Crib Chatter

This bank owned vintage 2-flat at 3550 S. Parnell in Bridgeport recently came on the market.

It appears to have a lot of the bells and whistles a landlord might be looking for in a rental property.

Built in 1891, the 2 unit building consists of the following:

• Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 1 bath
• Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 1 bath

There is also a 2-car garage and each unit has separate utilities.

From the pictures it looks like they have separate dining rooms as well as in-unit washer/dryers.

The building is also just a few blocks from U.S. Cellular Field.

Is this a deal?

Barbara Thouvenell at P.R.S. Associates has the listing. See the pictures here.

3550 S. Parnell: 6 bedrooms, 3 baths (don’t know where the 3rd bathroom is located- maybe the basement?), 2 car garage

• Sold in August 1988 for $80,000
• Sold in July 1993 for $118,000
• Sold in June 1999 for $150,000
• Sold in June 2005 for $330,000
• Sold in March 2007 for $440,000
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in June 2009
• Bank owned in February 2010
• Currently listed for $288,900
• Taxes of $4677
• Separate utilities

This bank-owned 3-flat at 1216 N. Rockwell in East Humboldt Park (also known as West Town in the MLS) is currently listed for 80% under the 2007 purchase price.

There are no interior pictures so we don’t know the condition of the units.

The building was built in 1878.

Here are the unit sizes:

1. Unit #1: 1 bedroom, 1 bath garden unit
2. Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath
3. Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath

This is a cash only sale.

The listing says not to disturb the occupants.

Additionally, an “eviction process will need to be implemented. Seller may not be able to convey possession at closing.”

There is no mention of a garage or any parking.

Could this be a steal for a savvy renovator and landlord wannabe?

Ayoub Rabah at Great Street Properties has the listing. See the exterior pictures and listing here.

• Sold in August 1994 for $88,500
• Sold in September 1997 for $148,500
• Sold in February 2007 for $785,000
• Lis pendens in November 2008
• Bank owned in October 2009
• Originally listed in April 2010 for $169,900 (cash only)
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $159,900 (cash only)
• Taxes of $5450

This fee simple townhouse at 648 W. Willow in Lincoln Park was built in 1982.

Therefore, its layout is a little different than what you would find in townhouse construction today.

It has numerous levels with the living room and the kitchen on the main level and the dining room and great room on the second floor.

Both bedrooms are on the upper floor along with a bath and a half.

There are stainless steel appliances in the kitchen along with white cabinets and white counter tops.

There are similar cabinets and counter tops in at least one of the baths that is pictured.

There is a first floor patio and a 1-car garage.

Is this a good condo alternative in Lincoln Park?

Mary Gott at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #N: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1 car garage, no square footage listed

• Sold in May 1988 for $212,000
• Sold in February 1996 for $230,000
• Sold in August 1999 for $329,000
• Originally listed in February 2010
• Listed in April 2010 for $475,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $465,000
• Taxes of $4868
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 12×16
• Bedroom #2: 10×16

We’ve chattered about a bunch of flippers recently who have been buying foreclosed condos and single family homes on the cheap and then attempting to flip them (sometimes without any renovations.)

Some have been successful, some have not yet sold.

But now there is apparently a new breed of flipper: the luxury condo flipper.

Crain’s is reporting on a buyer at the Elysian, at 11 E. Walton, in the Gold Coast:

An options trader is taking a gamble on the Elysian Hotel & Private Residences, paying more than $7.25 million for a condominium in the Gold Coast skyscraper that he hopes to flip for more than $10 million.

Igor Chernomzav, a co-founder of Hard Eight Futures LLC, bought a 12,000-square-foot unit on the 56th and 57th floors of the 60-story tower at 11 E. Walton St., which also features a 188-room hotel, according to property records.

Mr. Chernomzav, 33, who paid cash for the five-bedroom, two-level condo, plans to remodel the unit and put it back on the market, according to Tricia Fox of residential real estate firm Keller Williams, which brokered the sale.

The asking price will be between $10 million and $11 million, Ms. Fox says.

This is the second unit Mr. Chernomzav has purchased in the Elysian, after paying a reported $8.18 million in March for a 52nd-floor unit, which he is also remodeling. Whether he also plans to flip that condo could not be determined.

These are prices rarely seen in Chicago real estate.

