“Complete Gut” For This 1-Bedroom in the Marlborough: 400 W. Deming in Lincoln Park

We actually last chattered about this 1-bedroom in the historic Marlborough at 400 W. Deming in Lincoln Park in February 2010 when the bank decided to try and rent the unit out.

See our prior chatter here.

That strategy was soon abandoned and the bank owned unit came on the market in September 2010.

But it took nearly a year and a $62,900 priced reduction to finally sell the unit for $112,000 in August of 2011.

I can’t find any original pictures, but from what I remember from the pictures for the rental, the kitchen and bath was intact.

Now, the unit has come back on the market as a “complete gut.”

And it is no longer just a 1-bedroom with a separate dining room but it is a 1-bedroom plus den and a separate dining room.

Here are the before and after room sizes:

Before:

  • Bedroom: 17×11
  • Living room: 18×12
  • Dining room: 12×11
  • Kitchen: 10×7

After:

  • Bedroom: 17×11
  • Living room: 13×11
  • Dining room: 11×10
  • Kitchen: 12×11
  • Den: 8×7

There is now a double sided marble fireplace in the living room.

The kitchen is completely new with stainless steel appliances and “rare honed marble” counter tops.

There is crown molding and walnut stained floors.

The bathroom has Toto, Robern and Grohe finishes.

Sound familiar?

See our chatter on 1104 W. Montana in Lincoln Park which was also recently gutted and went from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom.

However, like the one on Montana, this unit is missing some features that buyers look for, including central air, an in-unit washer/dryer and parking (parking is rental in the neighborhood.)

Will the rehabber get $270,000 for this 1-bedroom?

Eugene Fu at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #9N: 1 bedroom, den, no square footage listed

  • Sold in July 1991 for $102,500
  • Sold in October 1995 for $106,500
  • Sold in August 1998 for $126,500
  • Sold in March 2001 for $172,000
  • Sold in March 2004 for $209,000
  • Lis pendens foreclosure filed in June 2009
  • Listed for rent in February 2010
  • Bank owned in April 2010
  • Originally listed in September 2010 for $174,900
  • Reduced numerous times
  • Sold in August 2011 for $112,000
  • Re-listed for $269,900
  • Assessments of $605 a month (includes heat, gas, doorman, cable)
  • Taxes of $3455
  • No central air
  • No in-unit washer/dryer
  • No parking (rental only in the neighborhood)

24 Responses to ““Complete Gut” For This 1-Bedroom in the Marlborough: 400 W. Deming in Lincoln Park”

  1. Good investment property if you can rent it out at no less than $1500 a month.

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  2. Gorgeous rehab, except for the bath (hate that modern “mosaic” tile).

    I have always loved this building. But I don’t believe that people will pay 2.5X the August 2011 price even for this pretty rehab.

    $180K is more like it.

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  3. What’s with the view pix that can’t possibly be from the unit, given what we can see from the windows?

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  4. Heh… do you have it out for Eugene Fu with these two posts, Sabrina?

    Much nicer than the Montana property, bar none — not only in layout and presentation, but also location.
    And unlike Laura, I love the bath. Thing is, you can get a deal at 2626 Lakeview with actual park and lake views and high rise amenities for less. And lord knows what’ll happen once 2540 is up and done.

    But I certainly love the building.

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  5. It looks quite nice, but can’t see this fetching more than 215 or so.

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  6. 180 times rent with 60% of that projected rent going to assmt/taxes is a good investment? In that case, I know someone with a ranch downwind of a sewage treatment plant at a good price who’s willing to do a contract sale.

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  7. “180 times rent with 60% of that projected rent going to assmt/taxes is a good investment?”

    Yeah, at $1500 rent, seems like the AUG-11 price would make it a good investment.

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  8. I don’t like gas burning fire places and not sure in such a small space one makes sense, but I guess it is ok as a room divider.

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  9. Lovely kitchen right out of the Ikea showroom….

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  10. This place looks great. Location is superb. Who needs the A/C in Chicago, esp. when you are on the lake? It force someone to get fresh air for a change, instead of the dirty recycled air in some of these buildings. You could hear the sounds of the city, but you’re not down too close. Who cares about parking? Where did all the zipcar aficianados go?

    This place would be an awesome place for someone from outside the USA to rent for a year. Ever go traveling in Europe and think: “how cool would it be to live in a 1 bd. apt, in a cool location, in this city for 1 year? learn the language, walk around endlessly, etc. etc. This place is like that.

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  11. Arch Snarky Commentator on January 19th, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    This is the kind of place that sells to one rapidly diminishing demo only.

    The rich father of a recent post-grad, more specifically, one that knows he’s looking at an aggregate large loss over the life of the asset. He knows he’s losing the money, but he doesn’t care. How many of these folks will be around in four years?

