Get a 1-Bedroom Motor Row Loft for Under $95K: 2000 S. Michigan in the South Loop

It’s been awhile since we chattered about the Locomobile Lofts at 2000 S. Michigan in the Motor Row neighborhood of the South Loop.

This 1-bedroom loft recently came on the market for just $94,900.

It is bank owned.

The loft is listed $98,600 under the 2004 purchase price and is the cheapest 1-bedroom currently listed in the building.

The unit has central air and a washer/dryer hook-up.

There are no interior pictures so we don’t know if the kitchen and bathroom is intact.

That price DOES include a parking space.

The listing also states: “Seller’s payment of IL Condo Act 94-1049 dues is negotiable.”

Is this a deal?

[By the way- for those keeping track of such things- this came back on the market from the bank about 2-years from when the lis pendens foreclosure was originally filed.]

Les Robinson at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the listing here (no interior pics- sorry!).

Unit #205: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 800 square feet

  • Sold in October 2004 for $193,500
  • Originally listed in September 2008
  • On and off the market
  • Lis pendens foreclosure filed in June 2009
  • Bank owned in October 2010
  • Currently listed for $94,900
  • Assessments of $252 a month
  • Taxes of $3540
  • Central Air
  • Washer/Dryer hook-up in the unit
  • Parking is included
  • Bedroom: 12×10

62 Responses to “Get a 1-Bedroom Motor Row Loft for Under $95K: 2000 S. Michigan in the South Loop”

  1. Ha, I was just going to email this to Sabrina today. Taxes seem way too high. Also, just a LITTLE too far south for me. However, I think its a good deal at this price. Just not for me.

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  2. Giving the south loops history, it is a shame that this area is a cultural waste land. I have heard horror stories about how miserable life was when they lived in this area.

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  3. “how miserable life was when they lived in this area”

    Who?

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  4. ““how miserable life was when they lived in this area”

    Who?”

    same thing crossed my mind while reading that one.

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  5. If it is anything like
    http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2000-S-Michigan-Ave-60616/unit-309/home/12644639
    it is worth no more than what it is listed for, no windows and an ugly place. What is the 309 lister thinking, listing this at the same price as the corner 1BR in CG we just chattered about?!

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  6. I am 90% sure I know this unit,
    Its Freaking tiny
    with what looks like a home made college dorm type sleeping loft
    were talking tiny

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  7. Yeah that looks confusing. A couple frineds of mine. We went out to Girl and a Goat and they were raving about how happy they were to be living in the west loop compared to the south loop. They literally said they became depressed and hardly ever left their place, and they felt completely cut-off from the city–it was like they lived in a waste land..etc

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  8. thanks for the clarify Jason, you were talking present day and “back then” was a couple years ago.

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  9. “What is the 309 lister thinking, listing this at the same price as the corner 1BR in CG we just chattered about?!”

    And this is a good example of the 2 kinds of listings out there now. You have this unit listed at $95k and you have the one you linked asking $169k.

    People looking at 309 will say “Prices are still way too high, they are going to fall another 25%”. So, for someone like HD looking at these, he is right that prices need to fall 25%+ (for 309). But I think this unit featured is fairly priced. This unit is not going to go down 25%+ IMO.

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  10. There is a segment of the population that has a hard time with the south loop,
    These types are typically the Big Ten college corporate zombies,
    Having been emptied of any real personality they will find themselves with nothing resembling the bad sports bar filled with the other clones they grew up with and because of a genetic predisposition toward the dull the tasteless as well as the uninteresting will feel out of place and stay inside most of the time then say its all the south loops fault.
    These types are also afraid of black people.

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  11. Kudos to 309 for admitting it’s a 1bd + den rather than trying to pass it off as a 2bd.

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  12. A little off on the corporate Zombie thing…I just think it is a shame all these old buildings aren’t hosting more music events and resturants. Maybe a Casino will get it swinging again?

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  13. SoPoCo Lurker on May 31st, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    James,
    Please describe, for everyone’s benefit, the type of person who is actually attracted to living in the South Loop.

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  14. A person who is interesting,
    who enjoys things that are interesting.

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  15. Perhaps Brad, Muffy and their 2 matching lapdogs, as well as the Lexus SUV should stay on Southport

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  16. SoPoCo Lurker on May 31st, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    South Loop interesting? Thanks for the laugh.

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  17. Interesting because I believe our favorite uneducated, limited frame of reference Midwest podunk Miumiu is looking in the South Loop.

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  18. riveting retort there Jimbo! Is it possible we are witnessing the “Most ‘Interesting’ Man in the World?”

    Stay thirsty.

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  19. “how miserable life was when they lived in this area”

    Who?

    Coming late but I was gonna suggest the Hobbits of Middle Earth

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  20. “Big Ten college corporate zombies”

    That would describe most of the people (though not everyone) I know who resides in the SL.

