The mansion that convicted singer R. Kelly owned for over 10 years was recently sold for $1.6 million.
According to The New York Post, the mansion that the R&B recording artist dubbed the “Chocolate Factory,” also the title of one of his albums, was bought for less than half
of the original asking price of $3.5 million. The 21,000-square-foot estate also housed a studio where he recorded many songs.The property no longer belonged to R. Kelly, as it was purchased in 2013 by the late Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers and his wife, Elaine, for $587,500. When the mansion was bought, reportedly, it was in disarray with floodwater in the basement, mold on the walls, and rot in the rafters. The couple invested a significant amount of money in the mansion to restore it. The property was placed back on the market after Rudolph’s death two years ago.
The realtor who sold the estate, Alex Wolking of Keller Williams ONEChicago, provided insight into the sale to the media outlet, stating that property taxes influenced the purchase.
“The biggest challenge to selling the property we had were the property taxes,” Wolking stated.
“The original tax bill was over $250,000 when I first listed the property. The taxes were based on an assessed value of nearly $4.7 million. We appealed … and won, which reduced the assessed value to $2.6 million.”
Although the Isleys were the owners when the house was listed, he admitted that linking R. Kelly, as the former owner, to it helped bring attention to the property, even though the asking price wasn’t met.
“The R. Kelly media attention was actually what helped sell it, contrary to what many may think,” he said.
“The Isley Brothers connection helped draw a lot of marketing attention, too. … It’s one of the most storied and iconic homes in Chicagoland, and homes with this kind of celebrity lineage just don’t exist in the Midwest.”
The “I Believe I Can Fly” songwriter is currently serving a 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking charges at the Federal Correctional Institute facility in Butner, North Carolina.
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