North Harbor Drive

Observations and insights into real estate happenings along N. Harbor Dr. in downtown Chicago

East Randolph Street, Chicago

Some buildings in the New Eastside (including Lakeshore east) post new rules for investors

June 13th, 2011 · Uncategorized

I have noticed that there are two new buildings in the New Eastside neighborhood that have passed rules to prevent new investors from renting out their units. One building is the Regatta, 420 E Waterside. The Regatta just passed a new rule that no new investors are allowed to rent out their units anymore. The other building very close to passing the same rule is 222 N Columbus Dr, the Park Millennium. The Park Millennium only needs one more vote from a unit owner to pass, that means they would have more than 75% of the owners who voted for no new investors. They would have a meeting on July 15th and after that, if the new rule is passed, new buyers would no longer be able to rent out their units.

The reason for these two buildings passing the rules are due to the renter ratio getting too high. The Park Millennium is around 53% and the Regatta is around 40%. Since the current financial regulation says that the renter ratio should be lower than 30%, that means for people who want to get a mortgage, they have to go to the private lenders only, then the interest rate might be higher or they need to put down more money for the down payment. This will limit lots of people who are interested in the building but could not afford to buy it.

After the new rule, the renter ratio should be going down, this will help the building price to stabilize or go up.

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Short sale and foreclosure units in the New Eastside Neighborhood

June 13th, 2011 · Uncategorized

There was a short sale listing for a one bedroom unit facing south with a balcony on the market May 17, 2011 and then it went into under contract May 23rd, 2011. The reason that the unit came back on the market is that the lender wanted a little more money, therefore, the listing agent has increased the listing price for this unit by $20k. Even then, it went to under contract within a week.

I informed a couple of my clients that this unit came back on the market, and then when they were ready to see it, it was already under contract again. Goes to show that for short sale deals, not only do you need to act fast to see it first, but also, you need to have cash and preapproval letter ready. In addition, short sales are not so negotiable, the reason is that otherwise the listing agent would like to list at a lower price to attract more buyers. The short sale needs to be approved by the lender and the seller does not get any profit from the deal. The seller does not really care of the listing price, it is the lender who has a bottom line to approve the short sale. For Some short sales, if the seller still has some funds in his/her bank account, then the lender might ask the seller to contribute some at the closing.

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North Harbor Tower rentals

May 26th, 2011 · Uncategorized

NORTH HARBOR TOWER

175 North Harbor Dr. Chicago, IL 60601

05/23/2011 through 05/29/2011

LAKE VIEWS

CITY VIEWS

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME NOR THEIRS JUST BRING THEM TO NORTH HARBOR TOWER WHERE YOU AND YOUR CLIENT WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF THE RIGHT WAY $$$ Special bonus for successful rentals!

Current Leasing Specials:

 

$300 Administrative Fee ($150 off $450)

 $30 Credit Check Fee ($20 off $50)

$200 Sign-up Bonus taken off the 1st month’s rent*

*Sign Up Bonus applied only to applications received within 24 hours of tour

 

Student Bonus:

 

Receive an additional $300 OFF the 2ND month’s rent

(WITH RECEIPT OF TUITION/BOOKS PAID AND A COPY OF TRANSCRIPT)

 

ACCEPTING DOGS UP TO 40LBS!**

**ON DOG FLOORS ONLY

 

#1607 500 SQ FT Studio- $1340.00 Wonderful Lake View with Navy Pier

#1502 500 SQ FT Studio- $1230.00 Inspiring City View–Available July 1

#2110 500 SQ FT Studio- $1335.00 Sparkling Lake View – Available May 23

#1712 520 SQ FT Convertible- $1415.00 Breath Taking South Harbor View

#704 520 SQ FT Convertible- $1350.00 Gorgeous North Navy Pier View– Available June 8 DOG FLOOR!

 

ONE BEDROOM

GREAT FLOOR PLANS!

#508 760 SQ. FT. ONE BEDROOM- $1510.00 Sparkling Lake View DOG FLOOR!

#209 760 SQ. FT. ONE BEDROOM – $1495.00 Majestic Lake View DOG FLOOR! AVAILABLE JUNE 20

#2301 760 SQ. FT. ONE BEDROOM – $1550.00 Colorful City View DOG FLOOR! AVAILABLE JUNE 24

#715 760 SQ. FT. ONE BEDROOM – $1520.00 Rich City View DOG FLOOR! AVAILABLE JULY 10

 

 

TWO BEDROOMS

AMAZING LAYOUTS!

OUR LARGEST TWO BEDROOMS FLOORPLAN

 

#5103 1465 SQ. FT. TWO BEDROOMS/2.5 BATHS $2625.00 Enchanting Northeast Corner Views of Navy Pier and City AVAILABLE JULY 22

#5503 1465 SQ. FT. TWO BEDROOMS/2.5 BATHS $2645.00 Stunning Northeast Corner with City and Navy Pier Views AVAILABLE AUGUST 5

 

 

THREE BEDROOMS

Spectacular Corner vistas!

