60% Off in 2625 N. Clark in Lincoln Park as Prices Continue to Fall

We’ve chattered about 2625 N. Clark in Lincoln Park twice before.

The first time was in March 2008 when short sales were beginning to pop up in the highrise conversion. The one bedrooms in short sale were listed in the mid to low-$200,000s back then.

See the March 2008 chatter and pictures of the units here.

The second time was in November 2008 when some of the short sales became bank owned.

See the November 2008 chatter here.

Now, it appears that more short sales and other distressed properties have come on the market and are pushing prices down even further.

The cheapest unit in the building right now is Unit #1802, a smaller 1 bedroom.

Unit #1802: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 650 square feet

  • Sold in December 2005 for $270,500
  • Lis pendens in December 2007
  • Currently listed for $105,000 (listing doesn’t say short sale or bank owned)
  • Assessments of $460 a month (includes cable and doorman)
  • Taxes of $3924
  • Central Air
  • No parking
  • Betsy Green  at Lincoln Park Homes has the listing. There are no interior pictures listed but you can see the listing here.

Unit #601 is an upgraded 1-bedroom (back in 2005 you could either have bought them as-is from the developer or bought the kitchen/bathroom upgrade package.) It is listed as a short sale/pre-foreclosure.

Unit #601: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 705 square feet

  • Sold in August 2005 for $323,500
  • Lis pendens filed in December 2007
  • Currently listed as a “short sale” for $150,000 (includes one parking space)
  • Assessments of $497 a month
  • Taxes of $4405
  • Listing says it is tenant occupied through May 2010 and that the lease will transfer
  • Kelly Rizzo-Parker at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See some interior pictures here.

Are any of these low-priced units deals?

In November 2008, we chattered about Unit #1504 which was then bank owned.

It finally sold in June 2009 for $61,900 under the original list price from the bank.

Here’s its history:

Unit #1504: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, about 700 square feet

  • Sold in August 2005 for $304,500
  • Was listed in March 2008 for $234,900 (parking extra)
  • Bank owned
  • Was listed in November 2009 for $209,900
  • Sold in June 2009 for $148,000 (looks like parking was included)
  • Assessments of $414 a month
  • No W/D in the unit

24 Responses to “60% Off in 2625 N. Clark in Lincoln Park as Prices Continue to Fall”

  1. with these many short-sales and foreclosures I’m assuming that the HOA has not been receiving all its assessments over the last year or so.

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  2. These properties will be bought up. Probably a better investment for mom and dad then paying for the dorms at DePaul.

    Does anyone know the state of the building? Any former tenants?

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  3. “Probably a better investment for mom and dad then paying for the dorms at DePaul.”

    You really think in 4 years time, if you bought one now, it would be a good return on your “investment”? How long would you have to be a landlord to make it worth having your capital tied up?

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  4. “These properties will be bought up. ”

    Revision:

    These properties will be *snapped* up.

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  5. The assessments alone would cause me to think twice about buying one as a dorm replacement. Just how expensive are the Depaul dorms anyway?

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  6. “Probably a better investment for mom and dad then paying for the dorms at DePaul.”

    Hey if the are able to sell it for what they paid for it in 5 years, the break even or above would seem better than losing money paying room and board.

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  7. ok disregard my above statement didnt factor, ass fee, taxes, agent fee, transfer fee, ect

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  8. If you buy and then sell in 4 years, you are looking at somewhere in the range of $10,000 in transaction costs (buy & sell fees and taxes), $15,000 in real estate taxes, $20,000 in mortgage payments (25% down), $22,000 in assessments, and about $2500 in maintenance (figure $50 a month). That comes out to $69500.

    If you sell at exactly the same price, then you are left with about $5200 above your down payment. You saved $10,000 through tax deductions (being generous here about the obvious fraud) and are thus left with a cost of ownership of $54,300 for 4 years, not including the electricity and internet that the dorms almost certainly include in the price. So… Do the Depaul dorms cost more than $13500 per year (not including food)?

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  9. And I always thought college kids tried to pull one over on the landlords and cram 6 in a 3 bedroom in order to get the cheapest rents possible! At least that’s what it was like back in the day–then again, I didn’t have parents with an extra $54,300 layin’ around either.

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  10. DePaul dorms are now $7-10k:

    http://housing.depaul.edu/rates.aspx

    And keep in mind those are for the academic year only. . . and cheapeast single rate (if you can get a single) is $8,500. (Though that does include utilities).

    So, yeah, these would almost make sense, if you have a student who wants to live in Chicago year-round (it is weird going to a city school and leaving, especially for the looooooong DePaul winter break, which is pretty much the whole month of December, plus a week or two).

