An American 4-Square With “Old World Details” in Old Norwood Park: 5820 N. Newark
When you think of Old Norwood Park, you may think of a house like this American Four Square at 5820 N. Newark.
Built in 1890 on an oversized 78×193 lot, it has retained much of its vintage details including stained glass, crown molding and wood doors.
Yet it also has modern conveniences like central air and a wine refrigerator.
The kitchen is described as a “chef’s kitchen” with Viking stainless steel appliances.
4 of the 5 bedrooms are on the second floor with the 5th on the main floor.
The listing also describes the house as having new air conditioning, furnace, electrical, water tank and boiler.
Originally listed in September 2011, it has been reduced $45,000 to $820,000.
The house has a 2-car garage but only 1.5 baths.
Will this house be able to command a price over $800,000?
Lisa Sanders at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
5820 N. Newark: 5 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price
- Originally listed in September 2011 for $865,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $820,000
- Taxes of $8081
- Central Air
- 1 fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 16×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 16×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 12×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #5: 12×10 (main floor)
This house needs 2.5 baths at least to get anything like that price.
It’s a great old house with a lot of intact details, but it’s a bear to maintain and heat, and the one full bath is rather old. I like it and I’d keep it, but most people wouldn’t. Finding good spaces to put another bath or two might be difficult. It will be very expensive to carve out another bath where none currently exists.
Nice neighborhood, but don’t think it warrants this price range for this property.
1.5 baths for $820,000 is cuckoo, no matter how nice the kitchen and lot-size. Wonder if tax assessor is aware of that rich asking price, because $8081 tax bill certainly doesn’t equate to a $800,000 house. Norwood Park at this price-range is overpriced; good luck to seller-speculator.
Groovebait week at crib chatter. . .
Nice that it has new mechanicals but how many places sell over $750k without 2 baths? How many even at $500k?
Also anyone who chooses to put viking in a “chef’s kitchen” immediately makes me wonder what other silly choices they’ve made (Slate roof?. . .). Although the cabinets do look very nice.
love the house, and the location. Cannot afford the price.
Nice house, but they would have added more value putting in additional baths even if they gave up one of the bedrooms. No one buying in this price range is going to accept 1.5 baths. Heck, I’d be surprised if anyone paying $500k for a house would accept 1.5 baths.
Beautiful home! Why wouldn’t the person that did all this work finish the third floor to put in a master suite? I think with 1.5 baths this asking price is ridiculous, but finish the third floor to make 6 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go for around $800k.
As is, the price has to come down enough to allow someone to finish the attic. Major oversight in my mind.
gorgeous yard and nice looking place, but yes, I cannot imagine it going anywhere near this with the 1.5 baths
“All New A/C, Furnace, Electrical, H20 Tank, & Boiler. … New Gar, & Slate Roof.” is awesome but makes me wonder how recent is new? within a year? within the last 5 years?
“Why wouldn’t the person that did all this work finish the third floor to put in a master suite?”
Guess it depends on how much money they had to work with and where their priorities were. Perhaps the kitchen needed updating and they had to choose between one of the other?
Gorgeous. I could live with 1.5 baths, but that’s too much house for me (in both price and space).
I like it. Inset cabinets are a nice period touch. Soapstone countertops? Looks similar to the kitchen I’m about to have done–minue the built-in refrigerator.
what’s silly about slate roofs?
Nice interior but as everyone is saying: needs at least 1 more bath and most likely closet storage. They may have lost a bedroom but would have brought the value closer to 700K for a specific buyer. 600K currently. Kuddos however for the nice space
What’s silly about the slate roof? They could have done an architectural shingle roof and had money left over to do a nice master bath that would actually get this house sold.
“Nice that it has new mechanicals but how many places sell over $750k without 2 baths? How many even at $500k?”
Chicago SFH/condo/TH
$750k+ sold in 2011 = 964
$750k+ sold in 2011 with 1.5 or fewer baths = 5 (0.5%) (listed below)
2124 N Fremont St
3542 N Greenview Ave
401 N Wabash Ave 83E
735 W Brompton Ave
401 N Wabash Ave 57G
$500k+ sold in 2011 = 2,038
$500k+ sold in 2011 with 1.5 or fewer baths = 49 (2.4%)
just walked past this house and the more expensive one closer to the tracks two nights ago.
when you talk about large lots this is it. the house is set back off the almost no traffic street and on a small hill.
this place is 100% awesome in all ways possible.
“$750k+ sold in 2011 with 1.5 or fewer baths = 5 (0.5%) (listed below)”
IT’S SO TOTALLY POSSIBLE, ALL THESE SELLERS NEED IS THE RIGHT BUYER!!!
OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, THE VALUE IS IN THE LAND.
