Loft-Style 3-Bedroom Under the 2003 Price in East Lakeview: 717 W. Briar
This 3-bedroom at 717 W. Briar in Lakeview has been on the market since February 2011.
The building was converted into condos in 2002/2003 and the listing implies that the finishes are not at the level they should be as it offers a “$5,000 upgrade credit.”
Yet the kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
The unit has lofty features like high ceilings, exposed brick and ductwork.
It also has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking.
The unit is listed $5,100 under the 2003 purchase price.
Is this a deal?
Jeffrey Atkinson at Keller Williams Gold Coast has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2W: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1500 square feet
- Sold in January 2003 for $385,000
- Sold in October 2005 for $440,000
- Originally listed in February 2011 for $389,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $379,900
- Assessments of $210 a month
- Taxes of $6375
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer
- Bedroom #1: 18×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×11
- Bedroom #3: 10×9
I don’t really see a living room or dining room. Just a kitchen with some empty space in front of it.
1500 X 200 = 300,000 MAX if that/ UGH. Really dated- just bad, bad, bad.
The “loft-style” description is inappropriate. Exposed brick and high ceilings does not make it lofty….
Another bare facade begging for it’s cornice back. I guess you can get away with it on a 3 story condo building easier than a 2 story row house.
They should get that slanted door fixed.
Anyway, the Redfin comments say it’s not really a 3 bedroom. I think that this is going to need to get to about $320k or lower to sell in the current market. They might be lucky to get $320k from someone the way that things are right now. The space is not that great and the buildout is not really that nice. The location is great but a lot of places have great location.
So 1500 square feet should be selling for $300k now in East Lakeview?
I like that new Redfin comments feature by the way.
For those who don’t know- Redfin has added an agent’s “comments” section so if an agent goes to a property he/she can then give their opinion and it shows up in the listing.
The Redfin comments are interesting but it’s just one agent’s viewpoint (for the most part.) I haven’t seen one yet where more than one agent has commented (though I’m sure there will soon be properties like that.)
It will be most helpful, I think, in cases where they say “there’s water damage in the basement” or something like that.
But won’t it make people NOT go and look at properties themselves if the agent says, “it’s dark and needs updating” (which was the comment on one property in LP lately). What is “dark” for one person, might not be for another. What needs “updating” – again- may not be for another person.
“But won’t it make people NOT go and look at properties themselves”
Sabrina, you give people too much credit. These negative comments from the agents (and they usually are negative) can really turn someone off. I know that I have had my interest drop in some properties after reading some of these comments.
That’s what I’m saying Clio. If the property was fabulous- that agent’s client would be buying it (and then there would be NO comments.) Otherwise- as you said- it is usually something kind of negative in the comments.
So how many homebuyers will pass on looking at a property because an agent writes, “this really isn’t a 3-bedroom”?
A lot.
So it makes a tough market even tougher. I think it’s great to give information. Crib Chatter gives information (both good and bad.) But homesellers will soon fear what the agents say about their properties- I think.
Is it possible it might force agents to be more honest with their listings since there will be the possibility of being “outed?” had that 3rd bedroom been addressed in the listing the comment would be much less biting.
The comment on this one about the 3rd bedroom crossed it off my list, before I even really looked at the photos.
I have seen another listing that had a comment mentioning some water damage. Both times I thought it was useful because it meant I didn’t bother researching any further – I know what I want and I know these aren’t it sooner rather than later.
I’ve also seen comments that were really positive, some mentioning how great the space was or mentioning the finishes being good or the area etc. I agree that it should force agents to be a bit more honest if they don’t want others ‘outing’ them.
“Is it possible it might force agents to be more honest with their listings since there will be the possibility of being “outed?”
No – it is all about getting people to see the property….. Anything you can get them in to see it will continue to be done (no matter how unethical). True, many will be turned off – but some people may actually find something they like about the property and may bite
“I haven’t seen one yet where more than one agent has commented”
Blue code of silence…
Here is a property where the agent had a positive comments.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Glenview/2419-Greenwood-Rd-60026/home/13804673
Btw.. I sincerely really like that doorway, unfortunately it makes me look up and say where is everything else that should go with it on the rest of the building.
