Under Contract Within a Week: 3520 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview
This 2-bedroom vintage unit in 3520 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview just came on the market in January and it’s already under contract.
The unit is missing the things that usually sell properties. It has no central air, no in-unit washer/dryer and no parking.
But it does have direct lake views.
Was it priced to sell?
Brad Lippitz at Brad Lippitz Real Estate has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #12N: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1350 square feet
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price
- Currently listed for $329,000
- Under contract
- Last “N” unit to sell was Unit #6N in May 2008 for $320,000
- Assessments of $642 a month (includes heat, water, cable)
- No central air. Window units
- No in-unit washer/dryer (but can be added)
- No parking
Look what happens when you price something reasonably. It sells. Even in a bad market.
There’s just no substitute for good taste. This place is architecturally unique and beautifully decorated…although I will say I’m turned off by the fact that it seems to have three separate sitting areas. Is one of those rooms is supposed to be a dedicated dining room? What I really want to know is does the quick sale of this unit mean there’s still room for flipping in this market? Is there still a decent gap between what people are paying for dumpy fixers with that need major updates and places like this that are impeccably put together and staged?
Yep. Decent price per square foot for LV especially considering the awesome view and the nice vintage details.
I was about to say the same thing. The unit was really priced to sell and therefor it sold…quickly. Good for them, maybe they could talk to all the other sellers.
Ooh, one more thing…does anyone know why the assessments in this building are so reasonable? I assume this is a condo building and not a co-op, right? Hopefully the buyer isn’t walking into some looming special assessment/low reserves mess.
Danny- I think it’s the real assessment. Don’t banks look at a condo’s real assessments (not low specials) when they approve/decline a buyer nowadays? I would hope so.
well staged and it shows beautifully. They probably could have even marketed this as a 2 BR + Den. Odd that they dont show the master bedroom. My only reservation would be the assessments –which actually include a few things, but in addition to rental parking (I would have to have) we are looking at almost $900 added to mortgage and taxes.
don’t forget that the cable is prob. only for basic or expanded basic service. No DVR, HD, etc. tack on another $50/mo for those luxuries
Wasn’t there a property in this building that has been on sale for well over 3 years at 299k?
Off-topic but chatworthy
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1410010,CST-FIN-home03.article
Well I knew Laura would become an owner once an old stuffy enough place to make her feel like an aristocrat came onto the market. Enjoy! 😀
No way did Chicago lose 79 billion in value, that’s over 150k per house! Unless they are counting every suburb within a 40 mile radius, then it could be possible.
Sonies:
Backward calculating, they’re using a number of about 3.1mm homes, metrowide.
Is the consensus here that this was a great deal? Really?
Sure it is “only” $243/sq. ft., but: no central air, no parking, no private outdoor space and no W/D installed (prolly no hookups, either). Plus, for the size of the place, those assessments aren’t that great.
OK, OK, the vintage details are nice, as are the finishes. And the lake views are definitely nice.
But I really don’t see this as a “deal” or even in line with where IMO prices are going. There are 2/1’s near clark and diversey (better location, IMO) with outdoor space, parking, central air, assessments of around 200 and equal or greater sq. footage that are listed for around 400K that have been on the market FOREVER. Granted, they don’t have lake views and the finishes aren’t as nice. But I still think they are a better deal than this place.
Maybe I’m missing something…
This is one of 3 buildings in the same complex. Also includes 3530 and 3534 N. Lake Shore. I’ve been inside some of the units there. Pretty cool buildings and most of the units have really nice architectural details. Nice foyers and little rooms here and there that aren’t that useful but are kinda cool.
Personally, I think it was a fair deal. My issue is with the assessments – which are typical of mid rise vintage buildings. Nevertheless, that’s a lot of jingle. On a side note, there have been many units in these buildings where people tried to sell them for a lot more and couldn’t move them. Typical.
How do you find out the contract price if it hasn’t closed?
“listed for around 400K”
Around $400k is a lot more than around $300k–the psychological element of “i can afford around $300k” shouldn’t really stretch to “i can afford $400k” (that stretching is a part of the problem). Sure, the assessment difference covers half of the difference, and the parking, a/c and laundry the other half, but people don’t necessarily make good decisions w/r/t where they live. Look at all the people who move to NYC and don’t make any money and living in ratholes–but they can tell everyone at home that they live in **NEW YORK**.
ay, no way to tell unless you are involved in the transaction. The contract price does not appear on the MLS.
Sure wish I were the buyer here! Somebody got a good deal here!
Beautiful apartment with nice upgrades.
Kitchen is so very wrong but the rest is right. Vintage lakeshore – why would you live anywhere else in Chicago at that price?
anon: I hear you about the psychological impact of the 330K price point. Yet I’m still surprised this is considered a good deal, especially with the discriminating folks that comment here. Unless I were REALLY into vintage, I just don’t see this place being worth the money.
