When Owners “Must Sell”: 1862 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park
We chattered about an $800,000 penthouse duplex on North Halsted recently.
But we’ve chattered about North Halsted duplex penthouses before, specifically, this 2-bedroom unit at 1862 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park.
See our original September 2008 chatter and pictures here.
3 months after our last chatter in November 2008, it has been reduced again, by another $20,000.
The listing also now says that the “sellers relocation out of state must sell!”.
Isabel Mikell at Koenig & Strey still has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #3S: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage given
- Sold in April 1993 for $190,000
- Sold in November 1998 for $325,000
- Sold in November 2002 for $424,500
- Sold in April 2006 for $476,000
- Was listed in September 2008 for $499,000 (included parking)
- Reduced
- Was listed in November 2008 for $469,000 (included the parking)
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $449,000 (includes the parking)
- Assessments of $242 a month
- Taxes of $6,098
- Central air
From the main floor all attention is drawn to that staircase and the loft. Pretty disappointing up there though. They aren’t counting that as a bedroom are they? Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night and having to walk down and back up a long winding staircase just to take a wizz.
I like this unit. I think it’s priced somewhat decent considering it includes a family room. Although I wonder why agents put “must sell” and relocate” in their listings, as a home buyer I am going to lawball them that much more once I see those magic words. And those words don’t create the sense of urgency they used to. There are alot of homeowners in this market that “must sell”.
It pains me when people who put down a substantial downpayment find themselves in situations like this willing to take the loss. Had they been a zero down hero they could just walk and trash their credit but they were more responsible and hence are going to pay.
🙁
@ Lauren: “considering it includes a family room.”
Do condos come without family rooms these days?
Too bad anyone that wants a 2BR that can afford 450K will have better options in a LP/RN condo w/ some amenities before they check out this 1 br / loft.
Wake me up when it’s at $350K..
350k sounds about right.
I bet you they are counting that upstairs as a second bedroom.
Lauren, I agree with you. You should never put “must sell” in your listings. It screams you are looking for a low ball offer.
“I bet you they are counting that upstairs as a second bedroom.”
Not unless they included blatantly incorrect data–the 2d BR is listed as 14×12; the loft is noted as 19′ 8″ x 15′. So, it’s 2 real bedrooms (down the hall, behind the kitchen), plus the loft.
I think the “must sell” makes sense when there are so few offers to be had. Yes, they are begging for anything. What seller isn’t these days?
Good point Bob – The Obama administration may have helped them out if they had been less responsible. Or they could have walked. Who here wouldn’t rather have their credit rating negatively impacted than take a $40K-100K hit? In the former scenario you may pay a higher interest rate on all future loans but it would never = $40K lost. Talk about moral hazard.
Bob.. It’s disgusting. Shameful. I felt stupid for having skin in the game when I found out what everyone else did.
While I understand there is a human and emotional element to these stories, I find it extremely difficult to have sympathy for someone who thought it was rational to pay nearly half a million dollars for *this* place. A half a million dollars is a lot of money. Especially to buy in 2006. It’s sad, fools and their money are so easily parted. I met a guy the other day who inherited nearly a million dollars a few years back and he spent 70% of investing in terrible real estate deals and now because of the personal guarantees he’s probably going to lose the rest.
Oof. All that white. Very early 90s. Horrible.
I agree Bradford…I am left missing Chicago’s standard issue SS appliances and wood cabinets! Looking closely, the entrance for the staircase is in the small pass through in the kitchen…that seems to be an awkward place for it. At 6’3″ the loft would be useless for me although it does show well in the photos. I’ll pass and keep my half million in the bank…
I actually saw this exact condo when it was for sale in 2006. You are not going to believe what they did – there was a “normal” staircase behind the kitchen, but the owner removed it to give the kitchen more space and added the spiral that you see in the picture. What a brilliant move that was…
I should clarify – the owner who was selling it in 2006 had already done that. Current owner bought it as-is.