Get Your East Lakeview Vintage Elegance for Under $220K: 3750 N. Lake Shore Drive
This 2-bedroom unit at 3750 N. Lake Shore Drive in East Lakeview has been on the market for a year.
It was recently reduced $84,000 and is now a short sale.
It is also the cheapest unit for sale in the building.
Built in 1926, this pre-war co-op has 130 units and full service amenities such as an indoor pool.
The unit does not have central air or washer/dryer in the unit and only rental parking is available nearby.
But it does have the crown molding and big spaces that characterize vintage apartments of that era.
The kitchen has been renovated with cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
The full bath is marble.
The assessment is listed at $2100 a month, but the other “G” tier unit, Unit #3G that is also on the market, has an assessment of only $1409.
One of the other listings discusses a 5-year special assessment so it could be that the special was wrapped into the monthly assessment for this unit.
Will the assessment make this unit a hard sell- even at this reduced price?
Kevin Van Eck at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #13G: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1636 square feet
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price due to it being a co-op
- Originally listed in April 2010 for $299,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $219,000
- Assessments of $2100 a month (includes heat, gas, doorman, cable, pool)
- Taxes are included in the assessment (due to it being a co-op)
- No central air
- No washer/dryer in the unit
- No parking- it is rental for $150 to $275 a month
- Bedroom #1: 19×13
- Bedroom #2: 19×13
Great price for the unit and people who have lived there (especially families) have liked this building. I simply could not get beyond the assessment for the size of the unit and of course, found the laundry inconvenient when I rented there for 1 year. All said, this IS priced to sell.
It looks like a really nice place, I think it’s priced well considering that absurd assessment, since you’d pay $1,000 a month for the assessment alone at most 2 bed high rises these days, and this includes tax and the special.
Shame about the lack of A/C, W/D or parking though. I think that while it is a good deal, they’ll struggle to actually move it.
Yeah, for a family building, I would want parking…rather than carrying the kids a block or two to rental parking. Maybe okay if their was valet to my spot, but with a family modern conveniences prevail.
Assuming the high assessment is due to a special that one can pay off, still 1400$ a month for assessment (the other G unit) is huge specially factoring the lack of W/D and A/C.
@a local, you need that doorman so that he can keep an eye on the kids, while you run in the cold winter to get the car from couple of blocks afar ; )
Nice.
There are several vintage buildings with these extremely high $2000+/month assessments for 2-bedrm units, with no special assessment charge driving that extremely high charge. These units become very very difficult to resell, no matter how beautifully decorated and recently renovated said unit is. The $/SF calc identified in the listing is deceiving, because purchaser is really buying “right to rent” at a near market-rate rent rate. Comparable unit (rentals allowed?) would probably RENT for only $2500, due to lack of parking, C/A, W/D, etc. and those missing items also make the unit itself only that much less marketable to buyers.
I’m attracted to these vintage units, but can’t overcome my dismay re: excessive carrying costs. It’s a beautiful unit.
When a special assesment of this size hits a building doesn’t it kick any teetering underwater owners off the strategic default ledge.
“1400$ a month for assessment (the other G unit) is huge specially factoring the lack of W/D and A/C.”
That does include a little over 400/month of taxes, tho, so compared to a condo assessment, its $1000–which is high but not crazy high, no?
nice looking place. overpriced by roughly $50,000 to $75,000.
Looks like a nice unit. Good space, good finishes. Nice amenities in the building. I’d say it’s priced right. As others have mentioned, you just need to find the right buyer who doesn’t need parking and doesn’t care about C/A and W/D in their unit.
Exactly, this is why this is worth a little more than $150,000, possibly less.
“As others have mentioned, you just need to find the right buyer who doesn’t need parking and doesn’t care about C/A and W/D in their unit.”
You guys assume that everyone that is looking to buy is married and has kids. How about a gay couple, both working and making pretty good money, who like vintage and have no kids and no car.
Clio, I’m not saying there’s not a buyer out there. I think this is unit is superior to the comps in size and finishes. The problem is your target market is a much smaller slice of the population.
Think of this place as a yellow sports car. Sure there are some people who might want it, but if it was red, there would be a lot more.
“The problem is your target market is a much smaller slice of the population.”
Unquestionably the highest profits are made when targeting a specific segment of the population.
“nice looking place. overpriced by roughly $50,000 to $75,000.”
In TODAY’S market, or in your “future” market? The reality is, things almost NEVER trade at “fair value”. They spend 99% of their time either overvalued, or undervalued. Let’s just say this unit does eventually decline 50-70K. Will it stay at the price forever?
“Unquestionably the highest profits are made when targeting a specific segment of the population.”
The same could be said for the biggest losses.
True Wilson – but that is the fun of it all…..
G tier is the back of the building
I’d hold off for a unit in the A tier,
assessment is high so poor people wont move in,
no one wants to live in the same building as the poor OR the un-attractive.
Good point anon.
If the poor are paying their due share, I could not care less about having them as neighbor. Also attractiveness is completely irrelevant to making a good neighbor. Sure, I like looking at beautiful people/things more too, but man you guys take it to another level.
“no one wants to live in the same building as the poor OR the un-attractive.”
gorgeous and almost free. chicago is a steal compared to most major cities in the world.
“chicago is a steal compared to most major cities in the world.”
I agree – and here is some confirmation:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/112515/best-worst-states-make-living-moneywatch?mod=career-worklife_balance
Someone mentioned a gay couple with no kids. Let me also suggest a retired couple (not gay), maybe my wife and me in 15 years after our kids grow up and are out of the house (and of course prices will change by then, but let’s assume for simplicity’s sake that those 15 years just went by, and prices are adjusted for inflation).
The drawbacks are lack of parking, of course, and lack of view. If I were buying here, it would have to have a lake view – that’s non-negotiable for me. The laundry isn’t so bad, because we’d have a maid who could handle that. I suppose if we did live here, we wouldn’t drive that much, though in winter it could be very inconvenient to walk to the car. We have our groceries delivered, so that’s not an issue.
So that gets us to price. Hopefully we’d be able to sell our suburban house for upwards of $500,000 (it’s a 5-bedroom in Highland Park), so to pay $200,000 for a unit like this would be easy – it would be a cash payment, no mortgage. Other than that, paying around $2,200 a month including heat, taxes and parking (which I factored in), or perhaps just $1,600 a month if that high current assessment is related to a special), seems quite affordable to me.
But it would have to be on the other side of the building!
Nice property and nice price, but those assessments are just way too high, even with the taxes. Buying this is like buying an 1992 Testarossa – you can get a great price but the maintenance will kill you.
I understand it may be an issue to most buyers, but central air really should not be an issue this close to the lake.
I think I turned ours on twice last summer, when living a few blocks south.
The assessments are what is bringing the price down. Not worth it. Building must need a lot of work.
I suspect that the assessments are high for several reasons; taxes have gone up, that pool ain’t cheap to maintain and they may be keeping them high to build a reserve and avoid specials – the life safety ordinance hit a lot of buildings hard, requiring lots of money spent on modifications (changing unit doors, adding communication systems, etc).
Well unit #12-F is a 4 bedroom 3 bath place with 2,800 square feet with an ask price of $325,000. Assessments are $2,080.
Unit 13G now has an ask price of $194,900.