Evanston IL Real Estate

 Today was a nice sunny day and I decided to go “Touring” properties for sale in Evanston. Here is what I say today:

Price Range:

$217,000- For a little over $200,000 you can buy a 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo located on the 3rd floor of a Vintage building in South Evanston. This sunny unit had a lot of space and charm with decorative fireplace in the living room, bay windows, formal dining room, heated indoor garage.

$399,000-For just under $400,000 you can buy a 7 room, 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath Georgian. This home had beautiful hardwood floor, new bay window in living room, formal dining room, lovely backyard garden, finished basement with play room, laundry and storage.

$475,000- Just reduced below $500,000 you can buy a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath recently remodeled  (90% New Construction) frame home. Great open floor plan with new kitchen, dining room, great room overlooking back yard. Upstairs has Master bedroom and bath suite.

$559,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3. 5 bath duplex townhouse with no assessments. This home has 4 level of living space. First floor Living room, Kitchen, Family Room, Master Bedroom and Bath on 2nd level with 2 other bedrooms, 3rd level has 4th bedroom, and finished basement.

$700,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 5 bedroom, 3 bath Co-op in a 1927 Vintage Landmark building which is walking distance to the lakefront. Details include vaulted ceilings, arched room entrances, marble fireplace, plaster cornices and delicate grill work. A truely unique property with word class charm.

$789,000- For just under $800,000 you can buy a Victorian (Italianate) home  and coach house. The main house has 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths with wrap around front porch, 12 ft ceilings, country style kitchen, cast iron fireplace. The coach house has been gutted and restored and is currently used as an office.

$1,035,000- Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath Colonial home on an extra large 65 X 190 lot in NW Evanston.

$2,400,00-   Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 5.5 bath Lannon Stone home with one of the best views of the lake. This home was totally re-designed in 2004 with new Kitchen, heating/cooling, windows, electrical and plumbing. Location, Location, Location. is the reason for the price of this home…

Every Tuesday from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm Evanston Br okers Tour Listings which are currently on the market for sale. Today was one of those days. On tour today were 56 properties for sale (16 Single Family Homes and 38 Condo’s).
This is just a small sample of properties on the market. Today I decided to tour properties that are in different price categories to let people know what they could buy in Evanston.

List Price:

$150,000 : You can buy a 5 Room, 2 Bedroom 1 Bath unit totaling 1,600 SF in a Landmark Coop building. Unit needs updating.

$265,000: You can buy a 5 Room, 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath unit in a 1965 Era Elevator building in SE Evanston. Unit again needs some updating but there are only 4 units per floor.

$350,000: You can by a totally remondeled Vintage Condo in SE Evanston which has a total of 6 Rooms, 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath. Everything has been done including Master Bedroom utilizing hall bath, in-unit laundry with office combo, and gorgeous kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

$445,000: You can buy a 6 Rooms, 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Townhouse in downtown Evanston.

$500,000: Tired of Condo living!!! Well you could own a 6 Room, 3 Bedroom , 1.5 Bath Farmhouse close to Downtown Evanston, shopping and Northwestern student housing.

$600,000: Sorry. I did not see anything in this price range today.

$799,000: For just under $800,000 you can own a 7 Room, 4 Bedroom, 1.5 Bath home in NE Evanston on a very prestigious street. Great location within walking distance to lake, Northwestern and Downtown. Some updates to this house are needed.

$800,000: Sorry. Did not see anything in this price range today.

$974,000: For just under a $1,000,000.00 you can buy a 8 room, 4 Bedroom, 3.2Bath Townhouse

$1,675,000: For just over $1,500,000.00 you can buy a 14 Room, 4 Bedroom 5.5 Bath Home in NE Evanston which is located East of Sheridan Road and less than a block from the lake. This home has all of the modern amenities a home owner would desire and is in the perfect location.

$2,850,000: Finally, you could own a modern 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath Penthouse Condo in Downtown Evanston with floor to ceiling windows, open floor plan with the most magnificent views of downtown Chicago, Lakefront, and Bahai Temple.

For information on any of these listings or to have other active listings sent you can visit my website and search on your own or with my assistance .

