Get a 320 Square Foot Junior 1-Bedroom For Just $39K in Buena Park: 4240 N. Clarendon in Uptown
We’ve chattered about nearby studios on “sale” but this junior 1-bedroom (studio?) at 4240 N. Clarendon in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown is priced just as low.
On the market since December 2011, it appears to be a short sale (though it doesn’t say that in the public listing.)
The building was built in 1912 and there are 100 units. It appears these were remodeled with nicer finishes sometime in the early 2000s.
At just 320 square feet, it has a remodeled kitchen with 42 inch maple cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
There’s central air but no in-unit washer/dryer or parking.
The listing says “no FHA” and there is a waiting list to use it as a rental.
The listing calls it a “junior 1-bedroom” and there is a bed in the unit in the pictures, but there is no bedroom listed in the listing. However theres is a 9×7 dining room- so I’m assuming that this unit is really a studio that is big enough to have a bed.
Originally listed at $107,000 in December 2011, it has been reduced to just $39,000.
It is the cheapest unit currently available in the building.
These used to be 1-bedroom alternatives for buyers during the boom.
Is it a deal now?
Judith Archer at Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #413N: studio (?), 320 square feet
- Sold in September 2002 for $98,500
- Sold in September 2005 for $113,000
- Sold in July 2008 for $114,000
- Originally listed in December 2011 for $107,000
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed at $39,000
- Public listing doesn’t say it’s a short sale
- Assessments of $242 a month
- Taxes of $1725
- Central Air
- No washer/dryer in the unit (coin laundry)
- No parking
- Living room: 16×14
- Dining room: 9×7
- Kitchen: 6×7
If you want to live in a cramped, ugly place and have lots of Andersonville types nearby, why not just go to jail and live in a prison cell? It’s even cheaper than 39k! This place should be torn down.
Andersonville types? That code for gay?
Anyway at 500 bucks a month all in, this *might make sense for an investor
“might make sense for an investor”
All depends on the possibility of a special.
I’d call this a junior 1 bedroom as well. I think of studios as being one large room whereas junior bedroooms are larger and have two or three rooms but no official bedroom.
At this price, it sure seems better than a studio and I see how it could appeal to some but if I were looking at something like this I’d rather rent a little longer and save up more to afford a real one bedroom.
I’m not sure if this is too far from universities to be a real option, but I’d rather live here than in a dorm.
“might make sense for an investor”
Not if you have to wait to be able to rent the unit. What are you going to do with it until you are able to rent the place?
thats why I said *might
Lets be creative…
you could probably grow pot there, shack pad, storage space, uhhhhh
In the pictures, what is exactly is picture #11 of? I recall they use to call these convertables, basically larger than a studio but smaller than a try 1 bd apartment.
I like Buena Park, it’s an underrated neighborhood. If you get creative you can really make something special out of a space like this, and it looks like it has great windows (although view might be another story). Price seems great, and the building itself is pretty cool.
“In the pictures, what is exactly is picture #11 of?”
I believe the party room, since your place is clearly not large enough to throw a party in.
Sonies,$40k to have a place to grow pot? You can do that for free in the forest preserves. 🙂
I think picture #11 is the “party room” which looks like a carpeted room in a basement with a wet bar
I’ll re-post it just so Bob doesn’t have to (from the 732 Bittersweet (further than the subject from this incident) thread):
“Bob (July 4, 2012, 2:31 am)
“About a half hour earlier, two women were said to be in critical condition in a shooting in the 4400 block of North Racine Avenue, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Police said one of the women was shot in the back and the other was shot in the knee. A man was shot in the leg.
The shooting was a drive-by, police said, adding that they’re looking for a white Ford Taurus with two male occupants. The shooting was potentially gang-related.”
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-shooting-161297645.html “
This is an excellent example of rental caps doing more harm than good. If not for the rule against renting this would have been snapped up long ago at a higher price.
DAMN IT CRIBCHATTER, I’VE BEEN OUTED!!! This is MY junior one-bedroom in Uptown!!! NO NO NO NO!!!
But now isn’t it your in-town?
“DAMN IT CRIBCHATTER, I’VE BEEN OUTED!!! This is MY junior one-bedroom in Uptown!!! NO NO NO NO!!!”
Ahem, the correct term would be pied-a-terre, you midwestern provincial.
I think it can only be called pied-a-terre if it’s in the GZ, otherwise it’s an in-town.
“Icarus (July 10, 2012, 2:40 pm)
In the pictures, what is exactly is picture #11 of? I recall they use to call these convertables, basically larger than a studio but smaller than a try 1 bd apartment.”