    They would make more sense if the student knew they were going to stay in Chicago after college.

    They would make sense without question, if those assessments go down. . . they would start to be irrational for anyone, if these assessments increase at all.

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  11. DePaul dorms go for around $800/month BUT they cram at least two people to a bedroom, at least 4 people share a bathroom and those 4 might have a kitchen. Also includes cable/internet/electic/etc. Most students move off campus to not have to share a bedroom and if they can find a crappy 3br place with a two friends, it’s a $$ wash.

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  12. How on Earth does the conversion of such an average type of high-rise in a great neighborhood become such a debacle??? This wasn’t yet another American Invesco fiasco, so I’m curious as to why this building has failed so miserably…

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  13. “Probably a better investment for mom and dad then paying for the dorms at DePaul.”

    Unless you have a bike, you don’t want to hoof it all the way to DePaul from here, especially in the winter. There’s no public transport going that way, either.

    Secondly, who on earth would want to live across from The Weiner’s Circle? It’s second only to Kuma’s on the list of the most over-rated places in the city.

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  14. it failed due to bad timing – came at the end of the boom. By default, everyone bought at the peak, and many used iffy financing. anyone trying to sell is automatically under water, and if they put 0% down, they will give it back to lender if they can’t bring money to the table. once a handful of short sales/foreclosures happen in a building like this, it snowballs.

    plus, these are mediocre units that received a shoddy renovation, if any at all.

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  15. Ugh just looking at these pictures makes me feel claustrophobic, and I don’t live in a very big place myself…

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  16. “The Weiner’s Circle? It’s second only to Kuma’s on the list of the most over-rated places in the city”

    Weiner circle is a spectacle with below average hot dogs, and the use powdered cheese for the cheese fries.

    Anonymous,

    i dated many girls back in the day that lived in that area that went to depaul. its a hike but if i recall most took the diversey bus to get there.

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  17. “This wasn’t yet another American Invesco fiasco”

    The building is an “NVG” properties conversion. NVG is Nicholas V. Gouletas …. draw your own conclusion.

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  18. Check this out:

    “May 06, 2009 – The Building Group (http://www.BuildingGroup.com), a boutique, Chicago-based firm engaged in the management of residential, office, retail, and industrial properties, has been named the exclusive leasing and management company for Clark Place Private Residences at 2625 N. Clark Street, in Lincoln Park. This 20-story, 133-unit high-rise condo conversion is over 92% investor-owned.”

    So, even if you wanted to buy one of these, you’d never get financing now, right? Only 10 or 11 of the units are actually o/o.

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  19. The price is right given area rents. This almost feels like a bottom……until you consider the deteriorating employment picture, and the rising default on newly-generated FHA loans. FHA is writing most of the loans out there now, and their default and delinquency rate is currently 14%. The agency will probably need a bail out in a couple of years.

    I can’t imagine even a sterile little shoebox like this in Lincoln Park going any lower, but we might have quite a few nasty surprises in front of us yet, like about 7 million more foreclosures nationwide as indicated by record Q2 NODs.

    This is all very weird.

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  20. If that building is 92% investor owned you will NEVER get a mortgage on it. All cash buyers only. There isn’t a sane lender left who would touch financing one of those units with a 10 foot pole.

    Even a few of the remaining alt-a guys wouldn’t touch it. And if they did, the rates would be so high that your cap rate would be out the window. No chance in hell of cash flowing.

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  21. While not an American Invesco project, it was converted by NVG Residential… run by Nick V. Gouletas, son of the American Invesco President. So that it’s run into the same problems isn’t a big surprise.

    How on earth did those units ever sell for as much as they did!?! They’re tiny, not that attractive (even the remodeled ones), the building lacks the park access many LP high rises have, and I don’t believe it has the pool, etc. that most have either. Could be wrong on that last one though… haven’t been in the building since my uncle rented there in the mid-80’s. I live in another LP high rise that’s been condo since the 70’s and has all the amenities of any LP building. One could buy a unit in my building that’s nicer, larger, w/ lower assessments and get a stable board, park access, etc. for less money than these sold for! Greedy investors were the only ones who took the bait, I guess.

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  22. awesome place for just a good price… Great opportunity for the investors!!

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  23. 2625 n clark unit reportedly under contract for less than $80K. And it’s a remodelled unit on a high floor! Have we seen the bottom?
    Only people with cash can buy in the building. No bank will write a mortgage. at 1400/mth rent w parking it;s a pretty good return on cash(over 7% per annum).

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  24. agreed rick. plus if you are purchasing there for your primary or secondary residence B of A will finance. They have financed several new units already, the building manager has a contact you can ask for.

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