“Why wouldn’t the person that did all this work finish the third floor to put in a master suite?”
agreed,
but the vale you here is not in the bathroom count (20-30k could fix that), the value is in the fricken size of the land, privacy, good amount of vintage intact, and the superior hood its in.
if groove was sitting on enough $$$ this wouldnt be listed anymore
“[g]’
2124 N Fremont St–Redfin sez 2.5 baths
3542 N Greenview Ave–Total teardown. Lot and a half.
401 N Wabash Ave 83E–Trump
735 W Brompton Ave–Torn down and the condos (all with 2+ baths) are listed.
401 N Wabash Ave 57G–Trump
I’m with groove on this one, with a yard that massive (and nicely maintained) and private, you could consider it a second bathroom for the fellas in a pinch.
I kid, I kid. Sorta.
in all seriousness, how many triple lots can there possibly be on the north side? I’d guess maybe somewhere between 1 and 2% of all properties – tops – are this large.
“$750k+ sold in 2011 with 1.5 or fewer baths = 5 (0.5%) (listed below)”
2045 w bradley ($840K, 1.5 baths in listing)?
Groove, that is a good point. I didn’t realize the lot was special. My guess is whoever buys this is going to budget for adding the bathrooms though.
I’m with groove on this one, with a yard that massive (and nicely maintained) and private…….in all seriousness, how many triple lots can there possibly be on the north side? I’d guess maybe somewhere between 1 and 2% of all properties – tops – are this large”
i would say under 1% this large, have no way of checking but i know i am right and thats all you really need.
“2045 w bradley ($840K, 1.5 baths in listing)?”
DZ, that was a 6th that came up initially, but the listing said something about an additional bathroom in the basement.
“that was a 6th that came up initially, but the listing said something about an additional bathroom in the basement.”
Fair enough. I think it depends greatly on your definition of bathroom.
“Fair enough. I think it depends greatly on your definition of bathroom.”
any potted plant with a 5″ diameter
This house went for $405K. Yes it has 3.5 bathrooms but it also is a total gut rehab or very close to it.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/5816-N-East-Circle-Ave-60631/home/13508929
The featured house has a lot of the work already done with modern conveniences and vintage features and an oversized lot. I will be interested to see what it sells for.
“Guess it depends on how much money they had to work with and where their priorities were. Perhaps the kitchen needed updating and they had to choose between one of the other?”
Yes, that is possible, but then price it like you only did the kitchen, yard, bathrooms, etc. and not the third floor. This house is priced as if the third floor is done when it hasn’t been touched and at this price, it is begging for it to already be done.
“any potted plant with a 5? diameter”
So that is what the wife uses to train you not to piss on the rim.
“My guess is whoever buys this is going to budget for adding the bathrooms though.”
I agree, and to not lose a bedroom I’d think the best way to do it would be to finish the third floor. My guess is someone may pay around $700k-750 with the intention of at least adding a bath.
” so that is what the wife uses to train you not to piss on the rim.”
Doode for a pothead you have too good of a memory
“if groove was sitting on enough $$$ this wouldnt be listed anymore”
Ok ccer’s it is time to chip in and help the Groove get his dream home in Norwood Park area. Everyone needs to send him a dime for each funny remark he makes over the next three months. You know that some of his comments have clearly brightened your day over the years. Now it is time to return that favor.
Those dimes will add up and should be enough to buy him this home for cash, install another bath, and put up a good backboard over the garage for his buddies to come over and shoot. Hoops that is..
If you start sending them now maybe he will even host the Crib chatter summer BBQ party. From what I can tell Clio is no longer around. I must have missed the final chapter of drama. Was he really the old guv. Did Clio go off to serve his 14 years?
lol…now now JP3 stop stealing groove’s dime.
” I must have missed the final chapter of drama. Was he really the old guv. Did Clio go off to serve his 14 years?
“
Makes sense he was always posting and had lots of free time. Also quite a bragging personality.
“Doode for a pothead you have too good of a memory”
My memory problem is not that I forget things. It’s that I remember things that didn’t happen to me and can’t differentiate the two. Then I find myself telling someone the story about when I was a black man secretly saving the world from Aliens.
This house is spectacular.
I think it’s the best home ever featured on CC.
Do you think you could just reconfigure the half bath to fit a shower stall and a very small sink?
I know it’s a small space, but I’ve seen smaller full baths in NY apartments and you’ve already got the water lines in place.
I would not change anything else about the place.
“Was he really the old guv. Did Clio go off to serve his 14 years?”
If so when clio comes back maybe he won’t be talking out of his ass anymore about the RE market turning the corner.
Bob, I was just talking to Clio offline about the market turning the corner.
I’ve been out there making offers but nothing’s working out.
What I’m seeing is that even though list prices were higher from 2009 – 2011, it was easier to get an offer accepted and close a deal.
Banks were way more willing to bargain with you on a short sale or REO.
There are way more buyers out there now and way more competition and things are selling very close to ask or even higher.
Also, it’s not that hard to get a mortgage, even for a construction loan.
I check up on old CC listings from time to time and even properties in questionable locations which languished for months are closing.
G said recently that there should be more REOs hitting the market soon with the robosigning issue closed and the shadow inventory increasing.
