Does Stainless Steel Matter- Part II: 725 W. Sheridan in Lakeview
In January 2008 we chattered about a listing in The Cinema Lofts at 1635 W. Belmont that emphasized the new stainless steel appliances.
Here is another listing doing the same at 725 W. Sheridan in Lakeview:
BEST LAYOUT IN THE BUILDING! PRICE INCLUDES 1 DEEDED PARKING SPACE. UNIT FRESHLY PAINTED & ALL NEW CARPET. KITCHEN BOASTS NEW STAINLESS STEEL APPS, GRANITE COUNTERS, DURABLE WOOD LAMINATE FLOOR. SPACE FOR DINING TABLE.
AMAZING CLOSET SPACE EXTRA NOOK FOR OFFICE/DESK OFF HALL. W/D ALLOWED IN UNIT! PERFECT LOCATION, WALK TO RED LINE, STARBUCKS, WHOLE FOODS! CORNER, END UNIT WITH LOADS OF LIGHT! MOVE-IN CONDITION!
So I ask again: do stainless steel appliances REALLY matter?
Unit #401: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, diningroom
- I can’t find a former sales price on the unit
- Unit #201 sold in August 2007 for $215,000
- Currently listed for $215,000 (includes the parking)
- Assessments of $278 a month
- Re/Max Edge has the listing
One funny thing about their emphasis on “stainless steel” is that I’m pretty sure that fridge is not actually stainless. At least not on the sides. It’s one of those “faux stainless” lower-end fridges. Which, hey, are fine, and I’d say it would be foolish to put anything different in a unit at this price point–but still.
K:
Are there non-built-in fridges with stainless sides? At least at for under $5k? That looks to satisfy the definition of “stainless” to me (altho it does look like lower-end, less pretty stainless).
Who cares about the stainless, the fridge looks bigger than that bedroom! Is that picture of the bedroom? Tiny.
I don’t know about the lower price points for appliances, anon–what you say sounds reasonable given the price of stainless steel as a commodity, though! It’s just so obvious that the sides are diff. than the front, that it looks like it’s trying too hard or something. (And actually, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if the doors were also not really stainless–a magnet would reveal all.) I think the emphasis on stainless is a bit silly, is all I really meant, especially at the low end.
No amount of stainless steel can hide those hideous landlord cabinets from the 1980s, made even worse by being burried under granite.
Stainless steel is no longer the fancy upgrade, and while still more expensive than a black or white finish, it is available on some pretty low end appliances now days.
If that fridge’s front is “stainless”, which I doubt, then it proves someone has found a way to make stainless steel look unappealing. The oven looks okay but man that sink looks totally out of place.
While I don’t mind those cabinets (my apartment has them), I agree that upgrading the appliances and nothing else doesn’t do much for the kitchen. The remaining original fixtures end up looking very out of place; it’s probably an all-or-nothing sort of thing.
My white fridge keeps my food cold and my white stove gets the food hot (and match the white cabinets), so I’ll pass on paying extra to plate them with steel.
Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! Stainless only looks good in a modern home. Putting the cheapest possible stainless steel appliances in what used to be (and may become yet again) a low-rent apartment is just a waste of a couple thousand dollars.
I’d be more worried about the popcorn ceilings, they used to be chock-full of asbestos.
re “stainless”
There are a number of refrigerators that back the surface stainless with magnetic steel b/c folks like to hang stuff (e.g. kids’ art, baseball schedules) on their fridges. So the magnet test isn’t determinative.
I haven’t see any “typical-brand” (i.e., what’s in-stock at lowe’s, home depot, best buy, sears) models with actual stainless sides–the options are black and gray.
I used to live in that building — a different floor plan (thank god). I got rid of the cabinets and popcorn right away!! They’re in the bathroom too.
That bedroom is 11 x7 and was from converted stair well. The unit listing gives a square footage that is deceptive due to the fact that it has a very long hall way to get to the living space — which used to be part of the common hallway. Surprisingly, the same unit on the 7th Floor had a shockingly high sale price in 2006 even with more expensive finishes (their might be lake views up there).
Who cares about the stainless with those fugly cabinets?
Irvine Housing Blog calls it “pergraniteel”
It seems to be a requirement in this day and age.
That said, those cabinets are fugly.
Not that it matters for this sad unit, but GE Monogram has a fully stainless refrigerator. Stainless on sides too. It is about $3K from ABT (or was when I bought it about 2 years ago).
http://www.abt.com/photos/34686.html
ahhh stainless, the avocado of tommorrow
the manhattan sized bedroom is walk in closet
Cheap stainless (like mine, for example) gets scratched so easily by magnets. Just a PSA for you all.
And it seems like an odd selling point, I mean to me stainless steel appliances are something to get when the appliances need replacing anyway or if you’re doing a full kitchen rehab, but it’s not really a factor in whether or not I’d buy a place…at most, it might affect the starting offer, but probably by less than the appliances cost to purchase and install.
Wow. This really is one of the ugliest kitchens I’ve ever seen. The new counters and appliances look ridiculous with those cabinets. The countertops, especially, are a waste of money to me. I’d want to upgrade the cabinets and wouldn’t want to be restricted in choosing a layout by the current countertop. Again, it’s ridiculous. I’d leave that unit, wondering what other half-assed upgrades I couldn’t see.
I’ve never understood the “selling point” of low-end stainless appliances, when they’re barely more expensive than white or black. Show me a kitchen with stainless Viking/Wolf/Subzero/etc. appliances, and I’ll know that serious money went into the kitchen. A low-end GE stainless appliance, on the other hand, is meaningless.
Just recently my wife and I started looking at new (bigger) condos in the South Loop. We were amazed to find that every unit looks exactly the same – same wood, same granite, same stainless steel – and we would not be able to even tell one from another if the building itself didn’t look different. What happened to the days of places looking different from one another?
This condo has worse problems than just fugly kitchen cabinets, and it’s going to need more than cheap stainless appliances to redeem it.
The place is, frankly, a fright- an ugly, cramped apartment, substandard in every way.
And did anyone notice the wiring to the electrical outlets and ceiling light fixture? I mean, these look like illegal outlets. So I doubt this condo is even up to code.
I remember this building was being rehabbed when the neighborhood surrounding was just lifting itself from slumhood, and still looked extremely blighted, around 1990. It was being redone into a rental, and the units did not have the beautiful details that buildings from this era often have. Note the ugly window frames.
So S$215K is really pushing it. As far as I’m concerned, this place needs a complete gut and rebuild, and I’d price it accordingly.
That kitchen is really ugly… the cabinets are truly horrible. It’s interesting what different pepole’s eyes pick up. To me, white appliances would’ve looked better bc they wouldn’t have clashed so horribly. But, then again, I never really loved SS appliances … I told my parents to get them when they redid their kitchen, but now I miss the old school kitchen where the front of the fridge was panneled like the cabinets (is that not cool anymore? It looks better than a big metal morgue fridge in a country french kitchen). Anyway, just my opinion. I am really not into the whole SS thing – just seems more appropriate for an HS cafeteria kitchen or morgue.