Flip This Condo: 1952 N. Seminary in Lincoln Park
Can you buy an older property, renovate it and flip it in this housing market?
This seller at 1952 N. Seminary in Lincoln Park thinks they can.
Location, location, location- right?
Here’s the listing:
STUNNING REHAB IN THE HEART OF LINCOLN PARK! STEPS FROM GREAT SHOPPING, DINING AND THE EL ON ARMITAGE, THIS ONE-OF-A KIND PENTHOUSE UNIT OFFERS HIGH END LIVING WITH CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
WITH SOARING 10′ CEILINGS, CUSTOM MILLWORK, SMART WIRING AND DESIGNER APPOINTMENTS, THIS GEM OFFERS THE DISCERNING BUYER SOMETHING BEYOND COOKIE CUTTER NEW CONSTRUCTION. THIS IS A MUST SEE! BONUS: ASSESSMENTS PAID…
I can’t tell if it has parking or not. It looks as if it might be leased parking.
Here are the bedroom sizes:
- Bedroom #1: 17 x 12
- Bedroom #2: 12 x 9
Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, dining room, no square footage listed
- Sold in June 2001 for $417,500
- Sold in October 2004 for $455,000
- Sold in August 2007 for $496,000
- Currently listed for $597,000
- Assessments of $187 a month
- Taxes of $5950
- 606 Development Group, Inc. has the listing (here’s the website)
Will the professional staging help sell this unit?
I wouldn’t spend more than 450k on that unit assuming its less than 1500 sf.
This place is just beautiful, but it is NOT going to sell at a substantial premium over the 2007 price.
It may sell at the 2004 price. But buyers these days are driving very hard bargains, and they will drive for a 20% break off peak prices just on principle.
That staging will definitely help!!!!! That back porch looks SO inviting – wow.
i’m a housing bear, but someone is going to walk into and fall in love with this place. It’s got all the basics covered: master suite, washer/dryer in unit, decent outdoor space and owned parking. Plus it’s super chic and cool.
Put me on record: I think it will sell at a premium to the 2007 price and it will go under contract within the month.
okay everyone – let me have it!
Somebody has definitely been living under a rock for the past year and hasn’t heard that you can no longer make a $100k profit just for living in a house for a year. Even if it has granite countertops.
That being said, this is a nice home. It’s just worth about $100,000 less than they’re asking.
This place is not selling because there is a giant train know as the ‘EL’ behind it, and it runs about every 5 minutes!
Yes, that staging will help with the buyer, but it won’t cut any ice with the lenders, who are no longer inclined to lend you more than the place is worth, as measured by very traditional housing metrics, such as comparable sales and rents in the area.
I hope you get the place, bubbleboi. But the bank won’t letcha overpay unless you come in with one huge downstroke.
bubbleboi,
the pundits on this site will never buy homes, so i am glad to see that there is one sane person on this site! the pundits sit up at night with their calculators breathlessly analyzing psf costs, worrying about HOA dues..
this is a beautiful place for someone to call home. if you think you will be in it for less than 5 years, keep on renting. And laura, there are still lots of creative mortgage brokers out there, so quit trying to scare the hell out of everyone.
What does staying 5 years have to do with it? Just rent a similar place for cheaper than owning and save your money for the future when this will cost less.
The emotional buyers are no where near enough in numbers to sustain the bubble.
Jim –
This is on west side of Seminary. The El is two blocks away – I would hardly say the El is behind it. For most people, living two blocks away from the El (where you can’t hear it) is actually a good thing.
I think it may be a little difficult to get an appraisal at $600k. If it is able to sell for a premium over ’07, I would guess it would be closer to the $20k profit range.
paulj: I own a home and recently moved to an area down south where I am renting since it was one of the big bubble markets. I’d like to buy, but I realize it would be a stupid mistake at this point since I will probably be living in that particular residence for less then 5 years and prices will come down another 20% for at least 40% off peak pricing. Now, Chicago isn’t as bad, but we’re in this mess because of “creative mortgage brokers” and people that didn’t “analyzing psf costs, worrying about HOA dues” when they should have. There is no problem with buying a home in this market if you can afford it and realize that your home value will probably go down in real dollar terms if you buy now. The financial decision is extremely important and should be what is the actual purchase price, what are the carrying costs, and how do I finance it…in that order. Unfortunately during the housing bubble the “actual purchase price” became irrelevant for many and now it is coming back to haunt them big time. Prudence in this market can not be overstated. By the way, I can buy 99% of any of the homes in Illinois, including Chicago, in cash, but the reason I have so much wealth accumulated is because I didn’t make huge stupid financial decisions. If someone takes out a mortgage, be prepared to live during at least half of the term of the mortgage in that house…
The staged porch looks great – until somebody comes and steals it all.
Hey, toss in all the furniture for free, now we’re ready to play ball on price…
nice porch!
bubbleboi, you had better be scared as hell if there are as many ‘creative’ mortgage brokers still out there as paulj says.
Do NOT take the bait. There is a similar place just for you that’s cheaper but needs paint and a new kitchen. And it’s CHEAP, and only awaits your loving care to be a showplace like this.
You don’t have to fall into the Creative Financing Instant Bankruptcy trap just because paulj and the creative brokers think that it’s legitimate to do ANYTHING to own something at peak prices.
