A Little Piece of Paris Along the Lakefront: 3314 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview
You won’t be living in a white box if you buy this vintage 2-bedroom at 3314 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview.
The building was built in 1920 in the Beaux Arts style which is reminiscent of many buildings in Paris.
The hallways have arches and there are coved ceilings.
The living room has paneling and millwork along with a woodburning fireplace.
The kitchen has white cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
I’m not sure of the views from this unit. The listing doesn’t say there are lake views.
The unit does have central air, but no washer/dryer in the unit. It lists parking as included but I’m not sure that this is actually in the building (as other units for sale in the building do not have parking included.)
Its been reduced $75,000 since it was listed in July 2010.
Is this a steal?
Kay Mastandrea at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures and a virtual tour here.
Unit #7C: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in August 1996 for $158,000
- Sold in December 2001 for $280,000
- Sold in January 2004 for $385,000
- Originally listed in July 2010 for $449,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $375,000
- Assessments of $1098 a month (includes heat, a/c, cable)
- Central Air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Is parking included? I cannot tell
- Bedroom #1: 18×13
- Bedroom #2: 16×13
- Dining room: 11×8
- Living room: 18×15
- Kitchen: 13×8
at least $100k overpriced. and im guessing it has nice views of a brick wall.
Redfin seems to think the garage parking is included but “detached,” and taxes are $4313.89.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3314-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-60657/unit-7C/home/13375178
Wonder if washer/dryer is allowed? Methinks not likely.
I’ve admired this building for many years. A great location, exterior and lobby. At some point in the 1960s or 1970s(?) after a long decline, the grand apartments (maybe 1 or 2 per floor) were carved up in almost rooming-house fashion–and I strongly suspect this unit is one of the by-products of that. I would also guess this unit is in the back of the building. A number of years ago, I looked at a higher-floor unit that was for sale in the front of the building. It had what looked to be a 40′ or 50′ expanse of living room that looked like a ballroom, with magnificent lake views. I can’t say for sure if this is a “troubled” building with a checkered history of attempts to bring it back to glory, but I’ve long had that suspicion.
I agree with Jfmii.
Also, no in unit w/d is horrendous. Is it allowed in building?
“at least $100k overpriced. and im guessing it has nice views of a brick wall.”
jfmii – you are jaded by your under market rent. If you look at the MLS and what is out there, etc., you will see that this unit is decently priced for the area.
Rent and with the money you save go to Paris once a month.
“Rent and with the money you save go to Paris once a month.”
EXCELLENT SUGGESTION!!! I nominate this for quote of the day.
Nothing too exciting here, despite my love for vintage. There are much nicer 2/2 (or larger) vintage rentals (even private floor) right in this hood if you’re looking for something unique/pre-war.
Great location and school, if only it were 3 bedroom we would be interested…
Boiztwn,
Care to share those nicer rentals? Need something in Nettlehorst district with 3 beds and have not come across anything this nice…
T.S. –
This one comes to mind that I remember. Roscoe/LSD 2 bd + den/2.5ba, rooftop deck, 2000sf, private floor with keyed elevator. W/D in unit, central air. Nettlehorst District.
Building
http://www.lakeviewassociates.com/propinfo.php?tab=2&CID=448
Floorplan
http://www.lakeviewassociates.com/floordetail.php?CID=448&UTypeID=3492
Web site says $2,400/mo. Really cool vintage features and woodwork. Kitchens/baths are standard rental tho with white appliances.
But $2,400/mo to rent something this large as opposed to own this LSD place, pay a mortgage, AND pay an $1,100/mo assessment?
Like I said, there’s a lot of beautiful, big vintage rentals in this hood for cheap — especially if you’re not all about SS/marble. You could probably find those, too, but the price point is going to be much higher.
T.S. –
Comment’s in moderation, but I posted an idea around the block from this.
No view with this unit. Its got beautiful features, but the no washer/dryer kills it for me.
$200,000
hd – you are crazy. You know that it is going to sell for over 300k. Why would you even put something that ridiculous out there?
pardon me HD
HD believes in
sub y2k pricing.
competition from other long listed units (200+ days on MLS)
high assessment
a decline to more affordable housing in Chicago
Sellers would be better off removing some of the furnishings with respect to the listing photos
No washer/dryer is a big minus. Also the assessments are pretty high.