According to the MLS, no condo units, other than these two purchases, have sold for over $7 million in the last 2 years in the North Side/Gold Coast/Streeterville neighborhoods.

Even if you go down to $5 million, it’s still a rare sale which includes another property in the Elysian which closed in March and a sale in the Palmolive for just over $5 million.

Mr. Chernomzav has paid the highest prices for units in the Elysian, surpassing the $6.88 million that James McNulty, former CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, paid in January for a 7,400-square-foot condo on the project’s 37th floor, according to property records. Mr. McNulty didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Buyers have closed on 31 of the 51 residential condo units in the building, says developer David Pisor, who in November was forced to abandon a plan to also sell the 188 hotel units in the building.

Was this a good investment with the luxury market starting to show some life in Chicago?

Trader pays over $7.25 million for Elysian condo, plans to flip it [Crain’s Chicago Business, Andrew Schroedter, May 17, 2010]

You don’t see many terraces like the one at this penthouse loft unit at 375 W. Erie in River North.

We’ve chattered about it several times as it sold in August 2008 and then returned to the market in March 2010.

See our original January 2008 chatter from the first sale and pictures here.

It has sold again.

The loft unit has 11 foot high ceilings, hardwood floors and skylights.

But it’s the 1000 foot private terrace that is the real attraction of the property.

Le Sigh.

James Faircloth at Prudential Rubloff had the listing.

Unit #610: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1800 square feet

• Sold in May 1998 for $328,500
• Sold in April 2003 for $560,000
• Listed in January 2008 for $680,000 (plus $35,000 for parking)
• Reduced
• Was listed in March 2008 for $655,000 (plus $35k for parking)
• Reduced
• Was listed in July 2008 for $585,000 (plus $35k for parking)
• Sold in August 2008 for $570,000 (included the parking)
• Was listed in March 2010 for $549,500 (plus $35,000 for parking)
• Sold in May 2010 for $550,000 (included the parking)
• Assessments of $521 a month
• Taxes of $6446
• 11 foot high ceilings
• Skylights
• Central Air
• In-Unit Washer/Dryer

This 3-bedroom penthouse unit at 1700 W. Chicago in West Town has been on and off the market since September 2008 and has had several reductions.

It is currently listed for $33,100 under the 2005 purchase price.

Converted into condos in 2002, the unit has 3 decks, all with skyline views.

The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

There are hardwood floors.

It is almost as large as many single family homes at 1900 square feet.

It also has 2 parking spaces.

Peter Krika at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #B: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1900 square feet, 2 parking spaces

• Sold in December 2002 for $340,500
• Sold in August 2006 for $432,000
• Originally listed in September 2008
• De-listed
• Re-listed in September 2009 for $429,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $398,900
• Assessments of $249 a month
• Taxes of $4706
• Central Air
• Washer/dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 15×22
• Bedroom #2: 13×16
• Bedroom #3: 12×15

This post is for G who requested a special category be created over 2 years ago called “knife catchers” so we could track this property at 3024 N. Sheffield in Lakeview which was mentioned in an article in Smart Money Magazine about taking advantage of declining home prices in March 2008.

See our March 2008 chatter here.

The condo has returned to the market just about 3 years later.

From Smart Money Magazine:

INDIFFERENT TO THE bleak real estate headlines, 26-year-old Michael Klauer and his fiancée recently bought a two-bedroom condo in the desirable Lake View neighborhood in Chicago. They weren’t in a rush to buy, but when an opportunity presented itself only a month after they started looking, they jumped on it.

The apartment, listed at $519,000, was theirs for only $480,000 — an initial offer they didn’t back down from, even though they knew the seller had bought the place 10 months earlier for $512,000. Factoring in the broker’s fee and sales taxes, the seller lost more than $44,000 on that deal, according to the couple’s realtor, Jay Michael, owner of the Estate Property Group in Chicago.

“We leveraged the fact that they’d already moved out and were in a [financial] struggle to keep two places,” Klauer says. And even though the condo’s value may drop further, the couple wasn’t concerned since they plan to live in the place for at least three to five years. “It was a good time to buy,” he notes. “Prices are on the down low, and it’s something I could sit on for a while.”

The unit is currently listed for just $9,000 above the 2007 purchase price.

The 2-bedroom unit has all the bells and whistles of newer construction, as this building was built in 2006.

