Hear the Lions Roar From Your Vintage 2/2 Under $250,000: 2326 N. Lincoln Park West
This 2-bedroom, 2 bath unit in the Brighton of Lincoln Park at 2326 N. Lincoln Park West in Lincoln Park is located directly across from the Lincoln Park Zoo.
You can probably hear the lions roar.
First listed in August 2010, it has been reduced $30,000.
It is also listed $22,000 under the 2005 purchase price.
The vintage unit has recently refinished hardwood floors and generous room sizes found in this era.
It has a separate kitchen, dining room and a 6×7 den.
The fireplace, alas, is only decorative.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances.
It is on the fourth floor of a courtyard building and doesn’t have central air, washer/dryer in the unit or parking.
But given its prime location right on the lake front, is this a steal?
(there ARE “see agents remarks” in the listing- which I don’t know what that means as I can’t see them. Anyone care to tell us?)
Dawn Lynch at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #4B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in July 1990 for $120,000
- Sold in February 1998 for $159,000
- Sold in April 2005 for $271,000
- Originally listed in August 2010 for $279,000
- Reduced numerous times
- Currently listed for $249,000
- Assessments of $482 a month (includes heat)
- Taxes of $4851
- No central air- window units only
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 13×16
- Bedroom #2: 16×10
- Living room: 18×14
- Kitchen: 13×6
- Dining room: 14×9
- Den: 6×7
I’ve been watching this place-it strikes me as a very good deal for the money. Not the most beautiful vintage, but roomy and livable and in a great location.
The assessment is maybe TOO reasonable. This is low for a 2/2 that includes the heat. Is the building maintaining an adequate reserve?
Taxes are a little high, but not too far out of line.
Amazes me that it has stayed on the market so long at this price. If it can’t sell this spring, we are in for another leg down.
It doesn’t have modern amenities but it does have location. I think it might be lingering because the same people that want this location demand all the modern amenities. Sad that they can’t at least get a w/d in there.
No central air, no in unit w/d, no parking = no deal. This type of place will never attract an established high end resident. It would be a nice place to buy for your kid. The only thing it has going for it is location.
Assessments are high.
Given the price, this is an interesting listing. I’ve long wondered what these units were like. I’d call this “directly accross from the Conservatory” (the “directly across from the zoo” cut-off feels like Belden, even though part of the zoo actually protrudes north of that line), which is no less desirable than the zoo (though I suppose the zoo gets the locational point across to a wider audience). Indeed, there’s one hell of a daydream property just two doors north of this unit, that penthouse mansion-like place.
I doubt this will sell to a one-child family, nor to any retirement age folks. Provided that a parking space can be rented somewhere within one block (I’m not sure it can), if the units are configured properly, I’m wondering if buying this and then the unit next door or right below would appeal to the right buyer, for an eventual combo. Hopefully there’s not an outright ban on in unit w/d’s. But it’s a tricky sell, given the other low price options at places like 345 Fullerton, the places on Grant (which, while not on the park like this, are just a couple of blocks away), etc. Perhaps an NYC transplant (of modest means, by NYC standards) who won’t mind the lack of w/d or parking (or central air) or the stairs, and who’s simply (understandably) enchanted by the prospect of living right along the park.
As for the lions, yes, the occupuants of this unit will occasionally hear them (I did back when I lived way up north, across from the north pond). But it’s more often the wolves, who seem to dislike it when sirens passing nearby (or at least they have something to say about the sirens).
Very odd floor plan: I suspect some reconfiuration with remodelling. Very impractical kitchen. The assessments are a bit low so one would need to know about reserves. Price seems quite reasonable overall however but jst not an exciting place and has a lot of competition.
“I’d call this “directly accross from the Conservatory” (the “directly across from the zoo”
well as long as you’re not being Nit Picky 😉
Agent Remarks: Building engineer resides on-site. No w/d allowed. Common hallway renovation planned. Two units combined, 2nd pin 1433-201-020-1060 under 2328 N. Lincoln 4C. 33% owner occupied must have 25% down or cash.
When you enter info into the MLS you can enter this into the agent remarks field. Agents can see this when they pull up the agent view of the MLS listing. When the general public sees the MLS listing, its the client view.
