February 10, 2010 – Yesterday we told you about the future of Mod being in question due to a foreclosure suit. The first phase of this Chicago real estate development switched to rental and now there’s a chance the second phase might not be constructed. One of Mod’s developers, Steven Golovan of Graystone Development and Castlebar Enterprises is also having problems with another project, The Catalina. This 12 condo low-rise located on 2524 North Ashland Avenue is also under litigation from a $5 million foreclosure suit filed last April by Amcore Bank, according to a Crain’s article.

The article went on to say that Mr. Golovan had, “attempted a similar fix last spring,” on The Catalina before the foreclosure suit was filed in April ’09.. This taken to mean that like Mod, the units at the Catalina were offered for rent when sales slowed. At last count, half of the units were under contract.

The so-called extra-wide Chicago condos at The Catalina were being marketed last year from the mid $400,000s to low $700,000s. The units had two to three bedrooms and baths with between 1,478 to 2,740 square feet of living space. The finishes were high-end with Jenn-Air and Bosch appliances, granite counter tops, walnut cabinets, wine coolers, steam showers in the baths, high-speed phones, custom built-in bookcases and a deck. Parking was also included in the purchase price.

The Crain’s article quoted Susan Tjarksen of Stabilized Asset Resources LLC as saying that sometimes the best option for developers is to rent unsold inventory.

“It at least stabilizes the asset. When the market comes back, there’s a good chance these rental tenants will buy. The goal is to keep these young tenants happy, so that they stay. It may not be the best exit strategy, but it may be the only exit strategy,” she was quoted as saying.

And if you are undecided about renting or buying, there are plenty of Rent to own condos in Chicago right now, so check out what’s available.

[tags]The Catalina, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Market Update, Mortgage Information.