11 Months Later, Vintage 2-Bedroom Sells Under the 2005 Price: 839 W. Wellington in Lakeview

We last chattered about this 2-bedroom at 839 W. Wellington in Lakeview in January 2011.

839-w-wellington-approved.jpg

See our prior chatter here.

At that time, it was listed just $14,500 under the 2005 purchase price of $449,500 after having been on the market for 6 months.

Some of you liked the unit a lot but thought it would sell under $400,000.

The unit recently closed for $62,500 under the 2005 purchase price- at $387,000.

The vintage building was converted into condos in 2005.

It had 11 foot coffered ceilings, 6 inch crown moldings throughout and the original limestone and mosaic fireplace.

The kitchen had granite counter tops, white cabinets, a stone backsplash and custom wine shelves.

The unit also had outdoor space with a screened in back porch.

Additionally, it had all the amenities buyers look for including air conditioning, washer/dryer in the unit and a deeded parking space.

Are the $400,000 2/2s becoming a thing of the past in Lakeview?

Bonnie Tripton at @Properties had the listing. You can still see the pictures here.

Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

  • Sold in August 2005 for $449,500
  • Originally listed in August 2010 for $442,000
  • Reduced
  • Was listed in January 2011 for $435,000
  • Sold in June 2011 for $387,000
  • Assessments of $252 a month
  • Taxes of $6845
  • Central Air
  • Washer/Dryer in the unit
  • Parking included
  • Bedroom #1: 13×12
  • Bedroom #2: 15×12

43 Responses to “11 Months Later, Vintage 2-Bedroom Sells Under the 2005 Price: 839 W. Wellington in Lakeview”

  1. Nice interior, does anyone know what the material under the kitchen window on the front of the building is?

    0
    0
  2. I’m a little shocked this sold under $400,000. That’s a great value for a goegeous unit in a fab location. Congrats to the buyer!

    0
    0
  3. Beautiful unit. The combined living and dining room is a bit smallish. This would be ideal for a single or childless couple, using the second bedroom as the t.v./guest room, which makes sense with those nice doors leading to the outdoor space, thereby allowing for a t.v.-free formal dining/living area.

    0
    0
  4. Great finishings..awkward layout…there is no room for a couch to face the TV…too small living/dining area. Also, the master is smaller than the second bedroom. I personally don’t care much about bedroom sizes as long as they reasonably fit a queen size bed…but many may. Also, outdoor parking is less attractive.

    0
    0
  5. also I think that this building is right across the street from ambulance central, something that I think would deter buyers

    0
    0
  6. I love how everyone was jumping at me for the pottery barn mention, but then they all love this place’s finishes (which I like too), just take a look at this:

    http://www.potterybarn.com/products/parisienne-pedestal-single-sink-console/?pkey=csingle-sink-consoles

    pretty much the same look as that of the featured bathroom.

    0
    0
  7. miumiu – you can like the pottery barn style but you can’t say it’s pottery barn. You can say you like fried chicken fingers, and everyone will agree with you, but you can’t say you eat them at bennigans, because everyone will laugh at you.

    0
    0
  8. So your point is that by looking at the photos they can claim that the sink in this property is a higher quality than PB. I have PB dining table and chairs and to be honest I find the wood to be of way superior quality than the cabinetry I see in most kitchens. For a nation of home depot buyers, PB snobbery is hilarious.

    0
    0
  9. “You can say you like fried chicken fingers, and everyone will agree with you”

    Really? You’ve said this and gotten agreement (when “everyone” is something other than everyone at a toddler convention)? Maybe if it were chicken karaage…

    0
    0
  10. 2/2s with garaged parking can be had with these amenities in this part of Lakeview on a top floor for 325k. They drastically overpaid for this.

    0
    0
  11. ***2/2s with garaged parking can be had with these amenities in this part of Lakeview on a top floor for 325k***

    Where? Top Floor; 2/2 ensuite master bath; parking included; outdoor space; C/A; W/D 325K Where

    0
    0
  12. kc08 – you can’t find such a deal – this is a 375-425k unit in this area. Sure there are vintage 2/1 w/o central air and perhaps an alley parking spot that you can pick up for 325 – but not otherwise.

