Check Out Vince Vaughn’s $14 Million Penthouse in Chicago

For a long time, Vince Vaughn made us laugh with the comedy films that have helped him accumulate a net worth of $50 million. While some of the money has been used to engage in partying with several conflicts with the law being the aftermath, the actor has still managed to accumulate some property. One of the houses he had up until 2016 is a penthouse he sold for nearly the same amount he had bought it. Check out Vince Vaughn’s $14 million penthouse in Chicago, whose price he had to keep slashing to get a buyer.

Comprises three floors

Maybe it was the fact that the penthouse was Playboy’s headquarters for almost two decades that made Vince Vaughn want to own it. Whatever the appeal the property had, Vince forked out $12 million in 2006 to be the owner of three floors of the Palmolive Building and was ready to enjoy his years as a bachelor utilizing the many amenities that he and his friends would enjoy. The entire penthouse covered 12,000 square feet translating to Vince having paid $1,000 for each square foot.

According to Top Ten Real Estate Deals, the penthouse comprises a five-bedroom and five-bath bachelor pad house on the top three floors of the Palmolive building. The 35th floor acts as the sleeping quarters since all the five bedrooms, including the master en suite, are on it. On the 36th floor sits the lounging and dining area since it comprises a dining room, living room, and a state of the art kitchen. The gourmet kitchen has two built-on subzero refrigerators, a double oven and stove, pantry, and Varenna cabinets that give it an elegant look.

The 37th floor is dedicated to entertainment, and that is where you will find the media room, a full bar, game room, and billiards. With the three private terraces providing a 360-degree panoramic view of the city and lake, guests are also treated to homemade meals thanks to the outdoor kitchen. Also, part of the entertainment is a card table ideal for poker nights. The top floor mostly utilizes wood paneling, as seen from the pictures published by Haute Residence, while the middle floor has mainly a modern appeal. The living room is mostly formal, while the dining room can best be described as contemporary, and it offers an uninterrupted view of Lake Michigan through the large window facing the lake.

A game of how low can you go

After living in the triplex for five years, the actor wanted to sell the property twice as much as he had bought it. He, therefore, priced it at $24.7 million without publicly listing it. Unfortunately, the amount seemed too high for anyone to pay; hence in 2015, he listed it for $14.9 million according to Curbed. For more than one year, Vince was stubborn and stuck to that price. In February 2015, he realized he had to cave in to the market pressure if he wanted to sell the property. Therefore, he reduced the price by $1 million to have a new price tag of $13.9 million.

Perhaps afraid that he was seemed to be too eager to dispose of it, Vince’s listing agent, Kathrine Malkin, made it clear that the actor was not desperate. She even added that the apartment was in top-notch condition, and it would find the right buyer with time. The fact that Vince listed the property using interior photos for the first time since he put it on the market seemed to convey a different message than what Kathrine was saying.

Still, the efforts were not enough to attract any buyer to buy all three floors. Vince had to think outside of the box; after all, he would have made a loss if he went any lower than that. Consequently, he split up the triplex sale such that the 36th and 37th floors measuring a total of 7,800 square feet would be sold as one property for $8.5 million while the other 4,200 sq. Ft. of the 35th floor would have an asking price of $4.2 million.

In September 2016, as published by Chicago Tribune, Vince released the duplex after he found a buyer and pocketed $8 million; only $500,000 shy of what he wanted. The 35th floor remained under contract, and less than two weeks later, it also got someone ready to pay $4.1 million, which is only $100,000 less than what had Vince had hoped to get. After a decade, it is against the rules of real estate investment for Vince to only have made a profit of $100,000, a substantial difference from the $12.7 million profit he had initially been seeking.

Why Vince preferred a private sale

Although Vince Vaughn did not reveal why he preferred selling his home privately instead of through an agent at first, there are many reasons why people do away with the services of an agent. Top of the list is to save money. Most home sellers are looking to make a lucrative profit from the sale, and having an agent will only eat into the returns because most charge at least 2%of the property’s value. Now, even millionaires could use some savings in their expenditure; if you can put away $4,500 by avoiding a real estate agent, then that seems to be a good deal for anyone.

Additionally, without the middleman, there is no breakdown of information since we know how messages can get distorted during transmission. By directly talking to potential buyers, you get to see their body language and adjust appropriately to ensure you land that sale. Even from the tone of the voice, when speaking through the phone, as the seller, you can note when someone is trying to get out of the sale, which will prompt you to convince them to buy. Unfortunately, maybe Vince in his hectic schedule, he could not handle private viewings that take time; or, he lacked enough experience in the industry to ensure he got the price he wanted.