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Old 10-27-2021, 07:21 PM
 
Location: Morris, MN
137 posts, read 609,747 times
Reputation: 139

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My son is looking at going to college in the lincoln park neighborhood. Housing is very limited at the university, and the neighborhood is way out of my price range unless we can find a few roommates before school starts.

The university is accessible from the brown line train. Would it be possible to live in South Shore or Kenwood and ride up from there? I noticed a bunch of cash only condos available south of the loop. What's the deal with that? Are they damaged properties? Is the HOA bankrupt? Are the HOA fees astronomical? Prices are too good to be true.
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Old 10-27-2021, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Illinois
3,205 posts, read 3,471,826 times
Reputation: 4239
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyrecords View Post
My son is looking at going to college in the lincoln park neighborhood. Housing is very limited at the university, and the neighborhood is way out of my price range unless we can find a few roommates before school starts.

The university is accessible from the brown line train. Would it be possible to live in South Shore or Kenwood and ride up from there? I noticed a bunch of cash only condos available south of the loop. What's the deal with that? Are they damaged properties? Is the HOA bankrupt? Are the HOA fees astronomical? Prices are too good to be true.
That would be a mess of a commute. I am assuming you are talking about a commute from South Shore, Hyde Park, or Kenwood to DePaul University?

What you are likely seeing are not "condos" but rather co-ops. Some of the co-ops might be for lower-income residents. That's something you will want to verify. However, I will try to answer your other questions.

They are cash-only because many co-op boards do not allow financing or have restrictions on financing. It has nothing to do with the financial solvency of the co-op. In a co-op, you do not own the unit, you own "shares" that entitle you to reside in a particular unit.

The assessments on co-ops tend to be very high, but you often get amenities like insurance and cable television that you would not get in a condominium.

The market is pricing the co-op units appropriately.
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Old 10-28-2021, 09:18 AM
 
Location: Hallandale Beach, FL
1,260 posts, read 931,704 times
Reputation: 2029
Commute from South Shore/Kenwood to Lincoln Park? No way. Don't do it, especially if the main mode of transportation is via public transportation. If he was driving I could buy that, but even then, the commute would not be pleasant. If your regular commute requires that you have to pass through downtown to get to the other side of it, I don't recommend that.

I think it would make more sense to have him live off the brown or red line up north. Albany Park is cheap and on the brown line. Roger's Park and Edgewater are also relatively affordable.

Prices are too good to be true because the southside isn't just all that desirable nor that convenient when it comes to public transportation. Hyde Park/Kenwood are an exception, but overall those two neighborhoods are like an island surrounded by dangerous and undesirable neighborhoods.

If you want to make your son's life easier pick a neighborhood that is further north on the brown or red line. Another option is to go directly west on Fullerton. Living off Fullerton in Logan Square he has direct access to DePaul's Lincoln Park campus. However, Fullerton traffic can be atrocious, so I think it's best to commute via the brown or red lines.

I went to DePaul and lived in Avondale which is affordable and convenient. I lived in the eastern part of Avondale (closer to the river). I would take the Belmont bus to the red line and then get off at Fullerton. It we about 30 minutes door to door. Belmont bus is very very reliable and frequent. Literally like every 10 minutes it comes by.
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Old 10-28-2021, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Illinois
3,205 posts, read 3,471,826 times
Reputation: 4239
Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkertinker View Post
Commute from South Shore/Kenwood to Lincoln Park? No way. Don't do it, especially if the main mode of transportation is via public transportation. If he was driving I could buy that, but even then, the commute would not be pleasant. If your regular commute requires that you have to pass through downtown to get to the other side of it, I don't recommend that.

I think it would make more sense to have him live off the brown or red line up north. Albany Park is cheap and on the brown line. Roger's Park and Edgewater are also relatively affordable.

Prices are too good to be true because the southside isn't just all that desirable nor that convenient when it comes to public transportation. Hyde Park/Kenwood are an exception, but overall those two neighborhoods are like an island surrounded by dangerous and undesirable neighborhoods.

If you want to make your son's life easier pick a neighborhood that is further north on the brown or red line. Another option is to go directly west on Fullerton. Living off Fullerton in Logan Square he has direct access to DePaul's Lincoln Park campus. However, Fullerton traffic can be atrocious, so I think it's best to commute via the brown or red lines.

I went to DePaul and lived in Avondale which is affordable and convenient. I lived in the eastern part of Avondale (closer to the river). I would take the Belmont bus to the red line and then get off at Fullerton. It we about 30 minutes door to door. Belmont bus is very very reliable and frequent. Literally like every 10 minutes it comes by.
The Near South Side, Douglas (Bronzeville), Bridgeport, and Canaryville are not undesirable areas. Bronzeville has actually been pretty trendy for the last ten years.

The reason they are seeing these lower prices is because these places are co-ops. You can find $100-150k co-ops in Evanston and Lake View too. It's just a matter of wanting to live in a co-op with very high assessments and restrictions on financing.
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Old 10-28-2021, 09:53 AM
 
Location: Florida and the Rockies
1,961 posts, read 2,207,511 times
Reputation: 3294
To the OP -- the problem is not that the South Side is all horrible (some parts are, some parts are improving, some parts were always livable, like Hyde Park).

