Over 2 Years Later and Still a Distressed Property: 1655 W. Ontario in West Town
An alert reader pointed out to me recently that this 3-bedroom townhouse at 1655 W. Ontario in West Town that is currently a “short sale” was in “pre-foreclosure” in April 2008 when I first chattered about it.
See the April 2008 chatter and pictures here.
It has been reduced another $290,500 since April 2008.
The townhouse is listed “as-is” and there are now no interior pictures so we don’t know if the kitchen and baths are intact or not.
You can see pictures of the unit from 2 years ago, however, in the old chatter.
The 3-bedrooms are not on the same floor. The master bedroom is on the top floor with the two other bedrooms on the second level.
Anyone know what is going on with this property?
Is this a steal at this price?
This property is also indicative of how long a property can be in distress. It has been 26 months now and still it’s just a short sale.
Pamela Morris at Unlimited Property Management now has the listing. See the listing and exterior picture here.
1655 W. Ontario: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage
- Sold in October 2002 for $646,500
- Sold in April 2005 for $560,000
- Sold in January 2006 for $785,000
- Sold in June 2006 for $890,000
- Was listed in April 2008 as “pre-foreclosure” for $650,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $359,500
- Taxes of $6666
- Bedroom #1: 18×20 (third floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×16 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 9×16 (second floor)
1) Listing has 53 pages of really bad photos attached. From the photos it looks to me like there is mold and curled floor boards.
2) Mold disclosure indicates it has not been tested for mold. Yeah, but read on..
3) They are disclosing a bad furnace and “water leak”
4) Bathrooms and kitchen appear to be intact
5) Listing agent gets kudos for a great sense of humor in the description
You know, it’s one thing for property values to go up and down because people are nuts. That does not constitute a net loss of wealth to the economy – just a wealth transfer. But when so much of the housing stock has been destroyed that’s a real loss.
Oh…the disclosures indicate that the water leak is with the roof and they also disclose defects in the walls and floors (probably from water damage).
Taxes are $6,666. A sign.
Jon – yes, a sign that Iron Maiden is coming back to Chicago.
@Gary
-where are these 53 pages of pictures…are they ‘additional documents’ to the listings? I’m assuming its something like that since youre also refering to the disclosures. Is a way for non-MLS account holders to get access to that. I don’t see it anywhere on RedFin and I’ve never seen it on any other search sites.
It is on MLSconnect but there your agent has to send you the specific listing or it has to come up on one of the pre-defined searches. I’m looking for a independant way to get that information on any lisitng.
Thanks.
2 big negatives/riskfactors to conciders for this building.
1. This stretch of Ontario is basically a partial alley for Ohio-check out Bird’s Eye few and you’ll see. We had discussed another distressed property on the same block in a differnt thread. In the boom years it was acceptable to live like that, ‘because it’s only for a few years and then we’ll make a ton of money’. Think about it, this was a nearly million $ TH on an ALLEY, an alley people.
2. It a TH in an association with just one other unit. An association of 2 is a management pain. Sure its no big deal and just fine when things are just fine. But what happens when there are issues, like say a faulty roof. And the developer still owns the other unit (as per the previous thread on this TH), thats great. I’m assuming the developer will walk away and just liquidate the LLC. Double fail. Actually quadruple if you add in the mold and alley location.
Tom,
Yeah the information that I’m referencing is only available via the MLS. There are still some things you need a realtor for 🙂
These items are attachments. Frankly, I’ve never seen photos done as an attachment before but hey…
stay away this isn’t a deal at all
and nice picture… like you couldn’t wait for it to stop snowing?
ahhhh the boom years and the quality workmanship and building with the extra stringent quality inspections.
one day will will look back and say that was truly the real golden era.
I think the “Anyone know what is going on with this property?” question has been answered. And that answer is “a lot of F’d up sh**”.
i think this video sums it up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U43Ate3Itjs&playnext_from=TL&videos=9xHczV4yCt8
lol this thing has a bidet
“If you’re the one that I’m looking for, the one that I can spend the rest of my life with, call me. .. .. .. .. ”
Because that’s exactly what you’re going to be doing if you buy this thing
here another worry, the sides are cinderblock. That could be the reason for the defects in the walls…(Gary) what were the details in the disclosure?
Tom,
It just has checked material defects or leaks in the roof, chimney, or ceilings and material defects in the walls or floors. And I can see what looks like ceiling mold in one picture and cupped floorboards. It has to be a roof leak. What city that is besieged by snow 9 months out of the year (I exaggerate) builds homes with flat roofs?
I live nearby and remember the 1st time I drove this street… not sure if it’s an alley or a street. And then, it’s over. This one block stretch of paradise is only the 1600 block with Ontario to disappear until back in River North @ Kingsbury. Strange doesn’t even begin to describe this street.
ACTIVITY NEARBY?!?! Looks like the short-sale in front of 1655 Ontario has a pending sale. As for this one, anyone know what kind of money it will take to remove mold damage and repair the source of water damage (cylinder blocks)??