Get a 1-Bedroom in the Parkside of Old Town For Just $110K: 511 W. Division
This 1-bedroom at 511 W. Division, which is one of the buildings in the new(er) construction development The Parkside of Old Town, has been on the market since July 2011.
Bought in 2008 for $222,000 it is now a short sale listed at $110,000.
At 825 square feet, it has the new construction amenities such as central air.
The listing doesn’t say it has in-unit washer/dryer but I’m assuming that it does (based on the age of the building and that another short sale 1-bedroom listed in the building has it and shows a picture of it.)
This unit did not apparently receive any kind of upgrade package.
It has carpeting throughout and the kitchen does not have stainless steel appliances or granite counter tops.
But the current price does include deeded parking.
With the developer still selling units in several of the Parkside buildings, is this even a deal?
Cheena Chandra at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #302: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 825 square feet
- Sold in October 2008 for $222,000
- Originally listed in July 2011 for $150,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $110,000 (parking included)
- Assessments of $332 a month (includes heat, a/c, gas)
- Taxes of $3927
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit (probably???)
- Bedroom: 19×11
The prices of one bedrooms almost all over the city have been slammed and this is no exception. The fact of the matter is that one beds should be rentals or hotel rooms not owner occupied.
This building featured three types of units – “market rate”, “returning residents” (section 8) and “first time homebuyers” (whose income was under a very low level).
The first time homebuyer units featured virtually no upgrades – no hardwood, no granite, and obviously no stainless. This looks to be one of those units.
No one wants to share a building with poor black people, the Sec 8 component dooms this unit not so much the number of bedrooms.
“The fact of the matter is that one beds should be rentals or hotel rooms not owner occupied.”
For the most part that seems to be what is happening. The majority of large scale developments currently under construction are rental, and it’s very likely this unit will be bought strictly as an investment unit. It’s a free market so we can’t force people to rent if they require 1br or less. OTH if that were the case the economics of owning might be a lot more clear to the general public.
While I consider myself to be fairly bearish, I actually do think this looks like a deal (so long as nothing is wrong that cannot be seen from the listing or photos). Recent sales of comparable units have been above $150k. Even though this is a lower floor unit I’ll guess that the low price will attract multiple offers and it will sell for aruond $120k (again, assuming no latent problems). As HD indicates, the buyer may very well be an investor who rents it out.
Looks like a dorm room! This one is a gem.
HD, you cant really equate this to the entire city… a mixed-income subsidized deal is not the same as a market rate property.
Wow – things in the housing market are getting worse and worse – who knew the geniuses on cribchatter have always been right?!!!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Survey-Home-prices-up-in-half-apf-498985547.html?x=0
I’ve rarely seen a more depressing unit on this site. They couldn’t even hang the curtains properly. Even the view is depressing. It looks like a dorm room, as someone else observed. I can’t believe someone paid over $200K for this.
I agree with clio.
OMG this unit totally blows.
clio on October 25th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Wow – things in the housing market are getting worse and worse – who knew the geniuses on cribchatter have always been right?!!!
Clio I know you are not big on details but did you actually read the a article, or did you watch Robert Schiller on CNBC… I watched him on CNBC this morning and he was far from optimistic.
“Still, Robert Shiller, the co-founder of the index and a Yale economics professor, said in an interview on CNBC that overall home prices were “flat” and a recovery in the struggling housing market was not on the horizon”
Yea- Im typically pretty high on the long term value of the units given the location and the recent news that it has been officially decided that the area where the row houses sit will not remain public housing. However, i cant get behind some of the apartment like units in the big buiildings, especially those that look straight out onto Division, that has to get loud!
…by units above, i meant all the props being built on the old cabrini land.
HD, is illinois a recourse state or a non-recourse state? How do you think Obama’s revamped HARP will pan out? Will any REFIs that do happen turn every NON-RECOURSE loan into a FULL RECOURSE loan?
This whole development should have been strictly rentals from the beginning. I think that makes a lot more sense within the mixed income context. Asking someone to rent next to a CHA tenant is a lot easier than asking them to buy next to one.
this really is an ugly unit though and that 825 sqft is suspect based on the pictures.
The unit itself seems fine, but there’s no way I could get past living next to a bunch of section 8 people. Even if the section 8 people themselves are OK, they likely have visitors who aren’t OK. Poor people tend to be noisy and have lots of kids and have rusted out cars that they are constantly fixing themselves.
Also, the fact that someone would get something for free (or at a very reduced rate) via the government, makes me angry when I have to pay my own way. My salary indicates that I am “poor,” but I don’t get government help. I was responsible and didn’t have kids I couldn’t afford and I lived with family until I could afford a down payment. I’ll be damned if I should pay for someone who can’t even figure out how to use birth control.
