Get a 3-Bedroom Roscoe Village Condo at 57% Off the 2007 Purchase Price: 3023 N. Damen
This 3-bedroom duplex down newer construction condo at 3023 N. Damen in Roscoe Village recently came on the market.
Located across from Hamlin Park, the building was constructed in 2006.
The unit is now bank owned and is listed for about 57%, or $319,100, under the 2007 purchase price.
The listing doesn’t say anything about the condition of the unit. Nor are there any interior pictures so we have no idea if the kitchen and bathrooms are intact.
Still, this is a three bedroom unit just a few doors down from others we have recently chattered about that are listed in the $500,000 range.
Is this a steal?
Michael Olszewksi at Area Wide Realty has the listing. See the listing and exterior photo here.
Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1 car parking, no square footage listed
- Sold in June 2007 for $559,000
- Lis pendens filed in March 2008
- Bank owned in December 2009
- Currently listed for $239,900
- Taxes of $8197
- It doesn’t list the condo assessments
- It says no central air- but I find that hard to believe in a new construction condo building.
- Bedroom #1: 14×12 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 14×11 (lower level)
- Bedroom #3: 14×11 (lower level)
- Living room: 25×14 (main level)
- Kitchen: 14×9 (main level)
- Family room: 22×17 (lower level)
Looks as if there is no current association set up. Also unit 3 sold for 197500 last year. This building could be in terrible shape.
Ahhh an idiot who overpaid big time for a cookie cutter soulless unit goes into foreclosure. HAHA!
Is that a laugh? Did Bob laugh? Indeed. Anyone who spent 560k on this place deserves to lose their financial arse.
This building is probably not only in terrible shape, but probably has a number of built-in construction problems that may make it impossible to repair properly.
However, similar deals are beginning to appear on buildings that are NOT problem buildings, on units in decent condition.
We’re just laughably overbuilt, from the South Loop clear up to Rogers Park. The ever-lower prices just reflect the supply and demand situation. In addition to a vast oversupply, we have perhaps 1/3 as many qualified buyers available to buy anything as we did in 2006, and their buying power has been halved by much tighter credit- no more NINJA, no more Interest Only, no more Pay Option ARM, no more 80/20, no more DTI of 5, 6, 7, or more times your income. Additionally, employment is continuing to deteriorate and incomes are dropping.
I expect we will go into extreme overshoot on the downside because of the credit situation alone.
IO loans are back as are 40-year fixed mortgages. But yeah this time you actually need to be documented.
Imagine that–you need proper documentation for a mortgage! Crazy!
Whats even crazier is our government bailed out the investors of these mortgage backed securities at 100 cents on the dollar for these no documentation mortgages.
Strangely there doesn’t seem to be a lot of popular resentment against the legislators who allowed this to happen.
If more than a handful of these start selling at reduced prices then an entire generation of folks who live in that area are totally screwed. I used to live in a frame three flat in 2002-2004 on damen that was torn down and in its place was built a brick three flat. The duplex down sold for 550k, the middle unit for 450 and the duplex up for 600 iirc. I never quite understood who was buying these things but it was the insane building of three flats in roscoe that first made me search the term housing bubble years back.
@Steve on July 6th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Looks as if there is no current association set up. Also unit 3 sold for 197500 last year. This building could be in terrible shape.
-Condo declaration is recorded for all 3 units; REO listing are always missing critical info-like HOA dues.
-as for unit 3: sold for $197K initially. That looks to be the foreclosure auction. Then that guy resold it for $380 in Jan.
-#3 was initially purchased in July 07, Lis pen. 11 months later. hmmm??
#1, same thing. Bought in June and Lis Pen. 9 months later. Oh, and a $37K lein from the HOA.
HD or other lawyers/REO people: does the foreclosure wipe away the lein/etc?? or would the new buyer need to pay that at closing.
and if anyone was wondering, same exact scenario in #2:
-bought in June 07 with 100% financing
-Lis pe. 9 months later
-foreclosure
-resold to current owner for $325 last fall
–and another interesting point. For unit #2 & #3, the last sales are both from someone with the same last name ‘AVHUSTYN’
Foreclosures generally wipe away all junior liens but there are always other issues to contend with which is why REO’s often take a while to close.
