Get a 2/2 for Under $270,000 in Streeterville: 211 East Ohio
This 2-bedroom in The Grand Ohio at 211 East Ohio in Streeterville has been on the market since April 2010.
It was recently reduced $11,000 to $269,000.
That is $62,500 under the 2007 purchase price.
The unit has cherry tinted floors in the living/dining areas.
The kitchen has cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
There is central air but no washer/dryer in the unit.
There also is no parking with the unit-but there is rental or you can purchase in the building.
211 E. Ohio is a full-service building with an indoor pool, basketball courts, racquetball courts, tennis courts, a sauna and is known for its big exercise facility.
Is this a deal for a 2-bedroom Streeterville apartment?
Ann Caron at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #803: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1100 square feet
- Sold in March 2001 for $309,500
- Sold in November 2005 for $306,500
- Sold in December 2007 for $331,500
- Originally listed in April 2010
- Was listed in April 2011 for $280,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $269,000
- Assessments of $610 a month (includes doorman, cable, indoor pool, basketball, tennis and raquetball courts)
- Taxes of $3815
- Central Air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- No parking- but rental or purchase available in the building
- Bedroom #1: 11×16
- Bedroom #2: 11×13
#1 Not a single bedroom photo?
#2 Pretty sure these were wall units not central air, but I could be mistaken.
Wow – who was that poster who was looking to buy a place for his sister who is starting med school at Northwestern? This would be the IDEAL place for her – and if she finds a roommate, he will actually make some money while keeping her below what she would normally pay for rent in the area – a win-win situation.
No parking, no laundry and no view other than the building across the street combined with a small kitchen and bright paint colors some can’t see past equals why this has been on so long and is at the price it is.
What’s up with the negative comment that the unit feels cramped? Guess what? Victorian homes feel cramped too because they have smaller rooms including small kitchens. This is a great unit in a great locations, close to so many things, you may never need to use a car here, walk to work. I’m not too familiar with this building but it looks like a great place to live. Scary that it’s listed BELOW the 2001 price. I know that was my prediction and it still stands but we’re basically there in a number of buildings in a number of neighborhoods. LP, Lakeview, hot areas, they’re going to sell at a premium, like 2003/2004/and in some cases even above the 2005 prices (as show here). Some cookie cutter (but still livable and graet places to live) are going to sell at 2001 prices; and some areas are getting pummeled (read the story in teh trib or suntimes i don’t remember which that said that Chatam is selling basically at 1980 pricing even though it used to sell at a premium for many years). Today’s CS index will probably show a small MOM decline, (some predict a slight uptick) marking us basically tolling around the bottom. Regardless, this is a great unit, and when volume returns to the RE market, this unit will sell fast.
clarification: (as shown here on CC not as shown here in this unit).
At least some negativity is showing back through the new HD. 🙂
multiple photos of the entrance are so helpful!
I have positivity, but some of those realtor comments on redfin are totally negative. Check out the ‘comment’ if you want to call it that about this house (same commenter) and tell me what you think it does about the marketability of this house. If I were the listing agent I’d be taking quick corrective action.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4326-N-Kostner-Ave-60641/home/13481683
“benjamon9 on June 28th, 2011 at 6:37 am
At least some negativity is showing back through the new HD. :)”
Multiple pictures of the entrance are helpful, given that living in this great location, you’ll be coming and going a lot. There’s so much to do.
Hd, you were mostly positive but i don’t take being back at pre 2001 or 1980’s prices as positive. 😉 From a buyer’s perspective I suppose…
Isn’t this the area where street gangs are mugging tourist?
HD,
I love those note things, sometimes it will save you and your agent a trip to see a place like in this example;
http://www.redfin.com/IL/River-Forest/558-Lathrop-Ave-60305/home/13324572
but again it may detract a buyer because the wording may be incorrect or give the wrong image.
it can go both ways and i am befuddled that redfin did this as arent they in the business to sell houses and sell your house?
dislaimer: I used to know someone who lived here…maybe they still do for all I know
There is parking, but I remember it was weird in this building. the developer tried to make some extra $$$ by selling more spots that the garage was originally designed to hold. I’m not sure of what strange park it yourself or valet combo it is now.