The section 8 is the killer here. You have no control over your property, instead you have the government as a partner. So when they decide to increase the subsidized housing to 50, 60% then what? When the next Rezko or Jarret becomes your property manager and cant even patch the roof or replace light bulbs but keeps getting HUD checks then what? In this insane world you would probably get sued for being an equity owner. Mixed income, private-public partnership = disaster waiting to happen. The people responsible for this crap need to be sent adrift on an ice flow never to return.
“The unit itself seems fine, but there’s no way I could get past living next to a bunch of section 8 people. Even if the section 8 people themselves are OK, they likely have visitors who aren’t OK. Poor people tend to be noisy and have lots of kids and have rusted out cars that they are constantly fixing themselves.
Also, the fact that someone would get something for free (or at a very reduced rate) via the government, makes me angry when I have to pay my own way. My salary indicates that I am “poor,” but I don’t get government help. I was responsible and didn’t have kids I couldn’t afford and I lived with family until I could afford a down payment. I’ll be damned if I should pay for someone who can’t even figure out how to use birth control.”
poor people are the worst, amirite?
What does everyone here consider to be “poor?” My personal definition of “poor” is a single person earning under $65,000 a year with less than $20,000 liquid. I fit that criteria. I know this isn’t what the government considers “poor,” but it’s my poverty cut off.
academic mumbo jumbo!, valasko
Jenny, I agree with you. I used to live across the street from 2 Section 8 buildings in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Everything you outlined about the numerous kids, noise and troublesome visitors was true. One guy would let his pit bull run down the street off the leash. They would sit on our steps, smoking dope and leaving their trash all over the place. They would set cars on fire. Local restaurants would not make deliveries to our block because their deliverymen would get mugged by these same tenants.
People who are handed benefits without having to work hard to pay for things develop a sense of entitlement. Your taxes pay to maintain their cushy lifestyle.
In my experience, people who get all PC about Section 8 are limousine liberals who have never lived near it themselves.
you are not poor jenny. unless you are making way way under 65k
“What does everyone here consider to be “poor?” My personal definition of “poor” is a single person earning under $65,000 a year with less than $20,000 liquid. I fit that criteria. I know this isn’t what the government considers “poor,” but it’s my poverty cut off.”
Ok, I’ll bite. What’s your basis for this? You could consider a definition either in terms of ability to afford “necessities” (did they raise the price of pre-cut fruit at whole foods again?), relative income/assets (perhaps adjusted for city, age, etc.), or something else. How do you arrive at your definition? Your definition would, among other things, put the v substantial majority of recent college grads from top universities, as well as probably most single people, below your poverty line.
65k is solid middle class, words have meanings, you don’t get to invent your own definitions.
Poor is when you are unable to pay for the basic amenities of sustenance. 3 squares a day, with enough nutrients to be healthy, shelter and transporation to work.
With that said, it makes a big difference on where and how you live.
Or, poor is when youre feeling the squeeze and order up the loaded baked potato with pulled pork at Whole Foods and not springing for the brisket dinner.
There’s a song from the satirical musical Avenue Q called “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”… and if I’m making a good salary, I really don’t want to live in a place with subsidized or section 8 housing.
I want everyone to have a place to live and not be on the streets, but these kinds of mixed income properties rarely if ever work out in the favor of the people who are paying market price.
I’m not surprised in the least that the developer still has units left to sell and that previously sold units are coming back as short sales and foreclosures.
I would not buy here under any circumstances.
Poor is also when you are not willing to part with an extra $15k for upgraded Porsche ceramic brakes.
” My personal definition of “poor” is a single person earning under $65,000 a year with less than $20,000 liquid. I fit that criteria. I know this isn’t what the government considers “poor,” but it’s my poverty cut off.”
are you f*cking serious?
less than 65k a year for 1 person is poor? Well, i guess most nurses, resident physicians, audiologists, and therapists at our hospital are ‘poor’. Also, many starting consultants, lawyers, and even some engineers in this city are poor. get a freaking reality check lady.
On that note,
i recently moved from the gold coast to river north, and my new loft isn’t too far from this park side/row home area and i have to say, it freaking sucks. Yeah, i live next to some high – end restaurants / furniture stores/ etc but after 9 pm so much riff raft starts spilling into the neighborhood…i work out at david barton and the area around there is ridiculous..disgusting liquor stores and ‘munchies’ grocery stores across the street from half million dollar townhouses…they just installed one not those flashing blue lights around chicago/kingsbury, literally across the street from some very nice townhouses/lofts.
