Meeting Anonny’s “Unicorn Criteria” in East Lincoln Park: 2657 N. Burling
Those who have been following Crib Chatter for awhile know that Anonny has been searching for a condo in East Lincoln Park that fits a certain set of distinct criteria he has dubbed the “unicorn criteria” because he doesn’t believe it exists.
Here is his list:
1) Absolutely required:
* 2/2
* garage
* LP east of Halsted
* w/d in unit
* not on ground floor or “low first floor” (and no duplex down)
* wood floors (or permitted installation of wood floors, with a corresponding discount in purchase price)
2) Strongly preferred (bordering on required):
* LP east of Clark
* kitchen is not open to the living room (but may certainly be open to the dining area)
* master bath
3) Greatly desired (bordering on strong preference):
* powder room/half bath
* some sort of private outdoor space (at least big enough for a grill, and ideally big enough to also fit a smallish table and four chairs)
* central air
* working fire place
He also is willing to pay $3,000 a month (inclusive of assessments and taxes) with 10% down and expects to pay in the mid-$400,000s to get his dream home.
This 2-bedroom top floor unit at 2657 N. Burling in East Lincoln Park seems to fit most of his criteria.
It is a 2/2 east of Halsted.
It has in-unit washer/dryer and hardwood floors throughout.
It is not on the bottom floor but instead is on the top floor.
It does not have a garage, but does have an outdoor deeded parking space.
As the pictures indicate, it not only has a deck but it is big enough to fit a grill and a table and chairs (and probably a chaise lounger if you wanted.) It also has a common back yard.
It does have a limestone and marble master bath, but, alas it is not east of Clark and the kitchen IS open to the rest of the living space.
The kitchen has white cabinets and granite counter tops with some white appliances.
There is central air and even a wood burning fireplace.
How many criteria does it meet?
9 out of 13.
And if I do my math correctly (on a 30-year fixed loan with 10% down on the current asking price)- with taxes and assessments it comes to well under $3000- or about $2450 a month. And that’s before negotiating.
Is this unit a deal?
Is the “unicorn criteria” easier to find than people think?
Mario Greco at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1300 square feet
- Sold in August 1994 for $182,500
- Sold in August 1998 for $256,500
- Sold in June 2003 for $351,500
- Sold in June 2005 for $400,000
- Sold in May 2007 for $412,500
- Originally listed in July 2010 for $399,000
- Reduced
- Listed in November 2010 for $364,000 (plus $20,000 for parking)
- Currently still listed at $364,000 (plus $20,000 for parking)
- Assessments of $155 a month
- Taxes of $5495
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 13×13
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
I’ve seen hamster habitats with larger kitchens.
I have to say, MG and his team do a consistently professional job of presenting their properties – the pictures always look good and it seems as though he is moving to including a floorplan every time. Kudos to him.
I think “unicorn” properties are out there – I had a very specific list that I was able to accomodate (3/2, outdoor space, parking, c/a, w/d, fp, vintage bldg, specific neighborhood bounderies, close to el and less than 25 minute commute to the loop, cheap enough to get into a conforming mortgage with less than 20% down), but the problem is with whether they are “easy” to find. I was looking for 13 months.
I like the unit on Lehmann that you talked about a few days ago MUCH better
The kitchen is way too small on this one..And is that ‘faux’ granite in the bigger bath? It’s a nice unit but kind of un-inspiring.
A friend of mine owned this unit in the 90’s. The photos make it look smaller than I remember it. It felt pretty roomy to me at the time for a condo, and pretty cheery. No doubt the combo kitchen/LR is not ideal.
However, I’m shocked my how much it’s “appreciated” since then. Looks like a string of short term owners profited handsomly from their brief stays there…that is until the current bag holder got stuck. $399k seems really expensive.
“Looks like a string of short term owners profited handsomly from their brief stays there”
The 05-buyer/07-seller lost money unless they paid no realtor commission.
Oddly this place isnt that bad, i ould like to “cribchatter it” but i really cant.
yes the kitchen is on the “im single and eat out” size and the lack of room for a real dining table stink. but i think its a bargining chip for the buyer.
i call 317k w/parking. write this down because I WILL BE CORRECT
Noone’s gonna pay 384k for this when for a mere 16k more you can get an extra bedroom at a place like MLS 07648961.
This owner is fooling themselves if they think this place isn’t competing with that one. Oh yeah and its much closer to the park, too.
“i ould like to “cribchatter it” but i really cant.”
How ’bout the **tiny** bathrooms? With one of them–the one usable by the 2d BR, whether that’s roommate, kids or guests–basically in the kitchen?
And, I think I’d rather have tandem parking than that patch of grass, but what do I know.
300-317k with parking seems realistic for this one. it’s really nice to see prices coming back to where they belong. 412k in 2007? what were they thinking.
This property is in the Alcott Elem school district, not Lincoln Elem, which I believe is nearly a deal-breaker for anonny.
How big of a difference is Alcott vs. Lincoln? Is my kid getting into Harvard if she goes to Lincoln and Southern Illinois if she’s at Alcott?
Also, if the actual interior space of this one totals over 1200 SF–even without deducting anything for interior walls–I’ll buy it*.
*with Clio’s $$.
“if the actual interior space of this one totals over 1200 SF–even without deducting anything for interior walls–I’ll buy it*.”
C’mon, it’s just a number.
“C’mon, it’s just a number.”
