You Can Take Your Pick Between These Two Distressed 3-Bedroom Duplexes: 935 W. Dakin in Lakeview
If you’re a buyer you have a choice between not just one distress property but two in 935 W. Dakin, a 6 unit midrise, in Lakeview.
Built in 2004, Unit #1W, a 3/3 duplex down, is already a Freddie Mac Homesteps property.
From the pictures, the kitchen and baths appear to be intact.
The unit has garage parking, central air and washer/dryer in the unit. Originally listed for $368,500, it has been reduced to just $269,000.
The second unit, Unit #3E, is a top floor duplex up with 16 foot ceilings.
The listing says it’s a “preforeclosure”.
There appears to be water damage in the unit and the listing says “cash buyer only.”
From the pictures, it appears the kitchen is intact. Originally listed for $399,900 in January, it has been reduced to just $224,900.
How low will these go before they find a buyer?
How risky is it to buy in a smaller building with multiple units in distress?
Gerard Lewis at Better Homes for America has the listing for Unit #1W. See the pictures here.
Unit #1W: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, duplex down, 2200 square feet, 1 car parking
- Sold in February 2006 for $450,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in February 2011
- Bank owned in November 2011
- Originally listed in March 2012 for $368,500
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed at $269,900
- Assessments of $180 a month
- Taxes of $7291
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
Roman Zuyagelsky at Exit Strategy Realty has the listing for Unit #3E. See the pictures here.
Unit #3E: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2300 square feet, duplex up, 1 car parking
- Sold in March 2004 for $555,000
- Originally listed in January 2012 for $399,900
- Reduced numerous times
- Currently listed as “cash only” at $224,900
- Assessments of $205 a month
- Taxes of $8359
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
Can it be rented in that area with that space for $3000 as long as it is repaired and has nice finishes? As long as the cash buyer of 3E has the stomach for some water remediation efforts, this will clearly make money as a rental.
However, I have not looked but I assume the side of this building is split-face block and it has flashing and other issues all around. If this does not have an active condo association, the buyer might have to be up for doing $25k of building repairs to be able to repair his unit. Still, buy for around list, even with $50k in building and unit repairs and rehab, that doesn’t necessarily kill it. Obviously, a close look at building financial condition overall is needed.
$3000 seems high for rent there. This part of lakeview is practically uptown and you’re right on the curve of the L, which is very loud.
The layout of these places is horrible. You walk right into the center of the living room, which is long and narrow. Rental forever.
The 2004 and 2006 prices seem high, even by bubble standards.
Doesn’t this entire building basically have to go into foreclosure?
A third unit in the building has a lis pendens foreclosure filed against it. So that is half the building. The other three units were all purhcased at the peak. Clearly, the new market “rate” is under $250,000. How long will those other owners wait it out? They eventually will walk away as well. It doesn’t make any financial sense to keep paying on a $400,000 to $500,000 mortgage in that case.
To me, this building is just one of many out there with a lot of distress. I just don’t see how we’ve hit the bottom when it will take years for all the other units in this building to throw in the towel.
I used to live on this block about 10 years ago, across the street maybe, I haven’t been back in a while and this building was built after I had long moved on to a quieter neighborhood.
Things have a changed a bit since then but I imagine it still retains the youngish frat boy Cubs partying fervor that emanates from a few blocks south.
I’ve heard quite a few stories these days of the cinderblock leaking and, while I’m not intimately familiar with the details of the cost to remediate, I do understand, after speaking with a handful of unfortunate owners in these situations, is that it’s cheaper to raise the building and start all over again than it is to fix. The cinderblock, at least from what I’ve been told, is too far gone just to be ‘sealed’ to prevent water damage, and needs extensive remediation; and the water infiltration causes extensive mold, and rotting. One client I know in this situation had to replace a wall of windows not once, but twice, because the window frames had rotted in the few years they owned the unit. I’ve heard just awful stories. Of course I only see the bad things, but it’s enough to give me pause.
RAZE not ‘raise’ – obvious typo.
“Doesn’t this entire building basically have to go into foreclosure?”
Yes, the entire building will go into foreclosure and it will become another one of lakeview’s crappy awful condition post-college transient midwestern rentals.
” I just don’t see how we’ve hit the bottom when it will take years for all the other units in this building to throw in the towel.”