The kitchen has granite counter tops, cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The bathrooms are marble.

There is also a wood burning fireplace and plantation shutters.

Parking is included in the price.

Jay Michael at Estate Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #3N: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in July 2006 for $509,000
• Sold in June 2007 for $480,000
• Currently listed for $489,000
• Assessments of $135 a month
• Taxes of $7333
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Parking included
• Bedroom #1: 16×15
• Bedroom #2: 12×12 

Buying in a Rocky Housing Market [Smart Money Magazine, Aleksandra Todorova, Mar 3, 2008]

Several of you pointed out to me that the “Castle” on the Kennedy- or actually- 3721 N. Parkview Terrace in Irving Park, which is easily seen from the Kennedy, has just come on the market.

It was also highlighted in this weekend’s Chicago Tribune Elite Street column.

Rudy Acosta, the onetime head of a Chicago hip-hop recording company, constructed the five-bedroom house from 2006 until 2010 on land he purchased from the Illinois Department of Transportation in 2000. Almost immediately, Acosta’s neighbors complained to city officials about the 42-foot height of the three-story brick and limestone house, which Acosta never occupied.

“It’s out of scale of the neighborhood and does not fit with the context of the neighborhood,” said neighbor Sharon Sears. “Most homes in our area don’t even come close to maximizing the zoning allowed for our lots.”

In 2002, Acosta had won rezoning that would permit a much larger and taller home to be built. Neighbors contend that the land was rezoned without notifying them.

The house is not completely finished. The listing says it is its “drywall state” on 3 floors.

At 7000 square feet, it is built on an extra large 131x124x71 lot.

The listing says the master bedroom takes up the entire top floor.

Beverly Fishman at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.

3721 N. Parkview Terrace: 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, 7000 square feet, 2 car parking

• Currently listed for $1.89 million
• Taxes of $4069
• Central Air? (it’s unclear if it’s already installed)

This 3-bedroom vintage cottage house at 1833 N. Sheffield in Lincoln Park has seen its price double every 11 years since 1988 . . . until now.

Built in 1902, two of the bedrooms are on the second floor and the third bedroom is being used as a family room with views to the landscaped garden.

It has a kitchen/dining room open concept and a two car garage.

The kitchen has been updated and has granite counter tops.

Yes, that’s the El right behind the garage.

Beth Allen Tiernan at Allen Teirnan Real Estate has the listing. See the pictures here.

1833 N. Sheffield: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2520 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in August 1986 for $101,350
• Sold in October 1988 for $235,000
• Sold in May 1999 for $449,500
• Originally listed in August 2007
• De-listed in September 2008
• Originally listed in April 2010 for $749,000
• Currently listed for $749,000
• Taxes of $12,271
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 15×14 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 11×10 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 18×13 (main level- used as a family room)

All the housing blogs are talking about this article in the Chicago Tribune discussing unintentional landlords.

When Ed Amaya put his Oak Park bungalow up for sale in mid-2007, homes in his neighborhood sold in a matter of days, weeks at the most.

We had some showings; got close to a deal,” recalled Amaya. But as the housing market soured, a sale proved elusive. So Amaya agreed to rent it to a family that was not in a position to buy.

“We stayed in that pattern for a couple of years,” said Amaya, who expected real estate to rebound. “But guess what? The market got worse.”

If you can’t sell, many homeowners are thinking they can become landlords. But the rental market isn’t great either.

So many residences are now for lease that there is “a saturated rental market,” with more available units than potential tenants, said Jeanine McShea, president of brokerage services for @Properties.

“Many people are renting out property, but most are not making money,” said Sara Benson, a principal in Chicago-based Benson Stanley Realty.

And then there are the costs of being a landlord not just in maintenance but in not-so-great tenants who don’t pay their rent.

Owners should assume 1 to 1.5 percent of the sales cost will be necessary to put a home in selling shape when a tenant leaves, said Mario Greco, senior broker and vice president of sales at Prudential Rubloff Properties. Factor in two months of vacancy because “tenants lose their jobs,” he said.

The most important costs for some are also the hardest to quantify: the time and patience necessary to deal with renters.

“Be ready for annoyances you never dreamed of,” said Greco.

Should you be renting out your property in the hopes of the market “coming back” in a few years?

Renting what you can’t sell [Chicago Tribune, Sharon Stangenes, May 16, 2010]