Crib Chatter

Park Place Tower is a 901 unit high-rise at 655 W. Irving Park Road in Lakeview. Built in 1973, it has a large outdoor pool.

It also has “cabanas” lining the pool that are apparently up for sale.

2 are currently listed on the MLS including this one that has a “totally redone shower” and a sink in the kitchen.

It is not a condo- but a cabana with pool rights.

What will someone pay to have access to a pool all summer long?

Chuck Ginsberg at Solfire Realty LLC has the listing. See some pictures of the pool area here.

Unfortunately- there aren’t any of the inside of the cabana- but you can see where they are located in the pictures of the pool.

Unit #CO26: cabana

• Sold in August 2003 but I couldn’t find a prior sales price
• Listed in April 2008 for $42,000
• Currently still listed for $42,000
• Assessments of $14 a month
• Taxes of $63
• Living space: 14×7
• Pool Rights

I read somewhere that there are only 22 single family homes in Chicago located directly on Lake Michigan.

Correct or not, it is rare to have a property directly on the lake within the city limits.

This 4-bedroom home at 7237 S. South Shore Drive in the South Shore neighborhood is apparently one of those unique properties.

The house has 2 PIN numbers with one of the lots extending all the way to the lake.

Built in 1903, the house has a wood burning fireplace and wood beamed ceilings on the first floor.

One thing it’s missing is a garage. But it has three parking spaces on the driveway.

Oh- and it’s got a pretty nice beach.

Tracey Taylor at Rubloff has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.

See the property website here (check out the additional pictures of the backyard and lake area.)

7237 S. South Shore Drive: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2587 square feet, 3 parking spaces

• Sold in October 2007 for $1.2 million
• Currently listed for $1.5 million
• Taxes of $7113
• Central Air
• Full unfinished basement
• Bedroom #1: 17×13
• Bedroom #2: 10×10
• Bedroom #3: 12×12
• Bedroom #4: 15×12

Crain’s reports that the Feds have indicted 10 people in a mortgage fraud scheme involving purchases of condos at 33 W. Ontario, or Millennium Centre, the River North high rise developed by American Invsco.

Acting together, the investors provided false information about their employment, income and assets to secure the loans to finance seven condos and two townhomes at Millennium Centre, a 59-story tower at 33 W. Ontario St., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The indictment is one of five mortgage-fraud cases involving more than $48 million in loans that the U.S. attorney’s office announced Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Mhde Askar, 23, of Chicago, and Mahmoud Saleh, 35, of Hinsdale, formed a company to buy units in the 363-unit tower and profited by collecting mortgage rebates from the developer and flipping the units for a profit to handpicked buyers.

To obtain the fraudulent loans, the pair enlisted the help of Ahmad Karkukly, 33, of Palatine, a loan officer at Countrywide Home Loans Inc., the indictment says.

Mr. Askar was originally arrested in 2008 and is free on bail, court records show. One of his lawyers, Loop attorney Michael F. Clancy, could not be reached for comment. An attorney representing Messrs. Saleh and Karkukly was unavailable.

Fed: Fraud used to get loans for Streeterville condos [Crain’s, Alby Gallun and Thomas A. Corfman, June 23, 2009]

It’s that time of the month again, where we get the sales update on the Chicago market.

According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, May sales continued their year over year slide. Median price also plunged.

In the city of Chicago, May total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were up 11.5 percent to 1,537 sales compared to April 2009 sales of 1,378; sales were down 27.5 percent from 2,119 homes sold in May 2008.

The city of Chicago median price increased 2.3 percent to $225,000 in May compared to $220,000 in April 2009; it was down 29.5 percent from $319,000 a year ago in May 2008.

Is the 29.5% year over year median price decline the largest Chicago has ever seen? No one at the IAR or the Chicago Association of Realtors is saying.

“We’re encouraged to see the bank-owned inventory moving in the marketplace, indicating buyers are finding good bargains, especially in single family homes and flats,” said David Hanna, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.

“The city of Chicago condominium sales numbers continue to reflect a critical need for governmental agencies to review the growing disparity in the ability to finance a condominium purchase in the city. This affordable housing will become unaffordable and unattainable to many qualified first-time homebuyers in the city of Chicago unless existing federal guidelines, which do not take into account nuances of the local market, are modified.”

Illinois Association of Realtors [Press Release, June 23, 2009]

We last chattered about this authentic brick penthouse loft at 333 S. Des Plaines in the West Loop 16 months ago- in February of 2008.

At that time, it was priced so that the sellers would receive quite a bit of appreciation since the purchase in September 2004.

See our prior chatter and pictures here.

Since then, it has been reduced $81,000.

The loft is on the top floor of the building and the listing says it has roof rights.

It has three full-sized bedrooms, lots of exposed brick and a true living/dining entertainment area. It also has 14 foot ceilings.

Is this loft finally priced to sell?