Without thinking about it for more than a few seconds, it seems like classic income effect vs. substitution effect.
This is a building that should be foreclosed upon and sold as an entire building. Easier to remediate when no one is living there. This is actually the kind of building that CHA should buy. They want scattered site housing and its cheaper to buy these buidings and rehab than to build anew.
How sad that such a new building (and probably a multitude of other similar ones) was built so cheaply that it’s damaged, perhaps beyond repair, only a couple of decades later. It certainly speaks to the shoddy construction techniques used at the time, and also points up just how well buildings were constructed in the 1920s, by comparison, as thousands of those buildings remain viable after almost 100 years.
I hope the builders of this property go to jail. How did this pass inspection? Why does Chicago allow such crappy construction.
“Why does Chicago allow such crappy construction.”
What’s funny is how many other things that Chicago requires to be overdone. Like underground sewer pipe. And conduited electric supply. And lots of other things.
The major question people should ask is “what caused the water damage”? If there is a structural issue, that could cost tens of thousands of dollars to correct the problem (and probably 10s of thousands to fix the damage depending how extensive it is). Once that is assessed you can make an educated guess as to the cost to fix, subtract from 400k (the price of a similar place in good condition) and you will get your reasonable sales price. Everyone should check their personal opinions/preferences and emotions at the door —– this isn’t rocket science.
Come for the water damage, stay for the El running feet from your bedroom…
“subtract from 400k (the price of a similar place in good condition)”
Subtract from $350 (or $320), for being next to the el. But otherwise, agreed.
Underground sewers? My are overhead.
Conduit? Whatever, a new condo full of Romex is perfectly OK by me.
“Underground sewers? My are overhead.”
So you spill your sewage into an open trench? That’s a hell of a commute from suburban Bangalore to Cook County chancery court.
“So you spill your sewage into an open trench? That’s a hell of a commute from suburban Bangalore to Cook County chancery court.”
Um, no. Overhead sewer means the sewer main is located below grade but above the basement floor, so waste from any basement fixtures is collected in an ejector pit and pumped up to the main. There is no connection between the sanitary sewer and the basement floor drains, so there is no way for the sewage to backup into the basement as with the sewers in most of the city of Chicago.
Anon was being sarcastic but nevertheless that was a great description.
I am always interested in cash only purchases in the GZ because it gives us a less distorted view of the market.
In this case you need to back out the repair costs to fix it, but if those can be estimated just take the cash sale price, add those to it and you have underlying value. Not value some bozo will pay with 3.5% down using an FHA loan.
“so waste from any basement fixtures is collected in an ejector pit and pumped up to the main. ”
Not thru PVC pipe it isn’t. Which was my point.
“Not thru PVC pipe it isn’t. Which was my point.”
Huh?
I think he’s saying the piping materials chicago requires are more restrictive than most localities… pvc pipe not allowed to be used in Chicago in situations where it would be able to be used in other geographic locations, etc. Chicago has more restrictive electrical code than NYC even. Even low voltage has to be conduit. You can’t legally run speaker wire without putting it into conduit (of course… a lot slides. but imagine if you’re trying to stay legal or are forced to).
It’s amazing the amount of cinder block building that went on… but what’s amazing to me is the lack of buyer education and I think real estate agents could be just as at fault for that. Any good real estate agent would have warned a buyer when comparing property A to property B that a building that has an entirely brick facade is intrinsically better than a building that has only a front brick facade with sides made of cinderblock. Now that properties are sitting on the market maybe people are figuring out those types of details, but in the height of the bubble people were comparing them as if they were apples to apples when they’re two totally different buildings.
Even in buildings with all brick sides, another common problem area has been the inside parapet wall was often just regular cinderblock. With the zoning change to the upper heights that spurred roof decks ownership in these types of buildings, some builders started to change the inside wall to brick there as well, but most not. Builders would paint/seal the cinder block but I’ve seen roofs where there were bubbles of water along the entire perimeter if you pushed your foot into the insider corner of the roof where it butts up to the parapet wall–and you would otherwise have no knowledge there was any water damage. And perhaps a builder did do a really nice job sealing the cinderblock, but now 2-5 years later that’s all gone to shit as it really needs at least annual attention for touchups.