The Market’s “Hot” So Will This Lakeview 2/2 Finally Find a Buyer? 1658 W. Belmont
It’s back!
We’ve chattered about this 2-bedroom at 1658 W. Belmont in Lakeview several times over the last 3 years. (Yes, 3 YEARS!)
See our August 2012 chatter here.
Listed as high as $324,900 in 2010, it was reduced to $275,000 the last time we chattered about it in August 2012.
But it didn’t sell and was withdrawn from the market last November.
The unit has come back on the market listed $10,000 higher at $285,000.
If you recall, the vintage building appears to have been converted into condos in 2006-2007.
It is a rare vintage 2-bedroom unit which also has a second bathroom as most are 2/1s.
The kitchen has the new construction finishes with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It also has the features that buyers look for including central air, an in-unit washer/dryer and parking.
With inventory at multi-year lows, this HAS to sell this spring, right?
Jeremy Fisher at Prudential Rubloff still has the listing. See the pictures and floorplan here.
Unit #3E: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in March 2008 for $315,000
- Originally listed in February 2010 for $324,900
- Reduced
- Was listed in November 2010 for $310,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in October 2011 at $289,999
- Reduced
- Was listed in August 2012 at $275,000 (parking included)
- Withdrawn in November 2012
- Re-listed at $285,000 (parking included)
- Assessments of $185 a month
- Taxes now $4816 (they were $4590 in August 2012)
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 12×11
- Bedroom #2: 10×9
What a terrible layout. No en suite bathroom and you have to pass both bathrooms and bedrooms to get from the kitchen to the “dining room”. Location kills this place, but the floorplan is a disaster as well. ANd no outdoor space… Yea, raise the price. How dumb.
“Location kills this place, but the floorplan is a disaster as well.”
What’s wrong with the location? This is a pretty good location, I would think. Near lots of restaurants, Whole Foods, soon to have a Target a block away, and not too far from the Paulina El stop.
I don’t think location kills it as much as the fact that it’s TINY! The “Master” is a weirdly shaped 12×11? This looks like a building where the developer got a little too greedy in dividing up the units. I actually like the location, but this would make me tremendously claustrophobic.
Just down the street from Flagship! That explains the 10k price increase
Only part that sucks about this location is being above the dry cleaner and even they don’t likely clean on site, so actually that is kind of a nice conveinence.
/channeling groove
Being on belmont near that clusterfuck 6 way intersection would kind of blow. I HATE that intersection, almost as much as the Clybourn/halsted/Northave which can be avoided by the ashlane to scott street shortcut, or the elston/fullerton/damen or the elston/armitage/ashland clusterfluck
/end
re: location
Living on Belmont is not ideal, that close to Ashland – even worse.
“Being on belmont near that clusterfuck 6 way intersection would kind of blow. I HATE that intersection, almost as much as the Clybourn/halsted/Northave which can be avoided by the ashlane to scott street shortcut, or the elston/fullerton/damen or the elston/armitage/ashland clusterfluck”
Plus, North/Damen/Milwaukee and Lincoln/Halsted/Fullerton and Western/Lawrence/Lincoln.
Wow, you guys are tough!!! I think this is a nice unit for a first time buyer, in a good hood with parking included. The inside is attractive and the floor plan while wonky is not bad..whoever buys this will be young so walking down a hallway is not that big of a deal. Do agree the intersection is too crazy but for a 20 something they wont mind much.
oh yeah North/Damen/Milwaukee is horrible with all that douchebag hipster bike traffic added into the mix of an already huge clusterfuck
On looking at the pictures further I see that this unit must be really dark. The kitchen and the bedrooms dont have windows , correct? That would kill the deal for me.
“The kitchen and the bedrooms dont have windows , correct?”
You can see the window in the pic of the kitchen. The bottom half of the window looks to be blacked out though. From the floor plan, there appears to be windows in all rooms.
