Wednesday, May 16, 2007

* 1415 West Lunt Auction a Success

(OAK BROOK, Ill. - BUSINESS WIRE) - Inland Real Estate Auctions, Inc. announced today the successful auction of 17 newly renovated condominiums in Chicago’s east Rogers Park neighborhood. Taken together, the units sold for about $2 million. The sale took place in an open outcry auction at the Hotel Orrington in Evanston.

“With a surplus of finished condos on the market, this auction was able to sell about a year’s worth of inventory for the developer in one day,” said Frank Diliberto, president and CEO of Inland Real Estate Auctions. “We did what we set out to do, providing a win-win situation for the buyers and the seller. The buyers got a good savings, and the seller moved an excess of units that would have taken a longer time to sell otherwise.”

The condos are located in a 52-unit building at 1415 West Lunt Avenue near Lake Michigan and Red Line transportation in east Rogers Park, a diverse area with a rich cultural and architectural history.

Many sales will close within 10 days of the auction thanks to Inland Real Estate Auction’s “quick closing” program that pre-qualifies bidders and performs due diligence in advance. A & N Mortgage Services, Inc. served as the approved lender for the auction, offering buyers a convenient, streamlined process not only to acquire the property in one day but also to swiftly obtain financing.

“The hallmark of the auction process is quick turnaround,” said John Demato, vice president of Inland Real Estate Auctions. “An open-outcry auction like this makes the process of moving property easier for sellers because it gathers all bidders in one room and quickly establishes a top bidder. The approved lender financing program made the process that much easier, allowing buyers to attend an auction one day and close on the property a week later.”

“We accomplished our goal,” said Colin Hebson, a principal at 1415 Lunt, LLC, the seller. “We attracted a majority of the available buyers in the market and focused them on our development. The timeline was very controlled and we were able to save substantial carrying costs associated with longer holding periods. We passed these savings on to buyers, who got a good deal.”

18 comments:

The North Coast said...

I'll be looking for the prices these sold for in the papers.

We will see more auctions. The market is sticky from coast to coast, lots of unsold stuff with more coming online.

Craig Gernhardt said...

I'm told they sold at auction for about 15% less than their asking prices.

Abe said...

Yeah, but a majority of the selling fees are paid by the buyer, so the sellers did not fare that badly.

Anonymous said...

I know the market has taken a downward turn, but I wonder what is wrong with those condos. The building I'm in has more units, came on the market later has a higher listed price and has had no problems selling.

Too bad I didn't check them out when they were on the market, maybe we'd know what was going on.

The North Coast said...

It's a 4+1 type building. I looked. Not my type of place.

They made them sleek and glossy with pretty stainless & granite & slate kitchens, but they don't have the architecture the vintage bldgs have. They have 7.5' ceilings and smallish closets and small windows.

They are nice places in a comfy elevator bldg, but most people just don't love these types of apts.

Given what the housing market is doing elsewhere, I'm surprised they didn't sell at a deeper discount.

ChitownRog said...

I have a question...

What, exactly, makes a building a 4 Plus 1? I know one when I see one, but I don't know what it means.

Thanks...

mcl said...

It describes the 5 levels of the building: 4 upper floors with living units and the ground level is parking, 4 + 1!

Anonymous said...

Paging Mr. Hugh.

Paging Mr. Hugh.

Your assistance is required at WhatTheHelen?!

Sorry for the interruption of your conversation.

Please continue.

DorothyParker007 said...

Colin Hebin is a top real estate with @properties, so why he went the auction route is a red flag that the market has taken a turn for the worst. @properties was the leader in condo conversions, and encouraging flipping and no money loans, thus widely affecting the market and then they turn around and undersell the owners already in the building. Buying one property at a discount lowers the appreciation of a whole building. Carpet baggers

Jack said...

I looked at the Building. The rehab looked shabby outside the interior of the units. The hallways looked as if a coat of paint was slapped on the walls. I was not interested at all. Most of the units were studios.

The North Coast said...

Chitownrog, I believe they're referred to as 4 + 1s for the first slightly submerged story with a little lobby and a parking deck plus 4 stories of apts, designed to get around height limits of 4 stories.

That, at least, is what I have always heard. That, and that they were made possible by a code variation made especially for the purpose.

I read a book on Chicago zoning, that talked about the special ordinances passed to allow them. Neighborhoods really didn't want them at the time most were built, but the developers got their way allover the lakefront, as usual.

I have seen some imaginative and attractive renovations of them in Edgewater. They might appeal to someone who loves MidCentury Modern architecture and decor. But I hope we never again build the kind of apt buildings and houses we built in that awful period that gave us the ugliest architecture in the world. These buildings have their counterpart in the coast-to-coast suburban sea of stodgy 50s ranch houses- you know, the sprawling brick ranches with stodgy, bland styling, large Chicago Window-type "picture" windows, and hipped roofs.

To Dorothy: Is this real estate market ever headed for the worst. The next leg down, I believe, will start in July, when yet another wave of resets on adjustable mortgages is set to occur. Many people will not be able to pay.

The North Coast said...

Also, I'm a "carpetbagger" when it comes to making or saving money. I most definately have a buzzard mentality.

I am looking for a REALLY REALLY DESPERATE SELLER with a vintage FIXER UPPER with all the vintage millwork intact, who REALLY NEEDS TO SELL and is willing to entertain ANY OFFER.

If the offer s/he is willing to entertain is underneath what other folks paid by many digits, that is not my problem.

My problem is making sure that I don't overpay and stay solvent.

I figure, why shouldn't I make out on the gullibility and stupidity of people who grossly overpaid for places by assuming mortgages they knew damn well were not prudent and were over their heads?

Let me tell you that no one else ever minded exploiting my naivite or emotional weaknesses, and did so whenever I gave them an opportunity.

