was a reasonable list price – $25k extra for the spot seems very high to me. However, I like the style of this unit much more than most of the loft listings posted recently.
“Fannie and Freddie are alive and well. FHA is doling out 3.5% down loans. Helicopter Ben has just decided to start printing $40 billion a month and using it to buy residential mortgages. There are plenty of enablers to fund a new boom.”
but limited to ~$435k purchase price (at least in teh CHI). Which will put a damper on any real boom.
I like this neighborhood a lot..although, it’s right on the cusp of being too far south. I looked at a unit in this building once. The finishes in the unit were noticeably better than almost anything else out there. I would feel like an idiot though, buying a place for so much more than it sold for a couple of months prior considering so little renovation has been done.
“but limited to ~$435k purchase price (at least in teh CHI). Which will put a damper on any real boom.”
Has Helicopter Ben released any details of his toilet paper purchase program? If the banks have a third party to pawn securitized loans off onto, they will and I suspect that if the banks have any inkling they can pawn crap off to the Fed through that purchase program, the money geyser will begin flowing again in short order.
“Won’t work this time (I hope). There are no WaMu Option ARM 80/20 financing plans available for gullible first-time yupster buyers.”
Nope just mega low mortgage rates nearly the equivalent of an Interest Only loan a few years ago. The good thing this time is that only qualified buyers will be able to take advantage of them.
I love the improvements they did to the place, the baths were totally redone with nice finishes and they kept the cabinets but put on some high end (it appears to me) counter tops in the kitchen.
On August 31 Unit #405 sold for $225,000 no parking which seems more reasonable. Unit #405 looks like it had a decent kitchen although the master bath has an ugly tile and sink. I think this can sell for more than #405 but $50,000 more is a big stretch. I say this can sell between $235,000 and $245,000 if #405 is any indication.
I don’t know if this place will support this price but a fully rehabbed place for less than the 2000 price isn’t bad…
whats sound transfer like with terra cotta?
The Fed is buying securities in the open market and buying GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC pass thru securities.
“I love the improvements they did to the place, the baths were totally redone with nice finishes and they kept the cabinets but put on some high end (it appears to me) counter tops in the kitchen.”
This rehab screams Studio 41 on Pulaski. I like that place actually, bought some stuff there.
old listing: Assessments of $424 a month
new listing: Assessments of $394 a month
how likely is that?
“but limited to ~$435k purchase price (at least in teh CHI). Which will put a damper on any real boom.”
That’s why here in teh CHI we’re already seeing a tale of two markets: sub 450k where you really can’t get any great deals in the GZ unless it’s the occasional 150k 1/1 and 550k+ where you can get quite a bit for your money (esp at 650k+).
Every under 30yo Obama voter thinks we’re about to turn the corner and the MSM isn’t widely publicizing the problems these days like Europe or that Q2 GDP growth was revised down to an anemic 1.2%. The MSM is publicizing the signals are “mixed” as unemployment claims aren’t peaking, but they aren’t mentioning the labor force participation rate is at multi-decade lows. Meaning people are running out of unemployment and no longer counted.
I have not bothered to run comps on this building but take the parking out at $15,000 and you’ve got $198/SF which seems pretty good to me. Someone else apparently thought so because it went under contract yesterday.
I see tons of lofts and generally I’m not a fan of them and I can’t remember one from the next. However, I saw a unit in this building about 2 – 3 years ago and I still remember it – I liked it. These units have tons of unique finishes. I do remember the ceilings being a bit low for a loft though but the overall look is kinda polished industrial. Really cool.
“old listing: Assessments of $424 a month
new listing: Assessments of $394 a month”
The old listing, I believe, included parking. Parking is now priced separately. I would guess the discrepancy in assessments would be due to the old listing including the parking assessment and the new listing not including the parking assessment.