    After 4 years, when little Jaymee is sick of this place, daddy will have paid $30,000 in normal assessments/taxes, will have forked out *at least* $25k for specials, and will be selling into what every legit forecast shows to be an even more depressed market where I think he would be lucky to get over the 200k mark in a sale. Once he subtracts out the agent commission and closing costs, he has just spent *conservatively* $100,000 for Junette to live here for 4 years.

    She could have rented something similar for $1600 for four years and spent less than 80k.

    That’s a 20k loss that doesn’t even begin to factor in the cost of the time spent buying a place versus simply signing a lease.

    Condo ownership as a viable ownership model is dying, rapidly. There will be some crazy opportunities for the banks to make money in the rental game in the future, but condo ownership for the 99% is done-zo.

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  12. Architect – that is your opinion – obviously formed from your own personal circumstance and selective listening/reading. The truth of the matter is that there are enough people with money and a desire to live in a place like this to make this a good long term investment (if that person is willing to live there for several years). ELP is NOT going to be going down in value in the next 10 years – in fact, EVERYTHING is pointing to price increases from here on out (ESPECIALLY in the green zone).

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  13. “ELP is NOT going to be going down in value in the next 10 years – in fact, EVERYTHING is pointing to price increases from here on out (ESPECIALLY in the green zone).”

    If we have a significant inflation rate, this could be true. On the flip-side look at Japanese urban property values over the last 20 years, they haven’t risen.

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  14. I still think this is too expensive for a 1/1. The assessments are awfully high and with taxes, it comes to nearly $900 a month before a mortgage.

    It doesn’t even have the basics – in unit washer/dryer, deeded parking, and air conditioning. I don’t care how beautiful the interior is, I would not buy a place without these things. I suppose I could compromise with the air conditioning, getting window units, but living without an in unit washer/dryer would be intolerable.

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  15. The Montana property? You mean the renovated student housing unit? While 400 W. Demming is quite a bit different than the two Lakeview Ave sections of the Marlborough, it’s a hardly a DePaul courtyard building.

    I like the fireplace. Seems like they’ve done a lot with not a lot of space.

    For pricing, forget about the distressed pricing history, and look at the price paid during the run up to the bubble: $209k. Let’s tack $10k onto that for the renovation that’s been done (even though the reno cost more), bringing it up to $219k. Take the (my) standard 10% off, and we’re at around $200k, which seems about right. But given the assessments, it will take a certain type of buyer.

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  16. It needs another half bath and W/D to fetch something close to this price.

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  17. Looks like $600 per month return is not considered so good for an $270K investment, which provide an annual rate of return at 2.7%. Considering 5 year CD rate is less than 2% at this point, 2.7% might not be too bad. I understand that there are risks involved in being a land lord. What I am trying to say is $1500 is just a starting point.
    BTW, I am also curious about what percentage of return can be considered a good investment? 5%, 6% or 7%? Thanks,

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  18. Photographs like a shelter magazine layout, but I question layout efficiency sacrificed for a freestanding fireplace box. A 13′ x 11′ living area is really small, and it seems silly to waste the beautiful corner window configuration/view for a limited-use 11′ x 10′ diningroom. Could both units have same rehabber?

    I’ve always admired the Marlborough, but not enough to buy in. It’s a very narrow demographic here in Chicago that’s willing to purchase an expensive (to own) 1-bedrm unit w/o assigned parking, doorman security, extra common amenities, in-unit W/D, powderroom and central AC.

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  19. Architect, I was guessing same rehabber at first, but RiK has not chimed in so perhaps not….

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  20. I’ll bet $1 it’s the same rehabber. Both came on the market the same day. Both also have nearly identical fireplace added to them. Deming has old windows, no AC, no W/D, no parking, no outdoor space, in suite bathroom and high assessments. On the other hand, they did a nice rehab job (although I think breaking up the space by adding the den/fireplace makes it feel smaller), great views, and a nice location. Sells at $200-$220k.

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  21. Beautiful little place, great address. But why do a nice rehab without AC/Space Pac?

    No matter how close this is to the Lake, I’d still want air. Sleeping with windows open on a hot summer night sucks, what with all the sirens and city noises.

    Still, I think someone will overlook that and pays top dollar for it this winter/spring. But it’ll be a long, hot summer for them.

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  22. Somehow my parents and their parents all managed to raise kids in Chicago. I can’t think of a single suburb that is within a tolerable commute to downtown for me. My maximum commute tolerance is 20 minutes in a car and would greatly prefer less. If you work downtown and have kids, you get more time with them if you don’t have a long commute each day. Plus, when you get home you aren’t so frazzled by the drive that all you want to do is lay on the couch and not move for hours on end.

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  23. Oops. I posted the above in the wrong property.

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  24. boi_in_boystown on January 20th, 2012 at 11:04 am

    Is that a double sink that is separated by a corner countertop, with the faucet rotating to each basin? Kind of awkward looking. Is this a trend seen anywhere else?

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