Lots of professionals can be “poor.” My friend who is currently a resident, can barely afford to eat, let alone any luxuries. That will change of course, when he finishes his fellowship, but that’s still many years off.
I consider myself poor. Yes, I can afford food, but if my car breaks down or I need a new refrigerator, I get very upset. Sure, I have the money to pay for it, but it feels overwhelming and I start panicking about money. I just had to buy a new refrigerator and now I am upset that I might not be able to afford to go to Europe this spring. Yeah.. this might sound petty, but I look at my friends and see that they don’t get upset about having to suddenly outlay a thousand or more dollars to fix something and can also still go on trips. Therefore, I consider myself poor.
It seems like most people consider themselves middle class. What is the starting point for middle class? What is the ending point? Yesterday people were saying that people making $400k a year were middle class. I find it hard to believe someone making under $65k is in the same financial class as someone making $400k.
People who are saying 400k/year is middle class are retarded. What percentage of this country makes over 350k a year? in 2010, based on IRS stats, that was 1%.
So now the middle class falls into the top 1% of earners? please.
I swear some people on here are so ridiculous. I’m sorry, but 45-100k is very very middle class, far from poor. If you’re making 120k or more, you’re still in the top 10%…sorry, hard to pass that off as middle class. People just aren’t realistic.
Also- CANT AFFORD to go to europe?! ( are you joking, honestly? ) If you’re worried about basics, maybe you shouldn’t be paying thousands of dollars for a european vacation – that madam is a LUXURY not a NECESSITY. This mentality is a fundamental problem in this country. People feel they are entitled to luxuries. Sorry, not everyone should be taking european vacations, using an iPhone, living in river north, or driving a lexus..that doesn’t make you poor.
P.S. – I’m a resident. The average resident STARTS at around 50k. IF your friend can’t afford to eat and live on a salary of 50k for one person, i don’t really know what to tell him. One should easily be able to afford 12-1300/month for rent, pay taxes, groceries, and still have 500-600 bucks left for spending money each month.
“Yes, I can afford food, but if my car breaks down or I need a new refrigerator, I get very upset. Sure, I have the money to pay for it, but it feels overwhelming and I start panicking about money. I just had to buy a new refrigerator and now I am upset that I might not be able to afford to go to Europe this spring. Yeah.. this might sound petty, but I look at my friends and see that they don’t get upset about having to suddenly outlay a thousand or more dollars to fix something and can also still go on trips. Therefore, I consider myself poor.”
Keyword – “upset”
Umm, sounds like you have some entitlement issues…forget the fridge or Europe. Seek help. Also, please don’t procreate. Ha, JK, well umm, not really….
Riz – I agree with your asessment of Munchies and the liquor store but I wonder how long they will remain since CHA has announced that the row homes, which were previously slotted to be Section 8 housing, are now not going to be (probably demolished). If this crowd leaves then these two places will have far fewer customers. No one in the lofts, the Montgomery, or rowhomes goes there….
Well done Riz. My thoughts exactly, about the entitlement issue as stated above.
haha yeah poor jenny can’t go to Europe this Spring, get a grip, I haven’t had a vacation longer than a long weekend since I entered the work force after college, then again I don’t plan on being “poor” or “middle class” for long LOL
a local,
I hope so…i feel disgusting every time I drive by those places. the crowd hanging out by the church across from the liquor store every night is creepy as hell – i don’t know how those people literally live just across the street in upscale townhouses
( the river village subdivision )
A friend of mine lives at river village lofts, i parked down the block and saw a drunk peeing in the front lawn of a river village townhouse. sick.
I drive through the area (where David Barton is) and it’s not gold coast but it does have a very industrial urban chic feel. I get the area. This is what’s great about America, I drove through once while some trader or some Groupon millionaire was getting a Lamborghini delivered to them. The truck was unloading it outside the building literally less than a block away from Munchies or whatever the shady corner store is named.
My friend is a resident in California. He said his rent alone is over over $2,000 a month. He needs a car considering his hours. He is deep in other debt from his med school days. His family lives in Chicago, so there are plane tickets to buy several times a year and he also doesn’t have the time to shop around for the best prices on food.
I consider vacations to be a mental health necessity. The main reason I work is to buy gadgets and go on trips.
“The main reason I work is to buy gadgets and go on trips.”
What’s the best gadget you’ve bought in the last year that people wouldn’t necessarily have heard of?
“A friend of mine lives at river village lofts, i parked down the block and saw a drunk peeing in the front lawn of a river village townhouse. sick.”
–This happens in the gold coast by bars (mothers etc…), its just some drunk 22 year old from Iowa. Still gross…I think that’s part of downtown living….
