Robert Darrow, @properties

A little something out of the ordinary for Your Guide:  Two commercial condo’s located in the heart of Roscoe Village on Roscoe Street right at the corner of Leavitt. 

Built in 2000, these two condo’s were sold separately, but are offered together for someone who wishes to assemble a space larger than you could ordinarily find on Roscoe.  Each unit features 1,500 square feet of street-level retail space – 3,000 total in the two units.  Each also has 1,500 square feet of space in the basement – another 3,000 total.

The building has residential condos above.  A reciprocal agreement covers sharing of expenses between the two commercial condos, and the residential condos.

Unit 1W is currently a tech office with a reception area, a conference room, a cube farm and bathroom upstairs.  Downstairs is a server room with its own A/C, and more private offices along a long hallway.

Unit 1E is currently an electronics store with a showroom, office space, a smaller showroom, and bath upstairs.  Downstairs is storage and various workshops.

Both the upstairs space and the basement space can be joined to make one large space.

February’s Monthly Survey of Real Estate Agents by Credit Suisse seems to indicate that more people are out shopping for real estate, nearly meeting Realtors’ expectations for traffic for February.

Our buyer traffic index inched up to 41 in January from 40 in December, indicating better traffic over the past 30 days and absolute levels only modestly below agents’ expectations (a reading
of 50 would suggest traffic in-line with expectations).

The survey shows that agents still feel that prices slid in February.  Competing pressures on prices seem to be two fold.  Pushing prices up: pent up demand and the rush to cash in on the  home buyer tax credits.  Pushing prices down: Excess inventory and lingering foreclosures.

Comments from real estate agents:

• “Prices have gone down since last month and more buyers are feeling that they are nearing bottom.”
• “Traffic is less than expected and the traffic we do have is mostly bargain hunters
  looking for major below market prices.”

4801 S. Forrestville, #3, located in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

List Price: $218,500

Assessments: $175     Taxes: $3,479

This is another Fannie Mae HomePath Property.  Buyers can move in with as little as 3% down, and get 3.5% back to cover closing costs or to purchase appliances.  (Yes, this Fannie Mae owned home needs appliances.)

I’ve never seen a condo this large before.  Up in my neighborhood, developers would slice this building in half, and create front units and rear units with less than half the space of this condo.  This four bedroom, two bath home features 2,500 square feet.  The room sizes are ridiculous!  Check these out.

Living: 34 x 17

Kitchen: 17 x 11

Laundry: 8 x 8

Master bedroom: 21 x 11

Second bed: 14 x 13

Third bed: 14 x 10

Fourth bed: 14 x 13

The living room and hallway have wood floors.  The bedrooms are carpeted.  The baths, the kitchen and laundry room have white ceramic tile.

One bedroom needs paint as there’s spray paint vandalism.  The kitchen needs appliances.  But the central heat and central air are in place.  A large laundry room can hold a full size washer & dryer.  

Your Guide has been frustrated over the last couple weeks due to inaccuracies contained in the Trulia website.  Trulia (www.trulia.com) is a big national website that aggregates listing data from various sources in an attempt to beat websites like Realtor.com (www.realtor.com) at their own game.

Buyers of mine enjoy using the Trulia website as it presents a nice friendly interface, and appears to have mountains of data for home buyers.  But my buyers keep asking me, week after week, about a townhouse that keeps popping up in their search results – a townhouse in Lincoln Park that really interests them at a great price.

The listing, however, was listed and sold back in 2005. (Yes, back FIVE years ago.)  I compared the listing number, the listing agent, the listing description, and the listing photographs to my data from my local MLS to the Trulia description, and they are a perfect match.  My conclusion is that the data in the Trulia database is faulty.

(http://www.trulia.com/property/1040945531-1901-N-Maud-Ave-Chicago-IL-60614)

And in case the link above ceases working, my screen-cap:

I try to advice my buyers to log onto my Company’s website (also my co-branded website at www.robertdarrow.com) or by using the search function on MY OWN website at www.darrowwest.com.  By using the search functions at a local company you gain an advantage on two fronts:

1. There’s someone local you can refer back to.  Can you find a phone number at Trulia where you can call and make a report of inaccurate information?  If there is inaccurate information on MY website, my telephone number is displayed right beneath my grinning photograph.
2. My data is provided by my Local MLS.  Our local MLS feeds to my Company Website and to my personal website are both updated every couple hours from data directly from our local MLS.  It provides information that is the most up-to-date available.  From properties that are newly listed, or just gone under contract, finding a local source for your info is the most dependable way to make sure you aren’t viewing information on homes that really are not for sale.

