Short Sales and Foreclosures Everywhere: 10 E. Ontario in River North
If anyone else can figure out 10 E. Ontario in River North, please let me know.
I last chattered about it in March. The short sales have gotten more aggressive and the foreclosures are picking up.
Current stats on the building (out of 467 units):
- 62 for sale
- 7 for rent
The most expensive one bedroom currently on the market was just listed (sorry no pictures):
Unit #3911: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 995 square feet
- Sold in January 2006 for $441,000
- Currently listed for $539,900 (don’t know if this includes the parking)
- Assessments of $460 a month
- Ameri-Realty LLC has the listing
But if you’re looking for something, say, $325,000 cheaper, check out Unit #1801.
Is this a steal?
Unit #1801: 1 bedroom, 1 bath , 765 square foot convertible
- Sold in November 2005 for $333,000
- Currently listed in short sale for $205,000– parking included
- Assessments of $349 a month
- American Invsco Realty has the listing
And the bank on Unit #2903 apparently wants to make a deal on this short sale. This unit is now discounted about 45% from its 2006 price.
Unit #2903: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 995 square feet
- Sold in July 2006 for $448,000
- Was listed in March 2008 for $329,900
- Reduced
- Now a “short sale heading towards foreclosure”
- Now listed for $249,900 (don’t know if the parking is extra)
- Assessments of $469 a month
- DreamTown Realty has the listing
Foreclosures are also appearing regularly. Unit #3703 is going to foreclosure auction this week. Foreclosure auction price of $400,578.
Parking runs about $42,500 in the building. There are no washer/dryers in the units.
Stay tuned.
IMHO, stay away. If there ever was a pig with lipstick this is it.
The building barely was market viable as a rental. As an older building (even w/’renovation’), owners will inevitably get socked w/above inflation growth in maintenance costs. Your neighbors can’t pay the assessments leaving you with the difference. Glut of supply in the neighborhood. (And no in-unit washer/dryer if I remember correctly)
If you really, really want to buy wait ’til August/September if you can to negotiate hardball.
Now copy/paste these comments and apply to a lot of other building in 60601 through 60611.
Unit 1801 looks like a great price relative to the market today. Not to say that I’m buying as I’m not in a position to just yet. But 200k for a 1br that includes parking? That seems like a good deal.
The only other unit priced close is 2903 which doesn’t look like its too overpriced if it includes parking. The other units are in la-la land if they need to sell. Especially the flipper on 3911.
When I moved to Chicago in 2006, my realtor took me through the sales center of this building. People were everywhere and units were selling very fast, which confused me at the time. I wondered at the time if I was out of touch with what people like. This building should not have been converted from apartments. This is another American Invsco special.
These apartments are so cookie-cutter, so much like about 10,000 other rental and condo units in this city, that I can’t figure out how the people living in them know they’re in the right apartment when they come home at night.
This should be a rental building.
How could people want to pay so much when that kitchen is so bad?
I’ve heard of these “short sale” opportunities never ending up closing. The seller is just hoping to get some offer into the bank, at whatever price, so they can avoid having foreclosure on their credit report. They bring the deal to the bank, which takes weeks to respond and then ultimately rejects the deal. I’m sure it works sometimes but my guess is like anything you just have to be patient and keep trying before it pays off.
I wouldn’t go anywhere near this building for at least a couple years. There have been two or three foreclosures filed per week since January!
I am currently renting in this building and was here during the American Invsco “invasion”. They put minimal amount of money into the building (marble and mirrors in the hallway) and seemed to be selling to alot of out of town investors and parents of Northwestern University grad students. The entire “hard sell” of these units was complete slime. The units was marketed as “luxury condos” yet they were just rental units with no in-unit W/D a month earlier.
Closings begain in October 2005. Most investors took the two year-no assessments, taxes and guaranteed high rent plan. Most of these plans are now over or coming to an end and the units are being dumped on the market.
In my opinion, I would run, not walk, away from any American Invsco project.
