Crib Chatter

This 2-bedroom at 2333 N. Geneva Terrace is in much sought after East Lincoln Park.

But not everything in the neighborhood is pre-war vintage.

This building was constructed in 1974 and has an elevator.

The unit has many of the features buyers look for including the all-important parking space and central air but doesn’t have in-unit laundry (coin laundry in the building only.)

It has south and west exposures with a balcony and a terrace.

The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

There is exposed brick throughout.

Originally listed in June 2012, this property is listed $30,000 above the 2005 price.

With a lack of 2/2s in this location with parking currently on the market, will low inventory allow this one to get a premium over its 2005 price? 

Christopher Mundy at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #5A: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1208 square feet

• Sold in August 1992 for $166,000
• Sold in April 2005 for $345,000
• Originally listed in June 2012 for $375,000
• Still listed at $375,000
• Assessments of $315 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $2881
• Central Air
• No in-unit washer/dryer (coin laundry in the building)
• Assigned parking space
• Bedroom #1: 15×18
• Bedroom #2: 11×12

We last chattered about this top floor 2-bedroom at 1111 N. Winchester in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of West Town in March 2012.

See our prior chatter here.

Most of the discussion centered around possibly building a rooftop deck as this unit has private access to the roof.

The listing includes two pictures which depict what the deck would look like if you were to build it.

Others of you thought that the price of $287,000 was holding it back and that it needed to be priced closer to $270,000.

Since March it has been reduced to $279,999.

If you recall, this was a 2007 conversion.

The unit has a new kitchen with dark cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

The unit has 3 exposures.

It has central air and parking but no washer/dryer in the unit. However, there is a private laundry room/storage area in the basement with the unit’s own washer/dryer.

The unit is just minutes away from the shops and restaurants on hopping Division Street.

The property already has a large back deck.

Is the possibility of a rooftop deck just a distraction to buyers?

Would this property sell faster if the pictures of the deck were removed?

Eileen Ellis at Koenig & Strey Real Living still has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #3R: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed

• Sold in November 2007 for $288,000
• Originally listed in August 2011 for $295,000
• Withdrawn in November 2011
• Was listed in March 2012 at $287,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $279,999
• Assessments of $150 a month
• Taxes of $2673
• Central Air
• Private laundry room in the basement
• Outdoor parking included
• Bedroom #1: 13×7
• Bedroom #2: 12×7

This 3-bedroom triplex loft in the Bronzeville Lofts at 50 E. 26th in Bronzeville (is this location the Near South Side or Bronzeville or what?- I’m calling it Bronzeville) came on the market in June 2012.

It is a Fannie Mae Homepath property and can be purchased for just 3% down.

This building is a former factory that was converted into lofts in 2003.

This developer left many of the original features including exposed brick and twenty foot high ceilings.

This loft has a spiral staircase and a private rooftop deck.

There is a bedroom on each of the three levels as well as a den on the second level.

The main living space has hardwood floors and the bedrooms have carpet.

The kitchen is intact and has cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances (although the refrigerator appears to be missing.)

It appears that the bathrooms are also intact.

The loft has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and one deeded parking space is included.

It is listed 61% under the 2004 purchase price at just $174,900.

Is this a deal?

Jason Reiner at Solid Source Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #403: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, no square footage listed, triplex

• Sold in March 2004 for $445,000 (parking included)
• Lis pendens filed in March 2009
• Bank owned in February 2012
• Listed in June 2012 for $199,900
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $174,900 (parking included)
• Assessments of $728 a month
• Taxes of $5876
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 13×20 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 13×19 (main floor)
• Bedroom #3: 18×11 (third floor)
• Den: 16×11 (second floor)

Ask and you shall receive.

This 4-bedroom penthouse in The Marlborough at 2600 N. Lakeview (and also 400 W. Deming) in East Lincoln Park came on the market in July 2012.

It has private elevator entry into the unit which has lake, park and city views.

The kitchen has white cabinets and SubZero and Wolf appliances.

It also has a wine closet and a mudroom along with an in-unit washer/dryer and central air.

