New Agent, Higher Price: Chaplin’s Penthouse at 2800 N. Pine Grove
We last chattered about Charlie Chaplin’s former 3-bedroom penthouse at 2800 N. Pine Grove in Lakeview in September 2008, after it had been reduced (again).
The property now has a new listing agent . . . and a new higher listing price.
But interestingly- interior pictures are missing yet again. Still no pictures of the 18-foot high cathedral ceilings.
Coincidence?
Here’s its history:
Unit #PH1: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2200 square feet
- Sold in June 1997 for $163,500
- Sold in September 2000 for $320,000
- Sold in June 2005 for $545,000
- Was listed in January 2008 for $597,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in June 2008 for $565,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in September 2008 for $540,000
- Price increased
- New agent and currently priced at $579,000
- Assessments of $998 a month
- Taxes of $7200
- No parking with the building
- W/D in the unit
- Private rooftop patio
- 18 foot ceilings
Castlekeeper Realty had the listing in September 2008. Sudler Sotheby’s now has the listing. (Since Sudler Sotheby’s website now makes viewers register to see even their own listings- I’m not linking to the actual property page.)
See the few pictures of the patio here.
I saw this property after the last time it was on crib chatter. It is definitely a unique space in a great building (if you like vintage…including a lack of amenities). But:
– the layout is horrible (oddly divided rooms, the lone balcony is far removed from the common space of the unit, etc.)
– the kitchen is crap: elevated above the rest of the unit, cramped and old appliances
– the bathrooms are crap: tiny master bath, both baths need extensive rehabbing
– it wasn’t clear what limits would be in place for rehabbing the unit, given the landmark status of the building (for instance: any parameters around replacing the windows which are quite old and in need of replacement? I could see that being quite costly and possibly annoying.)
In all, I could only see this as a project buy. I wouldn’t want to live in the unit without an almost complete gut rehab. And for the price? Forget it. 400-450 is probably closer, given the work this place needs. I can’t believe they raised the price…
Cause if it didnt sell the first time during a recession, RAISE THE PRICE.
fucking idiots.
We’ve seen this tactic before. Old agent isn’t selling the building because there isn’t a market it for it at its price point.
New agent comes in and sweet talks seller into believing that its not the pricepoint thats the issue but its how its being ‘marketed’ and promises a higher sell price to capture the listing.
After a few months on the market new agent convinces the seller to lower the price in attempt to get a sale.
As G likes to state, “nothing to see here folks, move along”..
BTW, the ceilings and skylights were a very nice aspect of the property when I saw it. Though I never measured or anything, I even thought it possible to build a modest second level in the unit given the ceiling height. Not at all sure of the feasibility of that, though…
I really like the 2000 price 🙂
The taxes at $600 a month are a steal!
hahaha – you would be surprised how often raising the price worked. the only explanation i can offer is that some agents did not even bother to look up the sales/listing history of a property. perhaps it was just being NEW that got in front of more eyeballs. who knows?…but it did used to work. however, today i think those weak agents have been weeded out and buyers are more deeply critical. still check out the balls on that one for trying it in this market….my alpha agent of the week haha
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one end up in forclosure. I believe the owner purchased it for around $550,000 and if you believe the last agent (big if) the owner sunk over $50K in some futuristic air conditioning/humidifier system. The place was really cool (or had the potential to be really the cool). The raised kitchen was awful – and otherwise the place needs a ton of work.
However, everything threw off a wierd vibe – from the agent to the clothing to the furniture to the books lying around. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some hair on this condo lurking in the background.
I agree. The agent, in particular, gave off an extremely weird vibe and shared all sorts of (IMO) unprofessional information. Her boyfriend either owned or rented the place, she had wanted to buy the place herself and fix it up (she shared all of her plans for the place with me), the place had apparently been *this close* to selling nearly 10 times before the deals fell through, etc., etc.
Just from the things the agent said, I couldn’t possibly see myself buying the place…too many what if’s and fishy info. She was a terrible agent…
Ryan said:
However, everything threw off a wierd vibe – from the agent to the clothing to the furniture to the books lying around. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some hair on this condo lurking in the background.
TftInChi,
Just because those are undesirable characteristics for a RE agent doesn’t mean they’re undesirable across the board. Maybe she’s just carrying over traits from her other day/odd jobs. Like dog grooming, hairstyling, babysitting, bartending, etc!
I mean Patty Blagojevich just got her class 3 Real Estate license and was going to be on the board of NASA!
Here we go again… In order to simply SEE the listing Sudler Sotheby’s requires that you REGISTER on their website.
LAME LAME LAME LAME LAME !!!
I’ll keep this in mind next time I need to sell a property. Count me IN among the tens of thousands who simply refuse to register on broker’s websites.
This property closed on Friday for $515,000.
Thanks for the update VB.
It’s tough out there. That’s considerably below the 2005 price.