A Vintage 1-Bedroom in East Lakeview for Under $220,000: 539 W. Roscoe
This 1-bedroom at 539 W. Roscoe in East Lakeview came on the market in July 2021
This courtyard building was constructed in 1923 and has 26 units.
It apparently does not have an elevator, nor does it have parking.
This vintage unit has French windows in the living room along with a wood burning fireplace with a carved cherry wood mantle.
It has dark mahogany stained wood floors in the living and dining room.
The kitchen has dark Thomasville cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
The listing says it has a new bathroom with a reglazed bathtub.
There’s a storage locker in the basement.
It has in-unit washer/dryer, which is rare for many vintage 1-bedroom units, but no central air. There are window units.
Parking is leased in the neighborhood.
It has a small deck off the kitchen which can fit a bistro table (see pictures).
It’s near the shops, restaurants and bus lines of East Lakeview.
If inflation actually does take hold, will it make more sense to buy a 1-bedroom than rent?
Thomas Sillitti at Baird & Warner has the listing. It is broker owned. See the pictures here.
Unit #2S: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 780 square feet
- Sold in November 1991 for $56,500
- Sold in October 1992 for $81,000
- Sold in September 1996 for $102,000
- Sold in June 1998 for $126,000
- Sold in April 2004 for $225,500
- Sold in January 2014 for $225,000
- Currently listed at $219,950
- Assessments of $310 a month (includes heat, gas, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $2166
- No central air- window units only
- In-unit washer/dryer
- No parking- available to rent in the neighborhood
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom: 12×11
- Living room: 20×14
- Dining room: 10×8
- Kitchen: 10×8
- Balcony
Nicely maintained starter home.
Funny that the list pictures and staging are remarkably better than those for the $5M mansion featured on Friday!
Where does one eat? Either standing over the sink or out for every meal?
Obviously that’s a staging thing, rather than an actual absence of space to have a table–there’s a small, yet proper, dining room, after all–but don’t most people want to see a place to eat in the staging?
as to the price history–redfin did the math wrong on the ‘public record’ sale, and last sale was in fact $225k. And it appears to require a substantial cosmetic update to sell for anything other than about that price.
“ Where does one eat?”
It’s a young single person’s apartment — probably on the couch.
“It’s a young single person’s apartment”
Not with that round coffee table, no.
The decor is very much *not* a young person’s decor. The prior listing–which looked more ‘young’ had a table in the dining room–which, naturally, made that room look kinds small.
7 years and losing Money = HAWT
As where you eat – old school TV trays
“old school TV trays”
A credited response.
I realize that this is not really an ‘aspirational’ unit-type, and merely has to be more appealing than the typical 1br rental of comparable cost, but the lack of table stood out to me.
I could totally live here as a not-so-young single person–there’s quite a lot of space to work with, just too bad there isn’t another ~3 feet in the kitchen to put a small table.
annnnd it’s under contract
There is no where to put a toothbrush and toothpaste without it accidentally tumbling into the sink or onto the floor. There is no where to store toilet paper either. I would want to rip up the bathroom and turn it into something practical.
I also realize that places like this one are very old, but the fireplace takes up so much space. You could put a TV on top of a media cabinet if that fireplace wasn’t there.
This place might work for someone who is never home.
This is a lovely vintage unit on a good street in a great location.
That said, $219,000 seems a lot considering no parking and no central A/C.
But it sold already so what do I know?
Where do you eat? In the dining room. It’s quite evident in the photos that whoever owns the unit now didn’t know what to do with that room and left it nearly empty. It’s the room with the small arm chair in the corner. Plenty of space for a table there if someone is old enough to know what a dining room is (maybe I’m dating myself).
The furnishing and staging really demonstrate how a small, inexpensive condo can be very nice. I am sure that helped sell it quickly. Very cute.
Resident probably eats at the couch or has an ugly table and chair set stored in a closet.
This place prompts the question, which is more important, central A/C or in unit W/D?
