We Love Authentic Lofts Bigger Than Single Family Homes: 711 S. Dearborn
There are lofts of all sizes and flavor in The Donohue Building, one of the original loft conversion buildings in the city, at 711 S. Dearborn in Printers Row.
This 2 bedroom loft is bigger than many single family homes at 3000 square feet.
It is two units that have been combined.
There are upscale finishes including white Snaidero cabinets, quartz counter tops, and Wolf and Bosch appliances in the kitchen.
The bathrooms are marble with undermount sinks.
There is exposed brick and hardwood floors but the timber ceiling has been drywalled (which some units in the building have and some have not.) The drywalled ceiling does provide more privacy.
There is no central air (only window units) but it does have an in-unit washer/dryer in its own laundry room.
There is also no deeded parking included, but as has been discussed with this building before, deeded parking is available at 801 S. Plymouth nearby.
This loft has been on and off the market since July 2008.
In 2010, it has been reduced by $60,000.
David Wiencek at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #301: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3000 square feet
- One unit sold in May 2001 for $230,000
- One unit sold in June 2005 for $385,000
- Originally listed, combined, in July 2008
- Withdrawn and re-listed in 2009
- Re-listed in March 2010 for $859,900
- Reduced
- Was listed in April 2010 for $799,900
- Currently still listed for $799,900
- Assessments of $1549 a month (includes heat and cable)
- Taxes of $8655
- Bedroom #1: 13×16
- Bedroom #2: 13×19
At first I thought Garrison had this listing. Specializing in 500k+ 2-3br condos with no parking.
Then I came to my senses and realized there was no helipad.
Whats up with that assessment?
Thats the kind of Assessment you pay at a co-op but you get a door man a pool and it includes taxes.
I like the space, but this is crib chatter… so the negatives (in my opinion):
– You’re paying $800K in a cr@ppy economy to buy 3,000 sq. ft. of space without AC or even one parking spot
– While the finishes have been upgraded, the washer/dryer most certainly have not (which suggests there are probably other things a person would like to upgrade, even though you are paying $800K for a place without AC or parking)
– The assessment is high
I would be interested in this place if I had the money to blow, and had a driver. People who spend $800K on a place to live in Chicago DO NOT walk to another building (especially one that is not right next door) to get their car.
This is a historic building (The wizard of Oz was published here) so it costs a lot to maintain. The assessments are the result of combining two units that probably had assessments of $750 each. Your average cookie cutter in a new build downtown will have $600 assessments for 1200 square feet of efficient new construction. This place is 3000 square feet and extremely old so the assessments are actually quite in line.
If there’s no ac, then why do they keep listing in July? Wonder if they’re having an open house this weekend? Can you imagine walking into an open house where the unit is 90 degrees?
Uhh, i dont know what new building downtown you are referring to with no A/C, pool, doorman, etc. that has cookie cutter assessments of $600. We live in a 1200 sq foot place downtown and our assessments are $250. I would say people looking at cookie cutter condos downtown would typically balk at a $600 assessments unless there were amenities to match.
huge, but so many glaring flaws that are not easily fixed…. and of course the obligatory baby crib
so 80s
Love it
there is a 1 bed for 209,000 in the same building
WhiteCity – I could list dozens of new (built in last five years)condo buildings with assessments of $600 for 1200 square feet. And they all have the same list of amenities:
Internet, Cable, Heat, A/C, Trash, etc.
You’re right that this building doesn’t have AC. I won’t wast my time listing all of the buildings in Streeterville, River North, and Lakeshore East that match this criteria. Do you live in a large building or in a three unit condo?
AK49: that doesn’t make a single one of them a good deal. I could list a ton of buildings that have lower or comparable assessments and better amenities (AC, pool and exercise facilities, at the very least) and an option of parking.
If you are going to pay high prices on assessments, you better be getting creature comforts for it. No AC is laughable at this price point.
We live in a building with 96 units. Built in 2007. Our $250 assessments include an elevator, rooftop garden, cable, internet, trash, snow removal. we also have an attached heated parking garage, however i would have to see our total assessment does or doesnt play into that.