The building, however, doesn’t have any parking. It is available for rent in the neighborhood.

The listing says it’s “An A+ location next door to 2550” (a reference to 2550 N. Lakeview, otherwise marketed as Lincoln Park 2520, the new construction high rise that is now closing on units.)

Is it smart to reference the new construction high rise next door (where a unit of this size, at 3740 square feet) would be double the cost?

Or does it highlight what the vintage building lacks- no pool, no parking, no balconies and not everything is “new”?

Jennifer Ames at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #8B: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3740 square feet

• Sold in November 1996 for $705,000
• Sold in September 2000 for $525,000
• Sold in December 2002 for $1.25 million
• Originally listed in July 2012 for $2.095 million
• Currently still listed for $2.095 million
• Assessments of $3126 a month (includes heat and cable)
• Taxes of $19,333
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• No parking- rental in the neighborhood
• Bedroom #1: 14×17
• Bedroom #2: 16×9
• Bedroom #3: 17×13
• Bedroom #4: 14×16

Every day I am reminded of just how long this housing bust will last by the sheer number of short sales and foreclosures that continue to trickle out onto the market even in the most prime neighborhoods.

This 1-bedroom in Avenue East at 160 E. Illinois in Streeterville is one of them.

It is Fannie Mae owned.

It has been on the market since June 2012 and has been reduced once.

The kitchen and bathroom are intact. The kitchen has granite counter tops, black appliance and cherry cabinets.

There are hardwood floors in the main living space.

The bathroom is marble.

It has central air and in-unit washer/dryer. There is no mention of parking (although the building has it.)

All of these foreclosures and short sales are setting new comps for the building. 

The unit is now listed 39% under the 2007 price.

Is this a deal?

Benjamin Beaty at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1904: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 805 square feet

• Sold in November 2007 for $401,500 (doesn’t look like any parking was included)
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in July 2010
• Bank owned in May 2012
• Originally listed in June 2012 for $262,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $245,500
• Assessments of $444 a month (includes a/c, doorman)
• Taxes of $4187
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 12×14

We last chattered about this unique live/work loft building at 1124 N. Wood in the East Village neighborhood of West Town in January 2010.

See our prior chatter here.

Back then, most of you thought the price was too high ($500,000) even for that much raw space.

If you recall, at 4800 square feet, it has authentic brick and wide open spaces. It even has a pulley elevator.

The old listing said it was now zoned residential but the commercial element was grandfathered in. Back in 2010, it was being used for a T-shirt printing business but it has been a spring factory and an old distillery.

It has central air, but no deeded parking.

The lot is 20×120.

It appears the drywall that some of you complained about in 2010 has been replaced.

But it’s still pretty raw space.

Since 2010, the price has been reduced $41,000.

Is this unique property now priced more realistically?

Mary Ellen Considine at Coldwell Banker now has the listing. See the pictures here.

1124 N. Wood: 4800 square feet, 1 bath

• Sold in March 2006 for $415,000
• Was listed in January 2010 for $500,000
• Withdrawn
• Currently listed for $459,000
• Taxes now $11,718 (they were $3465 in January 2010)
• Central Air
• Basement
• Street parking only

We last chattered about this 3-bedroom townhouse at 1619 S. Indiana in the South Loop in December 2011.

See our prior chatter here.

It is a short sale and has been under contract several times.

If you recall, it is a fee simple townhouse with an attached 1-car garage.

All 3 bedrooms are on the third floor.

The kitchen has granite counter tops and black appliances.

A lis pendens foreclosure was filed on this property 28-months ago.

I asked in December if it just made sense for an interested buyer to wait for the bank to own it- but since it is 28 months and ticking and the bank STILL doesn’t own it- waiting it out may not be the right strategy.

Now listed just under the 2000 purchase price, is this a deal?

Peter Perisin at D’Aprile Properties still has the listing. See the pictures here.

