Lakeview / Water front property / rent / buy / costs (Chicago, Evanston: for sale, real estate) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

ASW76 · 03-01-2010, 07:00 AM

I am wanting to move to Lakeview area. We need a lot of space, and wondering what I can expect to pay for a 6 bedroom near the lake... or on it. Is it likely to find a rental, or better to buy and lease extra units? Is it possible to find a place with grass for gardening on the rooftop and/or a small yard possible with a privacy fence. Realistic or not? Moving from Indiana. Are there houses or is it all high rise? And if so, any family oriented?

What kind of price range am I looking at?

Feeling Brackish · 03-01-2010, 07:24 AM

I'm not sure if there are any houses with yards right on the lake in Lake View. It's pretty much all high rises. I couldn't really say what to expect for rent on a six bedroom place, but for comparison, I live in a small one bedroom in a high rise right on Belmont Harbor and we pay $1050 a month. As for rooftop gardens, I couldn't say. I haven't seen any, but I haven't looked at all the building's roofs either.

coldwine · 03-01-2010, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASW76

I am wanting to move to Lakeview area. We need a lot of space, and wondering what I can expect to pay for a 6 bedroom near the lake... or on it. Is it likely to find a rental, or better to buy and lease extra units? Is it possible to find a place with grass for gardening on the rooftop and/or a small yard possible with a privacy fence. Realistic or not? Moving from Indiana. Are there houses or is it all high rise? And if so, any family oriented?

What kind of price range am I looking at?

Absolutely unrealistic. Even in west Lakeview that's not achievable. I've never heard of a six bedroom home. You would have to buy a few units and convert, but the expense enters "unreal" territory at that moment.

Lookout Kid · 03-01-2010, 08:43 AM

There may be a few houses available in Lakeview with six bedrooms, but they would be in the multi-million dollar mansion range. Good luck with that.

prelude91 · 03-01-2010, 08:53 AM

I think "absolutely unrealistic" is a stretch, but it might take some creativity. The magic number seems to be 5 on new single family homes (you might be able to add a room in the basement), on an older home it is very realistic, but there may be a need for a few renovations.

For an older home (possible 3 flat frame house), you might be able to find something in the $800-1.5 range, for a newer construction you'd be looking at $1.8+ (depending on block)

Lookout Kid · 03-01-2010, 08:53 AM

Here's a 7-BR just steps from Belmont Harbor...

461 W Melrose Street, Chicago, IL, 60657 - MLS #06940074 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

It seems to be a converted 3-flat. Most of the 6-plus bedroom houses are new construction, so that's why you see more of them in west Lake View. It was much easier to do teardowns in west Lake View because of the low-quality wood frame houses there.

chet everett · 03-01-2010, 08:56 AM

The OP would be wise to examine any map of Chicago. There are a tiny number of properties in Chicago that have direct access to Lake Michigan, none in Lakeview. There are large numbers of single family homes in Lakeview, though they are inland. Such homes rarely have more than three or four bedrooms. Yards are typically postage stamp small...

Homes, even in multi family building (low / mid and high rise are all well represented in Lakeview) with more than four bedrooms are exceedingly rare in Chicago, though I disagree with the above posters who say such a thing would be unreasonably expensive -- because there are a fair number of vacant two+ bedroom apartments /condo it might be possible to combine units for a not unreasonable cost, maybe even under a million in a building with lots of vacant space. Of course the details of what sort of monthly assessment a "triple" would carry MIGHT be back breaking... Of course there are neighborhoods /districts with literal mansions inside the city limits, the priciest would be the Gold Coast, though separated from Lake Michigan by six or more lanes of Lake Shore Drive you could get breezes along with the auto fumes... Edgewater has a handful (like literally fewer than five) properties that have single family homes adjacent to Lake Michigan, Rogers Park probably has a few that are adjacent to parks and/or Loyola land. Kenwood, north of Hyde Park, where President Obama's home is has many mansions. The Praire Avenue historic district used to have many, and still has few of the old "golden age" mansions. That are inland.

South Shore has some mansions, though the deterioration / safety is spotty. Morgan Park and Beverly have some blocks of mansions too, farther inland...

Generally large families are uncommon in the affluent portions of Chicago itself, much more feasible to have a suburban home where the public schools are good enough that the tax bill of even a large home makes private tuition in Chicago for a big family a total non-starter...

Lookout Kid · 03-01-2010, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chet everett

Generally large families are uncommon in the affluent portions of Chicago itself, much more feasible to have a suburban home where the public schools are good enough that the tax bill of even a large home makes private tuition in Chicago for a big family a total non-starter...

This is necessarily true any more. Western Lake View, Roscoe Village, North Center, and Lincoln Square have many larger families who are affluent. It's a new sign of affluence to have more than four kids, apparently. There are several 6-plus bedroom homes available in these neighborhoods, and most were constructed within the last ten years.

Lookout Kid · 03-01-2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chet everett

The OP would be wise to examine any map of Chicago. There are a tiny number of properties in Chicago that have direct access to Lake Michigan, none in Lakeview.

Basically you need to be north or south of Lake Shore Drive to have direct access. I would not recommend the South Shore neighborhood. It has a very high crime rate. Edgewater basically has nothing. Most of the older mansions on Sheridan Road are gone or converted to other uses. Rogers Park offers many homes with lake access, but most of them are condos or apartments. I particularly like some of the buildings on Eastlake Terrace near the border between Chicago and Evanston, but I can't think of any single family homes there. Perhaps there are more closer to Loyola?

To get direct views of a the lake from a single-family house in Lake View or Lincoln Park, you may need something directly on Lake Shore Drive or Lincoln Park West, Lakeview Terrace, Marine Drive, etc. These are very premium properties and have very high price tags. You may luck out with an oblique lake view down a side street, but it's quite likely to be framed by high-rises.

There was recently a large house on the corner of Marine Drive and Hutchinson Street for sale... It's officially in Uptown, but is only steps from the border with Lake View. And then of course, you'd be my neighbor...

ajolotl · 03-01-2010, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

. I would not recommend the South Shore neighborhood. It has a very high crime rate.

Neither would I, with one exception -- that one house that sits directly on the lake, tucked just off of and behind the cultural center .. I would buy that for the right price. It is just too cool -- I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else in Chicago. It was for a sale a few months back but I thought the asking price was unrealistic.