Is This the Way to “Get Into” Lincoln Park? 2131 N. Larrabee
Many people still consider Lincoln Park to be their “dream” neighborhood but how do you get into it if you’re a first-time homebuyer?
This 2-bedroom short sale at 2131 N. Larrabee in the Oz Park Gardens complex may just be your ticket.
It has central air, an in-unit washer/dryer, a parking space and the kitchens and baths have been remodeled.
Is this a deal for those looking to dip their toes into the Lincoln Park market?
Jeffrey Kerr at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #6103: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in August 2005 for $351,000
- Originally listed in December 2008 for $354,900
- Withdrawn
- Short sale
- Re-listed in May 2009 for $329,900 (parking spot included)
- Assessments of $228 a month
- Taxes of $4171
- Central Air
- In-unit washer/dryer
- Bedroom #1: 14×10
- Bedroom #2: 11×9
- Living room: 23×11
- Kitchen: 8×8
No those places are frickin tiny and REALLY dark, barely 800 sqft! Still a rip off IMO.
> Many people still consider Lincoln Park to be their ”dream” neighborhood but how do you get into it if you’re a first-time homebuyer?
Here is a crazy idea: you don’t get to live in your dream house or dream neighborhood with your first home.
The walls are like paper in these places. You can hear everything.
Here’s a crazier idea: be one of the people who actually turn a neighborhood INTO their dream neighborhood.
Lincoln Park didn’t become chic overnight, that’s for damned sure.
I’ve seen a similar place out on Montana without the fancy rehab listed for 232k within the past year. Private outdoor space, parking spot, W/D, etc. Not sure on central air though.
skeptic –
IMO, that’s a bad idea. During the bubble, all we heard was that Humboldlt Park, Rogers Park, Logan Square, South Loop, etc. Now those areas are filled up with cookie-cutter new construction short sales/foreclosures/underwater homes featuring granite and stainless steel.
You’re better off just accepting that the neighborhood’s status in 10 years won’t be much different than it is today.
“You’re better off just accepting that the neighborhood’s status in 10 years won’t be much different than it is today.”
That might be optimistic. Some of those ‘hoods could backslide to where they were before the bubble.
“Some of those ‘hoods could backslide to where they were before the bubble.”
Could? Try would. Not sure if you’ve seen any economic data recently but we’re currently at late 1990s levels production wise. Unemployment keeps rising by half a million jobs a month. Some of these hoods are definitely going to backslide now that the ponzi economics of RE speculation/appreciation is over.
230k for a 1/1 in Bridgeport? LOLs. What the bubble gaveth the popping of the bubble will taketh away.
I saw this listed the other day when searching for updated listings. I’ve no interest in going to see this one in person, as I’ve already looked at a 2 bedroom in this building. It was really tiny (though the place I looked at had a true walk-in closet in the master, which was awesome). Also, the kitchen in this one is a total turn-off, even just from the photos: what is with that short counter? I can’t figure out why they wouldn’t extend it a bit farther instead of cutting it off after a couple of feet.
How did the bank let them do a short sale for only 22k??? My place declined around that much and I payed every penny of it + realtor fees + closing costs. What is that about? Because I had the money to pay for the decline, I get screwed? I would like to know the answer to this…if it’s the same bank I have, I will seriously file a lawsuit. This is complete crap. How do I find out what bank has this mortgage?
It’s not a bad deal though for a buyer who doesn’t care about neighbor noise… IMO…
My wife and I often walk through this neighborhood. We’ve often noticed a very large number of units for sale up and down Larrabee and Lincoln Ave. at this location. I am not sure what it is about these units, but I’d be very weary of buying one to find out.
This 60s era development was low-end entry-level rental housing for many years before conversion. Construction quality is on par with Uptown/Edgewater/East Rogers Park “4+1” 60s era apartment buildings – the ones were the first floor is all parking and a lobby, and four floors of cheap apartments are above, all wood-frame construction intended for a 25-year “useful life”.
This development can be attractive to an inexperienced first-time buyer who insists upon a Lincoln Park location but has little financial ability to buy-in at the higher average unit price. But as you’ll see in many of these listings, buyers find themselves rebuilding the interiors because of their initial cheap quality, replacing windows and doors, etc, but unable to address the cheap exterior construction and thin party-walls.
I also think that the unit configurations in relation to street frontages create security problems for many units, both “peeping” and “forced entry” at those patio doors.
Resales could become difficult if overall exterior maintenance by condo association isn’t constant, given cheap original construction.
“You’re better off just accepting that the neighborhood’s status in 10 years won’t be much different than it is today.”
that’s some serious apathy talking.
I went to grade school in Lincoln Park, and I know quite a few people who changed the neighborhood – they didn’t do it with an attitude like that.
Not at all a fan of LP and I still do not see the appeal this area has. If you consider congestion, noise, ped/bike traffic and public transportation to be “chic”, I will chose to refer to myself as non-chic…trendy and current perhaps, but not ‘lincoln park chic’….so silly to put those words together!
