Buy a Loft With Over $400,000 in Upgrades: 1000 W. Washington in the West Loop
This 2-bedroom authentic loft in 1000 W. Washington in the West Loop came on the market in September 2013.
It has a triplex layout with 18 foot timber ceilings and exposed brick.
The kitchen is described as “gourmet” with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and yellow cabinets.
The bathrooms are listed as “over the top” with stone finishes.
There’s one bedroom on the main floor, one on the second floor and a den on the third floor.
The loft has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking is included.
The listing says the loft has had $400,000 in upgrades.
Can a unit be TOO updated?
Justin Francek at Dream Town Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #438: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2400 square feet, triplex
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- Sold in May 2003 for $475,000
- Originally listed in September 2013 for $649,900
- Currently still listed at $649,900
- Assessments of $950 a month (includes doorman, cable)
- Taxes of $7578
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Garage parking included
- Bedroom #1: 20×15 (main floor)
- Bedroom #2: 15×12 (second floor)
- Den: 19×10 (third floor)
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400K spent on decorating is not equal to 400K in “upgrades.”
“400K spent on decorating is not equal to 400K in “upgrades.””
I don’t think they’re talking about decorating. I think they’re talking about the kitchen and baths. There’s nothing “standard” about those baths- that’s for sure.
Wow! Where to start?
Anybody who buys this will likely gut the whole thing. The living room looks like an office break room, and the vertical tiles??
Bought for 475, spent 400k on upgrades, yet only listed for 649? I would’ve loved to see the look on the realtor’s face, when he/she walked in and saw those yellow cabinets in the entire kitchen. I can understand maybe having a few colored doors as accent cabinets but the whole thing…..yikes. Other than that, pretty cool place. How is 1000 W Washington, I’ve seen quite a few distressed sales there over the past few years.
The elusive triple oven! So rarely seen in the wild! This is a good example of how to lose money unless you find a buyer with the exact same taste as the seller…
Oh dear… who lives here???
Wow, over the top is an understatement. On top of that, Google 1000 w washington lawsuit and you get http://www.1000westlofts-lawsuit.com/site/ This type of stuff scares me
Yep, I wonder if this building’s problems are behind them. I did a blog post on this one a long time ago: http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2011/02/condos-that-try-to-kill-you-and-take-all-your-money#image/1 You have to read the comments though because they get REAL entertaining.
Interesting, thats for sure. Aside from the yellow cabinets, I think this could grow on me.
Other than the appliances, this place looks dated. Lots of bad tile and faux finished walls. Is that a gold leaf ceiling in on if the bathrooms?
A friend of mine lived in this building and his condo was rather cool – three stories with an open layout. The building itself looks nice too, but it sounds like it has major flaws. It’s really too bad. The price would be right if it wasn’t for all of the building issues.
“Oh dear… who lives here???”
Based on the *THREE* two-drawer dishwashers, I’d have to say “jenny’s dream date”.
It would be a dream come true to have that many dishwashers. I would never unload dishes again!
Love the kitchen, cabinets can be painted… I could do some serious damage with that much space… fun!
also was a cooking show filmed here? Seems like the type of space you’d use with the double islands and 6 dishwashers, etc.
I want the 400K back to redecorate
NASTY!
If $400k was spent, I’d bet most prospective buyers would rip out about $350k worth of that work because it’s hideous…
What I don’t get is that everything here screams bachelor pad, and yet there are the triple oven and triple dishwashers (or are those two next to the wine fridge chilled drawers for beer/soda?) which scream heavy duty chef. Is this some celebrity chef’s condo? Ohter than the over the top kitchen, I’d guess athlete…
Seriously looked at this building, but it has major problems. You don’t just buy a condo, you buy a building. No one needs to pay for these kinds of headaches. anyone know if these issues are resolved?
Let’s see if Brad Wells can give us an update. I’m thinking he might have a Google Alert set up for his name and this will flag this post for him. Him being able to sell his unit is one of the keys to getting these problems behind them. His unit went under contract in May but still hasn’t closed. It has been on the market for 2403 days.
So lets say $2,000 on paint, 100k on extra dishwashers, 50k on tile, another 50k for random kitchen islands and another 50k appliances.
so then where is the rest of the $148k?
also simple thought, ummm if you did 400k in upgrades and are selling the place for $649k and bought it for $475k are the owners taking $174k of the upgrades with them? if so i hope they take all that tacky arse tile with them!
Not for everyone, but the finishes in the kitchen and living room are nice. Even if you don’t like that master bedroom, you at least can pretend to be Zeus when you’re getting down to business.
