Here’s how you can crash at a ‘Windy City Rehab’ home even if you aren’t rich

Obsessed with “Windy City Rehab”?

You can crash at one of the homes featured on the popular reality TV show featuring designer Alison Victoria and it won’t break the bank.

A Lincoln Park penthouse condo that was featured in the first season of the show is now available to rent on the online vacation rental platform Airbnb.

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Vivek Chandra, a Nashville attorney who invests in rental properties with several partners, bought the place for $1,255,000 in October.

It was quite a markup from when the show’s hosts — Alison Victoria and Donovan Eckhardt — plunked down $550,000 for the property in February of last year. The show said $345,000 was spent on rehabbing the unit.

Chandra first listed the property on Airbnb in December. After a slow start, it had about a 70 percent occupancy rate last month, he said.

“Pretty good for February in Chicago,” he said.

Chandra decided to play up the fact that the condo at 885 W. Lill was featured on the television show.

It’s Airbnb description says: “4 BDR Penthouse — Featured on HGTV! Amazing Views!”

But whether or not the show’s magic is rubbing off on the rental is too early to tell, Chandra said.

“The only way we’d get that kind of feedback is through online reviews and there just haven’t been that many renters yet,” said Chandra, who didn’t know the connection to the show going into the deal.

“Overall the place looks great,” Chandra said. “They did a really good job with it.”

On the show, Victoria had a dazzling new fireplace installed, beautified drab outdoor spaces and repurposed a wooden arch that was recovered from a demolished Humboldt Park church into the frame of a bookshelf. During one particularly anxiety-inducing and folly-filled attempt to build a unique staircase, she uttered: “These are the moments you just breathe … and then you go into your car and you scream.”

Rehab projects featured on the first season ran into a litany of obstacles that have been detailed in the Sun-Times, including permit trouble with the city and neighbors who were upset by messy construction sites.

Officials with the city’s Department of Buildings plan to meet with folks from the show on Friday to discuss some of the concerns. The show, which is currently in reruns, was picked up for a second season.

Chandra’s parents stayed at the Lill Street condo for a few days to make sure there weren’t any issues before renting it out, he said.

They found that rehabbers left grout in the drain of the shower of the master bathroom that caused water to pool. And some construction materials were left in a stairwell, forcing his folks to use the elevator.

Chandra bought the condo before it was even listed — he got an inside track by utilizing a Chicago realtor who’s familiar with the city’s Airbnb market.