I thought I would like the Redfin comment feature as well. However, my experience has been that it is always the same 2 or 3 agents providing fairly meaningless negative comments. The comment on this one is the following:
“3rd bdrm if loft style wall and is really an extension of living room. Converted 9 yrs ago.”
I don’t find that to be all that helpful. Never mind that the comments are short of insightful. Is she so busy that she can’t take the time to write in complete sentences? Are the comments limited (like the MLS) that you can’t spell out entire words?
If you are going to take the time to look at the property, take an extra 3 minutes to provide something that isn’t useless and embarrassing. To me, it’s another example of real estate agents doing themselves a disservice.
“If the property was fabulous- that agent’s client would be buying it (and then there would be NO comments.) Otherwise- as you said- it is usually something kind of negative in the comments.”
I’ve read a number of comments on different properties and generally found the comments to be more positive than not. Maybe that’s just the truth, maybe agents are conditioned to being positive (or those are the kind of people who become agents), maybe they’re trying to attract you the reader to go look at the property with them. Who knows?
There is a distinction in a couple of the agents comment style. Some might focus on negative issues/opinions and others just state facts. I have found comments from this one (Ali) tend to be the negative/opinion kind.
Maybe the comments will actually convince sellers to list their places for reasonable prices. If the description from their own agent is wonderful – they might get a lot of showings – but no offers which is getting their hopes up that they will get their price as they have a lot of traffic. Addtional information from other agents not tied to the property might decrease initial interest – but those who are turned off by the redfin agents comments likely would be turned off by the same things when they see the place. I think overall it will save the time of 2 agents, the buyers and the sellers.
As a buyer, I wish there were more comments. I am looking for a true 3 bedroom that requires no work and going to all of these places just ends up wasting everyone’s time: my agent, the other agent and myself!
Sippie – are you looking in Bucktown?
Is there some tribe somewhere idolizing their shrunken cornices in hopes of extinguishing the vengeful spirits of murdered financial aspirations?
I thought the MLS prohibited comments from anyone other thab the sellers agent precisely because others would bash the property and prevent a sale.
“Is there some tribe somewhere idolizing their shrunken cornices in hopes of extinguishing the vengeful spirits of murdered financial aspirations?”
Why would they replace the cornice when they aren’t replacing all the electric or plumbing? I’d take the modernized mechanicals over a pretty exterior, if given the choice.
“They should get that slanted door fixed.”
LOL looks like the agent was caught naked in the act of using a wide lens camera in an attempt to make it look bigger but instead it just wound up looking like PeeWee’s funhouse!
320k tops.
Err it includes parking..let me adjust to 355k.
“Why would they replace the cornice when they aren’t replacing all the electric or plumbing? ”
duh – because you can’t see the electrical and plumbing and, believe it or not, but most home sales are based on emotion/psychology.
If some agent put up some incomprehensible garbage like this agent did on this property and slamming my house, I’d be pissed.
talk about useless, this lady takes the cake. what ever happened to pride in your work?
I looked at this unit. The ‘3rd’ bedroom really is a den, and you really need to combine it with the living room to make it a nice sized living room. The windows out of both bedrooms look out to walls, so it is indeed kinda dark.
I really liked the building exterior and the location is great, and it has some quirky features like having to drive under the building to get out to an open deeded parking spot in the back. I really wanted to like it, but I passed on it because it wasn’t lofty enough, like ‘a local’ said, and because i’d feel like i was living in a small claustrophobic dungeon.
North of Oakdale, Broadway should be the western border of ELV.
I am not crazy for lofts anyways, but I always assumed to qualify as one, the ceilings should be pretty high at least. There are some nice open lofts that I like but most of these places are just loft wanna bes.
cooktop has no venting, so the owner better not have his living room smoke alarm hooked up. I assume there’s an oven under the island?
