Lots of Vintage Space in The Aquitania: 5000 N. Marine Drive
We haven’t yet chattered about The Aquitania, the 1923 co-op vintage beauty at 5000 N. Marine Drive in Uptown/Edgewater.
Is this 1600-square foot 2 bedroom priced right for someone with “vision”? It has good bones.
The unit has lake views and the listing says the kitchen was “redone” with frosted glass cabinets.
Victoria Amoroso at Baird and Warner has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #11F: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 square feet
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price
- Currently listed for $169,000
- Assessment of $1354 a month (includes real estate taxes, heat, gas, cable, water and doorman)
- Taxes of $758
- No central air- window units
- Rental parking
- No washer/dryers allowed in the units
This building scares me. There have been units for sale in it FOREVER. Also, communes scare me also.
That $1354 better cover the cost of someone lugging my laundry downstairs and washing it for me! Coin laundry? In this day and age? In a freaking co-op building? Give me a break! What a “luxurious” place
Co-ops scare me…… sorry. Well, I guess communes scare me also!
Best of all, it’s in Uptown…the next Lakeview “any year now”
Not a bad part of Uptown, but Uptown nonetheless.
Would love to see a financial statement for a co-op. Can’t figure out why the assessments are so high. Is it because they took out mortgages long ago? Or because the buildings tend to be older?
Its because Taxes are included (for the most part) in the assessments. That and the buildings are very very old.
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UPTOWN RULES!! Did you all hear about our Fix Wilson Yard Lawsuit? We are taking it to Shiller yard to stop here agenda to have all the City’s low income residents in a six square block radius!
Check out http://www.fixwilsonyard.org/
If you live in Uptown, don’t forget to sign the petition.
I almost bought a wreck here, am regretting it now. Though the assessments are a bit high for the age of building, I think they got hit badly with the facade ordinance, but have gotten historic renovation & tax credits. However, the interior of the building is spotless, even the storage rooms.
I have heard rumors about this buidling being in trouble – anyone have any solid info on this building?
Nice unist, but not as grand as many of the other 1920’s co-op buidligns on the north side. and units have been for sale forever in here.
I live right by this bldg – there was some facade work done there last yr & earlier they had a major fire on one of their top floor units. Someone was smoking a bit too much. Surprised it has no parking other than rental & no laundry. And window units!?
What I heard is that they were offered money by a developer to sell and turned it down in a close vote. It has a weird mix of smallish units and two larger ones on every floor. The lobbies were redone in the 30s and are truly stunning – take a look if you can.
Why are you surprised there are window units? There was no central air conditioning when the building was built, and now that it’s on the national register, condenser’s can’t be easily added. Plus the building pays for electric at a reduced rate – they get bulk electricity and it’s sub-metered to the tenants.
2k/month plus a 170k mortgage…no thanks.
Also whats with the taxes? For a 170k place taxes should be no more than 2-300/month.
That’s total taxes; they are something like $63 a month (included in assessment). Co-ops generally have lower taxes than condos.
“That’s total taxes; they are something like $63 a month (included in assessment). Co-ops generally have lower taxes than condos.”
Isn’t it $758/year taxes for the unit and some portion of the $1354/month is also for taxes for the building?
My guess is they just broke it out for comparison but it is typically included in assmt.
No, both figures are definitely in the $1354 – I’ve seen the taxes broken out of the assessments in confusing ways many times before for co-ops. However, there are NO individual taxes for the unit, the $758 is the units share of the total building taxes – remember, the building is taxed as a unit and then broken down by shares owned internally.
“Isn’t it $758/year taxes for the unit and some portion of the $1354/month is also for taxes for the building?”
Most likely. Even with a doorman and common heat, I don’t see how the assessment could possibly be $1354 unless it included some taxes.
Yeah, I’ve seen these co-ops listed in very confusing ways. In the same building you will see some units listed with the taxes included in the assessments and others will be listed with them removed from the assessments. And even when they are included they may or may not be shown separately. What a mess.
But even after adjusting for taxes I’ve seen the assessments in co-ops be very high. Might just be an age thing.
Assmts vary between coops primarily due to the amount of debt the coop corp has.
The interest on the underlying debt and the tax allocation to the unit are the important numbers since they are tax deductible (along with int on note used to “purchase” the proprietary lease.
This building has always had monster assessments, in my long memory.
The assessments are not justified by the level of amenity, which is almost none. No pool no deck, but a doorman- huge expense for that.
Have talked to many previous owners who were glad to escape.
I like the apartments, but have seen better vintage units in Uptown and Edgewater that would effectively cost less.
Watch out for co-ops, for they have many more restrictions on your ownership rights.
