Buying a 2-Bedroom in a Full Service Streeterville Highrise: 401 E. Ontario
This 2-bedroom unit at 401 E. Ontario in Streeterville has been on the market since November 2010.
401 E. Ontario was originally built in 1990 and converted into condos in 1999.
Some units in this building have striking views of the lake and city.
With nearly 400 units, it is a full service building with doorman, an indoor pool, a massive exercise room, a hot tub, two sun decks and a party room.
This unit has a renovated kitchen with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It also has an in-unit washer/dryer (which appears to be allowed in the building but many of the units, especially the 1-bedrooms, don’t have it in the unit.)
While the unit has central air, it does not have hardwood floors but instead has carpet throughout.
Assessments on this 2-bedroom are only $659 a month, and that includes all the full service amenities plus heat, a/c and cable.
Is this unit a value for the space and location?
Mo Morsy at Charles Rutenberg Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1309: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1200 square feet
- Sold in December 1999 for $332,500
- Sold in October 2003 for $385,000
- Originally listed in November 2010 for $439,900
- Currently still listed for $439,900 (plus 39,900 for parking)
- Assessments of $659 a month (includes heat, a/c, cable, doorman, pool, hot tub)
- Taxes of $6171
- Central Air
- In-unit washer/dryer
- Bedroom #1: 14×12
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
Although only 20 years old this building looks dated. Might be a good deal for some I just don’t dig the architecture of this era.
Also in terms of level of service it appears “full service” buildings have recently been upstaged by condo-hotels.
Did the 2003 price include the parking?
dude if i see that turquoise target bed-in-a-bag in another listing i will kick a kitten.
*wow thinking back i have not made a valuable post in the past two days.
on monday in honor of Pulaski Day I request all the properties to either be in polish neighborhoods or Polish rehabs 😀
There’s nothing tasteful about this remodeling, in fact, it’s tasteless. The black granite countertops look like they’re from the 1980’s, and the continuation of that theme into the bathroom makes me want to vomit. $367 a sq foot for this place is a joke. Keep dropping the price. about $100 psf.
Half mil for this?
Sold.
Lol.
“or Polish rehabs”
we have seen enough of those on CC already, no need for a day dedicated to it.
“The black granite countertops ”
You aren’t looking at the right place, HD.
~$3400 a month after taxes and assesments.
How far to fall to reach rent parity? What’s the condo risk premium at right now?
What would this rent for?
“What would this rent for?”
Based on a quick look at CL, don’t know how you justify much over $3000, including parking.
“tastefully remodelled”/ not: what’s with the column in the kitchen counter and those desired window treatments, glass shower doors, etc, etc. Does look dated. I cannot see more than 300 psf (if even that)and include the parking.
3309 rented 1/25/2011 $2,260 w/pkg
2209 rented 12/27/2010 $2,300 w/pkg
3109 rented 9/8/2010 $2,000 no pkg
3009 rented 8/24/2010 $2,300 no pkg
3309 rented 11/23/2009 $2,260 w/pkg
1809 rented 8/13/2009 $2,600 no pkg
2009 rented 9/7/2008 $2,000 no pkg
2409 rented 7/15/2008 $2,150 no pkg
1809 rented 8/14/2007 $3,100 w/pkg
2909 rented 8/14/2007 $3,350 w/pkg
The black/white countertops are the same in the kitchen and the bathroom, not the bathroom with the undermount sink, but the other bathroom.
Those recliners knock a good $50k off this place alone. Ugh.
1809 is on the market for $399k + $35k parking, and it looks nicer:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/401-E-Ontario-St-60611/unit-1809/home/12764924
The bathroom *with* the undermount has the same counter as the kitchen.
And I don’t see it as black, so that’s the disconnect–also, as the description notes, it’s marble, which added to my confusion as to what you were saying.
No thanks.
nearly half a mil to buy 1200 sq feet in THIS building? Give me a break, see you at december 99′ prices.
Hey does anybody have opinions, feedback, comments on NEWBERRY PLAZA at 1030 N. State??
I’m considering renting in the building and can’t find anything about it online – good, bad or otherwise…
Thanks for your time!
@ Riz, I don’t like the unit at all but what is wrong with the building. Is it badly constructed or it is in trouble or something?
Re: Newberry – what floor? That’s in the heart of a tourist trap neighborhood and depending on locationlocationlocation you might have a really hard time getting to sleep on weekend nights!
