La Vida Loca at the edge of Logan Square

The developer promised “Dolce Living” at Springfield Vue condominiums, 1920 N Springfield at the edge of Logan Square. What I saw at the site was closer to la vida loca than la dolce vita.

Six of the 8 units sold in 2008 for substantially above the asking price. They were financed with 80% mortgages that corresponded roughly to the amount of the asking price, and all six quickly went into foreclosure.

A top-floor 3-bedroom, 2-bath unit was sold at the asking price, with 90% financing, and only recently went into foreclosure. That unit is currently on the market with an asking price of $275,500.

Duplex-down 2,600 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bath units that sold for a nominal $425,000 were resold after foreclosure at $50,000 and $54,000 to cash buyers. Three-bedroom, 2-bath units that originally sold for $385,000 resold after foreclosure for $68,000 and $85,000.

One of the new buyers told me that she was pleased with her 4-bedroom purchase. The neighborhood, she said, was “so so” but convenient to work and shopping for her.

A neighbor told me that the boarded-up trashed-out building at the corner, part of the Springfield Vue development, had been being taken apart by local gangs for months.

The 80% financing for units sold at above asking prices followed by quick foreclosures is an indication that this development may have been a vehicle for mortgage fraud. The developer has been the subject of half a dozen foreclosure suits in Chicago.

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