Forget New Construction, Live in a Vintage Beauty: 1024 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park
There are some fantastic vintage buildings on Armitage in Lincoln Park like this beauty at 1024 W. Armitage.
Built in 1890, this 2-bedroom unit has 19 windows, including those in the turret.
The kitchen has white cabinets, black appliances and some kind of stone counters.
It has all the amenities that buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking.
Remember- the furniture won’t be there when you move in. You can also paint the walls.
On the market for a year, it has been reduced just $50,000.
Also- it appears from the public record to already be bank owned (yet it is still listed for sale in the public records.)
What will a smart buyer eventually get this unit for?
Timothy Salm at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, den, 2000 square feet
- Sold in June 1998 for $377,500
- Sold in November 1999 for $368,000
- Sold in April 2003 for $467,000
- Lis pendens filed in February 2009
- Originally listed in September 2010 for $599,000
- Reduced in March 2011 to $549,900
- Appears to be bank owned as of July 2011
- Currently still listed at $549,900
- Assessments of $266 a month
- Taxes of $8481
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 13×14
- Bedroom #2: 15×13
- Office: 8×8
Pros: Huge, unique and cool place, with the all important garage, and a quick stroll to the el. Cons: Too far from the park/lakefront, no powder room and, while I nearly listed “not many stairs to climb” among the Pros, it’s a 120 year old walk-up…so the upstairs neighbors had better be out of town alot (it’s also darn close to street noise, but hey, as HD says, that’s city livin’).
Should close between $425-445k.
Besides the furniture and window treatments, why is there really no vintage character? It looks like it was stripped of it all and the current owner is using his/her decor to create that character.
Note the lack of crown moldings, etc
The bank has got this REO priced ALL wrong!
What makes this a vintage beauty? Underneath the decoration, the interior looks very bland and boring to me, besides the turret with its windows. And the price is pure fantasy.
On a side note, why do almost all real estate listings have 16 pictures? Is that some MLS limit?
“On a side note, why do almost all real estate listings have 16 pictures? Is that some MLS limit?”
Agents were having a tough time deciding between which picture of the babyroom w/crib and name, bad wall paper, mult-shots of same refrigerator or gator deck might sell a place so they lobbied to increase from 8 to 16.
Don’t forget the obligatory pics of Navy Pier if the property is anywhere near LSD.
By the way- this isn’t the only distressed property on Armitage. Just down the street is this unit that is going to auction. (No interior pictures, unfortunately.)
Last sold for $410,000. Listed at $325,000.
Who says there aren’t any foreclosures in the GreenZone? It doesn’t get much more GZ than this street.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1034-W-Armitage-Ave-60614/unit-A/home/13352230
I agree that this place has been stripped of any vintage charm. Even the fireplace looks new. I almost thought this was a FSBO because the listing seems to have been written with the same delusion as the person who thought that green wallpaper was a good idea.
Why is this worth $80,000 more than in 2003?
I would not want to live above a store front.
The wallpaper in the nursery should be replaced with something that could appeal people who don’t have a female baby.
Remove the sign in the kitchen that says “Eat Good Food.”
“Green Zone” is code for no brown people.
I wouldn’t want to live above a *restaurant* or some place open late/that created odor or insect issues, for sure.
But living above a storefront would be fine, bonus would be you could make a hell of a racket after hours and get no complaints.
“I would not want to live above a store front.”
The 549K asking price is laughable. This place should go for under $400K.
The “Eat good food” sign in the kitchen is pretty corny. And the furniture and arrangements are really far out, and not in a good way.
Another family fleeing the city as quickly as possible now that baby is here. A recurring theme.
It looks like Cindarella barfed on this place. Who was the decorator?
I actually think the place would be cool once you paint and decorate like you’re not an insane person stuck in the some warped, tripping-balls version of the Victorian era.
“Another family fleeing the city as quickly as possible now that baby is here. A recurring theme.”
How do you know this?
“Designer decorated to perfection, this home is turn-key and showcases sophisticated charm at every turn. ”
This might set a new standard for listing hyperbole.
“But living above a storefront would be fine, bonus would be you could make a hell of a racket after hours and get no complaints.”