Perhaps you can rattle off some buildings, but I would like to compare apples to apples and know if they included the exact same amenities this building does. I’d be pretty surprised if you could list dozens of fully sold brand new buildings with assessments of $600 with no pool, AC, elevator,doorman or parking garage. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’d like to see.
but we’re in the market in the next year for a place next year for about 2500 sq feet or so and there’s no way we would even look at a place w an assessment near $1500 or even $1000.
Just my opinion.
WhiteCity – You’re right the amenities are different. All the buildings I’m talking about have elevators, doormen, AC, and parking garages. The reason this building has similarly priced assessments without the same amenities is because it’s a very old historically preserved building. Every rennovation project here is expensive. It was also one of the first big loft convert projects in Chicago so it was done without a parking garage and central air. I’m not saying I would like the assessments, I’m just explaining why they are so high.
This building has a big cult-like following. I just spent some time poking around the online deeds files for this building and it’s amazing how many owners have been in their units for 10 to 20 years. They have a ton of pride in their unique and custom spaces. It’s also amazing how many people have appeared to be deliquent at times on their loans. I wonder if there’s an element of artist/photographer/musician type people who live here without being able to afford it.
Cool space but the drywall ceiling sure kills the vibe. I’d bet that it reduces the noise travel between units but it would be a much cooler space without that common white ceiling.
Our assessment is $275 for a 2250 sq. ft. loft with similar features. We do have parking and AC.
The only thing historic about this unit is that laundry room.
“We live in a building with 96 units. Built in 2007. Our $250 assessments include an elevator, rooftop garden, cable, internet, trash, snow removal. we also have an attached heated parking garage, however i would have to see our total assessment does or doesnt play into that.”
And you have zero in reserves right? It’s always a tradeoff.
well your original post was confusing. you said
“I could list dozens of new (built in last five years)condo buildings with assessments of $600 for 1200 square feet. And they all have the same list of amenities:
Internet, Cable, Heat, A/C, Trash, etc.”
then your second post turned around and said
“You’re right the amenities are different. All the buildings I’m talking about have elevators, doormen, AC, and parking garages.”
huh? which one is it 🙂
i was never arguing the assessment wasnt driven by historical aspects of the building. i was more arguing about the assessment list and cost.
Compared to Lakeshore East. A 2500 or so SQ. foot unit was posted at 400k in 400 East Randolph with assessments of $1600/month. I’d call that a similar unit. The difference between the two is you get a freshly renovated health spa in the building along with air conditioning. Value rise 800k for that space and a high assessment makes no sense. If the assessments are high then you would take it out of the price.
jp3c,
$275 assessment for a loft condo? No way does that include the heating bill unless your unit is a closet.
“And you have zero in reserves right? It’s always a tradeoff.”
I’ve lived in a condo for eight years now and I’ve never understood the obsession with reserves. Sure, if you’re a buyer you want to see reserves. But why as someone who actually lives there? You’re just moving money from your checking account into a pool that you have no control over, and that may or may not ever benefit you. If you can afford to pay the higher assessments then you can afford to pay the special when the work actually needs to be done. In our association we have bitter fights about this and I just don’t get why people are so eager to raise their assessments.
Alanon:
People want high reserves because they rather pay a little bit over time versus in one shot. A lot of people can’t just write a check for a couple of grand or more on a whim to cover their portion of a special assessment. However, they can pay an extra $50-$100 bucks a month over time.
Reserves are always a big issue with smaller developments.
I will never buy another condo due to the HOA fights about reserves, etc. If there is one thing I learned owning a condo it is communism doesn’t work. There are neighbors that want to take care of everything and neighbors who don’t care.
“People want high reserves because they rather pay a little bit over time versus in one shot.” — Makes sense to me.
“A lot of people can’t just write a check for a couple of grand or more on a whim to cover their portion of a special assessment. However, they can pay an extra $50-$100 bucks a month over time.” — Doesn’t make sense to me. If they can afford to pay the extra $100 every month, they can afford to save the same. Then just pay when it comes due.
