A Vintage 2/1 with Garage Parking for $385,000: 1120 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park
This 2-bedroom in the greystone at 1120 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park came on the market in June 2021.
I don’t know when this building was constructed but it has 8 units and garage parking.
There’s also a common shared rooftop deck above the garage.
This unit has some if its vintage details including moldings around the windows (yes the wood moldings have been painted white- see the 2017 listing photos for comparison).
It has a custom fireplace surround in the living room with new tile and built-in shelving.
there’s a custom barn door that leads to the second bedroom.
There are hardwood floors throughout.
The primary bedroom has a custom closet.
The kitchen has wood cabinets, granite counter tops, a tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances, including a gas stove.
It has the finishes buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking is included.
This building is in the heart of the Armitage retail corridor and is just 2 1/2 blocks to the Armitage brown line stop.
Listed in June 2021 at $397,000, it has been reduced $12,000 to $385,000.
Are vintage 2/1s still popular among first time buyers?
Anna Huls at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #201: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed
- Sold in May 1992 for $165,500
- Sold in October 1994 for $187,000
- Sold in July 1998 for $218,500
- Sold in November 2000 for $275,000
- Sold in April 2014 for $325,000
- Sold in May 2017 for $369,000
- Originally listed in June 2021 for $397,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $385,000 (includes garage parking)
- Assessments of $211 a month (includes exterior maintenance, scavenger)
- Taxes of $6587
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- Fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 12×11
- Bedroom #2: 12×8
- Living room: 16×11
- Kitchen: 11×9
- Dining room: 11×10
Here’s the question:
Does it make sense to buy if you *know* you’re only staying there for 4 years? 7 out of 8 owners have listed less than 4 years after buying, with the 8th listing after 6, and got stuck with it for 5 more bc of the recession.
May-92+CPI = $379k.
Nov-00+CPI = $429k.
May-03($300k)+CPI = $444k.
It hasn’t even been a good inflation hedge, considering the interior renos since ’92.
this is a 1 bedroom
There’s no closet in that den so it shouldn’t be listed as a 2 bedroom.
Can’t stand it when agents get cute and market properties incorrectly. Do they think no one will notice?
Another extremely narrow place where watching TV is incredibly uncomfortable. Before the pandemic, I was rarely home to watch TV, but now these narrow places make me feel neck pain just looking at them. I finally had a Mantle Mount installed in my place and my pain level has greatly decreased. In this place, there’s no where to put a couch in front of the TV. Maybe the den could be the TV room instead and the office can be in the living room.
Vintage buildings very rarely had much in the way of closets. While I would live in this as a 1-bed + property office / occasional guest room / home gym, putting an armoire in there certainly makes it a 2-bed….The price just doesn’t make sense as others have pointed out….if you are moving so soon, why buy? This works well as a pied a terre (but I think you could do better if that is what you are looking for), or for a single or child-less couple…If you This includes parking however you are locking up a huge chunk of change just to have something that is somewhat better price wise than renting in terms of monthly outlay…It is cute though but I feel like we are in an inflection point…if you have a relatively high degree of certainty that you are going to stay put for at least 10 years, I say go for it. Great location. Any doubts and I wouldn’t buy it. History has not been kind to the pricing of this unit and I wonder if the short tenure among owners is due to noise and also has that resulted in any management gaps as it relates to the overall maintenance of the condo building itself?
Nicely decorated and remodeled unit in an awesome location but it’s clear it has not been a kind investment. Even the wide angle lens can’t hide how narrow the floorplan is. That would irk the hell out of me, especially given how much I stay at home now. It’s definitely a 2 bedroom by appraisal standards but probably lives more like a 1 bedroom.
It’s a shame that HOAs are so resistant to short-term rentals because this would make a great one. Tack on some conditions and an additional HOA-fee for those that want to do that and the extra money would help pad the reserves, which are apparently low according to the realtor tour insights.
Seeing properties like this in such nice locations make me really happy that I got over my green-zone condo phase and waited until I was more settled down to purchase a detached, HOA-less property.
This is an attractive unit in a good location, albeit a busy street. Room sizes are small, which isn’t surprising in a building this old. That could be a game stopper for some.
Assessments this low make me worry about reserves. Asking price might be reasonable at this level for someone who wants a small condo in this location. Especially because it’s so hard to find vintage with parking/AC/, W/D, etc.
Sold 2 weeks ago for $365k.
aka less than the equivalent of the ’92 price, even with free mortgage money.