Problem is that a year from now the storefront could be a club or restaurant. Not a huge problem if renting, but when buying…
Part of the same condo association as this repeated CC property:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1024-W-Armitage-Ave-60614/unit-A/home/12801047
Vlajos,
Well, I don’t know for sure they’re fleeing the city, so point taken. They could be buying an SFH in Old Irving Park, for all I know.
And if they are leaving the city, I don’t begrudge them. We did the same thing when our first kid was 2. Just kind of sad to keep seeing cribs in so many of these listings and know that kids aren’t growing up in a cool neighborhood like Lincoln Park.
It must be a good deal, it’s only been on the market for a year.
Sabrina: “Remember- the furniture won’t be there when you move in. You can also paint the walls.”
I usually find this to be easy advise to take. But this place is so thoroughly cluttered with busy furniture, art and paint that it makes it nearly impossible for me to imagine the potential of the space. It is the “tasteful” version of a hoarders house. How do you see past that to figure out if you’d want to live here.
Also: do these sellers (or the bank) think the expensive looking shit in this place will trick people into paying almost 20% over the 2003 price? What a joke…
Too damn expensive to raise kids in LP. Only the wealthy or the subsidized can afford it.
maybe the price includes all that fugly furniture and a storage unit to get it all out and move it to
550 for this is laughable
The master bathroom really could use a third chandelier. The one that hangs sink level in front of the wall fixture and the one directly over the tub don’t really cut it for me.
Perhaps the Armitage fashionista who purchased this unit had no idea that children would enter the picture. For childless professional singles/couples, this is a pretty great unit (again, at $420-440k, nowhere near the current ask). What are the comps for 2,000 sq ft in (west) LP with w/d, a/c, and a garage space?
This place has more than enough room for one kid, and depending how well that office closes off, two kids could comfortably live there. The problem, from a kid standpoint, is the location. It’s not a bad stroll to Oz, though it’s not exactly close either. But driving would almost always be involved for a trip to Lincoln Park/the lake/the zoo/the Nature Museum/the Conservatory. Basically, all the things that make living in LP worth the cost/traffic/smaller and older properties/d-bags. Nor is it within Lincoln or Alcott attendance areas (so it’s either test-in/magnet/private or move out after pre-school). All of which is to say that, generally, once one goes beyond a casual strolling distance from the aforementioned LP amenities, buying is only worth it for a SFH/rowhouse/exceptional TH, particularly with kids/potential for kids.
I want to point out that that back deck is actually up against the attrocious deck of that crazy coach house we have talked about a couple of times.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1024-W-Armitage-Ave-60614/unit-A/home/12801047
This area was poor for many years, so the ‘original interior character’ was most likely ruined.
Ugh,
Did you have to remind me of that ridiculous coach house? That place should be torn down post-haste.
HD – You’re absolutely right about raising kids in LP. That’s why we moved to the North Shore almost 10 years ago.
Wallpaper is no fun to remove and even the ceiling in the nursery is wallpapered. Paint alone is easy to overlook, but when I see wallpaper, I see a nightmare to change.
“It looks like Cindarella barfed on this place.”
“It is the “tasteful” version of a hoarders house.”
“The master bathroom really could use a third chandelier. The one that hangs sink level in front of the wall fixture and the one directly over the tub don’t really cut it for me.”
These 3 descriptions say it all. I was having difficulty articulating exactly why this places gives me the creeps.
“it’s a 120 year old walk-up…so the upstairs neighbors had better be out of town alot”
I’m assuming you’re referring to the issues around sound transmission from above; I agree, that is a potentially HUGE deal-breaking issue.
I’ve brought up this topic on a couple threads in the past, hoping to start a dialogue on the topic, but not much has been said. I’m not sure if people don’t want to talk about the issue, and just ignore the subject; but I’m sure as hell not going to buy a place at upwards of $400k or more and just ‘hope for the best’.
The prospect of spending $549k on this place (or even more like $350k, which is more realistic for this place) and have to listen to my neighbors walking around on the floor above me is simply unfathomable. And that’s probably the least of it; most people today like to watch movies at home with their surround-sound stereo– and I’m not saying they shouldn’t– I do as well; you’re definitely going to have to hear that too.