“@ Riz, I don’t like the unit at all but what is wrong with the building. Is it badly constructed or it is in trouble or something?”
there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with the building i guess, a lot of my classmates rented in this building because of the vicinity to our med school and rotation sites, so i’ve been in and out of here often. The rooftop deck is decent, the swimming pool and gym are kind of ghetto , there is coin laundry in the building for most units.. The building has a distinctly ‘apartment’ feel in the condos, regardless of how updated they are, in my opinion. The staff is nice enough, but there are just so many better options for the price point.
Shamalamadingdong,
newberry plaza is ‘okay’..as chitowngal said above, you’ll be right in the middle of a lot of BS tourist action on the weekends, especially in the summer. Go a block over and there are decent rentals on dearborn , i believe. I live a few blocks away on Astor and there are quite a few condo buildings with rentals, as well as an apartment building that rents on Astor – it’s a few blocks away from here, closer to the lake, and a much quieter street.
It’s called the Astor House, at Astor + Banks, one of the few all-rentals in the prime Gold Coast, lovely building with excellent management. I know families with kids who rented 2-bed units in there, at very reasonable prices, so they could enroll at Ogden School. If they had bought a home it would have had to be far away from GC in a lesser school district.
Thanks Riz. I see what you mean. I hate the coin laundry thing. Reminds me of the first semester I was in US and stayed in the dorm. I was sure I would die from the eating the food before the semester was over…lol
It used to have a minor/offhanded rep as a building where escorts and high-priced call girls lived. It still may have that rep, does it?
“Hey does anybody have opinions, feedback, comments on NEWBERRY PLAZA at 1030 N. State??”
No deal.
I showed a client #2302 for $389k + $39k for parking. That was right about the same time this place hit the market. This is a lower floor w/ ugly carpet. And yet no movement since September? Guessing this is someone’s in-town and “they don’t *have* to sell…”
“what’s with the column in the kitchen counter.”
I think it helps hold part of the building up. Still…yikes.
“Groove77 on March 4th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
dude if i see that turquoise target bed-in-a-bag in another listing i will kick a kitten.”
LMAO! I didn’t even notice it until I read this comment. Then I realized that is my EXACT same bed-in-a-bag set for my first studio apartment back in 2003!
I got it at either Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Linens N’ Things though, fwiw. ;D
I made a calculator, happy to share for feedback. With a few assumptions, you can back out the real monthly cost. From real monthly cost, using 1/3 of gross thumbrule, you can back out the minimum recommended income for a buyer.
What should the buyer of this condo look like:
They make at least $167k per year, have $88k to put down.
Assumptions:
20% down
4.86% 30yr fixed (probably low for a condo)
3% after-tax opportunity cost
30% all-in tax rate (for 167k ??? state & federal)
borrower doesn’t spend >33% of their gross income on housing
insurance = 0.5% of home value
maintenance = 1% of home value
Monthly Cost Equals
Sum of:
Mortgage Payment (excel PMT function)
Taxes (from listing)
Assessment (from listing)
Insurance (0.5%)
Maintenance (1%)
Opportunity Cost (lost income on downpayment & equity)
Less:
Mortgage Interest Deduction
Property Tax Deduction
I intentionally leave out potential price appreciation, only fair because I keep opportunity cost and taxes static.
“insurance = 0.5% of home value”
Way, way too high. And it’s a declining scale, as it’s not *that* much more expensive to insure a $1mm house than it is to insure a $500k house.
And 1% annual maintenance is probably too high for a typical condo and too low for a typical SFH.
Thanks. I will put something in my calculator that toggles maintenance formula based on condo/sfh. Condo 0.5%, SFH 1.5% sound ok? For insurance, the NY Times “Is It Better to Buy or Rent?” calculator uses 0.5% of home value. But I understand that for most homes over 500k, you’re really only paying 200/300k for the house. So I’ll do 0.5% for the first 500k, then 0.25% thereafter. Thoughts?
@ Riz “the swimming pool and gym are kind of ghetto , there is coin laundry in the building for most units..”
Not sure what gym and the pool you’re referring to, but I don’t know where you’ll find nicer amenities in the city. You must have pretty high standards. Also, it’s card-operated laundry, not coin. If the last time you were in the building was in 1990, please hush.
“So I’ll do 0.5% for the first 500k, then 0.25% thereafter.”
My home insurance, with the full complement of accessory coverage (ID Theft, umbrella, various excess coverage, etc, etc) is about 0.15% of *replacement cost* which is over 100% of the purchase price (and over $500k). Maybe I have a screaming deal, but I don’t think so. Home insurance might be much more expensive in NY, which is why the NYT uses such a high number, but I have no idea.