Forget the Stairs, Take the Elevator Instead: 545 W. Aldine in East Lakeview
We last chattered about this 2-bedroom unit at 545 W. Aldine in East Lakeview in August 2009.
See our prior chatter and pictures here.
Since then, the unit has been reduced by $74,500.
It has many of the bells and whistles that buyers are looking for including central air, garage parking, and, rare for lakeview, views from its sixth floor balcony.
It also is in an elevator building which is a nice option for those who have tired of lugging groceries up and down stairs in their vintage units in the neighborhood.
Is it priced right to sell now?
Mario Greco at Prudential Rubloff now has the listing. See more pictures, the floorplan and a virtual tour here.
See the property website here.
Unit #6B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1573 square feet
- Sold in March 2000 for $423,500
- Originally listed in April 2009 for $599,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in August 2009 for $589,000 (plus $35,000 for parking)
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $549,500 (parking now included)
- Assessments of $373 a month
- Taxes of $6722
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 17×13
- Bedroom #2: 12×10
Market: “Na na na na na, you can’t catch me.”
Seller: (pant pant cought weeze)
Nice unit. But I am missing what makes this unit worthy of such a premium above the average priced 2BD condos in the area.
It is getting close to where it will sell.
How are those bedrooms so fricking small in such a big 1500sqft space? 12×10? Seriously?
I know this building, and I’m not sure I like the alterations made to this unit. The ceilings look lower than the original, and it’s been clean-walled and modernized to death. This unit does not have the details and vintage “feel” of unaltered units, and IMO it is less attractive.
About the price, too high, especially when units at better vintage high rises like the Barry (3100 N Sheridan) and 3300 N Lake Shore are seeing comparable units with better architecture go out for lower prices. This building is not in great shape, or at least does not appear so to me, and it is very high maintenance, like most old high rises.
Um, Laura, I’m not sure you “know THIS building.” 545 Aldine is not a vintage building and it is not a high rise – it was built brand new 9yrs ago. We had the unit sold 6 weeks ago and the buyer (skittish, recently divorced freak) wigged out over minor inspection items.
It is priced where it is at b/c of its size and condition. It is a rare building with heated attached garage parking, low turnover, an involved board, $250k in reserves & professionally managed.
Broker: “We had the unit sold 6 weeks ago and the buyer (skittish, recently divorced freak) wigged out over minor inspection items.”
Market (even louder this time): “Na na na na na, you can’t catch me.”
So nice of you mario to be dissing the people who are paying you those rediculous commissions (ya know… buyers)… heaven forbid they are actually careful in throwing down 600k on a place when there is so much inventory to choose from.
Buyers don’t pay those “rediculous” (new word?) commission. Sellers do. And as for giving my opinion, isn’t that what this board is for or does it only apply to bitter non-realtors? I agree with you that buyers should be careful – just not greedy, nitpicky and unfair – and that’s what happened with this one.
I like how MG is equipped with facts. Facts are not often found on this site.
“just not greedy, nitpicky and unfair”
Turnabout is a b**ch.
If I ever need a realtor to sell me place, I’m going with MG. This man seems to know what he is doing.
I am not sure calling a buyer a wigged out freak divorcee is good for MG’s marketing.
Just a thought.
Actually, JMM, expressing my opinion (and the same one held by this buyer’s attorney and agent when it was all said and done) has no effect on my “marketing.” Doing right by my clients and getting properties sold in this market for a fair price does the job.
“JMM on December 21st, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I am not sure calling a buyer a wigged out freak divorcee is good for MG’s marketing. Just a thought.”
I agree. While I’m sure it was frustrating for the sellers to have a deal fall through, IMO it is a bit tacky to call out the buyer in such a manner – especially when we’re only treated to one very small, biased side of the situation.
links don’t work
“Buyers don’t pay those “rediculous” (new word?) commission. Sellers do.”
The next time you correct someone’s spelling make sure you don’t make a dumb grammatical error right after it… And saying that buyers don’t have to pay commissions is “ridiculous” because if it wasn’t for the NAR cartel, home prices would be whatever % the realtor fee cheaper to those buyers.
MG —
Its one thing to express an opinion. However, it makes you look like a jerk when you resort to the ad hominems. I for one will cross you off the list of brokers who post here we are considering interviewing for our SFH sale later in 2010.
JMM – You’re absolutely right. I should have said “extremely nervous and unreasonably worried” instead of “skittish” and “freak.” Really sucks that brevity cost me an interview with you but I’m sure you’ll hire someone who will do a great job and be more careful with how they describe the eventual “buyer” who offers you 70% of your asking price and wants you to repaint the garage door – or they’ll walk.
