Historic Lakewood Balmoral 2-Bedroom Condo Sells for $215K: 5203 N. Magnolia
We chattered about this vintage 2-bedroom at 5203 N. Magnolia in the Lakewood Balmoral historic district of Andersonville several times over the past year.
See our September 2011 chatter here.
At that time, it had just been reduced to $224,000.
Many of you thought it would sell around that price and were surprised it wasn’t moving.
The unit recently closed for $215,000.
If you recall, the building was in the arts and crafts style.
The property still had many of its vintage features including crown moldings and built-ins.
The unit had a unique carved fireplace in the living room as well as stained glass.
The kitchen was a mixture of black and white appliances and 42 inch cabinets.
The unit had central air but no washer/dryer in the unit (but there was one in the building. It also had no deeded parking.
Also in our prior chatter, the agent filled us in on more details of the unit:
There is a new roof, new water service to the street, new common area windows. The W/D is in a common area as is a bike room and storage. This unit has newly redone hardwood floors and a half bath that could be converted to an in unit laundry if someone didn’t want to walk down one flight of stairs. Also, the huge master bedroom used to be two rooms and could easily be changed back if someone wanted a 3 bedroom unit.
Maureen Murnane at @Properties had the listing.
Unit #2N: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1250 square feet
- Sold in March 1993 for $124,000
- Originally listed in June 2011 for $249,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in September 2011 for $224,000
- Sold in February 2012 for $215,000
- Assessments of $234 a month
- Taxes of $3065
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the building
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 19×10
- Bedroom #2: 10×10
- Sunroom: 9×8
I think someone got a nice unit for a good price. Update the kitchen eventually and put in the laundry and you are set until no longer single or without kids.
Good luck at that point though….
“and you are set until no longer single or without kids.”
living in a 2/2 condo that is good sized (i.e. real dining room table fits and real size sofa fits) with one or two kids is not bad. Its this entitlement thinking that people have now.
for city folk, you guys remember half of your friends grew up in apartments and the parents did just fine.
many of us here (over 30) grew up with a one bathroom household.
Growing up in a one bathroom household or a 2/2 with one or two small kids is doable…but not ideal for the long term. However this unit is a 2/1 if you put in the laundry. Therefore it is both small(ish) and only one bath…and at some point if they have kids they’ll want out.
Hopefully by then the market is better and buying a 2/1 won’t seem as foolish as it does now.
It is nice, but I still think the buyers overpaid. I think days of 2/1.5s outside of Lincoln Park/Gold Coast selling for over $200k are ending. I would have guessed about $175k for this, especially since it doesn’t have an in-unit washer/dryer.
Jenny, Andersonville is a very special hood that has exploded in popularity. The pricing is holding up better than LP/Lakeview in many cases. The inventory in this hood is also somewhat limited. This place is only a few blocks off the main drag of shops, boutiques, etc on Clark Street. The people that pay the premium to be in Aville typically don’t view LP/LV as the alternative choice.
“Therefore it is both small(ish) and only one bath…and at some point if they have kids they’ll want out.”
i will argue that yes a burbanite would want out as soon as they realized the condom broke. but real city folk can easily get by, yes they will still dream of the garage and yard but realize its not needed.
1250 sqft 2/1 is not small in any way. Cook county assessor says my home is a 2/1 ~800 sqft place and we dont feel cramped at all.
Russ is correct. Many people who live in Andersonville much prefer it to LP and LV.
Can anyone explain the 2nd bathroom fetish? It’s strange to me.
Especially if it’s a couple living together. Do they get a hotel room with two bathrooms when they travel?
Am I missing out on something since I don’t tend to spend much time in the bathroom?
Andersonville (and the surrounding area) does indeed seem to be pretty desirable to buyers, but this particular building is not in the best location and it is reflected in the price. A typical buyer in this neighborhood wants more trees and less traffic/gas stations. If it was even a couple lots further north/west it would have sold faster and for more. Still seems like a fair price and I see no reason for the sellers to be disappointed; it’s just not 2007 anymore.
As we were talking about a few days ago 1250 sq. ft. in a condo is very different than in a house. Assuming you are in a house, groove, I bet:
#1 Cook County Assessor is wrong (they often are VERY out of date…)
#2 You have either a basement/attic or garage that helps you at least put stuff somewhere other than in your living space.
#3 You have private outdoor space for a child that most condos don’t have.
I don’t think this place is small, I just think it is small for a modern couple with kids.
“1250 sqft 2/1 is not small in any way. Cook county assessor says my home is a 2/1 ~800 sqft place and we dont feel cramped at all.”
Can anyone explain the 2nd bathroom fetish? It’s strange to me.
Especially if it’s a couple living together. Do they get a hotel room with two bathrooms when they travel?
Am I missing out on something since I don’t tend to spend much time in the bathroom?
It depends on the location of the bathrooms….We have 2.5 baths, one is a master bath, ie company would have to walk through our bedroom to use it. The half bath (on the same floor as the master) is the most used in the unit, especially when we have company. Also, if you are getting ready each morning at the same time as your partner, depending on the size of the bathroom, having another can be quite beneficial.
I like having my own bathroom. I don’t want to see anyone else’s filth or hair in the sink or tub or shower. I’m not all that particular about the rest of the house, but I want a bathroom of my own…. kind of like Virginia Wolfe’s “A Room of One’s Own.” Except in this case, it would be a “Bathroom of One’s Own.” With my last boyfriend, I always used his guest bathroom by my choice. He thought it was weird, but I liked having my own bathroom, even in his house.
