The Under $800,000 Lincoln Park Rowhouse: 2735 N. Sheffield

We’ve chattered several times about vintage rowhouses in Lincoln Park, especially those listed under $800,000.

This 3-bedroom brick rowhouse at 2735 N. Sheffield was recently reduced $26,000 and now is priced under $800,000.

The listing says it was renovated to perfection with a custom chef’s kitchen and has 10 foot ceilings and recessed lighting. 

But it also backs up to the El line.

Is this a single family home alternative?

Jena Radnay at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

2735 N. Sheffield: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car garage, no square footage listed

  • Sold in December 2003 for $529,000
  • Originally listed in February 2009 for $825,000
  • Reduced
  • Currently listed at $799,000
  • Taxes of $10,890
  • Central Air
  • Bedroom #1: 18×12
  • Bedroom #2: 13×12
  • Bedroom #3: 13×9

42 Responses to “The Under $800,000 Lincoln Park Rowhouse: 2735 N. Sheffield”

  1. that L noise has to be hideous. the one rule of thumb is that if you have to be near an L, at least be where it isn’t stopping/starting – it’s the squeal of the brakes and that robo-announcer that will drive ya batty.

    0
    0
  2. custom chef’s kitchen as it it has a stainless steel hood, cheap-looking SS appliances, no microwave that I can see, and a single basin sink (from what it looks like)?

    I’d have to rip out that professional landscaping, too as it’s crowded as hell.

    not sure what it’s worth but I’d spend 675-700

    0
    0
  3. “Honey the kids need grass, if we dont get an acre per child they’ll call DCFS on us!!!”

    OH GOD WONT SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

    0
    0
  4. “Honey, our kids are way too stupid to get into a magnet school, and our HELOC is maxxed out from buying that new Mercedes GL 65 you wanted so badly, so Private school is out of the question.”

    LETS RUN FOR THE BURBS!

    0
    0
  5. I believe open space is good for everyone, but Jonquil Park is a short distance away (I don’t count the abomination that is “Wiggly Field” as a park).

    0
    0
  6. Hey look – a kitchen that isn’t open to the dining room / living room! That deserves kudos.

    0
    0
  7. “Honey, we way overpaid for this noisy place back in 2003 because we wanted to be able to walk to the barlife and to impress friends. But now with these brats and my growing bald spot it just doesn’t have the same catchet. I know, lets try to sell the place for 50% more than we bought it! Aren’t we geniuses honey?”

    0
    0
  8. I want to see the “wood burning brick oven”.

    0
    0
  9. Its in picture #2. Yeah those wood burning brick ovens are weird in that the majority of them are placed outside of the kitchen and have their entrances situated at the floor.

    0
    0
  10. Where’s the wood burning brick oven?

    2 different cabinet types and counter materials.

    Overall its not bad, a little too much H&G renovation but its not $800M good.

    I think this one moves at $650M

    0
    0
  11. By wood burning oven, we really meant buy the house get a free pizza stone. The comments about the family are funny. I can’t imagine backing up to the el. Terrible. Dreadful. Awful. Why even bother with the yard when you’ve got a train barrelling through every 5 minutes?

    0
    0
  12. Here’s what I don’t get – – expensive kitchen remodels with only one oven. We like to cook and one oven just isn’t doing it. In fact, when we do buy, we’ll need a 2-oven kitchen or a kitchen that’s priced so that we can remodel.

    0
    0
  13. These people will end up better than most. Will at least break even on their purchase.

    Real savvy move by the realtor to lower the asking price to under 800k……………….works every time.

    0
    0
  14. “Why even bother with the yard when you’ve got a train barrelling through every 5 minutes?”

    Yeah you could “East Village” the back yard and just throw a bunch of strange plastic animals and holiday decorations out there instead.

    0
    0
  15. Lets not forget the immediate vicinity just got fuglied up by some developer with 2741 N Sheffield.

    http://www.trulia.com/property/1050541741-2741-N-Sheffield-Ave-2-Chicago-IL-60614

    A definite monstrousity that is well above the roofline of buildings nearby. Sorry couldn’t find a pic of the finished product but I promise you its equally hideous.

