Don’t Settle For A Condo, Buy A 2-Bedroom Lincoln Park Townhouse For $400K: 1443 W. Wrightwood
This 2-bedroom townhouse at 1443 W. Wrightwood in Lincoln Park came on the market in September 2012.
Built in 1987, it has hardwood floors on the main level but carpet in the bedrooms and the lower level family room.
Both bedrooms are on the second level along with a bonus loft.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and a granite counter tops and backsplash.
The townhouse has central air and parking (although I can’t tell if it is an outdoor space or garage parking.)
With the added space of the lower level family room, is this a good condo alternative at this price?
Gregory Desmond at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #B: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, no square footage listed, parking included
- Sold in June 1991 for $184,000
- Originally listed in September 2012 for $400,000
- Currently still listed for $400,000
- Assessmentes of $216 a month
- Taxes of $4662
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 15×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×10 (second floor)
- Loft: 10×7 (second floor)
- Family room: 20×14 (lower level)
Wow, that looks like very tight quarters. Also, the siding in two different colors does not work for me.
Price looks fair looking at these comps,
http://www.trulia.com/property/3075037656-1453-W-Wrightwood-Ave-Chicago-IL-60614 (sold for 396k per Redfin)
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2561-N-Greenview-Ave-60614/home/13361083
I like the location next to Wrightwood park, though being on Wrightwood can be noisy. Decent option for DINK getting ready to pop one out. Pretty sure parking is outdoor space. Three bars within two blocks (Crossing, Monkey’s Paw and Bird’s Nest) if that matters.
Good location, near a lot of good parks/playgrounds. But only 2 beds kills it for anyone with kids.
I agree in general T.S. Though a family with one kid could make it work just fine.
The owner has an awful lot of furniture crammed in the first floor. I think it might be more spacious than it looks.
I sort of like that little loft over the master bedroom.
The place seems to be priced about right.
Is 1450 block West really “Lincoln Park”? This location is so-so it’s only landmark is El Presidente restaurant and the old bar Blue Something-or-other (can’t recall) that once had some hot chicks. The park is small and used by a few parents for the tiny tot-lot, or sometimes you drive by and see random frat boy-types playing a lame game of two-on-two football.
The park is great! It has a small pool too, we drive here from lakeview all the time. It’s literally steps from the property, and you can also walk to “pirate park”, as my son calls it, on Racine. I rather like this location, full of families and well maintained.
There a pool there?? hmm..learn something new every day…indoor or outdoor, how small is it?
Not a horrible place but a bit cramped and certainly overpriced. I think $350k or less is more reasonable. Wrightwood Park is very nice and being across the street from it would be a plus. But this is definitely a one-kid home. After the first kid is 2 and a second is on the way, whoever buys this will be itching to move to the burbs. No way to fit two kids in a 10X11 BR.
I remember these being built back in the 80s. At the time, they were among the first new construction to be built to look “old fashioned,” rather than in the 1960s/1970s severe concrete style you see all over LP. Instead of having an ugly blank wall facing the street, they boasted porches and steps, like buildings from an earlier era. At the time, it seemed like a big improvement to me, especially as far as curb appeal, but today they look cheap and poorly built from the outside and very small on the inside.
Prescott is the school (right across Ashland). Allegedly up and coming, but why wouldn’t you look for something similar in Burley?
These don’t look much different than suburban Townhomes where I grew up. Vinyl siding and all.
“These don’t look much different than suburban Townhomes where I grew up.”
As one who grew up in the suburbs myself the styling on these doesn’t bother me (well the front anyway the back is indeed hideous). What you’re paying for is location. Chicago city proper also has quite a bit of old, dated, ugly architecture. Some suburban imports like these aren’t as bad as it can get by a long shot.
Just think five years ago 400-450k was solidly McCrapBox territory in neighborhoods like this. Now it’s townhouse territory. Who knows what 2017 will bring..
“But only 2 beds kills it for anyone with kids.”