The problem is that the commute requires a complete traversal of the Loop. You are going from one residential area, into the downtown core, across it, and then out the other side to another residential area. Some of the train lines do not continue through, so there may be connections in the middle of large crowds, etc.

The key to happiness is a short commute.
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Old 10-28-2021, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Morris, MN
137 posts, read 609,747 times
Reputation: 139
Hi Team,

I didn't want to name drop. Yes, you are correct; he's looking at DePaul. We're just trying to plan ahead if he accepts the offer. Housing is a challenge. I grew up in Harvey in the 70s so in my mind, I think I know southland better. Much has changed. We still have family in Blue Island and Midlothian. Originally, I was thinking he could get a place in Blue Island and ride the Rock Island or IC into the loop. I don't honestly remember how hard it would be to get from LaSalle or Randolph street to an L station, or if it would even be worth the hassle.

Thank you for the advice about neighborhoods to the north. I will look into Albany park, Roger's, Edgewaters, and Logan Square. Any other tips would be greatly appreciate.

Thank you!
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Old 10-28-2021, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Hallandale Beach, FL
1,260 posts, read 931,704 times
Reputation: 2029
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiruko View Post
The Near South Side, Douglas (Bronzeville), Bridgeport, and Canaryville are not undesirable areas. Bronzeville has actually been pretty trendy for the last ten years.

The reason they are seeing these lower prices is because these places are co-ops. You can find $100-150k co-ops in Evanston and Lake View too. It's just a matter of wanting to live in a co-op with very high assessments and restrictions on financing.
They are not THAT desirable either though. And those aren't the neighborhoods surrounding Hyde Park/Kenwood.

What surrounds Hyde Park and Kenwood are Oakland, Woodlawn, Englewood, Grand Crossing and Washington Park. Those are not places that are trending. A small portion in Kenwood borders Bronzeville, but not too much and Bronzeville still has some very very iffy parts.

I still stand by my statement, that Hyde Park and Kenwood, are essentially islands surrounded by dangerous and undesirable neighborhoods.

Near South Side, Douglas, Bridgeport, etc, are closer to downtown than they are to Hyde Park/Kenwood. They don't border Hyde Park/Kenwood.
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Old 10-28-2021, 11:46 AM
 
Location: Hallandale Beach, FL
1,260 posts, read 931,704 times
Reputation: 2029
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyrecords View Post
Hi Team,

I didn't want to name drop. Yes, you are correct; he's looking at DePaul. We're just trying to plan ahead if he accepts the offer. Housing is a challenge. I grew up in Harvey in the 70s so in my mind, I think I know southland better. Much has changed. We still have family in Blue Island and Midlothian. Originally, I was thinking he could get a place in Blue Island and ride the Rock Island or IC into the loop. I don't honestly remember how hard it would be to get from LaSalle or Randolph street to an L station, or if it would even be worth the hassle.

Thank you for the advice about neighborhoods to the north. I will look into Albany park, Roger's, Edgewaters, and Logan Square. Any other tips would be greatly appreciate.

Thank you!
Yes, and I think he would probable enjoy living on the northside more too. The is a lot more to do and hold a 20 year's olds interest on the northside when compared to the southside. Hyde Park actually offers a lot. But let's say he lived in Albany Park. He would have direct access to Lincoln Square, North Center, Lakeview, Lincoln Park the Old Town, and then the downtown area. Albany Park is also a trip with so much diversity within that neighborhood. That gives him a lot more to do and enjoy than if he were to live in Hyde Park. Same could be said for Logan Square, he would be close to Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Ukranian village, Bucktown, all really fund neighborhoods for college students. Also, if he plans to work part-time living on the northside he will have a lot more opportunities to find part-time work (and easier to get to and from without a car).

In Hyde Park/Kenwood, he'll be living on an island. The northside is more expensive than the south side and west side, but it's for a good reason.
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Old 10-28-2021, 01:02 PM
 
Location: Chicago, Tri-Taylor
5,014 posts, read 9,391,464 times
Reputation: 3987
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyrecords View Post
My son is looking at going to college in the lincoln park neighborhood. Housing is very limited at the university, and the neighborhood is way out of my price range unless we can find a few roommates before school starts.

The university is accessible from the brown line train. Would it be possible to live in South Shore or Kenwood and ride up from there? I noticed a bunch of cash only condos available south of the loop. What's the deal with that? Are they damaged properties? Is the HOA bankrupt? Are the HOA fees astronomical? Prices are too good to be true.
"Cash only" usually means that it is unlikely that the property will pass the homeowner's inspection necessary for the buyer to obtain a mortgage, and/or it won't appraise out at the value they're seeking. A close cousin is the "conventional only" listing. That means it will not pass an FHA or VA inspection.

In this red hot market, you're seeing this a lot, usually more in the context of multi-unit properties, but as you're seeing, condos and SFH's aren't immune. A lot of out of state investors are just buying with cash, which makes things a lot easier on sellers.
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Old 10-28-2021, 05:15 PM
 
5,528 posts, read 3,201,218 times
Reputation: 7757
OP, are you proposing buying a place for your son to live in during college?

Wherever that may be, in my circle of acquaintances such arrangements usually did not work out. Wanting to transfer schools, meeting a group of roommates, etc. complicate it.

Renting apartments is way more flexible for what is probably the most transient time in a person's life.
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