Malibu 3-Bedroom with Beach Views for $459,900: 6007 N. Sheridan in Edgewater
This 3-bedroom in Malibu Condominiums at 6007 N. Sheridan in Edgewater came on the market in January 2023.
Sorry, I don’t have a picture of this building but I will get one by this summer.
Built in 1969, Malibu Condominiums has 356 units and attached valet parking.
It’s a full service building with 24/7 door staff, an outdoor pool, sundeck, sauna, party room, dry cleaners, bike room, exercise room and on-site manager and engineer. The listing also says that a new gym, locker rooms and sauna are in future plans.
The listing says the building has “never had a special assessment.”
This unit has been renovated with “luxury and elegance.”
It has floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the beach and Lake Michigan.
It has hardwood floors through the living and dining rooms as well as the bedrooms. The listing doesn’t say if they are oak or luxury vinyl.
The chef’s kitchen has been opened to the living/dining space and has an island with seating for 2, gray cabinets with bright quartz countertops and gold finishes including the faucet, stainless steel appliances, an extra built-in oven/microwave, a range hood and custom lighting.
There appears to be two walk-in showers and no bathtubs.
The listing says the AC unit, furnace and water heater are brand new.
The unit has some of the features buyers look for including central air and valet garage parking but there’s no washer/dryer in the unit. There’s coin laundry in the building.
This building is near Mariano’s, Whole Foods, beaches, coffee shops, restaurants and shops of Edgewater and Andersonville. It’s also near Red Line stops and express buses.
Bought in September 2022 for $211,500, it has come back on the market renovated for $459,900.
Should buyers who love beaches and views set their sights on the Malibu?
Ada Belson at @Properties Christie’s has the listing. See the pictures here. Sorry no floor plan.
Or you can see it in person this weekend at the Open House, on January 29 from 12 – 2 PM.
Unit #9J: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1656 square feet
- Sold in October 1994 for $115,000
- Sold in September 2022 for $211,500
- Currently listed at $459,900
- Assessments of $822 a month (includes doorman, cable, exercise room, pool, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal, Internet)
- Taxes of $5076
- Central Air
- No washer/dryer in the unit. Coin laundry in the building.
- Valet attached garage parking
- Bedroom #1: 14×13
- Bedroom #2: 11×13
- Bedroom #3: 11×10
- Living/dining combo: 23×14
- Kitchen: 8×15
- Foyer: 5×9
- 3 Balconies
Not my cup of tea, but I think the flipper did a good job and the staging is excellent for the target market
Lack of W/D for a 3Br is problematic.
This 2/2 recently sold -https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6007-N-Sheridan-Rd-60660/unit-30D/home/13411582 at $285k. Its freaking hideous but its “new”. I dont see a the 1Br being worth $175k
This building feels like the median age of owners is 73
Floorplan isn’t identical (3d bed has different door location), but 13J is also available and shows an FP in the listing:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6007-N-Sheridan-Rd-60660/unit-13J/home/13411487
a second big diff bt the 2/2 at 30D and the J units is the J units are on corners, so get 2 exposures, which is a pretty nice upgrade.
Biggest differences (other than $40k) bt the two J units are (a) the flooring, and (b) the 3d bedroom.
No w/d or powder room, and having only the sliding doors as windows, are bummers. That said, I’d take this unit over lots of similarly priced units located between this building and downtown. I’ve parked in the building a few times when going to Emanuel and recall the valet being quick/easy to use.
I like it. Assessment is VERY reasonable for the size of the unit and the amenities in the building. I like that the pool is at ground level rather than on the roof (SO windy!) Also, 3 balconies is pretty sweet and there’s a great view from the living room balcony.
No WD is potentially a deal breaker, though.
I love the built-in at the end of the kitchen. Great use of space.
“I love the built-in at the end of the kitchen. Great use of space.”
Me too. That’s so unique and really elevates the rest of the kitchen to the next level.
“No w/d or powder room, and having only the sliding doors as windows, are bummers.”
As I was doing the post I did think, “are ALL of the windows the sliding doors?” It’s not my favorite either.
That being said, some people have lived in this building 30 years which is not the norm in many high rises so there must be something lovely about living in this building. Many people have really made it their home.
“This building feels like the median age of owners is 73”
Of course it would be. The building is 54 years old. Who else would have been buying in the 1980s and 1990s? Silent Generation and Baby Boomers.
All these older buildings along the lake in Uptown and Edgewater will see big turnover in this decade. The Baby Boomers are selling and moving. Silent Generation is passing.
I was reading the blog for the building next door, Malibu East, built at the same time. They just had a board member retire who was on the board since 1994. Even he couldn’t believe he lasted that long. But he’s moving on now.
