Renovated 3-Bedroom Lincoln Park Rowhouse Goes Under Contract Within Days: 2501 N. Racine
I’ve long admired this set of vintage rowhouses at the 2500 block of North Racine in Lincoln Park.
In October 2009, this corner unit with a 2-car garage at 2501 N. Racine came on the market at $849,000.
After numerous price drops, it finally sold in March 2011 for $630,000.
The rowhouse recently came back on the market after it has been “completely reconfigured and modernized” at $899,000.
It went under contract within days.
No longer was it simply a 2-bedroom but now it was 3-bedrooms (as the 24×16 second floor master bedroom was broken up into 2 bedrooms.)
The old kitchen had been replaced with a new “chef’s kitchen” with white cabinets (white is back in!), granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
All the bathrooms were updated.
The rowhouse, built on a 19×84 lot, has no backyard but there is a deck over the 2-car garage.
It has central air.
Is someone getting a steal for a completely redone vintage property?
You can see what it looked like BEFORE- here.
Ryanne Bumps at @Properties has the listing. See the new pictures here.
2501 N. Racine: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in April 1993 (no price given)
- Originally listed in October 2009 for $849,000
- Reduced
- Sold in February 2011 for $630,000
- Currently listed for $899,000
- Under contract within days
- No Assessments
- Taxes of $9958
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 16×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 12×14 (second floor)
- Family room: 16×18 (lower level)
So the flipper got a ~20% return on their money since February?
Sweet ROI if the sale and buyer are legit.
I think a lot of small time flippers are going to get burned trying to replicate this situation.
“The old kitchen had been replaced with a new “chef’s kitchen” with white cabinets (white is back in!), granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.”
But why did they put in the os-so-dated granite and stainless? Don’t they know the wave of the future?
Does any body?
Was the earlier sale far below what other units in this complex/area sold for?
Am curious what people think of this location as I have been looking around this area. I normally wouldn’t want to live on a busier street like Racine (vs Lill, etc) but seems nice with both parks (jonquil, supera) close by.
“The old kitchen had been replaced with a new “chef’s kitchen” with white cabinets (white is back in!), granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.”
“But why did they put in the os-so-dated granite and stainless? Don’t they know the wave of the future?”
Does any body?”
I just want to know what’s after white. It’s v v important.
congrats to the flipper here. some simple changes that made a big impact.
so what added more to the perceived value, the extra bedroom, the kitchen, or the overall spiff job, ie potterybarning it up?
my guess is the bedroom.
I agree CH. Hard to sell a 2 bdrm at this price I’d think.
DChicagobull on June 30th, 2011 at 1:57 pm ”
“So the flipper got a ~20% return on their money since February? Sweet ROI if the sale and buyer are legit.”
How do you figure?
Very nice place, but I have never and will never understand the premium paid for these rowhouses. The place required a lot of work to be this attractive and it is still small and isn’t what you’d call extraordinary.
But it must be worth the money or it’d still be on the market. The last sale is the truth.
At least there’s no one above or below you. Still, from the outside, this doesn’t look like an $875K+ place. Amazing how much something like this costs in the not so good LP school district. If it were Lincoln, add $200-250K to the price. If you aren’t an attorney, a baller, or someone with a ton of dough, it ain’t happening.
I think many people buy homes based upon superficial finishes, existing interior decoration, and “ready-to-move-in” condition. Here’s an example.
Dave M – “At least there’s no one above or below you. Still, from the outside, this doesn’t look like a $875K+ place.” I don’t understand why you think townhouses with neighbors on the sides are somehow preferable to condominium living…maybe your only experience are cheaply built condos or old renovated 3/6 flats. My condo had 6 foot of concrete between units above and below and a rubberized/insulating sheet between the concrete and ceiling. It’s silent. I never here my neighbors above and have never received a complaint from someone below me…even with my dogs and all hardwood floors. I much prefer my condo with a view….no neighbors or street walkers can see in (unlike townhomes) and I can’t hear my neighbors. I heard my neighbors when i lived in a townhouse. You can’t make this generalization…for all you know, you can hear your neighbor’s conversations in these old townhomes….ugh… T
his is why the Chicago real estate market is a mess, worse than many other large cities…all these weird Midwestern presumptions — SFH are the gold standard, then townhomes, then condos, and then renting. …no matter the quality or the size. Ill take my 3000 square foot condo over this any day…and so would most folks from Boston, NY, and SF.
How is the jumbo financing market looking these days? What kind of percentage down are people putting for a property selling for $875K or so?
Was the renovation interior only or is it too hard to tell from the photos?
“condo had 6 foot of concrete between units above and below”
???? 6 *FEET*?
anon — Yes, it was previously a warehouse that was converted.
