Get 1800 Square Feet For Under $260,000 in East Lakeview: 431 W. Oakdale
We chattered about this 2-bedroom at 431 W. Oakdale in East Lakeview in June 2011.
See our prior chatter here.
At that time, it was listed $155,000 under the 2009 purchase price. Some of you wondered how the seller could have paid that price after Lehman Brothers. Others thought that the list price of $299,000 would produce a quick sale.
It has since been reduced further to $259,900.
If you recall, the unit has many of the vintage features found in buildings constructed in 1929 near the lakefront including a barreled gallery, crown and picture molding and a full size dining room.
The kitchen has Subzero and other stainless steel appliances and a butler’s pantry.
However, there is no central air, washer/dryer in the unit or deeded parking.
Strangely enough, the bedroom picture from the “little piece of Paris” property at 3043 N. Lake Shore drive made it into this listing (who can forget that writing desk!- see those pictures again here.)
The price of this property has fallen almost $200,000 in just 2 years.
How low will this go?
Kay Mastandrea at Coldwell Banker still has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #6A: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1800 square feet
- Sold in November 1999 for $305,000
- Sold in April 2002 for $347,000
- Sold in August 2009 for $455,000
- Originally listed in May 2010
- Was listed in February 2011 for $319,900
- Reduced
- Was listed in June 2011 for $299,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $259,900
- Assessments of $780 a month (includes heat, gas)
- Taxes of $4788
- No central air (window units)
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- No deeded parking
- Bedroom #1: 17×13
- Bedroom #2: 15×13
- Dining room: 20×13
- Gallery: 6×15
I think @ 250k this will get sold
This seems pretty reasonable, there is a lot of space there and it’s in pretty good shape. I love this area too.
They’ve pretty much made dishwasher silent these days, what about these window HVAC units? If they can get them to be utterly silent, while still powerful, then what’s the difference? Most central air places that have “zoned heating/air” brag about the concept, which individual window units could mimic.
Great apartment, perfect location, good price. For the right person.
That person isn’t me, because of the lack of conveniences, but I’m hard to please. For others, the lack of parking and W/D probably wouldn’t be a huge drawback.
Someone could pay cash for this unit and after that would have a nice place in a great neighborhood for $1,179 a month (taxes and assessments), plus parking. Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a parking space available on that street for sale at a decent price, say around $30,000.
“I think @ 250k this will get sold”
It would have sold already if there was demand there.
I guess $240.
There are other units here listed at $328 and $375. Uh oh.
“It would have sold already if there was demand there.
I guess $240.
There are other units here listed at $328 and $375. Uh oh.”
This loss looks likely to be picked up by a relo agreement. They moved to Portland (OR) in May 2010.
The link below is a horrible-looking 2/2 for $172,000 about 3 blocks from 431 W. Oakdale. You certainly lose the vintage charm, but you do get garage parking in the building. No W/D in unit, but central air. Similar assessment to the Oakdale place.
You could buy this one for $150K or thereabouts, spend $50,000 making it look better, and still be well below what you’d pay for the Oakdale place. And you’d be in the same neighborhood.
Don’t get me wrong – I love vintage places and I hate buildings like 3150 Sheridan. But in this economy, I think a lot of buyers are going to go for the practical.
http://www.movoto.com/il/3150-n-sheridan-rd-chicago/461_07681825.htm
What’s the problem here? It’s an attractive unit w/attractive price and low carrying costs. No water pressure in those vintage bathrooms? Inspection problems? Has it ever gone under contract?
interesting space/price.
One would think that *if* there were a 250k bid the seller would hit it.
Where is Amy to tell us how someone will “snap this up”?
God, I love this place. $260K seems like an incredible deal- even though with taxes and HOA, the payments would be higher than I could personally go. I can’t imagine this place going much lower, but at a time like this, I’m prepared to be surprised, especially given the credit crunch and the high carrying costs of large vintage apartments.
Everything about the place is beautiful. Even the kitchen is not bad. The architectural details in the main rooms are gorgeous, and I sincerely hope that whoever acquires it leaves those beautiful antique bathrooms intact.
“What’s the problem here? It’s an attractive unit w/attractive price and low carrying costs. No water pressure in those vintage bathrooms? Inspection problems? Has it ever gone under contract?”
Um…the market sucks?
Unless you have ALL the bells and whistles (c/a, w/d, parking, stainless, granite, cherry cabinets)- or are priced extraordinarily low- the property will sit and sit.
It’s really rough out there right now.
Still, 15% below the ’99 sale price–assuming Redfin is accurate–for a place that shows well (in the pics) is fairly unusual, even in this sucky market. I’m guessing taxes and assessments have gone up considerably in that time.
It was a fresh rehab in 1999, listed for $325k, under contract in 4 days, closed for $305k, assessments of $471 and taxes at $2,555.
Look at those taxes & assessments creep!
All too common story. And it was ignored in the bubble that those should have an adverse impact on the pricing of the property.
Sounds like some want to sign up for assessments and taxes that creeped up when we have as many jobs today as in 1999 and unemployment is much higher.
It’s why now the lowest priced multiple bedroom properties in Lakeview are foreclosures along the lake. They sound like a steal from the ask price then you see the mortgage isn’t the biggest payment in owning the place.
Trouble with these vintage units has always been that the cost of ownership, exclusive of the purchase price, is very high. The price may be cheap, but even if you pay cash for the place, you immediately walk into very high HOA costs and the promise of special assessments. Someone posting on this site commented that these apartments might have to be practically given away to offset the stratospheric maintenance costs, never mind the taxes.
