Would You Endure a Co-Op Interview? A 1-Bedroom at 2440 N. Lakeview in Lincoln Park
This 1-bedroom in 2440 N. Lakeview in Lincoln Park came on the market in October 2015.
2440 N. Lakeview is one of the high rise apartment buildings built along the lakefront and along Lincoln Park in the 1920s age of luxury.
Built in 1927, it has just 94 units, and is a co-op.
This unit faces the landscaped courtyard.
It was on the market in 2014 and early 2015 before being pulled and “upgraded” with new electrical wiring, light fixtures and plumbing.
The original oak flooring was refinished throughout and there’s new maple flooring in the kitchen.
The kitchen has the original wood kitchen cabinetry with new appliances.
The unit has tall ceilings and crown molding that were a given for this time period.
5 original windows were also restored.
There’s no washer/dryer in the unit but the building does allow it (why didn’t they do it when restoring the unit?)
It also doesn’t have central air.
2440 N. Lakeview is one of the few buildings with its own parking garage. Parking is leased for $135 a month.
The building only allows 80% financing.
HOAs include the real estate taxes and a bunch of other expenses including cable, the Internet, heat, and gas.
There’s no leasing. It is 100% owner occupied.
No dogs are allowed.
And in order to buy, you have to pass board approval, including an interview.
Co-op interviews are rare in Chicago, unlike in New York where it is fairly common.
Would you be willing to interview with a building in order to buy an apartment?
Jane Domvrot at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2C: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 square feet, co-op
- I don’t have the prior sale
- Listed, after upgrade, in October 2015 for $298,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $289,999
- Assessments of $1055 a month (includes heat, gas, cable, Internet, real estate taxes, doorman, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger and snow removal)
- Taxes are included in HOAs
- No central air
- No in-unit washer/dryer (but allowed)
- Parking is leased in garage for $135 a month
- Bedroom: 12×22
- Living room: 14×22
- Dining room: 12×21
- Gallery: 7×11
A co-op interview isn’t so bad. It gives you a chance to meet some neighbors who have a genuine interest in making your future building a nice place for everyone. In many buildings, these interviews are more like a small cocktail party than an interview. So, when you see it that way, not so bad. Also, 2440 is a great building and very well managed. Plus, it’s right across from the park. Beautiful!
I wonder if a second bathroom could be added to create a master suite.
I like the look of this unit and wouldn’t mind an interview with the board. It’s a good way to keep the riff raff out. The assessments seem reasonable given that they include tax.
It’s really awful that the building is filled with people who hate dogs though. This is the type of place I would be interested in if a second bathroom could be added, but I would never give up the joys of dog ownership.
I’d go through the co-op gauntlet for a truly special property. Unfortunately, this place is not all that special.
“I’d go through the co-op gauntlet for a truly special property. Unfortunately, this place is not all that special.”
This seems pretty decent for the price point. From the stats, it’s a large one-bedroom and the total monthly nut for taxes and assessments seems reasonable to me.
I’d have to see the place in person, because the views from the windows look dismal.
there is no fucking way in a million years I’d ever do the co-op bullshit
fuck that noise
Definitely the worst unit (2d floor along back of bldg) in a very nice building, great location, etc. For the money, doesn’t seem bad, but there’s a limited demographic of someone who’d want to commit longer term (with no ability to rent out) to living in a 1 BR–even a spacious one–for enough years to justify. Wouldn’t work as an in-town (I think that would constitute owner-occupied), due to no parking/AC/laundry.
Maybe for an older single woman who wants the security & park-side location, takes taxis and isn’t around much during warm months?!
can someone explain co-op’s in chicago to me??
sonies–can you complete 1 sentence without using fuck??
I’ve always been fond of this building, which so much resembles a building I lived in in another city, that I’m sure they were designed by the same firm.
The unit is priced reasonably, even though I’d have done the upgrades differently, and the HOA is reasonable for what it includes, and the amount of space. The location is great.
