Chicago Home For Sale

March 10, 2010 - If you haven’t already heard of the Randolph Tower City Apartments you probably will be soon. That’s the name of a proposed Chicago real estate conversion project that would turn an office tower, located on 188 West Randolph and once known as the Steuben Club Building, into an apartment tower with 310 units. Crain’s reports that the

Community Development Commission has agreed to a tax-increment financing subsidy of $34 million for the project. Originally, the TIF amount that was pledged was only about $8 million back in 2006 when developer Village Green Cos. came to the city for financial help. But now the estimated cost of the renovation has gone from $79 million up to $139 by 2008. The city then added another $20 million in TIF funds. But right now the estimated cost of the project is about $145 million and a new TIF district was formed to allow for the increase in funds. Restoring the terra cotta facade is one of the biggest costs of the project.

The Randolph Tower City Apartments plan isn’t a hit with everyone though. Some contend that the 1929 built, 45 story historic tower isn’t going to generate enough income for the city to justify the money. The city council still has to approve of the plan before any funds are transfered.

If the funds are approved, then the developer must devote 20% of the 310 Chicago apartments to be offered and leased at affordable or below market rates. The tower will also contain retail space, a restaurant, fitness center and a spa.

Since we’ve been hearing about a few new developments in the works, there must be at least a few developers who believe the Chicago real estate market is on the mend and financing and buyers can be found again.

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March 9, 2010 - For those of you planning on attending the Prairie Pointe condo auction this Sunday, we have some more details about the units going up for bid. Remember that the auction event is being conducted by Inland Real Estate Auction on Sunday, March 14th at the Chicago Hilton on 720 South Michigan Avenue with registration at 1PM and bidding at 2PM.

Open house dates are tomorrow, March 10th from 5:30PM to 8PM and Saturday, March 13th from 12PM to 3PM.

Two 994 square foot one bedroom, 1.5 bath condos on floor 20 and 21 are going up for auction with minimum bids of $189,000 each.

On floors 17, 20 and 21 are three one bedroom, 1.5 units with 997 square feet of living space. Minimum bids for those are also $189,000 each.

Floors 11 and 20 have two one bedroom, 1.5 condos with 1,111 square feet that are up for bid for a minimum of $211,000 each.

There are two one bedroom, two bath units on floor 11 and 12 that size up at 1,443 square feet. The minimum bid for each of those is set at $295,000.

If you’re interested in more bedrooms, there are three two bedroom, two bath condos on floors 12, 17 and 21 with 1,274 square feet. The minimum bid for each of these is $267,500.

And for the top floor unfinished penthouse with three bedrooms, three baths, 2,800 square feet and a huge 900 square foot terrace you’ll have to start your bidding at $895,000.

Only the penthouse condo has a reserve price. The other units don’t. You must be able to close by April 30th.

Sometimes you can get Chicago condos at a reduced price at auction, but don’t get so caught up in the bidding that you end up paying more than you expected.

Technorati Tags: Prairie Pointe, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

January 20, 2010 - We told you about the new rule change that would allow buyers who want to purchase a previously foreclosed home from a flipper to get an FHA backed mortgage before the old 90 day wait period. Now we have news about more changes concerning qualifying rules for FHA loans.

It will soon become a bit harder and cost a bit more to get an FHA backed mortgage. According to a Tribune article, 30% of all new and refinanced mortgages are FHA backed and 50% of all first-time buyers use FHA loans.

David Stevens, FHA Commissioner, stated in the article that, “Homeownership is important to the sustainability of communities. But we’ve also learned that not everybody should own a home. Putting responsible guidelines in place is a way to insure sustainability for homeowners.”

The old low 3.5% down payment will only be available to homebuyers who have a credit score of at least 580. That’s up from the old minimum credit score of 500. If you have less than a 580 credit score you’ll have to put down 10%. A minimum credit score of 620 is required by most lenders.

Another change is that the old upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the total loan amount will increase to 2.25%. Also, sellers will only be allowed to pay 3% of a buyer’s closing cost where previously 6% had been allowed.

These changes will go into effect in phases, starting this spring and continue through the summer. We’ll have to wait and see if any of these FHA mortgage changes affect first time buyers or make it easier to purchase Chicago foreclosures.

Technorati Tags: FHA Mortgages, Chicago Foreclosures, Chicago Real Estate