    0
    0
  16. “expensive kitchen remodels with only one oven”

    It (alledgedly) has a wood-burning brick oven, too.

    bob–I actually considered that, but it didn’t fit the rest of the description–“CUSTOM CAB W/BUILT IN DESK BTWN WOODBURNING BRICK OVEN”, not that I know how you’d put a desk “between” a brick oven.

    0
    0
  17. Lets not forget this is right next door to the hideous “The Rotunda” development at 2741 N Sheffield that is well above the roofline of neighboring buildings. 800k to live next to the El tracks..lol. I guess if I was rich AND deaf.

    0
    0
  18. “BTWN WOODBURNING BRICK OVEN”

    Boystown Woodburning Brick oven? Is that some type of code, like a Dutch Oven or Hot Carl?

    0
    0
  19. “Boystown Woodburning Brick oven? Is that some type of code, like a Dutch Oven or Hot Carl?”

    That would explain the lack of a photo …

    0
    0
  20. What about the Cleveland Steamer?

    0
    0
  21. Yes, 8.25% compounded appreciation is completely reasonable. Oh wait…It’s May 2009, not May 2006.

    0
    0
  22. ” 8.25% compounded appreciation is completely reasonable.”

    Now now. They did some work on the place, so they have more than $529k into it.

    Besides, aren’t we supposed to ignore the last sale price?

    0
    0
  23. I found a picture of the wood burning oven in this virtual tour link – it is opposite the kitchen and looks just like a pizza oven.

    http://tours5.vht.com/Viewer/PhotoGallery.aspx?ListingID=1169526&Style=IDX

    0
    0
  24. RunnerRunner on May 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    Question for the group:

    If this place were three blocks to the east or west, how much more do you think it would be worth? IOW, is the “next to the L” discount, 10%? 15%?

    0
    0
  25. Asked like a true economist, but in reality I don’t think certain people (myself included) can place a discount on living next to the El tracks. For me it simply can’t be done.

    How can you price a discount on a unit if you can’t live there due to an overwhelming barrier? You can’t.

    0
    0
  26. I wouldn’t even pay 500k to live in that place

    0
    0
  27. I found a picture of the wood burning oven in this virtual tour link – it is opposite the kitchen and looks just like a pizza oven.

    So, it’s a fireplace, in the kitchen….

    Big deal, I dont think anyone would ever use it…adds character though. But not 300k in 6 years character…

    0
    0
  28. Could make some sweet naans or actual tandori chicken with that oven. cleaning might be a pain; I’ve used an outdoor one and the ash gets everywhere. I’d love an outdoor one anyway – great for weekend cooking.

    0
    0
  29. The one next door sold for $770,000 at the end of 07, so their asking price isn’t THAT far off base. They should probably be around 775k and sell for around 740k.

    0
    0
  30. But again this is not the end of 2007. At the end of 2007 the Chicagoland Case Shiller index was at 160, only 5.2% off peak pricing. As of February 2009 the index is at 126.3, 25.1% off peak pricing.

    This is just another owner who believes their property is special and magical and defies all information that may indicate to the contrary and its my prediction this property will sit and languish on the market at or near the current ask price.

    0
    0
  31. For once JohnnyU I agree with you. $650k is more reasonable a price for this place. And I don’t think that’s discounting the expensive nature of LP properties. $650k is still a lot of money where I come from.

    A $150k down payment with $500k in mortgages (i’m not a mort broker so I’m not going to break it down too much) at 5.0% is $2,600 a month plus give or take 900 a month is $3,500 a month, $42,000 a year, which is easily paid for by somebody with dual income of $100k a piece. Here’s the best rental comp I can find: http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1163809432.html
    $4,600 for a row home 1.0 miles away.

    three additional comments:

    1) Yes you can get more for your money elsewhere but this is the lincoln park; things aren’t any different in the LP but you do get less for your money than say Oswego;
    2) There is a lot of competition out there generally so will definitely affect the price;
    3) It’s sort of disconcerting that the owners are moving with the two school aged children. Maybe they are making the flight to the ‘burbs to get a bigger house with a yard and public schools.

    “JohnnyU on May 12th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    Where’s the wood burning brick oven?

