Do You Need a Parking Space in River North? A 2-Bedroom Loft in 300 W. Grand
This 2-bedroom loft in 300 W. Grand in River North recently came on the market.
Most of the River North loft buildings were converted a considerable time ago- with many converted in the 1990s including this building.
That means the finishes are usually dated.
But this loft has been rehabbed. The listing says it has had over $100,000 in renovations.
That includes a new kitchen and bathrooms.
The listing describes the kitchen as a “custom chef’s kitchen” with commercial grade stainless steel Viking appliances and a wine fridge.
The loft has 13 foot high ceilings with wood beams and exposed brick walls.
This unit is on the preferred south side of the building which means its views and light are not blocked by The Silver building on Ohio.
The loft has central air and washer/dryer in the unit but I don’t see anything in the listing about parking. There is parking in the building (and also in the building next door, actually) but not every unit has a parking space.
With multiple bus lines and El stops and shopping within walking distance, and Uber on call, do buyers even need a parking space in River North?
Quin O’Brien at 4 Sale Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #208: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1200 square feet
- Sold in April 2002 for $299,000
- Sold in January 2006 for $345,000 (no parking listed in the public records)
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in January 2010
- Looks like it was bank owned in 2011
- Sold in October 2012 for $275,000
- Rehabbed
- Currently listed for $535,000
- Assessments of $430 a month
- Taxes of $4210
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 23×12
- Bedroom #2: 16×12
This is a very pretty loft, but the price is obscene. No way should any buyer contemplate paying a price 60% over the last bubble peak in 2006. Remember, grasshoppers, this unit was in foreclosure before, and we have had housing busts before, and nothing says it can’t happen again.
And you know what? The carnage from the Great Rampage has not ended, by any means. A friend of mine who bought in 2005 was forced to finally give up on a place she made a 20% down payment on, and which is still worth only half the price of the loan. Prime neighborhoods like Near North are mostly cured, but that is no reason to pay a monster premium over the last peak. Keep in mind that the Chicago area as a whole STILL has a combined delinquency& default rate of about 28%- we are one of the top five areas in the U.S. with the largest number of defaults & delinquencies dating back to the 00s. See this recent post by Keith Jurow:
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/newsletters15/Why_the_Housing_Market_Collapse_is_Set_to_Resume.php
Jurow might not be dead on the money, but if you are a 30-something thinking of taking on an obligation that would be pretty major even for someone making $150K a year, and you’re thinking of having a couple of children for whom you would presumably like to provide the advantages of an upper-middle-class upbringing, it would behoove you to go very cautiously just now, given how far prices have run in prime nabes in just the past couple of years. There’s nothing like being $200K underwater to wreck your best-laid plans and NO you are not gonna get a principal write-down.
And, incidentally, how’s the heat bill? I doubt the heat is included in that rather high HOA, because in newer (after 1980) developments, units usually have separate furnaces and meters. This place looks a little more expensive to operate than others its size.
As for the “prime neighborhoods”, there is some interesting info in the article I linked:
“Large bubble-era jumbo loans make up the bulk of the delinquent inventory of the too-big-to-fail banks. The latest data we have for securitized jumbo loans not guaranteed by the GSEs – from March 2013 – shows delinquency rates of 17-19%. That is why the delinquency rate for the first-lien portfolio of these huge banks is so high.”
The millions of cheap properties foreclosed 2009-2011 are mostly taken care of now, it seems, but the really massive ones, for high end homes bought with jumbo loans, are still lurking in prime neighborhoods. Lenders obviously sat on these because of the huge losses involved, and because they are not insured by the GSEs. They don’t want to eat these monster losses. They want YOU to eat their losses. Be careful.
It seems unmarried men are shunning cars these days, so a single man may not care that the condo doesn’t come with parking. Anyone else will likely be annoyed with the lack of parking. Also, as soon as the single man realizes women don’t want to date a guy without a car, he will likely try to rent a spot in the building if one is available.
What is with the exaggerated bedroom sizes on listings these days, this one appears to have included the bathroom and closet on the 23′ dimension. Floorplans in the silver tower I see do the same where they include the hallways and such in the room dimensions.
As for heating such a small space, you’re probably looking at a $150 a month tops in terms of heating.
