“Never on the Market Before” for this 5-Bedroom: 3180 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview

The listing for this 5-bedroom at 3180 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview says it has never been on the market before.

The building was built in 1953.

There are no pictures of the kitchen or bathrooms because the listing says you have to “make it your own.”

It does, however, have new windows and tree top views.

The listing also says that you can add central air and laundry. There is rental parking in the building.

For someone who wants a lot of bedrooms on one level, is this a good deal?

Robin Miner at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #3H: 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2400 square feet

  • I can’t find an original sales price since it has never been on the market
  • Currently listed for $430,000
  • Assessments of $1650 a month (includes heat, A/C, gas, doorman, cable)
  • Taxes of $5501
  • No central air (but can be added)
  • No washer/dryer (but can be added)
  • Parking is leased for $165 a month
  • No pets
  • Bedroom #1: 17×14
  • Bedroom #2: 17×12
  • Bedroom #3: 12×13
  • Bedroom #4: 13×12
  • Bedroom #5: 13×11

14 Responses to ““Never on the Market Before” for this 5-Bedroom: 3180 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview”

  1. Yikes. Monthly assessments are $1649.81! I love that they tried to justify that by listing everything the assessment covers: includes electric, gas, heat, air conditioning, RCN cable, water, management company, doorstaff,building engineer, storage, contribution to reserves, garbage/recycling pickup, landscaping, exterior window washing 3x year, snow removal, common insurance, common area electric and common area maintenance.

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  2. gringozecarioca on December 15th, 2011 at 6:22 am

    Anon,
    the novela continues to write itself… not even 2 weeks. Pretty ballsy way to enter someones home.

    http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/policia-usa-rapel-para-entrar-na-cobertura-de-aniz-abraao-david-3450375

    This morning I scanned and sent my friend a copy of my final phone bill in order for him to change the account. Wonder if I should put an exclamation point on the e-mail to let him know it’s a priority?

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  3. I can’t begin to tell you how distressing AC units hanging out of windows in a high rise appear. This is a large unit, but needs lots and lots of $$$ to get it into updated condition. Even then, limitations such as a low ceiling, a low floor, ugly building, etc. will limit the potential. Is this worthwhile, when the monthly costs without a mortgage are over $2K? It is much easier and cheaper to go up the street and buy a lovely vintage unit that may or may not be renovated.

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  4. The assessment is totally reasonable for a 5 bedroom apartment. You’d spend that much in a 5 bedroom elsewhere or in a house for all of those utilities. The problem is that its a larger unit (and probably the priciest) in a so-so building.

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  5. I like this building; it’s a well-built mid-century modern structure w/spacious units and large room sizes. The two-bedrooms have a separate diningroom, bedrooms that can easily accomodate king-size beds, true foyers, house-size livingrooms, etc. It’s laid out like an old-fashioned coop building; two units per elevator bank is a luxury rarely seen in new construction. Assessments are high because the building is more expensive to operate, but purchase price is low.

    Thiis building looks like it’s transitioning from “dowager” to renovating professionals. Without that beautiful lakeview, I’d think these units are relatively good buys for long-term owner-occupants looking for spacious living quarters. Compare this building’s two-bedroom units to those puny new-construction dorm-like condo units.

    A 5-bedroom unit is an odd duck, but this unit is a great alternate choice for a two-professional family w/two or three kids looking for a low-maintenance Lincoln Park address. Compared to carrying costs for a comparable single-family LP house, this unit is a decent choice. So it needs a new kitchen and perhaps some bathroom upgrades, big deal.

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  6. “with or without”

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  7. At first glance I thought the concrete deck was a parking lot. $120 psf $288,000 not based upon a review of the comps but instead my intuition and gut feeling.

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  8. The air conditioning included in the assessment is for the common areas and not the unit itself, correct? I didn’t realize that 5 bedroom apartments existed.

    Estate Sale? “Never been on the market before” implies first owner — and the wallpaper in the bedroom backs that up — though it’s possible there was a private sale sometime since 1953.

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  9. The real questions here are the health of the building and how difficult and expensive it would be to change the layout and update (i.e. whether the association is going to make it hard or easy, and how much you can realistically do) and, for each, buyer, how much value is placed on the amenities and quality of the building itself. And, of course, the bathrooms and the kitchen, which I assume are bad if there are no photos. So there are a lot of major questions. The ceilings aren’t good, but they aren’t terrible, and that doesn’t bother some people. If you look at the floorplan on the linked site, it does kind of look like you could do some opening up of some of the space, but who knows?

    All that said, I would not expect that this gets a complete renovation, but it would be a nice home and a nice location for someone to do some updates and some limited renovation. For $150k maybe this might be able to be made pretty nice. If this is an estate sale, maybe you get it for a good price, and it’s a really nice spot for you, if you don’t care about all the things that chip away at the value (but there are a lot). I’d have to crunch the numbers and see what the comps would be, but maybe someone will be willing to pay like $380k for this?

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  10. Looks like a scene out of The Elite Squad. Looking forward to the DVD coming out. You should work on a script.
    http://elitesquad-movie.com/

    “Pretty ballsy way to enter someones home.”

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  11. Someone with great vision will make this place look great, that person is not me

    “no pets”

    boo!

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  12. live in building
    Condo association extremely difficult
    avoid

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  13. HD: “$120 psf $288,000 not based upon a review of the comps but instead my intuition and gut feeling.”

    $288k with an immediate close would have beat reality of $310k in May 13 (ie, after burning $35k+ of HOA and taxes).

    Bravo 2011 HD!

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  14. And what it looked like after the reno was completed in 2017:

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3180-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-60657/unit-3H/home/13371683

    $725k.

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