“I will never buy another condo due to the HOA fights about reserves, etc. If there is one thing I learned owning a condo it is communism doesn’t work. There are neighbors that want to take care of everything and neighbors who don’t care.” — Agree 100%. Why I’m going single family. Sick and tired of people who either: (a) can’t comprehend that a building is something that needs to be maintained; or (b) think maintainence is only appropriate when it addresses a problem that is directly and visibly affecting their unit.
But this is not a problem with communism. It’s the opposite. The tragedy of the anti-commons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_anticommons
You want reserves not because YOU can’t afford/would not be willing to shell out when needed, but because you don’t trust that all your neighbors will. But frankly, I’m with Russ–my next place is going to be single family. I spends as much time and effort serving/keeping a watch on the Board as I would maintaining my own house.
“Sick and tired of people who either: (a) can’t comprehend that a building is something that needs to be maintained; or (b) think maintainence is only appropriate when it addresses a problem that is directly and visibly affecting their unit. ”
Or you could go co-op and get sick and tired of people who think you should pay for X that only they and their two friends actually value.
Alanon,
You need reserves because most associations do not have a line of credit or a similar facility as a corporation might have.
It acts as a prepaid credit facility that allows associations to absorb working capital fluctuations and emergency repairs without being held up by members who cannot or do not want to pay.
FHA actually requires you to fund your reserve each year, so clearly lenders think it is important too. Same logic as escrowing taxes and insurance. It offers protection against individual self interest that might be detremintal to the collective interest of the group.
Speaking of which, there seems to be quite a bit of that going on nowadays between so called “business minded” strategic defaulters and U.S. taxpayers.
Well, the prepaid credit facility could be each unit owner’s savings account. Which they get to take with them when they leave. Which is my point.
Otherwise, good points. But they all (including “lenders think its important too”) come down to fear people won’t pony up when the problem actually arises. Which is depressing. Which is why I’m moving to a single family.
“Or you could go co-op and get sick and tired of people who think you should pay for X that only they and their two friends actually value.”
Oh, we got plenty of that in our condo too.
“I know, let’s put skylights in all the stairwells. That would be cool!”
“Uh, but that’s expensive and we need to fix the roof. You know, because that’s what keeps the water out.”
“But sky lights are pretty!”
“Yeah, well this whole building is going to be one big f-ing skylight if we don’t fix the roof.”
“Oh, goodie, I love skylights!”
“We live in a building with 96 units. Built in 2007. Our $250 assessments include an elevator, rooftop garden, cable, internet, trash, snow removal”
I absolutely do not believe the above statement. Almost ALL buildings in streeterville/gold coast/river north have high assessments. A standard assessment for a 2 bedroom in these areas is 500-800. Assessments for WALKUPS in Logan Square, Lincoln park, Humboldt park, Lakeview, Uptown may be 150-300. But I would be EXTREMELY wary of a 96 unit building with assessments of 250$ – you better be prepared for some HEFTY special assessments. Buyers aren’t stupid – they WILL look in the reserves as well as the condition of the building. A building with great reserves and higher assessments will be more attractive than a building withe little or no reserves and low assessments (to the educated buyer).
To the educated buyer, yes. It is surprising how many buyers out there there ARE stupid, and this is the reason that I do not consider us to be in a “buyer’s market.” People ask no questions when it comes to buying a place with huge special assessments that their neighbors might not be able to afford. On the other hand, I tried to buy a condo (great, great unit) and the minute I asked for info on an enormous special assessment (concerned my neighbors might not be able to do it) the seller refused to disclose and got out — found another buyer who asked no questions whatsoever. Sabrina or someone on this site recently posted a sad story about a condo owner in a Rogers Park three-flat whose two neighbors left her in the lurch, unwilling/unable even to pay their gas bill, forcing her to exhaust her savings to keep the whole building going. I agree that a good reserve is important. And, unless you have the stomach for neighbors who leave you in the lurch by ceasing to pay assessments when it suits them, you should buy a sfh.