“My friend is a resident in California. He said his rent alone is over over $2,000 a month. He needs a car considering his hours. He is deep in other debt from his med school days. His family lives in Chicago, so there are plane tickets to buy several times a year and he also doesn’t have the time to shop around for the best prices on food.”
Again, sorry. Doesn’t sound like being poor to me. plane tickets, 2k/month rent, a car, etc. Sounds like the problems of an average, middle class person.
“I consider vacations to be a mental health necessity. The main reason I work is to buy gadgets and go on trips.”
Again, problems of a privileged person. Vacations and gadgets are not a necessity. Food, shelter, health are necessities. IF you make enough money to buy toys and go on trips, you’re not poor, or even close to it. I pray, for your sake, you don’t run across someone actually poor and hard working, and have the nerve to call yourself poor in front of them.
“I drove through once while some trader or some Groupon millionaire was getting a Lamborghini delivered to them.”
this may have been for the perillo showroom located there. i see lots of luxury cars being loaded/unloaded from trucks often.
I agree that you need vacations for mental health, but there are vacations and there are vacations.
For instance, my wife and kids and I rent a cottage in Wisconsin for a week each summer. The whole trip for the four of us for a full week costs about $1,500, including all food, lodging and transportation. If we instead went to Europe, the cost would be $6,000 or more (assuming $3,000 just to get there and back and the higher cost for hotels and food). For me, a week in Wisconsin improves my mental health. You don’t need to pay thousands and thousands for a fancy vacation.
I tell ya what, with the Target being built in this area and if its true the row homes are not going to continue as CHA, then this area (the townhomes, not these crappy apartments) might be a good buy right now, because its the last desireable large piece of land left in town, and if developed right, could be an awesome place to live for years to come
“I consider vacations to be a mental health necessity. The main reason I work is to buy gadgets and go on trips”
To each their own on how to spend your money or determine if they are poor, middle, or rich. While I find 65K to be better off than most and not poor by a long shot I do agree with Jenny on her other point. Travel budgets are a high priority in our yearly budgets.
If you have the chance then get out and see the world. It will likely make you a better and happier person!
DZ, the last interesting gadget I bought was an Asus Transformer tablet… it’s pretty mainstream though. Vacations have been coming before gadgets lately.
(Also, since I’m single, I can afford to go to Europe in the off season for less than $2,000 including travel and hotels. I usually go with a friend, so we can split hotels.)
I know I’m not poor by government standards, but I feel poor. I use coupons and look for the best deals. Then again, I suppose a lot people feel poor even if they make what I consider to be a lot each year.
65K a year is now poor? Not again, cribchatter.
“What’s the best gadget you’ve bought in the last year that people wouldn’t necessarily have heard of?”
she needs to buy something to contain all her whine
italics and bolding mine.
{Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing}
clio on October 25th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Wow – things in the housing market are getting worse and worse – who knew the geniuses on cribchatter have always been right?!!!
link here references Case-Schiller numbers : finance.yahoo.com/news/Survey-Home-prices-up-in-half-apf-498985547.html?x=0
clio on January 25th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Sabrina, who the hell should care about these stupid Case Schiller numbers?!!!! They are so ridiculous, unimportant/uninformative, and misleading that any sane rational person wouldn’t put much weight in them. Remember this is a general number that averages ALL of the condos or SFH sales in a city – what responsible entity would EVER do that?!!! It is completely irresponsible. Chicago, if you don’t understand, is made of many neighborhoods – are you really expecting me to believe that property sales from englewood averaged with property sales from the elysian are going to result in any meaningful number?!!! If anyone thinks that – they are extremely naiive.
Oh, Case-Shiller also reported increases in LA, SF and SD – does this mean these places are “hot” and rebounding? Should we all flock there and start buying. Wow – what a bunch of uninformed morons we are to allow these numbers to influence our individual thoughts.
Ugh … more bitching about “first world problems.” Most of the folks on CribChatter, from the middle-class Jenny to the douchey-rich jagoffs like one Lambo-driving dude here, have no idea how most people in this country actually live. And even worse: They blame the victims of our economic hard times. You know, if all that money that unjustly and inappropriately went to bankers and the top 1% were invested in American jobs, infrastructure, educational opportunities and community support, you wouldn’t have all of those terrible, terrible poor people you must put up with every day as you drive by them in your car. But some people “just like to watch the world burn,” even though it’s going to end up harming all of us in the long run.
