Many people are looking to foreclosure market for distressed condos in Streeterville. Given that Streeterville is such an attractive market, it only natural for people to look into buying a Streeterville condo for a reduced price. However, going this route can have a lot of potential problems if you don’t know what you are doing.
Some Streeterville condo associations have the right of first refusal. This means that the homeowners’ association (the residents of the building) can see what the market commands and then match any offer that comes in thereby delaying and driving up the price of the condo. They have a vested interest in doing this as it will keep the value of their unit in the building from falling too low. So find out if this exist or not in the condo you are looking at.
Second, in the state of Illinois, buyers of foreclosed condos are responsible for up to six months of delinquent assessments. So it is important that you figure out what those fees are and try to negotiate with the bank the amount owed.
Third, foreclosed Streeterville condos are sold as is. You don’t get the opportunity to inspect the unit because in most cases its still occupied by the previous owner. You might even have to incurred legal fees to remove the tenant after you assume ownership. So you might want to add the cost of retaining an attorney for the eviction costs in your bid.
Given that you won’t be afforded the opportunity to inspect the unit, factor in the additional cost of repairing the unit and making it habitable. You can safely assume that the foreclosed owner did not go out of his or her way to keep the condo in pristine condition. So talk to a contractor about potential cost of fixing the unit. It is essential that you factor that cost in your equation because I hate for you to buy a condo in Streeterville and then not have enough money to fix it and make it habitable.
Don’t forget that the condo will have tons of trash and debris in it that will require someone to clean it. The previous occupant did not have any incentive to make it look nice since they were being forced out of the unit.