To clarify the above, the gas for the Rogers Park condo was included in the assessment — probably a mistake.
To clarify the above, the gas for the Rogers Park condo was included in the assessment — probably a mistake.
I would hate to live in a building that is in no man’s land size wise (50-100 units or so), they don’t have enough funds for a doormen based on the building size, even though you really need one with a building of that size. Plus, any building built since 2006 has no reserves, people who overpaid for their residences, higher likelihood for defaults, no reserves, rising assessments because the developer set them too low to begin with. Much smarter to live in an established building.
Single families have other issues. In addition to being very expensive in the city (versus the suburbs), they appeal to a smaller set of buyers and things like schools, crime, congestion and other neighborhood factors become much more important. When these turn against you, it can make life fairly miserable.
Commonly pooled assets allow for amenities only the very wealthy can afford in a SFH (think employees to do your stuff, a pool, etc). A well run condo association is a very good alternative in a city environment. That said, there aren’t as many as their should be because for a while people did not take condo governance seriously at all.
Alanon:
Most people aren’t good at saving money. Yes, people SHOULD save for a rainy day and expect repairs, but most people don’t. Hell, you would be surprised how many people can’t refinance simply because they can’t front a few grand for a new escrow account for property taxes on a new mortgage even though they are goign to get a refund from the old lender in a month.
When I was Prez of our condo association, it was like pulling teeth to raise the assessments from $80/month to $150/month. I knew we were going to need some work at some point done on the roof or tuck pointing and our reserves needed to be funded. You would have thought the neighbors were on a fixed income… these were $300k+ condos 9 years ago mind you so not cheap at the time, yet folks acted like $70/month was some hardship.
Now that we have a SF there are other maintenance costs, etc but at least I can do things on my schedule instead of the neighbors.
Clio,
Did not make those numbers up. Our building is in loop, not river north/goldcoast/streeterville. Prior poster was talking downtown, not those specific neighborhoods.
Our annual assessment income is $254k, our operating expenses were $209k last year. Our reserves were about $50k at the end of 2009. I couldn’t find my last quarter board meeting info. Keep in mind it is a new building.
PS To give even more perspective, we are about 10 blocks from this unit being discussed.
I have to concur. A 2/2 of 1200+ square feet with $250 assessments? Even if it had no doorman or pool and was just paying for insurance/maintenance and snow removal- it wouldn’t work out.
I have never heard of such a building. Please provide an address.
“Compared to Lakeshore East. A 2500 or so SQ. foot unit was posted at 400k in 400 East Randolph with assessments of $1600/month. I’d call that a similar unit.”
Nothing personal, Sean, but I hereby nominate you for worst comp ever suggested on CC.
You really think a spa and a/c are the only differences between lakeshore east and 711 Dearborn?
I mention this only to underscore the point that this is a special building. It’s probably the most desirable historic printers row address (if that’s your thing).
Totally get the lack of a/c, but there’s no practical way to put c/a in this building. I am sure showings in July are no issue because the window units / portables are working fine.
AK49 your research is completely correct– this building is where the S Loop “turnaround” began in the late 80s/early 90s. It’s amazing architecturally, historically, and in location (if you want this architecture, like historical, and dig the location).
The electric cooktop and oven kill me a little bit (mostly cooking taste but especially given the “gourmet kitchen” lable). . . certainly wouldn’t want to tear out those cabinets to lay a gas line, but I’m guessing it’s not even possible, much like c/a.
I hope cool buildings like this can survive, but I also fear that $1500/mo assessments will become impossible (instead of just crackpot stoopid) in this economic environment. . .
“Single families have other issues. In addition to being very expensive in the city (versus the suburbs),”
Single family houses are expensive ANYWHERE!!!! I own a house in the suburbs as well as an “in-town” on the Gold Coast. The maintenence costs of my house in the burbs is about 3k/month (lawncare/pool/water/cable/snow removal/garbage) – this does not include reserves, mortgage/taxes etc – so when my roof needs replacing that is all up to me. My assessments on my full service condo are about 1800/month (including reserves). I will gladly move to the city when I am able to sell my house!!!!
