Pre Pre-War in the Gold Coast: 70 E. Scott
There are “pre-war” buildings (those that were built before WWII) and then there are “pre pre-war” buildings (those that were built before WWI.)
70 E. Scott in the Gold Coast is one of the latter, as it was built in 1917.
It has all the vintage charm, but, as is common with the pre-war buildings, it lacks parking or a washer/dryer in the unit (but apparently a w/d can be installed.)
But what do you care when you have a view of the lake?
There is a large one bedroom plus den available in the building- at 1200 square feet.
From the listing:
GOLD COAST GRAND VINTAGE VERY LARGE ONE BEDRM & DEN (NOT 2 BEDRM) ON VERY SUNNY SE CORNER. SEE THE LAKE FROM ALL ROOMS ELEGANT LIVING ROOM W/ WBFP.
HARDWOOD FLOORS, HIGH CEILINGS LARGE BEDRM NEW BATH & NEWER KITCHEN. WODERFUL EUROPEAN LANDSCAPED COURTYARD W/GRILL. PETS WELCOME. EXCLUDE ENTRY CEILING FIXTURE. OWNER IS A REALTOR.
Unfortunately, the listing only has one interior picture – of the livingroom- so there’s no way of seeing the “newer kitchen.”
Unit #605: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, den, 1200 square feet
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price
- Currently listed for $458,000
- Assessments of $518 a month
- Taxes of $3210
- No central air- only window units
- Koenig & Strey has the listing
Unit #705, directly above, sold in April 2008 for $446,500. It also sold previously, in June 2002, for $418,000.
Unit #705 is the only unit to sell so far in 2008 in the building.
Public records indicate that the current owner purchased the unit on 11/25/92 for $105,000.
That is a huge one bed in a beautiful bldg in the best neighborhood in Chicago. Such a recent sale indicates that the market is pretty firm for this building, even though it might or might not remain firm through this next wave of resets.
I remember when apts like these sold for still less than for $100K. I could kick myself for not buying, but I was in no position to buy anything back then, really.
“I remember when apts like these sold for still less than for $100K. … but I was in no position to buy anything back then, really”
Yeah, because back then, you had to have 20% down in real cash and make over three times the P&I + assessments and taxes.
That’s an interesting thought. Many of us are too young to remember those days. When I was young, my parents bought their first house, and I distinctly remember my mother sitting next to my great grandmother on the couch, and granma-ma was counting out $100 bills to give to my mother for a downpayment. Oh my, how things have changed today. I’ve known of closings where the buyer gets $5,000. cash back at closing. “Please buy a house and we’ll give you some cash on the side too.” and it wasn’t a straw buyer, I think it was 103% financing where the buyer paid all closing costs but I wasn’t privy to the RESPA. I’m not commenting on the legality of this transaction nor was I involved, I’m just saying I know of situations where that happened.
““I remember when apts like these sold for still less than for $100K. … but I was in no position to buy anything back then, really”
Yeah, because back then, you had to have 20% down in real cash and make over three times the P&I + assessments and taxes.”
G,
Why do you have such ready access to these public records? Where do you get them?
D
I’m not G, but it’s pretty shocking how easy it is….
Look up a property’s PIN at the Cook County Assessor’s website
Then look up the highly personal details about the property at the Cook County Recorder of Deed’s website (ccrd.info)
Or, if the individual has an unusual name, you can search by name at the recorder of deed’s website.
This is one of the reasons why the uber-wealthy hold a lot of assets in trust.
I’m not G but I can answer your question. First, use the address to obtain the PIN from http://www.cookcountyassessor.com
Then look up the PIN at ccrd.info which is the cook county recorder of deeds
remember the seller is the grantor of the warranty deed but the buyer is the grantor of the mortgage. It’s a little confusing reading the docs but after a while you’ll gain some familiarity with reading what is basically a title abstract. Good luck.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that the website charges you download the recorded docs but you can review the abstract for free. You can also look at an electronic copy of the recorded document in the basement of the recorder’s office in the county building for free.