$65 is poor for a family of four with two working parents in the suburbs as a practical matter pretty close to poor. You don’t qualify for welfare or gov. assistance, but you still need to pay for two cars, gas and daycare, medical expenses and food; where as the family at the poverty line probably gets subsidized housing, medicaid and an EBT card. The live on the edge, i see people in that situation quite frequently. $65k and single in Chicago is not poor but it is tight especially if you want to have an active social life going out etc.
huh? what? Old Town? hmm…
Personally, I dodged one regarding the Parkside.
I nearly bought one of the townhouses that had the unobstructed views to downtown overlooking the park (facing southeast) – If I recall it was in the 600-800k range during pre-construction.
My realtor talked me out of it. The realtor told me that since I was in a position to buy a house that didn’t require a trade-off of subsidized housing tenants, then why do it? So I went somewhere else.
I also think these units suffered even more in the downturn of the housing crash than regular housing stock.
Lastly, its not section 8 welfare thugs baby making poors. Just saying because I personally know a decent section 8 family. and you could be a fireman, teacher, etc. working in Chicago and apply for this housing.
“You know, if all that money that unjustly and inappropriately went to bankers and the top 1% were invested in American jobs, infrastructure, educational opportunities and community support, you wouldn’t have all of those terrible, terrible poor people you must put up with every day as you drive by them in your car”
lol. really? sorry. Last time i checked, a lot of people that earn 300k+ in that ‘top 1%’ income bracket aren’t billionaire corporations, but are very hardworking professionals, i.e., doctors, consultants, lawyers, business owners, investment bankers, etc.
I’m not against holding corporations accountable for shady dealings/lobbying unfairly – but i don’t understand this concept of ‘the top 1%’ should pay the 99%…why? this is a capitalist country, and those earning in the top 1%, 5%, 10% ,or 20% work hard, and deserve what they earn. Why should they take money out of their hard earned income to give back to the lower/ middle class – on TOP of the insane amounts of tax already paid, and all the money that goes into welfare and social issues – much of which is spent on that same corner, at the liquor store..This is a country full of opportunities. IF you are poor , but work hard and do decent in school, you can make something of yourself , and often, can go to school for free – there are examples all around you.
But i’m sorry – i’m not going to spend my hard earned money to pay off loans for dumb*sses that went to college and spent 200k in loans on a degree in pottery, anthropology/philosophy and are now jobless. Don’t blame the harvard/yale/princeton/cornell investment banker either – he worked hard to get where he is, and moaning about bank employees making high income isn’t going to get far . It’s easy to point fingers at ‘rich people’, but a lot of times, you have to ask, what did they do to get to where they are, and they have almost always worked their butts off…at the end of a long day, the last thing i want to deal with is a drunk hobo asking me for change on my walk home; and no, i don’t think his situation is the ‘top 1%’s’ fault.
i’m so tired of this wall street BS.
Justin, where do you live? Gold Coast or Lincoln Park?
“$65k and single in Chicago is not poor but it is tight especially if you want to have an active social life going out etc.”
65k is tight if you like to blow money. but it is pretty easy to have a great active social life if you don’t. look for beer specials like bob or chug a sixpack before you hit the bars. a few hits on a one hitter, or bring a flask in . it’s not rocket science. skip the big stupid dinners at overpriced spots and show up when everyone is finishing. eat the leftovers. this works esp well at mexican places bc all your friends gouged themselves on chips and have 1/2 their enchiladas going uneaten.
my single days are long gone but i was poor as hell during a ton of them and always had a blast. at 65k it’s not the lack of funds if you lack fun, it is you.
“my single days are long gone but i was poor as hell during a ton of them and always had a blast. at 65k it’s not the lack of funds if you lack fun, it is you.”
Well said. Pregame at home before going out, don’t always opt for bottle service or nights out at expensive lounges..eat in 5 days a week , make your own lunch..65k goes a long, long way for 1 person.
We have a tight budget for discretionary spending. We skip the group dinners because you always get that obnoxious couple who orders a whole bottle of wine for themselves or the ass-clown who orders the 20 year old port and expects everyone to split the bill evenly. We meet everyone out for drinks afterwards. I don’t really enjoy group dinners anyway Boring. Zzzzzzzzzz…
I’d rather drink and dance!
wow milkster, i agree with every word. some dickhead ordered a bunch of overpriced fancy tequila shots recently at a group dinner. bill came out like 100 a head , at a mexican restaurant where the entrees are maybe 12. my wife probably ate 8 dollars worth of food and was knocked up so no booze.. there was so much food passed a round i went out in the alley to try my hand at bulimia. failed and then went back inside to be confronted by the tab. and all with a group of mostly douche-bags i didnt know.
“The unit itself seems fine, but there’s no way I could get past living next to a bunch of section 8 people. ”
“Jenny, I agree with you. I used to live across the street from 2 Section 8 buildings in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Everything you outlined about the numerous kids, noise and troublesome visitors was true.”
