Crib Chatter

After looking at the website for the Raffaello Hotel Condos, at 201 E. Delaware, it makes me want to book a room there.  Great lobby.  And it seems affordable, especially for that nice Streeterville/Gold Coast location.  The website touts web specials as low as $139 a night.

As we talked about in the other post about Trump’s condo-hotels, the Raffaello is a small boutique building that sold out its condo hotel rooms several months ago after only a year or two on the market.  They were originally priced from  $185,000 to the upper $300,000s (maybe those more expensives units were penthouse suites).

Eight units are on the market now, including this one:

Unit #606: 250 square foot hotel room with a mini-fridge and microwave

• Sold in July 2006 for $226,000
• Currently listed for $299,900
• Assessments run $258 a month
• Parking available nearby for lease

 

 The listing talks about how the rental program works:

Owner keeps belongings in room, stays whenever wants. If joins rental program, hotel management rents room when owner not using, owner gets half the revenue. Full range of 4-star facilities (restaurant, spa, fitness & business centers, rooftop deck) and services.

You can see why it’s a “losing” investment unless the property appreciates. At, say, $80 a night (even if it were to be rented out every night of the month), it would be difficult to cover a mortgage payment, assessments and taxes. If it were only rented half of a month- forget it.

And then there is maintenance. Furniture gets busted. Beds have to be replaced.

But if you travel enough to Chicago that you may want to use it for a week every month, maybe it is worth it.

Sister unit, #706, is also on the market.  That unit is listed for $319,800.  The most expensive unit listed is #709, whichi is one of the bigger rooms at 550 square feet.  It is listed for $419,000.

T. Manning at Baird and Warner has the listings for #606 and #706.