Also, the blog discussed the concrete repairs they were doing along the seawall and in the garage. Garage repairs are multi-year project, apparently. But this is the reality for all these 1960s and 70s high rises. Concrete doesn’t last forever, especially with our weather conditions. The garages have had a lot of salt come in over the years. Repairs have to be made.
Hopefully, these buildings have good boards who have been keeping up with things the last few decades.
Also notice, for this listing, it says they are going to put in a new gym. These older buildings need to compete for the next generation of buyers. They are living in buildings with upscale amenities. The old buildings don’t have the space to compete, but they can at least update what they have.
This building’s outdoor pool is also, apparently, heated which is a nice feature for Chicago.
they should have just run the wood flooring (or whatever it is) into the kitchen. Would have looked much better that that ugly floor tile they put in there. Continuous flooring looks so much better.
“the wood flooring (or whatever it is)”
I’d guess it’s “luxury vinyl”, which you aren’t suppsed to run under cabinets, and that is the ‘why’ for the different floor.
understood, but I’m not sure that would be the reason. people install LVP all the time in kitchens and bathrooms. just install the cabinets on the subfloor.
“just install the cabinets on the subfloor.”
I know it’s not a big deal to do so, but not a fan.
I’d have done something differnet with the floors, and made it continuous.
Also–is that vinyl again in front of the built-in in the kitchen? Extra weird.
“I’d guess it’s “luxury vinyl”, which you aren’t supposed to run under cabinets, and that is the ‘why’ for the different floor.”
They don’t say in the listing if the floors are oak hardwood or the luxury vinyl. Many renovators use the luxury vinyl now because the quality has gotten so much better the last few years and they look nice.
Let’s be honest, how many of us have ever refinished our floors? Most don’t. Maintenance is much lower on the luxury vinyl.
Obviously, the million dollar homes aren’t going to use it (yet) but at the lower price point, why not?
“Let’s be honest, how many of us have ever refinished our floors? Most don’t. Maintenance is much lower on the luxury vinyl.”
In the three homes we’ve owned, we’ve done “some” refinishing on each. In a duplex condo in ELP (top floors of a four level converted row house), we installed oak in the upstairs/bedrooms (which had been carpet) and new carpet on the stairs, and did a light buff + poly on the wood floors on the main level (came to regret not adding a stain; it just looked like nicer yellow wood). In our house in Denver (early 1900s square style), we sanded and stained the main level, and it had an enormous impact (for like $2,500, it was by far best thing we did in the house). In our current place (late 60’s suburban junk), we did a light buff + polly on the original (and already stained) oak flooring, and it certainly helped.
I’ve had to refinish floors for places that I bought moving in and also when there has been water damage from frozen pipes.
So at least in my case, I’ve had to re-finish floors multiple times. I don’t think it’s that unusual despite Sabrina’s assertion.
If I truly could do a new build, I would like to have heated floors for below level floors in Chicago.
I’ve refinished my HW floors
Don’t know how you don’t every 10+/- years, especially if you have a dog
They look so awesome after finishing
LVT is great for flippers, cheap, easy to install and looks good enough. The high dollar stuff seems to hold up in commercial settings, not sure on the HD grade
“Let’s be honest, how many of us have ever refinished our floors? Most don’t…”
I don’t understand this statement. Refinishing wood floors is a very common job and is big business. I’ve refinished wood floors in several different homes. In old homes with beautiful original floor boards, the floor has been refinished so many times the wood is very thin and cannot be sanded again. Also, veneered wood floors can only be refinished once as there is danger of hitting the plywood layer if done again.
One thing I’ve always been puzzled by HOA fees is why lower-priced buildings often have lower assessments. Especially in a full-service building such as this (with even a swimming pool), wouldn’t the cost of running the building be the same as buildings in higher-priced buildings and areas? Despite lower selling prices and property taxes, shouldn’t the HOA be the same for like-size units? The assessment for this unit is around half of what it would be for a similar size unit in the Gold Coast and especially low given the age of this building. The only explanation I can think of is that most buildings are run very inefficiently. They hire high-priced service providers because the management/board are too lazy (or dishonest) to take the time to find value-priced workers, such as people would normally do for their single family homes. If it is true that this building has many long-time owners who watch the running of the building carefully, this may account for the low assessments.
Such a huge building boom in the late-60’s/early 70’s and all these buildings are aging fast, at the same time. My niece looked at a unit recently in one of those Lincoln Park towers from that era and told us the entire building seemed “tired.” I believe her. Then there are units like this one, with no laundry in unit because the buildings don’t have the plumbing to allow it. Coin laundry in the lobby is not easy to market when so many newer buildings have it in the unit.
