The Vintage 2-Bedroom Under $250K in Lincoln Square: 2303 W. Winona
This 2-bedroom vintage unit at 2303 W. Winona in Lincoln Square doesn’t try to be something it’s not.
It has nice vintage features, including a full-sized dining room, as well as modern updates like central air and an in-unit washer/dryer. It doesn’t have deeded parking, however.
It’s only a few blocks from the Lincoln Square action with its shops, restaurants and brown line El stop.
It was also recently listed under the 2005 purchase price, reflecting the realities of the current housing market.
Ellen Webber at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #1E: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed
- Sold in April 2005 for $244,000
- Currently listed for $239,900
- Assessments of $247 a month
- Taxes of $3362
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- No parking
- Living room: 21×12
- Dining room: 12×12
- Kitchen: 10×8
- Bedroom #1: 10×14
- Bedroom #2: 12×10
No parking in this area is a killer for this deal. Next.
“No parking in this area is a killer for this deal. Next.”
Why? Does everybody have to own a car that is looking at this price point? If the unit was $400k+ I might speculate that the person(s) who can afford that mortgage likely own at least 1 vehicle. However, at 239k, it is very likely that a prospective buyer does not own a vehicle.
Nice place, but a few major flaws here. Only one bathroom, no parking, 239k in Lincoln square? Um… no!
Love the placement of the dishwasher… good luck having that door open and doing dishes!
> Why? Does everybody have to own a car that is looking at this price point?
YES!!!!!!! And people that own cars DO NOT park on the street, look at any street, its a know fact. No cars parked there.
“And people that own cars DO NOT park on the street, look at any street, its a know fact.”
I agree. With the way the Chicago parking enforcers operate these days, with street sweeping with zero notice and all, plus the chance of dings, I agree. I own a car and don’t park on the street either.
I would buy it. I am looking for a 2 bedroom and I don’t have/need/want a car. However, I cannot sell my place. I have a studio in the Gold Coast with obscenely high association fees. My agent keeps on telling me to lower the price. Is it only at 179,000 right now. I won’t be able to put 20% down on my next purchase. Should I try to sell it on my own at 170,000 (same bottom line as selling it at 179,000 and paying an agent 5%).
I’d relly like some advice.
I mean its not that bad to not have a car here, even though its a pretty big hike to the EL if you need to get downtown… It gets a walkscore of 82. But the fact is, is that a lot of people DO own cars and don’t want to look for street parking for hours on end on a friday night.
What does the price range have to do with people not owning cars? You do know that about 50% of the people driving to work commute from the city to the burbs to work every day right? You pretty much need a car for that, so why alienate 50% of your possible buyers out there by not buying a spot, even if you don’t own a car? Hell I bought a spot with my place and I don’t own a car, and I plan to rent it out until I decide someday to get a car again.
Dollface,
If you have good credit you might not need 20% down on your new place. The choice on whether to hire an agent is up to you, I do know that I haven’t seen too many studios in GC listed for 170k vs a few at 180k so it would probably attract some increased interest.
Street parking up here is pretty easy, as it is mostly single families or small 2 flats. If you look at the street to the right of the exterior pic of this place, there are virtually no cars parked on it.
Baby’s crib in the second bedroom……
as a side note, this is an apartment sold to young gullible types as a condo because you know owning is ALWAYS better than renting.
Well to their credit HD they are much more in touch with the current state of the market than many other listings these days. The fact that they don’t feel entitled to appreciation from their initial ask I think says that they are realistic and their losses will be minimized vs. the tons of out of touch sellers out there.
If you’re gonna own, at least have 2+ bedrooms and 2+ bathrooms in case (god help you) your wife or girlfriend decides to crap out a kid unexpectedly, so you at least have time to sell.
I would never reccommend owning a 1/1, studio or 2/1 to anyone, and realtors shouldn’t either (unless the person plans on being single the rest of their lives).
“Well to their credit HD they are much more in touch with the current state of the market than many other listings these days.”
I don’t think they could have ignored it, Bob. They had to consider that #2E listed for $275K on 7/1/08 and was reduced to $240K and $230K, where it got a contract on 11/17/08 and closed on 1/9/09 for $225,000.
I don’t get the hoopla about the dishwasher. My dishwasher is set up just like that (i don’t have the 6 inch space) and I’ve never once thought how awful it is. I step about 12 inches to the left, reach in, and move directly to the dishwasher. nothing gets on the floor. what’s the big deal? are people really going to worry that they can’t stand directly in front of the sink but might have to stand 6-12 inches to the left to load?
1) Lincoln Square is pretty far North West to live there without a car.