“annnnd it’s under contract”
I knew this was a risk when I decided to crib on it. Lol. Not surprised. Usually the offers come in by Sunday and it goes under contract by Monday.
It is red hot out there. Many properties selling in just a few days. Too hot, really. It’s not healthy.
Also, just as someone who has done this blog for 14 years now, it’s amazing how few properties are on the market in the bigger buildings in say Lakeview and LP. It has to be record low inventory in those two neighborhoods right now.
“This place prompts the question, which is more important, central A/C or in unit W/D?”
Washer/Dryer. Not even a contest.
You can always get a plug in central air unit (or do the window ones.) But if W/D isn’t allowed, you are forced to fight with people on Saturday mornings in the laundry room. It never ends well. Lol.
Nice unit and worth the price for the location. Lack of central is not a big deal at all…so close to the lake, just open a window and enjoy a breeze. use a window unit in summer. A lack of in-unit laundry on the other hand would be a deal breaker. Then you have the worst aspects of owning and renting rolled up into one unit if you don’t have in-unit laundry.
For the uber/lyft crowd, the lack of parking is also NBD – – especially given the bevvy of commuting options from this location and proximity to the lakefront trail….
I don’t see rents going down in the near future so this was a smart move for the buyer. Guessing this was more of a pied a terre for the owner, hence why there is no dining table…when they were in town, they ate out at one of the many restaurants within walking distance….which means the kitchen has very few miles on it. Either that or it was a short term rental and the association cracked down on the owner for that. Really cute. If I were earlier in my career and car-less, a unit like this would be a no-brainer. If I were looking for a pied a terre, similar no-brainer. Curious what the sale price will be…it is almost as if it was priced to sell quickly and I wonder if that resulted in a bidding war or a first offer that came in over ask just to seal the deal quickly.
Laundry service is always an option. A friend has not done laundry in 10+ years because of a laundry service. He also does not have a dining table.
Love it- very good deal for the money. Very pretty, well-appointed unit with nice interior architecture.
The only downer is the lack of in-unit laundry, but we vintage apartment lovers are used to that. The machines would just consume another closet, anyway.
HOA reasonable for what’s included.
“ It is red hot out there. Many properties selling in just a few days. Too hot, really. It’s not healthy.”
Ignore the fact they lost money.
Did you ride a short yellow bus growing up?
“Ignore the fact they lost money.”
We don’t know that yet. Multiple offers and over bids are quite common on properties under $400,000 right now.
And you’re just on here embarrassing yourself again. It is the hottest market in 15 years. By far.
The Chicago housing market is in a bull market.
You can keep trying to gaslight it all you want JohnnyU. Just shows how delusional you are. It would be like someone saying Amazon’s stock isn’t at new highs.
The data is the data. That’s the reality. Not your embarrassing gaslighting.
So, yes, it IS red hot out there. I’m having a hard time finding things to crib on again because too many properties go under contract within days.
“The only downer is the lack of in-unit laundry, but we vintage apartment lovers are used to that. The machines would just consume another closet, anyway.”
It DOES have in-unit laundry, Laura. That’s pretty rare for a 1-bedroom vintage unit in a courtyard building, actually.
“A lack of in-unit laundry on the other hand would be a deal breaker.”
It does have in-unit laundry, The Cat. Maybe that’s why it went under contract so fast?
I agree, that you can open a window and get the lake breeze but you can’t get the in-unit laundry if it doesn’t exist. ha ha.
“ The data is the data. That’s the reality. Not your embarrassing gaslighting.”
What you call gaslighting, non shills call facts.
A f’n broker listed this for less than they paid 7 years ago – fact.
Making up a story about multiple bids – shilling
More signs of just how hot it is out there, the full floor vintage co-ops are selling.
This one sold for $5.15 million. Has been on, and off, the market since 2014.
Sizzle.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2450-N-Lakeview-Ave-60614/unit-10/home/56757360
I should have looked at your copy closer- it DOES have in-unit laundry
There is plenty of room for a small dining room table. Notice the sitting area off the kitchen, with the red oriental rug? That is the dining area. If you look at the pics closely, you can see that the ample living room has two seating areas, so is very roomy, and dining area has plenty of room for a small dining table and sideboard. The current occupant just isn’t using it as a dining area.