“HD or other lawyers/REO people: does the foreclosure wipe away the lein/etc?? or would the new buyer need to pay that at closing.”
I know this may sound like a stupid question, but where are all of the people who would have been buying property living now? Although I suspect that many are cohabitating with others, many still need a place to live. Many sellers are not going to rent their houses (for whatever reason). Foreclosures and short sales are unlikely to be rented. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense that rental prices should go up? I know I am missing something here, but I don’t understand.
Clio,
I ‘had’ one apartment for rent and the # of calls/inquiries that I received for it was about 1.5 to 2 as many as last year (for the same exact unit). Never actually got to show it b/c the current tennant decided to renew afterall.
-so to kinda answer your question, annecdotally, I’ve seen an increase in the interest in rentals, which would mean and increase in demand so the market could justify an increase in rent.
My neighbors who also had units for rent say that the # of inquiries that they received increased and that the prospective tenants were all more eger than in the past to see the unit right away and were quicker to take the units.
The part that you’re missing is that the developers built significantly more homes than needed. There are too many places to live and not enough households to fill them all.
Furthermore, given that the economy is such crap, people are waiting longer to form new households which means people are stay where they currently are: college grads staying with parents; seniors looking to sell but instead are choosing to stay put; households with young children who would otherwise move to the suburbs are forced to stay put.
The other issue with rents, besides the obvious like supply and demand, is wages. Rents are usually based on what people can afford to pay based upon their paychecks. if renters paychecks have been reduced, well then, landlords can’t keep rent high because they lose tenants to cheap buildings. Its a downward spiral. Don’t let any of those Trib shill articles that pronounce “rents aren’t getting cheaper” – don’t let them fool you. Rents will continue to get cheaper.
“I know this may sound like a stupid question, but where are all of the people who would have been buying property living now? “
Tom(tfo) – good landlords with good buildings with market or below market rents will never have trouble renting their units. I live in a building with a great landlord. Every unit always rented – he often doesn’t get as much as he wants, but it doesn’t sit vacant. There’s a building down the block with a terrible landlord, a terrible building and above market rents – and the landlord does not negotiate either – so many of the units sit vacant and have been for a long time. You would think that best business practices means lowering rents until the building is rented but I guess not everybody thinks that way
@HD, its shocking how being a decent businessman and selling a product for fair value actually works.
– I took a look at the old listings, looks like the same (as I mentioned earlier based on CCRD data) couple bought units #2 & 3 after foreclosure and resold them. Not sure if they did any work but the Kit & Baths looked fabulous.
-surprised that they didnt buy #1 yet and did the same.
‘one man’s misfortune, is another man’s opertunity’
Looks like occupancy fraud or a specuvestor.
“Also unit 3 sold for 197500 last year”
“–and another interesting point. For unit #2 & #3, the last sales are both from someone with the same last name ‘AVHUSTYN’”
Ummm just those facts right there should scare any potential buyer.
@230k seem cheap but whats the motto, you get what you pay for?
does that apply to RE?
“This building is probably not only in terrible shape, but probably has a number of built-in construction problems that may make it impossible to repair properly.
However, similar deals are beginning to appear on buildings that are NOT problem buildings, on units in decent condition.”
First, it is extremely damaging to the owner/buildiing to speculate on it’s condition w/o the benefit of an inspection to find out if this is the case. I believe many new buyers are using sites like this for info and to post so irresponsibly is just plain wrong. Now, IF you know for fact that there are problems, kudos to you for pointing them out.
And how do you KNOW the condition of the rest of the price chopped units? Right, you don’t. No one does until they receive a proper inspection by a licensed Building Inspector.
I would refrain from writing about the condition of buildings you know nothing about….personal commentary, yes, destruction assumptions, dangerous and not worth it.
As a landlord for the past 20 years, I have never negotiated rental prices in the past and don’t plan on it in the future. We make this known when the potential tenant calls for an appointment and I have never had a problem with this being requested during the tour.
