Get 1636 Square Feet on Lake Shore Drive for Under $150,000: 3750 N. Lake Shore Drive
This 2-bedroom in the vintage co-op at 3750 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview has been on the market since April 2011.
It is a short sale and is now listed for just $144,000.
The building was built in 1926 and has the large room sizes and vintage features of its era including hardwood floors and crown molding.
This unit doesn’t have central air or in-unit washer/dryer- but both can be added.
The kitchen has cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
Since this is a co-op, the assessment includes taxes and just about everything else including electric, heat, cable, the doorman and the indoor pool and exercise room.
Parking is available for rent next door.
Since April, the unit has been reduced $71,000.
It is now listed at just $88 a square foot.
On a price-per-square footage basis and the location, is this a deal?
Kevin Van Eck at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #13G: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1636 square feet
- I don’t have a prior sales price (since it’s a co-op)
- Originally listed in April 2011 for $215,000
- Reduced numerous times
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $144,000
- Assessments of $1531 a month (which includes just about everything including the taxes, cable, heat, electric, doorman, pool)
- Taxes of $4922
- No central air- window units
- No in-unit washer/dryer (but can be added)
- Parking available for rent next door for $175 to $275 per month
- Bedroom #1: 19×13
- Bedroom #2: 19×13
- Dining room: 18×14
it’s like a dutch auction
How do people feel about co-ops?
This unit is not for triskaidekaphobiacs.
This apt isn’t worth more. It seems cheap until you look at the co-op fees, and this is one of the most expensive buildings to operate on LSD. It has 11 elevator tiers and a double-height pool room, which is always toasty warm- imagine the heat bill for just that. The fees are very high for a 1600 sq ft apt, with good reason.
Back in my more affluent days, I looked at one of the 2-2s like the one featured here and was extremely underwhelmed by the appearance of the place. I’ve lived in better, I thought. Back then, about 24 years ago, you could buy one of these for $50K.
I have had a number of friends who’ve lived in this building, and with one exception, they were all very glad to unload their units when they finally got sick of the costs. They found their places very difficult to sell.
Strictly for wealthy trust fund babes or pensioners who don’t ever intend to move again. Fun building to live in with beautiful indoor pool and TWO manned desks with incredible service, but you will pay the cost of all that.
sweet pool
I disagree that fees are high, considering they include taxes, heat and all the amenities in this building.
Presumably, an empty-nest couple could write a check for this place (assuming they could sell their suburban house for $400,000 to $500,000 and aren’t underwater in their mortgage), and live here for $1,500 a month including taxes. (well, make that $1,650 a month including parking).
Seems like a good deal to me, and think of all the money you save not having to maintain a house and a yard, and downsizing to one car since this is such a walkable neighborhood.
This apartment has disappointing views, unfortunately. But I guess a lake-facing tier would cost a lot more. Depends on your priorities, I suppose.
This (like most coops) is an apartment for which you pay a 150k “deposit”. The 150k will hold your unit and is refundable when you sell. If you look at it like that, it will all make more sense.
Well Dan, it would be a good place for the grandkids to visit given the location and pool. However, its essentially renting b/c you don’t build much equity when most of your monthly cash outlays go to maintenance and taxes.
I wonder if converting to condo would make the taxes any better. Many buildings in Hyde Park have the same issue and their values keep dropping. They almost become timeshares that people have to unload.
“clio on September 19th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
This (like most coops) is an apartment for which you pay a 150k “deposit”. The 150k will hold your unit and is refundable when you sell. If you look at it like that, it will all make more sense.”
Somebody here is not getting their deposit back!
SoPoCo Lurker – hahaha – hilarious!!!
I don’t think coops make any sense in this day and age. Either rent or buy – this half and half crap is idiotic and NOBODY is going to buy into it. Look at the coops on ELSD – they are LANGUISHING. Nobody (NOBODY) is touching them. They are NEVER going to sell until they are so cheap that the monthly nut is less than condos in the area. THOSE people are screwed.
I don’t know about that as a larger generalization, it seems more like co-ops in buildings with insanely high amenities don’t make much sense.