I know I shouldn’t ask, but it’s driving me crazy… where is the grammatical error??
JMM, honestly, why do you care if your real estate agent is a jerk on an internet message board? I highly doubt he’s a jerk to his own clients. MG has a great track record and gets the job done, even in this market.
In my experience, the “nice” agents are the ones who end up losing listings and aren’t aggressive enough in negotiations. I personally am a nice person, but when it comes down to the time to hire an agent again, I want someone who will take the bull by the horns and be aggressive, since that’s not in my nature.
““buyer” who offers you 70% of your asking price and wants you to repaint the garage door – or they’ll walk.”
funny stuff there,
i agree the “freak” think was unprofessional (only cause your representing yourself here a Realtor) but calling out a guy that wastes your time and your clients for a small crack in the window is good venting 🙂
“those…commission.” Should have been “commissions.”
“…“buyer” who offers you 70% of your asking price”
MG~ So, the sellers were willing to accept (accepted?) 70% of the list of $589K?
“MG~ So, the sellers were willing to accept (accepted?) 70% of the list of $589K?”
Whoops.
Ah, the age old battle between Zero and Hero, fought once more.
“Whoops.”
I know. . . for the record, can we all agree this place is a deal at $384k?
Though I understand that purchase price certainly doesn’t yield enough commission revenue to paint a garage door.
Well, the seller doesn’t appear to have a mortgage, so that’s possible.
““MG~ So, the sellers were willing to accept (accepted?) 70% of the list of $589K?”
Whoops.”
i really dont think MG was referring to this place on Aldine!!!
No. That was just an example of what JMM will wade into when he braves the waters in 2010.
On Aldine, we ended up agreeing to just about 98% of asking price but then the fun and games began… For example, buyer demanded that seller have the HVAC system professionally cleaned BEFORE closing even though it had just been done in September and we had receipts showing it. Notwithstanding this, seller agreed to the buyer’s (WARNING: potential ad hominem descriptor alert) “ridiculous” demand and offered a $350 credit for the buyer to do it after moving in since seller doesn’t live there and uses Aldine as a second home. Not good enough for this buyer. Neither was the seller’s agreeing to notify association of a POTENTIAL common element issue – NOPE, buyer wanted seller to not only notify the association but also agree to get the condo board to meet before the end of attorney review to agree to fix what wasn’t an issue after all. In the end, seller agreed to have the HVAC cleaned before closing but couldn’t get association to meet before closing and buyer walked.
“I know. . . for the record, can we all agree this place is a deal at $384k?”
Only if the garage door gets a new coat of paint… lol!
Well I hope the seller kept the escrow.
Ahh, gotcha.
Perhaps buyer maybe had a case of buyer’s remorse, and therefore said ridiculous demands were a deliberate tactic to walk…? I can understand the frustration.
Buyer’s remorse is fine and it happens. But buyer didn’t need to put seller through the headache if that’s indeed what happened. We weren’t done with attorney review so buyer could have had attorney write something as simple as “buyer disapproves of the contract and condition of the unit” and that would have been enough to kill the deal. And NO b/c attorney review wasn’t finished, the buyer got all earnest money returned.
I was a condo association president for a time and would routinely write letters in satisfaction of these requests. Yes, it annoyed me, but the realtors were thankful and deals got done.
Let me guess, buyer used Tomacor inspection?
All of you would be absolutely amazed at some of the foolishness that goes on with residential real estate transactions. Every realtor, loan officer, title agent, and attorney could share stories of $500k purchases going to hell in a hand basket over the most mundane and out of left field stuff.
I have seen deals literally close to falling apart over a hundred bucks. Buyers demanding stuff like the refrigerator be cleaned. Sellers demanding to close in 10 days.
Buying and selling a home is highly emotional and even some of the most educated and rational people sometimes can get caught up over the smallest things and act totally irrationally.
JMM – I hear you but writing the letter wasn’t enough. The buyer wanted the condo association to agree to fix what nobody had determined was a real problem – just an inspector covering his hide and spotting issues like a 1L on a Torts final. Association rightfully a) wouldn’t convene an emergency meeting for a non-issue and b) wouldn’t agree to fix anything until an actual expert came out to confirm the issue. Buyer refused to have anyone else come out to look at the issue – the inspector was good enough for her. Kind of like letting the ER nurse diagnose a brain tumor and not caring if the neurologist agrees.
And no it wasn’t Tomacor. It was a very reasonable inspector who actually had high praise for the unit and the common elements… Hence my “ad hominem” of oh so many posts ago…
“Buying and selling a home is highly emotional and even some of the most educated and rational people sometimes can get caught up over the smallest things and act totally irrationally.”