The car thing, yeah this is definitely a spot where not having a car is not a big deal, only thing that is sort of far away is a grocery store, they really need to build one in the western river north area. Maybe they’ll put one in the gino’s or hojo or ed debevics towers going up
Sonies, Instacart. It’s a life changer. I will never go to a grocery store again.
The square footage thing irritates me. I thought that traditionally bathrooms, basements, garages, and closets weren’t counted in square footage. Now, it seems like everything is counted.
Yes, measurements of “living space” used to exclude baths, garages, closets and basements, but no more. Nowadays, you measure the perimeters of the unit to come up with the square footage.
never heard of instacart, seems cool that you can pair it up with yummly, gonna check that out hopefully they have apps for my piece of shit galaxy s6 edge (fuck i hate this phone)
“high end homes bought with jumbo loans, are still lurking in prime neighborhoods.”
A *ton* of those jumbo loans are for merely expensive (rather than “high end”) homes in “prime” (that is, expensive) metros, rather than *necessarily* prime parts of those metros.
“galaxy s6 edge (fuck i hate this phone)”
But isn’t the light show when it’s face down pretty? That’s really useful, and not just a sorta silly gimmick, right?
I like my S6 Edge…
“Also, as soon as the single man realizes women don’t want to date a guy without a car, he will likely try to rent a spot in the building if one is available.”
lol. I have never met any girl I have ever dated who even remotely cared about my not having a car. Most of them refuse to ever own a car themselves.
Any girl who thinks “he doesn’t have a car ew” is probably a stuck up high maintenance bitch.
Jenny, would you recommend instacart over peapod?
“A *ton* of those jumbo loans are for merely expensive (rather than “high end”) homes in “prime” (that is, expensive) metros, rather than *necessarily* prime parts of those metros.”
That’s right, anon, and those “merely expensive” homes in expensive metros are just the $500k- $1M houses and condos that upper-middle earners are likely to be springing for. Most are in prime neighborhoods or suburbs, or at least 2nd tier suburbs and nabes. Given that the Chicago area is one of the top five in delinquencies and defaults, you can expect that nearly every nabe that has a concentration of these properties could be affected.
Add current delinquencies and defaults to the wave of HELOCs written 2004-2005 that have been paying interest only, but are now about to reset to paying back principal, we could easily have another wave of defaults, as payments could double and even triple for most of these borrowers. And the more expensive the home was, the bigger the HELOC debt tends to be… and owners of expensive properties were among the most overextended.
“?But isn’t the light show when it’s face down pretty? That’s really useful, and not just a sorta silly gimmick, right?”
Don’t think i’ve actually had one of my 5 people send or call me or anything when my phone was face down, because I don’t typically put my phone face down, you know, scratches and dirt and stuff is usually not great for phone faces
Apparently Russ’s phone doesn’t just do random things I don’t want it to do, and not do things when I want it to grrr its such a POS and I can’t stand it.
Funny I was trying to get this thinig to take a screenshot, looked up youtube videos on how to do it and everything still couldn’t get it to work… next day, out walking my dogs, somehow my phone took 5 screenshots of different screens as I was walking them lol, the random calling, the spectacular heat the thing generates, the annoyingness of the edge part of the screen not working so hard to use contacts and music player, the list goes on and on
Icarus, I have only used Peapod a couple of times. I like Instacart since they shop at regular grocery stores, so I can get my favorite Whole Foods items delivered to my home. Peapod doesn’t carry the same fresh foods as Whole Foods carries.
I wouldn’t date a guy without a car because it’s inconvenient. I don’t want to be a soccer mom to a grown man. A car is a basic accoutrement of adulthood. Carless men seem to always want rides places or have a very limited range of places they can go. “Yes dear, I know you want to go to that beer festival in Milwaukee, but I’m not driving you there.” or “I know you want to visit your parents in X random suburb, but it’s not my responsibility to get you there.” Ugh.
Oneplus phone…best phone I ever had: https://oneplus.net/
On my last trip overseas, my friend had a Samsung and the GPS and internet both conked out and the phone would die in the middle of the day. We both have tmobile. My phone went on and on and got us everywhere we wanted to visit.
Thanks Jenny, we used Peapod a few times and were less than impressed. Their fruit is pathetic and I am really annoyed to be carded at my front door. There is no way anyone looks at me and thinks I look under 21 (Even when I am fresh shaven).
we’ll have to give instacart a try next time.
