Not even Oprah Winfrey is immune from the aftermath of the burst housing bubble. Oprah just put her co-op at 199 E Lake Shore Drive, unit 6E on the market for $2.8 MM. That’s half the $5.6 MM she paid for it in August 2006, which was damn near the peak of the bubble, and supposedly she never actually lived in the place. Then there was her failed attempt to sell the place for $6 MM back in 2008/ 2009. Of course, for Oprah a $2.8 MM+ loss is a drop in the bucket.
At $2.8 MM Oprah is undercutting her neighbor in unit 5 E, which is listed at $2.99 MM. Unit 6W is also on the market for $3.995 MM but it is a duplex unit and without studying it it’s not immediately apparent if it’s much bigger than Oprah’s unit.
If you will recall, Oprah tried to rent out her co-op back in November for $15,000/ month but apparently she had no takers. Hell, I’m surprised because you would think that having Oprah as a landlord would have some serious cachet – not to mention the ability to sue her under Chicago’s onerous Landlord and Tenant ordinance.
Check out the updated MLS description, property specs, and photos below.
Benjamin Marshall’s 1913 Beaux-Arts style jewel! This 4,607 square foot home has amazing views from the living room, library and master suite. Gracious rooms feature 10′ ceilings, including an inner foyer, grand reception, living room, library, dining room, solarium, gourmet custom eat-in kitchen, butler’s pantry, wine room, laundry room, 3rd BR/office, en-suite guest bedroom and master suite. Elegance at its best….Two convenient attached garage parking spaces and two storage rooms included in price.
- 3 bedrooms
- 3 full baths and 2 half baths
- 2 fireplaces
- 2 garage spots
- Master bedroom is 26 x 24 but the Tribune previously said the master suite is a total of 1241 square feet
- Monthly assessments of $8,763
- Property taxes of $26,000. Wait a second. How did she get off so easily? Also, it’s never clear if those taxes are included in the monthly assessment for a co-op.
- Board approval is required
Does anyone care she’s “losing” money? It will be written off on her taxes.
Definitely no on the first.
However, unless it was a business asset, it can’t be written off. The best that can be said is that she won’t have a capital gain to report.
But in that she was trying to rent it out, maybe it was a business asset.
Maybe she can afford a CPA to figure it out 😉
Oprah’s losing millions! Call the waaaaaaaaaahmbulance!