I’m curious to see how that all plays out.
Right now, everything I’ve made an offer on has gone into multiple rounds of highest and best offers.
Also, forgot to mention, last year there was a TON of stuff in the auction pipeline.
Now there’s nothing.
Milkster, maybe you could turn that 1/2 bath into a 3/4 bath but you still wouldn’t have a master bath. This isn’t NYC or even Lincoln Park. In far NW Chicago even with the huge lot and how beautiful the place is at a price of $800k+ buyers expect a master bath.
I know someone might want to kill me for saying this, but I could see converting a pair of adjoining bedrooms to a Master Suite, stockpiling the removed flooring and trim for filling out a dressing room, and for the necessary staircase to the third floor where you could finish the space as a pair of bedrooms + bath, or a bedroom + playroom + bath.
It would be pricey to do the whole buildout, especially to ensure it fits with the rest of this beautifully preserved home, but it would give you 5-6 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and retain much of the original feel.
…oh yeah, and you still get the sweet monster lot. Seriously, this place is awesome.
“Was he really the old guv. Did Clio go off to serve his 14 years?”
WTH suggest a groove a pun for a fee then turn and steal my thunder?
still LOmotherf’nL that was some funny stuff right there Jp3!
“Then I find myself telling someone the story about when I was a black man secretly saving the world from Aliens”
saw the trailer and dooode looks like he is not aging well. and i am under the assumption that black dont crack?
still going to catch it in the theater though.
alternative? better schools, Metra, etc.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Winnetka/Undisclosed-address-60093/home/13786863
(RE Taxes $17K)
sorry helmetdavidhasslehofer,
wasnt winnetka in a legal battle to build a 100 foot high wall to keep all the unwashed masses out and only allow them to come in to clean, garden, police, fight fires, teach, then get out till the next day.
would not want neighbors like that even if the house is groove dream dwelling and at 200k and has a hot neighbor who showers with the windows open who also bought me binoculars for a house warming gift.
how about 5.5 baths?
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/5932-N-Newark-Ave-60631/home/13508754
I like the subject way more than the 5.5 bath one.
This place is F’n awesome. I think you could toss an extra bath in the upstairs and add another full in the basement pretty easily.
“I like the subject way more than the 5.5 bath one.”
100% agree, but we have many people here who have bladder problems and need 1 FULL bath per person.
“and has a hot neighbor who showers with the windows open who also bought me binoculars for a house warming gift.”
OK, If you don’t take that as at least a weekend house, just for that, I have no respect for you!!!!
personally i like this better than the other link and ranked just below the CC listed one,
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6839-W-Thorndale-Ave-60631/home/13508750
“personally i like this better than the other link and ranked just below the CC listed one,
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6839-W-Thorndale-Ave-60631/home/13508750”
Lets have a Cribchatter flash mob at the open house…
Open House Information: * Sunday, March 25, 2012 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
“100% agree, but we have many people here who have bladder problems and need 1 FULL bath per person.”
I think it’s been suggested for gastrointestinal problems. The consensus for bladder problems seems to be the yard.
G, thank you for the answer (“How many houses over X price”). I expected it to be a small number, but that’s remarkable.
But the big surprise is looking at your list, this is clearly THE BEST PROPERTY > $750k < 2BA in chicago. Quite a distinction. (And then I can return to laughing at the idea of purchasing the 3542 n greenview lot for $775k– best of luck to that developer).
"What's funny about slate roofs?"
Helmet, pretty much what Dahliachi said– poor value/dollar. The only pluses are aesthetic.
Also, I spent enough time repairing slate roofs in my youth that I could never do it. I've never seen another roof material (aside from *shudder* tile. . ) require such maintenance.
can someone find me the under $400K version of this house?
“can someone find me the under $400K version of this house?”
saw one off of long a block or two from Lawrence a few months back IIRC it was 389k and was a 40′ lot too i think
Groove, are you talking about this one?
http://4737nlong.com/
if not, please find me an address….I love that area.
“Groove, are you talking about this one?”
yep, i guess i was off on the price
“yep, i guess i was off on the price” and the year…i think this has been off market for a while.
Looks like the owners missed the boom or didn’t get the CC memo about pricing and number of bathrooms.
“and the year”
i remember seeing it and the googling it when i got home, it was listed recently. maybe 5 months back but within a year.
that said my memory has been proven to be off.
“wasnt winnetka in a legal battle to build a 100 foot high wall to keep all the unwashed masses out and only allow them to come in to clean, garden, police, fight fires, teach, then get out till the next day.”
That’s Israel that did this.
“That’s Israel that did this.”
pretty sure winnekta was up for a vote to allow subsidized housing for its cops/teachers/maids ect. and they decided to keep out the poors anyway possible
““100% agree, but we have many people here who have bladder problems and need 1 FULL bath per person.””
I have one bathroom in my apartment, but I retrofitted my central vac system to work with a colostomy bag, so I mainly use that.