Remember, you have to PAY that mortgage.
Chicago has lots of choice housing, and it’s all gonna drop another 10% at least. Save your dough and line up a good solid 30-year-fixed that you can afford.
Laura – no worries, i would NEVER in a million years buy something fixed up like that. I do, however, think it will sell soon.
Only now am i beginning to see the kind of bargains i want – looking at a foreclosure on monday priced at $245,000 that sold for $675,000 in 2006 ($475,000 in 2000). It needs more than paint, but when i’m done it will cash flow like crazy. Odds of me getting it are slim, but that’s the kind of stuff i’m going to wait around for.
I hope you score that foreclosure. When you get the deal closed and keys in hand, please show it to us- send pictures to be posted.l
You can tell how out in space everyone was when something that sold for $675K is now opening bids at $245k.
Bubble boi,
Good luck with your purchase. I only encourage one thing- don’t make any important financial decisions based on what a bunch of turds on an anonymous message board “know” is going to happen.
D
Ha, looks like Steven is posting under Deaconblue now.
-D-, this post was in reference to the 1520 Wabash property, not the Seminary property.
Ha, I’ve been on this board longer than Steven Heitman.
Jim – ok, I figured since the response was in the Seminary thread that it was actually in reference to Seminary condo.
This comment is totally off topic but around 10 pm I was driving down Irving Park road with the SO and I noticed that there were two or three large new construction condo buildings totally finished, but there wasn’t a single light on in any of the units. The one that stuck out in my mind was at sacramento and irving park; has anyone else noticed this?
For $600K I would expect more than a 9 foot wide 2nd bedroom. I would also expect garage parking and roof top deck. Good location but the small bedroom and outdoor parking put this in the low to mid $500k range
homedelete – Come to South Florida and the no or few lights on at night are everywhere…with more coming. One developer has even started to “stage” their building by turning lights on at night….but a keen observer on another blog called it out. No lights on for months, then suddenly many lights on at 9 p.m. … that stay on even at 4 a.m.!!! I guess everyone was on the same schedule, except those were still all developer units. The no lights on is telling of the success of a building.
I bet whole blocks will be dark soon. People are going away and don’t need places to live anymore.
Steve Heitman – You are correct, people don’t need that second, third or fourth home anymore…since they are very very bad “investments”. It comes down to supply and demand. Too much supply and demand is now negative with people trying to dump real estate, not get into it. Oddly I know, but people really only need ONE place to live…they can always get a hotel room in the other places and by the way, not every 20 something should own a home to live in by themselves. Buying a home is not always a good decision. What I am waiting for is when real estate commissions drop to 3% and there are far fewer Realtors®…those will be good times.
We do need far fewer realtors. However, real estate commissions will not come down. One thing confirmed during these down times is having an intelligent realtor / consultant assist you with your purchase is essential. If you were my client you never would have purchased new construction, a condo conversion, or in the new manufactured neighborhoods as so many did. Regular people do not have the tools or intelligence to purchase their largest investment by themselves. They need someone who knows what they are doing to guide them. This costs money and commissions cover this.
Choose your realtor carefully and you will nto mind paying the commission.
Nice unit with great staging. I would be curious how long this unit takes to sell and at what price it eventually sells. Realtors will continue to have downward pressure.
“We do need far fewer realtors. However, real estate commissions will not come down.”
Steve, thats very interesting, since in every other industry when too many people chase diminishing amount of money, wage arbitrage takes place. But I guess rules of economics don’t apply to anything real estate related.
Buying and selling real estate is NOT like trading stocks. Stock brokers are not needed as it does not matter which particular share of a company you own. It is tough to say that it does not matter which condo you own in a particular neighborhood. I know things about neighborhoods that no buyer would ever have the knowledge without my assistance. I know which buidlings move well and which don’t. There is not a computer program that can be created to replace the value of this knowledge.
If you try and reduce the amount of commission you offer to a buy side agent (by even a half percent)I would bet you would see 60% less traffic in your unit. I am not saying it is right but it is a reality.
Did Heitman just tell us he is in the NAR?
Steven Heitman:
“If you try and reduce the amount of commission you offer to a buy side agent (by even a half percent)I would bet you would see 60% less traffic in your unit. I am not saying it is right but it is a reality.”
The Department of Justice reached a settlement with the NAR recently that will make mls listings more available to discount brokers like Redfin and Ziprealty, who refund up to 2/3 of their commission. The settlement will probably bring down commissions from the increased competition as more people begin using the internet to search for real estate.
Steven Heitman: “If you try and reduce the amount of commission you offer to a buy side agent (by even a half percent)I would bet you would see 60% less traffic in your unit. I am not saying it is right but it is a reality.”
That may be true if all sell side agents have the 5 or 6 percent commission to play with. As that commission starts getting squeezed, they will have less to offer the buy side.
I don’t think realtors will go away entirely, they still have a role to play, especially in more complicated markets where there are big differences in neighborhoods, housing stock etc. But their core grip over power will be eroded by the pressure on the MLS rules and by the internet.
Plenty of people who thought they were central have been disintermediated over time, by the internet and by technology more generally.
Steve, why is the realtor commission 1-1.5% in UK but 6% in US? Are american realtors somehow better qualified or smarter than their english counterparts?
Looks like this one is no longer for sale… anyone know what it went for?