I mean seriously, who thinks that scenario is really acceptable??
In my opinion, insufficient sound insulation between these units (if that is indeed the case, as ‘annony’ suggests) makes this not anywhere near a $549k condo, but nothing more than a low-end rental unit…
“But driving would almost always be involved for a trip to Lincoln Park/the lake/the zoo/the Nature Museum/the Conservatory.”
I’ll agree those places are not the closest, but definitley walkable when the weather is ok. (9-10months of the year)
I can’t tell from the pics, but would this be worth more as a 3br or at least a 2br/den?
With 2000sf there’s enough space for 3 rooms (depending on the layout).
It looks like a retired Madame’s apartment if you know what I mean but what is scary is that I almost like it : )
Anonny nailed it on the school thing. Raising a kid in LP has the potential to be awesome, so long as you have the school sorted out. If you don’t, you’re screwed.
@ anonny, you used the word “d-bags” not me, but you see what I meant when I said I prefer the tourist to the LP crowd : )
This is effectively new construction in an old shell, hardly vintage. This isn’t quite “ugly house photos” bad, but would be a lot of work to redo if not to your taste (unless you are very Domino Magazine/Jonathan Adler obsessed).
“This is effectively new construction in an old shell, hardly vintage. This isn’t quite “ugly house photos” bad, but would be a lot of work to redo if not to your taste (unless you are very Domino Magazine/Jonathan Adler obsessed).”
I disagree with the “lot of work”. Once all the furniture is removed, you just need to remove the window treatments and paint. The floors look like a nice dark wood. Kitchen looks fine, the bathroom would look better without the mirros….
But I’ll agree with you if you think “move-in’ ready is the standard.
I think what FG means is that it requires a lot of work to restore the vintage charm if there ever was one. Oh and FG is right on target, it is so Adler.
Got it. Thanks for clarifying.
Yo yo yo this property has been banked owned since 6/30/2011 with at least a 30 maybe 60 day order of possession; so as of 8/1 or 9/1 this should be an REO and not sure why it’s still the market. I wonder if it’s vacant right now.
what is REO?
REO = Real Estate Owned. ie, bank owned.
That painting and wallpaper removal (if you so chose) is gonna be a beast/bear/your choice of word here since you are going to need a ton of primer. I’ve just been doing it myself, it’s a hassle. I think all the vintage charm was long removed, perhaps even 40 years or more ago (no idea when it was gutted – could have been several times before conversion). I find the J.A. style goes well with 20’s buildings.
In addition to the upstairs noise issue pointed out by anonny and nwzimmer, this is REALLY close to the el stop, and on a CTA bus line (one of my personal no-no’s). Despite the generous room sizes and potential after new paint and window treatments, I’d agree that this will be a tough sell much beyond $200 psf.
nwzimmer: “I’ve brought up this topic on a couple threads in the past, hoping to start a dialogue on the topic, but not much has been said. I’m not sure if people don’t want to talk about the issue, and just ignore the subject; but I’m sure as hell not going to buy a place at upwards of $400k or more and just ‘hope for the best’.”
I also worry about this. My experience with the issue comes as a renter of several vintage units over the years, so I might be biased or making bad assumptions based on that fact. That said:
1) I’m guessing this is mostly an issue in vintage units.
2) I’m assuming you are far worse off living below a loud person than above them.
3) I wonder about the possibility of remediation: what’s the average space between floors in vintage? Is it sufficient and empty enough to fill with a suitable soundproofing material?
4) I wonder about cost: rip up every ceiling in your place, fill it with something, re-surface? Sounds like a PITA. Also: how prevalent are plaster ceilings in vintage buildings? That’s got to tack on a nice sum.
I might consider living with floor-to-floor noise in the short term if I had a chance of fixing the issue without breaking the bank. But on the face of it, I don’t like the odds of that going smoothly and cheaply.
I’m guessing the 8×8 “den” is actually the turret space.
“This place has more than enough room for one kid, and depending how well that office closes off, two kids could comfortably live there.”