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  21. @ SoPoCo Lurker, I am attracted to SL, it is very convenient to go to museums and parks. I love the walk and bike along the lake where it is not supper crowded. Yesterday we walked from SL to LP all the way along the lake/park and after you get to loop it feels like there is a demonstration. Way to crowded for my taste. I love the neighborhood feel of SL. Nice free tennis courts. Neighborhood small grocers. Easy access to I-90 and LSD. Availability of pretty good super markets, whole food for instance and Trader Joe’s coming in soon.
    We hop on a taxi and get to lyric in 10-15 minutes. The Roosevelt EL station and ton of buses on Michigan Ave. are great transportation options. I don’t know what exactly is SL, but I love the central station (Museum Park) portion of it. I love the new building with reasonable assessments. I think you should once come down and walk around the neighborhood and see for yourself rather than repeat the generic SL sucks. I think given the reasonable prices here (which will go down further for a while at least), SL is a good option for future. I cannot see how this place won’t be a good value in 10 years.

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  22. wow James you are an idiot. You don’t even know what my ethnicity is. For your information, right now my friend who is African American and in transition between two houses is staying over my house while we are staying in our Chicago in town for the summer.

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  23. @ Jennifer, good job recalling Jame’s earlier rant : ) You have a good memory girl!

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  24. James for someone who is supposedly so well travelled you don’t know too much about Europeans do you.

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  25. “’Big Ten college corporate zombies’

    That would describe most of the people (though not everyone) I know who resides in the SL.”

    And before the SL lovers flip out, please note that I would say the same thing about LP (actually, LP is arguably the epicenter of corporate d-baggery, as a visit to the Mega Whole Foods can confirm).

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  26. SoPoCo Lurker on May 31st, 2011 at 2:15 pm

    miu,
    I’ve been to SL and have walked around a bunch of times. I’ve been to Coast Sushi one block north of this condo. I felt like Will Smith in I Am Legend walking around a deserted wasteland. At night the area is dead with nothing going on.

    The streets are deserted after 5pm when the museums close. Oh, except for the bums. I would not use the word “neighborhood” to describe South Loop.

    and btw, Whole Foods is about 2 miles from this condo.

    This is generic, but it is true: South Loop sucks.

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  27. At some level these things are cash flow positive to an investor. This may very well be one of those units.

    This makes sense for a 22-28 year old to buy and live in for a couple years, then rent out for extra cash or try to resell for a gain.

    Sure the gain may not be much but at 95k other 1/1’s in the South Loop are going to be falling to get closer to this one’s price over this one falling significantly more.

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  28. @ SoPoCo Lurker, you might like crowds better than me and I can respect that. Also definitely this is not as well developed as more northern neighborhoods in terms of shops and restaurants, but I still find it to be the perfect match for what I want. We are walking distance from everything in down town or a very short cab ride. Sure I drive to whole food on Roosevelt but it is I believe a mile from MP campus. I any ways drive to grocery stores as I love to shop a lot and cannot carry it all with me.
    I am not saying it is a perfect neighborhood, I just said what I like about it. Some might like LP much more or say Streeterville.

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  29. “Some might like LP much more or say Streeterville.”

    Many do. But you’re not going to get comparable housing in LP for similar prices, not even close.

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  30. That is exactly what my friend said…They never walked anywhere in the south loop. It was just big and vast and empty. Zero night life, drive everywhere, winters were horrible, etc…I agree maybe in the future this will be a good value but they need a serious community effort to turn it around.

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  31. And what’s with the drive by-stereo types? People have to make a living…if they need corporate jobs and went to big 10 schools–so what? Not the life I would choose, but that does not mean I couldn’t stand living on the same block as them.

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  32. Really? I walk everywhere except to buy grocery. I did the same when I was in LP. I always get 4-5 bags and there is not way I can carry those. So your friends never walked to Art museum, down town, park, or symphony? or say all the shops in state street? We don’t move our car except for the whole food shopping or if we go for dinner somewhere in the north side.

    “That is exactly what my friend said…They never walked anywhere in the south loop. “

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  33. I went to a big ten school (Northwestern) and I love the South Loop. I’m in University Village now and all the grassy areas are nice despite most people on Crib Chatter hating it. Everyone likes different things and someone will like this place.

    It’s a little too far south for me, but I looked at some condos in the building a few years back and liked the building a lot. Sadly, I think $95,000 is about right for this location. A few blocks north, it would be a different story.

    Anyway, I like the South Loop in general because there are fewer bicycles and less dense in general than the near north side.

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  34. Miumiu–I think you are talking about a submarket in the south-loop where the numbers are only 3 digits.

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  35. Ist actually difficult to recognize Northwestern as a big ten school. I know some very brilliant and interesting people that went there and go there now, The same cannot be said for Wisconsin or Iowa that’s for damn sure

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  36. “Miumiu–I think you are talking about a submarket in the south-loop where the numbers are only 3 digits.”

    Jason: I’m pretty sure she’s talking about the submarket north of the railroad tracks, at the furthest south.

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  37. Maybe James would be so accomodating as to provide some insight to his own distinguished educational backround, and lifetime accomplishments?

