Classic Vintage Elegance in the Gold Coast: 40 W. Schiller
We’ve chattered about the co-op units in this Andrew Rebori 1923 building at 40 and 50 W. Schiller in the Gold Coast several times before.
They just don’t build them like this anymore.
This top-floor duplex 2-bedroom unit was recently renovated, including new wiring, plaster and hardwood floors throughout. The unit has a space pac cooling system.
Additionally, the kitchen and baths were re-done and several windows replaced.
The original limestone woodburning fireplace in the living room was also restored.
The co-op allows 70% financing. There is no parking with the building. It is leased nearby.
Pam Lynch at Jameson has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.
Unit #D2: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1400 square feet, duplex
- I couldn’t find an original sales price but it last sold 3 years ago and then was renovated
- Originally listed in December 2008 for $775,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $725,000
- Assessments of $1860 a month (includes the taxes)
- Taxes of $5937
- Space Pac
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Leased parking nearby
- 70% financing allowed
- Bedroom #1: 14×11
- Bedroom #2: 10×10
“leased parking nearby”
Unless they get the perfect buyer I think it is going to sit.
I just don’t see that many people in the $700k+ market who don’t have a car (and yes, if you pay that much you want to park your car onsite).
70% financing? 725k ask? No Parking? 1.9k monthly expense before mortgage? No central air?
LOL. See you at 350-400k.
Freaking gorgeous.
Is the lack of appliances in the kitchen a sign that the the renovator ran out of money?
“Is the lack of appliances in the kitchen a sign that the the renovator ran out of money?”
I’d go with “let the buyer choose the level of appliances”, but I’m in a charitable mood today.
Beautiful!
I could see an elderly couple buying this place. Older people don’t seem to mind high assessments and some of them don’t drive anymore.
Wow those assessments and price are crazy! And all that for a 1400sqft duplex with off site parking!
Love the building and the unit. It’s the stairs (this unit is actually on the 3rd and 4th floors)….. High assessments don’t help. I think most owners in this building park directly west. But that is another added monthly expense.
Bob, Space-Pak is central air. I’m not sure about this price, as I seem to recall units were selling in the $500,000 price range 2-3 years ago.
KP – Wrong! Most of the best $1M+ buildings in the Gold Coast have zero parking. You lease valet parking across the street in some monstrosity built in the 1970’s with 9000 parking spaces. No parking IN the building is just a slight hassle. I used to live at the Heritage and it took my 3 times as long to get my car out of the garage as it does now with a valet across the street.
Bob – Wrong! this unit is incredibly unique, in the best location between New York and San Francisco and will sell in the high $600K’s.
The space pacs work great, have one, love it.
Bob, do you actually live in Chicago? I see you posting comments like this all the time. You’re almost always angry, and almost always wrong. Sorry, but it’s true. There are parts of this city, and parts of the buying market you just don’t seem to understand. This place is in the most expensive location in the city. It’s also in a neighborhood where very few places have parking (including the $5m single family homes). This place is beautiful and its unique. The person who buys this place will not care about 70% financing. They will either pay cash, or put down enough to get a $417 mortgage (i.e., will finance a lot less than 70%).
An elderly couple buying it with those stairs?
I have walked through this unit. These pictures are appealing, but do not do this unit justice. It is a very pretty space. The two-story area leading to the stairs and interior balcony is truly unique and beautiful. The skylight is even better when you see it. The rooms are well-proportioned and the attention to detail during the revonvation is evident throughtout. It’s all high-end. The kitchen appliances were not included because the present owner never lived here after the renovation, since she moved out-of-state before the renovation was complete. Anon is correct: the appliances were left for the new owner to customize to her/his taste. BTW: The main living room and bedrooms overlook tree-lined Dearborn Street; they’re very nice views. The Space Pac Air Conditioning unit was dictated by this particular building’s age, etc. The alternative was placing strategic holes along the crown molding. I saw this in another unit in this building. The Space Pac is the better choice. Overall, this a great place— with an awesome interior courtyard you must walk through to get tho this unit— albeit rather expensive at $725K (w/only leased parking). It will eventually sell at or near asking, since the renovation is that nice (and complete).
assessments include your real estate taxes (as the post states).
which are only $500 a month… where’s the rest of the 1300 bucks going towards?
“which are only $500 a month… where’s the rest of the 1300 bucks going towards?”
Co-op applicant quality control.
For $1300/month in assessments they should be serving me breakfast in bed & wiping my butt for me.
