Reductions Abound in the $600,000 Price Range: 1013 W. Webster
If you think it’s tough to sell a condo for $450,000- try the $600,000 to $700,000 price range.
This is the range where we’ve seen the most price reductions- even in Lincoln Park.
1013 W. Webster #7 in the DePaul neighborhood of Lincoln Park seems to have it all: location, a low assessment and even two car garage parking.
But it’s been reduced twice since March.
Here’s the listing:
Magnificent, historic timber ceiling 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhome condo that has been recently rehabbed. Pride of ownership is evident in every last detail. Exposed brick. Beautiful chef’s kitchen.
2-car attached private garage with tons of storage. Fantastic penthouse 30×15 master suite with woodburning fireplace, marble steam showers, cedar walk-in closet, side by side washer/dryer, laundry room. Home is second to none in a prime location.
Unit #7: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car private garage with storage
- Sold in July 2006 for $685,000
- Originally listed in March 2008 for $685,000
- Reduced
- Listed in April 2008 for $659,000
- Reduced in June 2008
- Currently listed for $649,000 (includes the two car garage)
- Assessments of $185 a month
- I can’t find tax information- new construction in 2006???
- Coldwell Banker has the listing
This is just plain ugly and there are many other choices.
Obviously it isn’t selling because it’s being offered for a loss. And we know that nothing in LP (not on major streets) will sell for a loss. Wait, this is probably within the exception for “conversions”; or maybe it’s too far west; or maybe Webster is a major street. All the exceptions leave me confused about the rule.
Do the Flintstones occupy the living room?
I think its a beautiful building and unit. I really like the way the unit was remodeled and painted, too. Unfortunately for the seller, I’m not nor will be in the market for any unit near this price range in the foreseeable future. Although thats an odd place to put a TV.
Above the fireplace is actually one of the more popular place to put flatscreens. Unless you’re talking about the bedroom?
With a purchase price of $686,500 and two mortgages at $549,200 and $102,750, he put down about 4%. I suspect that either one or both of his loans has/will reset and he’s looking to get out. I would bet money that the second mortgage is an ARM HELOC. I’ll check out the loan docs at the recorder’s office later today (if I have time after returning from court).
Also the cook county assessor has this property addressed as 1011 W. Webster #7; there is no 1013; there is a 1015 but no units, and it appears to be executed in September ’06 for $686,500.
“Although thats an odd place to put a TV.”
And they did it twice. In the bedroom it seems particularly strange, as the bed may be outside of the field of view — about 45 degrees from perpendicular.
“In the bedroom it seems particularly strange”
There appears to be a sofa (behind the bed in the pic) facing the tv and fireplace. But (1) who wants to look up constantly to watch tv? and (2) abnormal heat (like fireplace heat) is bad for LCDs and plasmas–if those fps actually get used, it will ruin the tvs.
The last two pictures are both of the same bedroom. That white sofa is almost too close to the TV (especially being mounted 5′ off the floor).
Right next to the L, though the brick construction might mitigate the noise issue.
Decorations alone (like the mounting of a big TV) really shouldn’t have bearing on the value or even the marketability of a place, so I’m not sure why people seem to make a big deal of ripping on the staging of the properties featured here..
Beautiful living room floors, which are a waste in this ugly place.
Hideous, ratty building.
I don’t care if it IS Lincoln Park, I just can’t cotton to the idea of $600K plus for an ugly, over-the-store apt in an ugly building on a treeless commercial strip.
The only reason it sold for $686,500 was because a greater fool financed 96% of the purchase price. I’d bet it was bought based on the monthly payment alone. I can hear it now:
“You can refinance or sell after two years; real estate only goes up in value. Buy now or be priced out forever.”
Placement of the TV IS a big deal because when it’s over the fireplace, it’s usually because there’s nowhere else to put it in the room at a comfortable, lower height. This is a big problems with a lot of condos with small living rooms that have fireplaces right in the middle of the room. The only option is to mount the TV above the fireplace which makes it way to high to view when sitting or laying down. When I bought my current condo, the biggest selling point was the size of the living room and the guest bedroom. Every other place I looked at had a living room that could barely fit a loveseat and chair and the guest bedrooms couldn’t fit a full size bed and a desk.
I wouldn’t say this is right next to the el — wouldn’t 1013 be on the other side of Sheffield from the el?
Unit 5 sold for $635k in early 2007. Looks like the buyer of unit 7 jumped the gun and over paid. Would you like me to list another 5 closing this week in LP that were profits?
“Would you like me to list another 5 closing this week in LP that were profits?”
Yes, as you have said repeatedly was possible, but never followed through. Won’t hold my breath, tho.
yes, this is west of sheffield… so I don’t think the L is a big deal:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=60614&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=41.923538,-87.653775&spn=0.005763,0.010686&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.921685,-87.654075&panoid=DU3KpuRuk_HAxcdeYgG3ig&cbp=1,163.66062647093156,,0,-10.438388389895744
I’d be interested if Steven could find five (or one) closing in LP that is a profit relative to a 2005 or 2006 purchase. The last list included people who had owned since the 1990s.
