Thomas McCarey

[Original blog post at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago]

In as much time as it takes to send an email the folks at Lincoln Park 2520 have boosted their sales from 50% to 74% of the massive new construction luxury project located in Chicago's toney Lincoln Park neighborhood.

How, in a market as constricted as what we are experiencing in Chicago this summer, were they able to achieve this prodigious feat?

By a mathematical sleight of hand whereby they are reducing the number of units from 292 to 198. As reported yesterday by Crain's Chicago Business the Lincoln Park luxury condominium and townhome project at 2520 N Lakeview has been reduced in size. And with the reduction in size comes an increase in the percent of units sold.

Unfortunately, though, the reduction impacts 29 units already under contract which makes pending sales nearly 60% of the overall units (though developers say the bulk of these folks intend to purchase another condo in this Lincoln Park location).

At the outset the shift in numbers would appear to be an attempt to garner additional funding to move forward with the project. Some $200 Million in construction loans are perceived as needed to complete work. But the current state of the financial markets creates a timeline of maybe a year before construction loans might be available for this Chicago luxury project or larger scale residential real estate work across the United States.

Which brings us to a more immediate concern - the August 15th maturity date of a $28.75 Million loan with Bank of America that financed the $44 Million purchase price of the former site of Columbus Hospital. Crain's quotes the head of the development as saying talks are underway with the bank to extend this deadline.

Meanwhile the jury is out as to the overall look of this Lucien Lagrange designed site that intermingles townhomes with a 33-story tower that is 8 floors fewer than originally planned. With a price tag that trends toward an average of $900 square foot many observers have opined that its size simply doesn't integrate well with the neighborhood where Chicago's gracious Lincoln Park is its front yard.

The builder's website is currently being redesigned, so it doesn't offer any additional information. There are presently 8 new listings at 2520 listed on the Chicago mls ranging from below $500,000 for a 960 square foot one bedroom (parking extra) to a nearly 7,000 square foot four bedroom penthouse with almost 3,000 feet of terrace that is listed at $11,544,000 (parking extra).

Among the questions that come to mind with respect to this project relate to timeline (when is it realistically anticipated to be done (and will it truly be built)), assessments (the sleight of hand reducing overall units will push up monthly fees by how much), and value (what is the true worth of a home at this address)?

By the way, the assessments for the one bedroom are $201 while the four bedroom are indicated on the Chicago mls as $4681.

If you have any interest in this or any other property in Chicago (including the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the Gold Coast, Streeterville, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Roscoe Village, Edgewater, Lincoln Square and the north side Chicago real estate, don't hesitate to reach out to me either at tom.mccarey@gmail.com or by calling or texting 773.848.9241.

[See in original format at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago]

When in Rome, goes the old saw, do as the Romans.

That was our experience when we traveled with the boys to Europe not last Christmas but the one prior. And like our Roman friends, we did likewise as we walked and walked and walked and walked.

Certainly some folks in the states and even our home town of Chicago like to lace up their sneakers and walk, but the tendency to hit the trail as a pedestrian is an art form in the historic district of Rome.

Of course part of the reason is that gas is so intolerably expensive in locales like Rome or Paris. And then, of course, consider that the narrowness of the lanes where anything larger than a Vespa will have difficulty passing.

But part of the reason, methinks, perhaps boils down to culture. Many Americans, whether in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles (definitely LA), don't like to ambulate for the sake of ambulation. Consider, conversely, our British counterpart who likes doing it so much that he has afforded the act a piece of his lexicon. And thus the Brit engages in what he calls a "constitutional."

Maybe we are a more driven group of people with our errands and tasks that don't allow, in our mind at least, an extra moment. And so we rush and dash and scurry.

Certainly I am as prone to the mad and harried pursuit as I sprint from point a to point b as I show my Chicago real estate listings whether a downtown Chicago highrise condo or a Wicker Park single family or a Logan Square top floor home or a Roscoe Village extra wide home. But every once in a while a blessed respite occurs and I catch a passing glimpse of peace amid the din of servicing my Chicago real estate clientele.

Such as when I walk.

Like yesterday when we started out the door in a typical enough manner but wound up behaving so very Euro as we headed through our Edgewater neighborhood on foot to our local Dominick's grocery store carrying our own reusable bags with which to head back home with our assorted organics upon which later we would dine.

Just like when we held residence for a week on Via Vecchio in Rome's city centre and walked the cobbled lane to the corner grocer with the white aproned employees who made us feel like we had turned back the pages of the calendar to an earlier day with an exquisite form of customer service.

We didn't have aproned employees at Dominick's, but the lady at the register did her best to placate Lucas as she offered him a neon orange sticker that took his mind off whatever was derailing his typically serene disposition.

In a way the walk is like the Mastercard priceless commercials...

Pound of organic apples - $3

Pound of organic plums - $3.50

Half pound or nitrate and hormone free turkey - $4

Gallon of organic milk - $6

Walk with the family in our Chicago neighborhood - priceless

And so it goes until my next day of back-to-back-to-back showings at my listings in Lakeview, River West, Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Roscoe Village.

[See in original format at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago]

Buried somewhere in the innards of yesterday's New York Times was a story that elated me.

17-year-old Zac Sunderland completed a one-year odyssey in which he sailed around the world alone aboard his sailboat "Intrepid."

Doing the math backward this means that Zac left his mom and dad and brothers and sisters when he was 16. And while some kids don't like to spend the night away from the nest and here we have Zac enduring some 28,000 miles sailing solo.

Wow!