2) Street parking is a nightmare
3) I wouldnt want to leave my car outside in that area for a prolonged amount of time
Hence, no parking _IN THIS AREA_ (read my full comment, maybe?) is kills this “deal”.
“My dishwasher is set up just like that (i don’t have the 6 inch space) and I’ve never once thought how awful it is.”
Sure, but if you were laying out the kitchen from white-box, is that where you would *choose* to locate it?
What is this, a $1400 rental (consider the w/d)? Seems like a reasonable ask to me, with closing price likely closer to 2E.
“I wouldnt want to leave my car outside in that area for a prolonged amount of time”
C’mon, guys with Italian cars aren’t looking at LS condos.
Would you leave your 1999 Accord/Camry/Taurus parked outside there? Of course you would. You just don’t leave all your crap sitting on the backseat for every idiot kid walking past to covet.
“I would never reccommend owning a 1/1, studio or 2/1 to anyone, and realtors shouldn’t either (unless the person plans on being single the rest of their lives).”
I don’t know why realtors shouldn’t. Also in a period of stable valuations I could see all classes of properties making sense if your time horizon was right (5+ years). I’ve rented my current place for almost four years now, another year and it might’ve made sense to own, _in a stable market_.
Unfortunately the environment we’re in now we have to atone for market sins of the past and I don’t expect a return to normalcy (stable valuations and volume) until at least five years out, perhaps closer to ten.
Sorry kiddos–what happened in the past definitely affects us today. Just like a night of drunken revelry often ruins your next day with a hangover, our economy must pay for the past. There is definitely a punitive price to be paid. The financial and housing sectors grew well beyond their optimum capacity and added fake numbers to GDP growth in the 2002-2008 time period. This must all be paid back now as it was borrowing from future growth. Same thing with housing.
Back on topic: this unit is okay, but its on the first floor. Not so sure I’d want my small toddler and wife home alone on the first floor either (or at night if I was travelling on business, etc).
I think most people would rather rent it for $1,400 than pay $1,400 to own it.
ChiGuy… would you prefer for it to be that way in your permanent residence? I know I wouldn’t, and that isn’t exactly an easy thing to remedy, such as paint color.
Like most of the people on this site, I’m a misanthrope, so a 1/1 or 2/1 is perfect.
Would you pay a $1,600 mortgage plus assessments if your Realtor promised you 10% appreciation per year?
“Would you leave your 1999 Accord/Camry/Taurus parked outside there? Of course you would. You just don’t leave all your crap sitting on the backseat for every idiot kid walking past to covet.”
I drive a 2007 car and have kept it in immaculate shape. If I were parking on the street these past two years I can guarantee you it still would not be in immaculate shape.
You do bring up a good point: street parking in Chicago should be reserved to the domain of people driving beaters and not concerned with being hassled by the parking gestapo or having a guaranteed spot near their condo. For anything over 200k I’d expect a parking spot.
“Would you leave your 1999 Accord/Camry/Taurus parked outside there? Of course you would. You just don’t leave all your crap sitting on the backseat for every idiot kid walking past to covet.”
I drive a 2007 car and have kept it in immaculate shape. If I were parking on the street these past two years I can guarantee you it still would not be in immaculate shape.
You do bring up a good point: street parking in Chicago should be reserved to the domain of people driving beaters and not concerned with being hassled by the parking gestapo or having a guaranteed spot near their condo. For anything over 200k I’d expect a parking spot.
I mean, if i was building a house from scratch, it wouldn’t be my prime location of the DW, but it’s really not that bad and it wouldn’t prevent me from buying the right place. along the list of things i would like (w/d in unit/central air/outdoor space/hardwood) placement of dishwasher is dead last. I’ve dealt with it for a few years now and it doesn’t phase me.
“For anything over 200k I’d expect a parking spot.”
Sure, me too, but at a property like this, it would almost certainly be outside, too, not helping much on the “on-the-street, in this ‘hood” objection.
I semi-regularly see a late-model Bentley (continental, I think) parked near damen and grace (yes, at night, too. and not next to Xippo, so not dopey bar owners (not that Xippo’s owners are necessarily dopey, but if they were driving a Bentley to their bar in north center, that’d be a strike against them)). So there are people who would park a $200k car on the street in a ‘hood not-too-dissimilar to LS.
“if i was building a house from scratch, it wouldn’t be my prime location of the DW”
And that’s our point. You don’t think it’s a big deal, I sort of do. Low on the list, sure, but a heck of a lot more important than some of the things that raise some dander around here–like decorating choices–because you’re sort of stuck w/ it until you do a major-ish kitchen remodel.
I’ve smashed shins and barefeet on DW doors enough that it’s something I notice (plus it’s almost always at the center of the kitchen photo in listings).
