Flipper Alert: Village Pointe in River North
Village Pointe at 845 N. Kingsbury across from Domain in River North has been closing on units for the past six months. The building has 102 units.
Surprise! There are flippers trying to make money in the building. Currently, there are 12 units either for sale or rent (or both).
But there is an interesting twist on this building. Apparently, earlier in the year, probably just to dump the remaining one bedroom units, the developer put a bunch of them up for sale in a “fire sale”. From Skyscraper City:
I often read through the threads on the forum here but never really post. My fiance and I have been looking into buying a condo early 2008 and fell across a listing for a unit in a new construction project River Village Point. The price for a 1 bed + den of $138,000 seems far to good to be true. Does anyone here know the reputation of the developer or anything about this building???
I had a agent friend look into this and yes, there were 7 or 8 “normal” one bedroom units that did sell for $138,000. And yes, some of those smart buyers who saw a deal and snapped it up, are now flipping them.
Here is the floorplan for the 1 bedroom plus “den” unit:
Unit #304: 1 bedroom plus “den”, 1 bath, 909 square feet
- Originally sold in July 2007 for $138,300
- Currently listed for $269,900 plus $30,000 for the parking
- This unit is under contract
Unit #304 is similar to other units that, unfortunately, other buyers paid “full-price” for. The owner of #304 could therefore undercut the others in the asking price and still come out way ahead.
Unit #512: 1 bedroom plus “den”, 1 bath, 909 square feet
- Sold in July 2007 for $269,900
- Currently listed for $288,900 plus $30,000 for parking
The flipper below is going to actually lose quite a bit of money off of this one bedroom.
Unit #611: 1 bedroom plus “den”, 1 bath, 909 square feet
- Sold in July 2007 for $291,500
- Currently listed at $287,500 plus $30,000 for parking
- M.A.G. Realty Inc. has the listing
Several of the two bedrooms are for sale or for rent.
Unit #201: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1700 square feet
- Currently listed at $488,900 plus $30,000 for parking
- Assessments of $439 a month
- Also available to rent for $2595 a month which includes the parking
- Re/Max Edge has the listing
Unit #314: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1320 square feet
- Originally listed a few months ago for $449,000
- Then listed for $429,000
- Recently lowered to $424,000 plus $30,000 for parking
- Assessments of $384 a month
- Also available for rent for $2500 a month plus $200 for parking
- Koenig & Strey has the listing
The buyers who bought during the developer “firesale” were smart. I wish I did.
The units actually look quite nice for $138,000! What a deal!
Yeah, I wish I would have seen that unit when it was for sale @ $138,000. I’d have taken it too.
Right. A bunch of buyers saw the “deal” and will make some money.
But what does that do to the other units that were the same size? It’s not good for them.
Seems to me that $138,000 could be a new comp for a one bedroom. Why didn’t the developer just list it for $200,000? Maybe that wouldn’t have been cheap enough either. I wonder.
Well, let’s see what the flips close for. It appears that 260-300K is the going rate
anyone know anything about this building/conversion? Is it quiet? Well made?
It seems, from this limited information, that 260-300K is the going “asking” rate which, to the non-realtor eye, suggests something quite different than the “going rate”–particularly for any prospective buyer who does his/her homework and discovers like units sold recently for half that price.
also, Kingsbury is a bit strange, so 845 is *not* “across” from The Domain (and 900)–it’s actually a couple of blocks away North.
That 1 bedroom + den reminds me of so many other boom-time condos. Perfect for flipping, not for living. Where is a couple with professional-type jobs going to keep their clothing? Certainly not in that closet.
It is good for a single person. You have a small area for a dining room table in the “den.”
You’re right tipster. There is hardly even a closet in the bedroom. Even for a single person- forget it!
Kenworthey: Not sure how you define “across”, but 845 Kingsbury is most defintely directly across Kingsbury from Domain and 900 Kingsbury. Look at the photo out of #201–looking south over the intersection of Kingsbury & Larrabbee–the parking garage on the left is the old Wards parking garage on the corner of Larrabbee and Chicago, that is, directly across the street from Domain and 900 Kingsbury.
This information is incomplete. $138K was the preconstruction price for a very few units through a city program with limitations, requirements and a secondary jr. mortgage that covered the difference between the discounted rate and market rates. The one unit in question–304–never sold for the market price of $270K because the city disallowed the sale–as was within their contract with the original buyer.