Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Mystery Solved?

It appears that the mystery of the rehabbed building down the street has been solved.

It’s a rental. A few tenants are already in the building.

I’m gonna be honest with you, I really thought the project was going to go condo.

Why?

The finishes seem above the basic contractor staples that you see throughout most rental buildings.

The floors are gleaming (Real wood? Laminate?) and the appliances are stainless.

You heard me right---stainless.

That’s some high livin’ those kids are doing down there.

All this begs the question, is the building owner renting out the units until the real estate market turns around or is this their first development?

Because who would put high end finishes and a stainless appliance package in a rental?

This ought to be interesting.

7 comments:

Eric Allix Rogers said...

That's the kind of thing MAC is doing in Hyde Park/Kenwood. My apartment at 47th has wood floors, granite countertops, and a dishwasher!

The Woodlawn Wonder said...

Eric,

Shut up! Perhpas I should of waited a few years to buy.

The North Coast said...

It was probably intended to be a condo in the initial planning stage. Remember, a project usually takes several years from acquisition of the property to initial plans to going through the permitting and zoning process, before you even go for the financing.

So if you just got your deal started in 2004, then you didn't get it finished and ready to sell until after the bust began. Too bad.

There were lots of mis-timed projects around town, and most of the condos that came on line after 2005 are going to end up being rental. There are also many vacant parcels of land going into foreclosure, because the developments planned for them couldn't get financed after 2006.

kwintessential said...

I think thier is a building across from Target on 12th/Clark that was intended for condos but had to turn to rentals. Once the economy turns around, watch out for the mass exodus!

The North Coast said...

I don't think renters need to worry about being converted out of their places once the economy turns, because when we finally do start to recover, we will NOT be resuming the easy money rampage.

The fact is, there were so many condos built or converted that we have enough to supply the singles and empty-nesters for the next 20 years.

Now that lending is reverting to the risk-based model of yore, there won't be the money to convert, especially since prices will be pegged to rent-parity.

Things are going to be different than they've been since 1980. That was when we began to run our economy on debt and asset inflation, and we've gone as far with that as we can go.

We'll be reverting to something resembling NORMALCY. That means you save to buy a house, and you get a 30 year, or 20 year fixed for a loan that is no more than 2.5X your income. Prudence and frugality will be the by-words.

kwintessential said...

Well, I hope that we do not resort to the money madnesss igorance again of the 1980's, but I am fearing with some recovery comes the next big thing in investments: The .dot com's, cheap real-estate, the renewed interest in Wall Street, etc. With the push for entrepeneurship, will come another "big item" that will give the economy a moderate push, fills up some pockets, and the cylcle of the "80's" will return.

The North Coast said...

Many people are betting that Obama's Cap & Trade (of carbon credits) will be the next scam sink and hot bed of manic speculation. The credits can be traded,you see, just as pollution permits are now.

However, I'm placing my bets with more tangible things, such as canned food, blankets, and warm clothes, because I have a feeling that, what with a total projected costs of $23 Trillion, all the bailouts and workouts of bad debt are going to drive us to a place where nothing on paper will mean squat.