Steals and Deals: 2000 Sq. Ft. in Streeterville for Under $600,000
Imagine getting 2000 square feet in Streeterville for under $600,000?
This listing, for a 2000 square foot loft in 540 N. Lake Shore Drive, says it’s the “best deal on LSD.”
Is it?
The unit has “high end appliances” including “Bosch, Grohe & Kohler”.
Unit #411: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2000 square feet
- Sold in August 1995 for $257,000
- Sold in October 1998 for $336,500
- Sold in December 2000 for $372,500
- Sold in April 2003 for $340,000
- Currently listed for $548,999
- Assessments of $714 a month
- Jameson Realty Group has the listing
I’m not familiar with this particular unit, but the majority of units in the building don’t have private outdoor space, in unit laundry, and bedrooms without windows. NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS UNIT THOUGH
SR: I’ve seen more and more of the units with the in-unit laundry since the building now allows it. I’d say it’s at least 50% of the units I’ve looked at recently.
This unit DOES have the laundry.
Out of the two bedrooms, one has windows.
Someone told me these lofts are noisy noisy noisy… has anyone else heard that? It is an early-ish conversion, when they weren’t handling acoustics as well as they do now.
Wow, this is surreal. People asking more than 1/2 mil for a 2 bedroom unit where one bedroom is smaller than my bathroom and has no windows. Not to mention that the assessments are 1/2 my rent. Incredible.
Its nice to be rich. If I bought that place, I could easily sell it for $800,000.00 in a couple of years….. 😉
I enjoy the negative (net) appreciation from ’98 to ’03. Did they really spend $100k+ upgrading the place? Looks more like $50k, if they got ripped off.
Since when have Kohler and Grohe made “appliances”, at least under the common meaning of appliances? Should be “fixtures”. Also, I have to presume that the laundry is Bosch, b/c none of the kitchen appliances look like Bosch.
$400K. Would be $450 if it had either parking, reasonable assessments and outdoor space.
$400K should be considered optimistic, especially with the assessments equaling a $100k+ second mortgage (unless it’s only that high temporarily). $550k is insane.
I’ll jsut offer to pay the assesments for them, and get it off thier hands…
Dunno, anon… I’m as pessimistic as the next person, but it IS 2000 square feet…
Call me a cynic, but I’m a little dubious about 2000 sq ft. The photos just don’t look like a place that is 40′ by 50′ (or 60’x33′). And not having any indication of what the windows look out at, I suspect that it’s the back side of 530 N LSD. Not a plus.
You even say that reasonable assessments would be worth maybe $50k on the price; I’m just thinking a slightly higher discount. You do agree that someone offering $550k should have an intervention, no?
nope, I def. do not disagree with your bottom line. But since no one is likely to offer $550, it’s the seller who needs the intervention.
And if it isn’t 2000 sq ft, it def. isn’t worth $400K. I’m thinking $200 sq. ft., which is low for the area, BUT it is a loft which go for less, it has high assessments, maybe no view, and def. no parking or outdoor space, and no windows in the 2d BR.
But the brick is pretty. 🙂
anon – what do you mean by your ‘resonable assessments would be worth maybe $50k on the price?”
Kenworthey – if you had a lake type view would $250 sq. ft. be more resonable?
Why do lofts go for less per square than a typical condo?
Thanks for the help.
“reasonable assessments would be worth maybe $50k on the price”
Kenworthey suggested that it’s worth $400k, but might be worth $450k if it had (among other things) reasonable assessments. $713/month is about what a $120k mortgage; so cutting the assessment in half is, cashflow-wise, about the same as paying $60k less. Lower assessment=higher potential sale value.
Look at the prior post here about the Hyde Park co-ops with the ridiculous special–people are trying to sell them for peanuts to get out from under the assessment.
In this building, you are RIGHT on Lake Shore Drive–so depending on the acoustics of the place, the “plus” of having a lake view might be “minused” out by the noise and pollution of LSD. Also if ALL it had was a lake view, that can be nice, but it isn’t to all tastes–for most of the year, if you work 9-5, you’ll only see that view on weekends, because the lake is pitch black when the sun goes down.
Lofts tend to go for less because they are less finished–exposed ducts, uninsulated (sometimes–at least less insulated), etc. Just because some (many) people like that, as in fact I do, doesn’t mean it will or should fetch more on the market. It’s a niche market–and it costs less to produce than finished product. Lofts also tend to have higher utilities, because you lose a lot of heat in their higher ceilings (and lack of insulation).
I am not in the real estate business, but I thought code required that a bedroom have a window or otherwise be exposed to natural light…so how can this be marketed as a two-bedroom?
Pete9441: I’m not in the real estate business either, but from what I understand, in Chicago, it only has to have a closet to be considered a bedroom. (The window is a requirement for NY however.)
That is why in many of the loft buildings the second bedroom walls are partial walls which does allow natural light into the room. That is all that is required in Chicago to be considered a bedroom