Are Buyers Being Too Picky? A 3-Bedroom Duplex At 2131 N. Clark In East Lincoln Park
Some of you have been commenting that it’s not the inventory that is bad it is that buyers are being too picky.
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom duplex at 2131 N. Clark in East Lincoln Park just before Thanksgiving.
See our prior chatter here.
I thought that it might go quickly given its location and that it has a parking space.
But it’s been listed for nearly 50 days and is still listed at the price of $375,000.
If you recall, it’s an estate sale and being sold “as-is.”
The living areas are on the first floor and the three bedrooms are on the second floor.
There is a 2-story heated atrium with a 8×12 sunroom.
It has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and outdoor parking.
Someone must have been reading Crib Chatter because there are now pictures of the kitchen and one of the baths.
Is this still on the market because buyers want “new” and are being too picky?
Emily Jeffries at Re/Max Properties still has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #10: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, duplex up, no square footage, outdoor parking
- No prior sales data
- Currently listed at $375,000
- Estate sale – being sold “as-is”
- Assessments of $491 a month (includes cable)
- Taxes of $7687
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 11×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 10×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 10×10 (second floor)
- Sunroom: 8×12 (main level)
mucho potential and a blank slate to create something nifty. only downside i think is somebody mention the azzbackward parking situation.
also what the “f” is the deal with a $507 monthly ass fee on a townhome with no amenities?
is it a typo? could it be $507 a year?
Garbage, snow removal, landscaping, insurance etc
I didnt really look at the listing but it looks like its part of a complex of townhomes.
I just looked at the listing.
Lawn care and snow removal is expensive, especially if you go with one of the big companies. Also, I saw the listing said there was an elevator so maintenance and insurance on that is pricey.
•Includes Water, Includes Common Insurance, Includes TV/Cable, Includes Exterior Maintenance, Includes Lawn Care, Includes Scavenger, Includes Snow Removal
I’ll tell you what, if snow removal is that expensive Im in the wrong business. With 11 units, somebody go out there and shovel and save everybody some money…
“I’ll tell you what, if snow removal is that expensive Im in the wrong business. With 11 units, somebody go out there and shovel and save everybody some money…”
Yeah that sounds perfectly logical in the early spring of self-managed association lifecycle. Then owners realize that hey it snows around the time of year when people are out of town for holidays or vacations, so some people “miss their turn” . Then owners start to rent out their units because they want to live somewhere else, and you cannot make the tennant shovel nor does the owner want to drive all the way back to their old unit to shovel snow.
Trust me, it’s worth every penny to pay a service.
“With 11 units, somebody go out there and shovel and save everybody some money…”
Ha, easier said than done. You can’t even get owners in a 2/3 flat to shovel the 25ft sidewalk in front of a building and you think you’re going to get 11 owners to showel, side walks, courtyards?, driveway areas? (I’m assuming this has a courtyard or something that needs to be cleared and a driveway area, which increases the maintenance costs along with landscaping).
“saw the listing said there was an elevator so maintenance and insurance on that is pricey”
is there an elevator to/or in this unit? why the “f” would one want to pay for other peoples elevators? is Obama running this HOA too?
“I’m assuming this has a … driveway area”
Outdoor parking. So it’s a real bear.
landscaping shouldnt be too tough with all that concrete
How does it compare with this property that just came on the market?
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1334-N-Cleveland-Ave-60610/unit-3/home/12716238?utm_medium=email&utm_source=myredfin&utm_campaign=instant_listings_update
Could it maybe be a problem with Banks not qualifying nearly the amount of Buyers they once did? A place like this has a 1k monthly nut before even touching the mortgage.
“A place like this has a 1k monthly nut before even touching the mortgage.”
piti should be a little under $3k, ignoring any possible pmi. $125 hhi, with ‘normal’ other debts, maybe $100k if debtfree, to qualify with ‘tight’ underwriting.