For normal buyers, 30% or more down on a 750k unit with $1800 assmts may seem absurd but it’s actually pretty “cheap” if you look at other vintage GC co-ops. LSD has plenty of buildings that are 50% financing or less and have assmts over 2k. Although I do question a kitchen w. no appliances. I didn’t think flippers would be allowed into the vintage old money buildings.
I don’t think this unit is geared towards the majority of Crib chatter commenters.
Bob, I think there is no chance this sells in the $350-$450 range. While I agree the assessments are astronomical, they seem in line with other Gold Coast co-op’s.
My take is that it will sell close to asking price because of the excellent location and recent renovations.
JohnnyU’s right. This space is very unique, and clearly targeted towards a very specific market, one that will not balk at the price or the assessments.
I don’t understand why there are so many negative comments about this place. It is beautiful and very unique…the opposite of most places that are shown here regularly.
If you all think this assessment is high, try NYC’s…roughly $500 per room and up.
As far as no appliances, I would prefer that so I can install my own.
westloopelo –
They’re asking for $550/sqft, and the place comes with very high assessments. That’s why there are so many negative comments.
And yes, NYC’s assessments are high. What that has to do with a unit in Chicago, I’m not sure.
Agreed, HC and westoopelo, this is a very unique co-op and not one normally posted here (unfortunately). The negative critiques sound more like sour grapes for not being able to afford it.
BTW: This unit was NOT owned by a flipper; the present owner did NOT run out of money; the appliances were INTENTIONALLY NOT PURCHASED to allow the new owner to customize to her/his taste. And, $1800 for taxes AND assements is NOT a lot considering a) the neighborhood; b) the location; and c) the complete high-end renovation that was NEVER lived in; it’s essentially a “new” space.
What do the cost of assessments have to do with a “new” renovation?
I’ll bite… NOTHING!
It sounds like Luke is either the owner or the real estate agent representing the seller. I agree that some of the negative comments are strong and unwarranted, but to say that this place is the best thing to come along (LUKE) is pretty suspicious. Seems to know an awful lot about the seller’s circumstances… Just sayin.
I think it is charming and I would buy it if I could. Who wants the cookie cutter crap we see day after day in this city?
Last comment: I am NOT the owner or the real estate agent, but I DID go view this unit and asked lots of questions of the actual RE broker. So, I am commenting on it from that perspective. Unlike too many people on this site, I am not making judgments of units I have not even seen or know very little about… just sayin’.
It’s gorgeous and I want it, that’s all.
Too bad I can’t have it. I don’t think I meet the co-op board’s financial benchmarks.
Why are so many people (including Sonies and Ej) suspicious of assessments?
Of course the condo board and management company could be in on a scheme to swindle the rest of the owners in the building…
OR
it could just be the cost of living in a great neighborhood in a perfect pre-war building with seasonal landscaping, fresh flowers in the lobby, maintaining an old building….
I’m not “suspicious” I think they are just outrageous when you’re already paying a lot for the property.
$1860 a month at today’s rates is like 350k extra you can borrow (which is mostly tax deductible, where assessments are not)!
I follow a development where landscaping is included. Its like $150/month in assessments.
Again, what are you getting for $1.4k when you net out taxes? Do fresh flowers and old building maintenance really cost this much?
JohnnyU is spot in his comment. About the only thing I agree with Luke on in his comment is that I don’t think this was a flipper either.
From what I’ve read co-op boards are much more picky than condo boards and lets be honest: most flippers wouldn’t pass the sniff test in these polite society old money type co-ops. An actor or a bartender with a big enough bank loan likely wouldn’t impress a co-op board is my guess, they’d look for ability to repay. Which the banks weren’t looking for in 2002-2008.
“$1860 a month at today’s rates is like 350k extra you can borrow”
$356,563 at 4.75% over 30 years. But it’s “only” $1365.25 if you exlcude the taxes. And it includes other stuff which would cost probbably ~$350/month in a separate utility building, so you’re down to about $1000/month, which isn’t absurd.
It does *not* help this unit that Unit A2 is also on the market for $749,500. Even tho A2 is lived-in and doens’t appear to have a new kitchen.
Oh, and 2B is also for sale. For $725k. And it’s a 3 BR.
How many units in the co-op? What does the sale of 3 units at about the same time do to the board approval process?
And one more thing–there are apparently 3 more units for sale at 50 W Schiller in the same co-op. $840k (4BR/2.5bth), $679k and $649k (both 2/2). 6 units for sale out of 18 units. Murder.