 

#3402 1800 SQ. FT. THREE BEDROOMS/2.5 BATHS – $3255.00 Magnificent Lake and City Views Northwest Corner Kitchen Granite Countertops

 

#4106 1800 SQ. FT. THREE BEDROOMS/2.5 BATHS – $31600.00 Panoramic Lake and Monroe Harbor Views Southeast Corner DOG FLOOR! AVAILABLE JUNE 10

 

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Is this a good time to purchase real estate at the New Eastside?

May 12th, 2011 · Uncategorized

Actually there are not any super good deals now, since the banks are
getting smarter, and also for short sale and foreclosure, the bank
would order a BPO, it is a third party appraisal for the property,
then they would kind of know the price range.  I would say in this
neighborhood, if you get around 5% off the regular sale price, it is
already a super good deal. Since the short sale has a long and painful
waiting time and foreclosure you have to pay up to 6 months additional
assessment according to Illinois law.

The interest rate has already gone up compare to Nov last year, there
is some statistic showing that for a $100,000 loan, 30 year fixed,
total cost of interest in April 2011 compare to November 2010 is
around $14,000. That is a big difference. So I would say and all the
experts all predict that this is the good time to purchase real
estate, you can read wall street journal, or any other magazines, but
nobody would say it is a real bottom as nobody knows. This is the same
as to purchase stock, can you get at the real bottom? Since real
estate is a longer term investment, it is a good time to buy now and
all the regular sale price you see now, would not be in that rank
anymore in the future.

Another reason you would not be able to get half price deal is there
are so many people watching on the market, especially this
neighborhood, if there is something more than 10% off the regular
price, I promise you it would get contract within a couple of weeks.

For example, the one bedroom at the 8 E Randolph listed for $209,000 which is 87% of the regular one bedroom unit. I called the listing agent the second day after the price deduction, then only heard that there was already a contract, right now this unit is still pending, I could post the close price when they come out. The contract date was in April.

 

 

 

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NORTH HARBOR TOWER Rental units

April 12th, 2011 · Uncategorized

NORTH HARBOR TOWER
HOTSHEET
175 North Harbor Dr. Chicago, IL 60601 – Call Kristine 312 933 1894 with details
04/11/2011 through 04/17/2011

2011 Luxury Hirise of the Year!

LAKE VIEWS
CITY VIEWS
CORNER VIEWS (2 VIEWS IN ONE)
AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME NOR THEIRS JUST BRING THEM TO NORTH HARBOR TOWER
(98% CLOSING RATIO!)

Current Leasing Specials:

$300 Administrative Fee ($150 off $450)*
$30 Credit Check Fee ($20 off $50)*
$200 Sign-up Bonus taken off the 1st month’s rent*
*Sign Up Bonus and Specials applied only to applications received within 24 hours of tour

Student Bonus:

Students receive an additional $300 off the 2ND month’s rent and the application fee is waived for applications received within 24 hours of tour
(WITH RECEIPT OF TUITION/BOOKS PAID AND A COPY OF TRANSCRIPT)

ACCEPTING DOGS UP TO 40LBS!**
**ON DOG FLOORS ONLY
STUDIOS & CONVERTIBLES
AMAZING CITY & LAKE VIEWS!

#1607 505 SQ. FT. Studio – $1340.00 Beautiful Lake View! (Now)
LOWERED PRICE #2307 505 SQ. FT. Studio – $1325.00 Beautiful Lake View **DOG FLOOR**
#2002 465 SQ. FT. Studio – $1240.00 Spectacular City View! (5/6/11)
#814 475 SQ. FT. Studio – $1180.00 Beautiful City View **DOG FLOOR** (05/06/11)

#2112 520 SQ. FT. Convertible – $1420.00 Sunny South Harbor View (Now)
#1712 520 SQ. FT. Convertible – $1400.00 Sunny South Harbor View (5/06/11)
#904 530 SQ. FT. Convertible – $1360.00 Beautiful North Navy Pier View**DOG FLOOR** (6/05/11)
#1504 530 SQ. FT. Convertible – $1390.00 Beautiful North Navy Pier View (5/06/11)

ONE BEDROOM
GREAT FLOOR PLANS!

#2508 766 SQ. FT. One Bedroom- $1590.00 Amazing Lake (Now)
#401 755 SQ. FT. One Bedroom- $1440.00 West City View (4/23/11)**DOG FLOOR
#515 755 SQ. FT. One Bedroom – $1445.00 Sunny City View **DOG FLOOR** (5/8/11)
#608 766 SQ. FT. One Bedroom – $1515.00 Lake View **DOG FLOOR** (5/6/11)

TWO BEDROOMS
AMAZING LAYOUTS!