It’s funny when CC Liberals show their true hypocrisy right out in the open! jenny, now your Christian-hating atheist-jew mother didn’t raise you to hate non-whites too, now did she? Who exactly DO you like in this world? only lakefront liberals/hypocrites?
“There’s a song from the satirical musical Avenue Q called “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”…”
Yes, indeed, how about the sheer irony of a Paki (prolly the most despised group on the planet) putting down Americans blacks? LOL!!
“Ugh … more bitching about “first world problems.” Most of the folks on CribChatter,have no idea how most people in this country actually live.”
No, it you who don’t have an idea how Americans did live in this country. You must be too young to remember when this nation wasn’t screwed up beyond belief by liberalism and mass immigration.
Well this got way out of hand.
Just a couple notes on some of the earlier points.
1. This unit is listed as a Short Sale at $110, which means the bank has no obligation to sell at that price, and I bet they wont (even though they probably should).
2. Once the economies of the world start to get back on track and energy prices skyrocket, 1 bedroom units will be very attractive to owner occupants. There is nothing wrong with 1 or 2 people co-habitating in under 1,000 square feet.
what was dan’s name yesterday? i think it began with an R.
and Jenny is not a hypocrite, she doesnt like everyone. except vegetables, like gumby
“wow milkster, i agree with every word. some dickhead ordered a bunch of overpriced fancy tequila shots recently at a group dinner. bill came out like 100 a head , at a mexican restaurant where the entrees are maybe 12. my wife probably ate 8 dollars worth of food and was knocked up so no booze.. there was so much food passed a round i went out in the alley to try my hand at bulimia. failed and then went back inside to be confronted by the tab. and all with a group of mostly douche-bags i didnt know.”
You should have said something about the bill with regards to your pregnant wife, but it’s your problem if you don’t understand that under-consuming in those situations is your own fault.
i agree dan, live and learn
Yeash Moonhammy…
“I tell ya what, with the Target being built in this area and if its true the row homes are not going to continue as CHA, then this area (the townhomes, not these crappy apartments) might be a good buy right now, because its the last desireable large piece of land left in town, and if developed right, could be an awesome place to live for years to come:
Sonies, your probably right. Once Target is on one end of Larabee and Groupon, David Barton, Japoinais on the other….the strip in the middle will get busier, cleaner and have fewer low end businesses…Without as many customers, the Munchies store etc…will sell the land b/c it will be worth more than the business.
“Jenny” sounds like a typical entitled whitey-white person, who can’t afford to “have it all”, and then blames others. Booo Hoooooooo!
I don’t feel sorry for her/him at all! No one is ‘entitled’ to live in an American urban ‘Green Zone’ just because they think their bowel movements smell sweet.
And if her friends were smart, they’d leave overpriced Cali.
I’m sure many of the bar crawlers hailing cabs all at 4am have huge debt since they insist on ‘keeping up appearnaces’. But, soon, they will have to face reality, and see their sh!t does stink.
“My friend is a resident in California. He said his rent alone is over over $2,000 a month. He needs a car considering his hours. He is deep in other debt from his med school days. His family lives in Chicago, so there are plane tickets to buy several times a year and he also doesn’t have the time to shop around for the best prices on food.”
Your friend has not heard of moon lighting? Residents can make quite a bit of money that way. My friends fellows not but used to be residents not long back and lived very nicely. I used to be at grad school on a less than 2K a month salary and had a pretty good life too.
Honestly that is fine if you have no empathy for the poor or hate helping them, but at least show some respect and don’t insult the real poor.
I know this woman whose dad was a Prof. went to private school and still could not graduate high school. Later on went back and finished and now is a secretary and always whines, has not dated in for ever, blames every one and everything in life, has no empathy for anyone and claims is libertarian which I have learnt to mean a person who has disdain for the poor and is mad at world for being a loser.
I mean if you cannot even graduate high school being born in a highly educated privileged family, it takes face to criticize others that are born to drug addict parents about their failures!
“and claims is libertarian which I have learnt to mean a person who has disdain for the poor and is mad at world for being a loser.”
LOL that’s not what a libertarian is, moomoo. It’s someone successful who doesn’t feel responsible for those or those families who made poorer decisions in life who aren’t as successful but think they deserve similar trappings of success and wealth.
Libertarian means legalized marijuna, man.
Since when did cribchatter become about claiming that making $400k is not rich and making $65k is poor instead of real estate? I really hate to say it, but wow, I think this website is going downhill fast! 72 comments and nearly NOTHING about real estate.