It’s funny you guys are debating the house v. city condo thing because the NYT just did an article on this comparing the two for costs (including private school costs in the city) and concluded that the city apartment actually costs less (because you’re paying less for maintenance and not buying a new roof etc.)
Here’s the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/your-money/03compare.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=house%20suburbs%20city%20apartment&st=cse
“Keep in mind it is a new building.”
My least favorite thing about assessments: no guarantees, no limits on what your bill might be.
Just like housing upkeep costs, clio (although, if you really spend $3k/mo on lawncare/pool/water/cable/snow/garbage. . . clearly we exist in different universes).
hah thats funny Sabrina I know Jessica referenced in that article
I agree, SquareD – that’s why I put that as the last sentence..
regardless, I directly emailed Sabrina a recently sold listing on a 2br/2ba in our building to show her that our assessments & amenities really are what I say they are.
I didn’t feel comfortable posting my full address on the message board, but Sabrina can attest to my truth.
Sabrina, I enjoyed that NYT article.
Have to say it reinforced my belief that the holy grail is neither a house in the suburburbs, nor an appmt in the city– it’s the house in the city.
Sure I’m biased as a city homeowner, but that was the way the numbers added up for me, when I *cough* looked at *cough* suburban “options”.
WC I totally believe you’re telling the truth– have friends with similar assessments.
Best of luck keeping the building healthy– sounds like you’re off to a good start.
WhiteCity has sent me the building. It is new construction (not yet sold out from the developer.) I’m not sure if the condo board has been turned over to the association yet.
Regardless, the assessments are always artifically LOW coming from the developer and they always rise the first few years. New construction buildings don’t need much the first few years, though, but it’s always when they have to start replacing the carpet or the garage doors or the pool needs repainting etc. etc.
So- I would expect these assessments in the $200 a month range to go up quite quickly. But some of these mid-rises with only about 100 units can be low(er). It depends on if the doorman is full time and if there is a pool. Both add a lot of money to the monthly nut.
“the NYT just did an article on this comparing the two for costs (including private school costs in the city) and concluded that the city apartment actually costs less ”
Well, the article makes *clear* that if private school is included, the city is more expensive. And it assumes that the city dweller has no car and the suburbanite has *two*, notwithstanding that both parents commute by train.
But the difference really all lies in the totally crazy Montclair property taxes–2.75%? WOW!
And, do people really drop $200/month on landscaping?
“And, do people really drop $200/month on landscaping?”
WOW – I am from the suburbs and am always shocked at how uninformed (I do not mean to be insulting) city folks are when it comes to the costs involved with SFH in the suburbs.
Low end lawn care (ie, not bagging grass clippings, no edgeing, no trimming of bushes) for a house on a tiny 10,000 square foot lot runs 25-50/week. I have a 1.3 acre lot and have them edge/collect lawn clippings (no bush trimming). They charge me 200/week. That is standard. Fall and Spring “clean-up” for any house is going to run 400-2000.
If you don’t believe me, check it out yourself (but also realize that in today’s world, no matter how small your lot is, there is always a minimum 25-30/week charge!!)
Our 2006 21-story building in River North has an HOA fee of 676. It includes parking, heat, air-conditioning, 24/7 door people, a small workout space, and garbage collection.
In Madison our 11-story building has an HOA fee of 515, which includes heated parking, upkeep of the grounds and outdoor spaces, garbage, snow removal, cable, a very large common room with a 55 inch TV and a full kitchen, and a very small workout room.
Regarding assessments in the city. I had a close friend who lived at 211 E Ohio. Its a larger Streeterville building (300 – 400+ units)
She has a 1 bdrm and pays low 400’s I think for her assessment.
She has a health club, pool, 24 doorman, parking spot, etc.
I remember 10 years ago, when she paid in the low 200’s for her assessment.
—
So what happened and I think this is typical
1) The developer never fixed the mechanicals of the elevators. So for a period of time, there was one of four elevators down while internals were being taken care of.
2) The first management company was not that great
WC:
Is your doorman full time?
