Wright Chat

[gdf]

I noticed in Wright on the Market that the Heurtley House sold. Does anyone know the story? What it sold for and the realtor's name that sold it? Thanks in advance.

[pharding]

It has been sold for approximately 1 month. I am not sure if the sale has closed. Once I know that it has closed I will post the sales price. It sold for what I projected it sell for when it first went on the market. I must have ESP or at least ESPN.



I think that the buyer got a fine deal, but not a steal. If I had extra millions laying around and I had the funds in place for a secure retirement I would have bought it in a heart beat. It is a truly a great architectural work that is very livable even by today's standards of excess.
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Paul Harding FAIA Owner and Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, the First Prairie School House in Chicago | www.harding.com | LinkedIn

[cottonwood]

The Heurtley House closed on 1/16/07 for 2.5 million! The original listing price was $5.75 million which was reduced to $4.90 million (4/06) to $3.999 million (9/06). It had been on the market since 9/05 (440 days). The listing agent was from Baird and Warner (Marcee Gavula).

[pharding]

That is much lower than what I heard. I cannot believe that it sold for that figure.
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Paul Harding FAIA Owner and Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, the First Prairie School House in Chicago | www.harding.com | LinkedIn

[RJH]

- What did the seller originally buy the house at?



- What date did the seller originally buy the house?



- What are the annual property taxes?



I have a hard time believing it sold for that price. Many times, buyers and sellers agree at a
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www.HaynesHouseLLC.com.

[pharding]

In mid-January I heard from reliable sources that it sold for $3.1 million. My guess was that the previous owners paid $1.5 million for it and spent $1.6 million on the restoration, reproduction furniture and a new historic large garage with office space. The property taxes were probably $23,000 per year for the previous owners.



In my opinion there is absolutely no way that it sold for $2.5 million without a side deal as RGH suggested.



I will make some calls tomorrow to my real estate broker friend.
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Paul Harding FAIA Owner and Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, the First Prairie School House in Chicago | www.harding.com | LinkedIn

[jhealy]

"Undocumented" portions of a purchase price are risky. With a deal of this size, I would not feel comfortable as a seller letting $600,000 be an unwritten obligation on the part of the buyer. Moreover, if the buyer and seller do not report the full consideration on the applicable transfer tax forms and are later audited, there could be further liability - both in terms of money and criminal penalties. There are many other issues ....

[RJH]

Cook County Recorder of Deeds confirms it sold/closed 1/8/2007 for $2.5M. That is the final word.



Unless there was something undocumented

[JimM]

[pharding]

The previous owners have our gratitude for doing a wonderful job on the restoration. I wish them the best.
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Paul Harding FAIA Owner and Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, the First Prairie School House in Chicago | www.harding.com | LinkedIn

[A Wright Homeowner]

The real estate contract filed with the Cook County Recorder's Office reflects the price for the Real Property (house and land) only. To the extent that personal furnishings were sold as well, that would be covered by a contract for the sale of Personal Property, not subject to filing with the Recorder's Office.

[jhealy]

There is a good point here. If personal property was included in the price, the parties may deduct that amount from the contact purchase price for purposes of paying real estate transfer taxes. To be clear, contracts are not recorded at the recorder's office. A transfer tax declaration is submitted with the deed, which shows the contract price and the amount the parties are attributing to personal property (conveyed by way of a bill of sale). The real estate transfer tax paid is based on the amount attributable to the real property. I would be surprised if there was a separate contract for the personal property. A standard residential contract provides for the conveyance of personal property and a bill of sale, to the extent the parties so desire.



There are two interesting things that my be worth a look into:



1. Whether you can obtain an actual copy of the transfer tax declaration, which would show what if any was attributed to the personal property.



2. Whether what the county reports on its website as the sale price for the house is the full consideration (including personal property) or the amount on which transfer tax was paid. My guess is that it is the amount on which transfer tax was paid, because that is "value" of the real estate.

[jinosbrovens]

It even manages to pull off having a front driveway which isn't an easy feat. If I were to build my own house I think I would go for something like this.Heurtley House is beautiful inside and out.
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richmond real estate agent

[ross]

I was curious about an update on this older thread.

When I first learned about the Heurtley House restoration I was thrilled and amazed. I also purchased the fascinating DVD about the restoration.

Then, a short while later I was startled to learn that the owners were selling the house.

While reading the above comments I find there are still unanswered questions.

1) Does anybody know WHY they sold so shortly after such an amazing endeavor?
2) Does anyone know what they paid for the house?
3) Can anyone confirm the total restoration costs?
4) Can it be confirmed that the TOTAL post-restoration sale price was $2.5M, or was there an additional price paid for furnishings, etc.?

My hope is that the owners were financially rewarded for their great effort. I would hate to think that they took a hit on the sale.

[juliens]

As said by pharding it is true, Heurtley house was sold nearly one month ago, from then I was searching for the information regarding its selling price and listing agent, but couldn’t found required information anywhere. I have gone though nearly 100 forums but all the time left disappointed. Thanks cottonwood for sharing this great information with us.
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Julie