When you think of Sheridan Road what comes to mind? Probably just some major street that runs along the beautiful lakefront. Well, did you know that Congress originally granted Sheridan Road to be used for military puposes during the Civil War? It was used as a road for the military from Fort Dearborn in Chicago to Fort Howard in Wisconsin. Sheridan Road received its named from a Civil War general, Philip Henry Sheridan. He started just as a U.S. Army Officer, but soon became an Union general. Though the battles were exhasting, he still managed to lead his men to many victories. He even protected Chicago after the Great Chicgao Fire in 1871. It was because of his success and leadership in the victories and his many services to Chicago that Sheridan Road was named to honor him. With this well-known road comes many attractions and places of interest such as the Calvary Cemetery, Northwestern University, the Baha’i Temple, Lake Forest College, Ravinia Festival, Plaza Del Lago Shopping Mall, and much more. All of these are great places and attractions, but there is one thing you shouldn’t forget and that is the gorgeous and massive homes.

This is Northwestern University Arch. Northwestern is known for its excellence in its graduate and professional programs. The J. L. Kellogg School of Management has been constantly ranked among the top five business schools in the world. The Medill School of Journalism is considered one of the top journalism schools, and its alumni are regular winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

Though there are six other Baha’i Temples in the world, the one that runs along Sheridan Road seems to be the most attractive along with the one in India. It contains nine sides and a dome. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and fountains.

This is a 1914 Harold White home. It is a prairie style house.

This is a Rogers Park home on Sheridan Road. This is a Frank Lloyd Wright Home. Wright is a famous architect that was primarily known for his Prarie style design houses.

Judge Francis E. Clarke was the owner of this magnificent house.He went from being a teacher to a principal to being an incorporator of the First National Bank of Waukegan. This house went from having an Italianate style to having the Queen Anne style that was typical of the 1870s. This house was built by the Porter Brothers.

Townhomes are an excellent alternative to a single family home and a condominium. A townhouse is attached to one or more homes but often have a back yard and in some cases with end units will have both back and side yards. Townhomes like condominiums have common area space which is shared between all unit owners. The cost to maintain this common area is a monthly fee called a homeowners association fee. This monthly fee is usually less than those fees associated with condominiums. There is quite a variety of different townhouse styles. Some of the newer townhomes have attached garages, full finished basements, decks, porches and depending on size of the complex may have amenities like a pool, and tennis court.

The new trend in kitchen designs is making the refrigerator magnet almost obsolete. Remember how Woody felt when he thought he was being replaced by Buzz Lightyear as Andy’s favorite toy ? Well, the magnet must feel worse because it is being replaced by nothing.

The major difference between a Condo and a Cooperative (Coop) is in the type of ownership. With a condo the owner actually owns real estate and gets title to this unit usually in a fee simple title. With this ownership comes and undivided interest in the unit and the common areas of the building.

In a Coop you do not own real estate rather your ownership is a percentage in a not-for-profit corporation. As a shareholder you get to lease space in the building. The corporation owns the common area space.

Because condos are owned individually and as such each condo unit has its own seperate real estate tax bill.

With coops there is one real estate tax bill which the corporation pays and passes along the cost to the shareholders. Real Estate taxes tend to be lower in coops because sales are not recorded.

Both condos and coops have monthly assessments to cover common area costs. Usually coops have a higher monthly assessment because real estate taxes for the corporation are collected monthly from shareholders. Other expense items such as utilities (heat, water, electric) are also included.

Financing is available for both condos and coops. The association of a coop may require a bigger downpayment from a shareholder.

If you would like to receive more  information about condos or coops please feel free to contact me personally at www.jacklewitz.com.

Evanston is rich with many different architectural home styles. For purposes of this article I will discuss three prominant styles : Victorian ,Queen Anne , and Tudor Revival .

Victorian (1860-1880) Many people use the term Victorian to describe an architectural style yet Victorian is not really a style as it is a period in history. The Victorian era dates from about 1840 to 1900. There are many differerent features during this era and can be put into sub categories (i.e. Gothic Revival, Victorian Italianate).

Queen Anne (1880-1910) While also considered a Victorian the Queen Anne is the most elaborate and the most eccentric. Often it is described as romantic and feminine

Tudor Revival (1890- Present)-Tudor Style architecture imitates 16th Century English architecture. These homes look like castles, medieval cottages, have beautifully patterned brickwork and stonework.