Thanks Chuck!
To remediate noise from footsteps, you need a second layer of drywall on the ceiling (or redo with the channel thingie). To lessen the sounds of talking, tv, stereo, etc., that’s where you fill with insulation.
A real vintage building will have plaster on lath ceilings, which are usually quieter than drywall, even with channels or clips. There have been new buildings (wood framed mainly) with major problems with sound transmission, and that’s despite codes specifying certain noise transmission levels. Growing up we never heard our neighbors (though they heard out footsteps, etc). I live in a concrete building now and sometimes hear footsteps from above and high pitched voices (only in certain places and very dull/softly) from below.
It really depends on floor structure (it being noise transmission) and quality of construction, items such as filling holes, etc, which allow noise to filter through are important. It also makes a huge difference if you have rugs (with pads) and upholstered furniture as well.
Valbie: I’m surprised a layer of drywall is enough to do it. When I first moved into my place years ago, we had a couple of women upstairs that liked to wear heels around their rugless, hardwood floored apartment. We have plaster ceilings (I’m pretty sure, anyway…all of the walls are plaster) and the noise was unbearable. Luckily, they moved out soon after we moved in and a couple of nice (and QUIET) older guys moved in.
I couldn’t live with foot noise. No way.
I was told that since the extra layer makes it more rigid, it transmits less percussion noise. Sort of like the one layer of drywall and then an airspace acts like a drum, and making the drum surface more rigid, it cuts the noise quite a bit. It might be something I would try in one small room to see if I could tell the difference.
Unit 3 Closed for $573K in April 2010. Unit 4 closed for $605K in August 2010. I feel like some of you are WAY out of touch when it comes to real estate values in this neighborhood. This will sell for close to $500. I don’t know why this guy still has it listed, it’s clearly bank owned at this point.
What is interesting is that the mortgages were for $373K 1st and $46K 2nd. Why didn’t this seller at least try to sell it in the low $400’s and satisfy both mortgages? I have buyers who would have paid that all day.
“I feel like some of you are WAY out of touch when it comes to real estate values in this neighborhood.”
Can’t argue with that statement.
Why does this sell for $500K today vs $600K last year?
“Why does this sell for $500K today vs $600K last year?”
Because it is bank owned. The ridiculous addendums, combined with the “as-is” status, and other bull$hit hoops the banks make you jump through really devalue a property purchase. I would guess $485K final purchase price as a bank owned property if financed. $445K as a cash purchase.
“Because it is bank owned.”
Didn’t catch that part. Thanks!
On the prices for units 3&4: good lord. All I can do is wonder why… Also: was the coach house bank owned as well? Who is left to pay ass fees?
It is sales like these that make me certain more pain is coming. More bad jobs news on the horizon fwiw.
“It is sales like these that make me certain more pain is coming.”
Why? Those two sales were in 2010, which (according to G) was the worst year yet (including for LP condos).
Hate to tell you guys…actually I love to tell you guys…the valuations of 2/2s have fallen off a cliff in the loop and sloop lately.
Like sub-250k. As low as 180k for a newish 2/2 in the sloop even.
This shits comin’ to a pretty Trixie infested nabe near you. And the older Trixies will be gettin’ wasted at dollar beer nights blabbing about “woe is me”.
Chicago RE valuations are set to fall off a cliff due to one thing most people overlooked, including me: taxes. While the boom was good good ol’ uncle sam and pappy richie raised taxes enormously and noone gave two shits. Their sense of worth in life was tied up in their net worth and their balance sheet was improving.
Problem is taxes are like all of the other things that aren’t part of the mortgage like HOAs and student loans: they cut into your available income for housing. And taxes have about doubled since 2000.
So I’m thinking I might need to adjust my case shiller prediction lower to account for this. I seriously never realize the growth of property taxes between 2000 and today.
I hope Blago gets 30 years and that irish prick richie drops dead of a heart attack.
Oh yeah and I knew it wasn’t just a crazy belief that the anecdotal evidence that foreclosures were starting to flood in. Read an article and as it turns out BofA is letting loose the floodgates as they can’t pretend mortgages get stuck in their pipeline for more than 3 years and look believable.