Martin Winefield at @Properties now has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #707: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1900 square feet

• Sold in July 2005 for $500,000
• Was listed in February 2008 for $625,000 plus $25,000 for parking
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $539,000 plus $30,000 for parking
• Assessments of $471 a month
• Taxes of $5866 
• Bedroom #1: 20×14
• Bedroom #2: 15×10
• Bedroom #3: 12×10

This 1942 Tudor house at 6759 N. Wildwood in Wildwood looks vintage on the exterior, but the interior reveals a new family room addition to the back of the house with a renovated modern kitchen.

Wildwood is a small, unique neighborhood on the Northwest side of the city with single family homes and streets with no curbs. It is known for its lush greenery, including mature trees, and for the nearby forest preserve.

The house has a library, a wood burning fireplace and skylights.

Ann Boyle at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See more pictures here.

Or see the house in person at the Open House: June 28 from 1 to 3 pm.

6759 N. Wildwood: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, no square footage listed, 1 car garage

• Sold in September 1989 for $205,000
• Originally listed in March 2009 for $899,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $869,000
• Taxes of $9340
• Central Air
• Family room: 27×13
• Bedroom #1: 18×15
• Bedroom #2: 15×15
• Bedroom #3: 15×15
• Bedroom #4: 14×13

This 4-bedroom Victorian house at 1354 W. Webster in Lincoln Park has a big selling point: its lovely backyard.

And be sure to check out the stylish garage.

The listing says the backyard was previously featured on the Sheffield Garden Walk and has its own irrigation system.

The 1900-built Victorian house has 4 bedrooms, with 3 of the bedrooms on the second floor, and a renovated chef’s kitchen.

Carol Duran at Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures and a virtual tour here.

The Rubloff listing doesn’t have pictures of the garden/backyard, for some reason – so click here to see those pictures.

1354 W. Webster: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage

• Sold in August 1996 for $355,000
• Sold in June 1998 for $385,000
• Sold in May 2000 for $592,000
• Public records indicate it sold in 2003 but I can’t find a price
• Listed in April 2009 for $849,900
• Currently still listed at $849,900
• Taxes of $9769
• Central Air
• Living room: 17×11
• Dining room: 11×10
• Office: 11×7
• Kitchen: 19×11
• Bedroom #1: 15×13
• Bedroom #2: 11×10
• Bedroom #3: 15×13
• Bedroom #4: 11×11

We’ve chattered about the Galewood neighborhood, located in the western part of the city near Oak Park, several times before.

It’s made up predominantly of bungalows and has access to downtown through several Metra train stops.

This 1951 all-brick tudor at 1931 N. Normandy recently came on the market as a bank-owned property.

It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a full basement. While it’s missing central air, it does have a garage.

It’s also within walking distance of the Mars Metra stop.

The listing says it needs some “minimal updates” but that the interior is in overall “good condition.” There are no pictures of the kitchen in the listing.

Is this a steal at this price?

Coya Smith at Smith Partners & Associates has the listing. See the pictures here.

1931 N. Normandy: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 1.5 car garage

• Sold in August 1991 for $123,000
• Sold in May 1997 for $134,500
• Sold in May 2006 for $405,000
• Sold in January 2007 for $459,000
• Bank-owned as of October 2008
• Currently listed for $199,500
• Taxes of $4097
• No central air
• Bedroom #1: 14×10
• Bedroom #2: 12×11
• Bedroom #3: 11×10
• Bedroom #4: 12×10
• Basement/family room: 23×15

Wells Street Tower, at 701 S. Wells, in the South Loop was the hot new construction building of its time in 2002, when there was little new product in the Printers Row neighborhood.

This 2-bedroom corner unit is on a high floor and has northeast views of both the city skyline and the lake.

It has some upgrades, including bamboo floors in both bedrooms and 42-inch cabinets in the kitchen.

Can this unit compete with the Vetro price cuts right next door?

Nick Hira at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #3001: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1263 square feet

• Sold in October 2002 for $358,500 (included the parking spot)
• Sold in December 2003 for $396,500 (included the parking spot)
• Originally listed in May 2009 for $394,000 (parking $40k extra)
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $389,000 (parking $40k extra)
• Assessments of $746 a month (includes heat, air conditioning, cable/internet)
• Taxes of $5114
• Washer/Dryer in the unit

University Commons is the huge restoration of 6 buildings into concrete lofts at 1000 W. 15th Street (and several other addresses) in the University Village neighborhood.

The development has a total of 824 units.

The developer has been marketing 1, 2 and 3-bedroom loft units for several years. The original sales pitch was that buyers got a tax freeze because it was a historic property.

Several units have recently appeared on the market from the developer with significant price reductions.

I don’t know if the price cuts are limited to select units or if they will be slashing on all the remaining available units to finally close out the project.

This small 2-bedroom, 2-bath was just reduced $40,000 and is now listed $70,000 under its July 2008 list price.

Unit #130: 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, 966 square feet

• Originally listed in July 2008 for $319,900 (parking extra)
• Reduced several times
• Was listed on June 17, 2009 at $289,900
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $249,900 (parking is extra)
• Assessments of $304 a month
• Taxes of $2200
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 14×11
• Bedroom #2: 10×9
• Ralph Olivia at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures of the development here.

University Commons [website]