    0
    0
  13. (long time lurker) — been looking at this one: http://www.trulia.com/property/3050077256-856-W-Newport-Ave-1-Chicago-IL-60657

    0
    0
  14. “Where? Top Floor; 2/2 ensuite master bath; parking included; outdoor space; C/A; W/D 325K Where”

    I am not doing your research for you but it’s on the MLS. Stop being lazy.

    0
    0
  15. “kc08 – you can’t find such a deal -”

    Yes you can and you are blatantly lying, as usual. I will post the MLS number several hours from now but I am not going to be goaded into doing research that is quite simple and takes a few minutes.

    0
    0
  16. “2/2 ensuite master bath”

    Now you are definitely nit-picking. Definitely not worth the premium you are ascribing to it.

    0
    0
  17. “Now you are definitely nit-picking. Definitely not worth the premium you are ascribing to it.”

    Sounds more like you are back tracking (not that I have any idea what the market for these properties is like). Also, is that a venting to the outside stove hood? If so, I’d like that too in the comp.

    Also, hah, I guess miumiu and hd won’t be moving in together, with their respective babies:

    http://cribchatter.com/?p=9905#comment-124188

    “The fixtures look like something out of a pottery barn catalog. It looks just like it. UG.”

    0
    0
  18. 2/2s with garaged parking can be had with these amenities in this part of Lakeview on a top floor for 325k

    I did a search that is why I asked you where, the point is these people did not “drastically” overpay.

    0
    0
  19. “I did a search that is why I asked you where, the point is these people did not “drastically” overpay.”

    Judging by the short sale a block further east on Wellington says they did. (MLS 07677504).

    Admittedly not a comp for this unit (the comp I was referencing above was MLS 07766125) as it has only one bathroom, no parking is on the first floor, but it’s still listed for 33% of this unit, it still has two bedrooms and the building looks similar.

    For the math impaired/realtards: when a listing says no FHA/VA and is listed for a fraction of those that accept EZ financing, that should clue you in on the future trajectory of valuations.

    0
    0
  20. “Admittedly not a comp for this unit (the comp I was referencing above was MLS 07766125) as it has only one bathroom, no parking is on the first floor, but it’s still listed for 33% of this unit, it still has two bedrooms and the building looks similar”

    huh? – if you want to play that game, I can show you 2/2 in las vegas and phoenix that are just as cheap!!!

    0
    0
  21. “it’s still listed for 33% of this unit”

    Not sure where you are getting 33 percent from, $170K is not 33 percent of either $435K list or $387K sale. Would you have reached a different conclusion when your “comp” was listed at $230K on May 23? Oh, wait, your point was even stronger on May 4 when it was listed at $150K.

    Isn’t this just a realtor screwing around with listing prices on a short sale? Not sure how it shows much of anything.

    0
    0
  22. “Isn’t this just a realtor screwing around with listing prices on a short sale? Not sure how it shows much of anything.”

    Perhaps. Lets see what it closes at. I think most of these 2/2s in Lakeview that are currently selling in the upper 300s are fool’s valuations, though.

    Dying to know what this one was financed with both in 2005 and today. Just because an idiot paid 450k for it in 2005 does not make it a great deal in 2011 at 14% off the idiot price.

    0
    0
  23. Though this is beautifully decorated, this just seems really high for a pretty small 2/2.

    0
    0
  24. That’s a lot of money for a small 2/2 but the finishings are incredible and it’s beautiful. The two baths are just beautiful and blow Bob’s comp out of the water, plus the kitchen in this one is bigger. The 14% discount is actually much more because it looks like it has been completely remodeled in the last few years. They probably put at least $50 grand into it. I think this is a fair price at this point but who knows what it will be worth 3 years from now when half of the businesses in Chicago move to Milwaukee or Indianapolis so Quinn can’t screw them anymore.

    0
    0
  25. “but who knows what it will be worth 3 years from now when half of the businesses in Chicago move to Milwaukee or Indianapolis so Quinn can’t screw them anymore”

    Of course, because all the top recent grads and established professionals are going to want to live in Milwaukee or Indianapolis, right? Please. Chicago will remain the lone midwestern major city/economic/business-center exception for the duration of this republic’s reign as an economic super power. Or do you actually believe the (routine) huffing and puffing re: corporate taxes (which are already practically non-existent for any company with half-competent tax advisors)?

    0
    0
  26. “Of course, because all the top recent grads and established professionals are going to want to live in Milwaukee or Indianapolis, right?”

