1920s Elegance With All the Bells and Whistles Reduces: 504 W. Barry in Lakeview
We chattered about this 3-bedroom pre-war unit at 504 W. Barry in East Lakeview in December 2009.
See our December 2009 chatter here.
It is one of the rare 1920s buildings along or near the lakefront in Lakeview that has all the bells and whistles that buyers are looking for including space pac cooling, in-unit washer/dryer and deeded parking.
It also has relatively “affordable” assessments (for these pre-war buildings) at just $681 a month which includes cable and heat.
This unit also has a 10×13 private terrace.
Since December 2009, it has also been reduced by $30,000.
Pearce Lashmett at Koenig & Strey has the listing. It is agent owned. See the pictures here.
Unit #4W: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in August 1991 for $305,000
- Sold in June 1994 for $320,000
- Sold in August 2005 for $518,500
- Was listed in December 2009 for $799,900 (parking included)
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $769,000
- Assessments of $681 a month (includes cable and heat)
- Taxes of $7089
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Space pac
- Bedroom #1: 17×12
- Bedroom #2: 16×13
- Bedroom #3: 8×12
- Living room: 24×16
- Dining room: 16×13
- Kitchen: 15×10
- Foyer: 10×8
*I dont know but i can bet that 250k worth of reno was but into this unit. (if the current owners did the work).
*also a room 8′ wide should never be called a bedroom maybe you can call it a nursery but not a bedroom (most likely servant quarters)
*which brings me to was that 3rd bath added with the reno? if i recall “pre-war” didnt rock en suite for the “help”. to me that seems like a waste of space to add it
*Besides the pillow faces freakiness and the urine under the patio chair it is a BEAUTIFUL place and any buyer should be proud (unless they pay 750k for it)
“*Besides the pillow faces freakiness and the urine under the patio chair ”
I missed the urine because I had to immediately look away once the pillow made eye contact with me. Make eye contact for more than 3 seconds in this area, and you don’t know what you might be getting into.
Groove, I do disagree with you on the 8×12 bedroom though– I think that’s an adequate guest bedroom and/or office size, ESPECIALLY when the other 2 bedrooms are freakin 16×13 and 17×12.
Still a gorgeous place. . . and still going to have to come down a little bit further in price I would think. But they’ve got to be getting within 10% of a sale price for a great building like this.
And for once I’d actually feel good about value of the assessments!
Loved it in December; love it now. Couldn’t afford it then; can’t afford it now.
pretty…
It’s definitely pretty (I toured it when it first came on the market). And yes, the 3rd bath was added, taking a big chunk of space out of that bedroom. I would have left the bedroom alone. It’s really too small. And I must emphasize–there is NO yard, contrary to advertising. That’s a bald-faced lie.
The pillows look like Fornasetti (and chic to me).
“And I must emphasize–there is NO yard, contrary to advertising. That’s a bald-faced lie.”
So, the grass in front belongs to someone else AND that patch of grass in the back (shared with the building to the east, it seems) is gone now, too?
I think I mentioned this last time, but at some point a chunk of the beautiful facade was replaced with something ugly and white, on the west side of the building toward the third floor. Hidden by the trees in the photo. Lovely unit and building, just can’t forgive whoever did that hack job.
Here’s a little weekend reading for you all. . . “The Hidden Housing Crisis”.
But it gets pretty depressing after “As first-time buyers in 1995, they were drawn by the diversity, stability and community spirit of Rogers Park. The couple were persuaded by its real estate agent to start small, build equity, flip the property and then purchase a house.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/city-foreclosures-rogers-park-20100611,0,2200723.story
Thanks for posting the article SquareD. I hadn’t seen it yet.
The really sad thing is- they bought 15 years ago and find themselves in this awful situation. Condo ownership is NOT like buying your own apartment if you end up in a building with these problems. It is much more common than people realize (to have several units in foreclosure and other owners have to cover the costs.)
SquareD, thanks for pointing out this great article. It’s so unfortunate that condo dwellers are all in it together. As I’ve posted elsewhere, it’s not just the matter of having your gas potentially shut off but the fact that the solvent homeowner cannot get out. Even if she finds a buyer for her own unit and she’s paid her own assessments, the buyer CANNOT get financing if more than 15 percent of the units in the building have assessments in arrears. It only takes one unit in a six-flat. So for a smaller building, the assessments either must be paid by the remaining homeowners in order that the buyer can get financing, or else the homeowners have to wait through the foreclosure/short sale process on the other units so that the delinquent assessments can be paid. As a prospective buyer I’ve lost two condos this way this year after paying inspection, attorney, and appraisal costs, but I’ve learned my lesson and won’t be looking at condos anymore as I know that I don’t want to someday be a seller in this same predicament.
I wonder if there will be ever be changes in fair housing laws so that condo ownership is more like co-ops… given that your neighbors financial problems can have a huge impact on your ability as an owner in a condo, it only seems fair that the other owners should get to evaluate the potential owner’s suitability from a financial perspective.
I have actually had several past clients call with questions about if their buildings should get FHA approved as they are very concerned about financially unqualified neighbors.