For the longest time I wondered who was buying the new construction and expensive homes in my neighborhood. it actually bummed me out thinking that some of my friends were buying condos but I wasn’t. After I figured the above process out I discovered a lot of people were buying using 95% and 100% financing with crazy loans that reset to 6-month LIBOR + 5% after 2 years of a teaser rate. Those loans were way more prevalent than I had originally thought. I’ve looked up a number of properties in my neighborhood that people bought on terms that I consider to be financial suicide, like buying a $700,000 house with $35,000 down; 2 mortgages, the first an option arm and the second an adjustable rate HELOC. Do your own research for your neighbors and friends you’ll be surprised the crazy stuff you’ll see.
It’s also interesting to see the mortgage fraud houses, like sale for $100,000 in 02; quitclaim from grandma to grandson in ’03; sale for $400,000 in ’03; sale for $550,000 in ’03; lis pendens in 04; judicial sale ’04. And of course there’s always the fraudster who sells the same property to three different people within the same week; or the guy who gets private mortgages for millions on some rinky dink property worth no more than $200k. I could go on forever about this stuff.
Actually, I had the money, but had changed careers, entering something intrinsically unstable but exciting. I simply couldn’t make a large commitment, until I had gained a foothold in my career. If there is anything I don’t want happening to me, it is foreclosure. It’s a worse hit on your credit than even bankruptcy.
And, of course, even if I’d been inclined to take the risk of assuming the payments on a fluctuating income, the lenders then and now want to see stability of income.
Actually, in the 80s, you did not have to have 20%, you could get by with 10%, but the loan-to-income ratio was smaller, no more that 3X your income (which is really too lenient).
For a while, in the early 80s, the S&Ls were writing loans 4X income, with results we all remember. Friends of mine in another city were permitted to borrow slightly more than 4X their combined incomes, at 16%, if you can believe. That is correct, sixteen percent. I’ll give you a couple of guesses as to how long it took for them to end up in foreclosure.
What killed us now is that so many people were written for 5,6, 7X their incomes, on ARM loans. I was personally offered loans of 7X my income. ARM, of course, with 6-month resets. I can’t understand how anyone who made it through 8th grade could think this could work.
IMO, no down is possible and workable if you stick to 2.5X income for someone with little other debt and a good credit history.No down loans have been common since the 1950s on VA and FHA loans, and not until the late 70s did we see rampant house inflation and speculation, with attendant housing busts and waves of foreclosures. It is oversized loans made to people with large debt loads that are certain death even if the buyer brings in a sizable down payment. There are many people facing foreclosure who made significant down payments, then shot their advantage by borrowing TOO MUCH MONEY FOR THEIR INCOME AND DEBT LOAD.
There is no way a buyer making $50K a year can carry $289K. There is no way a buyer making $110K can carry $750K. Yet I saw many loans like this, as I know numerous people in the mortgage business (some of whom are facing regulatory sanctions and fines now).
Worse, though, is the HELOC and cash-out refi abuse. This, I never imagined could happen. I never thought I’d see the banking industry promote pulling the accumulated equity out of your house to buy vacations and cars and swimming pools, or to start a high risk business, or whatever. There was, in 2005, a woman in West Ridge who was literally put out on the street by the sheriff , from a house she bought in 1979, for $60K or so. House was worth about $500K in 2004, or so her lenders thought. She was a $70K a year intensive care nurse. How could she end up being foreclosed and physically evicted from her house? She should have been hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead, but she had borrowed $400K against the place and shot it on God knows what.
People all over the country did this, and they are losing their houses.
All so unnecessary.
I don’t bother lementing my housing woes to my parents. Don’t ask how but they put 40% down on their home. That would be about $150,000 today for me…..
Beautiful building next to my beloved Goudy Square.
My mother put 40% down on hers. If she had not had such a large down payment, we would merely have settled for a lesser house, that’s all.
We looked at #605 and #705. The one that sold for $446K has central air and nicer original details. You can add a combo w/d. The views are amazing and the wood burning fireplace is gorgeous. I wonder how these prices will hold up during the next few years..?
Can you really beat the location, location, location?
paulj, this location will hold up better than any other, but nothing will hold up too well over the next two years. There’s just a glut of places for sale, and the economic climate stinks.
People with the wherewithal to buy are driving very hard bargains.