I know a few people who have gone the co-op route as they work in fields offering steady employment but minimal cost-of-living increases every year. For these folks, they are trading real estate gain potential for the security of not having their “rent” increased if they were just renting (or having to move when the building goes condo).
“I don’t think coops make any sense in this day and age.”
Co-ops seem like they are for wealthy people who can be very selective in who will be their neighbors. Often these are old people who will just die in those homes and won’t have to worry about selling.
They do have their bonuses in that the boards can keep the riff raff out.
I live in a co-op near Belmont Harbor. Our fees are comparable to these, even though we have neither pool nor roof deck. Several apartments have sold over the last couple of years at just over the half-million mark. There must be a market, even if it is a limited one.
That’s another thing… if your financial privacy is important to you, you might want to avoid the vintage co-ops because, believe me, you have never been so naked in public as you will be in front of the Board when you apply to buy here. Your finances will be exhaustively scrutinized. These people want to make sure you can afford to live here and that they will not be stuck with a pile of assessment arrears to try to collect from some bankrupt.
Do you blame them Laura?
Agreed it’s like a rental, but that’s not a problem, as we wouldn’t be looking to make money selling the place. We’d look on it as a long-term home. Anyone expecting to make big bucks on a co-op these days isn’t paying attention.
My wife and I will keep an eye on this one and on 3500 LSD because we love the neighborhood and we love vintage. This one has a leg up over 3500 because of pool and parking (think the bldg has a garage though this unit says parking next door). We’ve been in this one many times because an acquaintance lives here, and the public areas are lovely.
We’ll pony up a bit more cash to get a lake view, however. My wife doesn’t give a damn about that, but I do.
I meant we’ve been in this building (3750) many times, not this particular unit, which I’ve never seen.
… you might want to reconsider living in the USA, getting on the internet, having a bank account, etc. in the first place.
“if your financial privacy is important to you”
“These people want to make sure you can afford to live here and that they will not be stuck with a pile of assessment arrears to try to collect from some bankrupt.”
Laura by putting it that way it might actually be a blessing for many current condo owners that are now picking up the tab for their delinquent neighbors!
Here’s the one I’d buy. Take a look at the excellent lake view and the cool tile floors. Says it’s $365,000 but it’s been available over a year so I bet there’s flexibility.
Ad says no pets allowed, which would be a problem for us, with a cat. But my acquaintance at 3750 says cats are allowed. Would have to check further.
http://www.thechicagohomesearch.com/realestate/property/07850490/
Dan #2 – pertty cool space especially for sports fans. Every morning as my wife stepped into the kitchen I’d have to announce “Ladies and gentlemen start your engines” That would be followed by a long zip line ride out my window for a round of golf at Waveland aka Sidney Marovitz golf course.
JP,
They changed the name to Marovitz in around 1990, but it will always be the Waveland golf course to me and probably to most people.
What’s the special assessment history with this building? Isn’t this really the key hidden potential cost?
There is currently a special assessment on this building. It began, I think, in mid 2010, and is set to run for, I think, six or seven or eight more years. I can’t tell whether this unit’s assessments include the special.
Laure, I’ve looked at several units in this building and the Cornelia (3500 LSD). My calculations were that the costs associated with the Cornelia are significantly higher, probably because the economies of scale are worse. I don’t recall your having expressed he same cost concerns about the Cornelia, though you’ve rightly praised its units. Is my memory wrong or am I missing something else?
The 1650 sq ft I looked at, in 1990, then had an assessment of $1250, which is higher on a sq ft basis than 3500, which was $2200 for about 2800 sq feet.
Most of all, the appearance of the unit was pretty disappointing for a vintage. The units at 3500 have beautiful architecture and millwork, and huge baths, while this unit had small standard baths and smallish, boxy rooms, or so they appeared. Most of all, the windows seemed just a little too small. Something was “off” about the architecture and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I thought, my rentals, which were large old apts in vintage highrises, were much more attractive even though they did not have the same level of amenity.