    2 different cabinet types and counter materials.

    Overall its not bad, a little too much H&G renovation but its not $800M good.

    I think this one moves at $650M”

    0
    0
  32. “skeptic on May 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    I believe open space is good for everyone, but Jonquil Park is a short distance away (I don’t count the abomination that is “Wiggly Field” as a park). ”

    Curious about skeptic’s comment above and other not-so-good reviews I’ve read on other websites about Wiggly Park. I’m currently townhouse/condo hunting in the LP/LV area for my first purchase, but have never taken my dog to this park (we currently live further south and take our dog early in the morning to Lincoln Park).

    Wiggly Park seems to have a good amount of open space for dogs to run around and we haven’t witnessed any menacing dogs there during the multiple times we’ve walked by it… however I’d love to hear from folks on hear about their personal experiences, good or bad, on the park. It seems like I must be missing something, but compared to dog parks in NYC for example, this look like a good one from an outsider’s perspective… enough that it would somewhat potentially impact our housing purchase. Thanks!

    0
    0
  33. “Curious about skeptic’s comment above and other not-so-good reviews I’ve read on other websites about Wiggly Park.”

    My thought is that dog park–however nice it may be– does not (necessarily) equal “open space” for humans, especially in the context that skeptic brought it up–people with kids.

    0
    0
  34. Wiggly field is ok. Its sort of small for a dog park IMO. The dog park on lawrence and LSD is the best in terms of size and amenities, but the people/dogs there are the worst. Hamlin park is also another nice one i’ve been to.

    Best one overall I’ve been to is the Ohio Place park about a block from me in RN. The people there are nice, its secluded and I’ve never experienced any annoying barking or aggressive dogs like at Wiggly, or Lawrence. The people at the park on larabee are all snooty, like wtf is up with that!

    0
    0
  35. interesting rundown on the dog park social scene. what’s so bad about the people/dogs at lawrence and lsd?

    0
    0
  36. The people aren’t bad really, just stupid. They bring their socially inept dogs there and wonder why they are getting in fights.

    Also some really annoying yappy dogs that go there and just bark non stop. Most other dog parks I go to are actually really quiet.

    0
    0
  37. I’m biased, in that I grew up near Wiggly Field and had a dog – back in the day, we did this thing called “walking your dog.”

    From what I see, too many people get big dogs and then don’t really give them any exercise outside of the periodic dog park visit, which is more of an excuse to flirt/be social than an attempt to get your dog exercise. It’s not humane IMO to keep large dogs in small apartments/condos without walking them twice daily around your neighborhood.

    0
    0
  38. and yes, anon got my overall point right – dog parks are not really open space in the sense of trees, grass, communing with nature.

    they’re dirt lots.

    0
    0
  39. Certain dog breeds require more exercise than even a twice daily walk. Take working dogs like Australian Shepherds or Huskies. Thats why I have to laugh at an owner whenever their dog destroys their pad–its not really the dogs fault. They need to be able to run every day and too many people don’t understand this. They really aren’t city dogs and are at great risk of getting hit by a car when they run off to get running exercise.

    0
    0
  40. Thanks for the feedback everyone! I concur with the importance of exercise for dogs… ours is ~50lbs, and we take it out numerous times a day (in addition to a dog walker during the day… we don’t have kids yet if you couldn’t tell already).

    I also agree that the more space the better for a dog park… however for it to be within walking distance of a residence, I think that’s pretty valuable. I’d say that my dog is more tired after 10 minutes playing with other dogs than it is after a 20 minute walk for comparison purposes, so Wiggly appears to suffice.

    Does anyone know if you can have dogs at Hawthorne Park (corner of School & Seminary)?

    Thanks!

    0
    0
  41. “Does anyone know if you can have dogs at Hawthorne Park (corner of School & Seminary)?”

    You mean on the school’s grounds? Or is there a Park District park there that I don’t know about?

    If it’s just the school, the answer is no.

    0
    0
  42. Thanks anon. I’ve seen a few places for sale up in this neighborhood and pictures of a green open space at the location, but couldn’t tell from the pictures if it was a park or a school (google was no help either). Wishful thinking I guess…

    0
    0

Leave a Reply