“I don’t typically put my phone face down, you know, scratches and dirt and stuff is usually not great for phone faces”
Huh, what?? I could have sworn that the #3 way that people use their phones is setting them face down on a flat survey without any sort of case.
Not a fan, makes the screen hard to read 8)
OMG. I accidentally placed my phone face down on a conference room table about an hour ago. It’s time to disinfect this phone NOW.
It seems unmarried women with cars are now a force to be reckoned with. Opining on everything from interior decorating, valuation analysis and vehicle gridlock, these young lasses seem to have somehow adopted an obtuse view of life itself. As soon as the single woman realizes that an obsession with vehicles is called the Compensation Complex (see Corvette driving dbags for an explanation), perhaps said single woman will develop a personality and more accepting view of life.
“merely expensive (rather than “high end”) homes in “prime” (that is, expensive) metros, rather than *necessarily* prime parts of those metros”
are you channeling nonny? [and when are double vs single quotes appropriate? or is that part of channeling nonny?]
“It’s time to disinfect this phone NOW.”
that you are concerned about, but you’re okay with this guy handling your produce?
http://chicago.racked.com/2014/5/2/7602199/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-instacart-shopper
Hmmph. I never said it had to be an expensive car… it just needs to be a car, any car. The owner of said car preferably isn’t a car nut. I wouldn’t date a homeless person or a carless person… or someone whose car is his home. It just seems like a car is a very basic item to own and it’s baffling to me that so many men have decided to forgo cars and expect their partners to shuttle them from place to place.
“Opining on everything from interior decorating, valuation analysis and vehicle gridlock, these young lasses seem to have somehow adopted an obtuse view of life itself.”
But she has a 1+1. that makes up for a lot (and there is a lot to make up for).
Is there really a good reason to buy samsung? other than conformist non-conformism?
“It seems unmarried men are shunning cars these days”
also possible that unmarried men w cars are shunning jenny. but enough harping on jenny, just happy to get teh real j back, not the rote imitator sabrina hired to play her for a while.
Admittedly, I am not a serious app user, but I’ve been very pleased with the s6. It takes phenomenal pictures compared to the Iphone.
“It takes phenomenal pictures compared to the Iphone.”
compared to iP6+? thought they were similar (ie the type of person who noticed differences prob hates phone cameras anyway)
“so many men have decided to forgo cars”
Expensive, not necessarily frequently used, etc etc. Not an absurd choice in the city, by any means.
“and expect their partners to shuttle them from place to place”
This is dumb and juvenile. Obviously, if you and he were going to (say) Arlington Park or Ravinia, and he says “do you mind picking me up”, that’s one thing. If it’s “please drive me to Lombard, so I can visit grandma, and the train takes soooo long”, that dude’s an a-hole.
I seem to recall reading that Brad Pitt and the founder of Jimmy John’s lived in their cars at one time. Closer to home, Frank Portillo lived in a trailer, with no running water, that was the start of his restaurant chain. I believe all of the above are BILLIONAIRES. Maybe the boyfriend profile needs a little tweaking…….
“it’s baffling to me that so many men have decided to forgo cars and expect their partners to shuttle them from place to place.”
I would find it annoying to have to shuttle people around as well Jenny, but if the guy bikes or takes public transport, I would have a lot of respect for him.
BTW, I have seen way more women opting out of owning a car and expecting their partners to shuttle them around, so in the spirit of gender equality I think we should
not pick on men on this topic at least.
“I seem to recall reading that Brad Pitt and the founder of Jimmy John’s lived in their cars at one time. Closer to home, Frank Portillo lived in a trailer, with no running water, that was the start of his restaurant chain. I believe all of the above are BILLIONAIRES. Maybe the boyfriend profile needs a little tweaking…….”
No Norman, you need some tweaking in your logic and reasoning skills.
…and the inane commentary continues by something adopting the psuedonym of an expensive shoe chain. Hey, maybe SITC 3 will make your life whole…….
I thought this place was $335k and accidentally clicked on the link. Real men have cars and fix things, or read books and take the bus. Real men do not buy lofts and use uber.
Ugh, please don’t get jenny started on what’s wrong with men who bike.
