40 Days on the Market for this 2-Bedroom West Loop Loft: 17 N. Loomis
This 2-bedroom authentic loft in the Heartbreak Lofts at 17 N. Loomis came on the market in August 2015.
It is bank owned. It took the bank 7 years to put this property back on the market.
We last chattered about it in August 2015. See our chatter here.
If you recall, this is a northeast corner loft with 12 foot concrete ceiling and amazing industrial windows along both sides of the loft.
It has hardwood floors and some exposed brick.
The master bedroom is fully enclosed.
The kitchen has wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
The loft has all the other features buyers look for including washer/dryer in the unit, central air and garage parking included.
Back in August, I thought this might sell quickly given the dearth of inventory, especially for large authentic lofts, in the West Loop.
The West Loop also continues to be one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city due to the influx of technology companies in the Fulton Market area.
This loft has had 3 price reductions in the last 40 days.
Why isn’t this selling?
Kevin Maloney at Exclusive Real Estate Limited has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1F: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in May 2001 for $297,500
- Sold in September 2003 for $315,000
- Lis pendens filed in March 2008
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in May 2010
- Bank owned in May 2015
- Originally listed in August 2015 for $469,000 (includes garage parking)
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $454,000 (includes garage parking)
- Assessments of $388 a month (includes exterior maintenance and snow removal)
- Taxes of $4202
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 18×13
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
“This loft has had 3 price reductions in the last 40 days.
Why isn’t this selling?”
They started too high, and are still too high. This needs to be closer to 400-425k.
I wonder if the building has some problem(s) like too many renters or foreclosures making financing difficult. I also think that those bathrooms, while kind of cool and unique are probably a tough sell since they look too personal for somebody with quirky taste – though I kinda like the Mondrian effect (and nice self-portrait of the Realtor too).
FG – You are correct. There is something off about this unit. Without seeing it live i suspect that renters and or financing is an issue. But that can be overcome by cash buyers. And although I am not a fan of the bathrooms or finishes they are small enough that a gut repair is not crazy expensive.
FG – a lot of condos with large associations are writing no-rental clauses into their by-laws. I don’t know all the specifics but usually it’s something like an owner cannot rent their unit for the first two years or something. This handcuffs owners who realize they might become reluctant landlords and turns away investors.
“bathrooms … are small enough that a gut repair is not crazy expensive”
What’s “not crazy expensive” in your mind?
This loft is NOT bank owned. It was purchased by an investor at auction. The bathrooms are baffling to me. Investor should have put some money into fixing them up in a lighter , more neutral style.
Alos, the current assessed tax value is only 250k or so.
Anon – good question.
The fixtures and lighting in both baths is ok. In my thought $100 is not crazy expensive. Look at the guest bath. Slate is common finish in older lofts but it’s that purple textured wall that screws up most buyers.
The main bath has an aggressive pattern tile around the shower. Clearly taste specific however if you painted the walls a complimentary color it would show much better. And if you could not live with that aggressive tile I’m confident that you could rip it out and replace for under $2k.mand that is less than .5 of 1% of the listing sales price. Not crazy at all.
jp3–
Yeah, if you think that what is needed is new paint, and maybe new shower tile in one of the baths, that would count as “not crazy expensive” to me, too.
But you wrote “small enough that a gut repair is not crazy expensive”, and I think of a “gut” as a lot more than paint and wall tile.
Those windows are horrible. They make the place look like a prison.
Now that I look again, I wonder if part of the problem is that this unit is first floor and overlooks garages and the alley?
One of my friends just bought a condo in a building where only owners who purchased before such and such a date (assuming the change in rules) can rent out their units. Most other buildings seem to cap the rental tally but not always. His old building was converted and he was truly shocked since the building was all small (tiny 1 bedrooms and studios) unit and not in the greatest shape. They’ve had a lot of problems with collections and financing for sales and repairs.
“Yeah, if you think that what is needed is new paint, and maybe new shower tile in one of the baths, that would count as “not crazy expensive” to me, too.”
How much would it cost to paint this entire loft? About $3,000- right? (if you don’t paint the ceilings.) And then you have to re-do some of the baths too. What is that- another $3,000 to $5,000. So suddenly you’re at close to $10,000 just with those two things.
It’s not a little bit of money for most buyers.
This is why “move-in ready” is so prized right now. Buyers really don’t want to do a thing except maybe buy some new furniture.