In small developments, it only takes one to screw it up for the others, but the larger developments seems to have more exposure due to them being havens for specuvestors.
Russ, that is an excellent point; condos should be considered like co-ops if the market is to be this volatile. It will take time for people to catch up to thinking this way (when I tried to find out more info about the property and the owners, my inquiries were not welcomed). The last unit I was just interested in had, on top of a short sale, a special assessment locking each unit into more than $1K/month in regular plus specials for years. I had no idea if they can make this payment or what their financial situation is.
wow — this is gorgeous. for those who have seen the listing — are all of the baths en suite? it’s always a little awkwar for guests to have to trek through a BR to get to a bath. This is def a beautiful home, though.
“I wonder if there will be ever be changes in fair housing laws so that condo ownership is more like co-ops… given that your neighbors financial problems can have a huge impact on your ability as an owner in a condo, it only seems fair that the other owners should get to evaluate the potential owner’s suitability from a financial perspective.”
This is specifically why I now have a contract on a co-op unit. I’d much, much rather jump through some more hoops and get vetted out and have to put down a bigger down payment so I’m not surrounded by a bunch of 100% financing deadbeats. Granted, my co-op application isn’t nearly as rigorous as I’d imagine something in NYC would be, but simple virtue of a credit check, getting some recommendations and putting down a fair chunk goes a long way towards assuring that value will be preserved.
Sabrina, my computer’s anti-virus system has detected some serious/fatal issues with the listing and will not allow me access to the site. I have a great set up that detects deeply embedded viruses, so I would encourage other reader not to attempt to see this listing. I believe I wrote to you before with a problem and if I remember correctly, it was with this same agency? Proceed with caution!
Regarding the Trib story, it is very sad for the owners who are trying to be responsible and in this case, are going above and beyond what is expected of them only to face losing their home.
This is the reason I stay far away from any condo building where the assessment charges include the cost of the utilities.
There are far too many people who do not feel any remorse for their neighbors when they decide to not pay their monthly assessment…we are seeing this happening more and more.
In a co-op building, it is a different story as the board has greater authority to start the eviction process when assessments fall in arrears….and believe me, they start the process or place a lien on the owners property or income immediately, sometimes after even one missed payment.
While many balk at owning in a coop building, it is for this reason that the approval process is so difficult and selective. Having lived in a couple before, I appreciate the lengths they go to to ensure the potential owners are financially secure enough to be responsible for their share of expenses.
I hope a procedure could be put in place to avoid this type of mess, as the responsible owners are the ones who end up having the most at risk. As if buyers did not have enough to worry about!
Ironically, many of the co-ops in Chicago (other than the ones in the Gold Coast) are not all that financially stable. The co-op market here is vastly different from NYC. In NYC a lot of the buyers avoid co-ops due to the politics associated with them, even the really wealthy buyers.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we see a few of the smaller buildings converting to co-ops in the future for the reasons above though. We are also going to see some weaker condos converting back to apartments too.
WL,
I’m pretty sure that in Illinois if the condo unit is owned and rented out (as it often is by investors), the association can put a lien on the unit for unpaid assessments and as the unit is owner-in-absentee can also start proceedings to collect rent from the unit to get the assessments back.
It does take time and effort.
I too saw this unit a few weeks ago. It is a beautiful unit, but it’s still priced too high for the market – even considering its uniqueness. Yes, it’s a great vintage unit with AC, parking and in-unit laundry. And, yes, they did remodel the kitchen, add the spacepak and laundry and re-decorate (not remodel) the bathrooms. But a 250k+ price increase since 2005 (even considering the 125k in omprovements) is too much. What’s more, is that in addition to the 680 assesment, the building also requires an additional $500 per quarter for the capital fund.
Am I being too critical/analytical or is the price still $70-90k to high?
If I could afford this place, I’d be on it in a minute…. maybe even at this price, or perhaps for a little less. But I wouldn’t think much less. This is one of the finest buildings in Lakeview. The assessment is very reasonable and the taxes are not bad. The unit is even more beautiful than most 20s vintage apartments, and that is a pretty high standard. The rooms are huge, the building has an elevator, and there is ample outdoor space. Huge rooms, and exceptional architecture.
I have been in this building and know for a fact that it has a back yard and front lawn.
I have to agree with you, Laura. This unit is one of the prettiest I’ve seen, and if I could I would …
I’m glad I live in a co-op (in fact, comparable to this building). I also grew up in one and the corporation came within hours of evicting shareholders who came up with their back assessments as the sheriff showed up with the eviction notice. Nothing gets people to pay like losing their home, which wouldn’t happen in a condo, where people can just chose to quite paying assessments, especially in smaller buildings.
I read that many condominiums in Manhattan were beginning to require traditionally co-op like application packages, it wouldn’t surprise me if this spread here to higher end buildings.
Would love to know where I can find a list of Chicago co-ops, especially one “comparable to this” beautiful building. If anyone knows an easy way to identify co-ops and wouldn’t mind sharing, I’d be grateful, as they don’t seem to be all that common.
I’d be kind of curious of this too. Not sure if something like that is catalogged anywhere.
Sold for $727,500.