It really is a great unit for the price, and I’m not surprised it went under contract so quickly.
“This one sold for $5.15 million. Has been on, and off, the market since 2014.
Sizzle.”
11% below January 2020’s list price. Sounds like the seller was burned pretty good especially after it took 7 years to sell….
“11% below January 2020’s list price. Sounds like the seller was burned pretty good especially after it took 7 years to sell….”
We have discussed on this blog many times over the years the difficulties in selling the expensive co-ops.
There are a LOT of luxury buildings in Chicago now. Rich people have a lot of choice.
The fact that one of these, at the highest price point, finally sold, tells you just how hot the market is.
At $5 million, this has to be one of the most expensive condo/coop sales so far this year in Lincoln Park. When was the last time there even was a $5 million condo/coop sale?
I know a $4 million condo sold recently and that ranked high on the list of sales since 2019.
That’s the thing WP. You have to understand the Chicago market correctly. It is smoking hot if even these big, expensive co-ops are selling.
Hooray.
Glad to see one of these vintage beauties find a new owner. Means someone is really investing in the city.
Here’s another luxury home sale in the Gold Coast in No 9 Walton.
Sold for $6.75 million.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/9-W-Walton-St-60610/unit-2201/home/109045613
Another sign that the city is far from dead. The rich are coming back in droves. No one is afraid.
Can still get some deals on downtown condos though, especially at the lower end.
I hate being right. This 1-bedroom DID likely sell with multiple bids in the red hot market of 2021.
Listed at $219,000. Sold at $231,000. Someone paid $12k over ask.
And they still lost money with 6+ years of ownership
That’s HAWT(tm)
“And they still lost money with 6+ years of ownership”
Did they? It was agent owned.
You argued in 2021 that they were going to sell for less than what they paid for it. They didn’t. The bearish Chatterati has been wrong nearly every time. On nearly all properties and price points. Over 15 years. Continues to be wrong in 2023 too, as we have already seen.
I wonder why that is? Being a bear must be a real drag. Your “theory” is just never correct. The 2008-2012 housing bust was a once in a lifetime event. Too many people think it’s going to happen over and over again. It’s not.
I was guilty of being too bearish past the bottom in 2012. I thought housing would stay depressed for 5 to 10 years given the magnitude of the bust. But the developers jumped back in by 2011-2012. Granted, they built smaller buildings instead of big high rises but within just a few years the excess condo inventory had been absorbed into the rental market and they were building big apartment buildings again.
“Did they? It was agent owned.”
Yes
“You argued in 2021 that they were going to sell for less than what they paid for it. They didn’t. The bearish Chatterati has been wrong nearly every time. On nearly all properties and price points. Over 15 years. Continues to be wrong in 2023 too, as we have already seen.”
Been hitting the bottle early this morning?
The Owners lost money, in a HAWT ™ neighborhood – period
“Did they?”
Listing sez Buyer’s agent commission = 2.5%
231,000-225,000 = $6k.
231,000*2.5% = $5,775
Seller’s share of transfer taxes on $231k = $1,039.50
So, YES, even before considering other customary Seller costs.
“The Owners lost money, in a HAWT ™ neighborhood – period”
You could make the same comment on the next post, about 1120 Armitage.
“So, YES, even before considering other customary Seller costs.”
Psssh, its just a number.
If you drink enough, its ackshully positive
“If you drink enough, its ackshully positive”
Project much JohnnyU? You’re the only one who brings up drinking, alcohol, being drunk on a nearly weekly basis on this blog.
I hope you get some help.
I hope you can get help JohnnyU. That is all. Prayers.
But the sellers lost money, right?
You make blanket proclamations without doing a bit of research or even a minimal amount of investigation.
Embarrassing
While I appreciate your prayers, they’re probably misplaced
“nearly weekly basis”
It’s at least weekly. It’s *nearly* daily.