I love that graph at the bottom of the listing for Condo: $/Sq. Ft. in 60614 and “the way” it widened in Q1 11.
So is this a coop if there’s a specific cash down payment requirement or can a condo association require that? I guess no laundry is allowed. How far is the nearest one?
I know that the w/d, parking, A/C triumvirate is the end-all-be-all for everyone here on CC, but this place can’t be that bad, can it? I’m quite surprised that no one is more excited about this place. I’m not a realtor and don’t know the ins and outs of the Lincoln Park market, but this is a 2/2 for
25% down and no w/d allowed, that’s why it’s still there.
Ahh that explains it. It’s basically a 2/2 apartment but with a higher cost than renting.
25% down would be $62,500 plus closing costs if it sold at ask. There’s a decent amount of people who don’t have a car that would live in this area, so it’s really the laundry that’s the issue. Is it possible to just have your laundry sent out every week? Also, could use peapod if you don’t want to walk to the grocery store which is only 4-5 blocks away.
My GF used to live in this building. A mix of charm and awful. The location cannot be beat. The building engineer (Drago) was a nice guy and did a decent job with any problems. There is laundry in the basement along with storage and bike rooms. Her studio was small and dated, but once we painted and replaced the horrendous window box, it had a degree of charm.
The walls in her unit were way too thin. We could basically hear the conversation next door and were tortured by the comings and goings in the stairwell at all hours. I don’t think I ever had a good nights sleep there. If you live on the north side of the building, you get to listen to the horrific noise from the heating/AC plant next door. There was more than a few renters in the building and they tended to be loud punks. Plenty of loud partiers across the alley too. Also, the wind tended to be about 100 miles an hour in the alley. In many ways I miss it, but the noise made it unbearable for me.
Sorry, the south side of the building is the noisy side.
The listing says coin laundry in the building, so that is marginally better. But if I’m gonna be at ~$2400/month for payments, I reallydo’t want to have to hoof it to the basement once a week.
Except for the in-unit w/d ban, I could go for this place. The location is wonderful and the interior isn’t too shabby.
Yes, a kid in college that takes his laundry home on the weekends for mummy to do it and spends the summer traveling abroad will be the market for this. How can anyone live in an apartment without w/d?!
“No central air, no in unit w/d, no parking = no deal. This type of place will never attract an established high end resident. It would be a nice place to buy for your kid. The only thing it has going for it is location.”
Can anyone explain why there would be a ban on in unit W/D’s? Did the on site super own the apartment building then convert it to condos and now retired living off of the coin laundry?
If I were single, this would be a fabulous, lower price apartment. I understand all of the drawbacks, but the location is absolutely dreamy. I know it is a personal thing, but I would gladly send laundry out and take public trans to live in this location at this price!
“Can anyone explain why there would be a ban on in unit W/D’s?”
The current infrastructure possibily cannot support it and a retrofit update would be too costly?
Thanks for the update that you need 25% down. I thought it was something like that.
If that’s all that’s holding this unit back from selling- then the market is in for a world of pain because they’re about to require 20% down on a bunch of mortgages that aren’t Fannie/Freddie/FHA. And then they’re going to pull back on FHA funding as well.
Oh- and mortgage applications for purchase fell 7.5% last week and the financial media is saying it’s because “mortgage rates rose .12% to 4.9%.” Re-fi applications fell 10%. As I’ve been saying- what happens when rates are at 6% or higher (very likely after QE2 ends)? If they drop simply on a .10% rise?
Why buy when you can rent here!
http://vimeo.com/15065193
I just need to be about 15 years younger.
“Can anyone explain why there would be a ban on in unit W/D’s?”
It’s usually the old piping. Many can’t handle the water pressure (some can’t even handle dishwashers let alone dishwashers AND washing machines.)
Between 25% down payment required and no washer/dryer, I think the washer/dryer is far more likely to be the deal killer.
Also, I have no doubt that QE2 will be followed by even more money printing. Nobody in Congress wants to raise taxes right now, so how else are they going to pay the interest on our record debt? Yes, if have the ability to print money you are going to print money! Who in their right mind would demand higher taxes? Good luck getting re-elected.
“If that’s all that’s holding this unit back from selling- then the market is in for a world of pain”
Besides, the 25% down payment is not all that’s holding the unit back.
