They Don’t Build Them Like This Anymore: 739 W. Brompton in Lakeview
Forget new construction. They really knew how to build them back in 1924 as they did with this elegant building at 739 W. Brompton in Lakeview.
An extra wide unit, at 28 feet, just came on the market. It has a full-sized dining room as well as a sunroom.
Yes, that is a wood burning fireplace, with antique mantle, in the living room.
The unit also has modern amenities, with central air, a washer/dryer in the unit, and a newer kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar.
Mary Ann Genellie at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.
See the property website here.
You can also see this property in person this weekend at the open house: Sunday Oct 18 from 12:00-2:00 pm.
Unit #2N: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in February 1989 for $178,000
- Sold in July 1995 for $194,500
- Sold in January 2000 for $315,000
- Currently listed for $437,700
- Assessments of $265 a month
- Taxes of $4684
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in Unit
- No Parking (leased in the neighborhood)
- Bedroom #1: 18×14
- Bedroom #2: 15×12
- Living room: 19×15
- Dining room: 19×12
- Kitchen: 14×13
- Sunroom: 16×8
Beautiful! (Other than kitchen floor, which clashes garishly with the cabinets.) In this neighborhood, lack of parking can be an issue. But then in this neighborhood, you don’t need a car. (Pandora’s box officially opened.)
Parking required or not, it’s pretty annoying that agents are allowed to list (1) as the number of parking spots when there is leased parking nearby. If that isn’t misleading I don’t know what is.
Yes, it’s beautiful, though it doesn’t compare with many other apartments of this vintage in beauty. The buildings put up in the 20s are just plain incomparable in their quality and beauty, whether it’s a lovely old courtyard in Rogers Park or an immense coop downtown or any of the beautiful places from that era in the lakefront neighborhoods. I won’t live in anything else. I told my agent- don’t show me anything built after 1930 and don’t show me anything DEhabbed to look like a tract house in Plainfield or someplace.
Having said that, I believe that $350K might be more like it for this place, given what I see prices in Lakeview dropping to. This place does have large rooms, but even so, over $400K is a stretc these days.
I think this is reasonably priced given the size of the unit. Absolutely gorgeous. The lack of real parking could be a turn off, but otherwise, I think this unit could sell fairly quickly.
Kudos to the RE agent who actually took the time to make this place look stunning. I really like the feel of this place.
This will probably sell north of $400K. Those of you waiting for the 30% decline on lower-end units in LV, LP, etc might be waiting a long time. The govt has clearly shown they are going to prop up the lower end of the housing market and so long as financing remains available and rates stay low, these types of units will sell fast.
“Kudos to the RE agent who actually took the time to make this place look stunning.”
Yes, but, the soft-focus (or, out of focus) photos give me a headache.
Let’s see – old building, not a top floor… Hope you like hearing your upstairs neighbors. I guess you could fake it and tell all of your friends that the noise makes you feel safe…
No parking here is a killer – especially with this price. As for the “easy-zoned street parking,” right… Anyone who has looked for a spot around here knows it’s not easy. Wedged between Halsted and Broadway. Way better places on the market for this price!
Pristine interior that didn’t destroy the vintage feel by making it into 1 large room and a wood burning fireplace are a plus for this unit/market. Laundry in the unit is the final kicker. It will sell fast at close to asking.
Agents who claim “easy street parking” in areas like Lakeview, Old Town, etc. either don’t know the market or are just plain dishonest. Either way, I would never use an agent like this.
Unit #3N, which appears to have equivalent fixtures (and no footsteps above,) closed on 8/17/09 for $405,000. It was listed as 2,000 SF.
“Those of you waiting for the 30% decline on lower-end units in LV, LP, etc might be waiting a long time.”
Well, if someone was waiting in this building, it worked.
#3N listed 9/7/07 at $565,000 lowered to $550,000 cancelled 1/20/08
#3N listed 1/22/08 at $499,000 lowered to $485,000 expired 1/21/09
#3N listed 2/19/09 at $450,000
#3N closed 8/17/09 at $405,000
I realize this is not a 30% decline from a prior sale, but it is from the original ask 2 years ago. My guess is that #2N should sell at a discount to #3N.
BTW, the high-end LP, LV, OT, etc, markets are deteriorating rapidly. This will definitely create a further “squish down” effect on the low end in these areas.
Gorgeous, but I agree with those who cite potential parking difficulties. (Why does the site state “Parking space: 1”?)
I had been thinking sub-$400K. Thanks, G, for the supporting data.
If 3N closed at $405k in August, then there better be a damn good reason why 2n is worth more. It could be the finishes of the unit. However, most underwriters would cut the value back to $405k just based on the higher floor selling at $405k even if 3n was “distressed” or the owner was desperate.
I don’t think the ask is unreasonable, but the appraisal will have to support the higher price and the upstairs unit will be a heavily weighted comp on the appraisal which will cause the buyer’s appraised value to get cut when they apply for a mortgage.
As it should, Russ. It’s pretty hard to argue that a seller’s desperation led to a low price if it was for sale on the mls as long as 3N.
The 2N/3N finishes look to be equal with new kitchen, baths and overall excellent condition.
G
I have seen instances where a seller is desperate and prices below FMV. Not saying that is the case here, but a good appraiser would point it out if that were the case. Otherwise, this place really can’t sell for more than $405k. Most lenders would cut the appraisal and request the buyer make up the value difference which isn’t likely to happen.