Bob: 2007 car does not equal 1999 car. How many decade old cars are in “immaculate shape”? I’ve parked my car (01 civic) near my work in LP to save on parking and i’ve gotten 1 parking ticket in 2.5 years. granted i’ve added a few scrapes, but i can deal w/ that (saving $3K/year or pay 1K for a new paintjob…)
I know i know, LP is different from LS. i’m playing Devil’s adv.
Looking at the general kitchen counter/cabinet layout brings up the issue of not just the DW placement, but the general waste of wall/floor space. The empty wall over the DW/counter is just stupid. There should be wall cabinets in that area. Then that would have allowed for the relocation/removal of the counter space to the right of the stove, which then allows the stove to be moved further right and then the DW could be moved to the right of the sink (provided there isn’t some code about minimal separation between the DW and range).
I hate seeing empty wall space in smallish kitchens. It just smacks of poor planning/design. That goes for empty spaces between tops of cabinets and ceilings. If you got a small floor area, but good ceiling heights, take full advantage of that vertical real estate. You can never have too many cabinets.
Do you also enjoy shoveling your car out of snow just to have some other jerk park in your space when you leave?
“Sure, me too, but at a property like this, it would almost certainly be outside, too, not helping much on the “on-the-street, in this ‘hood” objection.”
Actually it does. If you get a deeded, outdoor parking spot, you still have the threat of thieves (which can easily be minimized), but you eliminate the threats of: idiots dinging your car, the parking gestapo/streetsweeping days and not finding a space near your condo.
“Bob: 2007 car does not equal 1999 car. ”
Exactly right. Precisely why I think anyone with a newer car who wants to keep it in good shape would be crazy to park on the streets for any extended period of time. Had I a ’99 Civic vs the ’07 Civic I have, sure I might park on the street too. Also I don’t think its a stretch that a potential owner of this condo would have a newer car and want to keep it in good shape. Cars parked on Chicago streets get beat up and we all know this.
The parking spots at my building are so small (and $15,000 each) that 2 people cannot park their cars in them, so they park on the street anyway.
“Actually it does. If you get a deeded, outdoor parking spot, you still have the threat of thieves (which can easily be minimized), but you eliminate the threats of: idiots dinging your car, the parking gestapo/streetsweeping days and not finding a space near your condo.”
I did not know that (1) idiots, (2) parking gestapo and (3) lack of street spaces were worse in LS than elsewhere in Chicago. I took the “not in this ‘hood” to be a comment about the “prevalence” of thieves. Not that I think it’s necessarily worse than anyplace else north and east of the river, but since 1, 2 & 3 make no sense, I didn’t know what else to think.
My parking comments were not specific to LS. Just my thoughts on owning a vehicle anywhere in the city and parking. Some ‘hoods don’t suffer from #3, but the other considerations apply.
“My parking comments were not specific to LS.”
But you responded to my post, which quoted this:
““I wouldnt want to leave my car outside in that area for a prolonged amount of time””
And therefore WAS specifically about LS. I agree with your points in general about street parking in the city. The only realistic “in that area” difference (given that LS street parking is NOT notoriously tight) is that there is a higher risk of break-in/theft. And that’s a poor reason, unless you have a nicer car–if you have the suggested 10 yo average car, it’s a meaningless point for “in that area”–any concern you have would be the same (or worse) anywhere in the city.
1) I would never consider a condo that did not come with at least one garaged parking space. At present I have one space that came with the unit (add cost) and I rent one from a neighbor for my work truck. Come to think of it I have always had indoor parking, even in NYC I had garaged spaceS. I would never consider parking my cars on the street overnight. NEVER. A year in Chicago and I have had three parking related ‘incidences’ that have cost me a few hundred in deductible payments.
2) I am sure it did not originally have a DW, right? So a low dollar rehabber did what made sense to him and placed it close to the plumbing for the sink. Not a big deal for many people. I do agree with ME though about the lack of cabinets in favor of that ‘trendy’ waste of space shelf. This could be easily fixed with a little work.
3) Many younger/first time buyers do not even think about having more than one bathroom for two bedrooms. Again not a big deal for most people considering this unit.
homedelete wrote: “as a side note, this is an apartment sold to young gullible types as a condo because you know owning is ALWAYS better than renting.”
LOL! Right, if it were such a great place to own why did the landlord part with it in the first place?
…because the landlord was able to unload it at a price psf (as a condo) that was much higher than it was worth (psf) as an apartment despite being the same exact walls and floors etc.
Sonies-
Luckily I only needed to shovel out once this past winter. And for a savings of $3K/year over a 250/month spot in RN, i can deal w/ shoveling my car out a few times.
“Do you also enjoy shoveling your car out of snow just to have some other jerk park in your space when you leave?”