The missing cornice and the “modern floor plan (means no living room or dining room) make this a non-starter for me, though that block of Briar is very nice.
Dan – there is usually a mechanical vent that pops up at the top of the cooktop
I thought these comments on a 3/2 vintage condo in Lincoln Park were of the honest, helpful variety:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/607-W-Fullerton-Pkwy-60614/unit-2/home/13350174
Btw, pretty sure it will sell for at least 10-15% more than the 2000 price, so that’s good news for them. OTOH, you can now get a 3/2 (or a 3/3.5–duplex down, but nicer finishes–@ 625 Arlington) in Lincoln attendance boundaries for the low-mid 300s. What does that do for 3 bedroom condos in far inferior neighborhoods/school districts?
“Btw, pretty sure it will sell for at least 10-15% more than the 2000 price, so that’s good news for them.”
So, what were they asking in ’08? $600k?
#1, a DD with an extra bath, but in rougher shape, sold for $292,500 this week.
“If some agent put up some incomprehensible garbage like this agent did on this property and slamming my house, I’d be pissed.”
But, if you took your current condo, put up a wall cutting the living room in half, and listed the place as a 3 br, were I shopping for a 3 br in your area, I’d be pissed to *not* know that the 3d br was a fake.
“But, if you took your current condo, put up a wall cutting the living room in half, and listed the place as a 3 br, were I shopping for a 3 br in your area, I’d be pissed to *not* know that the 3d br was a fake.”
thats great but the agent could word it so that people would understand what is going on in this place… I’m having a hard time figuring out what
“3rd bdrm if loft style wall and is really an extension of living room.”
means
I read the sentence 4 times trying to figure out what they meant to write. Maybe “is” or “has” instead of “if”? Or “3 BR if you count loft-style wall”?
It’s pretty easy to puzzle out what the agent is saying – they sectioned off part of the living space as a 3rd bedroom. (It looks like that’s what they are showing in the 5th picture.) That’s a pretty big issue, and no seller can really legitimately be that upset that someone is making comments about the property they are trying to sell. They might consider themselves that someone would be ok with it, but that person shouldn’t have to be tricked into seeing it to be ok with the concept before having it described to them.
It’s like clio’s approach to privacy – no one needs his permission to say his name or disclose public information that can be tied to him because of what he has posted. Just because someone saying something about a property isn’t liked by the seller doesn’t make it wrong or inappropriate.
Real estate as an asset class is illiquid, has high transaction costs and suffers from incomplete information. Redfin is doing what it can to minimize the effects of the latter two, and I like that.
“Or “3 BR if you count loft-style wall”?”
That’s how I read it, more or less. She obviously went to the IAR seminar: “How to right youre MLS descriptoin the write way 2 attract the most buyerz” and put the information to work.
“I read the sentence 4 times trying to figure out what they meant to write. Maybe “is” or “has” instead of “if”? Or “3 BR if you count loft-style wall”?”
While the description isn’t a model of clarity (other than in realtor world), it seemed fairly clear to me what was meant. Is there any reasonable interpretation other than that the 3rd bedroom has a loft style wall? I would have classified as more or less neutral. It’s factual in nature (I’m not vouching for the truth of it), not particularly positive or negative. I do agree that many of the agent comments are pretty useless. This one actually struck me as more useful.
To be clear, I was actually just curious to figure out what she meant to write. I agree, the meaning gets across just fine.
“To be clear, I was actually just curious to figure out what she meant to write. I agree, the meaning gets across just fine.”
And to be fair, that’s exactly what you wrote. I was responding as much to the general discussion on whether the comments were informative/unfair/etc. as to your particular comment. I needed something to quote, as that is the CC way, and grabbed your comment as most convenient.
I guess proof reading a 2 line comment is too much to ask for in the realtard world
whatever
“I guess proof reading a 2 line comment is too much to ask for in the realtard world”
RF agents don’t (directly) get a split of the commission, so there’s “more focus” on having happy mark…customers. Maybe the nonsensical phrasing is an RF hobo sign.