So for those LP worshipers, what neighborhood in NYC would you consider to be it’s equivalent? Def NOT UES…maybe UWS or the Village perhaps? And yes, I am being VERY generous to compare LP to either area.
Back to this apartment, if it were in Rogers Park or some other area undergoing gentrification, it would be bashed to death instead of being tiptoed around and the price would be acceptable only if it were under $175k.
Re: a neighborhood staying the same for 10 years, that really is not true regardless of which city/area you are speaking of. Neighborhoods change constantly…hopefully growth is positive, sometimes it is not.
“if it’s the same bank I have, I will seriously file a lawsuit. This is complete crap. How do I find out what bank has this mortgage?”
Find the PIN (redfin usually has it for for sale properties, if not, use the assessor’s website). Then ccrd.info to find the mortgage. It was *probably* securitized, tho, and an assignment may or may not have been recorded.
In any case, you’d be throwing good money after bad. They made a business decision to charge-off this and not yours. Too bad for you. I don’t see what the basis for your claim would be.
“Because I had the money to pay for the decline, I get screwed?”
Essentially yes. Not a hard concept to understand. Those who have money actually wind up subsidizing quite a bit of the activities of those who don’t. Pay income or property taxes? Pay for health insurance? Etc.
Part of the path to wealth is hiding your money so as to escape our redistributionist and interventionist government. And also not caving into requests for money from creditors just to preserve a FICO. The ITA thinks they’re going to get 1.5k out of me via a collection agency. Good luck.
The only debts you _have to pay_ are those to your bookie/loan shark and those for child support and other court orders that would result in a warrant*. One will ruin your health and the other results in jail.
*Not to be confused with all court fees actually the majority of violation fines can be ignored with no threat of jail. All collection agencies can do is try to pester you with calls haha.
You can settle with those collection agencies for .25 on the dollar ya know… They buy crap debt for dimes on the dollar and try to get as much as they can. Just tell them you’ll settle (or only have money) for 25% and they usually take it.
Bob I like you but I wouldn’t around touting yourself as a deadbeat; you reap what you sow.
HD,
Truer words have never been spoken–guess how much of a loss I took on some CIT bonds bought last year?
Trust me in that I’m not the least bit worried about not being invited to any polite society dinner parties any time soon. Wealth is not debt and wealth is not availability of cheap debt. If you ever catch me boasting about my FICO score like I’ve heard so many others do please euthanize me on the spot. Instead I’ll be boasting about how much I legally expropriated from creditors. Would probably make many of those dinner party guests a bit uncomfortable? 😀
Nevermind, it’s not about wealth=debt or being invited into ‘society parties’; if you don’t get it you don’t get it and nothing I say here is going to teach you !
“Trust me in that I’m not the least bit worried about not being invited to any polite society dinner parties any time soon. Wealth is not debt and wealth is not availability of cheap debt. If you ever catch me boasting about my FICO score like I’ve heard so many others do please euthanize me on the spot. Instead I’ll be boasting about how much I legally expropriated from creditors. Would probably make many of those dinner party guests a bit uncomfortable? :D”
westloopelo,
I’ve lived both on Webster and Sheffield (Lincoln Park Chicago) and 81st and West End (Upper West Side New York)… and believe me the UWS can’t hold a candle to Lincoln Park! Lincoln Park has leafy streets with great restaurants, nice pedestrian traffic, close proximity to downtown, the lake, zoo, Chicago History Museum, the Latin School, Halsted Street Shopping, Steppenwolf Theater, bike paths, etc.
There’s a reason people pay a premium. It is a very nice neighborhood.
Sorry I didn’t mean i was actually going to sue my bank…I was just pissed. Of course I’d lose & there is no actionable claim that I could ever think of. Problem # 1 is that I never even bothered to ask to do a short sale bc I thought that was only reserver for people who were under water by 50-100k. Seeing these people get out for only a 22k decline (maybe 35 after negotiations) in equity when I essentially lost that amount made me a seriously pissed for about 10 minutes. Then I realized, duh, I had over 100k of equity in the place… so obviously I couldn’t do a short sale. Viewing the numbers on here sort of instigated an immediate response that prevented me from thinking momentarily… almost like what happened when I decided to buy property the first time.
Well anyway, at least I got rid of my place… I’m trying to look at the bright side…
Thanks for the tip anon (tfo). What does tfo stand for anyway? A few people have that after their names on here. Bob, you may appreciate this: every time I see the FICO abbreviation, my brain (instinctively and immediatly) thinks RICO. Perhaps I should’ve adopted your attitude…and never put a cent down & walked. Too bad those days are over.
“What does tfo stand for anyway?”
The First One. I stole it from “Jason* (the first one)”, and shortened it, to distinguish from a couple other Anon/anon posters.
Or, as HD likes to read it, The F’ing Original.
*or John, or whoever.