Flipper Alert: “All Offers Considered” in the Chess Lofts: 320 E. 21st
I chattered about the Chess Lofts, at 320 E. 21st in the South Loop, a few months ago. It is a brick and concrete loft building that was converted in 2007. The developer is still trying to sell units in the building and is offering “multiple incentives.”
Current building stats:
- 8 for sale
- 6 for rent
Unit #409 is a two bedroom that just came on the market. The listing says, “all offers considered.”
Sorry- there are no interior pictures available.
Unit #409: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths
- Sold in January 2008 for $260,500
- Currently listed for $309,700 plus $35k for parking
- Assessments of $197 a month
- Bedroom sizes are: 12 x 10 and 9 x 8
- Charles Rutenberg Realty has the listing
Renting out the units still seems to be a popular option for investor/flippers in the building.
Unit #304 is a two bedroom that is available to rent.
It’s been on the market as a rental for nearly 4 months.
- Sold in December 2007 for $325,000
- Currently available to rent for $2000 a month plus $150 for parking
- The bedrooms are: 14 x 11 and 10 x 11
- Chicago Real Estate Finders has the listing
This is a picture of Unit #210 that was for rent a few months ago so you can get a better idea of the original loft features that were preserved in these units:
Lots of humor in today’s great posts, Sabrina.
Here’s someone who buys a place in early 2008, in a problem building by a disreputable developer, in order to flip it for a profit of $90,000.
A sensible buyer would acquire this place only at a price that would allow for a total rehab. I’ll bet this place has monstrous structural problems and eye-popping utility bills.
Maybe a sensible buyer wouldn’t have it as a gift. God knows what awaits the buyer in special assessments and required remediation.
This is a howl.
Excuse me, my mistake, I misread the new ask price for some reason.
S/he is only trying to flip for a $49K profit. In 2008. In a falling market.
Do these flippers ever have stock offerings? I can’t wait to get a piece of this action. These business plans are just bulletproof!
And to think if I had only invested in that real estate informercial at 3am I too could be an unplanned landlord in Chess Lofts!
Seeing stuff like this makes the $470 2/2 in River North yesterday seem like a bargain.
It’s easy to call the seller at 630 N. State delusional for asking 05 prices. The flippers here are delusional…630 N State is just optimistic.
$260K for a new 2/2, if the square footage is decent, isn’t bad. The units are unremarkable, but new, which has some value to some people. As previously mentioned by other posters, buying new can also invite problems if the developer did a poor job and large special assmts loom on the horizon. But if it’s a good size unit, then it’s an appropriate price for the area. Not a lovely immediate area, but a convenient location: still very close to South Loop, and Chinatown, and transit, and the expressways. Decent amount of construction nearby; in 10 years the neighborhood may at least reach a level of critical mass on par with West Loop (unless the Olympic Village gets built nearby, then all bets are off).
$35K for parking in that neighborhood is absurd (~$225/month?). The parking should either be bundled, or priced at a more reasonable level like $10-15K, which is so low that it might as well be bundled.
Crazy.
This is an example of an overly optimistic seller…. almost humorous. Their purchase price of 260K would be a fair asking price…
Maybe it shows how little I know, but I was surprised to see that this place sold for $260,000 earlier this year. Are their known problems with this building? What is the going rate for a two-bedroom, two-bath place in the area?
Please excuse the typo in my last post. Boy is that embarrassing.
This is definitely my favorite part of cribchatter, seeing some delusional flipper getting their ass handed to them. I feel sorry for people who just made a mistake and bought the wrong place at the wrong time, but I enjoy seeing greedy flippers get burned.
What in the heck do you get for $197 a month assessements? That’s chump change and I can’t expect the building offers much.
Homedelete:
The assessments are usually artifically low on new construction units and raised once the board takes over and determines how much money they need etc. So imagine what they will go up to when raised?
Every building needs maintenance- including paint, hallway cleaning, window washing, landscaping, snow removal etc.
I don’t want to be negative towards the developer but if anyone does any basic research,they will find Mr Warman involved in litigation on almost everyone of his properties he has developed in the past 4 years.
Just because he is operating under a new LLC,doesn’t mean the quality will be any better.
Anyone interested in buying,please do your homework.
I wouldn’t touch anything this guy has touched, which, from my understanding, includes this building, 1717 S. Prairie, and 9 West Erie. A friend of mine lives in 1717, and her experience there has been a nightmare–water infiltration that will cost tens of thousands per unit to repair…maybe as much as 100K from what she has told me. (Not all units are affected, but everyone has to share the cost.) They’ve been trying to get the developer to pay for years, but with no luck I believe since he is now doing business under a new LLC. This guy should be run out of town.
Developers typically own each project through a separate company (such as an LLC) to insulate their assets should something go wrong on a development. That’s why it is important to research the other projects a developer has done and avoid a developer with a bad track record. You cannot count on getting any money from the LLC. Even Donald Trump has burned investors on some deals, and they cannot reach his assets even though he’s a billionaire. Just ask him!
Doing business with Trump is one guaranteed way to get screwed. It happens on every one of his projects. He makes his money by selling his obnoxious personality to the building’s real developers and is long gone by the time the problems appear.
can anyone tell me how to short south loop?
“He makes his money by selling his obnoxious personality to the building’s real developers”
Well, his company is the “real” developer on some of his projects. That said, you understate (really, really, understate) what a bad guy he is to do business with. He’ll run to court (or threaten to) over anything, and screws his partners beginning, middle and end. If you must get in business with him, you’re much better off retaining control and overpaying for his involvement, because at leeast then you can control the bleeding.