“[jenny]”
So, fruit, tortoises, own bathroom.
Got that?
Uffy, you’re probably right, but only a building or two north, not blocks.
@ Mike in Bucktown, people don’t have a choice but to share a bathroom when they travel. However, it is very convenient to have your own bathroom if
– you are a cleanfrick
– the other user takes too long in the bathroom to get ready
– the way the other person uses the bathroom gets on your nerve,e.g., the toilet seat is up in the middle of the night, he/she user splashes water over your belongings, stains the mirror while brushing, etc
and the list goes on and on : )
“However, it is very convenient to have your own bathroom”
I like having lots of bathrooms. Just simply like having one close to anywhere I may be. I think you should have at least 7. That way you can change bathrooms every day and this helps Ze remember what day of the week it is.
It was a good strategy until I had 8 bathrooms and that made the year only 45.5 weeks long.
Add horses to that and ideally the tortoises have thier own bathroom as well….although the horses are fine shitting across the street.
“So, fruit, tortoises, own bathroom.
Got that?”
Miu2, don’t forget when everyone in the household has food poisoning as well as I believe jenny reminded us earlier.
“when everyone in the household has food poisoning”
Everyone, minus one. The last person can just wait.
“With my last boyfriend,”
anybody else see the trend there?
lol…I got a good laugh reading this thread. Nice to have one that does not involve genocide : )
“Cook county assessor says my home is a 2/1 ~800 sqft place and we dont feel cramped at all.”
well groove you probably also have an 800 sqft attic, 800sqft basement, and 2300sqft of yard
But I agree you could easily raise one child in a 1250 sqft 2/1 no problemo
“well groove you probably also have an 800 sqft attic, 800sqft basement, and 2300sqft of yard”
So he can list his house as “5000 square feet” right? Including “outdoor living” area is totally copacetic, right? After all, it’s just a number!
“well groove you probably also have an 800 sqft attic, 800sqft basement, and 2300sqft of yard”
ok you got me there. but still most living is done in the 800sqft and the rest is storage and *other things 🙂
“So he can list his house as “5000 square feet” right? Including “outdoor living” area is totally copacetic, right? After all, it’s just a number!”
Mario math, yes its totally on the up-and-up .
“well groove you probably also have an 800 sqft attic, 800sqft basement, and 2300sqft of yard”
wait come to think of it, dont condos have basement storage and rooftop decks?
well then what is so different than my my place?
“dont condos have basement storage and rooftop decks?”
most do not, those with storage spaces are very small maybe 40sqft, and rooftop decks are not in many condos either
“dont condos have basement storage and rooftop decks?”
Isn’t it jenny who likes to point out babies can fall off balconies//rooftop decks? A yard is much safer and you can have a horse in it….
My father had a cousin who came over from Ireland but went back. When the people back in Kiltimagh asked her why she left America she said because Americans were crazy people who cooked outside and shit inside.
Ben – you can keep a miniature horse in the yard. Heck, one mini can mow and fertilize everyone’s yard in no time.
However, a full size horse would be extremely destructive to a lawn. Still, there is the bonus of manure for the compost pile.
I grew up in a 1920s vintage house that had one full bath plus a powder room in the basement. Apparently the mark of upscale living back then.. Most of the other houses on the block had only one bath; the “mansion” a block away from me was the only one with a master bath.
What a difference a half-century makes; any builder foolish enough to put only one bathroom in any space with more than one bedroom is asking for trouble.
Some friends of mine live in this building. It’s a great building with nice, long-term, quiet owners. Great quality construction, easy parking on Magnolia and you can walk to everything. Beach…El…tons of restaurants. I think someone got a nice deal. The homes on that street are mostly huge vintage, beautifully maintained buildings. Good neighbors.
Edgewater is filled w/many vintage 2-bedrm condo conversions. There will be many 2/2 units competing in marketplace when this “2/1.5 no W/D, at busy corner” is eventually relisted. It will be a difficult resale next time too. Edgewater/Andersonville also needs several higher-quality public elementary schools, in addition to a desparately-needed quality high school, to maintain its “dual-income professionals’ family household” demographic. Unlikely CPS will be able to deliver, given city/state terrible budget problems. Cost of private schooling is big factor in many family budgets here, starting w/nursery school.
“There will be many 2/2 units competing in marketplace when this “2/1.5 no W/D, at busy corner” is eventually relisted.”
Completely agree. Actually, even right now, if you go about 6 blocks north and just west of Ashland (not as “prime”, I know) you can buy a 2-flat for under $300,000.
Too bad there’s no “street view” among the pix, showing how this nabe looked about 2 months ago. Just about every building in the area displays tons of holiday lights, so much so that you can drive around at dusk and forget to put on your car lights!
Completely agree. Actually, even right now, if you go about 6 blocks north and just west of Ashland (not as “prime”, I know) you can buy a 2-flat for under $300,000
That’s right and those two flats need at least $200K in improvements.
“Andersonville also needs several higher-quality public elementary schools, in addition to a desparately-needed quality high school”
It has a good and improving school, Peirce. In regards to HS, that can said for virtually every city neighborhood.
“In regards to HS, that can said for virtually every city neighborhood.”
Correction–it *must* be said about *every* city neighborhood, with a limited exception for LPHS attendance area.
Ogden might be added to the exception If it fills as a mainly neighborhood school, and I dont (unlike most) discount the possibility of LVHS and Amundsen changing fairly quickly.