Last One Left: A 4-Bedroom Triplex With Industrial Finishes: 559 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park
This 4-bedroom in The 555 Collection at 559 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park came on the market in March 2021.
Built in 2020-2021, The 555 Collection is a new 4-unit red brick building with grid windows, iron details and cornice in a “nod to Chicago’s Industrial Revolution.”
It has garage parking.
This unit is one of two triplex units.
It has white oak hardwood floors.
The main floor has the living/dining combo and the kitchen, which has luxury finishes including a waterfall island and professional grade appliances.
The second floor has the primary suite and a second bedroom.
The primary suite has a walk-in-closet and a bath with a large, black metal framed shower, marble tile inlay dual vanity with RL lighting and heated floors.
The lower level has the other two bedrooms along with a family room.
The listing says this triplex has a private entrance and private yard.
It has central air and 1-car garage parking.
There is an HOA which covers water and exterior maintenance.
The listing says this is the last available unit (i.e. they have sold 3 out of the 4 units).
Both of the triplexes were listed at $1.45 million.
This industrial, or warehouse style of architecture, is somewhat limited in most of Lincoln Park.
With the quick sale of these units, will developers build more in this style in this neighborhood?
Samantha Porter and Lauren Goldberg at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
559 W. Armitage: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3000 square feet, triplex
- Originally listed in March 2021 for $1.45 million
- Currently still listed at $1.45 million
- Assessments of $200 a month (includes water and exterior maintenance)
- Taxes are “new”
- 1 car garage
- Bedroom #1: 16×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 12×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 12×12 (lower level)
- Bedroom #4: 12×11 (lower level)
- Living room: 28×18 (main floor)
- Kitchen: 19×10 (main floor)
- Family room: 21×15 (lower level)
- Terrace: 12×12 (main level)
Those better be the best windows on the planet, because it is across the street from a firehouse.
Throwing the bullshit flag on 3000sf. Probably 2200sf
That’s one weak assed cornice. Top floor windows should be arched. Just a piss poor attempt at industrial chic
$1.5MM with 2 br in the basement – pass
So what have we learned over the 15 years of Cribchattering?
That new construction HOA, is magically low and ALWAYS, i say ALWAYS, balloons up.
Taxes ‘new’, something also to keep in mind. Example 6 N Michigan had an ‘historic’ tax freeze for 10(or 8) years. Once that went away, apparently current owners forgot or didn’t pay attention and then units that were rarely available somehow everyone was trying to sell in that building.
and BriBri don’t get all condescending and shilly. I am just trying to point out a few things a prospective buyer may(may not) run into that they may just glance past and 80% of used car salesmen RE Agents will not help their clients with or point out. Air hugs, i ain’t bitter.
Between RE taxes,transfer stamps, material cost increases and stagnant wages something has to give. I’m looking at you RE agents with your 6% transaction tax. In this day and age that whole shakedown cartel shouldn’t exist but it’s protected at the national level by the 2nd largest lobbyist spending in the US. Think about that.
“I’m looking at you RE agents with your 6% transaction tax.”
This may be a thing of the past by the end of the decade. Real-Estate tech companies are challenging this in courts under anti-trust laws.
The Justice Department recently settled with NAR on fee disclosures – no more advertising as “free”.
https://www.axios.com/real-estate-fee-showdown-lawsuits-5e88b18c-3baa-4cb0-8302-2a2a8fa16eda.html
“2nd largest lobbyist spending in the US”
Cite, please!
nod to Chicago’s Industrial Revolution
Um, no. (I think what they mean here is a nod to Chicago’s industrial past?)
Living/Dining/Kitchen area seems kinda tight for a $1.5Mish place.
I like that there are bathtubs in 2 of the bathrooms. It’s right there in the name of the room, people; they’re not called showerrooms!
“Throwing the bullshit flag on 3000sf. Probably 2200sf”
You’re too far the other way, JU. Main level is ~750, upper and lower ~800, so it’s ~2350-2400, plus the storage and mechanical, and however you want to count the (partially??) private stairs thru the doors.
“Cite, please!”
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/national-assn-of-realtors/summary?all=2020&id=D000000062
This has them at #3 for 2020 but I know they were #2 other years prior.
@WP, consumers don’t seem to care about RE commissions. Companies have literally been trying to disintermediate the industry for decades with little success on a large scale.
On a typical transaction, commissions are not all that exorbitant. However, I am surprised there aren’t any caps as purchase price increases, but work and costs are not.
I think a big issue is that most people prefer a model where they are only paying for agents when a deal closes vs paying for time. Most people rather agree to pay 6% (Call it $30k on a $500k home) and not be on the hook for that amount unless there is a sale vs say paying an agent $5k regardless if the home sells. The same on the buyer side.
Most buyers are not going to dig into their pocket and pay $5k for an agent who might spends weeks/months working with them… but they don’t mind it when it is coming out of the 6% co-op fee built into the sales price.
“On a typical transaction, commissions are not all that exorbitant. ”
—————————-
In Scotland the brokerage commission is one percent.
In Spain, 1% for an exclusive listing, 2% non-exclusive.
John; Typical net commission is a about 1% here too. Usual listings seem to be 5%. 2.5% to listing agent and 2.5% to buyers agent. Remember, that 2.5% then gets split again between agent and brokerage on each side. So the 2.5% is now 1.25%. So on that $500k condo where the commission is 5%, the $25,000 is getting split four ways.