Given the lack of w/d, a/c, parking, the fact that it’s a 4th floor walkup, the looming special assessment for the hallway updates, and the odd owner/renter ratio and elevated down payment requirement, not to mention all of the downsides of actually living in this building described by Wallace, this listing hardly serves as evidence that “the market is in for a world of pain.”
Guess what? This unit almost *exactly* tracked the CS condo index:
Feb-98 = 86.748233
Apr-05 = 146.94248
Ratio = 1.694
Feb-98 = $159
Apr-05 = $271
Ratio = 1.704
If it tracked CS exactly, it would have sold for $269.
I’d say with the special (unless it’s defined as small *and* everyone pays upfront) and the building’s limitations, this is heading back under $200k.
Looming large special assessments are going to devastate the condo market for units like this. As the assessment cannot be financed, the HOA typically cannot borrow the money and finance, and people typically won’t have the cash for the downpayment and the special assessment it’s going to be catastrophic.
You can usually get around owner occupancy with a 10% down payment and good credit which only requires the banks to do a “limited review” of the building.
There must be something else going on. 25% is the cut off for loan level price adjustments on Fannie/Freddie for condos and other credit issues for the borrower. 25% is really the new 20% down for condos.
“Can anyone explain why there would be a ban on in unit W/D’s? Did the on site super own the apartment building then convert it to condos and now retired living off of the coin laundry?”
ChiBuilder,
Whoa, your name is deceiving as going by your name would think you would have the answer to that.
Its all in the plumbing/drainage most older building cant handle the large flow. which is why you see some older building allowing only certain W/D that are low flow (or what ever the tech term is).
and going by Wallace’s perspective of the quality and rental’ish feel there probably isnt a laudry room on each floor but in the basement or as i will cal that area from now on “the black sheep part of a duplex down”.
Anyone know if the unit next door at The Conservatory ever sold (Chattered about at some point last year)?
I would rather live in a tiny studio with a washer/dryer and a parking space than this place. It’s pretty inside, but I just don’t think I could handle using a communcal washer/dryer or go without parking. I could put up with window unit air conditioners, but the lack of parking and washer/dryer is terrible.
Does anyone know if one of those high efficiency washer/dryer combos (which supposedly use the same amount of water/energy as a dishwasher) would be allowed?
Sabrina: If that’s all that’s holding this unit back from selling- then the market is in for a world of pain because they’re about to require 20% down on a bunch of mortgages that aren’t Fannie/Freddie/FHA. And then they’re going to pull back on FHA funding as well.
I doubt if the 25% down is the only thing that’s preventing a sale. This place sold for a reasonable price in 2005. In my mind; reasonable price in 2005 = likely piece of crap. That’s particularly true in this location.
I agree that the impending special is probably playing more of a role than the DP is on this, now that I think about it. I also agree that this is probably going to be bought by some semi-rich college kid’s parents paying cash.
not clio
hilarious link – soooo cheesy!!
in a desperate attempt to recapture my youth, i will rent there this summer 🙂
I’d love to live here for 18 months, and then be gone. Then find a place on the costiera amalfitana for a year, then Kenmare….
This should be an apt. building, not condos.
“If that’s all that’s holding this unit back from selling- then the market is in for a world of pain because they’re about to require 20% down on a bunch of mortgages that aren’t Fannie/Freddie/FHA. And then they’re going to pull back on FHA funding as well.”
consider (from Chicago’s Mish Shedlock): http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-rule-banks-exempt-from-new-mortgage.html
“90% of loans are sold to Fannie and Freddie. Thus, 90% of loans will be exempt from the new rule.”
This is for banks. But if they’re similarly only requiring 20% down for non-agency loans, that’s only 10% of the market? What is the downpayment req. going to be for agency loans?
notclio,
that video is hilarious. so that creepy/weird guy is telling me that there’s a party 24/7 on the roof? haha
Nice size unit for empty nesters such as my wife and I. Liked the unit but it is a 4th floor walk up which turned us off otherwise would have considered the property.
Lincoln Park West always makes me think of Childe Hassam’s painting “Boston Common at Twilight.” I imagine LPW looked very similar a hundred or so years ago.