It’s still on the market since the seller isn’t pricing this right! Yes, buyers want a nice place for their $, but are willing to buy as-is, with dated kitchen/bathrooms and 70s vibe, if the price is low enough. Buying as-is can be a scary proposition, esp. when you can see there’s lots of updating to be done — you want to feel like you’re getting a good deal.
“Could it maybe be a problem with Banks not qualifying nearly the amount of Buyers they once did? A place like this has a 1k monthly nut before even touching the mortgage.”
I’ll defer to Russ as to the current qualification trends, but I imagine the reasons why it’s “still” listed (less than 2 months) are:
1) It looks like most of the windows are facing Clark (the alternative at this building – facing the alley – isn’t great either, but I imagine it’s preferable).
2) These units might feel a bit cramped with 3 beds squeezed into the sq footage. I think these units are in the 1500-1600 sq ft range, which is a nice space for 2 bedrooms (the 3 beds up on Grant at Clark, also in this price range, are in the 1600 sq ft range, but I think those units show/live better because space isn’t wasted on concepts like an atrium).
3) This unit will need a new kitchen and 2.5 new baths, plus a full paint job and floor sand/stain. For most folks looking in this price range in this location (to live in, not as investors), I imagine that the paint and floor costs would be doable, but the kitchen and baths would might run as much as their downpayment (if not more).
I can picture myself in that atrium on a day like today, freezing my ass off
Maybe it’s just because I’m back at work, but there are no words to describe how depressed I feel looking at the photos of this unit.
“no words to describe how depressed I feel ”
Haven’t you always wanted to live in a class c suburban office complex a block from RJ Grunts?
“a block from RJ Grunts”
nonny loves grunts!
Anonny, I think your point #3 is exactly why this place isn’t selling. At list price, a buyer requires at least probably $37,500 down and then will need have the cash to do a kitchen and the baths. The kitchen is small, so it won’t be that much money, but I think most buyers who have enough cash to buy this place AND update it are likely looking at more expensive properties not on Clark, etc.
“Haven’t you always wanted to live in a class c suburban office complex a block from RJ Grunts?”
nice!
On a cold day like today, I would pay $507 to cuddle up against an RJ Grunt as I get warmth from her Chicago Oven and Grind her. But who am I kidding I pay money for that all the time!
Here is another one in the complex that sold a little over a year ago for 380k. Looks like it has anew kitchen and looks much nicer because it is furnished ( fairly modern/attractive)
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2131-N-Clark-St-60614/unit-2/home/13347611/mred-07903550
Tells me that the subject property is still overpriced by 40 k or so, unless the market has really improved so much..
I viewed the property. Buyers are not being too picky. The parking spot is terrible. You can’t park a car there (only motorcycles, scooters, or bikes) plus there is a pending $8,000 special assessment for the exterior work that the agent told me about. It will likely sell for $300,000.
@dahliachi – Good find on the other unit. In those pictures, the atrium actually looks really cool … I’m not surprised that some people may like these units.
I’m with Dan#2- it depresses me just to look at the photos. I think of places like this, that were so trendy and cool and edgy in 1972, or 1965, or 1989, or whenever, and are so sad and outdated now, every time I view “cutting edge” architecture. You can’t help but think how quickly the future becomes the past. This place has it all- cramped, charmless rooms, a glass atrium that is nearly useless as living space but will generate a king-hell of a heat bill, and mechanical elements just old enough to require a lot of updated. And even after you’re finished renovating the kitchen and baths, the place will still be charmless and lacking in interest.
The HOA fee is not bad for the size or for services such as snow removal. Other posters are correct- you do not want to live in a self-managed association where owners must perform chores like snow removal and cleaning common areas with their own labor. The chores won’t get done, or they’ll end up falling to one or two overburdened, resentful resident-owners because everyone else will shirk. This has been the experience of two friends who bought into small, self-managed associations and they are full of hatred from being the only people who care enough about their association to do the housework.
“How does it compare with this property that just came on the market?”
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1334-N-Cleveland-Ave-60610/unit-3/home/12716238?utm_medium=email&utm_source=myredfin&utm_campaign=instant_listings_update
These are 2 completely different locations.