I have a bad feeling a lot of these buildings are going to go downhill fast, and unless maintenance is really emphasized, they may even become dangerous (remember the Florida building collapse in 2021). Assessments may have to rise to pay for repairs, but increased HOA will just drive more people away.
Meanwhile, older vintage buildings from the 20’s are more attractive and better built, but have huge costs. HOA’s above $3,000 for many units. How many people can afford that? Look at the unit at 399 W. Fullerton recently featured here, now under $600,000 because it can’t attract buyers who want to shovel so much of their money into monthly maintenance payments. Not sure if there’s a solution, but I’m worried about Chicago’s lakefront “wall” of skyscrapers.
“I have a bad feeling a lot of these buildings are going to go downhill fast, and unless maintenance is really emphasized, they may even become dangerous (remember the Florida building collapse in 2021).”
Chicago has different building standards, as was explained when the Florida tragedy happened. The building department does a lot of inspections here. But there is no doubt that some condo buildings have deferred maintenance. We have heard of several in recent years because they have sold to developers to de-convert. There was a 1960s/70s building in Old Town that was facing millions in repairs.
Also, remember, after Surfside, federal lending regulations were changed.
“Under the new guidelines, lenders require a letter of lending eligibility that confirms there are no unbudgeted deferred maintenance projects.”
This actually DID impact sales in some Chicago condo buildings that were doing special assessments at the time. But once the project is complete, the lenders will lend in the building again.
https://cribchatter.com/market-conditions-december-housing-inventory-plunged-31-4-yoy-in-chicago/
And if you think just because a building is 100 years old and was somehow built “better” that those buildings also won’t see a lot of maintenance costs, you are likely really wrong. It all depends on the building, who has been in charge of the board all of the last few decades. Has it been a good board, or bad?
Once a building reaches a certain age, there is just going to be a lot of maintenance, including the concrete or facade repairs.
Remember Kennelly Square?
It was bought out in 2018. It’s in Old Town.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180604/CRED03/180609964/big-rehab-on-tap-for-kennelly-square-in-lincoln-park-after-strategic-properties-closes-deal
Strategic Properties also plans to fix problems with the building’s exterior that motivated many condo owners to sell. The building leaks when it rains, and its condo board had floated a multi-million-dollar special assessment to fix the problem. Faced with paying the special assessment or selling out, many owners chose the latter.
“The Kennelly Square deconversion should live on in the annals of condominium history as an example of what can happen when board members do not perform needed maintenance on a timely basis,” Bruce Theobald, managing broker of Lakefront Realty Group, who owned a unit in the building and voted for the sale, said in an email.
Strategic Properties is still figuring out a solution to the water leak problem, Klor said. Tuckpointing may fix it; in a worst-case scenario, the developer would replace all the building’s windows, he said.
“Meanwhile, older vintage buildings from the 20’s are more attractive and better built, but have huge costs. HOA’s above $3,000 for many units. How many people can afford that?”
Many of these buildings were built for the rich. It is still the rich who live in them.
“In old homes with beautiful original floor boards, the floor has been refinished so many times the wood is very thin and cannot be sanded again.”
You’ve refinished your floors while living in the house Vissi?
I don’t know a single person who has refinished their condo floors while living in it. To sell it? Sure. But it can cost a lot to refinish the hardwoods just the same. Luxury vinyl is not a bad choice for most condo owners.
“Despite lower selling prices and property taxes, shouldn’t the HOA be the same for like-size units?”
I’ve explained assessments many times on this site. There are 356 units in this building. That’s a lot of units to spread out the pain of 24/7 doorman salaries, maintenance men and engineers and on-site management. Also more people to help pay for the pool and other amenities.
In my opinion, if you’re going to live in a full amenity building, the more units, the better. The John Hancock, for instance, has reasonable assessments because it is massive.
Size of the unit has nothing to do with it. You can have a 1600 square foot unit in 2 different buildings and one will be $1100 a month and the other $2100 a month if the second one has fewer units and same number of amenities.
How many gold coast buildings from around 1970 have 356 units, a pool and door staff? That’s what you need to compare it with.
Also, some buildings have just been better managed. The listing for this unit says they have never had a special assessment. That’s amazing. I’d like to know the reserve for the building though.
“They hire high-priced service providers because the management/board are too lazy (or dishonest) to take the time to find value-priced workers, such as people would normally do for their single family homes.”
Buildings of this size are professionally managed. On big projects like elevator replacement, they get multiple bids.