That’s pretty good pdiddy, lol. Yeah, don’t get me started either. We have Chinese buying up multi-million condos and mansions with cash, and the current “impecunious” US male generation gelded by the “inane” feminized-Obamaized-gay marriage, illegals’ wage depressed, transexual celebrating Lib-sick culture cannot even afford a car. We’re turning in China in the 1960s, all the men riding bikes, while the Chinese own the world’s top automobiles. But hey, the guys can grow hipster beards that smell like marijuana and they think they’re great.
@ Norman Bates Mother=HH
Yes, attacking the moniker of a poster rather than their argument is the sign of superior intelligence : )
I’m not a loft fan, and I like this one less than most. The rooms all seem very tight. I thought the point of a loft was to have a lot of open space. If so, this doesn’t meet that criteria. I can think of a lot of better ways to spend half a million.
We’ve been shopping through PeaPod for nearly 10 years and have had few complaints. I’d never ever go back to grocery store shopping. We still supplement at Trader Joes and Whole Foods for stuff we can’t get through PeaPod, but there’s nothing better than clicking a few buttons and having your week’s shopping done in 10 minutes without going out the door.
This whole “guys who don’t drive” thing is interesting. I met my wife when I was 22 and still living at home, so I only had access to my parents’ cars. So my wife, who was older and had her own car, did a lot of driving. But I don’t remember ever asking her to drive me places. Someone who does that can easily turn into a mooch. People of both sexes should be independent by the time they’re adults. My wife and I will celebrate our 19th anniversary in a week, and we each own cars now.
“I don’t remember ever asking her to drive me places. Someone who does that can easily turn into a mooch.”
It’s a good thing you were at home and could use your parents’ cars.
“Hey, maybe SITC 3 will make your life whole…….”
Don’t you mean Entourage?
It goes both ways- doesn’t it?
“I seem to recall reading that Brad Pitt and the founder of Jimmy John’s lived in their cars at one time.”
The singer Jewel lived in her van at one point. Jim Carrey did too. I never heard Brad Pitt did. George Clooney never did. But he did live in a cousin’s closet for awhile (had his bed in there.)
“not the rote imitator sabrina hired to play her for a while.”
You mean- like how I’m also clio and Dan?
It’s amazing how gifted I am at making up all of these “characters.”
Dan, exceptions made for people in their early 20s owning cars : )
People in their late 20s and beyond should think about owning a car.
I find that even people who claim to always ride public transportation or take a bike everywhere seem to end up wanting rides when a car becomes available. It’s just more convenient.
DZ,
It sounds like you’re implying I was a mooch. Here’s the deal: I was living at home to save money while in grad school. I got my master’s degree at 23, immediately got a job, rented an apartment and bought a cheap car. So yes, I leaned on my parents for some help for a little bit after college, but became independent soon after.
“It sounds like you’re implying I was a mooch. Here’s the deal: I was living at home to save money while in grad school. I got my master’s degree at 23, immediately got a job, rented an apartment and bought a cheap car. So yes, I leaned on my parents for some help for a little bit after college, but became independent soon after.”
My comment was 90 percent being an ass, 10 percent making the point that credit for not being a car mooch on our wife was substantially mitigated by your having access to your parents’ cars. [This comment is about 60 percent ass-y, 40 percent substantive.]
Jenny,
I hear what you’re saying. I agree with you, but times are a changin’. Years of rent inflation, student loans and stagnant wages have made for a entire generation and beyond of people under 30 who don’t want to drive. Peak driving was 2007ish and the number of miles driven annually has been decreasing ever since. The only segment of the auto industry that is growing is the subprime, you know, buyers with poor credit who will sign literally any piece of paper you put in front of them to get a car.
“I find that even people who claim to always ride public transportation or take a bike everywhere seem to end up wanting rides when a car becomes available. It’s just more convenient.”
Vehicles are a far more efficient way to get around. I get 30-35 miles per gallon in my car. It takes me where I want to go. I park in the parking lot. It’s much faster than public transit (except commuting downtown). Our entire infrastructure in Chicago is built around cars, albeit not very well.
Average new car loan is 67 months! The percentage of loans with terms of 73 to 84 months also reached a new high of 29.5% in the first quarter of 2015, up from 24.9% a year earlier.
