Flip This Condo is Back and Reduced: 1952 N. Seminary in Lincoln Park
We originally chattered about this 2-bedroom vintage condo at 1952 N. Seminary in Lincoln Park in July 2008.
Read our prior chatter and see pictures here.
The penthouse unit was renovated and was being flipped. I asked in July, “will professional staging help sell this unit?”
Now, the listing says “BONUS: plasma TV and movie screen included!”
It has since been reduced by $57,100.
Deeneta Pope at 606 Development Group, Inc. has the listing. See the pictures here.
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
- Was listed in July 2008 for $597,000
- Listing cancelled late last year
- Re-listed in April 2009 for $565,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $539,900 (parking included)
- Assessments of $187 a month
- Taxes of $5950
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 17×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×8
If they lowered it another 100k it would sell.
Buying at the peak and over-impoving is never a good combination. That said, I think somebody will pay in the high 400s as it is a very nice unit.
c u @ a price b/w ’01 & ’04!
This flipper is so stuck I have to laugh. Its not our fault they overpaid for their condo by 100k back in 2007. Had they not been an ostrich with their head in the sand they would’ve seen that the CS index for Chicagoland had already peaked and was on a slight decline.
Bob, the CS price index doesn’ reflect Lincoln Park, it reflects Plainfield. Sheeesh, get with the program.
Nice place, looks great. But, if you still think that a plasma is the key that unlocks the door to a throng of buyers, you might want to substitute the crack for a less potent form of smoke.
Speaking of crack, that deck rocks.
But I’d need a small third bedroom at this price. Otherwise, one can’t have a child and live in this place long term. And for childless couples (or high income singles), there are simply better options in this price range.
Very nicely decorated, especially the porch. The kitchen has nice finishes too, though it might be small (hard to tell from picture). I think this unit is overpriced though and they might need to back it down another 50-60K to get a sale. There are a lot of units for sale on the Racine/Seminary/Sheffield corridors.
agree with the others here. this place is priced $100k too high because they buyer bought it for $100k too much. for the record our buddy steve-o predicted it would sell at the current price.
this flipper forgot rule #1 in real estate – you make your money when you buy the property.
They should make a new reality TV show profiling “investors” who bought at the peak of the bubble, improved their properties, and are now trying to sell. Here would be the summary at the end of the show.
Purchase Price: 496,000
Upgrades: 100,000
Total Cost: 596,000
Senior Mtge: 496,000
Jr. Mtge and/or HELOC: 140,000 (need new BMW to complete picture)
Total Debt: 621,000
Appraised Value: 695,000
Fair Market Value: 475,000 (fairly generous)
Net loss to flipper: $0
Net loss to bank/taxpayers: $146,000
Total debt should be 636,000 and total loss to bank should be 161,000. Was in the middle of tweaking my numbers and my computer submitted comment.
Since the rooftop deck was high lighted, I was wondering if rooftop improvements i.e. decking, planters, pergola are a worthwhile home improvements?
Can anyone recommend a rooftop contractor?
BTW- my rooftop is legal and up to code- (i.e., two separate entry/exit and 100lb per Sq Ft.
I will chime in with the obvious thing and say that any buyer at this price point will already have the plasma of his/her dreams and/or dimensions. An HD projector might be a nice add-on worth some real money, but they wanna go cheap and just give the screen. Zzz.
If this sells, SHill might have predicted this correctly (“mid to low $500K). However, it looks like the next drop in price will put it sub $500K, depending on how long the seller will chase the market down…
Also about another SHill comment ” 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.”
My answer is NOT YET… Google just announced they are working on a computer program that analyzes their employees to figure out which ones are more likely to quit based on different analytics… Only a matter of time before they figure out how to apply it to RE.
I also love how SHill said “They need someone who knows what they are doing to guide them. This costs money and commissions cover this.”
Tell that to all the RE agents that were pushing home sales at the height of the bubble… “buy now or be priced out forever” I doubt a single RE agent said “we’re actually at the height of a bubble. maybe you should wait a few years until it pops”
Seriously, RE agents have 1 priority… GET PAID. 2nd priority is to their customer.
Many realtors were too clueless to even know we were at the peak of a bubble. Many of them lost their own flips, in addition to their livelihoods. I guess they just thought the easy money would go on forever.
Okay, I have to chime in. A realtors job is to help a homeowner sell their property, or help some looking to buy real estate buy. When did it fall on us to determine what ivy league economists struggle with? A realtors job is to understand the CURRENT real estate market and not the FUTURE REAL ESTATE MARKET. A realtors education requirement is high school and not a PHD.
I personally would look to someone who understands economics for information before I purchase something so large. This could be a realtor, stock broker, CPA, ect. Some get it and some don’t! Then when you understand the market, your realtor can show you what is available in your price range. Where prices will be in 2 years is not the job of your realtor to explain.
Don’t curse the person behind the counter at McDonalds because you are fat. Buyers beware…do your own research!
Sad but true Stevo is right on this one. Also Pete if their remuneration depends on transaction volume why would they take actions during the course of business to reduce their remuneration? Don’t ever confuse sales people (those whose compensation depends on commissions) with fiduciaries (those who should have the client’s best interest at heart).
Just like when I go on a car lot and start looking at the cars I wouldn’t expect the salesperson to point out all of the deficient specifications of a model vs its peers. Being reasonably intelligent I understand this and do quite a bit of my own research.
Thats why the C21 commercial with Suzanne is so funny. Its a clueless couple depending on a salesperson for their “research”. They deserve to lose their shirt in my opinion, its called a stupidity tax.
Don’t limit to houses and cars. It is investment people, computer people, phone service people, attorneys selling living trusts, class-action lawsuits. Sales is sales and the buyer does need to be aware.
“Don’t curse the person behind the counter at McDonalds because you are fat. Buyers beware…do your own research!”
They make minimum wage. Guess realtors should to.
“Its a clueless couple depending on a salesperson for their “research”. They deserve to lose their shirt in my opinion, its called a stupidity tax.”
So I guess that means the term “buyer’s agent” is a misnomer. They don’t represent a buyer’s best interest, they are merely salespersons looking to get the deal done.
“Guess realtors should to”
The median comp for a realtor is actually not that high..
“Overall median Realtor income was $42,600 in 2007, down 10.7 percent from $47,700 in 2006”
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/19/realtor-income-continues-drop
Sorry dude I made more than this my first job out of college, although some do your stereotype that all or most realtors make a ton isn’t that founded.
I bet its a lot lower than that for 2009.
“So I guess that means the term “buyer’s agent” is a misnomer. They don’t represent a buyer’s best interest, they are merely salespersons looking to get the deal done.”
A buyers agent helps you understand the current market, show you the available inventory, and walk you thorugh the buying process. They don’t tell you how much a property will be worth 10 years down the line.
Looks like they are getting nervous. 4 price reductions in less than 3 weeks. Only another 6 or 7 to go and this might sell.
“4 price reductions in less than 3 weeks.”
Were each of them for $4,900 or $5k? If so, I think it will take more than 6 or 7 more. Conforming with 10% DP, maybe–>$463k.