I take a great deal of pride in the condition of our rentals and also on any ongoing maintainance issue we might encounter. As a result, I can ask for a price that is fair to both myself and the tenant. I also do consider the established current market rate in the area. Do I lower because the surrounding rentals might be ‘cheaper’? Of course not, because I know the quality of work and materials that have gone into them.
In the end, if you do your best work during the rehab, stay on top of any maintenance issues which might arise and treat your tenants with respect, all is fine with both tenant and owner being happy with the mutual rental decision.
Play honest in this market or don’t play at all.
westloopelo,
I totally agree with you. I have several houses and condos that I rehabbed in the mid 2000s and am renting them out (because they rented before they could sell). While I received very high rent the first year or two (and the tenants were GREAT), I made the mistake of negotiating when the economy started turning. Not only did I rent many of these places for several hundred dollars less than I had before (previously I was receiving 2500-3000/month for each place and now am renting each place out for 1600-2000/month) , but the tenants that moved in didn’t treat the places well and some are behind on their rent!!! There is some minor damage but, more than that, the general cleanliness of each place has really diminished. So landlords beware – sometimes leaving a place vacant and holding out for a higher quality renter may be more than worthwhile!!!!!!
..and also the reason that I would never higher an ‘apartment locator’ service. They’ll try to put anyone with a pulse and a 600+ credit score in our property. No thanks.
IDK the people i have come across are willing to negotiate rent. and not just that, i found some will throw in other “perks”. there is no way in any other time period i could pull the deal i got right now and get them to do a month to month thing. from what i saw landlords are desperate for “good” tenants and kind of bend over backwards for them.
not saying all are dealing, as you know at OMP i couldnt get anybody to budge and was willing to do a one year lease (the view is that great i wouldnt mind “in-towning” there in january).
i dont know if it is my situation or how i come off but i felt like 80% of what we saw i could have talked the landlords into anything.
Keeping rents high and waiting for the ‘right’ tenant is akin to whistling past the graveyard.
I believe that this building is one of many “cookie cutter” three-flat condos that were being built around the turn of this century along Damen near Diversey. Several local residents took to the streets and the media to protest these buildings and I believe the old Chicago Tribune Magazine even did a favorable article about them. Of course the “cool kids” of the real estate world laughed at these behind-the-times fuddy-duddies.
Last laugh, anybody?
Do the taxes seem high? $8K
is this property off the market???
It’s under contract…
Don’t plan on trying to sell a place while you have tenants living in the unit. Anytime I’ve gone to see a real estate listing inhabited by a renter, it has alway looked and smelled horrible. No tenant would have any incentive to clean up. A successful sale would put their ass out on the street.
I haven’t noticed much more wiggle room from landlords on rents initially but I have found myself in special situations where I have gotten what I’ve asked for from some excellent landlords. I renewed a lease for the 3rd time this year and asked that the rent not be raised and we change the end date of the contract and it was no problem. I figure it is worth a small concession to them b/c we can afford significantly more and we’ve been great tenants.
” I renewed a lease for the 3rd time this year..”
how long are your leases? it doesn’t sound like your landlord is that bright. I guess in your dictionary (and from your perspective) “excellent landlord” = “stupid, pushover”. I don’t give my tenants ANY breaks. If they don’t like it, I tell them, “tough shit – go find somewhere else to live you transients”.
ha, no, this is the third year of the lease. And he is awesome ie – we did not have to clean a thing when we moved in, he and I did an in-depth walk through going over every last item that needed attention and if something breaks it is fixed immediately. It has truely been the best rental I have had in terms of building quality and owner involvement. 3 years, one address is hardly transient.
How is one a pushover if they say, “humm if they move I have to paint and clean and find new tenants, if they stay I forgo a $30 / mo increase in income” sounds like a lot of hassle for upsetting the apple cart. Although if you want to be a douche to your tenants that’s your perogative.
roscoevillager – I was just kidding. Your landlord sounds like a great person. It appears you have a great deal. I hope it lasts – but what happens if he ends up selling. You are out on the streets and may not find a similar place/landlord. You may be S.O.L.
Taxes for the value are whacked! Doesn’t anyone challenge anymore?