While I agree this condo is not anything special and probably does belong around $110k instead of $222k, I don’t see how that deserves ranting against people less fortunate than us and that need section 8 or claiming that we are poor for making $65k a year.
Such a sad twist of a posting…
“$65k and single in Chicago is not poor but it is tight especially if you want to have an active social life going out etc.”
I call BS. You can live for under 30k net in Chicago living a fairly decent lifestyle. I should know–I do it for around 24k.
There are plenty of opportunities to save money in Chicago and still have an active social life. There are free museums, inexpensive sports leagues, free parks and many, many other things that cost little to nothing.
If you mean its tough if you have a bad drug/shopping/stripper/hooker/bottle service habit than yeah, being single is tight indeed at 65k. Not otherwise.
I don’t expect to have it all, but I also don’t want to pay for other people’s kids or housing. I’ve chosen the life I want for myself and that does not include living in a building where a large portion of the people get for free, what I have to pay for… I don’t feel sorry for people who had kids they couldn’t afford or chose to drop out of school (and weren’t smart enough to make it on their own).
I suppose when a person makes $400k a year, it’s easy to feel sorry for the “poor.” My BigLaw ex-boyfriend actually wanted taxes raised to help more “poor” people! That’s fine and dandy for someone making a lot of money, but not for someone like me. I can’t afford to help the “poor.” (Oh, and Mr. BigLaw had no desire to actually be around the poor or help them in any way beyond paying higher taxes.)
Bob,
Few people live like you. It’s the bell curve. The profligate on one end, and the miserly on the other. Somewhere in the middle is the $65,000 single person with an active social life who finds it tight. $65,000 is what, after health insurance, 401(k) deductions, etc, $1,700 a paycheck? And $1,200 for rent for a 1 bed in some hip neighborhood; $300 for a car payment (if a car is necessary for work). $300 student loan payment maybe? Utilities, gas, insurance, food, etc. Clothes. Hell it’s easy to go out and drop $100 a night. Dinner for two at Bin 36 with desert and tip will run close to $150 or $200 bucks. Before you konw it there’s not a lot of money left.
I’m not saying $65,000 is ‘poor’ by any stretch of the imagination for a single person, i’m just saying that you can’t live it up in the sex in the city going out party lifestyle with clubs, bars, dinner, sporting events, social events etc on $65,000 because it’s going to eat up all of your disposable income. THis is a big city and there is a lot of stuff to do. Move to Effingham and yeah, with less to do socially, $65,000 is going to a lot farther.
I am always amused when people use “fix their own cars” as part of their litany of stereotypes about “poor” people. By that standard, my blue-collar father and brother were “trash” despite being gainfully employed with no “vices” other than a fondness for cheap PBR/Schlitz beer. (Then again maybe they were just ahead-of-the-cultural-curve.)
“$65 is poor for a family of four with two working parents in the suburbs as a practical matter pretty close to poor”
I had no idea i grew up poor, i guess all those comforts and regular vacations were just blinding me to the reality of how much my life sucked.
Regarding Section 8: before calling anyone “racist” for not endorsing program, talk to landlords who rent Section 8. You’ll hear: tenants often don’t pay their rent share, often loud, disrespectful, and demanding, often w/surly teens. Years ago, interviewed “section 8” prospective tenants for our owner-occuped 3-flat: inevitably saw poor credit-rating, no landlord references, and entitled “I-wanna” attitudes. Many market-rate tenants of mixed-income buildings in Clybourn Corridor area have complained about their Section 8 neighbors’ unneighborly behavior. It’s a forced social experiment that’s creates constant “neighborly tension”.
Know several single people struggling on $35,000 – $40,000/year (frequent starting architect salary) in Chicago, usually w/roommate(s)in an older rental building, no car, alot of sandwiches. Not a lot of take-home pay. Couple that w/student loans, and it’s not a pretty picture. No Section 8 for them.
Anyone want to discuss LINK (formerly food stamps) fraud? Seems rampant. Also, food pantry clients who drive up in late model SUVs, which I saw personally several times last year while volunteering myself.
The folks who are saying the rowhouses are being demolished are sorta wrong. There is a proposal (only a proposal) to redevelop the site, but, per federal guidelines, the folks currently living in the rowhouses will have full right-of-return to the new development.
So, assuming the site is redeveloped, most of the same folks currently living there will still live there, but in new buildings. You will have the exact same project/Section 8 crowd.
