Buying the Greystone Lakeview 2-Flat: 2910 N. Sheffield
This greystone 2-flat at 2910 N. Sheffield in Lakeview came on the market in October 2010.
Close to bars, restaurants and several El line stops, it would seem an ideal location for those who want to become a landlord.
The listing says the building has newer windows and a newer roof.
Both units are rented for the following:
- Unit #1: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, Rent of $1400 a month
- Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath plus den, Rent of $1375 a month (includes garage parking)
It looks like only the first floor has central air. But there are separate utilities.
The 2-flat also has a full basement and a 2-car garage on a 24×123 lot.
The first floor unit has had its kitchen remodeled and has stainless steel appliances.
At what price does this make sense for an investor?
The listing also indicates that it could be a good single family conversion. Is that option attractive in this market?
Leonard Benefico at Koenig & Strey Real Living has the listing. See the pictures here.
2910 N. Sheffield: 2-flat, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage
- Sold in August 1991 for $250,000
- Originally listed in October 2010 for $625,000
- Currently still listed for $625,000
- Taxes of $10,012
- First floor unit has central air
- Separate utilities
right next to the enterprise rent-a-car parking lot?
not so great a location
Great deal! why aren’t investors snap-snap-snapping this up?
“At what price does this make sense for an investor?”
Not at that one.
The ask price with those rents is a 3.7% gross cap; I’d want about 2x that–>I might pay $350k for it, as a rental investment.
If I thought it was a good structure for a SFH conversion sometime in the future, I *might* talk myself into $425k, but the basement has to be in good shape, the foundation in excellent shape and the facade *perfect*, especially in that location–bc I seriously doubt that is a going to become a better location for a $1mm+ SFH in the future, with the bars across the street, the tall condos to the north and the developable site to the south.
rent-a-car to the south, parking lot to the east, el behind the parking lot to the east. For as nice as the immediate neighborhood is, this is a terrible location.
My bad…that parking lot is a bit to the south, though I still think it effects the livability of this place a bit. Overall, a bad location in a great hood.
quick question..
when can I file for my 2010 homeowners exemption
i was told before that since I moved into my place after january 2009 that I would ahve to wait until the 2010 tax year to file the exemption, so didn’t I just pay my first installment of 2010 taxes or was it the 2nd installment of the 09 taxes? or is the 2010 taxes the bill coming up in february?
“I still think it effects the livability of this place a bit. Overall, a bad location in a great hood.”
It’s really a perfect location for a $1400/mo rental. And, at that, it’s worth about half what they are asking.
“idn’t I just pay my first installment of 2010 taxes or was it the 2nd installment of the 09 taxes?”
You just paid the 2d installment of 2009 taxes. Cook is a full year in arrears.
“It’s really a perfect location for a $1400/mo rental. And, at that, it’s worth about half what they are asking.”
Last sale was for $250k in 1991. Last mortgage was for $190k in 2003.
ok thanks thats what I thought
Save $100k and live around the corner:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1019-W-Oakdale-Ave-60657/home/13362767
“Save $100k and live around the corner:”
With the rents shown in the listing, it’s even *more* overpriced. Tho I think you could get more rental income pretty easily there.
I personally don’t understand why so many properties are still so far from being able to cash flow. I don’t think anyone is expecting cap gains in real estate in the near future so I’d expect rental properties to provide respectable yields like an after tax/after maintainence 6-8% return. I’m no real estate guy but from a stock guy perspective where I can pick up a utility like Excelon with a stable 5% yield; why would I want to touch real estate unless it was yielding more. Not to mention significant risks of higher taxes in the near future.
After expenses what would this place yield about $24k/year (Assuming for the moment no mortgage). So if I paid $400k in cash per year that would give me a 6% return. That would be my minimum to even consider, but $300k would make more sense to me and an 8% yield.
Rents are down in the area so 1400 seems right for this rental. I paid that to rent a few years ago two blocks away…not across from the L and the Enterprise Rent-a-car. At least R Kelly doesn’t live on George anymore as there were alwasy girls outside his place at all hours of the night according to my friend who managed the Enterprise.
sditulli: you make perfect sense, don’t let anyone tell you differently. This has been the horror of RE investing for sane people for the last decade, there were no real deals. RE is a bad asset class because (for whatever reason) there was always a bigger hotshot (i.e. fool) who would outbid you for any given deal. In any green zone (or commercial RE) deal over the last 10 years, out of 10 serious investors there is always that one that would do the deal at insane valuations/economics, and therefore real RE investors were shut out. People who knew better, like Donald Trump, therefore didn’t invest cash in deal (i.e. condo deals in Sunny Isles FL, Vegas, Trump Tower, etc.), he was smart enough to JV the deals instead, lend his “name” as his equity.
I saw this property a few months ago. Setting location issues aside (which we appreciated when we viewed the property), I am puzzled by the pictures. They are pre-winter, but trust me, the exterior is now in far better shape, and the interior shows very differently than how we saw it. The back yard/garage in particular look totally different. I guess that shows how it could look but I am confused as to how they did this given the change of seasons/when we saw it. There was a good amount of space that could be used well, but we (SFH conversion minded) were not feeling it all things considered. However, way to go with the yard and formerly vine encrusted garage. It really looks different. Sorry.