I'm sure he's happy to be the youngest-ever person to complete a feat such as this. But more important, perhaps, than the accolade is the knowledge that he did it. And as did this beautiful shaggy haired teen tip his lance deftly toward the windmill, so too can the rest of us gain a truer measure of ourselves and also do it.

Hah! It rekindles in my mind the time-worn saw from Nike - "Just do it."

Seems like Zac Sunderland heard the call of this muse and did just that. Now it's our turn.

Sometimes the adventures are smaller, like the excursion that my family and I took through our Edgewater neighborhood in the northside of Chicago to participate in the community's "Third Saturday." And sometimes the scope is a bit grander like when Nicole and I hightailed it up the Machu Picchu trail in Peru or down the Amazon River (or even when we traveled to Europe the Christmas before last with nine-m0nth-old Lucas and two-year-old Jackson).

What struck me about Zac, aside from his courage and grace to have accomplished this feat was that his parents not only raised him to do it, but they encouraged him to do it.

Wow and wow!

What a lesson to bear in mind as I intermingle trying to be the best dad that I can be to Jackson and Lucas while simultaneously servicing the needs of my clients buying and selling homes and condos in the Chicago real estate market. At the end of the day it's not that tough a task. Well, sometimes it is tough, but those times typically are related to friction and friction often is the result of ego or pride trying to dictate an end result. And when you have ego and pride squaring off between two parties as oft is the case when folks act like folks...

So the call to action is manifold, but primarily what I gleaned from Zac's story is to be inspired and moved to do things fully and with greatness.

Sounds like I'm orbiting my old Zen haunts again.

[See in original format at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago]

But not only do we take great pride in the Chicago real estate that we represent, we take great efforts to ensure that we market the listings of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago as fully as possible. And so each listing has its own website as you see when you view our Wicker Park home for sale at 1917 Race. Relying on professionally snapped photographs from VHT and text penned by Tom McCarey, we produce online marketing materials that are syndicated to myriad websites including all members of the cooperative mls serving Chicago as well as straight to the consumer via craigslist and other sites.

And to establish what I call an online matrix whereby the online consumer sees the listings when they google or bing, I stitch together a technological canvas that spans my known technological universe relying on sites such as flickr, postlets, vast, backpage, vast, etc to propel the listing to be visible. And then we go the extra mile through tools like Scribd and SlideShare which are powerpoint presentations that I convert to a pdf, add a few tags related to the listing and let the demigods of the internet push the listing even further into the sight lines of online consumers.

And so consider 1917 Race, a Wicker Park or East Village home for sale with a flowing layout and a price tag of $824,900 that reflects the current market. This home offers fine finishes from the front door to the master suite, from the handwrought steel floating staircase to the gourmet kitchen, from the whole home audio wiring with speakers to the garage top deck. In essence this is a true home for the person looking to find a Chicago home.

Now that we have brought it to the market the true heavy lifting of the listing agent commences to maintain a diligent drum beat to continue to market the listing until finally the person for whom the home is just right walks through the front door.

If that person is you, hurry! If it's your friend, share the info with them. And if you are simply figuring out what you do when it's time for your to sell be sure to select a Chicago real estate professional whose method of promotion is actual and measurable and not simply verbal.

[Original format at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago]

The rain came this morning.

Quick, loud, and is typically the case with rain, wet.

It came shortly after 5 am. The clock on the stove told me it was so. And though my brain was hurling invectives at me as I rose the combination of the time (nearly time to arise) along with the precarious situation of the patio furniture was enough to spur me forward. So being the responsible fellow I am, I tip-toed my bare foot way to the patio to retrieve and hurl to safety the hyacinth pads from the chairs surrounding the wrought round table where just last night Nicole and the boys and I enjoyed our evening repast.

And just as quickly as it came the rumbling early morning Chicago thunderstorm ambled by and no doubt is prompting folks east of my Edgewater location to decide if they too will tip toe damply and with bare feet to secure items unintentionally left to gather rain drops (or buckets of rain, as the case may be).

The real solution, no doubt, is to heed the echoes of parental admonitions past - if you're done, put it away. And so I vow that it will be the case next time. I will put it away. For no matter how much like a hero I feel now that I have risen early and snared a head start on the day, I might just have preferred to remain abed until my circadian rhythm reached its crescendo and urged me to rise naturally.

And there you have it.

What you also have, if you are of a mind to dabble as a buyer of Chicago real estate are three new listings hosted by the team of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago. A veritable smattering of homes, Tom McCarey and Mitch Aronson are beaming with news of the following:

At 1917 W Race is a three-level contemporary single family home situated near Wicker Park and priced at $824,900. Tom McCarey represented the buyers when they purchased this custom built new construction five years ago. The home offers a gourmet kitchen, high end finishes, a handcrafted floating steel staircase and a garage top deck that urges backyard get-aways in this East Village location.

At 2449 Logan Boulevard is a top floor Logan Square condo for sale that overlooks tree-lined Logan Boulevard. Providing an extra-wide footprint, this two bed/two bath Chicago condo has a separate living room and dining room and a large granite and stainless steel kitchen. Hardwood floors extend throughout and list price of $379,900 includes a parking space.

At 2542 N Sacramento is a vintage lover's delight. Upgraded exquisitely, this home combines features such as coffered ceilings, crown molding and six-paneled oak doors and hardwood flooring with a granite kitchen, central heat and air, and in-unit laundry. An easy walk to the Logan Square blue line stop, this Chicago condo is listed at $249,900.

As with all of our listings and any listing that intrigues you in the Chicago real estate market, arranging an appointment is only a phone call away. To reach Tom McCarey call 773.848.9241 and to reach Mitch Aronson call 773.405.6600.