Seems bizarre that their 400k budget didn’t include a replacement television for the 20 inch tube prominently featured in the last picture.
A friend of mine looked at another unit here in July and had his lawyer do the due diligence in regards to the lawsuits. He gave a thumbs up saying the issues were all past and they bought. He said the courts have found no merit or validity to it. Because of this no bank will loan on the unit and the owner can’t sell it.
Gary,
LOL – yes, I have google alerts set up for anything related to 1000 W. Washington or my name (amazing how many anonymous posts there are about me 🙂 I hope you are doing well.
WestLooper – you are an idiot. Every time I see a post like yours I think to myself – how much did this hack get paid this time??
It still amazes me that so many anonymous people post things about 1000 W. Washington condo association and make “factual” statements such as how “his (unnamed) laywer did due diligence..gave a thumbs up saying the issues were all past” or that “the courts have found no merit or vaildity to it (the lawsuits)” when, in reality, they have NO clue what they are talking about.
Simply put, the issues are NOT resolved. In fact, other than the City of Chicago’s lawsuit (which was dismissed after taking the City 6 years to force the Board to make the necessary repairs to the code violations), EVERY lawsuit regarding damages are still on-going.
Anyone who claims that the Courts found no merit in the lawsuits clearly have an ulterior motive behind their statements as It is super easy for anyone to search the court records themselves – just go to Cook County’s online records – OR, even easier, just click the links on the Lawsuits page at http://www.1000westlofts-lawsuit.com and verify for themselves.
However, EVERY motion to dismiss that the Board (and their contractors) have filed over the last 8 years (and there have been too many to count) have been DENIED by EVERY Judge for the simple reason that our lawsuits / damage claims DO have merit. If my case (or the others) had no merit – not only would a Judge have dismissed them immediately (years ago) but would have also issued sanctions / fines against the me – the Plaintiff – and, most likely, my lawyer (who could get fined, suspended or disbarred), for filing a such a spurious / merit less lawsuit.
I don’t know of ANY ‘real laywers’ who would perform ‘due diligence’ but NOT log onto various court records themselves as they would be committing ‘legal malpractice’ (which could also get them fined, suspended or disbarred).
The reason that a bank may not loan on the unit ‘WestLooper’ described (again note how even the unit number is anonymous?) is because the type of mortgage they were trying to get and the FHA / HUD has REVOKED 1000 W. Washington as an ‘approved project’ in 2010 and then REJECTED their application again in March 2012. Just google “HUD Condo List” and type in “1000 West Washington” as the condo name to check yourself. However, the sharable comments on HUD’s website states “NEED TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT ALL PENDING LITIGATION HAS BEEN RESOLVED,FIDELITY BOND INSURANCE MUST SHOW MANAGEMENT COMPANY NAME AS ADDTIONAL INSURED OR PROVIDE THEIR OWN POLICY FOR THE AMOUNT REQUIRED.”
Yes, my unit is under contract but my lawyers are trying to get the Board to issue me a Paid Assessment Letter as they refuse to issue me a Repair Permit Letter so I can repair my unit. It shouldn’t surprise me, but, for some reason it appears that the Board believes Section 22.1 of the Illinois Condo Act does NOT apply to 1000 W. Washington. However, I am hopeful that I will be able to close in the next 2 weeks. If not….well do a search on Cook County Recorder of Deeds website and I think you can figure it out.
As to the building itself, I signed my purchase contract for my loft back in 1994 – over 19 years ago now. I still love that building and I purchased / designed my unit with the intention of always keeping it as my downtown Chicago residence. Now, my feelings about the Board, management, contractors, etc. who caused the damages are a completely different story.
In regards to your thinking that by my selling my unit that I will have resolved my damages is inaccurate. My lawsuit against the Association, individual Board Members and the contractors will continue (just like with the other neighbors that sold their unit last month – at almost a MILLION less than what they paid for their units ) but I was told will now be in a different court / judge.
Based on the financials that I have reviewed, I believe that the financial / legal issues at 1000 W are much worse than anyone realizes / accepts. That being the case, the law requires that ‘mitigate’ my damages as much as possible and selling my unit will help minimize my damages – will help minimize financial liabilities for my “old” neighbors (as Association insurance company already denied their claim for damage repairs) – but that does NOT eliminate either the Board’s or the individual Board Member’s personal liabilities.
If anyone has any questions or needs additional information – please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks again for your help Gary.
Brad Wells
Owner
1000 W. Washington – Unit 541