I’ve never been a fan of the big national websites, other than Realtor.com.  But having to disappoint clients by explaining that some data is so old makes the job a whole bunch harder than it needs to be. 

For the most up-to-date listing information, link to our @properties co-branded website at www.robertdarrow.com or try my own IDX search on my personal website at www.darrowwest.com.  You’ll be glad you did!

Your Guide picked up another nice Fannie Mae owned property.  Within our Institutional Services Group, I’ve developed a reputation for listing the cream-puff properties. 

This adorable condo looks great from the outside, and the front rooms are spectacular.  But deeper within, needs some work.

7721 N. Sheridan Road, #2S

List Price: $224,900

Assessments: $153     Taxes: $2,514

Three bedrooms, sunroom, two baths, 1,700 square feet!

This condo located in Roger’s Park is a work in progress. 

The unit is spacious at 1,700 square feet.  It is well located just off of Eastlake Terrace along Sheridan Road.  The building is a gorgeous center-entrance six flat, and this unit is on the second floor.

A developer was in the process of renovating this condo, but wasn’t able to complete the project.  The floor plan is complete.  The floors are in good shape.  Windows are mostly replaced.  Drywall is all in in place.  The kitchen was mostly renovated with new flooring, new cabinetry and new counters.  There are no appliances in the kitchen.

The bathrooms were renovated, but have damage.  Bath tubs are in place.  Sinks are missing.  Toilets are missing.  And each bathroom has some ceiling damage, some wall damage, and/or some floor damage.  

512 W. Belden, #3C

List Price: $239,500

Taxes:  2,251     Assessments: $284

The roar of the lions and the allure of so many local restaurants will inspire you to get out &  enjoy the vibrant neighborhood surrounding this adorable condo. This vintage gem is tucked away on quiet side streets only steps from Clark Street, Lincoln Park & the lakefront.

Inside, an amazing new bath, wood floors, in unit laundry, a modern kitchen & good closet space will satisfy your desire for a modern lifestyle.

• Walk to Lincoln Park & Clark Street amenities
• Adorable vintage condo with modern conveniences
• Wood floors throughout
• Modern galley kitchen with dishwasher
• Separate living & dining rooms
• Amazing renovated bath with luxury finishes
• Great closet space plus extra storage
• In-home washer & dryer

Your Guide is not usually enticed by the pitches to attend Broker Open houses on Tuesdays.  I usually look for the open houses closest to my neighborhood, and those with some FOOD.

The pitches for today’s Broker Open’s were more interesting than usual.

This is an Effen great opportunity!

Okay, I didn’t have doughnuts or candy bars last week, but will raffle a fifth of Effen Vodka tomorrow.

More importantly, my seller is offering a 3.5% coop on these condos.  1 bed / 1 bath condos, priced $109,900k – $124,900, all include parking spaces.

No tricks.  They are completely rehabbed with all of the finishes you’d expect in a gut.

(6400 N. Sacramento, at the corner with Devon.)

Take a Chance on me…

Not just a great Abba song but the theme of this broker open that I promise you will not be disappointed you attended.  Besides getting a chance to win $1000’s of dollars, you will see the craftsmanship of one of the finest developers we have the privilege of representing.

The details:

833 N Hermitage

Open 12:00 to 2:00

Lunch will be served as well as lottery tickets to the first 20 agents who attend.

—————————————————————–

The shot at a fifth of Vodka AND some lottery tickets, Dang!  Can you say “Redneck Christmas?”

Your Guide has been updating readers on his experience riding the CTA around the Lakeview neighborhood and back and forth between home, the office, and the Loop.  For a solid year, it seemed the CTA had gotten its act together.  From fixing all the slow zones that plagued the Blue Line to O’Hare, adding Cell Phone service to the Subways, and eliminating stoppages and slowdowns along the Red Line, I had grown comfortable depending on Public Transportation to get downtown. 

