Residential Real Estate in your city

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ what's the size?

My neighbors upstairs are renters and they're paying $2,500/month on a 3/2 w/1,300 SF, 1 year lease, and this is all the way up in Lincoln Square.

It's a 2 bed/1 bath, I'd guess the unit is about 9-950 sf

[the urban politician]

^ The unit's appeal has long been hurt by the fact that the L train runs just behind it. Literally you look out the rear window and the train goes by.

So I always had to offer it at a discount.

The unit below it is identical and not that loud, so in prior years I've been able to get $2400 for that one.

[Steely Dan]

^ that's a solid price for a 2/1 under 1,000 SF.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ The unit's appeal has long been hurt by the fact that the L train runs just behind it. Literally you look out the rear window and the train goes by.

Some of us chicago weirdos are actually comforted by L noise.

I gladly took the "brown line runs right down our alley" discount when we bought our condo.

But secretly, the uber train nerd inside of me would've actually paid a little more for the privilege.

[Tom In Chicago]

^Yeah. . . I spent 9 years within earshot of an elevated train. . .

. . .

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by twister244

All true. However, even when you account for all of these additional costs, the COL in Chicago is still far lower than so many other places. Forget SF . . . .

When people compare costs of living, they too often ignore certain factors. For example, in SF the cost of artificially controlling temperature is near ZERO. I don't have either central heat or A/C and don't feel a need for either. I have built-in baseboard electric heaters I never use. I don't have or really need a car in the city (I'm sure that's probably the same in Chicago). Most of what I buy except food, I can buy online at national prices (not local). Where you get killed here is especially restaurant meals and, to a lesser extent, grocery store prices although I often find remarkable "deals" at the supermarket (example: With beef selling for as much as $27.99/lb recently, I managed to find some New York Strip steaks at $9.99 and I bought 5 lbs). Gas is also expensive but without a car, I don't buy it. Most Uber trips are under $10.

So the real factor in living costs are rent or the cost of buying. But older buildings do have rent control and if, like me, you bought many years ago and refinanced several times, that's a well-controlled expense as well (and property taxes are pretty reasonable).

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I gladly took the "brown line runs right down our alley" discount when we bought our condo.

But secretly, the uber train nerd inside of me would've actually paid a little more for the privilege.

Brown Line doesn't run 24/7 though, right? I might consider that with discount, but 24/7 noise like the Red Line might be too much.

I couldn't sleep at the Hilton Chicago, which has a line running behind the building. But it would probably be fine after a week.

[the urban politician]

People get used to the noise.

The problem is, no matter what anybody tells anyone, in a softer market people are going to see the train go right by the window and say "screw that" and walk away.

My agent told me how many countless times that would happen.

But in a tighter market (like today, apparently), no issue whatsoever.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

People get used to the noise.

I used to have an elevated freeway a block away. I found the traffic kind of interesting and hypnotic. Then, 33 years ago, an earthquake knocked it down. I sometimes miss it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Brown Line doesn't run 24/7 though, right?

It's very close to 24/7.

The last brown line train of the night rolls by around 2:00am and the first train in the morning rolls by at around 4:00am.

So really, it's just a 2 hour service gap in the very dead of night.

Originally Posted by Crawford

I couldn't sleep at the Hilton Chicago, which has a line running behind the building. But it would probably be fine after a week.

When we first moved in to our place, I was tuning out most of the L noise after the first week, but it took about 3 weeks before the late night trains entirely stopped periodically waking me up.

Now after 4.5 years of it, the brown line ROARING down our alley all day, every day is a total non-factor for us.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The problem is, no matter what anybody tells anyone, in a softer market people are going to see the train go right by the window and say "screw that" and walk away.

Yep, and we totally used that to our advantage when buying.

Our unit was originally listed at $475K (probably a fair price for it if wasn't right on the brown line tracks), then it got marked down to $450K after no takers, then down to $435K after still no takers, and then, because we were very patiently playing a good long game as the unit continued to languish, we swooped down on it in november (the real estate doldrums in chicago's highly cyclical market) and we were able to whittle them down to $420K because we knew they had zero other takers on their L track condo.

Now of course, that whole situation will reverse itself should we ever go to sell, but a part of me would really like to die in our current home. I have found my Xanadu!


And plus, TRAINS!!!

right in my fucking backyard

Every several minutes.

Forever!

[BigDipper 80]

Things have gotten crazy in my neighborhood in Dayton lately. I bought my house, about a mile from the center of downtown, for under $100k five years ago. Historically it's been a fairly cheap neighborhood despite being adjacent to downtown because it was on the "wrong side of the river" (read: majority-Black). But in the last two years, no house has sold for under $200k, a house currently under construction is asking $290k, and a recent flip is on the market for a whopping $330k. I never expected to see home values triple in such a short timespan, especially in a smallish rust belt city.

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

People get used to the noise.

The problem is, no matter what anybody tells anyone, in a softer market people are going to see the train go right by the window and say "screw that" and walk away.

My agent told me how many countless times that would happen.

But in a tighter market (like today, apparently), no issue whatsoever.

We rented a condo near the Sedgwick Brown Line stop when we were looking for a house in Chicago - granted it was near a curve so trains ran slower and were somewhat quieter so it wasn't too bad. The real issue is living near the station and hearing "doors closing" or "next stop is Chicago" all hours of the night.