BofA is the biggest player but it’s still a very fragmented market. What happens when Citi, JPM and the other big boys follow suit?
What happens when the Republican house doesn’t let the big 0 extend and pretend any longer with another HAMPer on the economy?
“Hate to tell you guys…actually I love to tell you guys…the valuations of 2/2s have fallen off a cliff in the loop and sloop lately.
Like sub-250k. As low as 180k for a newish 2/2 in the sloop even.”
This really shouldn’t be a big surprise. If you, to get some perspective, take a big step back, and I mean a REALLY BIG step back, you can see that $180k for a nice 2-bed condo in a decent neighborhood isn’t so unthinkable.
For $180k in a lot of nice mid-sized cities you can get a new 3-bed 2000 sq. ft. HOUSE, with finished basement, big yard, parking, ect.
Now yes, yes I know we’re talking about Chicago here, I can hear the same “why don’t you move to Iowa” blah, blah responses,
but ultimately it comes down to quality of life and what the prevailing salaries can support in the area.
I was just in Columbus, OH for a few nights for work recently and was very surprised how nice it was, seemed like nice place to live, some very nice restaurants, nice social feel. Would it be my first choice of places to live, probable not first choice, but I could see living there, especially with the more reasonable cost of living, which translates into high quality of life.
Anyway, I think we’re still a few years away from “re-orienting” expectations in Chicago… It’ll be a slow, slow adjustment, but we’ll get there eventually.
Bob, Chicago taxes need to go UP here. Sure, they’re high compared to lots of places, and no fun to pay, but they’re low compared to COMPARABLE areas. I’d make the same were to move to DC, LA, NY or SF. Yet (i) the home I could afford for $500k/$3k a month would be significantly crappier in those places and (ii) my property taxes would be higher (plus, at least in NY, I’d be paying “city taxes”).
“especially with the more reasonable cost of living, which translates into high quality of life.”
Because, due to the lower cost of living, you’d be able to afford more frequent trips away from Columbus?
OMG…..it’s Austin Powers Chicago shag pad!
Chicago taxes are a breeze compared to some of the suburbs, I saw houses listed under $200k in Grayslake that had taxes as high as $12k.
“Chicago RE valuations are set to fall off a cliff due to one thing most people overlooked, including me: taxes.”
But where will you move? The suburbs are even worse and many of those have underfunded pensions as well. You’d have to specifically move to smaller mid-town America (like Savannah or someplace like that).
Most studies have shown that people WANT to move to the cities for their vibrancy- NOT away from them. Chicago is honestly probably among the most affordable of the major cities. I’m always shocked by what is going on in the Bay Area, DC and NYC.
Columbus? Seriously? yeah Columbus is great if you love the Olive Garden and low quality strip clubs… that’s about it… Ohioans, especially in Columbus (thanks to the 2nd tier university, and Chase HQ) are about as WT as it gets
anonny: “Why? Those two sales were in 2010, which (according to G) was the worst year yet (including for LP condos).”
Exactly: IMO those are stupidly inflated prices and the transactions happened in what was supposed to be one of the worst years for real estate in recent history. You might not agree with me, but I don’t see those prices as supportable from a wide variety of perspectives. My outlook is that the economy will continue to slide for a bit which is going to drag RE down even lower. And though I don’t have evidence to support it, my feeling is that areas that haven’t felt a lot of pain will be more vulnerable this time around. There are a lot of people holding off on selling their place until things turn around, but they can’t all wait forever.
I’m not necessarily driving all of my decisions off of that outlook and the future might prove me wrong, but that’s what I’m thinking.
Valbie: “I was told that since the extra layer makes it more rigid, it transmits less percussion noise. Sort of like the one layer of drywall and then an airspace acts like a drum, and making the drum surface more rigid, it cuts the noise quite a bit. It might be something I would try in one small room to see if I could tell the difference.”
Interesting. It would definitely be worth a shot for the half inch of living space you’d lose and the convenience of not ripping up your ceilings.