This building DOES have a super high level of amenity and service, to be sure. There aren’t many places like it, so for a well-off person with an extremely secure income that is not subject to disruption, it might be a pretty good deal. The security is great and the service is very cushy. The desk on LSD is manned 24 hours and the entrance on Grace St is manned 16 hours, or so I heard. It’s a good place for a person who doesn’t feel the money and wants everything taken care of. But it’s not a good place for anyone who wants to be able to sell when he wants to whom he wants.
Oh wow the RE cheerleader monkeys are finally figuring out that ultimately valuations are tied to after tax cash flows for housing!
Given the tax and assessment creep some of these places should be trading at negative values if we’re talking about rental parity.
“Given the tax and assessment creep some of these places should be trading at negative values if we’re talking about rental parity.”
Are you that stupid/dense that you think rents aren’t going to catch up/increase more than what assm/taxes on a condo? Who the fuck do you think owns all of these rental – do you think they are going to absorb the costs themselves? You are delusional
” do you think they are going to absorb the costs themselves? ”
The risk you wear is that if wages don’t rise, you won’t be able to, and then the full hit will be absorbed by price. I would think a bit a both.
I believe it was Bob a year or two ago who said that at some point they will need to give away these places with very high assess+tax. We are starting to get pretty close to that. (I think we were talking about Uptown or Edgewater at the time, it would probably happen in those places first)
The price changes on these buildings with high assessments are highly leveraged. Say the market is down 20%… in order for the total monthly nut to decrease by 20% the P+I on the mortgage (and hence the price) needs to decrease by like 50% since the Tax+HOA will be fixed or increasing. This will also work in reverse if the market ever trends up again.
Dan, the building doesn’t have a garage. You can get parking next door at 3800 subject to availability. Parking always has been very tight in that neighborhood.
I’m liking this place for $274K with tandem parking included…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3660-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-60613/unit-1602/home/12742085
Jon – DO NOT DO IT – I just sold a very very similar unit in a similar (but better) location. Those properties are more expensive than you think. Your monthly cost is going to be close to 2500. Although that is close to rental parity – remember that you will have to put down 50k (or more), and will be stuck with this unit. Assessments and taxes are likely to keep increasing. I am telling you that this is NOT the unit to buy – ESPECIALLY in this location.
Avoid 3660. I’ve heard bad things about that place, and I’m not impressed with the look of the condos there.
I am in the market for a home and actually went to take a look at this place. It’s in pretty good condition, considering the age of the building. The bedrooms are literally RIGHT next to each other and the bathrooms are tiny (compared to how large the rest of the apartment is). Honestly, the quality of the “pool” and such is not that great, and it literally feels like you’re walking around a shabby Holiday Inn when you enter the building. Not even worth the $150k, in my opinion, since it’s a coop and you need a letter of reference to buy…
So, i just looked at a unit at 3750 LSD, and it is was nicely gutted from the former owner. The new owner has been there a year and paid 305K. Now asking 225K and you can probably get it for 200K or maybe less, also, 5 year special assessment that needs to be paid. Why I like this place, is the amount of space you get for the price. I would have no mortgage. However, will the value of this place go up in time such as 5 to 10 years?? My current condo I am selling has gone down over a 100K as well, so to recoup my loss I need to buy something in a good area, but at a very low price, hence 3750 LSD. Also, no pet building and I have cats, and I was told animals are in the building. So, how serious is this rule, when you have to sign a document stating no animals in unit. One would hate to be kicked out and getting rid of my animals is not an option! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
I’m surprised that the corporation has allowed the unit to go to a short sale; they must be paying their assessments on time.
I’ll have to find the article, but many super ultra upscale condo’s in NYC are requiring financials now too. I’ve also seen requirements for credit reports from some condo buildings in Chicago, so it’s likely coming too. There’s also a misconception that all co-ops check that deeply; many just ask for income and references and leave it at that.
They should start allowing cats. What a dumb policy. I can see outlawing dogs, but who do cats bother? They don’t bark, chew on the walls, pee in the hallway, etc. The only real harm our cat does is scratch the furniture and wake us up at 5:30 a.m. when he jumps on the bed, but that’s our problem, not the building’s.
I know someone who lives here and she assures us that some people do have cats, but it would be a shame to get thrown out.