1619 S. Indiana: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2000 square feet, 1 car garage

• Sold in January1997 for $271,500
• Sold in February 2000 for $400,000
• Sold in June 2006 for $550,000
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in February 2010
• Originally listed in February 2011 for $489,900
• Was under contract in July 2011
• Fell out of contract
• Was listed in December 2011 as a “short sale” for $424,900
• Reduced in December 2011 to $399,008
• Went under contract
• Re-listed as a short sale for $399,008
• Assessments of $302 a month
• Taxes now $7226 (were $6925 in 2011)
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 14×13 (third floor)
• Bedroom #2: 14×10 (third floor)
• Bedroom #3: 10×10 (third floor)
• Family room: 17×22 (second floor)

This 4-bedroom rowhouse at 345 W. Belden in East Lincoln Park came on the market in May 2012.

Built in 1881 on a 16.2×124.5 lot, it has parking for 1-large car or 2-small cars.

The rowhouse has a custom kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a second kitchen in the lower level which could be an au pair or in-law arrangement.

The bedrooms are split with 2 of them on the third floor, one on the main floor and one in the lower level.

The living room and kitchen are on the second floor with a family room on the main floor.

Is the sale of this rowhouse all about the location?

Or will it appeal to those who want that extra space in the lower level?

Jennifer Ames at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictues here.

345 W. Belden: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, no square footage listed, 1 car parking included

• Sold in March 1997 for $380,000
• Sold in January 1999 for $566,000
• Originally listed in May 2012 for $1.795 million
• Currently still listed at $1.795 million
• Taxes of $12,272
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 15×14 (third floor)
• Bedroom #2: 15×9 (third floor)
• Bedroom #3: 10×11 (main floor)
• Bedroom #4: 12×10 (lower level)
• Family room: 15×15 (main level)

This 3-bedroom penthouse in The Mentor Building at 6 E. Monroe in the Loop just came on the market.

We actually chattered about it nearly 5 years ago when this blog was brand new.

See our December 2007 chatter here.

The unit DID sell in March 2008.

Now it is back on the market but it’s listed as a short sale for $225,100 under the 2008 price.

Who can forget this kitchen?

No standard dark wood cabinets for this unit.

It has cherry wood mode cabinets, Miele appliances and granite counter tops. (See the prior chatter from 2007 for a great picture of the kitchen.)

The unit is duplex up and has vaulted ceilings and skylights on the second level.

All three bedrooms are also on the second floor.

It has north, east and south views.

The unit has in-unit washer/dryer and central air. Parking is available across the street at 8 W. Monroe for $35,000.

At this short sale price, is this a deal for the square footage and the location?

Jenna Smith at Redfin has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #1601: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2664 square feet, duplex up

• Sold in June 2003 for $660,000
• Sold in March 2005 for $675,000
• Sold in March 2008 for $825,000
• Originally listed in May 2010 for $1 million
• Reduced numerous times
• Currently listed as a “short sale” at $599,900
• Assessments of $1230 a month (includes heat, a/c, cable)
• Taxes of $8415
• Central Air
• In-unit washer/dryer
• Parking available across the street at 8 W. Monroe for $35,000
• Bedroom #1: 18×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 11×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 18×15 (second floor)
• Den: 14×11 (main floor)

We chattered about this new construction 3-unit building at 1022 W. Diversey in Lakeview several times in 2012.

See our January 2012 chatter here.

The top floor 2-bedroom penthouse sold within 4 months as did the second floor 2-bedroom.

• Unit #3 sold in April 2012 for $535,000
• Unit #2 sold in April 2012 for $435,000

But it didn’t take long for the 4-bedroom duplex down to also sell.

The entire building was sold out within 7 months of listing the units with the duplex down selling for $732,500.

Forget building million dollar homes.

Could developers clean up by building $600,000 to $800,000 3-bedroom condos in Blaine, Bell, and Burley school districts where new properties listed over $400,000 but under $1 million are nearly non-existent?

(This property wasn’t even IN one of those top school districts.)

John McNaughton at Prudential Rubloff had the listing. You can still seen the interior pictures here.

Unit #1: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, duplex down, no square footage listed, parking included

• Originally listed in in February 2012 for $750,000
• Sold on July 10, 2012 for $732,500
• Had high end millwork
• Viking appliances