    Oh yes where recent grads want to live will determine where they actually live…lol.

    0
    0
  27. “Oh yes where recent grads want to live will determine where they actually live…lol.”

    well it is an important factor though. i took a lower paying job in illinois because of chicago’s proximity over other options i had.

    0
    0
  28. Bob, I’m afraid that you missed the qualifier “top” in my statement. At least for now, as Chicago remains a major world-class location for law, medicine, accounting and consultants, and major corporations generally, it actually stands a chance at attracting the “top” grads out of undergrad and grad schools. I know that pretty much everyone with whom I work on a daily basis could have taken a job at a top law firm in any of the major cities. Few would have opted for a job in Milwaukee or Indianapolis. (I say “few,” rather than “none,” because in all honesty, out of the hundreds of professionals I’ve met over the last four years or so, at least one declined an offer in order to move to Indianapolis and two (at partner level) left for Milwaukee.)

    0
    0
  29. actually I have a question for you guys. what happened to St. Louis? Wasn’t it a more happening city closer to how chicago is?

    0
    0
  30. “Few would have opted for a job in Milwaukee or Indianapolis.”

    Don’t necessarily disagree with your conclusion, less sure that your example proves it. Were the jobs in Milwaukee/Indianapolis that they might have had comparable? In terms of professional advancement, challenge of work, long term career goals, etc? That is, how much is the city versus the jobs available in that city (which may itself depend on the ability to attract the right employees)?

    E.g., does P&G have trouble attracting the top employees in brand management stuff or whatever the hell they do?

    0
    0
  31. Quinn jacked up taxes significantly to a total of 9.5% on corporations. It probably is the case that most businesses are too intrenched to up and move. But that doesn’t mean this hasn’t happened before. I could see Sears moving as they threatened to, there is no reason to have their HQ here versus anywhere else. AMZN already fired Illinois based referrers (as they have with California and others). I think there will be some defections, who knows how many.

    I’m not a big proponent of talent staying in the area, talent in this arena will follow the jobs. Young grads are coming into one of the worst job markets anywhere, I’m sure the grads from suburbia would rather live in Indy than at home with Mom and Dad.

    0
    0
  32. “I could see Sears moving as they threatened to”

    Sears was a welfare queen from the get-go, only proving that temporary tax breaks only last as long as the tax break in luring employers over.

    “Young grads are coming into one of the worst job markets anywhere, I’m sure the grads from suburbia would rather live in Indy than at home with Mom and Dad.”

    Not in anonny’s whacked out world where “top performers” are going to save Chicago, despite this being an urban area dependent on the entire demographic segment/numbers game. I guess he smoked too much dope on those slopes to see that. “Top talent” is going to save Chicago valuations…bwahahaha that is hilarious.

    Anonny historically did you actually think RE valuations were based on “top talent” only? If so I have a bridge to sell you. Or is it only “top talent” who rents and owns east of Halsted, north of North Ave and South of Wrightwood? Bwahahahaha.

    0
    0
  33. Hey anonny did the “top talent” hypothesis hold up for lunar real estate valuations? Afterall only NASA’s top talent were selected for the Apollo program and only the top-pest of the top were allowed to walk, drive rovers and golf on the moon.

    Yeah blue-sky laws might’ve hindered lunar real estate but by your paradigm moon property should be selling at quite a steep premium.

    0
    0
  34. “Dying to know what this one was financed with both in 2005 and today”

    If you’re dying, bob, you should just go do your own research; it’s certainly easy enough to look up–dare I say easier than guessing what you feel is ‘close enough’ to constitute a comp.

    0
    0
  35. “Young grads are coming into one of the worst job markets anywhere, I’m sure the grads from suburbia would rather live in Indy than at home with Mom and Dad.”

    These are just stories I hear from friends- but I know a May 2011 grad of Indiana U with little work experience who didn’t even consider Indy and came directly to Chicago. He just got a very good starting job (within 4 weeks of living in Chicago) that pays a livable wage with health insurance. He’s living with a roommate in Southport (NOT in the parents basement.)

    His girlfriend was considering going to graduate school if she didn’t find a job this summer- but she too just got a job (within 6 weeks of moving to Chicago)- also has health insurance and a decent starting wage (some kind of administrative assistant job.)

    Is the job market really that bad? These guys are 22 years old with their new degrees (non-technical degrees) and they’re all getting jobs.