So I do believe the statement that you can buy a parking spot.
It is coin laundry.
I think the workout place is pretty nice all things said and done – Tennis courts too?
If you face the South side, you currently have a view and if you are on a higher floor on the North side, you are above the buildings facing you from across the street.
You guys don’t know anything about pricing or housing. Prices do not reflect what an individual thinks a unit is worth – prices reflect what is going on in the market (and that takes into account the rental parity, area, etc.). Rents in this area (and in this building are pretty high – 2000-2800 for a 2 bedroom) and they rent VERY fast (because of Northwestern as well as many young people that want to live in the area). Taking this into account, the price of this unit is very fair (actually kind of low). Someone with 250k cash could buy this place, rent it out at 2000/month and come away with 12k/year profit (about 5%). More importantly, if that person held on to the unit, in 10-15 years, the place will be worth a hell of a lot more (adding to % return). THAT is how you make money in real estate.
Groove: you mean the $14,000 in taxes wasn’t enough to deter you from visiting the property, but the agent’s comment about the master suite was?
“Groove: you mean the $14,000 in taxes wasn’t enough to deter you from visiting the property, but the agent’s comment about the master suite was?”
good point, the taxes are crazy and its only going to go up. Its going to end up like vintage condos where the high assessments will diminish the houses value.
This place would be a deal if it had in unit w/d and parking… but it doesn’t.
Assessments are in line with a building that has tons of amenities like this one does.
Groove I think Redfin is more about buyers than sellers. I don’t think they list too many places.
“it can go both ways and i am befuddled that redfin did this as arent they in the business to sell houses and sell your house?”
I kind of believe they are currently in the business of dismantling the existing commission structure. It would seem to me that a good way to do this would be to shine some light on the brain trust in the act of earning their 5 or 6%. Redfin seems well positioned to benefit from the impending reformation.
“Groove I think Redfin is more about buyers than sellers. I don’t think they list too many places.”
i really like their business model and going with the interweb trends but i will refuse to ever use them until they get an android app.
“I kind of believe they are currently in the business of dismantling the existing commission structure.”
so G you are saying they are the Carmax of the RE world?
“i will refuse to ever use them until they get an android app.”
http://www.redfin.com/android/beta
“i really like their business model and going with the interweb trends but i will refuse to ever use them until they get an android app.”
And where’s the redfin dedicated ipad app??
“so G you are saying they are the Carmax of the RE world?”
Yes. Big corps treading where small businesses once flourished, fully enabled by the business practices of those same small businesses.
Redfin has been slowly going back towards the traditional RE model.
In general I have found a lot of the redfin comments really off base and quite bizarre. I think it makes their ‘agents’ look pretty bad as well, since a few times, the agent clearly had not even seen the property in person they were commenting on. I think they need to really watch it as their credibility can take a hit.
They are still a discount broker. They now allow comments on listings. Nothing traditional there. What are they doing slowly to get to 5-6% commissions?
G, no doubt they are different, but they have in fact been making adjustments and tweaks over the years to their model that pushes them closer to traditional brokerages.
Most recently…
http://blog.redfin.com/boston/2011/06/redfin_boston_gets_personal.html#comments
I definitely think there is a need for alternative models, but often times the discounters have a hard time managing the overhead while also not having enough rainmakers (agents who actually bring in business versus waiting on deals to come to them).
At the end of the day, this is still a relationship business. I am not saying it won’t change some day, but I think that change is a lot harder than most think from the outside looking in. RE is like photography. Looks easy until you actually have to do it for a living. There is a reason there are only a handful of super star agents and the failure rate for RE agents is a abysmally high.
Great deal! I love this location…VERY reasonable assessments for the amenities.
But…I wonder if more deals like this could be had in this building. Or in other buildings in the area that are NOT top-tier??? I.E. units without great views, lower floors, etc…
I like Redfin – they’re not for everyone but if you know what you want and how to find it and just need someone to take care of all the paperwork, then why not get a cut of all that commission they’re getting?
I see that as another way to get their discount model out there until the tipping point arrives. They should have eased it in from the start. As long as they are in business, anything they do to chip away at the 5-6%’ers is good for their long term business model.
“There is a reason there are only a handful of super star agents and the failure rate for RE agents is a abysmally high.”