I have, in the past 4 years, made that many written, solid offers on condos around here and am still renting. Fine with me. I figured, if I can't buy it for what I feel it's worth and for what I can afford on a fixed loan, then I just have to pass. The sellers would not come down to my lowball prices. I was offered many scammy mortgages, always with the assurance that "you can always refinance, you know the place will appreciate". Do you guarantee that, I would ask.

Now I can get something for close to what it's really worth, even though I am preparing myself emotionally to discover that I didn't buy anywhere near the bottom. I mean, I can buy and see the prices drop further.

I'm sorry if so many people were delusional and extremely imprudent. I'm really sorry if they went out and got a cash out refi on a house they owned for 20 years to buy plasma TVs and vacation houses, but were they CRAZY? Not to say just plain dishonest- do you know how many people bought these overpriced places by grossly overstating their incomes, that the lender never questioned?

Anonymous said...

Jeez Craig,
That is the very building you suggested I could afford a condo. Nothing personal but glad I ignored your advice. Besides, one person and three large dogs in a studio...can't happen!!!

The North Coast said...

Margot, bide your time. We've waited this long, we can wait a few minutes more.

There will soon be MANY, MANY GREAT DEALS, much better than this nondescript little building.

Look around you. Look at all the conversions taking place, while other places languish on the market for 2 years.

I am tracking several on my personal planner at realtors.com. A few of these places, including nice rehabbed vintages on nice streets, have been on the market over 600 days.

If a place doesn't sell for the ask price for 600 days, is it worth that price? I don't think so.

Pretty soon, the slippage in the market will start to cascade. Another wave of mortgage resets will happen around July.

Yet the conversions keep being done. New stuff as well. I guess this stuff was in the permit pipeline for a while already.

This auction surely is not the last, and it might be the best for the sellers. Many developers are going to take big baths, and many have done so already.

Stuff in my mother's good suburb of St. Louis IS NOT SELLING. Her neighbors have the perfect Ozie and Harriet 2 story colonial on the market for 25% less than what a similar place sold for 2 years ago, and they had it professionally staged, which cost $2500. 9 months on the market, price dropped $50K, no offers.

The biggest giveaway I have seen thus far is the new midrise at 4848 N. Sheridan in uptown. Brand new bldg with all the amenities, listed at $199K to start. Last sale, $141K for a one bed. All the upper floors are still empty, only the lower 2 occupied. I saw it in the paper, under recent sales.

It is going to be interesting to see how 1200 W Pratt does. I'm personally very happy to see this formerly seedy, dangerous building rehabbed, as I live next door at the couryard behind it. But when I saw what they want $200K and up for I thought, egads! A two-bed, 2-bath that would almost fit into my living room with only 2 of the tiniest closets I have ever seen, kitchen in the living room, wierd configuration. It would be a real comedown from the rental I have. They claim it's 800 sq ft but they must be counting the baths and closets.

Toto said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Couch Captain said...

Craig are you sorry you didn't wait, look at what your condo dollar can buy now that the market has changed. That might be the first thing current condo owner are faced with, that sinking feeling that everything is now cheaper.

All over the city these new condos are still going up or being converted. What the hey! Once a plan is put to money it's not easy for large developers to change in mid plan. Seems like deals are getting sweeter and sweeter for new buyers.

There is a new condo building in the 1300 block of Sherwin. It looks ok from the outside. There were using a fake brick in front but people started to bitch and they were forced to use real brick. Not been inside myself but I'm told they're really crappy, and it's new construction. Captialism will eat itself.

clb said...

The way I see it, if you continue to wait and bide your time, whether the market goes up or down, you are making a mistake. Buying a home is a good thing. Even if some people "over-paid" in terms of what the market price is now...if they bought their property for a home, not a flip, then they will win in the long run. Instead of paying $800 or more in rent, one could be paying that in a mortgage...month by month that money goes into something tangible. So even if someone is unable to sell their condo right now, for what they bought it for 3 years ago (which I don't think is the case)it shouldn't matter. If you would like to have a say in your property, be able to paint the walls, remodel to suit your taste. If you want a tax deduction. If you'd rather put your money into something you own, vs. the pockets of a landlord, then you should buy. The only people in trouble are those that bought to flip. If you are buying a place to live in, long term, you can rarely ever go wrong.

The North Coast said...

The way I see it, you are making a big mistake if you take on a dishonest "creative" mortgage that you know you will most likely not be able to afford after the first reset.

I almost did it and stopped myself, and now I am glad, glad, glad. Why? Because if I had leapt at the place I wanted at the price offered, I would have had to take one of those mortgages, and I would now be underwater in a place worth $30K less than what I paid in a mortgage I could no longer afford. I would be looking at foreclosure, bankruptcy, TOTAL RUIN. I couldn't risk that.

Especially since the same apt I rent for $815 would cost about $160K and work out to a monthly nut, including mortgage, assessments, taxes, ins, and utilites, of about $1400. This is affordable but doesn't leave the safety pad I would like.

I have 3 friends and a dozen acquainances staring at foreclosure, or selling their places for steep losses to avoid that, and I'm glad I'm not them.

Because I waited, I can now get an honest fixed rate loan on a place priced halfway where it ought to be. I'm just waiting for exactly the place.

Was sitting in this office listening to Ben Bernanke talk of the need for more regulations on lending, which means tighter money. All because tens of millions of deluded idiots thought that 20% yearly appreciation was some kind of God-given entitlement. I mean, figure it out:if this market were to keep appreciating at this rate for another five years while wages and salaries were more or less stagnant, you would soon have to be a top personal injury lawyer or MD to afford a small 4 room condo in a marginal neighborhood. In another 10 years, you'd have to be Paris Hilton to afford it.

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