    I think it works out best for everyone (save for miu) that James stays in the SL.

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  38. I am not very good with Chicago’s history, this is what I think as central station:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Station_(Chicago_neighborhood)

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  39. Well, I know a couple of Wisconsin grads who, after years of living in the Rockies, now reside in SoCal, with one (the wife) making a high income and the other (the husband) making high-priced furniture, with both managing to surf most days (often with their toddler in tow). Not too bad for a couple of soul-less midwesterners from the Chicago burbs. I also know a U of I (undergrad) and Iowa (grad) alum. After living for a couple of years in…gasp…the South Loop, he quit his job a few months ago and flew to Delaware, to begin walking to California with his dog. Again, a rather alternative and bold lifestyle choice for a guy from downstate IL.

    As tempting as it is, it’s hard to put people into tidy little boxes (no South Loop architecture pun intended!).

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  40. “After living for a couple of years in…gasp…the South Loop, he quit his job a few months ago and flew to Delaware, to begin walking to California with his dog.”

    Heh. Signposting there for anyone who has heard the story.

    Anyway, I took him to be commenting on all the east coasters at Madison. Can be grating.

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  41. “it would be safer for them to stay in there houses”

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  42. to begin walking to California with his dog.

    What a Brainiac

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  43. “[By the way- for those keeping track of such things- this came back on the market from the bank about 2-years from when the lis pendens foreclosure was originally filed.]”

    At that rate, maybe housing will hit bottom by 2021. Buy now and lose tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars forever!

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  44. “What a brainiac”– priceless!

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  45. I often think it would be safer for them to stay in there houses, less chance of self injury.

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  46. I guess when there are no photos of the unit for people to tear into, then they tear into the neighborhood, people from big 10 schools and confuse there/their/they’re….

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  47. “I guess when there are no photos of the unit for people to tear into, then they tear into the neighborhood, people from big 10 schools and confuse there/their/they’re….”

    You’re too right benjamon9. They had nothing else to chatter about, apparently.

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  48. Let’s see when this sells–you may end up with a good value at some point as sub-prime South Loop nears Rogers Park prices.

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  49. Love guys like James. If you went big ten school, worked your but off for degree, you are boring. If you don’t like gang bangers you are racist. If you say their aren’t any nice places to go you aren’t edgy and interesting enough to hang out at dumps and smoke cigs outside with James.

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  50. Sometimes i feel many that post here should wear a helmet 24 hours a day and only be allowed unsharpened crayons

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  51. @ Groove, talking about wearing a helmet, I got hit again by the door of my dryer while taking stuff out of the washer. Who designed these things! You’d think they should have an option for the door to remain open.

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  52. “You’d think they should have an option for the door to remain open.”

    Check if it’s plumb and level. Dryer door shouldn’t swing shut if it’s perfectly level and plumb.

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  53. “Check if it’s plumb and level. Dryer door shouldn’t swing shut if it’s perfectly level and plumb”

    most have self levelers, just have your husband tilt it forward where the back legs/stumps come off the ground then slowly have him lower it.

    if it was swinging open then thats the manual one where you have to twisty the legs/stumps then do the back self-leveling

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  54. Thanks guys. You know everything! I will make him try : )

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  55. “I will make him try”

    Also, depending on the type of hinge, make sure the screws are all tight, and that hinge is aligned properly. All issues I’ve had one time or another.

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  56. Miumiu I do that all the time. And walking about with a stripe of fluff on my shoulder from the lint trap. Note to self – stackable washer dryer has it’s drawbacks.

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  57. The listing says this unit has 800 sq. ft although the bedroom is small. I think cash investor can rent this out for a nice profit. I do worry about the neighborhood deteriorating, I felt like it was a little depressing this far south. I wouldn’t want to purchase in this area I’d want to be further north.

    Has there been any chatter about the Columbian lately? A 1 BR sold there for $225. http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1160-S-Michigan-Ave-60605/unit-2506/home/39667575 Out of my price range but I think it is a cool building.

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  58. EB, I have been to Columbian and it seems they are slashing prices and being much more reasonable that MP developer sitting on a pretty empty MPO west.
    However, I personally did not like their amenities so that was the killer for me.

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  59. This is under contract already.

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  60. “EB, I have been to Columbian and it seems they are slashing prices and being much more reasonable that MP developer sitting on a pretty empty MPO west.
    However, I personally did not like their amenities so that was the killer for me.”

    amenities were a sparse but ass fee is low, you do get a really low price per sqft there and from previous discussions we all concluded it felt “unfinished” and to get to your parking spot you will be forced to become a stunt driver.

    all said, go see it and you will understand the “unfinished” comment but still may end up accepting its flaws for the low price low ass fee’s, partial view and nice location.

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  61. And not to mention walking distance for entertainment at the dice games in the next alley as well as the 24 hour Rib Palace and a 4:00 a.m. liquor store that is only another 2 blocks away on Cermak Road……who said there was n’t any night life

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  62. This one closed 7/29/11 at the asking price of 94,900.

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