Russ, if it was priced “below FMV” and did not sell right away on the MLS, then it wasn’t below FMV.
Your hypothetical is irrelevant to this case, as was obvious before you raised it.
Read slowly G, I didn’t say 3n sold in desperation or was below FMV. Just pointing out that would be the only reason to justify 2n being priced more.
“Agents who claim “easy street parking” in areas like Lakeview, Old Town, etc. either don’t know the market or are just plain dishonest. Either way, I would never use an agent like this.”
After a little experience I found street parking to be much easier than I anticipated in these areas, once I learned where to look and when. Easy street parking directly in front of your home on a daily basis? Impossible. But regular street parking within a 5 minute walk to your home? Quite likely. Then again, my situation was not permanent and I would not want to spend $400K on a home and have to park on the street a few blocks away.
I lived on this stretch of Brompton for several years. Since it only runs between Broadway and Halsted it was pretty easy to find a street spot. Also since the neighbor on the whole north side of the street is the Salvation Army there are no residents there who would street park.
This also made it one of the quietest blocks around.
Laura, are you getting serious?
I saw 3N and took a pass though I can’t remember why. I like that they’ve left the pine floors in the kitchen although I’m sure budget had more to do with it than aesthetics, given that they did a reno in the first place.
Laura, thanks for the term “dehabbing,” now I know what to call it.
“This will probably sell north of $400K. Those of you waiting for the 30% decline on lower-end units in LV, LP, etc might be waiting a long time. The govt has clearly shown they are going to prop up the lower end of the housing market and so long as financing remains available and rates stay low, these types of units will sell fast.”
As much as it infuriates me MJ is right on this count. Well maybe not sell _fast_ but they’ll sell. Just today I read an article stating the Fed is considering buying even more mortgage backed securities. There seems to be no checks and balances on the size or content’s of the Fed’s balance sheet or even government spending and I expect there to be a strong push for an extension of the homebuyers tax credit soon. Some have even said the extension is/will be in the next stimulus bill.
That being said I know this government intervention in the housing market can’t last forever and I suspect it can’t last until the economy is rosy again either. Another leg down once the massive government intervention starts being removed.
Oh yeah and he’s right on parking in East Lakeview too, no parking is a killer.
I’d rather have that LP place at 1920 Armitage any day over this place though. Although 100k more it was a better location, included parking, was a better floorplan and had another bedroom.
Of course first time homebuyer monkeys never envision that they’ll need more than two bedrooms until the Mrs gets knocked up again (how did that happen? AGAIN?) so they’ll jump on this place for 420k using all available leverage and likely not be biting at a 520k place as they need a substantial downpayment to get a conforming loan with that.
Now exactly won’t declines hit the lv, lps of Chicago? Are there covenants in LP and LV that state ‘over-extended homeonwers cannot purchase in lakeshore neighborhoods?’ Is it like redlining bt income as opposed to race? LP/LV obviously isn’t Austin but nowhere has shown immunity to this bust, and government intervention be damned.
hd,
A two income couple making 140k can still qualify for a 3.5% down FHA loan for this property. So to the extent of over-extension its really a ratio of the number of greater fools angling for similar over-extension (or just willing to pay current prices) over those currently overextended. Now the ratio isn’t one but there are a LOT of greater fools out there and they are being encouraged by our government.
I went to a good MBA school and I remember reading on facebook recently a classmate had moved back and was condo shopping. I asked him why he was in a rush to buy and he said he “needed a place to live”, as if renting wasn’t a perfect substitute. There are a lot of these people out there and their numbers will determine the extent and timing of the declines.
Its going to take a lot of time to flush out the paradigm that RE = status symbol = necessary step in adulthood (regardless of financial consequences or alternatives).
Looks like a nice place (but still too expensive).
The comment about “They Don’t Build Them Like This Anymore” reminds me of what we call survivor bias in my day job. Everyone claims their mutual fund beat the average because all the mutual funds that didn’t beat the average got shut down. That’s just the way it works.
75 years from now people will probably look at the stuff built in 2009 and say the same thing. It’s a survivor bias. Only the good stuff will have lasted and people will just assume that everything built in 2009 was that good.
You can tell how well the 20s vintage stuff is holding up by the way 50s vintage stuff is NOT enduring.
When I was a youngster in my first 20s vintage rental (MANY years ago), I thought, ahhh, come year 2000, people will be just as sentimental about all that 50s-modern drek as they are about these old places.
Hasn’t happened. Now that mid-century mod is old enough to have antique charm, it looks uglier and more dispirited than ever. I pass stuff built in style peculiar to the 50s, 60s, or 70s, and think how sad and past its time it all looks. And the years sure haven’t done anything for the 50s vintage high rises in Lakeview or Edgewater.
You can find an exceptional house from that era here or there, or you can point to the Mies buildings on LSD. But I think the joke is on Mies and his whole school of architecture, because look where he was living at the end of his life. Mies finished his life in a decorative old 20s-vintage midrise replete with decorative stonework and classical interior details. Even HE couldn’t stand living in the boring stuff he built.
Looks like it went under contract already. Not a done deal, but that was fast.
Under contract after 11 days on the market. A nice property, well presented and good value for the money.
Puts all the usual “cribbashing” above in perspective. 🙂