We dont have a doorman.
Also in response to Sabrina,
Our building was completed in early ’07. We moved in May 2007. The condo association was fully in place in January 2008 with about a dozen units still to be sold.
The last unit was sold earlier this year. There are no unsold units from the developer, I double checked.
Re that article: Do New Yorkers with kids who could afford a $600K house really, as an “alternative,” cram themselves into a place with only ONE bathroom in NYC? If not, the comparison’s not great. (Although maybe the 2/2s are uncommon in NYC — wouldn’t surprise me if NYC had the decency to leave intact the floorplans of their beautiful older buildings — unlike Chicago developers who gutted.)
It is not a question of whether the association is in place. It is a question of has the association been turned over to the owners and then how many of the board members are owners NOT associated with the developer.
—
Not having a doorman really cuts down on costs as Sabrina has mentioned (doorman and pool)
White city:
I can guarantee you that based upon my experience as board president of both a 92 unit loft conversion and a 36 unit new construction, your assessments WILL increase at a MINIMUM of 50%… so prepare for it…
WhiteCity:
Your assessments WILL go up significantly within 5 years.
50k in reserves for a 96 unit building might as well be no reserves at all (not anyone’s fault, this is often true of most new buildings). Good practices are 3-4k per unit. That is around 350k. You will find it is going to be hard to build reserves while maintenance and repair costs increase as the building ages. Assessements will have to increase from the developer set level, and significantly so.
ditto to the (almost)guaranteed increase. Developers great a barebones budget to make the place as attactive as possible.
Funniest I ever saw was a buddy with a 3unit in Little Itally. The condo doc/ budget had zero reserve funding. The docs actually stated that the developer ‘highly advises’ the association to add reserve funding once the association had been turned over.
HeLarIous….remember, the developer has to pay the assessments for each unsold unit starting once the first unit in a association is sold. So its in there interest to keep assessments low with no regard to future costs.
50k in reserves for a 92 unit building? That is asking for trouble. That is a reason to not buy in that building, indicative of the artificially low assessments that are not sustainable. It’s further evidence of a poorly run building with not concept of long term survival.
“Low end lawn care (ie, not bagging grass clippings, no edgeing, no trimming of bushes) for a house on a tiny 10,000 square foot lot runs 25-50/week. ”
Low-end lawn care involves doing it yourself. $2400 buys a nice lawn tractor and a lot of maintenance/gas–and you can amortize the cost over several years.
And, in the ‘burbs I’d live in around here, 1/4 acre is on the small side, but certainly not “tiny”.
“I have a 1.3 acre lot and have them edge/collect lawn clippings (no bush trimming). They charge me 200/week. That is standard. Fall and Spring “clean-up” for any house is going to run 400-2000.”
While I cannot comment on lawn maintenance pricing in Chicago, my place in Miami sits on a x-large double lot. 25 different varieties of plants, 8 varieties of trees and a full Kentucky Blue Grass lawn (mostly shaded, so it does great).
I get one person, 6-8 hrs a week, who does everything…mowing (with removal to a compost yard) trimming, fertilizing, pesticide applications when needed, weeding and making sure the sprinkler system is operating properly. This is a full responsibility position for which I pay $35/hr. + product expenses. I don’t have any spring or fall maintenance as it is a year round job.
It is very expensive to maintain the yard of a SFH, and yes, urban dwellers often know nothing of what is required to keep your yard presentable…it is A LOT of work, esp in that climate.
I was foolish one year to think I could do it all myself and nearly wiped out the newly installed landscaping that ran me $15,000 to install. Never again!! I leave this job to the pros their dedication makes mine one of the nicest yards in the community…but it don’t come cheap!
If you want the yard to look nice, you will need to pay someone to do it properly. I have a slightly smaller than typical lot in Oak Park and I do it myself and compared to my neighbors who have lawn service…. my yard does in fact look like I do it myself!
All you need is a electric mower and an edger. Takes about 1-2 hours every weekend or two. Honestly, it is pain in the ass and I probably could do a better job, but I just don’t want to pay for a lawn service and after working hard all week, lawn care just isn’t a high priority.
