Foreclosure Deal? Two Bedrooms Under $260k in 1620 S. Michigan
We were just chattering about 1620 S. Michigan in the South Loop.
One of the foreclosure units is back on the market and now owned by the bank. It’s a two bedroom, one bath unit on the third floor- the “terrace” floor.
Parking is included in the price. It is listed 27% less the other 2/1 currently for sale in the building.
Unit #326: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 935 square feet
- Sold in November 2006 for $332,000
- Bank-owned
- Currently listed “as-is” for $254,900 – parking included
- Assessments of $354 a month
- Villarreal Real Estate, Inc. has the listing
At least this one still has its kitchen.
Haha! I guess that WAS nice of them to leave the kitchen.
People that need to sell in this building are going to get f*$&ing pwned.
Does anybody know what the assessments include?
There is a 1 bed for sale for $234.9K + $20K for parking (must be purchased with unit). Ouch.
Not exactly sure. Some of the listings say that heat and gas are included, others just list the basics (water, exterior maintenance, scavenger).
I think this will sell for higher. If this sells for 254k w/parking then I am going to start shifting my savings from repaying low interest debt to saving for a downpayment.
I’d be really surprised if this sells for less than 280k.
I think that is a pretty good deal.
I disagree – you can see 2Bd/2Bth in River North going for under $260K – though no garage, but still a better value overall (per Sq ft basis)
Mozart–
Please give a river north example…
It is pretty small. Garage parking is key to me though.
I would think $280K, too, but remember how much inventory there is in the South Loop, and keep in mind how many more condos are coming online.
The latest figure I hear is 6,000 new units about to come on the market. Add that to the wave of Alt-A and Pay Option ARM paper about to reset.
This market could just end up over-correcting, even though I will spring when a)I have a better down payment, and b)I can get rent-parity plus a slight premium on what I want and can afford. But this is no time to jump just because the prices are steeply lower than what you were seeing 3 years ago. The wild prices of recent years have sort of desensitized people and made them forget that things have to line up with the fundamentals to make a purchase appropriate.
What I HATE about these CMK buildings is many of the units don’t have a true second bedroom with full-height walls. What is the point of having a second bedroom if you can hear the TV blaring in the living room or your guests can’t get freaky without everyone in the house hearing (or you can’t get freaky without THEM hearing)? With that said, I do like their no frills approach to development which should keep assessments low. When I see that a building has a doorman, all I see is all the money that’ll cost me.
i dont mind the non-full height walls because i would use that 2nd bedroom as an office, but you could have that wall “fixed” for very little $. This unit does look very small though…
I agree Danny. Personally, I would never buy a place that did not have full bedroom walls. The bedrooms in this unit both have full walls. It’s even a split floorplan.
I also like most of CMKs projects. 1720 S Michigan is also nice, but the living room space in a lot of those units is tiny!
what’s the best place to access the foreclosure listings for chicago? I’m not an agent. thanks
b3
realtytrac.com is good but charges. Another one for wholesale deals is myhousedeals.com
I wish some other people would weigh in on what they think of CMK properties like 1620 and 1720 S. Michigan and 630 N. Franklin in River North. Are these buildings going to age well? Are they modern minimal in a good way or do they just look cheap? Will they be dumps full of renters in 10 years? Is it smart to buy a foreclosure like this because the assessments will stay low and CMK buildings offer some of the lowest price points for units in the south loop and river north?
Danny,
My thoughts are mostly on 1620. 1720 I think is nice but I’m not interested in living in that big of a high-rise with a doorman and I’m not familiar with 630 N Franklin.
I like the architecture of 1620 and think the building will age well. Floor to ceiling windows never seem to go out of style and these units appear to offer ample natural light. I don’t think the units look cheap, others opinions may vary.
Will they be full of renters in 10 years? There may be some renters, but these will be priced along with luxury apartments, not entry level apartments. This will not become a river city.
thanks much Agent 007
Laura,
I believe that the value of the components in rent parity will be hit soon based on one premise. The commodities prices went up and it will stay this way. The weakness of the dollar helped the rise in the prices but even if the dollar recovers against the Euro and the Sterling, the demand of the raw materials in the emerging markets i.e. China and India et al, will keep the equilibrium point as the supply is being fixed while the demand keeps on growing. If so, the rise in commodities will cause the raw material cost to go up and cause inflation which will lead to higher wages. This vicious cycle of stagflation will cause the housing prices to stabilize at his historical level and the rents will increase in lock step with inflation and more people who are forced to rent due to foreclosures. Thus after 5-10% downward adjustment of the prices, it will stabilize at that point and start moving up. Higher fuel prices will make the commuting distance more important in housing decisions and areas in the city with good transportation and close proximity to public transit will make it more attractive. Even the overdeveloped areas like the south loop will have more people renting and it will come back, albeit a slow process of 3 years or more. I am not an economist but I would love to get some elasticity of the supply and demand curves of all the factors that I mentioned above. This was totally based on my armchair guesstimate.
http://www.myhousedeals.com? Comeon. Saty away from that cheeseball.
but you could have that wall “fixed” for very little $
Tony, you can definitely have the wall fixed, but if you do the unit goes from a 2BR to a 1BR + den, per Chicago residential building codes. There is a reason it isn’t a full-height wall 😉
I believe that most people feel that the property would lose value if you “fixed” it, regardless of the fact that you made it better (in my opinion). I would never buy a unit with a bedroom that doesn’t have a window, but I would buy a unit with a “den”
Anybody have an update on this one? I’ve guess I’ve got a soft spot for floor-to-ceiling windows & private terraces.
I went to 1720 S. Michigan to look at the 2 bed/2 baths on the 33rd floor. I agree that the view and terraces are awesome. I don’t love the layout with the partial wall and the closet not having a door when you walk in the master suite. Scared of how many rentals will be in the building, any thoughts?