When Do Condo Owners Need to Put in New Kitchens? 208 W. Washington in the Loop
This 2-bedroom in 208 W. Washington in the Loop just came on the market (sorry for the bad picture of the building above. I didn’t realize how crappy it was!)
This building was converted into condos in 2002 so the original finishes are 15 years old.
The listing for this unit describes its complete renovation.
The kitchen now has new designer cabinetry, new granite waterfall island design, a high gloss backsplash and luxury stainless steel appliances from Dacor, Bosch. There’s also a Liebherr refrigerator.
The hardwood floors have been refinished, there’s new lighting, new wood closet doors and new light fixtures.
Both bedrooms have been fully enclosed with sound proof glass. Neither has a window.
The master suite has a double vanity. The second bathroom has also been renovated.
Both bedroom closets also have built-ins.
The unit facing south and has a balcony.
It has all the features buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking is included.
This unit is just 15 years old.
Is that around the time when the kitchens and baths start to look “old”? How long can you wait in a condo to start replacing them?
Crystal Tran at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Or you can see it at the Open House on September 17 from 1 PM to 3 PM.
Unit #1813: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1140 square feet
- Sold in November 2002 for $299,500
- Currently listed for $435,000 (includes the parking)
- Assessments of $770 a month (includes heat, A/C, gas, cable, Internet, doorman, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger)
- Taxes of $5142
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 13×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×10
I think they did a great job and this will sell quickly
This isn’t to my taste at all. Units that haven’t been remodeled are selling for around $300,000. I would rather buy one of those and remodel it to my taste.
Other than those vessel sinks in the bathrooms they did a decent job. I didn’t think people still put those in.
Should have painted the green windows and deck door. I just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the new finishes.
Nicer closet fixture than we often see on units at twice the price. Nice looking place (again, other than the sinks).
@marco
I generally like the look of a vessel sink, but I wouldn’t put them into a master bath. 1/2 bath, totally. But not these vessel sinks, they’re terribly boring.
While vessel sinks can look cool, they’re not very functional. For anything other than washing your hands, it can be a mess. Where do you set down your toothbrush or razor or contact lens case or anything else? What if you splash some water outside the sink? Seems like a total pain to live with.
Neither bedroom has windows, other than the “transom” at top of walls? Looks nice, but I think would feel rather closed in?!
@nonya – – the vessel sinks in yesterday’s listing (the million dollar west loop 2-bed) were god-awful and dated and impractical.
I personally wouldn’t ever pick one, I don’t see how the ones used in this reno are totally impractical. Why can’t you put stuff down on the surface the sink is sitting on?
@Liz – agreed, the ones yesterday are hideous. I don’t even think they’re dated, just ugly. The black one in the half bath with weird stainless panels covering the pipes sucks. The master one with a greenish glass something suspended looks terrible too.
As for practicality, I’m tall, so putting something on the lower counter below the sink sucks. The raised counter between the two sinks in the master just looks stupid. Maybe I’m a slob, but does nobody ever splash water on the counter when shaving or brushing teeth? I do it all the time. Quick brush with a hand and most of the water is back in the sink and just a little to dry vs a vessel you have to wipe it all up.
The root of it to me is that a vessel is form over function. They look cool (well some do, not the ones here or yesterday), especially when used with a cool faucet that should ideally come out of the wall. These faucets look high end but boring. If you’re going vessel sink, use a form over function faucet too. Which goes back to my comment about wanting one in a half bath. Then it looks cool but the form over function isn’t impacting getting ready every day.
“Is that around the time when the kitchens and baths start to look “old”? How long can you wait in a condo to start replacing them?”
what I’ve learned from almost a decade of visiting this site is that people have different tastes and might prefer that you leave the old kitchen since they might want to install their own style.
BUT….then you lose out on the buyers who don’t want to live in a construction zone, even for a short time.
so it comes down to how dated they look, versus how low you can adjust your asking price.
TL/DR: no matter what you do, some assclown will tell you you should have done the other thing
I think they did a great rehab job, very classy – but Dang, not even one bedroom with a window? That would drive me nuts. That’s probably why it’s listed at this price..I think it will sell at or close to ask.
Closed for 400K