“I’d be interested if Steven could find five (or one) closing in LP that is a profit relative to a 2005 or 2006 purchase”
Stevo’s given us one or two of these, but he has also repeatedly stated that he could easily find 5 winners for every loser (excluding certain losers, which don’t count for various reasons). When asked to put up, Stevo says “do your own research”.
Definitely not next to the el (west of sheffield on the south side of the street), and there appears to be a tree in the first picture.
The TV placements are definitely terrible. I remember seeing some of the 1 bdrm/smaller unit listings in this building when they were being converted. The layouts definitely left something to be desired.
Ryan and Aaron,
In a wood frame house with old windows, the 24-hour Red Line a block away traveling at full speed (no station at Webster) would be loud indeed. In this, its probably not too distracting, but still present.
This building doesn’t insulate against noise any better than a frame structure. In fact, wood absorbs more sound.
If it’s next to the el, it is very noisy, and it will really tear your nerves up after a time. I stood in the condos next to the tracks, on Leland close to Broadway in Uptown, and the noise is horrid, and it’s 24/7, every 5 minutes at rush, every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the night. It’s one thing to live close to a line that runs maybe once an hour, but quite another to have an el screeching past every 15 minutes.
And you can even hear the noise of trains on high floors of the glossy new highrise in Evanston that is right next to the tracks, on a high floor no less. It is really difficult to totally soundproof a building against that type of noise.
Think about it before you marry a place right next to the tracks. Either you can deal with it or you can’t.
I can marry a place next to the el tracks but not for $650k. I lived next to the el during college and let me tell you, no matter how drunk I was, it was difficult to sleep through the bi-directional red line and purple line trains blasting full speed ahead at 7:00 a.m.
i was right – the first mortgage is an 5/1 adjustable rate balloon arm fixed at 6.35% for the first five years. The mortgage docs on the second for $102k don’t say much except that it’s a five year balloon due in full in October 2011 which also happens to coincide with the end of the arm resets on the credit suisse chart. Let’s hope he gets out of this disaster before then.
Balloon ARM? So the first will have a rate reset in 2011 and be due in full in 2016? At least the 6.35% is still close to market today.
Sorry I didn’t elaborate, I’m not feeling well today due to sinus probs.
Anyway, the first mortgage $500k+ is a 5/1 arm at the 1 year T-bill + 2.35%; it’s fixed for five years at 6.35% – it adjusts for 25 years begining in 2011 (which is the near the end of the credit suisse chart adjustments)
The second for $100k is a 5 year balloon and the docs contained no additional data, so I don’t know if its an arm, or interest only, or whatnot.
The owner of this property recognizes the time bomb he’s sitting on. He probably can’t refinance because the place is worth less than the total amount of his mortgages; he doesn’t have the cash to pay off the second mortgage in full (who has $100k in their matress anyway?); and in 2011 the balloon comes due and he won’t be able to pay it or refinance…and the $500k mortgage adjusts, probably upwards…..this is a ticking Alt-A timebomb if I’ve ever seen one. That’s why he’s trying to sell now, and get out asap, before 2011 happens and he gets screwed. It may already been too late.
homedelete — no problem. I hadn’t heard of a balloon hybrid before — good to know that things weren’t quite that complicated.
The one year T-bill follows the Fed Funds rate fairly closely. If he was in the ARM part of the schedule today he would be paying about 4.5%. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fed brings rates back up to 4% by 2011, but that will be matching his fixed rate. The first doesn’t look to be a big threat (assuming that he could afford it at the initial rate).
Balloons (especially for a second) seem to often be interest only ARMs (and if it is a HELOC with room, you may even be able to capitalize the interest).
The borrower has some time before he needs to panic about the second, but it is good to plan ahead. The property probably won’t appraise for $650K even in 2011, so any refinancing would be above 95% LTV. In the current credit market, he might be able to get a new second at a high rate if he has the income to support it. If he is barely affording it now, however, he won’t be able to get a new loan to pay the balloon — forcing a panic sale (in possibly worse market conditions).
Trying to predict interest rates is like trying to predict the weather. I don’t know what interest rates will be like in 2011 but I do know that they are low now, they don’t have much room to go lower, and they will probably adjust upwards. Furthermore, he’s probably got two adjustable rate mortgages due for reset in 2011 and he’s not waiting that long find out what the reset rate will be. I think that he thinks this is a ticking timebomb. He’s not panicing but he’s freaking out a little. He’s already lowered his price below what he paid and he’s willing to take a loss to get out. I wonder who many other Alt-A properties out there are like this, and if they will all whether the storm ahead.