It’s not so much the difficulty of the job, it’s the low barrier of entry into the field. Besides, there are only a handful of super stars in any sales job.
The commission structure is one of those professions where a handful of deals require very little work with large commission and a handful require a tremendous amount of work for little money but most are somewhere in between. The expensive house in LP might go under contract quickly but you’re showing 20 different clients the same 1 bedroom in Roger’s Park before it sells.
“It’s not so much the difficulty of the job, it’s the low barrier of entry into the field. Besides, there are only a handful of super stars in any sales job.”
There is something very difficult about being a star agent as they have to deal with the emotional baggage of the sellers. it is quite different with most sales jobs where a business is making rational decisions to sell a product. My agent was telling me she has a listing and the seller refuses to get the place cleaned up for showing. I feel sorry for some of the good agents having to deal with unreasonable sellers.
I went to see one house and the
I went to see one house and the owner was sitting there having coffee with her friend, while her pet ferret ran around the place which she had made no attempt to clean. Then the ferret pooped in the agents shoe. It was a short sale, that I doubt she had any intention of actually selling while she was getting a free ride from the bank.
“The expensive house in LP might go under contract quickly but you’re showing 20 different clients the same 1 bedroom in Roger’s Park before it sells.”
I’ll take “Let some other sucker represent the unreasonable Rogers Park seller” for $1000, Alex.
G, like I said, it is harder than it looks. Yes, the barriers of entry are low (that is another topic) and many people enter the field seeing easy dollar signs. However, I would bet less than 20% of agents are real full time professionals making a solid living at this point. If it were that easy, you would have more success stories.
Commissions also reflect the risk of not being paid for work performed. Every agent can probably share a story of showing someone 20 or more properties or working with people for up to a year only for them to not buy anything. Those that buy have to subsidize those that don’t buy.
If buyers and sellers had to pay for services performed regardless if a transaction closed or not, then I think you would see commissions go down as agents would then not be taking on the risk associated with failed transactions. At a minimum some type of retainer fee… $500 bucks or something.
“If buyers and sellers had to pay for services performed regardless if a transaction closed or not, then I think you would see commissions go down as agents would then not be taking on the risk associated with failed transactions. At a minimum some type of retainer fee… $500 bucks or something.”
Throw in a free initial meeting and personalized email blast based on new listings fitting the discussed criteria, and it might work.
well lawyers and doctors charge for initial consulting even if no further intervention will result so why not real estate agents?
“well lawyers and doctors charge for initial consulting even if no further intervention will result so why not real estate agents?”
Because they don’t (generally) get success premia if there is a deal.
“If buyers and sellers had to pay for services performed regardless if a transaction closed or not, then I think you would see commissions go down as agents would then not be taking on the risk associated with failed transactions. At a minimum some type of retainer fee… $500 bucks or something.”
If it worked, could destabilize commission model as people who were more serious would probably go on fee for service basis. Need retainer as much to deal with collections issue as risk. That said, are there other sales/broker businesses where fee for service is common (where some significant non-clerical work is being done)?
“well lawyers and doctors charge for initial consulting even if no further intervention will result so why not real estate agents?”
“Because they don’t (generally) get success premia if there is a deal.”
You can generally get an initial call or short meeting for free with a laywer, no? Even biglaw and such.
“You can generally get an initial call or short meeting for free with a laywer, no? ”
You *always* can get the freebie if you have a potential personal injury claim of any size. But that’s the exception w/r/t success premia.
And, of course, if you’re a biz decision-maker, with a carrot of 100s of 1000s or millions of fees, biglaw will not only give you some “free” time, but buy you dinner.
Dunno about the rest–do DUI, or residential RE, or divorce, or whatever lawyers give free consults?
“Dunno about the rest–do DUI, or residential RE, or divorce, or whatever lawyers give free consults?”
Aware of a couple of smallish matters, like $50-100K not contingency, where there was no issue in getting consults with a few different attorneys.
Most people don’t lawyer shop so if you give a free consult you’re most likely retain the client.
“G, like I said, it is harder than it looks. Yes, the barriers of entry are low (that is another topic) and many people enter the field seeing easy dollar signs. However, I would bet less than 20% of agents are real full time professionals making a solid living at this point. If it were that easy, you would have more success stories.”