So the agents get $6250. The Brokerages get $6250. Keep in mind, that is gross as agents are also independent contracts typically. So taxes, expenses, etc are coming out of it.
So that $25,000 doesn’t seem as much when broken down. Keep in mind, a pay day also isn’t guaranteed. So as a consumer, would you rather pay your agent $3000 for their time regardless of a sale or not or let them earn $0 if no sale or $6250, if a sale?
“Um, no. (I think what they mean here is a nod to Chicago’s industrial past?)”
yeah reminiscent of a trip to the slaughter house, except the only thing you’re slaughtering is your net worth
“This has them at #3 for 2020 but I know they were #2 other years prior.”
Thanks. A solid #2 over 23 years tracked, behind only the Chamber of Commerce.
That said–it’s a little misleading–as far as industry-wide lobbying spending, they’re waaay behind a bunch of others, who have more than one org with major lobbying spend. Indeed, on an industry ranking, real estate is just #10 over the 23 years tracked.
“So as a consumer, would you rather pay your agent $3000 for their time regardless of a sale or not or let them earn $0 if no sale or $6250, if a sale?”
Yes, because those are the only two choices.
And, as a consumer, I don’t give a shit about how the splits work, and who gets what–not my issue. If the agents think its unfair, they should renegotiate their deal with their brokerage.
Do you feel bad for a car dealership who only makes $250 (or whatever) when you pay $X for a car? Or do you only care about the number on the check you are writing them for the car?
If a 5-6% gross commission nets only 1% because agents on either side then have to kick up the chain to brokers, then what you have is a pyramid scheme, not an “industry”. There is zero reason for realtors to even exist when lawyers and listings are easily available and searchable. I’m sure NAR has sent talking points to all their minions down the pyramid to refute the obvious.
@Anon, you are not required to use an agent to buy or sell. The reality is that people want representation, but they don’t want to pay for it. There are plenty of alternative models available but people still overwhelmingly choose traditional agents. Gary offers some phenomenal rebates and alternative models.
You can easily pay to have a listing put on MLS. Hold your own open houses. Do your own negotiating, etc. Plenty of FSBO kits around. Even Redfin had to walk back some of their rebates on some lower priced properties when the reality of running a brokerage/cost involved kicked in.
The point is people say one thing, but do something else. I think a lot of the complaints are driven by people pocket watching. They see an agent making X and they think it is too high out of jealousy (admittedly, many agents aren’t the most impressive people)…
If it were so easy and the margins so obscene and undeserved, the industry would have been disintermediated a long time ago.
Russ,
I hear ya, but to expand on anon(ufo)’s comment about only 2 choices.
The system is *designed that we “have to” go through an agent/brokerage for sale. That’s the real problem, the current structure not the percentage.
As Ed says, if I got a good lawyer (oxymoron)and my bank is a go for the loan why do I need an agent especially in this digital age?
Not saying some can benefit or would rather offload the work to a RE Agent, but the majority can do this themselves but the current structure and requirements heavily sway against this with much friction.
do not get me started on the scam of the home inspectors.
“ @Anon, you are not required to use an agent to buy or sell. The reality is that people want representation, but they don’t want to pay for it. There are plenty of alternative models available but people still overwhelmingly choose traditional agents. Gary offers some phenomenal rebates and alternative models.”
People want value. Some of the schlock posted is flat out embarrassing and calls into question what value they’re actually providing
Throw in fuck fuck games realtors play with FSBO or Buying w/o an agent and people think they need an agent, especially as it’s usually their biggest purchase
Most people chose the realator model because they don’t know better and everybody else does it. They do a pretty good job marketing
How much harder is it to sell a $1m house than a $200k condo?
Sure, the pix are more expensive, maybe a stager involved, etc. But it’s fundamentally not harder.
You know another industry that used to say the same thing? Stock brokerage. See, eg: https://www.businessinsider.com/historical-trading-commissions-2014-3 wherein the costs of a trade have dropped 80-90%.
Yeahyeah, frequency, etc, makes things different, but that still doesn’t justify the difference between $10k on the condo and $50k on the house.
It should, at least, be a sliding scale:
$10k floor, 1% over $250k, and in some cases include an incentive for sale over X or closing *before* Y (with price at/above X), or whatever.
@Anon, I agree that the commissions start getting absurd on the higher priced properties. Really surprised there isn’t a cap on commissions. Typically, on the mortgage side there is a cap.
It’s interesting how few of my friends even pay attention to the fees involved in selling. They see that their Zestimate increased and get excited without seeming to understand that they will likely have to pay 10% of the house’s value to sell (between taxes and realtor fees). I am also still baffled by friends who seem to think that prices only go up. Everyone just assumes that they’ll get more when they go to sell than they paid, but that’s so often not the case anymore. I want my next place to my forever home because I don’t want to throw away thousands of dollars on more fees and taxes. Don’t get me started on the damn closing costs when you buy or refinance. I was going to refinance until I did the calculations and realized that it would make better financial sense to invest the equivalent of the closing cost in an index fund.
I drove by here recently and felt shocked that anyone with lots of money would choose this location. It’s right up against Armitage. CTA buses are about 20 feet from your windows.
That’s reason enough to skip this one. The architectural “design” is also questionable. Not sure why the architect didn’t try harder to fit it in with other buildings, but these stick out like a sore thumb.