Anyone have any experience with Northside Chicago lofts? (Lincoln: hardwood floors, for sale)

[Casper27]

Thanks for viewing, and I'd really appreciate your advice!

I'm living in East Lakeview (Belmont & Halsted) but need to find a new place to live by the end of the month. I would love to have a loft apartment, and have narrowed it down to The Brewery Lofts, Cobbler's Square or Seminary Lofts. Does anyone have any experience living in these loft apartments? FYI, I'm a 26 year old single straight male, musician, writer and love ethnic food.

Or, even better, could anyone recommend a loft apartment building for rent? I'd like to stay at or below $1200 per month, not including utilities or parking. I'm partial to the North side but would consider other areas. Other advice about living in/decorating/whatever for loft apartments is also welcome.

Thanks!

[kodaka]

What do you want to know about them? Whether or not you can eat ethnic food in a loft apartment?

Seminary Lofts--are you thinking of 3201 N. Seminary (officially 'Lakeview Lofts') or 3159 Seminary (officially 'Seminary Court)? The former is condo, I don't know if you can rent from an owner there. Seminary Court is rental and in your price range.

The Brewery would be out of your price range I think. Both Seminary Court and Brewery Lofts are owned by Enterprise Companies. They have other properties as well, that you might want to look into: Chicago Rentals, Lincoln Park Rentals | The Enterprise Companies (http://www.theenterprisecompanies.com/rentals.html - broken link)

Probably the biggest 'thing' with lofts is sound transmission. Many buildings have big issues--no soundproofing between floors and walls, and materials like hardwood plank that transmit noise easily. Some don't,but its something you need to check before you commit. And of course, you need to think about energy costs. How much will it cost to heat and cool a place with 15' ceilings (assuming these costs aren't included in rent)?

You might want to consider your ability to furnish a unique loft space, if you don't have those furnishings already. Things like large area rugs or tall drapes will cost a lot more than their equivalent would for a non-loft type apartment. These might be secondary to other concerns, but they will have an impact on the noise and temperature issues, so I wouldn't discount them entirely.

[nwzimmer]

Whatever you do, stay away from Cobbler Square, it's awful!

Speaking of noise issues, the lack of insulation between units is so bad you can hear every little thing between units, you can even hear when you neighboors urinate in thier toliet, what they are watching on TV, ect.

Check reviews on websites like apartmentratings.com and do as much research as possible. Before leasing at Cobbler Square, I unfortunately did not do this, and got stuck in a one-year lease at this dump of an apartment building, it was a complete ripoff at $1400/month.

[lenniel]

I agree with the other two posters that my biggest problem when I owned my loft (Riverbend Lofts on Clybourn/Wrightwood right across from Menards, south of Costco) was the noise. I was on the first floor in a corner so I only had an upstairs neighbor and one to my west. The sound coming from next door was minimal but from upstairs was terrible. My upstairs neighbor and I were about 3 seconds away from getting in a fist fight one time due to the noise. He and I had issues to begin with but the noise coming downward only threw gas on the fire. Shoes on the hardwood floors is bad enough but then when you have people playing the stereo, watching movies with surround sound....you get the picture.

Lofts also get really dusty, particularly if you have beam ceilings and exposed brick in the unit.

That being said, they are really cool places to live, especially for a single person. I wouldn't recommend it for families or even couples though.

[nwzimmer]

WOW, it was bad enough for me having major noise issues in an apartment that I was only renting on a one-year lease. I can't imagine having to deal with that in a condo that I OWN. That would be totally unnacceptable!

I'm still renting right now, but will most likely buying next summer, and if not, the following summer. You better believe that the insulation between condo units will be VERY high on my list of considerations. I've been noticing some condos for sale that indicate cement between the units above and below, and 'space-age' insulation between the side-to-side units. This will be very high on my list when it comes time to buy...

[lenniel]

Originally Posted by nwzimmer

WOW, it was bad enough for me having major noise issues in an apartment that I was only renting on a one-year lease. I can't imagine having to deal with that in a condo that I OWN. That would be totally unnacceptable!

I'm still renting right now, but will most likely buying next summer, and if not, the following summer. You better believe that the insulation between condo units will be VERY high on my list of considerations. I've been noticing some condos for sale that indicate cement between the units above and below, and 'space-age' insulation between the side-to-side units. This will be very high on my list when it comes time to buy...

If the person really wants to sell it, ask him/her to arrange with the upstairs neighbor an opportunity for you to have someone walk around with shoes on, play the tv, flush johns, etc while you're downstairs in the unit you're considering. Don't take their word for it that it's quite.

It's no fun having neighbors that you hate and want to kill.

[nwzimmer]

Originally Posted by lenniel

If the person really wants to sell it, ask him/her to arrange with the upstairs neighbor an opportunity for you to have someone walk around with shoes on, play the tv, flush johns, etc while you're downstairs in the unit you're considering. Don't take their word for it that it's quite.

It's no fun having neighbors that you hate and want to kill.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll actually be going a lot further than that.

I'll be talking to the building manager/engineer, looking up information on any standards/certifications on sounds insulation, ect.

I've seen some posts for units for sale that specifically mention cement contruction between units vertically, and 'space-age' sound insulation between units vertically. I'd be getting all of that in writing as a part of the sale.

Even better, if I buy in a two or three flat, there are no units side-to-side, just above and below...