Short sales are a joke. It takes months for the bank to make a decision. If the bank does approve the sale, they won’t let the deal close until the FB signs a contract agreeing ti be personally liable for any deficiency. which defeats the purpose of the short sale. I’d much rather have a foreclosure judgment on my credit report than a personal deficiency. Especially in IL because generally the bank has no recourse for mortgages.
I’m shocked at the lack of knowledge about short sales that has been posted here!
These list prices have little to do with market value. The listing agents are showcasing prices that banks won’t accept in order to bring in a ton of interest and offers to the units. #1801 received dozens of offers, some lowball and at list price from uneducated Realtors and clients, and at least several significantly over the list price. Someone from the latter bunch will be getting a great deal, and the uneducated low ball bunch (by giving a false impression to the bank of “general market value”) helped them do it.
10 E Ontario is a great building, especially considering the high floor views, and, from what I’ve heard, W/D can be installed in most units off the kitchen stack.
Lived here once ten years ago when I first moved to Chicago, High floor, great view (at the time), ABSOLUTELY NO INSULATION on those windows. Unlivable COLD!!! Spent the whole winter wearing a jacket indoors, the heat did nothing!
American Invesco is the sleaziest group out there…. How it is that they have gotten away with more than two decades of pulling the wool over the eyes of the inocent is beyond me… Then again it never fails to shock me that people fall for their line of crap.
Every building they touch turns into a nightmare for the people that live there… River City anybody? 200 N Dearborn? Century Tower (or what ever they are calling it this week)? That is just the short list of places where buyers have faced a shit storm of negative experiences with them…
American Invesco? STAY AWAY!!!!
This is an AMERICAN INVESCO building. They also own 200 N. Dearborn, and 182 W. Lake. 182 W. Lake was being marketed to the lower income bracket. I remember they were advertising that if you make under $52,000 you were eligible for assistance in your payments. No wonder they’re all foreclosing. Now that “Ontario Place” is foreclosing I wouldnt be surprised to see 200 N. Dearborn follow suit in about 2 years. They also own “River City” which I dont think is going very well either.
That makes 3/4 of the buildings I know they have in foreclosure trouble.
http://www.rivercitycondos.com/
Another fine American Invsco conversion, need I say more.
Don’t forget about the Sterling, 345 Lasalle. Valasko, did you move into Momo yet? How is the elevator situation with the lobby/mailboxes on the 9th floor. I was in there recently.
Streeterville,
Still waiting to move in they pushed my closing back to the end of June. I too am concerned with the elevators interval times; with the added load of everyone having to stop at level 9 to pick up their mail. I hope Booth/Hansen ran this by their elevator consultant.
Valasko:
Damn I didnt even think about that. Good catch.
I lived in this building in the 1980s. (Never again would I move into another Section 8 rental building.) I had a convertible 1-bedroom facing south with fantastic unobstructed views of the downtown Chicago skyline. My balcony was spacious and was the length of the entire apartment. And it was even more fun with a set of binoculars. Everything was within walking distance from this central location. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
Though small by Chicago standards, but perfect for one person, my apartment was the equivalent of a standard 1-bedroom in NY. The building at the time (early 80s) set the standard for luxury amenities with microwave ovens and ice-makers. That was a big deal back then! The marble lobby was beautiful. Also nice was the porte-cochere. But, you step right out onto busy Ontario Street. There was a 24-hour White Hen Pantry in the building too.
I don’t ever recall having any problems with being cold during winter because of all the windows. The fan-coil HVAC system was very good. Do the taxes seem high for these units?
I’m interested in short sales in the 10 E. Ontario building. Where are these foreclosures showing up as solds? From what I hear they have not been on the MLS. Please let me know how these are getting sold. Thanks.
at $170,000 without parking is 1603 a good deal?? anyone 1 bedroom 995 sq feet.
I’m interested in short sales in the 10 E. Ontario building. Where are these foreclosures showing up as solds? From what I hear they have not been on the MLS. Please let me know how these are getting sold. Thanks.