Steals and Deals: Looking to Rent? Run to One Museum Park
One Museum Park at 1211 S. Prairie was supposed to be the epitome of luxury in the South Loop.
It has stellar views of Grant Park and the Lake.
Closings started last spring on the 286 units.
Flippers have been trying to flip since last April. As sales have dried up, many have been trying to rent out the units instead.
But what if you can’t sell AND you can’t rent?
The situation is looking pretty interesting in the building as rents seem to be plunging. Looking for a deal? There are plenty.
We’ve chattered about Unit #1203, a 1460-square foot 2-bedroom twice before. Both the price and the rental price have been reduced since we last checked in on it in July.
Is this a steal at this rental price?
And what does this rental price say about what sales prices should ultimately be in the building?
Here’s the rental listing:
YOU WILL BE AMAZED BY THE VIEWS OF THE LAKE FRONT & MUSEUM CAMPUS IN THIS DELUXE TWO BEDROOM/TWO BATH PLUS DEN. ENJOY THE UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS FROM EVERY ROOM & BALCONY. HIGHLY UPGRADED THROUGHOUT WITH MARBLE BATHS, GRANITE KITCHEN, WOODMODE CABINETS, FLOOR TO CEILING WINDOWS.
LUXURIOUS AMENITIES INCLUDE INDOOR & OUTDOOR POOL, COMMUNITY ROOM, EXERCISE ROOM, SAUNA. PARKING AVAILABLE FOR $200/MONTH.
Alberto Michel at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #1203: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, den, 1460 square feet
- Sold in April 2008 for $627,000
- Was listed in July 2008 at $869,000 (parking extra)
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $850,000 (parking $40k extra)
- OR– you can rent it
- Was listed in April 2008 for $4000 a month
- Reduced
- Was listed in July 2008 for $3000 a month plus $200 a month for parking
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $2500 a month plus $200 a month for parking
- Assessments of $414 a month
- Taxes are “new”
If a 1-bedroom is more your style, why not rent a 987-square foot one on the 45th floor and wake up every morning with these views?
Unit #4502: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, den, 987 square feet
- Available for rent for $2200 a month plus $200 for parking
- Anita Constant at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See more pictures here.
Currently, the cheapest 1-bedroom rental is $2095 a month plus $150 for parking on the 43rd floor.
Indoor pool. Exercise room.
Sounds like a deal to me.
I can’t envision the 2/2 not renting quickly. Heck I’d be scouting for roommates myself if I hadn’t recently signed up for a gym membership near me.
A deal – unless the owner forecloses a few months later.
In this market, the tenant needs to do a credit check on the landlord…with references! Chicago rental market is looking more like the South Florida market every day and this is a very good example of it. Rents are based on incomes and soon purchase prices will return to incomes too. Hence, the sale price is out of line. As people’s take home pay continue to decline these prices will begin to take a substantial hit. An 8%-10% unemployment rate will bring this 2 BR unit to under $350/s.f. and possibly under $300/s.f. by 2010.
Even if the owner forecloses I think that is baked into the price.
Trust me this thing would’ve never been built in the first place if the rental yields were a mere 2700 for a 2br with parking. No risk no reward I suppose.
On the plus side, I do like the view….if you’re standing close to the window. The fact that it has a balcony is a plus and that it has glass railings is good. Overall all a nice unit but the bedrooms are a tad small for my taste. Will be interesting to watch what happens in this part of town as more inventory becomes available with fewer and fewer buyers and renters. I think you can look to the South Florida market for indicators, just not as extreme. I know of numerous examples in South Florida of $299K selling for $100K now….one person in line to vote told me about a friend who bought three years ago for $200K and now similar units are going for $45K-$50K in foreclosures (it was a condo conversion). So, if South Florida is ahead of Chicago….and it seems that it is, the large inventories, plummeting sales, large new condos coming on the market, and large supply of rentals at ever declining rates and increasing DOM, then Chicago is not even halfway through the price declines. These new trophy buildings will reveal the amount of the real estate bubble in Chicago. Keep posting these great examples Sabrina, esp. the rent versus own ones which are truer indicators of the underlying value of these homes! Thanks!
I’ve never been inside One Museum Park, but unless the pool is made of gold, those are VERY high prices for the South Loop. I have friends renting much larger units in A buildings in Streeterville for less.
I wonder where they would have had to price it to sell last spring. 850k sans parking was ballsy, and/or completely out of touch.