3 Huge Walk-in Closets With Clear Lake Views from Every Room!
LOWERED PRICE #5104 1420 SQ. FT. 2 Bedrooms/2 Baths $2390 (Now)
#5204 1420 SQ. FT. 2 Bedrooms/2 Baths $2420 (Now)
#3704 1420 SQ. FT. 2 Bedrooms/2 Baths $2345 (Now)

3 BEDROOMS
SPECTACULAR CORNER VISTAS!

#3402 1785 SQ. FT. Three Bedroom/2.5 Baths – $3380.00 Southwest Corner with South Harbor and City Views (Upgraded with Granite Countertops w/Cutout) (Now)
#3502 1785 SQ. FT. Three Bedroom/2.5 Baths – $3295.00 Northwest Corner with City and Lake Views (Upgraded with Granite Countertops) (Now)
#4802 1800 SQ. FT. 3 Bedrooms/2.5 Baths $3385.00 (Upgraded with Black Granite Countertops) Northwest Corner City and Lake Views **DOG FLOOR** (Now)

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Short sale two bedroom at the Parkshore just closed

April 3rd, 2011 · Uncategorized

I noticed the short sale two bedroom unit facing north at the Parkshore – 195 N Harbor Dr. has just closed for $383K with a valet parking included in the price. I have showed this unit to a few of my clients, it is a very nice, clean and move in condition unit. There is a regular sale of a similar unit on a lower floor for $414,500, the inside of these two units are similar, so the price difference between a regular sale and a short sale is 8% which is even less than 10 %, that means the Parkshore building is very strong and even for people to get a bargain of the short sale, the price difference is not that substantial. There was another bigger two bedroom unit sold for $415K with parking included which I think is a great deal.
The Parkshore is a full amenity building with grocery store on site, 24 hour doorman and maintenance staff, gym with nice view, roof top pool, sun deck, grill and tennis court. The Parkshore is located at the new east side neighborhood, next to three parks, the lakeshore dr, the Navy Pier and the Michigan Ave.

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One bedroom going auction at the 420 waterside, the Regetta

March 14th, 2011 · Uncategorized

I just wrote a post about the one bedroom foreclosure at the 420 waterside and then found out that it is going auction soon. Normally the bank has a reserved price for the auction unit, so even the buyer is the highest bidder at the auction, he might not be able to get the unit just because if his price does not meet with the bank reserved price, the auction is not a successful one.

There was an auction last month, unit 312 at the 222 columbus, and it was sold for $162,750, although the start bidding price for the property was just $75,000, so that means even for auction unit, the price has to be pretty close to the market price of the units.

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New listed one bedroom foreclosure unit at the 222 Columbus Dr – the Park Millennium

March 14th, 2011 · Uncategorized

I noticed there is a new one bedroom foreclosure unit at the 222 Columbus Dr – the Park Millennium, this is also listed by Ayoub Rabah from Great Street Properties, Inc. this is a one plus den unit, around 850 square feet and the listing price is $174,900 on March 8th, 2011. This is a very good price, since this unit is not only bigger than the other one bedroom units, also it has pretty good view to the parks. Since the Park Millennium has more than 50% renter over owner occupancy rate, people can only get mortgage from private lenders other than any of the mortgage companies. I have not get to see the inside of this unit yet, will update later after seeing the unit about the condition of the unit.

The Park Millennium building is located at the Lakeshore East Park, it has pedway attached to the building, also has a grocery store in the building and nice gym and indoor pool.

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Foreclosure unit at the 420 Waterside

March 14th, 2011 · Uncategorized

I noticed that there is a one bedroom foreclosure unit listed by Ayoub Rabah from Great Street Properties, Inc., this unit is around 850 square feet with a nice balcony facing south of the new Lakeshore East Park, although this is a foreclosure unit, there is no damages in the unit, the kitchen, bathroom and the floor is still in very good condition. The listing price was dropped to $261,000 on February 3rd, 2011, there are lots of showings of this property but still on the market now. There is no parking attached to the unit, I expect the bank might need to drop it another time. The price should be around $240K then it will be a good price.

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Just rented in the lakeshore East in the last three months

February 15th, 2011 · Uncategorized

There are totally 30 units rented in the New Eastside neighborhood including most of the Lakeshore East buildings except Aqua, this is a lot more active compare to last year this time. As this is the worst season in Chicago for moving, so normally we would not be able to see this much activities. This is not including the Tides – 360 E Waterside, the Shoreham – 400 E Waterside and the North Harbor Tower – 175 N Harbor Dr and the new Aqua building. During my showing last week, we understand that 90% of the units are rented at the Tides, the Shoreham, the Aqua and the North Harbor Tower. Plus the rent price is coming up a little too.

Within the 30 units rented, there are one bedroom unit, two bedroom unit and three bedroom units, for one bedroom unit, the price is ranging between $1,800 and $2,200 per month, but most of the units would include a parking space, for two bedroom unit, the price is ranging between $2,050 and $2,900 per month, and for the three bedroom units, the prices are between $3,500 and $6,500 per month. Most of these units are including washer and dryer in the units, basic cable included and Internet included for the new units.

Currently there are 18 units for rent at the new eastside neighborhood, there are ranging between $1,600 per month to $4,800 per month.

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