Suspect assessment includes 1) fuel costs, high charge to reflect an inherently inefficient older building with no wall insulation and a large perimeter wall area; 2) property insurance, high premium cost due to multiple fireplaces and older chimneys and likely that policy has never been comparison-priced; 3) professional landscaping contractor for courtyard and two frontyards annual landscaping installation and weekly premium maintenance services. Flowers in vestibule probably cost $240/month/vestibule. Next?
“And one more thing–there are apparently 3 more units for sale at 50 W Schiller in the same co-op. $840k (4BR/2.5bth), $679k and $649k (both 2/2). 6 units for sale out of 18 units. Murder.”
It can take longer to sell co-op units because of the financing requirements. And in this particular building- each unit is different (based on the types of renovations that were done- or not done- with the unit.)
“The Space Pac Air Conditioning unit was dictated by this particular building’s age, etc. The alternative was placing strategic holes along the crown molding. I saw this in another unit in this building. The Space Pac is the better choice.”
SpacePak is a ductwork system thats cools every room with 3″ holes in the floor, wall, and/or ceiling. This looks like an “Mini-Split” system (box on living room wall) which is like an window unit that only freezes the room it’s in and benefits others little. If you are going to do it right you should have one in the kitchen, upstairs bedrooms, dining room. I didn’t see that in the pics.
The line of progression in AC:
#1- a Fan
#2- a window unit
#3- this mini-split
#4- space pak
#5- central Ac with insulated metal pipes ( quietest, most eff., green, ducts can be cleaned, longest lasting )
This condo is great, but for this building or NEIGHBORHOOD I would expect a little better. Random thoughts- Big sale on white paint??? It would take some time to strip that trim and varnish it, but it would make the vintage look. A sink in front of the window!!! ( SLAP!) If you redo a kitchen put in an range exhaust. Match your windows especially in the same room. These things give me the idea that this was a flipper because these are price choices and not design choices. If you are going to stay and can afford this assessment and neighborhood I would think you would pay the extra $ and do it right the first time. I award you NO points and may God have mercy on your soul 🙂
The price in New York? Are you kidding me? I lived in NYC and can tell you a place like this would be over $2 mill in NYC easy. I had an old client who had the corner unit there and it took him several realtors and 2.5 years to sell his unit and that was during the good times of real estate.
But someone will buy it for the location and for the architecture.
“They’re asking for $550/sqft, and the place comes with very high assessments. That’s why there are so many negative comments.
And yes, NYC’s assessments are high. What that has to do with a unit in Chicago, I’m not sure.”
I guess I compare property that draws my attention here in Chicago with property in NYC where I lived (and still own) for many years. Overall I get the feeling that Chicago ‘was’ attempting to follow the NYC RE standards, and of course failing miserably. That failure to emulate NYC is obvious when properties (very high for Chi) come on market and we see comments like these.
anon, for residents who have been in the building for decades, which I am sure is the case here, having units on the market does not affect the approval process whatsoever…if anything the interview process becomes even more in stringent. My grandparents own an UES triplex and are the head of the coop board. Out of curiousity, I sat in on an interview of a prospective resident a few years ago and I have to say, it was brutal!
It makes perfect sense to be extremely selective about who is buying in their building…pride of ownership at the most extreme! What happened in this situaion? I imagine it was a younger and not so established couple who lost their jobs and could not afford to stay or even complete the process of decorating their unit. For people to think that this would be an ‘easy in’ is a mistake, even in this market… the standards stay the same regardless of the situation.
Not to be mean, but I stronglhy agree with Luke in his last statement:
“Unlike too many people on this site, I am not making judgments of units I have not even seen or know very little about”.
Wow this is really nice… a lot of GC properties have insanely high assessments, especially if they are old. I assume this has 24/7 door staff and maintenance too…so perhaps that’s part of it? I know of lakeview 2brs with assessments in the 700-900 range (e.g. Hawthorne) and no tax is included on those. So, I’m not sure what the big deal is. If you look around this area for similar stuff, you will not find anything with $300/mo asm. It just doesn’t exist here. I’m not trying to defend the place, but I looked in this neighborhood briefly…at 1-brs. A few 2s came on my search but the assessments were too high (between 1200 and 1800 for condos priced in the 400s). So, it is what it is.
really?
when scrolling through the pictures, i thought this was a $1MM place! course the co-op dues means that it has be priced a bit lower but i think the price is exactly where it should be.
its a fact, co-ops just have higher assessments.
unit looks great, if i was the the demographic that the seller (and co-op board) was looking for (aka, if i actually had money), i’d buy this place.
A lovely unit.
I think Southside Dave is correct — unless I’m missing something, I don’t see evidence of Space Pak. (I have a vintage unit with Space Pak, and it’s great — quite efficient, and allows architectural details to remain in place.)