“Wow, you guys are tough!!! I think this is a nice unit for a first time buyer, in a good hood with parking included. The inside is attractive and the floor plan while wonky is not bad..whoever buys this will be young so walking down a hallway is not that big of a deal. Do agree the intersection is too crazy but for a 20 something they wont mind much.”
As a 20 something, I wouldnt consider buying here. Maybe a younger married couple that’s expecting. Most people I know that live in this area are 30 somethings with families.
not sure why the price increase, low inventory or not. should of kept it at 275. for a 2 bed with parking, it will sell. just have to find the right buyer. would be better for young people who don’t care about the traffice etc. or someone who wants a roomate..
I like the location, it’s legit GZ. Near lots of stuff, GZ-type bars and eateries, and near a library branch too.
This is a great location and it is nearly 2 blocks from the Ashland intersection. Yes layout may be a bit awkward, but for the price and parking included, this seems like a great option for a single or couple
You’re an idiot if you live around here and regularly get stuck at Belmont/Lincoln/Ashland. I don’t agree, but won’t argue, that living on a street like Belmont around here is that big of a hassle – it’s not like you’re talking about the intersection of Fullerton and Western – but this is not a bad location by any stretch. Also, it’s in Burley. I expect they get a pretty quick sale within 3-5% of asking.
They turned the FOYER into the DINING ROOM! I can’t believe no on has commented on this yet! And yes it looks very dark, most likely the windows in the kitchen and bedrooms face a brick wall. It’s great that it includes parking because in this neighborhood it would have to! I drive by this building every day taking my son to school. It’s a good location (near a ton of amenities) but it’s smack in the middle of everything on a very busy street. Belmont is always backed up here, right in front of the only windows you have that actually get any light. No thank you! Although, with the good school district and being priced under $300K, someone will probably scoop it up. Compromises, right?
A client considered this condo last fall to own as a rental property targeting a single professional or young couple. It’s a really good location. She decided on a different Lakeview property noting the drawbacks mentioned. A decent price reduction might move it.
This is a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom in a nice neighborhood (Roscoe Village) for $285K. Yes, $285K. If you want a huge place on a quiet street with a roof deck, you’re going to have pay a lot more (like $200K more).
Also, I love it how many people on this site rip apart places that have a “cookie-cutter” layout, and then when a vintage place with a “non-cookie-cutter” layout comes on the market, they rip that apart too. Clowns.
Not my idea of a great location, but I’m picky & do love the area.
On a side note (this seemed like as good a posting ever re: a place to share), in the “you can’t make this up” file, I listened to a yuppie-ish woman who got on the Blue Line at California talking about twice as loud as she should have been during a ride last week.
So, I couldn’t help but hear this hilarious conversation she was having regarding how (seriously) hot the market is right now, and how impossible it is to find something good as the houses in good shape are gone within 3 days. She went on in GREAT detail about her annoyance trying to go these house showings that are during the workweek, and how if you were stuck only being free on weekends how you had no chance, etc. etc.
Too funny.
“So, I couldn’t help but hear this hilarious conversation she was having regarding how (seriously) hot the market is right now, and how impossible it is to find something good as the houses in good shape are gone within 3 days. She went on in GREAT detail about her annoyance trying to go these house showings that are during the workweek, and how if you were stuck only being free on weekends how you had no chance, etc. etc.’
Skeptic- thanks for the story. I know people who literally rush out of the office at all hours to go look at properties. That’s how absurd it’s become (and yes- that IS absurd.) Why aren’t more people just stepping back and saying “this isn’t right”? Why are they buying into bidding wars as “normal” when they’re not?
I don’t get it. People are acting like there will never be any more real estate built or listed on the market.
Guessing the inventory out there is still less-than-optimal. Anecdotally, everyone I know who bought from say, 99 – 05 isn’t going anywhere unless they are absolutely forced to.
And most of us followed the tried and true tradition of buying close to L stops, and we know that eventually the market is going to rebound in these areas. Just look at this:
http://columbiachronicle.com/property-values-near-public-transit-increase/