And like any business, on staffing requirements, they are competing in a very tight job market. That means salaries for good door staff and maintenance professionals are going up. Additionally, Baby Boomer generation is retiring. How many of the door staff in this building will need to be replaced in the next few years? I’d bet a lot. Will cost more because salaries need to be competitive.
“Don’t know how you don’t every 10+/- years, especially if you have a dog”
The dogs are the reason I didn’t bother having my floors stained before I moved into my new house. There are some areas where the floors are scuffed and scratched, but I knew that if I stained the floors, the first few times the dogs added scratches or damaged it, I would be annoyed. I doubt I’ll ever stain my floors.
Good observations, Sabrina, thanks.
I had a friend who lived in Kennelly Square in the 1970s and I spent a lot of time in his place back then. It was a duplex with a spiral staircase in the LR. I guess I haven’t been in that building since 1979. The place next door that’s now the huge rental skyscraper (built in the late 80’s, called Eugenie Terrace, I think) was just a vacant lot back then.
“You’ve refinished your floors while living in the house Vissi?”
I’ve refinished wood floors in 5 condo units I have owned. It made a dramatic difference in each case, going from the outdated “golden oak” stained finishes to a medium walnut stain on the same oak floors. The last time, I did a combination mix of Minwax Classic Grey and Special Walnut and the tinge of grey in the walnut color added yet a more updated look. The transformation it gives to the entire condo is worth the trouble it takes to move all the furniture into the areas of the unit that don’t have to get done (in my case, the tiled kitchen, the carpeted bedroom and the tiled bathrooms and boxes of stuff in my storage unit.) They now have good enough vacuuming system that run while the sanding is taking place so that clean-upon the dust is not so bad afterwards, but you ideally should cover absolutely everything that has a horizontal surface. The new finishes are also super durable and dry very quickly so you can walk on them in socked feet in just a couple of days and move the furniture back into place in three days. Area rugs should not be laid back down for a few weeks. I always scheduled the work to be done when I was going to be away for at least four days. Cost for sanding, refinishing and sealing for around 500 sf is around $1,000. (This does not include incidental costs such as moving furniture and replacement of baseboards.) Compare this to replacing the entire wood floor, which will be 4 times the cost, especially if you live in the typical high-rise which has sound underlayment requirements and also have to rip up the old flooring beforehand. No brainer. The results come out like brand new floors.
“Size of the unit has nothing to do with it.”
I’m sorry, but I was unclear. I meant that if there are two buildings that are the same size (same number of units with similar size units), that it shouldn’t matter that one building is a “premier”-priced building while another is not. If they also have similar amenities, and are approximately the same age, I don’t see what would account for the premier building having clearly higher HOA fees for a particular unit than the same size unit in the non-premier building. Do doormen in premier buildings get higher salaries than those in non-premier ones, even if they have to do the identical work? Isn’t the pay scale all unionized? How is this building (that is full service and even has a pool to have to maintain and has never had to have a special assessment) able to charge only $822/month for a 1656 sf unit? Can you think of a premier-level building this size and this age that charges this little for this size unit?
“Buildings of this size are professionally managed. On big projects like elevator replacement, they get multiple bids.”
I’ve sat in many board meetings of many condo associations. The way they get work done is to have the management company present them with three bids for work needing to be done. The management company is not going to spend a lot of time hunting down the best prices, like anyone owning a single family home would. They just come up with three bids. Worse, some have “arrangements” with favored providers. Sometimes, the condo board has a person that knows what fair prices are and disputes what the management company presents them with, but it’s a lucky association that has a “busy body” like this. Most of the time, they are too lazy and just accept what the managers presents. They even treat the “busy body” like he/she is a trouble-maker just wasting their time. A couple of times, just sitting in on the meetings and appalled by the bids they were accepting, I have spoken up and told the board that I personally know a company that will give much better prices. They have thanked me and invited me to submit the info to the manager. But in both cases, the manager never called the provider I gave the contact for, and just went ahead and hired one of their picks. One building had the back of a lobby front desk area repainted for $3,000 when my long-time fantastic painter had told me he could do it for $500. This kind of thing happens all the time, it’s not even worth getting upset about anymore for me. I just accept the fact that living in a condo building involves a lot of wasted cost. But when I see a building like this that SEEMS to be well-run with such low assessments, it makes me wonder if it is that rare animal – a building that is actually run by responsible people!
“How is this building (that is full service and even has a pool to have to maintain and has never had to have a special assessment) able to charge only $822/month for a 1656 sf unit? Can you think of a premier-level building this size and this age that charges this little for this size unit?”