@ Jenny, at least the ex boyfriend was working hard and contributing to society by paying high amount of taxes, unless you are mother Theresa you don’t get to make fun of him for only contributing by paying taxes.
yeah because as we all know, paying taxes means people are totally getting the help they need
/head-slam-on-desk
@ ChiTownGal, I know it is so insulting. I actually come from a much better off background than I would wager most of the folks here but my parents always taught me to respect hard working people. Unless someone is threat to my safety, I could not care less how they look or how much money they have. I would be happy to have them as neighbors. Also given that I cannot fix shit, I respect people who can do things. I wish I knew how to fix my car!
“yeah because as we all know, paying taxes means people are totally getting the help they need”
You are right that there is a lot of bad decisions that are made in how the money is spent, but I am willing to bet most of these people who bitch and moan about taxes never do anything charitable either.
“I am always amused when people use “fix their own cars” as part of their litany of stereotypes about “poor” people.”
I also don’t quite get that… I know tons of rich people who enjoy working on cars, and if you think you’re too good to fix or clean your own car, you need a dose of reality as you are one snobby mother fucker
I used to volunteer for an animal rescue organization until recently (when work became too busy) and I donate money to animal rescue causes. I would rather pick my charity than having the government decide.
I am lower class and have no problem with that or other people who are lower class. It’s just irritating to me when taxes go to provide free housing to other people.
It isn’t working on cars that is the problem, it is working on cars in plain view of the neighbors and leaving your POS rusted out 88 Cutlass that hasn’t run in 2 years up on cinder blocks in front of the house that is the problem.
Mixed income housing absolutely does not work any more. The cultural divide of acceptable norms is just too wide in most cases.
I popped the hood and changed the battery for a girlfriends car parked on east lake shore drive once. the doormen came out and looked at me like I was nuts.
doormen must be getting paid too much if they won’t even change their own batteries anymore!
Russ says it best… working on a car in the privacy of your own garage is fine (wish I could fix my own car)… parking a bunch of rusted out cars on your street and then leaving the street and sidewalk strewn with parts as you work on them, is not OK.
Check the fine print of any lease and you’ll find “rules and regulations,” violation of which can lead to discliplinary action or eviction. Section 8 or not; in “mixed income” developments these leases should be available and understood by all. Just because a person is poor doesn’t mean they’ll be a disruptive tenant and just because they come from an affluent background doesn’t mean they are personally acquainted with modern cleaning equipment.
“I actually come from a much better off background than I would wager most of the folks here but my parents always taught me…”
They obviously didn’t teach you manners, or how to express yourself politely. Obnoxious.
@ helmethofer, oh really? I am the obnoxious one here? Claiming 65K income for a single person is poor because one cannot travel to Europe? Or making fun of people because they fix their cars? Give me a break!
When I say 65k I mean 65k for a family of four today, not the family of four of yesteryear. 65k for a family of four is damn near paycheck to paycheck for most families in choicago. Not in effingham or peoria.
HD, did you read Jenny’s post? She is single. A family of 4 is not the same as a single person. For one, a single person has more housing options as they don’t have to worry about school districts. For two, they can have a much smaller place that suffices for them to live. For three, they have less medical bills and the list goes on and on…
Just for the record, I wasn’t making fun of people who fix their own cars. I was just saying that seeing people working on rusted out old cars, is a blight to the neighborhood. It was the example at the top of my head after visiting a friend who complained about her neighbor who owns 5 junk cars (which don’t even run) and takes up all the parking.
“@ helmethofer, oh really? I am the obnoxious one here? Claiming 65K income for a single person is poor because one cannot travel to Europe? Or making fun of people because they fix their cars? Give me a break!”
mm, I would think absolute rather than relative measures of obnoxiousness is better. On the chatter, there is (almost) always someone more obnoxious, so that’s not really a great defense.
And jenny isn’t really saying she is poor in some true sense, just that she feels poor among her fridge-buying euro-vacationing cohort. Same thing that got poor raj gupta in trouble.
i used to live in one of the “mixed income” buildings near here. key word “used to”. there’s a reason to not live in one. when i moved in, i was young and single, place was a steal at that time. fine for just a single guy, but now married w/ children. for that, it’s not so good. there is definitely the “entitlement” attitude from the section 8 residents. one committed a crime against us, and when we complained, they said we were being racist. not to mention the drug dealer residents.
total personal crime experiences: 3 condo break ins. 2 car break ins. cant even count the number of times on of our cars was hit/hit & run/vandalized/keyed/etc.
i don’t care if they would pay you to take these places, stay away at all costs
ps, you are on crack if you think you are poor making 65k. i’m able to support a family & live in the city for less than that. suck it up
A lot depends on where you live and your cost basis.
“voided on October 27th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
ps, you are on crack if you think you are poor making 65k. i’m able to support a family & live in the city for less than that. suck it up”
Wow voided…where you at Parkside or in one of the nearby townhouses near division?