Get A Bank Owned 2-Bedroom Loft With Parking For Under $140,000: 1645 W. Ogden In The West Loop
We’ve chattered about the distress sales like this 2-bedroom loft in the Paramount Lofts at 1645 W. Ogden in the West Loop before.
The Paramount Lofts has 206 units so it’s taking awhile to work through all the foreclosures.
This loft had a lis pendens filed in 2008 and only become bank owned in March 2012.
At 1100 square feet, it has hardwood floors and the kitchen is intact except for the appliances. It has maple cabinets and granite counter tops.
The bathrooms are marble.
It has a washer/dryer hook-up, central air and a 1-car garage is included.
The unit is listed 47% under its 2006 price at $136,000.
Is this a deal?
Nekesha Burton at Reflective Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #417: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1100 square feet
- Sold in April 2006 for $271,000
- Lis pendens filed in January 2008
- Bank owned in March 2012
- Listed in February 2012 for $136,000 (parking included)
- Assessments of $396 a month (includes doorman)
- Taxes of $2354
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer hook-ups
- Bedroom #1: 15×11
- Bedroom #2: 14×12
Hey all,
Long time reader, occassional commenter. I’m looking to purchase my first place and sent this in as request to get feedback. Any intel regarding the building, neighborhood or any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
A friend of mine lives in the building. Not bad — cement ceilings keep the noise from above down, but the walls between the units are pretty thin. His neighbor complained often about his music, which wasn’t that loud. Still, this seems like a very good deal. The neighborhood isn’t great, but is getting better. If they develop United Center, it could get a lot better relatively quickly.
This seems like a good value on the surface at least. Is the neighborhood OK? I used to drive past this building all the time and the neighborhood seemed fine at the time.
It’s difficult to imagine a situation where the price for a 2/2 with parking in a decent area going for less than $130k.
Not my idea of a perfect place but for what it is, it seems like a reasonable deal. Decent price for a fair amount of space and a garage. Lots of other units are on the market in this building but all are under contract, so why shouldn’t this one sell as well?
Only thing I find hard to believe is that the balcony which appears to look out onto brick walks actually has city views….unless they don’t mean city skyline views and just city alley views.
This building’s pricing has been totally f’d since even I was looking back in 2008, this could quite possibly be the same unit that I saw listed for like 225k back then
seems priced about right now, the unit kinda sucks, no view from the balcony, neighborhood is meh, although within walking distance to Angel’s so thats a bonus!
#520 was a highest and best due last Monday, listed at $125k. Supposedly slightly larger.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1645-W-Ogden-Ave-60612/unit-520/home/39710157
If you’re ok with the neighborhood, you want a new(ish) conversion, and this is your budget, I don’t see how you could do much better in a decent building (assuming the building is in good shape). The balcony is depressing, though.
William I would keep looking. I think there have been a lot of foreclosures and short sales in the building. Don’t let price be the overruling factor when you buy a place.
Balcony is depressing and if the walls or thin that spells trouble…with the prices I can see a lot of 20 somethings living here, bringing all the noise and nonsense these kids today bring, but depending on your situation, that could be okay or a living hell.
If it’s your first place thin walls might be something you can live with for $130K (or less) now and then turn this into a rental property down the line. I looked at a rental here years ago and was on the final list for me.
The neighborhood is fine — not great like LP or actual West Loop but not at all “bad.” It’s on the far edge of West Loop and Ashland/Ogden are busy arterial streets, so it comes with hustle-bustle noise. And west of here is where the ‘hoods get rougher. But it’s a short walk or bus ride east on Madison to restaurants, etc.. Easy commute to the loop and quick access to 290 and 90/94.
You’ll clearly need a car to live around here, but you have awesome access here to Ashland, Ogden, West Loop, the Eisenhower so you can zip around to alot of stuff easily. You can walk to the Mexican Consulate! A Costco opened nearby and it’s far less hassle than the one on Damen/Clybourn.
so the noise from above and below are decently soundproofed but the walls may not be?
Could a new buyer do anything to soundproof the walls more — and how much might that cost?
Given the area and the space, it’s a very good deal for the money.
That said, it has all the flaws of lofts, and none of the beauty, openness, and interest of a fine loft. It’s crude, ugly, difficult to heat, and somehow feels cramped and limited, which is not what lofts are supposed to be all about.
I’ve looked into this property and others through the conglomerate that has the listing and is handling the sale through http://www.hubzu.com. They are absolutely horrible. I purchased one property through them and it was one nightmare after another. They claim to be in Atlanta but are really a call center in India. The agents listing the property know nothing. You rarely get access to view many of the units prior to closing. In this case, the unit in question here is an auction and the price, last time I checked, was up to $164,000. I’d stay away from properties at http://www.hubzu.com to minimize risks with buying a foreclosure.
If walls between units are noisey, just install a layer of Quietrock over the existing drywall. It run a little over $100 a sheet, but if installed CORRECTLY, it does a great job.
We did our whole unit with this stuff and its pretty amazing.
I wish I could get a space like this cheaply enough to totally gut it and build it out myself as I like. It surely needs it, but it would have to be much cheaper to allow for that..
I say ditto to Andy and Mitch, William. Do your due diligence here William. I doubt this is a sound building to buy in. This is the prime example of a building where people bought in 05-06 and thought they were going to make tons of money once the neighborhood turned. Fail.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I hate to rent with these prices and I want to put 15-20 down, so that keeps me in the 150-175 ballpark for now. For the money, I thought this would be a sound purchase and dare I say, investment. While this isnt the most desirable area for myself, its close to the loop and a easy cab ride from my weekend hangouts. I figured the 2 br over 1 br would allow me a longer period to stay there and maybe get a decent return, but perhaps those days are over. I realize in my price range that Im not going to get everything I want. Thanks again everyone!
What a joke. These dumps and every one like it will be going for $80k soon.
Post bubble economics. Imagine if our government propped up internet shares back in 2001. That’s what we have now. You’ll end up a bag holder of theglobe dot com, pets, or webvan. (Unless you think this apartment is somehow “special”.)
This is a well below-average neighborhood, but it is pretty cheap. If you’re young and broke, seems like a decent possibility. I would not be a fan of walking around these blocks late at night.
I’ve seen some real bargains in this building, although I’ve heard its hard to get financing due to the high number of foreclosures; at least it used to be that way – not sure how it is now. Decent location close to UIC, edge of the West Loop, United Center, new Target etc.