The vintage features are lovely though.
BTW, for the comment of “go to Paris one a month”. Have you ever been there? Paris is a very expensive city to visit. If you want to stay in a half decent hotel you would need at least $250 a night. With the price of the ticket, food, and some entertainment, you will be looking at a minimum of 3-4K for a week. How much were you planning to save on rent which can cover this?
the assessments alone should drive the price lower, much lower.
I wonder why we never see units in high rises on lsd in the gold coast? (1400 doesn’t count) No one ever sells those things?
Miumiu there is a new website called expedia that you should check out.
“No washer/dryer is a big minus.”
In all of my boston renovations, I installed ventless combined washer/dryer units that only need a drain (equator brand). I am sure you could install these units in these places.
ltcaffey: I was just in Paris in Dec; tickets were 700 round trip + hotel of US$300 after exchange rate. I was in the 1st arr. so prices could drop, and I was not at a ultra-luxe property. without eating & drinking (which is surprisingly pricey) a long weekend would be$1600 for one person.
prices confirmed via private travel agency but checked against expedia.
The income tax hike has me thinking a lot lately about when it’s worth it to live somewhere cheaper and use the extra cash for travel. Of course, some people hate the hassles of travel more than others, so obviously loving your home base is worth more for those people. But it’s a good suggestion to add up what you’d be saving by accepting some compromise (different state, living in the burbs, living in a rental with no in-unit w/d, etc.) and think about what you could do with that $.
“I wonder why we never see units in high rises on lsd in the gold coast? (1400 doesn’t count) No one ever sells those things?”
Itcaffey, there are SEVERAL units for sale on LSD in the gold coast. Some of them are absolutely beautiful. Before I bought my place I looked at a penthouse unit at 1480 (? exact address) LSD. It is a vintage coop and this place was about 3500 sqare feet with 25 foot ceilings in the living room (you can see the unit when you drive by – it looks like a castle on top of the building). The unit was an estate sale and was an absolute bargain at 1.5 million. The problem was that it was an “all-cash” building. It obviously sold but I don’t know at what price.
Those assessments are brutal. No way does this make sense at 375K… not even 300K.
My expedia shows four star hotels for 175 a night. Glad you could go. One my favorite places.
id love to buy this place if it was between 1000 and 1500 N. LSD.
“The income tax hike has me thinking a lot lately about when it’s worth it to live somewhere cheaper and use the extra cash for travel.”
ding ding ding, its the number 3 reason the grove family lives where we do.
given if i lived in something this beautiful i wouldnt be that mad either. just when they take out my ass fee from account that may sting for a few days. 🙂
“id love to buy this place if it was between 1000 and 1500 N. LSD.”
uhhh – but you wouldn’t be able to rent it for 1750 including parking.
“uhhh – but you wouldn’t be able to rent it for 1750 including parking.”
id pay up to say i have a place on LSD just like you clio.
“id pay up to say i have a place on LSD just like you clio.”
I don’t have a place on LSD – too cold.
ltcaffey, thanks for your recommendation. Personally I care about the neighborhood I stay in. Expedia has pathetic recommendation and false start ratings IMHO. If you ever end up crossing the Atlantic, try venere.com or booking.com
I don’t think sellers discount these places with high assessments enough. Even if you take out $300 for heat/AC/cable, you still have an $800 assessment. That’s $500 more than the typical $300 assessment in a smaller/newer building in this area.
If that extra $500/month was going towards the mortgage instead of the assessment, you could afford a $475,000 place instead. Which would you rather have?
(And not to mention $375k is way too much for this place anyways.)
Very good point RE_novice. BTW, I have a perhaps dumb question for you guys:
“Given how bad the market is, why associations do not try and lower their assessments to make their buildings more popular?”
I have noticed that in our building they constantly waste money on changing signs, garage door openers and other things that do not really need fixing. Also we have so many people working here, doorman (necessary), repairs people (not sure why they should be there on site 24/7) and even a useless onsite building manager. I bet they could have cut assessments significantly by managing resources well. Also why should every building have designated repairs personnel all the time. Why cannot the management company share the repairs people among multiple building?
