Affordability in East Lakeview? 636 W. Waveland

“Starter” condos have become rare in East Lakeview in the past few years as prices have skyrocketed.

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But this 1-bedroom at 636 W. Waveland is actually listed under $200,000 and it has a washer/dryer in the unit.

It’s also been reduced $11,500.

Or- if you still feel like renting- there is a rent to own option for only $1250 a month.

There’s no square footage listed but the room sizes are decently sized for a 1-bedroom.

  • Living room: 18×12
  • Bedroom: 13×10
  • Kitchen: 12×10

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Peggy Cain at Karen Douglas Realty has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #3C: 1 bedroom, 1 bath

  • Sold in July 1999 for $110,000
  • Sold in September 2003 for $168,000
  • Originally listed in July 2008 for $204,500
  • Reduced several times
  • Currently listed for $193,000
  • Assessments of $342 a month
  • Taxes of $1337
  • OR you can rent it for $1250 a month
  • No central air- window units
  • In-unit washer/dryer
  • No parking

17 Responses to “Affordability in East Lakeview? 636 W. Waveland”

  1. no parking is tough in that area.

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  2. 12*(1250-342)-1337/.055/.8=$217,250

    Stevo’s “conservative” calculation says this Seller is leaving almost $25k on the table. Better run out and make an offer, people.

    Now, if we take the DP out of the equation, or at least reduce it, maybe the equation will be more sensible. Using a 10% dp, it’s $193,111; using 5%, it’s $182,950.

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  3. I think 190k is a bit much, considering the kitchen isn’t particularly nice or well laid out.

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  4. Given the demographic looking to buy a 1/1 in that neighborhood, I’m not sure parking in the building is critical. However, I think this place is probably still a bit pricey. I think if the seller was willing to take a 140-155K offer, this thing would move, IMO. Then again, I think that 2000 prices are where the market is going across the board…so take my opinion with that grain of salt.

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  5. I’ve actually been following this listing. Its a great area. Alas no parking is the deal breaker for me. Its tough to want your cake and eat it too I suppose.

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  6. Anybody know anything about 1441 N. Elk Grove. All the units have been foreclosed on except one. The last one closed for $72,500. There are three more listed for sale as foreclosures.

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  7. Man that kitchen is a huge POS, but W/d in unit on a 1 bedroom is hard to find, and probably worth 25k!

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  8. Having lived in several vintage buildings in the area, I think this is pretty typical. With the limited space, there aren’t a lot of layouts that would work well. Although the appliances could use some updates…

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  9. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. It is cheaper where the gays are.

    No really, go look at Craigslist for areas in/around boystown. They’re waaaaaaaay cheaper.

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  10. What is included w/ assesment. $350/mo seems high for a 1/1. I’m also betting theres about 5 sqft of closets

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  11. ChiGuy: According to redfin, heat, water and cable are included. But this doesn’t surprise me much as it’s a large-ish, old building. Smaller closets and larger assessments come with the territory. I agree that about 350/mo. for a 1/1 is steep, though.

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  12. This is cute. It’s entertaining to look at the places in the high six figures, but sometimes it is more fun to see what you can get for a bargain, yet still live in the great ‘hoods in the city.

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  13. VB,
    I went over to 1441 Elk Grove a couple of weeks ago. A guy happened to be there pumping about a foot of water out of the finished basement. He said the electricity had been cut off and the water main broke….can you say mold?

    I have no way of knowing whether this guy’s info is correct, but he said the building is empty except one top floor unit. He didn’t know anything about the foreclosure situation. The first floor front unit was wide open with no locks on the door. I went in….it’s about 450 square feet and the two “bedrooms” are ridiculously tiny. There was water on the floor in the bathroom…the place is probably trashed by now.

    Great location, but after seeing the depressing state of the building and how tiny the units were I didn’t pursue it any further.

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  14. My calculation for price puts it in the $165k – $170k range.

    This pretty much confirms my earlier suspicion that a return to fair value is ~2003 prices. The published numbers for Chicago Case-Shiller condos are very illuminating.

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  15. I looked at units in this building about 4 years ago. It’s not a bad building, but had some major repairs that were in the offing at the time. This price isn’t bad for this location, but kitchen might be cause for a lower price — can’t tell from pics. Parking isn’t a problem as long as you don’t mind paying to park accross the street at the New York for probably $150 a month. Another downside is that eventually there is going to be another building built on the site of the New York. Could be a major construction zone if the economy ever turns (so you probably have 3-4 years to worry about that). Close to Lake, Whole Foods, Express bus = pluses.

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  16. I looked at this unit in July (it has been on and off of the market for a while). the kitchen has particle board cabinets that are falling apart, there is a huge lack of daylight, the washer and dryer are smack dab in the middle of the kitchen, the kitchen overlooks the dumpster (gross). The assessments and taxes are atrocious (even for lakeview). Also, it is extremely close to the opening to the New Yorker driveway which is really loud. Plus, I’ve heard they are building east of the NY’er, which would be right across the street from this place. try reselling when a high rise is going up.

    I’d pay 155 – 160 for it… max.

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  17. sorry, i dont know why I called it the New Yorker – New York. Maybe because I have the mag next to me.

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