This IS a convertible, and the term is still used when agents are being, you know, normal about listings. This is a hot-mess broker stretch of epic proportions to call it a junior 1 bd. It looks like the bed is in the dinette (essentially opposite the kitchenette) with the closet/bath between that space and the living area.
This listing is a joke, especially given the neighborhood. Why why WHY would someone want to own this?
Looks like an SRO building from the outside. And does this unit face a brick wall? Why no photos with the shades up? That seems fishy. The view must be extremely depressing.
I had a friend that rented in this building before it went condo. This even looks like her place. While no view, her place got some nice sun. Certainly at least a 39k view, seemed like kind of a nice old building when she was renting.
“I’ll re-post it just so Bob doesn’t have to (from the 732 Bittersweet (further than the subject from this incident) thread)”
The shooting didn’t happen in THIS neighborhood. This is Buena Park. That was Sheridan Park- considerably north.
“The shooting didn’t happen in THIS neighborhood. This is Buena Park. That was Sheridan Park- considerably north.”
Dude, this place is two blocks north and half a block west of the Bittersweet place, and the shooting was two more blocks north and four blocks west of this place. And, as you noted when I objected to Bob noting it on Bitterweet, it’s ALL still Uptown.
I was curious about this listing, so I walked around the block. Pic #11 is of the lobby. As for the views, they are generally of the backyards of the surrounding Hutchison Historic District houses. None of the windows I could see were obstructed by anything other than treetops. Each of the units also has a back porch to maybe sit on a chair outside. I would consider living here simply because it’s so cheap, if not for the fact I’d have to put so much of my junk in storage. And I wonder how soundproofed it is, with all those units right next to each other.
In-town/pied-a-terre/”love nest” (wink wink)…
I visited this building frequently during the conversion a few years ago. The units are mostly along this order. This was originally owned by the British Consulate and served as a kind of hostel/bed + breakfast for students or visitors from the Mother Country looking for lodging that wasn’t as elaborate as the offerings downtown. It was no longer needed for this purpose and ownership was turned over to a developer in hopes of making the units “affordable housing” for students and young workers who didn’t need a large living space but wanted to buy instead of rent. Because in the New Millennium,everyons could be a homeowner thanks to 80/20 financing…
As a result there have been several foreclosures advertised in the “legal notice” columns of the neighborhood News-Star.
The Brits also owned much more elaborate accommodations (for their own personnel, or maybe for Her Majesty should she drop in for tea) on Bryn Mawr near Sheridan. This building also went condo and I thinl there may be something for sale there as well (hint hint Sabrina…)
“The Brits also owned much more elaborate accommodations (for their own personnel, or maybe for Her Majesty should she drop in for tea) on Bryn Mawr near Sheridan. This building also went condo and I thinl there may be something for sale there as well (hint hint Sabrina…)”
I’ve posted many times on the building on Bryn Mawr over the years. There have been numerous foreclosures in there.
It’s a unique building. You can see some pictures of one of the units in one of the old posts.
http://cribchatter.com/?p=5597
Thanks, Sabrina. Your postings must have been before I discovered this blog. Too bad that beautiful building has foreclosures in it. It’s quite the unique living space.
“No FHA” then also they have a rental wait list?
If only these condo associations prohibiting rentals knew that they taking their $150k value unit down to 40k because nobody can sell and nobody in this market wants to buy a cracker box for 150k when you can buy a 2BR for that. Wakeup condo association!!! Nobody wants a building full of renters but would you rather be selling your unit in 20 years time for less than you paid in 2008? Do they realize that if this unit sells for 40k–they’re F’KED for a decade at minimum?
(and on the other hand… wake up buyers… I think there are a lot of young salaried single people out there renting who instead of renting could be borrowing money from their 401k and buying a unit like this in cash)
“Police said one of the women was shot in the back and the other was shot in the knee. A man was shot in the leg.”
Look at the bright side….most people are not killed when shot, a big majority of them survive the shooting.
“Wakeup condo association!!! ”
you seem to underestimate the collective intelligence of people with dissimilar agendas forced to work together for free.
I think you meant OVERestimate…..
“you seem to underestimate the collective intelligence of people with dissimilar agendas forced to work together for free.”
yes dammit, we need the ability to edit/correct our post. like within 30 minutes or something.
I think you meant OVERestimate…..
What’s the street parking situation around this place?
It ain’t good, JPS. It ain’t good.
“JPS (July 11, 2012, 3:32 pm)
What’s the street parking situation around this place?
Street parking can be tough, but there is a paylot directly across Clarendon. This buillding is really beautiful (definitely NOT an SRO) but it is really sad if the building condo association is making it hard for owners to rent their units. If you walk by, the fence has at least 10 lockboxes…it is ridiculous!