Anybody know how long it takes these kind of co-op units to move?
I imagine that even during boom times the turnover process is slow. A slow economy, high barriers to entry, and five competing units for sale makes it a tough sell for anyone, no?
WL: “if anything the interview process becomes even more in stringent”
That’s what I was getting at, but didn’t have any idea if it were true. Makes it *harder* to sell, as the board is (probably) going to want to be consistent–ie tough on everyone.
Yes anon, it is harder to sell with these tough regulations in place, but that is the reasoning behind them….uber selective in who shares their building. Tough for the seller who is probably at a tough time in their lives, but the other owners couldn’t care less.
I was just reading an article in a NY RE blog where this couple has been attemtping to gain entry into a co-op building in the city. Over the past 3 years, they have been on 14 different interviews and have been turned down on each one of them…all the while still renting at an outrageous price. When you really compare condo vs coop, is it really worth it? I imagine to a very few in that rarified world it is.
WL:
I was still being unclear, I guess. I was asking about whether there being 6 out of 18 units for sale *at the same time* might make it harder than normal (which is hard enough, generally) to gain board approval.
And i expect it would be …challenging… to be on the board, as if you let up the standards *at all* for one sale, the other 5 would be–at a minimum–upset. So you have to rigidly enforce all of the standards for all 6, where if it’s the only one for sale, there *could* be slight flexibility (not that there *would* be, but that flexibility with only one for sale would not be grounds for a lawsuit).
It would be harder for those seeking to buy in a coop if there were 1/3 of their units on the market at the same time. While personally I would see it as “lets be a bit more flexible” in the application process, people like my grands who have around $20 mil+ (low estimate) invested in their units/building are attempting to halt any more disruption that new residents bring with them.
When my grands speak of their positions on their coop board, they do so with a ‘nose in the air’ attitude. It is rather funny to see how property ownership (albeit the best property in NYC) changes ones outlook towards those seeking ownership/residency themselves.
“When my grands speak of their positions on their coop board, they do so with a ‘nose in the air’ attitude.”
C’mon, you’re kidding, right? What a shocker.
….I didn’t say I subscribe to that same outlook now did I? And of course, it is NYC.
The unit being discussed is gorgeous. I’ll leave it to all of you to decide if its over priced, however, given the customary high coop assessments. As a Chicago transplant for 25 years, and a born midwesterner, I just shudder at coop assessments even though I know they include RE taxes and other customary costs associated with condo ownership. I think they seem higher because they are higher. Chicagoans just don’t get the whole coop experience; its not their wavelenghth. My UWS relatives are used to this level of personal intrusion into their private lives and finances; its the price of exclusivity. I find it distasteful. Yech!
To all you apparently informed bloggers: Im in the first stages of looking to buy in a pre-war modestly sized building (1BR gold coast/lp) like the the one in which this unit is located or an even smaller building (which I would prefer). Do you know of any prewar CONDOs in these hoods? Street Addresses please! I’d appreciate the tip. The little bulding across from 1 E Elm, for instance, is cute. Thanks everyone!
Also, why do you think Coops never caught on here in the prewar buildings like they did in NYC?
Bob, why don’t you just guess it will sell for $150k while your sniffing that glue. Moron.
Uh, Jane, most of the pre-war buildings in the Gold Coast ARE co-ops. And so are a huge number of them in Hyde Park, South Shore and north lakefront. There are also a lot of non-exclusive co-ops scattered throughout the city. Except in the GC most of them aren’t intrusive in their interview process – they don’t want as much information as you would give when getting a loan – though a bankruptcy will probably disqualify someone.
This is one of the most unique buildings in Chicago – the architect of this was involved with the art deco buildings scattered around Old Town (and at State and Division)- Andrew Rebori. I think the units will sell to people who want something unique.
IF I WERE THE LUCKY LOTTERY WINNER FROM NC, LAST NIGHT, I WOULD BUY THIS FOR MY LOVELY WIFE. BUT AFTER PAYING FOR FIVE TO ATTEND PRIVATE COLLEGES, I MUST MERELY DREAM.
THE BUILDING IS IN A TERRIFIC LOCATION AND THE UNIT IS BOTH NEW WITH THAT ‘OLD WORLD FEEL’. IT IS QUITE APPEALING, BUT OUTRAGEOUS IN PRICE, FOR THESE TIMES.
PRICE ASIDE, IT IS ONE OF A KIND. LOVELY..
Why am I not surprised those who have an affinity for this old money, maintenance intensive building also have an affinity for their caps lock key?