Since one of the principal reasons people buy rather than rent to begin with, is to keep their housing costs level or close to level in times of inflating prices and taxes, buying might become unpopular as people realize that the rent you pay your local authorities to live in the municipality- that is, your property tas- is an item you have no control over and has escalated wildly in the past few years. Until we have a means of controlling our politicians and capping the spending and taxing, you’re basically in a rental situation where your rent can raise to a level you had no reason to anticipate when you bought. There’s little sense in buying something that you can rent just as easily when your taxes and HOA alone are nearly equal to the rent on a comparable unit.
Having said that, I’ll add that the HOA for this place is not bad and is comparable to units with the same size and features anywhere else in the city. This building keeps the HOA in hand by doing without a doorman (an unnecessary extravagance in this safe area) and managing its money carefully. You would just want to make sure that there are not any large, nasty surprises in the form of deferred maintenance that will come due and add greatly to your expense load.
Taxes are a little steep and seem to be based on what the unit would have sold for at the bubble peak. The association should appeal them.
Dan #2 I don’t like that comp. 1) This place is 33% bigger. 2) This place is move-in ready. 3) That place is on Sheridan.
The comp does have some plusses like a pool I’m just saying these are very different units.
Laura and her blather again about politician. I would like to hear how people think the urban (and general) structure is to be maintained without some cost. People are expensive, buildings are expensive to own: you can’t have something for nothing which created this entire housing bust. Time to pay up or come up with solutions that people can support.
Does “Cooler near the Lake” (and btw slightly warmer in winter) mean anything to CCers?
I lived within a short hop from LSD (not this nabe) some time ago and RARELY needed to activate the a/c during summer, only at times when the “discomfort index” reached truly dangerous levels. Most of the time the cross-breeze from open windows, plus ceiling fans, did the trick nicely.
I imagine that previous generations at this and similar buildings figured that out as well.
So a seasonally-installed window unit for worst-case-scenarios would be fine by me if I were inclined to buy this.
I lived a block from this unit about 6 or 7 years ago. Like this unit, I had windows on two sides of the building – one facing the lake.
My apartment did not have air conditioning and didn’t need it. OK, it would have been nice to have on a few occasions, but I wouldn’t ding this place for it. I would price it accordingly, however.
The difference in temperature between the ground and the lake almost always causes air movement, even if you can’t feel it on the ground. Once you get in the air, it is there.
If I was in the market for a 2-bedroom I would like this place, but the lack of a W/D in unit and lack of parking on site would make me think twice about buying it.
The unit is gorgeous…I would replace the pink bath tile but I would pick something from the period to keep up the vintage feel. The kitchen is far better than most vintage galley kitchens. The assessments are higher perhaps but your paying for character. The hard sell to me is the lack of parking, air, w/d. If a miele washer/dryer unit could be added (many are made for old plumbing in vintage buildings) and it had parking, I’d consider it a definate buy. You could always add space pack.
I think the lack of parking makes it an especially difficult sale in this market. Previously, when the economy was stable, owners bought with a 3-4 year plan of staying so if you were young and worked downtown you could get buy without parking no problem. But, in today’s market, buyers are looking for the 10 year place and I think many people are hesitant to say they won’t need a parking place for 10 years.
EB,
Perhaps you’re right. The unit I posted is so different that it would attract an entirely different sort of buyer (certainly not me).
The more I think about the Oakdale unit the more I like it. I just can’t get past the lack of parking. I suppose if I lived in this neighborhood, I wouldn’t drive much to begin with. As long as I could buy a space within a one-block walk, I’d be OK.
Would you rent a space nearby?
Yeah – I’d rent a space. Probably makes more sense financially.
The city needs money and there just isn’t as much there as would’ve been were the city still as industrial as it was. One way to get more money is to increase property taxes.
C’mon; you didn’t really think making those Schwinns in China instead of Chicago wouldn’t have it’s price, did you?
“C’mon; you didn’t really think making those Schwinns in China instead of Chicago wouldn’t have it’s price, did you?”
Streets and Sans truck drivers making $80,000 a year plus a generous pension and health insurance and lots of time off doesn’t help the situation earlier. Like the orthopaedic surgeon I deposed earlier today said, “the cause of the injury is multifaceted”.
Isn’t that 60k? Seems like a truth that doesn’t need embellishing.
I’ve got a case on my desk of a S&S employee who makes $80,000 a year with overtime driving a truck and has a second job making $30,000 a year. $80,000. That is correct. Whether everyone makes that, I don’t know, but he does.
“Isn’t that 60k?”
Looks like over $60k:
“Teamsters drivers for Waste Management make $25.56 an hour compared with $33.85 an hour for the city Teamster drivers. They operate similar vehicles that require rolling the recycling bin to an automated “tipper” at the back of the truck.
Waste Management drivers do the job solo. But the city uses a second worker to dump the bins — a member of the Laborers union, making $34.37 an hour.”
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-30/news/ct-met-rahm-emanuel-managed-competition-20110930_1_mayor-rahm-emanuel-recycling-crews-worker-salaries/2
Add in overtime and you get $80,000 a year.
That cool writing desk looks like the “rim”, a copydesk from a newspaper office–always used to be shaped in a half-circle.
WINDOW SEAT!!!
and it’s over a radiator? That would be my favorite place of all in the whole unit to read a book or relax.