So true…
I demanded that a chimney be cleaned> Not that this was irrational but I swear I would have walked (irrational). So they had it cleaned and faxed me the receipt.
The company was named “Ashwipe” (honestly).
Luckily there wasn’t a company named “Ashhole”.
Since it IS almost Christmas I will back MG and Russ’ and certify the myriad of RE horror stories of buyers getting panicky, dropping everything and running away from a deal… leaving nothing but insults, imaginary problems and slander/libel in their wake. I have dealt with nearly every scenario imaginable in dealing in this market as much as I have. This is becoming more the norm than a rarity in the past two years.
I do understand how a buyers worries, especially first timers, can be magnified to the point of pettiness and irritation. We do make it a point of trying to maintain decorum in every situation and try to address every problem, real or imagined, but sometimes it just will not be enough to satisfy their worries. I see both sides in this drama.
When I buy any unit, regardless of it’s price, condition or location, I do not cut the sellers or their agents any slack. I need to have every issue no matter how insignificant addressed to my satisfaction. If not, no matter how much I want the place, I will take my $$$ elsewhere to sellers who do want to do business. I know this has happened to me in Chicago a number of times in the last few months we were buying properties. I was surprised..shocked actually by how many agents and buyers refused to cooperate with my queries. As a result, they lost out on some pretty lucrative offers and commissions. And believe me, I do not exaggerate or make a big deal out of nothing…these were all very legitimate concerns.
That said, it is a bit unprofessional to call out a buyer as was done on this thread. For the sake of maintaining a good reputation, it is never acceptable to talk down to a buyer whether you think ill of them or not. Meet up with some fellow agents for a few drinks if you feel the need to commisserate…anything, just don’t do it on a public real estate site!
I always remember that saying…what is it now? …if you piss off one potential customer, you have succeeded in pissing off everyone in their little circle of friends as well. In these harsh RE times that is not a wise thing to do.
I don’t know this building in particular, but man, for this part of Lakeview, with an elevator, those assessments look *cheap*. The reason so many condos around here are languishing on the market is b/c of high assessments. If I was looking for a 2 bed with parking I would be all over this place.
And, like I heard repeated over and over back in my old “Glengarry Glen Ross” job: “there are buyers, and there are liars.”
That line should be changed to “there are liars and whiners and only rarely do buyers not fit both descriptions.” 🙂
“When I buy any unit, regardless of it’s price, condition or location, I do not cut the sellers or their agents any slack. I need to have every issue no matter how insignificant addressed to my satisfaction.”
I agree. The customer is always right even when they are not. And most of these things are silly, inexpensive and not at all time consuming. A good agent will deal with this stuff and move on.
Peg et al – enjoy…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
JMM – Agreed with you as well as that is what we did. However, if what the buyer is asking for is impossible or a 3rd party (i.e., condo ass’n) can’t/won’t do what buyer wants, there isn’t much anybody can do.
Put that coffee down… Coffee is for closers.
Half a mill for a Lakeview side-street condo? Maybe if it were 2000+ sf. I’d offer maybe a shade over 3-fiddy, maybe 400 for this. It has an “involved board”? Can I get a lameduck board and a stack of Bed Bath & Beyond coupons instead and knock $190K off the price? Maybe throw in a window treatment allowance and a McD’s extra value meal? Work with me here.
I’m certainly glad to hear of buyers busting the seller’s balls. For too long, the shoe was on the other foot and sellers along with their realtors sure did enjoy raking the buyer over the coals. When hundred of thousands of dollars are on the line, there’s no such thing as being too demanding.
We bought an empty house in 1996 for 65% asking price, which was already much lower than the original asking price two years earlier. House was in great condition structurally, but had a very dated decor and wall-to-wall carpeting had deteriorated to point of off-gassing. CA ducts were filthy. Bath and kitchen were original condition, including old appliances. House smelled. Seller’s broker was furious that seller accepted our offer, and broker wanted a kick-out clause in a seller’s counter-offer to “sell” house at our dramatically lower price (but obviously higher than our agreed-upon price). When we rejected counter-offer, seller accepted our offer as final. Our offer omitted a financing contingency, which was attractive even at time.
Seller’s broker was so furious that even at closing was snippish. We never met seller. House needed a great deal of cosmetic work, but was ultimately a great investment for us – selling at twice purchase price six years later.
Silly me, you are correct, this IS new building. Now I remember the place, and walked by it last night.
The price sounds about right for this. Maybe even a good deal.
Make the seller feed the squirrels!