That’s some reasoning, there. I would bet that, by your measure, there would be significantly more success stories if the barrier to entry was higher.
“And, of course, if you’re a biz decision-maker, with a carrot of 100s of 1000s or millions of fees, biglaw will not only give you some “free” time, but buy you dinner.”
You don’t go to biglaw. They come to you. Partners pitch business, they don’t answer phones.
G, you cannot base the high failure rate entirely on low barriers to entry.
If there is so much money to be made in commissions and the job is so easy that anyone can do it, why would anyone NOT be a Realtor? If it is so easy to make several hundred grand or a million or more per year selling RE, why bother with the other professions?
Put your arrogance on pause for just five minutes and think about it. Even if the barriers to entry are a factor, you would expect that the bottom of the barrel agents could still eke out an above average living given all the supposedly easy money flowing around. The reality is that most are unable to generate enough business to even be a full time agent because it is much harder than it looks from the outside looking in.
The vast majority of people are really bad at building relationships with potential clients, self promotion, dealing with the uncertainty of income, the emotional highs and lows, and all the other behind the scenes things that occur on RE transactions that have nothing to do with simply showing buyers properties.
Simply discounting commissions does not change the day to day realities of being an agent which is why most discounters have failed.
“G, you cannot base the high failure rate entirely on low barriers to entry. ”
I didn’t. That is your straw man you arrogantly wasted your time on.
“If it worked, could destabilize commission model as people who were more serious would probably go on fee for service basis.”
I don’t think so: this is because realtor fees are lumped into the financing of the place. You can’t convince joe schmoes paying $25/month higher on a 30-year mortgage is a big deal, especially when their PITA is $1,000+. People’s minds don’t work like that.
For us bean counters and finance geeks we can always do our own homework and use one of the discount realtors (knowing that the service might not be the best), but we’ll remain the minority. Even those that already know what they want, they want to have their hand held in the largest financial decision of their lives.
Although detested on here I think the realtor commission model is safe–maybe it will suffer some margin compression but I doubt it will change entirely or significantly.
There are too many realtors and not enough work to go around.
The drop off in volume put many out of business or into hard times.
Mr. Old Irving park and his staff are probably picking up crumbs with the sparrows.
Which is too bad, there are a lot of attractive homes out there, and they’re priced very affordably. Prices aren’t getting any cheaper.
“The reality is that most are unable to generate enough business to even be a full time agent because it is much harder than it looks from the outside looking in”
The cost of gaining one customer in any business can easily be measured. In ours it is around $3000. New customers also take time and some eventually do not pay their invoices. We eat bad debt.
Real Estate agants are not alone in struggles. Many just are I’ll prepared for the amount of hard work. Many more get very little guidance from their brokers. It is much like first jobs out of college. The fall off rate is huge.
It’s more difficult for REaltors. AGain, there are more realtors than homes being sold.
http://cr4re.com/charts/charts.html?Existing-Home#category=Existing-Home
there are at least 2,000,000 less homes sold today than at the peak of the bubble and the homes that do sell, sell for much less than peak prices. And a majority of the REO sales are funneled to REO realtors who attend REOMAC conferences. Furhtermore, the NAR has been overestimating the number of sales for years; and include the utter decimation of new home sales from 1,500,000 a year to 300,000 a year and you have a recipe for a lot of broke realtors.
Once upon a bubble – about 10 years ago – a company called Hometouch set up offices at various Chicago-area malls Tincluding Water Tower). The business model, apparently successful in the company’s West Coast home base – was exclusive BUYER agency with agents working on a salary-plus-bonus basis rather than “chasing commissions” via listings.
I think they lasted a little over a year. Rumor had it that the “regular” Realtors spearhaded a whispering campaign against it.
True?
A 2bed/2bath unit on 29th floor w/ parking including sold couple months ago for $260k. Makes this listing look like a ripoff.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/211-E-Ohio-St-60611/unit-2921/home/39778321
But did you see the condition of the higher unit??? Looks like the original kitchen and bath??? I think the views are whats killing this. I am watching this unit closely…If this goes for low 200K…there are a lot of deals to be had in this building.