Daniel Cullen

As a long time Beverly resident and contractor who has worked on many homes there I would caution you that most of the homes on the market there desperately need kitchen and bath remodels. It is a great place to live and to raise a family however. There is a pocket of newer (1950's) homes around 96th and Bell that probably don't need as much work as the 1920's vintage homes in the rest of the area. If I were buying down there I'd give Nancy Hotchkiss with Prudential Biros a call. She knows the area well and has worked in R.E. there for over 20 years. - Sat Jul 26 2008, 19:54

Some of the units in Clock Tower lofts require a block long hike from the main entry to the front door of your condo. Kind of a drag when you forget your wallet or keys on the kitchen counter. PAC lofts did some crap work on their HVAC installs and from what several re-litters have told me, are greatly over-priced. I inspected a unit at Baer Lofts in Bucktown the other day and it was hard to control my anger at the cynical money grubbing lack of concern that showed in the quality of the conversion/rehab. Feel free to drop me a note and I'll be happy to share my home inspecting experiences with you regarding any of the lofts in Bucktown or anywhere else in the city. - Sat Jul 26 2008, 19:49

Hi Darin......As Eric said, the first thing to consider is if the building is zoned for the correct number of units that would include the garden unit. Oddly enough, I inspected a garden unit condo in a vintage building that had only one exit. I was certain that it was 'illegal' but just to make sure I called the Building Dept. The city inspector who answered my call told me that if the unit was 800 sq. ft. or less it didn't have to have a second exit. I was pretty surprised to hear that since it violates common sense and the building codes of pretty much everywhere else in the country. I used to investigate the cause and origin of fires for the CFD and I have seen the tragic results of inadequate exits in basements and attics. The 800 sq. ft. figure did NOT include bathrooms and closets so the true sq. footage could be 1,000 or so and still only one exit may be required. The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have a long way to go in protecting the home owning and home buying public. - Sat Jul 26 2008, 19:33

Hi Chris,

It might be hard to find anything in that price range in Wicker Park, Bucktown, etc. The areas that were somewhat 'iffy' in the city such as Logan Sq., Pilsen, Albany Park, Garfied Park, and the like have dropped significantly in price and may be good bargains right now. I personally like Pilsen a lot but you have to try to find one of the blocks that are relatively gang-free. It is close to the Pink Line and the Blue Line. If you're looking for a well thought answer to your question you should post some more search parameters. Some of the more savvy re-litters that cruise the site could be a good resource for you. Good luck! - Sat Jul 26 2008, 19:25

The second exit is typically a set of spiral stairs or a series of stiles that run across the adjacent unit's rooftops to a common interior or exterior stair system. The higher end condos nowadays have two separate interior common stairways each of which gives full access from the roof to the ground floor. The intent of the code is to prevent an occupant from being stranded on the roof of a building on fire and having no way down other than a rapid, gravity assisted, uncontrolled descent. - Thu Jul 24 2008, 18:42