Let’s be real: anyone with kids, plural, who is stretching to buy a place like this OR is unwilling to put both kids into the same bedroom doesn’t belong in the city. I can say this even before the CPS beast shows it’s head.
Only two beds for anyone with kids is baked into the price. Sounds like there are still a lot of people out there who think they can have it all. Not gonna happen. (Real) 3 bedrooms start at significantly more (not that LP place with 10×10 bedrooms as it’s not a real 3-bdrm).
As someone who shared a BR that wasn’t much more than 10X11 with my brother for 10 years until I was 14, I can speak from experience that it’s no picnic at all and I wouldn’t subject my own kids to it. Anyone who decides city living is worth so much to them that they’ll force their kids to share a tiny room rather than move somewhere they can afford is not acting responsibly or thoughtfully.
“Anyone who decides city living is worth so much to them that they’ll force their kids to share a tiny room rather than move somewhere they can afford is not acting responsibly or thoughtfully.”
Sounds awful like Clio.
“As someone who shared a BR that wasn’t much more than 10X11 with my brother for 10 years until I was 14, I can speak from experience that it’s no picnic at all and I wouldn’t subject my own kids to it.”
Friend of mine lived in a room about that size w his brother until college. He would have been a great kid for nonny. He *loved* being a city kid and they loved being a city family. They could have had a much larger place elsewhere but loved being couple blocks from central park and few blocks from met. Granted, it was an UES coop but, still, was tiny (sis was in maid’s closet). They also had house in the hamptons. As I said, they make a great aspirational lifestyle for nonny, with the combination of eliteness and tradeoff of location for space. Then again, I think of nonny as a younger version of D2 (albeit a more successful version, to date) and D2 says no to tiny bedrooms, so maybe it’s not the life for nonny after all.
“albeit a more successful version, to date”
Dunno, D2 has substantial 15% dividend income. Even if all in 7-ish yielding issues (not, per the appl holding, and very unlikely anyway) and 100% of portfolio in dividend stocks (highly, highly unlikely), that implies at least $500k taxable portfolio (which would be why sonies said something), leaving aside any non-taxable retirement accounts. Now, maybe all gifted/inherited (which sez almost nil about his success either way), but maybe all earned before making lifestyle job change.
“implies at least $500k taxable portfolio”
Have impression that D2 is much farther removed from law school. Had in mind an extra 10+ years over nonny, but don’t have firm basis for it. Taking that as given, meant that nonny was more successful to date than D2 was at a similar point in his legal career. Or taht nonny aspires to be more successful than D2 when nonny is at D2’s stage of career. Anyway, I hope those two can clear this up for us.
“which would be why sonies said something”
They let sonies handle $500K+ accounts?
I didn’t know that D2 is an attorney. I do, however, know that his chances of having his own sleeping room would have been greater had he not attended FWP.
“Anyone who decides city living is worth so much to them that they’ll force their kids to share a tiny room rather than move somewhere they can afford is not acting responsibly or thoughtfully.”
Living a block from the expressway or the like, sending the kids to a bad CPS school, and forcing the kids to share a room, just to enjoy “city living”? Sure, that does sound irresponsible and thoughtless (assuming the adults have a choice). Living a block from the park or the like, sending the kids to a very good CPS school (let alone P or L), even if it means the kids have to share a room? There are worse fates.
Humor me here. Let’s assume you’ve got a roughly 4 year old and a 4 month old. And you live in HP (or any burb a responsible, thoughtful parent would raise a family), where the kids’ non-waking hours are spent in an unshared room. While awake, what has this week held for those kids so far? Break it down for me: Monday through what you expect them to do today, and the expected plans for the weekend (or do the same with a typical week in any season). I’m not even concerned with the Loop commute times for the parents, where the parents may have exercised, or the sources of any food that was delivered or eaten out this week. Let’s just focus on the kids here, while we’re being our most responsible and thoughtful.
“Let’s assume you’ve got a roughly 4 year old and a 4 month old.”
Let’s assume (slightly belated) congrats and let’s assume it sincerely.