    0
    0
  36. Sabrina I find it funny you are stressing health insurance. Do you have any idea how much health insurance companies make off of 20-somethings?

    Also typically people in their 20s have little assets, and hospitals are required to provide care. Not having insurance in your 20s is pretty much a free option.

    It’s funny how women and parents overstress health insurance–it really shouldn’t be a primary job consideration for 20-somethings that aren’t planning on starting a family (shouldn’t even be in the top-10 for this age group unless you have a pre-existing condition, a family, or sizable assets to protect).

    Companies are hiring grads as they know paying a 22-year old 40k/year is better than paying a 32-year old analyst/accountant/consultant 80k+.

    I don’t think your anecdotes of the recent grad earning a “livable wage” or “administrative assistant” are going to prop up real estate values. Their “boss” might be in the market for this kind of condo. But they might be a little hesitant to buy given they have a hunch their job is at risk.

    I just had a business lunch downtown today sitting at a bar of a restaurant. A colleague mentioned my education and I stated in this economy my degree really doesn’t pay extra dividends over undergrad its during boom times I really clean up. Our bartender mentioned that he, too, had an MBA and was having a tough go of it. Maybe he’s a roommate of your SoPo anecdote?

    0
    0
  37. Bob, these days even 20 somethings unfortunately get cancer and myriad of other diseases which come with the obesity package. I think having health insurance is very important.

    0
    0
  38. “I think having health insurance is very important.”

    The one 20-something I know who got cancer didn’t have insurance and was receiving treatment at county. Unfortunately his progressed but he still received experimental stem-cell treatment out of state, likely would’ve cost hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket. He had no money for his treatment but no assets to protect. Our society does not deny people treatment that need it, miumiu.

    (Sadly no idea if he’s still alive–last I saw him he was half his size and I didn’t recognize him at first when he said hi–I’d like to think he just moved out of state).

    0
    0
  39. Employers like to think they are getting the “top people” in Chicago, but when they continue to underpay them, and take advantage of them, they will lose many of these people to the coasts – SF, NY, DC, LA. Some even go to Texas where you can really make some money in relation to IL.

    0
    0
  40. “Some even go to Texas where you can really make some money in relation to IL.”

    One MNC I have done work for is actually moving people to TX en masse–all promotions are in Texas. When a senior level exec departs their replacement is in Texas. Aside from analyst backfill the only new hires are 22-year old undergrads. Needless to say it’s not a fun place to work for those not open to relocating to Texas.

    0
    0
  41. Oh that is so sad Bob. I know a 26 year old too and I have not heard from him in a while. I sure hope he is doing better but the outlook was grim..sigh
    I am not as savvy about the system as you, but a colleague of my husband who had a pretty good insurance but not the best one could not go to MD Anderson for her treatment for a while until she managed to change her plan (she could do it at certain period of year). She passed away unfortunately as it was too late by the time she made the switch and the idiots in our town had messed up her treatment. Not that it was a treatable case but hey some extra years won’t have hurt.

    0
    0
  42. “He had no money for his treatment but no assets to protect. Our society does not deny people treatment that need it”

    I think that’s basically right for someone that knows how to navigate the system and who has access to the right hospitals. I also suspect (but don’t really know) that in such a position, you could negotiate a reasonable deal with the hospital where you wouldn’t need to declare bankruptcy etc.

    0
    0
  43. John Vossoughi on July 19th, 2011 at 11:19 am

    Hey

    My buyer bought this place. We exhausted the MLS and felt that this place was a good value at $387,000 (My buyer also was given a $1,000 credit at close as well.) We were hoping to get it for less, but my buyer did end up paying a little more than we both were hoping for. Sometimes you overpay a little to live in the place that is “just right.” Still, not a bad value here, especially when comparing it to cookie cutter newer construction units that are still priced in the $420,000-$440,000 ballpark. I could send 20 actives that are far pricer that don’t have the charm, location and quality of this place.

    Side note: This street is in a “quiet zone.” So, while it is across from a hospital, any ambulance that drives by will not be making any noise on this block of Wellington.

    Prior to this closing, I believe the lowest sale in the building was around $440,000. Thanks

    John Vossoughi
    @properties
    773-678-7082
    Jvossoughi@gmail.com

    0
    0

Leave a Reply