I agree this doesn’t look like an $875K house. Maybe $475K.
a local – who the hell in boston or sf lives in anything BUT converted 2 or 3 families and rowhouses? That’s all there is, and condoed houses there are smaller and start at twice the price than Chicago. Coming from Boston, Chicago looked like the land of milk and honey to my husband and me – still does when we comp similar nabes between the two cities.
a local – even in converted warehouse that need very strong floors, 6 foot thick between ceiling and floor seems wrong or rather impossible. Something that thick of concrete would likely collaspe under its own weight.
But I’m no structural engineer, so what do I know.
‘his is why the Chicago real estate market is a mess, worse than many other large cities…all these weird Midwestern presumptions’
Amen brother/sister! I not going to imply that the local economy is in good shape, far from it and show me a real city that’s flush with cash, but the *presumptions* of housing by ‘Chicagoans’ play a far heavier role here than any other large non-midwestern city where I have friends and business concerns; those costal people are generally in the *same* financial boat as Chicagoans but their housing attitudes/expectations are completely different than it is here. Finished basements are sewer levels, small bedrooms are prison cells, vintage row houses are narrow and dark, well done Astor Street neo mid-century apartments can be duplicated by visiting potterybarn dot com … it goes on and on… and on.
I just assume that the vast majorty of posters here are writing CC from their suburban ranch houses as a way to cope with their bland life choices, as they seriously can’t be folks from the city…. they can’t be, tell me they can’t be!
@jay
For what it’s worth, I’m a city apartment dweller who dreams of a suburban ranch house (although I’m very particular about design and location).
Here is where I go for my house pRon:
http://www.atomic-ranch.com/
“anon — Yes, it was previously a warehouse that was converted.”
So the support columns are what? 3′ apart? The weight of just the *steel* in six feet of concrete would be ridiculous.
alright – jay – have you actually been in the City of Chicago? A majority of the housing in the City is detached single family and alot of that single family are one story (effectively) ranches (aka bungalows)
Don’t delude yourself – alot of the City is suburban monoculture in terms of housing typologies – it’s just denser than Elmhurst.
“alright – jay – have you actually been in the City of Chicago?”
I also love the “coastal” thing–coastal means part of EsEff, Boston, some of DC, and most (but hardly all) of NYC. Even tho–except for NYC–in each of those metros a *much* *larger* percentage of the population lives outside the city limits than Chicago.
I’ll take a lovely condo in a nice, solid high rise over a rather fugly row house or town house any time. I’ve always been surprised by the overwhelming preference Chicago people have for cramped and rather ugly rowhouses and greystone two and three flats over beautiful, huge condos with great architecture, huge rooms, and dread-naught security.
When I was first in this city 25 years ago, I spent an evening strolling around town with a guy who owned a huge 3-2 at the beautiful 2440 N Lakeview co-op. His place was gorgeous- a much larger and more luxurious version of my St. Louis high rise rental (same architect designed both buildings) with incredible architectural features, like a semi-oval living room, beautiful built in book cases, extremely large, well-proportioned rooms, a keyed elevator stop, and heart-stopping views of Lincoln Park and the lake from his 8th floor living room. His place cost about $500K at that time. He showed me a rather rundown 1880s vintage Victorian townhouse around the corner, and said, ooooh, how I wish I could afford that. I thought, I can’t believe he’d trade that beautiful, huge coop for the townhouse with its tiny living and dining room, “shotgun” floor plan, huge maintenance costs (even compared to a 20s vintage coop)and lack of security and service.
I can understand, though, why people with children would prefer the SF house or rowhouse. It is very inconvenient and troublesome to raise kids in a highrise- you must guard the windows and the balcony and there’s no place for them to play or make noise. You can’t let them play tag on the elevators- as a child, I almost got my grandfather booted out of his high rise apartment for this.
But I’ll bet that the minute the last kid is off to college, the parents will want to dump the house and move to a beautiful, sleek apt on the 30th floor, and never again have to spend a weekend doing yard work or cleaning out gutters or changing furnace filters, or intall an alarm system.
“I’ve always been surprised by the overwhelming preference Chicago people have for cramped and rather ugly rowhouses and greystone two and three flats over beautiful, huge condos with great architecture, huge rooms, and dread-naught security.”
as you mentioned kids might be a factor but also seems to me in midwest folks don’t like having neighbors. lot of my friends have told me they don’t like bus or the train as they have to be around other people and they prefer the privacy of their car.
Also seems the lack of control in condos might be a deterrent. After all one has to abide to association rules. I have your mindset too Laura and prefer a condo with all it’s amenities to a cramped town home but i can see the appeal of town homes too.