If I’m a tenant with a valid say 1 year lease and I am current on my obligations, do I have no recourse if the landlord is foreclosed on? If the property had been sold, presumably my lease would remain valid. Is this different for foreclosures? I assume this is pretty settled caselaw (notwithstanding what the sheriff was doing a while ago).
I’m actually both highly convinced the south loop condos will tank completely (closest to resembling south florida or parts of california) and interested in buying in the south loop, although looking more at single family or large townhomes.
Meant to add that my interest is in possibly renting there for a year or two before buying, depending on how long everything takes to shake out. But I don’t want to rent and get evicted b/c my landlord gets foreclosed on.
DZ – Rent in the building you might buy in to see how it is run (the HOA) and the quality of the construction (thin walls, etc.). Be concerned with security deposits and research the unit to see what mortgages are outstanding first. I don’t know what the exact rules are in Chicago for evicting a rent paying tenant, perhaps someone else will know. Renting seems to be the smart move in most markets, particularly where you find condo gluts.
With a little finesse and a court appearance you can live up to 9 months in your landlord’s foreclosed property without paying a dime in rent. And then the Sheriff of Cook County will give you another 120 days on top of that to get your stuff together. And if that 120 period ends somewhere between November 1 and April 1 then he will refuse to evict you until the temperature warms up above 45 degrees. Your savings could be substantial. Now I understand why they say renting is cheaper than owning. God I love America. Greatest country on the face of the earth.
Mayor Daley put forth a plan last August addressing this very issue. Not sure if it passed.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/currency/1108898,rent081508.article
homedelete – Even better what foreign owners who are upside down are doing….they stop paying everything, pocket the cash, then leave the country….it is just criminal what some of the people are doing down here. I had one person brag to me that he was going to stop paying, live for free for 18 months then move back to his country….to him a credit score in the U.S. doesn’t matter. Just be careful where ever you rent.
I don’t rent from FB’s.
See how your most recent comment above is actually helpful, non offensive, and not that of an asshole. Bravo!
Not looking for your approval IB…seriously, I’m not esp. when you are one of the biggest blog flamers ever.
Actually, IB, this whole thread is back to what I expect from CC.
Can we all just keep whatever political rants (at least those not specifically Chicago-related) we might want to make off on DU/Redstate/Townhall/HuffPo/Nazis-R-Us/Commies-R-Us or whatever. Please?
i rented in tower IV next door in 2007. Paid $2400 then to someone who owned 2 units in the building – almost exact same layout to the 2 br you are chattering on. these are nice buildings in an excellent location with good views. at $2000/mo it is a great option – at $4000/mo it’s ridiculous. what we haven’t seen yet is the 3 br units in 1211 come on to the rental market. at significantly over the $1mm mark will they get the rents needed to sustain them? my guess is that they will put downward pressure on the 2 brs leading to a fire sale. it’s gonna be ugly…
anon (tfo)
My promise… but I get to call John meu cachorrinho from here on in kinda as a term of endearment.
So now my fictional character lives in Rio 🙂
Tchau!
This seems like a great deal to me. The only thing that could lure me away would be a 2 bed/2 bath in River North with an indoor pool for the same price, which I have yet to see. Anyone seen any steals like this in nice buildings in Lakeshore East or River North?
Lakeshore East does have some lower floor 2bd units for around 2400 a month when I checked 3 weeks ago. Parking was about an additional $200 on average.
Adam said:
“I’ve never been inside One Museum Park, but unless the pool is made of gold, those are VERY high prices for the South Loop. I have friends renting much larger units in A buildings in Streeterville for less.”
Really? Where? I’ve not seen a brand new 1250 square foot 2/2 with parking renting for $2700 (or less- because you know it’s “negotiable”) with lake views (or views of any kind) in Streeterville for less.
For the 1-bedrooms, I’ve seen some, without views, going for $1900 or so but these units in One Museum Park are negotiable.
Please fill us in on which condo building is offering such treasures.
As Lake Effect was posting on here a couple of days ago- he’s looking to rent a 1-bedroom at 600 NF for the same price as these two-bedroom units. With NO lake view.
I think that’s a steal for renters, but that would suck for the owner unless his loan was only 200K (and he paid the rest himself… which means he’d actually profit from the renter).
Unit 4502 is still listed for rent for $2,200. Guess the owner would rather lose the fully carry cost than come to grips with the reality of the rental market and take a smaller haircut.
Give me 2200 or give me zero! Okay you get zero. Lol.
26 units listed as rentals in this building. Ouch. Must’ve been bad news for these stuck cockroach..err flippers hearing that the prez isn’t going to save them.