Also, at least in Lakeview, there is a "good side' and a "bad side" of the EL, if you live on Newport for instance, the EL isn't over the alley, but more over the lot line of the homes on Roscoe, it doesn't help with the noise, but at least you don't have a Train 15 feet from your building.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9439346,...cWIRUV6JLG9o47oCzUqnw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Crawford]

You can hear the El from pretty far though, I think? My sister used to live in an East Lakeview condo in the 600-block of West Briar Place, near Broadway, a few blocks from the Belmont stop. The Red Line was pretty loud from there, especially at night, even with windows closed.

Not sure if you could hear announcements, though. And if I stayed for a few weeks, I probably wouldn't notice anything.

[pip]

I live about the same distance and on the 600 block. I never hear the train

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by pip

I live about the same distance and on the 600 block. I never hear the train

Maybe you're in her old building. I think 635 W. Briar.

I always remember hearing the El from the guest bedroom, all night, but again, it isn't like I'm used to it. I'm sure I wouldn't notice after a week or two.

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Maybe you're in her old building. I think 635 W. Briar.

I always remember hearing the El from the guest bedroom, all night, but again, it isn't like I'm used to it. I'm sure I wouldn't notice after a week or two.

600 block in Lakeview would put you about 3.5-4 blocks east of the EL which runs just east of Sheffield, it would def be possible to hear it, especially with windows open at night, the bigger noise issue there would be the ambulances going to Illinois Masonic Hospital.

[the urban politician]

I own a property in Pilsen that is about 50 feet from the L tracks as well as 100 ft from a stop. And even there prospective tenants have been turned off by the noise.

For some people, L tracks are just a non-starter

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Crawford

You can hear the El from pretty far though, I think?

you might be able to hear the low rumble of L trains rolling on steel elevated structure from up to a half-mile away, but there is an entire universe of difference in being directly ON the L ROW vs. even being on the other side of the street.

the brown line runs right down our alley, our back deck is maybe 40' from the tracks and is directly open to them. when a train rolls by, it's loud enough to disrupt all conversation for about 10 seconds.

when i hang out in one of my neighbors' backyards on the other side of our street (maybe about 300' from the tracks with 2 rows of buildings to block/deflect a good deal of sound), you can certainly hear the trains rolling by, but it's at least an order of magnitude quieter, just kind of a low background rumble that isn't disruptive at all.

in other words, living directly on the L tracks is an entirely different ballgame than just being kinda near the L tracks.

and bringing it back to real estate, our condo's extreme proximity and direct exposure to the L tracks was certainly a factor in our ability to purchase it for only $183/SF!

as TUP said above, a significant percentage of people would simply never even consider living this close to the L tracks, at any price, so the buyer pool will always be smaller.

[dchan]

Most noises are a result of the building wall envelope (wall assemblies, windows, doors, vents, air conditioners, other parts of the outside wall) not being properly sealed. Sound is like air: it WILL find any opening to enter into your home. Sealing up every single opening is key to initially reducing as much sound as possible.

In addition, you may want to consider sound treatment over the entire wall section facing the train. Besides sealing all air leaks throughout the entire wall section, it includes different treatments based on the following concepts:
- Adding mass to lighter wall sections. Mass helps absorb sound waves.
- Adding sound-dampening material that can absorb the sound. These materials are usually heavy as well.
- Decoupling different wall sections. This helps prevent resonance

In addition, sound waves are measured in frequency and amplitude. Different materials will absorb & dampen different frequencies. The amplitude is just a measure of how intense the sound is.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

It's very close to 24/7.

The last brown line train of the night rolls by around 2:00am and the first train in the morning rolls by at around 4:00am.

So really, it's just a 2 hour service gap in the very dead of night.




When we first moved in to our place, I was tuning out most of the L noise after the first week, but it took about 3 weeks before the late night trains entirely stopped periodically waking me up.

Now after 4.5 years of it, the brown line ROARING down our alley all day, every day is a total non-factor for us.




Yep, and we totally used that to our advantage when buying.

Our unit was originally listed at $475K (probably a fair price for it if wasn't right on the brown line tracks), then it got marked down to $450K after no takers, then down to $435K after still no takers, and then, because we were very patiently playing a good long game as the unit continued to languish, we swooped down on it in november (the real estate doldrums in chicago's highly cyclical market) and we were able to whittle them down to $420K because we knew they had zero other takers on their L track condo.

Now of course, that whole situation will reverse itself should we ever go to sell, but a part of me would really like to die in our current home. I have found my Xanadu!


And plus, TRAINS!!!

right in my fucking backyard

Every several minutes.

Forever!

This is really very interesting to me, but also completely crazy. It's interesting and awesome how they built this right directly next to and behind homes, but totally crazy and I'd never want to live, here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9213031,...MF3ZUZwFvgRyA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by dchan

Most noises are a result of the building wall envelope (wall assemblies, windows, doors, vents, air conditioners, other parts of the outside wall) not being properly sealed. Sound is like air: it WILL find any opening to enter into your home. Sealing up every single opening is key to initially reducing as much sound as possible.

or, you just learn to live with it as your brain trains itself to tune it out, as most people do.

the L noise inside of our home is pretty much a non-factor for us after living with it for over 4 years now, but out on our back deck & patio, that's where it's so LOUD and in your face that there's absolutely no way to "tune it out".

and you can't soundproof the "outside".