A Vintage Top Floor 2-Bedroom for $550,000: 2003 N. Howe in East Lincoln Park
This top floor 2-bedroom at 2003 N. Howe in East Lincoln Park came on the market in October 2020.
Built in 1906, 2003 N. Howe is a 6-unit building with a back deck and yard.
There’s no parking.
The building is on the corner of Howe and Armitage.
Howe is a one-way street with zoned permit parking.
It has 10-foot ceilings, some exposed brick walls, custom built-ins and millwork.
The unit has east and west exposures.
The living room has a wood burning fireplace.
The kitchen, which as wood cabinets and luxury stainless steel appliances such as a Miele dishwasher and Wolf oven/stove, has an island which is open to the dining/family room combination.
There is only one bathroom and it has marble finishes with heated floors, Ann Sacks tiles, a Toto soaking tub and sink, Robern mirrors and Grohe rain steam shower.
The unit has space pak air conditioning and a new washer/dryer.
It does not have parking.
The property has a private back deck and pets are allowed in the building.
This building is in prestigious East Lincoln Park, and is just a few blocks from popular Oz Park.
Originally listed in October 2020 for $575,000, it has been reduced $25,000 to $550,000.
Is lack of parking an issue in this location?
Charles Costa at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #3N: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1227 square feet
- Sold in January 1998 for $167,000
- Sold in May 2000 for $319,000
- Sold in August 2002 for $367,000
- Sold in October 2003 for $395,000
- Sold in June 2007 for $404,500
- Sold in April 2016 for $526,500
- Originally listed in October 2020 for $575,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $550,000
- Assessments of $400 a month (includes heat, security system, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $10,577
- Space Pac Air Conditioning
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- No parking
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 13×12
- Bedroom #2: 11×9
- Living room: 15×23
- Kitchen: 16×9
- Family room/dining room combo: 16×11
- Laundry room: 10×5
- Deck: 12×9
Not a bad place looks like its well set up for a couple w/o kids and TV is not over the FP. Location, parking and 2nd Br are issues here.
5 years of ownership and losing money – HAWT ™
Seriously? >$500k for tiny bedrooms, 1 bath and $400/month assessments? Yikes. Is this really what places are going for?
I realize this is prime Lincoln Park, but the ask price seems steep. I am not sure what comps the seller and list agent are looking at to justify a $550k price on a 2Br 1Ba last updated ~10 years ago, with no parking.
The wine rack island is perhaps an indicator that the kitchen reno was done on the cheap. And so ugly facing into the main living space.
“The wine rack island is perhaps an indicator that the kitchen reno was done on the cheap. And so ugly facing into the main living space.”
The drop in sink cinches it
I dont get the “Gotta have the Wolf stove” and then cheap out on every thing else
It’s a nice enough place, but hard to know who this appeals to. It’s really too small for anybody with kids (despite the crib). The location is desirable and I like the aesthetics generally (yes, kitchen has some oddities but could be “refreshed” fairly easily). The outdoor deck and shared outdoor grass area are really nice as well. Those would have gotten a lot of use the last year. Space pac and W/D also nice features.
But it’s still a 2 BR/1 BA small unit with no parking. I guess it could be suited for a couple that plans to stick around a while, but $3200+/month could also get a nice rental. So, I don’t hate it at all and like a lot of the features, but definitely find the price too rich. It’s really somebody who wants that specific location with a vintage look and outdoor space and doesn’t have a car. That’s a smaller buyer pool.
Well done job of maximizing the space this unit has. Curious why the exposed brick in a tight space, visually it makes it smaller, but does make the unit feel cozy. I even got no hate about the neighbor kid using the yard for pitching practice. Nice place for the price even without parking.
‘Basically, I wear sandals, like Jesus. When it gets cold in Chicago, the snow way up to my knees, I still wear my sandals. But that’s me.’
-Lawrence Tureaud
Oz playground is awesome (it was worth the trek from ELP).
Over $3300/mo after tying up 100K for 1 shitter and no parking. East LP is nice but its not THAT nice.
Not only did the current owners overpay back in 2016 when they bought for $527k, they also locked in an annual tax provision of nearly $11k. Ouch.
All of the vintage issues — no parking, funky layout, radiator heat — and none of the charm. Years ago, I looked at a unit in the identical building across the street. It had beautiful woodwork, which this condo lacks. I’d say that exposed brick is a poor trade off.
What on earth was the 2016 buyer thinking. I was going to comment on the cheap ass drop in sink with granite but was beaten to it. You can do a drop in with granite but only if it is a fancy sink – – and perhaps dropped in flush with the granite (as mine is . . . and it looks cool and is functional).
I was going to say “what on earth do you get for your $400/mo…apparently NOT deck maintenance…” but I think this neighborhood has a private security patrol. It has followed me during some of my nighttime runs LOL. I wonder if for $400/mo you get the contact info for the patrol. One of the units is apparently a rental . . I would want to make sure it isn’t students. That back deck and yard would otherwise be party central ha ha.
I was also going to comment on the hideous / useless wine storage island – – island that you cannot sit at. Kinda blows.
Otherwise the floor plan is ok for a 2/1. I had a similar floor plan once and the problem is when you are entertaining everyone hovers in the kitchen and then it gets stuffy….so groups split to the rooms in front and back and it actually isn’t all that great for entertaining but certainly helps if you are a couple who are both working from home.
Nice back porch, but otherwise unimpressed. What a cramped little place, and having $10,000 taxes on top of that makes it even worse. I’m thinking asking price needs to come down quite a bit. Location isn’t everything, especially with no parking.
how does one check if the deck has been brought up to Chicago code?
May 2000 for $319,000 + CPI = $489k
The ’07 sale was just a little above ’00+CPI–in other words, *waaaay* behind case-shiller indicated increase.
And the kitchen screams “May 2000” to me. The pulls/knobs and the appliances have been replaced, but the cabinet/granite combo sez 2000.
I’m guessing the ’16 seller did the refresh, and the fancy, new, appliances is what pushed the price up–the sale was *over* listing price.