Because the State of Illinois can’t properly fund the CTA, I don’t blame the CTA for the latest round of Doomsday Service Cuts (read about them at the Trib here) but the fact remains:  I can’t depend on the darn thing to get me to my appointments on time. 

I could do as the CTA recommends: leave extra time.  But at its best, the train can get me to my destination in about the same time it takes me to drive, park and walk.  As service cuts add a half hour, or more, to the trip, the train starts to waste time.  Unfortunately, time is money.  Dang.  Because I have really liked the convenience of grabbing the Red and Brown lines and riding hassle free into the Loop.  It’s worked quite well as all the Title Companies are conveniently located near a Brown Line stop, or within 3 blocks of the State Street Red Line.

At least with the ridiculous parking meter rate hikes, there is a lot more street parking available.  My round trip costs on the CTA are $5.50 round trip.  I started riding the Red Line when parking rates at downtown parking garages hit $38 for a few hours in the middle of the day.  But street parking is still a bargain at around $10 per hour.  And the extra $4.50 on top of my $5.50 fixed cost for riding the train is a small price to pay to guarantee on-time arrival, or to have the extra hour to use as I need to rather than shivering outside waiting on the slow-lane.

You nearly had a committed customer, but you’ve broken my heart for the last time.  (Until next year, perhaps.)

From one end of the real estate spectrum to the other, Your Guide finds himself helping out Darrow West Team Member and Institutional Services Group VP Jeanne Darrow-Peck with their group’s bank owned properties.

Jeanne likes to point out that only I could be lucky enough to land a cream-puff of a listing such as this house located in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood.

5344 West Waveland

5344 West Waveland features a spacious floor plan, a finished second floor with dormers affording generous room sizes with good headroom, and a full finished basement.

On the main floor, you’ll find the living, dining & kitchen plus two bedrooms and one bath.  The whole floor has hardwood floors.

Upstairs, there are two carpeted bedrooms, a small sitting room between them and a brand new bathroom featuring slate tile, slate tub surround and new fixtures.

The basement is finished, mostly concrete floors, and has a large laundry room at the rear of the house.

Longtime Chicago residents will recognize the “Party Door” in the garage that opens up to the back yard affording a spot to party on when the weather turns during Chicago’s steamy and sometimes stormy summers.

List price for this home is a bargain at $224,500!

Taxes are $3,930

Fannie Mae Incentives:

• Special Home Path financing available with low down payment options!
• Bonus 3.5% cash back bonus (restrictions apply)
• Special prices on direct buy appliances with your 3.5% cash-back bonus!
• Relaxed guidelines on transfer taxes, prortions and closing fees!

The past 18 months have taught us many things, not the least of which is that we don’t have control over a number of variables that affect the real estate market. However, we do have control over the actions we take to prepare for and react to these variables. During the next 60 to 90 days, some significant housing-related changes are imminent. We can’t control those changes, but to a certain degree we can control how they affect us.

Can’t Control: Expiration of Federal Housing Tax Credit
Can Control: Purchase Date / Closing Date

While we can’t control how the expiration of the Federal Housing Tax Credit will affect the real estate market, it is an absolute certainty that qualified first-time buyers will receive up to $8,000 and qualified repeat buyers will receive up to $6,500 if they enter into a purchase contract by April 30 and close by June 30. With less than 90 days until the expiration of the Federal Housing Tax Credit, buyers need to be in the market now.

Can’t Control: Mortgage Interest Rates
Can Control: Locking in Today’s Rates

No one knows what will happen to mortgage interest rates when the Fed ends its $1.25 trillion purchase of mortgage backed securities in a few weeks. But one thing is for sure. Home buyers who lock in their interest rate today will benefit from some of the best mortgage financing conditions in history.

Can’t Control: Selling Price
Can Control: Asking Price

If you’re a seller, the price you paid for your home or the amount you owe on your mortgage has no bearing on your home’s ultimate selling price. What does determine that price is the market. And today sellers must show consideration for the market with correct pricing right out of the gate. The chart below shows just how important Original List Price (OLP) is to selling your home for the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time.
2009 Sales Data

Source: Agent Metrics, MRED LLC data, 2009, Selling Price to Original Listing Price, City of Chicago.

One more thing you can control is your choice of real estate agent. Thank you for allowing me to serve you, and please contact me if you or anyone you know needs help navigating today’s real estate market.