The good thing about co-ops is that they qualify incoming buyers and require steep down payments, so you are much less likely to be stuck with a defaulting owner’s past due assessments.
Laura,
Out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite buildings in Uptown and Edgewater? I’ve noticed that our tastes are pretty similar and value your opinions.
This current period of massive defaults and instability in condo buildings and their HOA’s is probably the only environment where co-ops have some attractive advantages. They are definitely more stable and costs more predictable. But they still don’t seem to make sense in terms of overall cost of ownership. And the “qualification of buyers” aspect, while contributing to their stability, also makes them harder to sell.
Ahhh, my favorite Edgewater and Uptown buildings….
Before I start, I’ll tell you straight up that my choices are pretty emotion-driven. I can’t really call my places economical, even though they work out a lot better than the Aquatania.
My pet is 6334-6342 N Sheridan. Beautiful 7-story vintage on the Sheridan Road curve. Beautiful, large rooms with many bay windows, fireplaces in the larger units, and lovely vintage details even in the bedrooms. Decent galley kitchens. A parking lot, which is a nice thing even for a non-car owner, for the land might come in handy for something else down the road. I didn’t get to see the furnace, but I have a feeling it’s old and needs to be replaced, because the assessments are a little high.
The Edgewater Beach Co-op. If you’re gonna pay through the nose on assessments, why not get a real community? Pretty old apartments with great storage space just outside the unit, big baths and kitchens. Indoor pool, incredible formal garden, plus a garden where residents can cultivate individual garden plots if they are so inclined. A community library. Underground garage, proximity to Bryn Mawr Ave and great transportation.
6101 N Sheridan, Park Edgewater. This building is the 1929-vintage building at the corner of Sheridan and Glenlake, and is the original owner of the 6101 address. The East Point, a 40 story hirise just to the east, has the same address, granted it by mayor Daley Sr. The Park Edgewater’s larger apartments have tiny kitchens, but large, beautiful rooms with great cove moldings, big closets, and large baths with separate tubs and shower stalls. But this building BADLY needs a new furnace… very high assessments for a condo. Cheap taxes. Last I was in the place, it looked to me like the building was still running a 20s-vintage boiler that was converted to gas, horrendously inefficient.
The Rennaisance, 5510 N Sheridan, if only I could afford it. Big 8-room apartments with beautiful details. Nice location. Private garden.
In Lakeview: 421 W Melrose (Eddystone), 3800 N Lake Shore, 431 W Oakdale, 3100 N Sheridan (the Barry), 433 W Briar (even though I dislike the renovations).
Thanks, Laura! I didn’t know about most of these and am starting to look at them. I really like 6334-6342 N. Sheridan; those are my kind of places.
By the way, Laura, what happened in #6F? You said back in June you were very interested. I notice it’s still available.
off topic:
What are view and opinions about living in the Cragin-Belmont area? What are the best parts of Cragin-Belmont for SFHs?
6F might still be there, and 4B, a similar unit (other side of the building) is still there. Looking at my finances, I believe I should do something a little smaller, like a 5 room with 1200 sq ft. I hope one of those comes available. 1700 sq ft is pushing it budget-wise. 4 rooms is too small, 6 rooms is too big.
I’m noticing that these units are hanging on the market for a looong time. I’d offer substantially less than the ask price, especially since comparable Lakeview units are coming down into a comparable price range. Take a look at a 1700 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath at 3100 W Barry, for $299K. Needs cosmetic work, no more. Fab apt in a prime building in a prime neighborhood.
3100 W Barry is not Lakeview, thats probably Avondale.
Excuse me, Bob.
I meant 3100 N Sheridan Road, at the corner of Barry & Sheridan, sorry.
The Barry is a fantastic old building, and I thought I’d never see anything that size in there for less than $400K. It needs some cosmetic work, not expensive. The kitchen is 80s white, but it will serve for a few more years.
A second vote for 6101 N. Sheridan. That’s just a beautiful vintage building both inside and out.
Assessments really are high for this building considering what it doesnt have…I agree, the taxes dont add up…and if I am reading this right you’re saying $600 or so a month for a doorman, cable and heat basically, and the maintenance of the bldg…I’ll take a non-doorman building and pay my heat and cable. As for the neighborhood, there are a lot of conveniences (express buses in front of building, grocery in walking distance, near red el as well) but I don’t think enough. Although the lake is right in front of you, what’s one block west is basically a halfway house. I agree that you should be concerned about how long these units are on the market and consider former tenants feedback about being happy to get out a sign…I currently rent in the neighborhood but dont know that I would buy there.
Run, don’t walk, away from listings at 5000 Marine. I know several people who got out, lost money on their investments, but are glad they escaped. Ask around, the stories are there. What good is a low purchase price if you’re stuck there without being able to ever sell.