Bingo sditulli — it’s as if there’s alpha in telling everyone you’re a landlord or something.
“People who knew better, like Donald Trump, therefore didn’t invest cash in deal … Trump Tower”
If you TT-Chicago, Donald *definitely* has cash in that building. The rest, yeah, his name is on them, but none of his cash went into them.
“I personally don’t understand why so many properties are still so far from being able to cash flow. I don’t think anyone is expecting cap gains in real estate in the near future so I’d expect rental properties to provide respectable yields like an after tax/after maintainence 6-8% return. I’m no real estate guy but from a stock guy perspective where I can pick up a utility like Excelon with a stable 5% yield; why would I want to touch real estate unless it was yielding more. Not to mention significant risks of higher taxes in the near future.”
The two *most* important differences are (1) depreciation and (2) available gearing. You can’t get $5 of EXC with $1 of cash, but you can (or, really, could) get $5 or even $10 of rental real estate with $1 of cash. Put that into your model, and you can see why people take the risk.
But even with that, you had stupid, stupid stuff like Harry Macklowe buying that EOP portfolio for a sub-2 *pro forma* cap, assuming higher rents on lease turnover that never materialized. And thousands of mini-Trumps doing even worse things with condos and SFHs.
“This has been the horror of RE investing for sane people for the last decade, there were no real deals. RE is a bad asset class because (for whatever reason) there was always a bigger hotshot (i.e. fool) who would outbid you for any given deal. In any green zone (or commercial RE) deal over the last 10 years, out of 10 serious investors there is always that one that would do the deal at insane valuations/economics, and therefore real RE investors were shut out. ”
This is why the various government interventions in the housing market not only have a crowding out effect they are also just a dead weight loss on the economy. People that made bad business decisions by overpaying for real estate need to be held accountable for their actions. Only when they are held accountable and the properties seized from them and put back on the market at sane prices that qualified investors are willing to pay will the market be on its way to health again.
I think we’re still pretty far away from this.
I wonder if you can her the ghosts of R. kelly’s past in this home. He used to live in the home behind the car rental lot. The home was in the paper frequently when it was up for sale. I’d bet those were some good parties over the years!
Another entry into the 2010/211 tour of vintage properties we saw. Sure, it was not for us and it had many issues but awwww. I hate to see this. Saw the demo permit on everyblock, thought the address sounded familiar, and googled it.
http://www.2910nsheffieldave.com/
“Another entry into the 2010/211 tour of vintage properties we saw. Sure, it was not for us and it had many issues but awwww. I hate to see this. Saw the demo permit on everyblock, thought the address sounded familiar, and googled it.”
H- they’re tearing this greystone down?
What is the permit for? SFH or multi-units?
It is a standard lot. Who would build a McMansion there? (right next to the Enterprise Rental Car???)
Sabrina, it looks like they are building a condo. I saw the wrecking permit, not the building one. My link worked yesterday but not today — try this: http://www.2910nsheffield.com/
The property sold for $490,000. I recall that it was rentals with units on the first and second floors, I don’t remember what was in the basement. Both units were rental grade, but the top floor was nicer. Had only a few original features and the porches seemed like they needed to be rebuilt. The rental car place was not the only issue, I believe there is some sort of bar across the street. It’s too bad it was not converted to single family some time back– it then becomes more feasible to do updates, but the total amt necessary is more reasonable given the property’s inherent limitations. We were willing to make compromises on immediate location, etc., but this genuinely needed a true gut rehab (or was going to stay as unremarkable college type rentals). I guess the rental car place is more fatal to that than the bar, but someone thinks they are going to sell about $2M worth of condos here. As a vintage lover, I see the rationale here but it still pains me. I wonder how many of these types of buildings will be around even 10 years from now. I suppose it’s all about what the majority values. I can’t blame developers for giving people what they want, but I don’t have to like it! Kindly make a note to post on this at the appropriate time! 🙂
“An exciting new project from Contemporary Concepts, Inc., designed by award winning Studio Dwell Architects. 2910 N Sheffield features three modern residential units. The units include:
Unit 101 $725,000 2800 Interior SF, 4 bedroom/3 bath, duplex down with 3 outdoor areas
Unit 201 $450,000 1350 Interior SF, 2 bedroom/2 bath, second floor simplex with 2 outdoor areas
Unit 301 $850,000 2900 Interior SF, 4 Bedroom/3 Bath, duplex up with 4 outdoor areas including private roof deck”
” I wonder how many of these types of buildings will be around even 10 years from now.”
How many of them on commercial streets, like Sheffield (or busier)? Very few that aren’t converted to retail-office, or condos. How many of them on (say) Newport west of Clark–most of them, except one’s with structural problems.
OK, time will tell if this is indeed true, but we walked by here over the weekend, and the signage says that 2 of the 3 units are under contract. I’m sorry but is the lure of new that strong?! Gaze to the south… rental car lot, and one must hope this small assn gets a good pressure washer to deal with what seems like inevitable graffiti. To the east directly across the street… a bar with a summer outdoor patio and the L tracks. But if the sign is correct, clearly these folks are onto something bc if they build it, people (allegedly) are buying. It just seems like for these prices or thereabouts, one could find a very nice place w/o the locational challenges.
http://www.2910nsheffield.com/