So, I’ll sign a contract for the asking price and then show up at closing with a cashier’s check for $32,658.83 and demand that we close, because $384,000 is just a number.
Actually, I like how that works.
According to the NY Times Rent vs. Own Calculator, at a sale price of $350,000 – if you stay in this home for 8 YEARS – renting at $2,000 per month is better than buying at this price.
It will cost you $6,220 less than buyingat an average savings of $777 annually.
I don’t know about you, but a lot can happen in 8 years and I’m willing to bet I can find a nice 2 bedroom for $2k/month.
“How big of a difference is Alcott vs. Lincoln? Is my kid getting into Harvard if she goes to Lincoln and Southern Illinois if she’s at Alcott?”
Both are really great choices for public school. Lincoln just has a much longer period of time that it has been “acceptable” whereas for Alcott, it’s only been about 6-7 years. Some pluses to Alcott are: pre-school program on site, afterschool care on site, full day kindergarten, Chinese language, guaranteed admission to Alcott high school. For Lincoln, it’s French language, very strong music program, very strong middle school program.
“And, I think I’d rather have tandem parking than that patch of grass, but what do I know.”
good point who needs that grass when your steps away from the mecca of all parks.
[in a Seinfeld voice] whhyyyyyyy doooo they caallll it liiiincoln park wheeeeeennnn there is noooooowhere to park?
(then all the sheeple laugh because is seinfeld and not because its actually funny)
Gosh of all the days to be slammed at work and unable to Chatter much!
This place isn’t bad and, if it closes at close to $300k (maybe 319?) with parking, it should work nicely for another buyer.
That said, the place Bob references (on Grant) is a vastly superior option. I nearly looked at it, but that was during the summer (and was negotiating on a 3/2 on Lakeview, but that deal fell apart), and the previous broker (and perhaps the sellers) just didn’t seem that interested in showing it (i.e., “they work and have a baby,” as if we don’t). Now it’s down another $25k+ and has a new broker and some nicer pics. It strikes me as a solid place, with three real bedrooms, the kitchen and dining are not really open to the living room, and it’s a better location than this Burling place. Other than the initial scheduling resistance I felt, what really kept us from taking a look at it was (i) the upstairs deck, which is accessed through the master bedroom (which is a dreadful Chicagoism), is semi-common (i.e., at least one other unit has easy access to that deck) and (ii) it doesn’t have a garage.
Speaking of garages, that this Burling place lacks one would have made it a non-starter for us. (The place we purchased has a garage. It’s not heated, which has only confirmed for me that I wouldn’t want an outdoor space.)
These folks are asking $384k (assuming most buyers need a parking space)…did they buy it for $412k or $432k? If the latter, my sense is that they don’t have much room left to negotiate.
For the place we recently purchased, we really didn’t pay that much more than this place (mid-400’s). In hindsight, I really think I should have played harder ball and gotten our seller down towards $400k (the seller could have easily afforded it, and our place could use even more improving than I realized when we made an offer). But all things considered, this place on Burling makes me feel pretty good about our purchase.
Again, Bob’s recommendation on Grant is the best deal on the market right now for someone with a kid (or two) who wants ELP and Lincoln elem for under $400k, provided that they don’t mind the lack of a garage and the semi-odd deck issue.
“Also, if the actual interior space of this one totals over 1200 SF–even without deducting anything for interior walls–I’ll buy it*.
*with Clio’s $$”
No problem – I can do a contract sale of this place to you – 100% financing at 6% interest for 5 years (conventional mortgage at that time or continue at 7%).
it better be in alcott district, it’s a block from the school.
cman sabrina, 9/13 gets you a D+/C- in school
theres a reason he calls it unicorn criteria!
The only reason she posted something that is 9/13 is that nothing exists that fits his criteria. He’s criteria are a pipe dream. Things that come close to meeting his criteria are ugly, like this unit. This is why, to some extent, Clio is right. There is a psychology to real estate that does not exist in other investments. It has to look right and feel right, which can’t be condensed to a check list.
“The only reason she posted something that is 9/13 is that nothing exists that fits his criteria. He’s criteria are a pipe dream.”
These were the criteria I articulated when I was contemplating making an offer on the place we purchased. With the same criteria in mind, I tried to find a good rental that met the criteria. Somebody on here dubbed them my “unicorn” criteria.
I told myself that, if I found at least a few of such rentals, that should at least give me serious pause about buying. As I could not find a place to rent for less than $3k/mo that met the first six (absolutely required) criteria, I went through with purchasing a place that met 13/13.
“For the place we recently purchased, we really didn’t pay that much more than this place (mid-400’s).”
Just wait for the first special assessment. That ought to be fun.
“Just wait for the first special assessment. That ought to be fun.”
Indeed. But isn’t that a possibility anywhere? And even at any fee simple property, might the sole owner need to make major (non-optional) improvements?
As noted above, last summer, I was negotiating to buy a place on Lakeview Ave, but the sellers just wouldn’t come down enough. As much as I liked that place (or at least certain aspects of it), I’m glad it didn’t work out, becuase the unit I was trying to purchase will be facing a special of about $20k on the very low end and about $50k on the very high end at some point in the next one to two years. Granted, once that’s done, that building will have all new windows (or “window walls” as they call them) and ac/heat units, which will be very nice, and should be the last insane special for many years. But something tells me that we’ll be seeing a few extreme bargains coming on the market once the building finally passes the special and some owners freak out.