Beautiful place to live until I saw the lack of a W/D and redic assys.
Typical. Take a great place and ruin it with no W/D and high assys.
miumiu – I think your question can be timely related to the tax story here in Illinois. If it’s mostly not your money to begin with and you get no advantage in saving it, then those in charge often will find something to spend it on, whether it be condo boards or lawmakers. For some reason the pooling of money for the common good causes it to be spent less efficiently than if it was left up to each individual.
“If that extra $500/month was going towards the mortgage instead of the assessment, you could afford a $475,000 place instead. Which would you rather have”
Believe it or not, some people would prefer to live in a vintage place. Again, it is all about your lifestyle, style, and personality. People say to me that I could buy a HUGE place (3000 -4000 sq foot) for the same amount I spent for my 1850 sq ft in-town. However, I like the location and wouldn’t want to move to a RN loft or a sfh in BT, etc. Every place has people who are going to be interested in it.
“For some reason the pooling of money for the common good causes it to be spent less efficiently than if it was left up to each individual.”
Great quote. In theory you would think that the pooling of money to buy common elements would lead to savings, but, as you said, has the opposite effect.
“In theory you would think that the pooling of money to buy common elements would lead to savings, but, as you said, has the opposite effect.”
It’s sure cheaper for the building to have one doorman that for each unit owner to have a part-time butler. Ditto on-call maintenance guy, home gym, daily vacuuming of the entry hall, flowers, pool, etc., etc.
Of course, almost no one would come out of pocket for a part-time butler or any of the other stuff, but most *are* willing to pay $X per month to share a doorman, etc, etc. And that leads to spending a lot of money that wouldn’t have been spent but for the illusory savings of shared services.
This place is beautiful. Love, love, love it. But I agree that the no w/d is an epic fail. Got to have my w/d.
I love this place, but you’re right- it faces brick walls. I’ve looked at a couple of units on this tier and while they’re beautiful, they have no views.
I’d discount this apartment steeply from the ask because I would want to restore the original dark finish on the beautiful Tudor wainscoting in the living room that someone painted white. Who does stuff like this? It will cost a lot of money and effort to restore it.
Other than that, a beautiful apartment, but the maintenance reduces affordability. I’d rather pay the assessments for vintage, since no one building these days is likely to build anything comparable, especially at a price I could come near affording. But these assessments will scare a lot of people away, because you are stuck with a high fixed cost even if you pay cash.
“I’d discount this apartment steeply from the ask because I would want to restore the original dark finish on the beautiful Tudor wainscoting in the living room that someone painted white. Who does stuff like this? It will cost a lot of money and effort to restore it.”
I totally agree. I’m a nerd for natural woodwork; it’s what I love about vintage (and is prevalent in the rental I had in mind for TS in this hood).
An example, A friend of mine had a condo at 512 Belden and bought it just because it had all the original trim, doors, etc woodwork. Had to relocate, sold it. It was re-listed in a year; new owner painted all of it white. I showed my friend the listing, and my friend was beside herself.
Look up 6C which is avail for $400K. Pics show the difference that wood makes.
One of these listings says the LR in the C units was the library in the orig huge units before cutting them up.
Re: Unit 6C
That living room! *faints* Absolutely stunning! Good lord that’s beautiful. And those inset mirrors?! Fab.u.lous. $25K more for this unit is well worth it.
I also appreciate the photos because they helped me to better understand the layout. I was wondering if you walked past the open kitchen/dining to get to the living room based on this unit’s photos. Those 6C photos show me: yes, you do.
Holler. Thanks, Sabrina. I’m curious what people think about renting at the place I linked (upthread) as opposed to owning this space, with mortgage + taxes + assessments. I’m a renter — guilty as charged — so I have a bit of a bias on this score.
“I’m curious what people think about renting at the place I linked (upthread) as opposed to owning this space, with mortgage + taxes + assessments. ”
Seems like a no-brainer to me, but I’m anti-condo for many reasons, mainly that I don’t like people.
Jfmii, vintage between 1000 and 1500 would be way beyond reach for you, my dear. I can’t believe how clueless people are here. Most people are making comments based on what they can or can’t afford and just because you can’t afford something, doesn’t mean that it needs to be discounted for your pleasure.