I’m not sure I’d want to go through the process of obtaining board approval in a co-op, but one thing to be said for it, is that the board can ascertain that the buyer can meet his obligations and not leave the association stranded with thousands of dollars in delinquent HOA fees. So many condo buildings have been ruined by multiple lengthy foreclosures that leave behind a neglected unit that owes massive back assessments, which are almost impossible to collect if there are more than 6 month’s worth owed. I viewed a place in a vintage Edgewater high rise a few years back, that owed an astonishing $14,000 in HOAs. This happened because it took close to 4 years to complete the foreclosure of the unit, and there was nothing the association could do to collect- the lender has first claim on any proceeds, and since these foreclosures were usually sold at a substantial loss, there was nothing left for the association. Multiply this situation by four or five units, and you have a seriously damaged association. High end buildings were not immune by any means during the Great Bust.
This place is a very nice situation for a single older person who loves the city and wants to be within an easy walk of all the urban amenities- the park, the conservatory, reliable public transit, restaurants.
I would look at it more as I was interviewing THEM. What a great way to find out how they spend money, what upgrades are planned, who in the building is a nut, etc. what I wouldn’t be able to go with is the no leasing. Life throws a lot of curveballs, at least my life does, and I need flexibility. But I understand the no leasing rules, it makes sense, but not for me.
Sorry- something came up yesterday so I couldn’t do a new post for today. There will be new properties again tomorrow.
“what I wouldn’t be able to go with is the no leasing. Life throws a lot of curveballs, at least my life does, and I need flexibility. But I understand the no leasing rules, it makes sense, but not for me.”
This isn’t that much of a difference from buildings with rental caps. If they’re already at the rental cap- do you think you’ll get in off the wait list and be able to list it right away? Doubtful. So you’re going to be stuck that way too.
“sonies–can you complete 1 sentence without using fuck??”
nope! go fuck yourself!
Co-op board interviews……seems ripe for racial discrimination or anything else that’s not in line with what probably most the board looks like.
Correct. I believe interviews are for the benefit of both parties. You may not want to buy after the meeting. I know during a job interview I mentioned to the ill-appropriately dressed floozie with poor speech that “we weren’t a match” and a “good luck with your candidate search” and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
“And in order to buy, you have to pass board approval, including an interview. Co-op interviews are rare in Chicago, unlike in New York where it is fairly common.”
I think co-ops are pretty rare in Chicago. Do some not require interviews? Seems like they all do in New York.
One fun fact about a co-op is that you, the “owner”, can be evicted. What is owned is shares of the co-op, not the actual unit. Eviction is rare, but it has happened. I heard of one case where an elderly owner let his daughter live with him. After enough trouble with fights, drugs, boyfriends, and police – they were evicted.
Co-ops are not rare in this city, even though the arrangement is not so common as it is in NYC, where it is almost the rule in pre-war buildings.
Most of the large older buildings in Streeterville and the Near North Side are cooperative. I think 1242 N Lake Shore Drive is, as are 1420, and 1430. I’m not sure about 1500 or 1540, but I think they are, too. 2430 N Lakeview and 2460 N Lakeview are, as is 3750 N Lake Shore, 3500 N Lake Shore, and lower-priced buildings like the Aquatania at 5000 N Marine and the Edgewater Beach at 5555 N Sheridan.
What surprises me is how many buildings in Rogers Park and W Ridge are co-op. The arrangement is definitely more cumbersome, even though most of these buildings have a downpayment requirement of only 20%. They are still more difficult to finance, which is really not a bad thing, even if it tends to suppress prices.
Co-ops are not rare in Chicago’s Hyde Park for pre-war buildings.
How do property tax write-offs work when it’s built into the HOA? Assuming it’s line itemed out, but perhaps you can’t write them off?
you probably get some sort of 1098 statement proving what you paid in taxes for the year
that would be my guess
30% of Chicago housing is apartments
http://nmhc.org/Content.aspx?id=4708#Large_Cities