Auctioned Off 2/2 in The Eddystone Sells for $127K Under the 2004 Price: 421 W. Melrose
We last chattered about this vintage 2-bedroom in the historic Eddystone at 421 W. Melrose in Lakeview in December 2010.
See our prior chatter here.
It had been Fannie Mae owned since May 2010.
After a few months on the market as a traditional listing, the unit then went to auction.
From the original pictures- it appeared that the kitchen and bathrooms were intact.
The kitchen had white appliances.
There were hardwood floors throughout and crown molding.
However, the unit did not have central air, in-unit washer/dryer or deeded parking.
It finally closed at $127,250 under the 2004 purchase price at $215,250.
Did someone get a deal?
Rakesh Parikh at Keller Williams Lincoln Park had the listing.
Unit #8C: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 square feet
- Sold in November 2004 for $342,500
- Fannie Mae owned in May 2010
- Was listed in October 2010 for $256,500
- Reduced
- Was listed in early December 2010 for $230,900
- Currently listed with an “unknown” price as it’s going to auction in January 2011
- Sold in May 2011 for $215,250
- Assessments of $1043 a month (includes heat, gas, cable, doorman)
- Taxes of $4496
- No central air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 16×12
- Bedroom #2: 16×13
I wouldn’t want to pay those assessments, but if you like high rises and are going to pay assessments like this anyway, this seems like a pretty good deal.
Somebody got a really good deal, even if you consider the assessments. Beautiful, HUGE apartment, but this has always been a very high-maintenance building and always will be.
I love the apartments in this building, but you have to decide whether the very high level of service (24 hour doorman and rest of staff) are worth it to you.
The auction price conforms with my citywide 2/2 pricing hypothesis.
Aren’t the auctions limited to cash buyers? And, if that’s the case, doesn’t that have a huge impact on the price that it can sell for? When you eliminate the possibility to finance a purchase the price suffers significantly.
yeah HD because
Assessments of $1043 a month (includes heat, gas, cable, doorman)
No central air
No in-unit washer/dryer
No parking
makes this place ‘so’ appealing
your monthly nut is still way over 2k if you finance this
HD, I agree with Sonies (despite his position on felines..lol), this assessments are very high. I for one would never buy in this building given the assessments, also it is a no amenities building (just think lack of in-unit W/D).
“When you eliminate the possibility to finance a purchase the price suffers significantly.”
Most people here seem to think ‘reducing’ does so ‘eliminating’ would seem worse…
“The auction price conforms with my citywide 2/2 pricing hypothesis.”
Nonsense. This is a unit with assessments over 1k per month with very little included. I am shocked anyone paid anything over 150k for this unit.
I can’t see this being a good deal at all for a cash buyer. Owner occupied financed under $200k maybe. It is an otherwise interesting old building in a nice location.
Great old building in a perfect location and the apartments there are lovely. Believe me, I’ve spent a lot of time in them.
The $1,000 a month assessment seems high considering no parking, no central air, no W/D. I realize you’re paying for other stuff, like the staff, but unless things have changed a lot, the building doesn’t have much staff (back when I used to be there a lot, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it didn’t even have a doorman, just a phone in the entry which you dialed to be let in). I guess that’s changed, which is good.
Are there apartments here with W/D, or is that not allowed? I think the building does have parking, but not all units have it. The ones that do tend to have even more hefty assessments, in the $2,000 range.
“The auction price conforms with my citywide 2/2 pricing hypothesis.”
Stripping the assessments to something more “typical” and capitalizing that difference, this seems to be equivalent to about $200 psf for a large, vintage unit, with dated baths and kitchen, no a/c, no w/d, no deeded parking available in a high prospective-liability association, that sold in a distressed sale, likely for cash.
I didn’t realize that you’d changed your pricing hypothesis since you last posted it toward a rebound in prices.
I’d be interested to know who buys this kind of place at this price, with all it’s limitations.
Who has the means to pay cash (if that’s in fact the case), and these assesements, but yet is willing to live without in-unit w/d and without central air? Someone who is VERY pragmatic I guess.
nwzimmer:
That’s a great point. This is the kind of building my wife and I would eventually like to buy in once our kids are grown, and we would be paying cash (not too tough, considering we’d be selling our house for around twice the price this apartment went for, and that’s a conservative scenario). But why would we take all that money and invest in a place with so few amenities? We love vintage, but you give up so much when you buy in an old building. I’d love to find a vintage building with more amenities than this one. The Edgewater Beach comes to mind, but that neighborhood doesn’t compare at all to Lakeview. Other vintage buildings with decent amenities have far higher prices and asessments, which would price us out. The Drake Tower, for instance.
What are those assessments for? $1k/month, air conditioners hanging from the windows, and you don’t even have parking or in-unit laundry. This place is not for me at any price.
seems like a pretty amazing auction result….to go for close to 95% of its recent list price.
I grew up in that building.. i had an amazingly large 3 b/3b apt
in which we had central air installed and 24 hr back and front elevator operators. Then the changes came. During it’s hayday, it was home to some very influential people and rock n rollers.. Great building; great memories. Only downfall was the parking. We got by though and it was a great place to grow up and have a “fancy life”!
The bank’s loss is the buyer’s gain! There’s a reason it’s called a ‘special warranty deed’ because the buyer is getting an especially good deal!
Executed Recorded Document Type Amount
05/13/2011 06/09/2011 MORTGAGE $182,900.00