More people should do what Dan did and live at home and save money so they aren’t heavily indebted in their 30s. The notion of using student loans to pay for a dorm or apartment is insane to me. I lived at home for the majority of my college years because my parents could afford the tuition, but not the dorm fees. I could have taken loans to pay for the dorm portion, but I didn’t like that idea. I suppose my college experience wasn’t as exciting as most, but I am far happier now not have that debt hanging over me.
jenny,
that’s a nice option for people who can make a daily commute to/from college; but for large state schools in rural areas, or people from out of state, that’s not realistic. Some people just can’t live at home for various reasons; there’s still parents out there who tell their kids to get out of the house after high school graduation.
There’s also the community college angle; go to the local community college and transfer credits to save money. That works for some people, but for others, it’s difficult to do and in some cases, actually results in students falling behind when they transfer to the four year school.
I firmly believe that the best route for most college bound students is to jump headfirst into college and live in teh dorms for a year. But with tuition and room and board being what it is these days, it’s no longer a realistic option, and the other options above (live at home, transfer) for various reasons are undesirable or not realistic.
Jenny, it’s funny you bring this up. I almost bought a car back in 2009; had a few thousand bucks saved up, but when I settled in the city and realized how easy it was to take the el downtown for the daily grind, so I decided instead to park my savings in an index fund & health care sector fund. I consider forgoing this “adulthood accoutrement” worth being on the right side of opportunity cost. I think it’s just a difference in values we have, combined with the fact that we’re fortunate to live in a great city with ample public transportation. If this were LA I think I’d be in complete agreement with you. We can discuss all of this more in person if you’d like, over drinks; as long as it’s not during peak Uber surcharge times.
Otherwise, I think a dedicated parking spot is important when purchasing a condo; it not only helps resale but makes for less of a headache when guests want to visit.
HH – just when I thought you couldn’t step it up any further…you never cease to make this liberal laugh.
I, nor my wife, own a car. We could easily afford two. Maybe when we have kids we’ll get one. Until then, a car is an unnecessary encumbrance and expense. I rent a car when I need one, and it’s waaaaaay cheaper than owning. I guess I’m not an adult or a man.
However, when helmethofer calls you a pinky-gay-feminist-black or whatever the fuck he’s on about, you’re definitely on the right track.
With uber, the need for a car is much lower. that said, for whatev reason, we now have two cars, which i have to say, is better than having one.
This is a real estate blog and it’s impossible to be in real estate without mechanized transportation. Geesh. If you’re even the landlord of a 2-flat you need one. Even a SFH owner needs one, how do you even go to Home Depot without one!
I am the landlord of a three-flat. Don’t have any need to own a car.
Actually, miumiu, I stated that you made an inane comment, which is only highlighted by your choice of ridiculous psuedonym. So, my argument would be that you are inane, as is your handle. Here, let me save you the trouble-synonyms: silly, foolish, stupid, fatuous, idiotic, ridiculous, ludicrous, absurd, senseless, asinine, frivolous, vapid.
I never had a car in Chicago until kids. I loved not having a car.
I don’t have the empirical evidence but it seems like the mentality “real estate is a sure thing and prices never go down only go up” is back again. People are buying houses once again because prices have risen and continue to rise. So the aura of easy money mentality is back again. I don’t blame people for adopting this attitude. If it’s good enough for hedge funds, too big to fail banks, etc. then it’s good for the laymen also. I just hope it doesn’t end badly.
At least cars are a lot cheaper than kids. Man oh man, kids are expensive. I just paid the overnight camp bills.
“Actually, miumiu, I stated that you made an inane comment, which is only highlighted by your choice of ridiculous psuedonym. So, my argument would be that you are inane, as is your handle.”
Stop picking on the women! I’m so sick of it. The men drove miumiu from this blog before and I won’t let it happen again. Stop it Norman Bates Mother or YOU will be banned.
“Real men have cars and fix things, or read books and take the bus. Real men do not buy lofts and use uber.”
how could anyone downvote the channeling of Ron Swanson is beyond me
I lived 6 years without a car, it was great, saved a ton of money, but also now own a car, is great, saves a ton of time
Apparently, not having parking wasn’t a big deal for the buyer.
It went under contract in 14 days and just closed.
List was $535,000.
Closed for $500,000.