It has 356 units. That’s a large building. The more units there are, the more spread out the assessments are. What’s a similar sized building with similar amenities that you think is more? You don’t say.
And yes, doormen in the luxury buildings get higher pay. The Palmolive doormen aren’t getting the same salary as the condo building down the street on Cedar with $200k 1-bedroom units.
I thought you said you’ve sat in on many board meetings?
“I thought you said you’ve sat in on many board meetings?”
Yes I have – for 40 years in 8 different buildings. Usually there are fewer than 10 owners who attend board meetings, even in buildings that have almost 200 units. I have never understood this, as there is no way to really find out how well a building is run unless you attend meetings. Many sensitive topics never make it into the minutes, as “off the record” is invoked when dealing with the very subjects that would be the most interest to owners and would-be buyers. During the years of regularly attending meetings, I have never heard a single discussion of competitive pricing of the door staff or whether we were prioritizing quality by offering high wages. The hiring was always done by the management company and I never got the sense that the owners had any input on who we would get. That is why I assumed it was a strictly unionized profession in which people were hired based on their hierarchy on the union ladder and contracts with management companies. I have to admit I have never owned in a super premium building. But the medium to large buildings I have owned in have all been just below that level. The amount shown in the budgets that were for the door staff were all pretty much the same in all of them.
“One building had the back of a lobby front desk area repainted for $3,000 when my long-time fantastic painter had told me he could do it for $500.”
Does your long-time painter have a union card?
Long-time commenters know how much I like the union rat (and the fatcat, too), but most condo boards and management companies don’t share my enthusiasm for giant rats in front of their buildings.
Yes–I get it–the work discussed is not more than 2 days work, but that relies on the union doormen not being too serious about union labor, too.
Here is another similar age and amenities building – this one has 950 units! But the 1,450 sf unit has monthly assessments of $1,244 – 50% higher than the Malibut unit that is 200 sf larger.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/505-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-60611/unit-3102/home/14096642?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=1023726&utm_term=aud-923999260716:dsa-1341488489976&utm_content=454669087896&adgid=111663001848&gclid=CjwKCAiAuOieBhAIEiwAgjCvckqoD86o9iK-vsefELyZgr19jNZx6eIgsEJDKMl6_GXNBjigDFX9DhoC078QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
$1,244 is perfectly within normal range of units this size in any high-rise. But there is no benefit, as far as I can see, from it being a huge building in terms of “spreading out” the assessments goes. I have been told, also, that buildings with balconies have huge costs associated with upkeep. The Malibu should be disadvantaged in this sense, making the low assessments particularly curious.
“But there is no benefit, as far as I can see, from it being a huge building in terms of “spreading out” the assessments goes.”
Of course there is a benefit to having more units. You pay less, per unit, for the door staff, the on-site engineer, the valet guys, the package room attendants. It’s simple math.
We don’t know everything that is included in the assessment in the Malibu. There’s also a market on site and it could be that the market is paying rent to the building which cuts the cost. Also, not sure about the make-up of this building, if the garage is even managed by the HOA or shared with Malibu West or privately owned etc. Garages can be expensive.
But I’m sure you can call the listing agent, Vissi, and ask what the reserves for this building are. Never having a special assessment is an amazing track record. By now, they would have had to replace hall carpet several times and possibly elevators and other big ticket items.
Malibu East at 6033 N. Sheridan also has a pool and built in similar era. It has 498 units.
1600 square foot 2/2 has assessments of $821 a month.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6033-N-Sheridan-Rd-60660/unit-31E/home/13411069
“Does your long-time painter have a union card?”
Right? And how many times have I heard, “I know someone who can paint this for half the cost” and don’t understand that your “friend” who is a house painter is NOT going to be painting a commercial-like building space like a lobby.
I just laugh when people go to board meetings and say they have a “friend” who can do it.
You get what you pay for.
“I just laugh when people go to board meetings and say they have a “friend” who can do it.”
I actually discovered my longtime painter when he was on a team of painters working in the common areas of a condo building I was living in at the time, and I noticed he was the most skillful and hardworking of the group and offered to hire him for private work for me. He’s a gem, and I can’t believe the building manager I gave his contact number to didn’t even bother to call him to inquire about his credentials or rates. Another service provider I gave the contact number to a manager serviced windows commonly used in high-rise buildings and I had experienced their work when I lived in my previous building and they serviced the whole building. I knew what they charged to replace balances on the windows. So when a subsequent building I owned in which had the same windows were doing this kind of work, and gave the rates for this work at considerably higher cost, I suggested to the manager they call this other provider for a better quote. Again, they never bothered to call them, but just went ahead to give only the higher priced options to the owners.