Sabrina: “But where will you move? The suburbs are even worse and many of those have underfunded pensions as well. You’d have to specifically move to smaller mid-town America (like Savannah or someplace like that).”
Every person I know who has moved to the suburbs has had a higher tax rate. I guess, with a lower purchase price, you’re overall property tax burden might be lower. Of course we are only talking about one piece of the tax pie here.
Still, you’re point about “what alternatives?” is well taken.
“Columbus? Seriously? yeah Columbus is great if you love the Olive Garden and low quality strip clubs… that’s about it… Ohioans, especially in Columbus (thanks to the 2nd tier university, and Chase HQ) are about as WT as it gets”
ok, you’ve just confirmed that you have no perspective with regards to my point; like I said, having lived in Chicago for over six years, I’ve visisted NY many times, been to Paris for almost a month vacation… I was very surprised how nice Columbus was, I hit a great microbrewery, stayed at a W Hotel (nicer than either one here in Chicago!), went to a great italian/french fusion (local!) restaraunt…
I’m not trying to make the point that Columbus is better than Chicago; not at all. Just trying to give some additional perspective to those who are still in their bubble.
Here’s a segment from the local Fox affilate today with Thad Wong of @Properties.
It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to buy right now!
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/money/buying-property-chicago-great-time-thad-wong-atproperties-20110915#.TnIbC_4dGMA.twitter
Sabrina, on the same line of thinking…….
here is the BEST deal in chicago:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/10-E-Ontario-St-60611/unit-4202/home/39670868
here is the award for the best photographed unit on the market in chicago:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/405-N-Wabash-Ave-60611/unit-4401/home/12554149
“here is the BEST deal in chicago:”
That is clearly an out of town agent. Obviously. But don’t they even pull the comps? Seriously.
Bob.. What surprise.. I’ve been tellin ya for over 2yrs, when it goes bad, they comin for it. Gym teach ain’t givin up his 9 month 135k gig so easily. Neither will anyone else with their hand out. That includes both sides of the gov’t, and some very powerful interets.
Bob, as for me.. Let’s see what Ze’s state taxes were last year… Oh, I didn’t have to file any. Throw that in with my 1040 form F, line 25 deduction for the plants ze likes to buy and smoke…lol
Bri… Last night on the news. Interesting stat about discretionary spending, in a country where most people never before had discretionary spending. Since 2002, the annual sales of womans cosmetics have increased 900 percent.
See problem is really too many Bob’s. The belief that the Horatio Alger story is an entitlement if you just do all the right steps and go to all the right schools. They just don’t get how much more initiative than that that it really takes, how much of that is luck, and how much it takes to create that luck. So they sit there regularly bitchin about the system, waiting for their ‘entitlement’ when there is tons of shit to be done.
“yeah Columbus is great if you love the Olive Garden and low quality strip clubs… that’s about it…”
Sonies, I ate at the OG in Berwyn the other day and every single chair in the joint has wheels on it. They don’t have that at the Manhattan OGs. No need to tax yourself by standing up and manually moving your chair. Just scarf that neverendingpastabowl, lean back and push!
Here are some instructions on how to remove wallpaper with fabric softener and vinegar. Supposedly comes off very easily with this:
http://www.painterclick.com/wallpaper_removal_home_recipe.htm
About 15 years ago I removed some ancient wallpaper with a chemical solution from the hardware store and it was messy and painful and just didn’t work that well.
people on this site are nuts. LB is right. I was in one of the sold units and it was very nice. I agree that 600k for a 2/2 is crazy, but people pay it. Is everyone here such a p***y? Oh, its on teh street, oh, the el is close. move to the burbs then. this place once cleaned up would be asteal in the 400’s….
“Oh, its on teh street, oh, the el is close. move to the burbs then.”
But then you have to drive everywhere and the taxes are too high!
But in Columbus, you’ll have been to all the restaurants and bars pretty quick (if that is your specific scene) I’d imagine.
Taxes bump up when you cross the border into Evanston, but prices are far lower than in West Rogers Park (compared to SW Evanston).
Milkster – I was reading the instructions for diy remover – turned out I got lucky – soap and water was all that I needed to get rid of the paste residue (the wallpaper was that old..).