If the assessments were around $200 a month instead of nearly $700 I’d say this person got a good deal. But alas, he did not. I don’t really care for this location either.
I used to live a few blocks north of here (rented) and finding parking was so miserable it caused me to sell my car, people are jerks, no bars closeby, ghetto jewel is the only place to get food unless you want to buy crap at treasure island, beach is a pain to get to from there, the sound of lakeshore drive is very loud. For me personally, I hate the hood.
For a two bedroom with ONE bathroom, with no W/D, No central air, and no amenitites, paying $2500 a month (assuming taxes are around 4k) is idiotic for this place, IMO
“assuming taxes are around 4k”
Listing said $2,552. So, about $2350/month, excluding principal, and with charging interest on your DP.
Also, “ghetto jewel is the only place to get food unless you want to buy crap at treasure island,”
The BT Whole Foods is not too far away.
Oh yeah I forgot they built that Whole foods, I despise whole food$ ever since I worked near that one on North & Sheffield. $2 for a piece of corn bread, and $4 for soup! Plus the BT WF was just starting to be built when I left that particular part of town.
Yeah Whole Foods isn’t ghetto or anything because they charge much higher prices than Dominicks. Just ask the rats who loved to defecate at the LP Whole Foods! LOL!
Dumb yuppies eating overpriced food think its quality because they overpaid but instead its tainted by rat feces! HAHAHA!
How is the beach hard to access at this location? The underpass to the park is at Addison. Short of living ON the beach, you can’t get much better park, beach and bike path access. Plus the Waveland golf course is just a couple of blocks north as well.
at least the rat feces is organic.
Bob–
Why the self-loathing? You’re Young, Urban and a Professional, no? And you “overpay” for things you want sometimes (e.g., restaurants and bars). Be comfortable in your yuppie-dom.
LSD is a destination especially for people moving to Chicago for the first time. Depending on how many units the buyer looked at on LSD these assessments may seem very reasonable. So it has a great location, view, shows extremely well and good price all = sale.
Anybody moving here for the first time who buys a unit, especially on LSD deserves to have their finances ruined.
Bob: could you be more of an a$$?
Is WF pricey? You bet. But they have items few other grocers carry, especially if you like organic food or have food allergies (gluten-free, soy-based, etc.). I try to buy most of the more exotic ingredients I require either in bulk online or at small ethnic groceries. But where are you going to get meat free of antibiotics or a decent piece of fish (sure there are a few places spread around the city where you can…but how far out of your way can you go each week)? And WF is invaluable for finding hard-to-get ingredients at the last minute, even if you do overpay. Not only that, but their produce is pretty darn good most of the time (beats jewel or dominicks by a country mile, anyway).
But I’m just a yuppie snob, fooling myself into thinking there is value in these things right? :rolleyes:
I am very surprised by the reaction to this unit. If the contract price is w/i 10% it shows prices have remained stable in this building. With a week of market time I doubt the seller’s negotiated more than 10%. How is this a deal in 09 (considering the audience)?
#6N closed 6-2-05 $300,000 $222 a s.f.
and again 05-12-08 for $320,000 $237 a s.f. (with no additional updates to the interior)
#11N closed 10-5-07 for #309,000 $228 a s.f.
#6N is the highest sale in the building with the exception of one combo unit: #10EF closed 7-31-06 $487,500 2100 s.f. $232 a s.f.
VB and TiffinChi–I’m with you. The place is very nice, but the price… only ok. Certainly not the wildest, worst knife catching I’ve seen on this site by any stretch, but also no “bargain.”
Regarding Bob’s “Anybody moving here for the first time who buys a unit, especially on LSD deserves to have their finances ruined”.
I bought on LSD when I was new to Chicago and sold the place 3 years later for almost twice what I paid. I bought a place that needed some work, invested some (well actually many) weekends in painting etc staged it when I put it on the market and it was a good investment. The basics: LLL + good staging (don’t make it look like work) and the ‘right’ pricing should always bode well. ‘Right’ pricing is always relative, that is the tricky part especially today.
There will always be people with stable incomes and good jobs. It doesn’t surprise me that it sold given the alleged desirability of the unit even though the price is a tad bit high. At least the price is realistic…a townhome in my ‘hood showed up on the market this week for about $200k more than the ’05 selling price. Good luck with that I say!
nicely staged unit, nice views, and i personally love the location (i live around the corner). I love the option of three grocery stores in walking distance (even tho all 3 have their flaws), but the other amenities on broadway are excellent – cleaners, hardware, plus good restaraunts. to me it’s one of the most conveinient locations in the city. My previous houses were in Uptown and Edgewater, so when i moved back to east lakeview i realized what i was missinng by not living in a nice, amenity-rich and pedestrian friendly neighborhood.
whoever said the beach was hard to get to is way off base – there is an underpass to the lakefront one block north of this at 3600 LSD.