Owning a SF is not cheap, especially if you actually care abuot your property and keeping it maintained. There is ALWAYS something that needs maintenance. Gutters, hvac, yard, garage, pest control, etc.
My wife quipped the other day that life was so much easier when we were renting a 2/1!
Maybe this is petty, but I don’t like that the fire escape is so close to the bedroom window. I just imagine a creepy rapist peering inside while I’m asleep. I know it’s irrational, but I would much rather have the fire escape near the living room.
Doode if i a a suburb lot, 100% i would be rocking a riding lawn mower, with a kenwood system and cup holder. i would have a 4 wheeler for the snow removal too!!!
And i can bet my maintenance, heat, and reserves on my house are way less than these wonderful “Assessment fee’s” on condos.
btw, i would kill to live in a original printers row condo.
I bought a condo so I didn’t have rake leaves. In our SFH is Northern Virginia I spend almost every weekend from October to December raking and bagging leaves on our corner lot. I picked up again in February. G– I hate leaves. I feel like I have my life back again.
I love that I don’t have to do yard work, hot and humid days like today make me damn glad I don’t have to even worry about that pointless, everlasting, tortureous exercise at all
I see a yard. I think grass and kids playing.
The SO sees a yard and thinks maintenance.
“would be rocking a riding lawn mower, with a kenwood system and cup holder. i would have a 4 wheeler for the snow removal too!!!”
One proper sized tractor and some snow chains does both jobs. Unless you want a 4-wheeler anyway.
And how about gutters? Climbing up a ladder on a two story house with a leaf blower to blow the damn leaves out of the gutters. And, washing windows? Don’t miss that at all. And, power washing the huge deck? Used to take me a whole day. Don’t miss that. And, dealing with the carpenter bees? Hated them. And the ground wasps that used to sting me when I mowed the lawn? Not happening now. And paying 1000s of dollars to deal with all the trees? Not now. And we aren’t even talking about shoveling out the snow on our corner lot and driveway. My back is a lot happier.
“And how about gutters? Climbing up a ladder on a two story house with a leaf blower to blow the damn leaves out of the gutters. And, washing windows? Don’t miss that at all. And, power washing the huge deck? Used to take me a whole day. Don’t miss that. And, dealing with the carpenter bees? Hated them. And the ground wasps that used to sting me when I mowed the lawn? Not happening now. And paying 1000s of dollars to deal with all the trees? Not now. And we aren’t even talking about shoveling out the snow on our corner lot and driveway.”
WooHoo for city SFHs!
there is nothing like a summer morning taking my shirt of and doing some lawn work and gardening and taking an ice cold beer break every 30 minutes. an taking breaks to shoot the shyt with your neighbor doing the same thing.
cant forget the good feeling after its all done and how great your lawn/yard/flowers/garden look, and the nice partial buzz too 🙂
but i do hate the leaves its a pain, so i pay some kids to rake it. and pay a aborist to take care of the limbs and stuff.
the gutters i dont mind cause it gets me on the roof and i can inspect stuff up there to see if it needs some mending
i would give all that up to be in a printers row loft.
As a long-time lurker, I must put in my two cents; this is a great discussion. I have lived in Chicago (city limits) my entire life. My husband and I sold our lincoln square duplex in 2008 for $2K over the 2004 purchase price. We lost money but were ready for some peace and quiet. The car alarms were inexplicably terrible in our particular area.
Anyways, we bought a 1950’s cape cod in a nearby chicago burb for $50K less than our condo, a half block from a top-rated elementary school (we have one child).
Even though my dad was a cop, he grew up on a farm in MI and I must have inherited his “love of the land. Sitting in my spacious, quiet backyard is downright nirvana. I miss the city action, for sure. But looking over my shoulder 24/7 was exhausting, (of course I still do it, just to a slightly lesser degree).
I read that NY times article with great interest. Schools, personal safety, and “not far from the city” were all a factor in our decision, and we dont have any regrets. We can always move back after the kid is grown, but for now this the life.